Democrats Adrift

Support for two well-known candidates for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination are slipping badly, according to a new poll, but a clear-cut favorite has not yet emerged, making President George W. Bush appear virtually invincible in the 2004 election.
When reached for comment, a leading Brazoria County Democrat, who asked to remain anonymous, said "No comment."
The Democratic strategist said local voters remain more interested in local races because national political affairs "are just too hard to follow, especially when it's so freakin' hot and humid."
This observer, interviewed at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant at the corner of Highway 288 and Oyster Creek Drive in Lake Jackson, noted that Alvin Police Chief Mike Merkel appears to be winning the publicity battle for the hearts and minds of Republican voters in the race for the Brazoria County Sheriff's nomination.
A photo of Merkel, seated on a bench and smiling affably while holding an umbrella, appeared recently in the Houston newspaper.
Even though it was not raining at the time, the photo does not make Merkel appear "un-Sheriff-like," said another source, a heavy-set GOP activist who ordered "Frito pies for the house" during a "working lunch" at Smithhart's in downtown Lake Jackson.
Merkel's photo illustrated the gnawing fear that has gripped the greater Alvin area over the naming of Tropical Storm Claudette, which bears the same idential moniker as a storm that drenched the area 24 years ago.
Even though it was not raining at the time Merkel was holding the umbrella, the Republican Party operative said political observers believe most readers who saw the photo do not really care whether it was raining or not -- if they even realized it all all!
A Freeport-based Democrat, who asked to remain unnamed due to fear of public ridicule, agreed.
"The medium is the message," he said. "and Chief Merkel take a real good picture. We don't know who in the hell we're gonna run for sheriff. We'll probably find some crackpot who just wants to get his name in the paper. It's a tough sell, especially in a county that thinks Democrat is just another name for Communist. Maybe there'll be some sex scandal or something to turn the tide back to our side. If there is, could you let me know?"