The Note

W A S H I N G T O N, April 9—
, 2004 -- TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET)

FUTURES CALENDAR

NEWS SUMMARY

Political dynamics to watch from now through Monday:

1. Violence, troop levels, civilian targets, and hostages in Iraq.

2. Will Vice President Cheney on his Asian trip be drawn into the Japanese hostage situation?

3. When does that PDB get declassified and who wins the spin war over it for the general public?

4. Where does the White House stand on "organizing" the pro-Bush 9/11 families?

5. What will the weekend polls show about the effects of Iraq violence on the President's standing? (The new AP numbers show mostly status quo. LINK)

6. Will pressure mount on Sen. Kerry to be more specific about Iraq? (Look for him to maybe talk about the topic again today, which he did on Imus, where he made no news on anything.)

7. When will the political community wake up to the staggering implications of Kerry's fish-in-a-barrel fundraising, and when will the campaign start to spend that money on TV spots big time?

8. Will Kerry make it through Easter without any Church controversy?

9. Which reporter next goes to a dinner party with Bill Clinton and gets the skinny? (And does Al Gore do his 9/11 visit today?)

10. Kerry new ad shoot. Shrum, Shrum, Shrum, Shrum, Shrum, Shrum, Shrum . . . .

11. Which Note readers will join the Noted Now bandwagon -- realizing that it is the best place for them to get breaking political news all the time at a glance? LINK

President Bush is at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. He will remain at the ranch throughout the weekend with no public events, doing lots of national security business. He meets with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday.

Sen. Kerry is campaigning in Chicago, Ill. He will be in Boston through the weekend, meeting with Democratic National Convention officials, filming new commercials, and celebrating Easter with his family. He will travel to Durham, N.H. on Monday.

In Alaska, Vice President Cheney and Mrs. Cheney participate in a rally with troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base (no relation to a certain Kerry aide), and attend a reception for Sen. Lisa Murkowski at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. The Cheneys then head off on their Asian trip.

The Senate is not in session because of the Easter holiday.

Tune in Sunday on "This Week," when ABC News' George Stephanopoulos be joined by former Pentagon adviser Richard Perle and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) for a discussion on the Bush Administration's foreign policy and the week that was on the Hill and in Iraq. Check your local listings.

The politics of the 9/11 Commission:

In his New York Times analysis, David Sanger writes Dr. Rice's testimony will not likely stem the debate over what the Bush Administration did and didn't do in the months leading up to 9/11. LINK

"As expected, Ms. Rice was polite, brisk and precise, if a bit apprehensive-sounding at the start. But by the end of the three hours, her tone was so emphatic and unemotional that she may have created as many new debates about the administration's reaction as she settled old ones."

"'This isn't over,' one senior administration official said after watching her. 'But we may have turned a corner.'"

The Washington Post's David Von Drehle examines Rice's testimony, which he suggests "did not end the scouring of the Bush administration, it helped to narrow the focus to this: What did President Bush and his senior advisers know in the summer of 2001 about a flurry of terrorist threats picked up by intelligence services, and what did they do about it?" LINK

George Will suggests in the Washington Post that Rice's testimony over the backdrop of the insurgency in Iraq has "increased public skepticism about an administration that radically underestimated postwar challenges." LINK

The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne posits "the degree to which Republicans are worried over what the commission will conclude can be measured with some precision. The more Republicans pick up (Senator) McConnell's line of attack, the more certain you can be that the administration has something to worry about." LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Maura Reynolds praises Rice's "powerful rebuttal" in deflecting criticism that the Administration brushed off warnings, before getting to her "on the other hand" analysis. LINK

"But on the critical question of what the Bush White House did in response to those warnings, Rice's performance was markedly less effective."

The New York Times' Shenon. LINK

The Washington Post's Eggen and Pincus. LINK

Greg Miller for the Los Angeles Times. LINK

USA Today's Walter Shapiro writes, "For all the not-since-Watergate hubbub that surrounded Rice's nearly three hours of sworn testimony, Thursday morning's hearing on the roots of the terrorist attacks was merely a single memorable scene in a drama that is far from completed." LINK

The Chicago Tribune's Bob Kemper and Jeff Zeleny: LINK

The Washington Times' James Lakely. LINK

And as Americans once became well versed in rule (6)(e) regarding grand jury secrecy so will they be able to converse at the dinner table about PDB's. LINK

The New York Post's Deborah Orin writes, "The most valuable thing Rice did was to try to take some of the poison out of the debate and explain that no one could magically change policies against al Qaeda overnight, instead of trying to shift blame elsewhere." LINK

USA Today's Judy Keen. LINK

The New York Post: "The Lady is a Champ" LINK

The New York Daily News leads its Rice coverage with some none too pleased family members of 9/11 victims. LINK

The Washington Post's Tom Shales writes, "if it were to be viewed as a battle, or a sporting event, or a contest -- and of course that would be wrong -- then Condoleezza Rice won it. Indeed, the national security adviser did so well and seemed so firmly in command of the situation yesterday, when she testified under oath before the 9/11 commission, that one had to wonder why the White House spent so much time and energy trying to keep her from having to appear." LINK

The New York Times' Alessandra Stanley looks at how it played on television while Noting the race and gender factors at play. LINK

"It was Mr. Kerrey who brought a touch of the extraordinary to a mostly tepid, inconclusive televised hearing. His wild-card questioning and difficulty remembering Ms. Rice's name gave the starchy national security adviser a chance to show, live on every network and cable news show, a flash of personality so often missing from her public persona."

USA Today's Peter Johnson reports on the three broadcast networks' decision to go live with Dr. Rice's full testimony. LINK

The Wall Street Journal ed board takes Bob Kerrey to task for his opening remarks. "We thought the former Senator had more class than to preface his remarks with a condescending allusion to the fact that Ms. Rice is a black woman."

The Boston Globe's Mark Jurkowitz reports on Sen. Kerrey's name mix-up and the other moments that Dr. Rice dealt with. LINK

Todd Purdum and Ray Hernandez report on President Clinton's secret discussions before the 9/11 Commission yesterday afternoon after the theater of Capitol Hill. LINK

"True to form, Mr. Clinton stayed an hour longer than planned, and sometimes answered questions that had not been asked, commissioners reported. He took time off from finishing his memoirs and "battened down the hatches to prepare for this very methodically," reviewing relevant documents and discussing the issues with former aides, one longtime associate said."

The duo also report Sandy Berger and Bruce Lindsey helped prepare the former president for his longer than scheduled meeting.

Rice and the edit boards:

The New York Times: LINK

The New York Post: LINK

The Washington Post: LINK

Politics of Iraq:

Michael Gordon of the New York Times looks at the challenges facing military strategists as American forces enter their second year in a post-Saddam Iraq. LINK

"One year after United States forces fought their way into Baghdad, Americans now find themselves facing more enemies, with fewer effective allies, than they had counted on."

The Los Angeles Times reports, "The rising cost of security is hobbling the effort to rebuild Iraq, resulting in cutbacks to projects, delays in construction and fewer benefits for the Iraqi people, according to industry executives and government officials." LINK

The Washington Post's Milbank and Wright report that with President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Collin Powell became the point man in Washington. During congressional testimony, Powell assured lawmakers that the U.S. military will soon settle the insurgency in Iraq, but also gave some ground. LINK

USA Today's Barbara Slavin writes, "With less than 12 weeks to go before the United States hands political authority to an Iraqi government, there are still far more questions than answers about who will take power, how much control they will have and whether Iraq is on the way to democracy or to chaos." LINK

The morning shows:

On the one-year anniversary of the fall of Saddam's statue, the three networks led with Iraq before quickly moving onto Rice's testimony. All three networks interviewed White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett and 9/11 Commission member Bob Kerrey. Later, Sen. John Kerry appeared on "Imus in the Morning" and tantalized the show's host with the possibility of a Kerry-Imus ticket.

Bartlett told ABC News' Diane Sawyer that the Aug. 6 Presidential Daily Brief contains no specific threats, but instead was an "analytical background document" that also talks about suspicious activity. "Trust me," he said. "Had the President of the United States had information that there were going to be attacks in Washington and New York, he would have moved heaven and earth to make sure that didn't happen."

As for the declassification of the brief, Bartlett said on NBC the Administration is "going through the legal process" to declassify it as opposed to "over the airwaves," as "everyone including Mr. Kerrey were trying" to do yesterday. On Iraq, Bartlett said the "silent majority" in Iraq "want Democracy to take hold." He added: "The road to democracy is hard, but we will prevail."

Kerrey kept up his feistiness during his round of morning interviews. Asked about Rice's argument that structural problems within the intelligence community prevented the US from doing more to stop 9/11, Kerrey said: "That's rationalization. It's like blaming society when I make a mistake." Asked about the same point on the CBS "Early Show," Kerrey added: "If a liberal Democrat had done that, Republicans would have gone nuts."

Kerrey said on CBS that he "didn't get" that the Bush Administration took responsibility for 9/11. He also suggested that 9/11 could have been prevented. "Unless the Commission breaks into a partisan Republican/Democratic conclusion," Kerrey said he thinks the Republicans will join and say of the Bush Administration: "'Look, you had a meeting on the 5th of July, with your domestic agencies, five days later an employee of one of those agencies in Phoenix sent a memo saying the possibility existed of hijacking Americans planes, we better round up our flight training school information and find out what the hell is going on. It was ignored. At the very least, a lack of follow-up. I believe, had we rolled those cel out that early in the game we would have prevented 9/11."

Asked if former President Clinton took responsibility during his private meeting with the Commission on Thursday, Kerrey said on ABC of his 1992 rival: "Oh, God, would I go as far as to say that? I think he took the criticism well . . . He indicated he didn't feel that he had quite enough proof to take action. I think he did have enough proof to take action. That's a difference of opinion." On NBC's "Today Show," Kerrey said it was not accurate to compare Iraq to Vietnam. He added, however, that he was concerned about the effect Iraq is having on perceptions of the United States. "We're inviting them to jihad," Kerrey said of the insurgents.

On "Imus in the Morning," Sen. Kerry quipped: "If you ever get weak in this endorsement thing . . . I've got four words for you: Vice President Don Imus."

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush vs. Kerry:

The AP reports on the new AP-Ipsos poll that shows no movement and no advantage for either Kerry or Bush "despite millions of dollars spent on advertising, though Americans are growing concerned that violence in Iraq is increasing the threat of terrorism." LINK

Knight Ridder's Steven Thomma writes, "The religion gap is fast becoming the country's widest political division." LINK

The Washington Times' Brian DeBose writes up a Zogby poll that some at the Democratic National Committee have been throwing around like they don't know better, showing Kerry leading Bush among likely Hispanic voters, 58 percent to 33 percent. LINK

DeBose thankfully offers some context: in 2000, Vice President Gore took 62 percent of the Hispanic vote, while then-Gov. Bush won 35 percent -- in short, the numbers haven't moved.

And he calls Maria Cardona, director of the Hispanic Project for New Democrats Network, for a little extra perspective:

"'But when you look at the Latino community, the number of undecided skyrockets to about 30 percent,' she said. 'Democrats need to be in the high 60s or the low 70s. if we want to take back the White House, we can't let Bush get close to 40 percent.'"

John Harwood delivers a jam packed Washington Wire including a mention of the upcoming Kerry bio spots and that the President should expect good jobs numbers for the rest of this election year according to 54 economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal's online division.

The New York Times' Paul Krugman sums up the dueling economic philosophies of the candidates thusly: LINK

"In short, this year's election will be a contest between a candidate who advocates a return to economic policies that were associated with eight years of very solid job growth, and one who advocates continuation of policies that have, after three years, yielded exactly one good monthly jobs report."

Part 2 of the Austin American-Statesman's series, "The Great Divide," went up yesterday (after Note publication time), examining how the blues are bluer, the reds redder, and the way that uniformity and polarization of views exists at all levels. LINK

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

As Vice President Cheney departs today for only his third foreign trip since taking office, a trip that includes stops in Japan, China and South Korea, "the sudden flare-up of violence in Iraq -- including the seizure of Japanese and South Korean nationals -- could dominate Cheney's talks with key leaders," writes the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler.

Kessler reports that Cheney will tell the Asian allies that the Administration "believes 'it is very important to stay on course' and that the United States will stay in Iraq 'as long as necessary to get the job done.'" LINK

The Washington Times' Gertz previews Cheney's trip: LINK

Before heading across the Pacific, Cheney will make a stop in the not-so battleground state of Alaska. The Vice President will land at Elmendorf Air Force Base and hold a rally with troops there before heading to a fundraiser for Sen. Lisa Murkowski at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

The New York Daily News' Helen Kennedy picks up on yesterday's theme and looks at the how Iraq could hurt President Bush's re-election campaign, Noting: "Pollsters were expecting a boost for Bush after last Friday's positive jobs news, but Iraq chaos and casualties wiped out any economic bump." LINK

BC04 chairman Marc Racicot opened the campaign's Michigan headquarters yesterday in Detroit and took the opportunity to stump for the President and challenge Sen. Kerry's policies. Racicot called Sen. Kerry "incredibly environmentally green," and said that the Senator's policies would "bring the economic recovery to a screeching halt."

Not to be outdone, Kerry spokesman Bill Burton issued a statement calling Racicot a "political hack" who, along with the President, has "no credibility when it comes to the issue of jobs and the economy in Michigan." LINK

The Boston Globe's Sarah Schweitzer looks at Gov. Romney's stumping for the President in Michigan, a trip that signaled Romney's "growing national stature" and the "expanded role" the BC04 campaign sees for Romney this year. LINK

And it's back to Iowa for both President Bush and Sen. Kerry, the Des Moines Register's Beaumont reports.

"Bush is expected to speak at an economic conference at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Des Moines on Thursday evening, according to Republican congressional sources."

The trip will be the President's first to Iowa since Nov. 2002 and Beaumont reports that Sen. Kerry is also planning to return for the first time since winning the caucuses in January. LINK

Pittsburgh area residents will get used to seeing Secret Service detail over the next week, with several high profile visitors dropping by the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Local Republicans expect to see the President at a fundraiser for Sen. Specter on April 19 and Cheney is "expected to give the keynote speech April 17 at the NRA's national convention." Kerry also turns up in Pittsburgh to meet with Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell and other supporters, the Post-Gazette reports. LINK

Ed Chen and James Peltz of the Los Angeles Times write up President Bush's selection of "avid skier and deep-sea fisherman" Albert Frink as manufacturing czar. And this graph might help explain why Secretary Evans introduced Frink in the Buckeye State. LINK

"The disappearance of nearly 2 million jobs in the manufacturing sector -- particularly in crucial states like Ohio -- is considered a serious threat to Bush's reelection chances in November."

The CEO of Frink's company chatted up the New York Times' Joel Brinkley. LINK

"Mr. Frierson described Mr. Frink as a 'what you see is what you get kind of guy' and 'a consummate salesman.' Mr. Frink's company has sold carpets around the world, including some that are on the floor of the family quarters in the White House, Mr. Frierson added."

ABC News Vote 2004: Sen. John Kerry:

Jim Rutenberg gets some sizeable space in the New York Times to do the inside baseball post-mortem on Shrum vs. Margolis. (For the uninitiated, Shrum won.) Each and every blind quote is worth your reading. LINK

"Mr. Margolis's allies say they believe the deliberations were devised by the campaign leadership to leave him no choice, giving Mr. Shrum still more power over the message machine."

"The Margolis supporters noted that Ms. Cahill had not involved herself in the negotiations at the beginning and had not done much to intervene at the end. Mr. Shrum, who like Mr. Margolis would not comment for this article, is close to Ms. Cahill, while Mr. Margolis was hired by Jim Jordan, the Kerry campaign manager who was fired last fall."

The Los Angeles Times' LaGanga explains the difficulty for a presidential candidate to dictate the message of the day. LINK

"The Democratic nominee for president set out every day this week to talk about a peacetime economy and ended up discussing war."

The AP's Mike Glover writes that Kerry "is working to shift his focus back to jobs in a swing through industrial Midwestern battleground states hammered by a stagnant economy" and Notes that he "was having mixed success, with events in the Middle East pulling him back into the debate over the war in Iraq and the escalating violence there." LINK

The Washington Post's Lois Romano writes that Kerry spent Thursday criticizing Bush's foreign policy and questioning why the United States is essentially alone in Iraq.

"There is no Arab country that is safer by a failed Iraq. There is no European country that is safer by a failed Iraq. Yet, those countries are distinctly absent from risk-bearing. . . . This is essentially an American occupation," the Massachusetts Democrat said.

"We ought to be engaged in a bold, clear, startlingly honest appeal to the world to see the interest," he said. LINK

Salon's Tim Grieve ponders why John Kerry is keeping his distance from talking about Iraq at length. LINK

"Maybe the Kerry campaign feels trapped by the senator's own record on Iraq; he voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq in October, then voted against $87.5 billion in funding for the war. Maybe the ghost of Howard Dean haunts the campaign. Maybe Kerry's advisors fear that Bush administration smears -- Kerry is an appeaser, Kerry will cut and run, Kerry won't support the troops -- might begin to stick. A spokesman for the Kerry campaign seemed to acknowledge as much Thursday, saying that the campaign did not want to expose itself to charges of politicizing the war."

In Chicago, Kerry played down his blue-blood roots and played up his ability to connect with blue-collar voters, writes the Sun-Times' Scott Fornek. LINK

The Chicago Tribune's Jill Zuckman was at the matzo, chicken and macaroons-festooned fundraiser for John Kerry Thursday night that brought in $2 million for the presumptive Democratic nominee. Donors are eager to hand over checks, Zuckman writes, and Rep. Emanuel not only agrees, but throws in a football metaphor to boot: "'Everybody's become a Vince Lombardi -- winning is everything.'" LINK

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Graeme Zielinski writes up Kerry's Wisconsin visit Thursday, including accusations from Republicans that eulogizing the Iraq war dead unfairly politicized the situation in Iraq. Zielinski also Notes that one of Kerry's questioners in the crowd was Susan McGovern, daughter of 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern, who asked Kerry for "strong statements" on foreign policy. LINK

The Washington Post's Christopher Lee reports that during Kerry's economic addresses this week "the presumptive Democratic nominee said he would cut 100,000 federal contractor jobs, cap federal travel budgets, and streamline federal agencies and commissions to rein in administrative costs by 5 percent, among other moves." LINK

The Wall Street Journal's editorial page on Kerry's presenting himself as a fiscal conservative: "Mark this down as smart politics rather than a road-to-Damascus conversion."

From ABC News' Kerry campaign reporter Ed O'Keefe:

CHICAGO, April 8 -- Sen. John Kerry brought the Democratic collection plate to Chicago Thursday, raising nearly $2 million from 1,500 donors who gave $500-$2,000 to gather for a few hours with the candidate.

Kerry, whose 12-car motorcade cleared 5:00 p.m. traffic on the Kennedy Expressway, thanked Sen. Richard Durbin (a vice presidential possibility), who rushed to the Hyatt and arrived during his introduction, by teasing, "(Sen. Durbin) is going to be playing an increasing role as we go forward . . . that may be a bad tease but I'm serious about that."

En route to a quick stop in Milwaukee, Wis., Kerry explained, "We need to raise money so we can talk back to the Republicans."

At an economic town hall meeting hours later, the presumptive Democratic nominee asked 450 workers to guess how much the Bush-Cheney campaign has spent since Kerry emerged as the President's fall foe.

When shouts of "$100 million!" rang out, Kerry halted the "Price is Right" moment and declared, "The Republicans have spent $40 million in the last eight weeks."

In response, the Senator will continue a fundraising-heavy schedule, with a breakfast Friday in Chicago followed by a mega-event in New York City next Wednesday.

The New York gala, according to the Senator's fundraisers, will be one of the largest solo Kerry events to date, almost certain to rank in Gotham's record books.

Before departing Chicago, Kerry will also meet with Rev. Jesse Jackson and other prominent African-American leaders.

Then he heads back to Boston for a potentially controversial Easter weekend. Despite calls by members of the Catholic Church that public officials who disagree with church policies not receive the sacraments, Kerry will not alter his schedule, attending Catholic services with Teresa Heinz Kerry and possibly daughter Vanessa Kerry.

Alexandra Kerry, the Senator's eldest daughter, will likely be in Los Feliz, Calif., celebrating the acceptance of her 15-minute short film, "The Last Full Measure," to the Cannes Film Festival, to be held this May in France.

Alexandra Kerry, who played a bit role in David Mamet's "Spartan" (she traded lines with Val Kilmer, whose character was searching for the president's kidnapped daughter) earlier this year, directed the fictional Vietnam drama as a fellowship thesis project at the American Film Institute.

Beyond church and Cannes, Kerry will spend the remainder of his Beacon Hill weekend shooting footage for Shrum-minded ads.

The Senator will also discuss plans for the Democratic National Convention with Boston point-man Jack Corrigan.

But, the critical question is: will the Kerry camp, Noting the departure of image hawk Jim Margolis, find time for a pre-ad shoot haircut?

Only time will tell . . .

Read more from the trail with Kerry on abcnews.com: LINK

The Boston Globe reports that Kerry "tapped longtime Boston activist Mary Breslauer to serve on his campaign as a senior adviser for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender outreach, according to the Kerry campaign." LINK

The economy:

The Wall Street Journal's Timothy Aeppel keys off of a Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI survey and Notes the majority of lost jobs have more to do with higher productivity than outsourcing.

ABC News Vote 2004: the battlegrounds:

The Portland Press Herald's Joshua Weinstein writes about Maine's growing self-awareness of its up-for-grabs status in the presidential contest. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: the Senate:

Valerie Richardson of the Washington Times reports on the excitement revved up on Wednesday when Colorado Gov. Bill Owens announced he wouldn't run for the Senate, but Peter Coors would. Cheers! LINK

The Denver Post's Karen Crummy looks at the expected GOP primary between "Bob Schaffer, the staunch conservative," and "Peter Coors, whose politics remain largely undefined." LINK

The Washington Times' Ralph Z. Hallow takes a look at the conservatives backing Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) for re-election. LINK

Mark Johnson and Jim Morrill of the Charlotte Observer report that Democratic Senate candidate Erskine Bowles is sounding a lot like a certain Democratic presidential nominee in proposing increased benefits for military reservists. LINK

The politics of gas:

USA Today's Barbara Hagenbaugh reports, "Drivers will pay record prices for gasoline this summer as tight supplies and increased demand squeezes costs at the pump, the Energy Department said Thursday." LINK

Knight Ridder's Tony Pugh writes, "Motorists fuming over rising gasoline prices won't get a break anytime soon." LINK

Taping Scalia:

The New York Times' Liptak reports on the legal questions involved in the seizure and erasure of two reporters' recordings of a recent speech given by Justice Scalia. LINK

The Los Angeles Times and Scalia, back together again. LINK

"The [first amendment] experts questioned not only Scalia's practice of barring recordings of remarks made in public, but also whether the seizure may have violated a federal law intended to shield journalists from having notes or records confiscated by officials."

Media:

So long, John Paul -- hello, Jean-Georges: Frank Bruni returns to U.S. as the New York Times restaurant critic.

And the political world welcomes him home!!!! LINK

Page Six has it. LINK

And Rush and Molloy have it too. LINK

TODAY SCHEDULE (all times ET):

—7:00 am: Sen. Bob Kerrey appears on network morning shows—8:00 am: Sen. John Kerry calls into Don Imus' radio show during the 8:00 am ET hour—9:00 am: Sen. Kerry attends a Democratic Committee breakfast at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago, Ill. —10:00 am: President Bush teleconferences with his national security team, Crawford, Texas—10:30 am: Sen. Kerry attends a fundraising event, Chicago, Ill. —12:00 pm: Rep. Dennis Kucinich attends a Get Out the Vote Rally at the Naropa University Performing Arts Center, Boulder, Colo. —1:00 pm: Sen. Kerry meets with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Chicago, Ill. —1:00 pm: Politics Live on ABC News Live and AOL—2:10 pm: Rep. Kucinich attends a presentation and vegan lunch at the Boulder Cooperative Market, Boulder, Colo. —3:00 pm: Vice President Cheney and Mrs. Cheney participate in rally with troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska—3:30 pm: Vice President Cheney and Mrs. Cheney attend a reception for Sen. Lisa Murkowski at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage, Alaska—4:00 pm: Rep. Kucinich speaks about nuclear weapons at the west gate of the Rocky Flats Weapons Plant, Boulder, Colo. —9:00 pm: Rep. Kucinich attends a presentation and interview at the Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, Colo. —11:00 pm: Rep. Kucinich attends a presentation of the Motet Concert at the Fox Theater, Boulder, Colo.