THANK GAWD IT'S FRIDAY!!!

--- Reading this morning's Lakeland Ledger's bit on VP Dick Cheney's visit to Polk County, it seems that their political columnist Bill Rufty is a bit more generous in his guess of the number of attendees than he was yesterday. He offered yesterday to WTWB Radio right wing talk host Lynne Breidenbach a number of 1500-1700 to hear the Veep; in his story this morning he ups that to 2000. He also mentions --- in the last paragraph of the story --- that former Florida congressman, Vietnam War POW, and later ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson was across town at the Polk County Democratic Party Headquarters to counter Cheney's appearance. The Ledger didn't even bother sending a reporter to cover that event. As for Mr. Rufty, it's no secret that there are many who question his objectivity. If you read his column on a regular basis, he tends to slam Democrats and fail to note Democratic events in the Political Calendar that accompanys his Monday column, while GOP events are covered regularly and with a generous hand. It's rather odd, considering that the Ledger is owned by the New York Times Publishing Group.

--- The I-4 Corridor is considered to be extremely important to victory in Florida for both candidates, as we're seeing with appearances by Cheney, Peterson, plus Bob Dole, Ann Richards, and Ted Danson, and three of the ACT.PAC concerts being held in Orlando, Kissimmee, and Tampa. Bright House Networks' regional cable services Bay News 9 (for Tampa Bay) and Central Florida News 13 (for Orlando area) have authorized an exclusive I-4 Corridor poll by PMR Incorporated of Washington, DC. The latest poll was conducted Saturday through Monday, and respondants were asked:

If the 2004 election for President were held today, for whom would you vote:

47 % George W. Bush (down 1% from Oct. 2-4; down 4% from Sept. 17-19)
43% John Kerry (up 2% from Oct. 2-4; up 5% from Sept. 17-19)
2% Ralph Nader (unchanged from both previous polls)
8% Undecided (down 1% from both previous polls)

Margin of error: plus/minus 3.5%

Here's a link to a detailed breakdown of the poll by area, plus the Senate race.