Drag outlawed at pride parade

1, Restlessgeist has some excellent comments on the Kerry campaign.

2. The story on polling has gone from unanimous support for Bush to a divergence between one poll showing Bush substantially ahead and three others, also conducted this week, showing the race is once again a dead heat.

3. The DNC's new ad nicely packages together Bush's sunny, wildly out-of-touch pronouncements on Iraq and on the economy. This is an excellent tactic. In a certain way, it actually tries to draw out Americans' perception that Bush doesn't understand their economic problems, and use it to reframe their perception of him as commander-in-chief.

4. Meanwhile, the controversial new MoveOn ad has drawn the ire of the Bush administration, but as Kerry's people have said, they really can't have it both ways on the 527 issue. The ad hits hard, and it genuinely does raise the possibility of generating backlash if it is perceived as "unpatriotic." That said, the liberal 527s need to take those kinds of risks. They seem to have learned something from Swiftgate. And, in all honesty, controversy means free headlines.

5. Disturbingly, Johannesburg police are outlawing drag at this year's gay pride parade.