The Note: (Not) Ready to Make Nice

— -- WASHINGTON, Feb. 22

Those who don't learn from campaign history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

So/and a quick review of Wednesday's Clinton-Obama-Geffen chronology makes it clear who made errors at which points along the way. Read it with an eye towards judging in the future who has learned from their own mistakes (and those of others) and who has not.

(Note: events marked with a * did not necessarily happen -- but probably did.)

3:30 am ET: *A Googling monkey reads Maureen Dowd's New York Times column with the Geffen quotes and rings the bell at its work station.

5:30 am ET: *Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson -- a long-time devotee of the New York Times and an early riser -- reads the Maureen Dowd column with the Geffen quotes and immediately realizes that he has both a problem and an opportunity.

6:16 am ET: *A bleery-eyed, twenty-something rapid responder in the Hillary Clinton for President war room reads the Maureen Dowd column with the Geffen quotes and immediately calls Phil Singer. Singer says, "I know, I know -- Howard already called me."

9:35 am ET: *DreamWorks political mastermind Andy Spahn wakes up and reads The Note. He goes back to sleep.

9:47 am ET: The Clinton campaign releases the first of its statements from Wolfson, calling on Sen. Obama to renounce Geffen and return his campaign cash. The Clinton campaign rends its own credibility with a certain category of reporters by wrongly saying that Geffen has an official role in the Obama campaign.

9:55 am ET: *Newsrooms in Washington and New York gleefully adjust their plans for the day.

10:10 am ET: *Edwards strategists Jonathan Prince and Nick Baldick share a cheerful, cold-blooded strategy call.

10:22 am ET: *Dowd begins to get calls from every cable and broadcast television show – 90% from bookers and 10% from reporters wanting access to her audio recording of the interview. Dowd, remembering her famous "Nightline" appearance on arms control, refuses all requests.

11:11 am ET: Taking the Wolfsonian bait, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs strikes back with his own statement, invoking the Clintons' previous affection for Geffen (or, at least, his money) and the crass exploitation of the Lincoln Bedroom. The Obama campaign rends its own credibility with a certain category of reporters by wrongly saying that Clinton had not disavowed the controversial statement of one of her own supporters.

10:35 am ET: *A "senior" Clinton advisor who wasn't consulted about the initial Wolfson statement angrily tells everyone he/she can reach that it was a mistake. Later, as the day plays out, the same advisor begins implying to friends that she or he thought of the original idea to put out the statement.

11:17 am ET: *Terry McAuliffe, Harold Ickes, and Bill Clinton begin a series of phone calls to various people on the East and West Coasts. Profanity is used.

Noon ET: *Spahn begins a series of telephone calls to figure out how to respond and work on a statement. The sequence, played out over several hours: Obama strategist David Axelrod calls Spahn. Spahn calls Geffen. Spahn calls Geffen back after Geffen hangs up on him. Spahn, smoother than a baby's bottom, gets it done and makes everyone -- but the Clintons -- happy.

12:08 pm ET: Wolfson releases another statement.

12:09 pm ET: *The Clinton campaign decides to try to ruin the Obama trip to Iowa by planning an afternoon press conference call with supporter Bonnie Campbell, who will channel Wolfson. The Clinton campaign knows that for many in-state Democrats, Campbell personifies "Iowa values."

3:10 pm ET: Geffen, refusing all interview requests, tells ABC News in a statement, "Despite reports to the contrary, I am not the Campaign Finance Chair and have no formal role in the Obama campaign, nor will I, other than to continue to offer my strongest possible personal support for his candidacy. My comments, which were quoted accurately by Maureen Dowd, reflect solely my personal beliefs regarding the Clintons. Thank You." Many at ABC News believe the use of the "thank you" is a nice touch.

3:36 pm ET: Sen. Clinton, once again following the Bush 2000/04 playbook, stays (mostly) above the fray, refusing to directly address the contretemps when asked about it in Nevada by George Stephanopoulos -- although she does invoke "the politics of personal destruction," which she knows is a base-stoking code phrase for many Democrats, including African-Americans.

4:20 pm ET: *Dennis Kucinich continues to ready his plans for the Department of Peace, moving the little figurines around his model set, whispering to them softly, "You guys never fight. No. You guys are friends. My friends."

4:30 pm ET: Bonnie Campbell does her hit job, essentially reeking of Iowa values.

4:35 pm ET: *Biden/Vilsack/Richardson/Dodd turns in disgust to an aide with him in Carson City and say: "I guess this is what we have to look forward to for the next year."

4:45 pm ET: James Carville goes deep inside the Situation Room and makes tetchy jokes about David Geffen. The jokes go over Wolf's head.

5:40 pm ET: Sen. Obama, outside the Iowa state capitol, aw shuckses his way through a press conference, in which he (mostly) supports Geffen. Iowa big-footed journos Kay Henderson, Henry Jackson, and Charlotte Eby enjoy the spectacle and exude the proper amount of incredulity.

6:30 pm ET: *The array of Hollywood celebrities who attended the Geffen-hosted fundraiser are still unaware of any controversy; the Oscars are on Sunday, after all.

7:03pm ET: Bob Shrum appears on "Hardball" and reveals enough of his pro-Obama/anti-Clinton feeling to cross the line at Whitehaven. Ed Rogers is amused.

7:10 pm ET: Wolfson, coming more in (faux) sadness than in anger, appears on NY1's " Inside City Hall ," during which time anchor Dominic Carter merrily watches Wolfson melt butter in his own mouth.

7:25 pm ET. Wolfson, still more sad than angry, appears on "Hardball" and engages in an extended colloquy with Chris Matthews, during which Wolfson appears to take the position that he speaks for himself, and sometimes for the campaign, but not for Sen. Clinton. Matthews is incredulous but accommodating. Wolfson also suggests that Geffen was put up to making the remarks to Dowd.

8:02 pm ET: *Steven Spielberg calls Geffen and says, "I really can't believe this. Those DC types... they're so... shallow."

The man who believes Hollywood does not represent the heart and soul of America, George W. Bush, participates in a 11:15 am ET tour of Novozymes North America, Inc., a biotech company that supplies enzymes to help produce ethanol, in Franklinton, NC. The President then takes part in an 11:55 am ET panel discussion on cellulosic ethanol, a type of ethanol made from materials such as wood chips, switch grass, and other agricultural waste.

First Lady Laura Bush has an 12:20 pm ET tour of Katrina Cottages, Cusato Cottages in Ocean Springs, MS. She then has a 1:00 pm ET luncheon at McElroy's on the Bayou Restaurant followed by a 2:25 pm ET visit to D'Iberville Elementary School in D'Iberville, MS.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow keynotes the 6:15 pm ET Republican Committee of Allegheny County Lincoln Day Dinner in Pennsylvania.

As the jury continues deliberations in the trial of Scooter Libby, Vice President Cheney is in Australia -- the country whose prime minister recently took a shot at Sen. Obama's Iraq war posture. This week, Australian Prime Minister John Howard offered more troops for Iraq and Afghanistan as Britain announced withdrawals from southern Iraq. Howard said Australia would sent another 70 military trainers to Iraq and said he's weighing an increase of 500 troops in Afghanistan. Anti-war demonstrators are expected to greet Cheney at many of his stops.