The Note: War and War

— -- WASHINGTON, July 14

President and Mrs. Bush arrived in Russia this morning after the President made some phone calls to Middle East leaders aboard Air Force One. All of your morning papers and cable nets have lots and lots of stuff on the President's diplomatic full plate for you, but since all this appears unlikely to have a measurable impact on November 2006, we quickly bring you to the must-read poll story of the day.

The AP's Donna Cassata writes up the latest AP/Ipsos poll which shows an 11 point advantage for Democrats (51 - 40 percent) in the generic ballot question. (However, please raise your hand if you really believe 24 percent of self-identified conservatives are planning to vote for the Democratic candidate in their congressional district in November.) LINK

And/but in the world where good press begets money which begets better press, this AP headline is one to bring smiles to Democratic faces across the country: "Most Americans Plan to Vote for Democrats"

Upon arrival in Russia, the President visited the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad and participated in a roundtable discussion with "Civil Society" leaders. The First Couple concludes the day with a dinner with President and Mrs. Putin at the Kostantinovsky Palace Complex at 11:30 am ET. Would you like to know what it is like to travel with the President overseas? ABC News' Jessica Yellin brings you vivid color and sobering substance at "The World Newser" blog. LINK

Back here at home, Vice President Cheney headlines a reception for congressional candidate Ray Meier (R-NY) at the Hotel Utica in Utica, NY at 6:00 pm ET. State Senator Meier is contending for an open seat vacated by the retiring Rep. Sherwood Boehlert.

Former CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband Joe Wilson hold a 10:00 am ET news conference on their civil lawsuit against Vice President Cheney, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and others. Here's a primer for today's press conference: LINK, LINK

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) joins the Iowa-bound parade of unofficial presidential hopefuls. He travels to Cedar Falls, where he attends a reception for Republican congressional candidate Mike Whalen. Whalen, who prevailed in the primary in large part due to his deeply conservative stance on illegal immigration, is competing for the open seat in Iowa's competitive first congressional district. The festivities, which will be held in a private home, begin at 6:30 pm ET with a closed press shindig for big donors, followed by a general reception at 7:00 pm ET.

Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) is expected to sign legislation at 9:30 am ET giving him the authority to oversee inspections of the "Big Dig" tunnel system.

Sen. George Allen (R-VA) hosts a noon ET fundraiser at the Richmond, VA Marriott.

Gov. Vilsack (D-IA) holds a 9:30 am ET press conference on the Iowa legislative special session in Des Moines, IA.

All parties must file remedial proposals, including briefs and proposed maps, in the Texas redistricting case that came down from the Supreme Court last month.

Happy 93rd birthday, President Ford! LINK

Make sure to check out "This Week All Week" the best political webcast around. You'll watch ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, Jessica Yellin, and Sam Donaldson hash through the multiple international crises facing President Bush these days. You will also not want to miss the opportunity to see a Mark Halperin (looking suspiciously like John McCain) assess the week that was in the 2008 race for the White House for Evan Bayh, Mike Glover, and McCain himself. Check it all out here: LINK

And be sure to join George on Sunday morning on "This Week" when he interviews Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about all the global hot spots of the week. You also won't want to miss the classic roundtable with Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, and George Will.

Please find our look at the weekend ahead in politics below.

Politics of domestic warrantless wiretapping:
Chairman Specter and the White House have struck a deal on the President's domestic warrantless wiretapping program, with the White House conceding that the FISA court can assess the program's constitutionality. Since the program was first revealed in December 2005, the Administration has claimed the program is fully in compliance with the Constitution.

The deal "met with some immediate skepticism on Thursday from both Republicans and Democrats over whether it went far enough -- or too far -- in checking the president's authority," reports the New York Times. (Be sure to Note that Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) intends to unveil her own proposal on how to proceed with the program.) LINK

The Specter deal, taken in context with the recent Hamdan ruling by the Supreme Court, causes David Sanger of the New York Times to offer a news analysis where he seems to see a new sense of constitutional balance at the Bush White House. LINK

The Washington Post sees the Bush-Specter compromise as having one winner, and it's not the President. LINK

In the first ten paragraphs of their front page story, Charles Babington and Peter Baker call the deal a "reversal" for the President; a "clear retreat" by Bush; and just "the latest in a series of concessions Bush has made in recent days in his hard-line anti-terrorism tactics."