Politics

The environment is "the sleeper issue of Australia's October 9 election," and Prime Minister John Howard, "once regarded as the nemesis of conservationists - [is] vigorously courting the green vote." Howard pledged Aus$2 billion for "the country's ailing river systems, prompting Labor leader Mark Latham to respond with a billion-dollar package of his own." At the same time, Howard's Deputy Prime Minister attacked the Green Party, saying

George Bush "has succeeded in making more Americans see the war in Iraq as part of the broader war on terrorism," reports the Wall Street Journal.

"If you're some group with an agenda, an ax to grind or an issue to promote, now's the time," said the Campaign Media Analysis Group's president. "Political advertising by smaller groups, and individuals in some cases, is popping up across the country," reports Associated Press, "on top of the millions of dollars that larger, partisan groups have spent" on ads.

"Just last week, Stanley Greenberg was
the polling mastermind guiding the way three liberal groups
spent tens of millions of dollars attacking President Bush
and registering voters. But he quit that position to be an
unpaid adviser to the Kerry campaign as it presses to
sharpen its message in the final 56 days before the
election. Mr. Greenberg is just the latest in a procession of top
strategists who have moved between the campaigns and