The Note
W A S H I N G T O N, June 4, 2004—<br> -- NOTED NOW
TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)
FUTURES CALENDAR
NEWS SUMMARY
Like a laser beam: The Labor Department reported this morning that the economy added 248,000 jobs last month, a bit better than expected. Pre-report estimates had been for an increase of 200,000-225,000. May was the third consecutive month of solid jobs growth. March and April numbers were revised upward.
If you find a turtle on a fence post, it didn't get there by accident: Washington remains very, very Washington over the Tenet departure speculation game.
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow: The Bush-Cheney campaign is releasing a new 30-second ad today entitled "Pessimism," which focuses on the new jobs numbers. The spot moves into the campaign's cable television ad rotation on Monday along with the "Patriot Act" ad currently airing. The spot is also expected to take a shot at John Kerry's alleged pessimism.
"The public will never believe the innocence of the Clintons and their loyal staff": Bill Clinton gets boffo reviews but little TV coverage for his first show-a-little-leg book event.
President Bush meets with Pope John Paul II, the President and Prime Minister of Italy, and embassy personnel and U.S. Veterans in Rome before having dinner with Prime Minister Berlucsoni. It's nice to see Jim Nicholson in photo ops again.
On Saturday President Bush holds a joint press availability with Prime Minister Berlusconi at Villa Madoma. He then flies to Paris for a bilateral meeting, press availability and working dinner with French President Chirac at the Elysee Palace.
On Sunday, President Bush delivers remarks at the U.S. Cemetery at Colleville, holds a photo-op with all leaders at Caen town hall, and attends a ceremony at Arromanches. His exclusive interview with Tom Brokaw from Normandy airs Sunday evening on "Dateline NBC."
Sen. Kerry today holds a rally to launch "Veterans for Kerry" at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. He is down tomorrow in Boston. On Sunday he completes his 11-day focus on national security with a high school commencement address at Bedford Senior High School in Toledo, Ohio before flying to Denver.
On Sunday night C-SPAN airs an extended interview with Kerry -- going head-to-head with Brokaw's "Dateline" interview. No offense to Mr. Brokaw, but you aren't going to want to miss Susan Swain's grilling of the presumptive nominee -- she asks a lot of good questions.
On Monday Kerry flies to Los Angeles for campaign events and a fundraising concert featuring Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, and Willie Nelson.
Vice President Cheney today speaks at the Police Officers Association of Michigan's Annual Convention in Grand Rapids, Mich., appears on CNBC's Kudlow and Cramer, and speaks at a reception for Senatorial candidate Jack Ryan at the Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Ill.
RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie today delivers the keynote address at the West Virginia Republican State Convention at the Tamarack- the Best of West Virginia, Beckley, W. Va.
The Senate resumes consideration of the Department of Defense Authorization bill. No roll call votes will take place on Friday or Monday.
CIA Director George Tenet's resignation:
The Washington Post's Dana Priest and Walter Pincus tick-tock the resignation of CIA Director George Tenet, whom they describe as a "gregarious schmoozer" who had been "psychologically worn down" by the pace of the job and the criticism over intelligence failures preceding Sept. 11, 2001 and the presence of mass destruction in Iraq. LINK
The New York Times' Bumiller and Jehl report that Tenet's resignation comes as three highly critical reports on U.S. intelligence are about to be released and that the highly critical nature of those reports was "widely known in the White House." LINK
"Bush is unlikely to nominate a permanent successor before the November election, Republicans said, because a confirmation battle this summer would attract more attention to the agency's assessments of Saddam Hussein's weapons."
The Washington Post's Smith and Pincus examine George Tenet's record of both successes and failures. LINK
Bob Novak takes a look at the tough reports coming from the Senate Intelligence Committee and the 9/11 Commission, and writes that "despite Tenet's problems, he will not be an easy act to follow." LINK
In his analysis, the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler asks: "Was Tenet finally being served up as a sacrificial lamb by an administration that loathes to admit a mistake?" LINK
David Sanger believes that "even though the president may be spared the spectacle of more contentious hearings, Thursday's resignation is unlikely to remove the issue from the campaign, or from voters' assessments of whether the administration twisted and squeezed imperfect intelligence to sell the war in Iraq as a immediate necessity."LINK?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1086321714-zg61PkGlNUsN2SEX2aCgNg">LINK
"Now, with five months until the presidential election, President Bush must confront looming challenges in Iraq and homeland security with a temporary CIA director, a defense secretary fending off calls for his own departure, a secretary of state who has distanced himself from key administration policies, and several departments riled up over ongoing criminal investigations," writes the Boston Globe's Peter Canellos in his analysis. LINK
The Washington Post's Mark Leibovich examines the words which will now define George Tenet's tenure as CIA director: "slam-dunk." LINK
The New York Times' ed board makes a scathing comparison between Bush's words of praise for the beleaguered Tenet and the words of praise Bush offered for Rumsfeld and then advises leaving McLaughlin in charge of the CIA as a caretaker through the election as the Congress reforms the structure of U.S. intelligence. LINK
The Washington Post's ed board cautions that "the ongoing damage of that failure is only compounded by the conspicuous absence of accountability. Yes, Mr. Tenet is going, but Mr. Bush has yet to face up to the reasons why his departure was inevitable." LINK
Keying off of Tenet's resignation, Paul Pillar, the officer responsible for Near Eastern and South Asian issues in the National Intelligence Council, writes in a New York Times op-ed that "a scapegoat is not a solution." LINK
The Wall Street Journal's ed board sees Tenet's departure as an opportunity for Bush to reshape the CIA from a "defensive agency into an offensive one.
The Washington Post's Jim VandeHei and Chuck Babington write that Kerry and some Democrats in Congress say the resignation of George Tenet was overdue, but more changes have to happen to account for past intelligence failures and offer security for the future. LINK
Dana Priest profiles new CIA Acting Director John E. McLaughlin. LINK
Is Giuliani waiting in the wings? LINK
Deborah Orin has a nice wrap-up of the politics of Tenet's resignation, including Republicans who felt Bush was too loyal, too long. LINK
CIA leak investigation:
President Bush said Thursday that he intends to cooperate fully in the investigation of an administration official who leaked the name of a CIA operative, reports the Washington Post's Mike Allen, who still seems in the dark about Jim Sharp but makes a nice stab at the Cheney angle. LINK
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect:
The New York Times' Dick Stevenson reports that the White House has "played down the possibility of any substantial diplomatic progress on dealing with Iraq, saying it does not expect NATO or any individual European nations to send many additional troops to Iraq" while also noting that Bush is "sure to discuss with the Italian and French leaders how to bridge differences" over a new UN Security Council resolution. LINK
Los Angeles Times' Ed Chen previews the President's European trip: LINK
The Wall Street Journal's Jackie Calmes and Neil King write that winning wider support for U.S. aims in Iraq would give Bush "ammunition against criticism" from Kerry "that the president has damaged U.S. clout abroad."
Big spending and "big government tendencies" could keep some members of Club for Growth away from the polls on Election Day, reports New York Times David Kirkpatrick after a dinner party for "prominent members" in New York. LINK
Club president Stephen Moore: "There are a lot of donors who have said, 'No, I am not going to support Bush because he is a big spender or because he supported Specter or because of the steel tariffs,'" he said. "It is easier to raise money for ads attacking Kerry than for pro-Bush ads."
Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are on a "catchall list" of potential witnesses in the case of Pfc. Lynndie England, an Army reservist facing a court-martial for alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners," AP reports. LINK
The Washington Post's Dan Morgan reports the vote yesterday by the House Appropriations Committee to cut some of the domestic initiatives of the Bush Administration by $750 million. Spending on most domestic programs would be held down around or below their current levels, Morgan Notes "squeezed by the explosive growth of spending on defense and homeland security." Increases for homeland security, foreign aid and military construction are expected. LINK
This should play well in Kentucky, North Carolina, and elsewhere. "Responding to a political outcry this election year, the Bush administration is reversing course and signaling support for a plan to pay farmers to stop growing tobacco," reports the Associated Press. Just last month in Ohio President Bush said he didn't think the system needed to be changed. LINK
John Harwood's Washington Wire says that Marc Racicot and Larry Thompson top the list to replace John Ashcroft at Justice.
Tonight Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie delivers the keynote address at the West Virginia Republican State Convention -- and judging from his prepared remarks is looking to coin a phrase to compete with "voodoo economics." Some excerpts:
"John Kerry voted for higher taxes 350 times including a vote against President Bush's historic middle class tax relief in 2001 and 2003 that benefited more than 570,000 West Virginia taxpayers and over 100,000 small business.
Now on the campaign trail, John Kerry promises tax relief for 99.9 percent of voters. But higher taxes don't mean lower taxes unless you believe in Houdini economics.
John Kerry voted for higher gas taxes 11 times and supported a 50-cent gas tax-higher gas taxes don't mean lower gas prices unless you believe in Houdini economics."
Veepstakes: An Update:
Here's our latest update on where we THINK John Kerry's brain is at in his search for the perfect mate.
Our preface to any reporting on veepstakes is that one person-- the would be John Kerry -- makes the decision, and he consults with just a handful of folks who don't dish, so we can't access their minds.
This is and will remain a case of those who know aren't talking, and those who are talking don't know (all that much).
First, the when: sources familiar with the vet of Tom Vilsack, Dick Gephardt, and John Edwards all say that the candidates have been told not expect a formal decision during the month of June.
Despite the early clamor for Kerry to make his choice public well before the convention, given the apparent state of things and the weeks that make no sense because of various other factors (Bill Clinton's book, big Bush events, holidays), we are currently betting on a public announcement no earlier than three weeks from the start of the convention.
That said, since the process is so tightly held, anything could happen. (Note Note: is this enough hedging for you, Sen. Kerry?)
Every reasonable indication one could have is that those three gentlemen -- Gephardt, Edwards, and Vilsack -- remain under consideration; beyond them, well, things get a whole lot less clear.
Sen. Kerry has come to believe that the vice presidency is an extremely important and powerful institution, those close to the process say, and has established a central organizing principle for the search: the person he'll choose must be seen by voters as having instant credibility in all policy arenas and the capacity to assume the presidency without question.
Those considerations, these sources say, is primary. They outweigh base political concerns, like who can help in what state and with what constituency.
For years, Sen. Kerry has been taken with the idea of running with Sen. John McCain, but aides to both men point out that, aside from McCain's filing for Senate re-election yesterday, his public disavowals and private expressions of annoyance, the two disagree significantly on many things, and McCain is and will be a Republican.
