The Note

ByABC News
May 19, 2004, 10:15 AM

W A S H I N G T O N, May 19, 2004&#151;<br> -- NOTED NOW

TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)

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NEWS SUMMARY

Despite sweeping changes in the political media landscape over the last several decades, some rules have remained the same since time began.

Long before Leslie Goodman became a Disney executive and Fellow Cast Member, she learned and taught a simple lesson:

TV news coverage drives the rhythms and outcomes of elections, and TV news decision makers (executives, executive producers, anchors, reporters, producers, and, now, Googling monkeys) have their days shaped by reading the morning papers and listening to the radio (which also keys off of the morning papers).

So if winning the news cycle means winning the newspapers (and, thus, winning national and local TV), we can already chalk up Wednesday, May 19, 2004 for John Forbes Kerry.

Consider:

-- The New York Times' Robert Pear, who Notes that "in a twist this election season, many administration officials are taking credit for spreading largess through programs that President Bush tried to eliminate or to cut sharply." LINK

(This one could have been written by the DNC research shop -- it makes a point that has been a staple of their work for literally years. Let's see what the pickup is like . . . )

-- The Wall Street Journal's Jackie Calmes' critique of President Bush's management style

-- The plethora of second-day gas prices coverage, including Los Angeles Times LINK and USA Today LINK, as well as so much more.

--The Washington Post's Wright and Ricks write up Paul Wolfowitz's acknowledgement to the Senate Armed Services Committee that mistakes were made. LINK

"Under tough questioning from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, a leading administration advocate of the Iraq intervention, acknowledged miscalculating that Iraqis would tolerate a long occupation. A central flaw in planning, he added, was the premise that U.S. forces would be creating a peace, not fighting a war, after the ouster of Saddam Hussein."

The story also takes almost for granted the disillusionment among many U.S. government officials involved in Iraq policy.

-- The GOP Chairman v. Chairman fight over Iraq and congressional oversight. LINK and LINK

-- The Kerry/Dean mutual admiration society, as immortalized by Pat Healy LINK; Dan Balz LINK; and Jodi Wilgoren LINK

-- Battleground state headlines (i.e., gas prices, gas prices, gas prices, Iraq, Iraq, Iraq)

-- The lovefest that is the DNC's platform committee hearings, as contrasted from some of the left-far left battle royales of the past

Of course, by sundown, after the two signature events of John Kerry's day -- his 2:15 tete-a-(giant)-tete meeting with Ralph Nader, and a lush sup with New York Timesmen and Timeswomen -- Kerry's Wednesday roll could be rocked and ruined, or, perhaps, it could lead to winning Thursday.

According to ABC News' Dan Harris: In the room will be John Kerry, Ralph Nader, Mary Beth Cahill, and someone from Nader's staff. The meeting is budgeted for an hour, and will be, per a Kerry source, "casual."

Will Kerry ask Nader to get out of the race? "Absolutely not," says a Kerry source, saying that this is "just the first meeting in what will probably be a number of meetings."

President Bush meets with his Cabinet, speaks to the NCAA Winter Sports Champions, and meets with the Prime Minister of Italy at the White House. Later, he speaks at the Sons of Italy Foundation 16th Annual National Education and Leadership Awards Gala at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Beyond his Nader and Times meetings, Sen. Kerry meets with Sens. Byrd, Rockefeller, and Breaux, attends a roundtable with the Associated Press, and attends a fundraising reception at the Mayflower Hotel.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge testify before the 9/11 Commission at the New School, New York, N.Y.

The Senate Armed Services Committee hears from CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, and Deputy Commander for Detainee Operations Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller Committee, Washington, D.C.

Vice President Cheney delivers the commencement address to the 123rd United States Coast Guard Academy, New London, Conn.

First Lady Laura Bush visits William Walker Elementary School to speak about No Child Left Behind, Portland, Ore. and appears on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Both the Senate and the House considers the Defense Authorization bill.

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect:

President Bush spoke before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee yesterday and today, the Los Angeles Times' Maura Reynolds and Peter Wallsten look at the President's support among Jewish voters and Note that "the Republican president's reelection strategists have long hoped that White House policies that focus on fighting terror and spreading democracy through the Mideast." LINK

"GOP strategists view the Jewish community as a pillar of the Democratic electorate that is fracturing, with significant chunks beginning to fall to the Republicans. They see pro-Israel Jews as an important target in their long-term plan to 'realign' the electorate and give the Republican Party majority status."

On the AIPAC speech, the New York Times' Stevenson reports that President Bush issued a strong signal of support for Israel and asserted that Israel has a right to defend itself. LINK

While the Washington Post's Milbank and Kessler report that Bush's "mild" criticism of Israel's Gaza attacks track with recent statements by Rice and contradict those of Powell. LINK

The Washington Post duo Note that Bush's speech was interrupted 67 times by applause and chants of "Four more years."

The Wall Street Journal's Jackie Calmes Notes that although President Bush's management style "generally has served him well," the prisoner abuse scandal has allowed critics to question "whether the first president with a master's in business administration relies too much on like-minded advisers, too readily equates dissent with disloyalty and is too averse to admitting mistakes."

The New York Times' Robert Pear Notes that "in a twist this election season, many administration officials are taking credit for spreading largess through programs that President Bush tried to eliminate or to cut sharply." LINK

"Whether they involve programs Mr. Bush supported or not, the grant announcements illustrate how the administration blends politics and policy, blurring the distinction between official business and campaign-related activities."

The Washington Post's Ann Gerhart profiles Laura Bush on the campaign trail in Las Vegas, Nev. this week and Notes that the First Lady "has always been subtle rather than direct, implicit rather than overt." LINK

Gerhart, who wrote a biography of Laura Bush this year, "The Perfect Wife," writes that "Mrs. Bush always has been more cautious about illuminating how or what she thinks," particularly on social issues.

But there is no doubt that she is a crowd pleaser -- even if she is not there: "In the president's stump speeches during his bus tour of four other swing states two weeks ago, he consistently told his audiences that one of the best reasons to reelect him is to ensure his wife is first lady for another four years. It's the biggest applause line every time."

In USA Today's cover story, Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio challenges Bush's opposition to the highway bill, telling the Nation's Newspaper: "This is a desperately needed jobs bill that could mean 150,000 new jobs for Ohio -- a state that'll be very important for the president's re-election." LINK

USA Today's Despeignes reports "The House and Senate have each passed a version but Bush's opposition to the size of the bill has helped stall it."

And Notes: "The fight is an intense Republican-vs.-Republican battle over competing goals: putting government to work for voters or cutting the federal deficit. History says Congress will win."

Polly Ross Hughes of the Houston Chronicle reports that the new Scripps Howard Texas Poll shows that President Bush remains extremely popular in the Lone Star State -- 59 percent surveyed gave him a favorable rating. Forty-nine percent said they approved of his handling of the economy and 50 percent disapproved; 50 percent said they approved of his performance on Iraq, while 48 percent disapproved. LINK