The Note

 

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California knows how to party: The Boston Globe 's Mary Leonard writes that Gov. Schwarzenegger's seeming revitalization of the California GOP is forcing Senator Kerry, who is likely to win there tomorrow, to look ahead at November and how to take back the previous Democratic hold on the Golden State. LINK

Still a touch wishful thinking for Republicans there, no?

The San Francisco Chronicle endorses John Kerry. "During the campaign, he has been getting decidedly better at translating his grasp of policy into language that connects with Americans who don't know the acronyms or intricacies of Washington." LINK

The Los Angeles Times duo Barabak and Rainey lament California's lack of influence on the nomination process even with more than one-sixth of the delegates needed to win. LINK

The weekend must-reads: CW has it that President Bush wants to get of the Democratic Party's traditional (or perceived) issue advantage among swing voters on health care and education and hopes an improving economy will render the Democrats mute on what could be a key issue.

But despite his tax cuts, his Medicare expansion, and his No Child Left Behind legislation, the public hasn't caught on, a dynamic Los Angeles Times duo reported Sunday.

"To Republicans' distress, Bush has run into trouble on all those fronts. The economy's recovery has been stubbornly slow. The president's tax cuts are not universally popular. His education changes have drawn criticism from educators and state officials in both parties. And the Medicare bill has failed to impress elderly voters." LINK

Some Republicans argue that it's a matter of salesmanship — and that progress will be made.

But others …

"Minnesota's Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty noted a second, more troubling problem: So far, Bush's domestic accomplishments are mostly on paper."

"'People have not felt the benefit yet,' Pawlenty said. 'Every economic indicator is headed in the right direction. But it's a question of will the economy recover quickly enough for people to feel not only the statistical benefit, but the emotional benefit as well.'"

"Pawlenty said he was confident Bush could win Minnesota and other swing states this fall, but only if he could reassure voters on pocketbook issues."

Diamond J. VandeHei and B-Brian Faler looked at Kerry's proposals and concluded that his numbers don't add up. LINK

Howie Kurtz's Sunday Style tour-de-force on Kate O'Connor and Joe Trippi is made ever-the-more precious for us because it quotes the super Joe Drymala. LINK

The story teases out Dean's core difficulty with his campaign manager, his campaign manager's perception that the candidate didn't trust him, and the tactical and strategic confusion that resulted.

Kurtz's take is the definitive top-down account of what went wrong, at least until Kate O'Connor decides to bare her soul. The bottom-up account — whether there was ever a there there — is left to others.

The New York Times ' Purdum study of Kerry's "complex" anti-war words in 1971 included a must-see photo of a svelte Teddy Kennedy and a young John Kerry on May 1, 1971. LINK

2 of the 19 weigh in: Balz and Broder wrote on Sunday that Kerry is "poised" to win the nomination "effectively if not mathematically" in tomorrow's contests. LINK

The New York Times ' Richard Stevenson wrote on Sunday that the Bush-Cheney campaign is expecting to trail Senator Kerry in the polls through the summer. LINK