The Note
W A S H I N G T O N, April 5—<br> -- TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)
FUTURES CALENDAR
NEWS SUMMARY
The week ahead: the President hits the economy and the pitcher's mound , and then does a long "back at the ranch" spell; John Kerry (re)focuses on the economy; Dr. Rice fixes to own Thursday; and the debate over Iraq policy (and the June deadline) takes place within a context of violence and death.
But we have to take a rare look back, because the last 72 hours -- since the last Note -- had so much packed into them, and we suspect that some of you may have missed a thing or three (what with NCAA men's basketball, the Inner Circle dinner, Tony and Adriana almost making out, and the true beginning of the baseball season).
-- In personnel moves that were as big as they were bold, John Kerry installed the incomparable John Sasso at the DNC and the equally-incomparable Jim Margolis stepped down from the campaign's creative ad team. The jury is out on how the second move will effect Kerry's chances of being elected president (We have our suspicions . . . ), but (Note bene, Ken Mehlman) the former will almost certainly greatly enhance the prospects.
-- Some of you laughed when Team Kerry said it could raise $80 million in pre-convention 2004. Now, after a $50 million first quarter, the Boston Globe slipped this sentence into the end of its Friday story: Kerry's pre-convention fundraising goal "will be now be pushed to well over $100 million," according to a Kerry adviser.
-- Much of the political press corps declared the election over (oooops!!!) because of Friday's employment numbers.
-- The New York Times' Adam Nagourney broke the veepstakes story wide open, with a Sunday story featuring an apparent short list and a sprint of a timetable.
-- After last week's strange Karl Rove phone call to CNNs "Inside Politics" to correct the record on negative advertising and John Kerry's numbers, Elisabeth Bumiller recycled her underNoted Laura-Bush-on-Rove quote, and John McLaughlin used his prediction on The Group to take a stand on Mr. Rove's political future.
-- Dr. Rice became the most over-chronicled national security adviser since Henry the K. And some (including Doyle McManus) set up her "audition" for a cabinet-level position! LINK
-- The House passed a $275 billion version of the highway bill, assuring a tussle with the White House and its $256 billion preferred ceiling.
President Bush advocates increasing the number of people trained under Workforce Training Act today in a Charlotte speech today before attending a fundraiser and throwing out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals-Milwaukee Brewers opening day game. Tomorrow he speaks about training for high school and higher education students in Arkansas before heading to the ranch for the rest of week with no public events. On Sunday he holds a press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Sen. Kerry releases a report today that claims President Bush's tax cuts would increase the deficit, holds reporter roundtables on the economy and tapes remarks to the UFCW. Tomorrow he speaks about jobs and outsourcing in Ohio. On Wednesday he delivers a major economic address advocating a return to the "pay as you go" budget rules of the 1990s and holds a series of meetings with SEIU and UNITE leadership and with African-American reporters. On Thursday he speaks in Madison, Wis. before attending a fundraiser in Chicago. He returns to Boston on Friday for the Easter weekend.
Vice President Cheney throws out the first pitch at the Cincinnati Reds-Chicago Cubs game before speaking at a reception for Senate candidate David Vitter in New Orleans. He travels to Japan, China and South Korea at the end of the week.
Presidential adviser Rove attends a lunch in Dallas and an evening reception in El Paso tomorrow.
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice appears in public under oath before the 9/11 commission on Thursday.
The top civilian administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, is in Washington, D.C. this week.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is in Haiti today.
The Administrator of the Energy Information Administration presents the "Summer 2004 Motor Gasoline Outlook" on Thursday.
Ralph Nader is in Seattle and Portland, Ore. today.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich is in Oregon and Colorado this week.
Veepstakes:
Adam Nagourney looked at the Kerry campaign's James Johnson and his mission to find a running mate in Sunday's New York Times. LINK
Nagourney reported exclusively -- and no one has effectively followed up -- that Kerry "has told associates that he wants to select a running mate within eight weeks."
Young Adam also reports that Johnson has had conversations with Edwards, Gephardt, Richardson, and Vilsack (and none through Friday with Graham).
And we can't be the only ones who were really intrigued by the sixth paragraph: "Democrats close to Mr. Kerry, including some advisers, said [Sen. McCain] remained a highly alluring choice. One adviser said that choice would almost guarantee Mr. Kerry's election. Mr. McCain, who like Mr. Kerry is a Vietnam veteran, has said he does not want to cross party lines to join a Kerry ticket, though some of Mr. Kerry's aides held out the hope of a personal entreaty by Mr. Kerry, outside Mr. Johnson's network."
There is lots more in there; go read it all if you skipped it.
Mike Glover of the Associated Press writes on the talented field of entries in the "John Kerry running-mate sweepstakes," here each contender -- from heartland Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to Maine Republican William Cohen -- has something to add to the Democratic presidential ticket. LINK
Implicitly throwing the gauntlet back into Nagourney's face, however, Glover says that Kerry appears to be in no hurry, despite the fact that many Dems would like to see him pick a running mate soon.
Rob Christensen of the Raleigh News & Observer reports that a new national poll by Case Western University shows that the Son of a Meee-alworker is viewed as being most helpful to the Democratic ticket. Sen. John Edwards received 20 percent of the vote, to Sen. Hillary Clinton's 12 percent. LINK
The morning shows:
All three network television morning shows began today with rioting and more deaths in Iraq over the weekend. The CBS "Early Show" also emphasized the terrorist threat to U.S. rail systems.
Sens. John McCain and Joe Biden spoke with Katie Couric about the situation in Iraq on NBC's "Today Show." Sen. Biden would prefer that the deadline for handing over control of Iraq be kept -- but only if a plan is put in place to figure out who will perform Ambassador Paul Bremer's function of refereeing Iraqi disputes. Sen. McCain foresees a military commitment in Iraq of many years. But as far as political control is concerned, he said "… just because we're transferring power doesn't mean we're packing up and leaving. Sooner or later they have to govern themselves."
The CBS "Early Show" looked at the issue of rail safety in the United States through an interview with Commissioner Ray Kelly of the New York Police Department.
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush vs. Kerry:
Ron Fournier writes in a must-read that Bush and Kerry's political fortunes will be based on events largely out of their control: "unpredictable outcomes in Iraq, the vagaries of the economy and the fight against terrorism." LINK
Bush and Kerry's dueling economic messages today:
AP's Scott Lindlaw previews President Bush's speech today in which he will propose efforts to provide more federally funded job training, especially for health care and high-technology fields. LINK
And AP's Nedra Pickler reports that Sen. Kerry will unveil a study today that claims President Bush is increasing the deficit and, in his Wednesday speech at Georgetown, will unveil his plan to pay for his initiatives and propose a return to the "pay as you go" budget rules of the 1990s. ""We intend to run to President Bush's right on this," said Kerry adviser Roger Altman. LINK
Sen. Ted Kennedy will hit the President hard in a speech this morning at Brookings, accusing the Administration of dishonesty on Iraq and its policies in general, saying, "In this Administration, truth is the first casualty of policy."
Some excerpts:
"During the 2000 campaign, America met a Republican candidate for President who promised to conduct our foreign affairs as a 'humble nation,' not an 'arrogant nation.' He was conservative, but he promised to be a 'compassionate conservative.' He promised to overcome the 'soft bigotry of low expectations' in our schools. He promised to meet the urgent need of senior citizens for prescription drug coverage under Medicare. He promised to change the tone in Washington."
"What happened to those promises? In the White House, George Bush has been arrogant, not humble in foreign affairs; conservative, not compassionate in domestic policy. As we now know, all the reassuring language of the 2000 election campaign was a Trojan Horse cynically constructed to smuggle the extreme right wing into the White House."
The Boston Herald's Andrew Miga writes about some of Kerry's Boston neighbors who have cut checks for the President. LINK
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect:
AP's Scott Lindlaw previews President Bush's speech today in which he will propose efforts to provide more federally funded job training, especially for health care and high-technology fields. LINK
The President plans to "double the number of workers who complete federal training each year from the current 200,000 to 400,000 -- but is putting no new money into the effort.," Notes the Washington Post's Mike Allen. LINK
Tony Mecia of the Charlotte Observer lays out President Bush's new jobs plan, which will be unveiled today at Charlotte's Central Piedmont Community College. LINK
USA Today's Susan Page heads out to Missouri to talk to voters and find out how the BC04 ad campaign -- "Define Kerry in a negative way with voters in battleground states before he has a chance to make a positive first impression" -- is working.
"Seven months before Election Day, voters who know little else about the Massachusetts senator are echoing Bush's ads." LINK
"In an unusual election year intraparty debate," Republicans are divided over the Patriot Act, which President Bush is urging Congress to reauthorize and some conservatives say gives the government too much power to "sneak and peek" on the public. LINK
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