Florida is back in D.C. punchlines

Florida jokes are once again the rage in Washington.

As a result of the primary voting glitches in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, many television and radio commentators are revising or dusting off the jokes they used two years ago after the Bush-Gore recount battle.

On the Diane Rehm Show, a radio program broadcast by WAMU-FM, Steve Roberts, a veteran reporter and husband of ABC's Cokie Roberts, questioned why everyone is taking about establishing democracy in Iraq "when they don't have it Florida!"

Meanwhile, a congressional conference committee is still unable to agree on a compromise that would allow the Congress to enact a voting reform bill.

Nationwide vote messes

Other states could be headed for the same elections problems Florida has encountered, according to a new survey from the Constitution Project and electionline.org.

The report found that 19 states still don't provide localities with any money for election costs or voting systems (Florida is one of nine states that pays more than 50 percent of costs or provides money for voting machines).

It also found a lack of state training for local elections officials. Twelve states do not offer any training and 17 offer only voluntary training.

"Lack of training can cause election disasters," the report says.

It's on the record now

Reporters covering a congressional hearing on Iraq the other day were taken aback by revelations that, like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has no heart.

After appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rumsfeld met briefly with reporters. Asked what his heart told him about a particular Pentagon project, Rumsfeld quipped, "What heart?"

Almost immediately the secretary pleaded, "Strike that."

Through a roar of laughter, another reporter reminded him: "Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, you can't put it back in."

-- Times staff writers Sara Fritz, Bill Adair and Paul de la Garza contributed to this column.

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