Morning copy 11.09.2005

Some will say: Last night was BIG.

Some will say: Last night was just one night.

Elections 2004 + 1

CNN: Kaine, Corzine, the word "no" and Bloomberg (Mayor, not news) win.

Centrist Dem Timothy Kaine wins Virginia governorship, Washington Post.

Bush bashers: This had WAY more to do with Mark Warner's (current Dem Gov) popularity than it did with anti-Bush sentiment.

Robert Barnes has a massive analysis in the Washington Post:

The outcome marked what feels like a dramatic strengthening of Democratic appeal in Northern Virginia, the state's richest and most populous region. It showed that Republicans can no longer depend simply on the power of their party to win statewide and demonstrated the dangers of a negative campaign. It presented an intriguing campaign model for Democrats, in which religious faith plays an important role. And most of all it demonstrated the appeal of Gov. Mark R. Warner (D), for whom this could become the first stop of a presidential campaign.

Michael Goodwin in the New York Daily News on Mayor Bloomberg:

Here's hoping he goes for greatness. To me, that means being the mayor of all New York. I see signs he's heading in that direction.

The Governator is terminated on all four propositions, Los Angeles Times.

Elections 2004 + 2 (???)

Boston Globe:

''Put partisan politics aside," Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the Republicans' chief deputy whip, said at a press conference held to persuade conservative Democrats to support a budget-cutting measure.

It was the kind of appeal that was impossible to imagine back when Representative Tom DeLay was House majority leader.

Samuel Alito

A major story on his judicial views, in the Washington Post:

"He basically said . . . that Roe was precedent on which people -- a lot of people -- relied, and been precedent now for decades and therefore deserved great respect," Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) told reporters after meeting with Alito yesterday. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she had a similar conversation about an hour later with Alito, who has made clear that he personally opposes abortion.

CIA Leak II: This Time, It's Political.

OK. Last time it was political too. It was also personal.

Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert ask for a probe into the leak about CIA prisons last week, Washington Post.

The CIA has asked the Justice department to investigate as well, New York Times.

The Sissy Six

Dana Milbank in the Washington Post outlines the meeting of six senators debating intelligence reviews about, before, during the war -- and now maybe about secreat prisons.

Rockefeller reached out for a handshake. Roberts seemed baffled by the gesture and, after a painful pause, took the ranking Democrat's hand. Before Rockefeller could make his statement, Roberts turned and walked away. "There's no question that there are several areas where there are substantial disagreements," Rockefeller allowed.

CAFTA

Josephine Hearn in The Hill:

Business interests are making good on their promise to reward 15 House Democrats who bucked their party’s leadership in July and backed the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

Social Security

Also in The Hill:

With Republicans facing a difficult political climate next year and an intense presidential contest in the years following, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) yesterday said Social Security is probably dead until 2009. The Finance Committee chairman is the first Senate leader to acknowledge publicly that consensus on overhauling the system is unachievable in the near future.

ABC

The New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 - Ahmad Chalabi, the former Iraqi exile who went from being a Bush administration favorite to persona non grata, arrived in Washington on Tuesday to face uneasy talks with American officials and a new demand by Senate Democrats that he testify about the possible misuse of prewar intelligence on Iraq.

France

Curfews and continued violence, New York Times.