Washington Wrap

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

Friday's Headlines

* Kerry Hits the $80 Million Mark

* Minorities Voice Concerns with Kerry Campaign

* Battleground Poll Watch

* Pelosi Enters the Communion Debate

* The Howard Dean Show?

* Former Ambassador Joe Wilson Points a Finger of his Own

Kerry Finally Has a Medal-Free Day: After weeks of back and forth, including rather personal, negative attacks, John Kerry and his presidential campaign had some good news on Thursday. The Kerry campaign announced that it had broken its fundraising goal of $80 million by the Democratic National Convention in July. According to a press release from campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill, "400,000 Americans have powered our campaign to reach the $80 million 2004 goal a full three months early." The campaign's haul included $34 million on the Internet since January and $34 million raised during Kerry's 20 city money tour. The tour, which concludes in St. Louis on Friday, was only scheduled to raise $20 million.

And how will the campaign celebrate its monetary prowess? By raising more cash, of course. The campaign has now set a new goal of raising $100 million in time for the convention.

On Friday, Kerry will make a speech at Westminster College in Missouri. Westminster was the site of Winston Churchill's 1947 Iron Curtain speech and was also graced with the presence of Vice President Cheney earlier this week. Cheney angered some members of the college with his overtly political speech and the college's president apologized to the campus community. Kerry has pledged to stay above the political fray (although the phrase "Mission Accomplished" pops up early in the speech) and his remarks are expected to lay out in greater detail his plans for the U.S. in Iraq.

According to excerpts received by CBS News, Kerry will say, "We need to put pride aside to build a stable Iraq. We must reclaim our country's standing in the world by doing what has kept America safe and made it more secure before—leading in a way that brings others to us so that we are respected, not simply feared, around the globe."

One possible attendee at the Kerry speech is Flipper, a man dressed in a dolphin costume who accuses Kerry of being a "flip-flopper" on the issues. CBS News' Steve Chaggaris notes that Flipper made an appearance during a Kerry event in Harrisburg, Pa., on Thursday. "Interestingly, Flipper, who first made an appearance in Palm Beach County on April 19, has his own press folks who sent out a release on his behalf Thursday. 'Flipper to Join Kerry at Harrisburg Visit,'" read the release adding, "(Pennsylvania) Republican State Committee Chairman Alan Novak warned residents of Central Pennsylvania to be on the lookout for a flip-flopping Presidential candidate from Massachusetts,'" Chaggaris reports.

Campaign's Inner Circle Doesn't Look Like America: In an interview with BET News on Thursday, John Kerry invited Al Sharpton to speak at the Democratic Convention in July. But the invitation isn't likely to quiet minority leaders in the party who have voiced concerns about the lack of minorities in his inner circle and about their fears that he is taking their votes for granted, reports the New York Times.

"The reality is that we're entering May and the Kerry campaign has no message out there to the Hispanic community nor has there been any inkling of any reach-out effort in any state to the Hispanic electorate, at least with any perceivable sustainable strategy in mind," Alvaro Cifuentes, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee's Hispanic Caucus, said in an e-mail message to party leaders. "It is no secret that the word of mouth in the Beltway and beyond is not that he does not get it, it is that he does not care."

There are even rumblings among black officials who work with the campaign.
"He is generally surrounded by white folks, and sure that concerns me, sure," said Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C.

In a conference call with reporters on Thursday, DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe artfully dodged the question, saying that under his leadership the DNC has hired more African Americans than ever before and that it is important to look at the Kerry campaign and DNC as one unit.

In a telephone interview with the Times, Mary Beth Cahill, Kerry's campaign manager, and the Kerry campaign's three highest-ranking minority officials disputed talk that the inner circle was dominated by white men, saying that Marcus Jadotte, a deputy campaign manager who is black, and Paul Rivera, a senior adviser who is Hispanic, are among daily talks with the 15 top campaign officials. "This entire line of thinking is both insulting to this campaign and to the communities that are supporting John Kerry," Jadotte said.

Former competitor, Al Sharpton, meanwhile said he has been welcomed by the campaign and attributes some of the complaints to old rivalries stemming as far back as Mr. Jackson's 1988 campaign against former Gov. Michael Dukakis, whose Massachusetts-based inner circle overlaps somewhat with Mr. Kerry's. "I don't know whether the criticism is based on people wanting to see the inner circle diversified or whether it's a job application through the media," Mr. Sharpton said.

Battleground Poll Watch: Although the election is months away, there are few numbers that pique more interest than polls from battleground states. New polls released Friday show a neck and neck race in Arizona and a very confusing picture in Wisconsin.

In Arizona, a new poll by KAET-TV/Cronkite School of Journalism (conducted April 23 through April 26, margin of error 4.8 percent) shows Bush with 41 percent to Kerry's 38, a statistical dead heat. A large portion of voters is undecided – 18 percent – and 3 percent chose independent Ralph Nader.

In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, "two new polls offer very different pictures of the presidential race." A Badger Poll (conducted April 20 through April 28, margin of error 4 percent), shows Bush leading Kerry 50 to 38 and Nader with 6 percent. But in a St. Norbert College/WI Public Radio poll (conducted April 14 through 21, margin of error not reported) shows Kerry leading Bush, 46 to 40, with Nader at 8 percent. The difference in poll results could come from the different polling dates. As the Journal Sentinel reports, "Another possible factor in the different outcomes is that the St. Norbert sample group contained more Democrats than Republicans, while the pool of people surveyed in the Badger Poll contained more Republicans than Democrats."

Stay tuned for more polling data from the state. Gore won Wisconsin by less than two-tenths of a percentage point in 2000 and President Bush will visit the state on his Midwest road trip next week.

Pelosi Says She'll Continue to Receive Communion: Democratic House Minority leader, a pro-abortion rights Catholic said on Thursday that she would continue to ask for Communion despite a Vatican official's statement last week. "I fully intend to receive Communion, one way or another," Pelosi told the AP. "That's very important to me."

On Thursday the National Catholic Reporter ran an interview with Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick who heads the task force looking into the issue of what to do about Catholic politicians who take public stands opposed by the Catholic Church. He said on Fox News on Easter that he personally had problems with using communion as a sanction. He told the NCR that the task force was not part of a strategy by the Catholic bishops to support President Bush's re-election.

"Absolutely not," he said. McCarrick, who recently had a private meeting with John Kerry says that in fact, while he appreciates the president's views on human life, Catholic education and HIV/AIDs relief, he questions his policies in Iraq and the Middle East. He said whether or not the war in Iraq is ultimately just, the U.S. was not justified going in.

McCarrick also said that while he was in Rome this week he spoke to Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze who said at a news conference at the Vatican last week that a pro-choice politician should not be given Communion. McCarrick said it was clear to him from his conversation with the Cardinal that this was his personal opinion and not an official statement and that Arinze believes that the bishops of the United States should figure out what they want to do.

CBS News has been told that the task force report is not expected until after the November election. There has been some speculation that the American bishops will take it up at their annual meeting in Denver in June but sources say the report will not be ready by June.

Howard TV: Howard Dean got himself in a heap of trouble when tapes of a public affairs TV show, "The Editors," which he appeared on in the '90s, surfaced showing him trashing the Iowa Caucuses. But this week he is in Hollywood meeting with executives at Paramount Domestic Television (owned by Viacom, which also owns CBS News) regarding his own syndicated talk show.

Variety reports that Dean is in talks with ex-Big Ticket TV head Larry Lyttle, who is helping Dean make the connection with the studio, and longtime political consultant Gerald Rafshoon, who would likely serve as executive producer for the project. Lyttle, who launched the successful career of Judge Judy, says of Dean, "He's a little bit of Howard Beale, a little Dr. Phil and a little Donahue all rolled into one. What was so appealing to me is the fact that he's not afraid to express an opinion."

Walker Waugh of Democracy for America tells CBS News that while Howard Dean is entertaining many offers, nothing yet has been decided. He says, "Howard Dean's first priorities are to help John Kerry defeat George Bush, and to promote his new organization Democracy for America." According to Waugh, any decision will be announced after the November 2 election.

Wilson Outs His Suspects: In his new book, "The Politics of Truth," former Ambassador Joe Wilson accuses one of Dick Cheney's top aides of "outing" his wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA spy to columnist Robert Novak. He claims that Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis (Scooter) Libby, "quite possibly" leaked Plame's identity, reports the New York Daily News. He also identifies Bush senior adviser Karl Rove and national security aide Elliott Abrams as suspects.

Wilson believes his wife's name was leaked in retaliation for Wilson's "debunking" of the claims that Bush made about Saddam Hussein's attempt to purchase nuclear materials in Niger. One inside source said Libby and Rove are the focus of a special prosecutor's grand jury probe as outing spies is against federal law.

"The book is more than just Bush-bashing," Wilson said, and includes details of his Africa trip, "buildup to the Iraq war ... and consequences of all that happened to myself and my family."

Quote of the Day: "From everything I hear, he's on the very short, short, short, short, short list." – Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin on Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's VP prospects. (Des Moines Register)