Washington Wrap

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

Howard Dean and John Kerry both attacked President Bush's foreign policy, although Kerry avoided the Iraq issue in his prepared remarks in San Francisco on Thursday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Dean hopes to get some leverage on the issue, especially vis-a-vis Kerry, who voted for the Senate resolution giving the president authority to use military force in Iraq. Dean called his Democratic competitors "Bush lite" and says many are trying to backtrack from their support of the Senate resolution.

Kerry defended his vote in response to a question, although he attacked Mr. Bush's diplomatic skills and said that, "the biggest challenge facing the country now is how to get out of the mess that Bush has created."

In addition to providing a forum for the presidential candidates, the California state party hopes its meeting will be a way to bolster support for Gov. Gray Davis, who is facing a bad economy and plunging poll ratings. Although Davis was re-elected last November, Republicans are waging an effort to recall him.

A new Los Angeles Times poll found that only 27 percent of all Californians (and 39 percent of Democrats) approve of the job Davis is doing. However, only 39 percent support the recall effort.

Kerry defended Davis and said he was being unfairly criticized for the state's problems. But, California Republican Party spokesman Rob Stutzman said, "if John Kerry thinks he can win California by defending the most unpopular governor in modern history and by attacking one of the most popular presidents in history, he may not see the snows of New Hampshire."

Polls, Polls, Polls: Research 2000 has released new polls conducted March 10-12 on the Democratic presidential nomination race in Iowa, New Hampshire and Illinois.

In Iowa, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri leads with 22 percent, with Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts a close second at 20 percent. That's not great news for Gephardt, who won the Iowa caucuses in the 1988 presidential race and is counting on a quasi-favorite son win there next January. Sen. Joe Lieberman was next with 16 percent, followed by Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina at 8 percent, Howard Dean at 6 percent and Al Sharpton at 1 percent. The rest of the field did not pass the 1 percent mark, and 27 percent remain undecided.

In New Hampshire, Kerry has a huge lead over his rivals, with 38 percent support. Next are Lieberman at 20 percent and Dean at 11 percent. Edwards and Gephardt both came in at 4 percent, followed by Sharpton at 1 percent. The rest of the field was below 1 percent. Twenty-two percent remain undecided.

And in Illinois, Kerry leads the pack again with 19 percent, followed by Lieberman at 17 percent and Gephardt at 13 percent. Carol Moseley Braun, who represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 1992 to 1998, did not manage to break into the double digits, coming in with just 9 percent. The rest of the field: Edwards at 5 percent, Dean at 4 percent, Sharpton at 3 percent and Bob Graham at 1 percent. Twenty-nine percent are undecided.

A Zogby poll conducted March 4-6 among Democrats in South Carolina showed Lieberman leading the pack, although 46 percent of Democrats are undecided. Lieberman polled 12 percent, Gephardt 10 percent, native son Edwards 6 percent, Kerry 5 percent and Sharpton 4 percent. Interestingly, among African Americans, who could comprise at least half of the Democratic primary electorate, Lieberman and Sharpton are tied at 8 percent and Braun is at 3 percent.

Senator Smallpox: Following the lead of the commander in chief, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., received a smallpox vaccination this morning. Frist got his, however, not because of his position as a leader in the Senate but because he's a practicing physician and front-line responder in case of a smallpox outbreak.

Frist currently is responder for the District of Columbia's response team and today he received further training to be come a responder for the Surgeon General's Public Health Service – to administer vaccines around the country, if needed.

"It's important for people to see that practicing physicians, licensed physicians and first responders are participating in the program," Frist said shortly after receiving his vaccine.

Last year, President Bush put forth a voluntary vaccination program for front-line doctors and health professionals, so far, hasn't taken the country by storm. According to a Health and Human Services Department spokesperson, states have identified approximately 450,000 to 500,000 eligible health care workers for vaccines under the program. To date, only about 17,000 have received their vaccines.

"I hope to encourage other public health workers and first responders… to step up" and receive a shot, Frist added. "The threat (of an outbreak) is real and it's higher than it was two to four years ago."

Frist proclaimed the shot "relatively painless" - possibly, he joked, because the person administrating it was a Republican. Afterwards, he received training on how to administer the vaccine to others. Within the next few weeks, Frist will be officially commissioned by the U.S. Public Health Service as a first-responder on the Commission Corps Readiness Force.

At Least He's Not Switching to Earth-Tones: Like many a presidential candidate before him, Florida Sen. Bob Graham is making some campaign wardrobe adjustments. But, unlike a certain Democrat whose radical shift from Brooks Brothers off-the-rack to form-fitting Alpha Male suits drew snickers in 2000, Graham is taking baby steps toward a new look. He's starting with substituting his signature neckties with drawings of Florida on them for a more "national" look with U.S. flags or other patriotic emblems.

In addition to the new ties, which he plans to bust out when he makes his formal campaign announcement, Graham plans to expand his "workdays" tradition to a national venue. One idea, he told the Sun-Sentinel on Thursday, could be working a dairy farm in Iowa.

"I hope the first one we will be doing will be on a dairy farm which has Holstein cows because this valve I just had put in is a Holstein valve," Graham said, alluding to his January surgery in which he had a heart valve replaced, as well as a double bypass.

Political Week Ahead:

Fri. 3/14 – Sen. Joe Lieberman attends meeting with technology executives in Washington.

Fri. 3/14-3/17 – California Democratic State Party convention in Sacramento.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., speaks on Friday. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Rev. Al Sharpton and Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., speak on Saturday. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun speak on Sunday.

Sat. 3/15 – Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., campaigns in Manchester, Concord, Keene and Cornish, N.H.

Sat. 3/15 – Dean raises money in Aspen following California convention. He'll then keynote the Colorado Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Denver.

Sat. 3/16 – Former Sen. Gary Hart speaks at the Colorado Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

Sun. 3/16 – Dean meeting on health care with doctors in Denver.

Mon. 3/17 – Dean in New Hampshire.

Mon. 3/17 – Lieberman speaks to International Association of Firefighters in Washington.

Tues. 3/18 – Kerry speaks to International Association of Firefighters in Washington.

Tue s.3/18 – Hart campaigns at Brown University in Providence, RI.

Wed. 3/19 – Dean raises money in South Carolina.

Thurs. 3/20 – Dean in Washington speaking to National Newspaper Association Breakfast and attending Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner.

Thurs. 3/20 – Hart takes part in homeland security conference at George Washington University.

Fri. 3/21-23 – Lieberman campaigns in Arizona.

Fri. 3/21 – Edwards in Manchester and Nashua, N.H.

Fri. 3/21 – New Hampshire Education Association candidate forum in Manchester.

Sat. 3/22-3/24 – Dean in Iowa.

Sun. 3/23 – Kerry campaigns in New Hampshire.

Quote of the Day: "A quadrennial arm of the Home Shopping Network" – The New York Times editorial page's take on the New Hampshire primary.