The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, Dec. 17&#151;<br> -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):

—8:00 am: Connecticut Gov. John Rowland speaks to the press about the controversy over renovations done to his Litchfield cottage, Cromwell, Conn.—9:25 am: President Bush commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight, Kill Devil Hills, N.C.—10:15 am: Sen. John Kerry takes a harbor boat tour and speaks about homeland security, Portsmouth, N.H. —11:15 am: Sen. John Edwards speaks about children's education and health care at the Zion-Olivet Presbyterian Church Day Care Center, Charleston, S.C.—12:30 pm: Sen. Kerry meets with voters, Concord, N.H. —1:30 pm: Gen. Wesley Clark speaks to the press to discuss his Hague testimony at Franklin Pierce Law Center, Concord, N.H.—4:00 pm: Rep. Dennis Kucinich speaks at the Ohio Democratic Party Headquarters and files for the Ohio primary, Columbus, Ohio—5:00 pm: Sen. Kerry attends a chili feed at Harlow's Deli and Café, Peterborough, N.H. —5:30 pm: Gen. Clark speaks with voters at New Hampshire Community Technical College, Laconia, N.H. —6:00 pm: Rep. Kucinich speaks at the Ohio Democratic Party Holiday Gathering, Columbus, Ohio —7:30 pm: Sen. Kerry attends a chili feed at Keene Middle School, Keene, N.H.

NEWS SUMMARY

For some, December is about holiday cheer, shopping, and figuring out what to say to President Bush in the photo line at a White House holiday party.*

But for The Note, this month represents one last chance to compile our Dos and Don'ts lists, check each of them twice, and try to be ready to cover the January nominating contests in a way that will swaddle America's political journalists in glory and garlands.

So … .

All we want for Christmas is a cycle in which the political media:

1. doesn't try to force candidates out of the race simply because the hopefuls don't meet the Iowa and/or New Hampshire expectations of Charlie Cook, David Yepsen, and the Boston Globe columnists.

2. doesn't treat every new poll — whether of questionable methodology or not — as a chance to frame (or re-frame) the storyline for voters, listeners, viewers, and readers in a way that tries to take the election away from them.

3. quickly (before it is too late to matter!) analyzes the content and origin of attack ads.

4. doesn't give free ("unearned") coverage to phony ads, with no real money behind them, that just amount to video press releases.

5. looks up the definition of "embedded." LINK

6. remembers we still know virtually nothing about what kind of governor Howard Dean was in Vermont.

7. covers President Bush as a candidate when appropriate.

8. allows all candidates to demonstrate that they have changed, grown, and improved — without locking onto initial stereotypes.

9. doesn't (always) assume a Dick Morris worldview when analyzing the Clintons' every move.

10. stops acting like a spoiled special interest and earns back our reputation as guardians of the public interest, explaining to voters how to connect how they vote with what their government will do.

Now, we aren't the only ones with media scrutiny on the brain today.

Apparently, all Dick Cheney wants for Christmas is a more careful press corps.

In an interview with commentator Armstrong Williams — the text of which was obtained by the Washington Post 's Mike Allen — the VPOTUS had a lot to say about the chosen profession of Tom DeFrank and Eric Schmitt.

Per the television interview — that will air in various places at various times:

"Cheney … criticized what he considers a proliferation of 'cheap shot journalism' about the administration. 'People don't check the facts,' he said … ."

"Cheney called the free press 'a vital part of society,' but added: 'On occasion, it drives me nuts.' When Williams asked what drives him nuts, Cheney said, 'When I see stories that are fundamentally inaccurate.'"

"'It's the hypocrisy that sometimes arises when some in the press portray themselves as objective observers of the passing scene, when they obviously are not objective,' he said. 'Cheap shot journalism. Not everybody is guilty of it, but it happens.'"

"He said coverage has changed over the years, asserting that there is 'such an emphasis now on getting there fast with a story that oftentimes accuracy goes out the window.'"

So having been scooped on what the third-most powerful person in the White House wants from the media for Christmas, The Note did some fast reporting this morning, and came up with some of the other press(ing) holiday desires of the people we cover:

John Kerry would like the media to give all candidates (or at least one particular other one) the same kind of tough-love the Boston Globe gives him.

He would also like the media to pull back from process and see politics, once again, as the art of the possible instead of the inexact science of polls, money, and organization.

This career politician would like the media to forget about the Senator's minutia mistakes and focus instead on what the Kerry camp sees as the broad brushed horror that Howard Dean, as the Democratic nominee, would be.

John Edwards would like the media to stop casting the election as about jobs and health care and national security — when it is so OBVIOUSLY a referendum on whether our children and grandchildren can grow up in an America in which the son of a meeaal worker can beat the son of a president.

General Clark wants the media to realize this election is all about finding Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and the "guy who leaked the memo"--oh wait, Bush actually found Saddam Hussein.

Ok, The General would like it to be about challenging Bush to find the other two.

General Clark also wants the media to focus on his Madonna endorsement as much as Gore's endorsement of Dean.

Dan Bartlett would like to see the media filter punctured — so he is setting up Dan TV in Iraq to filter out the filter.

Stephanie Cutter would like to have read that Robert Gibbs memo a LITTLE more closely, particularly the Nagourney section.

Karl Rove wants his name to stay out of the papers, off TV, and nowhere near The Note.

Congressman Gephardt wishes the media would come to their senses and realize that a president in today's world should have a long track record in Washington, instead of someone whose only political experience is being governor. Whoops … isn't that our (enormously popular) current President?

Howard Dean wants the press to stop doing the other campaigns work for them (?!). (Hey, Governor, that's called "reporting.")

Joe Lieberman wants to start seeing the time-delayed dividend returns on all that money spent on Penn polling.

The Democratic congressional leadership wants the national press to start covering what they say and do (Uhm … our holiday gift to y'all: don't hold your breath.).

The Iowa and New Hampshire political establishments want us to remember that they are general election battleground states.