By Andrew Zajac

Newly-installed Fannie Mae CEO Herb Allison, Jr. was national finance chair of John McCain's Republican presidential bid in 2000 and as recently as 2006 he wrote a $5,000 check to McCain's Straight Talk America PAC. But a year later Allison switched his party affiliation to Democrat and this year he's contributed $4,600, the maximum allowed by law, to Barack Obama.

Allison, 65, voted as a registered Republican in New York in the November 2006 election, but a year later registered as a Democrat in Connecticut and voted as one in that state's primary on Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

Allison sent a pair of $2,300 checks to the Obama campaign, the most recent on August 25, two weeks before the government seized the struggling mortgage guarantor and put him in charge of it. Previously, Allison's political giving favored Republicans, but he's also donated to New York Sen. Charles Schumer and a few other Democrats.

He hasn't given anything to McCain since 2006, according to the non-partisan Opensecrets.org campaign finance web site.

Rep. Peter DeFazio introduces the "No Bailout Act" with other House members on September 30, 2008 on Capitol Hill. (Photo: TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)

by Frank James

You know the failed but still alive $700 billion bailout proposal has scrambled politics in the nation's capital when a fairly liberal member of Congress offers a solution to the financial-markets crisis that looks like something a Reagan Administration official created.

Actually that's exactly who created it. Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, took the ideas of William Isaac, who served as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman during the Reagan Administration and created legislation meant to help the capsizing financial markets right themselves.

DeFazio, a vociferous opponent of the Bush Administration's $700 billion Wall Street bailout, calls his legislation the "No BAILOUTS Act" and he talked about it today at a Capitol Hill press conference. He was joined by several other House Democrats:

And the underlying concern we all share is, we question the Paulson premise.

That is that giving him 700, borrowing or printing $700 billion, giving it to him and having him buy bad assets, on Wall Street,somehow will solve the interbank loan problem and even less likely the underlying problems of the economy.

So we're saying here, let's try a different approach....

By Andrew Zajac

One of the weird little ironies in the massive failure of political leadership in Monday's defeat of the Wall Street bailout package involves the role of Republican Minority Leader John Boehner.

After striking a deal with Democrats, Boehner was unable to deliver his caucus. Somewhere, Vernal Riffe and Corwin Nixon are groaning and rolling their eyes.

Boehner has spent the last 17 years in the House, but he cut his political teeth in the Ohio House of Representatives under legendary Democratic Speaker Riffe and Minority Leader Nixon, a canny survivor of numerous plots against him by his own colleagues.

If Boehner learned nothing else from them, he should have learned how to count votes.

by Frank James

No signs yet that the Era of Good Feelings is about to break out in the nation's capital. Check out this press release from the office of House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner:

Boehner Statement on Economic Rescue Package

"The presidential candidates' support for increasing the FDIC cap is welcome news. Increasing the FDIC cap is a proposal put on the table by Roy Blunt and House Republicans but ruled out by Democrats during the negotiations that led to yesterday's unsuccessful vote."

Not quite as bad as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick but a poke no less. Boehner's press office forgot to add the last sentence of "N'yah-n'yah-n'yah-n'yah-n'yah."

By Andrew Zajac

Democrats in Ohio, already rolling a stone uphill in trying to deliver the Buckeye state for Barack Obama, aren't helping the cause with a series of self-inflicted wounds.

The latest is installing term-limited House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty in a ginned-up $320,000 per year job at Ohio State University. That's roughly quadruple her legislative salary and is more than several Ohio university presidents earn.

by Laura Olson

Democrats in Congress may be seeing the impact of the Republican re-excitement.

A USA Today/Gallup survey released Friday shows only a 3 percent lead, 48 percent to 45 percent, among registered voters for Democratic candidates when asking about a generic ballot. Democrats have held a sizable lead in this area since winning back Congress in 2006.

Among likely voters, Republicans now hold a 5 percent lead over Democratic candidates, 50 percent to 45 percent.

The survey, conducted Sept. 5-7, asked voters for their preference between the Democratic candidate and the Republican in their congressional district, without naming specific names.

According to the poll, 92 percent of Democratic voters support the Democratic candidate in their district, and 94 percent of Republicans support the Republican contender. Among independents, 44 percent would choose the Democratic candidate and 40 percent back the Republican.

Congressional Democrats have enjoyed an election outlook predicting gains in both houses, further cementing their majorities. But Gallup researchers pointed several factors that may be boosting Republican candidates, such as Sen. John McCain's improved standing against Sen. Barack Obama in the presidential race, and an increase in GOP party identification among voters.

By Andrew Zajac

A Chicago lawmaker making a list of the most corrupt members of Congress.

Imagine that!

But there it is, the name of Democrat Daniel Lipinski, a first-timer in the annual "Most Corrupt Members of Congress" report issued today by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Lipinski earned the dishonor for employing Oak Lawn village trustee Jerome Hurckes, who, CREW claims, is functioning as an unregistered lobbyist and may also be attempting to circumvent congressional staff restrictions on outside income, among other alleged misdeeds.

Hurckes was a top staffer to nine-term Rep. William O. Lipinski, who retired and passed both his southwest side seat and his key lieutenant on to his son in 2004.

by Frank James

One of the most notable polling results at the time of the 2006 elections was that Democrats had closed the national-security gap versus Republicans who held a long and significant advantage in that area. That was short-lived.

Unfortunately for Democrats, the gap has reopened. Democrats are regaining the reputation with voters as wimps.

Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner has just released a survey that indicates that voters perceive Republicans once again as far and away better on national security issues than Democrats.

Forty nine percent of those surveyed thought Republicans were better on national security while 35 percent thought Democrats better. When it came to combating terrorism, 48 percent thought Republicans superior to Democrats while 33 percent gave Democrats the advantage.

According to the Greenberg study researchers:

The national security credibility gap is returning. Old doubts about Democrats on security, after diminishing during 2006-2007, have begun to re-emerge: concerns that Democrats follow the polls rather than principle; that Democrats are indecisive and are afraid to use force; and that Democrats don't support the military. Because these weaknesses are longstanding and deeply ingrained, and because Republicanweaknesses are newer and do not yet have a label associated with them, Republicans continue to win on many security issues.

The Greenberg poll, done for the think tank Third Way, echoes a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll which found a large lead for Republican Sen. John McCain over his Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama, with McCain holding a ten point lead over Obama on the question: who would be better on the Iraq, a 25 point lead on the handling of international crises and a 28 point lead on being better able to handle terrorism.

Results like these in part explain why the Republicans stressed the military and terrorism at their recently completed convention in St. Paul, Minn. They were trying to run up the score on the Democrats in the national security area.

by Frank James

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Democratic National Committee is suspending its counter-programming efforts in St, Paul in response to the Republican National Committee's decision to significantly scale back the GOP convention on Monday and to take the rest of the week's schedule day by day because of the Hurricane Gustav.

Here's the DNC's press release.

DNC Response to Revised Republican Convention Plans

St. Paul, MN - In light of the situation in the Gulf Coast, the Democratic National Committee announced that is has canceled its daily media briefing at the More of the Same Media Center on Monday, September 1. Additional scheduling updates will be provided when available.

(Our comment boards are broken so please send any comments by e-mail to theswamp@tribune.com and we'll get them up as soon as we can.)

People wait at New Orleans Amtrak station on Aug. 30, 2008 to be evacuated out of the possible path of Hurricane Gustav. Photo: Matthew Hinton/AFP/Getty Images.

by Frank James

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- How competent will the federal government prove to be in preparing for and responding to Hurricane Gustav while the party that controls the Executive Branch hold its national convention?

That question, and the Bush Administration's disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hangs over the Republican Party as it prepares to convene in nearby St. Paul on Monday.

The obvious question is, how will Bush Administration respond this time? Based on what officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency are saying, it will be night and day.

Here's what Adm.. Harvey Johnson (ret) FEMA's deputy administrator and chief operating office, said at a briefing in Washington, D.C. yesterday:

A huge difference between 2008 hurricane season and 2005 hurricane season. We just finished about a two-hour video teleconference, which is about an hour too long. (A good sigh this. It makes Johnson sound like a man of action.)

Contraflows will come into place across almost all states in the Gulf Coast on Sunday morning, about 4:00 or 5:00. All states talking to each other, planning together, sharing resources and working together as a team.

by Andrew Zajac

Much has been made of the fact that tonight's scheduled acceptance speech by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama falls on the same date as Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Our Baltimore Sun colleague David Steele also reminds readers that August 28 also was the date, in 1945, that Branch Rickey met Jackie Robinson and told him he had been picked to break Major League Baseball's color barrier.

As Steele points out in a column this morning , "a straight line can be drawn from Robinson opening the door to the national pastime of a rigidly segregated America to King voicing the ideals of a fully integrated society on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the son of a black father running for the highest office in the land."

DNC billboard that will greet Republicans attending next week's national party convention in St. Paul, Minn.

by Frank James

DENVER -- It's standard operating procedure for the each major political party to have a skunk-at-the-picnic operation at the opposing party's convention.

This week, high-profile Republicans, like Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty have been in Denver, attempting to spoil the festivities by attacking what they see as the vulnerabilities of the Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama.

Next week, will be the Democrats' turn in St. Paul and they're telling us what they're plans are. One big difference is that will be appreciated by footsore reporters is that the Democrats plan on setting up their anti-McCain war room across the street from the Xcel Center where the GOP convention will be held. The GOP's anti-Obama war room was about a mile away from the Pepsi Center.

Here's what we've received in an e-mail from a Democratic operative.

We're going to have these billboards and bus shelter ads throughout the Twin Cities. We'll also have a "More of the Same Media Center" set up across the street from the Xcel Center and a mobile billboard that will stalk McCain's stops on the run up to the convention. Any chance you can do a post on it?

-- Daily press conference with top notch national and local surrogates (with breakfast!). We'll have a satellite truck on hand to beam it all across the country.

by Frank James

Many Americans, including many Democrats, had never heard Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer deliver a speech before last night. In fact, many had probably never heard of him period. They've heard of him now.

The guy has chops. He has the gift. He gave a great speech, delivered with electricity and oomph.

He probably should've been the keynoter, instead of former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner who didn't want to take off the gloves and pummel John McCain because Warner's running for governor in Virginia and he knows full well that McCain is plenty popular in much of the state.

The Obama campaign would not make a mistake if it asked Schweitzer to keep his schedule open so he can make campaign appearances in places like Iowa, Nevada, Missouri and Colorado where he would play well.

Sen. Ted Kennedy's was always the one Democrats looked to for the old-fashioned homerun of a speech that sounds like it could be delivered sans microphone. Clearly Schweitzer is someone who can readily do that.