The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, June 3, 2004—
-- NOTED NOW

TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)

FUTURES CALENDAR

NEWS SUMMARY

Questions for the cycle(s) (news and presidential election cycles, that is):

What are the dominant impressions voters will take away from the President's foreign trips -- unifying world leader on an Iraq victory lap or defiant cowboy protested by thousands of Europeans and a certain Pontiff?

In local and national coverage, which will get the most breakthrough attention today in KerryWorld: his final major national security speech of this period (complete with retired military leader support and some endorsements); the new TV spot "Country"; or the efforts to turn America into a poetry seminar through deconstruction of Langston Hughes's "Let America be America Again." (LINK)?

Where is the next round of public polls and what will they say?

Can the New York Times, simply by front paging the Bush campaign's effort to get people of observant faith involved in the re-election effort, demonize for the left half of the Gang of 500 something that seems perfectly appropriate?

All the questions swirling around the President's semi-hiring of lawyer Jim Sharp -- Has money changed hands? Why Sharp? Has Vice President Cheney "hired" a lawyer?

Will the Kerry campaign continue to defer all questions about this matter to the DNC?

Who's right -- Karl Rove or Bob Novak -- about whether No Child Left Behind and the prescription drug bill are going to be net electoral pluses for the President or not?

Will David Wade show John Kerry the kicker of Mark Barabak's Los Angeles Times story on John Edwards', erh, ambition? And what will David Ginsberg and Steve Elmendorf think of that portion of the story? LINK

Besides his exclusive major media appearances, just how much broadcast and cable news coverage will Bill Clinton's book and tour get -- as compared to, say, Scott Peterson's trial?

Will today's round of Kerry-abortion stories cause the campaign to get the candidate to focus on what he really thinks and wants to say on the matter, or will they just collectively stumble into the next semi-crisis in reaction to events and reporters' questions? (And, no, Karen Hughes, that is not advice -- it is analysis.)

Who is more aware that Phyllis J. Hamilton was approved by unanimous consent on May 24, 2000, after Bill Clinton nominated her for a federal district court seat -- Republicans or Democrats?

When will the hosts of "Fox and Friends" get over their obsession with free stuff and gifts?

President Bush speaks to the press with Australian Prime Minister John Howard today at the White House. He departs for Italy this afternoon for a four-day trip to Europe.

Sen. John Kerry speaks about adapting the military to deal with terrorism at the Harry Truman Library in Independence, Mo. He flies to Minneapolis tonight.

Sens. Hillary Clinton, George Soros, and Gov. Howard Dean speak at the Campaign for America's Future conference in Washington.

Ralph Nader discusses "breaking the two-party system" at a luncheon at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C.

Bill Clinton gives the keynote at the BookExpo America meeting in Chicago. LINK

DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe attends a rally and press conference supporting Ohio job growth at the Scripps Amphitheater, Athens, Ohio.

Teresa Heinz Kerry attends the New York Jefferson Jackson Dinner at the Hilton Hotel, New York, N.Y.

The Senate resumes debate on the defense budget. As many as four votes are expected in the early afternoon.

CIA leak investigation:

This story could be huge and dominant and exploding, or nothing at all -- and at this point we are proud to say we don't have a clue where it is headed.

The Washington Post's Mike Allen reports that President Bush is talking to Washington lawyer Jim Sharp about representing him if the President is called to testify before (or "visit with") a grand jury in the probe into the leak of a CIA officer's name. LINK

The New York Times Lichtblau and Sanger. LINK

The Los Angeles Times Wallsten and Schmitt. LINK

The AP: LINK

Boy, Sharp is low profile. If you read the papers, you learn he allegedly represented Richard Secord in Iran-Contra, that he is from Oklahoma, and that he is a former government prosecutor who now has a "low-profile white-collar defense practice."

So far, at least, the man seems impervious to the strongest overnight efforts imaginable by a team of Googling monkeys and the staff of ABC News' Political Unit.

In our minds' eyes, we are thinking of a kind of GOP-leaning David Kendall doppelganger, but we'll see.

ABC News Vote 2004: Sen. John Kerry:

Sen. Kerry talks about strengthening the military today at the Harry S Truman Library in Independence, Mo., talking up plans to boost military readiness and expand the armed forces to deal with terrorism, and to use the National Guard to defend the United States.

The speech will feature a healthy dose of criticism aimed at the Bush Administration, saying that the military was ill-equipped to deal with the job it had to do in Iraq.

Some excerpts:

"We went into Iraq with too few troops to prevent looting and crime, and we failed to secure nearly a million tons of conventional weapons now being used against our troops. We failed to build alliances and squandered the opportunity to generate wider support inside Iraq, in the Arab world, and among the major powers. These mistakes have complicated our mission and complicated our objective: a stable Iraq with a representative government secure in its borders."

"The effect is clear: our soldiers are stretched too thin."

"The Administration's answer has been to put band-aids on the problem. They have effectively used a stop loss policy as a back-door draft. They have extended tours of duty, delayed retirements, and prevented enlisted personnel from leaving the service. Just yesterday, the Army announced this would effect even more soldiers whose units are headed to Iraq and Afghanistan. By employing these expedients, they've increased the forces by 30,000 troops."

In addition, the Kerry campaign announces today its senior military advisory group -- the retired admirals and officers who are advising on defense and the military. The team: Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William Crowe and Gen. John Shalikashvili; Gen. Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; Gen. Joseph Hoar, former Commander-in-Chief, US Central Command; Admiral Stansfield Turner, former director, Central Intelligence Agency; Gen. Tony McPeak, former US Air Force Chief of Staff; Gen. Johnnie Wilson, former Commander, US Army Material Command; LTG Daniel Christman, former superintendent, U.S. Military Academy; LTG General Kennedy, former Deputy Army Chief of Staff for Intelligence; Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, former Inspector General, U.S. Navy; Maj. Gen. Harry Jenkins, former Chief Legislative Liaison, U.S. Marine Corps.

Wednesday: another day, another terrorism proposal, another he-said-he-said involving Kerry and Falkenraith. LINK

Give the Kerry campaign credit, though -- their incremental roll-out of the anti-terrorism proposals are certainly getting favorable incremental coverage in the nation's newspapers.

The Washington Times' Rowan Scarborough says Kerry is moving to the "right of the Democratic Party's left wing" on terrorism, with help from some of President Clinton's former advisors. "Mr. Kerry even attempts to sound tougher than the hawkish president." LINK

The New York Times' Jodi Wilgoren reports "Senator John Kerry on Wednesday blasted the Bush administration for ever backing Mr. Chalabi as an Iraqi exile leader, saying he met him in London years ago and deemed him unworthy of American support." LINK

The Washington Post's Jim VandeHei takes a sophisticated look at how events, such as Tuesday's court ruling that the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act is unconstitutional, are reluctantly pulling Kerry into an abortion debate that he would rather avoid given that the election is likely to be decided in culturally conservative states. It's an interesting take on how the campaign and Kerry supporters are spinning the issue, how much abortion-rights advocates are willing to compromise to elect a Democrat, and how the "politicization" charge works in more ways that one. LINK

AP writes up comments by Planned Parenthood president Gloria Feldt Wednesday that Sen. Kerry is too cautious in talking about abortion rights, and needs to speak forcefully about his beliefs to give voters a real sense of what he believes in. LINK

The Washington Post's Dan Balz writes about the Kerry campaign's aggressive approach to Florida, in both free and paid media, having learned some lessons from the Gore campaign in 2000. Ohio may be the focus of a lot of attention, but by Balz's count, Kerry has spent 20 days in Florida since starting his campaign last year, and President Bush has spent $14 million on ads there. BC04 officials argue, however, that the combined spending by the Kerry campaign and Democratic 527 groups matches their ad buys. LINK

Kerry's making a habit of swinging through Tampa, Fla., making three of his five visits to the hotly contested state through that region, writes the Orlando Sentinel's Mark Silva. LINK

The AP's Lawrence Messina reports that Teresa Heinz Kerry said in West Virginia yesterday that the President's "push to invade Iraq 'exacerbated, out of control, terrorism around the world' while alienating allies." LINK

Mrs. Kerry visited Charleston, W.Va. on Wednesday, continuing to meet with families of soldiers serving overseas. LINK

She talked to military families and soft-spokenly talk to reporters. "A spokeswoman promised that Heinz Kerry would be amplified in the future." LINK

In Kansas City Wednesday, Sen. Kerry told an overflow crowd of Show-Me Staters that Bush "can't come out here and Show you" because he "doesn't have a record to run on." Kerry stays in the state today with a stop in Independence, Mo. LINK

Not content to let Kerry's multi-day stop in the state go unnoticed, four of Missouri's current and past senators spent yesterday engaged in a back-and-forth about whether local boy Harry Truman would have supported Kerry.

Sen. Kit Bond: "Harry Truman is known for the sign on his desk that read 'The Buck Stops Here.' When Truman made a decision, he stood by it. John Kerry sees major decisions as opportunities to advance his political career." LINK

Former Sen. Thomas Eagleton: "I think I know a lot more about Harry Truman than our two right-wing Republican senators. Truman would know that George W. Bush was a lightweight who got us into a mess in Iraq."

Former Sen. Jean Carnahan: "I don't think Harry Truman would take very kindly to two senators who never wore a uniform questioning the national defense credentials of a decorated war hero." LINK

The Boston Herald reports that former New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines has teed off on Kerry in London's Guardian newspaper, saying that he looks like Lurch from the Addams Family and is more pompous than Gore. LINK

(Times reporters can insert their own "it takes one to know one" jokes here.)

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

"The Bush campaign is seeking to enlist thousands of religious congregations around the country in distributing campaign information and registering voters, according to an e-mail message sent to many members of the clergy and others in Pennsylvania," reports the New York Times' David Kirkpatrick. LINK

"In the message, dated early Tuesday afternoon, Luke Bernstein, coalitions coordinator for the Bush campaign in Pennsylvania, wrote: 'The Bush-Cheney '04 national headquarters in Virginia has asked us to identify 1,600 `Friendly Congregations' in Pennsylvania where voters friendly to President Bush might gather on a regular basis.'"

"In each targeted 'place of worship,' Mr. Bernstein continued, without mentioning a specific religion or denomination, 'we'd like to identify a volunteer who can help distribute general information to other supporters.' He explained: 'We plan to undertake activities such as distributing general information/updates or voter registration materials in a place accessible to the congregation.'"

Yes, the story was planted by a liberal organization who opposes President Bush.

Now -- it's entirely legal for BC04 to recruit people to recruit their fellow church members... so long as they don't do the recruiting on church property in an official capacity (they can certainly chat informally . . .) and so long as the pastor/church officials don't participate or sanction it from the pulpit.

But as Trevor Potter mentions in the article, it is not clear what the BC04 campaign plans to do with their recruited volunteers. If that means somehow commandeering common church space to pass out literature -- that could pose a taxing legal problem.

But we bet the campaign's lawyers have thought all this through.

The AP's take on Bush recruitment of the churches makes it into the Los Angeles Times. LINK

John Allen Jr. in a New York Times op-ed anticipates President Bush's meeting with the Pope and wonders what the effect may have on Catholic voters.

"For Mr. Bush, his image as the "religious" candidate could be tarnished if he's seen as having been chastised by the most authoritative Christian leader in the world. No doubt the president's advisers believe a photo op with the pope could be useful in battleground states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where the Catholic vote could be decisive." LINK

President Bush told graduating Air Force Academy cadets and their families near Colorado Springs "The best way to protect America is to stay on the offensive." LINK

The Denver Post's Karen Crummy Notes the speech may have previewed his "Greater Middle East Initiative" planned for discussion at the G-8 economic summit next week. She throws in a response from Gary Hart, and the fact that before the speech, Bush met for half an hour with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. No details on what the discussed, but we're guessing the term "gay marriage" may have found it's way into the conversation.

The New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller wraps President Bush's commencement address to the Air Force Academy during which he likened the fight against terrorism to World War II. LINK

USA Today's Tom Kenworthy calls it a "muscular graduation speech." LINK

The Washington Post's Amy Goldstein has Bush warning of the "swagger and demented logic of the fanatic" and casting the war on terrorism in philosophical terms in his commencement address Wednesday at the U.S. Air Force Academy. LINK

The Chicago Tribune's Jeff Zeleny looks at the cumulative effect of Bush's remarks on the war on terror in the battlegrounds of Colorado and Pennsylvania. LINK

Meanwhile outside, roughly 500 protesters gathered at the southern gate throughout the morning to wave anti-war and anti-Bush signs. At the north gate, nearly 150 pro-Bush supporters held signs and blared patriotic music. LINK

The Denver Post's Kris Hudson estimates Denver taxpayers are left with a $57,500 tab for President Bush's visit to the city where he raised $2.2 million for Republican candidates Tuesday night. LINK

Bob Novak says the President should stop touting his performance on education in ads and stop talking about the prescription drug plan, because they're turning off the Republican base. In terms of issues, stick to tax cuts, Novak suggests. LINK

"It was common for Republican congressmen during this recess to be approached by a voter asking: Isn't it true that if we had John Kerry as president and a Republican majority in Congress opposing him, we never would have had this prescription drug bill? The implication is that conservatives in Congress could be real conservatives with an ineffective Democrat in the White House."

More: "Actually, Bush's defeat more likely would trigger an enormous internal explosion inside the Republican Party between forces temporarily held together in an effort to elect a president. Nor are Republicans still confident that in the wake of Bush's defeat, they would hold the Senate or even the House."

Treasury Secretary John Snow speaks to small business owners in the battleground state of Arkansas today. His prepared remarks are laden with a healthy dollop of "The President's tax cuts . . ."

Here's an excerpt:

"It's clear that American families and small businesses like yours have benefited from the lowered burden of taxation brought about by President Bush's tax cuts. The natural strength and resilience of our free-market economy has proven itself once again. The President's tax cuts provided the relief and the stimulus that American consumers and job-creators needed."

The Chicago Sun-Times' Leslie Griffy and Dave McKinney report that President Bush is not on the Illinois ballot because of a state law that requires presidential candidates to be certified by the state elections board by Aug. 30 -- three days before the President receives his party's nomination at the Republican convention. Because of budget haggling, Griffy and McKinney write, the state legislature is in overtime and any remaining legislation -- such as the election bill -- needs a three-fifths supermajority to pass. The state party can go to federal court to make sure the President has a spot on the ballot. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush v. Kerry:

John Harwood, on the Wall Street Journal's front page, examines liberals' hope of a political comeback through the lens of Bush's supposed ratings decline, the left's robust fundraising, and Herseth's South Dakota victory ... Harwood even reads meaning into The Nation's growing readership.

"On the defensive for more than a generation, the American left is seeing signs of political revival. Recent polls show more Americans are calling themselves 'liberal' -- a term that had been considered something of an epithet -- and fewer are identifying themselves as 'conservative.' Liberal groups, from the National Organization for Women to MoveOn.org, are enjoying a big fund-raising surge. The flagship publication of the left, the Nation, claims to have captured the highest circulation of any weekly political magazine."

"Some liberal activists acknowledge that Republicans could very well repeat earlier electoral successes by using cultural issues such as gay marriage to win support from working-class voters who agree with upscale Democrats on economic matters. And even if Democrats win the White House and Capitol Hill this time, there's no guarantee liberals would fare better with a President Kerry than they did under President Bill Clinton, a centrist Democrat who clashed with his party's left over trade expansion, welfare overhaul and budget balancing."

USA Today's Susan Page writes about the "religion gap" separating the two parties and their candidates, but it's hard to tell exactly which numbers her story is based on. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: the battlegrounds:

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao writes in the Des Moines Register that workers are better off now under the Bush Administration than he gets credit for. LINK

KSDK-TV has an unconfirmed report that the Von Weise Gear Company will be closing its St. Clair, Mo. factory in July. "The loss of 255 good paying, $13-$16 an hour jobs is a big hit for a town that only has a population of 4,000." LINK

The Des Moines Register's Jane Norman reports that Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley shot back at Tom Vilsack yesterday, rebutting claims that the Bush Administration was planning to cut money for homeland security in Iowa. LINK

Just like the SATs, the Arizona Republic's O. Ricardo Pimentel wants to know, Iraq is to Bush's re-election chances as Vietnam is to (a) Lyndon Johnson or (b) Richard Nixon? (The Note is pretty sure Bush is still going to run, so we'll stick with (c) for now) LINK

Veepstakes:

The Los Angeles Times' Mark Z. Barabak looks at Edwards' travel on behalf of Kerry. He gets nothing new other than Art Torres fawning about the southern smoothie's charisma and Donna Brazile doing her best Laura Bush paraphrase: "What happened in the primary stays in the primary." LINK

But Barabak does end his story with a good piece of color from a "Tar Heel Thursday," the Q&A sessions Edwards regularly holds with North Carolinians visiting Washington, D.C.

"Back at Tar Heel Thursday on Capitol Hill, (Edwards) was asked about his differences with Bush. After ticking off a long list, he stabbed a finger in the air and concluded, 'It's the reason I should be president.'

'Or John Kerry should be president,' he quickly added."

In a column about John McCain, Deb Orin concludes by saying: "Problem: Kerry just doesn't seem to like the more charismatic Edwards." LINK

The Albuquerque Journal Notes what a big "help" Gov. Bill Richardson was in getting his candidates elected in Tuesday's primaries. LINK and "success" LINK

The politics of Iraq:

The Washington Post's Josh White looks at the Army's announcement on Wednesday that thousands of active duty and reserve soldiers may be forced to serve extended terms in the military after their voluntary service expires. Extensions had previously been announced unit by unit, but all soldiers are now cautioned that it could be a possibility. LINK

Sen. Kerry could well work this idea of a "backdoor draft" into his speech on strengthening the military today in Independence, Mo.

The AP reports that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, endorsed the new Iraqi interim government, and encouraged its members to lobby the U.N. for full sovereignty. LINK

The Washington Post's Robin Wright chronicles the diplomatic payback that the Bush Administration faces at the United Nations as officials seek support for the U.S. plan for the June 30 handover of sovereignty in Iraq. LINK

The Washington Post's Walter Pincus and Dana Priest write up Condoleezza Rice's closed-door damage assessment on Capitol Hill on Thursday, reporting her vow to conduct a full investigation of allegations that Chalabi informed Iranian officials that the U.S. had broken that country's intelligence code. LINK

The Washington Post's Edward Cody sums up dissatisfaction among the Iraqi population at the U.S. occupation for its unkept promises and military tactics. LINK

Prison abuse scandal:

The Washington Post's Helen Dewar writes up Sen. Trent Lott's comments about prison abuses at Abu Ghraib on Mississippi radio. LINK

"When WAPT news anchor Brad McMullan noted that a prisoner died at Abu Ghraib, apparently after a beating, Lott responded, 'This is not Sunday school; this is interrogation; this is rough stuff.' ... Some of the prisoners 'should not have been prisoners in the first place, probably should have been killed,' he added."

The politics of national security:

White House counterterrorism czar Fran Townsend appeared exclusively on ABC's "Good Morning America" for her first live television interview. After being introduced with a laudatory package, Townsend was quizzed by Diane Sawyer about why Attorney General John Ashcroft and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge did not deliver the same message in announcing new terror warnings last week.

"You have to remember when you talk about the confusion, while I think that's unfortunate, the attorney general has a different mission than Secretary Ridge. The attorney general did an excellent job trying to mobilize the public to assist law enforcement in catching bad guys before they commit a crime or a terrorist attack, Townsend said. "Secretary Ridge is responsible for announcing when and if we should take particular protective measures related to the threat level."

Sawyer responded by wondering whether it was still bad to give mixed messages. "Of course it is," Townsend said, "and its unfortunate. I tell you, we're a lot more organized than three years ago, and we constantly refine our organization… We are continuing to get better."

Townsend also presented an extremely bleak view of what Jose Padilla was capable of, saying "he was determined planning on assassinating women and children where they sleep and live and eat… I find the debate over how he is being treated fascinating, because frankly it's a real Washington kind of debate. We wouldn't have the luxury of this debate if he had been successful."

House lawmakers resoundingly defeated a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed governors to name replacements if half the 435-member chamber died in a terrorist attack or other disaster, the AP reports. LINK

In Las Vegas, Kerry supporter and former FBI official Michael Vatis said that Sin City is a "significant target for terrorists" and then warned that the "Bush Administration has failed first-responders" in Las Vegas and elsewhere "by underfunding homeland security efforts." LINK

Planning is underway for a Patriot Act celebration this morning in Olympia, Wash. LINK

ABC New Vote 2004: the House:

As Democrats and Republicans fight over the meaning of Democrat Stephanie Herseth's win in Tuesday's special election, the Washington Post Chuck Babington reports, "GOP leaders seemed on the defensive, having to explain away their second special-election loss within four months in a district previously held by a Republican." No one begrudges Democrats their victory dance, but let's not get carried away with all the harbinger talk. LINK

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, unsurprisingly, is looking at the Herseth victory as a step toward Dems re-taking the House. LINK

USA Today's Mike Madden listens to the dueling banjos over what South Dakota really means. LINK

According to Roll Call's Chris Cillizza, NRCC Chair Tom Reynolds is claiming that any Iraq-related backlash will hurt only the President, and not other GOP candidates.

The politics of gas prices:

ABC News' Ramona Schindelheim reports that oil prices are up to $40.37 today, despite the news that OPEC has agreed to increase its production by two million barrels a day.

As predicted by Melita Marie Garza of the Chicago Tribune, who writes that even if OPEC ministers agree to produce 2.5 million more barrels of oil a day, it probably won't affect oil prices. LINK

No Child Left Behind:

The Washington Post's Michelle Singletary offers a Roger & Ebert style grading of the higher ed measures before Congress. LINK

Stem-cell politics:

David Broder writes about the bipartisan letters to the President in the House and Senate favoring the expansion of stem cell research, and gives former First Lady Nancy Reagan full credit for jump-starting the across-the-aisle cooperation. LINK

The conventions:

The Washington Times' Brian DeBose and Robert Redding report that state party leaders in New York, Maryland, and Georgia are keeping some prominent Democrats from being delegates. LINK

The Boston Herald's Jack Meyers and David Guarino report, "Media covering Boston's Democratic convention will find themselves squeezed into a smaller workspace -- or even relegated to temporary quarters on commuter rail tracks -- under an abrupt change in plans revealed yesterday." LINK

"Looking to cut costs, the Democratic National Convention has decided to move one of its media work areas to a cheaper location a few buildings away -- one that provides some 14,000 fewer square feet and would consign at least 1,000 journalists to workspace outside the convention's security perimeter," reports the Boston Globe's Rick Klein. LINK

Meanwhile, the AP's Jennifer Peter reports that some of you might have to sit next to bloggers in those cramped quarters. LINK

Roll Call's Brady Mullins chronicles the importance of convention 'fixers,' who suddenly find themselves very popular.

The Boston Herald's Christopher Cox opines on Mayor Menino's encouraging Boston workers to telecommute during the convention. LINK

Judicial politics:

The AP's Jesse Holland reports that some conservatives are upset by the deal the White House struck with Senate Democrats to stop using recess appointments. LINK

Politics:

The highlight of today's Campaign for America's Future conference is likely to be George Soros's speech at 9:15 am ET. He'll be introduced by none other than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

The New York Post's Vincent Morris picked up that RNC anti-Soros memo yesterday. LINK

The Wall Street Journal has a scathing editorial about Ullico.

The New York Times' Edmund Andrews reports that many Republicans in Congress are "concluding they would be better off with no budget plan than with one that would require them to pay the cost of permanently extending last year's tax cuts." LINK

The Clintons of Chappaqua:

Rush and Molloy devote their column to a slew of non-consequential Clinton news. LINK

TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times ET): —8:00 am: President Bush meets privately with Australian Prime Minister John Howard at the White House —8:15 am: Former Sens. Warren Rudman and Gary Hart, co-authors of the pre-9/11 homeland security study and co-chairs of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century, present new findings at the Homeland Security Summit and Expo, Washington, D.C. —8:30 am: Sen. Tom Harkin speaks as part of ABC News, Time magazine, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's obesity summit, Williamsburg, Va. —8:30 am: Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Rep. Porter Goss, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, address the Republican Main Street Partnership on "Intelligence: Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead" at the Capitol Hill Club, Washington, D.C. —8:30 am: The Labor Department releases the productivity and employment costs report for the first quarter—9:00 am: Sen. Harkin delivers the opening remarks at the "Seminar on Parliamentary Ethics and Responsibility" hosted by the U.S. and Polish Senates at the Capitol, Washington, D.C. —9:30 am: Reps. Dennis Kucinich, Christopher Shays, and others participate in a panel discussion as part of the "Seminar on Parliamentary Ethics and Responsibility, Washington, D.C. —9:25 am: Sen. Hillary Clinton introduces George Soros at the Campaign for America's Future Conference at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C. —9:30 am: HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announces a new Medicare project intended to help people with disabilities, Washington, D.C. —9:45 am: The Senate convenes for morning business—9:50 am: President Bush and Prime Minister Howard speak to the press in the Rose Garden, the White House—10:00 am: The House Armed Services Subcommittee holds a hearing on sexual assaults in the military with Defense Undersecretary David Chu, Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Ellen Embrey, and the assistant secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force, Washington, D.C. —10:30 am: New South Dakota Rep. Stephanie Herseth is sworn in at the Capitol, Washington, D.C. —11:00 am: Freddie Mac releases its weekly mortgage rates report—11:15 am: DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe attends a rally and press conference supporting Ohio job growth at the Scripps Amphitheater, Athens, Ohio—11:15 am: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly news conference at the Capitol, Washington, D.C. —12:00 pm: United Nations Security Council holds a closed meeting on Iraq—12:00 pm: Sen. John Kerry speaks about adapting the military to deal with terrorism at the Harry S Truman Library, Independence, Mo. —12:00 pm: The Middle East Institute holds a discussion on performance of the Bush Administration in Iraq and how well Sen. Kerry compares, Washington, D.C. —12:30 pm: Ralph Nader discusses "breaking the two-party system" at a luncheon at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C. —12:30 pm: Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman, Tom Lantos, John Conyers, and Ike Skelton hold a press conference to accuse House Republicans of refusing to investigate prison abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, Washington, D.C. —12:30 pm: The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law holds a discussion titled "The Neo-Conservative Movement and Human Rights: What's not to like?" Washington, D.C. —1:00 pm: FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies before the House Appropriations Committee at the Capitol, Washington, D.C. —1:15 pm: Gov. Howard Dean addresses the Campaign for America's Future conference, Washington, D.C. —2:30 pm: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist meets with Prime Minister Howard at the Capitol, Washington, D.C. —3:30 pm: Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack holds a news conference at the State Capitol, Des Moines, Iowa—3:30 pm: House Speaker Dennis Hastert meets with Prime Minister Howard at the Capitol, Washington, D.C. —7:00 pm: Former President Bill Clinton delivers the keynote address at the BookExpo America about his upcoming memoir "My Life," Chicago, Ill. —7:15 pm: Teresa Heinz Kerry attends the New York Jefferson Jackson Dinner at the Hilton Hotel, New York, N.Y. —8:05 pm: Sen. Kerry arrives at the Minneapolis airport, Minneapolis, Minn.