SNEAK PEEK:
Republican Cancer Survivors Skip Lance Armstrong's Forum
August 27, 2007— -- With Roll Call's Larry Craig bombshell coming on top of the AG's bombshell resignation, it might be difficult for anything to breakthrough for a while. LINK
But Lance Armstrong will give it a try Tuesday.
The seven-time Tour de France champion holds the Republican portion of his cancer forum with GOPers Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Similar to Monday's event with Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Bill Richardson, Tuesday's 11:00 am ET event will feature questions from both Armstrong and MSNBC's Chris Matthews.
Notably absent from Tuesday's forum will be cancer survivors Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Fred Thompson.
While appearing Sunday on "Meet the Press," Armstrong took a shot at the absent cancer survivors, ". . . I'm not going to sugarcoat it: it's a disappointment when you can't show up or for whatever reason won't show up and discuss such a devastating illness, it is a disappointment, especially when you have such a close personal history."
Giuliani, McCain, and Thompson are not the only top Republicans skipping Armstrong's event.
Mitt Romney is also skipping Tuesday's forum.
Romney plans, however, to deliver 8:20 am ET remarks on cancer before the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Va.
After his cancer event in Virginia, Romney heads to Arizona for a fundraiser while his wife raises money in Nantucket.
Giuliani, the Republican '08er who issued the most pro-Gonzales statement Monday ("Judge Gonzales served his nation honorably and I wish him well in the next phase of his career") has no public events on Tuesday.
As for the Democrats...
Hillary Clinton, who stressed the importance of guaranteed issue by insurance companies in the cancer plan she announced Monday, spends her day in Chappaqua, N.Y.
In his forthcoming book, Bill Clinton says the health-care plan that his wife developed in the 1990s was "killed by politics, not the plan's particulars," per the AP's Beth Fouhy. LINK
Barack Obama attends a 7:00 pm ET fundraiser in Martha's Vineyard while John Edwards raises money in Nashville at 4:30 pm ET and in Orlando at 8:00 pm ET.
Bill Richardson holds five "job interview" events across Iowa in the towns of Elkader, Waukon, Decorah, New Hampton, and Cedar Rapids.
One day after picking up the endorsement of Jimmy Carter son Jack Carter, Joe Biden is in Iowa for a 6:00 pm ET town hall meeting with state Rep. Phil Wise and the Lee County Democrats.
Elsewhere ...
President Bush makes 12:00 pm ET remarks to the American Legion in Reno, Nev.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales delivers 12:00 pm ET remarks at the New Orleans Family Justice Center.
New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg describes his work to combat poverty at a 2:30 pm ET Brookings event at the National Press Club.
The United States Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual Labor Day press briefing at 2:00 pm ET. The briefing will touch on the economic outlook, the housing market, interest rates, the mortgage industry, and immigration. MoveOn.org has organized 500 candlelight vigils across the country to honor fallen soldiers and urge Congress to end the war. The DC vigil takes place at 7:30 pm ET at the reflecting pool of the US Capitol.
POLITICAL STORIES ON ABCNEWS.COM:
ABC News' Rick Klein: "Gonzales' Departure Sets up Confirmation Battle"LINK
"Attorney General Gonzales Resigns"http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Politics/story?id=3421219&page=1"target="_blank">LINK
ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf "The Lone Defender"LINK
ABC News' Donna Hunter "Dodd Burglar No Gordon Libby"LINK