The Note: Independent Fighters Under Ken Mehlman's Direction

— -- WASHINGTON, Sep. 15

President Bush comes into the Rose Garden at 11:15 am ET to talk to the world through some interaction with the White House media.

The President knows that said press corps will always side with Colin Powell over George W. Bush, and he doesn't much care. What the White House DOES care about is dominating every news cycle for the next 53 days. So today's way is: a press conference.

While we wait. . . .

Remember: All the Gang of 500 cares about is who controls the House and Senate come January.

While 498 of them sit back and make weekend plans (while recovering from Wednesday's Sally-and-Ben-in-a-tent showing of HBO's fabulous "Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater" LINK), two Gang members close the week for the rest of us with really good (a/k/a must read code breaking) explanations of Where We Are.

From the womanly Right: Peggy Noonan on wsj.com's miraculous opinionjournal.com (with a KAFC cameo): LINK

"The Democrats' mistake--ironically, in a year all about Mr. Bush--is obsessing on Mr. Bush. They've been sucker-punched by their own animosity."

"'The Democrats now are incapable of answering a question on policy without mentioning Bush six times,' says pollster Kellyanne Conway. '"What is your vision on Iraq?" 'Bush lied us into war." "Health care? "Bush hasn't a clue." They're so obsessed with Bush it impedes them from crafting and communicating a vision all their own.' They heighten Bush by hating him."

"One of the oldest clichés in politics is, 'You can't beat something with nothing.' It's a cliché because it's true. You have to have belief, and a program. You have to look away from the big foe and focus instead on the world and philosophy and programs you imagine."

"Mr. Bush's White House loves what the Democrats are doing. They want the focus on him. That's why he's out there talking, saying Look at me."

From the manly Left: E.J. Dionne proves once again that Brookings isn't totally clouding his mind: LINK

"The United States is witnessing a centralization and nationalization of politics unprecedented in our history. This trend is rooted in the rise of the political consulting industry, vast changes in the technology of campaigning, and the intense competition between the two major parties for control of Congress. . . ."

"Even turning away from your party can be a national partisan strategy, and Republicans are hoping to hold Congress by electing a herd of 'independent fighters.' At least five Republican candidates describe themselves with that phrase. New Jersey Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. calls himself an 'independent fighter,' and so do Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio and Reps. Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, Heather Wilson of New Mexico and Vito Fossella of New York. . . ."

"So in 2006 the local is not really local, everything is about controlling Washington, and "independence" is a product being franchised by a national party apparatus."

Noonan and Dionne are smart partisans -- too smart to think only inside their respective partisan boxes. Go read both pieces in their entirety, and then resume reading The Note, while you wait for the President's words to change everything.

The New York Times and others are reporting that former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) "has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges related to his dealings with the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff." LINK

A guilty plea would make Rep. Ney, a six-term congressman, "the first member of Congress to admit to criminal charges in the Abramoff investigation, which has focused on the actions of several current and former Republican lawmakers who had been close to the former lobbyist."

ABC's Pierre Thomas reports that Rep. Ney has been in negotiations for a plea deal and agreement could be filed in court as early as today.

These matter are fluid, however, and could change at the last minute.

News of Rep. Ney's plans to plead guilty comes as Republicans picked state Sen. Joy Padgett, a party-backed state senator, to replace Rep. Ney in the 18th congressional district of Ohio. Padgett will face the Democratic nominee, Zack Space, on Nov. 7.

On Capitol Hill today, the Government Reform subcommittee chaired by Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) holds a 10:00 am ET hearing on the consequences of leaving Iraq. Witnesses include Fouad Ajami, director of Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and James Fearson, professor of political science at Stanford University.

Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT), another embattled GOP House member from Connecticut, will an 11:00 am ET keynote address at a Pentagon ceremony for national POW/MIA Recognition Day.

Two Republican Senators will block the nomination of Dr. Andrew C. Von Eschenback to become commissioner of the FDA. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) said in an interview yesterday that the Bush Administration must allow the importation of some prescription drugs before he signs off on the nomination; Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) will allow the nomination if the FDA takes steps to remove the abortion drug RU-486 from the market. Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) is scheduled to attend a closed-press fundraiser for his Commonwealth PAC at 5:45 pm ET with Sen. DeMint (R-SC) at the Poinsett Club in Greenville, SC. More from the New York Times on the FDA: LINK

On the left coast today, Karl Rove is the "special guest" at a fundraiser for Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) in Medina, WA. Vice President Cheney is in California where he is scheduled to attend two receptions.

Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill participate in Missouri Press Association candidate forum, Lake Ozark, MO.

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) addresses the United Auto Workers annual CAP conference in Des Moines, IA. Meanwhile, Sen. Bayh's running pal, John Edwards, is in Miami, FL to attend a 5:00 pm ET community gathering with Democratic nominee for governor Jim Davis and his choice lieutenant governor, Col. Daryl Jones.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) joins Gov. John Lynch and the 2006 New Hampshire Democratic candidates to kick off the final days of the general election campaign at Democratic headquarters in Manchester, NH.

The George Washington University Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet was slated to hold a 9:00 am ET discussion, "Will MySpace and YouTube Change the Way the Beltway Does Politics?"

When the Senate reconvenes at 10:00 am ET, it will address morning business until an agreement is reached on a time to start debate on the US-Oman Free Trade Agreement.

That trade measure will be voted on next Tuesday.