The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, March 23&#151;<br> -- TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)

FUTURES CALENDAR

NEWS SUMMARY

The best headline for today's Note would be:

A. Wasn't in the Loop, FranklyYada, Yada, Yada -- I Want to Be President

B. My Mom and Dad Are So ProudI'm on Bandstand (Bandstand!)

C. What Did Tom Kean Know?And When Did He Know It?

D. Did You Hear What They Want to Do to You and Me? They Wanna Take Away Our Social Security LINK

E. The Speaker Wins the Ray LaHood AwardDenny's Grand Slam

F. Bartlett's QuotationsDan Channels Michiko Kakutani

G. Sid Hoffman or Sid Frenchman? What is John Kerry Going to Say Next? LINK

If these choices aren't clear to you (let alone the correct answer), read on.

The 9/11 Commission meets all day, and Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee John Snow and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson host a press briefing on the Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports on at noon.

President Bush is in Washington, D.C. today, meeting with the President of Colombia, then meeting with his Cabinet, then holding a photo-op with NCAA sports champions.

First Lady Laura Bush speaks about the risks of heart disease for women in Chicago, Ill.

Vice President Cheney is in Washington, D.C. but has no public events scheduled.

Sen. Kerry continues his vacation in Ketchum, Idaho.

9/11 Commission:

The chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, did the full round of morning shows prior to their full day of meetings with Bush and Clinton Administration officials.

They repeatedly said that the White House was being mostly cooperative but that they were "disappointed" in National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice's decision not to testify publicly. When asked specifically for his reaction to Dick Clarke's book, Kean said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that "we do not have conclusive evidence on that point. That is still very much a matter of ongoing investigation here and will be a central point of inquiry for the commission."

As for their interview with President Bush, which is "weeks away," vice chairman Lee Hamilton said that "it is my impression, and I think the governor's as well, that we'll have sufficient time with the president to get the answers we need."

The AP's Hope Yen previews the 9/11 commission testimony expected today and tomorrow. LINK

Bush Administration v. Clarke:

Is this thing over or going another news cycle, what with Clarke's 9/11 star turn slated for tomorrow? Time will, uhm, tell.

While appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" for the second day in a row, former terrorism adviser Richard Clarke responded to questions about his motivations, saying, "I'm not doing this because I'm disgruntled. I'm doing this because I think Americans deserve the truth."

Clarke repeated his charge about Rumsfeld and Iraq: "Right after 9/11, even though there was no connection with Iraq and everybody knew it, Rumsfeld asked for and got from the President in writing -- in a directive -- instructions to prepare for the invasion of Iraq."

He rebutted Vice President Cheney's Monday comments on the Rush Limbaugh Show about all of the terrorist attacks that occurred on Clarke's watch during those "eight years going back to 1993" by recounting the terrorist attacks that were successfully thwarted and by saying that "there were fewer than 50 persons over the course of those eight years that were killed by Al Qaeda."

Clarke then went on the offensive against his critics: "in the Reagan Administration, 300 Americans died in Lebanon and there was no retaliation. In the Bush I Administration, almost 300 Americas died on Pan Am 103 and no retaliation. Yet for this much smaller threat, we had done a great deal."

While appearing on CNN's "American Morning," Clarke again defended his record -- this time invoking the C-word.

"I would argue that for what had actually happened prior to 9/11, the Clinton Administration was doing a great deal. In fact, so much that when the Bush people came into office they thought I was a little crazy, a little obsessed with this little terrorist Bin Laden. Why wasn't I focused on Iraqi-sponsored terrorism?"

On "Fox and Friends" this morning, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett was questioned from "the White House in that room with the blue curtain," as the questioner, Steve Doocy, put it, and continued the Administration's attempts to refute the stories of Clarke.

"I think what Vice President Cheney said yesterday is obviously correct. Dick Clarke seems more interested in which meetings he was in or which meetings he wasn't included in," Bartlett said. "The President reconstituted daily briefings so he could be briefed firsthand by the head of intelligence . . . [The Bush Administration] should have been a dream come true for him because President Bush said, 'Look, I want a plan to take out al Qaeda.'"

Doocy Noted that Kerry had a new ad that didn't mention President Bush ("Kind of the kindler, gentler John Kerry," Doocy said with a shrug). Bartlett said Kerry is trying to define himself because "if you look at his record and his past statements, it's kind of confusing… John Kerry doesn't have a clear direction he wants to lead this country."

The White House unloaded on Clarke yesterday in an effort to counter new charges detailed in his tell-all book from his time in the Administration, report Dana Milbank and Mike Allen of the Washington Post. The dashing duo point out that although some Republicans defended the White House and some remained "conspicuously silent," others expressed concern, most Notably Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.).

"This is a serious book written by a serious professional who's made serious charges, and the White House must respond to these charges," said Hagel. LINK

The Los Angeles Times triumvirate of Reynolds, Meyer and Miller on the coordinated White House offensive to rebut Clarke's charges. Clarke talks to the paper and stands by his story. LINK

Dan Eggen and Walter Pincus of the Washington Post turn in a Clarke profile/book review, juxtaposing the Administration slams with comments from people who worked with Clarke and describe his modus operandi in a different way than, say, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. Eggen and Pincus Note that the Bush Administration had great confidence in the former counterterrorism adviser after the 9/11 attacks but his "hard-charging style and a penchant for self-promotion" also caused great friction and "has given ammunition to his critics in recent days." LINK

The New York Times' duo of Miller and Bumiller on the "aggressive personal attack" from the Bush Administration on its former counterterrorism chief. Write the two, "The angry White House response to Mr. Clarke, which was authorized by Mr. Bush, reflects the administration's fears over the book's potential political damage." LINK

Some of the alleged eye witnesses to the alleged Bush-Clarke colloquy allegedly don't completely back up the alleged Clarke account of the alleged presidential tone -- which we would guess would be cycled big-time into the White House talking points.

The Los Angeles Times' Richter on Clarke's effectiveness -- and his enemies. LINK

The New York Times' Todd Purdum analyzes Clarke's criticism of Bush's handling of Al Qaeda, writing that "at the worst possible moment, it undercuts Mr. Bush on the issue that he has made the unapologetic centerpiece of his administration and a linchpin of his re-election campaign: his handling of the global war on terror." LINK