Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Nathaniel Franks, Cody Kucharczyk and Dan Furman of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.

* Bush Serves Up More Compassion

* Kerry Goes Battleground

* Trail Bytes: Kerry Bids Farewell to Nantucket

* What's in a Platform?

* Democratic Convention Watch

* Trail Bytes: Edwards Spends a day in the Big Apple

Bush Starts Thinking About Tomorrow: For the first time this election cycle, President Bush hinted at what another four years in the White House would mean to voters. In an address to Republican donors, which netted $23 million for Congressional campaigns, Bush promised a "new era of ownership" that would give Americans more control over their health insurance and savings plans, and make healthcare less expensive, reports the Los Angeles Times. And, though he offered few specifics, the president also gave a strong indication that he would forge ahead with a plan to create private retirement savings and health accounts.

The Times reports: "The president's comments signaled a return to his 2000 theme of 'compassionate conservatism,' a mantra intended to appeal to moderate swing voters who supported government's role in such areas as public education while also appeasing a conservative base wary of the mounting budget deficit."

Speaking of compassion, the Republican National Convention is kicking off its "Compassion Across America" community service initiative on Saturday. "Republicans across the nation will answer the president's call to service this weekend at events from coast to coast," Bill Harris, CEO of the 2004 Republican National Convention, said, in describing the project. With a couple of exceptions it should be of note that most of the compassion they are distributing will be in battleground states. The events promoted so far, are planned in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, Florida, New Mexico, West Virginia, Idaho, Virginia and Missouri. (Four out 14 of these states are battlegrounds; guess they need more compassion than other states.)

Kerry Goes Battleground: Beginning Thursday, Kerry kicks off his into-the-convention road trip. The festivities begin in Detroit, where he will make a speech to the National Urban League. On Friday, Kerry, John Edwards and their families will meet in Aurora, Colorado, (where Kerry was born in an Army hospital) to begin the campaign's "Freedom Trail" tour.

Kerry and Edwards will then split as Kerry heads to Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday, where Lewis and Clark stopped on their journey from East to West. Edwards goes to Milwaukee, a city that smiled on him in the primary. 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. Kerry then travels to Norfolk, Virginia on the 27th and Philadelphia on the 28th before delivering his acceptance speech in Boston next Thursday. The "Freedom Trail" 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.

Before Kerry embarked on his last "presumed nominee" trip, he sat down with CBS News' Dan Rather for a one-on-one interview. The two discussed domestic policy, the impact of military service on politicians, foreign policy, the war in Iraq and the politics of this year's election. Asked about the possible impact of Ralph Nader on the race, Kerry told Rather, "My hope is that in the course of this campaign that John Edwards and I will speak to people in the country who once supported Ralph Nader or found a reason for his candidacy. I hope people will not waste their votes because a vote for Ralph Nader will be a vote for George Bush."

Rather and Kerry also had a long discussion about Iraq. Below is one memorable excerpt:

RATHER: At the core of the attack against you is that you are "Senator flip-flop." Does or does not the record indicate that you have indeed been on several sides of most issues or at least a lot of issues over the years?

KERRY: Not a one. Ask me.

RATHER: Voted for the war but now didn't vote for the money?

KERRY: That's not a flip-flop. That's not a flip-flop. I voted to hold Saddam Hussein accountable in order to make sure he disarm, and I voted to do it with the stipulations of the President who said he would build and international coalition, go to war as a last resort after exhausting the remedies of the UN. He did none of the above. And I learned in war, that if things are going wrong, you better fix it. Now that's a pledge I made to myself when I came back from Vietnam.

RATHER: And you don't think that's a flip-flop?

KERRY: It is not in the least, I think we have to be in Iraq, what have I flipped on? I just think we ought to do it right.

Off the Trail Bytes: CBS News' Allison Davis was with John Kerry as they both bade goodbye to Nantucket:

Looking refreshed and a bit reluctant to leave a perfect east coast island day Senator Kerry arrived at the Nantucket Airport exactly one hour late Wednesday. Before climbing the stairs, Kerry greeted Glenn Halliday, one of his local motorcade volunteers and a life long Nantucket Democrat, along with his family. He then edged towards the gathered press corps and said, "I don't want to leave. Do we have to go?" A reporter responded, "Bring us back." It was unclear whether or not the Senator heard her correctly as he responded, "bring it on."

After a short thirty minute flight, Kerry traveled via a larger than Nantucket motorcade to Boston's historic Faneuil Hall for a sit down interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw and CBS' Dan Rather.

It was a short visit to Boston this time around. Before boarding his campaign 757 located at the Hanscom Air Force Base, Kerry gave an indication to his traveling staff that he would like to throw a ball around, now an occasional tarmac ritual. As the sun was setting perfectly behind the Kerry - Edwards Campaign plane, It was a perfect night to toss the ball back and forth with his right hand man, Marvin and a growing press corps took full advantage for pictures and observations.

Senator Kerry is currently in Detroit speaking to the National Urban League. He is also expected to speak about Thursday's 9-11 commission report.

Platforms Are Not Irrelevant After All: Although few voters regard party platforms as required reading, taking the time to sift through planks and political jargon results in a fresh view a party's health during an election year. According to an op-ed piece in the The New York Times, by Harvard Researchers Peter Buttigieg, Peter V. Emerson and Ganesh Sitaraman an analysis of a platform can even approximate a party's "chances of electoral success."

Seemingly insignificant details of a platform can shed new light on a party's chance of victory. Page count, candidate-to-opponent ratio, and even the use of the word "crisis" have been among the success indicators, historically.

Examining platforms penned since 1960, "the average page count of the Democrats' platforms in losing years was 82, nearly double the average from winning years, which was 46." Referencing the opponent throughout the platform has also been a factor in determining success in a bid for the White House. In 1996 election which ended in victory for the Democrats, Bill Clinton was mentioned by Republicans 153 times throughout their text, while their candidate, Bob Dole, was referred to a mere 45 times.

Diction is another important indicator. Buzz phrases, and in particular, the word "crisis" carries significance. In the 1980 election that resulted in a win for Reagan, Republicans kicked off their platform with the use of the word "crisis" and followed it up 11 times throughout the document. The 1992 Democratic platform also receives a nod for use of compelling, if not "dire" language. One sentence in the platform detailed a nation that "reverberates with a battle cry of frustration that emanates from America's very soul."

As voters turn their attention to the lights and limelight of this summer's conventions, a glance at each party's platform might give new meaning to reading between the lines.

Emerson told CBS News "once we have read the final Democratic platform later this month and analyze the Republican platform in August, we think we will be able to predict the outcome" We'll let you know what they conclude.

Democratic Convention Watch: On Thursday, after a campaign that could only be described as quixotic since John Kerry wrapped up his party's nomination in March, Dennis Kucinich announced plans to endorse the Kerry/Edwards ticket, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Kucinich will fly to Michigan to make a joint appearance with Kerry. In a draft of his remarks obtained by the Plain Dealer, Kucinich reportedly pledges to do whatever he can to elect Kerry, encourages his delegates to support Kerry at the Convention, and asks Ralph Nader's supporters to join the Kerry campaign. "The time has come to unite in a common effort for change… If there is room for me in the party and the Kerry-Edwards campaign, there is certainly room for Ralph and for his supporters," Kucinich says in his remarks.

In other convention news, "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker Michael Moore announced plans Wednesday "to descend upon, and steal some thunder from, John F. Kerry's hometown nominating party," reports the Boston Herald. Unsurprisingly, Republicans were not pleased. Said Kevin Madden, a Bush-Cheney campaign spokesman: "It's just another example of the pessimism and the conspiracy theories coming from John Kerry and John Kerry surrogates… We're seeing a lot of hate and vitriol from this John Kerry celebrity set - Michael Moore, Whoopi Goldberg. It shows that their intent is to frame anger as an agenda."

Massachusetts Democratic Party spokeswoman Jane Lane said, "Clearly the star of the week will be Sen. Kerry and Sen. (John) Edwards, but having Michael Moore in Boston to enjoy the events just adds a lot of excitement to everything else going on." The Kerry campaign, following their standard modus operandi where Michael Moore is concerned, would not comment on Moore's Boston plans.

And in a final bit of convo news, the DNC announced 10 finalists Thursday in the "American Made Convention" ad contest, which "gave Americans nationwide a chance to showcase their creativity and talent at the Democratic National Convention," according to a DNC press release. Paul Begala, a volunteer in the Kerry campaign, narrowed down the submissions to the 10 current finalists; the public will vote online for their favorite ad, which will then be shown on the Jumbo Tron during the Democratic Convention. Although several of the ads follow the familiar anti-Bush patterns established by MoveOn.org and the Media Fund, there are a few that come across as a breath of fresh air, including Alex Rapp's "Welcome to Boston" which explains why Boston loves Kerry and Francesca Danieli's "51 Reasons" in which a little girl recites the name of every state in front of their respective state flags.

Off the Trail Bytes: CBS News' Bonney Kapp reports on the Edwards family day in the Big Apple:

On Wednesday, John Edwards made a withdrawal from the Democrats' giant ATM machine—also known as New York City. In one evening, Edwards raked in $1.3 million for his party at three separate events. He schmoozed with high-rollers at a private VIP reception before speaking to a wider audience on stage at an underground restaurant/bar at the Maritime Hotel.

In the 11-minute speech Edwards has mastered over the last week, he touted the Democratic ticket and its 'everyman' message. "We don't have to guess or look at a poll or have a focus group to tell us what's going on in people's lives," he told the crowd of some 250, who donated a combined $400,000. "[John Kerry and I] understand the problems that most working class families, middle class families face."

A message that resonated with the decidedly partisan crowd. "He looks like the person you want to talk to next door, who really relates to you. Someone who cares about your kids and who listens to everything you say at the B-B-Q," said New Yorker Susan Kahn.

After-all, your neighbor might just fumble the date of his anniversary at the block party. "[Elizabeth] and I are about to celebrate our 27th anniversary last—this week. I got that right didn't I--27th anniversary at the end of next week?" Edwards joked while introducing his wife to the crowd.

When daughter Cate introduced him to the mostly 20-something crowd at NYC's Crobar, Edwards went from 'Average Joe' to 'American Idol.' "I really know you just want to hear him speak, so I'm just going to bring him on stage," Cate said after briefly telling her peers the importance of this election. Through applause reminiscent of the Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Edwards hugged his daughter and kidded, "There's a little bit of energy in this room."

While wife Elizabeth and Kerry stepson looked on from a near-by balcony, Edwards appealed to the youthful crowd, who paid a minimum of $50 to get in the door. "We need you; we need young people all across America to engage in this campaign, to make sure that your friends, all of your families, and colleagues know how important this election is. This is your America!"

He apparently didn't have too tough a sell, however. Of the young looking, charismatic Edwards, 19-year-old Lauren Abramowitz who came to hear (or see) the Senator noted, "His wife is lucky! His kids are really cute, and he's just a cute family guy. We really want to get involved in the political sphere and this let us come out—it's a good time if you want to come out on a Wednesday night." Surely that drink in her hand was a soda.

Edwards flies to Hartford, Connecticut, for a fundraiser today before jetting off to Denver, Colorado, where he will reunite with his running mate in Aurora, CO, tomorrow.

Quote of the Day: "I don't agree with that. She hasn't completely recovered. She argues with me regularly." --Sen. John Edwards, responding to his wife's assertion that, "Well, I'm a recovering attorney. I quit practicing in 1996." (CNN's Larry King Live)