HERMAN CAIN IN FOR BOORTZ

Neal is off today but because we know you tolerate him pretty well we got Herman Cain to fill in. So you don't go into withdrawal, the staff has pulled together some notes. Neal will be back Monday.

LOUISIANA GOVERNOR BLEW IT

For a couple days now the media and the Democrats have been pointing the finger of blame at George W. Bush over the Katrina rescue operation.  In fact, they've accused him of lying.  Bush said after the hurricane that no one could have anticipated the levees failing...but the video and transcripts clearly show that he was being told that very thing.

But what has been missing throughout the post-Katrina blame game has been any responsibility being taken on the part of state and local officials. After all, they run the show.  The mayor and the governor ordered the evacuation.  The governor controlled the national guard. And so now it would appear, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is in the soup.

According to a video obtained by the media, Blanco assured Washington that the levees had not failed...when in fact they had. Now...the media, in this case the Associated Press, reports that the governor was "mistaken."  See a pattern?  Yup...when it's a Democratic governor running against the facts, it's a mistake. When it's a Republican president getting something wrong, he's a liar.

But really...what difference does it all make?  The hurricane has been over for 6 months.  Things are getting back to normal. Do the American people really care anymore?  Probably not....but the politicians sure do.

AL-QAEDA'S NEXT MOVE

To those who think we should just cut and run in Iraq...listen up. According to CBS News, government officials are reporting that they've learned Al-Qaeda is planning a major attack in Iraq....one they're calling "The Big Bang."  They know that if another major attack or a series of attacks take place....the country might be pushed to the brink...and the United States will be blamed.

So now Abu Musab al-Zarqawi prepares...and waits for the time to strike. He knows that the war is not fought on the battlefield, but in the arena of public opinion.  Islamic fanatics on both sides in Iraq expect the United States to provide absolute security in that country.  When we don't, Zarqawi is hoping a civil war breaks out.

And when and if that happens....he also knows that the mainstream media in the United States, including the Democrats in Congress, will be standing by, reading to do his bidding.  All he has to do is make the war in Iraq look like a lost cause....then he'll run the Americans right out of that country forever.

The War On Terror never ends....and now is not the time for weakness. Islamic terrorists are like dogs...they smell fear.

PUBLIC NOT AMUSED

There now looks to be about as much chance of the UAE government-owned Dubai Ports World taking over several ports in the United States as there does of George W. Bush running for a third term.  In other words, zero. Zilch Nada. Zip. Forget it.  Isn't going to happen.

For the #1 reason why, let's go to the polls.  Not some slanted CBS poll...where only Democrats are asked Bush-hating questions that are written in order to solicit a specific answer.  No, today we have a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll.   And in that poll, 69% oppose letting the Arab firm take the reigns at the ports in question.

Bush says he'll veto any attempt to stop the deal...looks like he won't have anywhere near enough votes to sustain such a veto.  In other words, the ports deal is dead.  The only question is whether or not it will take the full 45 days Dubai has offered to review the deal.  They have to know their chances of success aren't good.  Expect them to announce they're canceling the deal any day now.

And there's one other unhappy statistic for the White House in the same poll: Republicans only have a 5-point edge against the Democrats in the area of protecting the country from terrorism.  There goes the signature issue of the GOP.

The elections this fall will be most interesting.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Victor Davis Hanson profiles some of our "friends" in the Middle East.  For instance, if the United States is so awful, then why does Hamas want our money?  Interesting observations.

The Oscars will be handed out on Sunday and Charles Krauthammer talks about one anti-American movie, which he says could have been scripted by Osama Bin Laden himself.  Hint: it involves George Clooney.

With the situation in Iraq being what it is, Pat Buchanan thinks that some in the Bush administration will be tempted to attack Iran to save face in Iraq.  Always interesting viewpoints from Pat.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are demanding an independent investigation of the response to Hurricane Katrina, in light of the videotape supposedly showing George Bush knowing about the levee problem.  And what exactly will such an inquiry accomplish?  Not much.

Here comes the veto standoff: the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says he'll introduce legislation to kill the Dubai Ports World deal.  Will President Bush follow through on his veto threat?

With so much focus on Jack Abramoff and Republicans caught up in that scandal, Mike Franc of the Heritage Foundation shines the spotlight on Michigan Democrat John Conyers.  It would seem Conyers is being accused of being crooked.

David Limbaugh reminds us of the endless media bias and the left's hatred of George Bush.  He says the press is acting like they always do...hoping to somehow oust George W. Bush from power.

Political redistricting in Texas....that's the sort of boring subject that could put you to sleep, right? Well, it did...Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell asleep the other day....on the bench.  What's most interesting is the other justices let her sleep.

A new candidate is going to be running against Hillary Clinton in this fall's New York Senate race.  Her odds of success?  Not good.  Stranger things have happened, however.

After months of the Democrats jumping up and down complaining about the Patriot Act...they overwhelmingly voted for it.  Hard bunch to figure out, aren't they?

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