Times columnists comment on the campaigns

November 11, 2004
Internet post-election rumors missing one little thing: evidence
By HOWARD TROXLER
Claims are lighting up the Internet that last week's presidential election was rigged and stolen. Some of this also has crept into the cable TV networks and conspiracy peddlers on radio.

October 29, 2004
'No-fly' zone perils were for Iraqis, not allied pilots
By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN
Among the reasons U.S. Senate candidate Mel Martinez supported the war in Iraq was the alleged danger faced by U.S. and British pilots who protected "no-fly" zones in that country before the 2003 invasion.

October 28, 2004
Minor players are savory morsels in a vanilla ballot
By HOWARD TROXLER
The heck with Bush-Kerry and Martinez-Castor. Here are 10 other interesting things about next Tuesday's ballot:

October 28, 2004
Are visits official or contrived?
By ROBERT TRIGAUX
Multiple hurricanes recently crisscrossed central Florida. Now it's the season for White House Cabinet members and top aides to barnstorm the state.

October 26, 2004
A mission to expose Bush policy on air, water
By ERNEST HOOPER
Well-known environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could write a book on what he views as the failings of George W. Bush's environmental policy.

October 26, 2004
Outsourcing barely affects bay area
By ROBERT TRIGAUX
Outsourcing American jobs to cheap overseas labor has proved a big player on the economic stage of this year's presidential campaign. Now comes a new study of the Tampa Bay area suggesting the effect of offshore outsourcing on this region's work force has been exaggerated.

October 23, 2004
Vicious attack ads obscure vital issues in campaign home-stretch
By LUCY MORGAN
It is the worst piece of campaign mail I've seen in 40 years of covering elections.

October 20, 2004
Economists mirror polarized country
By ROBERT TRIGAUX
Regular citizens are not the only Americans deeply divided in this year's close presidential race.

October 19, 2004
Amid ducks and parries, advantage: Martinez
By HOWARD TROXLER
The fun thing about political debates is that everybody gets to be the referee. Disagreeing over the "score" is the rule, not the exception. "Apparently," the standard wisecrack goes, "you were watching a different debate."

October 4, 2004
Halliburton history could haunt Cheney in the debate
By ROBERT TRIGAUX
On the day before this campaign's one and only vice presidential debate, no look at stalwart Vice President Dick Cheney can be complete without a glance back at his rather brief but vastly enriching role as CEO of the Texas oil services company Halliburton.

October 4, 2004
Youthful appearance aside, Edwards is no Dan Quayle
By ROBERT TRIGAUX
It will lurk just beneath the surface of Tuesday's vice presidential debate between the young-looking and enthusiastic Sen. John Edwards and the salty and seasoned Vice President Dick Cheney.

September 25, 2004
For next president, tax havens a challenge
By ROBERT TRIGAUX
In a worrisome trend bound to confront the winner of November's presidential election, U.S. multinational corporations increasingly are shifting more of their global profits to such tax havens as Ireland, Bermuda and Luxembourg.

July 25, 2004
Touch screen opponents are great at ignoring facts
By HOWARD TROXLER
What should a reasonable person conclude about touch screen voting machines? Sure, there are some safeguards it would be nice to add. But most of the worry out there is loony tunes stuff.

July 20, 2004
Ask a felon: There's a lot to like about Republicans
By HOWARD TROXLER
This one's for you, Myrtle.

June 13, 2004
Felons list poses a risk to rights of lawful voters
By HOWARD TROXLER
Our tradition says it's better for 10 guilty people to go free than for a single innocent person to be wrongly convicted.

May 9, 2004
Stuck in low gear
By ADAM C. SMITH
Kerry finds little traction despite bad news assailing the White House.

March 3, 2004
Bob Graham back in the race - for VP
By ADAM SMITH
Now that John Kerry has locked up the Democratic nomination, it's time to resurrect the Bob Graham vice presidential sweepstakes, a parlor game familiar to many Floridians.

February 22, 2004
Howard, we hardly knew ye
By ADAM C. SMITH
Back in his front-runner days, Howard Dean dropped into Tallahassee and promptly faced a question about one of the most volatile and divisive issues in Florida. What did he think of the governor and legislature stepping into a right-to-die case to order a feeding tube reinserted into Terri Schiavo?

February 15, 2004
Mr. President, if I may have a moment of your time?
By HOWARD TROXLER
Dear Mr. President,

February 3, 2004
On campaign trail with e-reporter
By BILL ADAIR
WASHINGTON - When I covered my first political convention 20 years ago, I wrote stories on a primitive Radio Shack computer known as the "Trash 80." It weighed less than a pound but transmitted stories so slowly I probably could have dictated them faster.

January 29, 2004
Bush tiptoes to middle ground
By SARA FRITZ
WASHINGTON - During President Bush's early years in office, he scoffed at public opinion polls.

January 28, 2004
Deft touches needed as race goes national
By ADAM C. SMITH
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Hidden in an office suite across from the South Carolina capitol, a dozen John Kerry campaign workers sat quietly chatting and working at computers Tuesday afternoon. Their desks were tidy; the phones rang sporadically.

January 19, 2004
Undecided? Don't worry, Iowa and New Hampshire pick anyway
By HOWARD TROXLER
Today, the people of Iowa will decide which of the Democratic presidential candidates we in Florida will NOT get to vote for when our primary comes around March 9.

January 18, 2004
He skipped Iowa, but his time will come
By PHILIP GAILEY
Suddenly, the battle for Iowa is a four-way race among Howard Dean, Richard Gephardt, John Kerry and John Edwards, according to the latest polls. Iowans will make their choices in Monday's presidential caucuses, but we don't have to wait for the votes to be counted to know the outcome. The real winner - at least in the short run - is Wesley Clark, the retired Army general who (along with Joe Lieberman) ignored Iowa and focused his attention on New Hampshire.

January 18, 2004
Ottumwa, center of the universe
By ADAM C. SMITH
But a tightening Democratic race means that Florida's primary on March 9 could still matter

January 17, 2004
Harris' speech just one ring in bicoastal news circus
By LUCY MORGAN
It could only happen to Katherine Harris.

January 10, 2004
A wedge hammered in with butt of a gun
By STEVE BOUSQUET
"God, guns and gays."

December 6, 2003
Martinez run leaves governor's race open
By LUCY MORGAN
Our political landscape is about to change.

November 4, 2003
It's time for Democrats' new face
By ADAM C. SMITH
TALLAHASSEE - An endangered Florida species is walking off the stage.

October 8, 2003
Road to White House bypasses Florida
By HOWARD TROXLER
On Feb. 23, 1983, late-night TV host Johnny Carson announced during his opening monologue: