The Note
W A S H I N G T O N, Nov. 6—<br> -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):
—9:00 am: General Wesley Clark speaks to Queens County Democrats, Queens, New York—9:30 am: Senate convenes for legislative business—9:45 am: Off-camera White House press gaggle with Scott McClellan—10:00 am: House convenes for legislative business—10:16 am: Senator John Kerry holds a campaign event, Concord, N.H.—10:30 am: Senator John Edwards holds a town hall meeting, Swanzey, N.H.—11:00 am: Senator Joe Lieberman attends a town hall meeting with seniors, Lauderhill, Fla.—11:00 am: President Bush makes remarks at the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, D.C.—12:00 pm: Lynne Cheney makes remarks at a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser luncheon, Allentown, Pa.—12:00 pm: Laura Bush makes remarks at a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser, Norfolk, Va.—12:15 pm: On-camera White House press briefing with Scott McClellan—1:05 pm: President Bush signs the emergency appropriations supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan, White House—2:00 pm: Senator Edwards officially files to be a candidate in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, Concord, N.H.—2:00 pm: General Clark delivers a speech on America's role in Iraq at South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, S.C.—3:00 pm: President Bush makes remarks and presents the National Medals of Science and Technology, White House—3:00 pm: SEIU President Andy Stern holds a press conference to announce the union's presidential endorsement, D.C.—4:00 pm: Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun attends an endorsement event, Chicago—6:30 pm: Governor Dean holds a town hall meeting with undecided voters at Daniel Webster College, Nashua, N.H.—8:00 pm: Vice President Cheney makes remarks at a fundraiser for Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Denver
NEWS SUMMARY
Everywhere you look today, political/media elites have stuff to say about Howard Dean.
In a 100%-proof must-read Wall Street Journal column, Al Hunt says, "More than ideology or issues, there are three qualities voters look for would-be presidents to convey: competence, strength and optimism. Dr. Dean, … (Democratic) party professionals fear, instead exudes inexperience, anger and pessimism." LINK
On Dean's overall trajectory and campaign funding para-decision, Schwarzenegger chief of staff emeritus Michael Murphy tells the Washington Post , "Dean is trying to combine McCain's insurgent appeal with Bush's huge resource advantage. It makes him very formidable."
In remarks you will read nowhere but The Note, John Kerry, acting like he was alone with Andrew Kirtzman, says about Dean, "The Governor moves faster in more different directions, tells more stories than anyone I've met in politics. This is not a straight talker; this is a guy looking for the new angle every time he can."
And/but (major props to the AP's Leigh "Who's Greenhouse?" Strope), union boss Andy Stern of SEIU should have something nice to say about Howard Dean later today.
(If you don't know how big that is to the Dean campaign, please go back and re-read Chapter 7 of "The Note for Dummies.")
And, it just might turn out that in the next fortnight we learn that the Burlington tent is big enough to fit Gerry McEntee under it as well.
(Chapter 8 of the same book for those of you who are wondering why this is in the summary.)
Al Sharpton is talking about Howard Dean — see ABC News' Beth Loyd's reporting below on a Dean-to-Sharpton phone call.
And the goo-goo campaign finance groups, driving Republicans looking for consistency batty, seem to be thinking about Dean's (tentative) decision to Busta Caps only in the breach, giving him a pass.
The Republican National Committee's Jim "Who's Mindy Tucker?" Dyke, in constant coffee-spew mode over the last day of Deania, tells The Note all of this in stream of consciousness:
"Clearly, Mr. Dean didn't read the New York Times editorial this morning before he went on TV, because he continued to have trouble with the truth. He said repeatedly on national TV that he will be outspent by the Bush-Cheney campaign with corporation money, all of those $2,000 contributions. If Common Cause and other 'watchdog' groups are abandoning their positions on public financing, they should at least send the Dean campaign a copy of the new campaign finance law (just so he doesn't get in trouble)."
"Mr. Dean, corporate contributions are against the law! In fairness, maybe he was just suggesting third party groups would be spending $200 million, and to that I say PROVE IT! What I can prove is that third party groups committed to defeating the president and Republicans are going to spend between $360 and $500 million to elect a Democrat."
"Note to Anchors: the next time a guest suggests that the entire election will be rigged by the people who make the voting machines, you may want to ask a follow up. Suggestion: So you need to forgo public financing because the election is going to be rigged?"
Other people have thoughts on Howard Dean too: Gail Collins; Ruth Marcus; Richard Cohen, Al Sharpton, George Will, Tom Edsall and his sidekick; Mark Barabak and James Rainey; Diamond Jim and Jodi; Glen Justice; and the super-influential John DiStaso, who writes up for the Union Leader the largest issues facing Dean in New Hampshire. LINK
Despite all this verbiage (or, perhaps, because of it) Joe Trippi keeps being right in saying that the other presidential campaigns still don't GET the Dean campaign.
But we wonder if Trippi GETS what Al Hunt writes today about Dean's semiotic and rhetorical relationship with religion and the military.
In the meantime, Hunt is right: there is a CW in some Republican and journalistic quarters that Dick Gephardt is the leading candidate to emerge as the anti-Dean.
At The Note, we still think: any of four or five people can still be that person.
And the ultimate Democratic nomination fight question remains: will the qualities and weaknesses that Hunt's Democrats think will make Dean a disastrous general election candidate turn out to, come January, stop him from even being his party's nominee?
President Bush is in D.C. today, where he will make remarks at the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, sign the emergency appropriations supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan, and present the National Medals of Science and Technology.
Vice President Cheney will attend a fundraiser for Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell in Denver tonight.
Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Cheney will attend separate Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraisers today in Norfolk, Va., and Allentown, Pa., respectively.
Governor Dean is likely to join SEIU President Andy Stern for a press conference today in D.C. to announce the group's endorsement for his campaign. He heads to New Hampshire tonight for a town hall meeting.
Senator Kerry campaigns in New Hampshire.
General Clark campaigns in New York and South Carolina.
Congressman Gephardt has no public events today.
Senator Edwards campaigns in New Hampshire.
Senator Lieberman campaigns in Florida .
Congressman Kucinich is in D.C. with no public events.
Reverend Sharpton is in New York City today with no public events.
Ambassador Moseley Braun will attend an endorsement event with IBEW member Mike Fitzgerald in Chicago today.
ABC News Vote 2004: The Invisible Primary: House of Labor:From ABC News' Gayle Tzemach:
What does it mean for Dean to win SEIU's endorsement?
Paul Stokes, president of the union's Local 1984 in New Hampshire says, with only a bit of joke in his voice, "It means you are going to get elected president of the United States. We are the largest union in the AFL-CIO and it opens up a large segment of organized labor to a candidate."
As for Dean winning the endorsement, Stokes said, "Three or four months ago, I don't think anybody would have thought that. Conventional wisdom said it would probably be Congressman Gephardt or Senator Kerry, but Governor Dean has made some great progress."
And maybe he makes some more next week.
In addition to the big SEIU endorsement, look for more endorse-horse-racing next Wednesday when the politically potent American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) executive board members gather in Washington for a specially scheduled endorsement meeting.
Sources close to the union say Dean is looking likely to be the candidate of choice for the 1.4 million-member AFSCME, whose kingmaking credentials were burnished in the 1992 cycle when it came out early for then-Governor Bill Clinton.
General Wesley Clark had been the most recent contender favored to win the backing of AFSCME's Gerry McEntee, who only recently sat down with several candidates, including Congressman Gephardt, but more than one labor official said Clark's decision to skip Iowa and his less-than-energizing performance on the trail thus far led McEntee to cool on endorsing a second Arkansan.
While the original plan called for a December endorsement, a source close to the union says, "they are really trying to wrap this thing up" as the nomination season approaches.
As for whether SEIU and AFSCME — not known for their cordial relations with one another — could work together for the same candidate, a source close to the two unions says it isn't a problem. "This whole thing about (SEIU's Andy) Stern and (AFSCME's Gerry) McEntee is non-existent."
(We bet some in the labor community will beg to differ and we ask you not to flood our inboxes with examples of just how alive the Stern-McEntee tension really is!)
And while labor leaders backing Congressman Gephardt had been hopeful their candidate still had a shot at AFSCME backing, they say they are preparing to move forward with their plans for the pro-Gephardt Alliance for Economic Justice (AEJ). Alliance officials stress their group is not just designed to help the Missouri congressman, but also aimed at advocating issues such as trade and health care dear to their private sector union members.
On Saturday, leaders of the Alliance's 18 unions will gather in Des Moines to talk strategy and lay out plans for its field program.
An official Gephardt endorsement is scheduled for the 15th, also in Des Moines.
Kerry:From ABC News' Kerry campaign reporter Ed O'Keefe:
John Kerry never liked Howard Dean. More significantly, many argue, the Massachusetts Senator never took the former Vermont Governor very seriously.
