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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Kerry's green political weapon
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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| | ON CNN TV | 
Tune in at 9 p.m. Friday to see more of King's interview with journalist Bob Woodward. |
 VIDEO |
 CNN's Bill Schneider on John Kerry's Iraq plan.
 CNN's Carlos Watson on Bob Woodward's "Plan of Attack."
 CNN's Kelly Wallace on Bush and Saudi oil.
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RELATED |
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• Support grows for troop increase
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two new polls show President Bush's numbers climbing despite tough books, a tough news conference and tough times in Iraq.
So John Kerry turns today to a not-so-secret weapon: The environment, an issue that even Al "Earth in the Balance" Gore declined to talk much about four years ago. (Kerry criticizes Bush on environment)
But much has happened in those four years, Democrats say, including the Kyoto (Japan) greenhouse emissions pact, the"Clear Skies Initiative" to combat air pollution and the proposed drilling at the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR).
At 10:30 a.m. ET in Tampa, Florida, Kerry opens a roundtable chat on oceans with former EPA chief Carol Browner. It's the first of three days Kerry will spend talking about the environment -- and raising money.
He's in New Orleans, Louisiana, tomorrow talking about coastal erosion and raising money. On Thursday, he attends an Earth Day rally in Houston, Texas, and then raises more money.
Kerry also raises money in Miami and Tampa with John Edwards, who appears to be the most active seeker of the No. 2 job. If you doubt this, check out his speech in Seattle last Thursday at a fund-raiser for Sen. Patty Murray. It's on her campaign Web site, www.pattymurray.com.
You could count on one hand the number of times Edwards mentioned Murray's name; we lost track of how often he mentioned Kerry ... or himself, for that matter.
This week Kerry also takes his case to the air (the kind you watch, not the kind you breathe) with three new TV ads. The spots will run in five key states and on cable, focusing on jobs, abortion rights and the environment. For the first time, his ads include a one-line message from Kerry near the end and a call for contributions.
A report released today by Camp Kerry shows that Bush's environmental record has resulted in 21 million more tons of air pollution, 100,000 premature deaths, 112,000 toxic-waste sites not cleaned, and lakes and streams that remain too polluted for fishing or swimming.
"In three short years, this president has put the breaks on 30 years of environmental progress," the senator said in a statement released by Camp Kerry. "He thinks that empty slogans like 'The Clear Skies Initiative' or 'Healthy Forest' will make people forget what they're really doing. They use the same tired old argument that you can't have a clean environment if you want a strong economy. Well, they're wrong. We can have both."
"We are going to do better than this president," Kerry adds. "We are going to protect our rivers and our bays and our oceans because we want our children to enjoy them. We don't want them to get sick from them because George Bush and Dick Cheney think their friends at the energy companies deserve to make a buck at the expense of our kids health, our kids future."
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt called Kerry's report part of "his latest round of false attacks."
Meanwhile, for the second day in a row, Bush today makes a strong campaign-style push to make the Patriot Act a permanent law. (Bush again promotes USA Patriot Act)
Today he heads to Buffalo, New York, the site of recent criminal cases against the Lackawanna Six. The six Yemeni-Americans pleaded guilty to supporting terrorism by briefly attending al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. The White House told the Associated Press that the Lackawanna case was "certainly a factor" for Bush's appearance in Buffalo.
From the fund-raising circuit
Bush, at a money event for Sen. Arlen Specter in Pittsburgh, continued his recent theme that Kerry likes to change his mind. "When a president speaks he must mean what he says and he must be clear. Must be crystal clear," the decider-in-chief told the crowd.
"Someone recently asked the senator from Massachusetts why he voted against the $87 billion funding bill to help our troops in Iraq and here's what he said. 'I actually did vote for the 87 billions before I voted against it'. End of quote." End of quote.
So when are we gonna see the "Decider, Not a Divider" bumper stickers? It's only a matter of time, right?
Other than more anti-Bush zingers from ex-Sen. Max Cleland, no major news was committed at Kerry's fund-raiser last night in Atlanta (estimated haul: $1 million). Kerry had one memorable line, though, noting a lot had changed in Georgia since he attended a party dinner last year. "Back then," he said, "Zell Miller was a Democrat."
And finally, on the VP circuit, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson spoke last night at the Connecticut Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson-Bailey dinner. Richardson gave reporters a quick geography lesson, noting that Connecticut is a long way from New Mexico and arguing that his visit to Southington "means I'm not just out in the West. I'm not just a regional leader." Duly noted, we're sure.
