The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 21&#151;<br> -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):

—9:00 am: House convenes for morning business—9:30 am: Governor Howard Dean meets with Palo Alto County Democrats, Emmetsburg, Iowa—9:30 am: Senate convenes for legislative business—10:00 am: Senator John Kerry holds a press event at National Aperture, Salem, N.H. —11:30 am: General Wesley Clark meets with local business owners to talk about economic issues, Nashua, N.H.—11:15 am: Governor Dean meets with Kossuth County Democrats, Algona, Iowa —12:15 pm: Senator Kerry goes on a downtown walk with Mayor Bob Baines, Manchester, N.H. —1:15 pm: Governor Dean meets with Hancock County Democrats, Klemme, Iowa —2:45 pm: Governor Dean meets with Winnebago County Democrats, Lake Mills, Iowa —4:30 pm: Governor Dean discusses the economic impact of renewable energy business, Joice, Iowa —6:30 pm: Governor Dean meets with Mitchell County Democrats, Osage, Iowa —7:00 pm: Mayor John Street and Sam Katz participate in their final televised mayoral debate, Philadelphia—8:30 pm: Governor Dean meets with Cerro Gordo County Democrats, Mason City, Iowa

NEWS SUMMARY

The Note endorses endorsements, as the vehicle to alert you to a covey of must-reads.

The Washington Post 's Eilperin and Broder endorse the notion that Tom Reynolds is no Ed Rollins, circa 1990 — try as they might, the reporters couldn't really find too much concern among "endangered" House Republicans over Iraq and the economy and any Bush reverse coattails. LINK

The Note endorses the notion that Howard Dean just might have let expectations get out of control.

While much of the coverage still assumes that Dean will become his party's standard bearer — maybe after running the first-in-the-nation Iowa/New Hampshire table (Dick Morris endorses that exact concept today … . LINK), what if Gephardt wins Iowa and Kerry wins New Hampshire, creating two Comeback Kids and leaving Dean the odd man out with no obvious place to win next?

David Yepsen endorses the Gephardt surge and Dean stall in his state: "Dean's campaign appears to have plateaued … .Gephardt is creeping back ahead of Dean in Iowa." LINK

A new New Hampshire poll, whether it is as solid methodologically as a Zogby poll or not, shows Kerry closer to Dean, giving the Bay Stater's boots on the ground a psychic lift. LINK

The Washington Post 's Jim VandeHei gets a lot of Republicans to endorse Dick Gephardt as the president's strongest general election opponent, a common view of Republicans who view the opposing party's nomination fight and potential strengths through the prism of their own party's dynamics. LINK

(The Note endorses VandeHei's deeming of Frank Luntz as "a former GOP pollster.")

Ron Brownstein, who Cassandra-like foresaw Bill Bradley's trouble with non-college Democrats post-New Hampshire, endorses the notion that Howard Dean is going to have trouble (at least in the general election) if he can't broaden his base. LINK

Brownstein also endorses the notion that South Carolina "is emerging as the marquee contest on Feb. 3," which we think Governor Napolitano might not endorse.

Of course, there is still a lot of ink being spilled on the assumption that Dean will/might be nominated.

The Hill's quasi-endorsement of all the hand-wringing House Democrats in swing districts who think Dean's record on civil unions will kill them in the general should maybe be tempered by the fact that the Bush-Cheney ticket will have the second most pro-gay vice president ever on it, not to mention Mrs. Cheney hanging around. LINK

(Note to Bob Matsui: who are the "top five" candidates of which you speak? Or, more to the point, who are you leaving out?)

David Brooks uses his New York Times column to endorse John Edwards' capacity, as the son of a meeal worker, to reach out to culturally alienated Democrats. LINK

As for the second-day Lieberman/Clark Iowa stories, the Los Angeles Times Mark "Z" Barabak endorses the notion that skipping the state is historically risky, and endorses the legitimacy of the current first-in-the-nation influence — acting, however, as if said influence rises out of the ether, with no human intervention whatsoever. LINK

Tom Oliphant endorses the Generic Democrat over the Real Democrat. LINK

Peter Canellos of the Boston Globe endorses the heroic knowledge and activism of the New Hampshire voter, medium-sized Granite State newspapers, and the notion of using an anecdotal lead based on a Center of the Universe Holiday Inn desk clerk! LINK

The New York Times ed board, however, doesn't endorse any of that at all, savaging all that is sacred about first-in-the-nationness and front-loading, and endorsing (actually: "encouraging") skipping (and "steals" our ethanol joke!). LINK

The New York Times ' Edmund Andrews endorses the view that the president's Treasury Secretary is a bit more optimistic about job growth than some others. LINK

The Wall Street Journal 's ed board endorses Secretary John "Jack" Snow's "warning" that interest rates will rise as the economy heats up.

The Journal's George Melloan, however, can't endorse that at all, saying the Snow job caused the president problems on Asian currencies.

The Note endorses the notion that we still wonder who the president's chief economic spokesperson is, with the election about a year away.

The Washington Post ed board implicitly endorses our notion that its ongoing, niggling criticism of BC04's campaign disclosure makes them candidates themselves for the loony bin. LINK

But we endorse the notion that an ed board actually affecting real-world change (in this case, getting Democratic campaigns to make meaningful, voluntary disclosure) deserves major kudos.

Osama bin Laden endorses Congressman Spratt's view that the deficit shows weakness: "This year's deficit reached a record number estimated at $450 billion. Therefore, we thank God," he said on the new tape. (We aren't kidding.) LINK

President Bush continues his Asian tour today with a stops in Singapore and Indonesia.

Governor Dean campaigns in Iowa.

General Clark campaigns in New Hampshire.

Senator Kerry campaigns in New Hampshire today before heading back to D.C.

Congressman Gephardt, Senator Lieberman, Senator Edwards, Ambassador Moseley Braun, Congressman Kucinich, and Reverend Sharpton have no public events today.

ABC News Vote 2004: The Invisible Primary: USA Today has a front-page health care story that's sure to give some fresh talking points to some of the campaigns. LINK

A new poll has Dean, Clark leading the pack of Democratic hopefuls in Arizona.LINK

Lieberman and Clark Can Now Oppose Ethanol: USA Today 's Jill Lawrence writes up the Clark and Lieberman decisions to skip Iowa, Noting, "Unlike past years, there are plenty of other places to go." LINK

William Saletan writes, "Together, Clark and Lieberman have enough clout to create an alternative, if weaker, story line: The problem isn't them; it's Iowa — and without their participation, the caucuses mean that much less." LINK

"This is not the ideal strategy for winning the Democratic nomination, but for these two candidates, it's probably the only strategy," said Stu Rothenberg in the Washington Times . That about sums it up. LINK