Media Takes Notice of the Parties’ Taking Notice [*]
More articles today about bloggers getting credentials to cover the Democratic and Republican National Conventions: “Conventioneering.com,” by the editors of the New York Times; and “Conventions Make Room for Bloggers,” by Beth Gillin, the Philadelphia Inquirer. (The Rittenhouse Review is mentioned at the end of the Inquirer article.)

DeLay’s Strategy: Delay, Deny, Denigrate [*]
Rep. Chris Bell (D-Texas) says e-mails between officers of the now-bankrupt Enron Corp. boost his allegations that Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) illegally solicited and accepted political contributions. The Associated Press reports Bell will ask members of the House Ethics Committee “to review the e-mails before deciding whether to launch a formal investigation of the Texas Republican based on the complaint Bell filed last month.” Jonathan Grella, spokesman for Rep. DeLay, who has denied Rep. Bell’s charges, responded to the latest news: “The last sign of a defeated and intellectually bankrupt party is a hate-filled strategy of caricature assassination.”

MoreOn DeLay [*]
The Houston Chronicle reports (“Outside Counsel Suggested for DeLay Ethics Complaint,” by Gebe Martinez) two organizations, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Common Cause, are seeking appointment of an outside counsel to examine corruption charges against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). A DeLay spokesman, no not spokesman Jonathan Grella, mentioned in the item above, but this time one Stuart Roy, called CREW and Common Cause “Democratic front groups,” adding, “We can expect nothing but foul attack politics from these sham organizations.” (The statement issued by Common Cause can be found here. CREW’s release can be found here.)

Ditka Dumps
Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Republican Party nomination for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports (“Ditka Punts on Possible GOP Run for U.S. Senate,” by Rick Pearson and John Chase). By the way, the best I can determine from these eloquent remarks from Ditka -- “What’s the matter with right and wrong? Talk about right and wrong. It’s either right or wrong. There’s no in-between. And I’m not going to change, and you’re not going to change me, no matter if some judge in the state of Massachusetts or the Supreme Court says it’s right. It’s not right. Wrong is wrong.” -- the kinda-wanted-to-be-senator won’t be attending the wedding, should one ever occur, of high-level Republican Party operative Mary Cheney.

Keynoter
A little late taking note of this here, but the keynote address at the summer’s Democratic National Convention will be delivered by Illinois State Rep. Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate. An outstanding choice.

In the November general election, Rep. Obama will face Jack Ryan, Jim Edgar, James R. Thompson, Ron Gidwiz, Bob Thomspon, Judy Baar Topinka, Mike Ditka, Andrea Grubb Barthwell . . . I don’t know, maybe they’ll go with that guy down at the Amoco station in Peoria.

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “Political Notes” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

[Post-publication addendum: Have you hit the Rittenhouse tip box lately? It’s sitting, awfully lonely, in the sidebar at right, under the heading “Summer Drive.” Thanks a million. No . . . thanks a few bucks.]

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