The Note

W A S H I N G T O N August 15&#151;<br> -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):

—9:00 am: Senator John Kerry has breakfast with Vinton County Democrats, Vinton, Iowa —9:15 am: Governor Howard Dean tours Biomass Energy Conversion Facility, Nevada, Iowa —10:30 am: Opening news conference for 2003 National Governors Association meeting, Indianapolis —11:00 am: Howard Dean meets community members and developers of the Pine Lake Ethanol Plant, Eldora, Iowa—11:00 am: California State Senator Tom McClintock does a radio interview with San Francisco KSFO—11:00 am: Senator John Edwards speaks on the "soap box" at the Iowa State Fair, Des Moines —11:05 am: President Bush tours the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Calif. —12:00 pm: Senator Joe Lieberman speaks on the "soap box" at the Iowa State Fair, Des Moines —12:20 pm: President Bush makes remarks at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area—1:30 pm: Congressman Dick Gephardt meets with Washington County Democrats, Washington, Iowa —2:00 pm: Bill Simon holds a press availability in front of Redding Medical center, Redding, Calif.—2:10 pm: Tom McClintock tapes "To the Point" national radio show with Warren Olney; Jerry Brown will also be a guest on the show—2:30 pm: Governor Gray Davis announces annual student test results at Hoover Street Elementary School, Los Angeles —4:00 pm: Congressman Dennis Kucinich makes an appearance with actor Ed Asner, Davenport, Iowa —4:00 pm: Tom McClintock tapes an appearance on KNBC's "Press Conference"—4:05 pm: President Bush makes remarks at Bush-Cheney 2004 luncheon, Irvine, Calif. (open press) —4:30 pm: Dennis Kucinich holds a fundraiser at the IBEW hall, Cedar Rapids, Iowa—6:00 pm: Bill Simon opens campaign headquarters, Sacramento —7:00 pm: Hawkeye Labor Council presidential candidate forum, Cedar Rapids, Iowa —8:15 pm: President Bush arrives at the ranch, Waco, Texas

NEWS SUMMARY

And the Democratic presidential contenders thought they had it tough trying to compete with the California recall. Power is slowly coming back to New York City and tracts of the Northeastern United States and Canada after yesterday's massive blackout that left an estimated 50 million people without power. LINK

And politics goes on. Today in the recall:

--Governor Davis is struggling to keep supporters who are considering endorsing Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, while the new Field Poll shows him with a paltry 22% approval rating.

--Former Secretary of State George Shultz signed on to the Schwarzenegger campaign as an economic adviser yesterday.

--Buffett hinted to the Wall Street Journal that a property tax increase could be part of the solution to California's problems.

--Actor Rob Lowe has been asked to stump for Schwarzenegger.

--Non-Schwarzenegger Republicans in the recall race are beginning to feel the heat from their party.

President Bush is in Orange County, California, today. He'll tour and make remarks at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and attend a Bush-Cheney '04 fundraiser luncheon. He heads back to the ranch tonight and stays there through the weekend.

The Hawkeye Labor Council holds a presidential candidate forum tonight in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Candidates confirmed are: Dean, Edwards, Gephardt, Graham, Kerry, Kucinich and Sharpton. They'll get 10 minutes to give their stump speeches and will appear sequentially. The Teamsters local expects an audience of about 700-1000 people in attendance.

Congressman Gephardt will meet with party activists in Mahaska, Wapello, and Washington counties before heading to the candidate forum. On Saturday and Sunday, Gephardt will meet with activists in nine different counties.