W A S H I N G T O N, September 9 58 Days Until The Election....
We normally mark political time in one-day increments of who has won or dominated that evening news/morning paper news cycle.
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The Agenda: Click here for The ABCNEWS Political Unit's exclusive major futures calendar and today's daybook.
However, this week (one of nine left before election day) epitomizes why sometimes expanding that view to take in a whole seven days at a time makes more sense.
On the week of the biggest set of primaries of this midterm election year, with a ton of appropriations action still needing to be brokered by Congress and the White House before Congress can leave, President Bush, the September 11 anniversary, and Iraq indisputably are going to dominate the nation's attention.
Witness yesterday's takeover of the Sunday shows, Wednesday's prime-time address, and Thursday's United Nations speech, which likely will carry us into the following weekend, which also will bring Yom Kippur.
Congress certainly won't get much done during this stretch, between the anniversary of the terrorist strikes and the Jewish holiday, for which they will be out next Monday.
Roll Call 's Crabtree and Kane look at the "increasingly inevitable" lame-duck session or, at least, a long-term continuing resolution.
"Already House and Senate leaders are extending their target adjournment dates of Oct. 4 at least a week. Republicans are also discussing the benefits of passing the homeland security legislation and the Defense appropriations bill and then punting on some of the more nettlesome spending bills and issues by passing a longterm continuing resolution extending into November or possibly next year."
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And the conventional wisdom (which just might even be true) is that weeks spent on this stuff, as opposed to domestic issue, are good for the GOP's electoral prospects in November.
It's clear that some/much of the president's continued popularity is war-fueled, and you can see that not only in national polls, but in state polls such as this: "President Bush, who lost in Michigan two years ago, is now the favorite among state voters largely because of his response to last year's terrorism," the Detroit News reports today. "If the election were held today, George Bush would probably win Michigan with 53 to 54 percent of the vote,' said Lansing pollster Ed Sarpolus, vice president of EPIC/MRA." LINK
But hold it right there. Some Democratic sources have been insisting to us that voters aren't so fixated on homeland and national security as the president and Republicans might think, and today John Harwood and the weight of the Wall Street Journal /NBC poll would seem to confirm that, albeit with mixed lessons for the out party.
Harwood's A4 must-read story on the war versus the economy leads with this poll-driven simplicity: "The White House and Congress are awash in war talk, but ordinary Americans cling to a strikingly different election-year agenda: boosting the economy and doing more to curb corporate crime."
"A new The Wall Street Journal /NBC News poll shows that neither the debate over Iraq nor continuing fear of terrorism has diverted public attention from the struggling economy, market turbulence or corporate misconduct. Eight in 10 Americans believe the economy remains in recession and 64% lack confidence to invest in stocks. Asked to identify what most affected them in the past year, more Americans cite economic problems than the Sept. 11 attacks … "
And Harwood bangs out a long paragraph, every syllable of which is a must-read: "By revealing the mismatch between Washington's agenda and the public's, the Journal/NBC poll underscores the prospect that Democrats could yet turn their advantages on domestic issues into significant gains in this fall's midterm elections. But it also shows that they have failed to seize the political initiative thus far, and remain locked in an even contest with Mr. Bush's GOP. By a narrow 37%-35% plurality, in fact, Americans say they plan to vote for the Republican candidate for Congress in November, reversing the two percentage-point advantage Democrats held in July. Just as significant, the positive rating the GOP receives from 45% of the electorate outpaces the 38% of the public expressing positive feelings about the Democratic Party. The seesawing results suggest that control of Congress — with Democrats now holding the Senate by one seat and Republicans having a six-seat advantage in the House — remains up for grabs."
And more: "Financial pain creates the potential for minority Democrats to gain the six seats they need to recapture the House. By a narrow 42%-41%, Americans say 'it is time to give a new person a chance' to represent them in the House. Before the elections of both 2000 and 1998 — years in which Republicans lost seats but retained control of the chamber — Americans said by double-digit margins that their lawmaker deserved re-election."
"But interviews with some poll respondents underscore how the Democrats have been unable to convert that potential into tangible gains. If swing voters are open to swinging away from the GOP in substantial numbers, they haven't done so yet."
Still the sleeper issue of this campaign: the long-term erosion of the middle-class of economic security and well being, "first" chronicled by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Barlett and Steele (or was it Bartles and James?).
The New York Times front-pages this classic indice: "Almost three million people nationwide have been out of work for at least 15 weeks, up more than 50 percent from a year ago. Half of them have not worked in at least 6 months, the Department of Labor said."
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"Another million Americans appear to have dropped out of the labor force in each of the last two years, no longer looking for work or counted as unemployed."
On the other hand, the daily diary of the economic (read: "political") health of the president's party — that would be page A2 of the Wall Street Journal — is upbeat today, with another Ode to the Housing God, and a take on Friday's employment report is that is mostly upbeat.
Although the administration Sunday talk-show guests renewed the call for a congressional vote before the TBD-dated recess, whether Congress will meet that request (with electoral implications) is still unknown.
To see the lengths to which the administration will go to get 1) the timing it wants on the vote; and 2) the resolution it wants, with 3) enough votes to win, watch the usually compliant mouthpieces for White House/Republican National Committee opposition research to see how fast and how high-and-inside the administration plans to play politics to get its way on Iraq.
One good place to look today: hold the Wall Street Journal 's lead editorial ("Daschle's Iraq Filibuster") up to the light to check the thickness of the latest Republican opposition research behind it. Not much light will show through.
Maybe your ears perked up when Vice President Cheney unfurled some "anti" Bill Clinton opposition research on "Meet the Press" yesterday, to illustrate that Democrats displayed more let's-get-Saddam enthusiasm or rhetoric under their own president than they are now.
In any event, this Journal editorial goes hard after Majority Leader Daschle and Senator Kerry, but the wider point is this: on national security matters in general, and in this case, the two parties are NOT on equal footing.
The Republicans are willing and politically able, because of their superior standing on national security matters as the "daddy party," to unfurl opposition research on this stuff. Remember, they have been ready to do this since late last year, when they thought the midterm election debate would focus on military and national security matters inspired by the terrorist attacks.
There are plenty of statements from Trent Lott and others on down that could now be trotted out to "prove" the Democrats' case, but Democrats will be afraid or otherwise unwilling to fight it out on those terms, so get ready for an unequal fight.
The Washington Times ' Lambro gets at the notion that Democrats got what they asked for, in terms of demanding that Bush consult with Congress on Iraq, and now that debate threatens to wipe Democrats' domestic agenda off the table between now and election day. We can't quite figure out whether Democratic pollster Celinda Lake is talking about Iraq, or her party's fears about dominant talk of Iraq, when she says: "'Our members are so concerned that that's all they'll talk about. The concern is legitimate, but politically it's very dangerous if that's all they talk about.'"
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"It is a debate that the White House does not expect to lose because many Democrats do not want to go into the final days of the elections appearing soft on national security issues and the war against terrorism."
If you belive the remarkable Elisabeth Bumiller story from Saturday's New York Times , with Card, Rove, and Bartlett all on the record, the timing of the Iraq offensive (rhetorical, if not military) always was going to be right now, pegged to the United Nations speech.
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Andy Card's quote about not rolling out new products in August is completely priceless.
President Bush today heads to Detroit to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and hold a border security event. "The two leaders were getting together in Detroit on Monday to discuss progress on the 'Smart Border' plan they endorsed in December," the AP's Lindlaw writes. "It is a series of measures meant to screen out terrorists while protecting the world's largest trade partnership, in which $1 billion a day in goods and services flows. They were to see demonstrations on how people and goods move, then give joint remarks. The 30-point plan calls for new technology to clear goods in factories, rail yards and sea ports instead of waiting until they reach the border crossing."
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Bush will return to DC in time to attend a September 11 anniversary concert at the Kennedy Center.
Tomorrow brings primaries in Florida, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Maryland, Washington, DC, Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, and Rhode Island, and run-offs in Georgia.
There are lots of races, of course, but if you want to know what the REAL insiders at the top of the major-party heap will be staying up late for …
… here's what the White House and the Republican campaign committees want:
— in the New Hampshire GOP Senate primary, for Rep. John Sununu to beat incumbent Senator Bob Smith
— in the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary, for Janet Reno to beat Bill McBride
— in the Granite State's GOP gubernatorial primary, for businessman Craig Benson to become the nominee
— for Elizabeth Dole to win her primary overwhelmingly, to minimize the number of panicky concerned phone calls they get from candidate and spouse
And here's what Democrats and their campaign committees want:
— in the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary, for McBride to beat Reno
— in the Granite State's GOP gubernatorial primary, for quirky, polarizing former Senator Gordon Humphrey to become the nominee
— in the New Hampshire GOP Senate primary, for Smith to beat Sununu
—for Erskine Bowles to handily win the North Carolina Democratic Senate primary
— in the New York gubernatorial race, for wealthy self-funder Thomas Golisano to find his way onto the ballot
USA Today 's Lawrence looks at one of our favorite themes for the midterm elections: how intraparty feuds and contested primaries are hurting both parties' chances for success in November.
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Also on Tuesday, President Bush will meet with the Prime Minister of Portugal and make remarks at the Afghan Embassy.
On Wednesday, the president will commemorate the September 11 terrorist attacks by attending ceremonies at the White House, the Pentagon, Shanksville, PA, and New York. He will deliver a prime time address at 9:00 p.m..
On Thursday, President Bush will make his case for a war against Iraq to the United Nations General Assembly. He'll have several meetings on Friday before departing for Camp David for the weekend.
Legislative Agenda
Today, Jackie Calmes in the Wall Street Journal brilliantly and clearly writes up the story we were vocally hoping for last week: the substance of the administration's dispute with congressional Democrats over labor issues in the proposed new Department of Homeland Security on A4. Thank you, Ms. Calmes.
Budget Politics
Despite his own on-the-record doubts that it will pass, House Appropriations Committee chairman Young late last week decided "to introduce a $130 billion bill funding labor, education and health programs next year in the exact form of the request that the president sent to Congress," the Washington Post 's Morgan writes. "GOP officials say defeat of the bill in the closely divided House would be reality therapy for the White House. They say it appears to be the only way to convince the administration that the House needs more money and flexibility to get this year's crop of spending bills through Congress."
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"The disarray" over the state of the spending bills "actually serves the political purposes of both parties in the run-up to congressional elections. House Republican leaders can tout their principled stand against higher spending. Democrats can bash the GOP for shortchanging popular programs such as education and veteran health."
Bob Novak's must-read today sums it all up.
The Prince of Darkness writes in short, declarative sentences. You can be durned sure that he's confident in his sourcing: "Don't count on President Bush's widely leaked program of tax incentives to entice wary investors. It is in deep trouble and may never even be formally proposed, not simply because the plan faces impossible obstacles in the Democrat-controlled Senate. House Republicans, until now steadfast in pushing the Bush agenda, are saying no to the supply-side revival contemplated at the White House."
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"House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert has told the president's aides that Rep. Bill Thomas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, must be in on the 'ground floor' of any new Bush tax initiative. Thomas last week made clear to the White House that he does not want to be on any floor of new tax cuts. Pushing a bill against the imperious Ways and Means chairman, a majority of the committee's Republicans, and without the help of the speaker is seen by risk-averse administration officials as an embarrassing exercise in futility."
Thomas doesn't buy the White House strategy, which presumes failure: "listless" GOP base voters, according to Novak, would be energized by Democrats who failed to get them their additional tax cuts.
"In denigrating Bush's tax plans, Thomas tells colleagues that the administration is not pushing its ideas with firmness. That is accurate. Brainier, tougher and louder than most people in Washington, Thomas is one of the capital's truly intimidating figures. George W. Bush has to make up his mind whether to stand up to him, do his best to bring him around, and then go ahead even if the chairman says no."
ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary
At his Saturday appearance at a Labor Day picnic near Nashville, former Vice President Al Gore gave his now-standard critique of President Bush's leadership and fiscal priorities, if the press accounts are accurate. LINK
It's not clear to us (yet) if the FVPOTUS took on Iraq directly.
The crowd implored him to run again in 2004.
Perhaps in response, Gore did add this, according to the Associated Press. "'Remember just for a minute what you felt like inside when you heard the Supreme Court decision' … that cost [him] the election." LINK
"Gore told [the crowd] to 'take all of that feeling every day between now and Election Day. Take it into the voting booth. Let's take our country's policies back from the group that has taken it from us.'"
The state Republican Party made sure to e-mail reporters with evidence that Gore was a liberal, and, by implication, Bob Clement is too liberal to represent Tennessee values in the US Senate.
The New Hampshire Democratic party's announcement late last week of their October Jefferson-Jackson dinner speaker, Senator John Edwards, was followed closely by the Iowa Democratic party announcement that Senator John Kerry and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean will address THEIR October Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Des Moines.
New York Times ' columnist Bill Keller wrote his Saturday column all about Kerry, whom he had trashed in a recent column, suggesting the Senator's Vietnam home movies were shot for political purposes. LINK
So Kerry's press-savvy staff had the columnist over to watch the vintage flicks with the Senator, and they got a mostly positive piece out of it about Kerry's war credentials, although Keller does write this: "Mr. Kerry does have a reputation as a man of calculating ambition. (Lately he has been calculating how to come across as less calculating, which is one reason he wanted to dispel the cynicism about his war movies.)"
Tonight in Washington, Kerry will keynote the NAACP Legislative Mobilization Conference dinner. And Dean is in New Hampshire today doing a series of local press interviews and events.
Roll Call 's Bresnahan writes up House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt's friendly and lucrative relationship with a the "other" Busch. "With Gephardt actively considering another bid for the White House, his ability to rely on a network of beer industry supporters -largely a result of his personal ties to the Busch family — could provide him with a big financial boost heading into a wide-open Democratic struggle for the party's nomination."
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The Charlotte Observer's Hurt on Sunday wrote up Edwards' rural strategy, which not coincidentally looks like a bigger-scale version of Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's rural strategy, including the race car sponsorship, the band, and the team of Jarding and Mudcat — who deservedly gets his own sidebar.
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Politics
Roll Call 's Cillizza looks at the Republican Senate campaign committee's seeming to gamble (are they?) on one candidate to win the Louisiana Senate race, despite the crowded GOP field and Gov. Mike Foster's support for another contender (and, though the story doesn't get into it, the White House's professed neutrality).
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Ohio Democratic Rep. Tony Hall officially resigns today to take his new United Nations job; his seat will be on the ballot on November 5 and the winner will be sworn in in January along with the rest of the 108th Congress.
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The Los Angeles Times ' Fineman says Alabama's campaign finance system may offer national party operatives a lesson in how to possibly skirt that federal-level soft-money ban that is scheduled to go into effect on November 6, by taking advantage of how campaign contributions are solicited and distributed by state PACs.
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Roll Call 's Keller looks at the personnel upheaval at Common Cause.
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Florida
Janet Reno and Bill McBride focused on their key base votes this weekend: McBride's middle-class, professional, and union Democrats, spanning North and Central Florida; and Reno's African-Americans, elderly, and environmentalists, concentrated in Central and South Florida.
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Question for consultants: is there any evidence that voters actually heed recorded announcements?
Because Reno's get-out-the-vote campaign consists of heavy phone-banking.
"Reno … is targeting her calls to black voters, asserting her credentials as an appointee of the ever-popular President Clinton."
"'As President Clinton's attorney general, I fought for after-school programs, to keep kids out of trouble, crack down on deadbeat parents and help put 100,000 more police on the streets,' she says in one message. 'Your vote is your voice, and together we will put people ahead of politics."'
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The McBride campaign is concerned that Gov. Jeb Bush's spectacular pre-general advertising blitz is causing damage. According to the Sentinel, "The McBride campaign is telephoning 170,000 "super-voters" — Democrats who voted in all three of their party's last primaries — with a mechanized call from Beatrice Crane, former human-resources director at Holland & Knight: 'Like you, I have been hearing a lot of Republican attacks on Bill McBride,' Crane states in phone calls that started Sunday and continue today. 'I know that Mr. McBride paid all of his employees good wages. Mr. McBride is a good man.'"
Targeted McBride voters will get AFL-CIO and Florida Education Association mailings.
The Talented Mr. Leibovich of the Washington Post 's Style section temporarily veers from his coverage of the Democrats who want to be president to apply his talents to profiling Janet Reno's "free-form" bid for Florida governor. Among the more memorable lines: "'I support you, Miss Reno,' says the man with the parrot on his shoulder, rolling his wheelchair through an intersection."
LNIK
And the Washington Times ' Miller wonders, where is Reno's support from Clinton Administration colleagues, including the FPOTUS? Part of the answer: Bill McBride's role in raising money for the Democratic party. Nothing to do with all those special counsel investigations …
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New York
Fred Dicker says that Tom Golisano will likely lose both his primaries tomorrow, but that, in a surprise reversal, he might still end up on the Liberal line. Roger Stone is nothing if not flexible.
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Classic tabloid story: the New York Post covers the sad passing of Rudy Giuliani's mother through the prism of Donna Hanover showing up at the funeral.
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California
Lyn Nofzinger went on the record last week disassociating himself from the Simon campaign. Now the Washington Times ' Ralph Z. Hallow gets Nofzinger on the record calling Simon and Simon strategist Sal Russo his "former friends," and offering some pretty tough words for the GOP in general.
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The Los Angeles Times veers from Simon's process issues for a moment to look at … Simon's ideoligical issues and the difficulty he is having in appealing to the center.
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Texas
Republican John Cornyn's Senate campaign announced that President Bush will headline a fundraising reception for Cornyn at the Hyatt in Houston on Saturday, September 28.
The Bush White House wants to win the Gramm seat badly, per the Dallas Morning News, and they will use profanity if they have to: "A Bush administration official said Democrat Ron Kirk is trying to exploit the historical significance of his Senate bid and he urged blacks to embrace Republican candidate John Cornyn." LINK
"'This is not an issue about black and white, it's an issue of representation,' U.S. Housing and Urban Develop.m.ent Deputy Secretary Alphonso Jackson said in Dallas. 'Ron Kirk is a liberal, and liberals take any initiative they can to win.'"
"Mr. Jackson, who is black and the former executive director of the Dallas Housing Authority, said blacks should put aside desires to see Mr. Kirk become the first minority senator elected from Texas."
"'It's not about making history,' said Mr. Jackson, who supported Mr. Kirk's mayoral campaigns and describes himself as a friend. 'If you're not capable of being a senator, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference. … We've got to get out of the nonsense that we've got to be the first.'"
John Williams notes that voters will "judge harshly" any candidate who actually campaigns or does anything campaign-related on September 11.
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Obvious, you say — but we'd bet at least one major candidate somewhere, somehow, manages to do something on Wednesday that sparks the ire of the opposition party.
There was a big, rah-rah bipartisan candidates forum yesterday in Houston. But everyone basically agreed on everything. LINK
Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia Inquirer had a Sunday big-think article that attributed changes in the state's political climate to demographics. LINK
Massachusetts
The Boston Herald's Sciacca devotes his column to the prospect of a Romney/Rappaport GOP ticket this fall, but doesn't explain what Ron Kaufman is doing to fix this problem.
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Iowa
The Des Moines Register has a smart assessment of Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack's first four years. LINK
On Sunday, David Yepsen called Senator Tom Harkin's seniority an important "investment" that Iowa voters not easily be cajoled to disregard.
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New Hampshire
The Note spent the weekend in the Granite State, and brings back these Larry King-style observations:
1) The eight-candidate Republican field for the the state's 1st Congressional District are all lovely people, and they would make a great sitcom, reality show, or even Trivial Pursuit category ("Which one of the eight was once a 'Good Morning, America' intern?" or "Which one of the eight hounded The Note for an old 'O'Reilly' appearance tape?").
2) The large pizzas at the Pizza Market near Saint A's are really, really … large.
3) If he stays on this trajectory, Professor Dante Scala is going to be a big '04 star.
4) It might seem typical and simple, but you can really buy just about anything at the Center of the Universe (Center of New Hampshire) Holiday Inn gift shop.
5) The new bar at said Center is going to rock in '04, as we have previously suggested.
6) If you haven't been to the temporary (through '05!) Delta shuttle terminal at Logan, you should know: forget about anything but direct-to-Machester-Airport flights for the primary.
7) If you don't understand how the new WMUR-Union Leader relationship has revolutionized the state's political landscape, you (can we be honest for a moment?) don't understand New Hampshire politics.
8) The Note's appreciation for the Manchester Four Points' cable package and proximity to Friendly's knows no limits.
New Hampshire's amazing and bountiful political coverage yielded a lot of newspaper prediction columns this weekend. Kevin Landrigan's Sunday one in the Nashua Telegraph is probably the one you should read, recognizing, as his column suggests, that on the GOP side, either of the two could still win the Senate race, any of the three could win the gubernatorial race, and any of the top three could win the contested House race.
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Colorado
Key points of Saturday night's Colorado Senate debate, courtesy of the Denver Post: "'[Tom] Strickland [D] brought up his record of prosecuting white-collar crime while U.S. attorney and accused [GOP Senator Wayne] Allard of failing to take any effective action in the current high-profile corporate scandals. In one of the few unveiled zingers of the evening, he said Allard's actions would not earn him a place in 'Profiles in Courage.'"
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"Allard shot back that he has been lobbying hard for corporate reform, and in fact, bucked his party to do so. That, he said to a burst of applause, makes him worthy of a profile in courage."
We wonder what the GOP Senate campaign committee thinks about their incumbent claiming he's courageous for standing up to his party, since in doing so, by his account, he is implicitly saying the GOP is against corporate reform.
Then again: we know what they think about it. Like the other party committees, all they care about is victory in their races. As the noted Western political theorist Al Davis says, "Just win, baby."
Arizona
The New York Times ' Janofsky continues his Western globe-trotting ways, suggesting, after a drop-in on Phoenix, that it might end up being a my-tee-fine year to be a Democrat in Arizona, in least in two US House races and, maybe, in the gubernatorial battle, owing in part to the state's budget crunch. LINK
North Carolina
The Washington Post 's Broder raises questions about how well Democratic frontrunner and Establishment favorite Erskine Bowles will do in tomorrow's primary against African-American former legislator Dan Blue (among other candidates), who has some strength at the grassroots. "With the contest being held at a time unfamiliar to North Carolina voters, and the news being dominated by talk of war with Iraq and commemorations of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, fewer than one-sixth of the eligible voters are expected to take part."
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South Carolina
The major-party candidates for governor and Senate, among other races, will face off this morning at an AARP forum in Newberry, SC.
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The State's Bandy on Sunday looked at the stakes for Democrats in the governor's race, which will show "whether Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges' 1998 victory was a fluke or whether it marked revitalization of the party," and noted that Republicans have a geographically balanced top of the ticket (Senate and governor).
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Meanwhile, Hodges (D) and GOP challenger Mark Sanford have pledged to run clean campaigns.
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Washington, D.C.
The Washington Post has a nice scene-setter for tomorrow's mayoral primary, exploring how "[t]he next mayor will have to govern a city increasingly divided along a gulf of class, income, race and geography."
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DC voters will be confronted with a new voting system tomorrow: "When voters check in tomorrow, they will be given a paper ballot and a yellow No. 2 pencil."
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Wisconsin
For you national reporters who need to write a paragraph about the Wisconsin gubernatorial primaries for your September 10 overview, this AP story has sufficient detail.
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Retail politics on Sunday in Wisconsin means tailgating at Lambeau Field, naturally. LINK
Minnesota
Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tim Penny still gets near-unanimously positive coverage, which means either that the press is aching for him to win, or that the DFL and GOP opposition research folks haven't made any breakthroughs — or maybe he's just that good. LINK
Alabama
A poll of likely voters gives GOP nominee Bob Riley a slim but statistically insignificant lead over Gov. Don Siegleman (D). LINK
Bush Administration Strategy/Personality
All this week, we're going to read about and see looks at how the terrorist attacks changed Bush and his presidency.
The New York Daily News ' DeFrank wrote on Sunday that Bush "steadfastly believes he has been placed on Earth and in the Oval Office to conduct his own holy war to save America and the world from terror's scourge."
"Even in private, Bush has changed perceptibly. Several aides, friends and political allies describe him as noticeably more somber than before the attacks — even in private settings."
"Even his leisure lifestyle has been affected. Another friend says that before Sept. 11, Bush almost never talked shop when unwinding with old pals at the White House, Camp David or his Texas ranch. Now, 'it's a rare conversation when he doesn't raise this subject,' the friend says."
"Another notable change: Before Sept. 11, he was a total sports nut. Cruising the major leagues with the help of the White House Communications Agency's video capabilities, Bush would watch baseball for hours on end on weekends."
"Some political advisers, including Vice President Cheney, contend the public's support for Bush's terror efforts will help mitigate concerns about the economy and the stock market decline in November's critical midterm elections."
USA Today 's Keen notes how "Bush usually scorns introspection. But in interviews, his senior aides described the president's reactions to the events of the past year. One aide shared his own diary entries. Those who work closely with Bush described his emotions, his occasional alarm and the temporary loss of his sense of humor."
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Shockingly, strikingly, amazingly, Jamie Gangel got a Walker's Point exclusive with Mr. and Mrs. 41, which aired this morning on "Today." The gauzy on-camera portion included nothing but the usual hard-hitting exchange that occurs when these three get together (as they do, oh, about three times a year).
Ms. Gangel tagged live her taped segment by telling Matt that the former President wouldn't comment on Iraq, except to say that there is no disagreement between 41 and 43.
Thus we were spared the usual "Now, Jamie, you are trying to get me in trouble," followed by Mrs. Bush saying something like, "Well, I can say it," followed by 41 saying something like, "Watch out there, Silver Fox; you are going to get us BOTH in trouble," followed by all three of them breaking up in chummy, convulsive laughter.
ABCNEWS' Shipman's PrimeTime interview with the woman claiming to be Saddam Hussein's mistress, airing this Thursday, could help the White House build their case against Hussein, since the woman tells Ship.m.an she heard that Hussein met with Osama bin Laden in the mid 1990s and gave bin Laden money.
The Washington Post 's Howie Kurtz says the president and First Lady are so ticked off over a US News report on the twins' Secret Service protection that they may cancel a scheduled interview with the magazine.
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Media
Page 86 of the New York Post is a full-page ad for Brit Hume's interview with the First Lady, which airs tonight. Don't take our telling you that the approximate ratio of the size of the picture of Brit to the size of the picture of Mrs. Bush to be about three to one as an indication that our respect for our former colleague has gone down one iota.
We still, for instance, regularly re-tell, with attribution, Brit's story of the lesson he learned from the legendary Jack Anderson (Google him, you younger readers.) about how to get your calls returned as a reporter. When the assistant to the person you are calling asks in what the call is in reference to, say: "Malfeasance."
Page Sixers: you need to understand the lovable, lovely Wolf Blitzer to know that he meant no harm with his line to the "Inside Edition" reporter, assuming he actually said it. It is so Wolf, and so harmless.
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— 10:20 am, President Bush meets with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Detroit
— 11:10 am, President Bush views customs demonstrations, followed by remarks on border security, Fort Street Cargo Facility, Detroit
— 12 noon, Senate meets to consider nominations, appropriations and homeland security
— 12:30 pm, House meets for morning business, followed by suspensions
— 2:50 pm, President Bush arrives back at the White House
— 6:00 pm, President and Mrs. Bush attend Concert for America 2002, Kennedy Center, DC
— 6:00 pm, Vice President Cheney's interview with Jim Lehrer on September 11 and Iraq airs
— Sept. 10: Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina and New York primaries (Florida: Democratic primary for governor; New Hampshire: Republican primary for Senate and primaries on both sides for governor; North Carolina: Democratic and Republican primaries for Senate; New York: Democratic primary for governor); Arizona primary; District of Columbia primary; Maryland primary; Minnesota primary; Rhode Island primary;
Vermont primary; Wisconsin primary
— Sept. 11-14: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 32nd Annual Legislative Conference, DC — Sept. 12-14: United Nations General Assembly meets, New York
— Sept. 13: NY Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton fundraises for Maine Senate candidate Chellie Pingree, Portland — Sept. 14: Former Vice President Al Gore addresses CBC Legislative Conference, DC
— Sept. 13-14: Georgia Republican Party "Road to Majority" conference, Augusta — Sept. 13: Former President Clinton campaigns for MI gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Granholm and others, Michigan
— Sept. 13: Rev. Jesse Jackson, others lead march against Justice Department, DC — Sept. 13: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigns for ME Senate candidate Chellie Pingree
— Sept. 13: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigns for Rep. Patrick Kennedy, RI — Sept. 13: Retail sales figure for August due, 8:30 a.m.
— Sept. 15-16: Yom Kippur — Sept. 16-17: Rep. Dick Gephardt visits New Hampshire — Sept. 16: Montana Senate candidates debate
— Sept. 17: Massachusetts primary (Democratic primary for governor)
— Sept. 17: President Bush campaigns for Lamar Alexander, Nashville
— Sept. 18: Former President H.W. Bush headlines fundraiser for GOP Senate nominee Lamar Alexander, TN
— Sept. 18: NY Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hosts fundraiser at her home for Iowa House candidate Julie Thomas, DC — Sept. 18: Consumer Price Index figure for August due at 8:30 a.m.
— Sept. 19: Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates debate, Happy Valley, Penn. — Sept. 19: Housing starts report for August due at 8:30 a.m.
— Sept 19: Vice President Dick Cheney fundraises for Vermont Republican Party
— Sept. 20: Filing fate for FEC August monthly reports
—Sept. 20-22: Sen. John Edwards hosts retreat, Pinehurst, North Carolina. — Sept. 22: Colorado Senate candidates debate
— Sept. 22: 4th Annual Great North Woods Lumberjack Championships, Berlin, New Hampshire
— Sept. 23: New York State Democratic Party "reorganization" meeting, Syracuse
— Sept. 23: Montana Senate candidates debate
— (tentative) Sept 27: Florida gubernatorial candidates debate, Jacksonville
— Sept. 23: President Bush campaigns for Senate candidate Doug Forrester, New Jersey — Sept. 24: Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meets — Sept. 24: Consumer Confidence figure for September due at 8:30 a.m. — Sept. 25: Sen. John F. Kerry appears at Christian Science Monitor breakfast — Sept. 26: New home sales figures for August due — Sept. 27: Final 2nd Quarter GDP figure due
— Sept. 27-29: California Republican Party convention — Sept. 27-29: National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling convention, Dallas
— Sept. 29: DCCC mega-fundraiser, hosted by Rep. Dick Gephardt and featuring Barbra Streisand, Los Angeles
— Sept. 30: Discovery ends in McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative). — Sept. 30: Tennessee Senate candidates debate
— Sept. 30: 401(k) statements begin to roll out. — Sept. 30: Third quarter campaign finance period closes
— Sept. 30: Statement from Vice President Cheney is due to judge in Judicial Watch/Halliburton lawsuit, Houston — Oct. 1: Federal pre-general campaign finance period begins
— Oct. 4: Al Sharpton's birthday — Oct. 4: Employment data from September due
— Oct. 5: Tri-state's Largest Chili Cook-Off, Dubuque, Iowa
— Oct. 5: Sen. Chris Dodd keynotes Ohio Democratic Party dinner — Oct. 5: Iowa Democratic Party Jefferson/Jackson dinner, keynoted by Gov. Howard Dean and Sen. John Kerry.
— Oct. 5: Colorado Senate candidates to debate
— Oct. 6: South Carolina Senate candidates debate, Charleston
—Oct; 6: 30 day residency requirement deadline for voters in many states
— Oct. 7: Michigan gubernatorial candidates debate
— Oct. 7: South Dakota Senate candidates debate — Oct. 11: Retail sales figure for September due
—Oct. 11-12: Christian Coalition's "God Bless America—One Nation Under God Road to Victory 2002" conference, DC
— Oct. 12: Sen. John McCain hosts Saturday Night Live, New York
— Oct. 13: Iowa State Hand-Cornhusking contest, Kimballton, Iowa
— Oct. 13: Tennessee Senate candidates debate
— (tentative) Oct. 14: Arkansas Senate candidates to debate
— Oct. 15: Michigan gubernatorial candidates debate
— Oct: 15: Minnesota Senate candidate debate, Moorehead
— Oct. 16: Federal pre-general campaign finance period ends
— Oct. 17: Minnesota Senate candidate debate, Rochester
— Oct. 18: New Mexico gubernatorial candidates debate — Oct. 18: Consumer Price Index figure for September due
— Oct. 18: South Carolina Senate candidates debate, Clemson — Oct. 18: New Hampshire Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, with Sen. John Edwards as host
— Oct. 20: South Carolina Senate candidates debate
— Oct. 20: Alabama gubernatorial candidates debate
— Oct. 20: Tennessee Senate candidates debate — Oct. 21: Index of leading economic indicators for September figure due
— Oct. 21: South Dakota Senate candidates debate
— Oct. 21: Minnesota Senate candidates debate, St. Cloud
— Oct. 22: Florida gubernatorial candidates debate
— Oct. 23: (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: (tentative) Missouri Senate candidates debate — Oct. 25: League of Conservation Voters — Oct. 25: Durable goods orders, new home sales and existing home sales figures due
— Oct. 25: South Carolina Senate candidates debate, Columbia
— Oct. 26: New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's birthday
— Oct. 28: Minnesota Senate candidates debate — Oct. 30: (tenative) South Dakota Senate candidates debate
—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. 4: Deadline for opening briefs, McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative). — Nov. 5: Election Day — Nov. 6: New FEC disclosure rules go into effect
— 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 Governor Howard Dean's birthday.
— Nov. 18: Deadline for opposition briefs, McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative).
— Nov. 18: Moussaoui trial: jury questionnaire distributed
— Nov. 20: Delaware Senator. Joseph Biden's birthday
— Nov. 21-23: Republican Governors Association annual meeting, Dana Point, California
— 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 Senator Tom Daschle's birthday
— Dec. 9: Moussaoui trial voir dire: jury voir dire
— Dec. 11: Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's birthday
— Dec. 13: Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's birthday
— Dec. 26: California Governor. Gray Davis's birthday
— Jan 6, 2003: Opening arguments (tenative) for Moussaoui trial
— Jan. 30, 2003: Vice President Dick Cheney's birthday
— Jan. 31, 2003: Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt's birthday — Jan. 31, 2003: Year end campaign finance reports due to FEC
— Feb. 24, 2003: Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman's birthday
— March 11, 2003: Georgia Governor Roy Barnes's birthday
— March 31, 2003: Al Gore's birthday
— May 19, 2003: Al and Tipper Gore's 33rd wedding anniversary
— June 15, 2003: Senate/House/key adviser personal financial disclosure forms due
— 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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