The Note: A Storytelling Festival

— -- WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 --

NEWS SUMMARY
While we wait to see what the mood of the nation is on Social Security; while we wait to see if Speaker Hastert's staff has learned to never leave him alone with Jill Zuckman; while we wait to see if Democrats can find away to talk about the Iraqi elections that isn't madness personified; and while we wait for the white smoke to come out of DNC headquarters -- while we wait for all that, let us give you your reading assignments.

Skipping must-reads can be done, but only at your extreme peril.

Musts for your reading list today:

1. Amid all the blather about Eason Jordan's Friday night resignation from CNN, the Wall Street Journal's editorial board cuts against the ideological grain by sagely suggesting rationality, caution, and proportion:

" . . . it does not speak well of CNN that it apparently allowed itself to be stampeded by this Internet and talk-show crew. Of course the network must be responsive to its audience and ratings. But it has other obligations, too, chief among them to show the good judgment and sense of proportion that distinguishes professional journalism from the enthusiasms and vendettas of amateurs."

"No doubt this point of view will get us described as part of the 'mainstream media.' But we'll take that as a compliment since we've long believed that these columns do in fact represent the American mainstream. We hope readers buy our newspaper because we make grown-up decisions about what is newsworthy, and what isn't."

2. The Los Angeles Times' Ron Brownstein on Democrats taking their tactical cues from the GOP playbook (Bush/Gingrich/that Rove fella), looking for a way to synchronize their ideological approach and make sure everyone stays on the reservation with creative ways to "discourage dissent." LINK

"Plenty of Democrats still worry that this drive for greater unity and ideological consistency, if it becomes a lurch left, could hurt the party by repelling voters in red states whom the next nominee will need to win the White House. For now, these doubters are reassuring each other that a presidential candidate determined to court the center (paging Sen. Hillary Clinton!) can redirect the party in 2008."

"Maybe. But right now, the loudest voices in the Democratic Party belong to those clamoring less for another Clinton than for their own Bush."

3. The Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman and Peter Baker's ominous sounding read on the budget, calling President Bush's numbers a "landmine" set to blow as he leaves office, with costs for Medicare prescription drug benefits and Social Security facing hefty increases several years from now. LINK

Note well the quote from McCain adviser John Weaver about kicking problems down the road.

Today at 9:25 am ET, President Bush -- who has a pretty light week so far -- goes to the Justice Department for the installation of Alberto Gonzales as the nation's 80th attorney general.

Scott McClellan gaggles at 9:30 am ET, and holds his on-camera briefing at 12:30 pm ET.

At 11:00 am ET, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with South Korean Foreign Minister Ki-moon Ban. The visitor then meets with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at 3:15 pm ET.

The Senate meets at noon ET for an executive session to consider the nomination of Homeland Security Secretary-designate Michael Chertoff. No vote is expected.

The House meets for a pro-forma session at noon ET.

At noon ET, Sens. Stabenow and Murray, and others, hold a press conference on a report they claim shows the President's Social Security plan will bring $4.9 trillion in new debt.

Also at noon, Gregory Mankiw, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, addresses the National Economists Club.

The executive board of America Coming Together and the Media Fund meets today in San Francisco to discuss the lessons of 2004, the financial state of 2005, and plans for 2006 and 2008. There are new campaign finance laws in effect, and there is no broad consensus about how ACT, in particular, should constitute itself for the future.

Sen. John Kerry delivers what we've been told is a "major speech" on strengthening the military -- including planning and expanding Army and Marine forces -- in Worcester, MA, at 4:00 pm ET.

At 5:00 pm ET, Maya Keyes, the daughter of Senate/presidential candidate and conservative activist Alan Keyes at a rally in Annapolis sponsored by Equality Maryland, the states' gay rights lobbying group. More on that below.

The Federal Election Commission meets at 10:00 am ET.

On Tuesday the Senate holds a roll call vote on Chertoff.

Also Tuesday, former Vice President Al Gore holds a telephone press conference to talk about the Kyoto Protocol, which goes into effect on Wednesday without the United States.

He's expected to talk about the "climate crisis" being caused by global warming and how the U.S. non-participation in the treaty is a disadvantage for the U.S. economy. He'll also announce a campaign aimed at getting automobile executives to stop trying to block action on global warming and to drop their suit against California's new law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

Gore will talk further about global warming and the Kyoto Protocol in Los Angeles on Wednesday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Pat Robertson speaks to a National Press Club luncheon.

On Wednesday, the President heads to Portsmouth, NH to talk up Social Security.

Also on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) addresses the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Former Sens. Connie Mack (R-FL) and John Breaux (D-LA) hold the first meeting of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on the Hill to testify on the President's foreign affairs budget for FY2006. She returns to the Hill for more testimony on Thursday.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers are on the Hill as well, to talk about the FY2006 DoD budget. Like Rice, they're back on the Hill on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Labor Department releases the weekly jobless claims report.

The Senate Budget Committee looks at Medicare and Medicaid costs.

Douglas Feith, outgoing undersecretary of defense for policy, delivers remarks on the outlook for national defense during President Bush's second term at a program hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.

On Friday, President Bush meets with his Cabinet and administrators of federal agencies at the White House to focus on faith-based initiatives.

He heads off on a four-day visit to Europe -- Belgium, Germany, and Slovakia -- on Sunday.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean:
Reasons that freaking-out Democrats can take some solace from the Dean ascendancy (so far):

1. He smartly is staying off of TV for awhile, even now that he is chair.

2. The DNC handed out little American flags to the party members at Saturday's coronation.

3. Judy Dean sat in the audience and was acknowledged by her husband, almost like she is/was a "normal" political spouse. (Though we look forward to seeing the media plan for Mrs. Dean in the future.)

4. Team Dean knows it needs to staff the party with competent and symbolically meaningful people.

5. There's little (additional) time for pandering to state party chairs and reflecting on his presidential bid (we hope) now that there's actually business to attend to.

6. It's possible that the gentlemen's agreement that existed between Terry McAuliffe and both Marc Racicot and Ed Gillespie will carry over to the Dean-Mehlman era -- leaving the oppo for other targets besides the chairs.

The Dean team arrived bright and early at the DNC this morning. At this writing, Tom Ochs, Tina Flornoy, Maura Keefe, and Matt Nugen have been spotted. Rumors that all the doors were going to be removed and replaced with beaded curtains have proven false -- possibly because the shag carpet installation is taking longer than expected.

We're also told that the Deaniacs are meeting with the DNC staff (otherwise known as the "pink slippers") at 10:00 am ET today to talk transition.

On Gov. Dean's agenda:

--naming his national finance director and a finance team (Is it possible that Maureen White is staying on???)
--naming a chief of staff
--dealing with some family business in Vermont later this week
--a fundraiser in Mississippi
--preparation for a marathon tour of states

Deb Orin wonders why Chairman Dean didn't praise Iraqis or American troops this weekend. LINK

"That simple statement would have done more to revive the Democratic party than three years of organizing in Republican red states like Utah. The fact that Dean couldn't bear to make it shows how far Democrats have to go," she writes.

Some of the better Dean articles this weekend: LINK; LINK; LINK

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times' Mark Z. Barabak got longtime Democratic strategist Dick Harpootlian to talk about his reservations about Dean -- not fundraising or revving up the base, but expanding it. LINK

The Washington Post's Dan Balz looked forward at Howard Dean's rebuilding cycle, reporting that Ken Mehlman called Dean to congratulate him. LINK

As the new chairman assumed his gavel, the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne on Sunday ticked off a great big to-do list for Howard Dean, assessing the Governor's pragmatism and delivers a spot-on, boiled-down assessment of what Dean really needs to do and the core arguments he and the party need to come to grips with and resolve. LINK

Dionne wonders which way the balances will actually tip -- regardless of the rhetoric that it needs to happen -- as to message vs. opposition: "As Reagan understood better than anyone, the words of opposition must be accompanied by the music of aspiration. The critique of Bush's domestic agenda must rest on a sustained argument that if enacted, the president's program would set back great goals -- social justice, opportunity, community, public service -- that must be advanced through alternative policies."

The other question: core mission vs. organization to accomplish it -- and how to get it done. "Organization without a cause is sterile. But a cause without organization is hopeless. Democrats need to ask themselves some very hard questions -- hard, because parts of the party won't like the answers."

Former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe lists his accomplishments and writes in a USA Today op-ed that Democrats have to move forward by putting the politics (power?) back in the hands of the people. Where have we heard that before? LINK

Social Security:
From the Sunday Shows:

The New York Daily News calls Sen. Grassley's apparent contention that the White House has not ruled out raising taxes to pay for Social Security change "startling." LINK

Bloomberg News picks up on Sen. Frist's assertion that the Bush plan has a long way to go in Congress. LINK

The Washington Post's Mike Allen looks at the town meeting held last weekend by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), part of a series of hometown meetings on Social Security that congressional Democrats are scheduling to make their case against the President's plan and talk up the projected hikes in the Medicare prescription drug benefit, painting a picture of White House fiscal irresponsibility. LINK

The congressional recess is going to be a big time for pulse taking on both sides.

Allen reports, as others have, that Democrats have decided to not come forward with their own Social Security plan anytime soon, preferring to contest whatever it is that Mr. Bush puts forward.

Big Casino budget politics:
The Washington Post's Dana Milbank looks at the genuine anger over President Bush's budget that some of his staunchest supporters are expressing. LINK

Bush agenda:
David Sanger of the New York Times on new U.S. plans for North Korea, which mostly means some new means of enhancing financial pressure. LINK

Arthur Laffer in the Wall Street Journal: "President Bush now wants a capstone for the second half of his second term in office to be fundamental tax reform of a flat tax nature," writes the famous economist, who says Mr. Bush's policies -- besides a failure to address the Alternative Minimum Tax -- are the best in show.

On Sunday, the Washington Post's Tom Edsall reported that corporations, Wall Street, think tanks, trade associations, the GOP, and Republican lobbyists are preparing to spend $200 million or more to promote President Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security and to limit class-action lawsuits -- Noting that "[f]or corporations wary of publicity over their involvement in this and other controversial issues, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform, the Club for Growth and Progress for America pointedly offer donors the promise of anonymity." LINK

"As President Bush begins his second term, the alliance has become an institutional fixture, providing both money and manpower to further the Bush agenda and strengthen the Republican Party apparatus." Will there be any "shadow Republican Party" press releases issuing forth from the DNC?

Margaret Spellings is no Rod Paige, and that conciliatory approach seems to be winning her praise. LINK

We are pretty sure that once the Dean people learn how to shoot out a mass e-mail, one paragraph of the New York Times Spellings piece will indeed yield a press release, although we bet the quote -- about some protests in Utah about No Child Left Behind -- was taken out of context:

"Ms. Spellings said Senator Orrin G. Hatch had invited her to Utah and she expressed eagerness to visit there. 'These are Republicans,' she said. 'These are our people.'"

On First Lady Laura Bush's agenda: more parties, a higher profile, new staff, and a new chef. LINK

Bush administration personality and strategy:
Newsweek's Howard Fineman and Michael Isikoff look more closely at the policy -- particularly foreign policy -- role that Karl Rove has been playing in the Bush Administration long before his new promotion. Whether, as the duo report, Rove actually makes the solo Egypt trip he reportedly is interested in remains to be seen. LINK

Notes to Howard: Impressive sucking up to every G.E. official under the sun on Imus this morning; and how many more times do you think you can write this same Rove piece?

Iraq:
The Washington Post's Anthony Shadid and Doug Struck look at the results of the Iraqi elections, and look ahead to how the Shiites, Kurds, and Sunnis will jockey for position in the new government. LINK

Robin Wright of the Washington Post looks the government elected by the Iraqis -- parties that represent Iran's closest allies in Iraq, and very different from the secular government envisioned by the United States. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' John Daniszewski writes that with their definitive victory, Shiites are treading lightly. LINK

National security:
"The Bush administration has been flying surveillance drones over Iran for nearly a year to seek evidence of nuclear weapons programs and detect weaknesses in air defenses, according to three U.S. officials with detailed knowledge of the secret effort," the Washington Post's Dafna Linzer reported on Sunday. LINK

Newsweek says that the Silberman commission is being asked to look at the role of the intelligence czar -- and at some of the candidates for the job. LINK

Sen. John Kerry:
A Kerry adviser tells us that in his speech, the Senator will say that "supporting the troops" means changing defense systems, budgets, and planning, expanding the Army and Marines, and re-think training for soldiers. He's also planning to talk about an idea he pushed during the 2004 presidential campaign -- a Military Family Bill of Rights.

This week, Kerry will introduce a bill to increase the military by 40,000 troops -- 30,000 Army and 10,000 Marines.

Congress:
"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he has the 51 votes needed to change Senate rules and make it easier for Republicans to overcome Democratic filibusters against President Bush's judicial nominees, but he hopes such a change won't be necessary," the Washington Times reports. LINK

Click here for the full interview, including Frist on immigration reform, what's on the table in terms of Social Security changes, Frist on 2008, and much more. LINK

Buried in yesterday's Sunday show wraps: news that an FMA bill won't be introduced in Congress this year, per Sen. Frist (probably). LINK

Campaign finance:
Roll Call's Amy Keller looks at the possibility that the FEC will begin applying regulations to political activities on the Internet, raising familiarly thorny issues about public communications.

Roll Call's John Bresnahan looks at how the New Democrat movement is fumbling for direction in a climate of diminished cash on hand. From versus Rosenberg Redux!!!

USA Today's Jim Hopkins reports that Democrats are reaping benefits from the newest corporate playahs on the block: of the $207,650 that Google employees donated to federal candidates in 2004, 98 percent went to Democrats. Small potatoes compared to other tech companies, sure. But this is a company whose very successful IPO came after the bubble, and they're not slowing down. LINK

2006: We sort of can't believe our eyes in reading Fred Dicker on Libby Pataki's new book and whether the Patakis need more money. LINK

"A source close to the situation told The Post that Mrs. Pataki called a wealthy potential customer several days ago to urge the purchase of more than 100 of the $16.95 books because 'George and I really need the money.'"

The question remains: who is giving this steady stream of stuff to the New York Post?

USA Today's Jim Drinkard revisits the voting system fixes, and the predictions by state elections officials that they won't be in place by the 2006 elections. LINK

With Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-MN) officially in the race to replace exiting Sen. Mark Dayton (LINK), the scramble to get into the race to replace him has begun. LINK

2008:
Jennifer Senior has a way with words, and words are what spew forth in her New York magazine cover treatise on the status of Sen. Hillary R. Clinton, 2008 Democratic presidential frontrunner. LINK

No news here, but picture-perfect framing and a must-read, with cameos by George Allen, Harold Ickes, Bob Kerrey (sage), Lindsey Graham, Joe Biden, John Breaux, Charlie Rangel, and the Glover Park Group's Little Rock fete.

So: Harold Ickes apparently thinks life begins at conception; does Sen. Clinton?

Clinton's speech in Munich was well received, reports Elaine Sciolio of the New York Times. Check out who the Senator consulted with before it. LINK

Scott Shepard of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that while Dean was assuming the gavel on Saturday, Sen. John Edwards, with supporters in Marietta, GA, was careful to say he's always thought that the chairman of the party isn't the only spokesman. LINK

Rob Christensen of the Raleigh News & Observer looks at Sen. Edwards' game plan as he starts his new job at UNC. LINK

Sen. Joe Biden wants the U.S., not Europe, to take the lead in negotiations with Iran. LINK

Sen. John McCain wants to examine Indian gaming nationwide. LINK

On Sunday, the Boston Globe's Frank Phillips took a closer look at Gov. Romney's fundraising network, better known as the Commonwealth PAC, which raised about $6.6 million in 2004. LINK

Washington governor:
The Seattle Times' David Postman reports that five former Republican gubernatorial candidates have joined Dino Rossi in his challenge to the election of Gov. Christine Gregoire -- via talk radio, court appearances, research, and promoting legislation to change the system by which votes are counted. LINK

Politics:
On Sunday, the Washington Post's Marc Fisher profiled Maya Keyes, the daughter of former Senate and presidential candidate Alan Keyes, writing that she will make her debut as a gay political activist today, as we Noted above. She told Fisher she plans to talk about what it was like to grow up gay in a very conservative household, and that her parents have kicked her out of the house, cut off her college funding, let her go from a job with her father's political organization, and have stopped speaking to her. LINK

The Chicago Tribune's Stevenson Swanson takes a look at diversity of politics and opinion in the evangelical community. LINK

The Chicago Sun-Times' Cathleen Falsani examines the racial divide among evangelicals. LINK

Todd Webster, former spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Sen. Patty Murray, and deputy communications director for Gore-Lieberman 2000, has opened his own shop, Webster Strategies, in Alexandria, VA, focusing on strategic communications, issue advocacy, ads, and media relations. LINK

And Karen Finney is very well ensconced over in the communications operations of Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

And, no, these two Notes do NOT mean that The Note is about to become In the Loop.

Herr Hochberg and the Ladies Who Annually Lunch:
For a Gotham Gal, what is the only thing sadder than being dateless on Valentine's Day?

The answer, obviously, is not being among the select ladies invited to Democratic macher Fred Hochberg's fourth annual Valentine's Day lunch.

It's just Fred and the gals -- this year's invite list, per a source very familiar with Hochberg's thinking, includes Mary Louise Oates, Virginia Fields, Karenna Gore Schiff, Iris Weinshall, Betsy Gotbaum, Liz Holtzman, and art big Agnes Gund. Bold-faceable names all.

The venue is the Museum of Modern Art's new (and un-opened-for-normal-people-for-lunch) dining room.

Guests will be given postcards corresponding to ten works of art picked by Mr. Hochberg from the museum's collection, along with pens and stamps, so former flings, lovers, and crushes can be messaged the old-fashioned way.

The art works include Férnand Leger's "Le Grand Déjeuner," Andrew Wyeth's haunting "Christina's World," Roy Lichtenstein's "Girl With Ball," and Edvard Munch's "Madonna."

With a menu that includes "Roasted Maine Lobster in a 'Folly of Herbs' with Asparagus and Salisfy," all we can say is, ladies, strike a pose, there's nothing to it.