The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, April 26&#151;<br> -- TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)

FUTURES CALENDAR

NEWS SUMMARY

John Kerry is going after the President's National Guard record.

Republicans (John Kerry says) are going after John Kerry for throwing his medals and/or for allegedly not being straight about whether he did or not.

Dick Cheney, anchoring the non-ironically named "Winning the War on Terror Tour," is going after John Kerry's national security record.

BC04RNC is going after after John Kerry for trying to recoup the Cold War peace dividend.

The Kerry campaign is going after Dick Cheney for doing the same.

Karen Hughes is going after John Kerry's national security record, and decrying negativity.

Terry McAuliffe is going after Dick Cheney and Karen Hughes and George Bush, and decrying negativity.

BC04RNC and KerryDNC are going after reporters' inboxes.

Deborah Orin is going after Mrs. Heinz Kerry's car.

Bob Novak is going after John Kerry's coal votes.

The American government is going after insurgents in Iraq -- it's just unclear how.

And, most significantly of all, the Center of New Hampshire Holiday Inn in Manchester, N.H. is now . . . the Radisson Hotel at the Center of New Hampshire!!!!! LINK and LINK.

When The Note last left John Kerry, he hadn't yet (a) done a Friday afternoon document meta-dump on his Vietnam health records (thus annoying the pooling sensibilities of Jodi Wilgoren); (b) taken Friday night Communion; (c) gone to a doctor's appointment for his shoulder without telling the pool (thus annoying the pooling sensibilities of network types); (d) gone bike riding on the Charles River (avec le helmet!); (e) brought back "Bring . . . it . . . on!!" in Iowa; and, (f) gotten to see his spouse on the cover of Newsweek (in a very favorable treatment).

And over the weekend the President's women and men floated to the New York Times a military onslaught of Fallujah, which they then pulled back, all while Mr. Bush enjoyed Camp David.

But no time to review the weekend in greater detail, because as all Note readers and Googling monkeys know, following Bush v. Kerry is all about being forward looking, and there is a lot to look forward to this week.

Let's start with the question of how much other news organizations (besides ABC News and the New York Times, who have already reported the story) will follow up with Kerry on the medals story, about which aides say Kerry is "furious."

As for Kerry's first-ever strong pushback against Bush on the National Guard issue, spokesgal Stephanie Cutter says: "We've been sitting back and taking hits by the Republicans for eight weeks now . . . This is all a Karl Rove-directed effort . . . So he (Kerry) has hit his limit."

The story that started it all, from ABC News chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross and senior investigative producer Chris Vlasto. LINK

"Contradicting his statements as a candidate for president, Sen. John Kerry claimed in a 1971 television interview that he threw away as many as nine of his combat medals to protest the war in Vietnam.

"'I gave back, I can't remember, six, seven, eight, nine medals,' Kerry said in an interview on a Washington, D.C., news program on WRC-TV called "Viewpoints" on Nov. 6, 1971, according to a tape obtained by ABCNEWS."

"Throughout his presidential campaign, Kerry has denied that he threw away any of his medals during an anti-war protest in April 1971."

Kerry appeared live on "Good Morning America" to answer questions about his seemingly shifting account.

Kerry called the allegations a "phony controversy" being pushed by Republicans. He also directly challenged President Bush's National Guard record.

Kerry, who had held back from that tack since February, brought up Bush's Guard record on three occasions.

As to the direct question of his shifting account, Kerry argued the military "makes no distinction between ribbons and medals."

ABC News' Charles Gibson reminded Kerry that he has over the years himself made the distinction between medals and ribbons.

"In 1984, when you were running for the Senate, that was the first time that you called someone in from labor because they were upset that you had thrown ribbons away. You called them and you made the distinction and said 'I didn't throw my medals away. I just threw the ribbons away,'" Gibson said.

Kerry responded: "I was asked specifically in greater detail about what took place. I answered the question truthfully."

"I think to this day that there is no distinction between the two," Kerry added.

Here's a recap of Kerry's direct hits on Bush's Guard record:

--"This comes from a President who can't even show or prove that he showed up for duty in the National Guard."

--"This comes from a President and a Republican Party that can't even answer whether or not he showed up for duty in the National Guard. I'm not going to stand for it."

--"George Bush has yet to explain to America whether or not to tell the truth about whether he showed up for duty."

As we wait for RNC/BC04/conservative media machine push-back . . .

The BC04 campaign launches its latest ad today (planned leaked to the New York Times for its impacting Sunday editions), criticizing Sen. Kerry's voting record on weapons systems.

"Weapons," will run on national cable and in nine different spot markets in key states. The versions running in those nine states will feature a message specific to the state.

Despite their rhetorical allegiance to fiscal discipline, the Bush political team has always liked to attack on these pork barrel/weapons-systems-have-to-be-built-somewhere matters.

"Weapons" will move into the ad rotation with "Troops/Fog" on national cable and in the spot markets. That ad features the "voted before it before I voted against" line from Sen. Kerry. "Doublespeak," which was launched last Wednesday and featured newspaper editorials on John Kerry, will move out of the BC04 ad rotation.

The BC04 campaign also will run a full-page black and while advertisement today in the main news section of two newspapers in West Virginia -- the Wheeling Intelligencer and the Wheeling News-Register.

The newspaper ads will be a Top Ten list of "Questions West Virginians Should Ask John Kerry."

The campaign says that the list comes from Kerry's record in the Senate "of supporting anti-coal policies that would devastate the industry in West Virginia, votes against funding troops fighting the War on Terror, and a renowned opposition towards the second amendment rights of West Virginians."

Vice President Cheney will deliver a foreign policy speech in Fulton, Mo. today, and a senior campaign official tells ABC News' Karen Travers that Cheney will aim to put the war on terror in "historical context" and will contrast the President's "clear vision for fighting and winning the war on terror with John Kerry's inconsistent statements and votes against funding for the tools and funds to help our troops fight and win the war on terror."

"He will talk about the need for our leaders to recognize threats as they gather and speak out against them. He will talk about the steps we took as a nation, and as an administration, to adjust to the threat of global terror-the creation of the department of Homeland Security, passage of the Patriot Act, and the Bush doctrine that says that any person or government that supports or harbors terror will be held to account."

Also today, President Bush makes remarks at the American Association of Community Colleges Annual Convention in Minneapolis. During these remarks, he will announce his Innovation Economy Policy Book. This evening, the President attends a RNC Victory 2004 Fundraising Luncheon in Edina, Minn. Sen. John Kerry attends a kick-off rally for his jobs bus tour this morning in Wheeling, W.Va. He then heads to Canonsburg, Pa., where he will tour the All-Clad factory and speak with workers.

On Tuesday, President Bush has no public events planned. Kerry campaigns in Ohio, focusing on the economy.

The Supreme Court hears arguments in the case brought by Judicial Watch against Vice President Cheney and the National Energy Policy Development Group. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee begins hearings on the nomination of John Negroponte to be U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Pennsylvania holds its presidential primary and Senate primary between Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). In Spain, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero goes before Parliament to detail a timetable for withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq. The U.S. Conference Board releases results of monthly consumer confidence survey.

On Wednesday, President Bush meets with the Prime Minister of Sweden. Kerry continues his campaign bus tour visiting Ohio cities Cleveland and Toledo ending the day in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments in two cases involving the open-ended detention of two U.S. citizens whom the government has labeled enemy combatants. The court says it will release audio tapes of the arguments immediately afterward.

On Thursday, President Bush and Vice President Cheney appear before bipartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Also, on Thursday, the preliminary estimate of 1st quarter GDP growth will be released. Per ABCNews Ramona Schindelheim: "And the consumer shall lead us. Economists are looking for strong growth for the first three months of the year, thanks once again to the consumer who got a boost from low interest and mortgage rates and Uncle Sam."

Kerry campaigns in Philadelphia. The Bush-Cheney campaign holds a "National Party for the President Day."

On Friday, President Bush meets with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to review key bilateral and multilateral issues. The President also meets with Guatemalan President Oscar Berger at the White House. Kerry campaigns in Harrisburg, Pa. Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) keynotes the South Carolina Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in Columbia, S.C.

Also Friday, Times Square celebrates its 100th anniversary, and "Good Morning America" will cover it like there's no tomorrow.

Saturday is the first anniversary of President Bush's landing on the U.S.S. Lincoln; Bush has no public events planned. First Lady Laura Bush gives commencement speeches at Miami-Dade College and Cedarville College in Ohio. Sen. Kerry's plans are still to be determined. Vice President Cheney delivers Florida State University's commencement address and Lynne Cheney delivers Cedarville College's commencement address in Ohio.

In Washington, reporters gather for the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. President Bush is there. And perhaps he will share the room with other presidential candidates.

ABC News Vote 2004: Sen. John Kerry and the medals:

Rutenberg and Dao of the New York Times write up the ribbons/medals controversy using Kerry's recent statements on the matter versus those made on WRC in 1971. Make sure you don't miss David Wade doing his best Col. Nathan R. Jessup! LINK

The New York Post's Ed Robinson on the medals controversy: LINK

Pat Healy of the Boston Globe also previewed the GMA interview. LINK

The politics of Iraq and national security:

In the must-read Iraq political story of the day, Janet Hook of the Los Angeles Times writes up some Republican hand-wringing over the current state of affairs (and its cost) in Iraq. LINK

"Indeed, for all the politicians who have been stalwart supporters of President Bush's Iraq policy, the conflict is no longer just an abstraction -- their constituents increasingly bear the burden of personal sacrifice for the mission."

"Casualties are mounting, sending more loved ones home in coffins. Tours of duty have been prolonged, keeping thousands of troops away from their families longer than expected. And the price tag is growing rapidly, forcing Congress to consider additional war funding at a time when popular domestic programs are being squeezed."