The Note: Gone Fishing?

— -- WASHINGTON, June 16

East Hampton, June 16, 2006 -- Greetings from The Note's Long Island summer compound.

Today's Note marks our last edition until Monday, September 4th, when we return with full coverage of that months's key primaries and the November midterm elections. JUST KIDDING.

President Bush raises money for Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) and the Washington State Republican Party at a private reception in Medina, WA at 1:50 pm ET. Rep. Reichert is being challenged by former Microsoft executive Darcy Burner. Admission to the Medina reception with President Bush is $1,000, photographs with the President are $10,000, and the event should yield at least $500,000, the AP reports. LINK

In an effort to "highlight his centrist credentials," Rep. Reichert released a statement yesterday, saying, "Although the president and I don't agree on everything, I have great respect for the tremendous responsibility the leader of the free world must bear every day."

President Bush then travels to Albuquerque, NM to raise money for Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) who is being challenged by Attorney General Patricia Madrid. When the President visits Albuquerque, a group will "denounce" Rep. Wilson's voting record while others will fly black balloons on Civic Plaza to protest what they say is her "coziness" with the President, the AP reports. LINK

There is no way that White House reporters will Note a return of the President's swagger and political chops on this swing. JUST KIDDING.

No Hill aide in either party has thought in the last 12 hours about going to work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. JUST KIDDING.

And for the sake of fairness, it's nice to see the Democrats in the House and Senate finally coming up with a unified position on Iraq that is a political winner and expresses their heartfelt views about American policy. JUST KIDDING.

And just in time for today's 11:00 am ET vote on the non-binding Iraq resolution. The resolution declares that the United States must complete "the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure and united Iraq" without setting "an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment" of U.S. troops. Congress watchers expect there to be more Democrats voting "yes" (somewhere in the 35 to 48 range) than Republicans voting "no." The "yes" votes are expected to include Rep. (and Senate candidate) Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN), who declared his intentions while calling into Don Imus' program this morning, during which he was very polite and made it clear he is a regular listener of the show.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate resumes consideration of the $517.7 billion fiscal 2007 defense authorization bill (S. 2766). No roll call votes are expected.

Democratic leaders are holding a 10:15 am ET press conference in the Mansfield Room of the US Capitol to discuss the "New Direction" they intend to pursue if they regain control of Congress in the fall (i.e., hike the minimum wage, cut the interest rate on student loans, restore PAYGO rules, eliminate subsidies to Big Oil, allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices, help Americans save for their retirement while blocking efforts to privatize Social Security, etc.).

Democrats were originally going to do this event earlier in the week but postponed it when the President scheduled a bipartisan, bicameral meeting with congressional leaders at their scheduled time. The House Appropriations Committee voted to increase the minimum wage this week and the issue will come before the full House soon.

On the heels of policy addresses concerning the economy and energy, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) delivers a 9:00 am ET policy address on privacy at the American Constitution Society's 2006 National Convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill. She then heads to New York City where she speaks at the City Year Annual Convention of Idealism at 4:00 pm ET and the 2006 "Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business" at 7:15 pm ET. While Sen. Clinton talks policy at the ACS Convention, her husband handles the politics in Denver, CO, raising money for the Colorado Democratic Party.

Showing off his Blue State appeal, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) attends a fundraiser for Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R-MD) in Baltimore, MD.

Gov. George Pataki (R-NY) attends the annual GOParty Picnic in Des Moines, IA. The Iowa Democratic Party holds its annual Hall of Fame dinner in Des Moines, IA.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) join Senate candidate Jon Tester for a "Path to Victory" tour through Helena, Missoula, Great Falls, and Billings, MT. While Democrats barnstorm the state, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman speaks to the Montana Republican State Convention at 8:45 pm ET.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) holds a media availability after highlighting his proposal to enhance school counseling services for middle and high school students at 1:00 pm ET in San Diego, CA. In a Thursday night missive to reporters, Nick Papas of the Angelides campaign is accusing Schwarzenegger of "reluctantly" embracing an idea that the Democratic gubernatorial nominee has been pushing since Jan. 4.

At the Brookings Institution today, SEIU President Andy Stern calls on business and elected leaders to partner with SEIU to create a new health care system. After Stern discusses the union position on health care, the employer perspective will be presented by Costco Senior Vice President John Matthews, and National Small Business Association President Todd McCracken.

At 10:30 am ET today, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) won't have to ask "where's my Puppems" because Splash, the Portugese Water Terrier who is simultaneously the light of the Senator's life and a terror to the women on Kennedy's staff, will be seated next to one another at PS 11 in New York City. Sen. Kennedy and Splash will be reading from, "My Senator and Me: A Dog's Eye View of Washington, D.C."

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) delivers the commencement address at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL at 7:00 pm ET.

The Democratic Caucus voted, 99-58, on Thursday to recommend that Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) be ousted from the powerful Ways and Means Committee because of mounting evidence against him in a federal corruption probe. At 2:00 pm ET, Thomas Hogan, the chief judge of the US District Court in Washington, DC, hears arguments in response to a suit filed by the General Counsel of the House of Representatives against the Justice Department to return the documents and computer files seized by the FBI on the search of Rep. Jefferson's office.

ABC News' Jason Ryan reports that the House counsel is expected to say the speech and debate clause has been violated and that members of Congress should be informed when a search will be executed. The Justice Department attorneys will say that they took special steps to ensure none of the prosecutors reviewed any items covered by the speech and debate clause. The government may also state that members of Congress should not be afforded special rights greater than the citizens they represent. Rep. Jefferson is not expected to be at the hearing. Pursuant to President Bush's order that they be sealed, the documents are currently in the Solicitor General's office.

The big political event this weekend is the Iowa Republican Party's convention which will feature Gov. George Pataki (R-NY), Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA), and Sen. George Allen (R-VA). More from the Iowa City Press-Citizen. LINK

For his part, Sen. McCain raises money for Chris Wakim in Wheeling, WVA while Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) visits New Hampshire, and Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) begins a two-week official visit to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.

Politics of Iraq:
"The new Republican drive to focus attention on the Iraq war represents a high-stakes gamble: that doubts about the direction Democrats might set on national security exceed anxieties about the course charted by President Bush," writes Ron Brownstein in his mega-must -read Los Angeles Times analysis. LINK