The Note

ByABC News
June 26, 2003, 9:26 AM

W A S H I N G T O N June 25&#151;<br> -- We have two announcements for you today.

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NEWS SUMMARY

First, in this highly competitive political journalism environment, no self-respective news organization can simply sit back and not take advantage of the success of others.

So, the Walt Disney Co. is announcing that starting today, at 2PM ET, on ABC Family on cable, the ABC News Political Unit will produce a one-hour show all about American government and campaigns called "Really Inside Politics."

Because it is our first show, and there is a lot going on in politics, we are going to review all the mega-stories that are floating out there.

And to take advantage of the capacities of the World Wide Web, we are annotating our line-up with links to other places where you can read in to each topic in advance of the show.

Here's the top of our line-up for today's show:

1. Snazzy, modern, highly produced open

2. Page 2:anchor TBD briefly welcomes viewers to new show

Like most good cable news shows, we won't actually finalize the line-up until about 40 minutes before air, but here is what we plan to cover, in some order, with some combination of anchor readers, taped pieces, and live guests (seriously TBD, because two of our bookers just called in sick, and while Googling monkeys are great at Googling, their booking skills are de minimis).

We are going to lead with the economy, what with the Fed expected to cut interests rates today, and because you don't have to be stupid or smart to know that the economy is going to play a big role in President Bush's re-election prospects.

The AP's Will Lester uses the latest CNN- USA Today -Gallup poll to trigger a 43/41 economy deja-vu story. LINKLester writes, "President Bush basks in high approval ratings, but when potential voters are pressed about giving him a second term, the numbers drop, a reflection of worries about the struggling economy and a general wait-and-see attitude so far ahead of the election."

"Bush's overall approval ratings have remained at 60 percent or higher in most polls since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."

Lester writes that even without a clear Democratic frontrunner, the president seems to be faced with at least a little about which to be concerned.

"But now that the electorate is turning to thinking about Bush's handling of the economy and wondering who the Democrats will nominate, the president's re-elect numbers are at 50 percent or lower in several polls."

In the poll, "50 percent said they would vote for Bush and 38 percent backed the unknown Democratic candidate, with the rest undecided. Those numbers aren't very different from those garnered by Bush's father in June 1991, when the commander in chief was praised for the U.S. success in the Persian Gulf War and the Democrats were scrambling for a candidate."

And in case you forgot .

"Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush in the 1992 election."

Lester Notes: "Bush's re-elect numbers are even lower in the Ipsos-Cook Political Report tracking poll, which showed a drop for the president from April to June, a time when the nation's focus shifted from the U.S.-led war against Iraq to the economy, Medicare and tax cuts."

We'll also cover the Democrats' on-going search for an economic message to take advantage of these bad times, and the Los Angeles Times Mark Z. Barabak might be a good guest for us (handsome, snappy dresser).

Barabak has a take on the Democrats and taxes, which mentions 1984, repeats Democratic assertions that, somehow, 2003 is worse than 1984, and even quotes a guy named "Robert G. Beckel." (Note to Producer: Let's super him as "Bob Beckel" if we have him on!) LINK

"The effort by the party's presidential candidates who favor repealing all or part of President Bush's tax cuts turns years of political experience on its head.

Republicans have long championed lower taxes, and Democrats have largely shrunk from the fight, fearing the dreaded tax-and-spend label. But now, Democrats are attempting to move off the defensive and recast the tax debate as a matter of choices."

"Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean put it this way during a campaign stop last week in San Francisco: 'Would you rather have the president's tax cuts, or would you like health care that can never be taken away and is affordable? Would you rather have the president's tax cut, or should we fully fund special education, so your public school system will be stronger? Would you rather have the president's tax cut, or would you rather start to balance the budget?'"

"Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts plays off a line Bush has used to press for lower taxes. 'It's your money,' Kerry tells audiences."

"The key and it is tricky, party strategists acknowledge is turning the tax debate into a discussion of fairness and making voters feel the pain that Democrats anticipate from a downsized federal government."

"'It's going to require somebody that can get that message down and make it clear and not make it geeky,' said Robert G. Beckel, who managed Mondale's 1984 campaign and believes the budget deficit was too abstract an issue then to resonate with voters. 'It can't be policy wonkish, and it can't be overly political. It has to be a statement of facts and it has to be provable in some real examples.'"

"GOP strategists relish a debate on taxes with Democrats," Barabak Notes.

And the candidates, we would Note, can't talk about the economy until they get this taxes thing down pat.

We'll also remind viewers that we are as a nation in the midst of the MoveOn.org primary, with most of the campaigns not named "Dean" questioning how the process is working. There is still skepticism that Dean will get to the 50% threshold, but no one really knows. See the "MoveOn" section below for more on that.

While the other Democratic candidates are mostly Invisible this week, as they focus on raising money, once again today's news cycle is being dominated by former Vermont governor Howard Dean, what with a major address to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, which will have taken place by the time you read this.

And Dean doesn't stop there this cycle. There's a traffic change in the Hawkeye State.

"With a new TV ad and a major foreign policy address, the former Vermont governor is portraying his stance against President Bush and the U.S.-led war as an act of political courage," AP's Fournier writes.

"'I do not accept that a candidate's national security credentials should be considered suspect for opposing the war in Iraq at the time it was initiated with the limited level of international support we had, the lack of postwar planning that had been accomplished and the failure to make the case that the threat was imminent enough to justify' war, Dean said in remarks prepared for delivery Wednesday to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington." LINK"Dean also was telling the group that his anti-war position demonstrates his toughness and strength to lead on foreign policy, according to a summary of the speech provided by his campaign."

"The address comes as Dean is trying to broaden his underdog candidacy after getting off to a surprisingly strong start, largely due to his opposition to the war. The stance excited Democrats eager to attack Bush even as their party leaders shied from confrontation."

(And we should say that we love and respect Fournier, but we totally disagree with him about that "largely due" part.)

"He's addressing the issue in another way, by casting his opposition to the war as an example of how he'll take tough stands, even when unpopular. Dean is now promising to fight special interests and corporate America with the same vigor he opposed the war."

"It is no accident, aides said, that Dean was introduced for a Tuesday night speech as 'Give 'em hell, Howard Dean.'"

"A new television ad airing in Iowa, site of the first voting of 2004, shows Dean striding purposefully toward the camera as he declares 'the only way to beat George Bush is to stand up to him.' Deans then trumpets his opposition to the war. "

The AP's Glover has more lines from the ad:

'''As governor, I made sure that every child in my state had health insurance,' said Dean. 'We added jobs, we raised the minimum wage and we balanced budgets.'''

'''I opposed the war with Iraq when too many Democrats supported it,' said Dean." LINKSee our "Dean" section below for the full text of the spot. (Our graphics department is working up a groovy 2004 "ad box" to put it in for the show.)

Seven of the nine Democrats running for president (sans Lieberman and Kerry) will be at a DNC fundraiser in Washington tonight. Senator Kerry talks to voters in Laconia, New Hampshire. And Senator Lieberman plans to spend the day in California.

With the end of the second-quarter fundraising period just 5 days away, the candidates are all working hard to have their best showing.

(The Wall Street Journal 's John Harwood has a must-read on the dangers of spending too much of what is raised, complete with John Kerry opening offices; Shari Yost's big salary; and the legacy of Phil Gramm '96.)

As for Republican cash, Mrs. Bush has two events and two Bush-Cheney re-election fundraisers today. Her events promoting reading in Philadelphia and Cincinnati-- are open to the press. The fundraisers, held at private homes, are not. (ABC's Ann Compton says the Cinci fundraiser will held at campaign money-meister Mercer Reynolds' home.)

And to prove that our show will cover more politics than just what happens inside the Beltway, we will go out west to the Golden State, where there are multiple big doings in the effort to recall Governor Gray Davis.

With the latest signature totals suggesting that the pro-recall forces are well on their way to getting this on the ballot, Phase II of Team Davis's efforts to fight back would appear to be in place, what with a bit of journalistic scrutiny on Representative Issa, who has been leading the recall funding effort, despite (or is it "because of") his "complicated" background.

Lance Williams, Carla Marinucci, and Chronicle staff writers write a lead today that lands with a thud similar to that of an oppo research binder hitting a journalists desk.

"Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, the driving force behind the effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis, was prosecuted with his brother in San Jose in 1980 for allegedly faking the theft of Issa's Mercedes Benz sedan and selling it to a car dealer for $16,000, according to court records." LINK

"Issa, in a phone interview with The Chronicle Tuesday, blamed his brother for the car theft, which was detailed in documents on file in Santa Clara County Superior Court and which has never been made public."

"'I do not steal,' Issa said."

"In the San Jose case, Issa, who at the time was a 27-year-old U.S. Army officer, and William Issa, 29, were arrested by San Jose police on a felony auto-theft charge in February 1980."

"They were accused of a scheme in which Issa's brother allegedly sold Issa's cherry-red Mercedes 240 to Smythe European Motors in San Jose for $13,000 cash and three $1,000 traveler's checks. Within hours, Issa reported the car stolen from a lot at the Monterey airport, near his Army post at Fort Ord."

"Issa and his brother pleaded not guilty. A judge ordered them to stand trial on felony charges, saying he had a 'strong suspicion' that the men had committed the crime, according to the records."

"But in August 1980, a prosecutor dismissed the case for lack of evidence. The men later were charged with misdemeanors, but that case was not pursued, said retired police Detective Richard Christiansen, lead investigator in the case."

Apparently the CNN interview was only just part of the PR rollout this week in an attempt to fight back against the recall.

This story is rich with bathos since Representative Issa claims it was his brother's car stealing which caused him to get into the business of car alarms, where he made millions of dollars some of which he has spent on funding the recall effort against Gray Davis.