Washington Wrap
Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Sean Sharifi and Jamie English of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.
Thursday's Headlines
* Kerry's Iraq Dilemma
* Rapidly Responding to Condi
* Veep Watch: Senators Endorse Edwards
* Coors Mogul Said to Enter U.S. Senate Race
* State Senator Challenges Bunning
* Military Absentee Ballots Still a Mess
Talking About Iraq, Very Carefully: As John Kerry campaigns for the presidency, he is walking a tightrope: pointing out what flaws he sees in the Bush administration's plan while trying to avoid taking political advantage of U.S. military deaths. As the New York Times reports, "The surge of violence in Iraq has created vast political complications," for both sides of the aisle, and especially for Kerry who voted for the war two years ago.
On a day that was supposed to showcase Kerry's budget and deficit reduction plans, the swirling violence in Iraq forced him to divert "from his script to offer some of his strongest criticism yet of Mr. Bush's Iraq policy." And even as he attacked Bush, his alternative plans were still very vague. In a television interview Wednesday, Kerry said, "Right now, what I would do differently is, I mean, look, I'm not the president, and I didn't create this mess so I don't want to acknowledge a mistake that I haven't made."
As the Times concludes, "Mr. Kerry's remarks on the deterioration in Iraq reflect the extent to which he has yet to come up with any proposals to distinguish himself from Mr. Bush about what might be done there now."
Thus Kerry is in a bind: attacking Bush without attacking U.S. troops without proposing plans of his own. "Republicans," the New York Daily News dryly notes, "said Kerry is just carping and has not articulated how he would fix the situation." Others suggested that Kerry's actions were somehow unpatriotic. And Kerry's fine line has forced other Democrats to come to his aid. Sen. Tom Daschle, the Democratic leader, told reporters on Wednesday that he was deeply troubled by the "character assassination that seems to come from this administration and its allies any time anybody takes an alternative point of view." As the violence continues, the demand for Kerry to articulate his views will undoubtedly increase.
Condi's Testimony Elicits Rapid Response: While rapid response is a fixture of presidential campaigns, it is much less common during Congressional testimony. That all changed Thursday, with the Thunder Road Group sending out a series of missives during the testimony of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Sent by former Kerry campaign manager Jim Jordan, the rapid response actually began before the testimony, with Jordan providing reporters with a "Guide to Tomorrow's Testimony" on Wednesday night. The "Guide" included a series of quotes to keep in mind, such as "I didn't feel a sense of urgency," which George W. Bush is quoted as saying to Bob Woodward in his book Bush at War.
When the testimony got underway, Jordan began sending out emails at a rapid pace: five emails in the space of one hour alone. The response followed a pattern: a quote that Dr. Rice had uttered moments before followed by previous quotes from administration officials (often Richard Clarke) or newspaper stories or televisions appearances that seem to contradict Rice's testimony. In one email, Jordan sent Rice's quote about terrorism as a priority, "It was the very first major national security policy directive of the Bush Administration – not Russia, not missile defense, not Iraq…" followed by a litany of quotes from Rice before September 11, 2001 that seem to suggest otherwise.
In another, Jordan followed Rice's statement, "Yet, as your hearings have shown, there was no silver bullet that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks," with a selection of headlines including a New York Times lead from March 5 that says, "Leaders of 9/11 Panel Say Attacks Were Probably Preventable."
It's not clear what marks Rice will get for her testimony. But with Jordan's email firing on all cylinders, he clearly hopes to provide journalists with a very clear context for journalists to evaluate her comments.
Veep Watch: As the sense of urgency grows among Democrats for John Kerry to choose a running mate, Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad became the first Democratic senators to publicly endorse a particular candidate. Roll Call reports that the North Dakota senators are backing fellow Sen. John Edwards for vice president.
"I am not waging a campaign, I am just expressing myself and others should express their interest as well," said Dorgan. "I want the strongest ticket possible this fall. I want to win the presidency and I happen to believe the strongest ticket possible will be a John Kerry-John Edwards ticket."
It is believed that Edwards can help balance the ticket with a Southern voice and by appealing to voters in key battleground states. Also, another pressing issue for Kerry is to choose a running mate quickly to help raise money and echo his message on the campaign trail. "The sooner the better," one Democratic Senator said.
Have a Coors: The plot thickens in Colorado as brewery mogul, Peter Coors enters the race for the U.S. Senate. Republican Governor Bill Owens announced the news in a press conference on Wednesday, reports the Rocky Mountain News. "I think Pete Coors would make an outstanding senator," Owens said. "He is an outstanding public servant who has served Colorado well in a number of capacities."
According to the Rocky Mountain News, "Coors is a heavy Republican donor with no political experience. He held several executive positions for Coors Brewing before rising to chairman in 2000 and has served as the public face of the company, appearing in several television ads.
Analysts say Coors enters as a strong candidate because he's rich - with a salary that neared $1 million last year, extensive stock options and a hand in a family trust valued close to $1 billion - and nearly everybody knows his name."
Coors' decision sets up a GOP contest between himself and former congressman Bob Schaffer to try to hold on to the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Owens incidentally, had privately endorsed former congressman Bob Schaffer, who had announced his candidacy last month, but he hinted his endorsement could change. "I told Bob Schaffer that I would support him," Owens said. "I'll need to talk to Bob Schaffer to make sure he is going to stay in the race and I'll make a judgment between these two candidates shortly."
So far, Coors has stayed silent, but according to a longtime friend, he will make a public announcement next week.
Democrats are largely united behind Attorney General Ken Salazar. According to Roll Call, Democrats have issued a veiled threat to the new candidate, insinuating he should be prepared to have both his and his family's record picked apart.
State Senator Urges Release of Video: Kentucky State Sen. Mongiardo urged U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning to "release a videotape of a speech in which Bunning said Mongiardo looks like one of Saddam Hussein's sons," reports the The Courier Journal.
Bunning's remarks were made on March 20, and released by The Courier Journal on April 1. Bunning's campaign manager David Young responded by saying, "We're sorry if this joke, which got a lot of laughs, offended anyone." A week earlier Young had denied the comment. He and Bunning are now refusing comment on the remarks confirmed by unnamed attendants of the Republican dinner where the quote originated.
Mongiardo, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Bunning's seat, said "he is no longer seeking an apology but wants the people to decide for themselves just how appropriate or inappropriate his remarks were."
"Maybe it was just very lighthearted and in a joking manner," he said. "We don't want to overreact to something like this. On the other hand, we have soldiers in Iraq ... to compare somebody who was born on the Fourth of July in Hazard, Ky., to one of our most hated enemies of the United States –– I take great offense personally."
Mongiardo, a physician from Hazard, Ky., is the grandson of Italian immigrants. He is running in the Democratic primary against David Lynn Williams of Glasgow while Bunning is seeking a second six-year term in the Senate.
2000 Redux on Military Absentee Ballots?: The Associated Press reports that "seven months before the general election, the Pentagon has not fixed military absentee ballot problems that were pivotal in the disputed 2000 presidential contest, according to the Defense Department's inspector general."
While the report says that of the branches the Air Force has the most improved system, many of the problems that existed in 2000 and 2002 remain. Among the problems, the AP reports: "Nearly six of every 10 troops interviewed didn't know who their voting officers were."
Advocates for overseas military voters urged the Pentagon to make changes before it was too late for the 2004 election. Sam Wright, director of the Military Voting Rights Projects, tells the AP that the only solution is an Internet voting system. However, the Pentagon scrapped a $22-million Internet voting experiment this year after computer experts said it was vulnerable to attacks.
Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., said he met with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday to discuss the problem. ""Having these people who put their lives on the line every day have a chance to participate is not an insignificant thing," Bond told the AP.
Quote of the Day: "Ted Kennedy said that Iraq was President Bush's Vietnam. When he heard about it, President Bush said, 'That's not true, I went to Iraq'" – David Letterman ("Late Night").