Thursday, August 28, 2003

I still believe the Cheney/Energy Task Force meetings that took place in 2001 and the subsequent obfuscation by Administration officials described here, is a major story that was dropped by most media organizations because of 9/11 and the war on terror. Look for this to come back and haunt the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004.

I did a piece with Lowell Bergman for NOW with Bill Moyers on Cheney's meetings with Ken Lay from Enron and other members of the Energy Task Force. Here's the transcript. The NOW piece came out of a FRONTLINE investigative documentary called "Blackout" about the California energy crisis of 2001, which is particularly relevant these days. Here's the link for that show.

Thursday, August 21, 2003

My prediction on the California recall, for the four or five people who read this, is this: After the initial infatuation with Arnold starts to wane when they realize they really don’t want to take the leap with him, the two conservative Republicans split their sector of the vote (even if one drops out and throws his support to the other one, it won't be enough), voters take a hard look at Cruz and realize that despite his gutsy, if somewhat foolhardy economic plan, he really doesn't have the gravitas to run CA, Ueberroth makes a late charge as a capable, respected "caretaker" type candidate, and Arianna and her (newfound) Green compatriots don't ever reach five percent in the polls - Gray squeaks by in the first question on the ballot and holds on to remain Gov.

A slightly insane prediction given the latest poll has Gray at around 26% approval in the state. But this guy is at his best when he's face down in the muck, and his team is experienced at coming from behind, using whatever means necessary. Wait until the week after Labor Day, when the opp research starts to ooze out of Sacto.

Monday, August 11, 2003

Will the networks, news magazines and cable stations continue to cover the CA recall election with such intensity throughout the whole process, or will they get restless and fade away to the next thing? I'm still looking for funding for a one-hour documentary that will cover the campaign, the aftermath (which may be as interesting as the campagin itself. Think Florida 2000, but with over 100 candidates and Larry Flynt crying foul), and provide some analysis on what all it means. Time is running short to get started...

Saturday, August 09, 2003

Too much madness in the recall to count. Read these for some inside info and political fun: SF Chron, LA Times, CA Insider.

Friday, August 01, 2003

Looks like I'm behind on filing for Guv of CA. How many other opportunists will run? Seems like a lot of filmmakers so far.