I Have Vowed That I Will Never Vote for a Democrat Again Howard Sterns
Washington Wrap
Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing and Sean Sharifi of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.
* Veepwatch: McCain Resurfaces
* Bush and Kerry Focus on Jobs
* Ads Fill Airwaves
* Nader Continues Efforts to Qualify For State Ballots
* Asking Al Gore for Money
* Teresa Heinz Kerry Designs Campaign Scarf
Veep Watch: McCain Keeps Coming Up: Despite John McCain's statement that he would not run as John Kerry's running mate, his name keeps tantalizing the Kerry campaign, the Boston Globe reports. There is a consensus that naming McCain would be the "boldest move" Kerry could make and a potent attempt to woo undecided voters.
The campaign has floated McCain's name in recent weeks even as the Arizona senator says he doubts that the Democrats would pick a pro-life, free trade, non-protectionist candidate for Veep. But Kerry aides think a Kerry-McCain ticket would be proof that their candidate is making good on George W. Bush's promise to be a "uniter not a divider." And McCain's experience in Vietnam would underscore Kerry's and present a stark contrast with the Bush-Cheney ticket on that score.
Kerry's Massachusetts buddy, Sen. Ted Kennedy, had some ideas about who Kerry should pick when he was asked on Monday at Brookings. Kennedy's advice: "Number one is to have a very powerful, positive, upbeat, hopeful message as an alternative to the message that we have with this administration. Secondly, have a person that can take on the responsibilities of the president and be compatible. And third, in no way be able to divert focus or attention away from the nominee."
Longtime Kennedy watchers read this as Edwards si, McCain no.
Bush and Kerry Talk Jobs: With his final Bush-Cheney fundraising appearance behind him – $1.5 million raised Monday in North Carolina, which brings his campaign's total to $182 million - President Bush "focused his campaign Monday on job creation, celebrating employment figures for March that surpassed all but the most optimistic expectations before exercising that quintessentially presidential prerogative of throwing out the first ball on opening day at a field of his choosing," The New York Times reports.
Presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry, meanwhile, will make a major economic speech at Georgetown University on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Kerry travels to the electoral battleground state of Ohio to promote his economic plan, which he says would create 10 million new jobs. On Monday, the Times reports that Kerry, "in round-table discussions in Washington with reporters from regional newspapers, played down that figure, arguing that it had resulted in part from the end of a strike by grocery workers in California. And 40,000 others of the people added to payrolls, he said, 'were part-time workers in the construction industry.
"'So you are not looking at the kind of robust, important job creation that the country really needs to raise the standard of living in our country,' Mr. Kerry added.
"The senator also called attention to other figures, those showing the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost over the entire term of the Bush presidency. He noted that after the Sept. 11 attacks, the president promised to create 5.1 million jobs. Instead, Mr. Kerry said, 'he's lost 1.8 million private-sector jobs since that pledge.'"
The Bush-Cheney campaign, meanwhile, continues to swing at Kerry on economic issues. On Monday, Bush-Cheney Policy Director Tim Adams and Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman held a briefing at campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va., during which they criticized Kerry for attacking programs that he previously voted in favor of, notably the farm bill. Of Kerry's attacks on the president, Mehlman said: "These attacks are the ultimate example of Kerry trying to project his own weaknesses onto the president."
On Tuesday, Rep. Bob Portman, R-Ohio, will hold a conference call to criticize Kerry's economic proposals.
Also on Tuesday, Bush travels to El Dorado, Ark., for an event touting his job-training plan. He spends the rest of the week down at his Crawford, Texas ranch.
Political Ads Blanket Television: With 211 days to go until any votes are actually cast, political advertisements are already blanketing the airwaves in 18 states that all parties agree hold the key the presidential election. Voters lucky enough to live in a battleground state have already seen $36 million "worth of ads in March alone," the Los Angeles Times reports. And more ads are already on the air, run by the Bush-Cheney and Kerry campaigns and by independent groups like the Democratic-leaning New Democrat Network, which released new ads on Monday.
The virtual saturation of the airwaves is unprecedented for both its timing and scope. As Thomas C. Griesdorn, general manager for WBNS Channel 10 in Columbus, Ohio, told the Times, "It simply has never started earlier." Says Michael Cash, who handles advertising for another Ohio channel, WCMH, "You would have to be a very light television viewer to not see these messages." And the numbers back those claims up: data provided to the Times by TNSMI/Campaign Media Analysis Group indicates that the two campaigns and outside groups including the Media Fund spent $4.2 million on ads in Ohio alone during the month of March.
So what is the effect of all this advertising, especially so early in the game? Voters in non-battleground states have seen virtually nothing except some national cable buys while voters in places like Ohio are already telling the Times, "We're going to be so sick of all of it." And for all the ads, money and aggravation, a study released yesterday the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey shows that "the first salvoes of Bush and Kerry television advertisements appears to have produced few important changes in public attitudes toward the two candidates."
While national views of Bush and Kerry have changed a little, the survey finds, "in the 18 states where television commercials have been shown … the changes were even slighter, and statistically insignificant." Not exactly music to the campaigns ears: stay tuned for even more ads designed to get those numbers moving.
No Slam Dunk For Nader: Ralph Nader's quest to appear on all 50 state ballots hit a roadblock on Tuesday as initial efforts to qualify for the Oregon ballot failed. In an attempt to bypass the 15,306 signatures needed to get on the ballot, Nader organized an impromptu nominating convention, hoping to qualify by collecting 1,000 signatures in a single gathering, which would have also allowed him ballot access. But with only 741 signatures, Nader acknowledged his numbers fell short, reports the Los Angeles Times.
"Even the best basketball player doesn't get a slam dunk every time," Nader told the Oregon crowd. He vowed to try again.
Howard Dean joined the mix on Monday, urging Oregon's voters to ignore Nader's bid and stick with Kerry, in a telephone interview with the AP. "The only way to send President Bush back to Crawford, Texas, is to vote for John Kerry, because, unfortunately, a vote for Ralph Nader is the same as a vote for George Bush."
As for Democrats who continue to argue that a vote for Nader means a vote for Bush, campaign spokesman Kevin Zeese tells CBS News, "We hope they get over their ABB Virus," and that "they should demand something for their vote not give it away for nothing in return."
Democrats often point to Nader's effect in 2000, in states like Oregon, where Gore won by a mere 6,765 votes, while Nader, running as a Green Party nominee, pulled in 21,000 votes. The Nader camp insists it will continue its efforts to get on all 50 ballots.
Meanwhile, Kerry said on Monday he will reach out to Nader supporters, reports the AP. "I'm going to talk directly to people who in the past have been inclined to support Ralph Nader," Kerry said. "I hope that by the end of this race I can make it unnecessary for people to feel they need to vote for someone else," he continued.
In other news, Nader has also formed a new Populist Party, volunteers of which are out collecting signatures to help him qualify on state ballots.
Dems to Gore--Give back the Money: Former VP Al Gore has $6.6 million left over from his 2000 bid for the presidency and Democrats are eyeing the pot, reports Roll Call. The Federal Election Commission allows presidential candidates to have General Accounting and General Election Legal and Accounting Compliance committees, known as GELAC accounts, "to defray the legal costs of spending the roughly $70 million given to each candidate." It is this GELAC account that Gore has excess funds in and those dollars have caused some Democrats to muse, "What is Gore going to do with his millions?"
Because of FEC regulations, Gore is legally prohibited from donating the monies directly to another campaign. Thus Gore cannot give to the Kerry effort or to help fund the election of any other single candidate. But Gore can donate his cash to a campaign committee, a fact that has not escaped the notice of the Democratic National Committee and its various arms. To date, Roll Call explains, Gore has been approached only by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, whose efforts were "quietly rebuffed by Gore, who said at the time he was devoting his energies almost exclusively to the presidential campaign of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D)," explains Roll Call.
As of Monday, neither the DNC nor the DSCC have asked Gore for donations. And the Kerry campaign has not been involved in any way, according to Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Elmendorf. But because both the DSCC and the DCCC could use the cash infusion, many hope that will change. The DSCC has $8.5 million less than its Republican counterpart and the DSCC is $10 million behind. As Roll Call notes, "A seven-figure donation from Gore could go a long way toward rectifying that problem."
Scarf-Designing Woman: Millionaire philanthropist Teresa Heinz Kerry has added designer to her resume. She has designed a new scarf to promote her husband's presidential campaign.
The AP reports that the red, white, and blue scarf is covered with little American flags and John Kerry's initials, and says "John Kerry for President 2004"in script at the bottom. Heinz Kerry was helped with the design by Vineyard Vines of Greenwich, Connecticut. Vineyard Vines is also responsible for the John Kerry for President neck tie. Both scarf and tie are 100 percent silk and available to campaign donors.
Quote of the Day: "But do they have an exit strategy?" – Former President George H.W. Bush regarding last year's invasion of Iraq. A new book about the Bush family, "The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty," says the former president expressed those concerns to his older sister. (New York Daily News)
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Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/washington-wrap-07-04-2004/
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