There have been lots of bad news stories dealing with polling regarding President George W. Bush but this has to be one of the worst ones yet, from Knight Ridder: It’s not just the way he’s doing his job. Americans apparently don’t like President Bush personally much anymore, either. A drop in his personal popularity, as measured by several public polls, has shadowed the decline in Bush’s job-approval ratings and weakened his political armor when he and his party need it most. Losing...

We know the terrible human toll Hurricane Katrina took, and the images of death and destruction on television. But, if you recall, there were some other heart wrenching images, too: of people who, in a flash, were rescued and realized that their pets would have to be left behind. There was no option or plan to save the pets. TV had images of dogs on roofs of houses surrounded by water. Stray, surviving pets were found for months afterwards. And the terrible human toll, property toll, disruption...

…“the good die young”?

God has talked to Pat Robertson again.

It seems that way due to these voting results. And read this. Did anti-Lieberman blogs (who have been backing challenger Ned Lamont) play a role? Lieberman’s whole political saga has been a fascinating one. He was considered something of a moderate to conservative Democrat — until Al Gore picked him to run as Vice President. Then some former supporters in Connecticut (and TMV knows what he’s talking about since he is FROM Connecticut and all of his relatives and many friends live...

President George Bush strode, head-up-high into the controversy over English being declared the United States’s second language — and took both sides of the issue, the AP reports. The White House took both sides in a dispute over English being the national language Friday as a broad immigration bill moved toward a final Senate vote next week with one conservative predicting it will never become law. Bush’s support for the dueling sides doesn’t stray from his long-held view...

In a vote that’s sure to generate much debate outside of Congress, the U.S. Senate has voted to make English the United States’ “National Language.” Question: will it matter? And, if so, how much? The Washington Post: After an emotional debate fraught with symbolism, the Senate yesterday voted to make English the “national language” of the United States, declaring that no one has a right to federal communications or services in a language other than English except...

It has been 31 years since Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa disappeared — and the hunt goes on. Only this time, FBI officials sound quite hopeful as they act on the latest tip in a story where the tidbits known so far sound like a “whack” right out of HBO’s The Sopranos. The Detroit News: The FBI is mounting one of its biggest searches to date for the remains of former Teamsters boss James R. Hoffa, bringing in dozens of agents for what agents say will be a multi-week dig at an...

I’m basically out of pocket since I am staying in bed most of the time. If I can tomorrow, I’ll offer some short pointer posts. I’m hoping to be back to normal by Sat or Sunday latest.’ Pleas check back since our bloggers will likely have some things to day. UPDATE: I may try to do a few short ones today since I am at least able to get out of bed today (so far).

TMV is a bit sick tonight (although, routinely, some readers on both sides find him sickening.) This blog may not be totally updated until tomorrow (TMV needs to jump into bed ASAP). Please keep checking back often since our always talented co-bloggers may have some things to say. Usually this site is dated EST for the next day with some posts that were done late in the day moved up. That may not happen until after 6 a.m. tomorrow. So scroll down!

Vaughn Ververs at CBS Public Eye writes: Are we watching a story fall apart before our very eyes? Something is certainly going on with that USA Today front-page splash about the secret NSA program to collect and analyze all the phone calls made within the United States. The story, published last week, sparked a fierce debate about privacy and the government’s ability to spy on Americans. It drew rebukes from even administration allies. There were no blanket denials made by the administration...

You can hear the music starting now. That menacing cadence. The numbing feeling that something could soon happen. A small move that you see in the corner of your eye that makes your blood run cold. And then it happens: Nancy Pelosi could be Speaker of the House… That’s apparently the gist of a GOP effort right now to try and rally the party’s faithful. And it’s worth noting that this kind of demonization isn’t limited to one party or all that new. Should we mention...

New White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has begun taking center media stage. And it seems as if the White House press room is going to have a new kind of press secretary for the 21st Century: one who is emerging as a multi-layered personality in his own right. The days of the press secretary as a robot-like human tape recorder or a sweaty, hapless human being oozing unease are over (for now, at least). But therein lies a dilemma: he’s going to have to learn to choose his words quite carefully,...

From investigative reporter Andy Borowitz: BUSH ORDERS NATIONAL GUARD TO PROTECT APPROVAL RATING 10,000 Troops to Prevent Supporters From Leaving Country In a nationally televised address last night, President George W. Bush announced that he would order 10,000 National Guard troops to protect his sagging approval rating. The use of the National Guard to safeguard the president’s political fortunes struck many Beltway observers as highly unorthodox, and Mr. Bush’s decision to do so...

TMV is continuing to evolve and as we head into this mid-term election year you may see more changes. Some are going on now: BLOGROLL: We’re continuing to update our blogroll which means eliminating some sites. This is usually done of the blog is inactive. We don’t eliminate sites that don’t agree with this site (just check the blogs on the blogroll and that’s clear). There may be other reasons. We also will continue to politely decline advice from readers about sticking...

Signs of an emerging, sometimes angry split among conservatives over the immigration issue can be seen on some weblogs: –Some readers of a popular conservative weblog hurl the angriest, worst adjective they can at it: “moderate.” –A guest-blogger leaves another conservative weblog after the blog’s owner reportedly told writers that they should either agree with him on immigration or not blog on that site anymore.. –The owner of that weblog, PoliPundit, explains...

A view from abroad. —– EXTENDED BODY:

Is he a danger to democracy?

Usually our new posts are put on this site in the evening EST. Today will be a bit different. New posts will resume today after 6 a.m. TMV is on a massive drive and won’t get to this site until the morning. On the other hand, our always vigilant co-bloggers may have some things to say before then, so keep checking back.

He appeared. He talked. And he didn’t quite conquer. On talk radio shows listened to on a long drive from Northern CA to Southern CA President George W. Bush was being either lambasted or somewhat-guiltily-defended by callers and talk show hosts. Bush didn’t quite embrace the House’s hard line but he didn’t hurl kisses at the more conciliatory Senate bill either…although many felt that is the bill he clearly prefers. In the end the questions remain: can an immigration...

Wasn’t all of this surveillance supposed to be to hunt down terrorists? But that was SO YESTERDAY, you see… Here’s the latest example why when government is given a new power everyone should worry that they will use it in a way that was not officially proclaimed. File this in the If You Have The Power Why Not Use It As You Want Department: A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call...

Tonight all the major TV networks will carry live a speech by President George Bush on immigration…a speech that will be highly significant and could put Bush in a political pincer. Why? Because he’ll be proposing getting the National Guard more involved in border security — and the degree of that involvement may displease many, no matter what course he chooses. On one side: Republican conservatives and other Americans who want the border security to be beefed up to prevent illegal...

Yet another stand-back, thought provoking entry comes via CBS.com’s Editorial Director Dick Meyer: The dumbed-down duopoly that controls political power in our 50 states is devoted to just one thing: self-preservation. Americans can’t take it anymore, but there’s no alternative. A few weeks ago, I wrote a column desperately begging for a real third party in 2008 and depressingly charting the obstacles the legacy parties have erected. I received a boatload of e-mail, almost all...

The Moderate Voice from time to time runs Guest Voice posts by people who are not regular contributors but make an interesting case on an issue. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV or this site’s cobloggers. We post them because of the way they’re written and because they could also serve as a good basis for discussion in the comments section. This was a piece we saw in an email list. We asked the writer who goes by the name Beast from the Middle East about posting...

…and she has made some controversial comments. Some critics are asking: given the way Hillary Clinton was blasted as first lady, does Laura Bush deserve a free pass?