The American Spectator

The only problem is, there have been plenty of Daschle rumors going around for months, mostly fueled by pro-Hillary Clinton Senators and by Daschle’s own indecision about running for re-election.

Kranz is known to have carried his share of water for the Democrats in his career. Enough that several South Dakota bloggers have pursued Kranz’s connections and ties to the Democratic Party and to Daschle. And apparently they found it.

In a 1976 memo dug up in the papers of former Sen. Jim Abourezk, Kranz is identified as a then-young reporter with deep affection for Democratic Party activities, and also with ties to an Abourezk staffer, Tom Daschle, and Daschle’s then-brother-in-law.

Now, Kranz’s connections to the Daschle political machine, and the Argus Leader’s seeming lack of interest in pursuing them, are fueling anti-Daschle sentiments across the state.

p> THE THREE PUPPETEERS br> Never let it be said the Sen. John Kerry doesn’t appreciate a good pollster. He’s paying three of them to tell him what to think. /p>

Over the past month, according to a Kerry campaign staffer, the Kerry camp has been polling and focus-grouping the hell out of the country to determine how best to mold their malleable candidate.

In fact, both of Kerry’s big policy announcements of the last few weeks: his fiscal plan and what passes for an Iraq policy, were shaped by the focus groups and polling performed by Mark Mellman and Kerry’s longtime personal pollster, Tom Kiley.

Now Kerry’s folks have brought in yet another pollster to keep things humming along: Diane Feldman, who performed similar polling for Sen. Bill Bradley’s 2000 presidential run.

p>”This past month has really been about finding out what Americans want to hear from Senator Kerry,” the Kerry insider says, with little to no irony. “By the end of the month they should start to see image ads and position ads that do just that.” br> /p>