The Note
W A S H I N G T O N July 3—<br> -- There is a certain type of Note reader (and a certain newbie Note writer) who goes all ga-ga when we make the slightest Springsteen reference.
2003 Note Archives, updated weekly.
Click here for The ABCNEWS Political Unit's exclusive major futures calendar and today's daybook.
E-mail us: Tips, Compliments, Complaints and Questions.
Who we are ... And What We're About.
NEWS SUMMARY
So our holiday gift to you is a mini-Note today, a break from The Note tomorrow, and a Boss reminder that America is celebrating its independence and freedom this holiday weekend.
President Bush is in DC today; Dayton, Ohio tomorrow at the U.S. Air Force Museum, and back in the District for the weekend.
As for the Democrats, New Hampshire takes its rightful place at the center of the political universe this elongated weekend.
The AP's Holly Ramer curtain-raises the weekend, and looks at the Granite State's economic and political milieu. LINK
The highlights are two New Hampshire parades; one in Amherst at 10 am ET Friday, and other in neighboring Merrimack, at noon ET Friday.
Several of the candidates plan to march.
(Candidates be warned: The Note will be watching, with Googling monkeys in the trees along the parade route).
Also Friday, Governor Dean opens his Nashua campaign office; he attends "house parties and fundraisers" on Saturday.
Senator Lieberman visits the Strawbery Banke Museum Celebration after the parades; he has several other events across the state.
Senator Graham attends picnics all afternoon; and does a "work day" as a conductor on the Conway Scenic Railroad Saturday.
Senator Edwards will spend the 4th in North Carolina.
Most of the candidates will take Saturday and Sunday off. (Lieberman, Dean and Graham will remain in New Hampshire Saturday; Lieberman stays on Sunday).
On Sunday, President Bush celebrates his 57th birthday.
As for today, it's all about money — the economy and candidate fundraising.
With today's unemployment rate figure climbing to 6.4 percent, the New York Times ' David Leonhardt has a must-read on the Bush job creation/destruction record put nicely into historical context. LINK
The story's lead ("For George W. Bush, the race has begun to escape comparisons to Herbert Hoover.") is going to play right into the hands of those Democratic presidential candidates who have actually figured out that talking about the Bush-Cheney-Evans Economy is probably politically smart.
The Times also puts Adam Nagourney and Mike Janofsky on the front page with a fundraising/Dean wrap-up. LINKThe pair posit that Dick Gephardt may well come in fifth in money raised this quarter, which got us to pulling out a file with this March 17 Roll Call quote from Gephardt's tan-rested-and-ready spokesman:
"Erik Smith, a spokesman for Rep. Richard Gephardt (Mo.), said 'this is a very important test' and it would be 'insincere' for any candidate to argue otherwise. Smith noted that the June 30 deadline may do more to separate the wheat from the chaff in the presidential field. 'The first quarter is the price of admission,' he said, 'but the second quarter will separate the serious players.'"
Given how Gephardt seems to have done, we can't help but see that as, ah, rookie spin. LINKHere's today's California Recall Summary:
--Recall organizers claim to have submitted 924,847 unverified signatures to county elections officials. This puts them over the 897,158 threshold.
--California's credit rating could be downgraded to junk bond status.
--A group of California Republicans have launched "Republicans Against the Recall" and claim Representative Darrell Issa is none too pleased.
National Security politics:Dana Milbank and Vernon Loeb of The Washington Post examine the Democratic fallout of President Bush's "Bring 'Em On" statement. LINKNot surprisingly, presidential hopefuls Howard Dean and Richard A. Gephardt jumped into the fray. Gephardt "said he had heard 'enough of the phony, macho rhetoric' from Bush."
Is there any chance the president will lose the PR war on the issue of whether his macho war comments are too over-the-top? With his tough-guy, make-my-day rhetoric, the president is starting to sound almost as alpha male as Joe Trippi.
The Los Angeles Times' Ron Brownstein does his version of the story the Wall Street Journal did yesterday — will the war in Iraq twist and turn in a way that hurts the president's political standing? LINK
Ron's judgment is less negative about the POTUS than the WSJ was (and without any Matt Dowd on the record!).
As they say in the news dodge: only time will tell.
As the president contemplates sending troops to keep the peace in Liberia, The Washington Post 's Jim Hoagland wonders, if Bush asks the U.S.' global friends for help, will anyone step up? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that, in response to President Bush's "tough talk" on Iraq, Congressman Gephardt said, "'Enough of the phony, macho rhetoric[ … ]We need a serious attempt to develop a postwar plan for Iraq and not more shoot-from-the-hip one-liners.'" LINK
Walter Shapiro reports that the Iraqi war may "signal the gradual abandonment of the blustery go-it-alone diplomacy that has been an unsettling hallmark of Bush's presidency." LINK
He Ain't Heavy: The Washington Post 's Juliet Eilperin looks at the Hutchinson family (former Senator Tim and former Representative Asa) ties in lobbying and Homeland Security. LINK
Bush-Cheney re-elect:
Miamian Mark Wallace; new Bush deputy campaign manager:
'''He's effective, loyal and keeps his head down, and that's what we look for in the people we hire,' Mehlman said in a telephone interview." LINK
ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary:
The August issue of Esquire magazine doesn't hit stands until next Tuesday, but The Note is going to provide you with some cool details today.
Over the course of the last two months or so, photographer Michael Edwards has been on a mission to capture the Democratic candidates for president in their natural habitats. He went into their homes or the homes of their family members and started photographing the candidates interacting with those closest to them.
Seven of the nine Democrats participated, though Howard Dean was "adamant about not including his family in the portrait." As of our deadline, we still haven't heard why Congressman Kucinich and Ambassador Moseley Braun aren't in the spread.
Note to those readers who like to look at the ladies: You might have a tough time getting beyond the JLO cover shot to find the candidates.
Related Stories
ABC News Live