ABC News' The Note: First Source for Political News

W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 16, 2004—
-- NOTED NOW

TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)

FUTURES CALENDAR

Morning Show Wrap

Evening Newscasts Wrap

14 days until the Republican convention78 days until election day

NEWS SUMMARY

Sure, the Bush campaign is making another attempt this week to paint John Kerry as unqualified to be Commander-in-Chief — with its usual patented mutually-reinforcing mix of paid media, big time candidate statements, surrogate conference calls, muscular talking points, and an e-mail or 70.

And, sure, the Kerry campaign is making another attempt to paint George Bush as too beholden to special interests — with its usual patented scattershot mix of cognitive-dissonance-causing mélange of paid media, confused and forceless candidate statements, surrogate conference calls based on weak talking points, and an e-mail or 90.

But between weather, sports, celebrity trials, and summer vacations (including some by candidates), this is by our estimation the last pre-November week in which presidential politics won't be at a full gallop.

Next week, we will be just seven days out from the Republican convention in Gotham City, and we remain convinced that more news will be made inside and outside the hall than was seen in Boston.

Some will be purposeful and orchestrated by the BC04RNC forces; other newsy things will happen through the natural progression of events.

So we ease you into the week by telling you to pace yourselves for seven more days, because, after that, there will be no rest for the weary — or the wary.

And now we will tell you about the must-reads of the last 72 hours and currently:

1. A trio of New York Times pieces:

A. Eric Lichtblau explodes across the front page breaking the news that FBI agents are visiting with potential protesters in a way some are finding chilling. Watch for this one on a campaign trail near you, coming soon. LINK

B. The formidable team of Worth, Justice, and Lichtblau find thinnish gruel in trying to cast Kerry's money machine as nefarious. LINK

C. With sourcing as ethereal as Natalie Portman in "Garden State" (LINK), David Kocieniewski and Laura Mansnerus claim that New Jersey Democrats met and conference called all weekend to try to figure out how to get McGreevey to quit before Sept. 3 in order to have Senator Corzine elected in a special. LINK

2. The Star Ledger's Kinney and Margolin go even farther, saying that some prominent Democrats are going to open their mouths in public and make the call for McGreevey to go. LINK

3. The Washington Post 's eagle-eyed John Harris sums up his five days in a row with the president on the hustings and comes away obviously impressed with the fire and focus of the Campaigner-in-Chief. LINK

4. Maura Reynolds' looked in Sunday's Los Angeles Times at how President Bush is brilliantly balancing his appeals to centrist and base voters on the stump. LINK

5. Read David Broder's Sunday treatise in the Washington Post examining two of President Bush's great vulnerabilities as an incumbent that "have almost nothing to do with his opponent, John F. Kerry": the decision to attack Iraq and avoiding paying for it. "If Bush can win reelection despite the failure of his two most consequential — and truly radical — decisions, he will truly be a political miracle man. But as his own nominating convention approaches, the odds are against him." LINK

On the stump this week, President Bush plans to be all about the military, foreign policy and national security, and in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Cincinnati today at 11:00 ET, he will explain his plan to bring home about 70,000 uniformed U.S. troops currently stationed around the world — the largest troop realignment since the end of the Cold War.

As anyone who cares about this has read by now, these troops will largely be pulled from Europe and Asia and re-based to the U.S.

Senator Kerry will speak in the same city to the same group on Wednesday.

President Bush talks more about homeland security later this week during stops in Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Secretary of State Colin Powell is also in Cincinnati to speak to the VFW and do a little battleground state campaigning-type events, touring the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Later in the day President Bush holds a campaign rally at 4:20 pm ET in Traverse City, MI, becoming the first sitting President to visit the city since Gerald Ford did so in 1975.

Senator Edwards is in Missouri and Georgia today to raise a new line of domestic-policy criticism: that President Bush is stacking his government with friends who are gutting regulations on U.S. corporations. (Ring a bell to front page Washington Post and New York Times weekend stories?)

He does so in rallies in Willard, MO, at 1:00 pm ET; in College Park, GA at 5:30 pm ET; and at a fundraiser in Atlanta at 7:15 ET.

Senator Kerry and Vice President Cheney are both on vacation today with no public events.

In Washington today, the Senate Armed Services Committee begins two days of hearings on the effort to overhaul intelligence — that tomorrow will include the first testimony since the 9/11 Commission report from Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers.

The Commerce Committee discusses the same topic today with 9/11 Commission chair and vice-chair, Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton.

The Week Ahead:

Tomorrow President Bush speaks in Ridley Park, PA, and at Hedgesville High School in Hedgesville, WV.

Vice President Cheney is on vacation.

Mrs. Bush delivers remarks at a "W. Stands for Women" rally, St. Louis, MO.

Senator Kerry travels from Ketchum, ID to Cincinnati, OH.

Senator Edwards campaigns in Fort Smith, AR and Birmingham, AL.

And the Consumer Price Index for July is released.

On Wednesday, President Bush speaks in Chippewa Falls, WI, participates in an "Ask President Bush" event in St. Croix, WI, and speaks at a rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. Mrs. Bush speaks at a BC'04 event in Denver and speaks at a Victory 2004 reception in Houston. Senator Kerry speaks to the VFW in Cincinnati, OH. Senator Edwards campaigns in New Orleans, LA.

On Thursday, President Bush is at his Crawford ranch with no scheduled events through Sunday. Senator Edwards is in Washington, D.C. with no scheduled events through Friday. And don't forget that Thursday is the deadline for Ralph Nader to submit signatures to get on the ballot in Ohio.

And former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will speak on the president's behalf in New York City on Friday.

New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey has no public events scheduled as of this writing.

The politics of Hurricane Charley:

All together now: "LEARNING THE LESSONS OF HIS FATHER … … "!!!!

And will all this really delay or disrupt the Senate primaries in two weeks and one day?

The Miami Herald 's Lesley Clark Notes that as he toured the western coast of Florida ravaged by Hurricane Charley, President "Bush made it clear Sunday that he has learned from President George H.W. Bush's experience" when his administration was criticized for responding slowly to the devastation left by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. LINK

"With a recent Florida poll showing Democrat John Kerry taking a slight lead in the state that delivered Bush the presidency in 2000 by just 537 votes, Bush wasn't taking any chances, inspecting wind-ripped Southwest Florida by helicopter and motorcade."

Clark also Notes the rock-and-a-hard-place position of Senator Kerry, whose campaign is concerned that a Florida visit would be inappropriate.

The Orlando Sentinel's Wes Smith reports that President Bush promised Florida residents that "help is on the way," and Notes that President Bush was joined on a motor and foot tour by [Charlotte County Emergency Management Director Wayne P.] Sallade and Reps. Porter Goss and Mark Foley. LINK

Almost a million Florida residents are still without power, reports the Orlando Sentinel. LINK

The St. Petersburg Times reports that 16 fatalities have been confirmed in the wake of Hurricane Charley, and President Bush Noted that the number of people who evacuated when advised to minimized the number of deaths that could have occurred. LINK

The Washington Post 's Ceci Connolly was with President Bush during his visit to Florida this weekend, where he pledged that the victims of the hurricane would get the assistance they need, underscoring the lesson learned by his father's slower response to the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992. " … the government's job is to help people help rebuild their lives, and that's what's happening," Bush said. LINK

There's a "huge supply chain" providing relief supplies to the region, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Brown said Sunday, the Palm Beach Post reports. "'It's a chain that we will keeping feeding until we overfeed this beast,' said Brown, who toured the airport with Gov. Jeb Bush Sunday afternoon." LINK

The President's darned if he does, darned if he doesn't response to the political question thrown at him during his Punta Gorda visit sounds pretty spot-on to us. LINK

And make sure you check out the photo BC04RNC hoped for gracing the front page of the Los Angeles Times.

On Sunday, the New York Times ' Hulse and Wald gave President Bush and Senator Kerry a little direction in how they should handle the disaster in that vital battleground state of Florida. LINK

Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times touched on the same issue Sunday, and how Bush 43 folks are just hoping the aftermath of Charley does not grow up to be anything like the aftermath of Bush 41's Andrew.LINK

Senator Kerry has instructed Florida campaign staffers to "provide food, clothing, shelter or other assistance to people whose lives have been disrupted by the hurricane," the AP's Nedra Picker reported Saturday. LINK

Finally, amateur meteorologist and close Bush-Cheney watcher Adam Levine looks at what those wagsters at NOAA have come up with in their list of names for upcoming Atlantic storms — and Notes some interesting choices:

Danielle Earl Frances GastonHermineIvanJeanneKarlLisaMatthewNicole (sic) OttoPaulaRichard (as in "Cheney") SharyTomasVirginieWalter

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect:

Anne Kornblut of the Boston Globe previews today's speech by President Bush and highlights the Kerry campaign's recent push-back on Bush attacks on his commander-in-chief qualifications. LINK

The Wall Street Journal 's Neil King previews President Bush's military redeployment plan set to be laid out during the VFW convention today. An adviser to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry called the plan 'a long-term strategic mistake' that would do nothing to address current strains on U.S. military forces. 'We are already overstretched, but this plan will simply move our forces around without increasing our capabilities,' said Ashton Carter, a former Defense Department official who is a Kerry adviser."

"President Bush will speak to Veterans of Foreign Wars convention delegates here today about U.S. troop realignment, but they are likely to be most interested in what he has to say about veterans' health care," reports the Cincinnati Enquirer's Howard Wilkinson. LINK

And seriously, in case by some accident of the fickle universe you missed David Broder in Sunday's Washington Post , we bring you the link again, and urge you to avail yourself of The Dean's look at what the president needs to tell voters about his decision to engage in the Iraq war, and how he's paid for it — or not. LINK

ABC News' Karen Travers reports that today, the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign will release a new ad, "Intel," that criticizes Senator Kerry's attendance record on the Senate Intelligence Committee and his record in intelligence spending.

The Fox Friday airing notwithstanding, the ad will air on national cable and local markets in 19 states, and joins three other spots on national cable ("Victory," "Solemn Vow," "Ownership").

"Intel," "Solemn Vow," and "Ownership" all are airing on local markets in 19 states.

Script: Narrator: "John Kerry promises … 'I will immediately reform the intelligence system.' Oh really? As a member of the intelligence committee, Senator Kerry was absent for 76% of the committee's hearings. In the year after the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Kerry was absent for every single one. That same year he proposed slashing America's intelligence budget by $6 billion. There's what Kerry says, and then there's what Kerry does."

Travers reports that BC04 spokesman Steve Schmidt had this to say: "Senator Kerry stood the day after the convention and said 'one if by land, two if by sea,' and that our intelligence was better when Paul Revere made his ride than it is today. He insulted the hard working men and women in intelligence services and he fundamentally misrepresented his record as a member of the intelligence committee. John Kerry through out this campaign has demonstrated a stunning ability to go and make political assertions and make rhetorical attacks that are fundamentally disconnected from his record in the Senate. This is part of the conversation between the president's leadership and Senator Kerry's record of indecision and vacillation and missed votes."

"This ad comes as part of a month-long $28 million blitz that ends with the Republican convention," reports the New York Post 's Ian Bishop. LINK

On Saturday, Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post looked at how the leak of the "negative" ad Friday on FNC has disrupted the BC04 ad strategy. LINK

The Washington Post 's John Harris looks at how President Bush brings out the big campaigning guns (no pun intended) — with shirtsleeves rolled up, casual manner, and conversational speeches designed to convey that he's the regular guy to get the job done. And in honing that message, Harris Notes, "Bush has a complicated political task in the remaining 78 days of the campaign. It is to take the offensive on two dominant issues — the Iraq war and the economy — where facts have placed on him on the defensive." LINK

Elisabeth Bumiller's conclusion on the BC04 "Ask the president" events: "The result is often a love-in with heavily Christian crowds." LINK

Notes to EB: (a) how do you know they are Christians?; and (b) brush up on your "fewer" and "less" usage rules please.

Bumiller Notes the president's interest in the softball question-and-answer events: "He clearly relishes the sessions: As of this coming Wednesday in Wisconsin, Mr. Bush will have had 12 such campaign forums, which is one less than the number of solo news conferences he has had in three and a half years in the White House."

Risking overkill, we provide another link to the Los Angeles Times' Maura Reynolds Sunday look at how President Bush is wearing his faith on the trail as he tries to appeal to both committed religious voters and undecideds. LINK

On Sunday, the Washington Post 's Richard Morin and Christopher Muste reported that President Bush is losing the support of young voters, age 18 to 29, who are like others most concerned with the economy and the war in Iraq. The duo Note that the war on terror is less a priority to voters in this age group — 9 percent said it was their top issue. LINK

The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign is convinced it has got it all over John Kerry when it comes to grass-roots political organization in key battleground states. James G. Lakely of the Washington Times reports, "the Bush team has put campaign chairmen in place in 94 percent of targeted precincts around the country." LINK

President Bush's visit to Traverse City, MI, today gives everyone in town an excuse to retell their favorite story about the last time a president traveled through there in 1975. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney v. Kerry-Edwards:

Ron Brownstein's Washington Outlook column in the Los Angeles Times parses the disconnected (the question asked wasn't really the question answered) to and fro on Iraq between the president and Senator Kerry last week and Notes the discussion doesn't play to either candidate's strength. LINK

Brownstein sums up thusly: "This latest argument over Iraq hasn't displayed either contender to his best advantage. Kerry has seemed too reluctant to take a firm position, while Bush has seemed too reluctant to reconsider one. Both appear to have forgotten that great leaders combine resolve and flexibility. In picking a president, Americans shouldn't have to choose between the two."

Note too, Dr. Brownstein's debate advice for John Kerry.

USA Today reports on the battle for overseas votes, Noting that "both sides are geared up to mobilize the expatriate vote." LINK

USA Today 's Mark Memmott bottles the two new Bush ads, the Kerry campaign's response, and the expected release of MoveOn's anti-SBVfT ad on Tuesday all into one story. LINK

Oregonlive.com's politics page subheading reads, "Thousands attend Senator Kerry's rally in Waterfront Park while President Bush makes two private appearances." LINK

The AP's Nedra Pickler enlightens on the Kerry-Edwards attacks on Bush-Cheney this week on a bit of a sticky subject for the two Senators John: corporate interests. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Maria LaGanga explores John Kerry's and George Bush's congressional race losses in the 1970s and how that defeating experience impacted the presidential candidates. LINK

On Saturday, the Washington Post 's Dan Balz wrote that the jabs that President Bush and Vice President Cheney have thrown Senator Kerry have not only put the Democrat on the defensive and aimed to keep Kerry from getting much of a lift from his own convention, but have also shown the Bush Administration's vulnerability in this campaign. LINK

"Budget analysts see striking similarities in the ways Mr. Kerry and Mr. Bush have glossed over major omissions in their goals to reduce the deficit," wrote Edmund Andrews in the New York Times on Sunday. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Elizabeth Shogren on Sunday looked the fight for the coal miners' vote between BC04 and KE04 in key battleground states and especially in West Virginia. This isn't a constituency — or a story — that's going to get less important or less ink as election day draws closer. LINK

The National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Low Income Housing Coalition are trying to register thousands of homeless people to vote in the presidential election, according to the New York Times on Sunday. LINK

The Washington Post 's Mark Leibovich on Sunday looked at the stylistic and personality differences — and different approaches — of Vice President Cheney and Senator Edwards, and there are A LOT of them: Cheney the "capitalist insider" and Edwards the "populist outsider." "To compare their manners, themes, applause lines and crowds is to glimpse the distinct anthropologies of the two campaigns for the presidency." LINK

In Sunday's New York Times , Christopher Hitchens asked the important question: "how often have you met a self-described Kerry supporter?" Referring to many of the books about this most complicated Democratic nominee for President, Hitchens highlighted some of the many complexities. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: Kerry-Edwards '04:

The New York Times trio of Worth, Justice and Lichtblau survey the landscape of the amazing Kerry cash machine, finding old hands who have millions in business before the government, newbies who want to help elect a Democrat, and a few odd apples.

"The campaign has clearly drawn from a passionately engaged Democratic base, including a number of first-time donors. But some fund-raisers may have more at stake. For others it is policy that counts. Trial lawyers, for example, would welcome a Democrat in office after weathering the Bush administration's attacks on what the president calls 'junk and frivolous lawsuits that threaten employers.'" LINK

"There are also indications that the unexpected surge of cash may at times have exceeded the campaign's ability to filter it for unwanted sources. In one case, Rick Yi, a major fund-raiser in Atlanta who courted Asian-Americans, resigned last month after the campaign returned two questionable donations he had solicited."

This paragraph will attract attention:

"In a few cases, those names have earned some unflattering attention. Mr. [John P.] Coale, the trial lawyer, has faced disciplinary action in three states because of the aggressive way his firm solicited fire and accident victims as legal clients. Two years ago, he was barred by the Indiana Supreme Court from practicing law in Indiana after he sent videotapes, personal letters and brochures to survivors and relatives of those killed in a plane crash."

"Mr. Coale, who is married to the television commentator Greta Van Susteren, has said he does not quarrel with being called an ambulance chaser. But he points out that the Washington bar looked into the Indiana case and declined to censure him. 'This is a battle I've fought and won, and there's no wrongdoing anywhere,' Mr. Coale said."

Steve Forbes attacks Rubinomics in the Wall Street Journal , calling its "nostrums" "nonsense."

On Sunday, the Boston Globe 's Ann Kornblut wrote about the ever-elusive "buzz" — how now that the Kerry campaign has it, they're looking to capitalize on it without flaming out, and how the Bush campaign is working to douse the momentum it can generate. LINK

Bob Novak will not let go of the Swift Boat attacks on Senator Kerry and uses Lanny Davis's own words to hang on. LINK

James Gordon Meek of the New York Daily News reports Senator John Warner, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says John Kerry "deserved" his combat medals for heroism in Vietnam. LINK

Bob Kerrey, the former Senator from Nebraska and 9/11 Commission member, wrote Saturday in the Washington Post about why he believes John Kerry "will make an exceptionally good commander in chief." LINK

John Kerry's nuanced position on Iraq — not that going in was wrong, but the way it was done was — is the right one, argues Fareed Zakaria in Newsweek. LINK

The New York Times ed board on Sunday slammed Senator Kerry's Iraq vote with a premonition it will haunt him through the campaign. "There are undoubtedly circumstances that call for military action, but we would like to know whether, as president, John Kerry would insist on a higher threshold than he settled for as an opportunistic senator in 2002." LINK

The AP's Mike Glover recaps the end of Senator Edwards' "intense 10-day competition for Iowa's seven electoral votes." LINK

The Des Moines Register 's Lynn Campbell and Erin Jordan report that Edwards "on Sunday shifted the focus of the presidential campaign to domestic issues, attacking the Bush administration's record on the environment and health care during visits to Waterloo and Des Moines." LINK

Charles Hurt of the Washington Times makes a connection between North Carolina's current health care "crisis" situation and "medical-malpractice lawsuits such as the ones that made Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator John Edwards a millionaire many times over." LINK

Massachusetts Republicans are salivating over the potential of having a vacant seat in their U.S. Senate contingency for the first time in two decades. The AP's Jennifer Peter reports. LINK

Note: Don't worry BC'04 folks, publicly, they are on message. "'We don't think there's going to be a race because we all feel that President Bush has the right agenda and the right message and he's going to win in November,' said Timothy O'Brien, executive director of the state Republican Party." LINK

The Washington Post 's Linton Weeks profiles the elusive John Heinz IV, who "makes Judy Dean seem like Janet Jackson." LINK

McGreevey: what's next:

As the weekend hit, even some Democrats in New Jersey became uneasy with the idea of McGreevey staying in office until Nov. 15.

Several key New Jersey Democrats are expected to speak with the Governor early this week, in an effort to speed up his resignation and trigger a special election this fall. Having a special election would allow Senator Jon Corzine to run as the party's consensus candidate and would put an end to Senate President Richard J. Codey's (D-West Orange) hopes of replacing McGreevey on an interim basis, at least for the long term. Some New Jersey Dems feel it would make things more difficult and possibly uneasy to try and push Codey aside in a year's time, if Corzine then wanted to run for Governor.

The New York Times reports that those Democrats who want McGreevey to step down before Sept. 3 do not plan to go public with their views, at least yet. LINK

The Star Ledger, however, reports that Rep. Robert Menendez has said he may hold a news conference as early as Wednesday to demand that McGreevey step down right away. LINK

Senator Corzine has reportedly expressed a willingness to run, but is not eager to push anyone aside. LINK

The Star Ledger's Tom Moran look at Corzine's aspirations. LINK

For his own part, there is no hint that Gov. McGreevey himself has any plans of leaving earlier than Nov. 15. McGreevey has outlined an aggressive agenda that he hopes to accomplish in the next 90 days, including getting construction plans ready for the Stem Cell Research Institute he established and implementing a security plan for the Republican National Convention in nearby New York.

Nothing like a summer weekend poll to let us know exactly where things stand in New Jersey. However, a Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers shows those surveyed in the Garden State are split largely along partisan lines as to whether or not McGreevey should stay in office through Nov. 15. LINK

The question does remain as to whether his numbers will remain stable as more details become public.

New Jersey politics guru David Rebovich also took a look at the Governor's exit plan on Sunday. LINK

The New York Post 's Stefan Friedman reported on Sunday that Golan Cipel maintains he is straight. "Golan is a heterosexual," Cipel's attorney Allen Lowy claimed. "There was no affair. There was no consensual touching. There was no physical relationship." LINK

Cipel has still not filed a lawsuit and it is unclear whether he still plans to do so. Cipel did grant an interview to an Israeli paper over the weekend, where he said that he was not upset that the press had insinuated he was gay, although he says he is not, but he was greatly saddened by the charges that he is an extortioner. LINK

A few other Cipel nuggets:

"It doesn't bother me that it is said I am gay, but I really am not. I'm straight … On the other hand, to accuse me of being an extortionist? Someone here has lost his mind."

"At first, it didn't occur to me that he was homosexual. The man looked happily married, he has children, and his wife was very active in the campaign and election."

"But on long nights of campaigning, Cipel said, 'he hit on me over and over. I got to a point where I was afraid to stay with him alone.'"

Additional Cipel writeups include: LINK; LINK; LINK; LINK; LINK

Sources in McGreevey's administration told news organizations on Saturday that Cipel through his lawyers originally demanded $50 million to settle but the figure dropped to $5 million as negotiations progressed.

Cipel's attorneys also reportedly asked as part of the settlement that the Governor agreed to approve permits for Touro College, a school in Brooklyn, that was trying to found a medical school in New Jersey. Charles Kushner, the governor's major fund-raiser who has had his own troubles with the law, is on the board of the school; his lawyers have denied any involvement with Cipel on this matter. Senator Robert Torricelli's consulting firm, too, had been trying to arrange meetings with state officials to discuss the permits although his office also denies anything to do with Cipel's charges or the discussion of permits as part of a settlement agreement. The FBI is now looking into Touro College's involvement. LINK

A spokeswoman for Gov. McGreevey said he will take the next few days to spend with wife, while staff members prepared his work schedule for the coming days. The governor has made no public statement since his disclosure on Thursday and has no public events scheduled at this time. Sources from the Governor's office also tell ABC News that McGreevey has no plans to do television interviews in the near future, focusing first on his family and his remaining days in office.

McGreevey will continue to appear on TV through the many state advertisements he's in, promoting state programs and agencies, reports the New York Times . LINK

Over the weekend the New York Times ' David Kocieniewski took an inside look at the 20 days in which the charges unraveled against Gov. McGreevey up until his announcement this past Thursday. LINK

Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas of Newsweek sum up the week's developments in New Jersey — Noting that the Garden State has a "history of corruption has been rivaled by no other state." Isikoff and Thomas get a few more details from the New Jersey Golden Boy's announcement to his staff: LINK

"On Wednesday afternoon last week McGreevey pulled together his closest aides in the library at Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion, and said, 'Guys, this is a deeper thing; this is more than just an affair. I'm gay-I really think this is what it's about.' An adviser who was in the room recalled to Newsweek, 'You could watch a burden lift off this human being. He had never said those words to anyone before.' McGreevey told his aides, 'When I was in high school, there were feelings that I was different.'"

Alisha Berger and Stefan Friedman of the New York Post wrote Sunday that "Jim McGreevey's first wife revealed yesterday she had no idea her ex-husband was gay until shortly before he announced his sexual preference on national television, the woman told The Post in a bombshell interview." LINK

Meanwhile Gov. Jim McGreevey's second wife was "calm and cool," utilizing the advance warning time for a pre-live television presser salon trip, the New York Post Noted Sunday. LINK

The Wall Street Journal 's editorial board joins the chorus, agreeing that it's time for McGreevey to go — now.

The New York Times looks at the politics of living a double life. LINK

The McGreeveys left the house yesterday for pizza, reports the New York Daily News. LINK

McGreevey did find an unexpected sympathizer in Rush Limbaugh, reports the Daily News. LINK

The Trenton Times profiles the — as currently planned — next interim governor of New Jersey, Richard Codey. LINK

The New York Daily News' Wasserman and Haberman reported Sunday that "Jim McGreevey's former gay lover made a desperate cash-for-silence demand just minutes before the New Jersey governor told the world he was homosexual, sources said yesterday." With the clock ticking, Cipel asked the governor's lawyers for a bargain basement payoff of $2 million with other favors, down from $5 million, according to their sources. LINK

The New York Daily News Noted Sunday, the word "victim" is not one that can be bandied about by a top homeland security adviser, especially when the people of New York are in earshot. LINK

The politics of national security:

Time magazine's Elaine Shannon and Tim McGirk report a terrorist summit that was held in Waziristan in March 2004 revealed the "second string" of al-Qaeda leadership and is kindling fears of another attack. "The personalities involved, the operations, the fact that a major explosives expert came here and went back," Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf describes, "all this was extremely significant." LINK

On Saturday, the Washington Post 's Dan Eggen and John Lancaster reported that despite the capture and killing of al Qaeda leaders, other Islamist extremist groups are regrouping and pose a grave threat. "The new evidence suggests that al Qaeda is battered but not beaten, and that a motley collection of old hands and recent recruits has formed a nucleus in Pakistan that is pushing forward with plans for attacks in the United States, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials." LINK

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times' Douglas Frantz, Josh Meyer and Richard Schmitt outlined the ways that al Qaeda is using the Internet to organize and plan. LINK

President Bush's plan for missile defense may have slipped from some people's radars, but plans proceed apace. LINK

The politics of Porter Goss:

AP's Leigh Strope wraps the "Meet" appearance yesterday by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), during which she urged fellow Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee not to try to block the nomination of Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL) for CIA Director.LINK

The New York Post 's Ian Bishop watched "Meet the Press" on Sunday and determined that Porter Goss is all but certain to become the next Director of Central Intelligence. LINK

The Washington Times also writes up Harman's comments. LINK

Ethan Wallison writes about "secret intel budgets at issue" in Roll Call . LINK

The economy meets the politics of national security:

For soldiers coming back from fighting, the jobs ain't what they used to be. The AP's Margasak reports, "Increasing numbers of National Guard and Reserve troops who have returned from war in Iraq and Afghanistan are encountering new battles with their civilian employers at home. Jobs have been eliminated, benefits reduced, and promotions forgotten." LINK

The economy:

The New York Post looks at the relationship between the Dow's performance and presidential politics. LINK

"As a rule, though, a down market does not spell defeat for the person in power. In 1984, President Reagan got elected to a second term despite a nearly four percent decline in the market that year."

The Wall Street Journal 's Ip and Barta assess the state of the world's economy: "An economic slowdown is spreading around the world as record oil prices, falling stocks and weak technology spending ripple from South Korea and Japan to the U.S. and Germany, casting doubt on a global recovery taken for granted just a few months ago. Global weaknesses are an added worry for the U.S. because a three-year spending spree by American consumers is winding down, and economists had been counting on higher exports to help keep the U.S. expansion on track in the coming year."

Patrick Barta on the return of the specter of stagflation in the Wall Street Journal . LINK

Bush Administration strategy and personality:

On Sunday, the Washington Post 's Amy Goldstein and Sarah Cohen did what the Post does so well — looked at the process of government and regulation through a specific prism; in this case, the Bush Administration's philosophy toward regulation as seen through the prism of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. LINK

"In the past 3 1/2 years, OSHA, the branch of the Labor Department in charge of workers' well-being, has eliminated nearly five times as many pending standards as it has completed. It has not started any major new health or safety rules, setting Bush apart from the previous three presidents, including Ronald Reagan."

Today, Rick Weiss writes part two of the Post 's series on the Bush Administration and regulation, looks at the Data Quality Act, a piece of legislation under the Office of Management and Budget whose proponents say allows the administration to keep focus on sound science. Its opponents view it as a way for big business to fight back against regulation. OMB Administrator John D. Graham "said the act, which allows people and companies to challenge government information they believe is inaccurate, is equally accessible to 'a wide diversity of interests, both in the business community and in the consumer, environmental and conservation communities.' . . . But many consumers, conservationists and worker advocates say the act is inherently biased in favor of industry. By demanding that government use only data that have achieved a rare level of certainty, these critics maintain, the act dismisses scientific information that in the past would have triggered tighter regulation." LINK

The Republican National Convention:

The New York Times ' Eric Litchblau reports that "F.B.I. officials are urging agents to canvass their communities for information about planned disruptions aimed at the convention and other coming political events, and they say they have developed a list of people who they think may have information about possible violence." LINK

"The unusual initiative comes after the Justice Department, in a previously undisclosed legal opinion, gave its blessing to controversial tactics used last year by the F.B.I in urging local police departments to report suspicious activity at political and antiwar demonstrations to counterterrorism squads. The F.B.I. bulletins that relayed the request for help detailed tactics used by demonstrators — everything from violent resistance to Internet fund-raising and recruitment."

The New York Post reports on the NYPD's preparations for how to deal with potential anarchist protesters outside the convention. LINK

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times' Johanna Neuman wrote about the Republican Party's negotiations and infighting with regard to including prominent roles gay rights and abortion rights advocates in the convention. We never thought we'd see the day when Republicans were aiming for the same kind of unity on display by Democrats. LINK

Michael Duffy of Time magazine reports Peggy Noonan — Republican speechwriter extraordinaire — will be writing convention speeches for George Pataki and Rick Santorum, but not President Bush. Inconceivable her talents won't be put to use for something Reagan-related as well. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: The Big Four: Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin:The AP reports on a study of Ohio's unregistered voters done by the Cleveland Plain Dealer that found, "The average rate of voter registration for an Ohio county is 62 percent. Only six of the state's 88 counties have more than 70 percent of their residents registered. The newspaper used information from 2000 and 2002 voting results and records from the Ohio Secretary of State's office." LINK

The Boston Globe watched a focus groups in Ohio this weekend. Yvonne Abraham writes, "During the latest two-hour discussion, however, these likely voters — three of whom now say they are leaning toward Bush and two who are still undecided — described Kerry as ill-defined, overly reliant on his Vietnam service, and decidedly Northeastern." LINK

The Columbus Dispatch's Darrel Rowland, Alan Johnson, and Mark Niquette break down the differences between the audiences that greet the president and Senator Kerry when they each visit Ohio. LINK

The good people of Wisconsin got a good hard look in Monica Davey's New York Times story Sunday about a battleground base that is graphing with U.S. policies in Iraq, against a backdrop of domestic problems. "From working-class neighborhoods in Racine in the southeast to the pine- and fern-covered hills near Lake Superior, voters speak of factories that have closed, schools short on money and health insurance beyond reach." LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: the battlegrounds:The Detroit Free Press prominently plays a story of declining revenues forcing some school administrators to charge parents for their children to play school sports. LINK

What happens after those industrial factories are closed down? The Detroit News takes a look. LINK

"So many factories in North America and Europe are dying that it has created a booming business for industrial auctioneers. As Keeler's die cast machine shows, the equipment of those factories is still in demand, but, often by Third World manufacturers."

The Las Vegas Review Journal's Erin Neff writes about the varying crowd size estimations from Kerry's visit last week and how Kerry learned how to pronounce "Nevada." LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Stephanie Simon on Saturday reported that local politicians in St. Louis are suing the Missouri Secretary of State to hold early voting by opening a polling station two weeks before the Nov. 2 election day.LINK

The politics of stem cells:HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson defends the president's stem cell stance in USA Today . LINK

The Raleigh News & Observer 's Catherine Clabby reports on the stem cell debate in North Carolina's Research Triangle. LINK

On Sunday, Michael Kinsley argued in the Washington Post that by getting involved in the debate over stem cell research, First Lady Laura Bush was an effective agent for her husband's agenda — namely discouraging stem cell research — by raising questions about its effectiveness. LINK

White House reporters ask yourself why this perspective wasn't represented in your news stories about this matter.

ABC News Vote 2004: the Senate:Barack Obama and Alan Keyes ran into one another at Chicago's Indian Day Parade for the first time on Sunday "in an exchange that exhibited some measureable tension," the Chicago Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki reports. LINK

Dennis Byrne writes in the Chicago Tribune that Barack Obama needs to be held to the same level of scrutiny as Alan Keyes — and Byrnes does just that. LINK

The Raleigh News & Observer 's Rob Christensen reports that lately "Republicans have privately been worrying that [Rep. Richard Burr's] campaign has not picked up steam" against Erskine Bowles. LINK

Salazar and Coors sidestep religion, according to the Denver Post. LINK

Eric Gorski of the Denver Post reports on Catholic Bishops who may have influence in a Senate race between two Catholics. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: the House:

Chris Cillizza of Roll Call writes the recent party switch of Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.) "was déjà vu all over again for voters in the Bayou State." LINK

Roll Call slams Alexander for "the deceitful way he did it." LINK

Chris Frates of the Denver Post reports Rep. Bob Beauprez of Colorado is getting by with a little help from his national fundraiser friends. LINK

Nader-Camejo '04:

It may not be over for Ralph Nader in Arizona. Today the Ralph Nader presidential campaign plans to file a law suit in a Federal District Court in Arizona challenging the state's ballot access laws. The suit will make two claims: (1) that the state's June 9 deadline — second only to Texas, where Nader's status is also under legal review — is unfair, (2) the suit will challenge the constitutionality of requiring petition gatherers to be qualified to vote in Arizona and residents of Arizona.

Nader's campaign exceeded the minimum of raw signatures required to put him on the ballot when they were submitted in early June, however after a meticulous line-by-line review from Democrats — many of them were found to be in valid. When a judged ruled they would not pass muster, it seemed the book had closed Nader and would not be a factor in the state in November.

According to a Nader campaign release, Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo have accepted the nomination of the Independent Party of Delaware and will appear on the Delaware ballot on their Party line. LINK

Also according to a campaign release, the Nader campaign has submitted signatures in Montana.

Nader will officially appear on the ballot in Iowa, even after Nader-Camejo campaign organizers say they turned down about 700 signatures — nearly half of the minimum required — "because they seemed suspicious," according to Kevin Zeese of the Nader campaign. In an e-mail, Zeese says the people offering the signatures would not identify themselves "and they wanted to meet in some neutral area in order to deliver them." The campaign's suspicions were raised after press reports of Republicans gathering signatures with a pitch Nader-backers don't appreciate — that signing the petition for Nader could help re-elect Bush. LINK

Vincent J. Schodolski of the Chicago Tribune profiles Nader's number two, a man who "was kicked out of the University of California, Berkeley, for being too radical. He formed his core political beliefs watching slum-dwellers in South America and once grew organic sesame seeds in Nicaragua." Camejo is founder of the California Green Party, and a man certainly worth reading about. LINK

Ralph Nader's supporters have submitted enough signatures to put him on the ballot in South Dakota. He needed 3,346 signatures — a figure representing one percent of the total votes cast in the 2002 governor's election. LINK

Ralph Nader has hired a veteran elections-law attorney to help in his bid to get on the ballot in Pennsylvania. AP reports the hiring of Samuel Stretton "suggests that Nader plans to aggressively fight a legal challenge to his signature petition." Was there ever any question? LINK

Embattled members of the Nader faithful soldier on. LINK

Politics:Page Six reports the Conservative Party candidate for U.S. Senate in New York is launching an ad (only to air on Fox News Channel) taking Bruce Springsteen to task for his upcoming concert tour aimed at defeating the president. LINK

The Golden State could leave behind its Super Tuesday slot and return to a June primary date for presidential and state contests alike. LINK

The Washington Post 's Matthew Mosk examines Constitution Party candidate Michael Peroutka's quest for the presidency. LINK

Free Matt Cooper:The Washington Post 's Howard Kurtz posits opines about the chilling effect it could have on journalists if Matt Cooper is sent to jail for refusing to identify confidential sources. LINK

The Clintons of Chappaqua:

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Andrew Demillo has a construction update on the Clinton Presidential Center outside of Little Rock and reports that 120,000 invitations are being sent out for the dedication in November. LINK

Fahrenheit 9/11:

The New York Daily News' Richard Sisk reported on Sunday that injured veteran Sgt. Peter Damon, who lost his right arm and left hand in Iraq, is furious at Michael Moore over his cameo "Fahrenheit 9/11." Hey Ed and Karl, did you guys see this quote? "I'd like to go to the Republican National Convention and speak out about it," Damon said. "I agree with the president 100%. A lot of the guys down at Walter Reed feel the same way." LINK

Media:

USA Today 's Peter Johnson tunes in to ABC News Now. LINK

Which, incidentally will be going gavel-to-gavel for the Republican National Convention. Meantime, check to see what's going on today and where you can get ABC News Now in your area. LINK

TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times ET):

—9:30 am: The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee holds a hearing at the Capitol on the 9/11 Commission's recommendations on transportation security, Washington, DC—9:30 am: The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee discusses reorganizing the intelligence community at the Capitol, Washington, DC

—10:30 am: The 60-Plus Association holds a news conference to discuss the 69th birthday of Social Security at the National Press Club, Washington, DC

—11:00 am: President Bush announces a major shift in troop forces out of Europe and Asia during a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention at the Dr. Albert Sabin Cincinnati Cinergy Center, Cincinnati, OH

—1:00 pm: Sen. John Edwards accuses President Bush of gutting regulations on corporations during a rally, Willard, MO—2:30 pm: The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing at the Capitol on the implications proposed intelligence reforms have on the Pentagon, Washington, DC

—4:20 pm: President Bush speaks at a rally at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center, Traverse City, MI

—5:00 pm: Secretary of State Colin Powell tours the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, OH

—5:30 pm: Sen. Edwards attends a "welcome rally" at the Georgia International Convention Center, College Park, GA

—7:00 pm: Secretary Powell addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention at the Cinergy Center, Cincinnati, OH

—7:15 pm: Sen. Edwards attends a DNC fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta, GA