Washington Wrap

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

Friday's Headlines

* Kerry's Independence Streak

* Bush-Cheney Releases New Jobs Ad on Cable

* Let the Clinton Book Rollout Begin

* Durbin's Catholic Scorecard

* NYT: Some Conservatives, Unhappy with Bush, Plan to Sit Out Election

* Former Moran Pollster Revives Anti-Semitism Flap

* Illinois Senate Candidate's (Steamy) Divorce Papers Will Remain Sealed

Show-Me Kerry: John Kerry continued his national security week on Thursday in Missouri, where he spoke in Harry S. Truman's hometown of Independence.

Even as Kerry wraps up an 11-day national security-themed tour, the latest CBS News poll finds: "As both presidential candidates vie for the veterans vote in 2004, right now the president holds a clear lead among those who have served. Veterans are also more likely than other voters to approve of how the President is handling both Iraq and the overall war on terror.

Even though they are not generally upbeat about the how the war in Iraq is going for U.S., veterans are more positive than Americans overall: 47% think things are going well, and 51% think the war is going badly."

In the horserace, Kerry leads 49% to 41% among all registered voters, but trails by 14 points – 54% to 40% -- among vets. If John McCain were on the ticket that would change dramatically. A Kerry-McCain ticket would run even with Bush-Cheney among veterans, 48% to 48%.

CBS News' Steve Chaggaris, traveling with Kerry, reports that Kerry's speech in Independence was short on details about his own plans to strengthen the military, but long on criticism of President Bush: "Despite all its talk of transforming (the) military, the Bush administration has done far too little to adapt our forces to the new missions they have to undertake," said Kerry. "We went into Iraq with too few troops to prevent looting and crime, to maintain security, to secure nearly a million tons of conventional weapons now being used against our troops. We failed to build alliances and squandered the opportunity to generate wider support inside Iraq, in the Arab world, and among the major powers... These mistakes have complicated our mission: a stable Iraq with a representative government secure in its borders."

He continued, "There is little evidence that this Administration has learned from its mistakes. The rhetoric of toughness is not enough to make us safe. We need tough decisions to strengthen the American military, so we can find and get the terrorists before they get us."

Kerry also commented – in a statement first and later on C-SPAN – about the resignation of CIA Director George Tenet. "I have known George Tenet for many years, and I wish him the very best. He has worked extremely hard on behalf of our nation, and we are grateful for his effort," Kerry's statement read adding, "There have been significant intelligence failures, and the administration has to accept responsibility for those failures. ... We must reshape our intelligence community for the 21st century and create a new position of 'Director of National Intelligence' with real control of all intelligence personnel and budgets."

Eventually, during an interview with C-SPAN at the Harry S Truman Presidential Museum, Kerry did talk about Tenet saying, "He's a good man, he gave a lot to this country. I like him personally but I think the failures of the intelligence agency during these last years in the most critical time are not insignificant."

Next week, Kerry will shift from national security to what his campaign calls the "middle class squeeze." On Monday, he'll campaign in Denver and attend a fund-raiser in Los Angeles in the evening. On Tuesday, Kerry will discuss "mortgage and credit card fairness" in Arizona. Afterwards, he'll head back to Los Angeles to watch a screening of a film by his daughter, Alexandra. On Wednesday, Kerry will speak on women and family work division – another middle class issue – before jetting to Ohio, where he'll hold a health care event on Thursday. On Thursday night, there's a fund-raiser in New York. Kerry will do event in New York on Friday.

June 16 and June 17 it's Michigan for a bus tour on jobs.

Pessimist vs. Optimist on Cable Only: Bush-Cheney '04 announced the release of a new ad Friday. Called "Pessimism," the ad will be shown on national cable channels. According to the accompanying press release, "The new ad highlights President Bush's leadership in strengthening the economy, including 1.4 million new jobs added since August, in contrast to John Kerry's pessimism about America's growing economy." In a press release from early May, Kerry said that "America is still in the worst job recovery since the Great Depression, with 2.2 million private-sector jobs lost in the Bush presidency," one of the claims that the new Bush ad aims to refute.

"Pessimism" features the President saying, "I'm optimistic about America because I believe in the people of America." A following voice-over states, "After recession, 9-11 and war, now our economy has been growing for ten straight months. The largest tax relief in history. 1.4 million jobs added since August. Inflation, interest and mortgage rates low. Record homeownership. John Kerry's response? He's talking about the Great Depression. One thing's sure... Pessimism never created a job."

On Tuesday, the Kerry campaign announced a new ad called "Optimists," which focuses on the need for job creation, lower healthcare costs, energy independence, and a strong, international force to fight terror. Kerry states in the opening moments of the ad that, "We're a country of the future. We're a country of optimists; we're the can-do people."

Clinton's Book Tour: Former President Bill Clinton was in Chicago Thursday speaking to an audience of booksellers, publishers and other industry professionals at the annual BookExpo America trade show. Clinton's memoir, "My Life," will be published June 22 by Alfred Knopf. Clinton received a reported $10 million advance for the tome, which weighs in at nearly 1,000 pages. That's nearly $10,000 a page.

In his speech in the McCormick Place Convention Center, Clinton touched on his differences with the current administration. Said Clinton, "I come from a more traditional American tradition -- going back to the Founders. . . . Politics is not religion, and we should govern on the basis of politics, not theology," reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

About his memoir, Clinton said, "I have no earthly idea if this is a great book . . . but I think it's a pretty good story." Knopf agrees; "My Life" has been given a 1.5 million copy first printing, an extremely high number for a nonfiction book. The Chronicle reports that "the first half tells his early life story and the second half chronicles his two terms as president." Said Clinton, "I don't try to settle a lot of scores here. . . . I tried to show how this one little story is part of America's big story."

When asked if he had spoken to Clinton about his new book, Kerry said "yes" though he has "no idea" if he's mentioned in it, reports CBS News' Steve Chaggaris. Regarding the potential distraction when the Clinton book is released on 6/22, Kerry added, "I am truly not worried about it." Kerry then went on to say, "I intend to get him to campaign as much as we can . . . He's determined to be very helpful as we move forward." Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, will appear at the Democratic Convention in Boston at a book-signing event for their respective books. Clinton will also deliver a "prime time convention speech" on July 26, reports the Boston Globe.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Clinton decided not to include one page that would have sent tremors through the Knopf accounting department at his $10,000/page rate. "I wanted to write a whole page on 'High Noon,' my favorite movie," Clinton said.

Clinton will give his first interview on the book to CBS News' Dan Rather. It will air on 60 Minutes, Sunday June 20 -- two days before the book is released.

The Catholic Scorecard: As President Bush met in Vatican City with the Pope, Democrats are trying to diffuse the notion of a gulf between the Church and the Democratic party. Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., released a Catholic scorecard showing that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to align themselves with church positions on legislative issues.

Much of the current politico-religious controversy has been heightened by the presence of pro-choice, anti-death penalty Catholic John Kerry as the Democratic standard bearer. Catholic leaders have urged priests not to give Holy Communion to those (like Kerry) who disagree with major tenets of church doctrine. But Durbin's analysis shows that Kerry supports the Catholic Church's positions 60.9 percent of time. That is the highest ranking for any senator.

The report "analyzes votes and legislative co-sponsorships for the 24 Catholic U.S. Senators regarding issues for which the USCCB [United States Conference of Catholic Bishops] has taken an official position," according to information received by CBS News. The scorecard includes a total of 48 votes or actions Senators have taken regarding these 24 issues, plus the Iraqi War Resolution, which fall into three areas: Domestic Issues; International Issues; and Pro-Life Issues. Only Catholic senators were evaluated (a total of 24).

After Senator Kerry, other scorers above 60 percent include fellow Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy and Durbin himself. Eleven other senators earned scores over 50 percent, including some Republicans. The lowest scoring of all was John Sununu, R-N.H., who scored 33.2 percent.

Durbin's conclusion about the focus on Kerry? "Unfortunately, recent media attention has focused on one or two priorities of the Catholic Church, while obscuring others. This has made it more difficult for Catholic voters to understand the full range of issues that have been identified by the USCCB as priorities for public life."

Some Conservatives Sitting Out 2004?: It's long been speculated that some conservatives aren't too happy with the Bush administration over a host of issues from the war against Iraq to the spiraling federal budget deficit. Now, The New York Times reports: "Some major donors to the Club for Growth, a principal fund-raising engine of the conservative movement, have said they plan to sit out this year's presidential election to protest what they see as the administration's big-government tendencies."

That the Club for Growth would be a thorn in Bush's side should come as no surprise to anyone following politics this year. You'll recall the tough fight Republican Sen. Arlen Specter had in last month's Republican primary when a Club-backed conservative, Rep. Pat Toomey, ran against him. Bush himself had to travel to Pittsburgh to raise money for Specter and rally the Republican troops behind him.

The Times reports: "At a dinner in Manhattan on Tuesday for about 20 prominent members of the club, President Bush's credentials as a limited-government conservative became the subject of heated debate. Many of those present criticized the president's Medicare plan as too expensive and his erstwhile support for steel tariffs as inefficient, several participants said."

Stephen Moore, founder and president of the Club, that many club members were torn over support for the president, saying that many board members felt some frustration with the administration's spending.

"There are a lot of donors who have said, 'No, I am not going to support Bush because he is a big spender or because he supported Specter or because of the steel tariffs,' " he said. "It is easier to raise money for ads attacking Kerry than for pro-Bush ads."

Still, Moore tells the Times that most conservatives were forgiving the president. "Look, Bush still needs to do some mending of fences with conservatives on the overspending and on the interference in campaigns like the Toomey-Specter race," he said. "But it is also true that we are going to be pulling very strongly for him nonetheless. A lot of people who are upset with Bush find John Kerry a very frightening prospect in the White House."

A Bush campaign spokesman dismissed the story. "The president's level of support among Republican voters and conservative voters is at a historic high. The party is united behind the president," said spokesman Steve Schmidt.

He Said, He Said: Alan Secrest, a pollster who "has severed" his relationship with the campaign of Virginia Rep. Jim Moran, has charged that the congressman made an anti-Semitic remark in a recent staff meeting, The Washington Post reports. Moran, who is in a tough primary race next Tuesday against Democratic lawyer Andy Rosenberg, has been dogged by an earlier comment that some considered anti-Semitic. He told the Post he was "stupefied" by Secrest's charge and called it a "a flat out lie."

Secrest, who has polled for over 300 Democratic House candidates, cut off his 20-year relationship with Moran is a letter saying he was upset over Moran's "increasingly erratic behavior."

"The final straw for me were your offensive remarks," Secrest wrote. He told the Post that it was "anti-Semitic in nature" but refused to say what the remark was. Former Dean campaign manger Joe Trippi was at the meeting when the alleged comment was made but defended Moran and said he didn't hear any inappropriate words. "There were some fairly harsh words" between Secrest and Moran about money and a poll, " Trippi said.

The Moran campaign has paid Secrest's firm $38,300 this cycle for polling.

Most of Ryan's Divorce Papers Will Remain Closed: On Thursday, a California court recommended keeping most of U.S. Senate candidate Jack Ryan's divorce papers sealed. The report cites concerns of the harm that the records would cause to Ryan's 9-year-old son if some of those intimate details were released.

A number of the divorce papers were originally sealed at Ryan's request over objections from Jeri Ryan, his former wife. However, following the Chicago Tribune's motion to open the documents, Jeri Ryan has joined her former husband's petition in keeping the documents sealed.

The report comes as Ryan, trailing his democratic opponent Barack Obama by a wide margin according to a recent Tribune/WGN-TV poll, is attempting to breathe new life in to his campaign through a fundraiser Friday night headlined by Vice President Dick Cheney. Obama and Ryan are competing for the Illinois senate seat after Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald decided not to seek reelection. Ryan, in a recent campaign email to supporters, said that he would match every dollar contributed to the campaign with 50 cents of his own money.

Obama is having his own fundraisers next week featuring U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton and billionaire Democratic activist George Soros.

Quote of the Day: "You guys think you had a bad year? I was replaced by the guy who starred in 'Conan the Barbarian'." -- ex-CA Gov. Gray Davis, to Pete Rose and "other down-on-their-luck celebrities" in an ad for CBS (AP).