Sometimes The Conventional Wisdom is Right

It was said, back then, that Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R-cousin) would rather run against Janet Reno than Bill McBride. The race against McBride is now very close, with most of the Florida press openly rooting for the Democratic challenger. The Washington Post has an over-long report on the race, that is nevertheless worth the slog.

German Elections

Here is a solid election night report from Berlin. I just have one question. It is reported that "reformed communists" won two seats in the German parliament. What, exactly, is a "reformed communist?"

That's Why They Call It Dope

Earlier this year, I went with my son to a baseball game at Shea Stadium. The New York Mets were playing the Philadelphia Phillies and the Mets played terribly; making all kinds of what tennis commentators call "unforced errors" and mental mistakes. Now we know why. It turns out that a number of players on the team have the munchies all the time.

Do I Hear $10 Billion?

It now appears that WorldCom's accountants were $10 billion off in their calculations. Think about that for a second. Think about that level of fraud. It makes Tyco look like a liquor store robbery.

Pataki's Troubles

Lost in the avalanche of the 9/11 anniversary was some bad news for New York Governor George Pataki (R). Billionaire Tom Galisano won the Independence Party primary nomination on 9/10 in an exceptionally close vote. Pataki sought and received a recount. The recount apparently won't change the outcome. Which means Galisano can continue to hammer Pataki for another seven weeks. Galisano is expected to spend about $5 million per week on television and direct mail advertising.

In the 1998 general election, Galisano garnered over 350,000 votes, most of them from upstate. If he repeats this performance, New York State Controller Carl McCall (D) has a reasonable chance of being the next governor of New York.

Bad News on West Nile

The Washington Post has an excellent report on the growing threat posed by the West Nile virus. Within the national security establishment, there are a number of people who believe that the spread of West Nile may well be the opening salvo in a biological attack on the United States. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) raised this concern last week. The Weekly Standard mocks Leahy's paranoia. Read all three links.

N.B.: This item has now been fixed. Last night's version omitted the NYT story about Leahy's speculation.

The Map of Massachusetts

Patrick Ruffini put together an excellent quicky map of the Democratic gubernatorial primary vote in Massachusetts. The older, industrial towns with strong labor unions went for state Senate President Thomas Birmingham. The liberal, academic, information industry towns went for former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. And everything else went for State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien.

The leftish vote -- lumped together -- amounted to about two-thirds of the total vote, but it broke three ways (to Birmingham, Reich and state Senator Warren Tolman). Thus enabling O'Brien to win the primary with only one-third of the votes cast.

CEOs: Masters of the Universe or Simpering Yuppie Wimps?

You'll never guess which side I take in this debate. You can read my latest Fast Company magazine column by clicking here.

Romney vs. O'Brien

In the real world, the choice between Massachusetts gubernatorial nominees Mitt Romney (R) and Shannon O'Brien (D) would be a no-brainer. Romney is head-and-shoulders smarter and more able than Ms. O'Brien. But this election is taking place in Massachusetts, which is a mindset unto itself. And so reports that Ms. O'Brien is the "underdog" strike me as premature, if not ridiculous.

Barring some politically catastrophic error on Ms. O'Brien's part, I am willing to bet a lot of money that the best Mitt Romney can do is 52%. And he can do a lot worse. It's a toss-up.

AOL Synergy

The Board of Directors of AOL Time Warner, under whose watch the company has lost roughly 80 percent of its value, has decided that Steve Case must go. This would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.