The American Spectator

“Actually when the real numbers came out, they made us feel a bit better,” says the House staffer, who was on the road in Nevada working for the Bush campaign. “Compared to what we had seen earlier, it made us think we had a clear shot, since we knew the early numbers tended to be bad for Republicans in the past.”

Still, the disinformation campaign spread a pall over Republicans in Washington for several hours. By 3 p.m., senior Bush campaign operatives were putting out word that things were looking considerably better for Bush in Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Florida. By 6 p.m., some Washington insiders were already hearing that Florida and Ohio were winners for Bush, based on campaign internals. From there, the road to victory was much smoother.

p> APPOINTMENTS REQUIRED br> With the Catholic and Hispanic vote coming up big for the President across the country, there are expectations that both groups will be given greater voice in a second term. Already, there are rumblings that Catholics are looking for senior administration appointments should slots open up on the Bush Cabinet or in Cabinet-level departments. Cabinet secretaries Tom Ridge , Tommy Thompson and Spencer Abraham are well liked by the Catholic constituencies, but RCs may be looking for more. /p>

Hispanics likewise will be looking for a greater voice and higher visibility. Should Attorney General John Ashcroft decide to step aside, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales’s name continues to float to the top of lists of potential replacements. But there is a sense that there are other names to be floated in the coming days for other positions before Gonzales’s name crops up.

p> THUMB’S UP