— 9:35 am: Vice President Cheney delivers remarks on the war on terror at the Heritage Foundation, D.C.
— 9:45 am: Off-camera White House press gaggle with Scott McClellan
— 10:00 am: House convenes for a pro forma session
— 11:00 am: First Lady Laura Bush addresses the National Association of Women Judges, D.C.
— 11:15 am: Senator Joe Lieberman holds a press availability, Charlotte, N.C.
— 11:10 am: President Bush makes remarks on Cuba, White House
— 12:15 pm: Senator John Kerry attends a meet-and-greet at the American Independence Museum, Exeter, N.H.
— 12:15 pm: On-camera White House press briefing with Scott McClellan
— 2:00 pm: Senator Kerry holds a press event on health care costs, Portsmouth, N.H.
— 2:05 pm: President Bush meets with members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, White House
— 4:00 pm: South Carolina NAACP roundtable for presidential candidates, Charlotte, N.C.
— 5:15 pm: Senator Kerry attends a meet-and-greet, Portsmouth, N.H.
— 7:30 pm: Senator Kerry attends a meet-and-greet, Somersworth, N.H.

NEWS SUMMARY

According to the $110,000 McKinsey study (www.mckinsey.com) that ABC News commissioned several months ago after some competitors started to make a run at our market share and which is required reading for us and our bosses this weekend, the three most basic mistakes The Note can make are:

1. Forgetting that some of our readers don't even know who Joe Trippi is (or, even, anything about his temperament).

2. Forgetting to link regularly to our secret glossary that defines "Invisible Primary," "Big Casino," "Jano," "Trent" (Duffy, not Lott), "Googling monkey," and "the Webby People's Voice award."

3. Assuming we know more than we do about what people running for president really are thinking.

So we don't want to assume too much today about what is on the mind of the candidates, but we think Fridays are an okay time to make some educated guesses.

Things on the mind of the likely Republican nominee: why there can't be more people on the staff like Dan Bartlett; baseball; whether Rice/Rumsfeld helps get around The Filter or is maybe exactly everything a sensitive soul from Crawford hates about Washington; did we mention baseball?; the war against terror and the economy; Wamp's failure to win the LaHood Award; how partisan and unaccountable the Democratic presidential candidates are being and how little the media are doing about it; and why there can't be more people on the staff like Karen Hughes (was).

Things on the mind of Howard Dean: how completely clueless the Washington candidates are about how to speak to the mood of the nation (or, at least, the party); which members of his staff are right about Wes Clark; how expensive clothes are; and (just maybe) the unpacking of the "Vermont Miracle."

Things on the mind of Wes Clark: we have no earthly idea.

Things on the mind of John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt, and John Edwards: how can Wes Clark (in the race all of 23 days!) and Howard Dean continue to waffle on key issues, deny the implications of (and fact of!) their past statements, and have a (total) monopoly on money and momentum?

(And if you haven't realized either how angry and frustrated those four candidates and their senior advisers are about Clark and Dean and/or that telling you that fact is the purpose of this "things on the mind" conceit, well, then, The Note needs the weekend off … or, maybe, you do.)

Anyway, that was worth the airfare to Phoenix, wasn't it?

It was (finally) "beat up on Wes Clark" night.

Kerry and Lieberman went after Clark on his having only recently joined the Democratic Party.

Lieberman and Dean went after Clark to his face on waffling on the war the way they have been doing behind his back.

These things are subjective, but more than one observer thought Clark looked rattled a bit during his answers, and the substance of his answers in these two areas was shaky at best. But our bet is that his supporters (current and potential) don't care.

There was such a pile on that even Kerry (whose war position and statements make up a muddled mess of their own) went after Clark on the war!

Beyond the debate sound bites, several campaigns put out research during the debate with Clark's past conflicting statements on these matters.

As we have been Noting for a while, if Dean wins the nomination, history might well record that the timing of Clark's entrance into the race — just as Dean was finally taking heat for his shifting positions and past positions — inadvertently gave Dean cover just when he needed it. And it continues.

Thursday night was a perfect example: Dean said his usual complement of questionable things, but they will be largely ignored because of the focus on Clark.

The best brains of the political news biz play the Clark clocking thusly. See if you can guess which portrayal was made by which major paper this Friday morning:

A. Clark was "repeatedly upbraided"

B. Clark came "under the sharpest fire"

C. Clark "was repeatedly challenged"

D. Clark's "fledgling presidential campaign hit another bump last night"

E. The Democratic field "trained its fire on an insurgent newcomer"

And the answers are:

*A The New York Times LINK

*B The Los Angeles Times LINK

*C. The Washington Post LINK

*D. The Wall Street Journal

*E. USA Today LINK

Two views of the night we found especially Noteworthy — both under the byline of Professor Fournier, one of the sharpest minds we know:

The General View:

"Clark said the criticism came as no surprise." "'When you're the front-runner, you have to expect that,'" he said in an interview with The Associated Press."

Oh, reeeaaaallllyyyy?

ABC News' Clark campaign reporter Deborah Apton has more on The Confident General:

"It wasn't until the after-party at the Hyatt that a self-assured General Clark expressed how well he thought he did in the debate calling himself the Democratic front-runner to supporters who gathered to shake his hand. What makes him the front-runner asked one reporter? National polls, Clark said. But in the past week, General Clark's stump line has been: 'I don't put too much stock in polls.'"

And Steve Jarding's: (Note his assessment doesn't exactly match up with The General's):

"'You've got Dean staying above the fray. Clark is clinging to the top tier, with a lot of questions surrounding his candidacy. And the other guys trying to leapfrog Clark to get to Dean,' Jarding said."

… "'It's a long leap from the second tier' to the top, he said with a sigh." LINK

There's more on the debate below.

President Bush will make remarks on Cuba and meet with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom at the White House today. He travels to Camp David tonight.

First Lady Laura Bush will speak about heart disease at the 25th anniversary conference of the National Association of Women Judges in D.C.

Vice President Cheney will deliver remarks on the war on terror today in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in D.C.

Commerce Secretary Don Evans will speak at a Bush-Cheney 2004 fundraiser today in Lubbock, Texas.

The South Carolina NAACP will host a roundtable for presidential candidates this afternoon in Charlotte, North Carolina. All candidates except Senator Kerry and Governor Dean are expected to attend.

Senator Kerry campaigns in New Hampshire today and Saturday. He will sit down with our own George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Sunday morning to talk about Iraq and his presidential bid.

Governor Dean is in Burlington and has no public events scheduled until Monday.

General Clark is in Charlotte for the NAACP roundtable today. He will travel back to Little Rock tonight.

Congressman Gephardt was supposed to be in North Dakota today, but he canceled that to go to Charlotte for the NAACP roundtable. He campaigns in Iowa this weekend with Teamsters President James P. Hoffa.

Senator Lieberman is in Charlotte for the NAACP forum. He's in D.C. this weekend with no public events announced.

Senator Edwards had planned tentatively to campaign in New Mexico today, but he scrapped that to attend the NAACP roundtable in Charlotte. He campaigns in South Carolina this weekend.

Congressman Kucinich is in Charlotte today for the NAACP roundtable. He campaigns in Nebraska and Iowa on Saturday.

Reverend Sharpton is in Charlotte today for the NAACP roundtable. He'll be in D.C. Saturday and Sunday for Howard University's homecoming activities and some preaching engagements.

Ambassador Moseley Braun is in Charlotte for the NAACP roundtable. She'll be in Little Rock on Sunday for a town hall meeting with the Arkansas Black Legislative Caucus.

Happy birthday, Adam Nagourney, a man at the top of his professional game this cycle, and a wonderful friend and mentor to everyone at The Note and in the ABC News political family — even if we are polling with CNN now.

DNC debate:

The AP has a summary of what the candidates had to say about Iraq, tax cuts, health care and immigration. LINK

The AP has some of the night's more colorful excerpts. LINK

The Arizona Republic's Sherwood and Scutari look at just how last eve's spin room action actually spilled into the debate, with CNN folks calling it "unintentional" and the Kerry camp' calling it a surprise.

It was SO big, Gehrke went on the record!

"'We've never seen it happen in a debate before. And I've been doing this for 14 years,' said Mike Gehrke, research director for Kerry's campaign." LINK

Knight Ridder's Steven Thomma writes, "The attacks [on Clark] in a nationally televised debate sought to derail the surprisingly strong candidacy of a fresh face, while taking advantage of some early missteps by the politically inexperienced Clark." LINK

California recall, the transition and the post-mortem:

Willie Brown and Gerald Parsky are both helping Arnold Schwarzenegger transition from movie-star to governor. LINK

Governor Davis' transition chief tells the New York Times he is somewhat suspect of the practical effect Schwarzenegger's transition team may have. LINK

"Barry Munitz, who directed the Davis transition in 1998, called the Schwarzenegger team 'a symbolic statement of a broad umbrella of opinion, not a functioning, people-finding, agenda-setting transition team.' Those jobs will be performed by a much smaller group of close advisers, Mr. Munitz said."

First there was President Bush 41's $1,000 donation, then there was a congratulatory phone call from President Bush 43 who plans to join the governor-elect in California next week, and now Governor Bush of Florida is loaning his budget guru, Diana Arduin, to Mr. Schwarzenegger for that statewide audit he promised. LINK

Not to mention the rare live national media interview that Jeb Bush did yesterday afternoon with Kathleen Shanahan's favorite all-news cable channel to talk about Schwarzenegger.

Not quite 48 hours had passed since he was elected to be California's next governor when Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared to break a last-minute campaign promise. LINK

"One thing that isn't likely to happen very soon is a new discussion of the sexual harassment charged that dogged Schwarzenegger in the final days of his campaign. Speaking on NBC last weekend, he said he would provide a more complete explanation of his actions after Tuesday's election day."

"But Schwarzenegger shrugged off a reporter's shouted request for that promised explanation at the end of Thursday's news conference."

"'Old news,' he said, as he walked briskly off the stage."

Ron Brownstein doesn't expect to see another candidacy like Schwarzenegger's anytime soon. LINK

Gregg Jones of the Los Angeles Times scored the first post-election interview with an emotional Gray Davis. LINK

"Famously stoic throughout his career, Davis fought back tears as he talked about his election night concession speech and how he had wanted to spare his family the pain of the moment."

Governor Davis apparently paid close attention to all those Tulchin/Grisolano briefings. "'We were never ahead in our private polls — ever. That last weekend we got very close for two days. But we knew we needed the other side to stumble. Some elections are in the cards and some aren't.'"

He IS still Governor, Davis' press secretary says of the current officeholder, and won't stop signing laws just because Schwarzenegger says so.

"Until the secretary of state hands the new governor his election certificate," Mr. Maviglio said, "Governor Davis will continue doing the job the Constitution requires him to do." LINK

NBC gives Jay the OK to back the new guy: LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: The Invisible Primary:

Clark has a "slight lead" over his rivals in the latest national poll by CNN- USA Today -Gallup, the AP's Will Lester reports. LINK.

Clark is at 21, Dean is at 16, Lieberman and Kerry are at 13, Gephardt is at 8, Sharpton is at 6, Braun is at 4, Edwards and Kucinich are at 2.

Clark has agreed to join six other Democratic hopefuls in a South Carolina NAACP forum this weekend. Dean and Kerry have turned down the invitation. LINK

The Des Moines Register 's Tom Beaumont reports that former Graham campaign staffers' phones are ringing off the hook this week. LINK

The FEC backed plans by WE LEAD to "gather donations for the Democratic presidential nominee months before the candidate is picked," the AP reports. LINK

"The political action committee, known as WE LEAD, would be able to give an unlimited total to the Democratic nominee-to-be instead of facing the $5,000-per-candidate limit applied to other PACs."

Another Ken Mehlman talking point!

Clark:

Given how (not) prepared Clark was for the two most obvious attacks imaginable, someone uncharitable might say, given the identity of Clark's advisers, that it gave the phrase "masters of disaster" a whole new meaning!!!

More from ABC News' Apton:

"The Clark '04 campaign will announce the beginnings of a permanent staff today."

"This list includes:

--Eli Segal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
--Mickey Kantor, Chairman of the Steering Committee
--Ambassador Richard Sklar, Chief Operating Officer
--Matt Bennett, Director of Communications
--Diana Rogalle, Finance Director
--Janet Abrams, Director of Administration and Control
--John Hlinko, Director of Internet Strategy
--Steve Bouchard, New Hampshire State Director
--Maya Israel, Associate Director of Communications
--Jamal Simmons, Traveling Press Secretary"

"The campaign still has no campaign manager, the role that Donnie Fowler held until earlier this week. Both Hlinko and Israel are veterans of the DraftWesleyClark movement, and with their hirings show that the Clark campaign will be integrating the 'grass roots' and the 'D.C.' staff."

"Notable are the two hires from the now defunct Graham campaign — Steve Bouchard in particular is a great pick-up for the Clark campaign, which until now did not have any state directors."

As for the rampant speculation that former Kerry communications director Chris Lehane will join the Clark effort, sources familiar with his thinking say that no final decisions have been made but that Lehane has been heard to say that he is very impressed with The General personally, that he believes he has what it takes to beat George Bush and has been struck by what he sees as the real passion and excitement that exists for the General's candidacy — that it is a real movement.

Given all that coupled with the fact that his wife and business partner are involved with the campaign, it is very possible he could join the effort at some point in the near future, these sources say.

For the record, Lehane will only tell The Note:

"I am impressed by the cut of The General's jib but am right now spending my time in repose intermixed with some repasts and will be making decisions about 2004 over the next couple of weeks."

More from Apton:

"The Clark campaign confirmed that The General resigned yesterday from the Acxiom board. The controversy surrounding General Clark's involvement with the Acxiom company came two weeks ago when the Washington Post reported that Clark helped Acxiom win a contract to help create one of the government's largest surveillance programs."

AP reports he resigned from the board of two companies — Acxiom Corp. and Entrust Inc. LINK

The Washington Post 's Tom Edsall reports that Clark is trying to encroach on Dean's claim to Hollywood and Internet money. LINK

Edsall is a must-read.

The Boston Globe 's Joanna Weiss reports on Clark's decision on the paid speaking gigs. LINK

Dean:

The New York Post pokes fun at Howard Dean for saying on CNN's "Inside Politics" before the California polls closed Tuesday: "Sure, people are mad at Gray [Davis], because he's had a tough economy to deal with, but the fact is that it's probably better to continue with somebody that you know, even though you may not be fully satisfied . . . " LINK

From ABC News' Dean campaign reporter Marc Ambinder:

"By the estimate of a campus police officer, Dean drew at least 800 to a rally at Arizona State University in Tempe Thursday; it wasn't all spontaneous — many professors brought their classes and an instruction period ended at 11:55, right as Dean arrived to campus, dumping dozens of students onto the lawn as he began to speak."

"One hundred days from today, early voting begins in the Arizona primary. It's a must-win for several candidates, and in the chess board of strategic politics, it would be a huge win for Dean. He plans to compete here vigorously and will return often, his staff said."

"Every candidate is heavily courting Gov. Janet Napolitano. Either she'll endorse — a windfall for one candidate — or she'll remain neutral, a victory for several candidates. Dean met twice with her Thursday, once in the morning with party officials, and once, semi-privately, as there were two television cameras present, in the kitchen of the Wyndham."

"Moments before the second meeting, Dean pointed to Napolitano in the darkened room of his loud debate party, and informed the room that a 'special visitor' was in the crowd." "And wouldn't she be a great vice president of the United States of America?' he asked. The crowd cheered."

"Napolitano couldn't make it backstage to greet Dean (maybe it was those very serious, touchy-feely volunteers wearing 'security' T-shirts), so she cut through the kitchen as he was leaving."

"'Now you're on the short list!' Dean said with a smile as she approached."

"'Uh-oh," she said. 'Very crafty!' They hugged."

"Dean told the governor how great it was to be in her state."

"'You've got a lot of public support here,' she told him. 'Keep in touch, OK?'"

"Napolitano later schmoozed with reporters a post-debate party, where she told ABC News that "Dean has a powerful organization here.'"

"'I think Arizona is up for grabs,' she said, 'and he's well-positioned.'"

Kerry:

From ABC News' Kerry campaign reporter Ed O'Keefe:

"Though not in the spin room, Kerry campaign manager Jim Jordan tartly offered, '(Kerry) was the only president on stage tonight.'"

"En route to the Matador restaurant debate watch party, the candidate himself assessed, 'I don't really call these debates. I don't think of them as a real debate. I can't wait until we can have a real debate because you can't really get going here. And … two or three things will come up and you can't really put them into context.'"

"Recalling the 'great debates' of Massachusetts between he and then-Governor William Weld during the 1996 Senate race, Kerry commented, 'That's what I love if you can get into something like that where it's really one-to-one and you come out at the end of that and you just feel as if you've exhausted the possibilities; you've sort of done what you set out to do, which is fun.'"

We said it up top, and we're saying it again: the Red Sox-rooting candidate will be with our own George Stephanopoulos … exclusively … come Sunday morn.

Iraq, California, and his Quest for the White House — all this and more on "See Ya There Sunday!"

New Hampshire:

Dean has a 10-point lead on Kerry in New Hampshire according to an American Research Group poll. LINK

Dean is at 29, Kerry at 19, Gephardt and Lieberman at 6, Clark at 5, Edwards at 3, Braun and Kucinich at 1, and Sharpton at 0.

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect:

The national political press was out in full force yesterday in New Hampshire for the launch of President Bush's public relations offensive.

The Washington Post 's Dana Milbank reports that the president "urged Americans Thursday to be optimistic and assured the public that the U.S. efforts there are proceeding better than it appears." LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Maura Reynolds writes up the president's Granite State trip as "the unofficial opening of his reelection campaign."

Just asking: How many unofficial openings does he get? LINK

The New York Times ' Richard Stevenson reports: "In a retooled and more assertive stump speech, Mr. Bush struck a theme sure to be central to his reelection effort: that he had acted aggressively both to ensure national security and restore prosperity. LINK

The Boston Globe 's Wayne Washington writes about the president's trip to Manchester, Noting that "Nearly half of his speech to uniformed, flag-waving military reservists [ … ] was devoted to the economic issues, a notable [sic] departure from his practice when addressing military audiences of focusing on troops' contributions to the war on terror." LINK

More about the president's return to New Hampshire:

Washington Post : LINK

USA Today : LINK

Chicago Tribune: LINK

The Manchester Union Leader reports that "more than 300 pro- and anti-Bush forces" showed up in Manchester yesterday to protest and push their agendas outside the hotel where the president was speaking.

James Pindell reports that Bush was in New Hampshire Thursday setting "the tone" for his re-election campaign with a defense of his economic record and criticism on his Democratic rivals for thinking "any time is a good time to raise taxes." LINK

Sam Youngman of PoliticsNH.com looks at Bush's New Hampshire speech and sees him "returning fire and setting the stage for a showdown" after months of Democratic attacks. LINK

Another sign that baseball is all anyone has on the brain in New England these days, "One chant borrowed the winning mantra of the Boston Red Sox. 'Cowboy Up. George Bush down.'"LINK

President Bush stumped for gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ernie Fletcher in Lexington, Kentucky, yesterday in a speech that "plugged his own actions over the last three years to an appreciative audience of 1,700" and endorsed Fletcher as "the best man to be the governor of Kentucky."

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the $1.25 million fundraiser was "the most lucrative Republican fund-raising event in Kentucky history." LINK

Vice President Cheney visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial while in town for a $1,000 per-person fundraiser and

"'It has a tremendous impact. Those who lived here obviously know the consequences of terrorism.'" LINK

In a speech scheduled to be delivered to the Heritage Foundation Friday, Vice President Dick Cheney will "pick up where President Bush left off" in New Hampshire by defending the decision to go to war as the kind of "bold action" the administration has chosen to combat terror. LINK

Impolite or Impolitic? The New York Times ' Krugman writes that "all this fuss about the rudeness of the Bush administration's critics is an attempt to preclude serious discussion of that administration's policies," foreign to fiscal. LINK

The economy:

The Wall Street Journal 's Jason Anders looks at the latest predictions by economists — and they're largely good: strong consumer spending, predicted growth in the gross domestic product, and a strong housing market. It's not a rapid recovery yet, however; the jobs front is less impressive, with unemployment forecasts remaining around 6% for November.

" … While economists have been walking third-quarter expectations higher, they have largely left unchanged forecasts that growth will moderate in the current quarter and the first half of 2004."

"Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said job growth is being restrained by the remarkable gains in worker productivity, generated in large part by technological advancements that allow businesses to do more with fewer people. Economists also cited the migration of jobs overseas and rising health-care costs."

The politics of national security:

House Republicans give the president a win and a loss by keeping the loans out but the spending cuts in the White House's $87 billion Iraq funding request.

(We did enjoy watching the formerly loan-backing Rep. Zach Wamp talking on the NewsHour about the laser-like look the president gave him in a White House meeting before yesterday's vote!) LINK

Thomas DeFrank of the New York Daily News reports: "President Bush's overhaul of his top Iraq strategists reflects deep unhappiness with his national security team — particularly Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld but also Secretary of State Powell … ." LINK

The Wall Street Journal focuses on White House infighting, writing inter-Administration "tensions have been exacerbated, some U.S. officials say, by fears that setbacks in Iraq will undermine President Bush's re-election efforts next year. There is also mounting concern that the administration is not convincing the American people of steady progress in Iraq."

Do Note the blind quotes at the bottom.

The Washington Post 's Jonathan Weisman reports on how the president got involved in the supplemental haranguing. LINK

Wilson:

The New York Times ' Lichtblau reports the FBI plans to double the number of its investigators on the Wilson case, underscoring "the gravity of an inquiry that has threatened to become a major headache for the Bush administration." LINK

The Washington Post 's Mike Allen and Susan Schmidt reel off the leak concerns of Senator Daschle and others. LINK

The Wall Street Journal 's Hitt and Hamburger (we never get tired of writing that) profile White House Counsel Albert Gonzales and the "fine line" he walks in the DoJ investigation of the Wilson leak. Almost takes us back to the thrilling days of yesteryear, when the Independent Counsel law kept things at the Clinton White House interesting.

The dynamic duo Note Gonzales' high premium on message discipline among the White House staff, as well as the personal implications for him.

"The stakes are especially high for Mr. Gonzales, a Harvard-educated Texan with close personal ties to the president. Should a Supreme Court vacancy open up while Mr. Bush is still in office, Mr. Gonzales is seen within the administration as a possible nominee."

They also just might break news on the timing of White House interviews.

The Boston Globe 's Glen Johnson has Andy Card's thoughts on the leak investigation. LINK

In a lengthy interview with Salon, Wilson says he "never suggested" that Karl Rove knows whom the culprit is.

And Wilson Notes Ed Gillespie's failure to highlight his campaign donation to Bush-Cheney '00. (Wilson also calls that donation a "mistake.") LINK

Politics:

DO check out Grover Norquist on the COVER of National Journal this week. Inside, find seven pages on the Wednesday's Child and rough-riding rebel leader of the right, complete with a photo of a gun-toting Grover "in the African bush in the 1980s fighting Marxist guerillas."

The AP reports on the latest in the Philly bug investigation, which now involves Mayor Street's BlackBerry, but not Mayor Street himself. LINK

The Washington Post 's Edward Walsh reports that Texas Democrats yesterday "vowed to challenge the [latest Republican redistricting] plan in federal court and predicted that it will never go into effect." LINK

Lyndon LaRouche has qualified for federal matching funds. LINK

K Street:

On Imus this morning, the I-Man and Mary Matalin agreed that "K Street" is like "Twin Peaks," and Mary's laughter when Imus mused that Mary and her husband will pretty much do anything for money was taken by The Note as a knowing admission.

Unlike yesterday, when Imus questioned Rick Santorum on the Wilson matter with awesome plain-spoken expertise, he didn't try to solve the crime with Mary today.

Mary, ruining the suspense we normally feel straight through Sunday, let the world know that Joe Lockhart is on this weekend's episode, which makes it, for savvy Note readers, well beyond must-see TV. We predict that Jules' (Asner, not Witcover) husband will NOT put Joe on the cutting room floor, and that his perf will channel The Boss.

Imus said 41 loves him; Mary said Vice President and Mrs. Cheney were big fans as well. It's glad to see all three of them calibrating their concerns over the coarsening of our culture.

The talk about Wyatt's unmentionables was particularly high-minded.