Morning Political Note: Jan. 22
W A S H I N G T O N, Jan 22, 2002 -- President Clinton gave a majority of Americans the sense that he woke up every day aiming to figure out ways to make the US economy hum.
News Summary
And hum it did, for his eight years in office. Now, President Bush and his political advisors are trying to create the same impression about him, but it's harder to do when you consider 1) Republican free-market ideas, which are popular with a lot of Americans but, nonetheless, tend to sound a bit less reassuring during a recession; and 2) another blue-chip American retail brand name, K-Mart, is going under.
President Bush will travel to West Virginia this morning to tour a machine factory and make remarks on the economy. Still unclear whether or not this is supposed to be "the" replacement speech for anything not addressed by Bush about the economy in the State of the Union.
That speech, of course, happens one week from today.
Note Bush's destination today: yet again, the President is holding an event in a state that surely is part of the White House's electoral college calculus for 2004 — and also is home to an endangered Republican House member, Shelly Moore Capito.
Speaking of 2004, one of the Democrats viewed within the party as a top-tier, likely presidential contender will make his pre-presidential, "invisible primary" debut today. Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts will whack Bush's energy policy at an 11:00 am speech at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington.
The Kerry operation showed more than minimal competence by getting curtain-raisers in the major papers.
The Washington Post 's version sums up: Kerry, "The leading Senate foe of the Bush administration's energy plan, … will propose a Democratic alternative today based on higher fuel efficiency standards, tax incentives for new energy sources and a target of 20 percent reliance on alternative and renewable fuels by the year 2020. Kerry, a likely presidential candidate in 2004, will seek to tie the administration's energy proposal to the disgraced Enron Corp." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15666-2002Jan21.html
However, the advance copy we saw of Kerry's speech isn't really as heavy on Enron as this implies. But look for Kerry to get tougher on Enron during the Q&A to follow.
The New York Times , interestingly, curtain-raises the Kerry speech in a story with a Detroit dateline in the business section, with a focus on the Bay State Senator's proposal to use tax credits to improve the fuel efficiency of cars. A Kerry presidential campaign would hope to simultaneously make him the first Democrat to successfully harness the latent political potential of the environmental movement AND prove his pro-business credentials. Today marks the first major test drive of that rhetorical gambit. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/22/business/22AUTO.html
The Boston Globe 's Kerry man, Glen Johnson, notes that the biggest difference between this speech and one Kerry delivered a few months ago to the League of Conservation Voters is really that this time, Kerry mentions Bush by name. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/022/nation/Kerry_urges_priority_on_alternative_fuel+.shtml
"Bush is expected to mention his energy proposal as he travels today to Charleston, W.Va., to speak at a machinery company."
Another major accusation against Enron gets the story front-page play today, with major pick-up of ABCNEWS exclusive from last night, further stoking the impression of corporate greed and desperation run amok.
Today also brings a hearing in the class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors against Enron management, in US District Court in Houston.
Without a political smoking gun, the biggest impact of Enron in this political year is likely to be made by the record of accomplishment built up — or not — by Congress and the White House to ward off "another Enron" before election day. It's a particularly tough issue for those politicians closely allied with business interests who don't want Enron to turn into an orgy of over-regulation.
In one of the first of what will be many electronic and print stories on this fight, the Wall Street Journal on A2 looks at the looming battle over pension plan changes. Everywhere in Washington, overworked business lobbyists are sitting through interminable coalition strategy meetings about how to use the best grassroots, Astroturf, communications, and lobbying efforts to leverage off of Enron the changes their members wanted anyway, or to stop legislation that would be, in their view, one step or 10 too far.
The rest of what we have for you today is political cats and dogs.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R) will deliver his State of the State address in Tallahassee today. The Orlando Sentinel previews: " Bush, with an eye toward his November re-election bid, is expected to use his State of the State speech to highlight his three-year record on education and propose new ideas for creating jobs … Bush will try to put a rosy outlook on his administration and the budget proposal he released last week, especially his $1 billion commitment to education. Once the opening-day glow dissipates, he is expected to try to keep lawmakers on track and promote peace" between the warring legislative leadership. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/orl-asecscene22012202jan22.story?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines
USA Today 's Weisman, keying off newly elected Republican National Committee chairman Marc Racicot's Sunday admission, writes, "President Bush says delaying installments of his 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut to close a budget gap is a tax hike. Yet four Republican governors back just such delays in their states to cope with the recession. One of them: the president's brother. Last month, Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed a bill depriving Floridians of $128 million in tax relief promised through mid-2003." http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/01/21/tax-cuts.htm
"The federal battle officially begins Wednesday, when the Congressional Budget Office is expected to declare the budget in deficit. Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has proposed delaying some of the Bush tax cuts beginning in 2004. Outside Washington, the idea already has taken hold:
"On Dec. 17, Governor Bush signed a budget-balancing deal that delays a cut in a tax on stocks and bonds."
"Michigan Republican Governor John Engler says the state's $1.4 billion deficit will likely force a delay in a planned reduction of a business tax slated for 2003."
"New York Republican Governor George Pataki says he may have to propose delaying some of $294 million in tax cuts slated for this year."
"Louisiana Republican Governor Mike Foster wants to extend $593 million in taxes that were to expire this year."
"Republicans aren't alone. Democratic governors in Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey are eyeing delays in tax-cuts slated through 2004."
"Whether state moves are tax hikes is a matter of 'semantics,' says White House budget director Mitch Daniels. He said that when Republicans proposed smaller than planned increases in Medicare, Democrats called them 'cuts.'"
The Washington Times sets up Bush's (maybe tough) re-election campaign this year. "Even Republicans concede that the incumbent and little brother of President Bush has some weak spots … In the past week, the Florida governor has been to Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Houston and Dallas on an ambitious fund-raising foray. He is using the appearances to boast of his accomplishments over the past four years, projects with catchy names like the 'A+ Plan' and 'One Florida.' But to Democrats, the plans are targets." http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020122-86461444.htm
This is old stuff, but lots of papers use Bush's MLK, Jr. Day observance to rehash how well he didn't do among African-American voters in 2000, and how the White House is constantly looking for ways to make inroads among this key voting bloc.
The Washington Post reports, "'The higher favorability rating shows that ears of African Americans are open to the president, and that makes it much easier for them to listen to what he has to say about the economy and education and other issues,' said Matthew Dowd, Bush's campaign pollster and a senior adviser to the Republican National Committee." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15892-2002Jan21.html
"White House officials said they hope education will be the issue that helps them reach more African Americans. In his radio address Saturday, Bush called education 'the great civil rights issue of our time.'"
Speaking of education, the Boston Globe scores this key potential SOTU tidbit: "Despite their public sparring last week over taxes, President Bush and Senator Edward M. Kennedy are privately laying the groundwork for a potentially significant compromise: legislation on early childhood education. According to a White House official, Bush will announce new details of his proposals for early cognitive learning in the coming weeks, possibly in connection with the Jan. 29 State of the Union address. And aides to both Kennedy and the White House said they have agreed to 'look at the research together' to determine what role government should play." http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/022/nation/Bush_Kennedy_work_on_preschool_plan+.shtml
We're sure that someone in the White House has clipped this Washington Post preview of a new Pew poll, set for release on Thursday, which shows that "Latinos in the United States have been particularly hard hit by the recent economic downturn and 'now face a prolonged period of hardship that puts the gains of the 1990s at risk.'"
From the ABCNEWS London bureau: Aid is arriving in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo despite continued safety concerns following last week's volcanic eruption … Israeli commandos have shot dead four suspected Hamas militants after briefly entering the West Bank town of Nablus early on Tuesday. Israeli troops also pulled out of the nearby town of Tulkarm, which they had taken over a day earlier in the biggest operation of its kind since the Palestinian uprising began 16 months ago. Israeli sources say tanks will stay on the outskirts of the town and continue to seal it off … The last independent national TV station in Russia, TV-6, has been taken off the air, following a decision by the Media Ministry to revoke its broadcasting license. Moves against the station came to a head earlier this month, when a court ruled that TV-6 should close because it was losing money …
Also, Afghanistan's civil servants were paid for the first time in six months on Tuesday … The Marines and members of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division held a memorial service for the latest US casualties of the Afghan campaign … Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent will present his last catwalk show at the Pompidou Centre in Paris today … And, Saudi Arabia's Arabic-language Okaz newspaper quoted Chief of Staff General Saleh bin Ali al-Muhayya as saying that the kingdom has not changed its stand supporting the hosting US forces in the country.
Enron
Recent history suggests that the New York Times really likes the dramatic arc of a good ol' Senate confirmation fight. Check out this semi-tight, semi-breathless lead: "A Texas Supreme Court justice who has been nominated by President Bush to fill a vacant federal judgeship could face a fierce Senate confirmation fight because her critics say she once wrote an opinion that saved the Enron Corporation about $15 million after accepting campaign contributions from the company." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/22/business/22JUDG.html
"Liberal groups, who had already opposed the nomination of the justice, Priscilla Owen, because of her conservative voting record, now plan to use her connections to Enron to try to derail her nomination."
The Washington Post business section reports on the "brain drain" that's commencing at Arthur Andersen, as Andersen employees look for new jobs and would-be recruits among graduating students look toward other firms. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15950-2002Jan21.html
The Washington Post uses one heretofore secret partnership as the peg to look at the knot of such partnerships and other below-the-radar dealings set up by Enron and other business entities, some of them still unknown. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15912-2002Jan21.html
The Washington Times offers a refresher on the history of congressional investigations. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020122-5378199.htm
The Washington Post 's Dionne writes, "You've got to feel for Ari Fleischer. The administration's strategy for containing the political impact of the Enron collapse requires him to contradict himself on a regular basis … The Bush administration, you see, should be given a pass because it's so different from the Clinton administration, except on days when it should be given a pass because it's so similar to the Clinton administration." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16224-2002Jan21.html
The Los Angeles Times sums up the doubts the Enron debacle has raised about energy deregulation, and notes the gaping hole in the energy industry lobby created when the company pulled out of Washington. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-000005632jan22.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dfrontpage
The Economy / Budget Politics
From the point of view of some of Al Gore's 2000 campaign staffers, his most galling failure to communicate the message came on the Bush tax cut, and the extent to which the benefits would go disproportionately to the wealthiest Americans in terms of actual dollars. Gore grew a beard to deal with the failure; New York Times columnist Paul Krugman channels his frustration by writing different versions of the same column over and over again. The most code-breaking sentence in today's version: "[E]verything the Bush administration says about taxes in the next few weeks will be designed to maximize that public confusion" over who benefits from the tax cut in the coming years. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/22/opinion/22KRUG.html
Facing off against Krugman (and Senator Kennedy) across our newspaper-cluttered desks this morning is the lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal , which marshals up some statistics on who pays taxes to brand the current system "progressive" and "confiscatory," arguing that the "rich" aren't all that rich, and they pay too much in taxes already.
Yesterday, we warned you that a looming danger for the President in the budget wars is the engagement of anti-deficit groups such as the Concord Coalition, who might criticize — the war notwithstanding — the apparent willingness of the Administration to run deficits even after going into the lockbox.
Enter on cue, stage right, former New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman, who co-chairs the Coalition, and who (poetically) tells the Concord Monitor (in a week-old interview) that the Bush tax cuts will have to wait. "'If we have additional needs for military or homeland security or counterterrorism or helping in the Middle East or rebuilding Afghanistan and the deficit continues to deepen, then we're not going to raise anybody's taxes, we're going to say, your taxes are going to stay where they are for a while,' Rudman said. 'That decision ought to be made if not this year, next year.'" http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/recent2002/012001rudmansidebar_2002.shtml
"Democrats in Congress have made this argument, prompting President Bush and congressional Republicans to accuse them of raising taxes. Bush said last week that taxes would go up 'over my dead body.'"
"Rudman called the Republican claim 'Washington math.'"
Forget for a moment the old joke that only two people really understand how the international financial system works, and that, unfortunately, they disagree. Today's Wall Street Journal leads with an important — if hard to understand completely, for humble political reporters — piece on the almighty dollar, so strong for so long against other currencies: "Some manufacturers probably won't survive the double whammy of the dollar's strength and the global downturn. But those that do are likely to be more efficient and poised to thrive when the economy recovers."
Tourism is down across the board but, helped by the federal government's wartime spending, the Washington, DC area is not in a recession. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000005659jan22.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dnation
Alison Mitchell in the New York Times weighs the chances of an Enron-fueled vote in the House of Representatives for the Shays-Meehan campaign finance law change (a name that retains a Q rating lower than "McCain-Feingold," despite the best efforts of the press secretaries of Mr. Shays and Mr. Meehan, not to mention the members themselves).
The goo-goo groups who support this kind of legislation are masters at stoking the "reformist" drive of reporters with tales of big money, but the story leaves unanswered (because there aren't answers yet): 1) when the vote might happen; 2) what the House outcome would be; 3) what would happen in the conference with the Senate; 4) whether, if a bill got to the President, he (still) would feel compelled to sign it, as he had suggested once upon a time ago; and finally, 5) whether Democrats who secretly want this thing to die, lest it disrupt their campaign planning, find a way to kill it. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/22/politics/22DONA.html
A Times editorial takes up the same topic. We suspect that the Times ed board disapproves of perceived Administration efforts to "use" the war against terror to advance its agenda, but that doesn't keep the paper from doing the same thing, in a way that makes our jaws drop to our keyboards (producing a series of nonsensical letters and spaces and a bruise not unlike the kind one gets when pretzel-meets-eyeglasses-meets-table): "Congress returns from its winter break tomorrow to take up the defense of democracy against terrorism. Lawmakers would do well to note that American democracy is also being attacked from within by a poisonous system of unregulated campaign donations. There is no better illustration of the system's destructiveness than the fact that the attorney general has had to recuse himself from his department's investigation of Enron because Enron gave his campaigns a lot of money." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/22/opinion/22TUE1.html
And the last thundering graph: "The Enron scandal has made consideration of Shays-Meehan imperative. Lawmakers should not think that the voters will be fooled if they try to weaken it. And Mr. Bush, never a big fan of campaign finance reform, should recognize the obvious — that if he steps up and leads the fight, he could help cleanse his own administration of the taint of influence-peddling. All of Washington has been blackened by Enron's shameful conduct. Campaign finance reform is the path back to respectability."
The 536th member of Congress, David Rogers of the Wall Street Journal , looks at the explosive growth of earmarks, those barely/rarely scrutinized bacon-y spending provisions inserted into larger bills to benefit members in need of some shoring up at home.
Despite the principled efforts of Office of Management and Budget director Mitch Daniels, acting very much on the President's behalf, Rogers says: "Recent years' switches in party control in both the House and Senate, and the narrow majority margins, have institutionalized earmarking for incumbent protection. At the same time, House Republicans' term limits on their chairmen have forced a major rotation of appropriations subcommittee chiefs, who in turn use earmarks to consolidate their new power."
In the first budget go-round, Daniels unapologetically (and with his customary confidence) took on members of Congress and tried to eliminate or scale these back. Now, he seems to sit back and say "please, sir, may I have another?" as members such as James Walsh call him things such as "naive." We'd guess Daniels still would like to change the culture of appropriations which leads to semi-unaccountable spending, but he's going to have to do it via a less frontal assault, to keep from undermining White House/congressional relations overall.
Democrats and the left constantly complain about the superior organizational skills of Republicans and the right to figure out new and innovative ways to move their agenda. One of the smartest things conservatives did during the Clinton years was to figure out just how many battles can be won at the state level that perhaps could not be moved in Washington, with its left-leaning, aggressive press corps and bureaucratic ways.
It's less glamorous to play on 50 small stages, but conservatives have racked up wins on a range of issues by pursuing that strategy. Now, some liberals have gotten the joke and are doing the same thing on some of their issues. And looking at a conservative win, the Wall Street Journal fronts a story on how the National Rifle Association quietly worked at the state level to get special protections for shooting ranges, aided by political support for key legislators, willing to move provisions in 44 states to shield ranges from normal noise-related litigation.
Shortly after announcing that drilling for oil in ANWR wouldn't hurt wildlife in the area, Interior Secretary Norton "announced a proposed $56.5-million increase for the national wildlife refuge system, an 18% hike she said is necessary to cover maintenance and renovation at the 538 refuges across the nation." http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-000005665jan22.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection
The Washington Times previews the brewing fight over the reauthorization of special education funding; Democrats want to re-up it, with increased funding, but the President has created a commission to consider possible changes to the program. Although the story doesn't mention him, special education funding is a pet project of Senator Jim Jeffords (I). http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020122-47983902.htm
ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary
A few more details on House Minority Leader Gephardt's big-picture economic speech on Thursday: Gephardt will use a Tele-Prompter — always a sign of a major effort. And using the kind of human symbolism that Bill Clinton used so effectively in winning the nomination in 1992, Gephardt will be introduced by Democratic Leadership Council chief Al From (representing the party center), while AFL-CIO chief John Sweeney (not always a big fan of the DLC's agenda) is expected to be in the audience.
Gephardt aides are casting the speech as one of "unity," but it is clearly intended to signal Gephardt's play for a center- left (as opposed to left-left) coalition, perhaps momentarily quieting those who were wondering what he was going to do to freshen himself up for another presidential bid …
The Concord Monitor says Senator Joe Lieberman will keynote the Merrimack County, NH Democrats' St. Patrick's Day dinner on March 17, in a column that also shows how the state's raging debate over government-sponsored gambling can snare even the most powerful interests, including a gubernatorial candidate and a certain TV station. http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/politics2002/011801capbeat_2002.shtml
If the next presidential election were limited to college students only, Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold would have a pretty good shot at winning. The AP goes to Chapel Hill, NC to catch up with the latest stop on Feingold's magical mystery tour of campuses around the country, including this little factoid: "Feingold would become the first Jewish president if he goes all the way in 2004. He wouldn't be the first Jewish trailblazer in the family — sister Dena Feingold became the first female rabbi in Wisconsin two decades ago." http://www.newsobserver.com/ncwire/news/Story/905227p-903934c.html
Politics
The Administration's plan to deposit the nation's nuclear waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain may meet with an unexpected roadblock from a key member of its own party. The Los Angeles Times reports that House Transportation Committee chairman Don Young is "rethinking" his previous support for the move, and that "it might be more practical to leave radioactive waste where it is." http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-000005664jan22.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection
"Sometime in the next few days," the Washington Post reports, "New York's Conflicts of Interest Board will decide whether Mayor Michael Bloomberg must formally part with the media company he adores and that bears his name. Few expect it do to so. More likely, observers say, the board will draft a document requiring that the mayor have no operational role in Bloomberg LP and that he recuse himself when city decisions would affect the company's bottom line." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15956-2002Jan21.html
The New York papers cover one of the starkest Rudy-to-Mike changes yet, as Mayor Bloomberg's King Day appearance with the Rev. Al Sharpton gets a photo above the fold on A1 in the New York Times .
Anonymous accusations of electronic eavesdropping alleged against a powerful Washington figure by his subordinates, who claim their boss was in search of damaging information about them in order to justify their ousters — and the world's leading newspaper is forced to issue a clarification. Fine: it's about Redskin owner Daniel Snyder, not some politico, but we still recommend this New York Times editor's note at the bottom of this link. http://www.nytimes.com/corrections.html
California's three Republican gubernatorial candidates are set to debate tonight in San Jose.
The Jesse Jackson who is a congressman won Round One against the Jesse Jackson who wants to run against him, when a first review of the former's challenge against the latter being on the ballot came out in favor of the former. But this isn't over yet. http://chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0201190038jan19.story
So (apparently) confident of his re-election and his chances of making inroads with minority voters, New York Governor George Pataki compared himself to Martin Luther King yesterday. http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/39538.htm
A big reason for Pataki's confidence and Democratic despair: New York's Democratic candidates for governor got opposite receptions when they stumped at MLK, Jr. Day events yesterday: "State Controller Carl McCall enjoyed a standing ovation at the Rev. Al Sharpton's annual King tribute, while former U.S. Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo faced tough questions and sporadic heckling." http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-01-22/News_and_Views/City_Beat/a-138983.asp
Just in case anyone forgot, the Washington Post wraps up the long list of obstacles Rep. Gary Condit will have to overcome simply to win the Democratic primary in his district, much less the general election. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15816-2002Jan21.html
Bill Clinton got a rock-star reception in Israel yesterday. http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020122/3791803s.htm
In addition to Jeb Bush, Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano (D) and Alaska Governor Tony Knowles (D) also deliver their State of the State addresses today.
Chelsea Clinton's new do already is the subject of a New York Daily News cover and a carafe of morning show chatter. http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-01-22/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-138987.asp
Bush Administration Strategy/Personality
The Washington Post 's Milbank observes hilariously, "The flowering of the Enron bankruptcy scandal has reintroduced a strange animal to the White House briefing room: the press corps foil. The use of foils, a technique popularized by Clinton press secretaries Mike McCurry and Joe Lockhart, involves the careful selection of questioners from among the many raised hands to steer the briefing in a direction the press secretary desires." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15642-2002Jan21.html (Or, you may have seen this technique used on "The West Wing.")
A Wall Street Journal editorial gives snaps to Jeb Bush's efforts to reform and modernize Florida's pension system, which the paper believes provides good lessons for the looming Social Security reform debate.
USA Today 's Keen notes that despite Tommy Thompson's fidgeting, Paul O'Neill's fumbles, and Colin Powell and Christie Whitman's chafing at the bit, Bush's Cabinet is still intact, having lasted longer than Clinton's original Cabinet did. True to form, an Administration aide attributes this to Bush's management style — which, we'd note, could actually be true. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/01/22/usat-cabinet.htm
Despite the best efforts of Administration officials to play down the incident , the New York Times says that a month out from the President's trip to China, the alleged bugging of the President Jiang Zemin's jet actually is causing tension. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/22/international/asia/22CHIN.html
There was a great story in the Sunday New York Times business section about US Steel's ongoing efforts to get billions in financial help from the Bush Administration in order to try to save and consolidate the traditional steel industry — by using the bailout to assume the health care costs of retirees and workers from the companies US Steel wants to acquire. George Melloan's Wall Street Journal column on A21 today revisits the themes of that story from a free market point of view.
It's an important and good column, although it starts out shakily by ignoring the reality of the schizophrenic split between the Journal 's news and editorial sections. "Democrats and the New York Times have been trying mightily to establish some guilt-by-association link between George W. Bush and those hapless tycoons at Enron," he writes, ignoring his own paper's work on the subject.
But after that, Melloan does a good job of explaining the dangerous precedent that would be set by any such bailout. He points out (what we didn't know before the Times story) that former Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart, fresh off of his work bringing hard-alcohol ads back to network TV, has been hired by US Steel. But he reserves his main bracing words for the Bush Administration: "[W]ill the Bush administration stand up to Big Steel? Various political advisers argue that refusing the industry's demands might cost Republicans control of the Congress next fall. A collapse of the richly rewarding retirement benefits system granted by the companies to the United Steelworkers Union in fatter times could sow discontent in places like Indiana and Pennsylvania. Republican congressional candidates could lose in these and other 'battleground' states" — and, of course, affect the President's likely re-election effort.
Along with the pending decision on Yucca Mountain and nuclear waste, the steel decision gets a lot more attention in the White House than the President's political team would like to let on, since attention would put even more pressure on what are already tough calls substantively and politically.
"A group of relatives of World Trade Center victims will travel to the White House tomorrow for their first meeting with President Bush — ready with a list of concerns, including an appeal to set aside the entire WTC site for a memorial," the New York Post reports. "The relatives have been invited to be at the White House when the president signs the Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act, which was passed by Congress last month." http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/39574.htm
The Washington Times notes how current efforts to make US seaports more secure are likely to be ineffective and hinder trade. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020122-17899572.htm Meanwhile, another Times story points out how states that permit concealed-carry are hindered in their efforts to secure public buildings. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020122-4034260.htm