Washington Wrap
Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Dan Furman, Cody Kucharczyk and Nathaniel Franks of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.
Friday's Headlines
* Ryan To Drop Out
* Bush Heads to Ireland and Turkey
* Kerry Heads to Ohio, Again
* Bipartisan Outbreak of X-Rated Language
* Time is Ticking for Greens, Nader in Milwaukee
Ryan Scandal Continues to Drip, Drip: CBS News' John Roberts reports that scandal-plagued Republican nominee Jack Ryan will drop out of the Illinois Senate race on Friday afternoon amid allegations disclosed in his divorce from actress Jeri Ryan that he asked her to visit sex clubs and perform sex acts in front of other people.
Even before Ryan made the decision to drop out, state Republican leaders began searching for a replacement to put on the ballot this November, reported the Chicago Tribune.
One name that appears to be leading possible lists is that of former State Board of Education Chairman Ron Gidwitz. Gidwitz has had experience both in the private and public sectors, serving as the head of Helene Curtis Industries and then going on work for the Board of Education. A social moderate, Gidwitz's middle-of-the-road approach could be important in capturing the independent vote and due to the fact that he would be entering the race late in the game, his wealth could help jumpstart his campaign.
Although Gidwitz is leading the replacement pack at this point, other names are being tossed around as well. Former governors Jim Edgar and James R. Thompson were being considered, although both have now declined. State Sen.r Steve Rauschenberger, who finished third in the March GOP Senate primary, is also being considered, as is Jim Oberweis, who lost the nomination to Ryan in the primary.
While the search for a replacement is going full steam ahead, a poll reported by the Chicago Sun-Times shows that a majority of voters surveyed would have liked to see Ryan stay in the race. The Daily Southtown poll indicates 57 percent of respondents said that Ryan should remain, although the same poll showed him trailing Democrat Barack Obama by 24 percentage points. Interestingly, 32 percent surveyed said they believe that Ryan sealed the records reporting that he took his wife to sex clubs and attempted to have sex with her in public in an attempt to protect his 9-year-old son. Fifty percent believe the records were sealed in order for Ryan to avoid embarrassment.
Republican members of Illinois' House delegation led by Dennis Hastert held a private meeting earlier this week in which it was agreed that Ryan should leave the race according to the Tribune.
Bush's Grand Tour: President Bush arrives on Friday in Ireland for several days of diplomatic fence-mending with European allies at the U.S.-E.U. summit. Next week, the president continues his mission in Turkey for the NATO summit. While topics ranging from trade to terrorism will be discussed, the future of Iraq – and the potential roles of Europe and NATO in it – will be at the top of both agendas.
The AP reports that: "Allied leaders are expressing a new willingness to help in Iraq, although not at the levels once anticipated. Still, they risk their own political capital back home if they appear too cozy with Bush."
Before heading to Europe, Bush on Thursday was interviewed by the federal prosecutor looking into whether administration officials illegally leaked the name of an undercover CIA agent. USA Today reports that the 70-minute morning session was believed to be the first time Bush has been interviewed by prosecutors investigating possible criminal activity. The president, however, was not under oath when he was questioned by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.
In Ireland, Bush will stay at Dromoland Castle in the western part of the country. Security, of course, will be tight – including more than 4,000 policemen and 2,000 soldiers providing help. Protesters are planning to gather in Dublin tonight and at the summit site on Saturday. One prickly issue, The AP reports, is whether Ireland should permit the U.S. to use Shannon as a midway point for planes heading for Iraq. Simultaneous protests are expected in several European cities over the weekend as well.
The AP reports that Bush told a Turkish television interviewer on Friday that he's not overly optimistic about increased NATO involvement in Iraq. He said that he hoped NATO would commit to train Iraqi defense forces.
The AP also reports that Bush got a bit worked-up during an interview with Irish television on Thursday. In an interview with RTE television, Bush defended his decision to invade Iraq and insisted most of Europe backed the move. He also disputed the interviewer's assertion that most Irish people thought the world was more dangerous today than before the Iraq invasion. At one point, Bush told the interviewer, who repeatedly interrupted him, "You asked the questions, I'll answer them, if you don't mind."
"What was it like Sept. 11th, 2001?" he retorted. "I wouldn't have made the decisions I did if I didn't believe the world would be better. Why would I put people in harm's way if I didn't believe the world would be better?" he asked.
"History will judge what I'm about," the president said. "But I'm the kind of person - I don't really try to chase popularity polls."
Kerry Heads to Ohio: Following a glittering star-studded event in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, John Kerry jumped on a red eye and headed for the decidedly less glittery town of Akron, Ohio. Reports CBS News' Steve Chaggaris, Kerry will hold a roundtable discussion on jobs followed by a rally at a high school in nearby Canton. Taking part in the discussion will be employees from the nearby Timken plant, where President Bush spoke last year about economic growth but which now faces major lay-offs as jobs move overseas.
As Kerry talks about jobs, he will no doubt have a Tinseltown glow about him. Thursday night's gala in Los Angeles was full of stars and jokes at President Bush's expense. Spotted attendees included James Brolin and Barbra Streisand, Leonardo DiCaprio talking to [THK son] Chris Heinz and Harvey Weinstein, Ben Affleck, Robert DeNiro, Willie Nelson, former Gov. Gray Davis, Neil Diamond, Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal, Steve Bing (multimillionaire and ex-boyfriend of Elizabeth Hurley), and Kerry's brother Cam.
Speaking to the crowd, Kerry said, "I was here about a week ago. My daughter graduated from film school and I figured out now that she is in the movie business, she has the opportunity to rise to the pinnacle of your business, which is governor of California." His wife, Theresa Heinz Kerry, was a bit more serious, reports Chaggaris. THK criticized the Bush administration saying, "What we have been given in the last three years is a dose of sadness, a dose of despair, a dose of untruths and it's time to stop."
Later on, Streisand sang a revised - anti-GOP - version of her standard, "People." She ripped on Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and Donald Rumsfeld, singing "People / I mean G-O-Peeeeeople / Who'd believe there's such people in the world."
And for those looking for veep tea-leaves, Ben Affleck told reporters at the event, "It's a tough question. I assume it'd be bad for me if I say some name that's different from the guy whose hand I'm gonna shake in three weeks when I'm like, running around Pennsylvania," reports Chaggaris.
In other news from Kerry world, the senator received the endorsement of former Chrysler head and Bush supporter Lee Iacocca. Iacocca acknowledged his previous support for President Bush, saying "I hate to tell you this now: I even appeared in a couple of Bush campaign ads," but concluded, "The bottom line is simple. We need a new CEO and president."
This weekend, Kerry will attend a fundraiser with Howard Dean at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. On Saturday, he will be in Washington, D.C., to speak to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials before spending the rest of the weekend in Boston.
Veep Watch: This weekend Sen. John Edwards goes to the place that once catapulted him to the number-two position behind John Kerry: the battleground state of Iowa. He speaks at the Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday night and at the Iowa State Convention on Saturday morning. Also attending the convention in Des Moines is hometown Veep wannabe, Gov. Tom Vilsack.
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin told the Des Moines Register that he has held "in-depth" discussions with aides to Sen. John Kerry about Vilsack's prospects as a running mate and that "he has spoken repeatedly with Kerry campaign aides, including Jim Johnson, the chief staff member in charge of vetting vice presidential candidates for the ticket." Both Edwards and Vilsack are taking a little vacation time next week—perhaps resting up for a big July?
Rep. Dick Gephardt is in Monterrey, Calif., for the wedding of his daughter. He goes back on the circuit on Tuesday in Chicago for Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH meeting, where his pal John Kerry will also be speaking.
And although New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson insists he's not interested in being Veep, the Chicago Tribune reports that, "according to sources familiar with the process, Jim Johnson, who leads Kerry's vice presidential search team, recently met with Richardson for an extended discussion."
And the St. Pete Times says that sources tell them the Florida Senator Bob Graham is still in the running. Graham met with Kerry last Friday at his headquarters in D.C.
Bipartisan Smile and Say ****: On Tuesday, during a group picture on the Senate floor, Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, engaged in a heated exchange over Leahy's participation in a Monday conference call about Cheney and his Halliburton ties. Cheny told him he didn't appreciate it and Leahy fired back that he didn't appreciate being called a bad Catholic. The exchange ended when, according to the Washington Post, Cheney told Leahy, "F*** yourself."
Aside from the poor grammar (f*** does not take a reflexive pronoun in this context), Cheney's expletive violated the spirit, if not the letter, of Senate rules. Rule 19 of the Senate Rules prohibits the use of language "unbecoming a Senator," the Post reports, but because the Senate was not in session and Cheney is not technically a senator, the rule could not be applied. When John Kerry used the f-word last December to describe Bush's botched Iraq policy, White House Chief of Staff Andy Card was indignant, saying, "That's beneath John Kerry… I'm very disappointed that he would use that kind of language. I'm hoping that he's apologizing at least to himself, because that's not the John Kerry that I know." The only comment the vice president's office has made on the vice president's comment came from Kevin S. Kellems, Cheney's spokesman, who said, "Reserving the right to revise and extend my remarks, that doesn't sound like language the vice president would use… But there was a frank exchange of views."
Bush and Cheney have been in trouble before for salty language. During a 2000 campaign rally, Bush pointed out New York Times reporter Adam Clymer to Cheney and said, "major league a**hole," to which Cheney replied, "Big time." Neither man realized that the microphone a few feet away from was on and that the entire crowd heard the remarks.
Lest you think only Republicans have made insulting remarks this week, the Charlotte Observer reports that Ralph Nader told a NPR interviewer Wednesday that members of the Congressional Black Caucus "used very abusive language," towards him during a Tuesday meeting on Capitol Hill. Nader accuses North Carolina's 12th District Rep. Mel Watt of using "such abusive language that I could hardly believe he was saying what he was saying." Watt, who Nader referred to as "Watts" during his interview, reportedly told Nader that, "he was arrogant and that his whole presidential bid was essentially an ego trip."
However, Watt did say during a Thursday NPR interview, "I didn't think I was being abusive at all. I was honest with him." Watt also said that Nader's response to his criticisms was to accuse Watts of "using the race card," to which Watt replied, he was not "using the race card; [he] was using the arrogance card."
Watt did acknowledge Nader's achievements as a consumer activist, "but here's a man who's never been elected to anything trying to tell the Black Caucus what's in the best interest of the black community. That's condescending. It's arrogant."
Nader was also upset that, instead of discussing issues with him, the CBC only tried to convince him to withdraw from the presidential race.
No Clear Choice for Greens: The Green Party is in the second day of its convention in Milwaukee and it's not at all clear what they wil do. The Nader/Camejo ticket is urging Greens to support a compromise in which the party would endorse both Nader and his chief rival, David Cobb, allowing the states to ultimately chose which one to support. Green Party spokesman Scott McClarty tells CBS News that the of 750-800 delegates, Cobb has about 241 and Camejo has about 114. Nader, whose name won't be put into nomination, is still expected to get 65 hardcore votes, with the rest divided among a number of other potential candidates. (400 votes are needed to win.)
The main difference between Cobb's plan and the Nader/Camejo agenda comes down to strategy. Whereas Nader plans on running an aggressive campaign in all 50 states, Cobb is running a "smart-growth" strategy, appealing to Greens who want to want to build the party, but also defeat Bush. So basically, he's promising Greens and Democrats alike that he won't campaign in battleground states, virtually leaving no chance that he will play Nader's "spoiler" role in November, Blair Bobier, Cobb's media coordinator tells CBS News.
Although Cobb does not agree with Kerry on all issues, he does not believe running against Kerry is the best approach. The "differences between Bush and Kerry are merely incremental but are not inconsequential," Bobier said.
Nader and Camejo are pushing their cause despite the fact that many Greens are concerned about reelecting Bush. On Friday they will hold a "Greens for Nader/Camejo" rally to urge the Greens to endorse their candidacy. Both Cobb and Camejo will get an opportunity to address convention delegates on Saturday morning to plead their respective cases before voting begins.
Meanwhile, the AP reports that two conservative groups have been calling Oregon voters this week, encouraging them to attend Nader's ballot gathering convention on Saturday, in hopes of putting his name on the ballot. Nader will skip Milwaukee to attend the rally in Portland Oregon. Last April Nader fell short of the 1,000 signatures needed to get him on the state's ballot.
The AP reports: "The groups make no bones about their goal - to draw votes away from Democrat John Kerry and help President Bush win this battleground state in November.
'We disagree with Ralph Nader's politics, but we'd love to see him make the ballot,' said Russ Walker of Citizens for a Sound Economy, a group best known for its opposition to tax increases."
Quote of the Day: "The NRA and Ralph Nader stand right behind the Supreme Court in their ability to claim that they put George Bush in the White House." – Bill Clinton on "Charlie Rose."