Free Republic

All too often when their work goes awry, election pollsters turn to feeble excuses such as “polls really aren’t predictions. They’re just snapshots in time.” That is nonsense, because no pollster takes on the hard work of conducting election surveys with the expectation that those surveys will be embarrassingly wrong. A refreshing departure from the blame-dodging tendency came the other day, following the outcome of the New Jersey governor’s race in which the incumbent Democrat, Phil Murphy, narrowly defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli. The result represented another setback for pollsters, whose pre-election surveys collectively estimated Murphy’s lead at nearly 8 percentage...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a heated race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, Gov. Charlie Crist keeps moving away from his support of President Barack Obama's stimulus package that the governor called "fantastic" and "remarkable" when lobbying for its passage. Faced with an increasingly difficult primary challenge from former House Speaker Marco Rubio of West Miami, the governor now claims he didn't endorse the $787 billion economic stimulus that included a generous contribution for Florida. "It seems to be the president's answer to almost every challenge that's facing our country is to spend more money," Crist said Thursday. He commented...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2007 – The transformation of the northern and western outskirts of Baghdad “has been nothing short of remarkable,” the commander of 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team operating there said today. Army Col. Paul E. Funk II cited significant progress in the security environment since his “Iron Horse Brigade” arrived in Baghdad in December. He pointed to close cooperation between the Iraqi army, Iraqi police from the local Sunni and Shiite tribes. They’ve “grown weary of the intimidation tactics of extremist elements (and are) working together to secure their homes, their children and their future through...

ALTON -- To the surprise of tree-cutters in Alton Cemetery, a 150-year-old ash revealed a secret it had kept inside its "heart" for possibly more than a century. Jim Scroggins, 27, and Mark Brunetto, 31, both of Holiday Shores and owners of Holiday Tree and Landscape, discovered a limestone headstone dating to 1854 inside the 90-foot tree they were cutting down June 17. As it grew slowly over the years, the tree enclosed the grave marker in its middle, surrounding it with wood and bark and eventually reaching a diameter of 4 feet. The growth process of the tree also...

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has paid tribute to the role of British soldiers in the war in Iraq, calling it "a truly remarkable accomplishment". Mr Rumsfeld met British troops in Basra on his first visit to Iraq since the beginning of hostilities. He became the only American politician to set foot on Iraqi soil since the war began, following the visit of British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon last week. Mr Rumsfeld met a handful of British soldiers, selected for their heroism during the war, and was expected to visit US troops in Baghdad later today. He had a message...

Franks: 'Where we stand today is . . . truly remarkable' U.S. Central Command denies that it has asked for troop reinforcements to maintain the war against Iraq. Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks denied that he has asked for more troops to be sent from the United States to Iraq. In a briefing on Sunday, Franks also denied reports that his request was denied by the Defense Department. Franks also dismissed reports that his forces have taken what he described as an "operational pause" near Baghdad as Central Command waits for reinforcements. "We're in fact on plan," Franks said....