W A S H I N G T O N, April 16
— If their Wheaties tasted a little sour this morning, it may have been because President Bush and his White House team woke up this morning to two neatly drawn comparisons to his predecessor, Mr. Clinton.
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The comparisons are both political and stylistic, and they share the news cycle with yet another round of criticisms of the administration's handling of the crisis in Venezuela that sound rather like the recent "too little, too late" critiques of their handling of the Middle East, and maybe even veer into potential '60s- and '70s-style "Yankee go home" alienation of the president's beloved Latin America.
The ongoing Middle East storyline, meanwhile, continues to suck up a lot of White House energy, and looms as a potential destabilizer of all other Administration goals on any given day.
Dick Morris's New York Post op-ed is in the "hit" (as opposed to "miss") category, making one intriguing comparison between 42 and 43, and the use of "small bore" issues in presidential events.
( http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/45659.htm
"In his first year, Bush spoke out only rarely and then on important topics. He didn't mind appearing in the news only one or two days each week and did not feel the need to generate coverage every day. But, in the past few weeks, the White House has quietly begun to change its tactics and now, borrowing a page — or a volume — from the Clinton playbook, the president is out there almost every day pushing his message du jour … "
"The White House realizes that reality doesn't always generate sufficient good news to keep up the president's ratings. When the military is hunting down terrorists in caves each day, the White House doesn't have to manufacture coverage. But when all reality has to offer is a balky Congress and one's secretary of state trying to end Mideast violence, the White House staff doubtless feels that more drastic action is called for."
"And the White House staff is right. President Bush needs to keep up his high ratings, not just for political, but for governmental purposes. If he drops from the low 80s and high 70s to turf more typical of mortal humans — the low 60s or high 50s, for example — he will not be able to discipline the carping and cavilling Washington establishment into supporting his necessary steps in prosecuting the war against terrorism … "
"Clinton was criticized for remaining a 'governor' and not adopting a presidential enough style in his bite-sized one-a-day proposals. But the ideas resonated with the public and the constant gunfire of ideas kept his ratings afloat even in the dark days of government shutdown and then of impeachment and scandal."
As if on cue, President Bush today will have three public events: a speech on victims' rights over at the Justice Department, a meeting with the president of Finland, Tarja Halonen, and an economic address to a business group.
And, using the peg of Bush's fundraising turn for GOP Senate candidate Greg Ganske in Iowa yesterday, the The Wall Street Journal catches up to most everyone else and does its version of "Bush as Fundraiser-in-Chief," complete with an interesting quote from a Democrat spokeswoman.
"But when it comes to mixing the official and the political, Mr. Bush is 'way more Clinton than Clinton himself,' says Jenny Backus, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Democrats grouse that Mr. Bush gets a pass from the media, however, because his fund-raisers are closed to reporters and because news of the war on terrorism has overshadowed all else."
The story also has an equally interesting quote from the White House political director; we challenge all of you to explain what the difference with a distinction is here:
"Mr. Bush sees a clear difference between himself and Mr. Clinton, advisers say. 'The president has made one of his goals to elect men and women who support his policies," White House political director Ken Mehlman says. But "there is a limited amount of time the president is engaged in political activity.'"
The piece makes this claim: "[P]olls showing public antipathy toward business have helped prompt Mr. Bush to lower his profile on issues such as restricting lawsuits, a top Bush fund-raiser says."
Only the hard copy of the paper has the great state-by-state map of Bush presidential visits.
Meanwhile, the New York Times front-pages indications from at least one of its sources that the Bush Administration didn't do all it might to discourage a coup in Venezuela.
( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/16/international/americas/16DIPL.html )
The Washington Post suggests the perspective that it was at least benign neglect: "In the view of a number of Latin American governments, they were the ones who rose to defend democracy, while the United States came limping along only when it became clear late Saturday that the Friday morning coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had only temporarily succeeded."
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56800-2002Apr15.html )
Congress has a number of hot issues on its plate this week, including border security and the question of drilling for oil in ANWR, but Bush's speech in Iowa yesterday, as well as tax day and an expected House vote on Thursday, has put the next round of fighting over the tax cuts in the spotlight.
Basically, Bush and some Republicans charge that letting the tax cut expire would amount to an economically irresponsible tax increase, while Democrats charge that extending the tax cut or making it permanent would effectively amount to a fiscally irresponsible new tax cut.
The Washington Post 's Allen leads his story on Bush's trip with: "President Bush began a campaign today to win permanent status for his mammoth tax cut, which is scheduled to expire in eight years and would cost hundreds of billions of dollars a year to preserve."
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55183-2002Apr15.html )
(Quiz: who is the most implicitly pro-supply-side journalist covering Washington today?)
"Democratic officials acknowledged that the eventual extension of the tax cut seems likely, because Congress would be loathe to allow what would amount to a sudden rebound in rates. But several Democrats considering presidential bids are using attacks on the tax cut as a key applause line."
"Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has called for rolling back some of the cuts. At last weekend's Florida Democratic State Conference, former vice president Al Gore said the administration's tax cut was the largest single factor in the return of deficit spending … Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) said Democrats support 'tax cuts that boost growth and create jobs' but said he finds 'something really wrong with an economic policy that eats up the surplus we worked so hard to build.' And Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) cited the tax cut in arguing that the administration is 'racing back to the voodoo economics of the 1980s.'"
The Los Angeles Times disagrees: "Congress, however, is unlikely to comply with Bush's request … [T]he disappearance of the budget surplus has virtually eliminated any chance that, at least for now, Congress would agree to make the tax cuts permanent. A few Democrats have urged repeal of some tax cuts yet to be phased in, but the party's congressional leadership has steered clear of that idea."
( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-000027216apr16.story ?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection )
"The GOP-controlled House has scheduled a vote Thursday on a measure to make the tax cuts permanent. It is expected to pass on a virtual party-line vote, but die in the Democratic-controlled Senate."
"The tax cuts are being added as amendments to another House bill that has passed the Senate. Procedurally, that means it goes straight back to the Senate floor, which puts more pressure on Senate Democrats to schedule the bill for a vote," the Washington Times notes.
( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020416-11813113.htm)
From the ABCNEWS London Bureau: Secretary of State Powell is starting a new round of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders after Israel said it would pull troops out of some West Bank towns within a week. Powell is due to hold further talks with Israeli Prime Minister Sharon today, and with Palestinian leader Arafat on Wednesday.
Powell said US and Palestinian officials were "making progress and are looking forward to making more progress in the next 24 hours." Palestinian officials say they are preparing a joint statement with the United States which would include a stiff condemnation of suicide bombings and call for Israeli troops to pull out of recently occupied areas, as well as endorse the creation of a Palestinian state.
Overnight, Israeli tanks backed by helicopters rolled into the town of Tulkarm, in what Israeli military officials described as a limited operation to arrest Palestinian militants. Israeli forces later pulled out, saying they had arrested four Hamas members.
Hundreds of British Marines have joined US troops and Afghan coalition forces in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan in the first large-scale combat mission since Operation Anaconda. The operation, code-named Ptarmigan, began several days ago and is designed to wipe out any remaining al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in a former Taleban and al Qaeda stronghold.
The Middle East
Elisabeth Bumiller's New York Times story deconstructs the meaning of Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz's somewhat booed address to the pro-Israel rally in Washington yesterday, complete with analytical quotes from Bill Kristol, Gary Bauer, and Ralph Reed, all playing their assigned roles. Note well the blind straw-man analysis that is the heart of the piece's strength. (In Washington, the blind strawman is all-seeing.)
( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/16/international/middleeast/16PREX.html )
Just asking, in that Larry King-ish style which we sometimes affect: do Democrats REALLY think sending Bill Clinton to the Middle East as President Bush's envoy is a good idea, or are they suggesting it publicly for some clever, political reason?
ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary
After a fundraising visit to New York yesterday, Dick Gephardt is in Michigan today, making him the first wannabe to visit five likely early primary states. He also has added another New Hampshire trip to his schedule, traveling up there May 6-7, schedule TBD.
Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. pens a New York Times op-ed piece in favor of a Middle East peace conference. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/16/opinion/16BIDE.html )
In a mostly-accurate The Wall Street Journal editorial looking at the Teamsters-led Big Labor flirtation with the Bush Administration, John Kerry gets a CAFE smack, while the president gets off oh so lightly on steel.
Imus played a Kerry clip from the Florida Democratic convention, and then called Kerry's remarks about Katherine Harris, "mindless."
The New York Post ed board mocks Al Gore for suggesting that the Clinton-Gore years were good for America. ( http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/editorial/45712.htm )
Now, break off from the Note from just a moment and go get your digital abacus, because things are about to get numbery.
We do appreciate the calls and e-mails we've gotten about your first-quarter leadership PAC numbers. Here's the upshot of how you wannabes are doing financially.
Al Gore's PAC, Leadership '02 (www.leadership02.org) which geared up last fall, has raised $528,480, spent $384,174, and has $181,361 in cash on hand. Though their spending may be a bit high, a spokesperson emphasizes that this is all hard money, taken in through six fundraisers. And it's possible if not likely that Gore's (d)rip-roaring speech at the Florida Democratic Party convention this past weekend will increase his marketability.
Answering our question of which '00 running mate would raise more, Senator Joseph Lieberman's ROCPAC (www.rocpac.org) took in $644,071 this quarter. More than $600,000 of that came via individual contributions, a pretty impressive feat. Lieberman's PAC accepted no soft money, and spent/contributed heavily: $534,929. ROCPAC currently has $678,153 in the bank.
North Carolina Senator John Edwards' New American Optimists PAC took in more than $658,000 this quarter, $471,000 of that in soft money. Edwards aides note that Edwards' Senate re-election committee also took in another $310,000 this quarter, totaling almost a cool $1 million. The PAC spent only $54,352, mostly on travel and staff salaries, and is left with about $1 million to spend.
Between the PAC and Edwards' Senate campaign account, he has more than $2.6 million on hand. ( http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/politics/3072026.htm )
Senator John Kerry has accumulated more than $11 million for his breezy 2002 re-election campaign, and has spent three-fourths of that total so far, mostly on direct mail to build up a donor base for, um, a future campaign perhaps. His leadership PAC took in just over $250,000, leaving it with $168,000 on hand. Kerry doesn't accept PAC money.
His campaign account has more than $3 million in the bank. ( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/106/nation/ Kerry_raises_spends_millions_to_build_a_machine_for_2004+.shtml )
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's DASHPAC ( http://www.dashpac.org) raised about $140,000 this quarter, and has nearly $1 million to spend. DASHPAC holds one major fundraiser a year and tends not to actively solicit small contributions (PS, the PAC has raised more than $2.5 million since the cycle began in January of 2001). Disbursements totaled $286,415.
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's Fund For a Healthy America raised $29,460 this quarter, building on the nearly $109,000 he had in the bank from last year. (His candidate or committee disbursements number exactly four: money to two Iowa candidates, $5,000 to the Iowa Democratic Party, and a contribution to New Hampshire's Gov. Jeanne Shaheen). With slim operating expenses (a small, if informative web site — ( www.fundforahealthyamerica.org ) — being among them), Dean managed to end the quarter with $120,000 on hand.
Just you wait until we pore over the full disbursements.
First Quarter Fundraising Fun
For the curious, here are links to the first-quarter fundraising stories in the hot US Senate races around the country.
South Dakota (Democratic Senator Tim Johnson vs. GOP Rep. John Thune, a/k/a Senate Majority Leader Daschle vs. the Bush White House): ( http://www.argusleader.com/news/Tuesdayarticle1.shtml )
Texas (Democratic nominee Ron Kirk vs. Republican nominee John Cornyn):
( http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/politics/1368104)
Missouri (the widow, Democratic Senator Jean Carnahan, vs. Republican former Rep. Jim Talent): ( http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/ stories.nsf/News/4EF804D6B027D75C86256B9D000FFC7E?
OpenDocument&Headline=Bush's%20visit% 20helped%20Talent%20raise%20%241.3%20million%20over %20last%203%20months )
North Carolina (Elizabeth Dole vs., probably, former Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, a/k/a Elizabeth Dole vs. the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee): ( http://newsobserver.com/news/story/1299061p-1334300c.html )
(Note: the Elizabeth Dole campaign has raised $5.3 million but has spent half of that, and since she hasn't done any TV that we can recall, we're not sure what she spent it on. The Erskine Bowles campaign raised $3 million and spent almost half of that, but he's done a lot of TV.)
Colorado (Republican Senator Wayne Allard vs. Democratic attorney Tom Strickland): ( http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/election/ article/0,1299,DRMN_36_1090331,00.html )
South Carolina (GOP Rep. Lindsey Graham vs. much-touted but still slightly underdogged Democrat Alex Sanders): ( http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/3073499.htm )
Tennessee ("Does Republican former Gov. Lamar Alexander still have the fundraising oomph and the political muscle to get past a primary challenge and then win Fred Thompson's seat in November?"):
( http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_1090211,00.html )
Politics
Former President Clinton heads back home to Arkansas this week. On Thursday, he will raise money for the Daisy Bates Museum in Little Rock, and on Friday, he will raise money for Rep. Mike Ross (D), who earlier caught some flak for returning a check from Senator Hillary Clinton's PAC. Also on Friday, he'll review the White House Photo Exhibit of the Clinton Years in Hot Springs.
Per ABC's Lumpkin, 25 federal observers and six Justice Department attorneys will monitor the school board elections in Passaic, NJ today due to long-standing problems there over supplying Spanish-speaking poll workers and election materials in Spanish.
The US Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear a challenge to Oregon's vote-by-mail system.
( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020416-21885336.htm )
In another legal development, "[i]n an 11th-hour settlement reached yesterday, former Green Party candidate Ralph Nader dropped his suit against the Commission on Presidential Debates for barring him from attending the October 2000 debate in Boston after the commission agreed to issue an apology and pay an undisclosed amount of money." The case was scheduled to go to trial today.
( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/106/metro/Nader_to_get_apology _for_exclusion_from_debate+.shtml )
Last cycle, the political advertising fad was internet banners. This cycle, well … the Washington Times looks at a "doggie billboard" company. "For a fee, the company's easygoing pack of dogs wear little harnesses with small fabric billboards imprinted with the marketing mottoes of publishers, banks, retailers and manufacturers, softening up their crass commercial message with a wag and a woof. The dogs have already appeared in 17 American cities and will soon be seen at the Indianapolis 500 and several major sporting events."
( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020416-90814024.htm )
"Each has a handler, who must also be calm and sociable. While accompanying their dog stars through crowds or perhaps on a whistle-stop tour, handlers dole out product samples, product literature and — soon — political ephemera."
A candidate for sheriff in Kentucky yesterday was charged with complicity in the fatal shooting the incumbent last week. The incumbent's father, also a law enforcement officer, was shot in 1964.
( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la -000027206apr16.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection )
Iowa
The Des Moines Register runs a straight piece on Bush's visit, focusing more on sunset provisions on the tax cut than on GOP Senate candidate Greg Ganske.
( http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/17920489.html )
The Register's Jane Norman seems impressed with the totals racked up in the state's full-house five competitive House races this year. In the ultra-hot Fourth Congressional District, for example, Democrat John Norris and GOP Rep. Tom Latham together raised nearly $900,000 to date.
( http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/17920525.html )
California
Addressing a state school employees (non-teachers) union yesterday, Gov. Gray Davis (D) "warned for the first time Monday that he may not be able to meet the 'guaranteed' funding level for schools required by the voter-approved Proposition 98 … [which] requires that about 35% of the state's general fund be spent on public schools, from kindergarten though community college."
( http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la -000027162apr16.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia )
Also, "[t]he Los Angeles City Ethics Commission today will consider a sweeping set of rules aimed at countering an increase in so-called soft money that some believe is undermining the city's limits on campaign contributions and spending."
( http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la -000027152apr16.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dpolitics )
North Carolina
"Gender could be a powerful underlying issue in the Senate race," the Raleigh News & Observer's Christensen writes about North Carolina's bout to replace the retiring Jesse Helms, a race which features four women candidates, including likely GOP nominee Elizabeth Dole. "Democrats worry that Dole, who enjoys a large lead in early polls, will capture a critical swing vote: independent-minded women in the suburbs. The state has nearly a half-million more registered female voters than male voters." Democrat Elaine Marshall, who is waging an uphill challenge to Erskine Bowles for the Democratic nomination, is "urging Democrats to nominate her as a political checkmate for Dole."
( http://www.news-observer.com/front/story/1299136p-1334295c.html )
Tennessee
Former Gov. Lamar Alexander, now seeking the GOP Senate nomination, has released his tax returns.
( http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/midsouth_news/article/0,1426,MCA_1497_1090180,00.html )
Massachusetts
Republican gubernatorial candidate and wealthy businessman Mitt Romney refused to release his tax returns yesterday, as did Republican lieutenant governor candidate and wealthy businessman Jim Rappaport, and Rappaport's rival and Romney's choice for the LG nod, Kerry Murphy Healey.
( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/106/metro/3_in_GOP_withhold_their _tax_returns+.shtml )
Texas
Democrats are cheerfully touting the latest poll from the Dallas Morning News, taken before the Democratic Senate run-off took place on April 9, but still showing Ron Kirk, who became their nominee, beating GOP nominee John Cornyn by a few points. That said, just note that Kirk was more prominently in the news at that point given the Democratic run-off, and also that Republicans probably would point out that Cornyn is "within the margin of error" (just like the Democrats did with an earlier poll that showed Kirk trailing by a few). The upshot is, though, that the race looks like a dead heat at this point.
Bush Administration Strategy/Personality
The Washington Post 's Dana Milbank raises yet another facet of the Bush White House's possessive relationship with records: the fact that the White House cleans up the president's verbal blunders, and recently failed to include mention of hecklers at a Bush event, in the official transcripts.
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56556-2002Apr15.html )
"The opposition sees a Soviet-style move to airbrush infelicitous phrases. 'These transcripts are done for near-term history as well as long-term history and it's a real problem if they start rewriting them,' said Joe Lockhart, a former press secretary for President Bill Clinton. 'The White House is rewriting history.'"
"Lockhart said the Clinton administration never cleaned up transcripts except to correct spelling, but veteran correspondents recall the practice occurring in both Democratic and GOP administrations. Lockhart's predecessor, Mike McCurry, said he gave White House stenographers 'some leeway' to repair verbal abuses, including the task of 'restoring "g" to the English language' when Clinton's accent deleted the sound."
The Second Couple released their tax returns yesterday.
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56910-2002Apr15.html )
Legislative Agenda
Robert Pear catches the food industry trying to stop elements of the Post -September 11 food safety bill in the conference committee, although his story leaves out the question the Democratic National Committee cares about: what, if anything, is the industry doing in conjunction with the administration to get its way, what with that still being a major Democratic party thematic?
( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/16/politics/16LOBB.html )
Some Head Start supporters and child development experts are anxious about President Bush's plans for the program because they fear what would happen if more accountability gets shifted to younger learning levels at which kids still are learning through play, not formal lessons.
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56972-2002Apr15.html )
Core Reader Services
USA Today looks at how the Acela is cutting into Washington-New York shuttle traffic, and we learn that Amtrak spokeswoman Karen Dunn has the same name as a certain Senate press secretary.
( http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztravel/2002-04-16-acela.htm)
E-mail us: Tips, Compliments, Complaints.
-- 9:00 am, Treasury Secretary O'Neill and homeland security chief Ridge launch the "Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism" program, Detroit
-- 9:45 am, White House off-camera morning gaggle
-- TBD, Senate meets to debate and possibly vote on border security
-- 10:15 am, President Bush makes remarks on victims' rights, Justice Department
-- 11:00 am, opponents of the proposed nuclear waste dump at Nevada's Yucca Mountain rally then hold news conference, Capitol West Front
-- 11:30 pm, Pentagon spokesperson Clarke and Gen. Rosa conduct Pentagon briefing
-- 12:15 pm, closed Senate party policy luncheons
-- 12:30 pm, White House on-camera briefing
-- 12:30 pm, Democratic National Committee chairman McAuliffe makes remarks on "Equal Pay Day," Women's National Democratic Club
-- 1:00 pm, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld hosts honor cordon to welcome Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri; no media avail
-- 2:00 pm, House meets to consider suspensions
-- 2:00 pm, Capitol Hill rally on "Equal Pay Day" with Senators Clinton and Kennedy, Capitol East Front
-- 2:20 pm, President Bush meets with the President of Finland, Oval Office
-- 3:05 pm, President Bush makes remarks at a meeting of the leaders of the Fiscal Responsibility Coalition, EEOB
-- 8:30 pm, First Lady Laura Bush joins Wynton Marsalis for Jazz Appreciation Month event, Kennedy Center
The Future
Wednesday 4/17:
-- Senate Minority Leader Lott headlines fundraiser for New Hampshire Senate candidate and Rep. John Sununu, DC
-- federal judge Robert Jones slated to rule in Oregon v. Ashcroft assisted suicide case
-- Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri visits Washington
-- Republican party state chairs meeting, New Orleans
Thursday 4/18:
-- Colombian President Andres Pastrana visits Washington
Friday 4/19:
-- Sen. John Kerry gives speech at Suffolk Law School, then keynotes Cape Cod Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner, MA
-- April 19-20: forum on political targeting and the Latino vote, Houston
Saturday 4/20:
-- Senate Majority Leader Daschle keynotes South Dakota Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner
-- Sen. John Edwards keynotes Kentucky Democrats' fundraising dinner, Lexington, KY
-- Sen. Fred Thompson fundraises for House candidate Katherine Harris, Sarasota County, FL
Monday 4/22:
-- Vice President Cheney travels to Florida to endorse Rep. Clay Shaw and campaign for Rep. Ric Keller
-- former President Clinton keynotes Connecticut Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner
-- Sen. John Kerry speaks in New Hampshire, then keynotes Massachusetss Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner
Tuesday 4/23:
-- King Mohamed VI of Morocco visits Washington
-- Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha visits Washington
-- April 24: President Bush campaigns for GOP Senate candidate John Thune, Sioux Falls, SD
-- April 24: former President Clinton headlines Democratic National Committee fundraiser at the Apollo Theatre, NYC
-- April 25: House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Yucca Mountain
-- April 25: Ohio pre-election financial disclosure forms due
-- April 26-28: National Rifle Association annual meeting, Las Vegas
-- April 26-28: Democratic Leadership Council retreat, New Orleans
-- April 29: Sen. John Kerry addresses Connecticut Democratic caucus, CT
-- April 30: National Right To Life annual "Proudly Pro-Life" Dinner, DC
-- May 1: Vice President Hu Jintao of China meets with Vice President Cheney
-- May 3: Sen. John Kerry keynotes South Carolina Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Columbia, SC
-- May 4: Sen. John Edwards addresses South Carolina Democratic convention, Columbia, SC, and addresses Michigan Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner
-- May 3: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean keynotes Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Bar Association Dinner, Cambridge, MA
-- May 3-5: Former Vice President Gore and Tipper Gore appear at BookExpo America to tout their forthcoming book, Jacob Javits Center, New York
-- May 4: New Hampshire GOP gubernatorial candidates forum, St. Paul's School, Concord, NH
-- May 4: Kentucky Derby, with politicians galore in attendance
-- May 4: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean keynotes Empire State Pride Agenda annual dinner, New York
-- May 4: White House Correspondents' Dinner
-- May 5: AFL-CIO meeting, New York
-- May 5: Sen. John Edwards addresses Michigan Democrats, MI
-- May 6: first New Hampshire gubernatorial debate, both parties, Mount Washington Hotel
-- May 9: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean speaks at DNC Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council Chairman's Dinner
-- May 10: Bill Clinton appears at Natural Resources Defense Council fundraiser with Steve Martin and more, Los Angeles
-- May 10: Mary Matalin headlines Iowa GOP fundraising dinner
-- May 11: New Hampshire Democratic gubernatorial candidates forum, St. Paul's School, Concord, NH
-- May 11: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean keynotes Wyoming Democratic party convention, Rock Springs, WY
-- May 13:Vermont Gov. Howard Dean raises money for Rep. Jim Maloney, Southbury, CT
-- May 16: former President and Nancy Reagan to receive the Congressional Gold Medal (Mrs.Reagan to accept), DC
-- May 17: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean speaks to Gill Foundation Outgiving Conference, San Francisco
-- May 20: Florida Democrats Jefferson-Jackson dinner, speaker TBD
-- May 21: Pennsylvania primary (Democratic primary for governor)
-- May 22-23: New York Democratic party convention, Sheraton New York, NYC
-- May 22-23: President and Mrs. Bush visit Berlin
--May 22: AFL-CIO members expected to ratify increased dues levy for political purposes, New York, NY
-- May 23-25: President and Mrs. Bush visit Moscow
-- May 24: signature deadline for some California ballot initiatives
-- May 25: signature deadline for Oregon ballot initiatives
-- May 27--30: U.S. Senate/U.S. House not in session
-- May 27: Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd's birthday
-- May 28: South Dakota pre-primary financial disclosure forms due
-- May 28-29: New York GOP Convention (Gov. George Pataki's formal renomination)
-- June 1: New Hampshire Democratic Party State Convention
-- June 1: Massachusetts Democratic Party State Convention
-- July 1-5: U.S. Senate/U.S. House not in session
-- June 4: Iowa Primary
-- June 7: President Rudolf Schuster of the Slovak Republic visits Washington
-- June 7: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean gives commencement speech at University of Michigan medical school
-- June 8: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean gives commencement speech at Dartmouth medical school, NH
-- June 10: North Carolina Senator John Edwards' birthday.
-- June 13-15: Texas Democratic party convention, El Paso
-- June 27: Rep. Jim Traficant's sentencing scheduled to take place
-- June 23-25: Election Law Summit, Washington, D.C.
-- June 27-30: Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Charlotte
-- July 5: last day for Washington state ballot measures to be presented
-- July 6: President Bush's birthday.
-- July 9-12: Northwest Regional Election Conference, Portland, Oregon
-- July 13: Sen. Joe Lieberman keynotes Louisiana Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner
-- July 15: New York periodic disclosure forms due
-- July 28: Bill Bradley's birthday.
-- Aug. 6: Michigan primary (Democratic primary for governor)
-- Aug. 7: last day for Ohio ballot measures to be presented
-- Aug. 14: Lynne Cheney's birthday.
-- Aug. 19: Bill Clinton's birthday.
-- Aug 19: Tipper Gore's birthday.
-- Aug. 20: Georgia primaries
-- Aug 26: Jury selection begins in John Walker Lindh trial
-- Sept. 10: Florida, New Hampshire, and New York primaries (Florida: Democratic primary for governor; New Hampshire: Republican primary for Senate and primaries on both sides for governor; New York: Democratic primary for governor)
-- Sept. 17: Massachusetts primary (Democratic primary for governor)
-- Sept. 30: Jury selection begins for trial of Zacarias Moussaoui
-- Oct. 4: Al Sharpton's birthday.
-- Oct. 15 (tentative): Zacarias Moussaoui trial begins
-- October 26: New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's birthday
-- Nov. 4: Laura Bush's birthday
-- Nov. 5: Election Day
-- November 17: Vermont Governor Howard Dean's birthday.
-- November 20: Delaware Senator. Joseph Biden's birthday
-- December 9: South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle's birthday
-- December 11: Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's birthday
-- Decmeber 13: Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's birthday
-- December 26: California Governor. Gray Davis's birthday
-- January 30, 2003: Vice President Dick Cheney's birthday
-- January 31, 2003: Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt's birthday
-- February 24, 2003: Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman's birthday
-- March 11, 2003: Georgia Governor Roy Barnes's birthday
-- March 31, 2003: Al Gore's birthday
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