The Note
W A S H I N G T O N August 20—
, 2003 -- Today's Schedule (all times Eastern):
—9:00 am: Arianna Huffington appears on C-SPAN's Washington Journal.—10:00 am: FCC Chairman Michael Powell holds news conference to discuss fall agenda, D.C.—10:30 am: Energy Secretary Spence Abraham meets with Ohio Governor Bob Taft and other state leaders to discuss the blackout, Columbus.—12:00 pm: Congressman Dick Gephardt addresses the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers International Union (PACE) Convention, Las Vegas.—12:00 pm: Senator Bob Graham holds a meet and greet with local legislators, Atlanta (closed press).—12:00 pm: Congressman Dennis Kucinich addresses a United Auto Workers meeting, Huron, Ohio.—1:00 pm: Peter Ueberroth holds a roundtable meeting with La Opinion, Los Angeles (closed press).—1:00 pm: Arnold Schwarzenegger holds closed meeting with economic advisers at the Westin Hotel at LAX, Los Angeles.—2:15 pm: Arianna Huffington visits the Los Angeles Leadership Academy and holds a press availability, Los Angeles.—2:15 pm: Senator John Edwards holds a town hall meeting at Nobis Engineering, Concord, N.H.—2:30 pm: Peter Ueberroth holds a press availability at the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles.—3:00 pm: Arnold Schwarzenegger holds press availability at the Westin Hotel at LAX, Los Angeles.—3:15 pm: Congressman Gephardt holds conference call to discuss PACE endorsing his candidacy.—5:00 pm: Governor Gray Davis and Senator Barbara Boxer hold an event to announce $50 million in new grants to protect California coastlines and indigenous wildlife and to improve coastal communities, Santa Monica.—6:00 pm: Senator Dianne Feinstein addresses the West L.A. Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles.—6:15 pm: Arianna Huffington appears for an interview on Univision.—6:30 pm: Senator Edwards holds a town hall meeting at City Hall Plaza, Manchester, N.H.—6:30 pm: Peter Ueberroth appears on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight.—7:00 pm: Governor Howard Dean attends a house party, Manchester, N.H.—8:00 pm: Congressman Gephardt attends a reception with local Democrats at an IBEW hall, Albuquerque.—8:00 pm: Senator Graham attends a fundraiser dinner, Atlanta (closed press).—9:00 pm: Governor Davis holds his first "Conversations with Californians" session, Los Angeles.
NEWS SUMMARY
Today in the recall:
-- Arnold Schwarzenegger will attempt to show some policy credentials today when he meets with his economic council in Los Angeles and then takes reporters' questions.
-- Team Schwarzenegger will begin airing its first television ad of the campaign statewide today — a $1.5 million buy.
-- A federal judge is expected to rule some time today on whether or not to delay the recall election due to several counties' plans to use punch-card ballots.
-- Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth officially launches his gubernatorial campaign today in Los Angeles
-- Governor Gray Davis and Senator Barbara Boxer talk wildlife and shorelines in Santa Monica today before the Governor launches his "Conversations with Californians" series in Hollywood this evening.
Arnold Schwarzenegger holds a closed meeting with his economic advisers today at the Westin Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport. He will hold a press availability immediately following the meeting around 3:00 pm ET. Pool coverage and unilateral crew to cover.
Governor Davis holds an event on the Santa Monica boardwalk with Senator Boxer to announce $50 million for coastline preservation and coastal communities. He also holds the first in a series of planned "Conversations with Californians" tonight in Los Angeles.
Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante has no public events scheduled for today.
Peter Ueberroth holds a closed roundtable with La Opinion and an open press availability at the Los Angeles Biltmore. KABC covers his announcement at the Biltmore. He also appears on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight.
Arianna Huffington appears on C-SPAN's Washington Journal this morning and Univision tonight. She will also visit the Los Angeles Leadership Academy today.
Tom McClintock has no public events scheduled for today.
Bill Simon has postponed has previously scheduled public events for today.
President Bush is at the ranch today.
Congressman Gephardt campaigns in Las Vegas and Albuquerque today. He addresses the PACE convention in Las Vegas and then meets with local Democrats in Albuquerque. PACE will endorse Gephardt today.
Senator Edwards begins his "Real Solutions Tour" in New Hampshire today. He'll tour downtown Nashua and hold town hall meetings in Concord and Manchester.
Governor Dean campaigns in New Hampshire today. He'll attend a party tonight at Kathleen Kelley's house in Manchester.
Senator Graham campaigns in Atlanta today, with all of his events closed to the press. He will hold a pair of meet and greets, a pair of fundraisers, and do a television interview.
Congressman Kucinich is in Huron, Ohio, today to address an United Auto Workers meeting.
Senator Lieberman takes "Joe's Jobs Tour" to Rochester and Hampton, New Hampshire, today.
Reverend Sharpton is in New York today with no public events scheduled.
Ambassador Braun and Senator Kerry have no public events today.
The rest of the political world, in other news:1. A total must-read Balz and Broder byline on former NGA/DGA chairman Howard Dean and the nation's governors: "Dean's lack of success in attracting endorsements from Democratic chief executives stands in sharp contrast President Bush's success four years ago among Republican governors." … "On the basis of interviews with many of the Democrats who are attending the National Governors Association (NGA) meeting here this week, it appears unlikely that Dean can expect to see significant gubernatorial support anytime soon. 'It's not going to happen,' said Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who holds open the possibility of eventually endorsing one of the nine Democratic presidential candidates but who remains neutral for now. Virginia Gov. Mark Warner said, 'I don't see any move at this point for governors to move as a bloc.'" Be sure to read Governor Granholm's quote as well. LINK
2. Senator Edwards needed some good press, and Nedra Pickler's article delivers: Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack says the North Carolina senator could make his state's caucuses a four-way race. Check out Vilsack's assessment of his other three top candidates. LINK; Edwards is making waves in Virginia, too. LINK; part four of the making of the candidate: LINK.
3. Republicans like Ed Gillespie and Attorney General Ashcroft "are fighting back" in Iowa, reports the Des Moines Register 's Tom Beaumont. LINK
4. Senator Graham popped up on the cable nets yesterday for comment on the UN headquarters bombing in Iraq. His criticism of President Bush topped the MUL story about his latest NH visit. LINK
5. The Times on Bush's "prescient" energy policy and the politics that undid its implementation. LINK
Please also read:
--Has anyone else noticed that the Sleepless Summer Tour includes a few fundraising jaunts? LINK
--Prosecutors say Rep. Bill Janklow ran a stop sign before his accident, the AP reports. LINK
--The latest ARG numbers from New Hampshire show a rising Dean, probably from his TV ads. LINK; an "unfazed" Jim Jordan LINK
--Senator Lieberman on investment and innovation. LINK
California recall, the Governor:John Broder and Dean Murphy of the New York Times report Governor Davis' speech "came at a critical juncture in which he is fighting a growing perception in his party that his ouster is inevitable." LINK
"As for Mr. Davis's speech, it clearly reflected the advice he has been receiving from former President Bill Clinton, who has urged him to put the recall in a larger context of aggressive Republican efforts to alter the course of elections."
"Trying to rally the Democratic base, Mr. Davis alluded to the impeachment of Mr. Clinton in 1998, the fight over the presidential election in Florida in 2000 and the Republican effort to redraw legislative districts in Texas this year."
"Even his wording echoed that of Mr. Clinton, who frequently used the phrase 'I don't give a rip.'
The Los Angeles Times paints the governor's speech as "alternately contrite and defiant." LINK
That's quite similar to how the Washington Post team of Rene Sanchez and William Booth saw the speech too. LINK
The San Francisco Chronicle's Carla Marinucci weighs in on Davis' speech, from Republican reaction to Clinton strategy and protests against Pete Wilson. LINK
The Los Angeles Times' Michael Finnegan writes Davis' best hope for political survival is to win back his Democratic base. However, Davis' relationship with the core Democratic constituencies complicates that goal. Despite what the governor's campaign team says, Mr. Finnegan heard a "mea culpa" last night. LINK
Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee heard no such mea culpa and was none too pleased about it. LINK
"Davis, however, skewed historical fact and fundamentally blamed others as he presented his versions of the energy and budget crises that drove his popularity to record-low levels. Clearly Davis, ever the temporizer, could not bring himself to issue the mea culpas on energy and the budget that might have satisfied voter anger."
The San Jose Mercury News' Mark Gladstone also gave Davis low marks. LINK
Robert Salladay of the San Francisco Chronicle takes his readers into Davis' writing process. LINK
ABC News' Apton Notes the background music at the Davis rally: Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" — and that it was the second time she'd heard it played before or after Davis spoke. Insert stiff-upper-lip comment here.
Michael Janofsky wisely checked in with the Democratic Governors' Association and inquired about how much the group is willing to help Davis. LINK
"'The D.G.A.'s initial plan was investing in an effort to get voters out to oppose the recall,' Mr. Warner said. 'We plan to revisit the issue in another week or 10 days. Right now, everything is so fluid.'
The San Francisco Chronicle's Matier and Ross look at the fight for Democratic dollars to fund the anti-recall/campaign efforts. LINK
They preview a Davis cocktail party scheduled for Thursday that's designed to be the Northern California kickoff for the governor's bid. Admission price: $50,000 for an event "host," with five private pre-bash tickets; $25,000 for a "sponsor," with five regular tickets and a mention in the program; and $1,000 for a regular ticket. Meanwhile, Bustamante's campaign is limited to $21,500 per donor.
California recall, Arnold:Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to have his first real go 'round with the political press today after his economic summit, where economic advisers Warren Buffett and George Shultz will begin working on his plan for the state's budget and economy. The campaign assured ABC News' Schifrin that Schwarzenegger would answer all questions at the Post -meeting Q&A with reporters, but prefers to keep the questions focused on the economic event.
One of his plans, Rep. David Drier told the Washington Times ' Ralph Hallow, is to repeal Davis' car tax and cast himself as a tax cutter, more in line with conservatives who might support him. LINK
"He is going to be strongly conservative, clearly demonstrate that he is his own man and stand up to Warren Buffett," said Mr. Dreier, referring to the liberal Democratic billionaire who is a personal friend and top economic adviser to Mr. Schwarzenegger's campaign.
The New York Times ' Charlie LeDuff writes up Schwarzenegger's inaugural campaign ad and reports, "with no specifics, there is little to judge."LINK
The San Francisco Chronicle's George Raine reports much the same and also gets some reaction from advertising pros. LINK
Raine also spends some time truth squadding Bill Simon's radio ad. LINK
Jacob Schlesinger writes in the Wall Street Journal that George Shultz is once again "attempting to throw his cloak of respectability around" a political candidate who may be perceived as a policy lightweight. The former Secretary of State helped beef up the credentials of Ronald Reagan for his 1980 run for the White House and did much the same for George W. Bush in advance of his 2000 campaign.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Rush Limbaugh calls California "a liberal proving-ground run amok" and says Schwarzenegger is no Ronald Reagan. He laments what he sees as an attitude by conservatives that California is so messed up that it can't be fixed with conservative principles — so they turned to Schwarzenegger.
"Their thinking has led them to support Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, to my knowledge, has yet to embrace any conservative positions, though he has embraced Warren Buffett. Hasta la vista, whatever."
The Los Angeles Times Joe Matthews reports Schwarzenegger may need to step up his outreach efforts to California Republicans. LINK
"Two weeks into the campaign, curiosity about Schwarzenegger in core GOP circles is slowly yielding to frustration — even among potential supporters — with a movie star who has thus far been unwilling to stray far from Hollywood."
Claudia Eller writes in the Los Angeles Times that Schwarzenegger is looking to put Hollywood agents at CAA to work on his campaign. LINK
California recall, the chaos and the courts:Bob Egelko and Zachary Coilie of the San Francisco Chronicle do a tremendous job of explaining what recall matters remain pending before federal judges and the Justice Department. LINK
Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters is expecting turnout for the October 7 recall election to be of presidential proportions. LINK
Harold Myerson laments the return of "back room" politics in the Washington Post . LINK
California recall, the rest of the field:Here is the Los Angeles Times account of Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante's economic plan including $8 billion worth of tax increases. LINK
The San Francisco Chronicle's Mark Martin writes that there doesn't seem to be too much "tough love" for some of Mr. Bustamante's largest campaign contributors. LINK
Peter Ueberroth gave the Los Angeles Times a preview to his economic plan which includes a one-time tax amnesty that he believes could raise $6 billion. LINK