Following are news items by Knight Ridder’s political bloggers.

KERRY ON THE… Following are news items by Knight Ridder’s political bloggers.

KERRY ON THE PHONE; LET’S LISTEN IN

Sen. John Kerry got to do his own version of post-debate spin, by making reporters feel a little bit like voyeurs. It was all staged, of course, but about two dozen photographers and reporters were allowed to listen in as Kerry called running mate John Edwards Tuesday night to offer his analysis of the debate.

Let’s roll the tape for a one-sided bit of eavesdropping:

“You went back on the health-care piece, which was so important. … I know, I know, don’t worry about it, you did it, you got it in and people heard about it and they really have a better sense of that.

“Listen, I got to tell you something. The country tonight got a chance to feel the confidence that I had in you. And now they have the confidence in you. They felt the strength, they felt the clarity, you were so strong correcting the facts. They keep distorting things.

“These guys can only resort to fear and distortion. You held them accountable. You did a great, great job.

“Oh, thank you. Well, I enjoyed the conversation. I’m serious. I hope it helped.

“But I have to tell you … he had no answer about Halliburton. He had no answer about you know taking care of the drug companies. He had no answer about the unfairness of the tax cuts. He was incorrect on the facts … So we’re going to have a terrific opportunity at the end to continue to tell the truth. You did wonderfully. Give Jack and Emma Claire a hug for me, will you?”

At this point, Kerry’s wife Teresa, celebrating her 67th birthday, entered the room.

“Oh, Teresa’s here … We’ve got the birthday girl here. I’ve got to tell you we’re so proud of you, you did a spectacular job. All right, man, I’ll talk to you later. Take care.”

See you in St. Louis.

-By James Kuhnhenn, Knight Ridder Washington Bureau

GETTING A JUMP ON THE POLLS

All fired up and raring to vote? Judging by the tidal wave of new registrants, many people are.

Companies all over the country are happy to meet that urge.

At 7-Eleven convenience stores around the nation, customers can wear their political affiliations on their cups with the Presidential Coffee Cup Poll.

On the Internet, fans of Cabbage Patch Kids can decide whether the Bush doll is cuter than the Kerry doll. The real question, though, should be whether either apple-cheeked doll actually looks like the candidate.

The Zippo Manufacturing Co. is looking at the lighter side of the election with a poll and a chance to win a limited-edition Zippo emblazoned with either the Democrat’s donkey or the GOP’s elephant. The lighters were originally designed in 1980 and were taken out of retirement for this election, said Zippo spokeswoman Melinda Lishego.

-By Ellen Dunkel, Knight Ridder Digital

JUST THE FACTS

Joe Friday would have hated the vice presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University. Ohioblog is with Dragnet Joe. Just the facts, guys. Just the facts. Of course, what are the facts? Vice President Dick Cheney and VP wannabe John Edwards couldn’t agree on this – or much of anything else.

What these debates and this presidential campaign need are a core set of facts from a nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Campaign Facts and enforced by the Fact Police. Instead of timing the candidates, those little boxes in front of them should flash red when a fact is wrong or misused so severely that it has become unrecognizable.

The Fact Commission would issue the numbers, say, on how much the United States is spending to fight the war in Iraq, and each of the candidates would have to use the same numbers, interpreting them to their best advantage. This could be done in many instances that came up during the Cheney-Edwards. (I still believe the debate was a draw and that Cheney is much, much better at this than his alleged boss.) For example:

-Cheney said it was the first time he had met Edwards, a jab at Edwards’ Senate attendance. Not true. They were at a National Prayer Breakfast together. There is a photo to prove it. (Obviously they didn’t pray to get their facts correct.) They also met when Cheney swore in Republican Elizabeth Dole as North Carolina’s other senator.

-Edwards repeated presidential candidate John Kerry’s misassertion that $200 billion is being spent fighting in Iraq. The amount is $120 billion (which should be enough to make the point without the exaggeration), with an additional $25 billion authorized for the war on terrorism, including in Iraq.

-Cheney denied he has publicly linked Saddam Hussein and Iraq to the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaida. Roll the video tape. Cheney may not have made a direct link but he has implied the link including on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sept. 8, 2002.

-Edwards charged that when Cheney ran Halliburton, the company did business with Libya and Iran, sworn enemies of the United States. The business with Libya occurred before Cheney was CEO. Cheney said the charge was false and that a person could look it up on FactCheck.com (Cheney was wrong. It is FactCheck.org.)

The list goes on and on. If the facts (the substance) are incorrect, the debate deteriorates to style and other matters of superficiality. Nevertheless, both Edwards and Cheney acquitted themselves well on the surface. They went after each other with unpleasant charges from lying to laziness but neither demonstrated the petulance of President Bush when he was challenged and roughed up by Kerry in the first debate.

-By Steve Love, Akron Beacon Journal

YEAH, IT’S A BRIBE

You got a problem with that?

The latest attention-getting, lefty Web site today is www.mustvote.com, which shamelessly offers music in exchange for young people’s promises to vote.

Lisa Loeb tells The Washington Post that “it’s basically a bribe.”

Easier than trying to educate youth on policy, I suppose.

-By Adam Smeltz, Knight Ridder Washington Bureau

(c) 2004, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.