Washington Wrap

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

The campaigns agreed in principle with a proposal put forward last week by Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., to limit debates to one a month. Three campaign managers told The New York Times, in a joint phone call from a bar near the White House, that DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe "would draft a proposal for a limited schedule of officially sanctioned events which would presumably be televised nationally."

The top-tier candidates are particularly eager to limit these events, which drain time and resources from other campaign activity, while the under-funded campaigns tend to seek them out as a way of guaranteeing coverage. DNC officials told CBS News last week they are concerned too many debates will cause excessive friction and weaken the eventual nominee.

McAuliffe and his staff inherit the tough job of working through the forum invitations and trying to marry them with interested media. McAuliffe is supposed to report back to the campaigns by the end of this week with a tentative proposal, but this one might take a chunk of the holiday weekend to work through.

Senate Dems Readying For Leadership Posts?: With the Senate's top two Democrats facing tight re-election bids, some of their colleagues are eyeing the potential openings in the Democratic leadership, reports CQ Today.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Minority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., are well-liked and if they're re-elected should have no problem holding on to their leadership posts. But politics is politics and several other Senate Democrats are working on replacing them just in case they lose.

"Conversations are clearly being had," said one former aide to two Dems who may be interested in the posts. "There are only 100 senators; they've always got to be prepared for what falls in their lap."

The senators rumored to be interested in moving up include Reid, who was interested in Daschle's spot when he considered a presidential run last year. Of course, that scenario would only be possible if Reid won his expected close race next year and Daschle lost.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., the party's current number four leader as head of the Democratic Policy Committee, has in the past expressed interest in Reid's whip slot. Dorgan is also up for re-election next year but is only considered vulnerable if former Gov. Ed Schafer decides to run against him.

There's talk about first-term Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Jon Corzine, D-N.J., but it's unlikely they would challenge the veterans if the positions opened up.

Among the more senior folks, Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., have also been mentioned for leadership positions. However, they've been extremely quiet about their plans.

"Nope, nope, nope; not going to go there," Durbin told CQ when asked about his interest.

One aide tried to handicap the jockeying if it turns out Daschle doesn't return after the 2004 elections.

"Don't think for a second that Durbin doesn't think about challenging people within his own leadership," the aide said. "Reid would have the clear shot at having the [top] leadership position; Dodd would try to challenge him but would lose miserably. And Dorgan would move up to whip, but he shouldn't assume that he would have whip. Maybe Durbin or someone else would challenge him."

The Long And Winding Road: The Democratic presidential candidates are being urged to think twice about their position on President Bush's "road map" for Middle East peace. According to The New York Times, more than 100 longtime Democratic Jewish donors sent a letter that was coordinated by the Israel Policy Forum, which hopes to quiet Democratic criticism.

The letter asks the candidates "not to put obstacles in the way of the president's peacemaking policies." It could carry some weight with Democrats since the list of signatures includes actor Richard Dreyfuss; former DNC finance chairman Alan Solomont; Harvard University president Henry Rosovsky; and Alan Patricof, an investment banker and friend to the Clintons.

Solomont, a backer of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, told the Times he did not want the latest violence in the Middle East to draw criticism from the Democratic candidates. The letter-signers "wanted to remind the candidates that we have something on the table that we think is an important framework," Solomont said.

The letter added that the candidates should "speak out" if President Bush's administration ever tries to downplay the Middle East peace issue.

So far, the Democratic campaigns have criticized Mr. Bush for being too disengaged in the Middle East. Kerry spokesman Robert Gibbs said the senator has repeatedly stated that "the United States and this administration must be personally engaged in this critical part of the world. Unfortunately, this administration walked away from the Middle East for months."

Another contributor and lawyer in Washington, Bill Titelman, echoed Mr. Solomont's concern about the candidates' criticism. "There are a lot of issues that Democrats want to oppose George Bush on, and I absolutely agree with them about that. But it's important that our candidates recognize that the overwhelming majority of the American-Jewish community supports the road map," Titelman said.

Although the group did not threaten to withhold financial support if the candidates failed to act on their advice, some campaign officials complained to the Times. "Money only goes so far. No one group can dictate to a candidate what his or her position should be," one official said.

Jonathan Jacoby, founding director of the Israel Policy Forum, said he hopes the letter will prevent the candidates from attacking Mr. Bush's plan. "The message of the letter to the candidates," he said, "is that if you think you're going to stop Bush from picking off Jewish Democrats by attacking him on the road map, you're mistaken."

Bluegrass Primary Day: Voters in Kentucky hit the polls Tuesday to choose the Democratic and Republican tickets for this fall's gubernatorial election to replace Democrat Paul Patton.

Rep. Ernie Fletcher, the choice of Sen. Mitch McConnell's powerful GOP machine, has led in most polls of likely Republican primary voters, despite losing his running mate, former McConnell aide Hunter Bates, because he failed to meet the state's residency requirements as a result of living in the Washington area for many years.

The state Supreme Court denied a request by another GOP candidate, Steve Nunn, to have Fletcher removed from the ballot entirely because of Bates' ineligibility. (In Kentucky, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates run together.) In the end, Fletcher replaced Bates with U.S. Attorney Steve Pence.

Other Republicans running include Jefferson County Judge-Executive Rebecca Hanks and state Rep. Steve Nunn.

The Democratic side of the gubernatorial fight also has been interesting. The front-running ticket of Attorney General Ben Chandler and wealthy Louisville businessman Charlie Owen has been on top of the polls for several months. But with the withdrawal of big-spending businessman Bruce Lunsford last week, House Speaker Jody Richards could give Chandler a run for his money.

Lunsford, who spent $8 million of his own cash on the race, withdrew last week after Chandler released a series of blistering ads about improprieties at a chain of nursing homes Lunsford used to own, including bilking investors and leaving seniors on the street when the chain went bankrupt. The fight between Chandler and Lunsford has been so intense that Lunsford has endorsed Richards and said he'd vote against Chandler in the general election if he wins the nomination.

Turnout is expected to be low. Secretary of State John Y. Brown III told the Louisville Courier-Journal Monday that he hopes for 30 percent, but the total "may well be closer to 20 percent." The last time there was a competitive primary day, in 1995, turnout was just 21.3 percent.

As the Lexington Herald-Leader points out, a good indicator of how messy this year's primary race has been is the ballots being used Tuesday, which still list Lunsford as a candidate and Bates as Fletcher's running mate.

Quote of the Day: "You won't find a better feminist running for president!" - former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, after telling an Emily's List forum in Washington that his gubernatorial office was a "matriarchy." (CBS News Political Unit)