Thursday Rundown

New Mexico: More bad news for the Domenici team:

New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici’s chief of staff sent a cryptic thank-you note to Karl Rove just as the senator was recommending replacements for David Iglesias, the fired U.S. attorney in New Mexico, according to internal White House and Justice Department documents.

Did the e-mail represent Domenici thanking Rove for firing Iglesias? Was Domenici just thanking Rove for suggesting a new restaurant? We can all speculate and come to different conclusions - which is why it wouldn't be the worst thing for a proper investigation to occur with testimony given under oath. And the findings of the Senate Ethics investigation against Domenici would offer insight as well, I'm sure. New Mexico FBIHOP offers more thoughts on the topic. Also, TPM gets to the bottom of who is responsible for the Swift Boat-style ads against Iglesias. Pretty sordid stuff coming out of the NM-GOP. Didn't they learn from the OH-GOP that looking really corrupt isn't the best public relations angle?

Minnesota: Senate candidate Al Franken was on David Letterman's show, so the MN-GOP proves it has no sense of humor as it hits back with a top ten list of its own: "Top Ten Al Franken Over-The-Top, Negative Personal Attacks." What the MN-GOP doesn't get is that their top ten list makes them, not Franken, look bad. Whiny. Cry-babies. Humorless, at the very least. I mean, the first one on the list is: "#10: Derided Senator Norm Coleman as 'butt boy'." Who does that reflect more poorly on? Franken, who made an off-color joke? Or Coleman, as it reinforces that he is a Bush enabler, instead of the independent voice Minnesota wants in the Senate?

Colorado: Ultra-conservatives love Bob Schaffer. Unfortunately for Schaffer, Colorado is a much more moderate state. Doesn't bode well for Schaffer '08.

Only 29% of Americans believe that Bush's escalation in Iraq is working. Maybe that has something to do with stories today from MSNBC and The Politico on the topic of "GOP senators at '08 risk" and "Republicans Fear 2008 Meltdown," respectively. Perhaps the best quote, from the MSNBC article, is courtesy of scandal-embroiled Pajamas Pete Domenici:

Domenici did not give a “yes” or “no” answer when asked Wednesday how he’d vote on the Senate bill. “You raise a very difficult question,” he said. “I haven’t decided.”

If "I haven't decided" is the kind of leadership needed in the Senate, re-elect Pajamas Pete, I guess.