Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing and Dan Furman of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.

Wednesday's Headlines

* Veep Watch

* Kerry: Down in PA, Up in NM

* Greens Strategy

* Cheney in Disclosed Locations

* Cash Crunch?

* Complaining Conservatives Fan Fahrenheit 9/11's Fires.

Veep Watch: Edwards, Gephardt Score High on Satisfaction Meter: A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll released on Tuesday showed North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt the Democratic veep choices Americans were most enthusiastic about. Seventy-two percent picked Edwards and 64 percent picked Gephardt as choices about whom they are enthusiastic or satisfied. Following them were retired General Wesley Clark with 59 percent, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh with 58 percent and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack at 54 percent.

On the flipside, an Edwards pick would disappoint only 14 percent of Democrats and 26 percent of Republicans. Gephardt's and Clark's "disappoint" score among Republicans is 36 percent and Vilsack would disappoint 34 percent. Republicans would be most satisfied with Edwards (62 percent) and Even Bayh (57 percent.) the survey found.

As for timing, Kerry is spending quite a bit of time in Pittsburgh over the next week—planning for his convention the staff says. On Monday night Newsweek's Howard Fineman reported that "There was a conference call late last week in which John Kerry talked to his top fundraisers and said, guys and gals, if you have anything to say about any of the major vice presidential contenders, let me know right now. That's No. 1. No. 2, they've blocked out schedule in the campaign for right after July 4. So they're clearly coming down to a decision point." Campaign sources have told CBS News it could come a little later in the month but to be prepared since July is upon us.

Kerry and Gephardt were both at Operation Push on Tuesday though not together. Kerry will campaign with Vilsack on July 4 in Iowa.

The Boston Herald reports that Edwards will headline two fundraisers for Kerry in Boston starting July 5 -- the same day Kerry heads back "east" from Iowa after spending the holiday weekend campaigning with Vilsack.

Kerry: Down in PA, Up in NM: Following two speeches of record-breaking length on Tuesday, John Kerry returns to the Heinz family farm outside Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Kerry is "down" for the day, with no public events schedules. And that's probably a good thing: Kerry's speeches of 50 minutes, 6 seconds (Rainbow/PUSH) and 51 minutes, 34 seconds (La Raza) probably left the senator feeling rather tired. Both speeches eclipsed his former record: 47 minutes at Drake University in Iowa on December 16, 2003 reports CBS News' Steve Chaggaris who has listened to them all. Kerry had come close to breaking the record two months ago on successive days - 46 minutes, 30 seconds in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 28 and 45 minutes, 18 seconds in Philadelphia on April 29. Looks like Kerry has finally accomplished something specific out of the campaign trail.

While Kerry (presumably) rests his vocal chords in Pennsylvania, his campaign is launching a new campaign on the airwaves of New Mexico. The ad, called "Pilot," goes says, ""He's a husband and father. A pilot, a hunter, a hockey player. Tough prosecutor, advocate for kids. 19 years Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Author of a strategy to win the war on terror. A combat veteran who has been praised by former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under both Presidents Reagan and Clinton. Stronger at Home. Respected in the World. John Kerry for President."

The ad is part of the $18 million buy announced at the beginning of June, according to information received by CBS News. Campaign Manager Mary Beth Cahill says the ad is meant to emphasize Kerry's optimism. In a press release she explained, "at his core, he's an optimist who like the American people knows we can do better and that is at the center of his plan…" The campaign says this is a small buy (maybe to compensate for Kerry's canceling a New Mexico trip last week to come back for Senate duties?) and is planning to "go dark" on ads for the July 4th weekend.

The Greens' "Safe Strategy": Ralph Nader needed to submit over 29,000 signatures to Indiana election officials by noon on Wednesday to gain access to the state ballot, but Kevin Zeese, Nader's campaign spokesman, tells CBS News, that he will not be successful.

Meanwhile, Pat LaMarche, the Green Party's nominee for vice president, said on Tuesday that her top priority is not to win the White House for her party, but to make sure that President Bush is defeated, reports the Portland Press Herald. In fact, she is so determined to see Bush lose that she is not committed to voting for the David Cobb/LaMarche ticket in November, saying she'll vote for whoever has the best chance of beating Bush. "I love my country," she said. "Maybe we should ask them that, because if (Vice President) Dick Cheney loved his country, he wouldn't be voting for himself," she said.

Initially, LaMarche didn't think the party should field a candidate for president at all, because many people feel that the Green Party's last candidate, Ralph Nader, helped Bush win the White House. She has since rejected that theory, citing the many Democrats who voted for Bush. That being said, Cobb and LaMarche have decided to pursue a "safe strategy," which means they will not seriously compete in battleground states.

Meanwhile, a Washington watchdog group is plans to file a complaint with federal election officials on Wednesday, that accuses two conservative organizations of illegally helping Nader's presidential campaign, possibly with the support of the Bush/Cheney campaign, reports the AP.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics says the Oregon Family Council and Citizens for a Sound Economy violated election laws last week by telephoning people and urging them to help Nader get on Oregon's ballot in November.

Melanie Sloan, the watchdog group's executive director, said she also would name the Nader and Bush campaigns in her complaint because of reports that some Bush-Cheney volunteers may have made similar calls from Bush campaign offices. ``If Bush-Cheney was soliciting those corporations to assist the Nader campaign, then that's a violation,'' she said. Although both groups admit to making calls, they deny any wrongdoing or coordination with the campaign. Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said he had not seen the complaint but called it "frivolous.''

This is not, incidentally, the first time Sloan's group has filed charges against the Nader campaign. Last week it filed an FEC complaint against Nader, saying he violated federal campaign laws by accepting office space and telephone service from a public charity he created. Nader has denied the charge and calls all the complaints frivolous.

Cheney: A Bus Trip of His Own and Cheering in the Bronx: Vice President Dick Cheney kicked off a busy week of campaigning in New York on Tuesday, where he took-in a Yankees game and raised money for the GOP at a quick midtown fundraiser at the St. Regis.

On Thursday, Cheney continues his Disclosed Location tour in New Orleans, where he'll crow about progress in Iraq at the National D-Day Museum.

Over the long holiday weekend, Cheney hits the battleground campaign trail with a bus trip of his own. On Saturday, the vice president's bus will stop in Parma, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia. On Sunday, it's Pittsburgh and Altoona, Pa.

The New York Times reports: "Cheney spent about 20 minutes in Manager Joe Torre's office and in the clubhouse shaking hands with players before the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 11-3, last night at Yankee Stadium. … Cheney studied the photographs inside and outside Torre's office and asked Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame catcher, why he was playing the outfield in one picture. Cheney started watching the game from the private box of the Yankees' principal owner, George Steinbrenner, switched to a seat beside the Yankees' dugout for a few innings, then returned to Steinbrenner's box."

But, The Times reports, the crowd wasn't as happy to see Cheney at the game. Unlike the rousing reception President Bush received during the 2001 World Series in the wake of the terrorist attacks, Cheney was greeted with jeers instead of cheers. "During the singing of 'God Bless America' in the seventh inning, an image of Cheney was shown on the scoreboard. It was greeted with booing, so the Yankees quickly removed the image," the paper of record reports.

The New York Post reports that Cheney attended the game with New York Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Cheney also met for about 20 minutes with current New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said he pushed for increased anti-terror funding for the city.

Cash Crunch: As the Democratic National Convention draws near, John Kerry is facing the question of how to repay the $6.4 million bank loan he took out in late December of last year. Kerry can draw upon campaign funds in order to repay the loan; however, he will be limited to the campaign money raised prior to his nomination at the convention, reports the Los Angeles Times.

If Kerry does decide to use campaign funds to repay the loan, he will have $6.4 million less to spend on advertising. This constitutes a drastic blow to the campaign, considering President Bush will be allotted five additional weeks to raise campaign donations, due to the placement of the Republican National Convention in late August. In accordance with the campaign finance rules currently in place, "presidential candidates can raise private money up until they are nominated at their party's convention."

Fewer funds to spend on advertising would not be the only problem facing Kerry if he chooses to use campaign money to repay the loan. One anonymous campaign fundraiser is concerned "some donors would be upset to learn their money went to repay Kerry's loan."

The alternative, of course, is for Kerry to pay off the loan himself, using personal funds. However, Kerry's salary of $154,700 a year would make it difficult for him to even make the monthly interest payments of $16,600 a month. Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, whose estimated worth exceeds $1 billion, would be unable to help Kerry due to campaign finance constraints. Any attempt on her part to pay off the loan would be considered an illegal campaign contribution.

The clock is ticking for those in the Kerry camp, as Kerry must decide whether or not to use campaign money to repay the loan within 20 days after the convention, which is set to begin on July 26. "Senator Kerry has not made a final decision on this," said Michael Meehan, a senior campaign adviser. "As of now, the loan has not been repaid."

Complaining About Fahrenheit 9/11 Might Be Throwing Water on an Oil Fire: The Wall Street Journal reports that some conservative political groups are trying to shut down the new anti-Bush flick from Michael Moore. Move American Forward and Citizen's United are trying to get the F.E.C. to remove ads for the movie from television. The groups claim that the ads violate campaign-finance laws if shown past the end of July. Citizen's United says that this "electioneering communication" is should be subject to the restrictions and regulatory requirements of federal campaign law including the ban on corporate and foreign money as well as a mandated disclosure statement.

As these groups continue their fight they raise the profile of the movie, which is exactly what Michael Moore wants. "I want to thank all the right-wing organization out there who tried to stop this movie," the filmmaker quipped. "They have only encouraged more people to go and see it." Moore points to the $23.9 million in ticket sales his movie took in for opening weekend. The movie showed best in liberal areas like New York and Los Angeles, however, it also did well in Peoria, Ill., which may attest that it can appeal to broader audiences. Next weekend the number of screens that it is shown on will increase form 868 to 1,700.

The White House didn't have any other comment on it other than to say that it doesn't "do movie reviews." Most Republican strategists believe that the film won't have that much of an effect on voters. However, other conservatives may not be so sure. Alfred Regenery, the publisher of the conservative magazine "The American Spectator" said that the movies' message could change the minds of some independents. "For the most part he's preaching to the choir, but Michael Moore can be very persuasive." He continued, "I think a good many people who don't have an opinion will go and see it and think, wow, this is really terrible."

Quote of the Day: "I think I'm the only person who hasn't hooked up because of the campaign. Because I'm deathly afraid to" -- Chris Heinz, at a fundraiser for stepfather John Kerry (New York Daily News)