Washington Wrap
Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Cody Kucharczyk, Dan Furman and Nathaniel Franks of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.
Thursday's Headlines
* New Bush-Cheney Ads
* The Purple Battleground: Expanding or Not?
* Hair on the Trail
* Bush Courting Some, But Not All, Minority Voters
* Time for Change?
* Clinton and the Intentional Dodges
New Bush-Cheney Ads: After almost three weeks of virtual air silence, Bush-Cheney '04 announced a new advertising effort on Thursday morning. On Wednesday they went back on the air with an ad featuring Sen. John McCain and on Thursday announced another new ad that will run on cable and in spot markets.
The new ad is called "Priorities" and is part of what Communications Director Nicole Devenish told reporters on a conference call is "part of a dialogue with the American people in weeks leading up to the Democratic convention." The ad takes on Sen. John Kerry's voting record, saying, "Leadership means choosing priorities. While campaigning, John Kerry has missed over two thirds of all votes. Missed a vote to lower health-care costs by reducing frivolous lawsuits against doctors. Missed a vote to fund our troops in combat. Yet, Kerry found time to vote against the Laci Peterson law that protects pregnant women from violence. Kerry has his priorities. Are they yours?"
The ad appears to be an attempt to insert the Bush-Cheney team squarely in the midst of Kerry-Edwards' coming out party. Devenish told reporters that Kerry was trying to "run away from the record that made him the most liberal senator." Taking off on a crop of this year's reality shows, Devenish said Kerry was attempting to go from "duckling of the far left" to "swan of the heartland" in an "extreme makeover."
The ad buy is thought to be part of an $8 million buy, reports the Associated Press, but the campaign would not confirm the number. That figure would bring the campaign's ad spending to about $90 million. "We'll try to go toe-to-toe with them as they continue with this conversion," said Devenish.
The BC04 team also announced that it will begin running television ads in North Carolina. With the veep announcement on Tuesday, the Kerry-Edwards campaign launched an ad in that state featuring both candidates. Bush pollster Matthew Dowd told reporters that the campaign will run two old ads, called "Differences" and "Troops-Fog", in a buy that will "cover the state."
Color Me Purple: Strategists for both Bush-Cheney and Kerry-Edwards were trying to assess the impact that Sen. John Edwards would have on the race and which states might get more competitive because of him. Dowd told CBS News that they weren't taking anything for granted, but he didn't think Edwards would really have much influence on southern states like Virginian, Arkansas and Louisiana, or even on North Carolina in the long run. However the Bush-Cheney camp is following Kerry-Edwards in running ads in North Carolina and will spend more money there.
Another GOP strategist tells CBS News that states like Ohio and West Virginia are also being watched because of Edwards' potential impact with rural voters. "But once they know what his record is on issues like abortion and find out how inexperienced he is, I don't think those voters will be swayed," the strategist said.
The Kerry campaign decided before Edwards was named to skip Arkansas and Louisiana in this round of ads but strategist Tad Devine tells CBS News that that decision is now being reevaluated and a number of southern and Midwestern states may now be in play. Devine has wanted to "expand the battleground" for a while — if only to force Bush-Cheney spread out its money to defend more states. "If we force them to spend money in these places I consider it to be a victory," Devine said
CBS News' David Kuhn has some more ideas about Edwards' impact in our newest feature, "Worth Noting."
Hair on the Trail: One thing the Kerry-Edwards team has in abundance is hair. Both Sens. John have mounds of hair that tends to flop around and is in need of careful grooming. Noticing that similarity, Kerry remarked to a crowd Wednesday that, "I want you to know we think this is a dream ticket. We've got better vision. We've got better ideas. We've got real plans. We've got a better sense of what's happening to America. And we've got better hair. I'll tell you, that goes a long way." And that was not the only hair joke Kerry made during the day.
As pleased as Kerry clearly is with his hair repartee, his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry did point out a flaw in his logic. When the candidate ambled back to chat with reporters traveling on his plane, he admitted that Teresa had noted, "You just lost the bald vote."
As reporters wait to see if the alienation of bald voters continues, Kerry and Edwards will be in Florida stumping for the day. The two then travel to New York City on Thursday night for a fund-raising concert at Radio City Music Hall. Among the impressively hair-endowed performers will be Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Bon Jovi, John Mellencamp, Wyclef Jean, the Dave Matthews Band and Mary J. Blige. Mrs. Heinz Kerry and Mrs. Edwards, campaign aides told reporters, will skip the first half of the day and meet their candidate husbands in the Big Apple. Perhaps they are getting their hair done?
Republicans and the Minority Vote: President Bush has declined yet another invitation to speak at the NAACP's annual convention, reports the AP. Mr. Bush addressed the 2000 convention when he was a candidate, but has declined invitations to speak in each year of his presidency, thus becoming the first president since Herbert Hoover not to attend an NAACP convention, said John White, a spokesman for the group.
The NAACP says it received a letter from the White House declining the invitation because of scheduling conflicts signed by the presidential scheduler Melissa Bennett. CBS News Mark Knoller reports that White House spokesman Scott McClellan also said today that the president had "other scheduling commitments."
The convention opens on Saturday in Philadelphia. Mr. Bush's challenger Kerry accepted an invitation to speak next Thursday on the final day of the convention, according to the group.
Meanwhile, some Florida Republicans have found a new pool of voters: newly naturalized citizens. News Channel 4 in Jacksonville reported that that a group of Republicans positioned themselves outside of a naturalization ceremony to register voters. The only catch is that the place on the form where citizens were asked to choose Democrat, Republican or independent was already filled out.
Local Democrats were alerted of the practice and reported the incident to federal officials. An investigation is underway.
For the record, any registered voter can vote for a candidate of any party in a general election, but in most state primaries, people can only vote for candidates of their own party.
Time for Change?: Former Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York is urging Mr. Bush to drop Vice President Cheney from the ticket. According to The New York Times, D'Amato has suggested that either Secretary of State Colin Powell or McCain replace Cheney.
Although D'Amato has described Cheney as "a decent, honorable and patriotic American," he has not backed down from his insistence that there be a change on the ticket. D'Amato, who currently works as a lobbyist, has suggested twice that Cheney be removed within the last two days.
According to D'Amato, choosing Powell as a running mate would "help galvanize the nation and offer a truly historic opportunity." While Powell remains D'Amato's first choice, McCain would also be an asset on the ticket. McCain could "help bridge the political divide in our nation and assure the president's re-election by a wide margin."
The Bush-Cheney campaign reiterated on Wednesday that Cheney would not be replaced. However, D'Amato's comments have reverberated through segments of the Republican Party at a time when Cheney's connection to Halliburton and his recent use of an expletive on the Senate floor have come under close examination.
The timing of D'Amato's comments also coincided with the day when Kerry began campaigning with new running mate Edwards. Sharp contrasts have already been drawn between Edwards and Cheney, both in terms of experience and personality. While Edwards has been characterized as being "charismatic" on the campaign trail, Cheney's "aversion to campaigning" demonstrates a significant difference between the two the Times said.
D'Amato continues to stand by his comments. "As an observer of politics, I believe the president can guarantee his essential re-election by looking to several other notable individuals who would add a great dimension to his ticket as a running mate," D'Amato said.
Lying Kept Him Alive: Former President Clinton, echoing comments he made to CBS News' Dan Rather on "60 Minutes" last month, told PBS' Jim Lehrer that, given the opportunity to do it again, he'd repeat the lies he told in January of 1998 when news of his affair with Monica Lewinsky broke. Lehrer, you'll recall, had a pre-arranged interview with Clinton the day the Lewinsky story broke in which the president — famously or infamously, depending on your political leanings — made clear he was a Yale-trained lawyer when he replied to Lehrer's question about Lewinsky by saying, "There IS no sexual relationship."
Last night, Lehrer had his chance to ask Clinton about the interview heard 'round the world.
"I asked you if you had had a sexual — improper relationship. I kept using the past tense, and you kept saying is, 'There is no relationship.' My question to you is, was that — that was an intentional dodge, was it not?" Lehrer asked.
Mr. Clinton's response: "It was an intentional dodge because I didn't want — I respect you. I didn't want to lie to you, and I thought that I had to, as I said in the book, buy two weeks time for things to calm down in order to avoid having Ken Starr and his boys win this long fight that they were fighting against me, and — but I also said in the book that I hated it and I tried to — after I did that interview with you — I tried to confine my comments thereafter just simply saying that I didn't violate any laws and I didn't ask anybody else to, and that's pretty much what I said from there on out."
Lehrer also asked Mr. Clinton what he thought the implications would have been if he'd acknowledged, in January 1998, having had a sexual relationship with Lewinsky.
"I think with — given the media hysteria and the fact that people were saying all the things that were said one more time, I was dead as could be, I think the overwhelming likelihood is that I would have been forced from office, because I think the Democrats would have — some Democrats might have abandoned me," Mr. Clinton said.
Asked if he would have resigned had he admitted to the affair in January 1998, Mr. Clinton said: "I would never have quit. I would have made them do something to run me out, because I just thought it was wrong. I thought it was just as — what they were trying to do was every bit as wrong and more wrong for the Republic than the terrible mistake I had made."
Lehrer also asked Clinton about Kerry's selection of Edwards as his running mate.
"My advice here almost seems naive I think to a lot of experts, but my counsel was always pick someone you're going to proud of every day after you do it, because when you're the challenger, the only presidential decision you get to make is your nominee," Clinton also defended Edwards against Republican charges that he does not have enough experience to be president after less than one full term in the Senate. "He's intelligent, he works hard and he's learned a lot. He's got a fast learning curve. He certainly proved that in everything he's ever done in his life. And he's had more relevant experience than then-Gov. Bush did when he ran for president, and John Kerry—John Edwards is running for vice president."
For a transcript of the interview, click here
Quote of the Day: "I didn't really think it was that big of a deal" — Bryan Smith, who broke the news of the Edwards selection on USAviation.com (Los Angeles Times).