—7:00 am: President Bush has breakfast with congressional leadership at the White House
—8:00 am: Sen. John Kerry meets voters, Cleveland, Ohio
—8:45 am: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks as part of the Brookings Institution's "Fighting Terror and the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction" program, New York, N.Y.
—9:30 am: The Senate convenes for legislative business
—9:45 am: Off-camera briefing by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan
—10:00 am: The U.S. Supreme Court meets to hand down decisions and hear arguments
—10:00 am: The House of Representatives convenes for legislative business
—10:00 am: Rep. Dennis Kucinich attends a rally at UMass Campus Center Auditorium, Amherst, Mass.
—10:00 am: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge testifies at Senate hearing on the President's FY2005 budget request for the Homeland Security Department, Washington, D.C.
—10:00 am: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies at an "Economic Outlook and Current Fiscal Issues" hearing before the House Budget Committee, Washington, D.C.
—10:50 am: President Bush meets with the President of Georgia, the White House
—11:00 am: Gen. Wesley Clark campaigns for Kerry at the Columbus Metropolitan Airport, Columbus, Ga.
—11:30 am: Rep. Kucinich attends a rally at Springfield City Hall, Springfield, Mass.
—12:00 pm: Sen. Kerry delivers a speech on jobs and the economy at the University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio
—12:45 pm: On-camera briefing by Press Secretary McClellan
—1:00 pm: Politics Live on ABC NEWS Live and AOL
—1:00 pm: Ralph Nader speaks at Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas
—1:15 pm: Elizabeth Edwards attends a PACE University Law School Roundtable, White Plains, N.Y.
—1:30 pm: RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie holds a news conference to discuss Sen. Kerry's voting record at RNC Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
—2:00 pm: Sen. John Edwards holds a rally at Pomona College, Claremont, Calif.
—2:00 pm: Gen. Clark is hosted by area mayors and local supporters at the Macon City Hall, Macon, Ga.
—2:30 pm: Rep. Kucinich gives a speech at Brookline High School, Brookline, Mass.
—3:00 pm: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist meets with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan at the Capitol
—3:45 pm: Mrs. Edwards attends a meeting with the New York Board of Rabbis at the Sutton Place Synagogue, New York, N.Y.
—4:00 pm: Rep. Kucinich gives a speech addressing the "Truth About Iraq" at Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass.
—4:30 pm: Gen. Clark addresses voters on behalf of Sen. Kerry at George M. Kirkland Conference Center, Albany, Ga.
—4:45 pm: Mrs. Edwards meets with Staten Island Ferry commuters, New York, N.Y.
—5:00 pm: Sen. Bill Frist meets with Gen. Richard Meyers, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Capitol
—5:30 pm: Rep. Kucinich attends a rally outside a T stop, Cambridge, Mass.
—6:00 pm: Sen. Kerry attends a rally at the Field House, Saint Paul, Minn.
—6:00 pm: Mrs. Edwards speaks with the Stars & Stripes Democratic Club, Brooklyn, N.Y.
—6:00 pm: Teresa Heinz Kerry attends a Latinos for Kerry rally with Rep. Villaraigosa on Olvera Street, Los Angeles, Calif.
—6:30 pm: Rep. Kucinich attends meeting with the press at the First Parish United Universalist Church, Cambridge, Mass.
—6:45 pm: Mrs. Edwards speaks with the Progressive Caribbean-American Democratic Club, Brooklyn, N.Y.
—7:00 pm: Rep. Kucinich gives a speech at the First Parish United Universalist Church, Cambridge, Mass.
—7:00 pm: Sen. Edwards holds a rally at the Manchester Center, Fresno, Calif.
—8:00 pm: Ralph Nader speaks at the University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas.
—10:00 pm: Mrs. Kerry speaks at a "Conversation on the Future of Education" event at UCSB, Santa Barbara, Calif.
—10:00 pm: Sen. Edwards holds a rally at the Tsakopolous Library Galleria, Sacramento, Calif.

NEWS SUMMARY

In the smash Broadway musical "The Producers," Roger de Bris says, "Of course that whole second act has to be rewritten. They're losing the war? Excuse me. It's too downbeat."

That seems to be the Democratic Party's analysis of why President Bush announced support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages.

Whatever one thinks about the merits of such an amendment, we are amazed (OK: not really) at the degree to which the Gang of 500 casts the President's decision in purely political terms -- rather than a response to the tens of millions of real Americans who are fundamentally freaked out by what is going on in (Nancy Pelosi's) San Francisco and (John Kerry's) Massachusetts.

While we wait for Vice President Cheney to finally agree to that long-standing, highly pending interview request from The Note, we gotta say that the notion that this election is going to be decided on gay marriage -- rather than the economy and who can keep America safe -- seems loopy to us.

(Of course, as the New York Sun's Josh Gerstein suggests in a Chris Black must-read, Mrs. Kerry seems determined to prove us wrong. LINK)

There will be flaps all year that come and go and come, but -- with all due respect to the son of a millworker -- this election STILL comes down to defining John Kerry, and there aren't enough Googling monkeys with Disney corporate IDs to track how that contest is going each and every minute.

For voters in three states last night (none general election battlegrounds), John Kerry had the scent of a winner.

ABC News' Dick Sheffield reports that John Kerry continued to rack up victories on Tuesday with his 18th win in 20 nomination contests. Kerry has now won roughly 31 percent of the total delegates needed to secure the nomination.

Last night's results:

Utah (100% reporting)
Kerry: 55%
Edwards: 30%
Kucinich: 7%

Idaho (100% reporting)
Kerry: 55%
Edwards: 22%
Dean: 11%
Uncommitted: 7 %
Kucinich: 5 %

Hawaii (92% reporting)
Kerry 46%
Kucinich 30%
Edwards 13%
Dean 9%

Delegates so far (pledged delegates and superdelegates combined)*:
Kerry 660
Edwards 195
Sharpton 15
Kucinich 10

Delegates needed to win the nomination: 2,162

Delegates at stake Feb. 24: 61

How Tuesday's delegates have been allocated thus far:
Kerry 29
Edwards 9
Kucinich 8

^* Utah's 15 Congressional District delegates will be allocated in our count on Wednesday afternoon.

Again, Kerry has now collected 31 percent of the 2,162 delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

Kerry has an overwhelming lead in the ABC News delegate estimate, with 660 overall delegates. Kerry has more than three times as many delegates as Sen. Edwards who places second in our estimate with 195 delegates.

This total includes (all together now!) both pledged delegates who are allocated according to their home state's primary and caucus results as well as "unpledged" delegates, known as "superdelegates," made up of state party leaders and activists, Democratic governors, members of congress, former presidents, vice-presidents, and national party chairmen.

President Bush eats breakfast with congressional leaders, and then meets with the President of Georgia at the White House.

Sen. Kerry is in Ohio and Minnesota.

Sen. Edwards is in California.

Rep. Kucinich is in Massachusetts.

Ralph Nader is in Texas.

February 24:

The Washington Post's William Branigan reports "Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts won Democratic presidential contests in Utah and Idaho tonight, tightening his grip on his party's nomination as he heads into a round of potentially decisive primaries next week." LINK

"Kerry Easily Defeats Edwards in Utah Primary," goes the headline from Kit Seelye's Utah piece. LINK

The Kerry winning streak is alive, reports the Los Angeles Times. Tuesday's states "experienced high voter turnouts Tuesday," which local party officials viewed "as an indication of the enthusiasm for unseating President Bush in many parts of the country." LINK

Rocky Barker of the Idaho Statesman reports on Kerry's win in Idaho, Noting that record numbers of voters turned out for the state's caucuses yesterday. LINK

Jody Genessy at the Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News notes that on a day of high turnout among Utahns, John Kerry gained even more momentum. Also, Lyndon LaRouche Jr. held an event at the Sheraton to protest being excluded from the ballot. LINK

Lynda Arakawa of The Honolulu Advertiser reports on Kerry's first place finish in the caucuses yesterday, where he picked up the large majority of votes. Following behind was Kucinich in what was a surprising second place finish for the long-shot candidate. LINK

The politics of gay marriage:

"President Bush on Tuesday declared his support for an amendment to the Constitution that would ban gay marriage, saying that the union of a man and a woman is 'the most fundamental institution of civilization' and that it cannot be separated from its 'cultural, religious and natural roots' without weakening society," writes the New York Times' Elizabeth Bumiller. LINK

The Washington Post's Allen and Cooperman report that "Bush has been talking about the issue for six months without formally endorsing an amendment, leaving some conservatives with the impression he made yesterday's announcement reluctantly." LINK

Los Angeles Times' Chen Notes that with his announcement yesterday, "Bush thrust the gay marriage issue squarely into the presidential campaign and all but ensured that the controversy would remain alive beyond the November election." LINK

Ron Brownstein writes those in the middle needn't apply; instead, both the President and his two challengers have "aimed their agendas and messages more at their political base than at swing voters." The result, says Brownstein, "is a developing debate in which each side is presenting choices that may seem shrill and doctrinaire to many of the swing voters who could ultimately decide the election."

"The president's embrace of the proposed amendment seems more likely to confirm rather than redefine the electorate's divisions. In particular, Bush's decision could fortify one of the nation's most powerful political trends: the inclination of Americans to divide between the parties more along cultural than economic lines."

Do read Dr. Whit Ayres on the gay marriage proposal. LINK

The Washington Post's Babington and Dewar Note "Congress's Republican leaders, facing a divided caucus and significant Democratic resistance, expressed deep reservations yesterday about President Bush's call for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages and suggested that other approaches be tried first." LINK

Does anyone have a whip count in either chamber?

In the wake of the President's proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage, the Washington Post's Dana Millbank examines the political implications of his shift from running as a war leader and a tax cutter to the "need to respond to the cries of social conservatives -- even if it meant losing some swing voters he needs in November." LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Hitt and Schlesinger report "President Bush charged into the intensifying culture wars Tuesday, announcing his support for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage."

Noting the politics of it all, the duo writes that the move "comes at a time when the president's poll numbers have been slipping -- with some showing him running behind his likely Democratic challenger" and "will help" the President "shore up his uneasy alliance with conservative activists, whose strong support for the Republican cause will be crucial this fall."

Boston Globe's Washington Notes that the issue of gay marriage "holds the prospect of serving as a high-profile point of contention between Bush and his Democratic rivals." LINK

"Political analysts say the emerging debate over the definition of marriage and the rights of gay men and lesbians is eclipsing long-standing controversies over abortion rights and other social issues," write USA Today's Page and Benedetto. LINK

And the national political reporters take their turn on the gay marriage issue: Chicago Tribune's Kemper: LINK

USA Today's Bayles and Stone offer a handy Q&A of what happened yesterday. LINK

A new Los Angeles Times poll finds "Californians are evenly divided over whether to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage, but most support allowing same-sex couples either to marry or form civil unions." Bill Carrick says the GOP should be careful of the fact that "support for gay rights positions among younger people suggested that focusing too heavily on the issue could come back to haunt" it in the future, while Dan Schnur "suggested that those numbers indicated same-sex marriage was the type of moral issue that could splinter Democratic support, particularly if it continued to receive prominent publicity." LINK

President Bush followed the "cardinal rule of politics" yesterday, pay attention to your party's base, when he endorsed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, writes Robin Toner of the New York Times. LINK

"Legal scholars are arguing that the wording of the one amendment to be introduced in Congress so far is too ambiguous to accomplish what the president and its sponsors say they intend," writes David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times. LINK

The Washington Post's Timothy Dwyer examines the opinions of supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, who question "whether altering the Constitution was the right way to go." LINK

Dean Murphy of the New York Times looks into the gay marriage debate in California, where pressure is mounting for legal action to be taken against San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. LINK

Roll Call's John Bresahan reports that Sen. Hatch "said he will not allow opponents of the amendment to bury it in the Judiciary Committee indefinitely and vowed to use whatever procedural steps needed to make sure the measure gets to the Senate floor."

Boston Globe's Milligan writes that even among the amendment's supporters, there is hesitation to take such a dramatic step, especially in an election year. LINK

Opponents of gay marriage in Massachusetts, including Gov. Mitt Romney, were pleased with the President's decision on the issue, though there was regret on one thing: "that it hadn't come sooner, when it might have altered the deadlock in the State House." Romney, a guest of the President at the White House on Sunday and Monday nights, said that the issue of gay marriage never came up in conversations with Bush earlier this week.

LINK

San Francisco Mayor Newsom said he would continue to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples at City Hall and criticized the President's decision. LINK

Reports the Los Angeles Times, voters in Missouri "overwhelmingly oppose gay marriage. They also solidly back the concept of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman." The issue of gay marriage, however, sure isn't topping the list of voter concerns in the Show-Me State. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: Bush-Cheney re-elect:

The Wall Street Journal's Seib calls Tuesday a "day to be nervous" over at the BC04 HQ because of "a new reading on Americans' confidence in the economy." Looking at the Conference Board's latest report, Seib finds "a glaring sign that voters are worried about where the economy is headed -- a worry surely attributable in part to rising concerns about jobs disappearing. Worse for the president, the number doesn't appear to be an aberration; earlier this month, the University of Michigan's similar survey of consumer sentiment fell just as sharply."

The Washington Post's David Broder reports "interviews with a number of those attending the annual midwinter meeting in Washington of the National Governors Association found agreement that the pocketbook issues of jobs and taxes are likely to determine whether President Bush can win a second term." LINK

Check out what the Democratic Governor of Oregon says about taxes, John Kerry, and George Bush!

Boston Globe columnist Robert Kuttner acknowledges that President Bush expressed his public support for the VP on Monday night but still says he "would not be at all surprised if Cheney were dropped from the Republican ticket." LINK

This is the kind of BosWash Chattering Class obsession that drives the POTUS and The Note absolutely to distraction; get over it.

Charlotte protesters gear up for the President's visit on Thursday, but because of "free speech zones" set up, they will not likely get anywhere near him, the Charlotte Observer writes. Scott Dodd Notes that protests make strange bedfellows "Islamic activist Jibril Hough and conservative Christian anti-abortion crusader 'Flip' Benham -- two people who agree on almost nothing -- were among those opposed to what they see as an attempt to stifle dissent." LINK

The Washington Post's Al Kamen writes about the transition of Iraq from its current governing body to an Iraqi leadership, and the way that it will effect the Bush Administration. LINK

The economy:

ABC News' Ramona Schindelheim reports that the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is releasing a report today, estimating that "760,000 jobless workers will have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits without receiving additional aid, according to new projections" by the group. "This suggests both that the job market continues to be soft and that the federal unemployment program should be restarted."

Big casino budget politics:

The Washington Times' Brian DeBose reports that the spending hawks are out in the Senate, with Republicans promising to trim $4 billion from President Bush's budget -- and the Pentagon may not be exempt. Republicans and key Democrats may call a budget truce, DeBose Notes, to avoid a filibuster, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn,), and Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), say they will cap the discretionary spending Congress controls at $814 billion. LINK

Big casino budget politics: Medicare:

The Washington Post's Ceci Connolly reports that "Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) threatened yesterday to hold up the nomination of Mark McClellan to run the federal Medicare program." LINK

The New York Times' Robert Pear reports that Senators Dorgan and Stabenow will "hold up the confirmation of a new Medicare chief until the Bush administration explained why it was adamantly opposing imports of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada." LINK

"Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a White House-backed effort to impose strict caps on jury awards in medical malpractice cases," writes the New York Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: the race for the nomination:

The Los Angeles Times' Anderson on one lesson the 2004 Democratic campaign already had yielded: "TV ads matter far less than many experts thought they would." LINK

Howard Dean is getting "conflicting advice from his closest advisers," report Elisabeth Rosenthal and Jim Ruttenberg of the New York Times, and his supporters are conflicted on how to vote come Super Tuesday. (We are very glad to see Karen Hicks here, too!) A "close aide to Dr. Dean said the former candidate's main advisers were of different minds about whether he should endorse anyone before the nominee was chosen." LINK

On the New York Times' editorial page, Gail Collins tries to winnow the field herself , writing it is time for Kucinich and Sharpton to step aside and let Kerry and Edwards really go head-to-head in a debate. LINK

Kerry:

Kerry did the round of network morning shows today, slamming the President on gay marriage and accusing him of trying to "divide the country" -- and defending against charges that he's a flip-flopper. A quick look:

On ABC's "Good Morning America," Kerry told Charlie Gibson that as a matter of law under the Defense of Marriage Act, the State of Ohio would not have to recognize a marriage performed in the State of Massachusetts.

Kerry said that he does not favor repealing DOMA, even though he voted against it in the Senate based on the rationale that it represented an "outright effort of gay bashing on the floor of the United States." He compared DOMA to President Bush's effort to amend the Constitution and said they were both done for the same purpose: "to divide the country." (There was no mention of President Clinton's pretty key role in signing DOMA.).

Kerry threw in another jab at President Bush: "If you're a real conservative, you would not tamper with the Constitution during an election season."

Regarding Bush's charge that he has flip flopped on tax cuts, NAFTA, the Patriot Act and the liberation of Iraq, Kerry said: "I oppose the way the president is implementing those efforts. I don't oppose those efforts."

When NBC's Matt Lauer asked Kerry to break down the difference between his and President Bush's policy on gay marriage, Kerry said that he wouldn't amend the Constitution for "political purposes." "I think it's absolutely wrong to ask for a constitutional amendment when for 200 years the states have been doing this themselves," Kerry continued. Of Bush, he said, "I think he's doing this as a political wedge-driving strategy."

Later, he added: "This is a President who's in trouble doing whatever he can to drive wedges to change the topic. I don't think anybody will be fooled& I think people want to know how to get back to work."

He defended his NAFTA vote here too, citing the act's enforcement rather than its provisions. "For years a lot of us have been talking about the need to enforce these trade agreements," he said. "We put those provisions in the trade agreements. And this administration has chosen not to enforce them."

And When Lauer asked Kerry why he responds to criticisms of his voting against certain weapons systems with defenses of his patriotism, Kerry replied that "If they want to talk about a specific weapons system I'd be happy to. But that's not what they do. They lump it under the auspices of defense. That's not what they did to John McCain. That's not what they did to Max Cleland. I'm not going to allow them to do that."

He then criticized the Administration, as he does in his stump speeches, for cutting troops salaries and cited the story of his favorite family which bought their sons their own flack jackets.

On the CBS "Early Show," Kerry called the President a "walking contradiction and a trail of broken promises," and said, "I think the President is trying to divide America. I think he's in trouble and so he's reaching for an issue to try to-you know, sort of change the topic."

The Washington Post's Balz and Farhi write that Kerry "fired back on Tuesday, accusing President Bush of being a 'walking contradiction' who routinely says one thing and does another." LINK

Reports the New York Times' Halbfinger, Kerry "accused the Bush administration on Tuesday of helping foster the political in stability in Haiti that has given rise to the armed rebellion threatening to overthrow" its current government, using the adjectives "'stupid'" and "'inept'" as he promised to assemble a "'security team' to show voters 'that Democrats actually have a bench that is prepared to be put in the game that can keep America safe.'" We bet we hear more of this heading into the fall . . . LINK

The Boston Globe's Healy offers this wonderfully colorful paragraph: "Several political analysts said that while the campaign's ground game has always reflected the taciturn nature of its candidate -- nuanced attacks on rivals, kitchen-sink explanations of policy -- Kerry's drive toward the nomination has become far more cautious than earlier in the winter when he was the race's scrappy underdog."LINK

The Boston Herald has an investigative piece on whether Kerry mortgaged his Boston townhouse for nearly twice as much as its assessed value, raising the possibility that his wife in effect made a large donation that gets campaign finance lawyers all giddy. (And, Herald friends, what's with "Kerry Heinz"?) LINK

The Boston Globe's Johnson reports on Sen. Graham's plan to endorse Kerry. LINK

How long before somebody gets comments from Kerry on the state legislative redistricting situation in Boston that a federal court has said is necessary because the districts marginalize minority voters? LINK and LINK

From ABC News Kerry campaign reporter Ed O'Keefe:

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, Feb. 24 -- Changes abound on the Kerry campaign. For staffers, gone are the days of brown loafers and tie-less necks; here are the days of full suits and crisp shirts.

For Sen. Kerry, even when in average man mode, the dress code remains formal. While touring a long-vacant Ohio mill Tuesday, Kerry donned his famous Iowa duck boots and New Hampshire Timberland "barn coat" over a blue pin-striped suit and blue shirt, accented with a palmetto tree pattern pink tie.

Kerry walked through the abandoned Youngstown Sheet Tube, which closed in 1984, alongside three locked out union employees of RMI Titanium in Weathersfield, Ohio -- 12 miles from the Kerry event site.

Earlier this week, Sen. Edwards riled a crowd of 200 outside the RMI plant gates, whose union workers have been locked out since Oct. 26, 2003 because of disputes over salary and benefit reductions.

The Kerry campaign proudly announced their latest ad Tuesday, which calls the Bush jobs record an "astonishing failure" by boasting in an e-mail press release, "In Ohio today, John Kerry stood with locked-out workers in a closed steel mill in Struthers and then walked with those workers to a revitalized plant to see first hand the manufacturing jobs that can be created when communities invest in working America." The spot goes up Wednesday statewide in Ohio and in several cities in upstate New York.

Inside Astros Shapes of Struthers, Ohio, Kerry seemed to have trouble connecting with the 90 manufacturing plant workers gathered at the closed to the public event. Kerry twice referred to Ohio as Iowa, answering seven questions in 27 minutes, with three of the responses taking well over five minutes.

In a scene eerily reminiscent of a pre-staff shake-up Kerry, the Senator drifted from a question on retirement pensions into a riff on "No Child Left Behind," explained the Bush Administration cuts in veterans' benefits by blaming failures inside the Office of Management and Budget, and labeled the Bush Administration's foreign policy a "folly."

Read more from the trail with Kerry on abcnews.com: LINK

Edwards:

The New York Times' Rick Lyman writes that Sen. Edwards is focusing "his efforts on three fertile constituencies -- Southerners, union workers and Dean supporters," in order to have a strong showing on Super Tuesday. Said Edwards Tuesday, "'We've got to start changing the momentum.'" LINK

The New York Post's Orin reports on Edwards' attempt to the get the President to pay attention to him, too. Writes Orin, "Edwards has been unable to capitalize on his surprisingly strong second-place finish to Kerry in Wisconsin last week" and his best chance to turn things around could be tomorrow eve's debate. LINK

The Boston Globe's Mishra has the Senator stumpin' in Georgia. LINK

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Moni Basu reports on Edwards campaigning in Georgia and emphasizing the differences between Kerry and himself over trade. LINK

From ABC News' Edwards campaign reporter Gloria Riviera:

HOUSTON, TEXAS, Feb. 25 -- When it's a two-man race, something's got to give. For John Edwards, one of those things is the solitude of his sacred Run Time. It is a time when staff, press and supporters are left behind and the Senator happily pounds out five miles.

No more. Tuesday in Atlanta, Edwards embarked upon his very first "Secret Service and Me" run on the campaign trail. Neither the campaign nor the agents were forthcoming with details. But, it can be confirmed Edwards kept pace and saved face running with several agents significantly younger than his 50 years.

Whether the Edwards campaign is keeping pace with the Kerry campaign in terms of advertisements is another question. The campaign concedes that sure, at this time the Kerry camp has spent more than they have on ad buys in Ohio, Georgia and New York. But they also say that once all is said and done the ultimate Edwards effort will be competitively aggressive. So far they have purchased air time in multi-day, as opposed to multi-week, segments. They will not announce plans past what the public buys already lay out, choosing instead to keep that information far from press reports and (hopefully) the Kerry camp until all is said and done.

March 9 anyone?

Having left Georgia for Texas in the late afternoon, Sen. Edwards greeted a crowd of about 300 strong at the Stephen F. Austin High school with the following, "Welcome to Texas, where we are going to carry this state next November." What is far more Notable than that decree is the fact that the campaign is clearly looking ahead to March 9. There are even whispers of March 16 buzzing about.

A whole new identity has befallen Edwards' press avails. The theme is in and out in less than than 10 and preferably less than five questions. However, at Tuesday's avail he did hang on long enough to offer a meager explanation of his stance on gay marriage. On the day before he is to be in San Francisco, Edwards said he just doesn't "support gay marriage personally." Pressed by CNN's Candy Crowley to explain why, Edwards launched into a lengthy discourse on his stance, "I don't think it is the right thing to do." He was whisked away a nanosecond after the last word was out of his mouth.

In the past Edwards has said he simply does not think the country is ready for gay marriage. He believes it should be for each state to decide, and is adamantly opposed to Bush's proposal to change the Constitution.

Read more from the trail with Edwards on abcnews.com: LINK

Nader:

The press remains skeptical of Ralph Nader's presidential run. When was the last time we saw such unanimity between the mainstream and alternative media? It's enough to make one wonder what Mr. Nader's been reading.

The Oregonian's Jeff Mapes looks at how Nader might fare this year in the Beaver State. Answer: not well. LINK

Sun Times' Cindy Richards on why there's no need for Nader: LINK

Ditto from the Dallas Morning News. LINK

"Mr. Nader's notion that there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties is absurd. Because of the two competing visions of America's place in the world, this is likely to be the most consequential presidential election in a generation."

The Boston Globe's Scot Lehigh calls Nader a "sinner" and a "pariah." LINK

Miami Herald's Robert Steinback on Nader's "quixotic crusade." LINK

The Baltimore Sun's editorial board says Nader is only hurting Nader. LINK

"Now he risks capping a distinguished career as a social agitator with a humiliating comeuppance. Already, he's being described as an egomaniac run amok, a faded folk hero more enamoured with attention for himself than with any of the causes he serves."

And the view on Nader from the alternative press: Mother Jones' Will Tacy on the progressive anti-Nader backlash: LINK

Norman Solomon of alternative 'zine Tom Paine says Nader risks his lauded legacy. LINK

Taking a look at Nader post-2000, Writer Micah Sifry, once a fervent Nader supporter, writes "there's more to be said about how Nader hasn't even fulfilled the promises he made in 2000 to keep building an independent political movement, how he disappeared from sight during the Florida recount, and how he treated the Green Party. But on this first reaction to his announcement, I'm left with one last irony to observe. At the end of the day, Nader contradicts himself. 'We need more civic and political energies inside the campaign,' he says, meaning more candidacies. But when it comes to listening to the civic and political voices of others, he stands alone."

Ouch. LINK

Now let's look at the math. Nader faces a formidable, but not impossible, challenge of getting on states' ballots by November. He says his plan is to tackle the requirements of all 50 states, a task that will require him to get almost a million signatures. By throwing money at the effort, Nader could pay a petitioner company to get these signatures for him. But he says he will rely instead on legions of willing young volunteers who, he says, are banging down his doors to help.

Swing State	Signatures needed	Deadline	Greens Ballot Status	Bush 2000	Gore 2000	Nader 2000	# of Nader Votes
Ariz.	est. 10,000	June 9	ON	51%	45%	3%	45,605
Ark.	1,000	Aug. 2	ON	51%	45%	1.46%	13,421
Fla.	93,024	Sept. 1	ON	48.85%	48.84%	1.63%	97,488
Ill.	25,000	June 21	ON	43%	55%	2%	103,759
Iowa	1,500	Aug. 15	ON	48.22%	48.54%	2%	29,374
La.	pay fee	Sept. 7	ON	53%	44%	1%	20,473
Mich.	31,776	July 15	ON	46%	51%	2%	84,165
Mo.	10,000	July 26	ON	58%	41%	1%	8,122
Nev.	4,805	July 9	ON	50%	46%	2%	15,008
N.H.	3,000	Aug. 11	ON	48%	47%	4%	22,188
N.M.	14,527	Sept. 7	ON	47.8%	47.9%	4%	21,251
Ohio	5,000	Aug. 19	ON	50%	46%	3%	117,857
Ore.	15,306	Aug. 24	ON	46.5%	46.96%	5%	77,357
Pa.	23,000	Aug. 2	ON	46%	51%	2%	103,392
Tenn.	25	Aug. 19	ON	51%	47%	1%	19,781
Wash.	200	Aug 25	ON	45%	50%	4%	103,002
W.Va.	12,963	Aug 2	ON	52%	46%	2%	10,680
Wis.	2,000	Sept. 14	ON	47.61%	47.8%	4%	94,070

Ohio:

The Chicago Tribune's Jeff "Rhymes with Felony" Zeleny looks at Kerry and Edwards in the key state of Ohio, and Notes the three issues that voters are concerned about and the Democratic contenders are hammering: jobs, jobs, and jobs. LINK

Campaigning in Ohio, Kerry taunted Bush on the economy, reports the Los Angeles Times. (The folks in Youngstown, however, seem to have an issue with the Massachusetts Senator . . .) LINK

In Ohio, there is an "'enormous bitterness'" when it comes to the topic of jobs and trade, which could play into the hands of John Edwards, writes the New York Times' R. W. Apple Jr., who more than once evokes the idea of an Edwards "upset" in the Buckeye State. LINK

California:

The Los Angeles Times' Slater writes that because of Kerry's enviro-focused talk, Edwards, by comparison, "often comes across as the jobs-first candidate, with other topics taking a back seat. And he has occasionally knocked heads with environmentalists over regulations that would affect his largely rural state, including some farm bills." LINK

New York:

The Washington Post's Michael Powell Notes that the historically aggressive New York primary scene is anything but this election year. LINK

Georgia:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Jim Galloway sizes up the city mouse/country mouse strategies for courting Georgia's voters. LINK

ABC News Vote 2004: The bus logs:

As the campaigns go national, so do our campaign buses. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at their daily logs.

From White Bus producer Sandy Nunez:

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Ursula to the Pizza Guy: "Excuse me sir, are you aware that there is a pigeon in your kitchen?"
Pizza Guy back to Ursula: "You want a cheese pizza or what?"
Too tired to fight, Ursula responds: "Sure."