Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Cody Kucharczyk and Dan Furman of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.

Wednesday's Headlines

* Obama to Keynote Democratic Convention

* Campaign Values

* Where's Hillary?

* Belles of the (Bush Campaign) Ball

* Trail Bytes: Traveling with Sen. Edwards

Keynote: On Wednesday, the Kerry campaign announced that Illinois Senate candidate Barak Obama will be the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama, who is African American, is a rising Democratic star and the campaign clearly hopes his prominent role will send a message about Kerry's commitment to diversity.

The Kerry announcement comes during a week when President Bush again declined to attend the NAACP's annual conference. That decision makes him the first sitting president since Herbert Hoover not to meet with the group during an entire term in office.

While Bush did attend the group's convention as a candidate in 2000, he has rejected all invitations to address the group since. While noting scheduling conflicts as a reason Bush will not attend this year's conference, White House officials also cited "hostile political comments" about Bush from NAACP leaders in recent years as the main reason he decided not to attend. The Bush-Cheney campaign also probably will not be happy to hear that the NAACP sponsored a free screening on Tuesday night of the Bush-bashing "Fahrenheit 9/11," prior to which Julian Bond introduced the movie by likening it in importance to Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

Sen. John Kerry will speak at the NAACP conference on Thursday.

The New York Times reports, "A bigger issue is whether Mr. Kerry can energize black voters, who have yet to show much excitement for his candidacy. The difference between simply winning the black vote and generating a large turnout could be crucial, experts said."

In addition to candidate Obama and appearances at events such as the NAACP conference, Kerry is hoping that targeted advertising to African American audiences will help mobilize his base. On Wednesday, the campaign is unveiling what it describes as an "unprecedented" African American advertising campaign.

It's the Values, Stupid: The Boston Globe reports that over the past week, both the Republicans and Democrats have cast values as part of this year's debate. Each major party's candidates are trying to make the case that their honesty and integrity are more in line with the values of independent and swing voters than the values of their opponents.

Republicans called for Kerry to release a videotape of a vaguely raunchy New York City celebrity fund-raiser. Mr. Bush said, "The other day, my opponent said that entertainers in Hollywood conveyed the heart and soul of America." He continued, "I believe the heart and soul of America is found in places like Duluth, Minn." At the fundraiser, comedian Whoopi Goldberg made a sexual pun on Bush's name and others referred to him as a ''thug."

In a letter to Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman, Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said Kerry would not release the fundraiser tape until Bush releases a broad array of materials that Democrats have sought including Bush's complete military service records, the minutes of various White House energy task force meetings, documents on no-bid contracts for Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, Halliburton and documents explaining interrogation methods used on Iraqi prisoners.

Don't look for the values volleys to stop any time soon.

Where's Hillary?: Although the Democratic National Convention will feature a star-studded buffet of speakers, one who will not be prominent is Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. The DNCC's announced list of speakers includes former Presidents Clinton and Carter, former Vice President Al Gore, the wife (yes, wife) of Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, former Sen. Max Cleland, current Sen. Ted Kennedy, a bevy of Vietnam Veterans, a string of Kerry/Edwards family members and of course Sens. Kerry and Edwards themselves. But nowhere on the list is Sen. Clinton, who is surely one of the party's brightest stars.

At a press conference yesterday, Permanent Chair of the Convention and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson told assembled reporters that the list of speakers is not "finalized" and that the "odds are probably good" that Sen. Clinton will speak.

But with only odds and nothing announced, some convention watchers are reading in a deeper meaning. An anonymous "prominent Democrat" told the New York Times, "A lot of 2008 presidential politics may be at work here. It certainly gives Edwards a tremendous edge to keep her off the list."

And, reports the Times, "Peggy Wilhide, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention, and Ms. Cutter [of the Kerry campaign] said Mrs. Clinton would have a role in the convention: she would be part of a special segment featuring all the women senators in the party led by Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat and the dean of the female senators." So she'll have a "role" and there are "odds" but nothing more is clear.

As for her office, Sen. Clinton's spokesman Phillipe Reines would only say, "Senator Clinton is looking forward to attending what will be a great convention, and continuing to work hard to elect John Kerry and John Edwards." Stay tuned.

Bush Belles in Vogue: Shedding the party girl image of their college days, Jenna and Barbara Bush sat down for an interview and photo shoot with Vogue magazine on Tuesday. The New York Times reports the twins sported evening gowns designed by Oscar de la Renta and Calvin Klein and looked like "cupcakes" according to their mother, Laura Bush.

The Vogue interview coincides with the twins' recent appearances on the campaign trail, as well as their graduation from college. The decision to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight this campaign season is reported to be completely their own. "It's not like he called me up and asked me," said Jenna of her choice to begin traveling on the campaign trail with her father.

Jenna, a recent graduate of University of Texas, accompanied her father on a campaign bus Friday through portions of Pennsylvania. Barbara, who has a special interest in policy and recently completed her studies at Yale, traveled with Bush to events in Wisconsin and Minnesota on Tuesday. "I love my dad, and I think I'd regret it if I didn't do this," said Jenna.

Although they will continue to work with the campaign this summer, the twins concluded in the Vogue interview that "they have no interest in politics," and have plans of their own for after the election. Jenna has decided to pursue a teaching career at a charter school, while Barbara has made plans to work with children with AIDS in Eastern Europe and Africa.

In an attempt to be "light on politics and heavy on fashion" the Vogue article details some simple moments with the president. Where his daughters' boyfriends are concerned "he's not the shotgun-dad type, he's the joking-around-to-the-point-where-he-scares-the-heck-out-of-them type," Jenna said.

Trail Bytes: John Kerry is down in Boston again today working on his acceptance speech, and possibly dreaming about his upcoming weekend in Nantucket. But CBS News' Bonney Kapp goes along with Sen. John Edwards on his first solo trip. Here is her report on how he is preparing for his new role:

In case anyone forgot that John Edwards was not born into his role as the second half of the "Gleam Team" or the "Sunshine Boys," the senior senator from North Carolina made a pit stop at his Capitol Hill office Tuesday before he heading out on his first solo Kerry/Edwards campaign swing Wednesday.

According to his Senate press secretary, Mike Briggs, Edwards dropped by the office to say hello, offer his thanks to staffers, and snap a few photos with the new crop of summer interns before attending a caucus luncheon with fellow Democratic Senators. While John Kerry was a no-show, high profile Senators Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton were among those who gathered for the closed press weekly meeting and were treated to a 10-minute speech from the Democratic running mate.

Many in the Senate and the press were preoccupied by the possibility of a vote on the gay marriage amendment but Edwards stuck to his campaign message. "Mostly it was just a message of optimism, enthusiasm, can-do, and being able to get things done. It wasn't exactly a pep talk; it was just about the campaign, the candidacy and John Kerry himself, and how good they feel about this," Senator Max Baucus, D-Mont., told said he came out of the meeting.

Following the speech, Edwards retreated to his office (apparently through a back door, perhaps to avoid the gaggle of press waiting in the hallway) where he received an intelligence briefing in the Hart Senate Office Building, according to press secretary Briggs. Edwards also made one other Congressional stop, this time at the Democratic House Caucus.

Wednesday Edwards heads to a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, where he will make his first appearance in the state since his surprise second-place finish in the January caucuses. He'll wrap up the day at a "Kerry-Edwards Victory 2004 Reception" in Chicago. Elizabeth Edwards is along for the ride as well. She told the AP that she is heading to Iowa "to look up some old friends and find a pork chop someplace."

Quote of the Day: "We were looking for an unusual way to cover it, with an unusual person who could give it an unusual bent." --WOIO Channel 19 news director Steve Doerr on the Cleveland station tapping Jerry Springer to cover the Democratic National Convention. (Cleveland Plain Dealer).