—8:30 am: Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun keynotes the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty breakfast, Nashville
—9:00 am: Senate convenes for legislative business
—9:00 am: House convenes for legislative business
—12:00 pm: Senator Joe Lieberman addresses the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference, Dearborn, Mich.
—3:00 pm: Senator John Kerry addresses the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference, Dearborn, Mich.
—3:40 pm: Senator John Edwards addresses the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference, Dearborn, Mich.
—4:00 pm: Bush-Cheney 2004 Chairman Marc Racicot addresses the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference, Dearborn, Mich.
—4:30 pm: Congressman Gephardt addresses the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference, Dearborn, Mich.
—6:30 pm: Arab American Institute's gala banquet featuring Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Michigan Democratic Chair Butch Hollowell and DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe, Bint Jebail Cultural Center, Dearborn, Mich.
—7:00 pm: Ambassador Moseley Braun delivers remarks at the Pan Africa Freedom Awards Banquet, Nashville
—9:20 pm: Vice President Cheney delivers remarks at Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute of Public Policy 10th Anniversary Celebration Gala, Houston

NEWS SUMMARY

In honor of the mourning citizens in two of America's great political cities — both with bigger-than-life mayors who are sometimes hard to understand and (apparently) real-life curses — there will be no summary today.

(Also: we are a little sleepy.)

President Bush is in Tokyo on the first leg of his trip today. He's already had some fantastic photo ops, chronicled by a jet-lagged and bored-seeming White House pool.

Vice President Cheney will deliver remarks at Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute of Public Policy 10th Anniversary Celebration Gala in Houston today.

Six Democratic presidential candidates will address the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference individually today and tomorrow in Dearborn, Michigan.

General Clark was scheduled to go, but he has declined unexpectedly due to a cold. Congressman Kucinich was also scheduled to go, but now he will phone in from D.C. Reverend Sharpton also will not attend.

Governor Dean is in New York this morning for private meetings and then flies to Iowa to campaign. He will address the AAI conference on Saturday in Dearborn, Michigan. He heads to New Hampshire on Sunday.

Senator Kerry is scheduled to be in Dearborn today for the AAI conference. He is set to campaign in Iowa this weekend.

General Clark is in Little Rock resting up. He has no public events planned for the weekend.

Senator Edwards is in Dearborn today for the AAI conference. He campaigns in Virginia on Saturday and in New Hampshire on Sunday.

Congressman Gephardt is in Dearborn today for the AAI conference. He campaigns in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa this weekend.

Senator Lieberman is in Dearborn today for the AAI conference. Be sure to tune in "This Week" for George Stephanopoulos' On-the-Trail with Senator Joe Lieberman. Don't miss it! Joe Lieberman spent the week Winnebago-ing across the country and George is on the scene.

Also stay tuned Sunday as House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas joins George to talk Medicare reform for the kick-off of ABC News' week-long series "Critical Condition: Health Care in America."

Congressman Kucinich will be in D.C. today for business in the House. He campaigns in Hawaii this weekend.

Reverend Sharpton is in D.C. for private meetings, including a visit to BET to watch the creation of get-out-the-vote commercials sponsored by Bob Johnson and BET. He campaigns in Virginia this weekend.

Ambassador Moseley Braun campaigns in Tennessee today. On Saturday, she will campaign in West Virginia and address the AAI conference in Dearborn, Michigan.

"Eight Democratic presidential candidates scheduled to address the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference starting today in Dearborn may learn there's no such thing as a single Arab voice, unified concern or sure vote," the Detroit News reports. LINK

The staffs of all the campaigns will ask their pollsters what Stan Greenberg's numbers mean (See below for more on that.).

ABC News Vote 2004: The Invisible Primary:

Thanks to James Carville and Stan Greenberg (but not, Note well, Corpster Bob Shrum), there's a new survey out of Democratic voters in early primary (and caucus) states. Here's Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times. LINK

"A new survey of Democratic voters in three states with key early contests in the presidential race finds the party united in hostility toward President Bush but divided on how aggressively its eventual nominee should challenge his policies on taxes and Iraq."

"The poll found former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean maintaining a strong lead in New Hampshire. But its numbers suggested that in Iowa, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri may have regained the initiative from Dean. In South Carolina, six candidates were bunched closely together in the poll, conducted by a Democratic advocacy group called Democracy Corps."

More on the numbers — particularly on Iraq — below in the politics of national security.

Above all, Democrats want someone who can win, the AP's Ron Fournier reports. LINK

Candidates take Note: "More than half of Americans think the United States either is going in the wrong direction or has no direction at all, according to a new survey released Thursday," reports Knight Ridder's Alaina Sue Potrikus. LINK

Keying off of recently filed FEC reports, the AP has a must-read look at how much money the Democratic candidates have raised and spent on TV ads so far, and where those ads are airing. LINK

Senator McCain criticized Dean, Kerry and Edwards for "opposing a proposed $87 billion federal expenditure for U.S. troops and Iraq reconstruction," the Union Leader reports.

McCain also criticized Clark for not taking a position. LINK

The Senator also had this to say about the self-styled John McCain of 2004: "'I'm not surprised that Governor Dean would oppose this,' McCain told The Union Leader. 'I've lost confidence that he has any understanding of the national security responsibilities of a President.'"

Not many people make use of 20 words as well as Walter Shapiro: "What the knotty tax issue illustrates is how difficult it is to sort out the Democrats based on domestic issues." LINK

And it looks like Jeff Link spent part of his birthday (belated wishes, Jeff!) giving Walter some punditry on how Howard Dean uses the tax issue as a symbol with which to attack Washington.

The possible December Florida straw poll, Bob Graham's withdrawal from the race and the renewed importance of the March 9 primary have candidates scrambling to put in face time with Floridians. LINK

DNC officials continue to express confidence that the straw poll can be killed, but Mark Silva fills the Orlando paper with provocative Dean and Edwards quotes. LINK

Strong DNC work and the Wisconsin precedent, we bet, will hold the line, but we shall see.

With Democrats trying to stake their claim in Florida, Lieberman appears to have taken the lead. LINK

The New Republic's Michael Crowley has a pair of pieces this week examining the words, heads, and bodies of Democrats. One piece argues that Democrats' anger with the president on many levels is affecting their position on the Iraq issue. The other piece looks at looks, height, stature, and other lovable superficial qualities among the presidential candidates. LINK

Clark:

USA Today 's Steven Komarow examines the military records that "shed no light on the high-level bickering that ended [Clark's] career." LINK

"Clark, criticized for not taking a stand on the issue earlier in the week, Thursday called on Congress to 'send back to the drawing board' President Bush's request," the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. LINK

Newt Gingrich unfavorably reviews Wes Clark's new book on W6 of the Wall Street Journal , casting Clark's view of Kosovo, terrorism, the Middle East, and Iraq as mushy headed and misguided.

Our favorite is the last sentence:

"'Winning Modern Wars' will prove to be a useful book, but probably more to Karl Rove and the Bush-Cheney campaign than to its author's presidential ambition."

Deborah Orin says the swoon over The General is generally over. LINK

Orin says the sizzle in the Clark campaign has now become, at best, a fizzle, playing into the age-old question — "What's the fascination with General Clark?"

She points out that:

"So far Clark is nowhere in Iowa and New Hampshire, the two early states that shape the race and matter far more than national polls right now. Voters there expect to be courted and don't swoon just because you're a general."

From ABC News' Clark campaign reporter Deborah Apton:

"General Clark has been sick and it's gotten worse. His scratchy voice and cold seemed to have become the flu or a throat infection. So, in a last minute decision yesterday, General Clark took his charter plane back home to Little Rock, Arkansas rather than continue onto Michigan for the Arab American League Conference as scheduled. Ambassador Ed Gabriel will be giving the General's speech today as a surrogate for the campaign."

Dean:

Today ABC News' Web exclusive political newscast, "Politics LIVE," will stream a live interview with Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.

"Politics LIVE" is part of the video subscription service offered at ABCNEWS.com.

You can sign up for a free trial to watch the interview today, or subscribe to the $4.95 a month service, which includes video from World News Tonight, Nightline, segments from Good Morning America, 20/20, Primetime, and This Week, and ABC News Live, the first 24/7 streaming news service on the Internet.

To watch the Dean interview from your desktop computer, go to ABCNEWS.com and click on "ABC News Live." "Politics LIVE" airs at 1 pm ET today.

"Howard Dean offered several new proposals to help the economy during a speech at Georgetown University but it was his renewed pledge to repeal all of President Bush's tax cuts that grabbed the most attention," the AP's Will Lester reports. LINK

"'Governor Dean misses the point,' said Edwards … . 'He is right to note that this president is shifting the burden from wealth to work. Unfortunately, instead of addressing the problem he makes it worse by raising taxes on the middle class families that work.'"

Kerry said Dean is "repeating his pledge to repeal the tax cuts for middle-class families 'at a time when middle-class families are taking too many hits already.'"

The Washington Post 's Dan Balz went to Georgetown to hear Dean talk about his plan to create jobs and boost the economy, "drawing on ideas that other Democratic presidential candidates have proposed this year." LINK

Writing on the Dean plan, the New York Times Notes ,"beyond the jobs fund, the economic speech was often short on specifics." LINK

Other than that $100 million jobs program, the Los Angeles Times' Mehren heard a Dean economic speech short on details. And make sure you don't miss that kicker clarification by one Jay Carson about the meaning of "undo." LINK

All the reporters seem to have seized on the lack of a date-certain on deficit reduction as key.

From ABC News Dean campaign reporter Marc Ambinder:

"In the midst of talking up his economic plan Thursday, Dean did not specify a date by which he would balance a budget. He allowed on CNBC's 'Capital Report' that he'd get it done in his second term. Expect opponents to jump on that, intimating that the budget-balancing Dean is getting weak kneed."

"But campaign aides say the deficit is just too large to propose any realistic way to mend it within the first few years of a presidential term. No new tax cuts; no (as rumored) child care tax credit; lots of talking about shifting the burden of income off the working. Dean's $100 billion stimulus package reminds some Democrats of what Wes Clark proposed a bit ago."

USA Today 's Jill Lawrence and Susan Page report that Dean "accused Republicans on Thursday of running up the federal budget deficit so they can undermine the fiscal underpinnings of Medicare and Social Security." LINK

USA Today has sound bites from Dean's ed board meeting with USA Today /Gannett on Thursday. LINK

They also list a "string of zingers" Dean had for the president. LINK

The Boston Globe 's Sarah Schweitzer writes about how Dean is balancing his money-leading status with his anti-Washington rhetoric out on the trail. LINK

More from ABC News' Ambinder:

"Governor Dean and editors at Simon and Schuster are making progress on his campaign book, which is due out in early December. Dean is working with Ian Jackman, a British author, on the draft. Jackman most recently wrote an inside look at TV's 'The West Wing.' No word yet on where the proceeds will go."

"Due to FEC rules, Dean's campaign itself is not involved with the project. Dean's publicist is Aileen Boyle, who remains quite busy on her current project: Hillary Clinton's Living History. There are two other Dean-related books to be aware of: a consortium of Vermont newspapers is set to publish a book of essays on his career, his biography, and his presidential run. And another Vermont newspaper will publish the collected speeches of the governor."

David Yepsen appears on Page Six, and for once its not because he is linked to a starlet. LINK

Lieberman:

Per the AP's Ken Thomas, Lieberman criticized Clark Thursday, faulting his rival for a "less-than-clear" stand on Bush's $87 billion request for Iraq and Afghanistan. LINK

"Clark, when asked about supporting the package Tuesday, told The Associated Press — 'not without lots and lots and lots of work.' When pressed to clarify his position, Clark said, 'I'm not ready to say I support that. Absolutely not.'"

"That prompted Lieberman to assail the retired Army general during a Florida campaign stop."

"'When you run for president you've got to show people that you're ready to make decisions, that you know right from wrong,' the Connecticut senator told reporters. 'He said this was a matter for Congress to decide, but it's a matter for a president to take a clear position on and a presidential candidate to take a clear position on.'"

Lieberman has often called for a "Marshall Plan for the Muslim world." This essay is a likely preview of his address today. LINK

E.J. Dionne sets up a Robin Hood analogy for Joe Lieberman and tax cuts, and credits the Senator with something almost no journalist says about a candidate: "He decided to say something interesting." LINK

" … both Lieberman and Gephardt have found ways of framing the right questions: Does the country really think that Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy are the best possible uses of the money they cost the federal treasury? Are there better alternatives?"

Darlene Superville writes in her profile of Lieberman, 'If anyone has his head on straight, it's Joe Lieberman, acquaintances say. He always takes the high road, they declare. Other politicians may stoop to serve their interests, but not Joe.

"So meet another side of Lieberman. Attack dog." LINK

Lieberman is attempting to fill the Graham vacuum in the Sunshine State according to the Hartford Courant's David Lightman. LINK

From ABC News' Lieberman campaign reporter Talesha Reynolds:

"Team Lieberman is tickled pink to learn that they outraised Dean and Kerry in Florida at a rate of about 2 to 1 this quarter. Moreover, they say Lieberman leads all the candidates with the exception of Bob Graham in Florida fundraising since the start of the campaign."

"The future could be even brighter, as national finance chair Mitchell Berger tells me Team Lieberman has acquired a portion of Graham's financial team."

Lieberman will campaign in Delaware on Monday, making stops in Wilmington and Dover and taping a television commercial, the Wilmington News Journal reports. LINK

Kerry:

Per the Concord Monitor's Jennifer Skalka, "Kerry spent a good part of last Friday lambasting Wal-Mart Stores Inc. … for providing poor health insurance coverage for its workers. What Kerry … didn't mention is that his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, has more than $1 million invested in Wal-Mart, according to the Center for Public Integrity." LINK

"Robert Gibbs, Kerry's national spokesman, said Heinz Kerry's stock ownership won't influence the senator's remarks on the campaign trail."

Edwards:

"Edwards' vote against President Bush's $87 billion request for operations in Iraq is "the latest example of Edwards distancing himself from a few of his own previous yes votes," the AP reports. LINK

"They include a vote on the Iraq war, the Patriot Act and Most Favored Nation status for China, each of which has since become unpopular with Democratic primary voters."

"Edward's opposition to the $87 billion is the subject of a TV spot now running in Iowa and New Hampshire: 'I will not give this president a blank check,' Edwards says to the camera."

The Charlotte Observer's Tim Funk runs down the reasoning and implications behind Edwards 'no' vote. LINK

The Raleigh News and Observer takes a quick look at who's giving money to Edwards, and how Bush is catching up to him in North Carolina. LINK

Page Six reveals Ashton Kutcher's support for John Edwards. LINK

Gephardt:

The Boston Globe 's Brian Mooney reports on the labor alliance forged for Gephardt. LINK

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Karen Branch-Brioso asks, "Would this new alliance accept a union that endorses a candidate other than Gephardt?" LINK

"'Yes!' said Doug Dority, international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers."

"'Uh … ' said [Joe Hunt, general president of the Ironworkers' International union], with a sidelong look at Dority."

The Des Moines Register 's Jane Norman has an FEC filing story that leads by Noting that Gephardt brought in "less than a third of what contributors gave to rival Howard Dean." LINK

"Twenty unions that back Dick Gephardt's presidential bid are forming a new organization to support his campaign, a move that reflects labor's growing split over the best Democrat to challenge President Bush next year," the AP reports. LINK

From ABC News' Gephardt campaign reporter Sally Hawkins:

"Stepping up his message of bringing jobs and economic stability back to Iowa, the Gephardt campaign debuted a 30-second ad focusing on trade and jobs in Iowa today."

"The ad features longtime Gephardt supporters Olin and Barb Clayton sitting around their kitchen table discussing the effects that NAFTA has had on their family. Olin Clayton says, 'After NAFTA, I lost two good jobs, they closed the plants and the jobs went to Mexico', referring, in part, to losing his job at a Firestone plant that closed its doors and moved south of the border. His wife Barb adds, 'We've had to move three times, uproot our family and now we're worried we'll have to do it again.' Bill Burton, Gephardt's Iowa communications director, says the ad buy is "significant statewide", although he would not elaborate, citing the campaign's policy not to disclose campaign advertising details."

"Iowa, a major focus for most of the candidates, seems more like Gephardt's home away from home during the month of October with weekly campaigning in various sections of the state. Noticeably absent from his recent and upcoming campaign schedule is New Hampshire, where Gephardt has not made an appearance since the end of September and he does not have any stops planned any time soon."

"Gephardt on Thursday announced the appointments of Ronald Platt as Michigan state director and Raymond Plowden as Michigan political director of his presidential campaign."

Kucinich:

From ABC News' Kucinich campaign reporter Melinda Arons:

"Kucinich wrapped up his four-day announcement sweep with an activism forum at Howard University and attending a party in his honor. Congressman John Conyers of Michigan, a longtime friend and colleague who is supporting Kucinich's candidacy and co-sponsored his universal health care bill, was by Kucinich's side the entire evening. About 200 supporters, including one dressed in a George W. Bush costume carrying a sign that read 'Need work in 2004 … .will work for oil or other corporate interests,' greeted the Congressmen at the party and a live band played John Lennon's 'Imagine,' the campaign's theme song."

Sharpton:

From ABC News' Sharpton campaign reporter Beth Loyd:

"On Wednesday, Reverend Sharpton spoke to a group of about 150 students at Claflin University, a historically black college in Orangeburg, SC. He was nearly an hour late and about 25 students left the auditorium before he arrived. (It was not 'hundreds' as the Times and Democrat LINK reported yesterday). The response from the group was mild — or medium at best — compared to the wild applause he usually receives in South Carolina."

House of Labor:

No "Families" "Working" or "America" in this name — no, siree.

Introducing the "Alliance for Economic Justice," a group of pro-Gephardt labor unions that IS banding together to support the Missouri congressman … AND then staying together to advocate and focus on three key issues:

-- Fair trade

-- Affordable health care

-- A long-term agenda to create jobs.

Among the 12 unions joining forces in the Alliance: Teamsters, United Steel Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Laborers' International Union.

The idea for the group, whose planning has been underway for several weeks, stemmed from the AFL-CIO's decision not to endorse any candidate at a meeting of its executive committee last month. From the idea of a "Labor for Gephardt" group, the plan grew into the idea of a permanent alliance that would allow private sector unions to weigh in on issues dear to them, such as health care and trade.

The group plans to do neighborhood walks, phone banks, and rallies, among other GOTV efforts. Alliance members plan to gather next week to finalize its plans and its budget.

Teamster's Political Director Mike Mathis calls it "a step forward for the unions that are part of the alliance."

"We all share the same commitment to Dick Gephardt — we are going to work very hard to win in Iowa and to make sure that he is the next president," said Mathis. "But we are also going to weigh in on House and Senate races, and we are going to weigh in on the state and local level."

Iowa:

Kerry and Edwards canceled Thursday's campaign stops in Iowa. LINK

"The two Democrats went back to Washington for an expected showdown in the Senate on President George W. Bush's $20 billion plan to rebuild Iraq."

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

It was another week of picking over BC04 polling from the major media, and another week when keeping things in perspective wasn't so easy.

So The Note asked strategy guy Matthew Dowd what he thinks about the latest numbers and where things are headed:

"After all the back and forth, major events and minor events, and 'sky is falling' pundit pronouncements over the last few months, the polls are right back where they were in February of this year. The president's numbers have settled into the mid to low fifties on approval, and he has leads against any potential Democratic nominee tested — a position the political folks for Clinton or Reagan would have envied at the same time."

"Still, because of divided and polarized nature of the electorate expect the race to be very close come next November. National wins are now measured in the 52 to 48 range, not the 59 to 41 range of years past."

A married Mindy Tucker in soundbite form on CBS's Early Show!!!!

Interesting Note from the New York Times ' Sanger, snuck in at the end — "Mr. Bush's speech on Thursday was described by the White House as a policy address, but much of it was identical to recent speeches he has given at Republican fund-raising events, including two here on Wednesday that raised $1.8 million for his campaign."

The Washington Post ed board grudgingly gives props to BC04 for its unprecedented disclosure of bundlers (and/but quibbles with the details!!!); says that Senator Kerry plans to release his list today; and calls on others to follow suit, for those above $50,000. LINK

Knight Ridder's Steven Thomma looks at what an improving economy could do for President Bush's re-election:

"There's still a way to go before Bush can boast that it's morning in America, as Ronald Reagan did in his romp to re-election 20 years ago … But for now, it appears the economy is bouncing back, and with it Bush's chances for a second term. LINK

The Filter doesn't work the same in both directions, argues Michael Kinsley. At least not in the Bush White House. LINK

Vice President Cheney was in Texas for fund-raisers yesterday and predicted a banner year for the GOP. "This is shaping up as a Republican year, and on top of it, in November of 2004, the American people are going to re-elect a president for a job well done," Cheney said. LINK

The VP also gave props to the Texas Legislature, which approved a redistricting effort this week that could give the GOP seven more seats in Congress. LINK

The economy:

If the White House is reading the Wall Street Journal 's report on the economy this morning (and we're sure they are), they're breathing a big sigh of relief. Michael Schroeder adds up the week's economic news on industrial production (up 0.4% in September), the consumer price index (up 0.3%), inflation (up 0.1% outside food and fuel) and unemployment claims (down 4,000), and comes up with a growing rebound.

The politics of national security:

On this Bizzaro Friday morning, the president gets beaten in the GOP-controlled Senate and wins big in the UN Security Council.

The New York Times ' Purdum says the president's UN victory "has brought him at least the veneer of international backing, and expected Congressional action this week will provide new domestic financial and political support for the American enterprise in Iraq. But both developments will put sharp new pressure on the president to deliver on his pledge to create a safer, more democratic Iraq — preferably, in the White House view, by the time he faces re-election next fall." LINK

"The Senate defied the Bush administration on Thursday," reports one David Firestone, who later acknowledges the loss as but a small setback in a bigger score. "The debate about loans versus grants, however, could not obscure the administration's overall success in persuading both chambers to endorse the basic framework of its postwar Iraq policy. The president is virtually certain to command solid majorities in both houses for a vast majority of what he is asking for — and a mandate for a strong role in overseeing Iraq's future." LINK

More Bizzaro:

Senator Tom Daschle called his chamber's vote a "strong, bipartisan message to this Administration: it must do more to ensure that America's troops and taxpayers don't have to go on shouldering this costly burden virtually alone."

The Washington Post 's Weisman recounts the president's "stern warning" against the loan provision and Note the loan can be forgiven if other nations participating in the rebuilding also drop the debt. LINK

Mr. Weisman's colleague Ms. Connolly writes on plans to spend $2 billion on Iraqi health care — a provision we imagine we might see in a DNC ad near you. LINK

Congressman Emanuel and Senator Kennedy provide the requisite quotes.

The Washington Post 's Glenn Kessler turns in a good analysis on the UN resolution and What It All Means in terms of Iraq and repairing relations among Security Council members. LINK

For its part, the New York Times editorial board offers the president yet another spiked embrace, congratulating the White House on the Security Council win, then arguing the resolution doesn't REALLY change anything at all. LINK

And for even more on the politics of it all:

Democratic presidential candidates, here's your rock. Over here's your hard place.

According to new Democracy Corps polls of (what else?) likely Democratic voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, the ideal presidential candidate would have supported U.S. military action in Iraq but criticized the unilateral action, and have some foreign policy experience. In short, writes the Washington Post 's Dan Balz, voters understand — and want — nuance. LINK

Ron Brownstein Notes "at least 60% of Democrats in the three states said it was important that the Democratic nominee be someone who had opposed the Iraq war from the outset. And at least 75% in each state said they wanted the nominee to be someone who was 'frustrated with Democratic leaders in Washington who failed to oppose Bush.'" LINK

Hmmm. Which aspiring Cinderella/Cinderfella fits that shoe?

The New York Post 's Deborah Orin calls the unanimous UN vote a "major diplomatic victory" for President Bush. LINK

"The fact that the vote was unanimous also offers Bush a direct rebuttal to Democratic 2004 challengers seeking to portray him as a unilateralist who alienated the world and can't win support from other nations."

Wilson:

The Wall Street Journal 's David Cloud deciphers an intelligence memo that describes a 2002 meeting in which former Ambassador Joseph Wilson was suggested for the job of investigating reports that Iraq sought to buy uranium yellowcake from Niger — by (perhaps) his wife. The document is likely to be turned over in the leak investigation, Cloud Notes.

"According to current and former officials familiar with the memo, it describes interagency discussions of the yellowcake mystery: whether the reports of Iraq's uranium purchases were credible; which agency should pay for any further investigation; and the suggestion that Mr. Wilson could be sent to check out the allegations. Other officials with knowledge of the memo wouldn't say if it mentions [Mrs. Wilson] by name as the one who suggested Mr. Wilson, or if her identity is shielded but obvious because of what is known now about the mission. Operations officers like [Mrs. Wilson] are sometimes identified only by their first names even in interagency meetings."

The DNC announced yesterday a new Internet ad slamming the Bush administration for the leak — complete with former President George H.W. Bush's "contempt and anger" for traitors sound bite. It's not on t.v. anywhere yet, but the DNC says it will air in key primary states once they have the necessary funds to do it.

Attorney General John Ashcroft says his team is making progress and he has not ruled out removing himself from the leak investigation, in comments the New York Times calls his "most expansive and forceful to date." LINK

43-T3:

"Help me … help you. Help me, help you."

Okay, so Governor-elect Schwarzenegger did not have a cameo in "Jerry Maguire" but we bet he did his best Tom Cruise yesterday when he met with President Bush in what was described as a "'really terrific'" and "'relationship-building'" session in Riverside. LINK

The AP's Terence Hunt writes up the 43-T3 "political lovefest." LINK

Before heading off to Asia with President Bush, the Washington Post 's Mike Allen spent some time watching the dynamic between the president and the Governor, and puts the electoral picture in perspective. LINK

"The stakes are huge for Bush and his party. California has not voted for a Republican for president since George H.W. Bush won the state in 1988. Since then, the state has tumbled rapidly into the Democratic column. Although the president made a late run at the state in 2000, he won 42 percent of the vote, losing to Al Gore by almost 1.3 million votes."

If we had a nickel for every time we read "the stakes are huge for Bush/the White House/the administration" today … .

The Chicago Tribune's Bob Kemper Notes that Thursday's meeting between Bush and Schwarzenegger was all talk and no business. LINK

The Los Angeles Times on the Bush-Schwarzenegger summit: LINK

Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle also points out that it was Governor-elect Schwarzenegger who set the high expectations for his meeting with the president. LINK

The New York Post 's David Li has this backstage detail. LINK

"Waiting offstage before they spoke, Bush and Schwarzenegger were overheard joking about how neither knew how to pronounce the southern California city of Rancho Cucamonga."

But no, Mr. Palmer, no slight was meant to your FORMER boss. "Cucamonga" is widely known to be one of Karl Rove's favorite words.

The Los Angeles Times editorial board encourages the newly formed friendship and hopes it develops quickly. LINK

California's new governor:

From ABC News' Schwarzenegger transition reporter Nick Schifrin: "Few question Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's work ethic (what with those hours on the LifeCycle at the very least), but reporters were intrigued today by the amount of time he says he spends working on the details of his transition team. When asked if he had reached out to the unions since his Oct. 7 victory, and whether he had any stance on current California workers' strikes, Schwarzenegger said he was too busy to spend time on such issues yet."

"'I am working from morning to night looking at resumes and interviewing people. That's all we do right now. Sometime it goes to midnight, because we had approximately 3,000+ resumes that have come in and we are looking at all that and I look at many of them and weed through it and I just want to make sure we put a team together that is really the best people here in California … That's the work I am doing right now, so there's no time for me yet to go and do the next thing, like reaching out to unions and all that, but I will. Absolutely I will.'"

The city of Los Angeles is looking to remove a huge billboard prominently featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger promoting the DVD release of T3. It apparently violates the "scenic corridor" that is the Cahuenga pass. LINK

Politics:

Brian Lamb, in talking to a dolled-up Jackie Calmes this morning on C-SPAN, told her that he "assumed" the "Minor Memos" items at the end of the Washington Wire are supposed to be "humorous."

The New York Times on candidates' (legally) busting spending limits to fight back against self-funders. LINK

Oh, we ARE going to build a flow chart (maybe the same color as the T-shirt?) to track these groups on the Democratic side, some of which are indeed 5-2-7s. The New York Times ' Lee writes of former EPA Administrator Carol Browner and her merry band of enviro-Dems who are getting together to "raise money for an election-year campaign critical of the Bush administration's environmental record in swing states." LINK

Ahem, certain unnamed Democratic presidential candidates:

Without naming anyone in particular, the New York Times ' Krugman warns aspiring Dems that "those who want to restore fiscal sanity probably need to frame their proposals in a way that neutralizes some of the administration's demagoguery. In particular, they probably shouldn't propose a rollback of all of the Bush tax cuts." LINK

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the dramatic developments in the bug story, where "FBI agents searched three city agencies [Thursday], and the office of a lawyer who is an ally of the mayor and a leading fund-raiser for his reelection campaign." LINK

Mayor Street "-- who has been identified as a subject of the probe — said it was 'unfortunate that these events, conducted in this way, have in effect hijacked this election.'"

The Clintons of Chappaqua:

In a cover story, National Journal reports that the political organization built by HRC has taken on a "quasi-party status."

The "Filter" T-shirt movement:

The response to our appeal yesterday has been pretty amazing so far. The Googling monkeys will spend the greater part of the weekend (more so than originally planned now that they have absolutely no interest in the World Series) processing the suggestions and information. Look for an update on Monday.