W A S H I N G T O N, October 22 14 Days Until The Election....
Two weeks out from election day, it still appears as though Democrats are not going to reap the sizable midterm election gains in the House and Senate that historically have been scored by the party not holding the presidency.
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They may, looking at the range of outcomes that appear possible today, wind up widening their majority in the Senate by a seat or even two, and they may net some seats in the House, but they seem unlikely to achieve the kind of gains that would land them a true governing majority in either chamber, or even an operating majority in the House.
And/but, they might be looking at minority status in both chambers of Congress.
One of the GOP's theses for many election cycles now, which has been propagated by Michael Barone and others, is that Republicans' generally superior campaign warchests are trumped in the last few days of every election cycle by whatever topics the Democrat-leaning mainstream media decides to give free coverage to in the 11th hour.
Assuming this thesis is true, the sniper news and the war talk are clearly on a trajectory to blot out that usual last-minute boost for Democrats this cycle.
The sniper, of course, is a tragic happenstance. But Democrats suspect that the war talk is something more than that.
However, their greater frustration, and longer-term concern, is what they consider to be the lack of scrutiny that President Bush and his party receive from the press.
Not to sound like Joe Lockhart for more than a second, but two of America's leading newspapers have big stories this morning which, if they were about Bill Clinton, even with the breaking news about the sniper, and even during a congressional recess, would have caused political traffic to stop.
Call it the "Teflon Presidency II," or if you want to blame the White House press corps, call it "On Bended Knee II."
The pattern and practice of this White House to try to intimidate beat reporters who "get out of line" is well documented by now, and one of the real First Amendment tragedies of the modern era.
All the time, we miss the presence of the late and wondrous Washington Post reporter Ann Devroy. If she were covering this Administration, things would be different.
All the time, President Bush gets the kind of local, network, and cable live and taped coverage which Michael Deaver, speaking about a different president in a comparable context, suggested involved the images of a commander-in-chief leading his people trumping any language with which a questioning media attempted to voice-over them.
This clearly has implications for governance, and the president's ability to get what he wants versus Congress, but with two weeks to go until election day, it also certainly matters in terms of politics, because try as they might, Democrats can't seem to do a blessed thing to tarnish the image of this good man.
While some reporters for some leading news organizations, through inexperience or laziness or resignation, rarely perform the fundamental task of questioning the actions of the government, the one reporter who has questioned most consistently is the Washington Post 's Dana Milbank, who today fires off one of the most sweeping "the emperor has no clothes" pieces anyone has written for a mainstream media property during the Bush presidency:
"As Bush leads the nation toward a confrontation with Iraq and his party into battle in midterm elections, his rhetoric has taken some flights of fancy in recent weeks. Statements on subjects ranging from the economy to Iraq suggest that a president who won election underscoring Al Gore's knack for distortions and exaggerations has been guilty of a few himself."
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Among Milbank's examples: Bush's warning that "that Iraq has a growing fleet of unmanned aircraft that could be used 'for missions targeting the United States;'" his citing "a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency saying the Iraqis were 'six months away from developing a weapon;'" his statement that "objections by a labor union to having customs officials wear radiation detectors has the potential to delay the policy 'for a long period of time;'" and his repeated assertion on terrorism insurance that "'[t]here's over $15 billion of construction projects which are on hold, which aren't going forward — which means there's over 300,000 jobs that would be in place, or soon to be in place, that aren't in place.'"
The administration reaction in the piece reads thusly: "The White House, while acknowledging that on one occasion the president was 'imprecise,' said it stands by his words. 'The president's statements are well documented and supported by the facts,' Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer said. 'We reject any allegation to the contrary.'"
Now, far be it for The Note to put itself between Mr. Milbank — who, as suggested, gets props for being one of the few White House reporters to not be intimidated — and the administration, but …
We received a call this morning from a senior Administration official who felt so strongly about the Milbank story that he 1) made some remarks about Milbank himself, and 2) spent time going through the alleged misstatements one by one.
Before we get to those, we should say that it is clear that the president HAS made some misstatements for which he has not seemed to pay a price in terms of credibility — first and foremost his "trifecta" assertion, in which he claims that during the campaign he told voters that he wouldn't dip into Social Security or run a deficit except in case of a war, a recession, or a national emergency.
There's some sorting out to do on whether Milbank or the White House has a stronger case to make on the examples included in the story, but we are making the on-deadline decision to include what this SAO told us.
On Milbank, the official took the unusual step of saying: "This was a story that was cooked and ready to go before any due diligence of the facts," by a reporter who "is more interested in style than substance."
Attempting to refuting most of Milbank's examples, this person says:
-- that the Iraqi fleet could be launched from somewhere on land or sea and hit the United States, and that the president never said it would be launched from Iraq
-- that the Customs/labor dispute took some time to resolve, and that that proves the president's point
-- that while the president had a wrong citation for a claim about Iraq's ability to develop weapons, the underlying fact is true, and he only made the mistake once
-- that the construction jobs figure provided by an outside group was vetted and approved by the president's economic team
This official claimed Milbank turned down an offer to get more information to him about all of these.
We didn't have time to reach the peripatetic Mr. Milbank for his position on all of this (although we look forward to getting it in time for tomorrow's edition), and we look forward to people with more time and expertise trying to sort out who is right.
But we think those of you who are students of the power politics of Washington will see why the stakes are high here. And don't blame the messenger of The Note and kill us from both sides. We are trying to cover the midterm elections, you know.
While the White House regularly challenges Mr. Milbank's work, they probably won't be as inclined to take on this bold David Rogers front-page Wall Street Journal lead: "George W. Bush, who ran for office vowing to 'change the tone' in Washington, is instead changing the balance of power between the White House and Congress."
"Won't be as inclined" because as much as the Anthony Lewises of the world find the aggregation of power in this White House horrifying, the Bush/Cheney worldview wears the "charge" proudly.
"Consider recent events: Mr. Bush has won unprecedented discretion from Congress to wage war on Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney is in court refusing to give lawmakers the names of those who met with his energy task force early last year. And buffaloed by the White House, Congress left town last week without passing its own spending bills, leaving the president with more say over how agencies operate in the first months of the new fiscal year."
"Throughout American history, presidents have tussled with Congress. But the past year has seen a fundamental shift of power to the White House, the biggest in at least a generation."
President Bush heads to Pennsylvania and Maine for a pair of rallies with Republican candidates today, with national and local Democrats trying their best to bracket his appearances, but that's really tough to do and gain any traction in the media, much less among voters, particularly on a news day shaping up like today's.
The AP's Lindlaw writes, "President Bush has reached the end of the road in his quest for campaign cash. The president has shifted into get-out-the-vote mode, starring at rallies Tuesday in Pennsylvania and Maine. Bush has headlined 66 fund-raisers this year, an average of one every four days, but plans no more before Election Day, several White House officials said. His efforts brought in more than $140 million for Republicans."
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"Bush shut the door on all money events with a thank-you bow Monday night to the Republican National Committee's 'Regents' — those who have given more than $250,000 over the past two years. Reporters were barred from the event at the McLean, Va., home of developer Dwight Schar, a member of the RNC's 'pioneers.'"
"From there, it was rallies for Bush on Tuesday in Downington, Pa., for gubernatorial candidate Mike Fisher and congressional hopeful Jim Gerlach; and on to Bangor, Maine, for congressional candidate Kevin Raye, Senator Susan Collins and gubernatorial hopeful Peter Cianchette."
"Bush's $140 million-plus total obliterated the estimated $50 million President Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, raised in 1994 — the run-up to his first midterm campaign as president."
National Democrats are coordinating on events with their state parties in Pennsylvania and Maine today; their new TV ads will air in those two states; and House Minority Leader Gephardt will hold a press conference in DC today to draw attention to the anniversary of the so-called "Enron tax cut."
The Washington Post 's Eilperin and Von Drehle say of this cycle's hot House races: "the key races apparently are still largely uninfluenced by broad national issues. Instead, the decisive contests are being waged district by district, with no visible trend toward either party. Local issues dominate."
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"Intriguingly, there is some evidence that the fact Congress is so closely divided — and gridlocked — has made party differences less salient down the homestretch, because Republicans have seen the same Democratic issues in one election after another, and have learned to blunt many of them."
The upside for Democrats: "candidates say … the issue of war in Iraq has not united voters behind the president's party."
The Washington Times ' Dinan leads, "Republicans need to gain one seat to regain control of the Senate, but some Republicans, fearing another defection like the one by Senator James M. Jeffords of Vermont in 2001, say they must gain two seats to assure control. The party-jumping speculation centers on Senator Lincoln Chafee."
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Patsy Mink, Ralph Hall, Jim Talent, the Louisiana Senate race, Louisiana-05, Frank Murkowski … these are the names and races with which you need to familiarize yourself in order be prepared for the cliffhanger, or cliffhangers, to which the battle for either the House or the Senate or both may boil down AFTER election day.
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Per the Washington Times ' Lambro: "The sniper shootings that have dominated network news also are cutting into their national election coverage, and that could affect voter turnout, some party officials said yesterday."
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"National party officials said that the networks' coverage of the hunt for the sniper has not affected what the candidates are talking about and what voters are most concerned about — the economy, Social Security and prescription-drug benefits."
David Shribman offers "[a]n axiom for the midterm political contests this fall: If you know who turns out for the election, you will know how the election turns out."
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"In a year where control of the House and the Senate is being determined and where the governors' chairs in the eight biggest states are up for grabs, the emphasis in politics is not on persuasion, but on mobilization."
(Note to the press who keeps writing this wrong: Nick Baldick currently is still in the District of Columbia.)
Along those lines, to cap off our summary today, the ground war is well underway.
In the past 24 hours alone, we received tips about the following alleged phone calls:
-- NARAL advocacy calls in Oregon
-- generic get-out-the-vote (by mail) calls in Oregon
-- a call by the Parker telemarketing firm that contained an opinionated survey about partial-birth abortion, apparently targeted at Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards in Texas' 11th district.
-- taped advocacy calls on behalf of endangered Rep. Jim Leach (R) in Iowa. The calls don't mention the environment, so they're probably not coming from one of his environmental allies. According to our reader, the caller mispronounces Gov. Tom Vilsack as "Veel-sack"
-- reports from Florida, Georgia, Maine, South Dakota, Kansas, and Illinois that the Republican state parties are still using robo-calls from President Bush, urging Republicans to vote early.
-- in New Hampshire, a message-testing call from the uber-firm of Penn, Schoen & Berland. Our reader e-mails that the caller identified herself as working from a Denver call center, and said Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) was "gutsy" at one point.
-- a reader in Arizona reported a dozen calls: "Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in support of Janet Napolitano for Governor, Prop 411 (expansion of jails), Prop 202 (17-tribe Indian gaming proposal)"
-- "'Joe Arizona' (an actor playing an ordinary Joe type Arizonan) urging a "Yes" vote on Proposition 201 (the local horse and greyhound track owners initiative to expand gaming to race tracks)"
-- "State Attorney Rick Romley urging a 'NO' vote on the [proposition] to legalize use of medical marijuana"
With just two weeks to go, the negative, shadowy stuff is about to pick up big time.
Democrats are crying foul about anonymous and negative advocacy calls criticizing Rep. Jim Maloney (D) in Connecticut. The GOP House campaign committee wouldn't comment.
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The AP round ups interest group battle plans.
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The Wall Street Journal has a great second-day story on Bush's prescription drug announcement yesterday, looking at the substance and politics of it.
The paper leads with the drug industry being upset: "Pharmaceutical makers laid low Monday, eager to avoid their industry's becoming a political lightning rod. Lobbyists for both sides expressed surprise at the White House action. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America refused to comment, and so did many drug makers. Nevertheless, analyst Barbara Ryan of Deutsche Bank said the sector won't be hurt substantially. 'It's being hit by a wet noodle several times,' she said."
The story suggests that Republican House candidates are planning to glom onto this, which makes us wonder what kind of talking points the White House/Republican National Committee/GOP House and Senate campaign committee operations sent out to campaigns on this. Could someone forward them to us, please?
The New York Times ' Pear quotes this exchange: "Janell Mayo Duncan, legislative counsel for Consumers Union, said: 'It took the White House two years to address this problem with a proposal offered two weeks before the midterm elections. If the White House is serious about this problem, why did it take so long?'"
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"A senior administration official said the proposal was not an election year ploy, adding, 'We've been working on this for well over a year.'"
The New York Times ' Krugman, in railing against what he alleges is the president turning his back on SEC reforms and funding, and against GOP control of both branches of government, risks appearing dangerously out of touch himself with this sentence: "But the S.E.C. is ludicrously underfinanced: staff lawyers and accountants are paid half what they could get in the private sector, usually find themselves heavily outnumbered by the legal departments of the companies they investigate, and often must do their own typing and copying."
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Mr. Gephardt got to be the "voice of the opposition" in most of the big papers to the Bush drug announcement.
The Tenneseean uses yesterday's Family Re-Union event to look at how former Vice President Al Gore plans to spend part of this fall.
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"The former vice president is scheduled to sit down with Barbara Walters at his new Belle Meade home for his first formal interview since the 2000 presidential election. The interview will be aired on ABC's 20/20 on Nov. 15."
"Gore is scheduled to spend time the following week in a series of interviews with other news agencies, in part to promote a book he co-authored with wife Tipper Gore, spokesman Jano Cabrera said."
Senator Joe Lieberman today kicks off a tour that will take him West to Modesto, CA on behalf of the Democratic House candidate there, and to San Francisco, all today; Phoenix on Wednesday for events with Democratic candidates and a fundraiser for the state party; and New Mexico and Texas on Thursday for more campaigning with Democratic candidates, including Texas Senate nominee Ron Kirk. Lieberman will cap off the trip with a fundraising breakfast for Kirk on Friday.
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean today will attend a Sullivan County Democratic Committee event in Newport, NH.
With news that the Miami police will monitor elections in Miami-Dade County (in addition to interest group monitors, party monitors, nonpartisan monitors, exit pollsters and Justice Department monitors), we wonder if the scene outside polling places will resemble a sort of airport grand hall in reverse: dozens of people milling about, pouncing on people as they leave, peppering them with various and sundry questions.
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We also wonder whether any voters might feel a little intimidated.
Broward County, FL needs more money for November 5.
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A Montgomery County, MD county council staff report released yesterday suggests that "residents may face long lines at the polls on Election Day and access for Spanish-speaking voters could be hampered, despite hasty fixes made since the fiasco debut of computerized voting machines last month … Even though computer modems will be set up in more than 200 polling places to speed returns and more than 130 election judges who had trouble operating the machines have been retrained, … those measures may not be enough given the far greater turnout expected for the Nov. 5 general election."
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There's really not much going on in the county on November 5 — it's just the most key county in the tight governor's race, and also home to one of the hottest House races anywhere. That's all.
Whoops. "More than" 670 voters in Fulton County, Georgia got errantly-printed absentee ballots. LINK
Arkansas has a confusing early voting problem that needs working out.
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The New York Times and the AP get the jump on the rest of the print media, all of whom will eventually do their own Voter News Service stories.
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The Wall Street Journal looks at Democratic hopes that they can beat the president's friend, Rep. Henry Bonilla, in Texas' 23rd Congressional District with a Hispanic Democrat and a huge Latino turnout — which still, even in the Bush era, votes largely with the Democrats.
The New York Times gives front-page treatment to one of the biggest political stories of the 2000-2002 period: the Capitol Hill and political emergence of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as a real power within the Democratic party. LINK
The story does a better than okey-dokey (artichokey) job of explaining WHY she has amassed so much stroke, and what she is doing with it.
Again: don't forget your Greens (and the other-third-party candidates). Reuters' Whitesides reports, "Greens threaten to steal enough votes from Democrats to make a difference in notable races in Massachusetts, Maine, Colorado and particularly Minnesota, where the Senate race could determine if Democrats retain control of the chamber."
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The AP reports, "Control of the nation's legislatures — currently split almost evenly between the two major parties — will be up for grabs in several states on Election Day, and experts are predicting possible record turnover. Democrats and Republicans control both legislative chambers in nearly the same number of states — 18 versus 17. Some political experts say that will probably change on Nov. 5 because of redistricting and term limits."
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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch assesses last night's debate as follows: "This is Carnahan's first political campaign, and Monday's event was her first debate. Talent, by contrast, is an experienced debater; he faced off with opponents in his bids for the U.S. House and participated in three in debates in 2000 during his failed gubernatorial bid."
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"With polls showing the two candidates in a tight race, this televised showdown carried high stakes for both candidates and their parties. The race could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, now held by Democrats by a one-seat margin."
"Monday's debate was a pivotal opportunity for Carnahan to rebut charges from Republicans that she is not competent or experienced enough to hold the Senate job … "
"Both candidates seemed to achieve their goals. Carnahan stumbled a few times but appeared well-versed on the issues. Talent was more polished and articulate, challenging Carnahan without appearing mean-spirited."
One Carnahan response we still can't figure out, which presumably was one of the "stumbles" to which the Post -Dispatch referred: "We have to be restore confidence in this economy, so we need to do as many things as we can to do that. And I have been part of trying to do that.. like getting accounting reform and pension reform … and i made it possible for the … for those who.. invest … or sell, i should say.. if they sell their stock, they are able.. that they have to … to … that they have to go through the SEC electronically to be able to … before they can … report this to the SEC. But there are a number of things that we need to do but i think that stimulating our economy here at home and not letting those jobs go abroad is certainly one of the main things that we have to do."
We share the view of the some frustrated Republicans that Senator Carnahan seems to have a bit of a Teflon coating of her own.
Today, Senator John Kerry (D) campaigns with Carnahan in Kansas City. They're expected to talk about homeland security.
When all's said and done, some folks will marvel at how much Tony Sanchez (D) or Tom Golisano (I) spent in Texas and New York, respectively, but the real interesting money numbers just might come from smaller states.
A better statistic than total dollars spent, we think, is dollars-per-voter. Records are likely to be set in New Hampshire, where the gubernatorial campaign of Craig Benson (R) has spent more than $10 million so far.
And in Iowa, where spending between the two major-party candidates has topped $10 million. LINK
David Yepsen notes how the state "bureaucracy" appears to be promoting the gubernatorial candidacy of Gov. Tom Vilsack (D).
The Register also notes a forthcoming NRSC and conservative interest group push for Rep. Greg Ganske (R). LINK
The Des Moines Register 's Jane Norman smartly assesses the benefits of presidential visits. LINK
Charlton Heston "hunted" for gun votes in Manchester yesterday.
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Quick request to reporters: if you write about pro-gun voters, please try to include some statistics or context: how many NRA members live in New Hampshire? How many gun owners voted in 2000? In 1998? How many are Democrats? Etcetera. Thank you.
Last night's Senate debate focused on energy, oil drilling, abortion, and the economy. LINK
Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and Democratic challenger Bill McBride will face off in another debate tonight at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Tim Russert will travel to the state to moderate this one.
Barbara Bush will be in attendance.
In a familial double whammy, with the former First Lady having been in the state campaigning for her son the Governor since Monday, she will be joined today by her husband, the former President. George Bush the elder will campaign for Jeb Bush at a veterans rally in Jacksonville , while Barbara Bush headlines a women's event in Fort Lauderdale and campaigns at a county library in Cocoa, all before the debate kicks off.
A Mason Dixon poll of likely voters gives Bush a 49-percent to 44-percent lead over challenger McBride. The margin of error is +/- 4 points.
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"At a time when his brother was deciding whether to allow oil rigs off Florida's coast, Gov. Jeb Bush's personal portfolio included stock in a politically connected Texas company seeking to drill in the Gulf," Miami Herald ace Peter Wallsten and colleagues report. LINK
As the Senate race moves from Toss-up to "leaning Democratic" for the first time in the Lautenberg-Forrester era in the gold standard of the Cook Report, the New York Times notices that the Democrats' gender gap with the ladies could be decisive (as it could be in a lot of Senate races all across the land).
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Hank Scheinkopf brings his classy and bold analysis of (his former client) Democratic gubernatorial nominee Carl McCall to the pages of the New York Times , in a look at how race is playing in the gubernatorial campaign. LINK
A Public Policy Institute of California poll shows Gov. Gray Davis (D) with a 10-point lead over challenger Bill Simon (R). LINK
Davis' judicial picks have been "largely middle-of-the-road," says the Los Angeles Times , but a Simon aide is criticizing Davis for tapping only pro-choice judges.
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The Los Angeles Times looks at the star power and substance of Arnold's Proposition 49, which got big "Today" play today.
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The state's toss-up Senate and House races get TR Reid treatment in the Washington Post today. No real news in this story for those of you who have been following these races, but it touches on all the right stuff, from the Democrats' now controversial effort to register new Native American voters; to the fact that GOP House nominee Bill Janklow currently is the nation's longest-serving governor (though he didn't serve consecutive terms) and how the fact that "a man who has dominated his state for so long would want to become a junior member of a 435-seat assembly in Washington" is such a mystery.
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Democratic Senator Tim Johnson has offered to run only positive bio spots between now and election day. LINK
Will the party committees follow? (The state Democratic party said yes.) And is this a head-fake? (Candidates comfortably in the lead usually do this type of thing, but polls here show a too-close-to-call race.)
During last night's debate, GOP nominee John Thune challenged Johnson to come clean about his alleged involvement in the voter fraud allegations. Johnson simply referred to comments by the state's Republican attorney general that neither his campaign nor the state Democratic party were targets of an investigation.
USA Today gets at the ins, outs, and inside-outs of the Colorado Senate race, noting that "Colorado was the third fastest-growing state in the 1990s, behind Nevada and Arizona … Nearly 580,000 new voters have registered since [GOP Senator Wayne] Allard, a three-term congressman at the time, beat [Democrat Tom] Strickland in an election in 1996. As a result, more than 25% of the state's voters have never seen either man's name on the ballot."
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President Bush and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) had a "pleasant" meeting at the White House yesterday. Tancredo's iconoclasm had caused the welcome mat to be pulled; all old things, apparently, are forgiven.
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Yes, it's all about turnout, and in Colorado, it's all about the suburbs.
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Rudy Giuliani and Second Lady Lynne Cheney campaigned for gubernatorial candidate Van Hilleary (R) yesterday. LINK
Between his appearances in ads and his political travel, the former Mayor of Gotham City sure is collecting a lot of chits, and Democrats don't seem to be bringing up (or having any success bringing up) his pro-abortion, pro-gay rights positions, when he stumps in more conservative venues.
The Democratic Dream ticket, Tony Sanchez, the gubernatorial candidate, and Ron Kirk, the Senate candidate, teamed up for a get-out-the-vote rally, while Kirk's opponent, Attorney General John Cornyn, appeared with US Housing Secretary Mel Martinez, and Sanchez's foe, Governor Rick Perry, electronically cast his ballot in Austin. LINK
The Arizona Republic plays up three new polls that give state Attorney General Janet Napolitano (D) a lead over Rep. Matt Salmon (R) in the gubernatorial race.
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"Former U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford has surpassed Gov. Jim Hodges in raising money for their gubernatorial campaigns … Sanford has raised $6,976,241.13, compared with $6,876,138.24 for Hodges … The previous high for a governor's race was the $9.1 million spent by Hodges and former GOP Gov. David Beasley in 1998."
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The Raleigh News & Observer looks at how Democratic Senate nominee Erskine Bowles "has had a tough time making his business image an asset" during this era of spotlighting corporate responsibility.
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The Washington Post does a mini Big Casino, looking at the gubernatorial nominees' campaign promises and questioning how they intend to pay for everything.
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In the state's 8th Congressional District race, "a senior strategist at the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee said it will begin airing ads on [moderate GOP Rep. Connie] Morella's behalf today. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee already is running television commercials touting [Democrat Chris] Van Hollen's record … The Republican Main Street Partnership, a group that supports moderate Republicans, plans a $100,000-a-week ad campaign on Morella's behalf on cable and network television. The 30-second spot will feature four female GOP House members talking about Morella's work on behalf of women, a key constituency for her reelection."
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We typically don't mention newspaper endorsements these days because there are so many, but since two-thirds of The Note hails from this district, and this one really will count … today, the Washington Post endorses Morella.
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No fewer than three "multimillionaires have spent their own money to finance campaigns for governor and lieutenant governor."
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The Boston Globe spotlights the lobbying business of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Shannon O'Brien's husband, and how O'Brien's work as state treasurer could have put her in position to help him or his clients …
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… while the Herald mines GOP nominee Mitt Romney's past business dealings.
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White House budget director Mitch Daniels will appear on Fox today with Neil Cavuto sometime during the 4:00 p.m. hour, and on CNBC's Business Center during the 6:00 p.m. hour.
History is made today, we believe, as Karen Hughes and Karl Rove get their own separate corrections in the New York Times today.
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Democrats for days have been seeking to make hay of an e-mail accidentally sent from the White House to "the outside" which included a derogatory reference to Senator Byrd and a reference to Hispanic Democrats in the House who opposed the Iraq resolution as "'self-centered, do-nothing, $150,000/year plus perks yo-yo's.'" That last part was the real sticking point for Democrats.
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Well, the Washington Post 's Milbank writes it up for today. Here's what strikes us as new: "Sources said a relatively senior Bush aide liked the memo and directed a young aide to forward it to Hispanic Republican activists; the memo was accidentally sent instead, without explanation, to a mostly Hispanic Democratic group."
As Milbank points out, "Still, that does not explain why the White House would distribute such an e-mail, even to its allies."
The Boston Globe covers Mrs. Bush's address on children's literacy to a pediatricians' conference in Boston yesterday.
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With so many Bushies worshipping at the alter of Las Manitas, is there anything BUT pro-Democrat bias to which to attribute the New York Times ' business travel story letting Ann Richards claim it as her own? LINK
—10:00 am, Election Reform Information Project news conference to release study, National Press Club
— 10:45 am, President Bush appears at welcome rally, United Sports Training, Philadelphia
— 12 noon, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt holds press conference on the "anniversary" of the "GOP Enron" tax break
— 12 noon, Center for Responsive Politics news conference on long-term campaign contribution patterns, National Press Club
— 3:30 pm, President Bush appears at welcome rally, followed by a ropeline, Bangor International Airport
—6:40 pm, President Bush arrives back at the White House
— Oct. 22: New Hampshire 2nd Congressional District debate on WMUR and NHPTV
— Oct. 22: Florida gubernatorial candidates debate
— Oct. 22: New Hampshire gubernatorial candidates debate — Oct. 23-24: FEC holds rule-making hearings on coordinated and independent expenditures — Oct. 23: Former President Clinton headlines a megafundraiser for gubernatorial candidate Carl McCall
— Oct. 24: (tentative) Texas gubernatorial candidates debate
— Oct. 24: Pre-general campaign finance report due to FEC
— Oct. 24: Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates debate
— Oct. 24: (tentative) Texas Senate candidates debate
— Oct. 24: Missouri Senate candidates debate
— OCt. 24: New Hampshire gubernatorial debate — Oct. 24-25: Sen. Joseph Lieberman visits Texas to campaign for Democratic candidates — Oct. 25: Durable goods orders, new home sales and existing home sales figures due
— Oct. 25: South Carolina Senate candidates debate, Columbia
— Oct. 25: New Hampshire Senate candidates debate
— Oct. 25: Minnesota Senate candidate debate
— Oct. 26: New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's birthday — Oct. 26: Karl Rove headlines 2nd Annual Ronald Reagan dinner, Des Moines, Iowa
— Oct. 28: Minnesota Senate candidates debate
— Oct. 28: Hunk Josh Hartnett campaigns with Sen. Paul Wellstone, St. Paul, MN — Oct. 30: (tenative) South Dakota Senate candidates debate
— Oct. 30: SpeakUp! Youth Forum with New York gubernatorial candidates
—Oct. 31: Early voting begins in Oklahoma — Oct. 31: Estimate of third quarter GDP is released — Nov. 1: Data for September employment, personal income and personal spending due — Nov. 3: New Mexico gubernatorial candidates debate
— Nov. 4: Laura Bush's birthday — Nov. 5: Election Day — Nov. 5: President and Laura Bush's silver wedding anniversary. — Nov. 6: New FEC disclosure and soft money rules go into effect
— Nov. 6: Deadline for opening briefs, McCain-Feingold lawsuit
— Nov. 8-9: Association of American Trial Lawyers Board of Governors meeting, Washington, D.C.
— Nov 10-15: National Congress of American Indians annual meeting, San Diego
— Nov. 17: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's birthday.
— Nov. 18: Elizabeth Dole campaign e-spam lawsuit trial date
— Nov. 20: Delaware Senator. Joseph Biden's birthday
— Nov. 21-23: Republican Governors Association annual meeting, Dana Point, California
— Nov. 29: Deadline for opposition briefs, McCain-Feingold lawsuit
— Nov. 30: Special election to replace Rep. Patsy Mink (D), Hawaii-02
— Dec. 4: Oral arguments begun in McCain-Feingold lawsuit. (tentative)
— Dec. 5: Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday
— Dec. 5: Post-general election campaign finance reports due
— Dec. 9: South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle's birthday
— Dec. 9: DGA winter holiday event, DC
— Dec. 11: Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's birthday
— Dec. 13: Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's birthday
— Dec. 26: California Gov. Gray Davis's birthday — Jan, 1 2003: New federal individual contribution limits take effect (tentative) — Jan 18, 2003: Linn County, Iowa Third Annual sustaining banquet with guests to be announced.
— Jan. 22: National March for Life, Washington, DC
— Jan. 30, 2003: Vice President Dick Cheney's birthday — Jan 30-Feb. 1, 2003: Conservative Political Action Conference, Crystal City, Virginia
— Jan. 31, 2003: Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt's birthday — Jan. 31, 2003: Year end campaign finance reports due to FEC
— Feb. 24, 2003: Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman's birthday
— March 11, 2003: Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes's birthday
— March 31, 2003: Al Gore's birthday
— May 19, 2003: Al and Tipper Gore's 33rd wedding anniversary
— May 27, 2003: Jury selection begins in U.S. vs. Moussaoui
— June 15, 2003: Senate/House/key adviser personal financial disclosure forms due
— June 30, 2003: tentative start date for Mossaoui trial
— July 6: President Bush's birthday
— July 28: Bill Bradley's birthday.
— Aug. 14: Lynne Cheney's birthday
— Aug. 19: Bill Clinton's birthday
— Aug. 19: Tipper Gore's birthday
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