The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 14 &#151;<br> -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):

—9:00 am: Senator Joe Lieberman hosts a pancake breakfast and makes remarks, Oklahoma City, Okla.—9:00 am: Senator John Edwards appears on "The Exchange" on New Hampshire public radio—9:10 am: Off-camera White House press gaggle with Scott McClellan—9:30 am: Senate convenes for morning business—9:30 am: Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun participates in a roundtable discussion at the East Bank Club, Chicago—10:30 am: Senator John Kerry makes remarks on health care for children, Nashua, N.H.—10:30 am: Senator Lieberman holds a town hall meeting with first responders, Oklahoma City, Okla.—11:00 am: President Bush participates in a photo-op with the 2003 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, White House—11:30 am: Congressman Dennis Kucinich speaks at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque, N.M.—12:00 pm: House convenes for a pro forma session—12:30 pm: On-camera White House press briefing with Scott McClellan—2:00 pm: General Wesley Clark delivers remarks on public service at Hunter College, New York City—3:15 pm: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice briefs reporters on the President's trip to Asia and Australia, White House—8:00 pm: Senator Edwards holds a town hall meeting at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.—8:00 pm: General Clark attends a young Democrats fundraiser, New York City—8:00 pm: Reverend Al Sharpton attends a birthday campaign fundraiser at Jay-Z's 40/40, New York City—8:30 pm: Senator Kerry attends a private campaign fundraiser, Kansas City, Mo.—9:30 pm: Governor Howard Dean attends the Lee County Octoberfest, Montrose, Iowa

NEWS SUMMARY

Between Al Franken; E.D., Steve, and Brian; Bernie Goldberg; Paul and James and Mary; American Journalism Review; Adam Levine; the Beltway Boys; Joe Lockhart; and Deborah Orin — between all of those folks, it's hard to know if the Chattering Class' press corps is too pro-Bush or too anti-Bush.

The Note tries so hard to be fair every day that it makes our teeth hurt, but, by regularly disregarding Thumper's Mother's Rule LINK, we set ourselves up for attacks from all sides.

Tomorrow, we'll give you the link to the site where you will be able to buy our new T-shirts (limited edition; only 800 made) that say "I'M THE FILTER," on the back and "Gang of 500" in small letters on the front pocket.

They come in three colors: peach, cherry, and wheat. (Or maybe that's "three flavors.")

They are going to be collectors' items at the White House, and our plan to generate PR is to give the first one to Ari Fleischer and leak that fact to Anne Schroeder, thereby knocking Clooney's sushi-eating-ways and "K Street" out of the lead-off "Names and Faces" spot, at least for a day. LINK

Today, we humbly offer America's political journalists the following mid-course (correction) reminders, knowing full well the effect this will have on our in-boxes — but we aren't afraid.

Let's all remember to:

1. Note when the president's poll numbers go up (since we go straight to chicken little mode when they go down). See Gallup today, which says "President Bush's job approval rating (is) running roughly five points higher than last month. Fifty-six percent now approve of the overall job he is doing." LINK (And/but there is a there's a fascinating ABC News/ Washington Post poll coming out tonight … )

2. Note when there is good economic news (since we act like we are in the Great Depression everytime a Subway closes).

3. Hold Democratic presidential candidates accountable for their rhetorical consistency and policy proposals — Deficit reduction? Job growth? Finding Saddam and bin Laden? (since we demand all that from the incumbent).

4. Not act like Joe Trippi is anymore intrinsically interesting than Ken Mehlman when assigning profiles (although it's true that we have never seen Ken huddled under an airline blanket on his office couch on a Sunday night).

5. Imagine what kind of coverage the president (or even his major surrogates) would get if he called his opponents "phony" or some such thing.

Now, let's all get back to our anti-Republican, anti-Bush, anti-incumbent, more-analytical-less-reporting mode of behavior!!

There is a lot to cover today (particularly the Manhattan doings of a certain General … and a President with a certain Admiral), and few things you must read:

1. Jill Lawrence on the front page of USA Today on Wes Clark. LINK

2. A Harold Bloom Wall Street Journal op-ed in homage to Clark that seems to aspire to do for The General what Mark Helprin did for Bob Dole.

3. Jeanne Cummings doing a fantastic job in the Journal with a first-draft-of-history look at the Dean campaign's Internet strategy (And, yes, this one has stuff in it you haven't already read that is both methodological and narrative … ).

4. Dean versus the world on busting the caps and Iraq.

More on all that below.

And to the Newsday editors who thought they'd scored when The Note wrote yesterday that Thomas DeFrank works for them: Sorry. We meant the New York Daily News.

General Clark campaigns in New York City. In a speech scheduled at New York's Hunter College, Clark will call for the creation of "a corps of civilians who could be called up for service in national emergencies much like the National Guard." LINK

President Bush will take part in a photo-op with the 2003 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs at the White House today. For what it's worth, The Note points out that the Admiral is now retired and the president should consider offering him a job. Condoleezza Rice will brief reporters this afternoon on the president's upcoming trip to Asia and Australia.

Lynne Cheney attends a private Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser in Atlanta today.

Governor Dean campaigns in Iowa today.

Senator Kerry campaigns in New Hampshire and Missouri today.

Senator Edwards campaigns in New Hampshire.

Senator Lieberman continues his re-launch tour today in Oklahoma.

Congressman Gephardt is in D.C. with no public events today.

Congressman Kucinich continues his announcement tour today in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, and Illinois.

Reverend Sharpton will celebrate his birthday tonight at a fundraiser at 40/40 in New York City.

Ambassador Moseley Braun is scheduled to take part in a roundtable discussion in Chicago today with Representative Jan Schakowsky.

ABC News Vote 2004: The Invisible Primary:

USA Today 's Susan Page reports on a new poll that gives us the good, the bad, and the ugly (you decide which is which): "Solid majorities of Americans support changes in the nation's political system, want the power to recall elected officials and are angry about the way some things are going in this country." LINK

Page gets none other than presidential pollster plenipotentiary, "Triple P" Matt Dowd, to comment.

"Matthew Dowd, a senior strategist for Bush's re-election campaign, disputes any comparison with the California race. 'It's not an anger; it's just concern,' he says. He notes that Americans nationwide continue to have high regard for Bush's leadership."

The AP's Holly Ramer reports that Dean and Kerry "traded insults Monday over the war in Iraq, with Kerry faulting his presidential rival for a lack of policy and Dean complaining that 'we wouldn't be there if it weren't for Democrats like Senator Kerry.'" LINK

Lloyd Grove provides his readers with a sneak peak of Blender magazine's upcoming issue with the presidential candidates' musical tastes. The likelihood of John Mellencamp, Moby, or James Brown playing at a state dinner may affect your vote. LINK

Roll back vs. tax hike: Democratic hopefuls are walking a fine line between advocacy and rebuttal, reports Geoff Earle of the Hill. LINK