The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, May 6&#151;<br> -- NOTED NOW

TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)

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NEWS SUMMARY

With apologies to Steve "!" Schmidt and Phil "Sunday's Best" Singer, we thus wade into the politics of Iraqi prison abuse.

Potential fallout:

1. American disappointment leads to a worsening of the all-important right track/wrong track number (and look how bad it is already in the new Dow Jones/General Electric poll).

2. Still murky timetable under which Mr. Bush learned of the investigations leads to further "what did he know and when did he know it?" questioning and -- perhaps -- (un)timely disclosures.

3. Loss of hearts and minds complicates June/July handover.

4. Attacks on John Kerry's vintage decrying of American military atrocities lose some of their bite.

5. Distracted White House communications team can't focus like a laser beam on the destruction of John Kerry. (Those mocking jokes don't write themselves, you know.)

6. Battling between Rumsfeld camp and Powell camp reaches a destabilizing crescendo.

7. The justification and support for the overall Iraq enterprise begins to crumble.

8. Critics of the international message policy are emboldened to speak out (NBC reported last night that Ambassador Tutwiler has not been happy with the effort.).

9. Investigations into abuses lead to plea bargains and more accusations.

10. Capitol Hill dam breaks on long-simmering GOP dissatisfaction with Administration secrecy and alleged failure to respect the responsibilities and prerogatives of the co-equal legislative branch.

11. Potentially enhances John Kerry's claim that he would play more nicely with other countries.

12. Bush stump lines about how happy the Iraqi people are that the United States is there and about the end of torture chambers (repeated as recently as last night) lose some of their intended resonance.

President Bush meets with the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba and King Abdullah of Jordan before holding a joint press avail with Abdullah and speaking on the National Day of Prayer at the White House today.

Sen. Kerry visits a classroom at Colton High School in California before delivering a major education address on the quality of teachers. Tonight he speaks at an AFL-CIO campaign kickoff event and attends a campaign fundraiser in Phoenix, Ariz.

Tomorrow night on ABC's "20/20," Teresa Heinz Kerry sits down with Barbara Walters to talk about life and the campaign. Tune in at 10:00 pm ET -- check your local listings.

The Senate continues debate of the FSC-ETI Jobs bill.

BC'04 Chairman Gov. Marc Racicot speaks about Kerry's record on national defense from Charleston, and former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani speaks about the war on terror at the Council on Foreign Relations this afternoon.

The politics of national security: the prison controversy:

The Baltimore Sun's Tom Bowman tick tocks the chain of the custody of the photos from the earliest days. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Chen, Hendren and Hook on the Pentagon's differing view of how the crisis was handled and what would happen in the wake of a Rumsfeld resignation. LINK

The trio have the most detail about timing of Rumsfeld and Bush Notifications, placing them in January.

The Washington Post's Mike Allen and Dan Balz examine Bush's appearances on Arab TV, during which he fell just short of apologizing for the prisoner abuse in Iraq. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Fassihi and Hitt wrap Bush's Arabic language TV appearances, writing the President "made it clear to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday that he was unhappy with the way he was informed about the mistreatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, according to White House aides. In particular, Mr. Bush didn't appreciate that no one told him about the pictures of U.S. soldiers posing with hooded or naked Iraqi prisoners until the images aired on national television."

The New York Times' Stevenson reviews President Bush's appearances and writes that "as Mr. Bush sought to contain the damage to the credibility and reputation of the United States abroad, his Democratic rival in the presidential race, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, signaled for the first time that he would make the case a political issue at home." LINK

The Washington Post's Robin Wright and Bradley Graham Bush report that President Bush is " "not satisfied" and "not happy" with the way Rumsfeld informed him about the investigation into abuses by U.S. soldiers at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison or the quantity of information Rumsfeld provided." LINK

The New York Times' Bumiller writes of the public venting of unhappiness with Rumsfeld: "The disclosures by the White House officials, under authorization from Mr. Bush, were an extraordinary display of finger-pointing in an administration led by a man who puts a high premium on order and loyalty." LINK

The Washington Times' Joe Curl details the interviews, the allegations, and the controversy surrounding Rumsfeld. LINK

The Washington Post's Babington and Dewar Note that congressmen from both parties "demanded yesterday that the top Pentagon and CIA leaders explain in detail why Iraqi prisoners were abused in prisons operated by U.S. military and intelligence officers, while a senior Democratic senator said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld should resign if he can't adequately do so." LINK

On Wednesday Sen. Kerry criticized Bush's response to the Iraqi prisoner abuse, but "stopped short of demanding that President Bush issue a formal apology," Notes the Washington Post's Lois Romano. LINK

The Los Angeles Times says it seems Kerry's remarks "were prodded in part by concern among some allies in Washington about his relative silence since reports of the abuse surfaced last week." LINK

The Wall Street Journal's ed board reminds its readers that the military, not CBS, uncovered Abu Ghraib's abuse and writes in a zinger that "unlike the Catholic bishops, some corporate boards and the editors of the New York Times or USA Today, the military brass did not dismiss early allegations of bad behavior."

Maureen Dowd reviews the Bush Administration's handling of Iraq and its Pentagon luminaries' attendance of Washington soirees this past weekend. LINK

The politics of national security: the new $25 billion request:

The White House has asked Congress for another $25 billion to use for Iraq and Afghanistan, reports the New York Times' Hulse and Shanker. Note Democratic Rep. Obey's charge that the closed-door GOP meeting in which the request was made "'represents yet another effort to conceal the full costs of meeting the challenge in Iraq until after the election.'" LINK

The Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman reports that the money is slated for Army operations and maintenance, says stem cell expert Trent Duffy, and that the White House would ask for as much as $50 billion next year. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Hitt and Rogers see the President's $25 billion funding request cutting both ways -- on the one hand, Bush wanted to wait to have this funding debate until after the election, on the other hand, "the president already is using Mr. Kerry's opposition to the $87.5 billion Iraq spending bill against his rival. The fresh spending request could add to this pressure on the senator."

Has anyone figured out yet what Sen. Kerry will do about this vote?

William Neikirk of the Chicago Tribune writes that the extra $25 billion request is expected to be granted, but basically hands over both the can of worms and the can opener to lawmakers looking to slam the White House further for its approach to stabilizing the region(s) and lays on more pressure to offset the costs. Not to mention the conundrum of members who will vote for the bill and then against it. LINK

The politics of national security:

"For the second time in a month, the State Department yesterday found itself fending off questions about Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's role in the Bush administration, after some of his top aides gave interviews to GQ magazine suggesting he was frustrated and isolated," Notes the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler. LINK

"The House Judiciary Committee voted 17 to 12 to report with an "unfavorable recommendation" to the House a proposed constitutional amendment on replacing killed or gravely injured lawmakers after a terrorist attack," reports the Washington Post's Christopher Lee. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush vs. Kerry: