Word: carneys
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...what's a staunch defender of the death penalty like Bush to do? Any move he chooses will not be without its risks. "If he grants Graham a stay, he risks looking very political in eyes of death penalty supporters," says TIME Washington correspondent Jay Carney. "Here's this governor who's signed off on a record number of executions, largely without looking back, and in the course of three weeks, he's considered two cases for leniency." On the other hand, if Texas executes Graham, and he is exonerated posthumously, Bush's reputation as a glib executioner could achieve...
...while it might seem that such an emotional debate in the middle of an election year would be political poison, there seems to be little concern in the Bush camp over the whole death penalty flap, says Carney. After all, capital punishment is more of a litmus test of a candidate's belief system than an indicator of anything he plans to do as president, and Bush knows he won't lose many moderate votes over the death penalty (his opponent, of course, is also a long-time supporter). And sticking to his guns on his state's executions will...
...James Carney and John F. Dickerson/Washington
...Bush definitely has a problem here," says TIME Washington correspondent Jay Carney. "He's executed more prisoners than any other governor, and his attitude so far has been pretty cavalier." And while Bush publicly insists that every single person put to death on his watch has been guilty and that his equivocation over the McGinn case has nothing to do with his campaign, he's only human, and he may be plagued by moments of doubt. In political terms, Bush saw the McGinn case as an opportunity to prove he's not unreasonable about the death penalty, adds Carney...
...only come out for Bush but will also be seen hitting the stumps all summer in support of GOP House and Senate candidates who could use some of that Straight Talk magic for their own crossover yearnings. "He needs to show he's got chits in the party," says Carney, if he wants to increase his leverage in the Senate - or run for the nomination again, Reagan-style, in 2004 as the one man who can wrest the country from a 12-year Clinton-Gore habit. A minor possible conflict of interest that'll explain a lot if these summits...