Washington Wrap
Dotty Lynch, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Nathaniel Franks and Dan Furman of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.
Monday's Headlines
* Kerry's Week Ahead
* Trail Bytes: Kerry in Nantucket While Edwards Goes to the Front Porch
* Cheney on Offense and McCain Says No, Once Again
* With Enemies Like These, Nader and the GOP
* Campaigns Plan for the Worst on Election Day
* Where the Ads Are: Oprah vs. NYPD Blue
Kerry's Week Ahead: As John Kerry spends a few days in Nantucket, writing out his convention acceptance speech in longhand, he is gearing up for the trip that will take him into Boston – hopefully, in style. According to the campaign, Kerry will "travel from his birthplace to the birthplace of America," taking him on what the Kerry folk say is a "Freedom Trail" tour. Beginning Thursday, Kerry will make a speech to the National Urban League in Detroit. Friday, he will be joined by his family as well as by running mate John Edwards and his family in Aurora, Col., where Kerry was born in an Army hospital.
Kerry and Edwards will then split up as Kerry heads Saturday to Sioux City, Iowa, where Lewis and Clark stopped on their journey from East to West. On Sunday, Kerry is in Columbus, Ohio, to talk about jobs. On Monday, July 26, as the convention begins, Kerry will be in Cape Canaveral, Fla., home of the space program. He then travels to Norfolk, Va., on the 27th and Philadelphia on the 28th before delivering his acceptance speech in Boston next Thursday.
The locations, according to Camp Kerry, are "historically significant cities that exemplify America's can-do spirit, Kerry's lifetime of service and strength and the values that built America." Perhaps not coincidentally, all of the historic sites are in swing states.
Here is CBS News' Steve Chaggaris with some Kerry Trail Bytes.
Kerry's four-day pre-convention vacation was supposed to be a retreat where the candidate would finish up work on arguably the biggest speech of his political career: his nomination acceptance speech. However, in his first two days on Nantucket, all signs are pointing to little productivity as he spent a lot of time playing instead of doing his homework.
When asked last week about why he was heading to the island, he credited Nantucket with giving him "peace of mind and creativity." And when he was asked whether he would participate in outdoor activities during his trip, as he is akin to do, he responded, "If I get a moment or two here and there."
Based on his schedule this past weekend, he found several moments to do things other than writing his speech.
After his campaign 757 touched down on the island at just before 1 p.m. on Saturday, he headed home to get ready for an afternoon of kite-surfing, a form of windsurfing where he's attached to and holding on to a giant kite while standing on a board. He was on the water from approximately 2:30 to 4 p.m. before heading home, only to head back out for dinner at 7:30 p.m., leaving only a few hours late in the afternoon and late at night for speechwriting time.
On Sunday, his morning was free before his wife Teresa arrived around lunchtime. The two spent a quiet afternoon at home, according to a campaign aide. Then at around 4:30, Kerry hit the water again to try kite-surfing, however, he gave up within an hour due to the lack of wind. He and his wife then headed to church for an hour-long mass, beginning at 7.
All is not lost as Kerry has two more days on Nantucket to concentrate on his speechwriting. According to a schedule released by the campaign this morning, though, Kerry better get cracking as he's booked solid on the road beginning Thursday and leading straight to the convention next week.
Edwards: John Edwards is in Durham, N.C., Monday continuing the "Front Porch Tour" about "Hometown Values" in a place pretty close to his home in Raleigh.
CBS News' Bonney Kapp looks at Edwards' first week on the trail.
Edwards Trail Bytes: On his first solo trip as John Kerry's running mate, John Edwards has promoted the Democratic ticket in seven states – and raised a lot of money along the way. Campaign officials say Edwards will raise another $1 million at a Monday fund-raiser in Raleigh, N.C., bringing his total to an estimated $4.25 million on the trip.
But money doesn't come without some effort. Edwards has addressed at least one fundraiser a day during the trip, squeezing in campaign events in between. Over six days, Edwards has one fewer fundraiser than all other campaign events combined. How is a campaign to spend so much money before Kerry accepts the nomination next week? "TV is expensive," explained one senior campaign official.
Sunday was literally a million dollar day for the senator, who spoke at two "receptions" in Sunshine State, and tried to give Floridians another reason to vote for the Democratic ticket.""The one thing I want to remind everyone of is my wife is born here in Florida. Listen, you all gotta make me look good in front of my in-laws," he joked to a room of Orlando donors.
At another, less successful attempt at humor, the senator poked fun at the group of well-to-do Democrats at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort in Newport Beach, Calif. Referring to his "Two Americas" primary campaign speech, he said the group had probably heard him "talk about 'One America' where people struggle to get by, have trouble paying their bills, can't save any money --this is the other America," he said to tepid laughter.
He went on to say, "I'm so proud of all of you for being here because you recognize what all of us recognize, which is we believe in a country where everybody should have a chance to do well."
Gliding from "One America" to the other, Edwards was escorted by no less than 50 police motorcycles when he visited a Baptist A.M.E. church in a poor, African American neighborhood in Orlando on Sunday (granted it appeared to be the nicest church on the block). Edwards sat in the first row in between two women donning white hats. Sen. Bill Nelson and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer also worshiped with the senator.
When the choir started singing "Let's Have a Little Church," the only people in the sanctuary not singing and swaying to the rhythm were Edwards and his Secret Service detail. He may have made up for it later when he declared, "Brothers and sisters, it's my honor to be here to be able to worship with you today."
Pastor Samuel L. Green introduced Edwards and described him as having a "background similar to many of ours." When the now-millionaire senator spoke, he talked about the many opportunities he has been afforded, promising to ensure that everyone is given the same—no matter "the color of your skin." He continued, "I'm here to tell you hope is on the way."
Whether or not God is on Edwards' side is debatable, but the ticket does at least have the support of one church in central Florida. "Senator John Kerry and Senator Edwards — what a wonderful combination. Church say 'Amen,'" the good pastor Green said following Edwards' speech. "Amen!" the congregation answered.
Edwards is in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., Monday where he will hold his second "Front Porch Visit" and speak at yet another fundraiser. When he flies back to Washington, it will be on the campaign's new 727, complete with the "Kerry/Edwards '04" logo emblazoned on the fuselage.
Cheney Out of the Bunker: For all intents and purposes, Dick Cheney has come out of the bunker and is in full campaign mode, as he and the Bush/Cheney campaign try to squash rumors that his name will be replaced on the Republican ticket.
On Monday, Cheney takes his show to Missouri and Ohio where he will talk about health care costs and limiting financial awards for medical malpractice (perhaps a not-so-subtle dig at John Edwards). News of this itinerary sent Camp Kerry into a counter-offensive brouhaha on Sunday as they tried to attack the mud before it was even flung.
"With White House spin doctors prescribing Dick Cheney as the miracle cure to the President's political freefall, the Vice-President heads to Ohio tomorrow to launch another misleading attack (yawn) aimed at deflecting attention from George Bush's failure to address rising healthcare costs," a Kerry/Edwards campaign memo reads.
"This attack on John Kerry and John Edwards is not unexpected, and the campaign is ready with a plan that includes major organization and coordination in the battleground states," the memo continues.
Aside from digs at the competition, Cheney's job security was further helped this weekend after John McCain told Time Magazine that he would not agree to a Bush-McCain ticket. McCain, who campaigned with Cheney on Friday in Michigan, took his comments a step further on Sunday, comparing the job to his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, the AP reports. "As far as me and the vice presidency is concerned ... I spent a number of years in a North Vietnamese prison camp in the dark and (was) fed scraps, and I don't know why I would want to do that all over again," McCain said.
With a Little Help From His Enemies: As CBS News reported Friday, Ralph Nader is poised to get on the Michigan ballot via more than 50,000 signatures collected not by his campaign but by the Michigan Republican Party. The New York Times reports that Democrats are "calling for him to withdraw and are threatening to file a complaint against the Republicans charging they contributed illegally to the Nader campaign."
Nader spokesman Kevin Zeese tells CBS News that "our decision is whether or not to continue to pursue the Independent line in Michigan or to give it up and only pursue the Reform Party line. It would be absurd for us to put all our eggs in a fragile basked. Until the Reform Party issue is resolved we are going to continue to pursue the Independent line as well." There is a dispute inside the Reform party that could threaten Nader's claim to that ballot line.
Some have suggested that the Republican-gathered names could be considered an illegal contribution to Nader's campaign. Zeese responds: "It is up to the Secretary of State of Michigan on whether the signatures submitted are legitimate and up to her when the Reform Party issue will be resolved."
According to the Washington Post, the Michigan GOP denies that it was helping Nader in order to draw voters again from President Bush's bigger opponent, John Kerry. GOP spokesman Matt Davis says, "it was merely concerned about third party candidates being left off the ballot. He could not name, however, another third party or independent candidates his party has helped," reports the Post.
Campaigns Plan for the Worst on Election Day: The Kerry campaign has set up a nationwide legal network in an effort to avoid an election fiasco such as the one in 2000, reports the New York Times. Although the Kerry team will continue to use local election lawyers associated with state Democratic parties, which is what Al Gore's campaign did in 2000, they have also recruited litigators from large firms who "have the resources and office space to support a long-term, large-scale and pro bono recount operation."
One veteran of the Florida effort, Bob Bauer, the primo Democratic election lawyer, is overseeing the Kerry legal effort. Setting up such an extensive legal network is highly unusual, but may become commonplace as a preemptive strike of sorts. The Times reports that "Democrats… learned from the Florida vote, and from the Supreme Court rulings that arose from it, that the most important legal battles are those fought before Election Day, over how election laws are to be carried out, who is allowed to register and who will be allowed to vote."
In Minnesota, a lawyer for the Kerry campaign has already challenged a ruling by Minnesota's Republican Secretary of State that says every registrant must provide identification information – such as name, birth date, driver's license number and Social Security number – that exactly matches a state database or their ballot would be voided. Jim Rubenstein, the Kerry lawyer protesting the ruling, said, "[The rule] doesn't take into account a transposition of a number by a data-entry person."
In addition, if a worst-case scenario does materialize and recounts are needed, the Kerry team will have been assembled and ready for months. Marc Elias, the Kerry campaign's general counsel, said, "We don't want a situation where we wake up the next day and are scrambling to think of what our legal team looks like."
Republicans are also trying to safeguard the upcoming election, although much more quietly. Benjamin Ginsberg, the national counsel for the Bush-Cheney effort, estimates lawyers will cover nearly 30,000 precincts on Election Day, reports the Times.
Advocacy and civil rights groups have also entered the fray. America's Families United, a racial-justice advocacy group that registers voters, has set up a "voter protection project" to make sure that the people they register actually make it on to the rolls. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to review the Justice Department's communications with state and local authorities regarding the election. Said the Conference's deputy director, Nancy Zirkin, "We're being proactive, trying to head off any problems at the pass."
Oprah vs. NYPD Blue: A new study, conducted by the Nielsen Monitor-Plus and the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project, shows that the two presidential campaigns are taking very different ad buy approaches. The study shows that the Bush-Cheney campaign Bush is reaching far more rural voters while Kerry-Edwards is going after suburban and urban areas, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Besides geographical differences in ad targets, there is also a divergence on which gender each side is courting. The study shows that Bush-Cheney is really going after the male vote while Kerry-Edwards is looking for the women voters. The Bush campaign is buying more ads on crime shows like "NYPD Blue," "Law & Order" and "JAG" that have heavily male audiences.
One trend both campaigns do share is that they are targeting voters older than 55 much more than any other age group. Local news broadcasts were also favored in media buying, accounting for over 40 percent of each campaign's ad buys. Morning TV shows picked up 11 percent of total buys and syndicated shows like "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Dr. Phil" also did well.
Not surprisingly, Ohio is one of the most targeted states for both sides: its battleground status and 20 electoral votes make it a prime target. Toledo and Dayton rank 1st and 2nd, respectively as the most targeted media markets in the nation. Columbus and Cleveland come in 4th and 5th, respectively. Missouri also a represents a big market for ads as both camps try to woo its 11 electoral votes.
The Times notes that "Such subtle variations in the purchase of TV time could play a significant role if the November election is as close as the one four years ago. Bush won Florida by 537 votes in 2000, and that state proved decisive."
Kenneth M. Goldstein, director of the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin told the Times, "We are in such a competitive election that it is going to be won or lost at the margins, not only in the big markets but in the small markets." He continued, "None of us knows what the effect of TV advertising is, but surely it is worth more than 537 votes."
Quote of the Day: "I gotta go. Somebody just stole my wallet." --Howard Dean, who "abruptly ended" a speech "about impending Democratic victory" on a pay phone during a layover at New York's JFK airport (New York Daily News)