ABC News' The Note: First Source for Political News
W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 1, 2004—<br> -- NOTED NOW
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62 days until election day
NEWS SUMMARY
In our 24/7-cable-Internet-talk show politico-media culture, the only way to be anywhere close to first in offering an evaluation of ANYTHING in American politics is to rush beyond any sense of propriety or horse sense to analyze and dissect before an event is even over.
Thus, if it's Wednesday, it must be time to give you the world's first comprehensive scorecard on the 2004 Republican National Convention.
Missions Accomplished in New York:
— Played the press perfectly to minimize the stories they wanted minimized (the platform tussle, the protesters, the curious lineup ).
— Got the Gang of 500 to accept that "contrasts with John Kerry" are perfectly acceptable this week.
— Set bounce/bump expectations exquisitely, encompassing any eventuality — no Bush bounce (As Matthew Dowd said, there isn't room for a bounce this year, and historically, the incumbent's bounce is a sub-multiple of the challenger's and Kerry's bounce was zero … ); a small Bush bounce (As Matthew Dowd said, that's all there is room for … ); and/or a large Bush bounce (As Matthew Dowd says, Kerry wasted his convention, but the President will use his in real and effective ways … )
— Worked the issue of Sen. Kerry's anti-Vietnam protest activities into the mainstream bloodstream -- dovetailing with the Swift Boaters -- while staying on the good cop/bad cop track on the medals charges.
— Easily cleared the "competency bar" with the Gang of 500 — history will record this as a well-organized event (assuming it stays on course), and Republicans will have again proven they run an impressively tight ship.
— Flaunted a unified party, with all participants strikingly on message.
— Delivered a number of sharp strikes against John Kerry without accusations of inappropriate rancor or pettiness (Purple Heart bandages notwithstanding).
— Behind the scenes, fostered an environment to attract enough 527 money to make even Harold Ickes and Ellen Malcolm envious.
— Applied maximum force to clean up Matt Lauer-induced GWOT gaffe.
— Banished any talk of health care, unemployment, and poverty figures.
— Took under-the-radar advantage of Radio Row and satellite technology to reach battleground state markets. (And how many of even The Note's most sophisticated readers know the President was interviewed on Rush Limbaugh yesterday and the Vice President on Sean Hannity?)
— Mostly kept reporters from chasing their own (potentially anti-Bush) storylines by doling out pre-planned surprises at calibrated intervals (Bush daughters speaking role, POTUS on big screen, Tommy Franks, 9/11 families, etc.).
— Had Tuesday 10-11 pm speakers start their remarks over the cascading applause — and time their starts and stops — to whittle down network analysis time to near zero.
— Convinced reporters that "tasteful" references to 9/11 are appropriate.
— Convinced local firefighters to serve as props for a classic presidential photo op that will sand down any sharp Cheney edges.
— Cut some deal with Sam Champion and Mikos Cassadine for unprecedentedly tolerable late August weather in New York.
— Skimmed neatly past the pitfalls of an acerbic-yet-moderate Giuliani, potentially cocky Twins, and the dearth of Hollywood heavyweights (Schwarzenegger is the ultimate Action Star, afterall).
— Convinced the world that all the speakers wrote their own remarks without any undue Bush-Cheney input.
— Exploited the Gotham venue's restaurants and friendly media hot spots.
— Semi-un-demonized Karl Rove through some interviews.
— Got John McCain even more on board the anti-Kerry bandwagon.
— Nudged the Kerry campaign off message enough so that the Democratic storyline for the week is "campaign shakeup" rather than convention response.
— Ensured that disruptions in New York are blamed on protesters rather than conventioneers.
— Convinced New York papers not to write how bad this week has been for local businesses.
— Avoided any "Where is Colin?" stories.
— Got Mel Martinez a "W" of his own.
— Got Imus to talk about Jean Becker.
— Have focused attention on the "Bush Dynasty" rather than on "41's failure."
— Got Laura Bush's successful Sweet-Steadfast-Steely last-race persona a wide audience.
— Got reporters to say and write "compassionate conservative" with a straight face.
— Channeled the energy of those with visions of 2008 dancing in their heads towards getting Bush-Cheney re-elected.
Missions NOT Accomplished in New York (yet):
— Get through a day at the Sheekey Restaurant without running out of food midday.
— Have the President deliver — as he always does — on really big speeches.
But that comes on Thursday.
Today, with the theme of "A Land of Opportunity," Day Three of the Republican National Convention will be highlighted with speeches from Michael Reagan, son of President Reagan, who will introduce a tribute to his father, a keynote address from Democratic Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA), and speeches by Lynne Cheney and Vice President Dick Cheney.
President Bush holds two rallies today in Columbus, OH at 3:30 pm ET and 5 pm ET respectively. The President then flies to New York City where he will visit with firefighters in Queens at 8pm.
Sen. Kerry returns to the campaign stage with a speech before the National American Legion Convention in Nashville, TN at 12:40 pm ET. Kerry hopes he will be greeted more warmly than the last time spoke to veterans, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention, where many refused to applaud — although the campaign is pre-spinning this as a belly-of-the-beast event.
According to the campaign, "Kerry will talk about the type of America our men and women in uniform will come home to in terms of the economy, health care and vision for building a stronger America."
Kerry strategist Joe Lockhart, having made his on-camera debut on "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" last night, is along for the ride in Nashville.
Sen. Edwards continues campaigning today in Pennsylvania, holding a 11:15 am ET front porch event in Pittston and a 12:05 pm ET rally in Wilkes-Barre.
Ralph Nader will hold a 1pm press conference in New York, where he will discuss President Bush's "failed record" on both domestic and foreign policy.
Republican National Convention: the ledes:
"The Republican National Convention spent a second night celebrating President Bush's leadership in the struggle against terrorism, praising him for putting "all his heart and soul" into the fight against America's enemies," writes David Broder of the Washington Post. LINK
"On Tuesday night, as the Republican National Convention focused on themes of compassion without ever straying far from the president's leadership in the war on terrorism, Bush's advisers had another goal in mind: to put a more human face on a wartime president portrayed by opponents, including challenger John F. Kerry, as stubborn, reckless and insensitive," writes Dan Balz of the Washington Post. LINK
The New York Times' Todd Purdum re-caps Night Two, ruled by the theme of "compassionate conservatism," describing the high points of the speeches by First Lady Laura Bush and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- and we wish the pool would've picked up on the California delegation's Terminator sunglasses. LINK
Republican National Convention: Laura Bush:
Writeth Dan Balz in the Washington Post: "War, terrorism and national security now form the core priorities of Bush's presidency, and it was first lady Laura Bush's role to tell the country that although her husband may be tough and resolute, he is neither indifferent nor uncaring as he has led the country into war. If war has transformed his presidency, she was there to offer testimony that it has not fundamentally changed Bush. He is, she said, the same man she met many years ago at a backyard barbecue in Midland, Tex." LINK
Assessing Mrs. Bush's speech, USA Today's Andrea Stone writes, "The crowd applauded often, sometimes exuberantly." LINK
Mrs. Bush told Judy Keen this is her last convention. LINK
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch highlights those personal anecdotes from the First Lady on her husband. LINK
Republican National Convention: Arnold:
The San Francisco Chronicle's Carla Marinucci and John Wildermuth size up the speech that "electrified the crowd" with his story and was an emphatic appeal to moderates and undecideds who may not agree with everything in the platform or with the Republican Party leadership. And if you weren't paying attention yesterday, read all the way to the end for the Governator's salty comment to firefighters he visited; it's just not every day that you hear a politician of any stripe talk like that. LINK
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