The Note
W A S H I N G T O N September 24—<br> -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):
—7:30 am: President Bush meets with Caribbean leaders, New York City
—8:55 am: President Bush meets with the chancellor of Germany, New York City
—9:00 am: Vice President Cheney meets with members of the House Republican Conference, Capitol Hill
—9:30 am: Representative Dick Gephardt receives the endorsement of the Laborers' International Union of North America, Chicago—9:30 am: General Wesley Clark gives a speech about jobs and takes questions in East River Park, New York City
—9:30 am: Senate convenes for legislative business
—9:30 am: Senate Foreign Relations Committee hears testimony from Paul Bremer, the U.S. Civilian Administrator in Iraq, Capitol Hill
—9:45 am: President Bush meets with the president of Ghana, New York City
—10:00 am: House convenes for legislative business
—10:00 am: Senate Appropriations Committee hears testimony from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard Myers, and CENTCOM General John Abizaid, Capitol Hill
—10:00 am: Vice President Cheney and OMB Director Josh Bolten meet with members of the House Policy Committee, Capitol Hill
—10:20 am: President Bush meets with the president of Pakistan, New York City
—11:10 am: President Bush meets with the president of Mozambique, New York City
—12:00 pm: President Bush meets with the prime minister of India, New York City
—12:15 pm: Governor Howard Dean speaks to the American Society of Magazine Editors luncheon, New York City
—12:30 pm: Senator John Kerry receives the endorsement of the International Association of Fire Fighters, D.C.
—2:00 pm: House Appropriations Committee hears testimony from Paul Bremer and General Abizaid, Capitol Hill
—2:00 pm: Representative Dennis Kucinich unveils legislation to repeal the USA PATRIOT Act, Capitol Hill
—2:00 pm: President Bush meets privately with business and insurance leaders, New York City
—3:30 pm: Governor Davis leads a discussion on health care issues and holds a signing ceremony for a measure on stem-cell research at the UC-Davis Medical Center, Davis, Calif.
—5:30 pm: Senator Bob Graham attends a reception with young professionals, New York City
—6:00 pm: Senator Joe Lieberman attends the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 26th Annual Gala, D.C.
—7:00 pm: Vice President Cheney keynotes the National Republican Senatorial Committee fundraising dinner at the National Building Museum, D.C. (closed press)
—8:00 pm: Senator Graham attends a campaign fundraiser, New York City
—9:00 pm: California Broadcasters Association gubernatorial debate, Sacramento
—11:15 pm: Arnold Schwarzenegger addresses a post-debate party with supporters, Sacramento
—11:35 pm: Lynne Cheney appears on The Late Show with David Letterman
NEWS SUMMARY
People in politics only question other people in politics after forethought.
Sometimes, with malice aforethought, but always with aforethought.
Even in the hyper-organized, super collegial Bush-Cheney campaign, there is more chaos, rivalry, disorganization, and hap than most political reporters (or political rivals) want to believe.
So a lot happens in politics and government NOT by design.
Questioning, though, usually DOES happen only after careful planning, and there is a lot of querying today.
On the main stage, Arnold Schwarzenegger (and the other Question 2 candidates) will be questioned, in effect, by the voters of California, in what is billed by his campaign as the one-and-only debate in which Schwarzenegger will participate.
The questions-in-advance thing is actually not as ludicrous as it might seem at first glance, Tim. Think of them more as topics for free-flowing discussion than a rigged game.
If C-SPAN was Nielsen-metered, we bet this would be their most-watched event ever, and it is perfectly possible that it will be the most-watched non-presidential debate in the history of the Republic.
We won't engage in that oh-so-common pre-debate analysis of "what Arnold HAS to do" or "the voters will be watching for … ." — but we do think this is a big deal — for theater critics, sports reporters, and, yes, voters.
But before the news pedulum sweeps west across the fruited plain, there is a lot of questioning going on back east.
Two men who have been questioned about their policy bona fides — Schwarzenegger and Wesley Clark — are making stabs this news cycle at proving they can play on the big issue of the economy:
Arnold in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that reads suspiciously like those Pete Wilson op-eds we used to like so much, and Wesley Clark in a Manhattan speech that will likely have ended by the time you read this.
While Clark is trying to answer questions about his economic vision thing, Howard Dean is questioning Clark's anti-war credentials (Howard Dean on Good Morning America was asked by Charlie Gibson if Clark is a "true Democrat." Dean said: "I think we have to find out about that. We don't know what his positions are."
… and in an interview with the New York Times aboard a jet plane. LINK
(And we still don't understand Clark's position. Would he have voted for the resolution at the time it was voted on or not?)
And John Kerry is questioning Clark's Democratic credentials in a motor car with the Miami Herald . LINK
And Kerry's campaign is questioning Dean on his questioning of Clark! (We kid you not — "Mr. Straight Talk can't be straight about whether he will criticize Clark" a Kerry adviser tells The Note.)
(Even) Judy Keen and Deborah Orin are questioning the president's political health (although neither says he is "fighting for his political life.").
Keen on the front page of USA Today : "Some Republicans are saying aloud something that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago: President Bush could lose next year's election." LINK
Orin hidden inside the New York Post : "Bush is now at a crunch point as he seeks to regenerate."
Judy is a must-read; the story makes many good points; although its failure to point out that one can't beat something with (so far) nothing and her suggestion that conservatives are/might be abandoning the president is not supported by facts.
Hill Republicans are questioning Democratic attacks on the president and the war. LINK
And Hillary Clinton has faced questioning over waffles at the Breakfast Formerly Known as Sperling. (More on that below.)
President Bush has separate meetings with Caribbean leaders, the German chancellor, the president of Ghana, the president of Pakistan, the president of Mozambique, and the prime minister of India at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
He will also attend a closed meeting in the afternoon with insurance and business leaders. He and Mrs. Bush return to the White House this evening.
Vice President Cheney will meet with the House Republican Conference this morning on Capitol Hill. After that meeting, Cheney and OMB Director Josh Bolten have a closed meeting with members of the House Policy Committee. He keynotes the NRSC's fundraiser tonight in D.C.
Republicans just keep quietly raising lots of money. Roll Call 's Chris Cilizza and Paul Kane report that tonight's NRSC fundraiser (which is closed to the press) is expected to bring in "as much as $8 million."
We would love a copy of the Cheney tribute video if the talented videomaster wants to give us one.
Senator Kerry is in D.C. today where he will receive the endorsement of the International Association of Fire Fighters.
General Clark is in New York City today where he'll give a speech about jobs and takes questions in East River Park.
Governor Dean has private meetings with Democrats and speaks to the American Society of Magazine Editors luncheon in New York City.
Congressman Gephardt is in Chicago this morning where he'll be endorsed by the 800,000 member Laborers' International Union of North America. He then travels to D.C. for private fundraising events.
Senator Lieberman will attend the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 26th Annual Gala in D.C.
Senator Graham attends a reception with young professionals and a fundraising dinner in New York City tonight.
Reverend Sharpton is in D.C. for the Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference.
Congressman Kucinich holds a press conference on Capitol Hill to announce legislation he'll introduce to repeal the USA PATRIOT Act.
Ambassador Moseley Braun and Senator Edwards have no public events announced for today.
It was really nice to see Dean on Good Morning America and Clark on Today simultaneously.
Welcome to the national political beat, proud pappy Ed Wyatt of the New York Times !!! LINK
In the recall:
The long-anticipated California Broadcasters Association debate takes place tonight in Sacramento.
Governor Davis will lead a discussion on health care issues today at the UC-Davis Medical Center. A signing ceremony for a measure on stem-cell research follows the discussion.
Arnold Schwarzenegger attends the CBA debate and addresses a post-debate party with supporters tonight.
Lieutenant Governor Bustamante, State Senator Tom McClintock, and Peter Camejo all attend the CBA debate.
Yesterday, just to make sure you were paying attention, we threw in a (bogus) reference to Dick Gephardt's nuptials best man.
Rather than try to clarify or explain (which might just lead to another need to clarify and/or explain tomorrow), let's just say you should ignore any alleged meaning in what we wrote.
The politics of national security:
USA Today 's Laurence McQuillan brings you sideline reporting from the United Nations. LINK
The New York Post 's Deborah Orin writes, "The speech came at a time when Bush is under fire at home and abroad over Iraq, with his poll ratings slipping dramatically, but he stood his ground and stuck by his policy of having the U.S.-led coalition continue running Iraq." LINK
The Boston Globe 's Wayne Washington reports that the president said the U.S. had "the right to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein." LINK
USA Today 's Bill Nichols writes, "The applause was polite for President Bush after he gave his high-stakes speech to U.N. delegates Tuesday, but Bush's unyielding, almost defiant address appeared to do little to encourage the world to help rescue the troubled reconstruction of Iraq." LINK
Newly "emboldened" by internal poll numbers showing "60 percent of the public opposes the $87 billion request, while 54 percent believe Mr. Bush does not have a plan to win the peace and bring troops home," Democrats are turning up the volume on their criticism of the administration, using the $87 billion as the Rorschach test on the entire White House agenda, reports the New York Times .
Note Tom DeLay's use of the phrase "sticker shock," sure to delight those at 1600. LINK
Janet Hook of the Los Angeles Times reports congressional Republicans are coming to the president's defense as Democrats turn up the rhetoric. LINK
"As President Bush's approval ratings decline, Republicans in Congress on Tuesday launched a campaign to counter Democratic criticism of the administration's Iraq policy and to defend U.S. efforts to rebuild the war-scarred nation."
"They orchestrated a series of blistering speeches on the Senate floor, lambasting Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) for recently calling Bush's Iraq policy a politically motivated 'fraud.'"
Hook gets Christine Iverson to read from that Matthew Dowd memo.
"GOP officials say they are not worried about the slide in Bush's approval ratings, arguing that a significant drop was inevitable given the stratospheric ratings he received after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."
"'What we're seeing now is not the sky falling,' said Christine Iverson, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee. 'It is gravity.'"
