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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
On the roads of history
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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 VIDEO |
 CNN's Soledad O'Brien talks with Sen. Richard Lugar about the planned Iraq handover.
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 CNN's Fred Katayama on schools and the workplace 50 years after Brown .
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 CNN's Dana Bash on the downturn in President Bush's approval ratings.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two landmark court rulings will propel civil rights to center stage in the '04 campaign today, but only for a few hours this morning.
By misdate, both President Bush and John Kerry will have left the 50th anniversary celebration in Topeka, Kansas, of Brown v. Board of Education, the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled "separate but equal" education illegal in public schools.
They will head to opposite coasts in search of cash and/or votes.
And yet, violence in Iraq once again threatens to overshadow any script. Early this morning, suicide bombers killed the head of the Iraqi Governing Council in an explosion outside the headquarters of the U.S.-led occupation authority in Baghdad. (Today in Iraq: Car bomb kills Iraqi Governing Council leader)
Izzedine Salim, who had held the rotating presidency of the council since May 1 and was a leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, was killed just six weeks before the scheduled transfer of power.
Probably no one is more relieved that we're talking about education and gay rights today than Donald Rumsfeld, the subject of a New Yorker magazine article out today that says the Abu Ghraib scandal was a result of his decision to expand a clandestine operation against al Qaeda to the treatment of prisoners in Iraq, in an effort to "generate more intelligence about the growing insurgency." (Pentagon denies prison scandal stems from secret program gone awry)
Tackling civil rights
Back to civil rights: The other court ruling, a 4-3 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last November declaring gay marriage constitutional, goes into effect today (an appeal is scheduled to be heard in June). The historic day, which began at 12:01 a.m. in Cambridge, will draw far less fanfare -- at least from Bush and Kerry. (Today's battle in classrooms: Resegregation)
Indeed, it's stroke of political luck for Kerry that gay marriages go into effect in his home state on the same day as the 50th anniversary of Brown, allowing him to highlight his civil rights credentials while distancing himself from the sticky gay-marriage issue. (No worries, Republicans say. We still have the Democratic convention in Boston in July.)
Here's some of what Kerry is expected to say today in Topeka, where he'll be joined by Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and civil rights leaders on the steps of the state capitol. (President Bush will also speak in Topeka at an event to name the former Monroe Elementary School as the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic site). (Bush observes Brown anniversary in Kansas)
"Brown summoned our country to make real the ideal of one nation and one people. A nation where one day all of God's children would live in the light of equality. A nation where, as Dr. King said later, we would be able to 'transform ... into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood,' " Kerry will say, according to an advance copy of his speech obtained by The Grind. "Those of us who have embraced this vision redeemed the promise of America and make our country stronger."
Joining Kerry and Sebelius will be the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference of Civil Rights, Reps. John Conyers and Dennis Moore, Topeka Mayor James McClinton and leaders of La Raza, the NAACP and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium.
Following the hurling event, Kerry will fly to Portland, Oregon, where he'll meet with Howard Dean. Kerry and Dean will hold a rally in Pioneer Courthouse Square at 9 p.m. ET.
Following his stop in Topeka, Bush and Vice President Cheney will head to Georgia and North Carolina to raise money. Bush will fly to Atlanta for a late afternoon fund-raiser at the Buckhead mansion of Home Depot Chair/CEO Bob Nardelli.
Earlier today, Cheney is scheduled to speak at a fund-raising luncheon near Savannah for embattled freshman GOP Rep. Max Burns. At 6:30 p.m. ET, Cheney will deliver remarks at a fundraising reception in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Rep. Richard Burr's Senate campaign.
Kerry's funny side
Meanwhile, Kerry made at least two funnies this weekend, according to CNN's Mike Roselli. We thought we'd share.
In Boston on Saturday evening, as he arrived at Hamersley's Bistro, a cameraman called to the French-speaking Senator, "Bon appétit." Kerry responded with a smile, "What does that mean?"
And Sunday, as he left a fund-raiser at the Las Vegas Four Seasons, Kerry was asked how much he made at the tables. He said he didn't have time to gamble, but "I made money at the dinner tables." (Total haul: $500,000).
Also yesterday, Teamsters Chief James Hoffa said he told Kerry that he should pick Dick Gephardt as his running mate. At an off-camera news briefing in Las Vegas, Hoffa said Gephardt should be considered because he is a "fine man" and would be a "great partner" for Kerry. Gephardt was also in Vegas over the weekend for the Teamsters conference. (Kerry blasts Bush trade policies)
Other news
And what's up with Kerry snubbing Ralph Nader? Nader complained Sunday that his attempts to meet with Kerry to discuss the 2004 White House race have been ignored. "I've been trying to meet him now for two weeks, and we haven't been able to get even his campaign manger to return the call, even though he's indicated publicly he wants to get together," Nader said on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."Finally today, a V.P. Tea Leaf (just one): John Edwards travels to battleground state Ohio today to address the national conference called "What's at Stake in Election 2004: Restoring America's Integrity." The gathering in Cleveland is being hosted by the Clergy Network for National Leadership Change. (CNN.com's Veepstakes Game) 
