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Note note: Today's note is short. And we won't be writing one on Monday. So, catch up. The Note archives.

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Yet another reminder that even in this post-September 11 world, Americans just aren't as internationally focused as the rest of the World Cup-lovin' world.

And that starts with the president himself. It is common practice for reporters from other countries, when asking questions at joint press conferences with US presidents and their respective country's leaders, to ask a first question in their native tongue to their guy or gal, and then one in English to the US leader — perhaps haltingly and with poor grammar, but still in understandable English.

But when David Gregory tried to do an English/French thing over the weekend, the president took his head (or, depending on how you viewed it, some other piece of his anatomy) off.

The White House spin machine has been in overdrive, trying to make sure the president gets credit for his historic nukes deal with Russia (barely a media blip, despite their best efforts), and for his plain talk, emphasizing shared values with the good people of Europe, who want for their children the same thing a Crawford mom and dad want for theirs.

Some close observers of the president say Mr. Bush has seemed a little off his game on this trip, and we aren't just referring to his usual — but perhaps more frequent — inartful bon mots ("securitize," "uninalienable"), written up for you courtesy of — who else? — Dana Milbank.

Historic speeches and agreements mostly were blotted out, then, by the traveling press' obsession with the jet-laggy POTUS and L'Affaire Gregory.

President Bush today will meet with the Pope before heading back to Washington, landing post-WNT.

Don't think Karl Rove didn't at least consider how to get a bunch of Dial-o-meters in front of a comparable number of American Catholics.

Perhaps the one domestic political journalist with a real eye on Europe today is the Boston Globe 's Shribman, who plots out how all the unique and extenuating circumstances of September 11 will affect the major parties' prospects for the midterm elections.

"The nation is projecting confidence abroad — there's a subtle hint of swagger as President Bush promises action against terrorists and regimes that sponsor, foster, or tolerate them — but is uneasy at home … Though a political system where power hangs on a single vote, as it does in the Senate, has an inherent instability, most of the themes from the political contests thus far scream stability:"

The Washington Post 's Style section looks at the semantics of all the Bush Administration warnings about possible future terrorist attacks. "Are they merely acknowledging the danger — a sword-of-Damocles scenario? Or is the Bush administration one collective Chicken Little?"

The New Yorker now actually puts some content on the website. Sy Hersh's latest on the FBI and the war against terror is a must-read, even if we find his interview with James Woods bewildering.

Today in the world of state politics brings the Idaho and Kentucky primaries, with no major races in either, and vulnerable Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone's campaign kick-off in Minnesota, as well as a the New York state GOP convention.

Also today, House Minority Leader Gephardt will hold a town hall meeting with former Enron employees in Houston, Senator Joe Lieberman will roll out a white paper on broadband develop.m.ent at a high-tech event out in California, and Al Gore will stop in New York on his way to London for MetWest business.

Also out in California, it's the 20th annual California Roast, Sacramento's version of the Gridiron, skewering Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson.

On Wednesday, in Nashville, Vice President Cheney will keynote "Statesmen's Night" for the Tennessee Republican Party. Out in Los Angeles, Senator Joe Lieberman and the Democratic Leadership Council will host a forum on "The Battle for Latino Voters." Gov. George Pataki will accept his party's renomination for governor, and Rudy Giuliani will give a speech at the state GOP convention. And in Chicago, Senator Peter Fitzgerald will help colleague Bob Smith raise money.

Also on Wednesday, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean will have two events in Maine, including one for Democratic Senate candidate Chellie Pingree.

On Friday, Tipper Gore will headline a New Hampshire Democratic Party fundraiser in Concord, while EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman will raise money for Senator Bob Smith in Boston.

Saturday brings the New Hampshire Democratic Party convention, to be held at St. Anselm's College, as well as the Democratic state conventions in Massachusetts, where the party will winnow its field of candidates for governor.

From the ABC News London bureau: Russian President Putin has taken his seat on the new NATO-Russia Council, marking a new era of post-Cold War co-operation. The pact on a new NATO-Russia Council — agreed earlier this month in Iceland — allows Russia to join NATO's decision-making process, and is aimed at uniting the efforts of Moscow and the alliance in the fight against terrorism.

The 20-nation summit concludes President Bush's tour of Europe, the centerpiece of which was the signing of a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty in Moscow, which will cut the US and Russian atomic arsenals by two-thirds.

President Bush, speaking before a meeting with Pope John Paul, said he was concerned over the state of the US Roman Catholic Church which has been shaken by child sex abuse scandals. He said he would discuss the issue with the Pontiff.

Pakistan has tested a third ballistic missile, in a move likely to strain still further already tense relations with neighboring India over Kashmir. The Abdali missile tested on Tuesday is capable of carrying warheads accurately up to a range of 110 miles. The trading of artillery and small arms fire is reported to be intensifying across the international border and the Line of Control.

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

It's recess, so the wannabes are out and about.

As we said, Gore heads to London on MetWest business. Gephardt will hold a town hall meeting with former Enron employees in Houston this morning. Lieberman joins up with TechNet to hold a broadband event and release a white paper in Alameda, CA.

Joe Biden has a Washington Post op-ed on the Moscow treaty. And Edwards was on the Today show, wearing his Intelligence Committee hat and talking about alleged failures in intelligence gathering pre-September 11, in what we've noted before is a good role for him because it lets the former trial lawyer ask a lot of questions without having to give a lot of meaty answers.

Dots must be connected, questions must be answered, the Senator intoned. "There clearly was a breakdown … between the FBI and the CIA..and within the FBI itself." He was waffly and squishy on whether he supports an independent commission to look at September 11.

Amidst the audio problems that characterized the whole interview ("Katie, could you repeat that?"), Ms. Couric tagged her interview with an original question, asked in an original manner:

"Very quickly, are you planning to run for President, Senator Edwards?"

"I haven't made any decision on that," the Senator responded in part.

On that note, the Raleigh News & Observer's Wagner ponders the "tensions" and complications for Edwards in seeking two offices at once in 2004. "[A]llies say it's possible that Edwards could put off a final decision about the Senate race until the last few days of February 2004, right before the deadline to enter. By then, Democratic caucus and primary voters will have already gone to the polls in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — and perhaps a few other states — and probably narrowed the presidential field to one or two candidates."

Still, we wonder how, in that scenario, North Carolinians would feel about being Edwards' second choice? (A more graphic term comes to mind … )

"Analysts say Edwards' situation is complicated by the fact that he has never stood for re-election in his home state before, and that in many voters' eyes, he's better known for his ambitions than for his accomplishments," Wagner goes on to say.

"There is certainly anecdotal evidence that Edwards' ambitions are producing a backlash among some constituents. But Edwards' advisers say they are confident most of those people would not be inclined to vote for him anyway."

"Two Sundays ago, while attending a Hurricanes hockey game, Edwards was greeted with a smattering of boos when his face appeared on the overhead screens at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. The reception was much friendlier earlier in the day when Edwards delivered the commencement address to thousands of graduating seniors and family members at UNC-Chapel Hill."

Biden likes the Moscow treaty overall, he says in the Washington Post today, but has a few little quibbles, such as: "The treaty does not require the actual destruction of a single missile or warhead … The treaty sets no schedule for reductions and provides no new tools to verify each side's compliance … Nor does the treaty say how each country's strategic nuclear warheads should be counted."

Saturday's Hartford Courant ran the Portsmouth Herald's John Breneman's analysis of why Lieberman was booed on Imus by a live New Hampshire audience.

On the other hand, Time's Karen Tumulty has a front-of-the-book shaded box of three paragraphs celebrating Lieberman's "new" assertiveness on Enron, taxes, and September 11, with an approving quote from the Arizona Democratic party's Dianna Jennings — right before the Senator arrives in her state this week to do some events for them.

If you read the New Republic on the web, do yourself — and the always-fretting business staff there — a favor and go get the hard copy. You are going to want to see the cover photo of John Kerry. Trust us.

Can anyone explain this Sunday Des Moines Register mention of Kerry's Iowa contributions?

Ron Brownstein's column yesterday was a must-read big-thinker on how President Bush appears to be approaching 2004: "This isn't the behavior of a president trying to fundamentally realign the electorate by inspiring wholesale changes in the allegiance of swing voters. To do that, Bush would have to risk angering his core supporters by moving to the center on big issues, something he's done only rarely. Instead, after the closest presidential election in more than a century, Bush's camp is placing a different bet. Their underlying assumption seems to be that, if Bush holds his base from 2000, he'll be close enough to a majority that he won't need to convert large groups of those who resisted him last time. All he might need is to tip small numbers of voters in key places, like steelworkers in the industrial belt."

President Bush's teasing of David Gregory and his general regular-guy behavior throughout his European trip reminds us of one of the keys of presidential politics: the winner usually ends up being the man (so far) who strikes a majority (or, lately, a plurality) of Americans as being the most "normal" and the most like "them."

As he did during the campaign, by just being himself, 43 sets a hard-to-match standard of being his ol' accessible self, without sacrificing too much of the "majesty" of the office that Americans contradictorily also seem to like.

This next item is included because in every presidential campaign, at least one of the candidates faces a choice about whether to fire a long-time aide after some apparent, obvious, or alleged transgression.

The choice usually comes down to: on the one hand, the candidate needs the aide and/or doesn't want to appear disloyal, and on the other hand, the candidate is advised he must end the press and opposition flap that will seemingly go on forever until the boil is lanced.

We can't direct you to the complete stories here, but those of you with Nexis and an interest in this general phenomenon, or the Kerry campaign, or (and this last group is a highly select, specialized one) the gender of Pippin Roe, should go look at this past Saturday's Boston Globe story ("Jeffrey A. Bean, a former Fitchburg mayor who received acclaim after he and his wife served as foster parents for more than 1,800 children, resigned yesterday as Senator John F. Kerry's state political director for what Kerry's spokeswoman described as 'personal reasons'"), and at the September 2, 1999 Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Want to put a "Countdown to Election Day 2004" ticker on your web site?

This unofficial Howard Dean for President website — http://howard-dean-for-president.mydd.com/2004.html — has one, and we're shamelessly, though with permission, providing the html code for those of you who just can't resist.

<center>Countdown to a Electing a President:
<applet code="countdown.class" CODEBASE="http://mydd.com/java-sys" width="203" height="21">

<param name="font" value="lcdb0">

<param name="year" value=2004>

<param name="month" value=11>

<param name="day" value=2>

<param name="hour" value=6> <param name="timezone" value="-12"> </applet></center>

The Los Angeles Times editorializes against the state's early, March 5 primary. The reason to take note: such sentiment may affect future decisions on whether or not to move the state's presidential primary.

2004 Conventions

We wouldn't want this stuff to fall through the cracks just because it happened right before a big national holiday.

A bunch of Democratic party wise men and advisers to all the likely presidential candidates met on Capitol Hill last Friday afternoon to go over their options in terms of dates for the convention, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

At the meeting, according to one source who was present: Harold Ickes, Mike Berman, Steve Richetti, Doug Sosnik, John Podesta, DNC executive director Minyon Moore and DNC political director Gail Stoltz, Craig Smith on behalf of Senator Lieberman, Steve Jarding on behalf of Senator Edwards, Jim Jordan on behalf of Senator Kerry, Steve Elmendorf on behalf of Leader Gephardt, and Anita Dunn on behalf of Leader Daschle.

Carter Eskew was invited to represent Al Gore, and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was invited to send a rep, but neither showed.

As a result, according to the source who attended, there was some mocking of Gore — not surprising given the cast. (Sorry, FVPOTUS.)

The group ran through all the media, financial, and logistical considerations of scheduling the convention for various weeks:
-- the week they currently are scheduled to go, starting July 19
-- the first week of August
-- the second week of August, abutting the Olympics
-- the week of August 30, same as the Republicans
-- AFTER Labor Day

The general consensus was that they don't know nearly enough yet about the financial implications for their nominee if they decide to move the convention back, and they want to bring in more people to discuss it. The group adjourned intending to meet again in early June, with the hope that Eskew and others — maybe, in addition to all those former Clinton guys, more operatives who actually will be really involved in this next convention? — will be able to join in.

Our source did say that the one likely result of the meeting is that the currently scheduled July dates for the Democratic convention are pretty much OFF THE TABLE — the convention WILL be moved, but it's not clear right now whether it will happen before the Olympics, at the same time as the GOP event, or after the GOP event.

DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe is now telling people that he's basically agnostic on the dates, which is sure to drag this process out longer because it's not clear anymore who will really decide when the convention will take place.

One last note: those of you who are salivating over the cost savings involved with simultaneous conventions should know that there's a great deal of concern amongst Democrats that the White House will use the power of incumbency to screw with the convention schedule and try to force the Democrats out of prime time.

Boston Mayor Menino and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman seem to have joined up in what could be a mutually beneficial arrangement: in exchange for former Democratic National Committee co-chair Grossman's lobbying efforts to bring the party's 2004 presidential convention to Boston, the Mayor is being quite up front about his willingness to sway the 300 or so delegates under his influence toward Grossman at the state party convention this coming weekend, in a move that could save Grossman's longshot candidacy.

(Just to note, the story includes this kicker, probably also to the delight of some former Clinton advisers: "As for former labor secretary Robert Reich, he does not appear to be on the mayor's radar screen.")

Politics

Roll Call reports that today brings the kick-off of the "Bay Area Dems," a new 527 group of "several veteran Northern California Democratic fundraisers [who] are banding together to … funnel hard-money donations to competitive races around the country."

"About 500 guests will attend the event, which will be headlined by Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.) and will also feature Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), House Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown (D)."

This is the wave of the Post -McCain-Feingold era — rich people who can effectively bundle hard-dollar contributions through events or mail.

David Lightman looks at the Arab lobby's rise to prominence and clout.

California

We like this Washington Times lead, which runs on the same day as the paper's editorial blasting Gov. Gray Davis (D) over the state budget deficit: "Governors heading into election season with mediocre approval ratings, a well-known charisma deficit and surrounded by a whiff of scandal don't usually start their campaigns by sharply raising taxes."

"California Gov. Gray Davis is going to give it a shot anyway."

The story notes "the governor's reputation as a relentless fund-raiser of almost Clintonian stature — an image reinforced when reports surfaced recently that he had offered to meet individually with college students for a mere $100 contribution each."

Last year, gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon hosted a weekly discussion program on which, according to the San Jose Mercury News, he displayed his "solidly Christian conservative worldview."

The Los Angeles Times profiles Green gubernatorial nominee Peter Camejo, who sounds like a Democratic nightmare in the making: "Camejo says he is under no illusions that he will become California's next governor--'my wife would kill me'--but relishes the threat his candidacy could pose to Davis by peeling off liberal voters. And he says he is unconcerned about the possibility that, if the race tightens, he could tip the election to the conservative underdog Simon."

Will Rep. Doug Ose (R) challenge Senator Barbara Boxer in 2004? He isn't saying, but his self-imposed term limit comes due soon, his war chest is big, and his ambitions seem bigger.

Florida

Mark Silva looks at some J. Bush polling data involving Hispanics in the I-4 corridor.

The Miami Herald 's Peter Wallsten writes that voters should expect a certain "level of creativity and detail" that gubernatorial candidate Janet Reno so far has not provided.

"A representative from … Reno's campaign called The Herald last week with an exciting promise: The former U.S. attorney general-turned-candidate for governor was finally prepared to serve up some details about how she hopes to run the state. After eight months of wheeling around the state in her red truck expressing love for Florida and distaste for Gov. Jeb Bush's policies, Reno was — at last — going to offer a specific plan."

"For the first time, the public would hear exactly what Gov. Reno would do with her power. The next day, Reno gave a speech at the Miami Woman's Club calling on Bush to fire the head of the state Department of Children & Families. She distributed a one-page press release listing eight areas of potential reform within the state's child welfare agency now that little Rilya Wilson has reminded the world that the system is broken."

"Her suggestions included 'reinstating' competence at the head of the agency, reducing the workload for caseworkers, raising workers' salaries and a few other general ideas that have been mentioned in report after report for more than 15 years."

New York

One of the remaining states with redistricting battles is New York, and the stakes are so high that even Vice President Cheney is making phone calls trying to ratchet up the pressure on state Republicans to get the best outcome.

Texas

"Four of every five of Gov. Rick Perry's non-government private meetings have been with his campaign donors, according to a computerized study by The Dallas Morning News."

New Hampshire

We agree, Little Bird: this one's more notable for its byline than for the speculation itself, which has been running for a few weeks now. The Union-Leader's Bernadette Malone ponders the buzz that GOP Rep. John Sununu should get out of the party's US Senate primary.

Malone notes: "Primary challengers always have an uphill battle raising funds, and money is no guarantee of victory. But Sununu's modest sum still raises concerns in Washington. In a city where perception matters more than reality, Sununu must create the perception he is up to the unpleasant task of asking for donations. Otherwise, his campaign's efforts will be wasted dispelling rumors he is dropping out. But Sununu is facing hard questions that go beyond whether he's in or out. 'I'm hearing Sununu's not working hard at raising money and is taking his poll numbers for granted,' one Republican Senator worried aloud to his senior aide, who relayed this to me on the condition of anonymity."

Congratulations to Emelie Rutherford, an intern with the Boston University News Service, for getting a long, long piece in the Union Leader today, describing the terms of the buddy-buddy relationship between Senators Judd Gregg and Ted Kennedy.

Today's Union Leader runs Helen Dewar's Washington Post article on the Smith/Sununu race on page B10, the back of the 'State & Region' section (versus A2 of the Post yesterday).

Iowa

The very nice Chet Culver, Secretary of State of Iowa, is warning that the state doesn't have the systems and resources to avoid a Florida-type-deal if a close outcome in the state's June 4 primary requires a recount. And look what the Republicans are saying about him in return: "'At every turn, Chet Culver stood in our way," [Senator Steve] King said. 'I'm out of patience with this guy. This is another piece of self-serving politics.'"

Do you want, as most Note readers do, a quick and dirty way to keep up with who's who in Iowa politics? Read this Des Moines Register columnist's suggestions for various Fox-style "Celebrity Boxing" match ups featuring Hawkeye State figures.

Rep. Greg Ganske isn't taking his primary challenger, farmer Bill Salier, for granted.

"While Congress is recessed for the next week, the four-term Republican from Des Moines will host campaign events throughout the state. He says he is confident in his chances of beating Salier."

"'If a Republican does moderately well in Polk County and eastern Iowa, where I'm from, TomHarkin is in trouble,'" said Ganske, who is originally from Manchester."

Minnesota

Senator Paul Wellstone, locked in what is and shall remain one of the half dozen top Senate races in all the land, begins his official campaign kick-off week in Duluth and Moorhead today.

If that isn't the best series of web pages for a Senate announcement tour EVER, we'd like to see what tops it. Kudos, Wellstone Webmaster!

The Economy

Paul Krugman says the economic comeback isn't happening, and he steals the question we always ask: which sectors of the economy are going to drive growth?

Legislative Agenda

Today's lead New York Times editorial, suggesting that health care will be a major issue someday soon on the campaign trail, reminds us to ask: what does that business-labor coalition have to show for the big bucks it has spent on its TV ad campaign to promote universal coverage?

Alan Murray attempts to eviscerate the effort to permanently repeal the estate tax, on A4 of the The Wall Street Journal .

David Rogers on A2 of the The Wall Street Journal finds some Delphic significance in Senate Majority Leader Daschle's apparent willingness to move a free-standing and hefty debt ceiling increase vehicle.

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson pushes the president's proposed 40-hour work week for welfare recipients in a Washington Post op-ed.

The Washington Times reports, "House Republican leaders have halted efforts to get private-school vouchers and instead plan to move an education tax-credit proposal they say will increase investment in both public and private schools and allow more parents to send their children to private schools if they choose."

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality

It's all the way back to Saturday, but you most certainly will want to look at this Mike Allen Washington Post story for the hilarious back grounding someone did to make sure that Karen Hughes' role in the early days of Enron as a political issue was not overstated to the Senate Democrats in the White House's own chronology.

We'd like to see a DIFFERENT chronology, starting with the moment Ms. Hughes found out what her colleagues had said about her in the chronology that went to the Hill.

On a more serious note, Ms. Hughes let the AP's Fournier write up her own arguably more personal experience at the Normandy American Cemetery, recalling how her dad, now a retired general safely ensconced in Texas, landed at Omaha Beach.

When will reporters doing White House pool reports tire of listing Karl Rove as a "senior diplomatic adviser" or some such jokey title?

Another thing about the president's teasing of David Gregory, courtesty of a regular Note reader and longtime Bush watcher: the frat-boy side of our President pretty much insures that if you show off in front of him at anything besides sports, he will try to humiliate you (good naturedly of course) in front of the widest possible audience.