The Note

ByABC News
July 28, 2003, 11:14 AM

W A S H I N G T O N July 25&#151;<br> -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):

10:30 am: Congressman Dick Gephardt attends meet and greet in Charleston, South Carolina11:25 am: President Bush meets with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, White House11:45 am: Congressman Dick Gephardt tours health care center and meets with health care professionals, Charleston3:15 pm: Senator John Kerry meets with local business leaders, Ames, Iowa3:45 pm: Vice President Cheney holds closed meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas3:50 pm: Senator John Kerry attends activist event, Ames4:45 pm: Secretary of State Colin Powell meets with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas5:00 pm: Governor Howard Dean opens his Des Moines, Iowa campaign headquarters5:45 pm: Senator John Kerry attends BBQ with Rep. Mark Smith, Marshalltown, Iowa8:30 pm: Senator John Kerry attends AFSCME People Conference Auction, Des Moines, Iowa

NEWS SUMMARY

Happy July 25!!!

Tentative congratulations, likely-Chairman Gillespie!!!

Farewell, Lloyd!!!

Welcome to New York, Ken Mehlman!!!

We are watching your "intentions" closely, California Democrats not named "Davis"!!!

Enjoy Philadelphia, centrist Democrats!!!

Love a nurse, says John Edwards!!!

And, with that, The Note is off to the Waldorf!!!

In California recall news today:

-- Lt. Governor Bustamante announced Tuesday October 7, 2003 as the date of the special recall election, giving way to a frantic 75-day campaign in uncharted waters.

-- Governor Davis formed his all-star campaign committee called "Californians Against the Costly Recall."

-- Former Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp has a strange run in the cycle as a possible replacement candidate.

-- August 9 is the filing deadline for candidates to declare intentions and submit nomination papers let the jockeying continue.

Today President Bush hosts the Palestinian Prime Minister at the White House. President Bush will attend a tee-ball game on the South Lawn on Sunday.

Governor Dean campaigns in Iowa today, beginning with a leg (Burlington to Troy) of the Des Moines Register 's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

His bus tour makes stops in Albia, Chariton, and Oceola before opening his Des Moines headquarters.

He and Senator Kerry address members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees tonight. Dean has no public events scheduled for the weekend.

Senator Kerry campaigns in Iowa today and tomorrow. He'll then head tomorrow to San Francisco to speak at the Human Rights Campaign Gala Dinner.

Senator Edwards campaigns in Iowa today and tomorrow, and talks about nurses today. He heads to New Hampshire and Pittsburgh on Sunday, and gives a big health care speech back in New Hampshire.

Congressman Gephardt campaigns in Charleston, South Carolina, meeting with union members and health care professionals. His son, Matt, spends the weekend in Des Moines with AFSCME delegates.

Congressman Kucinich is scheduled to address AFSCME members on Saturday in Des Moines.

Ambassador Braun keynotes the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs Annual Banquet in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday night.

The Democratic Leadership Council meets in Philadelphia on Sunday and Monday, with Al and Bruce hosting the normal impressive array (including lots of governors), but no Clinton, no Gore, and no one running for president. That latter cluster was not invited.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Steve Levin looks at for Monday's National Urban League presidential forum through the prism of the NAACP controversy earlier this month. LINK

Seven of the Democratic presidential candidates will be on hand - minus only Senators Kerry and Graham - as will President Bush, who will speak but will not share the stage with them. The Democrats will speak for 10 minutes and answer questions from a moderator, but not the audience.

Politics of national security:

The Washington Post 's Mike Allen says that Vice President Cheney's ship-steadying AEI speech will be followed "next month with a major address on the war on terrorism" by President Bush. LINK

Knight Ridder's Shannon McCaffrey writes up the Vice President's defense on the war with Iraq. LINK

The Wall Street Journal 's Washington Wire writes: "Financier George Soros buys full-page ad in Sunday's New York Times urging Americans to demand Congress 'get the truth' about the administration's case for Iraq war. It follows Friday's similar ad from the Democratic National Committee. Under pressure and undercut by White House misstatements resistant Republican leaders may hold open hearings of the Senate Intelligence Committee in September."

James Barnes is skeptical that Niger alone will be enough for Democrats to open a "credibility gap" on President Bush.

"But the Democrats seeking Bush's job are understandbly trying to stoke the controversy for all it's worth," he writes in the forthcoming issue of National Journal.

Barnes includes a useful recap of the tacts taken by Gephardt, Kerry, Edwards, and Graham, including:

Gephardt trying to link Bush's "misleading" claim to "broader criticism of his conduct of diplomacy";

Kerry dismissing the Hadley explanation as "more passing the buck and more politics as usual";

Graham attempting to paint a "sinister picture" of the administration's various explanations. "Hadley's admission 'raises sharp new question as to who at the White House engaged in a cover-up '";

And Edwards trying to use the uranium controversy to fan doubts about Bush in the area of generational responsibility.

California recall:

Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante has set the special election for Tuesday October 7, 2003.

Bustamante also put to rest any confusion over what a recall ballot may look like. It will have two questions. The first will ask voters whether or not Governor Davis should be recalled and the second will provide a list of replacement candidates should the recall prove successful.

Robert Salladay of the San Francisco Chronicle has the roundup of yesterday's feverish recall activity and reminds his readers that August 9 is the deadline for replacement candidates to declare their intentions and file nomination papers. Mr. Salladay also reports on Governor Davis' newly formed campaign committee. LINK

"Davis, who has done his own polling and focus groups, is preparing a consistent message for voters over the next 75 days under a new group, Californians Against the Costly Recall."

"He announced a new campaign team that will include longtime advisers Garry South and Michael Bustamante, both of whom helped Davis win election in 1998 by the widest margin in modern state history."

The Los Angeles Times' Michael Finnegan writes up the frantic pace of the recall as well as the large amounts of money all interested parties are expected to raise and spend. Dr. Finnegan then gets to the crux of the Democratic dilemma. LINK

"So far, the state's top Democrats in elected office have pledged to stay out of the race in a display of party unity that Davis sees as crucial to his political survival. But under the schedule set Thursday, candidates have 16 days to decide whether to run. So until that deadline, the unpopular governor could face a struggle in keeping fellow party members behind him."

"A top Democratic strategist called the dynamic 'a total game of chicken,' saying the sentiment among labor leaders and other key Democratic players was 'well beyond nervousness.'"

"'There's no question that there's real fear of us losing the governor's office,' the strategist said."