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Note readers can recite the pros and cons of this decades-long dominance in their sleep, but there's no need to fight the is/ought-to-be dynamic here: the sophisticated voters of these two states will get more candidate and media attention than every other state combined in the next 8 months, and the sorting out of the nomination process (and President Bush's early re-nomination splashing) will take place there.

The Note is on a cycle-long project to do away with the insane expectations game in which phrases such as "Gephardt HAS to win Iowa or his campaign is over" or "A New Hampshire finish any lower than third will doom Lieberman's candidacy" are the coin of the Chattering Class realm.

But like our efforts to train Googling monkeys to always get a receipt when they go on a Des Moines Starbucks run, this project is a real challenge.

For all the civic-minded upside of the weight given to these two states, political reporters and political activists can't resist the paradigmatic (and unfair) "three tickets out of Iowa/two tickets out of New Hampshire" storyline, and everything that will take place between now and January is framed along those lines.

Which makes this bigger-than-big Iowa weekend (with a New Hampshire subplot) a time for some real sorting out to begin.

All of candidate activity this weekend in and around Des Moines might take the spotlight off of Larry Eustachy for at least a day or two.

(Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the caucus! The Des Moines Register has cut the ribbon on its spanking new Iowa caucus web page!! And there's even a PICTURE of Tom Beaumont! LINK)

Today President Bush has a photo op in DC, then heads off to Camp David, where we bet he will revel in his Big Casino incremental win (see below) and be working out instead of watching C-SPAN tomorrow morning, during a certain multi-candidate event.

Tomorrow's AFSCME forum featuring, in one way or another (we think), all nine Democratic candidates, is the main event, but there are other candidate activities galore that will be Beaumonted, and Glovered, and Yepsened for state consumption, and Balzed, and Nagourneyed, and Simonized for all the world to see.

Today of course, Senator John Kerry will become the fourth presidential candidate to outline his presidential campaign's health care platform in a speech at the Holiday Inn Mercy Campus in Des Moines.

If this isn't the most overly previewed health care speech of all time, we challenge someone to name the actual winner.

Kerry's speech comes three days after former Governor Howard Dean detailed his own health care proposal. Representatives Richard Gephardt and Dennis Kucinich have also put forth their ideas, and Senator Joe Lieberman is expected to offer some of his own health care thoughts next week.

This afternoon, Gephardt plans to speak with Iowans about his health care plan at Broadlands Hospital in Des Moines, where care for the uninsured is, as Bill Clinton would say, a big deal.

Tonight, there's a candidate reception hosted by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees political action committee, PEOPLE-- "Public Employees Organizing to Promote Legislative Equality."

Also tonight, Senator Edwards will attend a reception sponsored by Professionals for Edwards at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. By the magic of videotape, Senator Edwards will also appear on a WMUR town meeting in New Hampshire tonight at 7:30 p.m..

On Saturday, Dean meets with Cornell College students in Mt. Vernon, Iowa in the morning, and later holds a health care community roundtable discussion at the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic.

Saturday night, Senator Graham holds a reception before and then keynotes the Nebraska Democratic Party Morrison-Exon Day Dinner at the Doubletree in Omaha Nebraska.

Also on Sunday, Senator Graham hops a plane for New York City to keynote the Sanz Medical Center/Lanlado Hospital Dinner.

The format for Saturday's AFSCME town hall meeting remains somewhat of a mystery for even the campaigns.

We do know that some of the approximately 1,000 AFSCME members from around the nation will get to question the candidates on issues of concern to working families.

Former Governor Dean, Senator Edwards, Representative Gephardt, Senator Graham, Representative Kucinich, and Ambassador Moseley Braun will all take part in person.

Senator Kerry, who had a previous commitment to deliver a commencement address to the Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire, will participate live via satellite. We are taking bets now on how big the monitor is on which he gets to appear.

Senator Lieberman will send a videotaped message to the AFSCME members, but will not participate because of his religious observance.

At this writing, Rev. Sharpton's trip to Iowa is uncertain.

For the first 45 minutes, there will be six questions asked by six different pre-selected AFSCME members who have some personal connection directly related to the topics they will raise.

For example, a New York EMT who was a first responder on 9/11 could ask a homeland security question. After that, it is an open free-for-all with unscreened questions from members of the audience.

AFSCME wants to make sure they cover a wide range of topics, but all questions are expected to come down to issues affecting working families, e.g. health insurance, loss of jobs, and the economy.

Homeland security is an important topic here because it directly relates to the workload of and funding for many of the jobs that AFSCME members have.

How much the format will allow for candidate interaction is unclear.

Following Saturday morning's AFSCME presidential forum, candidates Dean, Edwards, Gephardt, Graham, and Kucinich have committed to meet with about 40 members of the Iowa State Education Association's political lobbying organization.

The format will be very informal with each candidate sitting down for roughly 10 minutes with small groups of 7 or 8 members of the education PAC, and each candidate rotating around the groups in order to meet with all members.

ISEA leaders expect the discussions to be candid, especially regarding the No Child Left Behind Act.

We have no clue how the media will cover this one, what with early Sunday paper deadlines, and the logistical challenge of moving with the candidates from group to group.

We are consulting with our colleagues who cover golf for a living (like Bill Nichols) to develop some strategies.

There is also a cyclone of retail campaigning on Saturday, especially Edwards and Gephardt who each have three small meet-n-greets with supporters on Saturday.

Saturday is just Gephardt's warm up because on Sunday he's set to do five more county Democrat get-togethers in Keokuk, Fort Madison, Burlington, Muscatine, and Iowa City.

While Gephardt is canvassing the state on Sunday, Dean will be on his way back to Iowa from Saturday night Jefferson-Jackson dinners in Ohio and Indiana to take part in Senator Tom Harkin's ongoing "Hear It From the Heartland" candidate forum series at the River Center in Davenport.

On Monday, Gephardt meets with "rural experts and family farmers" to discuss his health care plan at the Hartley Farm in Cedar Rapids.

All that makes Iowa the center of things for this weekend, but in the end, the East Coast media will always prefer New Hampshire, with its more democratic primary process; its greater proximity to DC and New York; its easier in-state drive times; its more developed bipartisan political culture; and the bread basket at Richard?s Bistro.

So let's consider New Hampshire.

There, already, conceptual boxes are beginning to appear.

Lots of folks say Senator Kerry seems intent on running a Gore-like, top-down operation, with plenty of barriers between staff and volunteers — but also lots of GOTV, phone banking, expensive literature, and media blitzes.

Since Gore was vice president, he couldn't simply swoop in without being noticed, so he attended fewer living room-style events than Senator Bradley.

But Senator Kerry's campaign begs to differ with this schema. Advisers note that Kerry routinely attends closed-door house parties with would-be supporters (away from cameras).

They say that Kerry staffers are busy assembling a cadre of volunteers to compete with Governor Dean's grass roots mojo. And they note the breadth of their staff hires — Gore folks, Bradley folks, Fernald folks, and a good chunk of the Jeanne Shaheen operation.

Unlike Mr. Gore, they say, Mr. Kerry will spend plenty of time in New Hampshire. And Michael Whouley will never have to demand that the operation "let Kerry be Kerry."

Senator Edwards' chief representative there, former state representative and Gore 2000 political director Caroline McCarley, has also reached out to several veterans of Bradley's 2000 campaign, including Chris Sullivan, the well-connected Concord lawyer.

Campaign advisers say hiring is focused largely on finding local professionals and municipal workers who have political organizations, rather than flashy state representatives who are well-known but lack, for the sake of a better word, machines.

According to several campaign advisers, Senator Lieberman will pitch himself as distinctly non-ideological and will make direct appeals to Democratic-leaning independents and unattached voters who are socially tolerant but generally more conservative than other Democrats.

Senator John McCain received more than 115,000 votes in 2000, and Lieberman's campaign would like to pick off a healthy chunk, particularly Democratic-leaning independents and centrist Democrats.

Staff wise, the campaign will add several regional field directors in a few weeks. Friends and aides say the "Lieberman vote" in New Hampshire has yet to be engaged, so the campaign is in no hurry. (According to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's tallies, 42,500 undeclared folks voted as Democrats in 2000.).

Among the most closely held secrets in all these campaigns is the number of votes they think it will take to win — or to meet the (dreaded) expectations of the political Establishment.

While none of the campaigns are ready to disclose their estimate, several pointed to recent primary history. In 2000, Al Gore received 6,000 more votes than Bill Bradley, who walked away with 70,000. In 1992, winner Paul Tsongas needed 71,000 votes to win — but then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton managed to survive the state with 55,000.

No candidate has visited the state more than Congressman Dick Gephardt, who has strong institutional ties to Democratic activists and union leaders. But he has yet to break 10 percent in most polls.

The Gephardt campaign acknowledges that it won't be able to build an organization as large as Kerry's or as wide as Dean's, but aides say the longtime Congressman plans to organize a sufficient and efficient operation.

Under the direction of the campaign headquarters, strategist Jim Demers and New Hampshire staffers Mike Matoon and Jeff Word are orchestrating a network of supporters to be ready to sell Gephardt as an experienced, trustworthy Democrat. Just this week, they announced a group of 200 core supporters.

And then there is Howard Dean, who, in many ways, defies categorization, at least for now. And the contours of any Graham operation in New Hampshire remains, in some ways hazier, than the impressive Iowa operation that is moving into place.

Here's a look at the New Hampshire dynamics of the game on the ground: LINK

Finally, two process Notes:

Note to print reporters: The Googling monkeys and Note writers are available to you any time you wish if you?d like an explanation of the history of (and current realities of) "televised" coverage of nomination debates.

Note to campaigns: you can't just slap the word "pool" on an event and expect the logistics of a "pool" to magically emerge. Pool reports, tape distribution, pool membership — all these things have to be worked out in advance and equitably.

ABC 2004: CREEP:

Say what you will about the Washington Times , but they're often the only paper in the country to get their arms around discord within constellation of interest groups that make up the modern Republican party. (And, to be honest, they're often slightly more fair about it than the New York Times .)

:"The Washington defense establishment is less likely to vigorously support President Bush's election next year than it did in 2000 because of the turmoil caused by the Pentagon's aggressive transformation project," the paper's Rowan Scarborough reports. LINK

"Interviews with defense-industry executives in Washington and senior retired officers reveal discontent among this inside-the-Beltway, Republican-leaning constituency. They complain of an ongoing military-transformation effort that has the Pentagon in constant upheaval, making it more difficult to stick to a business plan. They also complain that access to senior aides to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is limited during the yearly budget process, or program objective memorandum (POM)." In one of her finest features since joining the White House beat (and that is saying a lot), the New York Times ? Elisabeth Bumiller writes about the POTUS? imagemakers, whose work to date suggest more pre-election boffo photo ops galore. LINK

Bumiller beats The Note to the punch and uses the word "Sforzian" (which we have been planning to do for a while — just hadn?t gotten to it).

She even quotes our favorite Russ "Chip" McKinney, admiring the White House's recent Palmetto State event.

It's a must-read from the first to the very last paragraph, and we won't spoil it for you by revealing the characters, the rising action, the points of conflict, or the Josh King fawning.

Just go read it.

The Daily News does the tie story. LINK

Was this lead from today's Cincinnati Enquirer the kind of thing Dean Broder was cautioning Karl about? "When it comes to politics, it doesn't get much bigger right now than Karl Rove." LINK

Mr. Rove traveled to Kentucky yesterday to help Senator Bunning raise some campaign cash.

The Economist believes "George Bush" is more troubled by his social conservative base "than you might think." LINK

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary:

We are typing the following words both knowingly and with great trepidation: we agree with Pat Caddell.

On Hardball this week, Caddell said about the DLC's attack on a still potent Howard Dean, "Let me tell why you they're panicked by it. They're panicked by it because the Democratic grass roots is in revolt right now because they're tired of a party that doesn't stand for anything."

Some Democrats working for SOME of the campaigns understand that Dean is about much more than the anti-war, pro-gay oversimplification.

Dean is tapping into the Internet for communication, community-building, and cash; talking like a Washington outsider; and making people in his party feel inspired — and if the McCain comparisons weren't overused, we would make one here.

And with some key new Iowa hires and the insertion of Trish Enright into what has been a creaky press operation, the Dean campaign just might be able to step it up a notch.

On the other hand, they are still defining "rapid" (as in "rapid response") as "within the NEXT news cycle."

Nonetheless, this "who needs Nexis when we have Google?" stuff they got on the DLC's past views of Howard Dean (as contrasted with this week's From/Reed blast) is pretty compelling, even a day late.

It appears that as recently as 2000, the centrist Democratic think tank was full of praise for Dean's record in Vermont.

In October of 2000, the DLC's staff deemed a Dean idea to pool health care purchases with other New England governors its "idea of the week."

In November of 1996, the DLC's daily digest was thankful for "Centrist Governo[r] Howard Dean" having won re-election.

All of this reminds us a bit of 1992, when 41 would trot out Republican governors to attack Bill Clinton, and Little Rock would pull out some old NGA clips in which those very same governors were full of long-ago praise for the Man from Hope.

Eventually (and maybe sooner than you think) Republicans, Democrats, and the press will start to generate stories on the "Vermont Mirage," but, for whatever warts are found in the end, Howard Dean was a pretty successful governor (and we'll all have to sit through the argument of whether being a pretty successful governor of a state that small and atypical matters … ).

Now, if we could find them this morning, we bet the DLC folks would argue that Howard Dean has changed, and abandoned his centrist roots, but except for (and it's, we grant, a big exception) his Iraq position, he seems placed pretty much the same place on the spectrum as when he was being touted by the DLC.

The Associated Press's Ron Fournier picks up more reaction to yesterday's From/ Reed memo.

'Dean's campaign, struggling to overcome the financial and organizational shortcomings in a nine-candidate field, welcomed the attention.' LINK

"'Every time they do this, we grow,' said Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi. 'If they want to get rid of us, they should just shut up.'"

The AP's Ross Sneyd reports that "[some] of Howard Dean's home state supporters leapt to his defense Thursday after the leaders of a national centrist Democrat organization lambasted him as an elitist liberal." LINK

Predictably, Dem-on-Dem criticism makes the Washington Times . LINK

That sneaky Nedra Pickler.

So if the campaigns propose employer mandates or tax credits or what-not--anything to make sure employees are covered, what about the campaigns themselves? "All of the premium is covered by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, each of whom announced proposals this week to expand government programs for the poor and allow others to buy into the health care plan that covers the president and Congress." LINK

"Kerry's campaign covers all its full-time employees, and part-time employees are allowed to buy in. Dean covers anyone who gets paid anything to work for him, according to his campaign."

"Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright couldn't resist making a plug for a position often taken on the campaign trial by her boss, who worked as an internist before entering politics."

"'It's the kind of comprehensive plan that would not force employees into an HMO and have to leave the doctors they love,' she said."

"Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt has been championing a plan that would require companies to insure their workers, with 60 percent of the employer's cost paid by the government. Gephardt provides better for his aides 75 percent of the premium is picked up by the campaign."

"The campaign of Florida Senator Bob Graham, the newest entry into the race, is still negotiating terms of coverage for its workers. Graham spokesman Jamal Simmons said he couldn't reveal which company is providing the insurance until the details are worked out, but he said all staffers are offered coverage, including vision and mental health, and the campaign splits the cost 50-50 with the employees."

"Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut covers 80 percent of the premium costs of medical coverage for all his paid campaign employees."

"Kerry, Dean, Gephardt, Lieberman and Graham, who have pushed for a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, all include the benefit for their employees, their campaigns said."

The Los Angeles Times ' editorial board is happy that Democrats are confronting the health care issue head-on. LINK

After all of this weekend's Invisible Primary activity, there will be a poetic coda on Monday afternoon, when leading representatives from all of the Democratic presidential campaigns are slated to gather at the DNC to see if the party can figure out a way to give cover to those campaigns who want to, shall we say, "rationalize" the debate process.

The Boston Globe 's Glen Johnson reports on Senator Ker- sorry, on Senator Joe Lieberman's proposal to schedule nationally televised monthly debates between the Democratic candidates, purportedly as a way to discuss key issues and handle the profusion of debate requests by various special interest groups, but also, it is suggested, to capitalize on his "win" in the South Carolina debate. LINK

Johnson writes:

"Several of the rival campaigns expressed interest in the offer, which would begin in July, even as some speculated privately that Lieberman was attempting to sidestep appearing before liberal-leaning groups that might oppose his more conservative record on subjects such as the environment. One political analyst said the Connecticut Democrat was also trying to attract attention after a successful performance in a debate two weekends ago in South Carolina, which, unfortunately for Lieberman, occurred late on a Saturday night before a limited audience."

Johnson quotes Craig T. Smith's statement ("'Doing [monthly televised debates] would not only help ensure that the voters hear our voices but that the Republican Party is not permitted to dominate the political debate with its fund-raising resources and with the media power of the presidency"') and the accord of Jim Jordan and Erik Smith, but also Notes the reluctance of the Dean and Edwards campaigns to limit the number of debates to once a month (Joe Trippi: "'We're for all debates,'" Jennifer Palmieri: "'We wouldn't do it to the exclusion of other debates'").

The Washington Post's David Von Drehle Notebooks Bruce Reed channeling Bill Clinton, and the Lieberman pitch. LINK

Note to DVD: Craig Smith's title, as all the world knows, is "campaign director," which some people actually think is a more august title than "campaign manager."

Writing for the Hartford Courant's Caucus column, David Lightman ponders the strategy.LINK

"The plan is not an attempt to gain any strategic edge, said spokesman Jano Cabrera." "But others said the plan would help Lieberman in several crucial ways." "'Lieberman would benefit from monthly debates, because it would give him more control over his own schedule,' said Darrell West, professor of political science at Brown University."

Of course, Senator Lieberman would not be the only candidate to benefit from schedule control. The happiest folks would be the campaign schedulers and fundraisers, for whom the current lingering uncertainty about these events causes real headaches.

"The plan would also give him badly needed time to raise enough money during the spring quarter, which ends June 30, to stay competitive. Lieberman finished a poor fourth in first quarter fund-raising."

"There's one other benefit for Lieberman in monthly debates: He could avoid another round of media accounts about how he cannot participate on the Sabbath."

"He will not participate in Saturday's AFSCME forum in Iowa, and the May 3 South Carolina debate had to begin at 9 p.m. to accommodate Lieberman, who could not participate until after sundown."

"Cabrera said none of those reasons influenced Lieberman when he made his proposal. 'We want everyone to appear together and discuss issues,' the spokesman said, 'and reach the widest possible audience.'"

The proposal has received at least partial support from several of his fellow presidentials, the AP's Nedra Pickler writes.

"The Democrats had their first debate this month in South Carolina and have received at least 29 requests for debates, forums and other joint appearances over the next nine months, according to the Lieberman campaign's count." LINK

"Many of the invitations are from Democratic interest groups, and candidates hate to skip out, especially when their rivals will be there to work the crowd. But the multiple requests for appearances are causing scheduling headaches for some of the candidates, who also need time to raise money and meet voters in primary states."

"For example, four scheduled appearances at the end of June would take the campaigns to Minnesota, Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix over eight days at the same time the candidates will be scrambling to compile second-quarter campaign finance reports."

"Jim Jordan, campaign manager for Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's campaign, said his camp still is considering the specifics of Lieberman's proposal but is interested in bring some structure to the process."

"'Debates and forums before a variety of audiences in a variety of locations are an extremely important part of the democratic nominating process, and a part of the process that Senator Kerry very much enjoys,' Jordan said. 'Like most other campaigns, however, we're beginning to worry about the proliferation of invitations we're receiving — scores to date and many more surely to follow.'"

The Christian Science Monitor's Marlantes has a nice look at health care and the candidates' plans. LINK

DEAN

Iowa hiring news: "Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean has fleshed out his Iowa campaign staff by adding key communications and organizational staffers, aides said. Sarah Leonard will become Dean's communications director for the state, while Jennifer Hengstenberg will become political director for Dean's campaign for the state's precinct caucuses. Ken Sanguin will be director of field operations. Leonard was press secretary for Senator Tom Harkin's campaign, and communications director for the state's Democratic Party. Hengstenberg was finance director for the state Democratic Party, and was political director for Governor Tom Vilsack's campaign. Sanguin worked for the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone." LINK

Earlier this week we questioned the correct spelling and etymology of Governor Dean's nickname, "Ho-Ho" and many of you told us that Vermont columnist Peter Freyne was responsible for it. Well, the Googling monkeys jumped on this like Googling monkeys are want to do and came up with this passage from a Charles P. Pierce Boston Globe Magazine profile published last November.

"The year after he established his medical practice in the state, he was elected to the Vermont Legislature. He quickly began building his own political network. He was taken on as a protege by Esther Sorrell, as close to a grande dame as Vermont's Democrats are likely to have. Dean would spend many evenings at the Sorrell house. Esther loved him and called him "Ho-Ho-Ho," for his locomotive energy."

We will do our best to refrain from train related metaphors, but no promises.

The Deans, on paper: LINK

KERRY

The AP's Mike Glover has downgraded Senator Kerry's entrance into the health care debate from a plunge to a "belated entry." LINK

"Kerry's proposal, which he said would bring virtually universal health coverage, calls for "new quality and technology measures" to trim the cost of providing health care. He would expand existing programs to extend coverage to roughly 95 percent of adults, and almost all children. It would give a subsidy to those unable to pay for the reduced rates it would put in place for the coverage."

One of our anonymous Googling monkeys with a broad institutional knowledge of Yale history (the poor guy!) tells us that John Heinz was not, in fact, in Skull and Bones.

He was in some type of society called "Manuscript."

Anyone else know if this is true?

GEPHARDT

Is the Reliable Source now the Gephardt family court circular?

The Washington Post 's Grove reports that Gephardt's daughter Kate is engaged. LINK

"Construction company co-owner Neil Greenberg, a 35-year-old divorced father of two, is engaged to the Missouri congressman's 25-year-old daughter, Kate Gephardt. She's a pre-school teacher at the Manor Montessori School in Bethesda, where Greenberg's 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter have been students."

The Rep's future son-in-law, a Republican and President Bush fan, will now support Gephardt. The couple, following a "whirlwind, two-month romance," live together and are planning a wedding for "'next summer.'"

The AP reports on the Gephardt campaign's response to the FromCo. charges against his health care plan. LINK

EDWARDS

"Edwards Won't Seek Reelection," blares a Raleigh News & Observer headline. Don't fall out of your chair like we did--it's not that Edwards. LINK

Senator Edwards is on board the debate train. And much like Mr. Lightman sees the debate scenario helping Senator Lieberman's bid for the White House, the Raleigh News & Observer's John Wagner thinks it could be good for Mr. Edwards too. LINK

"'We think it's a great idea, and we'd be happy to work with the other campaigns to make them happen,' said Edwards spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri."

"If they materialize, such debates would help Edwards, among the lesser-known of the major candidates, broaden his exposure during an important phase of the campaign."

In Mr. Wagner's "Under the Dome" column, you can read about Senator Elizabeth Dole's first piece of successful legislation. She's the first freshman to get a bill passed this session. You can also catch up on some senate softball and Senator Edwards' "grave concerns" over livestock farm regulations. It's all a click away. LINK

Jennifer Palmieri this is Michael Ling. Michael Ling this is Jennifer Palmieri. We thought you guys should meet. LINK

LIEBERMAN

The Liebermans, on paper: LINK

Big Casino budget politics:

All the coverage of the Senate tax vote says:

1. big political win for the president

2. the conference with the House will be tough and unpredictable

3. what emerged from the Senate is more of a political win than a substantive win

4. sunsets are gimmicky

The Washington Post 's Weisman plays up the "big win" angle. LINK

And he has these nuggets:

" … Voinovich said he agreed to vote yes after White House counselor Karl Rove promised him Bush would back the formation of a commission on tax reform …"

"'It is a measure of how far fiscal discipline has slipped that the Senate would even consider such hocus-pocus in the wake of the Enron accounting scandal,' said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a budget watchdog group … ."

(Note Note: we didn?t know this group was still in existence!)

"House GOP leaders publicly insist they will hold out for a larger tax cut package, but privately they say they will have to accept the Senate number. They may need a few weeks to let House conservatives vent their frustration before they can bring them aboard, the leadership source said."

The New York Times ' Rosenbaum touts the big presidential win as well, but finds this additional conference hurdle:

"Thursday, the Senate added a measure raising the Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals in rural areas. To offset the expense, Medicare payments would be cut for equip.m.ent like wheelchairs and chemotherapy drugs. Patients would also be charged deductibles and co-payments for laboratory services, both completely covered now." LINK

The paper's David Firestone gets to write a news analysis saying the Senate is a messy place. LINK

The Boston Globe 's Susan Milligan writes the "Senate narrowly approved the third-biggest tax cut in history last night and set the stage for a showdown with the House over the size and scope of President Bush's tax cut package." LINK

Milligan anticipates "tense" negotiations between the House and Senate Republican leaders, and quotes a giddy Grover Norquist: "'A lot of things sunset, and the not-so-secret secret is of course we have no intention of sticking to $350 billion,' said Norquist, who heads Americans for Tax Reform, which supports deep tax cuts. 'That is why this is the president winning."'

The Boston Herald's Andrew Miga covers the Senate passage of the $350 tax plan. LINK

Miga offers a few reactions, with an eye on local Senate voters ("Kerry abruptly scrapped plans for a major health care news conference in Iowa yesterday, rushing back to Washington for key votes on the bill and several amendments that were expected to be close.")

The Washington Post ed board decided to make George Voinovich the villain of this piece:

"So the deficit hawk of Ohio has clipped his wings for a plan that delivers the worst of all worlds: It costs more than he claimed was affordable and delivers less stimulus than he claims is needed. What is real is the burden that last night's Senate action will add to all those children and grandchildren he was so concerned about a couple of weeks back." LINK

Senator Ben makes the USA Today , which, in turns, makes David DiMartino a happy man. LINK

Legislative agenda:

Even though Democrats remain more politically afraid of the gun issue than do Republicans, Speaker Hastert doesn't want his party to go overboard, and get all premature, on the assault weapons ban, says the Washington Post 's Jim VandeHei. LINK

But the New York Times ' Carl Hulse floats a different worldview: "House Republican officials said there was a school of thought emerging among House leaders that it would be politically shrewd to bring the measure to the floor and put Democrats from conservative Southern and Western states on the spot by forcing them to take a position on the ban that is opposed by some voters in their states." LINK

The New York Times editorial page, widely read in the districts of squishy moderate suburban Republicans, demands the ban be renewed. LINK

The San Francisco Chronicle's Edward Epstein writes that the Senate's passage of the AIDS relief package "reinforces the U.S. position as the leading nation in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. And it raises the hope that other nations will follow America in increasing spending on treating and preventing the disease that has infected about 30 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, about 70 percent of the world's total cases. About 3.5 million Africans were infected in 2002 alone." LINK

Politics:

"Florida Governor Jeb Bush yesterday said black leaders' threat to initiate a boycott against the state's major industries will not undermine his support for a requirement that all high school students pass a test to graduate," the Washington Times reports. LINK

The man knows as much about the culture and economics of air travel as he does about politics--and we don't mean that in a bad way.

He's Rich Galen, the former Gingrich and Quayle spokesman who now dominates politics on the web (sort of) with Mullings.com.

And he's now this week, for the first time in North America, Mark Halperin's guest on this week's Here's The Point airing this weekend and available on the web Sunday.

With tout le DC increasingly buzzing about a possible SCOTUS retirement (with one name Chiefly raised), the Wall Street Journal ?s Calmes Wires this in:

"With any resignation likely to come after the high court's term ends in June — Chief Justice Rehnquist is most watched — Judiciary Committee's Republican staff views videos of past hearings, including those for Justices Rehnquist and Thomas, and for Bork, who failed confirmation. They study attacks, for ways to combat them."

"The panel could need a month to prepare once Bush names someone, a staffer says, but White House would push for quicker action. To counter liberals, the panel plans an 'important role' for the Committee for Justice, a group headed by C. Boyden Gray, Bush I's former counsel, to lobby for nominees."

"'We're gearing up for the ugliest fight this country has ever seen,' says a staffer."

The Invisible Primary implications would be immense.

The Wire also has this: "Though Bush embraced outgoing budget director Daniels as 'my man Mitch' Tuesday in Indiana, aides say he's not trying to clear Daniels' way in a packed Republican race for Hoosier governor. Daniels backers at the tax-cut rally were asked to remove pro-Mitch buttons. While Daniels traveled in a government C-20 resembling a mini-Air Force One, rival and former Rep. McIntosh stayed away to avoid the 'Mitchfest,' his aide says. McIntosh holds in reserve film of Bush endorsing him in the last governor's race."

The Wall Street Journal has this politically key story: "Even as the auto industry and environmental groups gird for another political fight over fuel economy, private discussions are under way to work out a truce."

Knight Ridder's Kevin G. Hall asks, "What do you get when you cross Hillary Rodham Clinton with Evita Peron? In Argentina, the answer appears to be Cristina Kirchner, the country's first lady in waiting." LINK

"In his first public appearance since admitting to an affair, [West Virginia Governor Bob] Wise told several hundred high school students that 'life is about choices,'" writes the AP's Gavin McCormick. LINK

The New Orleans Times-Picayune's Martha Carr reports that "Marc Morial, New Orleans' ambitious and charismatic former mayor who failed to translate his popularity into a third term, was named president of The National Urban League on Thursday, making him one of the most prominent African-American leaders in the country." LINK

Judicial confirmation battles:

The nomination of Judge Pickering may one day live anew. LINK

BCRA:

The DSCC has complained to the Federal Elections Commission that the Club for Growth's South Dakota television advertisements taking Senator Tom Daschle to task are clear examples of sham issue ads and violate current federal election law.

The ads ask voters to tell Daschle to vote for the president's economic plan.

DSCC attorney Bob Bauer contends they violate the governing interpretation of BCRA, which prohibits groups from funding television or radio ads which clearly support, defend, attack or oppose a cabdudate with soft money.

"The Senate campaign in SD is in full gear and thse who doubt it should consult the local press. And Daschle is a candidate for reelection," Bauer wrote in a posting to an election law website yesterday.

"Club for Growth is clearly not expecting to pressure Daschle into adopting the president's economic program. If this is not a "sham" issue ad, concerned with damaging Daschle rather than moving him on the issue, what is?"

Bush Administration strategy/personality:

Dana Milbanks at the Bush/Cheney financial disclosure forms. LINK

And like Milbank, the New York Times ' Dick Stevenson is fascinated by those pricey Rolling Stones tix that a Bush daughter (and her detail) got. LINK