| Does
George W. Bush face a challenge from within
his own party?
February 05, 2004
While the photo finish between John Edwards
and Wesley Clark in Oklahoma's Democratic primary
was the big news this week, the state's Republicans
did something that was curious. Ten per cent
of them chose Bill Wyatt (who?) over Bush.
What was this all about? No one knows, since
there was no exit polling.
Gary Copeland, a University of Oklahoma
political science professor, was baffled. Bush
"could commit any number of atrocities
and still carry the state" in the general
election, he says, but a protest vote of that
size could be worrisome for the White House.
Wyatt, who owns a Los Angeles t-shirt shop,
tells Observer that he has no illusions about
his role in the election - as "a speed
bump" in the road to Bush's November ballot.
And Wyatt admits that his campaign platform
- "war on joblessness," health insurance
for all and opposition to the war in Iraq -
makes him sound like a Democrat, which is not
surprising since he was one until he decided
to take on Bush as a Republican.
The 43-year-old, who was also on the ballot
in New Hampshire and Missouri, is no stranger
to politics: he ran as an anti-recall candidate
in the California gubernatorial contest won
by Arnold Schwarzenegger. There, he collected
131 votes.
However, Wyatt has managed to get his name
on the ballot in the Louisiana and Florida primaries.
His message to Bush? "Nobody gets a free
ride."
Know-nothings
Halliburton has no friends?
The US energy company has been scrutinised
by watchdogs for being a little too close to
the Bush administration since Dick Cheney, its
former head, became vice-president. The tiny
issue of the company receiving contracts in
Iraq without bidding like everyone else did
little to dispel critics' suspicions.
Halliburton has spent the months since then
dodging such "preferential treatment"
bullets, even as it had to explain why it apparently
overcharged the US government for services in
Iraq.
Now it is going on the offensive.
On Thursday, the company released a television
advertisement for select, yet unidentified,
markets. "We're serving the troops because
of what we know, not who we know," intones
chief executive David Lesar in the ad. Now that
that's cleared up . . .
Super ads?
Speaking of ads, it's time for those who
advertised during the Super Bowl to ask the
$2.3m question: did their game-time commercials
generate enough buzz to justify the cost?
Certainly, none got the same, er, exposure
as Janet Jackson. But a new survey on internet
use from comScore Media Metrix suggests several
got a bang for their buck.
The biggest winner was Cialis, Eli
Lilly's new erectile dysfunction tablet.
Its commercial - which highlighted the romantic
possibilities created by the drug's 36-hour
effectiveness window - boosted web traffic to
Cialis.com by 240 per cent after it aired.
Pepsi and Apple's iTunes also saw significant
jumps in traffic to their websites, as did fellow
advertisers H&R Block, Dodge and Cadillac.
That said, Janet Jackson and words relating
to the pop star's breast-baring were the most
popular internet searches on Monday.
And GoldenPalace.com, an online casino that
paid British streaker Mark Roberts to paint
its internet address on his chest then run naked
on to the football field, saw an immediate 380
per cent jump in web traffic.
This begs the question: why pay $2.3m for a
30-second ad when a flash of flesh works just
as well?
Comic relief
Richard Parsons was beaming like a proud
father at the gala opening of the Time Warner
Center in New York. And the company's chairman
and chief executive's corporate children were
on hand to congratulate him.
CNN's Paula Zahn was there to interview him.
And other CNN stars - including Wolf Blitzer,
Lou Dobbs and Larry King - filled the four floors
of the building's mall, er, "vertical shopping"
area. Kevin Bacon, who stars in the Warner Brothers'
film Mystic River, was strolling around as were
a gaggle of InStyle editors.
Being a good neighbour, Time Warner invited
some of the neighbourhood kids, such as Salman
Rushdie, whose publisher Random House is just
down the block.
As in every family there was one child who
didn't behave. "Is it wrong that synergy
gives me the goose bumps," Jon Stewart,
host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, riffed.
"The penthouse apartment in this building
just sold for $45m," he continued. "For
an extra $5m they'll put 'AOL' back on the building."
Easy rider
Bob Lutz's workload has just gone up, with
the departure of Mike Burns as head of General
Motors' European operations. Lutz, the carmaker's
vice- chairman, will be filling in for Burns
until his replacement finds his feet.
That means Lutz - who pilots his helicopter
to work at GM's Detroit headquarters - will
be spending more time at GM's European headquarters
in Switzerland. Lutz was born in Switzerland
and maintains what he calls a "a substantial
piece of real estate" in the ski resort
of St Moritz.
Even though Lutz, 71, won't be able to rely
on his helicopter to take him to work every
day in Zurich, he does have a back-up plan.
At this week's Chicago Auto Show, he revealed
that he'll be dusting off the powerful BMW K1200RS
motorcycle he keeps in St Moritz: "I'll
probably bring it down to Zurich for an easier
commute."
Ragtime
Observer wonders if Massimo Dinoia, lawyer
to Gian Paolo Zini, legal mastermind for ex-Parmalat
boss Calisto Tanzi, has called his own office
lately. No doubt he would be as startled as
Observer to hear the call-waiting music is .
. . the Scott Joplin theme music to The Sting.
source:-http://news.ft.com
|
