Washington Wrap

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

"Senator Daschle has spent more time criticizing the leadership of President Bush than he's spent criticizing the tyranny of Saddam Hussein," Hastert said.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi fired back a statement defending Daschle. "No one should ever question the patriotism of Senator Tom Daschle," she said, citing Republican Sen. Robert Taft, who, two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, said, "Criticism in time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of Democratic government." Pelosi called Daschle patriotic, and the Republican leaders partisan.

Meanwhile, Roll Call reports that Daschle has revamped his political operation to focus more on fundraising for his 2004 reelection contest and will scale back his commitment to the DSCC. He has hired Brian Hardwick, former DNC and Gore finance chief, to oversea the reorganization of DASHPAC with an eye toward the re-election race in South Dakota.

The Daschle goal is to raise a lot of money soon to send a signal to the GOP - and specifically to Republican John Thune - that a race against Daschle would be very costly. Thune, who lost his challenge to Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson by 524 votes in 2002, has not yet decided whether he'll try again in 2004.

"It may or may not happen but we'll be ready for it," Daschle adviser Anita Dunn told Roll Call. CBS News has been told that Steve Hildebrandt, who was to have run Daschle's presidential race, will now run the Senate race. Advisers John Podesta, Joel Johnson, as well as Dunn all have signed up for the slightly smaller playing field of South Dakota, as well.

Hit The Road, Karl: White House political adviser Karl Rove will hit the campaign trail next month for Rep. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the U.S. Senate candidate who Rove personally recruited to run against incumbent Democrat and presidential candidate John Edwards.

Rove will speak at the Richard Burr Capitol Club Gala on April 24 in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Raleigh News and Observer reports. The group is made up of donors who've contributed at least $1,000 to Burr.

Burr announced last month that he'd give up his House seat next year and has established an exploratory committee for a Senate bid. It's been speculated that the White House urged Burr to enter the race, in part, to force Edwards to watch his home-state flank as he campaigns for president. Rove's handpicked candidates did extremely well in the 2002 mid-term election, picking up Republican Senate seats in Georgia, Minnesota and Missouri.

Burr, 48, was first elected in the so-called Republican Revolution of 1994.

Higher Alert On The Hill: As the country's terror threat level was raised to orange Tuesday, Capitol Hill officials urged members and staff to increase security and "remain vigilant," according to Roll Call.

House staffers received e-mails yesterday from the Capitol Police informing them that security has been increased although "there is no information indicating a specific threat to the Capitol complex."

The e-mail pointed out there will be "an increased police presence and heightened security measures. Intelligence information and security measures are evaluated on an ongoing basis. Security measures will be adjusted as necessary in the coming days to respond to the threat level."

Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer told Roll Call that the Capitol's threat level isn't necessarily tied to the one issued by the Homeland Security Department. "We have a pretty robust intelligence operation and work with federal authorities, and we have some sense of what the threat was for the U.S. and the Capitol," Gainer said. "We are not in lockstep [with other authorities] ... but we are pretty close."

Capitol Police spokeswoman Jessica Gissubel said that some of the increased security measures include a higher profile for officers, including heavily armed personnel.

As for whether Members and Senators are ready in case the Capitol is hit by terrorists, Senate Rules Committee Chairman Trent Lott, R-Miss., decided to ask his colleagues. "I am not sure how prepared Senators are," said Lott.

But House Administration Committee Chairman Bob Ney, R-Ohio, is more optimistic saying there are plenty of people making sure the Hill is secure. "All of us need to remain calm, but cautious. We have made tremendous strides in security here at the Capitol, but this does not diminish our alert level or our commitment to safety," Ney said.

Another Day, Another Surgery: Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who's still recovering from surgery last month to remove his cancerous prostate gland, underwent minor surgery Monday to remove a benign, dangling wart from his left eyelid, The Boston Globe reports.

The outpatient surgery left Kerry with a black eye, but no further treatment is expected. Kerry had a similar non-cancerous growth removed from his hand last year and has required no follow-up for that procedure.

The Globe reports that Kerry had been experiencing discomfort on his eyeball from the wart. The wart was tested after removal and found to be benign.

On the good news front, Kerry's campaign released a list of 73 New Hampshire Democratic heavyweights who are backing his candidacy. PoliticsNH.com reports that the supporters include two former gubernatorial nominees, a former state party chairman, several former state lawmakers and local politicians so crucial to Granite State grassroots campaigning.

Quote of the Day: "How free is speech if there are limits to its distribution?" - C-Span vice president Terry Murphy, reacting to the news that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was banning media coverage of an appearance in Cleveland where he'll receive an award for supporting free speech. (AP)