Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Steve Chaggaris, Clothilde Ewing and Smita Kalokhe of The CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.

Ellen Malcolm, president of Emily's List and ACT, said the aim of the organization is to initiate "a massive get-out-the-vote operation that we think will defeat George W. Bush in 2004."

Other founders include Steve Rosenthal, former political director of the AFL-CIO and current president of Partnership for America's Families, who will be chief executive; Andrew Stern, president of Service Employees International Union; Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club; and Cecile Richards and Gina Glantz of America Votes.

Along with other liberal groups, the formation of ACT is a reaction to the Republican-controlled executive and legislative branches. "This is a real demonstration of the coming together of many people in this country who are upset about the extremism of the Republican Party," said Malcolm.

Billionaire financier George Soros reportedly gave $10 million to ACT and said, "The fate of the world depends on the United States and President Bush is leading us in the wrong direction."

The Republican Party warned ACT that it intends to monitor its activities. "We are going to be watching very closely to make sure they adhere to their claim that they will not be coordinating with the Democratic Party," said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson. Such coordination would violate campaign finance laws.

Iverson went on to say, "The Democrats are addicted to special-interest soft money and this allows them to feed that addiction by skirting the spirit of the new campaign finance law."

ACT will create grass-roots organizations and focus on 17 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. The efforts will be concentrate on specific obstacles, such as increasing the African-American vote in Ohio.

You Can Call ME, Al: The big news coming out of Al Gore's speech yesterday may have been his restatement that he's not running for president. However, the Democratic candidates clearly paid even closer attention to another line in his speech: "Later in the political cycle I will endorse one of them."

The pandering began following Gore's remarks as a few of the Dem candidates took the lead in releasing a flurry of laudatory statements.

"Al Gore is a good friend and a great leader in the Democratic Party, and his catalog of George Bush's broken promises couldn't have been more on the mark. This White House could use more of the tremendous integrity that Al Gore has shown today and throughout his life," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn, Gore's running mate in 2000.

"Today, he offered yet another reminder of why the ticket he led got more votes than any Democratic ticket in history. He's right that we need new leadership, and the Party will benefit greatly from his valuable aid in defeating George Bush next year," Lieberman continued.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said, "I thank Vice President Al Gore for standing up to this administration and using his position as a respected leader in our party to speak about truth, integrity and real compassion – three values that are sorely lacking in this White House and administration."

Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., weighed in, too: "Al Gore continues to be an important voice in our national debate and is uniquely positioned to critique an administration that just can't seem to come clean with the American people on important issues at home and abroad."

And a final testimonial, courtesy of Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla.: "I am sure the majority of Americans who voted for Al in the last election will welcome his astute voice on the issues affecting our country today…. I look forward to following Al Gore's lead and beating George Bush again in 2004."

Mixed Poll News For Dems: A new Pew Research Center poll shows six in 10 Democrats dissatisfied with the party's handling of key issues from helping the poor, minorities and average working Americans, the AP reports.
The new Pew poll shows 38 percent of Democrats believing the party does a good or excellent job on those issues. That's down from 47 percent in May 2001. Among liberals, just 31 percent believe the party is doing a good job on these traditional issues.

Perhaps the most troubling sign for Democrats, struggling for a sense of party unity in the upcoming presidential election: 57 percent of Republicans give the GOP high marks on their core issues like tax cuts and conservative social issues, the AP reports.

Andy Kohut, the poll's director, says of the Democrats' low numbers: "Democratic voters don't feel the party leaders are talking about the things the party stands for."

There was a glimmer of good news for the Dems. President Bush's popularity rating seems to have come to earth. The 53 percent he received in this poll is about the same level as before Sept. 11. And in a hypothetical match-up against an unnamed Democrat, the president barely squeaked into a second term by a 43 percent to 38 percent margin.

Weekend Ahead: It should be a relatively quiet weekend for the candidates, with the exception of Bob Graham, who is traveling through Iowa with the fam, and Dick Gephardt, who's picking up his cherished Teamsters endorsement. President Bush ends his week of downtime with a local fundraiser in Crawford on Saturday. Howard Dean is taking the weekend off. John Edwards is heading south and campaigning in South Carolina. Gephardt has a big day on Saturday, when he gets the formal nod from Teamster President James Hoffa before hitting the road in both Iowa and New Hampshire to bask in his glory. John Kerry campaigns in the Granite State all weekend and Lieberman joins him on Friday and Sunday.

Friday 8/8:
President Bush meets with Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers in Crawford, Texas. Edwards meets with Beaufort County Democrats at the Main Street Diner as he campaigns in South Carolina. Gephardt campaigns in Portsmouth, Concord and Claremont, N.H. The Graham family "vacation" continues as they attend National Balloon Classic in Indianola, Iowa, lunch with Warren County Democrats, tour the John L. Lewis Memorial Museum of Labor and Mining, then tour the Lucas County Historical Museum and finish with a Grillin' with the Grahams event in Centerville. Kerry campaigns in New Hampshire and attends the Downtown Walk in Derry, then a dinner with firefighters in Salem and a house party in Nashua. Lieberman took "Joe's Jobs Tour" to N.H, meeting with employees from Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Manchester, and then touring Delta Education Center in Nashua.

Saturday 8/9:
President Bush attends a local fundraiser in Crawford. Edwards tours the Penn Center and talks about his education plans in St. Helena, then meets with Democrats in Walterboro, Summerville and North Charleston, S.C. Gephardt appears with Teamster President James Hoffa in Detroit where he will officially announce the union's endorsement; the two then fly to Iowa for a Teamsters endorsement rally and then to New Hampshire for a similar event. The Graham family attends meet and greet with Ottumwa Democrats, then The West Point Sweet Corn Festival in West Point, Maize Maze in Ft. Madison and finish the day with The Des Moines County Democrats Steak Fry in Burlington, Iowa. Kerry campaigns in New Hampshire and attends a Canvass Kickoff and door-to-door canvassing in Manchester and then a house party in Hopkinton. Other: Deadline for people to declare candidacy in California recall election.

Sunday 8/10:
Graham family attends St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Midwest Old Time Threshers' Heritage Museum and finishes with Grillin' with the Grahams in Bettendorf, Iowa. Lieberman attends house party in Manchester, N.H., discusses environmental issues in Concord, visits country store in Barrington and a local restaurant in Dover, and finishes the day with a house party in Rollinsford. Meanwhile, Hadassah Lieberman attends a reception at the home of Des Moines School Board member Som Baccam with Attorney General Tom Miller, visits Iowa State Fair with Attorney General Miller and then attends a reception with local activists in Cedar Rapids.

Quote of the Day: "I am probably the most unqualified person to run for governor, but I'm willing to do it as a goof if you are." - Former child actor Gary Coleman, after the East Bay Express newspaper offered to pay his filing fee to enter the California recall election.