The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 26&#151;<br> -- TODAY SCHEDULE AS OF 9:00 am (all times ET):

—8:30 am: The Labor Department releases the weekly jobless claims report—9:00 am: The Intelligence Policy and National Security Subcommittee holds a closed meeting on global intelligence—9:20 am: Tom Brokaw, Joe Klein, Paul Gigot and Dee Dee Myers speak at "The Road to the White House: Covering the 2004 Election" sponsored by the Newhouse School and The New Yorker, New York, N.Y. —9:30 am: Vice President Cheney delivers remarks at a breakfast for Congressman Roscoe Bartlett at the Four Points Sheraton, Hagerstown, Md. —10:00 am: The House of Representatives convenes for legislative business—10:00 am: Secretary of State Collin Powell testifies at a Senate Budget Committee hearing on the President's international affairs budget for FY2005—10:15 a.m.: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Washington, D.C. —10:45 am: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly news conference, Washington, D.C. —10:50 am: President Bush participates in a conversation on the economy at ISCO Industries, Louisville, Ky. —11:30 am: Ralph Nader gives a press conference at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas—12:00 pm: Sen. John Edwards holds a rally at the Delancy Street Center, San Francisco, Calif. —12:30 pm: Vice President Cheney delivers remarks at a luncheon for Rep. Tim Murphy at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, Latrobe, Pa. —12:35 pm: President Bush attends a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser luncheon at the Galt House Hotel, Louisville, Ky. —1:00 pm: Mrs. Cheney speaks at the Association of American Publishers' (AAP) general annual meeting luncheon, Washington, D.C. —1:30 pm: House Speaker Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt and Rep. Melissa Hart (R-Pa.), hold a news conference to urge passage of "Laci and Conner's Law," a measure that would make it a federal crime to kill or injure a fetus in an attack on a pregnant woman. —2:00 pm: The Federal Election Committee meets—2:00 pm: Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) hold a news conference to discuss gun industry immunity legislation currently under consideration in the Senate—2:45 pm: President Bush participates in a meeting on the economy, Charlotte, N.C. —3:00 pm: Ralph Nader gives a speech at Richland Community College, Dallas, Texas—3:00 pm: National Security Advisor Rice delivers Reagan Lecture at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley, Calif. —4:00 pm: Sen. Kerry meets with striking grocery workers at Vons Supermarket, Santa Monica, Calif. —4:30 pm: The Federal Reserve releases weekly reports on aggregate reserves and the monetary base, factors affecting bank reserves and money supply—6:00 pm: Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at a reception for Bush-Cheney '04 Maverick fundraisers at the King Plow Arts Center, Atlanta, Ga. —6:00 pm: Singer Carol King rallies for Sen. Kerry, Hastings, N.Y. —6:05 pm: President Bush attends a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser reception at the Convention Center, Charlotte, N.C. —8:00 pm: Gov. Howard Dean addresses a "volunteer appreciation dinner" at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, Conn. —9:00 pm: The remaining candidates participate in the CNN/Los Angeles Times Democratic presidential candidate debate—10:45 pm: Sen. Edwards drops by a debate watch party at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif. —10:45 pm: Rep. Dennis Kucinich attends a rally at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif. —11:30 pm: Sen. Kerry drops by debate watch party and rally at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Calif.

NEWS SUMMARY

It is a truism among strategists of both major political parties that there are enough things to worry about in a campaign that you CAN control that it is folly to spend even a second worrying about those things that you CAN'T control.

And -- let's face it -- John Kerry is not the worrying kind.

Still, if he WERE inclined to worry, just what would be on his mind?

(And, as a Note bonus quiz, put a check mark next to the items that he (and his campaign) can control (or, at least, influence).)

1. John Edwards coming across in tonight's CNN/Los Angeles Times debate (9:00 pm ET) as more of an Everyman than Larry King and more of a policy wonk than Ron Brownstein.

2. Kerry's Sunday debate encounter with WCBS's Andrew Kirtzman producing the same revealing results as their previous meeting. LINK and LINK

3. Edwards "winning" Georgia, Minnesota, and Ohio and getting to go forward.

4. The release of the pending study by two MIT linguists textually comparing Kerry's statements on gay marriage with his statements explaining his "support" for the war against Iraq. LINK

5. The death penalty.

6. The $90 million worth of "I'm President George Bush, and I approved this message because America can't afford the biggest says-one-thing-does-another president ever, who is also a Franco-Massachusetts big-government liberal."

7. The Federal Election Commission rendering the left-leaning 527s virtually useless.

8. Al Sharpton beginning to ask how many African-Americans served in Kerry's cabinet.

9. Bill Clinton's book.

10. Al Gore's endorsement.

11. John Sasso's vacation schedule.

12. Bob Shrum's vacation schedule.

13. Union, press facilities, and Romney v. Menino problems at the convention.

14. Blurting out during his final-night speech at the Boston confab: "J'accepte votre nomination pour le President des Etats-Unis."

15. The Olympics.

16. Being snookered in the debate about debates.

As for your Note exclusives, see our reporting on Howard Dean's opening act in New Haven today.

As for your must-reads, see:

1. The gifted Ron Fournier of the Family Wire explaining why Ohio is so key now and in November. Fournier's bigger-than-life lead: "Florida is so passe. This year's must-have state is Ohio." LINK

2. The Boston Globe's Healy and Phillips report that "Kerry told the Globe that he would support a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would prohibit gay marriage so long as, while outlawing gay marriage, it also ensured that same-sex couples have access to all legal rights that married couples receive." LINK

3. Diamond Jim VandeHei of the Washington Post says that Sen. John Kerry has accepted campaign donations from top executives associated with companies which have outsourced jobs to other countries. For those keeping track, these are the same chief executives (sort of) Kerry frequently calls "Benedict Arnolds" on the campaign trail. LINK

4. The Los Angeles Times' ultra-talented La Ganga and Hooks do more with one story than Jim Dyke could do in a month to plant the "John Kerry exaggerates like Al Gore" seed, looking at his stump claims of senatorial accomplishment.

They say "while a review of his record shows he has a rightful claim to leadership in many . . . areas, it also finds that in some cases he exaggerates his role." LINK

5. Allowing the Bay Stater to dodge a bullet, the New York Times endorses Kerry for President, calling him the "the real comeback star this year." LINK

Few things might keep a passel of weary Googling monkeys up at night -- but the chance to see Larry King, Ron Brownstein and Janet Clayton question the Democrats vying for the presidential nomination is one of them. Tonight's 90-minute debate, hosted by CNN and the Los Angeles Times at the University of Southern California, begins at 9:00 pm ET.

President Bush is in Kentucky and in North Carolina for fundraisers.

Sens. Kerry and Edwards are in California today, and will participate with Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Rev. Al Sharpton in tonight's action.

Ralph Nader is in Texas.

Dean:

Gov. Howard Dean will address a "volunteer appreciation dinner" tomorrow night at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, Conn., at 8:00 pm ET.

It's open to the press.

Dean is not writing a speech for the occasion, but he's expected to comment on the state of the presidential race and discuss the status of the transformation of his debt-ridden campaign into a lean, mean organizing machine for progressive candidates. The "campaign," or whatever you want to call it, already has a list of several dozen candidates for state local office it will support in some form or another.

Dean has spoken within the past few days to former campaign manager Joe Trippi. Mr. Trippi has set up a "bat" on his Web site (http://www.changeforamerica.com) to help Dean retire his debt.

Though Gov. Dean has recently spoken with Sens. Kerry and Edwards, and though he remains quite impressed with Sen. Edwards' political skills, he has no plans to endorse him, several aides stress.

"No plans," caution Dean aides, means "no plans."

The more savvy speculation (we think) on the Dean blog says this: if the conditions on the ground change, and if there appears to be a groundswell of visible, public support for Edwards in states like Minnesota, Georgia and Ohio, Dean could very well decide that his endorsement would help the North Carolina Senator cross the threshold. Dean likes Edwards more than Kerry, thinks Edwards would be a more effective nominee, and wants him to win.

But he's more politically cautious than normally thought and does not want to hurt Sen. Kerry's chances in the fall by a premature endorsement of the anti-Kerry alternative.

There is little in the exit polls to suggest that Dean voters would necessarily or automatically support Edwards, though the small, hard-core Deaniacs who post to the blogs like Edwards much more than they like Kerry, whom they consider a tool of the Washington establishment and all other things evil.