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All the Terry McAuliffe strategy meetings and technological improvements, all the Doug Sosnik and Harold Ickes conference calls, and all the Judy Lichtman organizing drives won't amount to a hill of beans to the party and the Left until and unless Democrats find someone to nominate for president who can put together 270 electoral votes.

With the war, the budget and the economy destined to be the battlegrounds on which Those Who Would Be The Democratic Nominee truly fight it out amongst themselves, and then with George W. Bush, it's tempting to ignore "other" issues.

But today's 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and last night's NARAL Pro-Choice America dinner/Democratic presidential cattle call give us yet another chance to evaluate the political skills and likely future political prospects of those seeking to lead the party and the nation.

President Bush will spend the anniversary in Dick Gephardt's hometown of St. Louis, talking on the phone with pro-life activists — and at the podium about the economy.

Most Noteworthy about yesterday evening, we think (aside from the fact that all the candidates went way over the designated time limit, boding ill for future cattle calls), was the fact that the two men with the least likely chance (of the current Six Pack) of winning the nomination — Rev. Al Sharpton and Gov. Howard Dean — caused the biggest stir.

Sharpton in particular had a big day yesterday, getting separate stories in most papers about his FEC filing.

The four congressional lawmakers — Sens. John Edwards, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman and Rep. Dick Gephardt — struck a cautious note by comparison, throwing no rhetorical bombs and speaking largely within a legislative framework.

Gephardt used the opportunity to nicely explain the evolution of his position on abortion; Edwards pledged to introduce a bill guaranteeing the right to an abortion.

It's too facile (but not totally useless) to compare Sharpton to previous borderline-fringe presidential contenders Alan Keyes or Gary Bauer, or even to Jesse Jackson.

For one thing, Sharpton is a better orator than anyone else currently running. Anyone who doubts that he will be a major theatrical and perhaps substantive factor in the debates is nuts. And what he utters is not just entertaining patter — it's infused with emotion and truth that goes beyond what the other candidates can (or dare to) muster up.

The other most Noteworthy aspect of the evening, we thought: how the more viable candidates appeared both condescending toward Sharpton, making jokes about being his running mate, and a little afraid of him, too. He hugged everyone with impunity.

Under the watchful gaze of a lot of the nation's political reporters and more than 1,000 activists, the Six Pack pledged their collective fidelity to abortion rights.

There are a lot of ways to measure the gravity and historic importance of an Invisible Primary event (number of TV cameras, number of Norah O'Donnell live shots, number of candidate handlers, whether Jill Alper is there or not … ), but we believe one variable stands out above all others in telling you that last night's event was a big deal: both Ron Brownstein AND Mark Z. Barabak were there.

Gephardt obviously did the most "interesting" thing last night, smartly pre-empting the likely release of various documents illustrating his pro-life past through the aforementioned, sweeping "how I changed" presentation.

Lieberman's explicitly Clintonesque "safe, legal, and rare," general election-oriented mantra echoed his Frommian announcement strategy of trotting out the 1992 playbook.

Kerry and Edwards were pretty straightforward and newsless, although Edwards (and his staff) gets points subtracted for not coordinating on the fly or in advance to keep the Senator from quoting the same passage as Kate Michelman did in her introductory speech.

The room's easy laughter and enthusiasm for Sharpton's remarks showed 1) how unfamiliar most of the DC Chattering Class is with his style, and 2) how uncomfortable the party still is with race.

But perhaps the most interesting speech of the night, however, was given by the doctor from Vermont.

Dean used anecdotes from his time as a family doctor to take on abortion (including "partial birth" and parental consent) in a way that a non-doctor could not.

Dean also somehow organized the room, getting his many supporters there to wave glowsticks when he spoke. A small thing, but it shows that, again, those of you underestimating his organizational skills and efforts on the ground in the key states are making an error. (That said, Dean's prepared remarks were not handed out to the press, as most of the others' were.)

The New York Times ' Nagourney leads with Gephardt's inoculatorily spending "by far the most time he has devoted publicly to discussing his changing position." LINK

"Notably, Mr. Gephardt did not use the forum tonight to discuss two other positions that have stirred concern among some abortion advocates: his support for restrictions both on the kind of late-term procedure that opponents call 'partial birth' abortions, and on some public financing of abortion."

It appeared that Gephardt and Kerry used a Teleprompter, for those of you as obsessed with such details as we are.

"[E]ven as the six Democrats made their statements … abortion rights advocates seemed to raise the bar for measuring commitment to their cause. In her speech, Kate Michelman, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said that she 'fully expect[s] pro-choice senators to filibuster' any Supreme Court nominee who does not 'affirm that the Constitution protects a woman's right to choose.'" LINK

"None of the candidates directly responded to that request."

Have the political savants in the Kerry, Lieberman, and Edwards camps thought about the pros and cons of taking up Michelman's challenge to fillibuster any Bush SCOTUS nominee who isn't avowedly pro-choice?

A very scientific survey over chips and salsa at Washington's finest focus group salon — Lauriol Plaza — after the speech suggested that the Gang of 200's betting is that Kerry would be the most likely to relish that fight, and also that no one has a clue what the general public politics (beyond Democratic activists) would be if such a gambit were tried.

"Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, one of the White House aspirants, pledged Tuesday night to push a federal law guaranteeing the right to abortion regardless of court rulings," writes Edwards shadow John Wagner in the Raleigh News & Observer. "The audience received Edwards politely, while several subsequent speakers received boisterous ovations." LINK

Robin Toner of the New York Times looks at the practice of GOP president's "getting away with" addressing pro-life marchers by telephone (haven't these groups ever heard of satellite or microwave technology that carries sound AND picture?). LINK

Pro-life activists continue to accept this "treatment," for whatever reason.

Meanwhile, President Bush got thwacked yesterday in a far less covered speech by another wannabe: former Senator Gary Hart addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York last night. "The former Colorado senator, who chairs the Council on Foreign Relations' task force on national security, views another attack as a certainty. And he plans to make that stern message the centerpiece of a possible new run for the presidency." LINK

"Hart gave the first of four speeches tonight — this one on national security — that are intended to take the temperature of the 2004 presidential waters. His upcoming speeches will touch on the economy and foreign policy and civic engagement, but national security is the thread that binds the rest."

"'All this huffing and puffing about Bush being a strong leader is just ridiculous,' Hart said in an interview today at the Manhattan offices of his Denver-based law firm. 'He's fixated on cutting taxes and just hoping that we don't get attacked again, and that's not leadership. We need to talk about a nation that's dangerously vulnerable.'"

And Helen Dewar writes up Senator Ted Kennedy's big speech yesterday as "one of the broadest and sharpest attacks on Bush policies since the president took office two years ago." LINK

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Big Casino budget politics

In case you thought the administration might be mellowing or resting up, the Washington Post 's Weisman and Allen write, "Bush huddled with 15 supportive economists from Wall Street and academia in the first of several events planned by the administration this week to promote a plan to accelerate income tax cuts and sharply cut taxes on investment dividends." LINK

"A senior official said Bush acknowledged to the economists that the possibility of war with Iraq creates an uncertain business climate. But he said the cost of allowing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to remain armed would be higher."

"Facing what a senior administration official acknowledged to be mounting political problems, Republicans have ratcheted up pressure on business groups to fall in line. A group of high-tech executives and lobbyists was summoned to the White House for a meeting on the plan yesterday. Left out were two prominent trade groups, the American Electronics Association and the Information Technology Association of America."

"A high-tech lobbyist said AEA was being punished for sending to Capitol Hill a stimulus package days after Bush laid out his plan. John Palafoutas, the group's chief lobbyist, said if the White House is punishing the AEA, he hasn't heard about it."

"Two high-tech lobbyists said the president of ITAA, Harris Miller, was informed he was persona non grata for telling the The Wall Street Journal he worried that the dividend plan could be characterized by Democrats as a 'soak-the-poor-and-benefit-the-rich proposal.'"

The Washington Post 's Weisman considers the rub: "Hubbard is intent on putting to the test a question that has vexed economists in Washington pretty much forever: Can the textbook tenets of macroeconomic theory be translated into tax policy in an emotional city where economics may be the last issue affecting the economic policy debate?" LINK

"At once owlish and boyish, Hubbard, 44, has already proven himself a survivor. He weathered a White House purge of the Bush economic team … He is facing withering personal criticism from some fellow economists who have all but accused him of lying about the effect of budget deficits on the economy."

"It is not easy to find economists who disagree with" Hubbard's proposal. "But to see it begin to take legislative shape in Washington has left allies and critics almost in awe."

"The budget President Bush plans to propose to Congress early next month calls for the smallest increase in years in spending for most government programs and little new money at all except for domestic security and the military, the White House said today," as recorded by the New York Times . LINK

"Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., the president's budget director, told reporters that Mr. Bush wanted discretionary spending … to grow by only 4 percent, or about $30 billion, in the fiscal year 2004, which begins Oct. 1."

Once again, Team Bush is NOT trying to make the Reaganesque case that government should actually be cut, with programs either eliminated or consolidated. Instead, budget officials are simply saying that restraining the rate of growth in spending is enough.

It's certainly "enough" to cause a political war or two, or three or ten.

The Houston Chronicle unwittingly curtain-raises what is likely to be a fantastically interesting National Governors Association meeting with the president, and, more wittingly, a fantastic part of the Big Casino budget tussle all year: "The nation's top penny pincher said Tuesday that President Bush's budget, to be released in the next few weeks, will not give states added help to pay for Medicaid health insurance for the poor." LINK

"Mitchell Daniels … said instead of increasing the federal share of Medicaid costs, Bush will seek to give states more flexibility in deciding how to stretch limited federal matching grants."

Meanwhile, welcome to Washington, Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Bill Frist: the budget impasse continues, as Democrats try to score political points off the tax cut, and Republicans try to show that they can run a railroad. LINK

Jackie Calmes of The Wall Street Journal smartly goes to Austin to look at how the all-Republican government there is dealing with the state's budget nightmare in the wake of George W. Bush's departure, new federal spending mandates that could lead to this: "once spending mandated by the state constitution, federal law and court orders is off the cutting board, other programs could face a 40% reduction."

The New York Times ' Norris seems more convinced than we are after reading his story about the administration's tweaking of its dividend tax cut provision that the change is consistent with the high priority the president says he puts on tax simplification. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/22/business/22TAX.html

The US Conference of Mayors meets in DC today at the Capital Hilton, with much talk expected on the president's economic stimulus plan.

SOTU

The Boston Globe 's Kornblut and Schlesinger lay out the administration's PR campaign to build support for a war against Iraq, culminating in The Big Speech. LINK

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

The AP's Sharon Theimer uses the rounding out of the Democratic field to chart the complexities of federal financing in 2004 in question-and-answer style. As she implies, the two biggest questions are: will any of the Democratic candidates opt out of public financing (and its limits) during the nominating contest? And will Bush spend his own money during the general? LINK

And she includes this nugget: "William H.T. Bush, the president's uncle and a "pioneer," said he expects the Bush campaign will have a fund-raising game plan by April."

We would ask Jim Kennedy and, um, who DOES speak for 43B this days? — but, being on deadline, we would rather just ask rhetorically: where was Bill Clinton on MLK Day (with his spouse appearing three blocks from his office), and where was Al Gore last night (with HIS wife — and erstwhile nomination rivals — front and center at the NARAL event)?

Which presidential candidate will be waving this New York Times story around today: "Staff of FEC Is Said to Dilute Rule Changes." LINK

Croissant-munching Rich Galen still has time to follow reporters going to Iowa and cover NARAL's name change. LINK

Kerry

Yesterday, we gave you our snapshot sense of Kerry's current strength. Some of you decided to respond by throwing around the phrase "in the tank." We aren't overreacting in our analysis, and we ask you, opinionated readers, to not overreact to our talking about what's going on right now.

The larger point is that while Kerry is doing a very nice job nationally and in key states (and, just maybe, with fundraisers) in consolidating the gains he has made lately, he was not treated by the crowd in the NARAL room last night, or by his opponents, as the frontrunner.

And, despite his physical stature (he towered over the others), and despite his speaking last, he did not overwhelm or command the room with his performance or bearing. He arguably gave one of the least memorable (which is not to say "worst") speeches of the evening.

He did nothing to hurt himself, but nor did he seem to have achieved any additional consolidation from the podium, which is a reminder that, like his colleagues (with the possible exception of Gephardt), he is still growing and evolving as a national candidate.

Still, The Consolidation continues: Kerry won two more key primaries yesterday: the Ted Kennedy Primary, and the Chris Lehane Primary.

Former Gore spokesman "Lehane, who is a partner in a private communications company in California, was the subject of much competition between the Democratic contenders." LINK

He never really did get off Eastern Time, anyway.

A source familiar with his recruitment tells The Note that Lehane was "impressed with how Kerry is approaching the campaign: willingness to take on Bush; capacity to work everyday; ability to put together a top rate team."

Kerry Senate office spokespeople David Wade and Kelley Benander are joining the campaign as deputy communications director and deputy press secretary, respectively, filling out the Lehane-Gibbs press operation.

And welcome back to DC, Tony. Tony Wyche will replace Wade and Benander as Kerry's Senate office spokesperson.

And, the junior Senator from Massachusetts (finally) got the senior Senator's full-throated endorsement yesterday. LINK

"In gaining Kennedy's support," writes the Boston Globe 's Johnson, "Kerry earns the endorsement of one of the last of the liberal lions, a party stalwart who still commands a base of dedicated voters across the country, including people who have supported his family since his brother, former Senator John F. Kennedy, was elected president in 1960."

"At the same time, Kennedy's endorsement aligns Kerry with a traditional liberal Democrat when he has been trying to broaden his political appeal with more centrist political positions."

"The two split last fall on whether to support military action in Iraq; Kerry supported a congressional resolution but Kennedy opposed it."

"Despite that vote, the Republican National Committee and the White House have criticized Kennedy and Kerry for often voting the same way on major national issues."

"Kennedy's personal affection for and legislative collaboration with Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, a rival presidential contender, prompted speculation within Washington that Kennedy would support Edwards. An important turning point came in November, when aides to Edwards revealed that they expected Kennedy to back Kerry."

Sharpton

On-deadline breaking news from ABCNEWS' Justin Anderson: "A second-alarm fire is burning in the building that houses Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network."

"The blaze broke out on the second floor of 1941 Madison Avenue in Harlem just after 8:30 a.m. Heavy smoke is filling the floor, but the fire is being contained."

"No injuries have been reported."

"Rev. Sharpton's National Action Network is located on the second floor, but the damage to his offices were not immediately known."

For the two dozen or so reporters huddled together under a tiny, foot-wide awning outside the Federal Election Commission yesterday, Rev. Al Sharpton's 40-minute late arrival yesterday morning (his driver got lost) came none too soon.

But choreographed it was. Sharpton's sedan trawled slowly by the FEC entrance and stopped at a small driveway about 50 feet away. That allowed Sharpton, campaign chairman Roberto Ramirez, and lawyer Stanley Schlein to walk slowly, soberly, and purposefully to the door of the FEC.

After submitting the papers, Sharpton took a few questions. Finding them a bit hostile (or perhaps being too cold), he only took a few.

Yesterday was his day, though — and there's no doubt that he enjoyed it.

He got the requisite Washington Post editorial announcing (welcoming?) his candidacy. His one-on-one with Judy on IP. And a multi-network camera scrum.

"Two things may be safely said about the Rev. Al Sharpton, who filed papers yesterday creating an exploratory committee for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination: He will not be found on the steps of the U.S. Capitol taking the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2005, and he will not come away from the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston as his party's presidential nominee." LINK

The Washington Post 's Balz gives Sharpton the welcome-to-the-race treatment: "In a field of candidates without proven national appeal in the black community, Sharpton's presence will intensify competition for the black vote in the primaries. Some Democrats fear, however, that if he can garner a substantial portion of the African American vote, Sharpton could win or at least come close to winning a southern primary against a crowded field of Democrats, enhancing his power nationally and potentially causing damaging divisions within the party." LINK

The New York Times is taking the candidacy "very seriously" in its 205-word story. LINK

The New York Daily News ' too-handsome-really-for-print Joel Siegel gets a Sharpton interview, which he spins out into this tough-love analysis: "Sharpton has no chance of winning, but if he draws enough support, he could demand a voice in the national party. Some Democrats fear that such a scenario would alienate moderate voters, but Sharpton said such worries are misplaced." LINK

"He pointed to the attendance of New York Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, and state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, at his annual tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday."

The Los Angeles Times got an interview, too. LINK

No justice, no peace, indeed.

Talk to Certain Democrats, and you get the sense that some of them are looking for a way to ease the impact Sharpton might have on the process.

While some smart Democrats think he won't have much of one (for example, James Carville), others think he likely will (say, David Axelrod), but there clearly is a camp that isn't inclined to sit around and wait to see.

We don't know if this camp includes Terry McAuliffe, and we don't know if it includes Donna Brazile, whose normally straight-talking ways turn her into a virtual North Korean government spokesperson when one tries to pin her down on this.

The Chicago Tribune's Zeleny writes that "[s]ome party leaders are so concerned (about Sharpton) they are trying to encourage other African-Americans, including former Senator Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois, to run, adding competition for the black vote in the primaries." LINK

The New York Post quotes Mayor Bloomberg (implicitly) doing Karl Rove's bidding: "'We have a wonderful system in America. There's 280 million people who can run, and Rev. Sharpton, in all fairness, is not just one of 280 million. He is a leader of a large group of people,' Bloomberg said at a Midtown news conference." LINK

Another day, another Sharpton Page Six reference, reinforcing the White House message — or, perhaps, exposing it. LINK

New York Post columnist Eric Fettmann welcomes Sharpton into the race: "Sharpton wants the media attention without the concurrent responsibilities that actually holding office would entail. Without it, though, you can't command respect and accomplish something while still insisting that you don't give a damn what others think of you." LINK

Craig Hines' Houston Chronicle column also welcomes Sharpton the race with an awesome lead: "At some point, I keep telling myself, Tom Wolfe or Hunter S. Thompson will step forward to admit that Al Sharpton is a densely pixeled hologram that one of them whipped up as a perverse commentary on racial manipulation in modern America." LINK

"Or maybe Sharpton is the animatronic creation of such old Republican dirty tricksters as Chuck Colson and Donald Segretti, a gizmo they've wired to bedevil self-conscious white Democrats, hapless civil rights advocates and the editorial page of The New York Times … "

"It will be great sport to watch main-line Democratic candidates and their handlers break out in a psychosomatic rash as they game out a plan to attempt to deal with Sharpton, a man for whom the word 'wily' seems to have been specially coined."

"In many ways, many Democrats deserve Big Al, even in his current relatively svelte manifestation, because so many of them have encouraged him with unseemly obeisances large and small … "

"[H]e essentially will be a diversion that the body politic can ill afford."

Senator Frank Lautenberg on Imus said that Sharpton is a "voice that has to be listened" to, but he also said he is "not on his team."

NEW HAMPSHIRE

The Union Leader notes the visits of Dean and Lieberman in passing. Lieberman hits the state today, for two days. LINK

IOWA

Former Senator Gary Hart will be in Iowa today, attending a reception in Des Moines, with a media avail at the top, and addressing students at Iowa State University in Ames.

USA Today 's Page offers her take on the Linn County confab and the candidates' latest efforts in Iowa. LINK

SOUTH CAROLINA

Attention wannabes: even the Palmetto State appears to have underlying concerns about a war. LINK

GEPHARDT

As we said, Gephardt has almost certainly inoculated himself against the (equally almost certain) abortion-related oppo dropping from the sky and over the transom in the future should he start having any success in the nomination fight.

In a Democratic intraparty battle, trying to defend yourself against evidence of former pro-life bona fides isn't easy (just ask Al Gore). And Gephardt chose to explain his evolution, as opposed to Gore's strategy, which an online political journal (please: don't call us a "weblog") less charitable than The Note might deem "deny, deny, deny."

Gephardt apparently will celebrate his birthday and the Super Bowl with friends at TR Brennan's restaurant in Manchester, NH.

HART

The homophonous (or is it "homonymous?")* Bob Hardt (of the New York Post ) gets three full but short graphs in which to tell the nation's largest metropolitan areas that former Senator Gary Hart might run for president. LINK

LIEBERMAN

Lieberman's visit to the Merrimack Restaurant in Manchester, at which candidates stop all the time (what with it being stone's throw from both WMUR and the Center of the Universe Holiday Inn), brings back a flood of memories, our favorite of which is when the aforementioned Ron Brownstein ordered toast, and when they asked him what kind of bread he wanted, he said "sourdough."

For those few of you who say The Note is too long, we say 1) what would you like cut? and 2) skim.

Sometimes, though, we are FORCED to run political stories from the papers in their entirety, such as this one from the New York Daily News , which, we think you will agree, can't really be cut:

"Now that's using your head." LINK

"An enterprising Chicagoan has come up with a kosher way for Democrats to support the first serious Jewish presidential candidate, Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman — a campaign yarmulke."

"'I was just trying to think of a unique way for supporters to show they were for Lieberman and this is what I came up with,' said Jason Erkes, 33, president of Joebeanie.com."

"Erkes said his yarmulke 'is a star-spangled, white leather skullcap handcrafted and imprinted with a patriotic red, white and blue Lieberman 2004 President logo.'"

"It's available online at joebeanie.com, for $12.95."

"'We've gotten thousands of hits on our Web site,' said Erkes, who also runs a Chicago singles bar."

"While Erkes advertises his headgear as the first-ever 'campaign kipa,' back in 2000, when Lieberman was Al Gore's running mate, yarmulkes with Gore/Lieberman written in Hebrew popped up on the campaign trail."

NADER

The Wall Street Journal ed board takes on Mr. Nader on Mexican trucks.

POLITICS

The Hill updates us on the White House's efforts to engineer Senate race victories in 2004: "To engineer victories in South Dakota and Washington, Reps. William Janklow (R-S.D.) and George Nethercutt (R-Wash.) have been asked to let former Rep. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) weigh their options first." LINK

"The White House operatives have also played up preferred candidates in the Carolinas, North Dakota and Nevada. Some Republicans are holding back for fear of taking on the White House."

"A well-placed Republican aide said White House officials have told Janklow that the administration would support Thune in a primary. They conveyed the same message to Thune, adding that they would back him financially in a Senate campaign."

If it's Super Bowl time, it's cuddle-up-with-lobbyists time: "The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has scored tickets to Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego to sell to lobbyists so they can watch the game together. As part of the deal, lobbyists will have access to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who will travel west on Thursday and host fundraisers over the weekend." LINK

"Democrats also have held Super Bowl events in the past. Tovah Ravitz at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Kim Ruby (sic) at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said neither organization was hosting a Super Bowl fundraiser this year."

Senate Democratic Whip Harry Reid is doing his part to keep up the civil rights heat on the Bush Administration. LINK

The Note loved the "'breath-takingly decent and friendly'" Terry Holt even before Lloyd Grove found out about his personal ad on Yahoo, and we can vouch for the physical description — Terry is one good-looking guy. LINK

Speaking of surface beauty: at the CORE dinner on Monday night, we couldn't help but notice that the hat-wearing Cindy Adams looked fabulous. Seriously. We aren't just saying that to engage in faux gossip column style. The woman was glam.

So here's what she says about her time there with Dr. Frist: "Senator Bill Frist gave Roy Innis' major address. I tell you one thing, our new Senate Majority Leader works a room. Smile here, pat there, handshake, photo, something special to each: 'I appreciate your prayers.' . . . 'See you in Mississippi.' To me: 'The press has been good to me but I'm still new. I expect they'll do what they'll do but I'll get through it. Look, I'm a surgeon. When you see people die, that's what's tough to take . . . but be good to me.' To a fellow medic: 'I'm first a doctor, then a senator.'" LINK

Hey, John McCaslin, it's Ioannis. LINK

As we said, the US Conference of Mayors meets today in Washington. Our favorite panel today: urban investment, with both Kwame Kilpatrick and Bob Barnes. Prince Bandar, Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator Chuck Schumer also will speak today. The mayors will meet President Bush on Friday. LINK

The Democratic mayor of St. Louis will be at the confab in DC today as Bush visits his city. LINK

One of the smartest people in Washington noted last night that more and more states, towns and cities are turning to gaming to boost revenue. Efforts to relax anti-gaming laws are under way in Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Arizona and elsewhere. Even in New Hampshire, there's a bill circulating to allow towns to decide for themselves whether to permit certain forms of gambling. Gov. Craig Benson (R) would probably veto it, if it passes. LINK

Both the Six Pack and the White House communications shop might want to read this story in full and find out more about angry arguments at a town meeting convened by Senator Chuck Grassley. LINK

Gov. Rick Perry yesterday began his first full term in Texas. LINK

North Carolina "[s]tate Senator Patrick Ballantine, a Wilmington Republican, will be in Washington, D.C., today for more meetings about his potential run for governor in 2004. Ballantine, who serves as the Senate minority leader, plans to interview consultants and meet with representatives of the Republican Governors Association." LINK

The next governor of California, potentially, "is demanding that Fred Martin Motor Co. and its ad agency pay him more than $20 million for using his photo to hawk cars in an advertisement that ran in the Akron Beacon Journal." The photo of Arnold apparently is "the size of a thumbprint." LINK

BUSH ADMINISTRATION STRATEGY/PERSONALITY

St. Louis is a Democratic town, but Missouri is as much of a bellwether as any state in the union.

"'We're a big old patch of Republicans down here,' said office manager Johonna Kiser. 'We're so excited. We love him to death.'" LINK

Careful there Johonna: don't talk like that around the Secret Service.

Terry Holt isn't the only sharp-minded and handsome eligible bachelor in town. The Washington Post 's Von Drehle Tiger Beats Ken Mehlman, and gets the week's longest Karl Rove interview. LINK

Al Kamen has the scoop on Larry Lindsey's farewell party. LINK

Maureen Dowd puts 41 and 43 back on the class couch. Forty-one will read it; 43 won't. LINK

And MoDO cites the Time Jefferson Davis/wreath item which, aside from Harry Reid's efforts, has gotten surprisingly little play.

*Not that there is anything wrong with either.