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Catch up. Plenty of Note archives.

NEWS SUMMARY

Aside from the few rays of sunshine over Tom Ridge's offer to quasi-testify (or is it "para-testify?" "meta-testify"?), and the results of the media's quick-and-dirty look at the energy task force records, there's a dearth of political news today.

And that, along with the hammerblow that "Watching Ellie" is about to be put on hiatus, puts the authors of this Note (one of whom used to get babysat, on rare occasions, by the show's star) in the mind of writing a Note about Nothing. ( http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/44419.htm )

Even the big-think piece of the day focuses on nothing: the Boston Globe 's David Shribman suggests that the president is going to spend the rest of this year, and maybe even his whole presidency, doing as little as possible beyond his laser-like focus on the war.

"[T]he president's real strategies, both for the war on terrorism and for the 2004 election, are slowly becoming clear," Shribman says.
( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/085/nation
/Bush_focused_on_war_asks_little_of_Congress+.shtml )

"Republicans on Capitol Hill are gradually concluding that they will get almost no help from the White House on anything but the barest domestic agenda. Democrats are gradually concluding that Bush is going to give them almost no ammunition to portray him as an arm of the religious-conservative movement or an instrument of the business lobby. That subtle change means substantial alterations in the two parties' strategies as they prepare for the midterm congressional elections, and the presidential election in 2004, and could affect the shape of politics for the remainder of the decade."

"For example, it means that the president will ask little of Congress in the next several years. He has already won an education bill with the assistance of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. His allies on Capitol Hill have concluded that Bush is looking for action on only two additional matters this year, trade and energy. For the rest, he'll be happy with just talk."

"He'll continue to stress domestic issues on the stump, but not on Capitol Hill, perhaps not even in the federal bureaucracy."

The Washington Post 's Dionne writes about the elephant in any room full of donkeys, taking after Democrats' self-restraint in their unwillingness to assault Bush's tax cut: "while Democrats regularly assail the effects of the Bush tax cut, most avoid following the logic of their position. With a handful of exceptions — Senator Edward M. Kennedy is the best known — they are unwilling to call for stopping the Bush tax cut right where it is now. The result? Democrats can't offer bold alternatives to Bush's policies." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17179-2002Mar25.html )

Elsewhere in the political world, a few beams of light are visible. Tom Ridge yesterday "proposed giving a less formal briefing to the House and Senate next month, taking questions from lawmakers before the public and media," the AP reports.
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16829-2002Mar25.html )

Senate Appropriations Committee chairman "Byrd said last night that President Bush had not responded to a request by [ranking member] Stevens and himself for a meeting to discuss the prospect of Ridge testifying before the Senate panel … An aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Byrd intended to review Ridge's letter carefully but said his initial reaction was to question whether the offer satisfies Congress's prerogative."

"Ridge underscored that in his letter, saying he has had more than 35 meetings on Capitol Hill since Oct. 8 and his staff has been involved in more than 100 meetings with lawmakers."

Meanwhile, all papers pretty much root out the same things in their overnight scrutiny of the just-released energy task force records, sounding the expected Bush/big business themes.

Energy Secretary Abraham "met with 36 representatives of business interests and many campaign contributors while developing President Bush's energy policy, and he held no meetings with conservation or consumer groups."
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16943-2002Mar25.html )

"Of the corporations that met with Abraham, all but a few were large contributors of unregulated soft money to the Republican Party during the 2000 election cycle. A dozen of the companies that had meetings with Abraham contributed $1.2 million to the GOP, mainly for Bush's election. Ten of the 12 gave more soft money to Republicans than Democrats."

"Another document showed that US coal producers were invited to the White House as the task force report was in its final stages — to meet not only with Bush administration energy officials but also with senior Bush political figures, including Karl Rove and a White House deputy director of political affairs. An e-mail to an Energy Department aide described a piece of draft legislation from Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, as 'apparently inspired by Enron,' the energy firm that donated millions to the Bush campaign before spiraling into bankruptcy in December."
( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/085/nation/

Energy_papers_reveal_industry_contacts+.shtml )

Larry Klayman's Judicial Watch is vowing to make another run at getting the judicial branch to un-redact the redacted portions of the released documents. We love watching cable newsies struggle over whether they can say "redact" on TV without explanation.

Abraham has a Washington Post op-ed today tentatively casting the Yucca Mountain decision as "better Las Vegas' backyard than your own" — an either/or between continuing to store nuke waste in the temporary storage facilities used today, "located near cities and waterways," or establishing the permanent dump in Nevada. Abraham also argues that scientists "have studied the safety and suitability of Yucca Mountain for the past 24 years at a cost of more than $4 billion." "This project is critical for national security … for energy security as well … and for homeland security." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/articles/A17178-2002Mar25.html )

Today in Macon, GA, Karl Rove is the warm-up act for the president's visit tomorrow, headlining a panel discussion and fundraiser for Georgia US Senate candidate Saxby Chambliss, even though the man has a primary. ( http://www.saxby.org/eventdescr.asp?EI=38 )

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tees up the president's trip, and deals with the primary controversy. ( http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions
/tuesday/news_c30a71bde2c401301040.html )

Some good details: "Bush's six-hour stop in Atlanta will conclude with a 5 p.m. invitation-only fund-raiser for Chambliss at the Buckhead Grand Hyatt Hotel. The presidential push is expected to add $1.4 million to the South Georgia congressman's coffers … Bush's political visit is not without controversy. More than a dozen supporters of state Rep. Bob Irvin (R-Atlanta), who is challenging Chambliss for the Republican nomination to take on Cleland, wrote to White House officials asking the president to stay out of the party primary battle."

"Bush will also speak at Georgia Tech, focusing on homeland security and Georgia's role in the war on terrorism, messages he advanced during his February visit to Atlanta. The invited audience for the 3 p.m. address will be 1,000 metro Atlanta firefighters, emergency medical technicians and police officers. The event is not open to the public."

The AP's Lindlaw details the president's whirlwind of fundraising activities between tomorrow and this weekend. To review and refresh: tomorrow, Bush heads to South Carolina, where he'll raise money for the Senate campaign of Rep. Lindsey Graham. Then, he'll head to Georgia to stump for Rep. Saxby Chambliss, who also is running for the Senate. Later n the week, he'll mosey to Texas to boost the electoral prospects of his friend, state Attorney General John Cornyn, another Senate contender. ( http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/2932630.htm )

Lindlaw gets at why this is significant, and gets a Democratic congressional staffer to question the president's mix of Twiggyish public policy initiatives — Bush will talk about firefighters and police — with raw politics, mostly on the taxpayers' dime.

The Democratic Senate campaign committee already is calling on the GOP Senate candidates to help pick up the tab for Air Force One, telling reporters that "during the Clinton Administration, Graham and Chambliss voted for a partisan amendment seeking full reimbursement of the government by political candidates who use government vehicles for campaign purposes."

In another world, at another time and place, Republicans would have criticized President Clinton for a week stocked with fundraisers merely, oh, 20 days from April 15, and during a war.

From the ABCNEWS London Bureau: A decision on whether Arafat will attend the Beirut summit now seems likely to be postponed until Wednesday. Israel is expected to wait until after today's planned talks with US peace envoy Zinni to make a final decision on the Palestinian leader, despite increased international pressure. Today's Jerusalem Post suggests that Sharon is ready to accept Zinni's proposals and that he will allow Arafat to attend the summit. Even so, Egyptian President Mubarak, in an interview published today in Beirut's an-Nahar newspaper, advised Arafat not to go to Beirut because Israel might not allow him to return … A powerful earthquake that shook Afghanistan overnight has killed about 1,200 people, according to officials. The Afghan Defense Ministry said 600 bodies had been recovered by early afternoon from villages still shaking from frequent aftershocks. ACTED, a private aid organization, said its estimates came from staffers in the devastated area located 90 miles north of Kabul on the slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains, where the quake was centered.

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

South Carolina's venerable Mr. Bandy writes (warns?), "Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman indicated Monday that South Carolina is likely to become a second home for him between now and 2004. 'I regret I didn't come here at all' during the 2000 campaign, the senator said. 'I'm not going to make that mistake again … I don't think any Democratic ticket can ever again not campaign actively in the South. … From a practical basis, you can't expect to win without carrying a part of the South' … Lieberman will return to South Carolina next month to deliver a major policy statement on education at one of the colleges or universities." He also repeated his commitment not to run if Gore does. ( http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/2936965.htm )

We are intrigued by Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's prospective ability to leverage help (if not necessarily endorsements) from his fellow Democrat governors, if Dean ends up being the only governor in a field dominated by inside-the-Beltway legislators. The Good Doctor is headed back to Iowa this week (watch the visits mount), and the Des Moines Register says he'll be hanging out with the wily Governor Vilsack, one of many sitting chief executives Dean helped elect from his Democratic Governors Association perch.
( http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/17724666.html )

The Raleigh News & Observer's Wagner notes that Senator John Edwards stands to gain from McCain-Feingold because he has built up a list of donors who can afford to contribute the maximum $2,000 per election.
( http://www.newsobserver.com/tuesday/front/Story/1107353p-1105667c.html )

Politics

The recess doldrums sometimes result in the damndest things getting turned up. The Los Angeles Times resurrects the Clinton pardons story by reporting on its front page about "confidential federal law enforcement reports containing unproven allegations" that the father of Clinton-pardoned drug trafficker Carlos Vignali "also was in the cocaine business. One informant told the federal Drug Enforcement Administration that [the elder] Vignali was his son's supplier. The allegations … have never been strong enough to yield a criminal charge against Horacio Vignali. Yet the report raises pointed questions about whether local law enforcement leaders should have checked Vignali's background before describing him to the White House as a man of the highest integrity."
( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
la-000021869mar26.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dfrontpage )

A new alliance between the environmental movement and some mainstream, prominent national religious groups, chronicled with pinpoint precision in today's The Wall Street Journal , is intriguing, even if the lead is in the Journal's "Salsa is hot!" tradition: "Environmental organizations, bracing for battle with the Bush administration over energy issues, are looking to the Almighty for help."

The Journal also looks at the end of an apparently accidental alliance between two great American brands, the National Rifle Association and H&R Block, with an obligatory reference to "death and taxes."

California

"A grand jury investigating the disappearance of Chandra Levy has subpoenaed Rep. Gary A. Condit to testify in early April," law enforcement sources told the Washington Post . "The D.C. Superior Court grand jury is looking into what happened to the missing 24-year-old intern and probing allegations of obstruction of justice involving Condit (D-Calif.) and possibly others, the sources said." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16957-2002Mar25.html )

The Los Angeles Times has the story topping Karl Rove's clip pack this morning, with bad news for GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon: just when he needs to unite the party, fresh infighting has erupted. ( http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000021840mar26.
story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia )

A former, socially conservative state party chairman has called for Bush West Coast Point Man Gerald Parsky to "step aside" from his role as, essentially, the party's shadow chair. The mess has put Simon in kind of an awkward spot, as he and the White House try to bond while he also sets about coalescing the various wings of the state party behind his candidacy. It turns out that Simon's dad and Mr. Parsky had a big business falling out many years ago.

"For now, Simon and Parsky are working together. Parsky was in Sacramento last week at a Simon appearance with Republican leaders. Karl Rove, Bush's chief political strategist at the White House, said Simon and Parsky have been 'very positive' about each other. Since the primary, Parsky has helped to rally Riordan supporters and others behind Simon, and he remains 'the leader of our political team out there,' Rove said."

"'He's there to help facilitate whatever the Simon campaign wants within reason from the White House and from the Bush people,' Rove said."

We like the "within reason" part of the quote best.

Watch closely to see what events the president does with Simon (beyond some mega-fundraising) during the upcoming White House Goes West trip out there.

Casting the state's gubernatorial race as one between economic issues and abortion, the Washington Times writes, "The White House political team is already heavily involved in the California governor's race." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020326-18907320.htm )

North Carolina

While Elizabeth Dole's Senate campaign works behind the scenes to limit the ability of her primary opponents to speak at joint events, Mrs. Dole herself tells her rivals that she would be "delighted" for them to have a chance to talk. If you are a student (or just a fan) of the through-the-looking-glass aspect of any Dole campaign, you'll want to read this one in full. ( http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/2935551.htm )

New York

"NIMFBY" isn't quite as easy to pronounce as "NIMBY," but Mayor Bloomberg's very Bloombergian view of "not in my back yard" and "not in my fabulous back yard" gets big play in the New York papers, as the Mayor says putting an incinerator on, say, Park Avenue, is a bad idea, because that would "drive away the revenue base that supports this city." ( http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/44488.htm )

Massachusetts

Acting Gov, Jane Swift told the Boston Herald in an interview that she's sure Mitt Romney is pro-choice, but that she thinks he needs to clarify his position on abortion once and for all. ( http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/swif03262002.htm )

Presidential cousin Jamie Bush continues to entertain the idea of running for lieutenant governor. ( http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/bush03262002.htm )

Cambridge, Massachusetts voted to enfranchise 17-year-olds for local races, after a somewhat bizarre, though rather tenacious campaign on behalf of the young folks. Whether the state legislature will give the city home rule leeway is a matter yet to be decided. ( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/085/metro/
Cambridge_gives_17_year_olds_the_vote+.shtml )

Texas

Yesterday, per the Justice Department, a federal court in Texas ordered state election officials to ensure that qualified overseas voters have a reasonable chance to vote in the April 9 run-off for the Democratic US Senate nomination and a bunch of congressional races. DOJ had filed suit against the state and its election officials for their alleged failure to take steps to ensure that Texans living overseas will have a reasonable chance to vote. The court has ordered state election officials to allow overseas voters to use special federal write-in ballots if they don't receive their absentee ballots in time.

Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk picked up the endorsement from the man he beat in the first round of the Democratic US Senate primary, Rep. Ken Bentsen. ( http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/politics/1310908 )

Maryland

Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D), her party's likely nominee for governor, now has credible Republican opposition in GOP Rep. Bob Ehrlich. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17005-2002Mar25.html )

Iowa

When President Bush visited Iowa in early March and didn't campaign for GOP Senate candidate Greg Ganske, inquiring tongues, to mix a metaphor, wanted to know what was up. Not much, it turns out. On April 15, Bush will visit Cedar Rapids to raise money on Ganske's behalf, a good day to come, since the two are united on a tax-cutting agenda (despite the negative thoughts a certain fiscal conservative interest group has about Ganske). ( http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/17724666.html )

You (as in "the White House political shop") really can't afford a litmus test of conservative purity when every Senate seat counts, and the in-some-ways-too-liberal-for-his-state Senator Tom Harkin (D) has been looking increasingly robust.

South Dakota

He's in! He's in! South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson is running for re-election! The suspense over, Johnson will begin his official campaign with a statewide bus tour next week. ( http://www.argusleader.com/news/Tuesdayarticle6.shtml )

Legislative Agenda

The Chamber of Commerce is now up with a multi-state radio ad campaign to persuade Senators to pass fast-track. The Chamber won't say which states, but we're told it's "generally true" that they are targeting Senators up for re-election. The total buy is small — about $50,000 — but may expand to TV soon. The ad uses a patriotic track and evocations of "American leadership" to claim that the country's future will be hampered if fast-track is blocked. Jobs, the ad says, are at stake.

The Senate Finance Committee is getting ready to move the Lieberman-Santorum version of Bush's faith-based initiative. ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020326-99999826.htm )

Campaign Finance Legislation/Election Reform

The Washington Times looks at the free-speech questions in the soon-to-be-law. ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020326-210502.htm )

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality

A (Bush-inspired?) trade wind blows through the Continent, as the European Union unfurls steel tariffs of its own. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/26/business/26EURO.html )

Major snaps from geo-politicist Dick Morris for 43's Iraq strategy. ( http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/44401.htm )

The New York Daily News' DeFrank gives big Delphic play to Brent Scowcroft and "a senior Bush foreign policy source" (and you know who you are), both of whom suggest there will be no anti-Iraq military action anytime soon. ( http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-03-26/News_
and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-145632.asp )

Mr. Oliphant takes after the president on the new steel: softwood lumber. ( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/085/oped/
Bush_s_crony_capitalism+.shtml )