George W. Bush

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has seized on Pres. Bush's low approval to attack U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) by actually morphing the long serving 3rd Congressional District Republican into the president over the course of their new ad.

The ad starts with a still photo of Shadegg on a television screen, and while the announcers read claims that Shadegg has "voted with Bush 90 percent of the time," "stood by while Bush allowed Wall Street to ruin our economy," and "promoted the Bush plan to privatize Social Security," Shadegg's features reconfigure into Bush's.

U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) and Bob Lord, his Democratic challenger in the 3rd Congressional District, have found common ground in their support of the bailout package that passed the U.S. House Friday and was quickly signed into law by Pres. Bush.

Lord and Shadegg both announced Thursday they supported the revised bill, which supporters say toughens protections for taxpayers but leaves much of the framework of the original proposal in place. Their reasons for endorsing the legislation were remarkably similar on key points, given the hostility that has pervaded the campaign so far.

Shadegg joined 262 other members of Congress in backing the bill, which passed with an overwhelming majority in a vote Friday morning. He voted against the original version, which narrowly lost a House vote Monday due to bipartisan opposition.

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It's looking like an increasingly unlikely possibility, but if U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) carries Arizona in November, it wouldn't be the first time that a loser of their respective primary won the state in the general election.

In fact, the last time it happened also involved U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Phoenix). Despite losing the 2000 Arizona Republican primary to McCain, George W. Bush went on to carry the state in the general election.

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Check back next week to view my Convention Sketchpads from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day three of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

DENVER -- Speaking before the daily breakfast of the Arizona Democratic National Committee delegation, Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, addressed the weaknesses in the campaigns of Al Gore and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) while expressing high hopes for the 2008 election.

McAuliffe cautioned the Arizona delegates not to pay attention to national polls, which show Sen. John McCain (R-Phoenix) and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in a statistical tie.

"It's too early," he said, while also adding that he thought Obama could pull off an upset in McCain's home state.

"If we could win Arizona this year, it would set such a milestone for the Democratic Party. We would bury the Republicans for 25 years."