The Note: At This Point in Time, Part IV

— -- WASHINGTON, May 31

NEWS SUMMARY

It is the last day of May, and President Bush — determined to keep his once-a-month streak alive — is going to come into the Rose Garden this morning and have a good old-fashioned press conference at 10:45 am ET.

Surely, he will get at least one question about John Harris' new book on his predecessor.

Per ABC News' Ann Compton, the president (the current one) will begin with what Scott McClellan describes as a brief opening statement on the economy. The president is expected to touch on these four topics:

1. His desire for an energy bill by August recess.

2. His call for a responsible budget — holding the line on spending.

3. Ratification of CAFTA.

4. Social Security reform — the importance for Congress and the administration to work together.

While we wait for all of the fallout from that event, make like a Midland librarian and read.

What does it take to write two must-read stories in 96 hours?

The analytical clarity of a Ron Brownstein; the legendary status of a Bob Novak; or the Yoda-level wisdom of a David Yepsen.

We read 'em, but you still have to if you want to know what those in the know know.

Ladies and gentlemen and Note readers of all ages, may we present — your Tuesday must-reads:

1. The Washington Post's John Harris adapts some material from his new book -- "The Survivor, the critically acclaimed history of the Clinton Administration (known in the Solis-Doyle household as "42") — and takes a look at the strategy of tenacity and positioning to the center that has come to define the politics of Senator Hillary Clinton. Don't make the mistake of not reading it all (We mean the book LINK AND the article. LINK.

From today's article:

"The strategy, confidants say, has three elements. On social issues, it is to reassure moderate and conservative voters with such positions as her support of the death penalty, and to find rhetorical formulations on abortion and other issues — on which her position is more liberal — that she is nonetheless in sympathy with traditional values. On national security, it is to ensure that she has no votes or wavering statements that would give the GOP an opening to argue that she is not in favor of a full victory in Iraq. In her political positioning generally, it is to find occasions to prominently work across party lines — to argue that she stands for pragmatism over the partisanship that many centrist voters especially dislike about Washington."

". . . Clinton and her advisers are operating on the bold but uncertain assumption that one of the most divisive figures of the past decade can be reintroduced to Americans as a reassuring and even uniting figure in this one."

" . . . In 2000, she repeatedly pledged that she would finish her term without seeking the presidency. Aides say she will not issue such a pledge this time. To emphasize her centrist credentials, her Senate office regularly touts her willingness to sponsor legislation with Republicans, including conservative Sens. Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Sam Brownback (Kan.). In her first years in the Senate, she focused largely on New York issues and carefully rationed national publicity. Now she regularly accepts such publicity and takes assertive stands on national issues."

(Tomorrow must read "The Survivor material in the Post covers Bill Clinton's foreign policy.)

2. The Washington Post's Peter Baker and Jim VandeHei turn in a must-read assessment of where President Bush's domestic and international priorities stand, from stem cells, John Bolton, and the filibuster compromise to Social Security and Iraq, and question whether he's hit a bit of a sophomore skid after expending some of his political capital for a less-than-smashing payoff. With all the partisan drama, some are beginning to kick around phrases like "lame duck," while the president's supporters say he just needs to refocus his approach a bit. LINK

(And Dan Bartlett and some Note writers say: (a) when did Baker and VandeHei become Milbank and Allen?; and (b) You've got to accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative. Latch on to the affirmative. Don't mess with Mister In-Between.)

3. Bloomberg's Dick Keil looks at the vastly different perceptions of the country's economic health, depending on whether President Bush is characterizing it, or whether the public and even some of his fellow Republicans in Congress are taking a look, particularly in reacting to voters' anxiety over unemployment and job growth. Suddenly the president's push for tax cuts and more individual responsibility for health care and retirement aren't working as well for voters who give him low marks in dealing with the economy, and those concerns will help form the landscape for the 2006 contests. LINK

(Note to Andy Card: maybe you need to start paying attention, some say, to the Gang of 500's intense half-empty attitude … .)

4. The New York Times ' Todd Purdum has the best piece ever written about the political Cheney family, in which he looks at the integration of Mary and Liz Cheney into government and politics. LINK

(We will not excerpt, because you would be cheating yourself if you didn't read every precious word, including and especially the fruits of TSP's phone interview with the wife of the VPOTUS, and the A-level Mary Matalin quotes.)

5. In the Des Moines Register, Thomas Beaumont compiles Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's laundry list of enacted legislation as his time in the state executive branch winds down and he oh-so-softly tiptoes toward a possible 2008 presidential bid. LINK

6. Also in today's Des Moines Register, the man who taught Jeff Zeleny 2/3 of what he knows (David Yepsen) commits blasphemy and reminds Democrats that — regardless of where the starting point is — the ultimate objective is to win the (presidential) race. He also contends that giving other heavily contested states their day in the sun couldn't hurt: "moving other battleground states to early positions in the nominating calendar and spreading out the schedule of caucuses and primaries — could enhance the ability of Democrats to win in 2008 and reduce some of the criticisms of Iowa and New Hampshire without completely eliminating their role." LINK

7. The Los Angeles Times' Ron Brownstein runs both the numbers and the trends in sizing up Democrats' odds of retaking the Senate in 2006, Noting the Republican dominance in the Red States and the rather daunting prospects Democrats have of taking on and winning seats in states won twice by President Bush. LINK

(If you think the Bush-RNC-NRSC 2002 history-defying performance was a fluke, you might need to think again, again.)

As for those of you who took the weekend off, you owe us big time for making sure you saw these must-read efforts from Saturday through Monday:

1. Sagacious Dan Balz of the Washington Post examined the filibuster deal and the dead-central unanswered question of what constitutes "extraordinary circumstances," and what would have to be involved for Democrats to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee on ideological grounds. LINK

2. Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times on Monday examined the varying reactions to the filibuster deal, Noting the right's more extreme discomfort with the compromise while Democrats tended to claim victory, and the relatively tenuous space the Democratic filibuster right occupies at the hands of Sens. Graham and DeWine. LINK

3. On Sunday, Herr Yepsen offered 2008 advice for Sen. John McCain: you really ought to give Iowa a try. Running scared from the state's social conservatives won't win votes, and besides, enough people have had their fill of extreme politics, Davo opines. According to Yepsen, with no one anticipating much more than an honorary mention for McCain in the Hawkeye State's caucus, he may thoroughly show up such naysayers — with only Rudy Giuliani's torch potentially beaming as brightly. LINK

4. On Sunday, Bob Novak looked at Hillary Clinton's formidable financial positioning for 2008 in many places, but, perhaps not so in Hollywood. Also be sure to check out the Vernon Jordan vs. Robert Rubin worldviews on Howard Dean. LINK

5. And in his Monday column, Novak declared the Senate comity found in the filibuster deal all but dead and used the Bolton nomination as evidence. Novak went on to write that White House's congressional liaison shop was "caught napping" as Sen. Dodd was making his case to his Democratic colleagues. LINK

President Bush's only other scheduled public appearance took place this morning at 9:00 am ET when he met with crew members and spouses of the International Space Station Expeditions 7, 8, 9, and 10 in the Oval Office. Still photogs were due to take some pictures at the top of the meeting.

The president is also scheduled to meet OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza of Chile, but no coverage is planned.

The Supreme Court meets at 10:00 am ET to hand down decisions. All ears and eyes will be open in case any other announcements are made too.

The Global Health Council's 32nd Annual International Conference, "Health Systems: Putting the Pieces Together," to be attended by more than 2,000 health experts from around the world, gets underway in Washington, DC today.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addresses the Washington Diplomatic Corps to mark the second anniversary of the Proliferation Security Initiative in the Ben Franklin Room at the State Department at 11:00 am ET.

Also today, with all the buzz swirling around John Harris' new book, we remind you that the paperback edition of Bill Clinton's autobiography "My Life" hits a bookstore near you.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Mexican Interior Minister Santiago hold a news conference at 6:00 pm ET today at the Reagan Building in Washington, DC.

Tomorrow, Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at United States Air Force academy in Colorado Springs, CO. Back at the White House, President Bush will welcome South African President Thabo Mbeki

The FEC kicks off its three day training conference for trade associations, labor unions, and membership organizations in Chicago.

Campaign for America's Future annual Take Back America conference gets started today in Washington, DC. Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa takes a 2:00 pm ET victory lap tomorrow at a rally. Former Sen. John Edwards will have the honors at a 2:00 pm ET rally on Thursday.

President Bush will start making his way west to the ranch in Crawford, TX on Thursday. He'll first stop in Hopkinsville, KY for an afternoon Social Security "conversation" and then on to an evening fundraiser for Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) in St. Louis, MO.

The President is scheduled to spend the Friday through Sunday on his ranch largely out of public view.

On Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney headlines New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women Lilac Dinner in Manchester, NH. (This is the same venue where then-Gov. George W. Bush made his first public foray onto the New Hampshire campaign trail in 1999.)

In San Francisco, CA, former Vice President Al Gore discusses climate change at a UN World Environment Day event.

And former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani delivers the keynote address at the National Association of Real Estate Editors in Washington, DC.

The Senate will reconvene on Monday, June 6 at 2:00 pm ET and resume consideration of the nomination of Janice Brown to the DC Circuit. No roll call votes are scheduled for Monday, and the Senate will vote on cloture on the Brown nomination at noon ET on Tuesday June, 7.

The economy:

USA Today 's Dennis Cauchon reports that 11 states have raised their minimum wages since January 2004, to be joined tomorrow by Wisconsin, with several looking at rates above $7 an hour. "In all, 17 states and the District of Columbia — covering 45% of the U.S. population — have set minimums above the federal rate of $5.15. That has helped cut the number of workers earning the minimum or less (for those earning tips) from 4.8 million in 1997 to 2 million last year, or 2.7% of hourly earners, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says." LINK

"In its finite wisdom Wall Street is predicting modest growth of just 180,000 jobs when the latest monthly figures are released late this week," writes John Crudele of the New York Post . LINK

A GAO report on the state of the nation's private pension plans is slated for release this afternoon.

The filibuster fight: more fallout:

AP writes that the filibuster deal may help clear the way for Chief Justice William Rehnquist to announce his retirement soon. LINK

And the Family Wire examines how groups on both ends of the ideological spectrum are preparing for the nomination of new justices. LINK

Roll Call's Paul Kane writes that Sen. Trent Lott continued to play a role in the filibuster negotiations, though he said he couldn't be part of the deal.

Bolton:

Writes the Wall Street Journal editorial board on the delaying in confirming John Bolton, "We'd have thought that the Senate Republicans who signed on to the judicial deal would feel double-crossed. Yet John McCain, who backs Mr. Bolton and was the main GOP architect of the deal, has responded by suggesting that the White House let Democrats see the documents they want. This will win Mr. McCain more media huzzahs, but it hardly speaks well of his willingness to fight on principle if he realizes his ambition to be our next President."

Stem cell politics:

The Washington Post's Alan Cooperman looks at the practice of embryo adoption, which evangelical Christians are embracing and which is forming another new front on the battle over embryonic stem cell research. LINK

Newsweek's Howard Fineman and Tamara Lipper recap last week's events and look at an even bigger hill for Frist to negotiate: stem cell research. LINK

Social Security:

Jeanne Cummings of the Wall Street Journal looks at the opposite approaches to Social Security reform being promoted by South Carolina's two Senators. Senator Lindsey Graham is part of the "pain caucus" -- favoring tax hikes and benefit cuts to get the program solvent. Senator Jim DeMint wants what some would call a "free lunch" -- believing that private accounts will pay for themselves and are the only goal worth achieving.

"They are fighting now, if mostly civilly. Before the election, it wasn't clear which camp Mr. Bush would embrace. In recent months, he has endorsed a progressive-indexing plan for reducing future benefits for all but the poorest workers and opened the door to payroll-tax increases on upper-income workers. That puts him squarely in the pain caucus with Mr. Graham."

"Both men say investment earnings on personal accounts, as well as a new guaranteed minimum benefit for the poor, could leave workers better off than they would be if Social Security ends up insolvent at midcentury."

"The free-lunch conservatives have mostly lain low, in deference to Mr. Bush, even as they have quietly despaired of the talk of benefit cuts and tax increases. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and conservative leader Jack Kemp have spoken up, but only now are some like-minded legislators emboldened. Among them is first-year Senator DeMint, who for months watched the more senior Senator Graham in the spotlight."

On Monday, the Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman sized up the odds of a deal getting done this session on Social Security, and concluded that it's not likely. LINK

"When Congress returns next Monday, the fate of Social Security restructuring will be in the hands of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, not the White House. Moderate Republicans are convinced that Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) will stitch together a large package of savings incentives, private pension changes and tax breaks for long-term health care that will be popular enough to win majority support for more controversial benefit cuts that will secure Social Security's financial future. If necessary, they say, Thomas will jettison the central plank of Bush's plan, private investment accounts financed out of the existing payroll tax."

"Thomas's package could put intolerable pressure on Democrats to break with their leadership and come to the negotiating table, said Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), another committee member. Already, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa has suggested that organized labor should not stand in the way of dialogue on Social Security changes, and two Democrats — Reps. Robert Wexler (Fla.) and James P. Moran Jr. (Va.) — unveiled their own Social Security plan last month. 'I just want to issue a clarion call to Democrats: Get ready, because Bill Thomas will ultimately deliver a product that most mainstreamers in the U.S.A. will find compelling,' Foley said."

"Bush is increasingly targeting his Social Security push to minorities and younger people — groups that disproportionately vote Democratic — in efforts to reap electoral benefits for Republicans even if he ultimately fails to enact his proposal," writes Julie Hirschfeld Davis of the Baltimore Sun. LINK

The Clintons of Chappaqua:

The New York Times ' Michiko Kakutani writes of the new book, "What 'The Survivor' does do is provide a sober, fair-minded and highly readable account of Mr. Clinton's tenure in the White House, fleshing out earlier accounts with detailed and sometimes revealing interviews with former Clinton advisers and cabinet members. It is a welcome antidote to both Mr. Clinton's sloppy and self-indulgent memoir ('My Life'), published last summer, and the egregious, rumor-mongering hit job ("Bill Clinton: An American Journey") performed by the British biographer Nigel Hamilton in 2003." LINK

"Although Mr. Harris notes (sic) that all presidents must 'play the hand they are dealt,' he adds that the greatest ones 'manage simultaneously to create their own circumstances — to impose their own values and purposes on the age.' Mr. Clinton did not manage to do this, he suggests, in part because he exhibited 'a certain passivity' in office, subjecting issues to agonizing debate and often allowing them to drift before choosing his ultimate course: 'This was his pattern in the Balkans in 1993 and 1994, in the confrontation with Republicans in 1995, and in deciding what to do about welfare reform in 1996. Those episodes all ended to his advantage."

Harris' serious, balanced historical tome includes enough juicy palace intrigue tidbits to keep the tabloids happy. LINK

House of Labor:

The New York Times' Steven Greenhouse, in a largely sympathetic article about AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Notes that the recent UAW endorsement of Sweeney's presidential candidacy puts him on the precipice of re-election. LINK

Politics of national security:

Four reporters of the New York Times dig through public records to sketch the modern history of CIA "renditions" and seem to have discovered a new "Air America" company operating out of North Carolina. LINK

Ethics:

The New York Post 's Ian Bishop focuses on New York pols as he picks up on the AP's look at the previously unreported trips taken by members of Congress and their staffs. LINK

2008: Republicans:

On Sunday, the Washington Post's Chuck Babington turned in a good look at Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's no good, very bad week last week, assessing the difficult position Frist finds himself in while leading the Senate and trying to look ahead to 2008. LINK

John Podhoretz bangs the 'draft Jeb' drum in his New York Post column. LINK

"With a candidate named Bush running against a Democrat whose name was anything other than Clinton, Democrats would be able to win almost solely on the grounds that America shouldn't be a hereditary monarchy. But with a candidate named Clinton, Democrats would lose that issue against Jeb Bush."

On Sunday, The State's Lee Bandy worried that Sen. Lindsey Graham may have created a huge road block for himself in 2008 by distancing his votes from the GOP and allying with Sen. John McCain. LINK

Brendan Miniter of Dow Jones is no huge John McCain fan. LINK

Joan Vennochi's op-ed in the Boston Globe portrays Mitt Romney as a flip flopper and a sycophant when it is comes to the issue of abortion during election time. LINK

Scott S. Greenberger of the Boston Globe writes that Gov. Mitt Romney's recent remarks on China's economic growth to a congressional panel platforms his developing foreign policy opinions and readies him to enter the presidential political arena. The Norm Ornstein quote: priceless. LINK

2008 Democrats:

Sure, the audience in Orlando last Friday heard about Sen. John Kerry's proposals for health insurance and all, but the media got a kick of out his religious talk. LINK

Writes the St. Petersburg Times' Adam Smith of Democrats, "Listening to a Democratic meeting or political rally these days can be like attending church service. At Our Lady of Perpetual Defensiveness." LINK

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality:

Bloomberg's Scott Soshnick looks at a new role for Matt Dowd: re-shaping the image and messaging of the NBA to fix its image with both fans and partners — including focus groups aimed at reaching people who don't characterize themselves as die-hards. LINK

2006:

The Miami Herald reports that Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) will meet with her husband and advisers this week regarding a possible run for the Senate next year against incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (R-FL). LINK

"'It's hard to stop and say, Are you going to bet the farm to run against an incumbent?' said Harris, acknowledging that she risks losing a relatively comfortable seat in Congress to take on what would be an expensive and grueling race against Nelson. 'Before I pull the trigger I want to see the plan, how we're going to be victorious.'"

How to finance Texas schools is vexing Gov. Rick Perry and the legislature (just as it did then-Governor George W. Bush and his legislature) and threatens to become an election issue in 2006.

"With wealthier districts now required to subsidize poorer ones in an equalization program known as Robin Hood, proposals were offered to lower the local school property tax limit and make up the difference with higher sales or business taxes or new legalized gambling revenues. The Texas Constitution prohibits a personal income tax, and the state ranks 49th in tax revenues raised, according to a study by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, Democrat of El Paso," writes Ralph Blumenthal in the New York Times . LINK

"But a flurry of maneuverings for the benefit of the state's 4.4 million pupils foundered in acrimony this weekend, with the House speaker and the lieutenant governor, both Republicans, pointing fingers at each other. Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, said on Sunday that a deal to pass a school finance bill had been struck with House conferees but that it was blocked by the House leadership."

Roll Call's Teddy Davis looks at the signs that former Rep. Jim Rogan (R-CA) may be interested in running for Congress again.

2005:

The New York Daily News' Michael Saul marched along the Memorial Day parade route in Queens to catch up with Mayor Bloomberg and a couple of his Democratic opponents (Miller and Weiner) doing their best to paint Hizzoner as Manhattan-centric. LINK

"The other two Democratic candidates, Fernando Ferrer and Virginia Fields, skipped the parade. Ferrer spent the weekend in policy meetings, and Fields was out of town relaxing, aides said."

According to the Newark Star Ledger, Brett Schundler and Doug Forrester engaged in a "verbal duel" in the midst of a Memorial Day parade yesterday. LINK

Wal-Mart:

The Washington Post's Amy Joyce goes inside Wake Up Wal-Mart, the anti-Wal-Mart effort funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers, to focus on the company's labor record — populated by young guns from the 2004 campaign staffs of Howard Dean, John Kerry, and Wesley Clark and aiming to use some of the campaign-style strategies employed during the race. LINK

Politics:

Roll Call's Mark Preston reports that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid went after the White House's foreign policy decisions in a 12-page analysis to Democratic senators and aides last week — his first since assuming his leadership position in January. Reid said the Bush Administration didn't plan adequately for post-war reconstruction of Iraq, and questioned why a successor to Ambassador John Negroponte hasn't yet been named. He also cautioned that the U.S. must be careful not to look as though it supports Kuwait's treatment of women, and grudgingly admitted that there are fewer terrorist incidents in the area of the security fence built by Israel.

USA Today's Jill Lawrence looks at how the PTA and other organizations are looking to mobilize parents to lobby, and the hot-button issues — particularly surrounding popular culture — that parties are using to gin up their participation. LINK

In the Boston Globe today, Ralph Nader and Kevin Zeese call for Congress to look into an impeachment resolution directed at President Bush and Vice President Cheney in regards to their claims that lead to the war in Iraq. LINK

The Schwarzenegger Era:

The Los Angeles Times' Evan Halper looks at the initiatives that Democrats in the California legislature are refusing to consider because Governor Schwarzenegger supports them. LINK

Gubernatorial race on trial:

The trial over the disputed Washington state gubernatorial race resumes today at noon ET. The Seattle Times' David Postman's dispatches detail the court case thus far. LINK

Spokane mayor:

Spokane, WA Mayor Jim West appeared on "Today" at 7:30 am ET, to talk about the allegations surrounding his conduct in office, including his patronage of gay Web sites and chat rooms and accusations about using his office and internship inappropriately, as well as older accusations that he molested two boys when he was a Spokane County Sheriff's deputy in the 1970s. West said it's been a difficult time, especially for his family, but that he's still focusing on the community of Spokane. Asked how he characterized himself, West said bisexual, Noting that after his marriage ended nine years ago he had intimate relationships with both men and women.

West disputed a statement that he had been outspoken opposing gay rights, saying that he wasn't a leader of the charge, and voted to represent the interests of his district. "I'm a conservative — not a closet liberal pretending to be a conservative," West said, asking what was wrong with someone of an alternative sexual orientation being a conservative.

In terms of the FBI and city investigations into whether or not he used his office inappropriately, West said he welcomes them and that he believes they will clear him. "I haven't misused my office for personal gain," West said. "I haven't done anything illegal."

West called the molestation allegations "absolutely wrong," and said they "never happened," though acknowledged that he expects a pile-on of allegations because his story is in the news. He said the letters and e-mails he's receiving are running 2 to 1 in favor of him remaining in office if the allegations are not true. "I think I can survive this," West said. "You know, we've made some great progress in Spokane — we've got more to do."