Washington Wrap

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

Monday's Headlines

* Bush Talks National Security

* Poll Watch

* Kerry's New Friends

* Edwards on the Trail

Talking National Security: With two weeks until the Republican Convention, President Bush is preparing to highlight his role as commander in chief this week while his political allies are trying to cast doubt on John Kerry's national security credentials, reports the Boston Globe.

On Monday, Bush announced plans for the largest troop realignment since the end of the Cold War while addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Cincinnati, Ohio, reports CBS News' Mark Knoller. Most notably, Bush announced plans to withdraw some 70,000 U.S. troops from Europe and Asia, the first such move since World War II. The realignment does not affect the American deployment in Iraq, which now numbers about 140,000. A spokesman calls the plan the most comprehensive restructuring of the U.S. military forces since the Korean War.

Although the troop realignment is major news, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that delegates at the VFW convention are more likely to be interested in what Bush plans to do about veterans' health care. "Health care is at the top of the agenda. Always has been and always will be," said John Furgess, a Vietnam veteran from Nashville who will take over as commander-in-chief of the 2.6-million-member veterans' organization later this week. They will also be standing by to see if John Kerry addresses the issue when he speaks to the convention on Wednesday.

Furgess said that mandatory funding is needed so that the VA doesn't "have to compete with every other federal program for dollars." Kerry supports mandatory funding, while Bush has not embraced the idea.

Meanwhile, the Bush campaign added yet another new advertisement to the rotation. The ad, called "Intel," criticizes Kerry's role on the Senate Intelligence Committee in the 1990s, accusing him of missing three-quarters of its public hearings. Kerry's advisers insist the Republican calculations are flawed because they do not include any closed-door sessions Kerry participated in during those years, reports the Globe.

Polls Stay Tight: Two new polls out show the equivalent of polling news in this presidential election: a very close race indeed. A Gallup Poll (conducted August 9 through August 11, margin of error 3.5 percent) shows John Kerry leading President George Bush 50 percent to 47. Because of the margin of error, that lead is a statistical dead heat.

The poll also had some good news for President Bush. "For the first time since April, more than half of Americans surveyed said they approve of the job President George W. Bush is doing," with just over 51 percent having a favorable view. Bush's rating, as measured by the Gallup poll, has rebounded from a low of 46 in early May. Moreover, "The last time his approval rating topped 50 percent was in a poll taken April 16-18, when 52 percent of those surveyed said they approved of his performance."

But lest the Kerry campaign get down about its prospects, a Zogby poll does show some more encouraging numbers for the Kerry camp. The Zogby poll (conducted August 12 through 14, margin of error 3.1 percent) shows Kerry leading 50 to 43, outside the margin of error. The poll also found that "the presidential ticket of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and North Carolina Senator John Edwards gained two points since the Democratic National convention over President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney," increasing its lead from 5 points to 7.

Bush's job approval rating also grew in the Zogby poll, to 47 percent, but so did the "wrong track" numbers, going to 51, a new high since early May.

Wonder which poll the Kerry campaign will be touting?

Kerry Makes New Friends: Democrats across the board have been giving in record amounts this year, turning their dismay with President Bush into cold hard cash for Democratic candidates. And now there is a new donor on the block: Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards. The two candidates, who accepted federal campaign funding after the Democratic National Convention, are no longer allowed to raise – or spend – private donations. So what to do with their record-breaking primary largesse? Turns out the answer is to give it to other Democrats.

On Monday, the Kerry-Edwards campaign announced that it has given $3 million each to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). According to a press release from the campaign, "The unprecedented donations will help play a crucial role in the committees' efforts to elect more Democrats to Congress."

During the primary season, Kerry (and then Edwards) raised $225 million, shattering all records for a challenger. And with much of that money coming in the final days of private fundraising ($9 million in the final 48 hours, according to the campaign), Kerry-Edwards can afford to be generous.

Edwards on the Trail: In a whirlwind weekend, Senator Edwards made a front porch visit a stone's throw (and a whiff away) from a hog farm in Belle Plaine, Minn., rallied the folks in Fargo, ND, and returned to the birthplace of his political superstardom: Iowa. CBS News' Bonney Kapp was on the road with him.

Trail Byte:"I feel at home here," he confided to Des Moines voters during a day-long campaign swing that felt more like a homecoming. "Lord only knows how many times I've been to Des Moines," he said before adding, he and John Kerry know the state "like the back of our hand."

Boasting his familiarity with the state and its people, Edwards declared that he and his running mate know more about the problems and concerns of Iowans than their opponents because they "basically lived here for a year and a half."

Edwards' claim was later reinforced by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin when he pointed out that Edwards was the first candidate on a national ticket to campaign in all 99 of the state's counties. At an AME church in Waterloo, Edwards reminded the congregation this was a mutual relationship. "The people in Iowa know John Kerry and myself very well, probably better than other states."

This Iowa rapport, according to the candidate, translates to a Kerry/Edwards platform that reflects Iowan's values. All those stops Edwards made while trying to secure his party's nomination were "very, very helpful for both of us in putting together our plan about what needs to be done," he said at his Waterloo front porch visit.

But Edwards' Iowa confidence may have inadvertently come off as dismissive when the candidate stopped by the state fair Sunday afternoon. Gary Slater, the fair's CEO, began explaining to Edwards exactly why the event was the "granddaddy of all the fairs" after the candidate entered the front gate. "It's my third year in a row here, so I know your fair," Edwards interrupted. "Good to see you," he said as he headed towards the mob of fairgoers waiting to greet their 'native son.'

The candidate shouldn't be overly self-assured in Iowa, however. As the Edwards entourage and the press corps made its way through the 4-H barn, one young man wondered aloud if the hubbub was for "American Idol's" Clay Aiken, who was set to perform at the fair later that night.

Edwards capped off his weekend in Missouri, where more than 7,000 gathered to hear the candidate in Springfield, his largest crowd to date as headliner.

Quote of the Day: "Um, no. Run away from office is more like it!" --Kristin Gore, daughter of former Vice President Al Gore and author of the forthcoming book, "Sammy's Hill," when asked if she has any plans for elective office one day. (Elle)