Washington Wrap
Dotty Lynch, Beth Lester, Allison Davis, and Allen Alter from the CBS News Political and Campaign '04 Units have the latest political news from Washington and from the trail.
Monday's Headlines
* Poll Watch: 8 Days to Go
* Senate Watch: All candidates were out over the weekend and two who are running for the Senate made firsts.
* From the Kerry campaign: As he begins the final week of the 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry hits the stump Monday with someone who was virtually invisible in the 2000 campaign: former President Bill Clinton.
* From the Bush campaign: Colorado is a state President Bush had hoped he could take for granted -- but no longer.
*From the Edwards campaign: Wrapping up a weekend bus tour in Ohio, Senator Edwards held a Monday morning rally in Toledo.
* From the Cheney campaign: Over the weekend, the vice president played his part as he clarified one reality, but later invented a whole fantasy reality while criticizing John Kerry.
Poll Watch: 8 Days to Go
National Polls
Zogby/MSNBC
Bush-Cheney 48%
Kerry-Edwards 45
Nader-Camejo 1.1
Undecided 5
Poll conducted October 22 through 24 among 1,204 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 2.9 percent.
ABC/Washington Post
Bush-Cheney 49%
Kerry-Edwards 48
Nader-Camejo 1
Undecided 3
Poll conducted October 20-23 among 1,638 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 2.5 percent.
Newsweek
Bush-Cheney 46%
Kerry-Edwards 46
Nader-Camejo 2
Undecided not reported
Poll conducted October 21 through 22 among 1,008 registered voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
Time
Bush-Cheney 51%
Kerry-Edwards 46
Nader-Camejo 2
Undecided not reported
Poll conducted October 19 through 21 among 803 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
State Polls
Arkansas
Opinion Research Associates
Bush-Cheney 48%
Kerry-Edwards 48
Others/Unsure 4
Poll conducted October 18 through 20 among 500 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4.5 percent.
Colorado
Zogby
Bush-Cheney 45%
Kerry-Edwards 49
Others/Unsure 6
Poll conducted October 21 through 24 among 602 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4.1 percent.
Florida
Times-Union of Jacksonville
Bush-Cheney 47%
Kerry-Edwards 48
Nader-Camejo 2
Unsure 3
Poll conducted October 18 through 21 among 600 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus percent.
St. Petersburg/Miami Herald
Bush-Cheney 46%
Kerry-Edwards 46
Nader-Camejo 1
Others/Unsure 7
Poll conducted October 19 through 21 among 800 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 3.5 percent.
Zogby
Bush-Cheney 49%
Kerry-Edwards 46
Other/Unsure 6
Poll conducted October 21 through 24 among 602 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4.1 percent.
Hawaii
Bush-Cheney 46%
Kerry-Edwards 45
Other/Unsure 9
Poll conducted October 17 through 20 among 612 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
Illinois
Bush-Cheney 42%
Kerry-Edwards 50
Others/Unsure 7
Poll conducted October 16 through 19 among 700 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
Iowa
Zogby
Bush-Cheney 47%
Kerry-Edwards 45
Others/Unsure 8
Poll conducted October 21through 24 among 603 likely voters; margin of error plus or minus 4.1 percent.
Maine
Research 2000 for the Bergen Record
Bush-Cheney 43%
Kerry-Edwards 50
Nader-Camejo 2
Unsure 5
Poll conducted October 18 through 21 among 600 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
Michigan
Bush-Cheney 47%
Kerry-Edwards 42
Nader-Camejo 1
Other/Unsure 3
Poll conducted October 19 through 21 among 601 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
Nevada
Zogby
Bush-Cheney 48%
Kerry-Edwards 44
Others/Unsure 8
Poll conducted October 21through 24 among 604 likely voters; margin of error plus or minus 4.1 percent.
Morning News
Bush-Cheney 49%
Kerry-Edwards 47
Others/Unsure 2
Poll conducted October 19 through 21 among 600 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
Las Vegas Sun/Channel 8 Eyewitness News/KNPR Nevada Public Radio
Bush-Cheney 45%
Kerry-Edwards 41
Nader-Camejo 1
Others/Unsure 9
Poll conducted October 16 through 19 among 600 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
Ohio
Zogby
Bush-Cheney 47%
Kerry-Edwards 42
Others/Unsure 11
Poll conducted October 21through 24 among 603 likely voters; margin of error plus or minus 4.1 percent.
South Carolina
Mason-Dixon
Bush-Cheney 53%
Kerry-Edwards 40
Others/Unsure 7
Poll conducted October 19 through 20 among 625 likely voters, margin of error plus or minus 4 percent.
Wisconsin
Zogby
Bush-Cheney 48%
Kerry-Edwards 45
Others/Unsure 7
Poll conducted October 21through 24 among 601 likely voters; margin of error plus or minus 4.1 percent.
Senate Watch: All candidates were out over the weekend and two who are running for the Senate made firsts. On Saturday, Colorado Senate Candidate Ken Salazar made his first appearance with Presidential candidate John Kerry. Salazar, Attorney General and a local rancher whose brother is running for the House in Colorado, introduced Senator Kerry in Pueblo, Colorado. After Kerry took over the microphone, he told a casual story about people on the trail asking him if when he visits St. Louis, if he is going to go to a World Series game. "I said, are you kidding? For the next ten days, I am not going to a place called 'Busch stadium'" Then followed it up with, "just like Ken Salazar. He likes beer, but for the next ten days he is staying away from Coors," in reference to Salazar's Republican opponent, Pete Coors, who is chairman of the Coors Brewing Company. Colorado is one senate race to watch as Salazar and Coors battle it out for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
Candidate Betty Castor also had her first appearance with Senator John Kerry this weekend when she introduced Senator Kerry at an event in Florida. Many of the Senate candidates this year are keeping their distance from candidate Kerry and his agenda but in the final days of the election in closely fought states such as Colorado and Florida, an appearance with the Democratic candidate might help rally the base and bring voters to the polls.
Candidates Share The Stage: Today is Bill Clinton's coming out party. He appears with John Kerry at a noontime rally in Philadelphia and then goes solo to Florida while Kerry goes to Detroit, Michigan and Green Bay. Wisconsin. President Bush also has a buddy; former N.Y. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is with him in Greeley Colorado where they will talk about the war on terror. Bush then goes on to Iowa and Wisconsin
John Edwards' buddy is Larry King; he does LKL Monday night with the Kerry daughters after a day in Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minneapolis. V.P. Cheney goes from Minnesota to Ohio to Florida.
Here are reports from our CBS News reporters on the trail:
CBS News' Steve Chaggaris reports from the Kerry campaign:
Kerry Trail Byte: As he begins the final week of the 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry hits the stump Monday with someone who was virtually invisible in the 2000 campaign: former President Bill Clinton.
Clinton joins Kerry for the first time -- seven weeks after heart bypass surgery -- at a Philadelphia rally as the two try to fire up Democratic voters eight days before the election.
"We're very confident that former President Clinton's appearance ... will help us excite and motivate the Democratic base and then also remind people of the significant gains America made in 1990s, especially with respect to the economy," said Kerry spokesman Mike McCurry.
The event with Clinton is the highlight of a four-state campaign day, which started with Kerry talking about women and health care in New Hampshire. Following the Philly event, Kerry will fly to the Detroit area -- his first visit to Michigan since Sept. 15, as he tries to shore up that regularly-Democratic state's 17 electoral votes -- before holding a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
He'll also have an event Tuesday morning in Green Bay, marking Kerry's sixth day in the city this year. The visit comes almost two months to the day he mistakenly referred to the stadium that's home to the city's revered Packers as "Lambert," not Lambeau Field, a gaffe Dick Cheney has used against Kerry several times.
As on Monday, Kerry will also hit four states Tuesday: Wisconsin, Nevada, New Mexico and Iowa.
On Sunday, Kerry waxed religious, attending an AME church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida before delivering a speech on faith and values across town.
Near the end, in a revealing moment, he discussed the criticism he has received from officials in the Catholic Church.
"I know there are some bishops who have suggested that as a public official I must cast votes or take public positions -- on issues like a woman's right to choose and stem cell research -- that carry out the tenets of the Catholic church," said Kerry.
"I love my church; I respect the bishops; but I respectfully disagree."
"My task, as I see it, and I said this in the debate with President Bush, is not to write every doctrine into law," he added.
CBS News' Mark Knoller is traveling with the Bush campaign:
Knoller Nugget: Colorado is a state President Bush had hoped he could take for granted -- but no longer. Recent polling shows him still out front but John Kerry is moving up. It's enough to cause concern among Bush campaign strategists.
So Colorado is Mr. Bush's first target Monday. He's got a rally in the town of Greeley.
In his speeches throughout the day, the President will be emphasizing his handling of the war on terrorism. But between now and Election Day, policy will be taking a backseat to politics. Mr. Bush will be using every speech to urge his most ardent supporters to get out the vote.
The Bush re-election strategy is based on an aggressive grass roots operation in key states. And Iowa now numbers among them. The President heads there from Colorado for rallies in Council Bluffs and Davenport.
Mr. Bush lost the state to Al Gore in 2000 but by the fourth smallest margin of the election: just .32 percent of the vote. Recent polls show Mr. Bush has a chance to capture Iowa this time around, which in combination with a couple of others, could provide the electoral votes he needs should he lose the must-win state of Ohio.
On Sunday, in his only public remarks, the President said not a word about the massacre of unarmed Iraqi army recruits outside of Baghdad. Instead, he stayed on message striving to portray the situation in Iraq as positive.
Addressing a rally in a high school ballpark in Alamogorda, N.M., Mr. Bush told several thousand supporters that freedom in on the march in Iraq. "Think of how far that country has come from the days of torture chambers and mass graves," said the President.
He reminded his audience that Iraq will have presidential elections. He might have misspoken. The Iraq elections in January choose a parliament to draft a constitution, not elect a president.
Back to U.S. politics and Hawaii, where George W. Bush got clobbered four years ago. He lost the state to Al Gore by a margin of 56 percent to37 percent. Now, a top aide is putting out the word that Hawaii is becoming "competitive" for Mr. Bush.
The Bush campaign had long ago written off the 50th state. But White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett says all those Bush TV ads are being seen there on the cable news channels and the President is gaining ground, though not enough to make it worth his while to do a campaign swing there.
Pity. This member of the press corps thinks a couple of days campaigning in Hawaii is a great idea.
Let the record show Mr. Bush did do a re-election fund-raiser there on October 23, 2003. Honolulu was a refueling stop that day as Mr. Bush returned from a trip to Asia and Australia.
Of course, were Hawaii deemed to give Mr. Bush an electoral vote victory, he might have his Inauguration there.
Or not.
CBS News' Bonney Kapp reports from the Edwards campaign:
Edwards Trail Byte: Wrapping up a weekend bus tour in Ohio, Senator Edwards held a Monday morning rally in Toledo. He next heads to rallies in Wisconsin and Iowa (with actor Ashton Kutcher expected on one campaign leg) before overnighting in Minneapolis.
Weekend crowds in Florida and Ohio were much reduced from the up-to-10,000 Edwards has drawn at solo events. His biggest this weekend barely dented 2,000.
In Orlando, hundreds of people listened to Edwards' latest attack on the President: a second Bush administration would spell disaster for Social Security. "He says he wants to protect Social Security, but then he winks and he nods and the leaks tell us something different," he said.
Citing a Fortune magazine article, "a magazine that many of us may not read, but George Bush's friends read," Edwards noted, Bush plans on raising the retirement age to 72.
"Their attitude is that five more years on the job won't matter, it's not a big deal," Edwards said to the Orlando SEIU workers. "Only someone who's never worked in a factory for forty years would say that," he continued.
Demanding Bush "tell us the truth about Social Security," Edwards directly asked the President, "How much would seniors lose in their lifetime? How much of their benefits would they lose under your plan? How many American factory and mill workers like the ones that I grew up with would now have to work more before they get their retirement benefits?"
"We're going to stop George Bush's plan of robbing Peter to pay Paul. You don't steal from Social Security to give your millionaire friends a tax break," Edwards concluded to rousing applause from the small crowd.
Edwards headed back to Ohio for a bus tour starting in Cincinnati Sunday morning following a visit to Allen Temple AME church.
"The first time that I heard Senator Edwards speak, he reminded me of an old, southern preacher," Rev. Donald Jordan began his introduction. "I don't know when, I don't know how, but mark my words, this man is going to eventually be the President of the United States. The Republicans have nobody who compares with him," Jordan told his congregation.
While churches considered tax-exempt are supposed to stay out of the political fray, the Reverend didn't hide his political affiliation Sunday morning, referring to the doctrine that ensures this separation. "I'm not worried about a 501 C3 doctrine; we're asking you to support him because I believe he and Senator Kerry bring a new vision to this country."
Edwards didn't mention any doctrines or laws when he took the pulpit, but he did acknowledge Jordan's prediction. "I appreciate Reverend Jordan's praise about the future. I'll tell you how much future I want to worry about right now is a week from Tuesday, that's what I want to worry about now, Because we may not know what's going to happen with me down the road, but I know what's going to happen with John Kerry a week from Tuesday, he's going to be elected the next President of the United States."
CBS News' Josh Gross reports from the Cheney campaign:
Cheney Trail Byte: During a presidential campaign, reality can take a beating.
So much spin and mischaracterizations are slung by candidates and their surrogates, it's not surprising that voters can often be confused about the facts of basic issues. Over the weekend, the Vice President played his part as he clarified one reality, but later invented a whole fantasy reality while criticizing John Kerry.
In Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, Cheney took a question during a town hall meeting concerning the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. It's a sticky issue for a White House that vowed to hunt down the people responsible for 9/11 hours after it a had happened but have not been able to locate al Qaeda's most recognizable face.
Cheney at first defended their efforts. "You'll notice there haven't been any bin Laden tapes running on the air where he's out broadcasting messages, frankly, because we think he's probably in a deep hole someplace, in hiding. We'll continue on the hunt until we find him."
Then, in an effort to de-emphasize the importance of bin Laden, he explained his version of reality and why this may be a long war on terror.
"We think it's very important, though, to understand the nature of the threat that we're faced with here. Even if you capture bin Laden tomorrow that will not automatically end the nature of the adversary we're faced with here," he told the crowd. "Al Qaeda itself in Arabic stands for 'the base.' And it's not a tightly organized, hierarchical organization where you chop off the head and everything else below it then collapses."
On Saturday, the Vice President offered another form of reality. Only this time he did it in a way that would make any Twilight Zone or comic book writer proud -- the alternative universe.
For an audience in Grand Junction, Colorado, Cheney postulated what the world would have been like if Senator Kerry had been President Kerry during important occasions in the last 20 years.
"Let's go back to the 1970s when John Kerry was saying we should only deploy
U.S. troops under the authority of the United Nations," he claimed. "So one way the world might look if he had been in charge is we would have ceded our right to defend ourselves to the United Nations."
Jumping forward a decade, he said, "In the 1980s, John Kerry ran for the Senate on a platform of doing away with many of the major weapons systems that Ronald Reagan used to win the Cold War. So if John Kerry had been in charge, the Soviet Union might still be in business."
The Vice President then speculated about "President" Kerry during the Gulf War. "In 1991, John Kerry voted against sending American troops to expel Saddam Hussein after he invaded Kuwait," he said. "So if John Kerry had been in charge, Saddam Hussein might still control the Persian Gulf today."
However, there seems to be at least one hole in the Vice President's alternative reality, one in which presidential term limits don't seem to exist. The American public must have liked the way President Kerry voted because they re-elected him for three continuous decades.
Quote of the Day: "I had to ask myself would I vote the same way if the names were reversed. I said, 'Yes.' But I'll never know for sure -- because people are great self-kidders -- if I reached the truthful answer." --Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, on Florida '00. (AP)