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Republican's hard words

• Andy Gallacher
• 17 Oct 06, 09:37 PM

By the time I've stopped several people in , Florida, I have learnt a couple of things about Mark Foley. Firstly, just about everyone likes him and secondly, he is gay. None of this stopped Mr Foley serving six terms in the House of Representatives, and why should it?

But e-mails to teenage boys are a different matter, as I found out when I visited the chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican party. Walking inside the opulent doors of Sid Dinerstein's house in West Palm Beach Gardens is like strolling on to the set of Dynasty or Dallas.

Mr Dinerstein describes himself as a close political friend of Mark Foley's. But even a few days after the scandal broke, he was in no doubt about where he stands on the ever-widening e-mail debacle: "Mark betrayed the trust of the voters and supporters in this district and represented a threat to children.

"That was the hardest part - getting over your personal knowledge, association and friendship with him and recognising the greater obligation to protect the community and not defend the indefensible and make sure he's out of Congress."

Tough words from Mr Dinerstein, but he is a hard man when it comes to politics. He is well aware that this could be an issue that may lose his party a lot of votes in a that was considered safe, but he is willing to make the necessary sacrifices if needed.

"We actually trust the voters, and if they decide that we as a party haven't earned their trust enough to re-elect us then we'll work hard in the next two years and win back that seat. And if we lose the Congress, we'll win back the Congress."

Sid Dinerstein is the sort of man the needs. He's a no-nonsense campaigner and true believer in conservative values. As I leave his excellent hospitality, he shakes my hand with the energy of a 20-year-old man, the kind of energy that he, and his fellow Republicans, may need in the coming weeks.

Andy Gallacher is the 主播大秀's Miami correspondent.

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Hullabaloo over Iraq

• Jonathan Beale
• 17 Oct 06, 06:11 PM

In Britain, it was who fuelled the debate about a withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq "sometime soon". In America it's former Secretary of State James Baker who is now signalling the need for a change of direction.

In the words of Sir Richard it has caused a bit of a "hullabaloo" and to be honest has resulted in some fairly ludicrous headlines - such as claims that the Baker Commission is about to call for a large-scale pull-out of US troops or that America is about to ask Iran and Syria to take over. That would be a bit hard when you've labelled one a part of an "" and blamed the other for starting the war in Lebanon and accuse both of being a "".

The fundamental point, though, is that - who won't publish his commission's finding until after the mid-term elections - is making life difficult for the president ahead of those very same elections. President Bush has already had to telephone Iraq's prime minister to reassure him that America is not about to desert his country.

Clearly this is a debate that the Bush administration would have preferred to have after the mid-terms. The public discussion of the "options" already leaked to the media can hardly help a president whose one strategy so far has been to "stay the course" and "get the job done". Clearly it's a strategy that has not been working and suggest that most Americans already have worked that one out.

None of the "options" leaked would be easy pills for the president to swallow. Just talking to Syria and Iran would go against Mr Bush's policy of isolating those countries. Ditching democracy for stability would undermine the administration's central plank of "spreading freedom". And pulling out any troops without improvement would be interpreted as more "defeat" than "victory".

But these are early days and it's hard to see James Baker stabbing the knife into the president's back. After all, he was the man who helped secure this president's victory in the disputed election of 2000. Expect some of these recommendations to be "toned down" when they're published in December.

Jonathan Beale is the 主播大秀's State Department correspondent.

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Mid-terms elections news

• The Reporters
• 17 Oct 06, 02:59 PM

Philadelphia Inquirer: The suspicion of corruption in Congress spreads as the FBI raids the home of the daughter of a congressman in a tight re-election battle.

Associated Press: Not only Republican representatives are facing sleaze allegations - a top Democratic senator is under fire as well.

New York Times: Unlikely as it seems, a top White House official is a hero to a six-year-old girl in Kansas - as well as being a key fundraiser.

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