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News summary

The fever pitch that continues to build with journalists' ability to talk about the war is so much more tangible — and, let's face it, sexy — given the military and television network hardware and personnel being deployed to the region.

The New York Post 's lead editorial perfectly captures the media's dominant sense that unemployment and health care don't much matter tonight: "Tonight, perhaps more intently than ever before, the eyes of the world will be on George W. Bush." LINK

"Tonight the president delivers his annual message to the nation — the State of the Union Address. But this year only this question truly matters:"

"Will it be war?"

But those who see a distinction between focusing on the war and focusing on the economy just might be missing the point — something with which Josh Bolten*, drawing on his days in high finance in merry old England, would surely agree.

Alan Murray's must-read Wall Street Journal column proves once again that the guy is more than just a pretty face on TV.

Murray agrees with White House advisers and the "other" Alan (i.e., Greenspan), who believe that the war IS the economy, and vice versa. "The best thing President Bush can do for the economy right now is resolve the war issue. If inspections drag on, and the possibility of war remains open, the economy can be expected to stay in the doldrums … "

"As long as the cloud of imminent war hangs over the U.S., any stimulus package is sure to fail. It's a fair bet that much of the discussion at Tuesday's meeting of the Fed's policy committee will focus on this critical question of timing: When might a war begin? If it begins soon, then an economic recovery may soon be under way. But if it gets delayed until spring — or next fall — then recovery will be delayed as well … "

" … [I]n spite of the public's other concerns, Mr. Bush needs to focus Tuesday night's speech on war with Iraq. For better or worse, the economy will have to wait."

Of course, the New York Times business section offers the exact opposite take, grappling to explain the linear connection between the oil fields in Iraq and the Dow: "Some analysts, like Henry J. Herrmann, chief investment officer at Waddell & Reed in Overland Park, Kan., think that the weakness of earnings and the economy are more of a drag on the market than the threat of a war." LINK

"'The underpinning of the economy is not vigorous,' Mr. Herrmann said. 'We need a stimulus package, and the market is fretting over that. The economic package is more important than the war.'"

Maybe it's because The Note is more Kennedy School of Government than we are Johns Hopkins SAIS, but we also think the substantive and political implications of the what the president will propose domestically this evening are pretty darn important, too.

For those interested in the domestic stuff, Mr. Fournier gets more than we see anywhere else: "Pushing a new plank in his 'faith-based initiative,' Bush planned to ask Congress for $200 million next fiscal year for vouchers to people seeking drug treatment. The vouchers would allow them to seek help at any treatment center, including those with religious approaches, two senior White House officials said." LINK

"The plan is sure to be controversial because many religious drug treatment programs do not employ medical approaches and do not use staff that have been licensed for this work. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Bush also planned to propose a significant increase in spending on research into development of hydrogen fuel-cell cars. Both initiatives were previewed by advisers as they sought to highlight aspects of his budget blueprint that might prove attractive to moderate voters."

"Bush wants to show Americans that his White House can focus on problems at home while fighting war abroad. His agenda also includes massive tax cuts, Medicare reform, prescription drugs for the elderly, health insurance for small businesses and other new initiatives that help religious groups provide federally funded community services."

A well meaning and kind Senior Administration Official ("SAO" in Notespeak), reading the morning coverage along with us, says, "I thought AP's take on the drug treatment initiative was a little off. The idea is to empower the individual to choose the best form of treatment for their own addiction — many Americans can defeat addiction that do not employ medical approaches."

"Also, while we support small business pooling for health insurance, it will not be in this speech. Instead, the president will focus on prescription drugs/modernizing Medicare and medical liability driving up the costs of health care."

So, look for big, broad Bush principles on health care tonight (and in Michigan tomorrow), but recognize that it will be some time before we get enough details for some wise-aleck Democrat to build a Rube Goldberg/Arlen Specter chart illustrating the mind-numbing complexities of the Bush Medicare Plan.

Ah yes, Medicare, and tax cuts, and Big Casino deficits. The Wall Street Journal reminds everyone to brace for tomorrow: "The Congressional Budget Office's closely watched annual forecast of federal finances is likely to show a big widening in the fiscal 2003 deficit, complicating President Bush's plans for big tax cuts and spending increases for security and Medicare."

"Unofficial Senate Republican estimates put the CBO's deficit number, due out Wednesday, at as much as $175 billion for 2003, wider than its August estimate of $145 billion. Private-sector economists figure the deficit will be even wider — as much as $200 billion or more. House Democrats have estimated it will be more than $230 billion before any new spending or tax breaks."

"Add in President Bush's proposals for tax cuts and a war with Iraq, and the 2003 deficit could swell to $300 billion, some economists say."

The Wall Street Journal also reports: "Mr. Bush's (tax) plan ran into another possible obstacle Monday when California Rep. Bill Thomas, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said it must be carefully examined to determine if the centerpiece, a big break for shareholders on dividends, has unintended consequences for securities markets."

The Washington Post 's Weisman gives Thomas' utterances fuller treatment: "The first public comments by Thomas on the president's 10-year, $674 billion economic growth plan came the day before the administration begins its formal effort to sell the proposal to Capitol Hill. Treasury Secretary-nominee John W. Snow will promote the plan before the Senate Finance Committee today at his confirmation hearing, and Bush will likely devote much of tonight's State of the Union address to a plan that he says will jolt the economy out of the doldrums." LINK

"But it may be the plan itself … that is in the doldrums."

"Democrats on the Finance Committee say they plan to bore into Snow on the tax plan, its effect on the economy and its impact on the growing budget deficit … "

"Democrats will use those worsening budget projections, plus Snow's statements in the 1990s supporting a balanced budget, to try to splash more cold water on the president's proposal. The opposition of a half-dozen Democratic and Republican Senate centrists also appears to be hardening, following a private meeting with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan last week."

Even though that key part of the tax plan is decidedly in weaker shape than when it was first announced, the president will push on with it tonight, and let's hope the pool director has the presence of mind to find Bill Thomas for the reaction shot to the POTUS talking about the dividend tax cut.

No one can give Robert Pear a run for his money, but Vicki Kemper clearly can get at the rub of Medicare politics: "In his State of the Union address tonight," Ms. Kemper sets up in the Los Angeles Times , "President Bush is expected to propose significant reforms to Medicare. But in doing so, he may soon get the same political lesson learned the hard way by several presidents before him: When it comes to health-care policy, no proposal is more controversial than the one that appears to exert government influence on the price of health care and the choice of doctors." LINK

"Although few details were available, some outsiders familiar with the administration's thinking predicted Monday that the speech itself would raise more questions about Bush's intentions than it answers."

"But information floated by officials last week suggests that Bush's Medicare reform proposal could appear, at least to the typical Medicare beneficiary, to offer too much control and too little choice."

"The Bush administration expects that delivering Medicare benefits through HMOs and other managed-care companies will save money for the near-bankrupt Medicare program," says the Boston Globe . "But attempts over the past six years to shift elderly Americans into private HMOs caused turmoil for the 6 million seniors who tried it out, said health specialists, increasing out-of-pocket costs and shrinking benefits for most." LINK

The left-leaning punditocracy is up in arms over the proposal as outlined. EJ Dionne writes up how President Bush's Medicare proposal is "designed, over the long run, to privatize Medicare. Oh, these changes won't be sold that way." LINK

"But the dirty little secret behind the newfangled managed-care plans is that they are all designed to control spending. That means limiting the choices Medicare recipients now have."

And Tom Oliphant writes, "President Bush took office two years ago with a preposterous message against the gauzy backdrop of a phantom budget surplus that we could have it all — lower taxes and more services and benefits. This week the message hidden in the fog of pre-State of the Union propaganda is that we can't and that Bush wants to attack the services and benefits that make up America's social contract to keep the tax cuts coming." LINK

"The best and biggest example is Medicare."

The still-forming Democratic leadership communications team can/will take some heart from the good amount of coverage yesterday's Pelosi-Daschle Show got, and from New York Times asides such as this: "Today's remarks capped a week of unusually intense pre-emptive work by Democrats that demonstrates the party's refusal to stay on the sidelines in its new minority role." LINK

And the party is even reaching for some rhetoric that will sound very familiar to a certain Nashville resident (by way of St. Albans A&M). Spoketh Senator Daschle: "This administration keeps saying one thing, but doing another."

The Chicago Tribunes Zuckman writes for today, "As President Bush prepares to deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday, a new Democratic strategy has emerged to question the president's credibility-even his honesty-on everything from his handling of the economy to his management of foreign policy. The message can be summed up this way: Watch what he does, not what he says."

"In back-to-back speeches Monday, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi … cited presidential promises they said were at odds with administration actions on homeland security, economic stimulus legislation, education funding and prescription drug coverage for seniors, among others. Daschle also accused Bush of sending 'confused signals' when it comes to foreign policy regarding Iraq and North Korea."

"The accusation that Bush says one thing and does another echoes assaults that Bush himself leveled during his 2000 campaign against his opponents, most notably Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former Vice President Al Gore. It is a powerful line of political attack, but one that rarely has been leveled against Bush with any success."

Daschle-Pelosi will meet with Gov. Gary Locke (recipient of his very own well-researched Republican National Committee press release) at 12 noon today, with a photo op to follow.

President Bush himself will meet with his Cabinet this morning, his only public appearance today aside from his 9:00 p.m. date with the nation. For more on what Mr. Bush is up to today, see below.

More Gallup Poll data in USA Today , which "suggests that in his State of the Union message at 9 p.m. ET, the president needs to assure an increasingly skeptical public that the course he is charting is the right one … " LINK

Charlie Cook writes in his CongressDaily AM column, "While the president is not quite up to his ears in alligators, he has problems all around him and needs a very strong speech to galvanize public opinion that in recent weeks has grown increasingly skeptical. It is a very long time between now and the November 2, 2004 general election but there are few opportunities to have the ears of most Americans and affect public opinion to the degree that a State of the Union speech affords. This one had better be good."

The New York Times goes breathless-a, saying "the capital is once again calling (it) the speech of his life … [T]he expectations continued to build today for a State of the Union address that was being talked about in historic proportions, at least among the capital's chattering class … "

Karen Hughes on Good Morning America mentioned the environment and energy as part of the speech. And we'll all be listening for mentions of other things, such as partial birth abortion, and Social Security reform.

The over/under on the number of calls John King will make today to try to break the story on who will be in the box with the First Lady is 48, and some of those calls will go to the (703) area code.

On that point, proving once again that the best way to break news out of any White House is NOT out of the White House, the New York Times reports: "among the people to be recognized by the president is a member of the Army reserves who has worked on the reconstruction of Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said."

The State Of The Union

The Tribune's Jeff Zeleny obtained an e-mail invitation to "a select audience of Republican lobbyists and executives" who will get a sneak preview of the address "hours" before Bush delivers it. LINK

"Even before the president explains his goals of passing a $674 billion tax cut and implementing sweeping reforms to Medicare, some of the very foot soldiers tasked with delivering the message on television and in Congress will get their talking points from top administration officials."

"The invitation, obtained by the Tribune, was sent to nearly 70 top GOP strategists, pollsters and conservative groups such as American Cause, founded by Pat Buchanan.

"Personnel from AT&T and Eli Lilly & Co., companies that could be affected by the administration's weightiest proposals, also were invited."

"Others invitees include former Republican Reps. Susan Molinari of New York and Vin Weber of Minnesota, and Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform--all of whom regularly dispense political advice and commentary."

Forgetting, apparently, about promoting her polling partners, and about her paper's obsession with Fox News Channel's hundreds of thousands of viewers, the New York Times ' Elisabeth Bumiller summarizes the president's Monday/Tuesday thusly: "Mr. Bush also had a private lunch with Vice President Dick Cheney, then met with a group of newspaper and magazine columnists to preview his speech. On Tuesday, the day of the address, he is to have lunch with the television anchors and Sunday news program hosts who will comment on his speech throughout the week. Among them are Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert of NBC and Peter Jennings and George Stephanopoulos of ABC." LINK

(Quick: which columnists, not having been invited, are reaching to call Ari or Dan right now?)

One columnist who we are pretty sure WASN'T invited is the New York Times ' dazzling Paul Krugman, who cleverly enters the expectations game: "We can be sure that some pundits will acclaim the speech as bold and brilliant; they would do that if he read from 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar.' Whether their praise, and the theatrics of the occasion, will turn things around is anyone's guess. A lot depends on whether Mr. Bush is held accountable for the promises he made in his last State of the Union address … " LINK

Reviewing last year's promises about deficits and jobs, Krugman wheels out these startling paragraphs: "[There is] a striking dissonance between what administration officials say on TV — where it's still all about jobs — and what they say when speaking to knowledgeable audiences. In background briefings for reporters, at the Davos conference this past weekend and wherever else they encounter people who might actually know something about the numbers, officials now pooh-pooh concerns about the state of the job market. Never mind that, they say, our plan is all about increasing long-run growth. Um, but what about 'economic security'?"

"The administration's credibility problem is made worse by the high casualty rate among top economic officials, and the uninspiring quality of their replacements. Today is the first day of hearings for John Snow, the administration's choice for Treasury secretary. One official I spoke to was rueful: 'I thought Paul O'Neill wasn't suited to being Treasury secretary; he'd have been better off running a railroad. Now they've picked a man who ran a railroad.'"

USA Today 's Keen and McQuillan advise, "What President Bush leaves out of his State of the Union speech tonight is just as important as what he says." LINK

"Viewers will be disappointed if they tune in expecting to hear the president announce when he'll order the bombing of Baghdad. And he isn't going to explain why some looming problems, such as the soundness of Social Security, won't be priorities this year."

"Bush will focus on a few priorities because he wants his audience to be realistic about how much he can accomplish. He sees the speech as a chance to talk directly to Americans about a few key goals and doesn't want to recite a boring to-do list. He'll gloss over some controversial matters and avoid others, such as affirmative action and the growing federal budget deficit."

"Administration officials say Bush will call for an overhaul of Medicare and new prescription-drug benefits for seniors, but he'll provide few details. He'll make a passing reference to his promise in the 2000 campaign to reform Social Security by allowing workers to invest part of their payroll taxes in the stock market, but he won't demand action this year."

"This year, Bush won't remind his audience that [Osama] bin Laden is still on the loose."

Ms. Keen also offers a helpful scorecard of a sidebar that outlines promises Bush made in his 2002 SOTU. LINK

Not a great news cycle on NBC for the president's domestic agenda. This morning, Katie Couric said that "everybody" sees the tax plan as favoring the rich over the "working class," and last night, on Nightly, Norah O'Donnell led her Medicare reform spot with an older woman who takes 16 pills or so a day who didn't seem the least bit comfortable with trading access to her doctors for more prescription drug help.

"According to 'talking points' distributed to congressional Republicans, Bush tonight will outline proposals to stimulate the economy and create jobs, improve health care, 'encourage acts of compassion' and strengthen security at home and abroad. He also will urge Congress to pass limits on medical malpractice lawsuits to help curtail rising health-care costs and propose a 'major research effort to add to our future security.'" LINK

Our Internet problems yesterday didn't stop the first wave of interest group pre-buttals. ATLA, the trial lawyers association, lobbed this one: "When it comes to deciding fair compensation for victims of serious medical malpractice, the American people trust juries in their own communities more than they trust politicians and their corporate backers in Washington. But President Bush doesn't trust the American people who serve on juries. He recently (1/16/03) called them 'lousy juries.' President Bush should protect the rights of hardworking American families instead of the bonuses of millionaire insurance executives. We need leadership that puts people before profits."

USA Today on the security lockdown: LINK

The Washington Times on how many correspondents will be corresponding and pundits theorizing, and even leaks some of the advertising fare. LINK

Aside from his photo op with Daschle and Pelosi, Democratic SOTU responder Gary Locke will be practicing today, with a final rehearsal and photo op scheduled for 6:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. at the Hall of the States. Another photo op of Locke watching the president's speech will happen from 9:00 to 9:15 p.m..

The Des Moines Register surveyed Iowa's congressional delegation for their expectations. LINK

David Yepsen urges Bush to "get on with it." LINK

Forty-one

The Stamford Advocate reporter noted George HW Bush's call for the United States and the United Nations to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. "Bush said several times that despite the current turmoil, he believes the world is in a position to enter a more peaceful phase." LINK "'Looking ahead, whatever does or does not happen in Iraq, I strongly believe that just as new dangers are presenting themselves today, so are new opportunities,' Bush said. 'Despite the challenges we face, despite the complex problems of an imperfect world, we have an unprecedented chance to lay the foundation for prosperity with peace in the 21st century."

"'For just as the 20th century was the bloodiest in human history, we must find a way to make sure that our children and grandchildren do not bear witness to similar horrors in the decade ahead,' Bush said."

"Bush, 78, spoke for about 40 minutes to the crowd of about 450 that included foreign diplomats and state and local leaders."

Big Casino Budget Politics

Previewing the Tuesday/Wednesday Fed meeting/announcement on interest rates, the Wall Street Journal says, "But if the latest drop in stocks begins rippling more noticeably into other markets, that could begin tilting sentiment inside the Fed toward cutting rates again. This week, Fed policy makers are likely to keep rates unchanged. They are also apt to say risks are still balanced between economic weakness and inflation, though that might be a closer call."

And if you had a crystal ball, and wanted to know if any of this will ever effect the 2004 elections, you'd want to know if this guy was onto something in the The Wall Street Journal : " … [E]conomists are warning that deficits could grow so wide that they would choke off much of the economic benefit of any stimulus measures, by forcing interest rates higher. 'If the economy does improve, you could see a spillover effect on interest rates … by late this year,' said David Greenlaw, an economist with Morgan Stanley in New York."

In his hearing today, incidentally, Treasury Secretary-designate Snow "will face questioning … from Democrats who contend that he was a pampered chief executive who profited from corporate favors, congressional aides said." He shouldn't have much trouble getting confirmed, however. LINK

Oregon voters vote today on Ballot Measure 28, which would deal with the state's fiscal problems by either raising income and corporate taxes or cutting programs, and "the latest survey shows them split, 48 percent to 48 percent, between more taxes and less government, with 4 percent undecided." LINK

Legislative Agenda

Bush judicial nominee Miguel Estrada took a lot of heat from the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday. LINK

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

There are a lot of primaries within the Invisible Primary, but Roll Call 's Cillizza yesterday looked at one of the Most Key, the Staff Primary (with Mr. Elmendorf talking wistfully — yes, we can sense that underlying wist, Steve — about ketchup money).

The Kerry camp is leading in this contest, though the Gephardt and Edwards folks are not far behind, but young Cillizza rightly dings Team Gephardt for their performance out of the gate, and makes us wonder what exactly Nick Baldick would paint, if he had the time.

The New Democrat Coalition has added two more presidential candidates to its speaking roster for its Wednesday planning meeting, which remains closed press: Senators Edwards and Graham will be joining Senators Kerry and Lieberman.

The Boston Globe 's Glen Johnson is the latest, and we're certain will not be the last, to look at missed votes. 'Since being sworn into his fourth term on Jan. 7, [Senator John Kerry] has missed more than half of the Roll Call votes in the US Senate, 15 out of 28. The figure is more than 10 percent of all the votes he had missed in the preceding 18 years of his Senate career, in which he established a voting participation rate of 97.9 percent." LINK

"Five of the votes Kerry missed this month were held when he was in Florida attending a campaign fund-raiser. Four were when he was in Boston, preparing for a visit to Iowa. Two came the next day, when he was in Des Moines, building a team for next year's Iowa caucuses, the lead voting event in the presidential campaign. One was held last week when he was entertaining mayors from across the nation at his home here in Georgetown, an event he left early because he had only nine minutes to race across town to the Capitol to avoid missing more votes."

"The two other Democratic senators running for president, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut and John Edwards of North Carolina, have missed 11 and five votes, respectively. Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, the lone House member running for president, as of yesterday afternoon had missed two votes out of 12 over two brief days of voting this session. The missed votes came within a half-hour of each other."

The Note loves and respects Norm Ornstein and David Axelrod, and anything from Friday's Note that made you think otherwise was poorly written.

Seriously: both those guys are aces in our book.

So there.

We continue to believe that the Six Pack is going to have more trouble raising money (even at $2,000 a clip) than most analysts believe.

Chalk it up to Clinton/Gore fatigue; or the lack of broad-based passion for any of this year's crop; or the Bush-Cheney economy; or all the breath-holding for Dennis Kucinich, but all of these guys are spending a lot of time in VERY small groups and on the phone trying to scrounge up the checks.

And none of them is close to reprising Senator Phil Gramm's famous line from 1996. LINK

Prove us wrong, y'all. Let's see any of you get to $10 million raised this year by the end of June.

In any case, if you are someone with free time in the morning, who doesn't mind paying $38 for a bagel, tea, and some juice, may we suggest daily breakfast at the Regency on Park Avenue?

Why, just yesterday, we are told (we weren't there; we were having Diet Slice at our desks), Senator John Kerry was holding a fundraiser in the back room (the very space where Senator Edwards and many others have held similar events).

And moments after he finished glad-handing and welcoming everyone, Al Sharpton walked in and began having coffee with two unidentified men at a table a few feet away.

Cindy Adams is SUCH a tease: "Those in the know: Don't count Gore out." LINK

"GORE is not out of politics. Trust mother, kiddies. Folks who are close to him who are close to me who is close to you say his opting out of the next presidential campaign does not — n-o-tttt — mean he'd refuse the nomination. About to sweat for it, he wouldn't. But accept a draft, he would. Just letting you know what I know as I know it, y'know."

A clue of a wisp of an indication of an answer to how much coverage MetWest executive Gore will get as he pops up across America with some regularity in the next 50 or so years: A man described as "Salon's returning national correspondent" (we think of him, uniformly, as "Tapper — Jake Tapper") chatted up Mr. Gore at the Grappa Italian Café in Park City, UT last week, and practically followed him into the men's room. LINK

IOWA

The Story County Democrats will host Gov. Howard Dean, along with Senator Tom Harkin and Secretary of State Chet Culver, at their annual reception and soup supper in Ames on Saturday, February 8. The masters of ceremonies will be state party chair/Dr. Sheila Maguire Riggs and, interestingly, Kerry Iowa campaign manager John Norris.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

District of Columbia? Schmistrict of Schmolumbia.

"New Hampshire's Secretary of State said Monday he will not adjust the state's presidential primary date to respond to a possible primary in the District of Columbia in early January 2004," the AP reports. LINK

"Officials in the District of Columbia want to hold a primary as early as Jan. 10 next year. Secretary of State Bill Gardner says since the District of Columbia is not a state, he's not going to try to beat the district to the polls. New Hampshire's primary could still be held before D.C.'s, because 10 states have yet to set dates."

"'We'll do whatever we have to do to protect our tradition,' even if that requires a primary to be held this year, Gardner said."

"The District might change its mind when it finds out how much it costs to conduct a primary, said state Rep. Jim Splaine, who sponsored 1975 and 1999 legislation that required New Hampshire to be first."

The Manchester Union Leader marvels that Ken Robinson saw hanging chads up close and person, that he believes Ralph Nader cost Al Gore the New Hampshire popular vote in 2000, and that his parents were Republicans. The New Hampshire Democratic Party executive director, soon to be the Kerry New Hampshire campaign manager, is named as one of the "40 Under 40" to watch. LINK

And did you know that Dante Scala likes to relax by playing fantasy baseball? LINK

Or that Scott Spradling wanted to be a vet? LINK

This one is a must-read for candidates who want to make INFORMED small talk with Scott while they get miked up. Steve Forbes REALLY would have benefited if he's had such a dossier on Carl Cameron, but of course, that was back in the days when the U-L would no sooner have written a profile of an MURer than offer a front-page editorial in praise of Governor Shaheen.

Elizabeth Edwards is "heading to New Hampshire, the first presidential primary state, Saturday," says the Raleigh News & Observer's Wagner. "Plans call for the candidate's wife to attend a luncheon honoring Caroline McCarley, a former state senator now leading Edwards' presidential campaign in the Granite State. McCarley was political director of Al Gore's New Hampshire campaign in 2000." LINK

"Elizabeth Edwards is also slated to hit a house party or two … [T]his will be her first solo outing there."

"The senator is expected to be on a fund-raising trip in New York that day and plans his first post-announcement trip to New Hampshire in mid-February, according to aides."

Rest assured: those New York fundraisers are VERY closed press.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Seems like Joe Lieberman racked up a lot of time with Lee Bandy during his latest trip to South Carolina.

"Two Democratic presidential candidates have stopped short of endorsing the NAACP's economic boycott of South Carolina, designed to protest flying the Confederate battle flag on the State House grounds," writes Bandy. LINK

"Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut say they need more time to study the issue. Both oppose the banner's flying on the north grounds of the State House. They say it belongs in a museum."

"Their comments were made during separate campaign visits to the state Sunday and Monday."

"Dean toured Benedict College, met with its president, David Swinton, and lunched with local and state officials."

"Lieberman acknowledged during a campaign visit Sunday that he was struggling with the boycott issue. 'I'm working my way through on that,' he said in an interview … The senator said he wants to talk to people who oppose the flag to get a broader range of opinions on the boycott."

"For now, Lieberman said, he plans to stay in homes on his visits to South Carolina and 'probably won't pay my staff enough for them to stay in hotels.'"

In another story, Bandy writes, "Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman said Sunday he considers South Carolina to be a 'turning-point' state in his quest to win the party's nomination. 'I'm going to spend a lot of time here,' he told reporters." LINK

"Lieberman, a pro-business, centrist candidate, noted there are a lot of white moderate voters in the state, at least as they identified themselves in the 2000 exit polls."

"Lieberman is lining up backers in the state. Columbia attorneys Richard and Belinda Gergel and state Reps. Scott, Doug Jennings, D-Marlboro, Joel Lourie, D-Richland, and Fletcher Smith, D-Greenville, endorsed Lieberman Sunday."

And Bandy's column from Sunday looks at the African-American political muscle that will be flexed in this primary. LINK

Senator John Kerry seems to be having a meet-and-greet at the Columbia law office of House Minority Leader James Smith on Sunday afternoon.

Kucinich

Without much prompting, the president of a member-rich Iowa union told us yesterday that Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio would have a major announcement to make about his presidential plans when he attends two off-year caucuses on February 16 in Linn and Johnson counties.

And Mark Smith, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, said he'd heard the same thing.

An influential Iowa Democrat told us that Kucinich had indeed sent letters to various labor leaders previewing his intention to establish a presidential exploratory committee.

"He's going to be there for five days starting on the 15th," Doug Gordon, Kucinich's spokesman, told The Note this morning. "In his 30 years in public service, he's continued to work for working people. He's going to speak to that with his friends and [with] labor in Iowa."

Presidential bid, Mr. Gordon? Imminent announcement?

"I would say, 'stay tuned.'"

Now THAT, we say with a smile, is Bush-like message discipline!

Kucinich recently broke bread with the Cleveland City Council and sought their help. "He wants the 21 council members to draw up a list of major concerns to help him develop an urban strategy," The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

"Noting that 'my own profile is rising nationally,' the self-promoting congressman said he wants to put cities back on the national agenda. Such a strategy could also help him build a platform for a possible run for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He's flirting with the idea as a way to raise his national profile even more."

"Kucinich, whose aggressive anti-war campaign has been winning attention, also asked council members to consider taking a position on a possible war against Iraq. If the food wasn't enough, Kucinich also stroked council's collective ego, gushing that the group has as much political talent as any he met during visits to 40 cities last year."

Kucinich and Rep. Barbara Lee will lead a protest and peace concert on the west side of the Capitol beginning at 6:00 p.m. tonight. The "Shirts Off" coalition will "protest" the "sorry" state of the union.

MOSELEY-BRAUN

Former Senator Carol Moseley-Braun met privately with top Democrats and Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe yesterday.

The Chicago Tribune's Zeleny reports that her decision on whether to run for president is a few weeks away: "Moseley-Braun is expected to announce her plans before Feb. 20, when prospective candidates address activists in Washington at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee. She has asked party officials to tentatively reserve her a speaking slot."

DEAN

The New Hampshire Business Review's Flotsam and Jetsam column has this unexplained paragraph: "For those of a genealogical bent, Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and current Democratic presidential hopeful, is related to the Auchinchloss/Bouvier families."

Dick Gephardt's hometown paper profiles Dean. LINK

EDWARDS

"Edwards has been booked on the MSNBC show 'Hardball with Chris Matthews' on Feb. 6. The 9 p.m. broadcast is part of Matthews' 'College Tour' — a running series of shows with campus audiences — and will be broadcast live from N.C. Central University in Durham. Edwards is slated to field questions from Matthews, one of the most aggressive interviewers in the business, and from students. A spokeswoman for MSNBC said Edwards chose NCCU, a historically black college, as the venue." LINK

Gephardt

We'll wait to see what Rep. Dick Gephardt has to say about the president's hydrogen fuel cell proposal, because the presidential candidate said this yesterday: "The United States, Gephardt said, must move toward more fuel-efficient vehicles that use hydrogen fuel cells and get up to 85 miles per gallon. 'Oil is not always going to be there,' said Gephardt. 'If we don't change our vehicles to hydrogen fuel cells . . . we're going to ruin our environment.'"

The Providence Journal went to a Gephardt fundraiser in Rhode Island. We found particularly cute this tag line: "Gephardt, a 61-year-old lawyer who has served 13 terms from a St. Louis district … "

In his speech, Gephardt maligned the president's performance. "He is ignoring reality,' Gephardt said. 'Here we are in a recession again, we're at war, we're trying to do homeland security and a few weeks ago he brings up another tax cut that's aimed at the wealthiest in America. Is he tone deaf? Does he not understand what's happening in this country?" LINK

"Gephardt got a good reception from the Democratic office holders and well-heeled lobbyists who nibbled on scrambled eggs, bacon and fruit salad at the $1,000-per-person breakfast, and a $250-per-person reception later, but many of the assembled party faithful said they have not made commitments on a 2004 candidate."

"Patrick Kennedy is a strong supporter of Gephardt, but Kennedy's father, Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, is backing Kerry. While Kerry is likely to be a favorite of many Rhode Island Democrats — he is scheduled to campaign here in March — Gephardt is well regarded by organized labor, always a key part of the Democratic voter foundation in the state."

'"We think he is terrific,' said Frank Montanaro, president of the state AFL-CIO. 'Dick Gephardt is really a candidate who supports working families.'"

"The event drew most of the state's Democratic hierarchy. Among those attending were: Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, U.S. Rep. James Langevin, Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, Secretary of State Matt Brown, Atty. Gen. Patrick Lynch, House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, D-Providence, state Senate President William Irons, D-East Providence, State Democratic Chairman William Lynch and former Governor Bruce Sundlun."

In New Hampshire, Gephardt was praised by the likes of John Kacavas. LINK

LIEBERMAN

A reporter profiling Hadassah Lieberman noticed a small pillow on a couch in her house embroidered with the words. "Who Cares … Wins," and framed an entire story on it. "Sitting at a table in their Georgetown townhouse, she considers her role over the next two years on both public and personal levels. It's like the shirt and the skin." LINK

"The skin — that closest to her heart — will be her family responsibility."

'First and foremost I want to do my very best as wife and mother,' she said. 'When your husband enters something so grueling, so difficult, you really have to commit yourself to making yourself available to being supportive and loving, and, while those feelings come naturally, … when you're in the midst of a frenzy of activity you have to guard it within yourself.'"

"Then there are the children, 14-year-old Hana, and two older sons and a daughter who are out on their own. Still, 'when they call, I may be in the midst of XYZ, but I've got to be there (for them) and I take that very seriously,' she said."

"For her, they are the skin, those closest to the heart."

POLITICS

Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg, the New York papers tells us, have some fiduciary issues to work out amongst themselves. LINK and LINK

The New York tabs show remarkable restraint in writing up Senator Clinton's supportive phone call to Martha Stewart. LINK

"Dr. Dean to surgery, Dr. Dean, please report to surgery."

Another indication that the Granite State remains on the front-edge of the re-evaluation of "Leave No Child Behind" ISN'T IT NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND? is found in the latest New Hampshire Business Review:

"STATEMENTS TO TAKE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT:
-- 'The check is in the mail'
-- 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky.'
-- 'The No Child Left Behind Act does not mean nationalization of education policy.'"

Broward County, FL officials are still worried that the county's voting systems will flunk on municipal election day in March. LINK

BUSH ADMINISTRATION STRATEGY/PERSONALITY

Dana Milbank (nice to have you back) looks at the administration's seeming disapproval of background quotes (by Ari) but nevertheless fully engaged in (by Ari) practice of going on background : "in the use of unnamed sources, the White House is on record for having it both ways — not unlike previous White Houses. More often than not, the anonymous 'senior administration officials' in stories are the same spokesmen and spin doctors — Fleischer among them — who normally speak on the record. They routinely speak unnamed, or 'on background,' with the full knowledge and blessing of the White House." LINK

Journalism 101: watch Milbank's clever words, used to ensure that he doesn't violate any of the canons of his profession.

Liz Smith gives a favorable review to the work of the Quiet Power.

El Liz chats up Mrs. Cheney's children's book, and reminds us all that many copies have been sold, and the money goes to charity. LINK

*Guess what happens if one does the following Google search (in order to remind oneself how to spell Josh Bolten's last name): "Josh Deputy Chief of Staff." The first seven entries are about "The West Wing"'s Josh Lyman.