The Note
W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 9 —<br> -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):
— 9:40 am: President Bush makes remarks to National Guard members and their families at Pease Air National Guard Base, Portsmouth, N.H.— 10:30 am: Senator John Edwards has breakfast with Mahaska County Democrats, Oskaloosa, Iowa— 11:45 am: Senator Edwards meets with Marion County Democrats, Knoxville, Iowa— 12:00 pm: President Bush makes remarks on the economy at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, Manchester, N.H.— 12:00 pm: Governor Dean attends a campaign rally at Arizona State University, Phoenix— 1:00 pm: Senator Edwards attends a house party at the home of State Representative Mark Davitt, Indianola, Iowa— 1:15 pm: Reverend Al Sharpton speaks at the Brophy College Preparatory Academy, Phoenix— 1:30 pm: Vice President Cheney makes remarks at a fundraiser for Representative Chris Chocola, South Bend, Ind.— 3:00 pm: Reverend Sharpton addresses the Arizona Bureau of Black Leadership's luncheon, Phoenix— 6:00 pm: Senator John Kerry makes remarks to fire fighters and supporters at Cesar Chavez Plaza, Phoenix— 6:05 pm: President Bush attends an "Ernie Fletcher for Governor" reception, Lexington, Ky.— 6:30 pm: Senator Joe Lieberman attends a campaign rally at a Starbucks, Phoenix— 7:30 pm: Vice President Cheney makes remarks at a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser, Oklahoma City— 8:00 pm: Democratic National Committee sponsored presidential debate hosted by Governor Janet Napolitano and the Arizona Democratic Party, Phoenix
NEWS SUMMARY
Having a good news cycle as we start the day: Arnold and Maria, those feeling Filtered, and Don Imus.
Having a bad news cycle as we start the day: John Kerry, Wes Clark, and sources who aren't familiar with Chris Lehane's thinking.
You won't want to miss the Washington Post 's double hit jobs on Kerry and Clark today.
And, if you are one of the fortunate Americans who can afford cable or satellite TV, don't miss tonight's Democratic presidential debate from Arizona, at which Jeff Greenfield will try to remember to smile, and for which pundits are once again predicting anti-Dean, anti-Clark fireworks, and/but pointing out that the format doesn't really make that easy, and, by the way, attacking in a multi-candidate field is risky and tough.
Viewer's guide: watch closely to see which candidate makes the most shameless appeal for the endorsement of Bob Graham's daughters.
President Bush greeted the Greggs on arrival this morning and makes remarks this morning to National Guard members and their families at Pease Air National Guard Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Later, he will speak about the economy at a meeting of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Tonight, he travels to Lexington, Kentucky, to attend a campaign reception for Ernie Fletcher's gubernatorial campaign.
Vice President Cheney will speak at a fundraiser for Congressman Chris Chocola in South Bend, Ind., this afternoon. Tonight, he will make remarks at a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser in Oklahoma City.
Governor Dean will attend a pre-debate rally at Arizona State University. He'll also attend a debate watch party with supporters after the debate.
General Clark will attend a debate watch party tonight after the debate before traveling home to Little Rock, Arkansas.
Senator Kerry will speak to fire fighters and supporters at a rally in Cesar Chavez Plaza before the debate today. He will attend a couple of debate watch parties later tonight.
Senator Lieberman will go to a pre-debate rally at a downtown Starbucks in Phoenix today. He will also go to a debate watch party after the debate.
Senator Edwards is in Iowa this morning wrapping up a three-day swing of the "Real Solutions Tour." He has breakfast with Mahaska County Democrats, attends a meeting with Marion County Democrats, and attends a house party at the home of State Representative Mark Davitt. He then heads to Phoenix for tonight's debate.
Congressman Kucinich will attend a post-debate party.
Reverend Sharpton will speak at the Brophy College Preparatory Academy and address the Arizona Bureau of Black Leadership in Phoenix today. He will also have dinner with prospective donors after the debate. He won't miss the debate this time.
Congressman Gephardt and Ambassador Moseley Braun have no other announced public events besides the debate.
The Note's allusion yesterday to one Todd Harris' bachelor party generated so much response that it took hours to settle down the Googling monkeys. For those of you who asked us when? what? what did you miss?, we bring you this missive from Mr. Harris himself:
"A lot has been promised me over the past few weeks, in exchange for an interview with Arnold. But big kudos to ABC News and the folks at The Note for going the extra mile and actually arranging a marriage. Whoever she is, I look forward to meeting her. But until then, I remain single … and all those kinds of things."
So, any "mention" we made of Todd's bachelor party yesterday was purely hypothetical — or, at least, premature, and Mr. Harris remains both very available and by any standard an amazing catch.
DNC debate:
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and the Arizona Democratic Party host tonight's debate in Phoenix. All nine candidates are scheduled to attend, and this will be the first get together since Senator Graham became the first declared candidate to drop out.
Unlike the previous debate in New York City that focused on the economy, this debate has no stated central focus. CNN's Judy Woodruff will moderate, and her CNN colleagues Candy Crowley and Jeff Greenfield also will sit on the panel.
As for the format, your guess is as good as ours on what the final version will be — apparently the DNC, CNN, and the campaigns had a lot of really constructive conversations about that.
The last we heard was that the first part will consist of "modules" where the panel will ask one question to one candidate and then Woodruff will follow up with other candidates at her discretion. The second part will consist of a series of small town hall meeting-style groups where each candidate will take questions from pre-screened members of the audience.
The AP curtain raises tonight's showdown in Phoenix. Thursday's debate "will not be confined to a specific theme" but the candidates are expected to discuss issues with a "distinctively Western flavor, including immigration reform and forest health." LINK
California recall:
In our West Coast blur, we failed to point out yesterday what a disastrous event the recall was for Terry McAuliffe's Democrat Party (We are self-consciously dropping the '-ic" to punish them … .).
In our Bernie Goldberg thought of the day, imagine the howls of outrage from the Los Angeles Times and the dominant media if Karl Rove or some other Republican spent the last 72 hours of the campaign touting — usually on the record! — "internal" campaign polling purporting to show dramatic tightening in a race that was not supported by either pre-election public polling or the election results.
