Walter Shapiro engages in snark:

The devastating poll results for Republican Ken Blackwell in Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch — showing him 20 points behind his Democratic rival in his bid to become the most conservative big-state governor in modern times — would try the faith of any candidate. Instead, Blackwell spoke passionately for more than a half-hour Sunday morning to the congregation at the Pentecostal Potter’s House Church of God as he testified to his Christian faith and to his belief in a thin permeable membrane separating pulpit and politics.

For a preview of what the White House can expect from a Democratic House, check out the letter John Conyers sent out today.

Of course, Blackwell can be counted on to steal a few percentage points. So, no complacency allowed. The poll numbers keep rolling in, and the GOP is starting to get a little twitchy.

Near the end of an article about how “the crisis in Lebanon has
dragged the Administration into the role of potential peacemaker,” Time‘s
Mike Allen reports that the Administration’s “outlook” for the midterm
elections reads “ominous” for the Republican Party and for President
Bush.

“As for Bush himself, he is curtailing his traditional August
working vacation at the ranch so that he can barnstorm before the
midterm elections,” writes Allen for Time.

“Their outlook thus far seems so ominous for the G.O.P. that one
presidential adviser wants Bush to beef up his counsel’s office for the
tangle of investigations that a Democrat-controlled House might
pursue,” Allen continues.

To see what the GOP is worried about, check out the letter John Conyers sent out today.

I wanted to update you on the lawsuit I have filed against George W. Bush and members of his administration, referred to in legal parlance as Conyers v. Bush.

You are likely familiar with a number of steps I have taken to challenge the legality and constitutional grounds of the Administration’s actions. From the lead up to Iraq, to the Downing Street Minutes, to the outing of a CIA agent, to warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens, I have called loudly for the Bush White House to explain itself.

I decided to file suit against the President in Federal Court in Michigan, along with 11 Senior Democratic Members of Congress. This suit was necessary because of a clear violation of the constitution. When the President signed the Deficit Reduction Act (which “reduced” the deficit by cutting taxes, health care benefits, and student loans), he signed into law a bill that had not passed the House and Senate. A different version of the bill passed each house of Congress with a multi-billion dollar difference in funding for life-saving medical equipment.

Anyone who ever watched Schoolhouse Rock knows this to be a problem.

Given the stakes involved I felt it was imperative to aggressively take this fight to the courts. The President’s lawyers tried to get the bill dismissed, but late last week I responded with legal filings that stand up for the rule of law and the Constitution and hope to bring the President, and our United States government, back under the rule of law.

I wanted to email you this news today to update you on our efforts and to thank you for your help and support. Thank you also for your continued dedication to a better democracy.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.

Help us identify progressive candidates that will have John Conyers’ back.