Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Steve Chaggaris, Clothhilde Ewing, Nicola Corless, Smita Kalokhe and Joanna Schubert of The CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital. Sign Up for our daily Washington Wrap newsletter.

The poll - taken of 328 caucus-goers by Harstad Strategic Research Inc. for Planned Parenthood - showed Gephardt at 21 percent and Dean at 20 percent. Coming in a close third was Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts with 18 percent.

With a margin-of-error of +/- 5.4 percent, it looks like a three-man horserace in Iowa this summer. Another interesting tidbit: the poll was taken June 18 to June 24, before Dean's fundraising success became hot news.

(It was taken, however, right in the midst of Dean's supposedly disastrous "Meet The Press" performance on June 22, which might not prove quite the disaster some predicted.) Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who was the pick of 11 percent of those polled, was the only other aspirant above 5 percent.

A poll taken in early June by Research 2000 of "likely caucus voters" showed Gephardt with 27 percent, Kerry with 14 percent and Dean with 11 percent. A Mason-Dixon poll in May showed Dean at 7 percent – 18 points behind Gephardt.

On the money front, figures have trickled out of most of the Democratic campaigns. Dean, of course, led the pack with $7.5 million. Kerry came in at roughly $6 million, a million less than his first-quarter take. Lieberman - whose campaign played a fabulous round of the expectations game starting at $3 million last week and moving to "hoping for $4 million" – came in with $5 million, and setting up the "Lieberman exceeded expectations" newspaper leads.

Gephardt raised about $4.5 million, an improvement from the first quarter when he raised about $3.4 million, but still fifth among the nine pack. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida's campaign tells the New York Times that he raised under $3 million for the quarter. Rep. Dennis Kucinich's campaign tells the Times that they expect to top $1 million. Of those reporting, bringing up the rear was former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun with $150,000.

No word yet from Al Sharpton, although if he can manage to raise about $2.2 million – not a likely prospect – all nine Democrats will come close to matching President Bush's $34.2 million.

I Might Be Back: Arnold Schwarzenegger has returned to the big screen in "Terminator 3." After such a feat, most super heroes would hang up their AK-47s, but it looks like Schwarzenegger isn't finished and may try his hand at trying to rescue California from Gray Davis. He hasn't committed himself to the task yet, or even been officially nominated by his party, but his name is a buzz.

If Ted Costa, who is helping to organizing the recall effort is correct, it looks like either Schwarzenegger or another Republican candidate may need to step up to the plate soon. Costa claims they have already surpassed the nearly 900,000 votes needed to put the recall on the ballot and that they may reach their goal of 1.2 million signatures by next week, which could put the recall on the next ballot, reports The Mercury News.

Whether this is true is up for debate. What matters for Davis is not just how many signatures the recall effort gets, but when they get them. If his opponents manage to turn in the "approved" signatures this month, they might be able to qualify for a special election in the fall, where conservatives are more likely to turn out. However, Democratic Secretary of State Kevin Shelly sent a memo out on Monday to county voting officials telling them they could take a slower approach to verifying signatures. Thus, even if the signatures are validated, the recall might be delayed until March - the same day as the presidential primary - which is likely to bring out more Democrats. according to the Mercury News.

Davis got some help on Wednesday when the largest gay rights group in California, LGBT, announced they have joined Davis' coalition.

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Not Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., who announced Wednesday that he turned down a tempting million dollar job as president of a communications lobbying group in order to complete his fourth term in the House, suggesting that the 39-year-old congressman has higher political aspirations. Rumors circulated last week while Pickering considered the offer from Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, but he said in a statement released on Wednesday that he felt a "calling to public service," Roll Call reports.

Pickering said he was concerned about the welfare of his five sons, ranging from age 4 to 13, considering that his current congressional salary brings in just $154,000-a-year. But, after discussing the option with his wife, he said decided to forgo the private sector job and the financial boost that would have come with it. "I've never been motivated by money," Pickering told the Clarion Ledger. "Tempted? Yes. But, my heart is serving the people of the 3rd District."

Some say that Pickering was on the verge of accepting the job until the White House convinced him otherwise. National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Carl Forti considered Pickering's change-of-heart good news. "We won't have to spend money keeping that seat," he told the Clarion-Ledger.

In his last run for re-election, Pickering defeated 4th District Democratic Rep. Ronnie Shows in one of the top five most expensive congressional races in the midterm elections. But unlike some of his peers, Pickering is not rich and recent financial statements revealed that he has little saved in the bank.

Pickering could be in a position to run for the Senate in 2006, should his mentor Republican Sen. Trent Lott retire, but for now he won't comment on his political future. "At the appropriate time, I will make an announcement on my re-election," he told the Clarion Ledger. "In the words of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, that's my final answer."

Even You Could Be A Candidate! Ever wanted to run for office? Well, the Libertarian Party wants you!

In an e-mail, the party's political director, Ron Crickenberger, is asking basically anyone to run as a Libertarian. "Don't you want the chance to vote for your ideal candidate?" asks the e-mail. "That ideal candidate is you."

"Yes, we are seriously asking you to run for office as a Libertarian candidate," the pitch continued.

The party, which advocates less government, is looking for candidates to run in this fall's local off-year elections and the 2004 elections. And candidates don't even have to be viable, according to the e-mail.

"Winning isn't the only reason to run," wrote Crickenberger. "You will greatly help our effort even if your campaign activities are limited to little more than getting your name on the ballot."

"Without candidates and campaigns, we are invisible," the e-mail said.

So, you're interested? Well, there are only a few things you have to do to be a Libertarian candidate, according to Crickenberger.

Among the requirements: "If the media calls, return their call promptly. Just think, they may write news articles on you and your Libertarian views!.. Attend any candidate forums you are invited to, or at least respond with regrets if you cannot attend," and perhaps most importantly, "Have a quality photo taken to provide to any media who may call."

And what's the point of asking every regular Joe to run under the party's banner? Crickenberger says he hopes to "bring more people into the Libertarian Party" and "increase [the party's] legitimacy."

Fourth Plans: The Independence Day weekend is always a hot time for presidential campaigning, with small-town parades in New Hampshire always a favorite. This year will be no exception.

Howard Dean, Bob Graham, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman all march in the Amherst, N.H. parade on Friday. Graham also makes stops in Hollis, Merrimack and Portsmouth on Friday and Tamworth and North Conway on Saturday. Lieberman also hits Merrimack and Portsmouth on Friday, as well as various New Hampshire towns on Sunday with his family. Dean campaigns in New Hampshire Saturday and takes Sunday off in Vermont. John Edwards is at his beach house in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., where he'll do his annual "beach walk" to chat with sunbathers on Friday. Edwards is down on Saturday and Sunday. Dennis Kucinich parades in Cleveland and Lakewood, Ohio, on Friday. Kerry spends Saturday and Sunday relaxing in Nantucket.

President Bush will spend the Fourth in Dayton, Ohio, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight. Bush also celebrates his 57th birthday on Saturday.

WASHINGTON WRAP WILL BE CELEBRATING THE FOURTH AS WELL AND WE'LL BE BACK NEXT MONDAY. DON'T FORGET TO TUNE IN ON SUNDAY TO SEE PRESIDENTIAL CANIDATE AL SHARPTON ON CBS NEWS "FACE THE NATION."

Quote of the Day: "There are a lot of women who hope one day she'll run for the presidency of the United States and that she'll win" -- Bernadette Chirac, the wife of the French president, on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. (AP).