The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, June 10, 2004&#151;<br> -- NOTED NOW

TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)

FUTURES CALENDAR

Morning Show Wrap

Evening Newscasts Wrap

NEWS SUMMARY

While the public commemoration of the life and death of President Reagan continues, politics and the economy perk along.

As the U.N.-ification of the Iraq operation continues and as the President prepares to give (maybe) one of the great speeches of his career at tomorrow's funeral, this morning, the Labor Department reports that initial unemployment claims rose to 352,000 last week, but numbers continue to indicate that the economy is improving. AP Notes that a year ago this week, the number was 424,000, and that the number of jobless claims this year continues to fall from an April high of 444,000.

The question is, will the numbers matter to President Bush's standing with voters? Signs point to "no," argues the Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman this morning. Weisman points out the disconnect between improving economic numbers and the President's approval ratings -- particularly his handling of the economy. Ever the student of history, Weisman points out that Bush isn't the only President who's been through this, however. LINK

Add that to this morning's Los Angeles Times poll, which shows Sen. John Kerry above 50 percent nationwide in a head-to-head matchup and President Bush with a 56 percent wrong-track number, even though his base is holding strong. Keep an eye on the independent and congressional numbers, though. LINK

Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd caveats to ABC News: "A note of caution: be very careful in reporting Los Angeles Times poll. It is a mess. Bush is leading independents by three, ahead among Republicans by a larger margin than Kerry is ahead among Dems, and we are down by seven. Outrageous. And it gets worse. They have Dems leading generic congressional ballot by 19. this means this poll is too Democratic by 10 to 12 points."

Over to you, Mr. Brownstein. Let's get all those methodological numbers on latimes.com stat.

President Reagan's remains lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until Friday morning for the public to pay respects.

President Bush attends his final news conference of the G-8 summit before heading back to Washington, D.C. Upon arrival, President and First Lady Laura Bush motorcade to the Capitol to pay their respects to Reagan's remains in the Rotunda. President and Mrs. Bush then go to the Blair House to visit with Nancy Reagan.

Sen. Kerry is in Washington, D.C. with no public events. He meets with reporters and editors of the Washington Post this evening.

Ralph Nader speaks at the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee National Convention at the Marriott Hotel, Arlington, Va.

Congress is not in session until Monday out of respect for President Reagan.

Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) celebrates his 51st birthday today.

President Reagan's political legacy:

Carl Hulse of the New York Times looks at Ronald Reagan's reshaping of the Democratic Party and writes of the D.C.-type focus on the political center as a part of his legacy. LINK

Joan Biskupic of USA Today looks at Reagan's legacy from a judicial standpoint: "Fifteen years after he left Washington, Reagan's legacy is particularly evident on the nine-member Supreme Court, where his four appointees have reined in the reach of civil-rights laws and have stripped power from the federal government, in favor of the states. They have allowed more public funding of religious activities and generally have tried to get judges out of the business of solving society's problems." LINK

The New York Times looks at Reagan's economic legacy -- large tax cuts and deficits. LINK

In order to get through the huge number of legislative proposals honoring President Reagan, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist created a task force that will go through and vet them all before any bill is created, reports Roll Call.

The New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller looks at the return of Reagan Administration staffers who have reassembled in makeshift offices at the Mayflower Hotel for one final task, the planning of their former boss' funeral. LINK

For those unable to watch it on television, Todd Purdum of the New York Times dramatically recounts yesterday's ceremonies. LINK

As does the Washington Post's David Von Drehle. LINK

Michael Tackett and birthday boy Jeff Zeleny of the Chicago Tribune wrap the Capitol evacuation in their scene story. LINK

The G-8 summit:

The Washington Post's Glen Kessler and Dana Milbank report that some leaders at the G-8 summit -- namely French President Jacques Chirac -- rejected the Notion that NATO should take on a larger role in Iraq. The duo point to the "tensions simmering beneath the surface of the summit," Noting that while President Bush's goal was to capitalize on the U.N. Security Council vote, support for the U.S. plan is shaky, and other summit participants balked at the idea of debt forgiveness for Iraq. LINK

In his G-8 Journal, the Washington Post's Dana Millbank Notes in addition to the initiatives that the G-8 leaders produce at the Summit, "surely none of these initiatives is as innovative as the G-8's bold new action plan to stop rumormongering."LINK

The New York Times' Sanger and Stevenson are getting a taste of "America's High Life" on Sea Island, Ga. LINK

Protestors at the G-8 are not only outnumbered by the police, they're outnumbered by the world leaders and their aides. LINK

The politics of Iraq:

Imagine how much play a photo op with President Bush and the incoming Iraqi president would have gotten were it not for the wall-to-wall Reagan coverage. LINK

"An emotional President Bush met Wednesday for the first time with the newly designated interim president of Iraq, Sheik Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, telling him, 'I never thought I'd be sitting next to an Iraqi president of a free country a year and a half ago.'"

Tom Friedman writes of some recent good political news coming out of Iraq and urges the Bush Administration "to throw all its resources into getting Iraqi soldiers trained and able to take on their own opposition." LINK

The Los Angeles Times looks at the tough moment in which neocons are currently finding themselves. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush v. Kerry:

This Ron Brownstein write up of the latest Los Angeles Times poll numbers should suffice as your crack for the week.

Kerry hits above 50 percent in a nationwide two-man horserace and the highest wrong track number recorded in the 43 history of the poll. However, the President still does exceedingly well with his base and gets high marks for his handling of the war on terrorism. Voters still don't know Kerry all that well, but they do think he is far more likely to flip-flop then the President. LINK