—8:00 am: Senator Joe Lieberman visits Pappy's Pizza with New Hampshire State Senator Lou D'Allesandro, Mancheste
—9:00 am: Representative Dennis Kucinich attends opening of his New Hampshire headquarters, Manchester
—9:00 am: Senator Joe Lieberman tours and makes remarks at Electropac Prototype Inc., Londonderry, N.H.
—10:30 am: Senator Bob Graham holds an economic roundtable with activists followed by media availability, Davenport, Iowa
—10:30 am: Arnold Schwarzenegger tours the Inner-City Games Foundation and gives a speech about after-school programs, New York City
—11:30 am: Arnold Schwarzenegger attends a press conference at the Inner-City Games Foundation, New York City
—1:45 pm: Governor Gray Davis makes remarks at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in support of legislation promoting racial tolerance, Los Angeles
—2:00 pm: California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley conducts a drawing to determine order of candidates on recall ballot, Sacramento
—2:00 pm: President Bush makes remarks on his "Healthy Forests Initiative," Summerhaven, Ariz.
—2:15 pm: Senator John Kerry meets with workers to discuss jobs and the economy at Pat's King of Steaks, Philadelphia
—3:00 pm: Bill Simon speaks to the Conservative Order of Good Guys, San Diego
—4:00 pm: Former Governor Howard Dean attends a rally with supporters, Independence Mall, Philadelphia
—6:00 pm: International Sheet Metal Workers presidential candidate forum at the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia
—6:20 pm: Bill Simon appears on the Rodger Hedgecock Radio Show, San Diego
—7:50 pm: Senator Bob Graham hosts "Grilling with the Grahams" at Lake McBride State Park, Cedar Rapids
—8:05 pm: President Bush makes remarks at Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser, Denver

NEWS SUMMARY

Sure, the Florida recount SEEMED like a big story at the time (high stakes, the intersection of law and politics, intense personalities, the kind of daily process developments that cable news lives for, a veritable Ph.D. in election procedures), but this California recall story is overshadowing Geraldo's wedding, Jim Jordan's blogging, and all sorts of other political things so overshadowed we don't even know they are being overshadowed!!

Today's recallia:

-- 193 people have filed to become candidates on the recall ballot. The Secretary of State's office continues to verify paperwork and will have a certified list of candidates by Wednesday, August 13 at 8:00 pm ET.

-- Arnold Schwarzenegger is in New York City today to attend an Inner City Games event. And, despite what you have(n't) read in the papers, that's not all he is doing in Gotham City.

-- Mr. Schwarzenegger earned $51 million in 2000 and 2001 combined according to financial documents made available to reporters.

-- California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley will hold a random drawing in Sacramento today to determine the order in which candidates' names will appear on the October 7 ballot.

-- The Los Angeles Times reports that some local county elections officials may not complete their vote count until October 9 due to the complexities of accommodating so many candidates on one ballot.

-- CNN/Gallup/ USA Today has a poll showing 64% of California voters favoring the recall.

Normally — in fact, early last week — President Bush leaving the Crawford ranch to hit fundraisers out West would occupy the minds of political reporters and some headlines. It is, after all, August. But the political landscape these days is anything but normal, and California is grabbing everyone's attention.

After letting journalists rifle through his financial statements (and what finances they are!), Arnold Schwarzenegger heads to New York today for an event at the Inner City Games Foundation, where he will tour the facility and give a speech and press conference afterward.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and Bill Simon are hitting the print and broadcast interview circuit.

Governor Davis is making the media rounds as well, and in a page from the playbook of advice-giver President Clinton, is focusing on looking gubernatorial. He signed legislation this weekend and has proclaimed in several interviews that while others are seeking to be governor, he is the governor.

He made no news on Today today.

And might we see 42 in Los Angeles within the week, doing something bookish?

President Bush takes the first trip away from his August vacation in Crawford today, heading first to Arizona, where he will be briefed on the Aspen forest fire and afterwards deliver remarks on his "Healthy Forests Initiative."

Tonight, the president stops in Denver to speak at a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser before heading back to Crawford. Bush visits San Diego on Thursday and Orange County, California on Friday, but don't expect him to be making any cameos in the FOX fall line-up.

Vice President Cheney attends a pair of fundraisers this week. Tomorrow, he's in Los Angeles and on Wednesday he heads to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Those fundraisers we believe are CLOSED PRESS.

ABC News has learned that Senator Joe Biden's office will issue a press release today saying that the six-term senator and 1988 presidential candidate will not run for president in 2004.

There are Democratic presidential candidate forums literally every day this week. The first one is today in Philadelphia, where the Sheet Metal Workers union holds a presidential candidate forum at the new National Constitution Center.

All candidates have confirmed their attendance except Senator Edwards and Senator Graham, who's in Iowa. MSNBC's Bill Press, a proud graduate of the Salesianum School, will moderate. This is the only event of the week at which the candidates appear together — as opposed to serially.

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Democratic Party holds a forum on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater at 7:00 pm ET. Dean, Lieberman, Kucinich, Braun, Sharpton, Gephardt, and Edwards are expected to attend. Graham is a probable and Kerry has a conflict. Each candidate will appear separately and answer questions from local broadcasters and members of the audience for 15 minutes.

On Wednesday, the Iowa Federation of Labor holds its forum in Des Moines, beginning at 3:00 pm ET. In this three-hour forum, candidates Edwards, Kerry, Graham, Dean, Gephardt, and Kucinich will be questioned separately by a panel that includes AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO legislative analyst Scott Paul, and the SEIU's Ellen Golombek.

And on Thursday, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack holds his conference on public health at Drake University in Des Moines starting at 1:30 pm ET. For this one, the candidates will appear one at a time beginning at 2:00 pm ET for about 20 minutes each in the following order: Kerry, Gephardt, Braun, Kucinich, Dean, Edwards, and Graham.

Friday, in Cedar Rapids, there is a labor council forum; all but Lieberman and Moseley Braun are confirmed.

Congressman Kucinich opens his New Hampshire campaign headquarters in Manchester this morning before heading to Philadelphia. He campaigns in Iowa on Thursday and Friday.

Senator Kerry will meet with workers in Philadelphia today and possibly engage in one of the most pressing and long-lasting debates in the City of Brotherly Love: Gino's vs. Pat's. He starts a four-day trip across Iowa on Tuesday.

Governor Dean attends a rally with supporters near the National Constitution Center this afternoon. He has a few campaign events in Oklahoma on Tuesday before the candidate forum in Stillwater that night. He then heads to Iowa to campaign Wednesday through Friday. Dean will be the featured speaker at the Young Democrats of America National Convention on Saturday.

Senator Edwards and his family begin a six-day bus trip through Iowa on Wednesday. There's another Ed Turlington town hall meeting tonight in Asheville, N.C.

Congressman Gephardt will hold a reception with supporters after the forum at Oklahoma State University Tuesday night. (The Note wonders if guests will arrive "sooner" rather than later.) Gephardt begins a five-day swing through Iowa on Wednesday.

Senator Graham continues on the Graham Family Vacation in Iowa. Today, he holds an economic roundtable and press availability in Davenport and has another cook-out tonight in Cedar Rapids. Tomorrow, the gang tours a dairy center in Calmar and stops by the Field of Dreams in Dyersville for a family baseball game. The Graham RVs will stop in Waterloo, Marshalton and Des Moines on Wednesday and Thursday. And there's a lot more grillin' this week too.

Senator Lieberman does a little campaigning in New Hampshire this morning before heading to Philadelphia. He will bring "Joe's Jobs Tour" to Oklahoma City and Stillwater before Tuesday night's forum. He campaigns in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ambassador Braun and Reverend Sharpton have no announced public events for the week beyond attendance at the forums listed above. Heads up: Ambassador Braun's birthday is on Saturday.

The National Governors Association Conference in Indianapolis begins Friday. Who thinks Gray Davis will go?

The rest of the political world, in other news:

1. Knight Ridder's Steven Thomma on SEIU's Stern's careful endorsement orchestration — which might be the determining factor on if Dick Gephardt gets the AFL nod. LINK

"[He]devised a two-step screening process to get beyond questionnaires and polls and explore candidates' likeability.

"First, he has assigned a young filmmaker, younger than 25, to follow each of the nine candidates around. The purpose is to catch unguarded moments on tape and capture 'the soul' of each candidate. The tapes will be shown to 1,500 of the union's most politically active members at a meeting in September.

"At the September meeting, each candidate also will be asked to meet for an hour with 30 to 50 union members for a casual, private session. Rather than screening the candidates on issues, the union members will subject them to what Stern called 'the hang test' — can they hang out with real voters.' Based on regular checks with members, Stern said, the top three choices so far are Dean, Gephardt and Kerry. All three meet the threshold for proposing a detailed plan to expand health care with a way to pay for it, he said, and all three are competitive in fund raising and polls."

2. Roll Call 's Cilizza on Senator Edwards' "foothold" with the Congressional Black Caucus. "Edwards has done little to court Congressional endorsements, but half of the eight he has received are from CBC members. Sens. John Kerry (Mass.) and Bob Graham (Fla.), however, have each been able to land three endorsements from the CBC." ; Edwards gets a "Tiger" of a spokeswoman in South Carolina, where one poll shows him in double digits: LINK; yet more pressure on Edwards to decide about a Senate re-elect from North Carolina Democrats. LINK In South Carolina this weekend, Edwards said Bush was out of touch with American values, reports the Charleston Post and Courier. LINK And he attacked Bush's education record. LINK

3. The AP on Bush today: environmentalist credential touting and some campaign fundraising. LINK; the Denver Post welcomes Mr. Bush to the lean-GOP state; LINK; idle chat or something more? The Washington Times perhaps wishfully, perhaps not, big-thinks Bush-Cheney '04 and New York and California. LINK; Rush and Molloy on a new Northeast press secretary for the re-election campaign. LINK

4. The Washington Post upsets the DCCC (for good) by pronouncing nearly dead the chances Dems will retake the House in '04. LINK

"The biggest factor, however, is one that has thwarted Democratic hopes before and, if anything, is growing worse: Congressional redistricting has produced a remarkably small number of competitive districts nationwide. As a result, Democrats must win a huge percentage of the toss-up races to regain the House majority they lost a decade ago."

5. The Washington Post on "an obscure but increasingly nasty debate between about 900 computer scientists, who warn that these [electronic voting] machines are untrustworthy, and state and local election officials and machine manufacturers, who insist that they are reliable." LINK

Please also read:

--Ron Brownstein on Howard Dean's electability. "Privately, much of the Democratic establishment — elected officials, strategists, leaders of the most powerful interest groups — share Lieberman's conclusion. And as long as they do, it will be tough for Dean to attract much of the institutional support critical to surviving the tightly compressed primary calendar. Eventually, the anxiety among insiders might also spill over to average Democratic voters. So, in the weeks ahead, the top priority facing Dean could be convincing the party leadership that he's not a sure loser against Bush. The terms of the argument between Dean and his critics are already emerging." LINK; The Boston Globe 's Tom Oliphant writes up Dean's "unseemly stumble" on Social Security.LINK; in Sunday's Los Angeles Times opinion section, Kevin Phillips looked at ways in which Howard Dean can "educate a lie-weary electorate." LINK

--From Sunday's Washington Post , Rich Lowry's fabulously subtle look at how President Bush's avoidance of the culture wars is bad for America (even if good for him politically). LINK

"Bush's posture on these issues is more complicated than his conservative Christian 'profile' might suggest. Both conservatives and liberals should be able to find things to welcome in the non-stereotypical way Bush's faith affects his politics. For social conservatives, it could make for a new, more palatable version of Christian conservatism. For liberals, it sometimes might mean policies they can welcome, if they can see beyond their loathing of Bush's socio-political 'type.' But there is also a significant downside to Bush's soft touch on cultural and social issues — a loss of opportunity for conservatives in particular, and an injury to American politics generally."

However, Rich, we have to subtract points for your making the same insane point that Bob Novak made last week — to compare the left's feelings for President Bush to what the whipped-up right felt (feels) about Bill Clinton is really uncalibrated.

--Gephardt getting Dean-like crowd numbers in New Hampshire. LINK

--Sam Tanenhaus urging Democrats not to fear its radical populists. LINK

--The Times on protest plans for the GOP convention in New York. LINK

--A Bill-Thomas-scowl-inducing (we presume) report on private health plans and cost containment. LINK

--A Saturday Washington Post editorial that stuck it to Al Gore and ended with praise for Joe Lieberman. LINK

Senator Lieberman chided left-wing Democrats on Fox News Sunday. LINK

And he called George W. Bush "the worst president for the environment in America's history," the AP reports. LINK

--The New York Times ' Nagourney on Kerry's message sharpening was a Sunday must-read. LINK

California recall, what the insiders are talking about:

We are repeating some from last week, because they are still oh-so important:

Where will the candidates get their money from?

Who will do independent expenditures?

Just how big a role is Bill Clinton going to play as Butch to Gray Davis' Sundance?

When will 41 be in California for Arnold?

Who will attack whom, intra-party, cross-party, and otherwise? And for what?

Who the heck is actually going to turn out to vote in this thing?

How will Pelosi and other members of the Democratic Establishment embrace (or not) the Bustamante candidacy?

Who will go on TV with paid media first?

Will paid media matter less in this race (because of all the free/earned coverage) than in a normal California race?

Will The Note ever be able to convince anyone that polling in this race should be somewhat discounted because no one can possibly come up with a sensible turnout model?

Which of the rich candidates is doing to be willing to spend from his or her own pocket in a state where serious TV costs at least $1.5 million and really more like $2 million a week?

How will the Davis-Bustamante relationship play out? Can Republicans make "DavisBustamante" sound like "DoleGingrich"?

Which will be the more annoying and time-consuming "story" to cover: "Will Gray Davis resign?" (The Note is not holding its breath … ) or "When is the Checkers speech?"

Who is in charge of the parade of surrogates coming in for Gray Davis?

Will the coming of Labor Day mean Davis' A Team will be back on the field?

Since Davis' survival depends on winning back and mobilizing the Democratic base, was it the smartest thing in the world for Schwarzenegger's first firm policy position to be his support for Proposition 187?

How does Simon solve his McClintock problem? (And vice versa … .)

Why was it wrong for the Republicans to challenge Florida's state law in federal court in 2000, but okay for Democrats to frantically look for any federal judge they can find to hear complaints about California's 80-year-old recall statute?

Would Dianne Feinstein have agreed to go on "Meet" if she knew they were going to show the Leona ad?

California recall, Arnold:

The Los Angeles Times' Michael Finnegan writes about Arnold Schwarzenegger's ability to avoid talking specifics and/or substance (or to the California political press corps for that matter) in the first five days of his campaign. LINK

"Though the strategy gives Schwarzenegger time to craft and calibrate his responses — and extends his political honeymoon — it has opened him to bipartisan criticism. Two of Schwarzenegger's Republican rivals in the gubernatorial recall race took the actor to task Sunday for what they called a lack of substance in his campaign." "The jabs by GOP candidates Bill Simon Jr. and Tom McClintock came after several days of attacks on the Republican actor by Democrats who have questioned his qualifications to succeed Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, if he is recalled."

Arnold has a lot going for him, and in a short campaign like this, the fame and wealth that got him here will be big advantages.

But Democrats and Schwarzenegger's own advisers agree: if he can't prove he is a serious, substantive person, up to the complicated job of governing this state, he won't win.

That means before too long, he MUST take positions on controversial, tough issues, and that will probably start to eat away at his support.

Charlie LeDuff and Alan Feuer have the recap of the Sunday shows for the New York Times including Schwarzenegger campaign co-chairman Pete Wilson asserting his candidate's support for Proposition 187. LINK

"Mr. Schwarzenegger is fond of reminding voters of his history as a penniless Austrian farmboy who became one of Hollywood's highest-paid entertainers. But today, Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, challenged Mr. Wilson on Mr. Schwarzenegger's rags-to-riches immigrant story and ridiculed Mr. Schwarzenegger as being no friend of the immigrant."

"Mr. Torres reminded voters on "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos that Mr. Schwarzenegger had once stumped for Mr. Wilson, the sponsor of Proposition 187, a successful ballot initiative barring illegal immigrants from receiving state services. The measure was eventually struck down in state appellate court."

"'Arnold did support it,' Mr. Wilson confirmed, noting that about 60 percent of the state's electorate had supported the proposition, too. 'Mr. Torres, and the Democrats, are trying to play the race card,' Mr. Wilson said."

The San Francisco Chronicle's Mark Martin followed up on Pete Wilson's comments regarding Mr. Schwarzenegger's support for Proposition 187. LINK

"The Schwarzenegger campaign acknowledged later in the day that he had voted for Prop. 187. They also shot back at Torres."

"'Art Torres has backed a failed and soon-to-be-recalled governor,' said Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh. 'His party has come unglued and is desperately lashing out and attempting to deflect the disarray within the Democratic party'"

Laura Kurtzman of the San Jose Mercury News doesn't see this issue disappearing anytime soon. LINK

The Sacramento Bee has Arnold as the target as well. LINK

The Los Angeles Times account of Mr. Schwarzenegger's last two tax returns. His income totaled $57 million for 2000 and 2001 combined. LINK

Lance Williams of the San Francisco Chronicle reports it hasn't been all financial successes for the body builder turned actor. LINK

"But the filings also show that Schwarzenegger claimed six figure losses on investments, including an Ohio shopping mall and a commercial building in Santa Monica. He also lost substantially on some mutual funds and on his sale of such stocks as Global Crossing, the bankrupt telecom, and Blockbuster Video."

The Chronicle wrote a separate story about the candidate's list of gifts received. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' historian George Skelton compares the Terminator to the Gipper in a must-read. LINK

The New York Post 's Deborah Orin writes up Time Magazine's scoop about Arnold's head fake backstage at the Leno show. LINK

It's almost as if Rudy Giuliani was still in City Hall, what with that gorgeous Nagourney/Bumiller byline and all. The New York Times duo report that although President Bush said Mr. Schwarzenegger would make a good governor, don't expect to hear any more from him on the recall while he is in California this week. LINK

"Indeed, if Mr. Bush's visit demonstrates anything, it is just how complicated the recall battle has become for the White House. Mr. Bush and Mr. Schwarzenegger may well be the two most famous Republicans in the land these days — and Mr. Bush was described today by associates as favoring Mr. Schwarzenegger in the contest — but their interests do not necessarily intersect."

"Mr. Schwarzenegger's advisers said today that they were gratified that Mr. Bush had offered warm words at his ranch in Texas, saying Mr. Schwarzenegger would be a 'good governor.' But they and Republicans advising other candidates here said that a flat-out endorsement from Mr. Bush in this overwhelmingly Democratic state could hurt as much as it helped."

California recall, the rest of the field:

Ms. Huffington, Mr. Flynt, and Mr. Simon are wealthy too. LINK

Arianna Huffington's in it to win it, the Washington Post 's Evelyn Nieves reports. LINK

The Wall Street Journal 's Jackie Calmes re-caps the weekend's events and addresses the whispers about a Davis resignation.

"Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio Sunday dismissed talk that the governor might resign rather than face recall. 'No how, no way,' he said. Mr. Davis, in fact, is taking advice from another political survivor, Bill Clinton. The former president, who remains hugely popular in California, is planning to campaign for Mr. Davis. This week, NARAL Pro-Choice America president Kate Michelman will be at the governor's side when he signs five abortion-rights bills, as Mr. Davis reaches out to Democratic loyalists."

Now that the field of candidates is set, Gray Davis and his advisers say they are going to fight hard for two months to save his job.

They will attack the recall as illegitimate and they will let other Democrats attack Arnold Schwarzenegger as unprepared to be governor and attack the other Republicans as too conservative for California.

A lot of people are saying Davis has no chance to hold onto his job … but The Note disagrees.

Here's the link to the Los Angeles Times' recall Notebook. In today's edition you will learn about gifts given to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arianna Huffington's strategy to align Mr. Schwarzenegger with President Bush, and Jerry Brown's assessment of the qualifications needed to serve as the Golden State's governor. LINK

The Los Angeles Times editorial board urges candidates in the recall election to go beyond criticizing Gray Davis. LINK

"Davis failed to lead in the budget crisis and spent far too much time doing favors for his campaign contributors. His chilly and vindictive personal style keeps would-be supporters at arm's length. But the bottom line is this: Most of what is wrong in the state has little to do with him."

"Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to get well beyond 'I want to represent everyone in California.' Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante will have to decide how to speak for himself while still formally opposing the recall, a perhaps impossible conundrum. State Senator Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), who has come out blazing at the political inexperience of Schwarzenegger, should give some thought to why a non-politician is No. 1 in the polls. Peter Ueberroth, organizer of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, will have to remind people under 40 of what he's done in life. Bill Simon must tell Californians why he's worth a vote when he couldn't beat Davis a year ago. Arianna Huffington might be successful as a columnist railing at what's wrong but she has to say how she'd make things right."

The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board says the recall is more important than it is funny. LINK

Reverend Jesse Jackson was in northern California and is pushing his supporters to vote no on the recall and no on Proposition 54. LINK

Mickey Kaus thinks it was a big mistake to include Richard Riordan in the CNN/Gallup/ USA Today poll. LINK

California recall, the chaos:

Allison Hoffman, Monte Morin, and Megan Garvey write about the complexities involved for county elections officials in pulling off the October 7 election and the possibility of a delayed vote count. LINK

"Steve Weir, Contra Costa County's registrar of voters, said results in his county would not be ready until 'maybe about 5 p.m. Thursday [Oct. 9],' two days after the polls close.

"In Orange County, where voters will use a new oversized paper ballot — designed for absentee voting — officials said it may take close to 40 hours to count votes. "

The Los Angeles Times trio also wrap up the rest of the day's recall news including Mr. Schwarzenegger's finances, Senator McClintock's endorsement by the conservative California Republican Assembly, and Secretary of State Shelley's efforts to revise the estimated cost of the recall election.

The Associated Press' Tom Chorneau provides an excellent description of the random drawing to take place at the Secretary of State's office today. Mr. Chorneau also has the latest Gallup/CNN/ USA Today poll numbers that look good for Arnold and not so much for Governor Davis. LINK

James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times writes that perhaps it's not complete chaos and gets some academic types to go on the record claiming the recall is more than just a simple joke. LINK

"'I think there is a lot more to this than most people give it credit for,' Yaroslavsky said. 'This whole spectacle is being fueled by a fundamental disaffection by real people and real voters about the failure of the political establishment in Washington, in Sacramento and at the local level.'"