Washington Wrap
Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Nathaniel Franks and Cody Kucharczyk of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.
Thursday's Headlines
* New Polls
* Nader Turns in Signatures for Arizona
* Walking the Walk
* Reagan for Sale?
* Edwards Turns 51
* Papa Bush to Jump Again
Polls Have (Mostly) Good News for Kerry: In the midst of an all-Reagan-all-the-time week, a new poll shows John Kerry moving ahead of President Bush. The Los Angeles Times poll (conducted June 5 through June 8, margin of error 3 percent) shows Kerry leading Bush nationwide 51 to 44 percent. In a three-way race including Ralph Nader, Kerry leads Bush 48 to 42, with Nader receiving 4 percent. As the Times concludes, "Widespread unease over the country's direction and doubts about President Bush's policies on Iraq and the economy helped propel Sen. John F. Kerry to a solid lead among voters nationwide."
In the midst of the good news, however, there are some sobering state-by-state numbers. The Times poll shows that in the battleground states, Bush leads Kerry in Missouri, while the two men are even in Ohio and Wisconsin. In Missouri, Bush holds a commanding 48 to 37 lead. In Wisconsin, Bush leads 44 to 42, a statistical tie. The Times has similar numbers in must-win Ohio, where Kerry leads 45 to 42, a spread well within the margin of error.
Other polls show a similarly tight race. In New Hampshire, American Research Group's new poll (conducted June 7 through 9, margin of error 4 percent) shows a dead heat, with Kerry and Bush both at 46 percent, and Nader at 2 percent. And over in Michigan, a new survey from EPIC/MRA (conducted June 2 through 6, margin of error 4 percent), has a statisitcal tie as well: Kerry 47, Bush 45 and 8 percent undecided. With Nader in the race, Kerry receives 45, Bush 43, Nader 3 and the undecideds increase to 9 percent.
Looks like neither candidate should be looking for a blowout.
Nader's Quest Continues: Ralph Nader appears to have qualified for Arizona's presidential election ballot. If the signatures are approved, Nader has qualified for his first battleground state, submitting nearly 22,000 petition signatures, about 44 percent more than what was required.
Nader has maintained that he will compete in all 50 states come November, despite Democrats' pleas that he drop out of the race. And, according to Arizona state coordinator Cheryl Rohrick, the fact that the campaign was able to gather so many signatures is proof that voters want a "real" choice between candidates. "Our signature gatherers had to work in 106 degree heat and they had to deal [with] Democratic Party propaganda that misled the public and attempted to build hostility against us."
But Arizona Democrats have a contingency plan.
The Arizona Republic reports, "Democrats, who stand to lose votes to Nader that otherwise might go to John Kerry, will sift through the petitions closely in the 10 days allowed for a challenge, state party Chairman Jim Pederson said. Any petitions circulated by a non-resident of the state could be invalidated, he said."
Up next for Nader is Illinois, which requires 25,000 signatures by June 21 and Indiana, which requires 29,552 by June 30. Forty-six states have their deadlines in July or later.
Walking the Walk: Although most of the focus this year has been on the millions of dollars the presidential campaigns are spending on TV ads, campaigning the old-fashioned was is making a comeback. This weekend both the Bush campaign and the AFL-CIO will have people out in battleground states going door to door, registering voters and recruiting volunteers.
The AFL-CIO is kicking off a month of grassroots campaigning, expecting union members to go to "tens-of-thousands" of other members' doors to discuss economic and health care issues in what they call the "largest mobilization of working Americans in history." On Saturday June 12, they will be walking in Florida, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington State.
Also this week, the Republicans are "test-driving" their massive grassroots operation as part of a "72 hour plan" for November, according to the Associated Press. They are concentrating on the battleground states and Florida will be one of the "diagnostic" locations to determine how to mobilize the thousands of people who have volunteered to help the campaign.
In addition, the Bush campaign hopes to use this test as a way to register new voters and recruit even more workers. "Diagnostic is part of what it is but just as important it's an attempt…to sign up new team leaders and to expand and build our organization," said Bush-Cheney campaign manager Ken Mehlman. Bush-Cheney's operation reports they have 51,000 volunteers in Florida and the goal is to have 70,000 by the end of the summer.
Reagan for Sale: It didn't take long for Internet users to try and cash in on Ronald Reagan's death. Just days after the former president passed away, there's a booming market in Reagan memorabilia up for grabs on Ebay, reports CBSNews.com's Joel Roberts.
Already, several of the "gratitude cards" handed out Monday and Tuesday to the thousands who waited in line for hours to view Reagan's body at his presidential library in Simi Valley, Calif., are for sale. The cards are currently going for $25 to $35, but bidding is still open. One seller promises, "Part of the proceeds from this auction will go to the Republican National Party to help re-elect George Bush for president in 2004."
Also for sale are editions of various newspapers from the day Reagan died, including the Washington Post ($14.99), L.A. Times ($2.75), San Francisco Chronicle ($1.98), Pittsburgh Tribune Review ($1.99) and a lot of all four New York City dailies - The New York Times, Newsday, New York Post and Daily News - currently going for $15.75.
And for the consummate Reagan collector, one intrepid Ebay seller is offering a chance to own "the exact same burial casket as the former President Ronald Wilson Reagan is reposing in." The solid mahogany "Masterpiece" casket is in "perfect condition (no nicks or scratches)" and has an opening auction price of $15,900.
Serious bidders only.
John Edwards Turns 51: North Carolina Sen. John Edwards turns 51 on Thursday and it appears that the thing he wants most for his birthday is to be John Kerry's running mate. In the last few weeks, Edwards and his staff have set up the One America Committee a few blocks from the White House in Washington, D.C.
The stated purpose of One America is to provide money and logistical support to Edwards as he campaigns across the country for Democratic candidates, including Kerry. The Committee has also raised money for Kerry's campaign.
Said Kim Rubey, One America's spokeswoman, "[Edwards] just wants to help John Kerry in any way he can," reports the Boston Globe. But Edwards may have an unstated goal for One America: to wage a "passive-aggressive" campaign for the vice presidency, the paper says. A large number of Edwards' staffers have joined the Kerry campaign in key positions, including Miles Lackey, the issues director, and Wendy Button, a speechwriter. Edwards' chief campaign spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, is now in the crucial battleground state of Ohio ,and Sky Gallegos, who ran One America, will go to California to run Kerry's campaign there.
Edwards' willingness to loan his people to Kerry's campaign and his One America efforts are not the only things that might convince Kerry to name him as his running mate. The Globe notes that Edwards enjoys the support of Sen. Ted Kennedy, one of Kerry's chief backers. According to former aides, Kennedy "quietly backed Edwards over Kerry in the 2000 derby to be Al Gore's running mate," reports the Globe. Some of Kennedy's former staffers, including his former chief of staff, Mary Beth Cahill, hold prominent positions in Kerry's campaign and are acting as advisers to Kerry on whom he should pick as his running mate.
Edwards will be stumping for Kerry and Florida Democrats on Saturday in Tallahassee when he appears at the Jefferson Jackson Gala in Hollywood, Fla., held by the Florida Democratic Party. He will be the keynote speaker Saturday night. Hometown VP favorite sons, Sens. Bob Graham and Bill Nelson will also be on hand. Sen. Graham's daughter Gwen, who campaigned for Howard Dean after her father dropped out of the presidential campaign, is now working for the Florida Democratic Party and is handling the media for the event.
Papa Bush To Jump Again: In other birthday news, to commemorate his 80th birthday, former President Bush plans to jump out of a plane on Sunday. According to The Washington Times, the Bush family will attend memorial services for President Reagan in Washington D.C., before flying back to Texas on Saturday to begin birthday festivities.
The celebration will commence with a birthday bash in Houston's Minute Maid Park followed by the parachute jump on Sunday. The party's guest list is extensive, including such notable political and entertainment figures as George W. Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Bo Derek. After the party, which also serves as a fundraiser for the George Bush Forty-One Endowment, some attendees will travel to College Station with Bush to witness the jump.
Despite the 13,000 foot drop and the "funny feeling" in his stomach, the former president is anticipating the "thrill involved" in his descent from the clouds. No stranger to the sky, Bush has made four parachute jumps in his lifetime, the first in 1944 when he was shot down over the Pacific at the age of twenty. More recently, he also participated in a jump to mark his 75th birthday.
Bush cites several reasons for his jump on Sunday, specifically that, "it sends a message to a lot of people … that old age is not a barrier."
Quote of the Day: "Representative Herseth and Representative Sandlin met during the last election cycle. They remained friends after the 2002 election and have had a relationship for approximately a year." --Herseth spokesperson Russ Levsen confirming the romance between the new Democratic representative from South Dakota and Democratic Rep. Max Sandlin from Texas. (Roll Call)