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News Summary

The comments on the Middle East situation and what's expected of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon from this Administration in the papers, at the White House press briefings, on the Sunday shows, and from the president himself, taken in toto, seem to amount to one seriously mixed message.

Is that intentional, or simply reflective of White House scrambling to keep ahead of the unfolding events, and/or perhaps of internal disputes within the administration over how best to handle things?

Whatever the answer, this snarl goes to the heart of the Big Question: where does President Bush perceive America's interests as diverging from Israel's?

The Washington Post 's Allen and Lancaster muddy the waters even further with this front-page bomb: "Israel's continued defiance of President Bush's demand for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian cities and towns is eroding support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon inside the White House, administration sources said yesterday." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28981-2002Apr10.html )

"After months of steadfast backing of Sharon by the Bush administration, senior White House aides are beginning to express doubts about whether the Israeli leader can be a long-term partner in achieving the administration's goals in the Middle East."

Here's the nut graph that might move us into domestic politics: "White House aides also fear that Sharon's intransigence in the face of Bush's repeated demands over the past week for an end to the Israeli attacks could make the president appear ineffective and erode his standing in the world."

"As part of the emerging shift of opinion about the Israeli leader, some White House officials are now making a distinction between support for Israel and support for Sharon."

"The administration's tougher line on Israel is already facing resistance in Congress, with some lawmakers accusing the White House of compromising the moral clarity of its anti-terrorism crusade."

Also, "Administration officials said they fear that expectations for Powell's mission are rising to an unreasonable level, and they repeated Powell's warning on Sunday before he left for the region that he might not achieve anything tangible … The intensity of feeling surrounding Powell's trip reflects the enduring clout of Israel and its American allies on Capitol Hill. It could also limit Powell's diplomatic maneuvering room by exposing the administration to criticism from its conservative base and others that its approach to fighting terrorism is inconsistent."

The New York Daily News' DeFrank sees some deeper meaning in all this: "The Bush White House almost always shows a cheerful public face, but the Mideast crisis has prompted some serious internal gloom these days." ( http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-04-11/
News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-147257.asp )

"For now, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have rejected Bush's diplomacy — the Palestinian leader ignoring Bush's demands to stop the suicide bombings, Sharon spurning his repeated demands to halt the Israeli military campaign against the terrorists."

"That embarrassing dual rebuff, combined with a crescendo of criticism from European allies and usually reliable moderate Arab leaders, has left Bush and many of his senior policy lieutenants seething."

"'He's hopping mad about this,' one well-placed source said." (The Note note: we assume Dick Cheney.) "'There's a deep sense of disappointment with the Israelis and a sense of total betrayal by Arafat.'"

"Moreover, friends said Bush is infuriated by criticism from 'foreign policy elites' (The Note note: we assume Bill Kristol) over his handling of the issue."

And this is quite a quote: "As Powell takes his shuttle diplomacy to Jerusalem today, some aides believe his high-stakes mission is probably doomed. 'It's going to fail,' one Bush official predicted yesterday, 'but we can't say that. He'll come home and say he made progress and our efforts will continue.'"

And here's DeFrank's kicker: "The Middle East is such an intractable problem that a few Bush aides have even begun privately mulling the heretofore unthinkable — perhaps farming the problem out to a Democratic envoy to share the power — and the pain." (The Note note: we love the ironic use of the word "privately.")

Bill Safire is either being uncharacteristically naive, or is up to something so complex that it escapes us, when he writes this "Last weekend, the A.P. reported Bush aides saying on background that our president was 'frustrated' after his telephone call to Sharon. I asked another 'senior administration official' about that, and was firmly told 'no such thing.' Such staff doubletalk ill serves the president and the press." ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/opinion/11SAFI.html )

And the New York Post 's Deborah Orin, who lately has found a lot of lemonade in this Administration, sees in all this not "incoheren(ce)," but rather "that Bush has figured out how to play by the complex bargaining rules of the Mideast bazaar." ( http://www.nypost.com/commentary/14133.html )

"Yes, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon defied Bush's call to withdraw — but so far, it looks like 'U.S.-authorized' defiance, since far from slamming him, the White House keeps saying America is Israel's 'best friend.'"

Senator Chuck Schumer called the president's Middle East policy "muddled, confused and inconsistent," and no one was surprised. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/international/middleeast/11SCHU.html )

It was all happy talk, with support for both the president and Israel (for how long will THAT be sustainable?) from congressional Republicans leaving their breakfast with the Mr. Bush this morning.

The New York Times plays up Ari Fleischer's linking Iraq to ANWR, even as the Senate energy face-off continues, with Daschle as Nic Cage and Lott as Travolta. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/politics/11ENER.html )

Continuing his effort to focus the attention of Congress, the media, and the voters on the domestic front, President Bush today will urge the Democrat-run Senate to pass his faith-based initiative by Memorial Day. ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020411-77644008.html )

In his closed meeting yesterday with congressional Republican leaders, Bush apparently said "he would veto appropriations bills that do not meet his definition of fiscal discipline," Roll Call reports. "Bush's threat to shoot down what he might perceive as bloated spending bills comes as the Senate Democratic leadership struggles to muster enough support to approve a budget resolution this year."

"If the Senate fails to pass a budget plan, there will be no legislative restraints to keep spending in check. Such a situation will likely lead to a political showdown in the fall — at the same time the nation prepares to go to the polls."

"Bush's vow yesterday to hold the line on spending appears to have appeased GOP conservatives, at least for the time being."

Here are what we view as the key conflicting thematics: "Senator Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) said its ironic the president is talking about fiscal discipline when he inherited a budget that had been balanced for several years and is now submitting a budget that 'establishes a deficit. He should be issuing warnings to his own administration and not to Congress,' Torricelli said. 'The restraint on spending is more likely to come from Congress than the Bush administration.'"

"Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, predicted … that domestic spending will not explode this year. 'I don't see in a time of war that spending is going to get out of control,' he said. But Stevens suggested that there might be an increase above and beyond what the president had requested for defense and homeland security. 'These could demand a great deal more money than what is in the president's budget, and that may be the stressing point of the budget,' he said. 'I don't believe you are going to face non-defense spending that is excessive in time of a crisis such as we are facing.'"

Both of which leave out the fact that Congress almost certainly will increase domestic spending on a range of areas, and that following through on this veto threat, if it becomes germane, is going to take some serious cajones.

Former President Clinton will be in Washington today for two award presentations. First, he will present the Democratic Leadership Council's leadership and national service award to Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Then this evening, Clinton himself will be honored by the National Jewish Democratic Council.

Lots of homeland security stuff going on around town today, too. Sens. Joe Lieberman and Fred Thompson will convene their homeland security hearing on the creation of a Department of National Homeland Security and a White House office to combat terrorism. Tom Ridge will meet with Rep. Dan Burton's committee behind closed doors. And a Senate Appropriations subcommittee also will consider the topic — without Ridge's insights, of course.

First Lady Laura Bush is in Pennsylvania today; she'll link up with Ridge and his wife in their home state this evening.

From the ABC News London Bureau on the Middle East:

Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Sharon from Madrid this morning and told him that Israeli military operation against Palestinians would not eliminate the threat of terrorism. Powell is due to arrive in Jerusalem later today after a brief stopover in Amman for talks with the Jordanian King Abdullah. Powell will meet with Sharon on Friday, and is expected to meet with Arafat on Saturday.

Hours before Powell is due to arrive, Israeli troops have occupied three more areas in the West Bank and withdrawn from 24 others. Tanks and troops entered the town of Bir Zeit, the refugee camp of Ein Beit Elma near Ramallah, and Daharyeh village near Hebron, and are reported to be conducting house-to-house searches. Israeli troops still remain in the major West Bank cities of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem.

The first pictures of Arafat at his Ramallah headquarters have been smuggled out; the pictures were shot over the past week and show Arafat meeting with a high-level Palestinian negotiating team on Wednesday, and the damage to the cabinet room allegedly caused by Israeli machine-gun fire. Also on the tape are pictures of Arafat hugging peace activists who marched into his compound in a gesture of international solidarity, and last Friday's meeting with US special envoy Zinni.

A Palestinian suicide bomber was killed in Hebron this morning when the bomb he was carrying exploded prematurely. A number of bystanders were injured, but there have been no other fatalities.

The Middle East

USA Today wonders whether Powell has a game plan. ( http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020411/4018080s.html )

Former US special envoy Dennis Ross writes in the Los Angeles Times , "If Arafat fears that the U.S. will sever ties with him if he does not give unequivocal orders to prevent terror and publicly discredit it as a threat to the Palestinian cause, he may finally be forced to make a choice. My experience with him suggests that he only chooses to act when he has no choice." ( http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-000025761apr11.story )
?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dcomment%2Dopinions )

And, "[w]hile Sharon will not want to appear to be saying no to President Bush, he will be very reluctant to appear to be giving in until the military believes it has completed the mission."

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

Vermont Gov. Howard Dean continued on the Hill yesterday to pound the White House on the states' rights issue on welfare reform. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/politics/11WELF.html )

House Minority Leader Gephardt is readying for his two days in Iowa, campaigning for House candidates.

The The Wall Street Journal ed board calls for ANWR drilling and blasts "filibuster boys" Kerry and Lieberman, but especially Kerry, for their opposition.

John DiStaso makes Colin's day with a personnel announcement: "The Republican State Committee leadership, realizing they're overmatched in publicity and media relations by the state Democratic Party, has called in a pro. Julie Teer will arrive from Washington to be their communications director. The national GOP will pay part of the salary for Teer, who was most recently a communications adviser to the Senate Republican Conference." ( http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html )?article=10307

We think of Ms. Teer as a former staffer for now-Energy Secretary Spencer "Spence" Abraham, and we look forward to dining with her at Richard's Bistro. ( http://www.theunionleader.com/Articles_show.html )?article=87&archive=1

The New York Times story about Bill Clinton's being hired by Democratic fundraiser Ron Burkle as an investment adviser for a fund that specializes in low-income urban and rural communities mentions Al Gore's deal with MetWest, which still seems pretty murky to us. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/national/11CLIN.html )

The New York Post is certainly energetic about covering Al Sharpton and his presidential efforts. Today, Robert George columnizes about the Reverend's agenda … ( http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/14104.html )

… .while the Daily News' Rush and Molloy (back after feeling the hot breath of the 411 ladies) prefer to focus on Rev. Sharpton's time in the Sheraton New York's Presidential Suite. (And if R&M are right, Senator and Mr. Clinton were right across the street form the ABC News international headquarters on Sunday and didn't stop in to say "hello.") ( http://www.nydailynews.com/today/News_and_Views/Daily_Dish/a-147244.asp )

Warning to future Democratic presidential candiates: don't mess with the Des Moines Register 's ed board. Look what they have done today to the son of a former candidate: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says big hog producers are a greater threat to the United States than Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network. To that we say Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is like a suicide bomber, blowing up his credibility and hurting the cause he represents by making such an idiotic statement." ( http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c5917686/17871178.html )

Florida Democratic Party Convention

Janet Reno is not a fundraising machine, and that leads to bad clips, which won't enhance her fundraising. ( http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/3038872.htm ) ( http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/thursday/news_c35b
b039f6c6710900b6.html )

Liz Smith gives Judy Woodruff's interviews with the 2004 contenders and their spouses a little puff today, teasing the Edwards installment expected this afternoon. Then Liz writes this about the Florida convention: "Tomorrow, Judy hits Orlando, where the important Florida State Democratic Convention gets under way, with actor Alec Baldwin as keynote speaker. Lieberman and Edwards, plus Bob Kerrey, Chris Dodd and Al Gore are expected. Only Dick Gephardt seems to have a conflict and won't be there." ( http://www.nypost.com/gossip/liz.html )

"I asked Judy if former President Bill Clinton would be in Orlando? She mused, 'I don't think so. They are looking to the future, I believe.'"

Our reactions to this?

1. Note to David Wade: call Liz Smith and tell her it's John, not Bob, and no "e."

2. Note to Judy Woodruff: read our stuff and you won't have to "muse" about Bill Clinton. ( http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/DailyNews/fladem_020408.html )

3. Note to Liz Smith: don't forget Tom Daschle and Howard Dean — they won't be there, either.

Check here for the latest maneuverings by the '04 wannabes who soon will be traveling to Orlando. ( http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/DailyNews/fladem_020408.html )

Campaign Finance/Election Reform

The Senate today may pass an election reform bill which makes certain demands of states; if passed, the bill would then have to be reconciled with the more laissez-faire House version. ( http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/3042137.html )

The The Wall Street Journal looks at how Native Americans are shifting some of their giving to the Republicans. We find the notion that this is happening under a Republican president who is one of the most anti-gaming president in US history to be notable. Democratic party opposition researchers will find the appearance of the names Jack Abramoff and Grover Norquist notable, as well as the suggestion that Interior Secretary Gale Norton allegedly was employed for some serious donor maintenance.

Senator McCain sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission yesterday requesting that two GOP commissioners recuse themselves from the process of figuring out how to implement McCain-Feingold-Shays-Meehan.

Ways and Means chairman Bill Thomas' effort to loosen reporting requirements for 527 groups was defeated by campaign finance reform advocates yesterday. ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/04/news0411c.html )

However, the provision was tacked onto a bill full of new proposed protections for taxpayers, giving the House GOP a possible election year issue. "Republicans say by defeating the new protections for taxpayers included in the bill, Democrats have created an issue that can be used against them in November." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020411-372424.html )

"The bill would have changed the April 15 deadline for the first time in nearly half a century, granting an estimated 50 million 'e-filers' an extra 15 days to file, starting next year. It also would have expanded aid to low-income taxpayer clinics and eased some penalties for taxpayers who make good-faith mistakes." ( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-000025915apr11.story )
?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection ) )

The Washington Post looks at the relatively bright future of 527 groups under McCain-Feingold-Shays-Meehan. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28957-2002Apr10.html )

The Democratic Senate campaign committee will welcome its African-American US Senate nominee to Washington today with a fundraiser hosted by former Clinton Labor Secretary Alexis Herman. Don't get us wrong: Kirk is a very viable candidate. But that's far from the only reason why Democratic party leaders are psyched about his runoff victory last Tuesday. "'I'm sure Ebony magazine is not going to do a profile on Bill Bradbury, but Ron Kirk would certainly a great cover story,' said DSCC spokeswoman Tovah Ravitz-Meehan, referring to Bradbury, the Oregon secretary of state who is challenging Senator Gordon Smith (R). Bradbury is white. 'Kirk will get incredible support from the Democratic Caucus, especially from Senator Murray and [Senate Majority Leader] Thomas Daschle [D-S.D.],' she added. 'So, whatever he figures out he wants and needs, we'll be with him.'" ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/politics/00/2002/04/pol0411a.html )

Yesterday and today brings another outpouring of campaign committee fundraising numbers.

The Republican House campaign committee raised $21.5 million in the first quarter of 2002, and have $20.4 million cash on hand, according to committee sources. Of that cash on hand, $10.3 million is hard money and $10.1 million is soft; the committee currently has no debt. Their cash on hand total is more than $2 millon higher than what they had on hand at this point in the 2000 election cycle.

"The DCCC, which has raised $46 million this cycle, emphasized that although House Republicans have raised nearly twice as much, they have a much smaller lead in cash on hand … Since the start of the cycle, the NRCC has spent roughly $70 million. The DCCC has spent nearly $30 million in that time." ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/04/news0411g.html )

Congressional Republicans' next big fundraiser will be the presidential Gala, the joint House-Senate fundraiser at which President Bush is expected to appears, which is scheduled for June.

As reported by Roll Call today: "The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised just under $15 million for the quarter and reported $28 million on hand. Hard federal money accounted for $16 million of that total; $12 million in soft money, which will be banned under new campaign finance regulations that take effect after the November elections, made up the remainder. During the same period in the 2000 cycle, the NRSC had $11.4 million on hand. In 1998 it had just $2.7 million in the bank."

And, the Democratic Senate campaign committee announced yesterday that it has raised $48 million this cycle, including almost $11 million in this first quarter. The committee has $23.1 million cash on hand. They emphasize that they have increased their fundraising and cash-on-hand figures by over a third since this point in the previous cycle.

Politics

Don't say you overdosed on Pickering, cause there's much more to come. A select couple of papers today cover the Senate Republican charges levied Wednesday that their Democratic colleagues are discriminating against Bush judicial nominee Miguel Estrada.

The Los Angeles Times goes so far as to call this the "next great political fight over a prospective judge." Senate Judiciary chairman Leahy has promised "to hold a hearing on Estrada's nomination this year," but has not set a date. "Aides predicted that the hearing would be held in June or July." ( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-000025873apr11.story
)?coll=la%2Dheadlines )%2Dfrontpage )

"Republicans are not alone in seeing a parallel to the battles over [Clarence] Thomas … Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People for the American Way, contended that the Bush administration had been searching for a 'Latino Clarence Thomas' and appears to have found him in Estrada."

Ask yourself: which is more compelling: Bill Clinton talking to Roger Mudd, or Bill Frist talking to Don Imus. Tougher choice for us this morning than Dasani versus Diet Coke.

California

The Washington Post 's Milbank gets the White House's take on Simon's chances. "Within the White House, 'I don't think there's a serious opinion' that Simon can win, a Bush adviser said. 'The view is it's really Davis's to lose.' But Bush aides are concerned that national conservative groups were irritated by his support for Riordan. 'They want to eliminate this notion that they would somehow favor a Riordan over a conservative,' the adviser said." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28931-2002Apr10.html )

South Dakota

Democratic Senator Tim Johnson's campaign continues to hammer away at President Bush's April 24 visit to the state on behalf of Johnson challenger John Thune (R) in an effort to frame the message before the Thune campaign has a chance to. Of the arguments that taxpayers are picking up a share of the trip and that Thune is allegedly using his House office website to promote it, a Johnson spokesperson says they are "showing this visit for what it is — politics pure and simple. Bush is in this state to raise money for Thune because he desperately wants Daschle to be minority leader."

Today, Johnson will send a letter to President Bush asking him to meet with farmers while he's in South Dakota to talk about the farm bill.

South Carolina

The state's gubernatorial race "is on track to be the most expensive in state history." The candidates have raised $11 million already, of which Democratic incumbent Jim Hodges has raised nearly half, $5.1 million. ( http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/3041608.html )

Missouri

Senator Jean Carnahan seems to be trying to side-step GOP challenger Jim Talent's very clever challenge to debate him as often as Eddie Murphy's hit song suggested he wanted to party. ( http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/3038086.html )

Kansas

To paraphrase Ricki Lee Jones and suggest there might be a network TV story here, it turns out it might just be love that has caused the GOP's frontrunner for the gubernatorial nomination to apparently get ready to drop out of the race, leading the state GOP chair to say that the Democrats' consensus candidate is now the frontrunner to be the next governor of the Jayhawk State, which would be a nifty pickup for the Democrats. ( http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/3038161.html )

As Republicans vent anger toward two-term state Attorney General Carla Stoval, her running mate offered this explanation: "Glasscock, the House speaker, confirmed late Tuesday that Stovall's wavering was connected to her relationship with radio broadcaster Larry Steckline. The two began dating late last year and are traveling together in Europe."

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality

The Washington Times follows up on Ari's comments yesterday about the Israeli and Arab press. "The White House believes that virulent anti-Jewish propaganda in the Arab press is partly to blame for the rash of Palestinian suicide bombings and recent anti-Israel and anti-American demonstrations in Arab capitals. By branding Israel's incursions into Palestinian territories a 'holocaust,' the Arab press is undermining this week's Middle East peace mission by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020411-85999727.html )

"Moreover, state-sponsored depictions of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a mass murderer are believed to be hampering U.S. efforts to turn Arab sentiment against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a popular hero among Palestinians since his 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Publicly, White House officials are reluctant to single out Arab nations as anti-Semitic. But privately, officials note that some of the worst offenders are crucial U.S. allies. These include Egypt, which receives more U.S. aid than any state except Israel, and Saudi Arabia, which spawned 15 of the 19 hijackers in the September 11 terrorist attacks."

White House Council of Economic Advisers chief Glenn Hubbard told the Washington Times in an interview that the economy's doing real well, and that a double-dip is unlikely, barring another terrorist attack. ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020411-31555160.html )

Bob Novak recommends that Army Secretary White should "rent rather than buy" as he looks for a new suburban Washington home, since Novak, decrying the politics of personal destruction (with no apparent irony), says that the knives are out for Mr. White. ( http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak11.html )

Seen through the lens of the New York Times ' obsession with Tom Ridge and Congress, the homeland security czar's appearance on Capitol Hill yesterday informally before a House panel is transforming the dispute from one between the branches to one between the parties, which is just where the White House is happy to have it. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/politics/11RIDG.html )

On the other hand, you don't often see a Republican member demand the resignation of a Bush Administration official, but that's what happened after Medicare chief/genius Tom Scully refused to testify before Congress yesterday. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/national/11BRFS1.html )

We like the existential, CYA nature of the first sentence of this New York Times correction: "An article in Business Day yesterday about President Bush's views on the accounting treatment of stock options granted to executives misstated his remarks, based on an erroneous transcript from the White House." ( http://www.nytimes.com/corrections.html )

Legislative Agenda

Kathy Chen continues her good work in the The Wall Street Journal on the pension reform tussle, nestled on the new A4 "Politics and Policy" page, where you need to remember tomorrow to look for your Washington Wire.

Energy Task Force

Some papers comb through the latest data dump by the Energy Department, but none of the results really advance the story. Here are the relative highlights.

The Washington Post gleans this bit: the White House "sought to include recommendations from environmental groups only if they were 'consistent' with existing Bush administration policy, according to an internal administration e-mail released yesterday." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29025-2002Apr10.html )

"But environmental groups that are seeking to prove that the task force was heavily influenced by energy industry lobbyists immediately complained that the administration still refuses to release key documents, including the calendars of top Energy Department officials who led the effort," the Los Angeles Times reports. ( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-000025913apr11.story )
?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection ) )

The AP writes, "After months of meeting with corporate executives, the US Energy Department directed a staff member to make a cursory, two-day sweep of environmental groups to gather their views for Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force, newly released documents show … The brief nod to environmentalists occurred the same week that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham met with executives of Duke Energy, Westinghouse Electric, Entergy, Exelon, and other nuclear power industry officials to discuss the administration's energy plan." ( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/101/nation/Green_groups_were_energy
_plan_afterthought+.shtml )

As it happens, the Energy Secretary is scheduled to meet with representatives of energy trade groups today.

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