ABC News' The Note
W A S H I N G T O N, July 2, 2004—
-- NOTED NOW
TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)
FUTURES CALENDAR
Morning Show Wrap
Evening Newscasts Wrap
NEWS SUMMARY
JOHN KERRY'S CONFIDENTIAL SCHEDULE
Friday, July 2, 2004 - Monday, July 5, 2004AS OF 7/2/2004 AT 9:00 pm EDT
CONFIDENTIAL. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE.
Friday, July 2, 2004
Travel Overview: Washington, D.C. à Duluth, MN à Cloquet, MN à Bloomer, WI à Eau Claire, WI
Public meetings: Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Byron Dorgan, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Franklin Raines, Gov. Janet Napolitano
TRAVELING PERSONAL STAFF
Personal aide: Marvin Nicholson
Assistant to the personal aide: Nicholas Marvinson
Traveling adviser: James Rubin
SS Lead: Special Agent Rock Hardcastle
TRAVELING PRESS STAFF
Stephanie Cutter: I'm getting the hang of this traveling gig.
Allison Dobson: Ask Stephanie.
Jim Loftus: We're leaving in 10 minutes.
Lars Erickson: We left 10 minutes ago.
HEADQUARTERS CONTACTS
Debra DeShong: Don't think I'm Cutter-lite
David Wade: If I were invisible . . . baby!
JUNE
JK AM
RESIDENCE
3:30 a.m.: Meet with Jim Johnson3:40 a.m.: MBC joins meeting via phone 3:45 a.m.: Sasso joins meeting via phone3:48:a.m.: Biden calls4:05 a.m.: Howard Dean arrives in rear4:50 a.m.: Breakfast with Howard Dean; THK joins5:00 a.m.: Friendly wave to NYT/ABC pool at front window6:00 a.m.: Service creates diversion; Dean exits through rear6:20 a.m.: Daily bitch session with Rosenblith6:30 a.m.: Call Gephardt6:50 a.m.: Call Edwards6:52 a.m.: Call Vilsack7:01 a.m.: Biden calls7:10 a.m.: Call Durbin7:11 a.m.: Biden calls8:10 a.m.: RTG8:15 a.m.: Depart residence enroute DCA8:30 a.m.: JOHN KERRY ARRIVES WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORTEnroute: Rural American policy briefing11:00 a.m.: JOHN KERRY ARRIVES DULUTH INT'L AIRPORTNOTE: Turn clocks back one hour to adjust to Central Daylight Time.NOTE2: Press will hold at airport; Kerry holds on plane.11:04 a.m.: MBC calls Brooke Brower and Ron Fournier.11:06 a.m.: Noted Now flashes "KERRY PICKS DEAN"11:07 a.m.: AP flashes "BULLETIN -- KERRY-DEAN"11:15 a.m.: Kerry emerges from plane with Vice Presidential nominee Howard Dean. (Service will keep O'Connor out of the shot.)11:23 a.m.: John King throws phone down; complains that ABC broke ANOTHER major story.2:02 p.m.: MSNBC flashes "Kerry Picks Dean"
OK -- things might not happen exactly this way, but Note girls and boys are in a holiday revelry, broken quite nicely, by the Labor Department this morning reporting that the economy added 112,000 new jobs in June -- that's the fourth consecutive month of gains, but as ABC's Ramona Schindelheim Notes, that's less than half of the consensus forecast. So there's something for both President Bush and Sen. Kerry talk about.
And speak they will. At 10:55 am ET, the President speaks about the economy during a small business forum at the White House -- his only event today. He spends tonight and tomorrow night at Camp David. On the 4th he speaks in Charleston, W.Va.
With a variety of Democrats already trying to spin down the job numbers, this afternoon Sen. Kerry launches his three-day Midwest bus tour with a 1:30 pm ET Minnesota rally. Kerry is joined by his family as he travels to Bloomer, Wis. tonight, Independence, Wis. and Dubuque, Iowa Saturday, and Cascade, Independence, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Sunday.
He spends Sunday night and Monday night at the Heinz ranch in Pittsburgh. Kerry also delivers the Democratic radio address this weekend.
Vice President Cheney rolls out his own bus tour tomorrow, hitting Parma, Ohio, and Wheeling, W.Va. Saturday afternoon and Pittsburgh and Altoona, Pa. (to throw out a first pitch) on Sunday.
Anybody want to spend their holiday watching the installation of the Sheekey Bridge on 33rd Street and 8th Avenue in New York? We do.
Meanwhile Sen. Edwards is taking a stroll on Wrightsville Beach and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is in Iowa with Kerry for the holiday, just to pick two random Americans.
The Note will not publish Monday, if we can help it. Asking Googling Monkeys not to Google is like asking Matt Paul to tell us where Gov. Vilsack will be this weekend and next week (but we know!).
To quote Belinda Carlisle and Michael Moore: Vacation, all I ever wanted, vacation, had to get away, vacation, meant to be spent alone.
And to (sort of) quote Scot Lehigh and Tom Oliphant: No I cannot forget where it is that I come from, I cannot forget the people who love me, yeah, I can be myself here in this small town, and people let me be just what I want to be.
Veepstakes:
On Good Morning America, a huge, pumped-up crowd turn up to see an exclusive with the North Carolinian who came in second . . . Clay Aiken.
Dick Durbin, Dan Balz? LINK
"ABC News has learned from several top Democrats that the man in charge of Kerry's vice presidential search, Jim Johnson, has hired outside pollster Ed Reilly, and he has conducted top-secret polls of various potential running mates," ABC's Jake Tapper reports. LINK
"Though most of the results remain secret, one Democratic source says the big winner in those polls is Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican who has repeatedly said he will not run on the Democratic ticket. The secret polls show Kerry essentially tied with President Bush, but Kerry-McCain beating a Bush-Cheney ticket by 12 to 15 points. Saying that 'we don't discuss our research,' Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter answered questions about the Reilly polling by declaring that 'the campaign does not have a research program directed toward the vice presidential process.'"
The New York Times' Adam Nagourney and David Halbfinger run through how Kerry feels about Tom, Dick, and John just one more time. LINK
But how, we keep wondering, can anyone say that John Edwards has campaigned for the job when all he has done is do what the Kerry campaign has asked -- and he's turned down, believe you us, plenty of offers.
The New York Post's Deb Orin surveys the scene and reminds us about Kerry's diapers remark to Edwards back in January. " class="blue" target="blank">LINK
The Globe's Pat Healy Notes the veep-rollout-friendly battleground barnstorming trip Sen. Kerry has planned for next week. LINK
The Boston Globe's Scot Lehigh tries to put himself in Sen. Kerry's mind and he ends up on the senior Senator from the Tar Heel State -- and, yes, we expect a call from Heinz Kerry to Elizabeth Edwards today no matter what. LINK
The Des Moines Register's Thomas Beaumont writes that "Anticipation was building Thursday" for Kerry's pick of running mate "possibly within days of an Iowa campaign swing that will include time with Gov. Tom Vilsack." LINK
That Gov. Bill Richardson won't be the veep choice is not terribly surprising. Richardson -- who wrote a classic, "Dear John" letter to Kerry ostensibly taking himself out of the running, a la Tom Ridge in 2000 -- was not fully vetted by the Kerry campaign and those with a sense of the process never thought he had a strong chance anyway, although the letter says that Kerry "seriously" considered him.
Excerpts: "I am both honored and flattered that you are seriously considering me for your running mate-as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee-in the coming election. Our recent discussion in Phoenix and the fullness of our dialogue with you and your team about your vision for our country and our shared commitment to a strong America at home and abroad have reinforced my firm belief that you are truly ready to lead our great nation in a new and promising direction."
"In closing, on a personal note, as an Hispanic, I am particularly touched by your willingness to consider me for the Vice Presidency. It is further reassurance to the Hispanic and Latino communities that you are a man who respects and reaches out to our community and who will fight for our interests, our values and our culture. Also, I want to commend Jim Johnson's professionalism throughout the selection process."
Does K Street know something we don't? Dick Gephardt's close friend, Dan Glickman, will head the MPAA... angering Norquist et. al. LINK
The Washington Post's Jeffrey Birnbaum concurs." LINK
An editorial in the Seattle Times urges Kerry not to pick Rep. Gephardt saying that to Washingtonians "he represents an idea discarded decades ago as outmoded and dangerous: protectionism." LINK
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush vs. Kerry:
The New York Times' Robin Toner writes about the battle over rural voters, reporting that Bill McInturff and Anna Greenberg seem to agree that Bush will still win most rural areas, but Greenberg thinks that he won't win them as well as he has in the past. LINK
The Los Angeles Times' Michael Finnegan also looks at the Midwest, Noting, "A continuing surge in new jobs nationally and the return of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government this week appear to have done little to quell worries among many voters in the hardscrabble Chippewa Valley [Wis.], an area beset this year by a wave of new layoffs." LINK
The New York Times' Glen Justice looks at the fundraising reports. LINK
With the massive press that "Fahrenheit 9/11" and Bill Clinton's memoir have received, the Washington Post's Paul Farhi contemplates "can popular culture influence an election?" LINK
"Apart from the dueling Dewey-Truman newsreels, the closest parallel to the Moore movie may be the 1983 release of "The Right Stuff," which came as Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio), the former astronaut whose exploits were depicted in the dramatic movie, was preparing to run in the presidential primaries. But that film was not nearly so partisan, and Glenn's character was one of several in the movie. (Glenn lost badly in the primaries to Walter F. Mondale.)"
Note to Farhi: Secretary O'Neill didn't write that book; Ron Suskind did. Correction tk.
The Washington Post's Peter Slevin examines the new restrictions on travel to Cuba and how that may impact the election. LINK
The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne Notes "the intense polarization of politics, aggravated under the Bush presidency, should require Bush and Kerry to explain not only what they will do for the next four years but also how, in the current climate, they propose to get it done." LINK
The Washington Post's Charles Krauthammer writes in celebration of Cheney's use of the f-word, as compared to when Al Gore likened Bush to both Hitler and Stalin in a public speech the day before. LINK
We are truly glad that Krauthammer gets into the historical question of whether Cheney spoke the two-word or the three-word phrase to Senator Leahy.
Bill McInturff and the American Monitor released a "Look at the 2004 Political Landscape" detailing what was different about '04, showing that interest for this election is particularly high and extremely partisan. Among the findings was that the right/wrong track is volatile.
Republicans hire felons too! LINK
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect:
The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz looks at the new ad rolled out yesterday by the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign that accused Sen. Kerry of "distorting his own writing in an ad involving terrorism." LINK
"While both ads will be airing only in New Mexico, the rapid response underscores the political sensitivity of the terrorism issue," Kurtz Notes.
The Los Angeles Times' Peter Wallsten, traveling with the Vice President, and Josh Meyer wrap up Vice President Cheney's speech in New Orleans yesterday, Noting that he "offered a broad assessment of the Bush administration's fight against terrorism" and "also leveled implicit criticism at Bush's predecessor, former President Clinton." LINK
Joe Curl of the Washington Times looks at Cheney's remarks and calls them "one of his strongest attacks yet on Democrats." LINK
The Washington Post's Dana Milbank Notes the focus by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and others that Iraq is experiencing a "'historic transformation' and Americans are safer as a result." LINK
The New York Post's Deb Orin writes, "The war that Bush launched in March 2003 to topple Saddam is a defining event in his presidency, and how voters view it could well decide if he's re-elected." LINK
Picking up on Alan Cooperman's article in the Washington Post yesterday, the New York Times' David Kirkpatrick Notes "the Bush-Cheney campaign has laid out a brisk schedule for legions of Christian supporters to help enlist 'conservative churches' and their members, including sending church directories to the campaign." LINK
Gannett's Carl Weiser looks at ACT's spending in Ohio, where the group "has deployed at least 700 people in Ohio and spent $1.1 million," through March.LINK
Environmentalists are upset over a new Bush proposal that would boost the logging industry. In other obvious news, the sky is blue and John Kerry will probably announce his running mate sometime between now and the convention. LINK
The New York Times' Richard Stevenson wraps President Bush's remarks commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. LINK
Two items from John "The Other Jackie Calmes" Harwood's Washington Wire: Most Americans believe that the prison abuse scandal involved higher-ups... and that Saddam's reappearance on the scene might help President Bush.
Will Saddam's trial help President Bush on the WMD issue? The Washington Times Bill Sammon writes "Bush supporters are quietly relieved by the prospect of a public trial that will examine the full scope of Saddam's brutality." LINK
The New York Daily News' Richard Sisk reports, "Republicans are pushing to put Saddam Hussein on trial before November, hoping an evildoer bounce in the polls carries President Bush to reelection, GOP sources said yesterday." LINK
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect: The Cuss Bus:
Vice President Cheney leaps onto the campaign trail with his first Bush-Cheney '04 bus tour, a two-day swing through the Midwest to rally voters and supporters in three battleground states.
Cheney begins the tour outside Cleveland at a rally at the St. Josaphat's Astrodome in Parma, Ohio, and then heads south to Wheeling, West Virginia for another rally at Wheeling Park High School.
Sunday finds Cheney in Pittsburgh for a noon rally at the Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial Soldiers then on to Altoona, PA to throw out the first pitch at the Altoona Curve/Harrisburg Senators baseball game.
Questions we look forward to answering for you on Monday:
What will Cheney be like on a bus tour?
How does Cheney rally at BC04 events?
Will crowds turn out for the Number Two on this holiday weekend?
Will Curve fans be a bit more polite to the Veep than the rowdies in the Bronx this week?
Does Nicole Devenish remember to call it "pop," and not "soda"?
ABC News Vote 2004: Sen. John Kerry:
The Washington Post's Thomas Edsall and Dan Balz report "Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) announced yesterday that his fundraising continues to break records, bringing in at least $34 million in June to push the total for his presidential campaign to $182 million or more." LINK
An item from John Harwood's Washington Wire: "Kerry plans to hail "values" and energy independence in preconvention events."
The Boston Globe's Bryan Bender reports that Sen. John Kerry is changing is tune when it comes to Israeli-relations. Republicans shouldn't necessarily be wagging those tongues at the thought of another flip-flop though -- he's just taken a stronger pro-Israeli stance. LINK
"In the policy paper, which has not been released publicly, Kerry outlines clear, strongly worded positions on several issues important to the American Jewish community. He calls for more forceful action to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, fully backs Israel's construction of a 425-mile-long barrier between Israel and the Palestinian territories that the paper refers to as 'a security fence,' and pledges to work to push for a new Palestinian political class to replace Yasser Arafat, who is called a 'failed leader.'"
On CNN Kelly Wallace put together a package on Teresa Heinz Kerry, "not your average politician's wife." Wallace interviewed Mother Jones profiler Gail Sheehy, who described Heinz Kerry as "unpredictable, charming, smart, funny, sexy -- and conflicted." Wallace described THK as "unwilling to follow a script" and declared she "could end up being a big surprise."
Historian Douglas Brinkley, who has written favorably of Kerry and his family, told CNN after the package that Teresa Heinz Kerry was largely responsible for Kerry's win in Iowa, calling her the "first and foremost adviser to John Kerry." "It was her going door to door and church to church and school to school in Iowa that helped galvanize John Kerry in that important caucus state … and since then she's been the secret weapon, the star of the campaign," Brinkley said.
And here we thought it was John Norris and Michael Whouley . . .
ABC News Vote 2004: Ad traffic summary:
The Bush and Kerry campaigns go head to head in New Mexico over national security credentials. The Sierra Club launches a new Spanish-language ad bashing the President's environmental policies.
By the numbers . . . One Bush ad knocking Kerry's national security credentials. Five Kerry ads touting his biography and credentials. Zero anti-Nader ads. One pro-Bush ad by an outside group. Two anti-Bush ads by outside groups. Four ads by the New Democrat Network promoting Hispanic unity behind Democrats.
ABC News Vote 2004: casting and counting:
BIG . . . IMPACTING . . .
"More than 2,100 Florida voters -- many of them black Democrats -- could be wrongly barred from voting in November because Tallahassee elections officials included them on a list of felons potentially ineligible to vote, a Herald investigation has found." LINK ?
"A Florida Division of Elections database lists more than 47,000 people the department said may be ineligible to vote because of felony records. The state is directing local elections offices to check the list and scrub felons from voter rolls."
"But a Herald review shows that at least 2,119 of those names -- including 547 in South Florida -- shouldn't be on the list because their rights to vote were formally restored through the state's clemency process."
"That's a potentially jarring flaw, critics say, in a state that turned the 2000 presidential election to Gov. Jeb Bush's brother George on the narrowest of margins -- 537 votes."
"Florida -- one of just six states that don't allow felons to vote -- has come under intense criticism over its botched attempts to purge felons since the bitterly contested 2000 presidential election, when myriad problems prompted many elections officials to ignore the purge altogether."
"State elections officials acknowledge there may be mistakes on the list but insist they have built in safeguards to make sure eligible voters are not removed by local election offices. They say they have warned election offices to be diligent before eliminating voters, and have flagged possible cases in which voters on the list may have regained their rights."
The Tampa Tribune's Garret Therolf reports, "Florida's error-prone list of 47,763 suspected felons who could be tossed from voter rolls before November's presidential election contains nearly three times as many registered Democrats as Republicans. Almost half are racial minorities." LINK
ABC News Vote 2004: the battlegrounds:
In Ohio yesterday, members of the Democratic National Committee "did something marquee politicians rarely do during campaign stops: They listened," reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. LINK
The Columbus Dispatch Notes how the comparison between the struggle for gay rights and civil rights is often a divisive issue among black Americans. LINK
Much to the chagrin of many, the Columbus Dispatch Notes the weak effect campaign ads have had in Columbus, where Bush and Kerry have spent millions to air nearly 3,500 television ads on Columbus TV stations since March. LINK
The Columbus Dispatch Notes the massive amounts of money spent in Ohio regarding the presidential election, highlighting America Coming Together, which has spent more money in Ohio than any other battleground state, $1.1 million as of the end of March. LINK
Marking today's deadline for delivering petition signatures for Washington ballot initiatives, this editorial in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer warns citizens to "add politics and public policy issues to your summer reading list," to prepare for November voting. LINK
Taxable home values are on the rise in Nevada but will homeowners be prepared for the expected 10 percent to 30 percent increase in residential property taxes in July 2005 and the 30 percent to 50 percent jump in July 2006? LINK .
Officials of Clark County, Nev., are having trouble finding someone to write up the pros and cons of a ballot question designed to prohibit the state from mandating new county programs without providing sufficient funding assistance. They just "can't find a single soul" in opposition. LINK
The Arizona Republic reports on the variety of initiatives facing voters in November. LINK
"An Arizona group opposed to illegal immigration filed signature petitions Thursday to put a measure on the state's November ballot," according to the AP. LINK A report released by Arizona State University shows that Arizona is no longer in a state of recovery, but instead of sustained, economic growth, according to the Arizona Republic's Jonathan J. Higuera. LINK
The campaigns continue to vehemently be courting Oregonians as retired Gen. Wesley Clark prepares to stump for Kerry on Tuesday in the state and just two days later, Treasury Secretary John Snow is to address a Portland luncheon. LINK
The Wall Street Journal says that many states are hiring tech-savvy students to help on election day.
Fahrenheit 9/11:
On the day "Fahrenheit 9/11" opens to more than 1,700 theaters across the country, ABC News' Brian Hartman reports that the Army and Air Force Exchange Service is in talks with Lions Gate to screen "Fahrenheit" to U.S. service members around the world.
Lt. Col. Deborah Pressley tells Hartman that when given access to a print, the AAFES plans to show the film in its 159 theaters -- including one in Balad, Iraq. The reason? Box office mojo, apparently: AAFES says it picks movies based on popularity. Since "Fahrenheit" topped the civilian box office, AAFES plans to show it to the troops, Hartman reports.
Michael Moore will be back on Charlie Rose on PBS this evening to continue last night's conversation -- when we left him, he was talking Bush, Nader, and positive movie reviews. Also on the program, Will Ferrell, another guy who happens to be really, really good at making fun of George Bush, and damn funny too.
Meanwhile, we thought this was sort of fun: Republicans offered cash to excoriate the movie in reviews. LINK
We were reminded of this amusing take on conservative and liberal movie reviewers from National Review's Jonah Goldberg. LINK
Big box office number predicted for the weekend: "Spider-Man 2" and "Fahrenheit 9/11." What, no De-Lovely? LINK
And how scary is this one: watching President Bush while hearing Jessica Simpson scream. Eek. LINK
CNET picks up the story, reporting on Moorewatch.com's posting a link to a pirated version of "Fahrenheit" and how it exposes the rift between artists who may want their material to be available for free online and distributors who, well, don't. LINK
One of the strongest letters to the editor from a Republican-turned-Bush-questioner that we've seen is in today's Mercury News. LINK
Richard Cohen's sharp criticism of the movie in Thursday's Washington Post is getting lots of syndication. LINK
And the New York Times' Paul Krugman thinks the media is the reason Moore's movie is so popular: "Mr. Moore may not be considered respectable, but his film is a hit because the respectable media haven't been doing their job." LINK
Nader-Camejo '04:
You may want to make some space next to "Unsafe at Any Speed," on the Ralph Nader shelf in your library. This Tuesday, July 6, "The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence & Close the Democracy Gap," hits book stores. A bible to some -- opposition research to others -- the book condemns the power that large corporations, white-collar corruption, and Nader's usual suspects. LINK
Nader will appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday (competing with Wimbledon tennis for talk time) and Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" next Tuesday. He also has book tours and signings on the east and west coasts.
Also the AP. LINK (People sure do get excited about Florida!)
Indiana Dems or GOPers can rest easy. As a deadline passes, Nader won't be on your ballot this fall. LINK
This morning, Nader holds a press conference at the National Press Club in D.C. Expect a hearty laugh from Zeese if you call to ask if Nader's going to announce he's dropping out.
The Denver Post's editorial board wonders "[W]hat is Ralph Nader up to?" LINK
The conventions:
The Boston Globe's Estes and Weiss have more bad news for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. They promised Sen. Kerry they wouldn't picket the convention itself, but that doesn't mean members of the BPPA won't picket the delegation parties, and some delegates from California, Ohio, Florida, and Washington state as well as union members from Illinois, New York, and Maine have predicted they won't be crossing the lines. LINK
In what the Boston Globe refers to as an attempt "to give something back to the residents of his hometown," Sen. Kerry has requested a Boston Pops concert with James Taylor and fireworks on the Esplanade for the night of July 28. LINK
Hard-to-reach Kerry convention liaison Jack Corrigan had this to say about it: "''John Kerry wants this event not because he's running for president, but because he's a citizen of Boston . . . He's quite hell-bent for it. He wants a public event. It's his hometown civic pride. He wanted the Pops. He loves fireworks, and he's friends with John Williams and James Taylor. He wants to have a good time."
The Boston Globe also reports halts to the infamous "Big Dig" in Boston during the convention. LINK
And protestors are already protesting in Boston against random bag searches on the T during convention week. LINK
The New York Daily News' Maggie Haberman reports that Myor Bloomberg's donation to the convention now looks to be around $7 million. LINK
The economy:
The Wall Street Journal blares good news for Don Evans' internal monologue: "The U.S. economy will enjoy steady expansion for the rest of this year, thanks in part to industrial growth taking off, with unemployment falling and the inflation rate abating, according to a midyear survey of 55 forecasters by The Wall Street Journal."
"The nation's gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of economic activity -- is projected to grow at an annual rate of 4.4% in both the second and third quarters, and 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Those projections represent an increase from actual growth of 3.9% in the first quarter and reflect a forecast panel that is moderately bullish on the economy's prospects. The economists forecast slower growth of 3.7% during the first half of 2005."
"Forecasters aren't too concerned about two trends that seem to be worrying Wall Street: inflation and interest rates."
"Many investors on Wall Street are uneasy about a number of global and domestic developments. Among them: that rising interest rates will stunt business activity, that inflationary pressures could cut into corporate profits and that the threat of terrorism could squash economic growth throughout the world."
"Ordinary Americans don't feel quite as optimistic about the future either, which is one reason that President Bush's job-approval ratings have fallen recently."
Politics of same sex marriage:
Many of the signatures calling for the Oregon same-sex marriage ban to be put on the ballot came from nearly 1,000 churches in the area. The latest polls show support for the ban in the state remains high, according to the AP and KGW News. LINK
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Laura Kellams reports that Arkansas groups have also turned in "more than double" the required number of signatures for a same-sex union ban.
Howard Dean:
Meryl Gordon and Howard Dean back together again. You will no doubt recall Meryl Gordon's New York magazine opus on Howard Dean from February 2003. Gordon spent 48 hours with the good doctor last week and her findings will be in the upcoming issue of New York Magazine hitting newsstands on Monday.
"Dean remains angry about some coverage, and he's even willing to name names, citing as 'sleazebag reporters' Michael Isikoff of Newsweek, Brian Ross of ABC News, and the AP's John Solomon, investigative journalists who looked into his Vermont past."
"'At the end, we were being absolutely hammered every day by the press and our opponents; every day stuff would get in the paper that I didn't think was flattering or wasn't true,' he says, his voice rising. 'The New York Times put a story on page one that I'd participated in insider trading. It was the most ridiculous thing. Even the Times ombudsman took issue with some of the coverage.' Then Dean turns philosophical, saying, 'But that's what the front-runner goes through.'"
Dean also waxes poetic on his feelings about John Kerry and what he wishes he'd done more of and less of in the campaign.
Morning show wrap:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/Morning_Show_Wrap.html
TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times ET): —8:30 am: The Labor Department releases the June employment report—9:45 am: Off-camera press gaggle by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan—10:00 am: Ralph Nader accuses U.S. corporations of being unpatriotic during a press conference at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C. —10:00 am: The Commerce Department releases the factory orders report for May—10:00 am: Rep. Chris Smith and others speak at a general session of the Right to Life Convention at the Hyatt-Regency, Arlington, Va. —10:55 am: President Bush speaks about the economy at the White House—12:00 pm: Sen. John Kerry is met by local veterans upon arrival to the airport, Duluth, Minn. —12:10 pm: President and Mrs. Bush depart the White House from South Lawn en route to Camp David—12:30 pm: Rep. Elijah Cummings, D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and members of the Congressional Black Caucus speak about the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. —1:00 pm: Former President Bill Clinton signs copies of his memoirs, "My Life," at Books-A-Million, N. Little Rock, Ark. —1:30 pm: Sen. Kerry attends a "Celebrating the Spirit of America" rally in Cloquet Square, Cloquet, Minn. —9:00 pm: Sen. Kerry attends a rally at Chippewa County Farm, Bloomer, Wis.