Kerry Takes a Break As Convention Nears

AP: Kerry Takes a Break As Convention Nears

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is taking a two-day break from campaigning and will spend the time at his wife’s country estate preparing for his party’s national convention next month.

Just four weeks remain before the July 26-29 convention in Boston, during which Kerry is expected to accept the Democratic nomination for president, and his choice for a running mate is much anticipated. He crossed paths with two potential candidates while campaigning Tuesday, though aides said he did not meet with either one.

Al Sharpton to Host 'I Hate My Job'

AP: Al Sharpton to Host ‘I Hate My Job’

“I’m the working man’s (Donald) Trump,” Sharpton said. “He brings people into the penthouse. We bring them into the house.”

Since his campaign ended, Sharpton has been aggressively seeking out media jobs and has signed a deal with CNBC as a commentator, and possibly develop a talk show.

An ordained Pentecostal minister, Sharpton isn’t abandoning politics, however, and scoffed at the idea that being the featured player in a reality show is somewhat undignified for a once and perhaps future candidate.

His campaign for president attracted more attention after he was host of “Saturday Night Live.”

“A lot of politicians don’t do it because they can’t do it,” he said. “I can do it.”

Gephardt Not A Hit With MO Party Leaders

Of 11 randomly selected Democratic Party county heads, only 2 chose Gephardt for VP. 8 selected John Edwards.

Gephardt’s popularity and influence among Missouri Democrats is not strong outside of St. Louis. Many rural voters distrust big-city politicians. He has never run for statewide office and lacks the profile and rapport that grows from traveling its back roads.

“I mostly know Gephardt from seeing him on ‘Meet the Press,’” said Charles Christy of Columbia, longtime Boone County Democratic Committee chairman. “That John Edwards is a fresh face and exciting.”

In southwest Missouri’s Lawrence County, party chairman Jim Kabell recalled traveling seven times to Iowa to knock on doors for Gephardt — but being dazzled by Edwards and the excited new voters he drew to a rally in Springfield, Mo.

“The person I like best and I hear the most buzz about for VP in our area is John Edwards,” Kabell said.

Democrats outside St. Louis were indifferent about Gephardt and, in candid moments, slightly resentful.

It should be noted that this may not be an indication of how the entire state feels about Gephardt, but it does not augur well for Gephardt ending up as Kerry’s VP choice.

CBS/NYT Poll: Statistical Dead Heat

The latest CBS News/New York Times poll indicates that the presidential race has really tightened up recently, with the two leading candidates just one percentage point apart.

Despite concerns about his handling of Iraq, and an overall approval rating of 42%, George W. Bush is still running neck and neck with Democrat John Kerry as the choice of registered voters. Growing public optimism about the nation’s economy has helped lift support for the President.

Kerry is the choice of 45% of registered voters, Bush the choice of 44%. This is a sharp turnaround for the Bush campaign in the span of just one month; in May, Kerry had opened up a wide 8-point lead over Bush. The race has been close since April.

KERRY VS. BUSH: CHOICE IN NOVEMBER
(Registered voters)

Now
John Kerry 45%
George Bush 44%

5/2004
John Kerry 49%
George Bush 41%

4/2004
John Kerry 46%
George Bush 44%

Note: Poll results did not account for “third-party” candidates.

Kerry Announces Education Goals for Low-income, Minority Students

Today, John Kerry announced his pledge of assisting low income and minority students, with a fivefold increase in money encouraging students to study math, science and technology. The total would be increased from the current $20 million per year to $100 million per year.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says if he’s elected president, 1 million more students will graduate from college during his first five years in office and he will bring a special focus to boosting opportunities for low-income and minority students.

Kerry’s campaign says nearly half the hike in graduation rates will come from population increases, and he’ll achieve the other half by bringing down the cost of education and creating other incentives to bring students to college and keep them there.

“We need to move toward the day when four years of college is as universal and affordable as a high school education is today,” Kerry told the Rainbow-PUSH Coalitio. He said although college graduates will earn $900,000 more over their careers, less than a third of all Americans and less than a fifth of black Americans have a four-year degree.

Kerry has also proposed $10 billion in assistance to states, to keep tuition rate increases at or below inflation rates.

Republican Convention to Feature McCain, Giuliani

REUTERS: Republican Convention to Feature McCain, Giuliani

Featured speakers at the Republican convention in New York will include John McCain, Rudolph Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzenegger, party officials said on Monday, while Boston’s Democratic convention will spotlight party icons Bill Clinton and Edward Kennedy.

McCain, the Arizona senator who has clashed frequently with President Bush, and Giuliani, the former mayor of New York who won praise for his leadership after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, will highlight the opening night on Aug. 30, officials said in releasing the list of key speakers.

With the convention beginning barely more than a week before the third anniversary of the attacks, the Republican speaking schedule emphasizes Bush’s leadership and role in their aftermath.

In addition to Giuliani on the first night, New York Gov. George Pataki will be featured on the convention’s final night before Bush accepts the nomination.

Kabul Garden Party for Kerry

With 7-8 million expats overseas, and the importance of overseas ballots in Florida in 2000, the 2004 campaign has spread to any country where Americans live. In Kabul, US expats held a party for Kerry.

In a handsome Kabul garden Franklin the Democrat Donkey gamely posed with the aid workers, UN staff and business people who had gathered to explain why they were backing the Massachusetts senator.

The Kabul event is one of many taking place outside the United States.

Iraq and Cambodia are amongst more than 70 countries where expat Democratic party supporters are organising to help Mr Kerry reach the White House.

Clinton, Kennedy to Speak at Convention

AP: Clinton, Kennedy to Speak at Convention

Former President Clinton and Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts will have prime speaking slots at the Democratic National Convention in Boston next month.

…

Clinton is scheduled to speak July 26, the opening night of the four-day convention, and Kennedy will address the audience the second day, Democratic officials said Monday. The vice presidential pick will speak July 28, and presumed Democratic nominee John Kerry will close the convention July 29 with his acceptance speech.

Kerry’s former rivals plus Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Al Sharpton, who remain in the primary race, will have a role at the convention, although officials haven’t decided what that will be.

Kerry Cancels Meeting Because of Picket Line

REUTERS: Kerry Cancels Meeting Because of Picket Line

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry canceled plans on Sunday to address a U.S. mayors conference this week at a hotel that is likely to be ringed by picketing police officers.

“I don’t cross picket lines. I never have,” Kerry said at Our Lady of Good Voyage church in South Boston, where he attended Mass on Sunday evening.

Asked if Kerry and representatives of the U.S. Conference of Mayors would meet somewhere that police were not picketing, Kerry spokesman David Wade said: “We don’t have any information on that yet.”

Kerry had been scheduled to speak on Monday morning at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, where police officers — who have been working without a contract for two years — had a picket line on Saturday. Kerry would upset unions across the country if he crossed a picket line.

Nader Criticizes Dems

AP, through MSNBC.com, reports on Ralph Nader’s fight to remain on state ballots, despite attempts to keep him off. Nader also criticizes Democrats for ignoring their “own failures.”

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, working to get the 1,000 signatures needed to get on the Washington ballot, told supporters Sunday the Democrats trying to get him out of the race are overlooking their own failures.

“They’re heavy into scapegoating,” Nader said. “They’re not looking at their own decay.”

Chastising party leaders for not mounting a tougher challenge to the Iraq war, tax cuts and other Bush administration policies, Nader said, “The least worse approach to elections is that every four years the parties get worse.”

Jason Kafoury, one of Nader’s national field coordinators, said volunteers had gathered more than 1,100 signatures for Nader in Washington and that more would be gathered Sunday night. It was not clear how long it would take the Secretary of State’s Office to determine whether Nader gets on the ballot.

Setting The Record Straight

I am extraordinarily tired of people accusing me of intentionally running the Command Post as a blog “heavily biased toward the right” (i.e. Lakhim, in comments to this post). Everyone out there who is too muddle-headed to have figured this out by now, or too foggy-eyed to have seen it the first 47 times I’ve written it:

I AM NOT AN ARCH CONSERVATIVE. NEITHER IS MICHELE. (Although, by her own admission, she is more to the right than she was prior to 9/11). OUR VOTING RECORDS MIGHT VERY WELL SURPRISE YOU. NEITHER SHE NOR I SELECT NEWS ITEMS FOR POSTING ON THIS SITE BASED ON OUR OWN POLITICAL BIASES. WE HAVE, FROM THE BEGINNING, ATTEMPTED TO RUN THE COMMAND POST NEWS PAGES AS STRAIGHT NEWS ONLY, WITH ANY EDITORILIZING LIMITED TO OUR OP-ED PAGE. YES, MANY OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS ARE FROM THE RIGHT. MANY, ALSO, ARE FROM THE CENTER AND LEFT. THE SYSTEM IS NOT PERFECT … AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, WE HAVE TO EDIT A POST, DELETE A POST, OR REMIND A CONTRIBUTOR ABOUT EDITORILIZING ON THE NEWS PAGES AS A RESULT OF OUR COMITTMENT TO KEEP THEM AS STRAIGHT AS POSSIBLE.

The caps are intentional. I am shouting.

Here’s some casual evidence of what I type: so far this year, we have TURNED DOWN advertising revenue from three congressional candidates, because we don’t want to “officially” endorse a particular political point of view (all three, incidentally, were conservatives). We have TURNED DOWN advertising revenue from four different companies wanting to sell trinkets (T-shirts, mugs, etc.) because we thought they were offensive to people holding a particular point of view (all four, incidentally, were conservative-aligned and made fun of liberals).

I get even more annoyed by comments like this, from “Get Real,” in the same comment thread:

When did Alan or Michele post ANYTHING positive about Kerry?
IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED.

Well, first, there are 119 people with contributor permissions to the 2004 page, and Michele and I are not the only ones who post items here (although, God knows we try to police those who do). But “When was the last time you posted anything positive about Kerry?” Well, given that my posting methodology is to post what’s in the news, I guess the answer is “the last time Kerry had positive press,” which is quite recently.

See … this question from Get Real illustrates the issue: the misguided perception that Michele and I are sitting here thinking “OK, now … what can I post that is positive about Kerry / Bush or negative about Kerry / Bush,” when what we’re doing is trolling news items, thinking “what’s newsworthy / what’s not newsworthy.”

So let’s set the record straight, Get Real … please read through the past year’s worth of 2004 archives … the month-by-month breakdown is over there in the left-hand column … to see the full history of my posts to the 2004 page. Mine are the ones that say “Posted by Alan.” Then tell me where my “anti-Kerry” bias is. And as a direct answer to your question of “when was the last time you posted anything positive about Kerry,” I’ll submit the following posts from April-June (note that my last news post on 2004 was June 15th, due to travel):

Kerry Pushes Bush On Stem Cell Research

Kerry the Realist: “This year’s presidential election so far offers a choice in foreign policy, between a neo-Wilsonian who has made the promotion of democracy and human rights a central tenet and an old-school realist who believes it more sensible to focus on managing concrete threats to U.S. security. But here’s the hook: Sounds familiar: Only the realist is not a hard-nosed Republican standing up to a fuzzy-headed Democrat, but John F. Kerry challenging George W. Bush.”

Kerry Leads In Minnesota

Kerry: U.S. As Optimists: “The State.com / AP report that a new flight of Kerry campaign ads “deliver the upbeat message that the United States is ‘a country of optimists,’” and that this is a contrast to Bush’s ads that primarily criticize Kerry.”

Unity Among Democrats: “CBS News reports that in addition to record spending and intensity, this year’s campaign may also have something else: an “unheard of” levels of unity and cooperation among Democrats.”

Battleground Polls Give Electoral College to Kerry

Poll: Kerry Leading In Battlegrounds

Latest Poll: Kerry Leads (By A Hair)

Now, are there stories I posted in the same time frame unflattering to Kerry? Of course there are, because there were unflattering stories in the press. But do the following posts also count, or in reading them, will you accuse me of a strong left-wing bias?

Dutch & Dubya: A link to a LA Times comparison of the Reagan and Bush management styles unflattering to Bush.

Set of Retired Diplomats and Military Officials Oppose Bush

Bush Push May Cost Churches Tax Breaks

Bush May Need Broader Campaign

WaPo: Bush Campaign Has “Unprecedented Negativity”

Soft-Money Group Promotes Ties to GOP Leaders Despite Warnings

Bush Approval Rating At All Time Low

GW And The Texas Press: Is The Honeymoon Over?

Bush’s Approval Rating at All-Time Low (again)

Dick Morris: “Dubya In Trouble”

Now, we have some contributors that use the 2004 page to push their agenda. And that’s something Michele and I are trying to deal with, and we will.

But in the meantime, why don’t we ask the critics to put some skin in the game: Lakhim and Get Real, I am offering you both contributor positions at Command Post. You’ll have full posting privileges for all the pages. The only condition: you have to abide by our terms and conditions for use, same as everyone else (which, BTW, are simply legal limitations of liability and use, and the admonishment to keep personal biases on the Op-Ed page or one’s home blog).

So … interested in signing up? Or is your preference to simply sit on the sidelines and criticize?

New CP Poll

In the right-hand column of the main 2004 page I’ve re-posted (with reset statistics) the same 2004 Command Post poll question we asked last month:

If the presidential election were held today, for whom would you vote?

This wording is identical to that in the Gallup tracking poll, and we have Nader in the race (because he is). We have last month’s results stashed away, and I’ll show the trend among readers of this page once the poll has had several days to run.

DNCC RSS Feed

A feature that some of our more savvy readers use with frequency is the candidate RSS feeds over in the right-hand column of the main 2004 page. It pulls the 5 most recent titles from the Bush and Kerry blogs, so you can watch the spin when you check in at the Post.

Now that the DNCC has created a convention blog, I’ve added its RSS feed as well. When/if the RNC has a convention blog running, I’ll add its feed to the list, too.

Credentialing Update

We’re still waiting to hear if we’ve been credentialed for the conventions. The DNC is blogging quite a bit about the role of blogs at the convention … see the official convention blog for more; just begin at the bottom and read up. I also see that Eric Schnure and Kos were on CNBC’s Bullseye talking about blogventioneering, so the meme continues to spread.

(Not that it counts for anything, but Michele and I were both offered that same interview spot and turned it down … neither of us are too keen on national television appearances. But it’s nice to know we were asked.)

I also read at the DNC blog that:

It is not the DNCC’s intention only to credential bloggers who tow the party line. We haven’t finished the credentialing process, but we’re still evaluating blogs, their communities, and what they write about. The quality and the topicality of the writing as well as the readership of the blog is relevant here, not necessarily one’s political viewpoint.

We hope so, and we hope they consider Command Post in context of the unique role the site has played as a news blog that happens to have an opinion page (Op-Ed), as opposed to an opinion blog that considers the news.

After all: how many other applicants can say they’ve had two sub-sites inducted into the Library of Congress MINERVA permanent historical collection (as we have with Iraq and GWOT)?

Greens Reject Endorsement for Ralph Nader

AP: Greens Reject Endorsement for Ralph Nader

The Green Party nominated Texas attorney David Cobb as its candidate for president Saturday, dealing a blow to independent Ralph Nader’s campaign.

Nader, the party’s candidate in 1996 and 2000, had hoped for the party’s endorsement and access to the ballot Greens have in 22 states and Washington, D.C. Instead, he will have to find another way to get on the ballot in those states, including Wisconsin and California.

Nader told party officials months ago he would not accept the party’s nomination for president, openly courting their formal endorsement instead.

But 408 delegates voted for Cobb on the second ballot to give him the nomination. Maine radio personality Pat LaMarche was the party’s nominee for vice president.

Cobb has walked a line between praising Nader and questioning what his candidacy as an independent offered the Greens as they try to expand their status as a third party.

Fox: Bush 7 Points Ahead Of Kerry

A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll finds that, in a three-way race with Ralph Nader, President Bush is now leading Sen. John Kerry by seven percent.

In addition, Fox reports:

…(T)he poll shows President Bush — who was trailing Kerry in the 15 battleground states two weeks ago — now tied with Kerry, with President Bush beating Kerry in Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In the Rasmussen Reports daily polling, President Bush was a single point - 46 percent to 45 percent - ahead of Kerry in the horse race. Rasmussen has generally found the race neck-and-neck for much of the past two months.

OpinionJournal.com’s running Electoral College Calculator shows Bush leading Kerry in the Electoral vote sweepstakes - 190 to 168 - with Electoral Votes from number of states too close to call. A candidate needs 270 Electoral Votes to win.

Oregon Republicans Turn Out For Nader

The Oregon Family Council and Citizens for a Sound Economy are calling for their members to rally to Nader this Saturday to help him get on the ballot.

In April, Nader held a Portland convention that failed to attract the 1,000 registered voters required to put him on the November ballot. Democratic activists picketed the event and urged voters not to support Nader.

Nader plans to try again at 5 p.m. Saturday in Portland’s Benson High School, and this time he has openly courted conservatives as well as voters who oppose Bush on such issues as the environment and the war in Iraq.

Officials from two groups that have been calling members — the Oregon Family Council and Citizens for a Sound Economy — said they had no qualms about trying to help Nader despite opposing most of what he stands for.
…
“Ralph Nader is undoubtedly going to pull some very crucial votes from John Kerry, and that could mean the difference in a razor-thin presidential election,” reads a script used by Citizens for a Sound Economy in its phone calls. “Can we count on you to come out on Saturday night and sign the petition to nominate Ralph Nader?”

In Center City Philadelphia yesterday, Libertarians were gathering signatures for ballot access and having little luck. The signature gatherer’s tactic with resistant voters in this heavily Democratic city?

“It’ll take votes away from Bush”

(Hat tip to Don for the OR story in the comments to this story)

Kerry's Vietnam Remarks Coming Back to Haunt America, Lawmaker Says

CNS News Service:

A Republican lawmaker says Sen. John F. Kerry should apologize for his 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Vietnamese government is now using Kerry’s 1971 comments to question America’s treatment of Iraqi prisoners.

In a one-minute speech on the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) noted that the Vietnamese government has weighed in on the Iraqi prison scandal.

“But the official communist Vietnamese news agency isn’t citing the Geneva Convention or the U.N.,” Pitts said. “It’s citing testimony given by John Kerry in 1971.”

At that 1971 hearing, Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about a recent investigation in Detroit, where more than 150 Vietnam veterans “testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia — not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command….”

According to Kerry, some of the 150 veterans admitted they “had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam…”

Vietnam News, which the Republican National Committee describes as an arm of the official Communist Vietnam News Agency, is now repeating John Kerry’s 1971 comments to make the point that Americans “perpetrated well-documented atrocities in Vietnam, both at the individual and mass levels.”

But, Vietnam News added, “despite these abuses, the Vietnamese did not reciprocate in kind; instead, they treated captured US troops humanely.”

The full transcript of Kerry’s remarks are at CSPAN.

The Vietnam News Service story is here, although the Vietnam internet name service (DNS) has numerous outages.

Dems Suing to Keep Nader Out in AZ

Arizona Democrat activists are trying to keep independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader off of the state ballot. Some, however question legality of the action. Nader is, expectedly, defiant.

The suit underscores the determination of the Democrats to try to frustrate Nader’s efforts to qualify for state ballots. It is a shift from four years ago, when party officials and the campaign of Vice President Al Gore generally ignored Nader, who was running as the Green Party candidate, in the hope that his campaign would not attract support.

The suit, filed in superior court in Maricopa County in Phoenix, charges that, of the 21,512 signatures on Nader’s petitions, only 6,045 are valid. State law requires Nader to submit 14,694 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Although state law prohibits a political party from filing or financing such suits, the state party provided space in its office for volunteers and staff members working on their own time to review the signatures.

“We did this on our own,” Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Jim Pederson said. “I hasten to say we’re not taking action on behalf of the Democratic National Committee or the Kerry campaign.”

Nader called the suit “potential harassment” and said if Democrats persist, he will revise his campaign strategy. “We will concentrate only on the close states.”

‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ runs afoul of McCain-Feingold?

Ads for Michael Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ may violate McCain-Feingold campaign-finance laws, The Hill reports:

Michael Moore may be prevented from advertising his controversial new movie, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” on television or radio after July 30 if the Federal Election Commission (FEC) today accepts the legal advice of its general counsel.

At the same time, a Republican-allied 527 soft-money group is preparing to file a complaint against Moore’s film with the FEC for violating campaign-finance law.

In a draft advisory opinion placed on the FEC’s agenda for today’s meeting, the agency’s general counsel states that political documentary filmmakers may not air television or radio ads referring to federal candidates within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general election.

Inside a GOP Fundraiser

It reads a bit like the society page, but Philadelphia Inquirer has a look inside yesterday’s Philadelphia-area fundraiser (registration required), hosted, oddly enough, by a Democrat.

He started under a white tent in the yard, and addressed all the contributors before the more private luncheon. Those who attended the affair said Bush stood at a podium with the presidential seal and spoke for an hour about his philosophy on leadership, while guests snacked on turkey baguettes, vegetables and cocktails.

“He said, ‘You’re going to get many campaign speeches. I will talk about the office,’ ” said John Templeton, a Bryn Mawr surgeon, recounting the speech.

Bush never mentioned Kerry’s name. Along with some words about Iraq and the economy, he talked about how the presidency demands a decision-maker, not a micromanager, guests said. Bush even revealed one of his first presidential decisions: picking out the rug for the Oval Office.

Michael Meehan, general counsel of the Philadelphia Republican Party, said Bush appeared relaxed as he spoke off-the-cuff.

“I wish he could take his message like that to the people all the time,” Meehan said. “These guys are so cautious, but the contact with voters is so important.”

Bush leads Kerry in Pennsylvania fundraising, though it is unclear in the story if the totals are from the same time-frame.

Pennsylvanians have donated more than $3.89 million to Bush’s campaign since May 2003, the 12th-largest amount in the country, according to Dwight L. Morris & Associates, a nonpartisan campaign-finance service. Since declaring his candidacy, Kerry has raised $3.1 million from Pennsylvania, records show.

Bush raised up to $1.5 million for the GOP’s Victory 2004, a get-out-the-vote initiative for battleground states.

Poll: Pennsylvania Tied

Pennsylvania remains locked in a statistical tie.

Kerry had the backing of 44 percent, Bush 43 percent and independent candidate Ralph Nader 7 percent in the Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.

In May, Kerry had 44 percent and Bush 41 percent — a statistical tie. Bush had a slight lead in the state in April.

In a two-way matchup, Kerry leads Bush 49 percent to 43 percent in the state with 21 electoral votes.

The economy is the most important issue for Pennsylvania voters, with just over four in 10 saying it is their top issue. Just over a fourth said Iraq, and another fourth said terrorism.

Voters feel Kerry would do a better job on the economy by 50 percent to 43 percent. Bush and Kerry are virtually tied on who could best handle Iraq. Bush has the advantage on terrorism by 53 percent to 38 percent.

Nader: Support Me, Vote Kerry

In an NPR interview, Ralph Nader encouraged supporters to attend his rallies, but feel free to vote for Kerry, especially if it looks close.

Nader says he is running for the office as a way to steer the Democratic Party toward an agenda he advocates. The longtime consumer advocate wants would-be supporters to attend his rallies, but he says he wants them to feel free to cast their votes for Sen. John Kerry once they enter the voting booth — especially in swing states where their vote might help defeat President Bush.

Nader's Pick For Kerry Veep Candidate

John Kerry is giving advice and everyone, but this one is probably the least expected.

In an open letter sent Wednesday, the independent presidential candidate urged Kerry to choose John Edwards (search) as his running mate, saying the North Carolina senator and former trial lawyer has been thoroughly vetted and is committed to protecting the right of consumers to sue corporations that harm them.

“(Edwards) has already gone through a primary campaign and has his rhythm and oratory (the two Americas speech) all well-honed,” Nader wrote to Kerry. “After a slow start, Sen. Edwards closed fast and has won praise from the media.”

Edwards, the last Democrat to bow out after Kerry’s series of primary wins, won several large verdicts before he was elected to the Senate. Nader said Edwards is committed to preserving a civil justice system that is under attack by “corporate supremacists.”

Kerry with Slight Lead Over Bush in NJ

A new poll has Kerry leading Bush, only slightly, in the Democratic leaning state of New Jersey.

Democratic challenger John Kerry has a slight lead over President Bush in New Jersey, a state Al Gore won by 16 percentage points in 2000, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Kerry had 46 percent and Bush 40 percent, while independent candidate Ralph Nader had 7 percent in the Quinnipiac University poll. In May, Kerry was at 46 percent and Bush at 43 percent.

Bush Visits Philadelphia

President Bush made a campaign stop at Greater Exodus Baptist Church in North Philadelphia to highlight his $15 billion plan to fight AIDS.

President Bush, on a fund-raising trip to Pennsylvania, said Wednesday he will commit more money to a program for delivering medications to people with HIV and AIDS. The administration said it would make an additional $20 million available immediately for the drug program.

he announcement was made as Bush flew in to visit the Greater Exodus Baptist Church and to raise money for the Republican Party. It was his 29th visit as president to Pennsylvania, a crucial state in his fight for re-election.

The administration also announced it was making Vietnam the 15th country in its $15 billion plan to fight AIDS.

While India and other countries have larger populations with AIDS or HIV, the virus that causes the disease, the administration opted to add Vietnam to its global AIDS focus because it was on the brink of an AIDS epidemic, with cases predicted to rise from 130,000 currently to 1 million by 2010, officials said.

Vietnam is the first country outside Africa and the Caribbean to be included in the five-year AIDS fighting plan that Bush unveiled in 2003.

The administration said Bush also would propose renewing the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides funds domestically to help people with HIV and AIDS who have low incomes and no insurance. The law expires next year.

In May, the administration announced a new initiative to speed up the approval process for new combination AIDS drugs that will bring cheap, easy-to-use treatment to millions of people in Africa and the Caribbean.

Another local affiliate, CBS 3, has more information on the church and the pastor, showing that Bush is finding support in heavily Democratic Philadelphia’s African-American neighborhoods.

The Rev. Herbert H. Lusk II, pastor of the Greater Exodus Baptist Church and its sister charity, People For People Inc., has been an ardent supporter of Bush even before he became president. Lusk now hopes that Bush’s work to help inner-city religious groups get federal funding will win over black voters this November.

“This is one urban center and one urban church in America that welcomes the president with open arms,” Lusk said Tuesday. “Typically, African-American churches have been Democratic in their support. It is my hope and prayer that is going to change, because I think, personally, President Bush is worthy of the African-American vote.”

“It’s hard to say that this man has no heart for black people and people of color,” Lusk said.

NYT: 865 South Figueroa vs. 146 Central Park West

Glen Justice of the New York Times has pinpointed the exact location of the fundraising battle between Bush and Kerry:

The office building at 865 South Figueroa in downtown Los Angeles is a fairly typical high-rise, but inside the plain reddish-brown tower is the headquarters of an investment management firm that handles roughly $90 billion in assets.

By contrast, the San Remo, at 146 Central Park West in New York, is a dazzling two-tower building with captivating views of the park that has been home — or at least one home — to people like Steve Martin, Steven Spielberg, Demi Moore and Steve Jobs.

These two disparate buildings across the country from each other may not seem to have much in common. But more donations to President Bush and Senator John Kerry and their parties, respectively, have come from the two buildings than from any others in the United States through April, according to an examination of Federal Election Commission records by The New York Times.

In these days of sophisticated databases it is possible to crunch numbers and find out not only who gives how much, but where they live, in what ZIP codes — even in what buildings. And after scouring the nation for the two most generous addresses for presidential donations, what turn up are 865 South Figueroa and 146 Central Park West.

FEC complaint filed against " America Coming Together"

AP’s Sharon Theimer reports that three groups have filed a complaint with the FEC against “America Coming Together,” the 527 run by former Kerry campaign manager Jim Jordan:

A pro-Democratic group that opposes President Bush in its fund-raising solicitations is the target of a complaint by campaign finance watchdogs who argue the organization is spending illegally on its mailings.

America Coming Together should be using limited “hard money” donations, not unlimited contributions known as soft money, to pay for the fund-raising letters, the three groups said in the complaint filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

The groups are Democracy 21, the Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Legal Center.

ACT has financed the mailings - possibly up to $1 million worth through March - with soft money, the groups say. Such unlimited donations can come from any source, including unions and corporations, but aren’t supposed to be used for federal election activities.

Kerry to return donation from son of former S Korean president

According to John Solomon and Sharon Theimer of the Associated Press:

John Kerry’s campaign collected a maximum $2,000 check from the recently arrested son of South Korea’s disgraced former president, and some of its fund-raisers met several times with a South Korean government official who was trying to organize a Korean-American political group.

The Kerry campaign said it did not know about the $2,000 donation from Chun Jae-yong or his background until informed by The Associated Press and has decided to return the money to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

“We are sending the check back,” spokesman Michael Meehan said.

South Korean government officials told the AP that a top official in its Los Angeles consulate office returned home last month amid “speculation” he had engaged in Democratic politics, but they do not believe any laws were broken.

Chun Jae-yong was arrested in February by South Korean authorities on charges of evading taxes on $14 million in inheritance money. His father, former president Chun Dooh-hwan, was convicted in 1997 on bribery charges.

Chun Jae-yong was business partners last year with Rick Yi, one of Kerry’s major fund-raisers in the Asian-American community. Yi acknowledged soliciting the donation from Chun last summer before learning of his legal problems.

The Hill: Log Cabin Republicans on the fence

The Hill reports:

The nation’s largest Republican gay-rights organization is still weighing whether to sit out the 2004 presidential campaign and not endorse President Bush.

Log Cabin Republicans’ political director Chris Barron said the group will wait until after the Republican convention in August to decide whether to endorse Bush based on the party’s stance on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Bush said earlier this year that he would support such a ban.

The organization endorsed and raised $500,000 for Bush in 2000 and supported Bob Dole in 1996, the first time it endorsed a presidential candidate.

Patrick Guerriero, the Log Cabin Republicans’ executive director, said he is “disappointed and truly angered” over Bush’s position, which has caused the group’s membership to double to more than 10,000 in recent months. But Barron ruled out the possibility of endorsing Kerry, saying the group will endorse Bush or no one this fall.

The 27-year-old group is planning to hold a “big tent” reception honoring politicians who support gay rights just before the Republican convention begins in New York on Aug. 29 from 2 to 5 p.m. in Bryant Park. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is hosting the event; Govs. George Pataki (N.Y.) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Calif.), as well as former Govs. Bill Weld (Mass.) and Christine Todd Whitman (N.J.), are invited. A New York Times event discussing the group’s role in the upcoming elections will be held on Aug. 27 at the New School.

Kerry Has Secretive Meeting With Edwards

AP: Kerry Has Secretive Meeting With Edwards

Sen. John Kerry held a brief, secretive meeting with potential running mate John Edwards, a spur-of-the-moment session in the Capitol that capped an unusual day of hurry-up-and-wait in the heavily scripted life of the Democratic presidential candidate.

The two men met Tuesday in the President’s Room, whether they knew the name or not, an ornate sitting room just off the Senate chamber, and they declined to speak with reporters afterward. While the brevity of the session indicated it was less than a full-fledged vice presidential interview, it came roughly a month before the opening of the Democratic National Convention, and at a time when Edwards is frequently mentioned as a potential running mate.

“Senator Kerry has made clear that he wants that whole process to be quiet and confidential, which I think is the correct way to do it,” Edwards told reporters earlier in the day. “Because of that I’m silent.”

Nader Again Refuses Dems' Request He Quit

AP: Nader Again Refuses Dems’ Request He Quit

Ralph Nader had a testy meeting Tuesday with black members of Congress and rejected their request that he quit the presidential race. At the same time, Arizona Democrats prepared to challenge Nader’s qualifications to appear on that state’s ballot as an independent candidate.

The developments reflect Democrats’ increasing frustration with Nader and his potential to woo liberal votes away from John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Shouts could be heard from inside the meeting with more than a dozen Congressional Black Caucus members, including Nader’s voice, in what proved to be a rancorous session. One female shouted, “You can’t win,” to which Nader shot back an inaudible response.

“It became abundantly clear to us that this was about Ralph Nader and we were sorely disappointed,” caucus chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md, said afterward. “If nothing else we believe we’ve had an impact on his conscience. Now we pray he’ll synchronize his conscience with his conduct.”

Nader dismissed the shouting as an “exciting exchange” between two sides with the same goal — the defeat of President Bush — but with different strategies for achieving it.

Nader: US should disengage from Israel

JERUSALEM POST: Nader: US should disengage from Israel

No diplomatic plan can be acceptable unless it allows for the right of return for Palestinian refugees and a full Israeli withdrawal to 1967 borders, a spokesman for US Presidential candidate Ralph Nader told the Jerusalem Post.

Nader, an independent presidential candidate, also disagrees with Israel’s construction of the security fence, its targeted killings of terrorist leaders, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza disengagement plan, his spokesman said.

“Too often the United States walks lockstep with the Israelis; it needs to think for itself,” Nader’s spokesman added.

Nader's running mate?

CNN: Nader’s running mate?

Finally, the day we’ve all been waiting for. At 1 p.m. ET Monday, we’ll learn his choice for vice president.

Ralph Nader’s choice, that is. Who, we assume, won’t be John McCain.

Nader unveils his running mate at the National Press Club after an 11:45 a.m. ET meeting, notably perhaps, with the Congressional Black Caucus.

Pick me! Pick me! Pick meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

AP: Nader Taps Green Activist As Running Mate

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader selected longtime Green Party activist Peter Camejo to be his running mate on Monday, a move sure to boost his chances of winning the Green Party’s endorsement this week and its access to ballot lines in 22 states and the District of Columbia.

Camejo, an investment adviser from Folsom, Calif., had been one of two leading contenders for the Green Party’s presidential nomination.

Green Party to Make Its Presidential Pick

REUTERS: Green Party to Make Its Presidential Pick

The Green Party holds its presidential convention in Milwaukee this week to decide whether to field a candidate or go without one and endorse the independent bid of Ralph Nade, who headed its White House ticket in 2000.

Nader is not seeking the Green nomination this time, and it is unlikely he will attend the June 23-28 meeting, but he is seeking the party’s endorsement.

To win that, he will have to get past Green Party activist David Cobb, a California lawyer actively seeking the party’s nomination. He leads its national delegate count by a clear margin and has spent the last eight years visiting 40 states, working at the grass-roots level to build ties between its environmental and labor wings.

“David Cobb has a long history with the party,” says Ben Manski, a third-year University of Wisconsin law student and co-chairman of the Green Party of the United States. “He’s a democracy activist centering around election reform and fighting corporate power. His appeal is that he is charismatic, articulate, working-class, and he’s a Green.”

Bloggers to Attend Political Convention

AP: Bloggers to Attend Political Convention

A handful of scribes publishing in a newer medium will join the thousands of newspaper, magazine and broadcast journalists at this summer’s political conventions. They’ll be blogging.

The Democrats are holding true to their “party of inclusion” billing vis-a-vis the online chroniclers, whose Web logs have leapt in popularity this year as political junkies increasingly get their fix with mouse clicks.

Democrats say they’ll offer media credentials to a handful of bloggers. The Republicans say they’ve yet to decide what to do about them — credentialing deadlines passed with no announcement on whether bloggers could even apply.

GOP spokesman Leonardo Alcivar said details are still being worked out, but some analysts believe the party is wary of bloggers, who tend to be less predictable than mainstream journalists.

Michele Catalano of The Command Post, a mostly news-as-it-happens blog, said she’ll cover the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 convention at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan from outside if necessary.

(Now why does that name sound familiar?)

And by the way…

“To compete with the regular media, it’s important to be where the media is,” the 31-year-old East Meadow, N.Y., blogger said.

(Shhhhhhh! Next thing you know, they’ll say you’re 21. Enjoy it, eh.)

Political Expert Sabato: Kerry Is Narrowly Ahead...And It'll Be Close

In his latest version of his highly acclaimed eletter Sabato’s Crystal Ball, the University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics, sees Kerry with a narrow lead as “the electoral college goes to summer school.”

This time Sabato offers readers a map readers can click on to get analytical state breakdowns. The map and content about each state will be periodically updated, and Sabato and his staff provide you with data from 2000, the Congressional delegation, party breakdown and margin of victory in the last race.

To read his whole piece and get state-by-state breakdowns by clicking on the map go here.

And how does it look so far for 2004? “If the election were held in June 2004, Kerry would narrowly defeat President Bush by 274 to 264 electoral votes,” he writes. However, he writes, “it’s ESSENTIAL to note” this (all of these are from his report):

“1. This is CLOSE. Anyone who believes that the election could not go either way is too partisan to be helped.

2. A June map is NOT predictive of the November results. The world will turn over several times between now and Election Day (137 times, to be exact).

3. While the electoral total is a squeaker today, we caution that the November results may not be nearly as tight. This election could break clearly in one direction come fall, or even (as in 1980) during the last week of the campaign because of late-unfolding events.

4. Notice how many big, important states are balanced on the fencepost. These include: Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

5. Since every electoral vote might matter, please also note that there are more than a dozen smaller states which are reasonably competitive and could flip allegiances from the 2000 vote.

6. At least at the starting gate for the general election, the 2000 results have proven to be amazingly durable in drawing up today’s likely Electoral College picture.

7. AS OF JUNE, three small states carried by George Bush four years ago appear to be leaning ever so slightly to John Kerry: Nevada, New Hampshire, and West Virginia. There is no Gore state from 2000 currently leaning to Bush, though Wisconsin seems to be the President’s best bet. Bush is also unmistakably in the hunt for prizes such as Pennsylvania, and maybe Michigan.
The Crystal Ball will update the map at regular intervals—and more frequently with the onset of Labor Day.”

“REMEMBER ABOVE ALL: Where we begin does not predict where we will end. Buckle your seat belts and prepare yourselves for a ride so wild that no amusement park could insure it. “

If we click on the map (and we can’t control ourselves) we get data such as this on Florida (we have edited this down to just the main data not all the elected officials etc since it has lots of detail):

Leans Republican….Does everyone have the same spine-tingling fear when they see all the recent polls showing the Sunshine State tied? Please God, not 2000 all over again! It’s very possible, but our current guess is that this is Bush’s low water mark, and that only if Kerry is winning the White House handily does he get Florida, too. It may be Jeb to the rescue for his big brother once again.

Another swing state, Michigan:

Leans Democratic ….Here’s another barnburner. Early polls have shown this huge Midwestern state to be close, and in 2000, Gore managed to win by only 217,000 votes out of well over 4 million cast. Should Bush pull out of his tailspin and soar in the fall, Michigan will be in contention. But the state fairly consistently leans Democratic, and the Democrats control the governorship and both U.S. Senate seats. It will be hard for Bush to wrest this prize from the Kerry column.

The great thing about the analyses of Sabato and his staff is how they step back and assess from a distance, rather than from a partisan cheerleading session, so you feel you’re getting data that’s as objective as possible.

Visit it and click on the states…and you won’t want to stop…as you read the Crystal Ball’s state-by-state political status reports.

Keeping an Eye on Bush's Market Value

Polls aren’t the only way to election watch. Markets are quickly becoming viable ways to predict real events. Take a look at Intrade for an example. Here’s a quick link to Bush’s reelection chances.

Al Gore Back In Action Again

At a fundraiser in New Hampshire, former Vice President Al Gore blasted the Bush administration’s Iraq policies. pointed a finger at President Bush on allegations of torture, and said the admininstration has imposed a “backdoor draft” by not letting people in the service leave when their hitches are over.

His attacks seem to get more pointed with each speech. An intriguing question is whether this is Al Gore speaking for himself or via some kind of surrogate arrangement with the Kerry campaign. Most likely he’s speaking for himself — not indulging in political nicities due to lingering resentment over the 2000 campaign.

Bad sample in LA Times poll?

Drudge reports:

Sen. John Kerry “has taken big lead,” according “to an L.A. Times poll.”

But the Times poll that showed Kerry “beating Bush by 7 points” has created a controversy over whether the poll’s sample accurately reflects the population as whole, ROLL CALL reports on Tuesday.

“Not counting independents, the Times’ results were calculated on a sample made up of 38 percent Democrats and 25 percent Republicans — a huge and unheard-of margin,” ROLL CALL claims.

Intentional or accidental?

League of Women Voters Refutes AP

Received this today from the League of Women Voters … working to find the AP story:

STATEMENT BY LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE U.S. ON VOTING MACHINES

“Today’s Associated Press story entitled “League of Women Voters Drops Support of Paperless Voting Machines” is misleading.

The LWVUS has just concluded its 46th biennial national convention. The delegate body in attendance, representing 47 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, adopted a resolution that revises the LWVUS stance on voting machines.

The new resolution reads, “In order to ensure integrity and voter confidence in elections, the LWVUS supports the implementation of voting systems and procedures that are: secure, accurate, recountable, and accessible.”

The League continues to support voting systems that are well-managed and meet the above four criteria, including electronic voting systems. Each voting system should be looked at on a case-by-case basis to ensure that it meets each of these four criteria and that the operational and management systems supporting it will be well-run.”

The Bush-Clinton White House Lovefest

Bill Clinton returned to the White House to be there for the unveiling of his official portrait — and heaping handfuls of praise hurled at him by President George Bush. (To see one artist’s view of Clinton click here. )

Here’s just a small part of it (we won’t use more because we don’t want to get diabetes):

GWB ON CLINTON: “”The years have done a lot to clarify the strengths of this man. As a candidate for any office, whether it be the state attorney general or the president, Bill Clinton showed incredible energy and great personal appeal.” And on Hillary:”Listen, New York politics is a serious business — it’s rough business. It takes an extraordinary person to campaign and win the United States Senate. She has proven herself more than equal to the challenge.”

CLINTON’S COMMENTS:”I’ve just been doing some interviews in connection with my book, and I told Mr. Rather yesterday, I said: ‘You know, most of the people I’ve known in this business, Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, were good people, honest people, and they did what they thought was right. And I hope that I’ll live long enough to see American politics return to vigorous debates where we argue who’s right and wrong, not who’s good and bad.”

Then they all hugged (we guess..)

Kerry Won't Fight Clinton's Press Appeal

Top Democrats have for months been discussing the wisdom in the timing of the Clinton book release. The Trib is reporting that Kerry is willing to take a few days off if the attemtion on the former president becomes too much.