The Note: A Lifetime in Politics
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2004 — -- NOTED NOW
TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times ET)
One Week Until Election Day
NEWS SUMMARY
LINK
"The caustic back-and-forth came as the two men raced across the country to the handful of states that remain tossups in the Nov. 2 election. As the campaign days dwindle, both sides are playing a fast-paced chess game to get the 270 electoral votes needed to win," write the Los Angeles Times' Barabak and Finnegan of the ratcheted up rhetoric in the final days. LINK
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush v. Kerry:
The Chicago Tribune's Jeff Zeleny writes, "Both candidates have been trading unrelenting attacks for months, but Bush has turned up the volume on his critique, belittling Kerry as ill-suited to protect the nation. Kerry continues to offer sharp criticism, but his remarks are now infused with a positive vision as he strives to show what his Democratic administration would look like." LINK
USA Today 's Keen and Lawrence might be running out of different ways to write the same lead that manifests itself each day. Terror, incompetence, weak, harsh, etc. LINK
USA Today 's Mark Memmott deconstructs television appearance decision making in the final week. LINK
Susan Page calls new voters the "X-factor." LINK
Deb Orin calls the World Series the "X-factor," writing, "Some analysts say Republicans are more likely than Democrats to watch the games (except in Boston) and less likely to talk to phone pollsters on weekend game days." LINK
USA Today 's editorial board thinks scared and motivated is ok. LINK
The New York Post 's front page is a letter from a military dad saying "Kerry makes me weak in the ankles — and now it's personal, not business." LINK
The Boston Herald's Noelle Straub reports that Karl Rove "taunted" Kerry "for having to roll Bill Clinton 'off the operating table' onto the campaign trail in order to boost his shaky Democratic base." LINK
The New York Times ' Jim Dwyer on Al Gore's return to where he ended the 2000 race — Broward county, FL — and his calling the administration a "catastrophically failed presidency." LINK
Repeat it like a mantra going into next Tuesday, because both sides have been: turnout, turnout, turnout. Al Hunt looks at what polls can tell us about it. LINK
The Wall Street Journal 's Charles Forelle on the "elite cadre of political amateurs unleashing the tools of statistics and mathematics on an extraordinarily close presidential race." LINK
E.J. Dionne sees an intensity gap between Kerry and Bush supporters. LINK
The great Greg Mitchell of Editor and Publisher sends along his latest endorsement tally: LINK
The liberal 527s in Hawaii?LINK
The Los Angeles Times' Nick Anderson looks at how each campaign has remained largely consistent with its paid media approach since March 3. LINK
"President Bush, a fleeting presence in many of his own commercials, wants them to fear terrorists, big government and the Democratic challenger."
"Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, star and narrator of many of his own spots, wants to reassure them that he has a better plan than Bush for Iraq, healthcare, jobs and just about everything."
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush vs. Kerry: legal wars:
The Washington Post 's Farhi and Becker write that the Ohio election is becoming "confused — and potentially chaotic." LINK "Republicans have already filed 35,000 challenges to voters' eligibility and are preparing to send recruits into 8,000 polling places next Tuesday to challenge other voters they suspect are not eligible, particularly hundreds of thousands of the newly registered. Democrats are alarmed at the effort, saying it could tie up voting and keep many away from the polls." "Ohio's voter-registration rolls contain more than 120,000 duplicate names, and an untold number of ineligible voters, such as people who have moved out of the state. A review of the rolls by the Columbus Dispatch even found a murder victim and two suspected terrorists among the eligible." "Democrats fear that polling places will be inadequately staffed and equipped to handle the crush of voters on Election Day. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) said Monday she is concerned that many new voters will not get proper notification from county election boards about where to vote. That is a critical issue in light of a federal appeals court ruling Saturday that voters with provisional ballots — backup ballots for voters whose names do not appear on the rolls — must cast them in their own precinct for the votes to count." The Los Angeles Times does an excellent job of pulling a lot of string together from key battleground states to provide an overview of the concerns of partisans on both sides that "their opponents are bent on stealing the election." LINK The New York Times ' David Kirkpatrick reports that Republicans are blaming Democrats for a series of burglaries and other lesser crimes as an attempt to "intimidate voters" and "potentially storing ammunition for future arguments about the fairness of the election." Kirkpatrick also Notes the letter Gov. Marc Racicot sent to AFL-CIO president John Sweeney suggesting that the damages are protests gone wrong. LINK Former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who represented George Bush before the Supreme Court in 2000, outlines the potentials for trouble next Tuesday on the New York Times op-ed page, and writes "the best chance for the American electorate is to avoid a postelection repeat of 2000 is to re-elect George W. Bush decisively — or to defeat him overwhelmingly. I, of course, recommend the former." LINK And David Boies, who represented Gore, offers up a look at the knowns and unknowns, looking at the machinery of voting, and that optical-character recognition machines should be used universally and that their extra cost "is a small price to pay for making democracy more effective at home." LINK The Washington Post 's editorial board thinks "there is a critical difference between making a maximum effort to ensure a fair and honest playing field and challenging results that have been ascertained." LINK ABC News Vote 2004: ballotwatch: Iowa's voter registration board split 2-2 on whether to change the rules to accept incompletely filled out voter registration forms. So no new rule was issued. BUT — the Secretary of State's office tells ABC News that the attorney's general's opinion (which prompted the rule-making session) still has the force of law, in his opinion, so he has advised county auditors to accept ballots without the citizenship checkbox checked. So we are back where we started. Iowa's Speaker of the House, Christopher Rants, hinted to ABC News late in the afternoon that the GOP would consider filing suit if auditors accepted these registrations. One point: most auditors have already contacted the voters in question and given them a chance to redo their forms. Two: we are dealing, at most, with about 400 voter forms. Still in Iowa — a group of citizens represented by a Republican law firm filed suit late this afternoon in Polk County, Iowa's fifth judicial district over the provisional ballot rules. Sec. of State Culver is listed as the defendant, along with the state auditor, state attorney general and the Polk County special precinct commission, which counts provisional ballots. Culver has said that auditors should count valid provisionals cast in the right county. The voters say he's violating his authority. In Michigan provisional news, the 6th circuit court of appeals, which stayed a lower court's decision allowing provisionals to be cast anywhere in a county, has set a deadline for noon TODAY for written arguments. In Florida, a federal judge in Miami threw out Rep. Robert Wexler's lawsuit asking that paper trails be attached to touch screen ballots. Wexler will appeal. We are waiting for a decision on Florida's version of the registration check box case … . which we think will be handed down today. In Ohio, we watch for any sign of a resolution to the tens of thousands of disputed voter registrations. The Cleveland Plain Dealer provides an update on the 17,000 challenges underway in Cuyahoga County. LINK Add another election related lawsuit to the Ohio docket. This time a coalition of groups sued the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections for failing to properly register some 10,000 new voters. LINK "The Ohio Republican Party is threatening to sue county elections boards that reject GOP voter challenges because they were not properly filed, even as Democrats are saying all the challenges should be dismissed," reports Mark Niquette of the Columbus Dispatch. LINK Here's a good overview of the state of play in Florida right now. LINK So far, poll watching "monitors" have been quiet in Florida. LINK Glenda Hood lost a round in an appeals court yesterday, but it won't matter on November 2. LINK Reports the St. Petersburg Times: "A New Jersey political operative who has faced repeated accusations of election fraud recently went to work for the John Kerry presidential campaign in Pinellas County. Craig Callaway, who is also a part-time city council president in Atlantic City, was asked to leave the Kerry-Edwards campaign late last week, the campaign said." LINK Please send your tips, comments and questions on any ballot matters to politicalunit@abcnews.com ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney '04: Schwarzenegger on stumping for President Bush: "'Now I can squeeze in a quick trip because I have my own plane,' he said. 'So there is a way of doing it. But I'm not going to hop around from state to state because the people did not elect me to do that,'" the Governor tells Peter Nicholas of the Los Angeles Times. Looks like that Ohio pop later this week will be all the Bush campaign will get from the former movie star. LINK The Wall Street Journal 's Hitt and Schlesinger look how the president is being hit by a "wave of bad news" the week before the election, Noting the campaign's strategy to focus on the war on terror and that "the big question is whether events outside White House control will push down Mr. Bush's popularity to the danger point." This is not a campaign that's easy to knock off message, no matter how hard the Kerry campaign uses the news of day to try. LINK The New York Times ' Elisabeth Bumiller looks at President Bush's rejection of part of Republican platform, as he told ABC News' Charlie Gibson that "I don't think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement, if that's what a state chooses to do so." LINK The New York Times ' Laurie Goodstein turns in a must-read on the role of faith in President Bush's private life and public policy, Noting that while he attends a somewhat liberal church in Washington, has prayed with Jews and Sikhs, and has said that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, "When it comes to policy . . . his opponents and supporters agree that he has done more than any president in recent history to advance the agenda of Christian social conservatives." LINK The Wall Street Journal 's Alan Murray writes that American business leaders haven't exactly been beating a path to the front of the line to talk up President Bush. "It is one of the great ironies of Election 2004. Mr. Bush's opponents attack him daily for being the tool of big business. But big business is hardly heard." LINK The National Security Adviser defended the WOT in Broward County Florida last night. LINK The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn argues that alarm bells should have gone off at the FDA and that it's fair to hold Bush at least partially responsible for the flu vaccine shortage. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect: Vice President Cheney: In Wilmington, Ohio on Monday, Vice President Cheney called Iraq a "remarkable success story to date when you look at what has been accomplished overall" and said he thinks "the president deserves credit for it." On a regular basis, Cheney speaks about the Iraq war in very positive terms but this particular phrase was new for the Vice President. Look for Senator John Edwards to seize on these comments on Tuesday to argue that Bush and Cheney are out of touch with the situation on the ground in Iraq. Cheney also the majority of his remarks at a town hall meeting at Moorhead, MN yesterday to security issues, ABC News' Karen Travers reports. Highlighting Kerry's "pre-9/11" mindset, Cheney said that President Bush is the right choice on November 2. "He's got a strategy for victory. He will secure it. John Kerry doesn't." ABC News Vote 2004: Kerry-Edwards '04: "On the stage in Love Park, Clinton and Kerry stood arm and arm, basking in the cheers and waving to the crowd," reports Stephan Friedman of the New York Post . LINK Awww. The New York Post 's ed board says Clinton is closer to Bush than he is to Kerry on the decision to go into Iraq. LINK USA Today 's Jill Lawrence reports that President Clinton could campaign in Ohio and Colorado in addition to Nevada, New Mexico, and Arkansas "if his health permits." LINK The Washington Post 's Williams and Harris write that the Kerry campaign's "willingness to use Clinton illustrates how, at least among target blocs of voters, the personal scandals of his term — which made his own vice president conclude that Clinton was a political burden — have receded since 2000, while memories of the robust 1990s economy still echo." LINK The New York Times ' Jodi Wilgoren calls Clinton's appearance "a scene Democrats have been desperate for in the waning weeks of this fiercely fought campaign," and Notes CNN's cutaway when Kerry took the stage. Rove's response: "They had to roll Clinton out of the hospital room and onto the campaign trail to help Senator Kerry with his core constituencies that are so weak.'' Do not miss the quote from the telephone technician who took time off work in the middle of the day to attend the rally. LINK The Miami Herald 's Clark, Brecher, and Mooney Piedra write up Clinton's Miami appearance, complete with bongo drums. LINK "In the homestretch of his presidential campaign, Mr. Kerry has pivoted from raising questions about Mr. Bush's character to trying to add up for voters, in attention-taxing arithmetic, the effects of the president's policies — and say just how bad four more years of Mr. Bush would be for them," In this last week, John Kerry's campaign is all about the numbers — specifically, the tally of what Kerry deems the failures of the Bush Administration and the real and opportunity of what another Bush term would be like for voters, writes David Halbfinger of the New York Times . LINK The Boston Globe 's Yvonne Abraham and Patrick Healy report "Kerry advisers were ecstatic with Clinton's performance — and more than a little relieved, after they saw him on 'Good Morning America' yesterday and thought he seemed thin and weak." LINK He may not call them Rangers, but John Kerry takes care of his top political donors too. The Los Angeles Times takes a look. LINK It's a must read on the West Side of both coasts. ABC News Vote 2004: Florida: For all your Clinton coverage: LINK More early voting numbers from the I-4 corridor. LINK And absentee voting numbers from the rest of the state. LINK Gas prices in Florida have hit $2 a gallon. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: Ohio: The Cleveland Plain Dealer has decided not to repeat its endorsement of George W. Bush from 2000, but instead will sit out this election despite the fact that a "marjoity of the editorial board favored Kerry … " LINK "'It's going to be a terrible eight days,' she said. 'I plan to have a nervous breakdown,'" said presidential mother and former First Lady Barbara Bush on the stump in Ohio. LINK "Opponents of a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage debuted TV commercials Monday that call the proposal extreme and warn that its passage could be particularly harmful to senior citizens," reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: Pennsylvania: There's no doubt the Kerry-Edwards campaign owns the Philadelphia news media this morning. The front page of the Philadelphia Daily News is a smiling, waving, happy picture of Kerry and Clinton with a red banner reading "Why Philly Matters." Along the bottom of the page? A blue banner reading "Keystone Poll: 5-point Kerry Lead." LINK William Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News follows with a story explaining why, "When you think of the reasons Billy and Philly are perfect together, you won't be able to imagine Clinton going anywhere else." LINK It's almost as if KE04 PA's Mark Nevins wrote this line in Jill Porter's Philadelphia Daily News write up: "But if Bill Clinton was good at energizing the thousands of troops at the rally, John Kerry was — incredibly — better." LINK The Philadelphia Inquirer describes Bill Clinton's welcome as one fit for a rock star. LINK President Bush gets some coverage in Philly as well, for calling Senator Kerry "consistently and dangerously wrong" on issues of national security. LINK The Tribune-Review reminds everyone that Bush and Cheney are both coming back to the Keystone State this week and where. LINK A new Keystone Poll is out today and the Philadelphia Daily News leads its analysis with "Fear seems to be working for President Bush in Pennsylvania — but not quite well enough." Kerry is leading Bush 51 percent to 46 percent among likely Pennsylvania voters. LINK Republican sweetheart Senator Elizabeth Dole rallied the party faithful in Luzerne County last night. LINK James O'Toole serves up a must-read for anyone interested in Pennsylvania politics — his Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report explains the absolute vitality of winning the Philadelphia suburbs. LINK Gov. Ed Rendell promises all military and overseas ballots received by Friday's deadline will be counted. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: Iowa: Thomas Beaumont of the Des Moines Register on Senator Kerry's promise to host a summit at ISU on the economy and healthcare in small-town America within 100 days of his inauguration. President Clinton held a similar summit there in 1995.LINK ABC News Vote 2004: New Hampshire: Thomas Oliphant tries to explain why New Hampshire may be shifting. "New Hampshire is on the verge of slipping away from Bush — and his people are slightly less optimistic than Kerry's — the reason is that moderate voters in the state's suburban southern tier and along the seacoast, especially women, have begun to slip away." LINK We wonder what kind of effect Laura Bush's e-mail with slightly less than 100% accurate directions to certain polling locations will have on turnout in the Granite State. "A teaching guide encouraging Roman Catholics to vote in the Nov. 2 elections and outlining the church's position on social and moral issues will be distributed in all parishes this weekend," reports the Manchester Union Leader. LINK The Union Leader also has a photograph of Kerry holding up eight fingers to signal the number of days left in the campaign. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: New Mexico: Cultural issues such as same sex marriage and abortion are not driving voters to one presidential candidate or another in New Mexico, reports Steve Terrell of the Santa Fe New Mexican. LINK Public safety and legal contingency plans are all in place in New Mexico just in case something goes awry on November 2. LINK The Associated Press profiles one undecided voter in New Mexico who is not at all pleased with the situation in Iraq, but fears John Kerry thinks higher taxes and more government spending is the answer to the country's ills. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: Colorado: With former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani at his side, President Bush made a campaign appearance in Greely Colorado Monday — two weeks after an appearances at the glorious Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Colorado Springs. LINK The Rocky Mountain News Notes Bush focused his remarks on the war on terror and aggressively attacked Senator John Kerry "as the wrong man to lead America in dangerous times." LINK Senate candidate Pete Coors has been getting the "rock star" treatment, reports the Rocky Mountain News. LINK Colorado may all hinge on the religious vote. "If the evangelicals vote, Bush will win. If they don't, Kerry might," says Ted Haggard, a Colorado Springs pastor and head of the National Evangelical Association. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: Nevada: Susan Voyles of the Reno Gazette-Journal reports that early voting has hit a record high in Nevada. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: Minnesota: The Pioneer Press reports "The rolls of Minnesota's registered voters have grown by about 100,000 people this year and by about 174,000 people since the last presidential election four years ago, according to new voter-eligibility totals released Monday." LINK The Pioneer Press explores the "Swing State Blues" — brought on by the costs of being targeted as a must-visit state in a presidential election. LINK ABC News Vote 2004: the Senate: Attention Matt Vogel: The Boston Globe reports that Rep. Ed Markey bought as much as $300,000 worth of advertising on Boston media in preparation for campaigning for what could be an open Senate seat in the Bay State. LINK The final debate between Betty Castor and Mel Martinez was a "very civil discussion" — compared the mud-flinging that has characterized the campaign. LINK Nader-Camejo: Independent candidate Ralph Nader will take stage today in Oshkosh and Green Bay, Wisconsin today before heading to Northfield, Minnesota. LINK The consumer advocate's "derailed" Pennsylvania campaign has shifted to a write-in strategy, reports the AP. LINK Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania — led by Senator Rick Santorum — say a lawsuit by Ralph Nader to get his name on the ballot could keep military ballots from being counted on Election Day. LINK TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times ET): —9:00 am: Sen. John Kerry holds an event (homeland security speech) at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, WI
—10:30 am: Diana Kerry, actress Kirsten Dunst, Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, National Chair of the Democratic National Committee Women's Vote Center
Ann Lewis, and Brigadier General (Ret.) Pat Foote speak in the Winter Park Public Library on behalf of Sen. Kerry, Winter Park, FL
—9:25 am: President Bush holds a rally at the Onalaska Omni Center, Onalaska, WI
—9:30 am: Rep. Rob Portman campaigns on behalf of President Bush, Cincinnati, OH
—10:00 am: Vice President Cheney holds a rally at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, West Palm Beach, FL
—10:00 am: The Election Assistance Commission receives presentations from other federal agencies regarding Election Day procedures and reviews state preparations, Washington, DC
— 10:15 am - Bill Bradley holds a press conference while campaigning for John Kerry in Concord, NH
—10:30 am: Sen. John Edwards attends a community gathering with, Ashton Kutcher, Scott Wolf and his wife Kelley Limp, musician Max Weinberg, Chris Heinz, and Andre Heinz at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
—10:30 am: Cook Political Report Managing Editor Jennifer Duffy holds a briefing at the Foreign Press Center for foreign media on U.S. Senate races, Washington, DC
—10:30 am: Diana Kerry, actress Kirsten Dunst, Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, National Chair of the Democratic National Committee Women's Vote Center Ann Lewis, and Brigadier General (Ret.) Pat Foote speak in the Winter Park Public Library on behalf of Sen. Kerry, Winter Park, FL
—11:00 am: Ralph Nader speaks at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, WI
—11:00 am: Elizabeth Edwards holds a town hall discussion at North Iowa Area Community College, Mason City, IA
—11:00 am: The 9/11 Family Steering Committee holds a press conference to discuss the likelihood the intelligence reform bill will not be passed before Election Day, Washington, DC
—11:30 am: Teresa Heinz Kerry holds a conversation about health care at St. Joseph's Community Center, Lorain, OH
—12:00 pm: Author George Marlin, Catholic University Prof. John Kenneth White, and others discuss the Catholic vote, Washington, DC
—12:00 pm: The Cato Institute holds a policy forum on "What's Wrong with the Voters?" Washington, DC
—12:30 pm: Vice President Cheney holds a rally at the Columbia County Fairgrounds, Lake City, FL
—12:30 pm: Former President Bill Clinton speaks to the B'nai Torah Congregation, Boca Raton, FL
—12:40 pm: President Bush holds a "Focus on the Economy with President Bush" at the Richland Center High School, Richland Center, WI
—1:45 pm: Sen. Zell Miller holds a rally on behalf of President Bush at Promises to Keep, Derry, NH
—2:00 pm: Ralph Nader speaks at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, WI
—2:35 pm: Elizabeth Edwards holds a town hall discussion at Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
—3:15 pm: Vice President Cheney holds a rally at Pensacola Junior College, Pensacola, FL
—3:25 pm: Sen. Edwards attends a community gathering at the Sovereign Center, Reading, PA
—3:30 pm: Teresa Heinz Kerry and Rep. Dennis Kucinich speak with community leaders at Czech Karlin Hall, Cleveland, OH
—3:55 pm: President Bush speaks at a rally at the Cuba City High School, Cuba City, WI
—5:00 pm: Sen. Kerry holds a rally at Jaycee Park, Las Vegas, NV
—5:25 pm: President Bush holds a rally at the Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA
—6:00 pm: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and actress Meg Ryan discuss their opposition to President Bush's environmental policies at the Tampa Theater, Tampa, FL
—6:30 pm: Former Reps. Mickey Edwards and David Skaggs discuss the election at a panel discussion at the Capitol sponsored by the Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Washington, DC
—6:30 pm: Don King and national black leaders speak on behalf of President Bush at Lumi Ly's Mission of Haiti, Miami, FL
—6:45 pm: Sen. Edwards holds a Fresh Start for America rally at the Marts Center, Wilkes Barre, PA
—6:45 pm: Elizabeth Edwards holds a town hall discussion at Central High School, Flint, MI
—7:30 pm: Sen. Frank Lautenberg discusses the Jewish vote on behalf of Sen. Kerry at the Boca Pointe Country Club, Boca Pointe, FL
—8:00 pm: Ralph Nader speaks at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
—8:45 pm: President Bush returns to the White House
—9:00 pm: President Bush appears on "Hannity & Colmes"
—9:45 pm: Sen. Kerry holds a rally at the Civic Plaza, Albuquerque, NM
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