KURT LOHBECK
It's crunch time with just weeks now before Decision 04'. Amateur analysts, casual observers and the twenty-something's just getting their feet wet, please step aside. Only battle-scarred, war-weary veterans of La Politica are welcome at this point in the game. In this final stretch I will, on occasion, turn my sights to those who live and breathe politics, those who have spent a lifetime at the highest rungs of political power, or spent a lifetime trying to get there.

First up, Kurt Lohbeck, former State Rep, former CBS News correspondent, aide to U.S. Rep. Manuel Lujan, aide to R Prez contender Pat Buchanan, businessman, author and never one to shy away from the hot lights illuminating the field of power playing.

"Richard Romero is not hitting Heather Wilson hard enough," says Kurt of the ABQ Congressional battle. He says Dem Romero "has to find an issue and stick with it. Her voting Republican all the time just doesn't connect with the public. He needs to hit her on something that matters and move fast."

On the Prez debate Thursday night Lohbeck, whose first campaign was as a teen volunteer for VP Nixon in 1956, said Kerry "needs to make Bush go 'slackjawed.' "He needs to hit him with something so out of the blue that Bush is stunned and can't deliver. Otherwise, Bush should win this election with 300 electoral votes." (30 more than necessary)

What about the NM judicial races? With all the controversy over voter ID and Ralph Nader, is there any hope for the R's? "I don't see the Republicans taking even one judicial race, and it's a shame," predicted the lifelong R.

The semi-retired Lohbeck lives in the State Rep district of D Al Park who is facing a stiff challenge from R Kathy Leyendecker. But Lohbeck is warning that "she needs an issue and she needs to hammer it like Bush has with Kerry's flip-flopping. So far, I don't see that happening. Waiting until the end of the campaign will be too late."

CBS TOO 'QUICK'

Lohbeck, fresh back from a 20 day visit to England and Germany, also commented on the CBS news scandal, the outfit he worked for covering Afghanistan and Pakistan. "It was the competitive pressure that did them in. They went with the (Bush national guard story) too quick. Quick is fine, but getting it right is first. The networks are getting killed by the cable news channels and they are feeling the pressure. That's a key reason why CBS jumped the gun," offered Lohbeck who has written several books on the Middle East, one of which contains a foreword by his old workmate, CBS News anchor Dan Rather.

Even though he's no longer active on the campaign trail, Lohbeck, after 48 years of action, remains a disciplined player He meets daily with fellow political junkies and keeps in touch with sources around the globe. For Lohbeck and others we will hear from in the next month, politics is truly the game of a lifetime.

CROWING IN WARD'S CAMP

Ward camp is crowing. And with good reason. The GOP candidate for the ABQ seat on the Public Regulation Commission has just picked up the support of Democrat Don Letherer, who ran for the Dem nomination for the seat in June. Letherer lost that bid to Jason Marks but is not endorsing him, instead giving his nod to Camp who he touts as well-qualified and a utility expert. Letherer served as insurance superintendent at the PRC and is a veteran of the political scene, going back to the early days of former Guv Bruce King.

THE COURT RULES

Nader is on the NM ballot. Voter ID, for the most part, is shelved. The State Supreme court rulings here

THE ERROR OF MY WAYS

Sharp-eyed readers were quick to point out two errors in my piece yesterday about the judge races. First, the typo saying no "D' had been elected to the State Supreme Court in years. Of course, I meant to say no R's. By the way, Bill Riordan was the last R to serve on the high court back in the 80's. My other boo-boo was saying District Court Judge Robert Thompson was a Republican. Apparently he is a long-standing D. I thought the papers called him an R but, according to several lawyers who emailed, I was mistaken. Thanks to all of my editors.

October is just around the corner and it will be a record-setting one for this blog with thousands of hits from all over New Mexico and the nation. Get your ad up now to take advantage of the busiest political month of them all. Email me for details or call 505-243-4059.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2004
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