The Note: "Telling It Like It Is"

— -- WASHINGTON, June 24

NEWS SUMMARY
Dear Democratic Party:

Karl Rove's remarks on Wednesday night reminded us of something we were sure we had heard before, but we couldn't quite remember what it was.

(Thinking. . . thinking. . . thinking. . .)

Oh, yeah!!!

Right!!!

THE RHETORICAL BASIS OF THE ENTIRE BUSH-CHENEY 2004 RE-ELECT CAMPAIGN!!!

That's it!!!!

Do your suspicions that Rove did all this on purpose to tee up the President's Iraq meeting today and big speech next week (and deal with the POTUS poll numbers) tell you more about Rove or about you?

Does defending liberals from what "some guy" says about them, tell you anything about the state of your party (and its identification of with a stereotype of political "liberalism")?

Would you rather be known as the party of Michael Moore and MoveOn, or known as the party of decisiveness and strength?

If you have to indignantly assert that you are just as patriotic as the other party, from where does that mean you started the debate?

If you think the President "used" 9/11 and the GWoT to distract the American people from the "real" issues in the last election -- and you think that's how/why he won -- what exactly is your strategy in this round, and why would it be any more successful than it was last year?

Sincerely,

The Note

Expect the Democrats to continue their efforts today (since our letter above was meant as satire, and not advice. . .) with Sen. Lautenberg (D-Blue) and Rep. Hoyer (D-Blue) leading the way.

Lautenberg will to try to keep the story alive on the Hill today by collecting signatures for a letter asking for Rove's resignation or the President's dismissal of him.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean will address the 22nd Annual Conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 12:30 pm ET. (The over/under on Rove references is 2. Who wants to put down cash money?)

Americans for Democratic Action hosts its annual convention "We the People: Voices of American Liberalism" which began at 8:00 am ET today. Expect appearances by a large number of Capitol Hill Democrats, including Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Diane Watson (D-CA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Mike Honda (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), and Janice Schakowksy (D-IL). (And you can tally the number of Rove references here too.)

The man who hired Rove as his architect -- President Bush -- meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari at 10:10 am ET in the Oval Office, followed by an East Room news conference at 11:25 am ET.

The Note will take bets through 11:20 am ET on whether there will be a Rove question. The White House senior staff is taking the action on whether the President will let any cats out of the bag regarding his big Iraq speech next week.

It is also unclear at this point if President Bush will directly address reports this morning of female Marines killed in an attack in Fallujah prior to the question portion of the news conference.

At this writing the wires are going nuts:

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Bush will deliver a major address about Iraq on Tuesday night from the U.S. military base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a senior Bush administration official said

.

Bush is expected to use the speech to outline his strategy for victory in Iraq and argue for completing the mission amid increasing public doubts about the war."

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan will brief from the podium at 2:00 pm ET.

On the House agenda today: legislative business regarding the Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of FY 06.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen participates in a National Press Club "Morning Newsmaker" Medicaid discussion at 10:00 am ET.

The Homeland Security Subcommittee on the Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attacks conducts a hearing at 9:00 am ET the on securing fissile materials abroad.

At 9:30 am ET, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) discusses mental health care at a Progressive Policy Institute forum on America's public and private mental health system.

The vote on final passage of H.R.6, the energy bill will occur at 9:45 am ET on Tuesday.

The 56th Biennial College Republican National Convention takes place today in Arlington, VA. The event boasts many big-name Republicans, including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, and Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Mike Pence (R-IN).

George Washington University's Elliot School of International Affairs kicked off its three-day forum "Governing in the Global Age" at 8:00 am ET. Stick around for remarks by the World Bank's Jeffrey Lewis at 12:30 pm ET.

On Saturday, Sen. George Allen (R-VA) will return to the Granite State to keynote the Lilac Luncheon of the Federation of Republican Women in Manchester.

And on Sunday, you will not want to miss "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." George will first sit down with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to discuss the state of affairs in Iraq. Then, George will present his exclusive interview with Deep Throat's boss. Watergate era FBI Director L. Patrick Gray, breaks his silence after 32 years. Check your local listings.

Rove's rhetoric:
On the morning shows, Dan Bartlett said there is no Rove apology coming and added stuff like: "I think it is somewhat puzzling why all these Democrats who responded forthrightly after 9/11 who voted to pursue the President's war on terror are now defending MoveOn.org."

More Bartlett: "The fact that Democrats feel they have to rally around MoveOn.org and Michael Moore is baffling to me."

"I think Karl was very specific, very accurate at who he was pointing out. . . If these Democrats are defending MoveOn.org that is another matter."

" . . . A ranking Republican official later argued that Democrats were blowing Mr. Rove's comments out of proportion, noting (sic) that his comments specifically pointed out the post-Sept. 11 positions of MoveOn.org, the filmmaker Michael Moore and former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, not Congressional Democrats or the party itself," writes Ray Hernandez in the New York Times. LINK

The Washington Post's Dan Balz writes that Democrats "angrily demanded a retraction" from Rove, but the White House and Republicans rallied to his defense, bringing Sens. John Kerry, Joe Biden, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich into their comments and Noting the particular shots directed at MoveOn.org. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Edwin Chen writes that "a partisan furor erupted" over Rove's comments as Democrats claimed he was exploiting the war on terror for political gain, and the White House brushed aside demands for an apology. LINK

The first paragraph of John Harwood's Washington Wire in the Wall Street Journal deftly summarizes Where Thing Stand:

"White House strategist Rove's claim that liberals wanted 'therapy and understanding' for 9/11 attackers follows House push for flag-burning ban. 'They think this is a way out of the corner," says House Democratic campaign committee chief Emanuel.'"

"Republican chairman Mehlman hits Democratic 'faux outrage' over Rove's remarks, which cited a Moveon.org petition urging post-9/11 restraint. Senate campaign panel seeks traction from Durbin's Guantanamo stumble, posting news headlines hitting the Illinois Democrat on its Web site. But party strategists fret over Iraq casualties, as new Emily's List poll shows one-third of women who backed Bush in 2004 don't support Republicans for Congress."

"Democratic analyst Ruy Teixeira asks, 'Can Bush's first sub-40 approval rating be far away?'"

The Washington Times, surprisingly, is sure to write that "MoveOn.org yesterday said it did, in fact, support going to war in Afghanistan." LINK

The New York Post published an excerpt of Rove's remarks on its op-ed page. LINK

The New York Post's editorial headline: "Rove's Right: Libs are Wimps" LINK

The editorial concludes thusly: "The hysteria of his critics proves just how close to home the remarks hit."

"One City Hall source described the mayor as 'irritated' by Rove's comments," reports the New York Post's Bishop and Seifman on Michael Bloomberg's reaction. LINK

And the Pataki vs. Hillary sidebar is candy for New York political reporters: "'I have absolutely no intention of asking him to apologize,' Pataki said. 'Sen. Clinton might think about her propensity to allow outrageous statements from the other side that are far beyond political dialogue.'"

The super savvy and smart Glenn Thrush's lede to his Newsday story: "Michael Bloomberg is apparently miffed by Karl Rove's statement that liberals were wimpier than conservatives in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks." LINK

"But the self-described liberal Republican mayor couldn't quite bring himself to criticize the White House's top political aide by name Thursday -- which drew ringing denunciations from Democrats."

The New York Daily News' Saltonstall and McAuliff write, "Mayor Bloomberg, who worked closely with Rove to produce last summer's Republican National Convention in New York, was the only Republican yesterday to come close to condemning the remarks, but didn't mention Rove." LINK

"We owe it to those we lost to keep partisan politics out of the discussion, and keep alive the united spirit that came out of 9/11," said Bloomberg.

The News seems to be the only print outlet we could find that got 9/11 family reaction (which had a pox-on-both-your-houses tenor).

The Daily News also Notes that Rudy Giuliani was unavailable for comment. His spokeswoman, Sunny Mindel, wasn't available either. She's recuperating from surgery for two broken wrists, which in the age of the BlackBerry can certainly hamper a spokesgal's style. We wish her a speedy and complete recovery.

The Boston Globe, typically, leads with the homestate angle: "Senator John F. Kerry led a chorus of top Democrats yesterday in condemning White House political chief Karl Rove for saying that political liberals wanted to ''prepare indictments and offer therapy" to terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks." LINK

Can anyone at the DNC explain why Howard Dean did not take the opportunity to go after Rove's comments when Jon Stewart referenced it on Comedy Central's "Daily Show" last night?

The politics of Iraq:
The Washington Post's Robin Wright and Jim VandeHei curtain-raise today's meeting between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari, and look at their mutual tactics and hopes for results in Iraq. LINK

AP also looks at the meeting agenda. LINK

The Washington Post's Bradley Graham has details of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's testimony on the Hill yesterday, where lawmakers put him through his paces on a timetable to pull U.S. soldiers out of Iraq and how the military effort in Iraq is going -- including a call from Sen. Kennedy that he step down. LINK

"Yet amid the often contentious exchanges between lawmakers and the assembled Pentagon leadership were significant absences. . . . There were no demands for the Pentagon to increase the U.S. troop presence in Iraq, unlike previous visits by Rumsfeld and senior generals to Capitol Hill. Nor did lawmakers speak openly about an immediate troop withdrawal," writes Mark Mazzetti of the Los Angeles Times. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Maura Reynolds looks at the sentiments expressed by Republican lawmakers about the falling support for the war among the public. LINK

"As Democrats began a somber recital of names of the war dead Thursday evening on the floor of the House, Bush administration officials seemed to contradict each other on the strength of the insurgency in Iraq, a clash punctuated by fresh news of 40 deaths in a 12-hour span," writes the Chicago Tribune's Mark Silva. LINK

Paul Krugman urges the media to catch up to public feeling over Iraq. LINK

Bush agenda:
The Washington Post's Tom Edsall looks at the $1 billion in shortfalls for veterans' health care that the Bush Administration acknowledged yesterday, Noting the difficult position it becomes for Senate Republicans who have been rejecting Democratic proposals to boost VA programs. LINK

"President Bush's absence from an international celebration in a city where 85 percent of voters cast ballots against him will surprise neither students of foreign policy nor domestic politics. Yet it raises some doubt about Washington's commitment to the United Nations, as the 191-member international body celebrates its diamond anniversary," writes Marc Sandalow of the San Francisco Chronicle. LINK

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post wraps Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to the Middle East this week, where she forcefully urged U.S. allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia to loosen up their political systems, but writes that she was so careful in her remarks that it could have limited her effectiveness. LINK

Social Security:
Robin Toner and David Rosenbaum of the New York Times seem to promise to write about Social Security and 2006, but mostly, their article is a recapitulation of where things stand today. LINK

The pair tip their hand a bit more on how they (secretly) feel about the plan, though.

The Washington Post's Mike Allen and Jonathan Weisman point out the difference between Republicans' rhetoric about the impending bankruptcy of the Social Security program and the House plan introduced this week that "did nothing to address the problem that lawmakers and the president have convinced the public is looming as baby boomers retire. Instead, the GOP proposal would create a temporary system of personal accounts that Democrats dismissed as a costly shell game." LINK

(THAT pair is tipping even more!!!)

USA Today's Richard Wolf explains the Republican Social Security plan. LINK

The Manchester Union Leader names Sen. John Sununu as one of the eleven masterminds behind the latest craze in the (seemingly infinite) struggle for Social Security legislation. LINK

The politics of national security:
Who knew there actually was such a thing as the "Pentagon's Joint Advertising Market Research Studies" division? LINK

Bolton:
This morning on the "Today" show Dan Bartlett used the "moving the goalposts" message with no indication that any documents would be forthcoming from the White House. He also tied Sen. Biden's continued opposition to what he sees as "a week in which he launches his endeavor to seek the presidency in 2008."

SCOTUS:
What will the political ramifications of Kelo? More anger toward "activist" judges? A shift in focus to state courts? A demand that President Bush appoint a libertarian conservative to the high court?

Here's Linda Greenhouse's wrap: LINK

The economy:
Be sure to read the Wall Street Journal's coverage of Unocal and China, led by a fabulous, all-encompassing Page A-1 article by three reporters on the geopolitical stakes.

Edmund Andrews nicely captures the U.S. capital's near speechlessness over the Chinese bid for Unocal. LINK

Why? In part because our economy depends so much on China's insatiable desire for U.S. goods.

The Washington Post's Justin Blum looks at how yesterday's price surge to $60 per barrel for crude oil affects economic growth and stock prices. LINK

House of Labor:
Jonathan Tasini, who has spent "several days analyzing the confidential 2005-2006 AFL-CIO budget," concludes that "the potential financial picture of the Federation *may* be the catalyst for a deal between now and the convention. It's still more likely than not that John Sweeney will be re-elected president. But, delegates will have to contend with some tough financial realities if a call for a new president is not heeded, triggering the pullout of large unions and/or a floor fight at the convention on a key financial resolution." LINK

Congress:
Richard Simon of the Los Angeles Times looks at how much closer the Senate appears to be passing the energy bill. LINK

Ethics:
Jeffrey Birnbaum and R. Jeffrey Smith of the Washington Post report that Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham said yesterday that he'd used poor judgment in the sale of his house to a defense contractor, but that he's innocent of any wrongdoing. LINK

The Clintons of Chappaqua:
The New York Times' Edward Wyatt quotes the publisher of Ed Klein's new book as being baffled that conservatives would pan it. Which makes us wonder: has the guy actually read the thing? LINK

Klein's spin is a wonder to behold.

2008:
New Jersey's presidential primary is leaving June and moving to February. LINK

2008: Republicans:
"The day after state legislators passed a bill allowing the "morning-after pill" to be sold over the counter, Gov. Pataki gave no hint yesterday whether he would sign the measure," writes the New York Daily News' Mahoney, Ramirez, and Becker. LINK

"A pro-choice Republican who has national political aspirations, Pataki risks huge fallout no matter what side he takes on the controversial issue."

The Boston Globe's Scot Lehigh sits down with Gov. Mitt Romney and talks about his changing (or not?) opinion on abortion and his intentions for re election and a possible 2008 bid. Romney remains mum on 2008, but says, "I would not run for governor and walk away mid-term. That's been done too many times. . . . So I would be honest with people about what my plans were." LINK

The AP reports that the health of Gov. Romney's wife, Ann Romney, will be a top influence in any presidential campaign aspirations. Although in good health, Ann suffers from multiple sclerosis, a degenerative nerve condition. Romney said, "she's got a long-term chronic condition, and she's very well, but that's always the first consideration." LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Johanna Neuman looks at the hearing by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), about abortion and the courts, including testimony by "Jane Roe," a.k.a. Norma McCorvey. LINK

2008: Democrats:
The News and Advance newspaper in Lynchburg noted Virginia Gov. Warner's possible intentions in 2008 when he said, "I'm not taking anything off the table or putting anything on the table… I will say that I want to be part of the debate to see if we can bring the Democratic Party back to the center. I think this country is way too polarized at this point." LINK

As Noted last week, Bill Richardson's SUV vehicles have been speeding around New Mexico and now the Governor is hurrying up to apologize. Richardson said he is "not above the law" and admitted "sometimes I have gone fast, too fast." LINK

The Democratic Leadership Council announced this morning that its annual "national conversation" will take place in Columbus, OH (of all places) on July 25. Sen. Evan Bayh, Sen. Tom Carper, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Tom Vilsack and others will deliver "key remarks," according to the release.

The politics of public broadcasting:
The Washington Post's Shailagh Murray and Paul Farhi wrap the House vote yesterday to restore $100 million in funding to the 2006 budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and to dial back the committee decision to kill all CPB funding within two years. Some cuts survived, however. LINK

2005:
"The Rev. Al Sharpton plans to meet with Freddy Ferrer this week to discuss a possible endorsement," reports Crain's Insider.

2006:
Could the base closure actually help Rep. Simmons? An intriguing counterfactual. LINK

Politics:
Word came from Roll Call yesterday that a Democratic trio of hard-scrabble Senate race veterans -- Jim Jordan, Joe Hansen, and Diana Rogalle -- have joined up to form a new 527 called the Senate Majority Project (or "SMP," as opposed to "SSMP") with the apparent mission of generating opposition research and guerilla press and political operations against not-in-cycle Republican Senate incumbents and presumed future candidates.

Ah, the Permanent Campaign.

According to Jordan, they're simply filling a glaring hole in the Democratic Party machinery, and the goal is to harass and generate negative press in the years when incumbents generally operate out of the media spotlight. Jordan's speculation regarding the possibility of an expanded mission for the Senate Majority Project might intrigue some.

Norm Ornstein and a colleague have an op-ed graphic on political polarization in the Paper of MSM Record: LINK

While Jack Valenti remembers an era of bipartisanship. LINK

Charles Krauthammer calls Democrats a party without ideas, content to remain with the status quo particularly when it comes to CAFTA. LINK

Roll Call's Suzanne Nelson reported yesterday afternoon that House Administration Chairman Bob Ney on Thursday told Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Martin Meehan (D-MA) that he will send their legislation prohibiting 527 groups to raise soft money to the House floor for a vote.

The only protester to be arrested inside Madison Square Garden during the Republican National Convention last summer was cleared of all chargers in a Manhattan court room yesterday. The New York Post has the details. LINK

'A donkey decorated tie: $50. A tank of gas to a campaign rally: $35. Showing pride as a South Carolina Democrat: Priceless'.

The South Carolina Democratic Party has signed up for a local credit card which earns the party money when their members spend. "It's a great potential source of small-dollar donations," said Lachlan McIntosh, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party. The state party earns $1 for every 100 points of charges. LINK

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports that the Arkansas Democratic Party may be over $50,000 in debt. Jason Willett, chairman of the party said the spending is to get the party moving, he is "trying to move the party to a whole new level, and that is what I was elected to do." LINK