Posted on 02/19/2004 5:22:45 PM PST by Alissa
NEWS SUMMARY
Here at home, no jobs are being created within the ABC News Political Unit.
This is good news, on the one hand — increasing productivity and the shifting of 500 of our 1,000 Googling monkeys overseas have been great for us.
The bad news, of course, is one can only say so many times "no, we aren't doing any more hiring this cycle" to the nieces and nephews of the cousins of neighbors of people we once knew without feeling worn down.
Most of the productivity increases have come from forcing, er, asking the Googling monkeys to take on a second task. In addition to having them do the overnight, first sweep through the newspapers on the Internet, we now have them placing telephone calls for us.
Unfortunately, they aren't all that good at this new task yet, and we haven't had a successful phone call with a political player since, well, since this new system was put in place.
So, in a bid for a different kind of productivity, we are going to try to do our reporting right here in The Note.
Here are the questions we need answered. If you see your name, please e-mail us the answers at politicalunit@abcnews.com.
To Karl Rove: Did you know about and approve the Mankiw and job growth sections of the economic report the president signed?
To John Kerry: Who do you have in charge of vetting your past campaign contributors and lobbyist-related activities?
To John Edwards: How hard are you going to push this one-on-one debate thing?
To President Bush: If it seems that the Specter of Nick Brady is hovering around 1600, may we remind you of the immortal words of Ray Parker Junior? ("If there's somethin' strange in your neighborhood/Who ya gonna call (ghostbusters)/If it's somethin' weird an it won't look good/Who ya gonna call (ghostbusters)")
To Note readers: Do you realize that John Kerry wants this to be a delegate-accumulation contest, and John Edwards wants it to be (for now) about momentum?
To the Los Angeles Times and CNN debate sponsors: Sharpton and Kucinich — yes or no?
To Marc Racicot: Given the economic report flap and the current poll numbers, do you agree with us that this might not have been the absolute best day to do morning TV?
To Kathleen Connery: Will you ever let Kim Rubey pull that stunt again?
To Maralee Schwartz: How come the Washington Post is the only North American news organization reporting today that Kerry plans to advertise in every Super Tuesday state?
To Laura Bush: Can you get through this whole year without answering directly any of the follow up questions about your (apparently) liberal views on social issues, beyond your patented "Let's just leave it at that"?
To Tom Vilsack: Do you realize your best chance of being on the ticket is if you pull a Roy Romer, circa 1992, at the upcoming NGA meeting with the POTUS?
(Recall this Devroy/Morin Washington Post lead: "President Bush got a rude awakening from Democratic governors Monday who interrupted his pitch for his economic program to accuse him of budgetary gimmicks, creating a 'sewer of debt,' and of favoring the rich." LINK.)
To Bill Clinton: Do you realize how much you will shock us if you hand your book in on time?
To Kori Bernards: So wait — is it local, or is it national?
To Maureen Dowd: Have you figured out yet who on Kerry's press staff can get you that interview?
To Terry Holt: Do you realize you are now on cable TV more than Suze Orman? LINK
To 41: Our name isn't "Jamie" or "Paula," but we would still like an interview, ok?
To Joe Trippi: Do you realize you are now on cable TV more than Suze Orman and Terry Holt combined?
Senator Kerry receives the endorsement of the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C.
Senator Edwards is in New York and Georgia.
Rep. Kucinich is in Ohio.
Rev. Sharpton is in New York.
President Bush speaks about the economy in Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Bush is in Nevada.
ABC 2004: The Democratic nomination fight:
AP's Ron Fournier reports that Edwards plans to "attack Kerry's free-trade policies and special interest ties, targeting Ohio, New York and Georgia" and that Kerry plans to air "TV ads in general election battleground states while counting on arcane Democratic Party rules to protect his lead in nomination delegates" until Super Tuesday. LINK
Nagourney and Halbfinger of the New York Times say the sparring over trade "signaled that the contest had entered a new and more competitive stage. Mr. Edwards appeared to some extent constrained in his attacks, because he has spent much of this campaign criticizing other Democrats for running negative campaigns. He kept many of his challenges to Mr. Kerry carefully calibrated.". LINK
The Washington Post 's VandeHei and Balz wrap Kerry's and Edwards' badabing over trade and electability yesterday. LINK
"Edwards told reporters Wednesday that he, too, is running a national campaign, competing in all the states. But a senior adviser outlined more limited objectives for March 2, with the campaign looking for a few victories by focusing most heavily on New York, Ohio and Georgia, and winning a good share of delegates in states such as California, Maryland and Minnesota."
AP's Tom Raum writes that Edwards' "lack of political and foreign policy experience could become a liability in the homestretch for the Democratic presidential nomination." LINK
The New York Times ' Kit Seelye Notes that Kerry and Edwards "differ more in style, tone and experience than they do on most issues. But surveys after Wisconsin's vote on Tuesday show they are appealing to somewhat different audiences." Here's Kit's clip n' save on where the two men fall on the major issues: LINK
Yesterday's 100-reporter Edwards conference call had an inauspicious start with the New York political press corps thinking it was a call for only New York reporters therefore feeling free to tell inside jokes (Those Albany folks are quite funny!!) and talking of placing bets about Assemblyman Mills' chances against Chuck Schumer while awaiting Edwards to join.
But, as with most crowded fields, the conference call quickly got down to a two-man race as Adam Nagourney (whose voice Senator Edwards recognized rather quickly) and Dan Balz in a stunning tag team performance peppered the North Carolinian about his record (or lack thereof) of comments against NAFTA during his 1998 senate campaign and before that.
Folks, this call had more big-foot reporters per square inch than you can imagine, and, as the New York Times deftly reports, more than one Kerry aide!!!
The New York Times editorial board on the state of the race: " … in an age when too many elections seem to boil down to a choice between the unimaginable and the hardly bearable, the chance to pick between two perfectly good candidates for the presidential nomination seems like a rare opportunity." LINK
An editorial in the Globe calls Sens. Kerry and Edwards "Washington insiders" and Notes "while Senator John Kerry's parade of primary victories has been impressive and Senator John Edwards has maintained viability, the two should not ignore the appeal that their vanquished competitors had for many voters." LINK
The Wall Street Journal 's Hardwood and Schlesinger write that an Edwards victory is "not likely, since his slim chances rest on a rapid shift in the dynamics of the 2004 nomination race."
USA Today 's Page and Lawrence look at the two-man race and advise Sens. Kerry and Edwards on what they need to do next. LINK
The Washington Post 's Paul Farhi on the candidates' bank accounts and Edwards' struggle to keep up with Kerry's fundraising advantage. LINK
The Washington Post 's Jonathan Weisman reports on the Democrats' focus on jobs as their advisers admit that the proposed solutions would probably "do little to staunch the bleeding." LINK
The Wall Street Journal 's Rogers thinks that a Democrat's win in Kentucky gave the party new confidence it "can compete this year in Southern and Western states that went for President Bush in 2000."
AP's Leigh Strope interviews Teamsters president James Hoffa, who argues that Kerry's trade position has evolved since he began campaigning. LINK
Marine and former Navy Secretary James Webb ponders veterans' opinions on President Bush and Senator Kerry. LINK
Just a quick reminder for you: Our up to the minute delegate estimate is only a click away. LINK
We love and respect this Kerry campaign release so much, we produce it here in toto — and we were too busy to check its accuracy:
Kerry
1st place finishes — 15
2nd place finishes — 1
3rd place finishes — 1
4th place finishes — 0
Edwards
1st place finishes — 1
2nd place finishes — 6
3rd place finishes — 3
4th place finishes — 7
# of states where Kerry has received 10% or less: 0
# of states where Edwards has received 10% or less: 6
# of states where Kerry has beaten Edwards: 15
# of states where Edwards has beaten Kerry: 2
Average Kerry vote share: 45%
Average Edwards vote share: 19%
Average Dean vote share: 15%
Average Kerry margin over Edwards: 26 points
Average Kerry margin over Edwards 2/7-2/17: 31 points
It's all in the allocation formulas:
So what, exactly, did they do?
From Bob Bauer's website: "The FEC began by stating that federal political committees must use federal funds to pay for communications that promote, support, attack, or oppose federal candidates. This, rather than the old express advocacy standard, is the new benchmark for determining whether a communication is made for the purpose of influencing a federal election. That said, non-connected political committees are still governed by the allocation regulations of 11 C.F.R. Part 106. Specifically, generic and administrative activity may still be allocated. The Opinion also notes that it is perfectly appropriate for a committee to maintain both federal and non-federal accounts." LINK
Many 527s are not registered with the FEC but do plan to engage in political advocacy.
Yetserday's ruling does not augur well for those who want to limit additional regulation on the 527s.
But it keeps them alive.
Per Jeanne Cummings in the Wall Street Journal : "'We're pushing forward with all our plans,' said Jim Jordan, a spokesman for the one of the largest new groups, America Coming Together, which is conducting a voter mobilization program. 'We remain confident that we'll have the room we need to operate robustly and effectively.'"
But ACT is concerned with voter mobilization, which directly benefits both federal and non-federal candidates.
The ruling yesterday did not leave so sanguine Mr. Harold Ickes, who runs the Media Fund, which plans to broadcast television ads.
Per the Washington Post 's Edsall, "Harold Ickes, a former aide to President Bill Clinton and now head of the Media Fund, accused Gillespie of misconstruing the consequences of yesterday's FEC decisions to 'inhibit our supporters and donors by his willful misreading.'" LINK
More Edsall:
"Key decisions yet to be made by the FEC include: If organizations such as ABC or ACT can spend a mix of hard and soft money, what rules will govern the ratio? And under what circumstance will 527 organizations — such as the Media Fund, which is currently not registered with the FEC — and politically active groups known as 501c4s, fall under FEC regulation? In reports filed with the FEC, ACT has used an allocation formula allowing it to pay 98 percent of its costs with soft money and 2 percent with hard money. The FEC yesterday signaled it will reconsider such allocation formulas in May. If ACT were required to spend hard and soft money equally, the committee would have to raise large amounts of difficult-to-come-by hard money, a costly and time-consuming process."
Roll Call 's Keller Notes that the FEC "rejected broader alternative proposals, which some in the nonprofit community feared could severely curtail the activities of 501(c)3s, and several commissioners said they would wait to address such matters when the FEC undertakes a larger rulemaking on the 527 issue."
The New York Times ' Justice writes that "The commission's ruling on so-called 527 committees could have profound effects on the 2004 election by helping Democrats, who have been much more aggressive than Republicans in creating these committees to help the party compete with the Republicans' overall 2-to-1 fund-raising advantage. None of this money winds up in the candidates' hands but it can be used to raise issues and attack or promote candidates by name." LINK
Nader:
How many times have we written this sentence? ABC News has learned that Ralph Nader is close to making a decision about whether to run for president in 2004. And that's about all we can say.
The Hartford Courant Notes that "only 33 actual supporters added their names" to Nader's website last year and his Public Citizen action group in Washington "lost 20 percent of its membership and $1 milliom dollars in financial support" after 2000. LINK
Edwards:
In quite a bold lead, The New York Times 'Archibold and Justice write that for Edwards, "second place will no longer do." LINK
The New York Times ' Rutenberg writes that Edwards "picked up a tsunami of momentum in newspapers and on television, with pundits lauding him for beating their expectations." LINK
Tim Funk of the Charlotte Observer reports on Edwards' search for another Wisconsin among the Super Tuesday states, Noting his need for support from states with massive job losses. LINK
Nick Anderson explores Senator Edwards' record on trade and finds more than just an anti-NAFTA candidate. LINK
"Edwards, a senator from North Carolina, has a far more nuanced record on international trade than his rhetoric would suggest, supporting some trade initiatives and opposing others during his five years in office."
The Globe's Mishra and Kornblut write that Senator Edwards is gearing up for an underdog campaign and that "while Edwards's unexpected showing in Wisconsin stunned many Democrats, Republican officials looked on with great interest and some concern." LINK
Kerry:
The Globe's Patrick Healy writes that the front-runner status is changing Senator Kerry. LINK
"Kerry's punchy side, so evident as he battled from behind to win Iowa and New Hampshire in January, has been far less visible since he became the party's front-runner. Instead, political analysts say, a certain woodenness in Kerry's public presentation returned this month, reminiscent of his style a year ago when he was the race's early favorite in the polls."
Deb Orin columnizes about which vulnerabilities of Kerry's that Senator Edwards might exploit during this two-week two-man showdown and apparently it has a lot to do with smiling. LINK
"It also comes with Edwards' winning sunny smile, which makes people feel hopeful — while Kerry seems more dour, and one of his big problems in Wisconsin was that he forgot to smile in Sunday's pivotal debate."
The Los Angeles Times take a long look at Kerry's letter writing from 1996-1999 on behalf of a campaign contributor who has since pleaded guilty for "illegally funneling campaign contributions to the Massachusetts senator and four other congressmen." There is no evidence that Kerry was aware of the contributors scheme and the campaign says that Senator Kerry has since donated $13,000 to charity once he was made aware of the tainted money. LINK
We wonder how much Team Edwards and the RNCBC04 machine wlll play up this story.
Bob Novak has documents that show that John Kerry may have once been in the same state as Jane Fonda. Or something like that. It's VVAW stuff. LINK
What happens to Kerry's Senate seat if he wins? Democrats want to keep it for a few more months … LINK
From ABC News Kerry campaign reporter "Nature Boy" Ed O'Keefe:
DAYTON, OHIO, Feb. 18--Six weeks ago word of former Gov. Howard Dean's demise may well have been greeted by the Kerry camp with cheers of relief.
But on Wednesday afternoon, a somber-toned Senator offered only cautious condolence, remarking to a local Ohio television station, "I have nothing but enormous respect for his campaign. There's sort of a there but for the grace of God go I feeling about campaigns. I know what it's like. I know how one day things could be one way and the next it could change."
Such was the undercurrent mood of the Kerry campaign as the Senator arrived in Dayton, Ohio, to tour a vacant lot where only two years prior a General Motors plant stood along Wisconsin Drive.
Senator Kerry talked jobs, the economy, and outsourcing as his staff continued an unusual game of retrospective expectations (re-)setting, attempting to downplay the second place Edwards while selling their 15th first.
Pre-Iowa, Kerry could not escape queries about "Dean, Dean, Dean." Post-Iowa, the Senator enjoyed nearly a month of softballs on his surprising success. But, for the first time Wednesday, locals and the traveling press were curious about the 'other John' and, this time, reporters didn't want Kerry's thoughts on Edwards as VP.
In his first press avail in a week, Senator Kerry attempted to quash Edwards' success on trade, an issue which served the North Carolina well in Wisconsin, insisting, "We have exactly the same policy on trade, exactly the same policy on trade."
On NAFTA, which Edwards claims he opposed when it passed Congress in 1993, Kerry charged, "Well, he wasn't in the Senate then. I don't know where he registered his vote but it wasn't in the Senate."
When pressed to explain any policy differences between he and Edwards, Senator Kerry demurred tersely, "That's not what I'm focused on."
The Kerry campaign insists its strategy has not changed but yesterday they deprived the admittedly tired candidate of a down day, adding events in upstate New York and Georgia to Saturday's schedule.
And although senior advisers admit they are contemplating ad buys in crucial states such as Ohio, for now, they're content waiting for the Junior Senator to make a paid media move.
Kerry has said he will compete on the ground in Ohio, Georgia, California, New York, Minnesota and his home state of Massachusetts. Despite repeated claims of a "national campaign" which is "fighting for every vote," Kerry will forgo campaigning in Utah, Idaho or Hawaii in favor of half of the delegate-rich 3/2 states.
The Senator joked with reporters aboard his campaign plane that if he had traveled to Hawaii, he would have been ridiculed for taking a "campaign junket", although the Bay State Senator maintained if he wins the nomination, a trip to the Aloha State might be in order.
For good measure, the Senator added that upcoming trips to California might be a star-studded affair. Kerry boasted of support from Russell Simmons and Bette Midler and remarked that General Clark was helping him woo Hollywood.
Perhaps more influential than Phat Farm or the Divine Miss M, Kerry receives the endorsement of the AFL-CIO today before heading to Beantown for a working down day.
Dean:
First, read and digest Jodi Wilgoren's super-obit: LINK
Then, ABC News Dean campaign reporter Reena Singh files her final dispatch from the trail: BURLINGTON, Vt, Feb. 19--The guest count for the Dean last supper was so large that the party was spread over 7 tables. Reporters unaccustomed to the concept of free time contemplated their next moves. For some it's onto one of the Johns-Kerry or Edwards-but for others the road to ordinary life ahead is cobbled with doing laundry, paying bills and sleeping in your own bed.
As hugs went round the pub as often as rounds of pints, veterans tell rookies of the decompression stage that follows the shock and giddiness phases. You'll be depressed, you'll feel useless. Your body is addicted to the adrenaline. But for now most can only see as far as the white sand, turquoise water and frothy, fruity cocktails on Internet vacation Web sites. In other words, the giddiness phase is still in effect.
Most of the core Dean staff will stay in place in Burlington until Friday. On Saturday some of them will travel to Trippi's ranch for a presentation-perhaps on Power Point-on Change for America. "Mostly it is going to pay homage," says one staffer. Regardless on who Trippi may rope in, there is one cowboy is unlikely to cross over to Change for America. "The Governor and Joe respect and like each other, but they are like two scorpions in a bowl."
Something else that the Governor is apt not to do is, according to CEO Roy Neel, is endorse Edwards. "People may be suggesting it, but he isn't going to do it."
So when has the Governor ever done something his campaign manager has told him to do? After all, that Edwards sure is nice. In fact, that Edwards is so damn nice it makes this former Dean reporter want to … SCREAM.
Although he wasn't there in body, Steve Grossman was a guest of honor in spirit. Shaking their heads, staffers recalled conversations with "blabber mouth." Advisers who worked tirelessly to get the vote out in Wisconsin claim Grossman's comments destroyed their chances to finish respectably in the Cheese State. "We were gaining ground on Edwards. Then after Grossman opened his mouth, people we were calling started saying, 'Dean? His top guy just left.'"
Just a little over a month ago, we had expected to race along the road to the White House with the Dean campaign. We were in it for the long haul. Instead, this morning some reports pack up their notes, tapes, dream of book deals, and promise to stay in touch. See you at the convention.
Now the clips:
The Washington Post 's Rosin sympathizes with "those denizens of the Georgetown salons" who supported Howard Dean. LINK
More Dean obits: The Washington Post : LINK
AP: LINK
Jill Lawrence of USA Today takes an inside look at what went wrong for the Dean campaign. Interviewing 11 staffers, she writes of a flailing campaign way before the "I have a scream" speech. LINK
Bob Rogan does not come off well in her account.
Glen Johnson of the Boston Globe writes of Dean's final campaign speech. LINK
"His voice hoarse, his speech interrupted several times by a hacking cough, his eyes glistening as he delivered the trademark closing to his stump speech a final time, Dean stood defeated but unbowed."
Johnson and Schweitzer of the Globe summarize Dean's message. LINK
Matea Gold and James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times say good-bye to Dr. Dean. LINK
"Ultimately, at a time of international terrorism and economic uncertainty, Democrats decided they were unwilling to take a chance on a blunt-speaking, relative unknown."
Candace Page of the Burlington Free Press reports on Dean's drop out of the race, Noting the national movement he is planning to continue the effort to transform the Democratic Party. LINK
The editorial page of the Burlington Free Press writes on Dean's "wise choice" in dropping from the race. LINK
The Washington Post 's Matthew Mosk reports on efforts to woo Dean's supporters in Maryland. LINK
"Howard Dean abandoned his scrappy presidential campaign," writes the New York Post 's Brian Blomquist. (Note Note: Who agrees with Brian that the "Georgetown salon" comment could be perceived as a swipe at the Kerrys? Please raise your hand.) LINK
Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News writes of the very tough time some Dean supporters will have supporting the eventual nominee, especially if it's a fella who goes by the name "Kerry." LINK
"Dean told congressional backers in a conference call that he worried his troops might flock to Nader, and messages on his Web site showed danger for the party."
The New York Times ' editorial board posits Dean "is entitled to wonder along with the rest of us whether his campaign was a midwinter's imagining: a teasing political figment, comet-like and gaffe-bedeviled, yet, above all, stirring enough to end the party's torpor over the bungled 2000 election." LINK
Jon Margolis writes on the New York Times ' op-ed page that the biggest surprise of Dean's campaign to residents of Vermont "was the apparent transformation of a campaign clod into a fiery orator who inspired a movement." LINK
A final thought:
One of the questions about the Dean legacy is to what degree did he leverage existing political trends — or did he forge them himself? A Note to us from Meetup's Myles Weissleder provides one answer:
"Thanks to Dean (and Joe Trippi) supporters of ALL Democratic presidential candidates (and the campaigns) are now using Meetup to organize monthly get-togethers in thousands of cities and small towns around the nation. There are now also Meetups for ALL declared Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial races: 500+ candidates in 900+ races nationwide — a direct result of the Dean campaign," he writes.
With, say, Moveon.org, it's a different story. It was Moveon that pioneered the use of Net appeals to raise money from liberal activists in small dollar increments for television ads. The Dean campaign nicely (and openly) glommed off that idea, although they did add a few twists.
New York:
Deb Orin and Stefan Friedman write-up the battle for New York and Note Kerry's adding an upstate New York stop to his campaign schedule. Apparently, the Kerry campaign doesn't intend on giving up the cherry picking argument. LINK
"Kerry strategist Paul Rivera dismissed Edwards' focus on upstate New York, saying, 'We're running for president of the United States, not for president of upstate New York or southern Ohio or rural Georgia.'"
The New York Post editorial board looks forward to Super Tuesday mostly by way of disparaging Dr. Dean as he leaves the race. LINK
"Had Kerry put away Edwards decisively on Tuesday, the coming contests would have been all-but-foregone conclusions. Instead, one-time frontrunner Howard 'Dr. Demento' Dean exited the race yesterday — leaving the possibility for an intriguing two-man race on a truly national scale."
Maggie Haberman of the New York Daily News writes-up Senator Edwards' Empire State push and Notes Kerry's institutional support advantage in New York. Make sure you don't miss Karl Rove predicting a tight race while raising money in east Chelsea last night. LINK
The New York Daily News reports Brooklyn Democrats are poised to join team Kerry. LINK
Georgia:
Rev. Sharpton predicts that he'll have a strong showing in Georgia, predicting it will be a "'a more competitive race than South Carolina." LINK
Atlanta joins the list of "expensive media markets … where saturating the airwaves with political ads can cost between $500,000 and $1 million a week." LINK
The Confederate battle flag will be on the ballot with the Democratic presidential candidates on March 2, reports Ben Smith at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. LINK
Moni Basu and Matthew C. Quinn with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution saw Teresa Heinz-Kerry visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Center yesterday in an effort to woo black voters. LINK
Minnesota:
Bill Salisbury of the Pioneer Press Notes that John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich will visit Minnesota this weekend. LINK
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune's David Westphal takes Note of the dynamics of an Edwards/Kerry race for Super Tuesday, one remarkably free of political advertising and dependent on debates for TV time. LINK
Ohio:
Cindi Andrews at the Cincinnati Enquirer Notes how quickly Kerry turned up in Ohio after the Minnesota primary. She also reports that Edwards will be in Ohio on Saturday. LINK
The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Alison Grant reports that one out of every six jobs manufacturing jobs lost in Ohio since 1999 were due to trade pacts. LINK
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect's secret weapon:
Yesterday's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings featured an exclusive interview with the president's secret weapon: First Lady Laura Bush. ABC News White House Correspondent Terry Moran traveled with Mrs. Bush as she raises money for her husband's re-election.
On this trip, for the first time, Mrs. Bush spoke out on the controversy surrounding the president's service in the National Guard decades ago--before she met him.
Moran: "But you knew or you say you know that he was pulling guard duty in Alabama?"
Mrs. Bush: "Absolutely."
Moran: "How?"
Mrs. Bush: "Of course. Well, because he told me he was. And the records had been shown. He wouldn't have gotten an honorable discharge if he hadn't pulled his duty."
And she had harsh words for Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who has leveled the charge that her husband was AWOL at that time.
Mrs. Bush: "I don't think it's fair to really lie about allegations about someone like the Democratic National Chairman did."
Moran:: "He lied?"
Mrs. Bush: "(Laughs) Well, he made it up. guess I should say."
ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect:
ABC's John Cochran Noticed this yesterday, and all the papers pick the distancing on job numbers.
The Washington Post 's Dana Milbank: LINK
The New York Times ' Dick Stevenson: LINK
Wall Street Journal 's David Wessell writes that some on the right of the political spectrum are worried about the president's "tax-less, spend-more budgets."
When Ken Bazinet of the New York Daily News writes a lead thusly: "In a startling turnabout, the White House has backed away from a sunny economic report signed by President Bush last week that forecast big job growth," you might begin to wonder why your email box wasn't flooded with reactive statements from the Democratic presidential candidates. LINK
The New York Times ' Slackman and Moynihan write up the street theater organized protests in honor of Mr. Rove's visit to the swank Manhattan nightclub Eugene where he collected some $400,000 for the president's reelection effort from Mavericks such as Emma Bloomberg and Emily Pataki. We are anxious to learn who played the role of Rove. The Times duo report that last night's street theater is a hint of things to come at the Republican National Convention. LINK
Here's that USA Today poll … which our Polling Unit urges you to read with context … LINK
"More than 60 leading scientists, including a dozen Nobel laureates, on Wednesday accused the Bush administration of frequently suppressing or distorting scientific analysis from federal agencies when it disagrees with administration policies," writes Elizabeth Shogren of the Los Angeles Times. LINK
Steven Weisman of the New York Times delivers a must-read punch with plenty of blind quotes from Administration officials to go around concerning the June 30 deadline for Iraqi self rule and the possible political motives. LINK
"Many in the administration say that while they have no proof that the urgency to install a government is politically motivated, it feels to them like part of a White House plan to permit President Bush to run for re-election while taking credit for establishing self-rule in Iraq."
"'I can make all kinds of arguments about why we need to establish democracy in Iraq on an urgent basis,' said another administration official. 'But when you hear from on high that this is what we must do, and there can be no questioning of it, it sounds like politics.'"
The Washington Post 's Mike Allen Notes that President Bush is "troubled" by gay weddings in San Francisco but has not yet decided when to endorse an amendment banning gay marriage. LINK
Politics:
Senator Schumer appears to finally have a Republican opponent for his reelection campaign and Assemblyman Howard Mills didn't waste one moment before chastising the Senator for his ubiquitous Sunday press conferences. LINK
$55! The price of a Marc Jacobs designed t-shirt featuring Hillary Clinton to help raise funds for the Empire State's junior senator according to the New York Daily News' Rush and Molloy. LINK
And you can buy them right next to Magnolia Bakery on your next cupcake run!!!!
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Steve Neal. LINK
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