War in Iraq: Not Necessarily the News?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Not Necessarily the News?
The extent to which the success of the troop surge in Iraq has driven the war off the front pages is clearly illustrated in a new survey.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Pew Research Center repor ts just 16 percent of respondents say Iraq is the first news story that comes to mind now. That's down from 55 percent in mid-January.
In fact, 33 percent say there is now too little coverage of the war — that's 10 points higher than the result in June.
And the specific stories getting too little coverage? Sixty-three percent say the challenges of returning service personnel. And 61 percent want to know more about the personal experiences of the troops.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Eyewitness Views
Police in Chandler, Arizona are looking for a rape suspect who they believe has assaulted five teenaged girls since June of last year — most recently last Thursday. They have released a description of the suspect based on the victims' accounts.
But now a local radio station is criticizing police for using the word "Hispanic" in the description. Mayra Nieves of station KMYL says using the word "Hispanic" is racial profiling — saying Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race — and asking police to describe the rapist as having "dark skin."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police are not budging, however. A spokesman says it would be "irresponsible" to change or alter their description.
Show Me the Money
Questions are being asked about the dispersal of at least a half-million dollars raised to defend the suspects in the Jena Six case. The Chicago Tribune reports parents of the black teens accused of beating a white classmate are refusing to account for the money.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Only one national civil rights group — Color of Change — has fully disclosed how it is distributing the $212,000 it collected. And that group has come under attack from nationally-syndicated black radio host Michael Baisden and one of the suspect's parents.
Meanwhile photos on the Internet show one of the suspects posing with $100 bills stuffed in his mouth — and two others modeling like rap stars at the recent BET Hip-Hop Music Awards.
Trouble at Home?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination is wearing thin with the folks back home.
A Quinnipiac University poll indicates 55 percent of those surveyed said Dodd is spending too much time on the campaign trail — and not enough on the concerns of Connecticut citizens. Seventy percent say Dodd should drop out of the race — including 68 percent of the Democrats asked.
Dodd has moved his family to Iowa — the site of the first caucuses — and has enrolled his oldest daughter in kindergarten in Des Moines.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.