Washington Wrap
Dotty Lynch, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing and Daniel Furman of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.
Tuesday's Headlines
* Bush Swings
* Florida in the Spotlight
* Wither Nader
* Monday in Nevada
* Edwards Goes to the Beach
* GOP Convention Promises to Dazzle
Bush Swings Away: CBS News Mark Knoller, traveling with the president, reports:
Knoller Nugget: The president is off on a five-day cross-country campaign swing through nine states, which is the kind of campaign schedule you might see days before the election, not three months. Could it be a sign of just how worried the Bush campaign is about the president's prospects for victory.
The blitz begins in Florida, where Mr. Bush will ride his campaign bus through the Panhandle, an area he won solidly four years ago. Sen. John McCain, whose demonstrated strength with independent voters Mr. Bush hopes is transferable, will accompany him on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Kerry campaign says the Bush visit to Florida is a sign the president is running scared in the state that decided the election last time around - albeit by just 537 votes.
By the end of the trip on Saturday, Mr. Bush will also have campaigned in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Iowa. Tuesday night, he'll be in Texas, at his ranch.
Florida in the Spotlight: Florida is the center of the political world Tuesday and President Bush kicked off his trip there by announcing his nomination of Florida Rep. Porter Goss to head the CIA. Although the Bush campaign has planned out one set of events, Democrats are trying hard to run a different play.
The Democratic National Committee sent out some travelers of its own on Monday, including Florida Sen. Bob Graham, former Sen. Max Cleland and Vietnam veteran/Kerry crew member Jim Rassmann, to rally the Democratic faithful in downtown Pensacola. Graham talked with the crowd about health care, Cleland discussed terrorism and the economy, and Rassmann testified about Kerry's time in Vietnam, reports the Pensacola News Journal. And the Democratic plan to get into the news cycle seems to have paid off: the DNC and the Kerry campaign had plenty of local stories to pass on to journalists traveling with Bush on Tuesday.
As the president lands in the state, the League of Conservation Voters is also going up with a new television advertisement critical of Bush. The ad, called "Drilling" says in part, "President Bush supported drilling within 30 miles of Pensacola...and he's supported an energy bill that could lead to even more. Well, what would you expect from a Texas oilman? Just one accident can destroy a coastline." The ad is running all week in Pensacola and Panama City to the tune of "five figures," LCV's Chuck Porcari tells CBS News. And those marking their calendars for more targeted ads about Bush's environmental record should be alert, Porcari says. "This is a very potent issue in the Panhandle…. and as other very potent environmental issues arise in other states, stay tuned, stay tuned."
And for those who can't wait for more Bush criticism, the Kerry campaign helpfully arranged a conference call for reporters on Tuesday morning. Former Treasury Secretary and former Floridian Robert Rubin got into the fray, decrying Bush's economic record and playing up the plans of Kerry and Edwards.
Where's Nader: It's make or break for Ralph Nader as he faces the difficult task of trying to get on the ballot in the remaining 24 states with ballot deadlines before the end of September. Much has been made about Nader as a "spoiler" this election, but if he doesn't get on the ballots, then the argument is mute.
After turning in the required signatures, Nader is on the ballot in New Jersey and Nevada. And, because the Reform Party endorsed him, he should has access to the parity's ballot lines in Colorado, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, and Michigan (though a dispute between the two factions of the Reform Party in MI means he may not get the nod). But that still totals only nine states if all is resolved. The Nader campaign says it has also turned in the required signatures in 9 more states including: Arkansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maine, South Dakota, and West Virginia. The campaign now must wait hear if the signatures will be approved.
The campaign has gone to court in Texas, Illinois and Michigan, charging that the state's ballot requirements are not legal. Anticipate even more legal challenges to come.
Behind many of the efforts to keep Nader off the ballot are Democrats who don't want to see Nader dig into Kerry's votes. Kevin Zeese, spokesman for the Nader campaign, tells CBS News that these efforts show that Democrats have little confidence in John Kerry or the voters. He also warns Democrats not to spend all their time challenging Nader in safe states because it means they will have more time and more incentive to go for the battleground states. In several states, including Oregon and Michigan, Republicans have actively helped Nader get ballot access.
Here's where Nader is and isn't as of August 10, 2004
On the Ballot Via Signature Drive: New Jersey, Nevada
On the Ballot Via the Reform Party: Colorado, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Montana, Mississippi
Signatures Pending Approval: Missouri, Arkansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Alaska, Connecticut, Maine
Unsuccessful Attempt: Arizona, Indiana, Georgia, Oklahoma, California (though trying to get the Green Party to put him on)
In Litigation: Texas, Illinois, North Carolina and Michigan
Ballot deadlines to come:
New Hampshire Aug 11
Iowa Aug 13
D.C. Aug 17
New York Aug 17
Ohio Aug 19
Tennessee Aug 19
Virginia Aug 20
Wyoming Aug 23
Nebraska Aug 24
Oregon Aug 24
Washington Aug 24
Idaho Aug 25
Alabama Aug 31
Delaware Sep 1
Rhode Island Sep 2
Hawaii Sep 3
North Dakota Sep 3
Utah Sep 3
Louisiana Sep 7
New Mexico Sep 7
Kentucky Sep 7
Wisconsin Sep 7
Minnesota Sep 14
Vermont Sep 17
If this is Monday, It Must be Um... On Tuesday, John Kerry campaigned in Nevada but on Monday, his wife got a little ahead of herself. CBS News' Steve Chaggaris is keeping it straight:
Trail Byte: "Hello, Nevada!"
In a confused moment, that is what Kerry's wife, Teresa, shouted to a crowd of supporters Monday night as the campaign's train made a brief stop in Williams, Arizona.
Just to be clear, Williams is in Arizona, not Nevada.
If anyone has been showing the fatigue of the post-convention cross-country tour (besides Kerry's campaign staff and the press corps) it is Mrs. Kerry. And she's the first to admit it.
After realizing her location-related mistake, she blamed it on all the traveling she's done in the past 11 days, telling the crowd, "The hours make you mix (the states) up."
Later, at the train's last stop in Kingman, Arizona (the tour shifts back to buses for the final five days of the coast-to-coast trip), she described the journey as "a long road all the way from Boston by bus and then by train and then by bus."
In a possible sign she was feeling a bit better ( a campaign official told a reporter on the train, "The better she feels, the longer she talks") Mrs. Kerry delivered a 10-minute introduction of her husband, complete with a few classic Teresa lines.
"I have a husband, all of nine years," she began as a compliment to John Kerry, "so, I'm, you know, it's past the seven year itch."
In talking about one of her pet issues – children – she cracked a joke to contrast with President Bush's quip earlier that "The really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway."
"We have to make sure at the end of the day that the children that we bring to this world will be, in 15 or 20 years, happy children," said Mrs. Kerry. "And I mean by that, well children, contributing adults – taxpaying, for Pete's sakes."
Finally, in an odd moment, she asked the throng of supporters, "Do we have a good vice president or what?"
The crowd, obviously glossing over her omission of the word "nominee," cheered anyway.
To avoid any confusion, she eventually affirmed, "Yeah, Edwards!"
Edwards Goes to the Beach: Sen. John Edwards is taking a couple of days off this week but before he headed to the beach, he spent a final day in the Heartland. CBS News' Bonney Kapp was with him:
Trail Byte: John Edwards wrapped up his campaign Monday morning in Chicago before heading down for some R&R on Figure Eight Island off the coast of Wilmington, NC.
The senator began the day addressing the AFL-CIO's Executive Council. While the event was closed to the press, we were given two minutes inside the secret meeting to watch labor leaders give Edwards a standing ovation. As we were shuffled out, union president John Sweeney began by introducing Edwards as a "rising star" in the Democratic Party.
Another rising star, Illinois candidate for Senate Barack Obama, joined Edwards for a stop by at South Side's famous Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli. They greeted patrons/voters, most of whom were there for the food, not the politicians.
Despite an unwanted political sideshow, Jerry Langley, of South Bend, Indiana, had lunch at Manny's. "This wouldn't cause me to vote for him or against him," Langley said over an empty plate. "They need to spend more time explaining things to the American people," he added.
En route to relative peace and quiet with his family (and Secret Service) at his NC vacation home, Edwards also had to contend with a distressing takeoff on his campaign's jet. The pilots banked right and down to stay clear of a commercial flight leaving from O'Hare, Chicago's other airport. One witness said the senator appeared "alarmed" by the plane's movement to avoid the plane that came within 1,500 feet.
Once the plane leveled off, a more relaxed Edwards briefly visited the nearly-empty press section of the plane to chat with the four remaining traveling press corps members. And, he broke some news: his 6-year-old daughter is rather clever. While in the bathtub the night before, Emma Claire parodied her father's stump line "hope is on the way," declaring, "soap is on the way."
The Edwardses will remain in their home on Figure Eight Island -- described by a local as "a place where yuppies live in their multi-million dollar homes" -- until Friday. Per press secretary Mark Kornblau, their agenda includes "lots of swimming with Jack and Emma Claire."
Razzle Dazzle 'Em: GOP convention organizers say this year's convo in New York City promises to be an entertaining one. The New York Times reports that Frank Breeden, the convention's director of entertainment, is recruiting celebrities to perform, give press interviews, attend parties and be otherwise visible at Madison Square Garden. The goal is to help market the party's political ideas.
Convention highlights will still probably be speeches from California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York and, of course, the president, vice president and their wives. But to create a fun atmosphere, the convention will also be heavy with gospel, country, Broadway and patriotic music.
"Entertainment plays more of a prominent role in marketing messages today than ever before," Mr. Breeden said in a telephone interview with the Times. He said that the convention organizers wanted to deploy that to sell Republican political philosophy.
Breeden, who lives in Tennessee, used to be the head of the Christian music industry trade group, but lately he has been spending weekdays in Manhattan helping pull together the convention. Breeden admits that many of the most outspoken performers do not support the Bush administration. "For whatever reason, on the Democratic side of things, the celebrities who have an affinity with that party tend to be more activist-oriented and tend to get headlines," Breeden said. He also told the Times some entertainers support the president but felt their careers would be hurt if they made that support public. Stay tuned to see who Breeden convinces to show.
Quote of the Day: "When they say they served with Kerry in Vietnam, what they really mean is that they were in Vietnam at the same time. Kind of like how Snoopy served with the Red Baron," Jon Stewart, on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad. (Daily Show)