TRAIL BLAZERS

The Republican Governor's Association apparently is appealing to donors saying that unlimited campaign contributions to their group can help John McCain in the presidential race. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the pitch, saying it is a way to get skirt the law that limits contributions to presidential candidates to $2,300 a campaign cycle.
RGA executive director Rick Ayers says that's a creative interpretation by the WSJ. He says his group is raising money -- $14 million so far -- to advance the campaigns of Republicans running for governor in swing states. And if that helps McCain, all the better.
That's good, because if the RGA is pitching donors with the idea of aiding the McCain campaign, that could be improper under the (drumroll please) McCain-Feingold Act.
Besides, we know the guy who's the chairman of the RGA. He's written the book on Boy Scouts.

Forget about the CIA leak case. Ignore the U.S. attorneys imbroglio. Here's a real scandal in the House of Rove.

It turns out that the genius behind George W. Bush's political rise, the meticulous political brain that guided the rise of the GOP (until it crashed in 2006), uses cheat sheets when he talks on TV. All those numbers he spouts so casually? Just reads them.

On a recent appearance on Fox News, where he's a regular pundit, Karl Rove dazzled Bill O'Reilly with a geiser of statistics, dates and percentages that poured effortlessly from Bush's Brain. Turns out, Rove hung a cheat sheet from the camera lens. Here's the sheet, recovered from the studio.

What's next? Spiderman's really a teenager? JR didn't really die? Oh the humanity!

The dispatch below is from Laurence Iliff in our Mexico City Bureau, who is covering John McCain's visit to Mexico:

John McCain and his wife visited Mexico's most important Roman Catholic religious site, the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, early today.

The visit left some Mexican observers scratching their heads.

McCain is, after all, Protestant.

Besides, Mexican politicians generally keep religion out of their campaigns (with the notable exception of former President Vicente Fox, who caused a national debate when he marched with an image of the Virgin nine years ago). A candidate's religious faith typically isn't a big deal, since 80 percent of Mexicans -- including Mexican politicians -- are Catholic.

Sure, in McCain's case, there's the desire to appeal to Hispanic voters back home, and it would be hard to find a symbol that appeals more to Latinos of all generations than the Mexico City basilica.

But commentators here, only half-joking, wondered whether McCain was going to the shrine for the same reason that everybody else does: to ask for help with a difficult cause. Perhaps, they mused, the Republican candidate -- who was just forced to shake up his campaign team for the second time in a year -- was looking for a vote of support from above.

A Mexico visit from Barack Obama is perhaps just weeks away.

On whom will the Virgin smile, come Election Day?

Ok, I'm a little late in this announcement because the voting closed at noon. Oopsie.

But ya'll might have a little fun with this anyway. A coupla weeks ago, the Texas GOP opened a competition to determine its signature Bumper Sticker 08 Slogan and took submissions.

We found this to be amusing timing, since it came right as the Texas GOP was busy bashing the dudes out of Florida for selling this pin at their convention. Or trying to sell it, since they only managed to get rid of four.

And one of them sold to us, so we could prove that it existed.

According to the GOP site, some 1,300 suggestions were entered and they've narrowed it down to the top five. Which you could have voted on had I been more With It and posted this a day or two earlier.

Anyway. It's a holiday week. What do you want from me.

Interestingly, none of the favored slogans mention the words "John" or "McCain." Four out of the five mention Obama. Given that they were reader-generated, this could mean any one of a couple of things:

A) There ain't that many fans of McCain among Texas Republican voters
B) Texas Republicans are thinkin pretty hard about Barack Obama
C) Nothing really cool rhymes with John McCain.

Here are the Top Five:

Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Rick Noriega raised $930,457 in April, May and June, nearly half of it in online donations on the Democratic site ActBlue.com, spokeswoman Holly Shulman announced today.

She did not say how much the Noriega camp spent or how much cash it had as of June 30.

Noriega, heading into a general election tilt with incumbent Republican John Cornyn, had just under $330,000 in the bank as of March 31. Cornyn had just under $8.7 million.

Shulman, asked if Noriega will need to greatly ramp up his fundraising to be competitive with Cornyn, said, "I think that we have a huge amount of grass roots support and we're excited to bring Rick's message to voters all over the state and keep building on that grass roots support through November."

McCain and his would-be first lady tour the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City today with Monsignor Diego Monroy Ponce

Mexico City's Basilica de Guadalupe is one of the holiest sites for Mexico's Roman Catholics and, by extension, many of the Hispanic voters up north -- in New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and a few other key states. So Sen. John McCain made a stop there today on his Latin American I-know-more-about-the-world-than-Obama tour.

Praying for a good November

Notable footnote: Jeb Bush, the first brother and former governor of Florida, just happened to be in Mexico "on business," and tagged along for most of the tour. Alas, no photos have moved on the wire to provide visual fuel for the veep speculation.

"I think he's going to win," Bush told reporters. "He just needs to be himself and not let senator Obama redefine himself."

Does that count as a violation of the rule about leaving politics at the U.S. shore?

The conventional wisdom is that Karl Rove ripped his britches in 2006, when massive GOP losses upended his hopes of an enduring Republican majority. Rove himself has denied he's an adviser this year to the McCain campaign. He dowplays his conversations with Team McCain as merely "chit-chat." But yesterday's shakeup in the McCain camp suggests the Rovians are on the ascendance.

Political strategist Steve Schmidt in now in charge of daily operations. He's a Rove protégé, and his elevation is evidence of increasing influence of Rove-trained operatives in the McCain camp. White House and Bush campaign veteran Nicolle Wallace has joined Team McCain as a senior adviser. And yesterday's shakeup has put the unflappable Greg Jenkins, Bush's highly regarded political advance man, joining the communications effort.

Long Ago and Far Away, Karl Rove Tutors Dave Beckwith, Now Top Aide to John Cornyn in Texas. The Rovians Are Everywhere

Meanwhile, Democrat hotshot James Carville is connecting everybody's favorite FoxNews analysist with a big-money Republican 527 group, Freedom's Watch. In a fundraising pitch, Carville warns: "Freedom's Watch, the secretive Republican attack group zeroing in on Democratic House candidates, has put its expected $200 million war chest in the hands of Karl Rove." For the record: there's no concrete evidence Rove's officially connected with this group. But GOP operatives say he's close to the organization's big bankroller, who has the ability to pay separately for speeches and advice.

A few months ago, we at Trailblazers had a great giggle during the Democratic caucuses in March when a bunch of caucusers wore name tags with "Hussein" where their middle names would normally be.

"Bob Hussein Smith."
"Janet Hussein Finkelstein."

It was, of course, a nod to Barack's middle name and snub of anyone who chooses to use it against him as a way to associate him with terrorists. A conservative talk show guy was rebuked for his continuous use of it, and apparently it's sparked an informal movement out there known as "We are all Hussein."

Here's the NYT article on the phenomenon, which I find absolutely hilarious.

A search on Facebook turns up a TON of them. Including a young, cute lady wearing a trendy shirt named "Marybeth Hussein Daigle" right here in Austin, TX. I mean, I guess that could be her real name, but I gotta doubt it. "Stephen Hussein Simon" in Maryland probably wasn't born with that moniker either.

I'm just guessing. But one of the reasons people are giving for doing it is to showcase the absurdity of putting so much meaning on a name.

I find it highly amusing, and I'm going to bring it home to Texas for you with a shout out to the lively commenters over at In The Pink Texas - most of whom, even those once in Hillary's camp, have adopted BHO's middle name in a show of solidarity. The ones who aren't using "Hussein" haven't given up the Hillary ghost yet - or they can't find a clever way to incorporate "Hussein."

A few of my favorites:

Pink Hussein Lady
Don't Mess W/Hussein Pink (Don't Mess w/Pink)
Lushussein (Lush)
Lurk-Hussein-ette (Lurkette)
LegeHusseinBoy (Legeboy)
West Texas Hussein (West Texas Hillbilly)
Fled Hussein Asylum (Fled The Asylum)
Harold Hussein Cook (of Letters From Texas)

Seriously. They're crackin me up over there.

Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, picked up another feather in his cap this week when House Speaker Tom Craddick appointed him to the Legislative Budget Board - a group of 10 influential lawmakers (including Lt. Gov. Dewhurst and Craddick) who track the state budget, oversees the fiscal notes on legislation and other budget-related things.

The LBB is a permanent joint committee, and Branch takes the spot vacated by retiring Richrdson Republican Rep. Fred Hill.

He's already got a couple of sweet assignments - member of the House Public Ed committee, House Appropriations, and House Calendars - and chair of the House Select Committee on Higher and Public Education Finance.

An upcoming profile of Rush Limbaugh in the New York Times Magazine resurrects the suggestion that the famed radio talker affected the outcome of the Texas Democratic primary. Limbaugh launched Operation Chaos, in which he urged listeners to cross party lines and vote for Hillary Clinton so that the Democratic nominees would continue fighting each other. Clinton won Texas and Limbaugh was was quick to claim credit.

From the profile: "Nobody quite knows how effective Operation Chaos was. Karl Rove said he thinks it helped tilt Texas for Clinton. She herself gave this some credence on the day after the vote by jauntily saying, 'Be careful what you wish for, Rush.'"

Only problem, it didn't happen. However you slice and dice the figures from the primary vote in Texas, there's no evidence that the call for Republicans to cross over and cast ballots for Clinton determined the outcome. For one thing, exit polls confirmed that 9 percent of the voters in the March 4 Democratic primary were Republicans -- and they voted for Barack Obama, 53-49.

Limbaugh does opine in the piece on some of his colleagues in the talk radio wars.

Michael Savage? "He's not even in my rearview mirror."

Sean Hannity? "Hannity isn't even close to me."

And this hilariously candid take by El Rushbo on Bill O'Reilly: "The man is Ted Baxter."

Democratic Senate nominee Rick Noriega (far left) on duty in Afghanistan, Jan. 2005. U.S. Reps Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound (far right, front) and John Carter Carter, R-Round Rock, (second from right) in a photo unlikely to show up in Burgess or Carter campaign lit.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, has told supporters by email that he'll be spending Independence Day "in Pakistan, and in Afghanistan with our brave men and women in uniform," visiting with some of the 27,000 U.S. troops serving, as he put it, "on the front lines in the global war on terror."

He'll attend church Sunday with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and at some point will meet with Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf.

Visiting the troops plays well with many voters.

Makes you wonder where Barack Obama will spend his July 4 weekend. No public events announced yet, and it's a perfect time to check off part of that to-do list, and sneak off to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Our TV bloggers note that actor Dennis Haysbert thinks his role on 24 paved the way for Barack Obama to potentially be the first black president.

Could be. But there was also this guy.

And as far as we're concerned, Dennis Haysbert should be remembered for one role, and one role only:

Robert Black, spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry, just called to say he misunderstood the deal on conservative health care analyst Mary Katherine Stout's appointment to be a top official in Perry's office.

Disregard our post here Monday night: Stout, of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, will run the governor's division of budget, planning and policy, succeeding Mike Morrissey.

But Morrissey "continues to have a big hand" in the budget for Perry as a senior adviser, Black said.

U.S. Senate candidates John Cornyn and Rick Noriega have traded potshots all spring about how best to improve veterans' education benefits. Now that President Bush has signed the bill, tell us what you think.

Is there a substantive difference in the positions of Cornyn, the incumbent Republican, and Noriega, the Democratic challenger?

Noriega,a National Guard officer who has stressed his own military service, blasted Cornyn's May 22 vote against an initial version of the legislation that more than doubles the potential value of GIs' education benefits. But Cornyn joined the White House and John McCain to say that version would harm retention of troops. They insisted on -- and with help from the Democratic-controlled House -- got language that lets service members transfer the benefit to a spouse or child.

Is the Noriega-Cornyn spat on the bill just the mirror image of the recent exchange between the presidential contenders, Barack Obama ("I can't believe why he believes it is too generous") and McCain (who called Obama's remark a "cheap shot" from someone who didn't serve in the military)? For background, see my colleague Todd Gillman's story several weeks ago.

Texas has nearly 2 million veterans. What do you think?

Political writer Gromer Jeffers Jr. reports:

For local and national politicians, soaring gas prices suddenly represent the best opportunity to grandstand.

Frustrated motorist will tell you the hot air is blowing today in Dallas as Democrats and Republicans make dueling appearances at local gas stations to talk about the need to bring down fuel prices.

Sen. John Cornyn was up first. The Republican held an 11 a.m. news conference at an East Dallas station.

To increase oil supplies, he declared, the United States should drill for more oil. "We're going to need to use old-fashioned American ingenuity," the senator said.

Later, Democratic congressional candidates are to meet at Fuel City to talk about gas prices. Wonder if they will pick up a few of those great tacos.

History tells us that none of this talking will mater, unless voters put the fear of being tossed out of Washington in some of those incumbents from both parties.

Health care analyst Mary Katherine Stout of the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation will be Gov. Rick Perry's director of policy, Perry spokesman Robert Black confirmed tonight.

Perry's shifting some duties around, Black said.

Mike Morrissey, his director of budget, planning and policy, will head the governor's budget division while Stout will run a newly separated policy division, Black said. The appointment will be announced tomorrow, he said.

For some three years, Stout has been a vice president and the health care wonk at the staunchly free-market foundation. It's the brainchild of San Antonio physician and entrepreneur James Leininger, a major GOP donor and tireless advocate of school vouchers. She earlier worked for Diane Rath, former chairwoman of the Texas Workforce Commission; and for the Texas Conservative Coalition.

Perhaps her most important credential, though: She's an Aggie.

Last week I crowed about the Chicago Cubs sweep over their South Side rivals, the White Sox.

Now I must face up to stunning sweep the Sox pulled against my beloved Cubs. Barack Obama's team won three games in the Cell. I give him a hard time for cheering for that team, but they won this round. I have no excuses, even though Zambrano, Soriano, Johnson and others were hurt and did not play during the weekend series.

We're lucky to have the hated Cardinals this weekend to knock around.

Here's the thing. The Cubs have won three at Wrigley and the Sox have won three at the Cell. We can settle this down the line, if both teams make the World Series.

It would be a rematch of 1906, when the Hitless Wonders beat the heavily favored Cubs.

Obama, I'm pretty sure my team will be there.

What about the Slop?

With the culture warriors on the right and left arguing this election year about the proper mix of religion and politics, here's a fascinating piece that asks the question - For all of George W. Bush's showy evangelicalism, has his religion really guided his public policy? In fact, the article from World Affairs argues that, love him or hate him, Bush was never in the employ of the Religious Right

The article argues Bush & Co. had plenty of earthly, not spirtual, reasons for America's invasion of Iraq: concern about weapons, oil and a belief in democratizing the world.

"Bush, indeed, can be surprisingly blunt about his fellow parishioners. Bob Woodward describes the frantic scene inside the White House on election night, 2004, when the outcome seemed to hinge on the result in Ohio. The man in charge of certifying the tally was Kenneth Blackwell, a leading social conservative. 'I'm the president of the United States," Bush fumed, "waiting for a secretary of state who is a nut.'

"Likewise, authors James Moore and Wayne Slater describe a visit Bush paid to a Boeing plant in Washington state during the 2000 election campaign. Bush stood in front of a wide-bodied airplane bound for China and proclaimed his fealty to the principles of free trade. A Texan reporter from a hotbed of Christian activism north of Austin joked that the candidate's stand might cost him the religious vote. "Oh yeah," Bush replied. "You only think that because you live around all those wackos."

In other words, the author says, don't blame religion for the fix we're in. Worth reading.

Hillary Clinton showed she's all in (or at least acted like she was) for Barack Obama in Friday's Unity event. But the big question mark is the former president, who was half a world away while this was going on. Will Bill Clinton put his considerable, albeit rusty, political skills to use for Obama, or will he just go through the motions? Tell us.