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It seemed as if the president would never be able to break the cycle in which every day was dominated by bad news that ensnared him and overshadowed whatever agenda items he was trying to push.

Today MIGHT be the day when the millstone of the economy starts to transition out of the president's life.

In short order, back to back this morning, President Bush will give a highly touted (by the White House — we wonder why) address on homeland security, and Alan Greenspan will take his turn explaining what's up with the economy.

Mr. Andrea Mitchell (as we call him) has a long and complicated history with presidents named Bush, sometimes serving as their best friend, and other times, well, not so much.

By the time many of you read this, both men will have spoken, the markets will have reacted, and who takes the credit and who takes the blame will be the subject of more words than would fit on the back of a cereal box in six-point type on CNBC.

Let's just stipulate that a full-blown feeding frenzy is going on in Washington now over the interlocking thematics of the Bush-Cheney business pasts/the careening and falling stock market/GOP ties to Big Business/the general blood-in-the-water dynamic that is tough for any White House to turn off.

Whenever such a dynamic prevails, it is up to serious news organizations to ask these questions: are we lowering our standards for what counts as news? Are we treating the occupant of the White House by new and unfair standards? Have we lost our sense of perspective?

Since the Republican party is the only one of our two major political parties in America who believes the press is routinely biased against them, when such a frenzy is going on for a GOP administration, the press needs to be extra careful in making sure that perspective and fairness are maintained.

That said, the reality is that most of the questions being asked ARE legitimate — about the president's capacity to deal with the economy; about how much his heart is in the new congressionally led efforts to reform accounting and corporate oversight procedures; about his and Cheney's past bidness dealings; about his party's willingness to cross its corporate contributors; and about the potential all of this has to drag the GOP down in the 2002 elections.

The New York Times ' Krugman, who got this ball rolling a few weeks ago, nails the legitimacy issue with his lead: "Why are George W. Bush's business dealings relevant? Given that his aides tout his 'character,' the public deserves to know that he became wealthy entirely through patronage and connections." LINK

If you aren't someone who deals directly with Ari Fleischer and other Bush aides on a regular basis, you would have a hard time believing how often they cite media polls suggesting the public strongly believes the president is a man of honesty and integrity as their one and only answer to virtually any criticism of the White House.

"But more important," Krugman continues, "those dealings foreshadow many characteristics of his administration, such as its obsession with secrecy and its intermingling of public policy with private interest."

That said, Krugman's investigative insinuation du jour — about an FOB named Tom Hicks, who, in purchasing the Texas Rangers from Bush's "syndicate" for three times its initial price, later became the beneficiary of Bush's privatizing a state university endowment — involves Krugman trucking in some dirt to build his mountain.

"Under his direction, at least $450 million was invested in private funds managed by Mr. Hicks's business associates and major Republican Party donors. The managers of such funds earn big fees. Due to Mr. Bush's change in the rules, these investments were hidden from public view; an employee of Utimco who alerted university auditors was summarily fired. Even now, it's hard to find out how these investments turned out, though they seem to have done quite badly."

"All of this showed Mr. Bush's characteristic style. First there's the penchant for secrecy, for denying the public information about decisions taken in its name. So it's no surprise that the proposed Homeland Security Department will be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and from whistle-blower protection. Then there's the conversion of institutions traditionally insulated from politics into tools for rewarding your friends and reinforcing your political control. Yesterday the University of Texas endowment; today the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; tomorrow those Social Security 'personal accounts?'"

Lest the Times editorial page be accused of ganging up on the president on just one topic, its other opinion columnist, Mr. Kristoff, weighs in with accusations about Bush's conduct as a Rangers' owner. LINK

The AP's Yost reports today, "George W. Bush signed a letter in 1990 saying he wouldn't sell any stock for at least six months in the struggling Texas oil company where he was a director. But 2 months later, with Harken Energy Corp. hit by a sudden financial crisis, Bush cashed out his shares for $848,560." LINK

"Bush's accountant, Robert McCleskey, said Monday that Harken's troubled finances were 'not, in my opinion,' a factor in the stock sale and that Bush sold his shares 12 years ago as part of a pre-existing plan in place for many months to 'get liquid.'"

"The promise came in the form of Bush's signature on a 'lockup' letter on April 3, 1990. It said he would hold onto his Harken stock for six months after the effective date of a proposed public stock offering."

The Washington Post 's Milbank asserts that Cheney basically did the same with Halliburton, and draws out these points: "The humbling of Halliburton raises doubts about Cheney's stewardship there and, by extension, his reputation as a smart executive bringing a businessman's acumen to the White House." LINK

"The developments at Halliburton since Cheney's departure leave two possibilities: Either the vice president did not know of the magnitude of problems at the oilfield services company he ran for five years, or he sold his shares in August 2000 knowing the company was likely headed for a fall."

And the Washington Times concludes that Halliburton poses a much bigger potential problem for Cheney than Harken does for Bush. LINK

Sure, there are questions to be asked about the Democrats and their ties to business (and the press is asking some of them), but the situations aren't analogous, for reasons too obvious and too numerous to mention in a Note with (too) many readers already swearing and griping about its length.

Suffice it to say, first and foremost: welcome to the White House!

If you want to run the country, get used to this level of scrutiny and responsibility.

Cheers to the Rove/Bartlett political and communications operations for keeping the most dangerous cut of all mostly out of the print press' stories today: with the exception of an under-Noted Tom DeFrank story late last week, almost no Republican in the administration, on the Hill, or from the land of leaking and blind quotes (i.e., political consultants) has even hinted at the nervousness-bordering-on-panic in the Republican party (trust us: it's there) that all of this is starting to, or will soon start to undermine the campaigns and the standing of Republicans, not only among Democrats and independents who previously had been inclined to support the president, but also with the base.

Instead of projecting those concerns, though, Republicans are admirably circling the wagons.

Last week, Ari Fleischer argued that the president's Wall Street speech had in fact buoyed the markets for 90 minutes. Yesterday, Fleischer dismissed the connection between presidential speeches and what happens in the market — shortly before the market made a strong late rally (we wonder of Ari maybe thought about reverting to his original position).

And here's a journalistic ethics question, from a group of Note-ists who take the responsibilities and definitions of "off the record," "background," and "deep background" quite seriously: if a political organization mass e-mails some opposition research or purportedly damning print clip compilations to a big group of reporters without notice, and stipulates at the top that the material is "for background only," are journalists required to adhere to that ground rule?

We suspect many of our colleagues will say "no," but suffice it to say here that a GOP committee sent around some pretty ridiculous clips trying to make the argument that the Democrats were the ones in trouble because of all this stuff, because THEIR party is divided about how to address the business scandal issue.

Presumably the Republicans have decided that arguing that "THIS" is only a business scandal isn't going to work, and therefore they have set off to try to convince the press and the public that it IS a political problem, but only one for the Democrats.

The Washington Times notes, "Yesterday's speech was the second time in six days that Mr. Bush blamed recent corporate collapses on false profits and lax standards during the Clinton administration of the 1990s." LINK

And we aren't saying that the unusually large number of e-mails we all got from Ms. Rachael_S. at the White House yesterday was meant to leave us so distracted that we couldn't focus on anything but them — but they sure were distracting. So much so that we almost didn't see that Democratic jujitsu one, which was probably ordered up by Rachael's bosses, anyway.

The Note isn't in the business of giving advice to politicians, but you'll recall that yesterday, we made two main points: first, that the president should stay away from talking about the markets; and, second, that the president SHOULD talk about why the economy is fundamentally strong, to address the confidence problem that everyone agrees is what ails the American economy.

He didn't really deal with the first one, but he made a much better stab on the second than he did last week.

The Washington Post 's Milbank and Weisman write that the market swings yesterday "reinforced the notion that Bush's economic speeches can do little if anything to steady the stock market, and they left some analysts questioning the wisdom of his even trying." LINK

In his speech yesterday, "Bush again belittled 'number-crunchers' who 'talk about this number here, and that number there.' But then, suggesting Americans 'build on the good statistics we're beginning to see,' he rattled off several: 6 percent first-quarter growth, higher durable goods orders and retail sales, low inflation and interest rates, and higher productivity."

The Los Angeles Times ' Chen writes, "The market's erratic day also fueled the increasingly insistent argument by Democrats that Bush is failing to adequately respond to economic instability and insecurity." LINK

We wonder whether the cable nets will show those split screens again today when Greenspan appears on Capitol Hill. Cause we suspect more of Wall Street will be listening with both ears to the Fed chief today than to the president yesterday.

The ABCNEWS London Bureau offers this update on the world markets: Early modest gains quickly turned negative. London's blue-chip FTSE 100 share index opened sharply higher — up 67 points at 4,063.6 — on the back of a late rally on Wall Street, and European and some Asian markets bounced in early trading. But two hours later, all those gains had evaporated, and the FTSE was down below the 4,000-point mark once again. In Europe, the mood in Paris and Frankfurt also turned sour, and Japan's Nikkei share index closed the day down some 1.2 percent, at 10,250.42 points. All eyes are on developments in the United States today, where investor nerves have infected the global financial markets, and where Greenspan will appear before the Senate Banking Committee this morning.

Another numbers guy Washington will be paying attention to today: White House budget director Mitch Daniels will appear before the House Budget Committee hearing to talk about the mid-session budget review.

Reporting from the apparently angst-ridden National Governors Association conference in Boise, the Washington Post 's Balz writes, "Over the past six months, governors and state legislators have been called on to fill a collective deficit of about $45 billion in state budgets. But what concerns the state executives here at the summer meeting … is how bleak the budget outlook remains," mainly because of drops in tax revenue. LINK

President Bush offered brief Rose Garden remarks this morning on the release of his "National Strategy for Homeland Security." No surprises. He was surrounded by 25 ranking members of Congress from all the key committees, and called for a full debate on his strategy before the August recess. He did not take questions. Later today, Bush is expected to nominate Texas Railroad Commissioner Tony Garza (R) as US Ambassador to Mexico. Alert: "Garza is expected to be grilled for $21,600 he received from Enron for political campaigns, money collected beginning in 1994 that he later returned to the Enron Employee Transition Fund, a fund set up to help Enron employees who lost their jobs," says the AP. LINK

Harken/Halliburton

The Washington Post 's Milbank today has a must-read for its dead-on analysis of why the White House press corps, which almost to a person feels they have been lied to and abused by the press office, is now deeply energized. Milbank focuses on Bush's suggestion that the press corps look at the Harken board of directors' minutes and the White House's refusal to provide or request said minutes. LINK

"Curiously, the about-face repeated the rationale Bush's then-spokeswoman, Karen Hughes, used in October 1994 in Bush's first gubernatorial run in Texas. 'He has no way to make a company release records,' Hughes told the San Antonio Express-News."

"So while Bush himself says, 'You need to look back on the directors' minutes' to settle the matter, his aides for eight years have said they will not provide the minutes."

"The White House's head fake over the Harken minutes helps to explain the increasingly contentious coverage of the administration … The Bush folks are calculating that even if they don't provide the information, the White House press corps will return to its earlier, less cynical ways … But neutral observers see a significant shift occurring in relations between the Bush White House and the press."

Here's a blatant example of how inside-the-Beltway corporate scandal coverage can shape outside-the-Beltway perceptions: the New Haven Register's lead about Cheney's fundraising visit for Rep. Nancy Johnson (R) yesterday goes like this: "Vice President Dick Cheney, who headed an oil services giant now under investigation for accounting irregularities, condemned corporate fraud Monday and said the 'government will fully investigate and will pursue any wrongdoers.'" LINK

Former/current Washington Post reporter Terry Neal goes one-on-one via streaming audio with Larry Klayman. LINK

A few things to keep your eye on: August 2 is when the class period for shareholder lawsuits closes. Sometime after that, a motion to consolidate all of them will be filed, and a lead plaintiff will be assigned. Halliburton must first mile a motion to dismiss, and when it does, and only when it does, can discovery begin.

Lawyers involved in the shareholder suits and other knowledgeable folks say that a judge is likely to delay trial proceedings until after the SEC concludes its investigation. Those same lawyers say that if an SEC investigation turns up no wrongdoing, or exculpates the board of directors, the shareholder lawsuits aren't likely to proceed.

Legislative Agenda

Keeping his eye on the ball, Robert Pear chronicles the first day of debate over the various Democratic and Republican prescription drug plans in the Senate. LINK The Wall Street Journal fronts a timely story about the bureaucracy, lobbying, medicine, and psychology that shape the decisions Medicare makes to cover expensive and untested, though potentially lifesaving treatments.

The Politics of Corporate Controversy

The Boston Globe 's Shribman declares today, "This year's fear is the October Surprise that will accompany the arrival of the third quarter 401(k) statements." LINK

"But beneath the rhetoric on Capitol Hill yesterday — and the torrid week that preceded the vote — are two subliminal calculations that every politician fears but none speaks," Shribman goes on to say. "The first is that in a year in which the word 'security' is freighted with special meaning, no political figure can ignore any assault on American security, whether it is personal security, military security, or financial security. The second is that precisely 20 years ago a Democratic Party frustrated by the charm and popularity of a Republican president made substantial gains in midterm elections by stressing retirement security."

The Senate having passed the Sarbanes bill, the two pieces of legislation must now be reconciled. "Negotiations between the Senate and House to resolve those differences could be contentious, forcing Republicans to choose between their supporters in the business community and a public angry at corporate behavior," the Chicago Tribune's Zuckman reports. LINK

"Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., planned to send a letter Tuesday to Hastert, R-Ill., asking him to pass the Senate bill on the House floor in order to avoid the need for negotiations between the two chambers."

Charlie Cook writes in his CongressDaily column that according to regular polling he has commissioned, the "right track/wrong track" figures are getting worse for Bush, as is his approval rating.

The media scrum over Halliburton may revive the Washington parlor game of "who will replace Cheney in 2004," though we'll really take note when the theory gets floated by Republicans or postulated in, say, the Washington Times . Richard Cohen in the Washington Post floats the Powell-for-Veep scenario, based partly on the fact that Powell was the highest-profile Administration player who didn't have a bad week last week. LINK

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

Your thirst for numbers, numbers, numbers will get satisfied today.

Settle down with your Hotline at lunchtime and check out the horse-race numbers they commissioned pitting Bush against each of the Democratic wannabes in the wannabes' home states.

Only two Democrats led Bush in hypothetical 2004 matchups: Senator John Kerry led Bush by 23 points in Massachusetts, and Senator Joe Lieberman led the president by three points in Connecticut. Not too surprising. Much more notable: Bush performed best in South Dakota — better than in North Carolina, Georgia, or Tennessee.

And the FEC numbers are pretty much out. The highlights: how arguably little Al Gore raised, none of which can go toward a 2004 bid; how much soft money Senator John Edwards (again) raised, none of which can go toward a 2004 bid; and how much hard money Senator John Kerry raised, all of which can go toward a 2004 bid. LINK

Kerry, Edwards and House Minority Leader Gephardt can each point to different numbers and claim they're doing quite well: Gephardt's campaign account alone has $1.5 million in the bank; Edwards increased the proportion of hard dollars his PAC took in, and Kerry managed to raise more than $1.4 million in three months for his perfunctory Senate re-election campaign (and future campaigns).

Gore was the bear who didn't bite — at least, not yet. He doesn't have any election campaign accounts to fill, and his political responsibilities are comparably light. His leadership PAC took in $296,000, bringing his year-to-date total to $824,937. Gore has $181,362 on hand to spend.

Jano Cabrera, the PAC spokesman, said Gore is busy meeting his publisher's deadlines for his upcoming book about American families, being co-written with his wife Tipper, and so was unable to hold as many fundraising events this quarter as he was in the last quarter.

The Des Moines Register has picked up the Edwards spin, noting his big numbers without really pointing out the hard-money versus soft-money distinction. LINK

"Reports released Monday show that two fund-raising committees controlled by Edwards raised a combined $2.6 million in the second quarter of this year and that the North Carolina Democrat now has more than $4.4 million in the bank," the Raleigh News & Observer's Wagner reports. LINK

"The reports show that Edwards, a former trial lawyer, is continuing to rely heavily on former colleagues as a fund-raising base. But his largest contributor in recent months was Hollywood movie producer Steven Bing, who gave $250,000 in 'soft money' to Edwards' political action committee."

"During the three-month period, the PAC also raked in five separate $100,000 contributions from lawyers and law firms in Texas, South Carolina and Arkansas; and another eight checks of $50,000 or more from members of the legal profession in Texas, California, New York and Illinois."

"Notable non-lawyers contributing to Edwards' efforts included: Eric Schmidt, the chief operating officer of Google, the Internet search engine, who gave $25,000; Daniel Neidich and Robert Steel, both partners in the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, who each gave $25,000; and Bernard Schwartz, CEO of Loral Space and Communications, who gave $25,000."

"The reports also showed Edwards' PAC ramping up its donations to candidates on the 2002 ballot. Twenty-five candidates running for state House seats in North Carolina received $500 contributions, while 21 Senate candidates got $1,000 apiece."

"Other recipients of Edwards' largess included candidates running for Congress, state House and state Senate seats in key presidential states including Iowa and New Hampshire, as well as several of his U.S. Senate colleagues facing tough re-election bids this year."

Edwards will deliver a lecture on fighting crime, prisons and parole today at Georgetown University in DC.

Writing about the numbers, the Hartford Courant's Lightman also notes this about Senator Joe Lieberman's travel: "[He] plans his first major visit to Iowa in mid-August and also will visit New Hampshire next month. Also on his itinerary are likely trips to Minnesota, Arizona, Maine, Colorado and Texas." LINK

Lieberman, with his audience clearly in mind, gave an interview to The State's Lee Bandy while traveling in South Carolina yesterday in which he said "that values and the importance of faith in American public life will be central to his campaign should he seek the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination." LINK

"'It's important to recognize that a lot of the problems we face are spiritual problems,' the Connecticut senator said … He mentioned the 'junk that comes across the TV screen' and corporate officers with questionable ethics."

"But the senator said one should not use his faith to win votes."

Vermont Gov. Howard Dean released his assets yesterday in conjunction with filing with the FEC, showing that his "net worth is nearly $4 million … Dean detailed his net worth as he released his personal income tax returns for the past four years."

"'Four million dollars is a lot of money, but it's not outrageous wealth,' Dean told the Associated Press. 'I am not Bill Gates.' Most of Dean's money is in bonds and money markets, which is a savvy move in today's hemorrhaging stock market. But the governor says he has always kept his portfolio that way."

Dean has events today in Council Bluffs, IA.

Oops, we failed to Note yesterday that USA Today 's cover story on Bruce Springsteen was quite liberally peppered with quotes from one Senator John Kerry.

The Boston Globe 's Vennochi chastises her city's political Establishment after Glen Johnson's earlier reports about Democratic convention site selection committee concerns that Boston didn't put enough of a diverse foot forward. LINK

The site selection committee is in Miami right now, and the Miami Herald 's Rothaus reports, "If voters repeal Miami-Dade's gay-rights law in September, the county could lose out on hosting the 2004 Democratic National Convention, party officials warned Monday during a visit to South Florida." LINK

Rothaus quotes former DNC chair and current convention committee co-chair Joe Andrew saying that a repeal of the ordinance would "be a negative — and a serious negative."

Politics

There was a lot of serious substance flying at the National Governors Association meeting in Boise yesterday, but heck, you can read about that anywhere.

For the color you need to know:

Subj:
POOL REPORT 7-15-02 #1
Sent:
Tuesday July 16, 2002 12:50 AM

The centerpiece of the day was the Snake River Stampede Rodeo, at which 5-year-old attendees rode mutton who were bucking more like bronco, in a practice that made some of the folks from Back East wince.

Also there, Miss Idaho Teen Rodeo stopped by the table of Balz, Nagourney, Thomma, Zeleny, and Halperin during dinner, and the reigning Miss (a/k/a Alison "Allie" Swann) shared her plans to become a personal trainer with a degree in nutrition and a weather anchor, as well as her decision not to seek future Idaho Rodeo crowns.

"Inside Politics" missed a chance for some incredible b-roll of about a dozen horses running through the darkened arena, festooned with red, white, and blue lights.

Also: everyone agreed that Kettle Corn (salty/sugary popcorn) could only be improved with the addition of chocolate-covered bacon bits.

At the DGA/RGA-sponsored after-party, the host governor, Dirk Kempthorne (whose substantive leadership and hospitality has uniformly impressed everyone) blew away the crowd with some seriously good dancing (another majorly missed IP b-roll chance) with his daughter and his wife.

The band covered Beatles' songs better than your average "Beatlemania" ensemble.

And now for your NGA broccoli.

Jack Shafer in Slate criticizes the Times ' Nagourney and other journalists for appearing to accept the governors' explanations of their budget shortfalls. "As documented by the nonpartisan National Association of State Budget Officers in a May 2002 report, the states recklessly hitched their spending purses to the rising star of the economy in 1994 and expanded their budgets every year until the slowdown announced itself. Even now, in comparatively bad times, they're increasing their budgets in real terms." LINK

The Wall Street Journal 's lead editorial chimes in by comparing Gov. Gray Davis's California to Gov. Bill Owens's Colorado:

"Both states rode the 1990s technology boom, both saw large immigration and both enjoyed a wealth of new tax revenue. The main difference is that California spent the fruits of its boom and more, while Colorado didn't. There's a lesson here for voters now listening to politicians pleading to raise taxes."

"In Colorado, government spending was restrained by a 1993 constitutional amendment called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The law requires voter approval for any tax increases and limits increases in state spending to inflation plus population growth. This meant that even in the fat years, state politicians couldn't spend all of their revenue windfall."

"California, by contrast, spent like drunken sailors, if that isn't unfair to shore leave. The state has the most liberal legislature west of Sweden, and Governor Davis never really tried to hold it back. Per capita general fund expenditures in the Davis era have jumped 31%, and now the politicians refuse to give up any of that government in the lean years."

Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus PAC will announce the establishment of a "historic joint committee," called The United Victory Fund, a coordinated effort to spread the party's message and get out the vote among the African-American community around the country. The event will take place at the Frederick Douglas Museum in DC.

"Several Senate candidates in high-profile races are closing in on $10 million in campaign cash for the 2002 election," the AP's Theimer reports in a good round-up of the cash status in the top Senate contests. LINK

California

The Los Angeles Times ' Finnegan and Barabak manage to twin Bill Simon's corporate responsibility-related problems with an update on White House machinations in arranging his campaign staff: "Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon Jr. on Monday declined to say how much he saved in state and federal income taxes by using a tax shelter under legal challenge by the Internal Revenue Service." LINK

"Simon, a wealthy Pacific Palisades businessman, described the tax shelter as an 'investment transaction' proposed by his accountants at KP.M.G, but would not say how it worked."

"The questions about Simon's tax history came as his campaign again faced pressure from the White House to retool its staff … As a result, Simon was expected to name a new day-to-day campaign manager--his fourth in as many months--possibly as early as today."

"Rob Lapsley, the chief strategist for Secretary of State Bill Jones' unsuccessful primary bid against Simon, was expected to take over daily operations from John Peschong, who was installed at the behest of the White House a month ago. Peschong … would remain a part-time adviser to the Simon campaign, but also would be freed up to consult on other campaigns, according to sources familiar with the plan."

"A contingent from the Republican National Committee, which functions as the political arm of the White House, met in Sacramento last week with officials from the Simon campaign. GOP insiders said the national party agreed to raise $15 million for Simon's campaign, but only if he downgraded the role of some members of his primary campaign team. Members of that group--known inside the campaign as 'the 4 percenters' because they started when Simon was a mere blip in the polls--have been feuding behind the scenes with a more aggressive group led by Lapsley and others who joined Simon afterward."

Dan Walters wonders if 2002 is 1994 "redux" — a malaise-bound governor who will win, but win ugly. "It goes back to the fundamentals of a successful campaign to unseat an unpopular incumbent. The officeholder loses if the election is a referendum on him; but he wins re-election if he can plant enough suspicions about the challenger to make voters mistrust him. Davis, with his robotic public demeanor, cannot make himself popular, but he certainly can make himself the lesser of two evils by shredding Simon. And Simon seems to be doing his utmost to make it easy." LINK

Florida

Democratic gubernatorial candidates Janet Reno and Bill McBride will debate on August 27, just two weeks before the September 10 primary that will eliminate one of them from the race. LINK

New York

"Gov. George E. Pataki, already leading in polls, far outpaced his Democratic rivals in fund-raising over the last six months, taking in about $12.7 million in contributions, according to campaign filings.," the New York Times reports.

"The state comptroller, H. Carl McCall, a Democrat hoping to challenge Mr. Pataki in the November election for governor, took in about $2 million over the same period. Andrew M. Cuomo, a former federal housing secretary also vying for the Democratic nomination, raised $3.1 million." LINK

Iowa

This has to be the first time we've heard a conservative Republican criticize a Democratic governor for NOT attending the National Governor's Association meeting.

Doug Gross (R) in Iowa had this to say, according to a state Republican Party e-mail: "Tom Vilsack was missing in action — again. He should have been at the NGA meeting to pick up some pointers on fixing the budget mess he's created here at home, but he didn't do that. Where he really could have been helpful to Iowa is if he'd talked to California Gov. Gray Davis about ethanol. Instead, Tom Vilsack never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity."

Note to Doug Gross: Davis wasn't in Idaho, either.

Massachusetts

The state auditor "issued a scathing report on state Treasurer Shannon P. O'Brien's Pension Reserves Investment Management board yesterday, criticizing its handling of the state's ill-fated Enron investments and calling it too passive in safeguarding billions of dollars in workers' retirement money." The O'Brien gubernatorial campaign says the auditor is trying to settle an old score and undermine O'Brien's effort. LINK

New Hampshire

State Democrats have organized a conference call with reporters today in which they'll seek to tag GOP Senate candidate and Rep. John Sununu for House votes to "protect executives and their accountants, not investors."

Sununu's fundraising continues to lag behind both Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen's and GOP Senator Bob Smith's. He raised about an inch more than $500,000, and has more than $940,000 in the bank. That's better than his first-quarter performance, but it might not be enough to keep the naysayers from wondering why he can't raise that much money. Smith has just under $1.5 million on hand. And Shaheen raised $1.2 million and has $1.49 million in the bank. LINK

Congressional candidate Martha Fuller Clark (D) topped the $1.3 million mark, though only about one-fourth of that total is from her own bank account. Clark of course is a favored recipient of out-of-state donations from Democratic presidential hopefuls and interest group PACs.

Seinfeld's Jason Alexander will appear in TV ads for Norman Jackman, a Democratic candidate for the 2nd district, the AP reports. The two men met through Jackman's son, who works in Hollywood. LINK

South Dakota Governors in Boise are wont to complain about Medicaid reimbursement rates, and Gov. Bill Janklow (R) of South Dakota can bring some evidence to the table: a study showing that nursing homes in South Dakota are among the most chronically underfunded. LINK

North Carolina

The Raleigh News & Observer writes up Elizabeth Dole's fundraising: "Dole has raised $8.2 million in her Senate bid — far more than the rest of the Senate field combined, according to campaign-finance reports released Monday. The total makes her one of the leading Republican Senate fund-raisers in the country and it reflects the importance the national GOP is placing on North Carolina in its efforts to retake the Senate." LINK

"The only Senate candidate to approach Dole was Democrat Erskine Bowles, who has raised $4.2 million. Among the other Democratic candidates, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall raised $616,204, and former state House Speaker Dan Blue raised $485,239."

"Dole is being backed by corporate America. She has reported receiving $688,048 from political action committees, mainly connected to businesses."

"Dole reported $2.5 million in cash on hand at the end of June, Bowles reported $1.7 million, Marshall reported $37,500, Blue reported $42,240, and Snyder reported $1,118."

The General Assembly today could approve a bill setting September 10 as the state's primary date, with no run-offs. "If the bill wins approval as expected, the State Board of Elections will have an emergency meeting — probably Wednesday — to set a time for legislative candidates to file for election. Gary Bartlett, director of the board, said he would recommend an eight-day filing period that would begin Friday and end Friday, July 26." LINK

South Carolina

"Democrat Alex Sanders raised more money last quarter than Republican rival Lindsey Graham in their campaign to succeed the retiring U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond," The State's Bandy reports. "According to the latest reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Sanders listed donations of $949,312 to Graham's $659,327. Overall, Graham, who is giving up his 3rd District seat in the U.S. House to run for the Senate, still held a fund-raising edge, taking in a total of $4.9 million since he began soliciting contributions. He reported cash on hand of $2.7 million. Sanders has taken in a total of $2.8 million since he began raising money last September [and] … reported a cash reserve of $1.8 million." LINK

South Carolina

Democratic Senate nominee Ron Kirk raised about $100,000 more than GOP Senate nominee John Cornyn, $1.8 million to $1.7 million for the quarter. He also spent a little more — but he did have a primary to win. LINK

Jim Yardley offers good though not groundbreaking profile of Kirk and the Texas Senate race. LINK

Kirk's strong fundraising numbers, and favorable media coverage like this, are sure to help him raise more money from Northeastern elites. At the same time, the Cornyn campaign is trying to make Kirk regularly choose between attempts to appeal to the centrists of Texas and efforts to keep his liberal base happy. The latest pretzel test for Kirk will come tomorrow, when he explains why he's raising money in Gotham City at an event Bill Clinton also is supposed to attend.

"Democrat Tony Sanchez continues to lay his Midas touch on this year's governor's race, investing $27.8 million of his personal fortune so far in his quest to unseat Republican Gov. Rick Perry," the Houston Chronicle reports. LINK

"During a reporting period that ran from Jan. 1 to June 30, Perry raised $5.23 million. Of that, $2 million came from 67 individuals who donated $25,000 or more each to his campaign fund."

Missouri

The Washington Times suggests that Democratic Senator Jean Carnahan, who is locked in a tough re-election campaign this year, hasn't quite found her footing in the Senate, and though her GOP opponent isn't making an issue of it, others are. LINK

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality

The Alabama papers were all excited about Bush in Birmingham, and most of them played the visit straight. The Birmingham News noted the $3.8 fundraiser for GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Riley, but led with Bush's reassuring words about economic fundamentals. LINK

The Tuscaloosa News sent its business editor to cover the speech, and she managed not to find one person among all her sources that disliked what the president said. LINK

A federal court in Buffalo today will hold a "hearing to determine whether the Bush administration's recent decision to relax clean air enforcement rules governing older coal-fired power plants has affected a pending case against two major plants in upstate New York," the Washington Post 's Pianin reports. LINK

"A federal appeals court has upheld President Bush's power to prevent unions from monopolizing federal construction," the Washington Times reports. LINK