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But based on President Bush's changing his position on the stock sale, and the new facts we're learning about the three facets of the Harken story — the loans, the stock sale, and the creation of Aloha — this "old story" clearly has at least some new facts.

And the fact that the White House is partly right does nothing to change the reality that a new season is underway in the Bush presidency.

If we didn't know it before, we now know conclusively that with candidates for governor, the Senate and even the presidency, even controversies from their pasts that already are known simply don't get vetted to the degree they can get vetted after one enters the White House.

Part of what drives this laser-like focus is a "gotcha" dynamic. Another part of it is that every major news organization is to blame for not devoting sufficient resources to learning all the facts during statewide and even presidential campaigns. During your average competitive Senate, gubernatorial, or even presidential contest, plenty of press effort goes into looking at the politics of a scandal and the surface details, but often the heavy lifting of asking all the questions, pulling all the documents, and forcing the candidate and the campaign to give all the answers just doesn't happen.

And the nearly leak-proof, intensely loyal Bush presidential campaign, and the Bush White House until now, were particularly well suited to capitalize and coast on this dynamic.

The Bush political team, which to date has had remarkable success in controlling its own message and shutting down unfavorable storylines, is learning something all White Houses do eventually: They don't decide. A president cannot declare what's old news or new, legitimate or not, by proclamation. The success Bush and Co. have had to date in "changing the tone" in Washington to their advantage may have blinded them to this lasting truth.

This not to say that anything has been proven suggesting Bush culpability in the Harken story. But it is clear that the story "has legs," both on its own and by giving an opening to challenging Bush on a variety of other fronts. Once the dog is at your neck, it's hard to get him back to heel.

This seems like the right moment for the Note to welcome and thank its guest editor for today: noted historian, author, and once upon a time pretty decent newspaper reporter John Harris, father of two and expectant author of the definitive history of the Clinton years.

Harris' successor Mike Allen delivers his biggest punch with his lead today in the Washington Post , "An internal Securities and Exchange Commission memo suggests President Bush was initially uncooperative a decade ago with investigators looking into suspected insider trading."

In fairness to Bush, the SEC document arguably doesn't demonstrate an attempted cover-up so much as a person perhaps trying to protect his legal prerogatives in a pretty conventional way. LINK

And the Los Angeles Times ' Veith does a nice job of telling the Aloha story under the unfortunate-for-the-Administration headline, "As a Board Member, Bush OKd a Deal Like Enron's." Veith asserts, "Bush would not have been allowed to serve on Harken's audit committee if the reform proposals he outlined this week had been in effect then. The president says audit panel membership should be limited to outside directors. Besides sitting on Harken's board, Bush had a consulting contract with the company. According to accounting experts, that qualifies him as a corporate insider." LINK

And the Boston Globe 's Kranish points out that the re-digging into Harken revives the 2000 campaign trail lore "of a man who struck out numerous times before being bailed out by big hitters who often were family members, friends, or supporters of his father." LINK

The somewhat counterintuitive Washington Post editorial page says Halliburton is a different matter, but "the Harken story took place years ago. It has already been investigated and aired. It affected far fewer people than the billion-dollar scandals that have been in the news lately." But the president's refusal to support the Senate bill is, they think, the real scandal. LINK

After all we said above, for all the media's intense focus on this story now, in order for the story to have legs going into the August doldrums, there will have to be either some sort of Republican public hand-wringing or some sort of an official inquiry.

You'll know if/when this becomes a bigger crisis for the White House if any Republicans call on the president to release more information about Harken, or if any of them call for Harvey Pitt to resign, or for an independent counsel to look at Halliburton.

If Republicans up for (re-)election this year begin to feel that they have to throw the president over the side, that's when we'll know the White House has a serious problem.

Don't forget: the Republican party wants to head into the midterm elections as the party of economic growth and economic security, but for the foreseeable future, their biggest megaphone to make that case is going to be distracted, as least as far as the press corps is concerned, by the Harken/Halliburton swirl. And because the White House doesn't control the timing for the investigative reporters or (presumably) the SEC investigation into Halliburton, on any given day, the Republican message on the economy could be completely wiped out by a front-page or lead story on these matters.

All of which contributes to a lack of consumer and market confidence, which helps create a bad economic climate on the eve of the midterms.

"[I]n a surprise move," President Bush has called a meeting of his Corporate Task Force today, the AP's Lindlaw notes. "[T]he president decided to hold the first session before week's end and do so at the White House, not the Justice Department, where the task force is essentially headquartered. That ensures the president gets maximum credit for taking action. Photographers were permitted to capture and distribute images from the meeting, but reporters were barred." LINK

In other words: no questions.

"On a fund-raising trip Thursday to Minnesota, Bush got a taste of how thorny a political issue the corporate scandals could be this election year," Lindlaw goes on to write. "He flew to Minneapolis to raise money a second time for Norm Coleman, the White House's hand-picked candidate to unseat Senator Paul Wellstone, D-Minn."

"But Wellstone's campaign pounced on the front-page stories that renewed questions about Bush's corporate history to charge that Bush and Coleman are both too cozy with big business."

"Twice this week, Coleman has returned campaign donations from major corporations plagued by accounting scandals — Global Crossing and WorldCom."

"Coleman works for a legal and lobbying firm that lists many corporations as clients. His list of political donors is heavy with businessmen and corporate political action committees."

This whole ball of corporate irresponsibility wax isn't just any scandal — it's in many ways the perfect one for Democrats looking to make gains this fall because it dovetails into all of the domestic issues on which they traditionally lead Republicans and which they were hoping to focus on for November.

Which isn't to say that Democrats necessarily will handle it right — they could overplay their hand — or that President Bush isn't still very popular. Plus, Republicans continue to raise more money.

White House budget director Mitch Daniels' news conference on the 2002 mid-session budget review today would be big news on any given day, because, as the Washington Post 's Weisman writes, "The White House plans to release new budget deficit projections today that will show the federal government to be as much as $150 billion in the red this fiscal year." LINK

"But the Office of Management and Budget also is expected to predict a smaller budget deficit for the next fiscal year, in sharp contrast to private forecasters and even Republicans on Capitol Hill."

"Moreover, House Republicans are pushing the Joint Committee on Taxation to adopt new economic models that would offset the cost of tax cuts by assuming that they would stimulate economic growth. Such 'dynamic scoring' could free up billions of dollars for tax cuts or spending increases simply by changing forecasting methods."

But in an ominous sign for the White House and the GOP that at least some people are starting to connect thematic dots, Weisman goes on to write, "Critics have said the same creative approach to accounting that has roiled the financial markets is creeping into federal budgeting."

"Such talk could be expected from Democrats, but even some congressional Republicans are concerned, if for no other reason than Democrats can use the Republicans' own budget forecasts as ammunition in challenging the White House's projections."

"The White House projections are significant, since they provide the underpinnings of President Bush's economic plans. If the revenue picture grows worse, it will be harder for Bush to push his agenda of making the 2001 tax cuts permanent, creating private investment accounts in the Social Security system and addressing the complexity of the tax system."

Imagine juxtaposing Daniels sound with this picture: the national debt clock clicked back to life yesterday. LINK

At a town hall in Boston yesterday, Commerce Secretary Evans got an earful. "Evans laid much of the responsibility at the feet of the nation's CEOs, who he said have to maintain the trust of individual investors," the AP reports. LINK

"Audiences don't get warier than the 250 or so small investors who packed a World Trade Center auditorium yesterday to hear … Evans talk up the Bush administration's proposals to restore confidence in the markets," the Boston Globe reports. LINK

After meeting with his task force, President Bush will stop at a summer camp in Maryland on his way to Camp David for the weekend.

From the ABCNEWS London Bureau: Some 90 former Iraqi generals are gathering in London for a three-day meeting to discuss plans to overthrow Saddam Hussein and implement a democratic government in Iraq. American and British diplomats are expected to attend the meeting, but only as observers. The meeting is being held under the auspices of the Iraq National Coalition (NOT the Iraqi National Congress, Iraqi opposition umbrella group which is run by Dr Ahmed Chalabi and supported by the State Department).

Venice is on a high state of alert following reports of a possible attack on the city's ancient Jewish ghetto by militants linked to the al-Qaeda network. Officers from the specialist Digos anti-terrorist squad patrolled the ghetto area on Thursday and made checks around the synagogue and other buildings. Divers and small submarines were also checking canals in the area, reports said, but police would not say what they were looking for. For a few months now, there has been a general alert in Venice and more intensive security measures have been put into motion to avoid anything untoward taking place.

The Politics of Corporate Accountability

Jackie Calmes says in the Wall Street Journal , "Bush aides invest to reap credit for the boss on corporate reform … A senior official says scandal news 'lit a match' for Bush: 'This is a guy who believes Wall Street will buy you and sell you.' The official adds, 'Our base is small business. Last time I checked, Bob Rubin was a Democrat.' Pro-GOP radio hosts got drafts of the president's Wall Street speech, to spark friendly buzz. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is dispatched to women's groups. Commerce Secretary Evans holds town-hall meetings; his Ohio stop Friday includes an online chat with small investors."

Calmes adds, "Democrats take aim with corporate-greed issue against GOP lawmakers. 'This clearly expands the universe' of Republican targets, says Rep. Lowey, head of House Democrats' campaign committee. Among them: GOP Reps. Bonilla of Texas and Knollenberg of Michigan, for opposing Democrats' proposal against firms that move offshore to avoid taxes."

A David Sanger piece gives the check to Vice President Cheney for convincing the president to use more pulpit than bully:

"Among the people whom a far-reaching Congressional bill could anger is Vice President Cheney, a former chief executive himself. Mr. Cheney, officials said, argued vociferously inside the White House that the administration should not join the call for scalps. Creating new felonies or making it easier for shareholders to sue chief executives, he has cautioned, would drain corporate America of its risk-taking spirit and take a toll on the economy's growth." LINK

"Cheney kept saying we shouldn't allow a few bad actors like Enron to lead us to do stupid things," said one senior Republican with sympathy for the argument, who has sat in on several recent meetings at the White House. "He kept saying it would make corporate America look like the worst kind of bureaucracy."

Adding to the cacophony is Senator Phil Gramm: "In the environment we are in, virtually anything can pass" and House Speaker Hastert, who said the Senate has "acted responsibly so far" in marking up the Sarbanes bill. LINK

But not Rep, Mike Oxley, who seems intent on making sure lawmakers realize the consequences of their "feeding frenzy." "Mr. Oxley, and aides to Mr. Hastert, suggested it was unlikely that conferees would complete their work before the August recess. Mr. Oxley even suggested that lawmakers could use a 'cooling off' period before taking up the legislation again."

Republicans seem to believe that cracking down on CEOs themselves gets to the root of the problem while avoiding over-regulation. But not all regulation is overly burdensome. House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas's bill to punish corporations who use Bermuda-type tax shelters is defended by conservatives who find it unfair that corporations get the productivity benefits of the historically stable US economy and bear none of the obligations.

The Wall Street Journal writes, "Democrats blasted Mr. Thomas, accusing him of purely seeking political cover and noting that his proposals still don't go as far as theirs in attacking tax shelters. Critics also noted that other provisions of the Thomas plan would actually serve to lower taxes for multinationals."

The Journal's editorial board manages to blame Senate Democrats for the lack of confidence on Wall Street. "[President Bush's] call for accountability had hardly left his lips when the Democratic Senate saw his bet and raised him by moving the Leahy bill. This includes a plank to nearly double the time available for trial lawyers to sue companies after a stock-price decline (to five years from three). These suits are nominally brought on behalf of shareholders, but shareholders are in essence suing themselves with only the lawyers winning big. Another Senate brainstorm would open files of the proposed new accounting oversight board to trial-lawyer fishing. How does this inspire confidence?"

John Podhoretz dismisses both the Democratic and Republican arguments about why the stock market is tanking. "The market was wildly overvalued, and it's finding a more rational level," he says. LINK

The Washington Times wraps up Hill Republicans' efforts yesterday to deflect blame onto the Clinton Administration: "Senate Republicans delivered more rhetoric linking the corporate scandals to a climate of deception that they said was fostered by the Clinton administration. Staffers released to the media a report with timelines of corporate scandals under President Clinton, including Enron and WorldCom, whose fraudulent accounting practices date to the late 1990s." LINK

Homeland Security

The Wall Street Journal 's Calmes notes, "Homeland defense bill tests both parties' attempts at a united front. Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress want a bipartisan bill giving Bush his new Cabinet department, but rank-and-file members raise myriad issues threatening passage by Sept. 11. A partisan divide opens on Bush's demand to waive civil-service law. Rep. Gephardt meets with other House Democratic leaders to urge unity so the party can focus on other election-year issues. Senator Lieberman, leading the Senate effort, meets with Sens. Graham and Shelby on intelligence disputes. He delays a committee vote until July 24. Leaders want a House vote by July 26; Senate Democrats aim for the following week."

ABCNEWS' White House team gets the strong impression from the president's spokespeople that the White House doesn't like the House-passed guns-in-the-cockpit bill, hoping, somewhat ironically, that the Democratic Senate will kill the measure or water it down in conference.

The New York Times , somewhat unironically, decides to find the pocket of Americans who don't support guns in the cockpit. "In nearly four dozen interviews in seven major airports, opponents of the idea outnumbered supporters by a ratio of roughly 3 to 2 … " LINK

But most Americans like the idea.

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

It's no great surprise that David Broder likes the only governor currently likely to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, but this clip certainly will wind up in the Howard Dean fundraising pack, and the eve of the National Governors Association conference is a good time to remind everyone that there's growing buzz about this guy, that's he very engaging, and that his positions on taxes, health care, gays, and yes, guns make him attractive to a lot of Democratic activists and constituencies and even to Washington party insiders, some of whom find the rest of the field wanting in different respects.

"Like [Jimmy] Carter, he travels with a single aide and stays as often as possible in the homes of local Democrats. Asked if he follows the former president's custom of making his own bed, Dean said, 'Of course.'" LINK

"At most stops, however few may be listening, Dean delivers a full-scale explanation of his three-part plan for national health care. He would take the Vermont model and have states provide free insurance for youths up to age 22, reaching those at home and those in college. To offset the cost, he would have the federal government relieve the states of any responsibility for the 'dual eligible,' Medicaid recipients old enough to receive Medicare."

"For those on Medicare, he would add a prescription drug benefit, bigger than the one House Republicans just passed but smaller than the one promoted by Senate Democrats, a plan with high co-payments and deductibles but one that would cover all drug bills beyond a certain point."

"For those between 22 and 65, he would build on the current employer-based system, subsidizing private insurance for workers in small businesses, the self-employed and part-timers."

"How to pay for this? Simple, says Dean. Roll back virtually all of President Bush's tax cut of 2001 (except for higher exemptions on estate taxes)."

Yesterday we gave you Tipper Gore's weekend schedule in Iowa. Today we offer a little look-ahead for the hubby.

Tomorrow, Gore will hold a dinner for his PAC in San Diego at a private home, and on Monday, he will attend, along with the Clintons and surely numerous other Democratic party leading lights, the memorial service for Lew Wasserman in Los Angeles.

On Saturday, July 20, Gore will be in Nashville on his first round of in-state campaigning for a Tennessee Democrat, House candidate Lincoln Davis, for whom Gore already hosted a fundraiser in DC. After that, Gore will head to, yes, the Nashville Superspeedway for the Firestone 500.

Here's the local press preview: LINK

Tuesday, July 23 brings Gore's annual campaign training school, with about 20-25 young people from around the country coming to Nashville to meet with Gore and party operatives there at Gore's request. Gore is expected to make opening remarks which will be open-press.

The Economist's Lexington writer has this to say about Gore's late fall conversion to "us versus them" rhetoric: "[s]tatistics have never confirmed the theory that Mr Gore's populism was suicidal." LINK

And we have more details for you on Senator Joe Lieberman's weekend in Louisiana and South Carolina: today, he will join Senator Mary Landrieu at a meeting with Louisiana environmentalists in New Orleans to discuss coastal erosion to the state's shores. After keynoting the state party Jefferson-Jackson dinner on Saturday night, on Sunday, Lieberman and Landrieu will visit the Greater St. Stephens Gospel Baptist Church in New Orleans, after which he will headline a fundraiser for his colleague. His Monday in South Carolina will include homeland security events.

Senator John Kerry doesn't buy the White House argument that withdrawal from Kyoto will be good for the economy. LINK

The Raleigh News & Observer's Wagner offers his take on the Senator John Edwards/Cooter expo. "Maybe it was the giant Rubik's Cube that hung from the ceiling. Or the oversized paintings of Madonna, Mr. T and Boy George that adorned the walls. Or the folks running around with names like Cooter and Mudcat. But there was something undeniably surreal about U.S. Senator John Edwards' appearance this week at Polly Esther's, a retro dance club in downtown Washington." LINK

"At one point, the North Carolina Democrat found himself on stage, doing his best to clap in rhythm as one of the hottest blue-grass bands of today entertained the crowd. Ben 'Cooter' Jones, a former 'Dukes of Hazzard' star running for Congress, belted out the vocals."

"Edwards and Jones were brought together by a pair of former campaign aides to Virginia Gov. Mark Warner — Steve Jarding and a sidekick whom everyone calls 'Mudcat.' The two now both work for Edwards' PAC."

"Last year, Jones campaigned for Warner in rural areas, where the straight-talking actor retains much of his celebrity appeal. In an interview before Wednesday's event, Jones said he would be willing to do the same thing for Edwards if the senator takes a serious stab at the presidency."

"While acknowledging Edwards has 'a hell of a hill to climb' to become president, Jones had little good to say about other Democrats positioning themselves for 2004 bids. Asked if he found any of the others appealing, he said: 'I like Joe Lieberman. He's a good man. Beyond that, no.'"

"An aide hinted that a string of PAC-sponsored concerts by the Lonesome River Band may be on the way, including some in North Carolina."

Campaign Finance

The Washington Post 's Edsall looks crosswise at the party campaign committees' fundraising numbers. "With a strong assist from President Bush, the three major Republican committees — national, senatorial and congressional — reported receiving $361 million during the first 18 months of the 2001-2002 election cycle. Of that, $138.6 million, or 38.4 percent, came in the form of unregulated or 'soft money,' contributions, primarily from corporations, trade associations and wealthy donors. The remaining $224.4 million, or 61.6 percent, was in smaller "hard money" gifts that will remain legal after the coming election." LINK

"The Democratic national, congressional and senatorial committees also raised record amounts for non-presidential years … [but] could not match the fundraising prowess of their GOP counterparts and relied on the soon-to-be-banned soft money for more than half of their contributions."

"All told, the Democratic groups reported raising $224.3 million, with $129 million, or 57.5 percent, in soft money."

"The fundraising reports from the Democratic and Republican committees showed that having control of the White House has paid off for the GOP, especially its congressional and senatorial committees, and that Democratic donors are focusing their attention and their checkbooks on keeping control of the Senate, where the party now has a one-vote majority."

"The National Republican Congressional Committee reported that it raised $116.2 million — $62.5 million of 'hard' money and $53.7 million 'soft' — between Jan. 1, 2001 and July 1, 2002."

Politics

The Wall Street Journal is all over former President Clinton's mea culpa "about one of the most controversial AIDS decisions of his presidency: his refusal to lift the ban on federal funding of needle-exchange programs."

"A government panel advised him at the time that the practice, used to slow the spread of HIV among injection-drug users, was effective and didn't promote drug abuse. But Mr. Clinton sided with his drug czar, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who opposed it, Mr. Clinton said Thursday, because of "the message it would send on the drug front."

"I was wrong" is what Clinton said yesterday.

Page Six says that through a broker, Clinton recently tried to buy a $6,000 painting for $5,500. LINK

If you love politics, you gotta love Bob Novak's Reporter's Notebook on CNN's "Inside Politics." That's where Bob and Judy Woodruff take everything Bob has heard (and stuff that often shows up in his under-read weekend column) and spool it out.

Click here to read a (if we do say so ourselves) clever Ambinder homage to this legendary segment, complete with real news and real reporting.

The Media Research Center points our attention to a linguistic difference that adds to the collection of evidence we have for what's now termed the Goldbergian thesis: major networks (ABC included) referred to Judicial Watch as a "conservative watch dog" during the Clinton Administration.

Suddenly, when Republicans are the target of its watchful eyes, the media refer to the group as merely a "watchdog" or a "Washington watchdog." LINK

These might seem like small ticks, but they build over time, and they're at the root of why many Americans — not just conservative political activists — think the establishment media has a liberal tilt.

Strictly speaking, Judicial Watch is a small-c-conservative watch dog group — much the same way as Democracy 21, Fred Wertheimer's campaign finance and money in politics advocacy organization, is liberal. Their partisan affiliations inform their judgments, to be sure, but in the end, if they're accurate, they're accurate. If they're not, no one should pay attention to them.

Speaking of Democracy 21: Yesterday, it released a study saying that business interests contributed more than $1 billion in soft money to the Democratic and Republican parties over 10 years. LINK

Minnesota

President Bush raised $1 million for the state Republican Party and its top-ticket candidates yesterday. LINK

New Mexico

If you are shocked by this story — well, let's just say that this story shouldn't shock you. But this widely believed (in political circles) to be somewhat common practice is rarely captured by the press. "The chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico said yesterday he was approached by a GOP figure who asked him to offer the state Green Party at least $100,000 to run candidates in two contested congressional districts in an effort to divide the Democratic vote," the Washington Post reports. LINK

The chairman "refused to identify the person who made the offer except to say it was a man based in Washington with apparent ties to the Republican Party. [The chair] said he conveyed the offer to officials of the Green Party, who initially showed some interest but ultimately rejected it."

Party and White House spokespeople say it wasn't anyone at the White House or at the national GOP campaign committees.

New York

Robert Hardt reports that gubernatorial candidate Carl McCall (D) has taken more than $140,000 from an insurance company that allegedly has historical ties to slavery. LINK

The state AFL-CIO will wait to make an endorsement in the race, partly because Gov. George Pataki (R) has gotten so many labor endorsements, and partly because the Democratic caucus is so split between McCall and candidate Andrew Cuomo. LINK

California

The Wall Street Journal ruins Sal Russo's morning with this: "The Internal Revenue Service identified dozens of people, including the Republican candidate for governor of California, who took advantage of tax shelters the government claims may have violated tax laws."

"The unusual disclosures were contained in IRS filings made in a court battle with KP.M.G LLP. Among those listed as beneficiaries of the shelters were the California politician William E. Simon Jr., and his father, the late William E. Simon Sr., a former Secretary of the Treasury, as well as Gary Winnick, chairman of Global Crossing Ltd., and the U.S. ambassador to Barbados, Earl N. "Phil" Phillips Jr."

In the words of someone we know who watched the whole thing, Ross Perot's testimony before a state panel investigating the alleged gaming of the energy market was "anticlimactic."

Perot defended his company and tried to show that all of its transactions with energy companies were open and above the board. LINK

Missouri

"The Justice Department proposed Thursday a settlement with the St. Louis Election Board to resolve its threatened lawsuit over problems that arose in the 2000 presidential election," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "Rufus Tate, the new general counsel for the Election Board, said the proposed settlement to the voting rights suit would require the board to make changes to the way it handles lists of 'inactive voters.'" LINK

Georgia

Senator Max Cleland (D) has enlisted his more conservative senior, Senator Zell Miller, for a new campaign ad. LINK

Iowa

Charlton Heston's "personal spokesman" says he did not did not did not endorse GOP Rep. Greg Ganske's Senate campaign. LINK

Massachusetts

Since giving up on her bid for a full term, acting Gov. Jane Swift (R) has been spending down her campaign account "to staff dormant offices and hire image consultants to put a gloss on her final days in office," the Boston Herald reports. "In addition to making hefty withdrawals from her campaign savings accounts, a Herald review of Swift's spending shows she has been stingy in giving money back to her contributors. Since quitting the race in mid-March, Swift has returned just $5,400 to donors who funded her short-lived campaign, according to records." LINK

Tennessee

It's not a surprise that Gov. Rick Perry (R) doesn't agree with everything the Texas Republican party platform says. The Austin American Statesman sent him a questionnaire and concluded, "Perry's responses to 46 questions based on selected planks in the state party platform show that he disagrees with his party on 23 of the proposals, distances himself on 16 others and agrees with only seven." LINK

Attorney General candidate John Cornyn (R) apparently declined to answer the questionnaire, the paper reports.

Texas

Early voting begins today for the August 1 primary. LINK

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality

The Wall Street Journal 's Calmes tees up this item, sure to cause a little buzz around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: "Mark McKinnon, formerly Bush campaign media strategist and still a confidant, gets $5,000 monthly from Vanity Fair for help with contacts. His first job: January's cover story and Annie Leibovitz photos of Bush and his war team. The contract vexes some insiders who weren't aware of it, but they are more upset he aided an Esquire article that proved embarrassing. McKinnon wasn't paid for that."

"'If I thought there was a problem with the White House, I wouldn't do it,' says McKinnon, who rejoined Austin, Texas, consulting firm Public Strategies Inc. after 2000. 'It's what I do for a living.' He notes former Clinton aide Dee Dee Myers has been a contributing editor; she is in its staff box but he isn't. 'I'm not sitting there leaking information to them.'"

"As for Bush, McKinnon says, 'I'm trying to make him look good.'"

A Minnespolis Star-Tribune reporter nabbed an interview with Karl Rove. "President Bush's chief political strategist believes that if any anti-business sentiment is sweeping the country, it could ultimately help Republican U.S. Senate candidate Norm Coleman even as opponents continue to question campaign contributions made to Coleman by scandal-tainted businesses." LINK

"Karl Rove, in Minneapolis on Thursday with Bush during the president's stop to promote a prescription drug package for seniors and to help raise money for Coleman, said if voters become obsessed with the misdeeds of big business it may 'actually heighten his candidacy.'"

"One of Norm Coleman's arguments is that, 'Hey, I want to usher in an era of personal responsibility,' where people are responsible for their actions, whether it's in education or welfare reform or in business,' Rove said in an interview after Bush's speech at the Hyatt Regency Hotel."

The president called Gov. Jesse Ventura in his hospital room. LINK

The New Republic's Lizza writes in the latest issue that the corporate accountability speech is proving the exception to a dictum of this Administration: when Bush needs to cure his political woes, big addresses are the right tonic.

"The White House itself built up expectations by billing Tuesday's announcements as a Big Speech. But in an environment of media-fanned anti-corporate outrage, the only way to live up to that billing was to be supertough. So when the Bush policy wonks weren't willing to match the Democrats' hard-line regulatory proposals, the media treated the speech as disappointing, even disingenuous-rhetorically tough but substantively predictable and weak."

"The new environment also undermines Bush's legislative agenda. Not because his domestic priorities have shifted. (Despite the relatively pro-regulatory tone in his speech Tuesday, they haven't.) Rather, because most of those debates feature Republicans, including Bush, defending business interests. And in a climate as sharply anti-business as the one we're in now, those lines of argument will be extremely tough to make."

Page Six is all over Laura Bush's latest fashion preferences. LINK