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While America still seems to see Enron as more of a business story than a political story — despite the best efforts of Democrats, some hard-plugging journalists, and Larry Klayman — rare are the Times when the president and the White House have voluntarily inserted themselves into the storyline.

President Bush's "anti-Enron" proposals today, to be rolled out during a speech on corporate responsibility, thus becomes our lead heading into this news cycle.

Sure, there's some political inoculation going on here. At the same time, there's also a shared bipartisan sense that themes and measures like retirement security need to be touted, and the president is doing what he can to respond to a national problem.

Our Democrat readers HATE it when we suggest the president is doing something because he wants to help the country by responding to a perceived problem with a government-led solution, but we aren't so cynical.

As ABCNEWS's Terry Moran reported overnight and lots of morning papers now say, Bush, in his remarks at the Malcolm Baldridge Awards, will roll out a 10-point plan to encourage corporate responsibility and protect shareholders. Some of the points, Moran notes, are designed to sound tough:
-- corporate officers of companies that restate profits as a result of misconduct would be forced to give back all their bonuses and other incentive-based compensation (the "Skilling reform," you might call it);
-- corporate officers who "clearly abuse their power" would be banned by the SEC from serving on the board of any other company (the "Ken Lay reform," which would require congressional action); and
-- companies would be forced to disclose "significant" stock transactions by executives within two business days (right now, it's 40 days if purchased on the open exchange, and one year for internal transactions).
-- There's also a proposal of a new, independent regulatory board to oversee the accounting industry.

As Moran reported, the White House has been working on this proposal since the Enron scandal broke big in early January, and kept it mostly secret — in a way only this White House could — in order to get the biggest bounce possible.

The Washington Post adds, "A high-level working group, which includes Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, developed the recommendations, some of which will require congressional approval." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51599-2002Mar6.html )

"Many of Bush's proposals have already been offered by SEC Chairman Harvey L. Pitt, who was also a member of the working group … Some securities-law experts have criticized [some of the] proposals, saying the SEC is overreaching its authority."

Meanwhile, up on the Hill, House Republicans and Democrats in both chambers continue to wrestle with their own demons over the seemingly improving economy.

Fed chairman Greenspan's remarks and tone will get dissected for clues to his feelings about the apparent economic recovery as he testifies before the Senate Banking Committee this morning, since a lot of relatively positive-sounding new data has come out since he last appeared on the Hill.

And USA Today front-pages: "The Internal Revenue Service says the average refund through last Friday totaled $2,091, up 12% from the comparable period in 2001. The refunds already have pumped a well-timed $74 billion into a struggling U.S. economy, or nearly double the sum mailed as a special rebate last year to millions of taxpayers. More than five weeks remain until the April 15 filing deadline." ( http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2002/03-07-refunds.htm )

All of which would seem to fuel a problematic dynamic for Democrats, if they become unable to run on the economy. "The Democrats appear to be losing their strongest political issue of the 2002 elections — the stagnant economy — and, with it, their hopes of regaining full control of Congress," the Washington Times notes. ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020307-85278958.htm )

"The president's advisers have been studying the latest economic growth numbers and believe the recovery that was supposed to get fully underway by midyear has already begun. They credit Mr. Bush's tax cuts and the Federal Reserve's rate cuts for the faster turnaround."

And yet, House Ways and Means chairman Bill Thomas warns in a Washington Times op-ed that "jobs are still disappearing at an alarming rate," as Thomas seeks to help his caucus make a vague case for some kind of stimulus — even as they had to give up yesterday their crusade to pass another round of corporate tax breaks and stick with the Senate Democrats' plan to push for the extension of unemployment benefits. ( http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20020307-97796218.htm )

The House will "vote today on a bill closely tracking a Senate proposal to provide as much as 13 weeks of extra unemployment benefits to hundreds of thousands of Americans. It also calls for $43 billion in tax breaks designed to stimulate investment, a proposal with considerable bipartisan support." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50938-2002Mar6.html )

"House Republicans said the bill to be considered today was pushed by the conservative members despite objections by some in the leadership, who argued that the move could enable Mr. Daschle to take credit for the package after getting most of the blame for blocking earlier efforts. The new bill 'potentially lets Daschle off the hook,' said one House Republican leadership aide." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020307-611479.htm )

For all the soldiers fighting the budget-and-spending battles, there's now a figurative head on a pike to be leery of. Lots of papers cover the summary dismissal of Army Corps of Engineers chief Mike Parker, who fought with the White House over his budget.

David Rogers in the The Wall Street Journal says "the head of the Army Corps of Engineers was forced out of his job after challenging Bush administration budget cuts for his agency in congressional testimony … ..Mike Parker, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, resigned after being told by the administration that he would otherwise be fired."

"A former GOP congressman from Mississippi, Mr. Parker is the first Bush administration agency head forced out of office. He has long been something of a maverick, but his ouster is sure to fuel growing complaints on Capitol Hill that the White House suppresses criticism of its policies and the free flow of information between agencies and Congress."

The Washington Post notes, "White House officials described the ouster of Parker, a close ally of Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), as a clear sign that the president will not tolerate open defiance by his appointees. It was also a sign of confidence in OMB Director Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., a frequent target of congressional ire who had battled Parker over the budget." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51566-2002Mar6.html )

The New York Times points out that Parker had also taken "on his superiors on another issue. He defended the Congressional practice of specifying in legislation which projects get built in which Congressional districts — a system called earmarking that the Bush administration is trying to eliminate." ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/politics/07CORP.html )

Parker's Mississippi roots mean that Trent Lott is not pleased with this, either, making this as much as a Hill-White House thing as it is a Republican-Democrat thing.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Pickering today, but according to the Washington Post , "Senator Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, will probably ask the panel today to delay voting on the nomination for a week … A delay would give Pickering's backers time to try to build pressure on committee Democrats to allow his nomination to go to the full Senate for a vote," even thought Senator Daschle has been pretty definitive about not allowing a floor vote if the nomination fails in committee. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48714-2002Mar6.html )

The Washington Times adds, "at least two Democratic senators, Zell Miller of Georgia and Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina, have indicated they might support Judge Pickering. That would give the 49 Senate Republicans a 51-vote majority if the matter were to reach the Senate floor." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020307-18312084.htm )

The New York Post gets what seems to be a newsy (if true) preview of the president's meeting with New York politicians today, getting Administration sources to tell them that President Bush will release more of the $20 billion promised to New York City — and that the total funds might top that figure. ( http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/42950.htm )

Former President Clinton today will attend the Woodrow Wilson Center honors for former Defense Secretary William Cohen in New York City.

And the Democratic House campaign committee will hold a fundraiser tonight in Boston.

From the ABCNEWS London Bureau: The US military is pouring reinforcements into an area of eastern Afghanistan where fierce fighting against Taliban and al Qaeda forces is now in its sixth day. Some 300 fresh troops, more than a dozen attack helicopters, and A-10 low-flying ground attack planes have been called in. Overnight, US B-52 heavy bombers carried out a massive bombardment of enemy positions in caves high in the mountains in Paktia province … The Israeli army has launched another round of ferocious attacks against Palestinian targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In Gaza, the assault was carried out by land, sea and air, while in the West Bank, F-16 fighter jets struck at several targets as more than 50 tanks surrounded a refugee camp in the town of Tulkarm, in the biggest operation of its kind.

Steel

Second-day coverage of the steel decision generally focuses on the threat of a trade war and concerns that steel-using industries will have trouble coping with the coming price increases. Reaction from steel and steelworkers (who didn't get all they wanted) and from members of Congress is pretty muted in the print press, as is domestic criticism for the president's apparent abandonment of his free-trade orthodoxy.

Rounding up international unhappiness with Bush's decision, the Washington Post reminds us, "Six weeks ago, speaking at the ornate headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington, President Bush called on the assembled diplomats to step up the fight for economic liberalization around the world, challenging those who would 'hold out the false comfort of protectionism' … Now, with his decision this week to impose temporary tariffs on imported steel, Bush has opened up his administration to charges that he can talk the talk of free trade, but not walk the walk." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51352-2002Mar6.html )

The Los Angeles Times puts a finer point on it, noting that the decision could unravel the anti-terrorism coalition. ( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/
la-000017049mar07.story )?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection ) )

George Will continues to assail Bush, calling him "less principled than Bill Clinton regarding the free-trade principles that are indispensable to world prosperity and comity." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51906-2002Mar6.html )

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

Joe Lieberman pens a The Wall Street Journal op-ed that
1) tells Republicans in a mild tone not to be so averse to dialogue about the conduct of the war;
2) allows Lieberman to lay out his own hawkish views on defense; and
3) is oddly accompanied by a drawing of Tom Daschle.

John DiStaso celebrates 50 years of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary status. And it's a good time to remind folks just why everyone troops up there so much. A group of local politicians wanted to spur voter and media interest in the state. So they organized a little beauty contest. Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower won the GOP primary, and Democrats chose Senator Estes Kefauver. ( http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html )?article=9387 )

As Bob Novak would write: 'A Footnote: Eisenhower was so popular among state Republicans that he was able to win easily without ever setting foot in the state.'

House Minority Leader Gephardt sets off on a whirlwind weekend tour later today that takes him to Boston for tonight's DCCC fundraiser; New Hampshire for a fundraiser for a local candidate and the pay-up of his Super Bowl bet; Maine for DCCC business; Arizona for the state party's Jefferson-Jackson dinner and meetings with activists; and New York for September 11 events, an ed board meeting with a big Hispanic daily paper, and the DCCC fundraiser featuring former President Clinton.

Roll Call 's "Heard on the Hill" reports, "As a party elder, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is going to have a hard time deciding whom to support in the Democrats' 2004 presidential primary battle. Kennedy acknowledged in an interview that he thinks very highly of Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), with whom he has worked closely on the patients' bill of rights. But he quickly added that he also gives high marks to at least three other potential candidates." ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/columns/hoh/ )

"'I have a lot of admiration for [Edwards], and he's a very competent person,' Kennedy told HOH. 'But I have admiration for my colleague [Massachusetts Sen.] John Kerry, and I've worked very closely with John, and he's a very close friend and political ally, as well.'"

"Clearly hedging his bets, he added that Connecticut Sens. Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman are also considering bids. 'Senator Dodd I've known for a long period of time, and I campaigned with Joe,' said Kennedy. 'All these people I've worked with in one way or the other, and they're all good friends. And I don't have to make my mind up now, in any event.'"

Um, no mention in the story of the man Kennedy supported in 2000, the man we are assured by many angry readers is the frontrunner for the nomination: Albert Gore.

California Gubernatorial Primary Aftermath

The pundits have had a day to digest Bill Simon's GOP gubernatorial primary victory out in California, and here comes the mini-onslaught for the White House.

One Los Angeles Times story about the governor's race sort of raises the excellent point, which we'll finish fleshing out, that the nomination of Simon ups the White House's concern that Davis may not be sufficiently damaged in the general election to prevent him from becoming a viable national candidate in 2004.

"In Washington, a senior White House official said it seemed that Davis' television ad blitz against the president's preferred candidate had 'absolutely eviscerated Dick Riordan.' But a GOP strategist close to the White House blamed the former Los Angeles mayor for running 'an absolutely horrible campaign.' The strategist also voiced concern over whether Simon could overcome the Davis attacks on abortion and guns. If Davis manages to beat Simon handily in November, it could boost the governor's political prospects 'on the national stage." ( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la
-000017029mar07.story )?coll=la%2Dheadlines )%2Dfrontpage )

The Los Angeles Times ' Anderson and Brownstein look at the White House's attributed and unattributed statements about Riordan's loss: "top Republican political strategists insisted Wednesday that blame for the former Los Angeles mayor's stunning loss should not be laid at the White House's doorstep." ( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/
la-000017068mar07.story )?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection ) )

"Bush allies in California insisted that the president should not be judged harshly for Tuesday's results. State Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga noted that the president never directly endorsed Riordan and never campaigned for him publicly … Administration officials and Bush hands in California repeatedly helped the Riordan campaign, however. At one point, administration officials arranged for Riordan to ask Bush to allow California to expand health care for poor children. Actually, the administration had already privately approved the move, but the arrangement gave Riordan the ability to take credit for the expansion."

"Bush aides on Wednesday were not second-guessing their strategy in promoting a Riordan candidacy. But the strategist in Washington close to Bush said White House aides began to have doubts about Riordan even before the tide had clearly turned against him."

"'Long before [Riordan] really started to tank, there was a concern about what kind of general election candidate he would be,' said the strategist, who requested anonymity."

Still, it is testament to Davis' weak poll numbers, and his failure over the years to cultivate support and affection from many Democratic lawmakers and elites, that independent and Democratic analysts say this race is far from over, as long as Simon establishes himself as a credible alternative.

Look for the White House and the RNC to do three things in a hurry:
1) make sure Simon raises a lot of money right now, to take advantage of his primary momentum and some expected upcoming polls showing Simon even with or ahead of Davis 2) figure out how Simon can reach out to centrist voters symbolically and substantively, and maybe even pull a (mild) Sister Soulja on the right
3) expand Simon's circle of advisers, to include the Bush California team and others

USA Today passes Simon a note from top Davis strategist Garry South: "'I've got news for Bill Simon … As a rookie politician, he's not going to be the one to decide what gets talked about in this campaign.' South said it hasn't been decided when to start slamming Simon on TV." ( http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/03/07/usat-calgop.htm

"Giuliani will return to California on Friday for an event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. He is talking with the Simon camp about making more campaign appearances this weekend and plans to 'very aggressively travel across the country' to help other GOP candidates, said Bruce Teitelbaum, executive director of Giuliani's political action committee."

"Giuliani's aid 'clearly jump-started the Simon campaign,' South said. 'But you're not going to be elected governor of California riding on the coattails of somebody from New York.'"

We wonder: how soon will Davis go up with new ads? Will he try and raise his own lagging poll numbers before he goes negative? Or will he crowd out the chances for Simon to strike first?

Rick Berke, per the norm, gets some really good quotes, stripping a bit of the bark off of the White House's claim that Simon is now their man in full, and Riordan's failure is no big thing. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/politics/07CALI.html )

If you are familiar with the players and their relationships, you will appreciate all these quotes to the max, and be able to guess who is going to get calls from Ken Mehlman or Karl Rove today:

Gerald Ford says: "'I wouldn't write (Bill Simon) off … I'd just say he's got a hell of a challenge."

"Asked about how the primary outcome affects the White House, Mr. Ford said: 'If their candidate loses, it's an adverse reflection on their judgment. Secondly, it's embarrassing that they endorsed one and that they picked the wrong candidate.'"

"Shawn Steel, the state Republican chairman, also questioned the White House involvement, saying: 'They really needed to stay out of it. And they're going to have to ask their local guys to be more astute' about picking candidates"

"Gerald Parsky, who is Mr. Bush's closest adviser in California, said he was hoping, but not convinced, that Mr. Simon would run enough of a broadly based campaign against Mr. Davis. 'A lot will depend on how the campaign is run," Mr. Parsky said. "If you are an extreme conservative, you can cannot win in California.'"

"Mr. Simon will win, he added, only 'if he is prepared to adopt the formula I describe' to broaden the party."

"Gregory Slayton, co-chairman of Mr. Riordan's finance committee and who is close to Mr. Bush, said it would be difficult for Mr. Simon, who has opposed measures for abortion rights, gay rights, gun control and environmental protection, to appeal to enough moderates."

"'Simon's got a shot if he runs a perfect race,' Mr. Slayton said. 'But the most likely outcome is he loses by 10 to 20 points. He's a neophyte, and there's no track record whatsoever. This is California, not Colorado or Idaho. This is a liberal state, and Bill Simon's a true conservative.'"

The New York Post 's Orin looks at the exit polls and finds that 30 percent of those who voted for Simon said they did so because of Rudy's endorsement. She also looks at the Rudy-versus-White House angle, noting how those two powerful players aren't always on the same side. And she says Rudy will head down South to help Mrs. Dole soon. ( http://www.nypost.com/commentary/42939.htm )

Today, Bill Simon tours schools in Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.

The Los Angeles Times ' dissection of what the Riordan campaign did wrong leads with what will be to political professionals a horrifying dismissal of what should have been a no-brainer, particularly since they were running against an unknown quantity in Simon: the hiring of an opposition researcher. ( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
la-000017031mar07.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dfrontpage )

What this means, of course, is that there still could be plenty we don't know about Bill Simon that the Davis campaign will dish out with, no doubt, an admirable sense of timing.

The Washington Post 's Broder and Balz report that "President Bush acted promptly to soothe feelings. He congratulated Simon in a four-minute call by speaker phone to a 'unity breakfast' in Los Angeles. 'I know you can beat Gray Davis, and I want to help in any way I can,' Bush said. 'I've got a lot of friends out there, including the folks you defeated.'" ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51494-2002Mar6.html )

They also draw out this point for future reference as other big contested GOP primaries take place this year. "Ron Talley, spokesman for the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of self-described moderates, said, 'There is a trend we are beginning to see, and it is one that will be very detrimental to the Republican Party and ultimately to President Bush.'"

"Upcoming gubernatorial primaries in at least four other states — Arizona, Kansas, Michigan and Oregon — feature clear choices for Republican voters between avowed conservatives and more moderate candidates. All four states have open seats, and in all but Oregon, Republicans now hold the governorships. Democrats in all four states hope the more conservative Republicans are nominated."

Joel Kotkin gets to big-think California on the The Wall Street Journal op-ed page, and he treats Gray Davis' upcoming destruction of Bill Simon as a foregone conclusion, in part because, he says, Simon is no Ronald Reagan.

Still, Republican communications strategist Dan Schnur warns the Davis team in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that beating Simon may not be as easy as they think. ( http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-000016866mar07.story
?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dcomment%2Dopinions )

Simon, says California Democratic party strategist Bob Mulholland, "is dead meat" in the general election. ( http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/1776497p-1855742c.html )

Politics

Clinton independent counsel Robert Ray, having just completed his work, "could soon announce that he will be a contender for the GOP Senate nod" in New Jersey, Roll Call reports. "But according to numerous party insiders, he'd already begun to lay the groundwork even before wrapping up his official duties, moves that included: attending a large GOP dinner at the home of New Jersey's governor on Jan. 10, the last full night a Republican occupied the Drumthwacket mansion; meeting with the state's Republican chairman, state Senator Joe Kyrillos, and other top operatives and fundraisers; [and] reaching out to other conservative candidates already in the race, which is sure to revive earlier speculation that Ray will try to clear the field on the right and run as the consensus conservative in a crowded primary." ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/03/news0307c.html )

The New York Times coverage of the Ray report on the Lewinsky matter is most notable for
1) re-running our favorite photograph ever of Barry Toiv; and
2) this snappy Jennifer Palmieri quote, from her Democratic National Committee spokesmaster perch: "It's not clear what the purpose of the report is other than to promote Robert Ray's Senate campaign, Monica Lewinsky's HBO special and the Paula Jones vs. Tonya Harding boxing match. The release of the report is a nonevent. This investigation started as a political process and it ends as a political process." ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/politics/07CLIN.html )

(Insider quiz: to which political figure, besides Bill Clinton, do Toiv and Palmieri share a common tie? Answer at the end of The Note.)

A separate Times story notes an anniversary we confess we otherwise might have overlooked, known around the Capitol Hotel bar as "Gerth Day:" "Ten years ago this week, The New York Times reported that Mr. Clinton and his wife were business partners with the owner of a failing savings and loan association in a real estate corporation called Whitewater."

The New York Times editorial page urges the Senate Ethics Committee to get a-movin' on its Torricelli investigation. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/opinion/_07THU3.html )

North Carolina Senate candidate Erskine Bowles (D) isn't talking much about his chief of staff work for 42; we saw a Bowles direct mail piece that barely even mentioned he's a Democrat. Now Bowles has launched his first round of TV ads which "feature a picture of a smiling Bowles and [Senate Minority Leader Trent] Lott," Roll Call says. Maybe Bowles is looking ahead to the general election in this kinda conservative, definitely still anti-Clinton state, in the assumption that he's got the financial firepower to blow by his two primary opponents to win the Democratic nomination. ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/politics/atr/ )

With Montana's (R) March 21 filing deadline looming, we hear from Republican party sources that the GOP is making one last organized run at Rep. Dennis Rehberg, to try to persuade him to challenge Democratic Senator Max Baucus in 2002 rather than seek re-election. As best we can tell, the White House is not involved in this effort, though a handful of Republican Senators are. But judging from what we've heard, there's no reason to think this attempt will succeed where the previous effort didn't. Republican Senate strategists would like this seat to be more in play than it currently is.

The Kansas City Star writes up Missouri Senate candidate Jim Talent's fundraiser featuring Karen Hughes, as he tries to attract more women to his candidacy. ( http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/2806980.htm)

South Dakota

It didn't surprise us cynics that the talks between Senator Tim Johnson (D) and Rep. John Thune (R) ended yesterday without them agreeing to (request) a ban on third-party advertising in the Senate race. The Johnson team say they're giving Thune till COB Friday to agree; the Thune folks are blaming Johnson. Of course, the talks were front-page news in South Dakota. ( http://www.argusleader.com/news/Thursdayarticle1.shtml )

Florida

Janet Reno will arrive in DC later today to attend a "very Clinton-y" fundraiser, as one aide described it, bring thrown in her honor by the Smith Bagleys at their Georgetown home. The event will be closed; Reno will return to Tampa Friday morning.

The Orlando Sentinel compares Reno's truck tour with Jeb Bush's Tallahassee strategy — which now includes frequest visits from his presidential brother. (Like tomorrow's.) ( http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl
-locbush07030702mar07.column?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines )

Reno's truck will ramble toward Tampa, just as Bush and his brother take in $25,000 a head at a fundraiser. ( http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/2806970.htm )

St. Petersburg, meanwhile, is preparing for 43's visit. ( http://www.sptimes.com/2002/03/07/TampaBay/Traffic_must_make_way.shtml )

Texas

With primary day now less than a week way, former state Attorney General Dan Morales is still running a "classic" underdog campaign, according to the Houston Chronicle . He faces businessman Tony Sanchez in the Democratic gubernatorial race. ( http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/politics/1284989 )

George W. Bush will campaign for his successor, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, sometime this spring, Perry said. ( http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?
xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=631907&xld=400 )

New Hampshire

Republican National Committee chairman Marc Racicot will head to Manchester, NH today to campaign for Executive Council candidate and former Manchester mayor Ray Wieczorek.

DiStaso's Union-Leader column points out that gubernatorial candidate Gordon Humphrey is among the many non-chosen nomination-seekers around the country who is crowing over Bill Simon's victory in California. You see, Humphrey, a Republican, isn't the White House's preferred candidate for the position (Craig Benson is).

Massachusetts

Mario Cuomo will campaign for Robert Reich in Massachusetts next month. ( http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/reic03072002.htm )

A Republican candidate for state treasurer has launched a 60-second radio ad saying, "'The whole world changed on Sept. 11 … But unfortunately, not politics in Massachusetts, where political connections and big-dollar donations count more than qualifications. So when a real crisis occurs, we're stuck with people who just aren't qualified to do their jobs."' ( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/066/metro/
In_ads_candidate_9_11_in_calling_Mass_vulnerable+.shtml )

Other

Philadelphia Mayor John Street will endorse his predecessor, Ed Rendell, for governor today. ( http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/politics/
2809706.htm

The two Democratic candidates for governor of Illinois fought over gun control during their debate yesterday. ( http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi
-0203070050mar07.story )?coll=chi%2Dnews%2Dhed )

Campaign Finance Legislation

A more obscure campaign finance measure passed in 2000, regulating 527 groups (a/k/a "stealth PACs"), "is creating new headaches for candidates who are now required to report to the Internal Revenue Service," Roll Call reports. "Several current and former Members of Congress who are running for governor in their respective states have failed to file the required forms, a mistake which could force them to hand up to 35 percent of their campaign funds to the IRS in penalties. Dozens of other gubernatorial candidates who have never held federal office have also failed to file the appropriate forms." ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/03/news0307a.html )

Legislative Agenda

The New York Times says there might be a deal between a rump group of Republican Senators and the Democrats on fuel economy standards, which would give another platform to Senators Kerry and McCain. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/business/07FUEL.html )

The Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post continue to track the welfare reform/minimum wage story. "The Bush administration yesterday amended what aides called a 'confusing' provision in the administration's welfare proposal, which had suggested that Americans on welfare could be paid less than minimum wage if they work in certain supervised jobs," the Post reports. "Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson dispatched a statement saying that Bush and he 'will insist' that all welfare recipients 'receive at least the minimum wage for the hours they work,' even if they are taking part in 'community service' or 'supervised work experience' programs created by state governments to groom them for private-sector jobs." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51950-2002Mar6.html )

Here's the Los Angeles Times ' more detailed version. ( http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-000017057mar07.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection )

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality

In following the Pickering bouncing ball, one would not want to overlook these three New York Times paragraphs, from a White House not adverse to wielding the brass knuckles: "Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, appeared to issue a veiled warning this morning when he told reporters that it was unfair of Judge Pickering's opponents to bring up a law review article he wrote in 1959 when he was 21 years old that urged the strengthening of the state's law against mixed marriages." ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/politics/07JUDG.html ) "'If actions taken by people 40 years ago were the criteria, there would be some senators who are voting on this nomination whose very history would come into play,'" Mr. Fleischer said. "Pressed later, he declined to say how such retrospective research would be used against any Pickering opponents, but his comments were taken by many to refer to such things as the membership of Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, in the Ku Klux Klan in his youth."

Jeanne Cummings uses a The Wall Street Journal story on the Pickering nomination as a peg to look at the president's skillful balancing act between keeping the conservative base happy and reaching out to the center. The war helps, of course, since most of the elements of the base are willing to cut the president some slack. Cummings doesn't quite get into the third-level details about how the White House public liaison and political shops do their clever care-and-feeding of the right, but she gets the macro dynamics just right.

Continuing the blow-by-blow coverage of the spat over who learned what when about the "shadow government," Roll Call reports that "Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) lashed out at Democratic Congressional leaders yesterday over charges they were not informed of the White House's plan to set up a 'shadow government'after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, calling the accusations 'a bunch of baloney.' Hastert also said that he and Senator Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), then the president Pro Tempore of the Senate, had been told by the Bush administration on March 14, 2001, about the existence of such contingency plans, nearly six months before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon." ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/03/news0307g.html )

"During a closed-door gathering of House Republicans on Wednesday, Hastert insisted that Senate Democrats were let in on the secret when they took control of the chamber last June. The Illinois Republican said that Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the current President Pro Tempore of the Senate, was well aware of the White House's intentions in the event of a national emergency, although Byrd turned down a formal briefing from administration officials on their plans."

Mr. Frank Bruni of the New York Times had his big media hit on the Today program today to pitch his Bush book.

The New York Times has a must-read look at Neil Bush, presidential son and brother, and itinerant education product entrepreneur. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/education/07BROT.html )

Following up on its news yesterday on Bush's expected nominee to run NIH, the Washington Post reports, "Before becoming President Bush's choice to lead the National Institutes of Health, Elias Zerhouni assured leading social conservatives that he opposed any type of research on cloned human embryos, three conservative sources familiar with his selection said yesterday. Congressional Republicans and some conservative activists said White House vetters expressed confidence that Zerhouni supports a bill sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) that outlaws not only reproductive cloning but also cloning of microscopic embryos to obtain stem cells for therapeutic purposes." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52812-2002Mar7.html )

The Boston Globe calls Zerhouni "a vocal proponent of stem cell research," and notes that Senator Kennedy, who would chair his confirmation hearing, had never heard of him till yesterday and will "'review his record carefully.'" ( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/066/nation/Stem_cell_
scientists_reportedly_eyed_by_Bush_to_head_the_NIH+.shtml )

Enron

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While Enron continues not to stick to the Teflon-coated White House, it certainly has bogged down the Secretary of the Army, Thomas White, who "continued to hold a financial interest in Enron Corp. more than nine months after he left the company and agreed to divest his holdings to avoid potential conflicts of interest, documents released yesterday show." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51722-2002Mar6.html )

The New York Times also gives big play to the ongoing controversy over White's Enron stock situation. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/business/07ENRO.html )

The War Out There

Even though Rummy is rejecting the comparison to Mogadishu, the Washington Times nevertheless reports today that "Military officers are privately criticizing U.S. tactics in the battle of Gardez, saying war commanders should have used air strikes for days or weeks before sending ground forces against 800 enemy troops in Afghanistan." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020307-59671360.htm )