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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Reagan and the Bush campaign
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 VIDEO |
 CNN's Kelly Wallace on Reagan and Democrats
 CNN's Dana Bash on Bush's ambitions for the summit.
 CNN's Robin Oakley on top issues at the summit.
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RELATED |
• Pressure over stem cell research
• Bush and allies pre-summit
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
ATTACK MACHINE: President Bush began his television advertising campaign this year as an heir to Ronald Reagan, with images of flag-raising patriotism that harked back to the 40th president's "Morning in America" commercials of 20 years ago. But Bush quickly shifted tactics in response to political challenges Reagan never faced. He reduced his positive TV spots to nearly a whisper and cranked up the volume on a series of slashing attacks on his Democratic challenger. In essence, he labeled Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts an anti-Reagan, accusing him of a vision that amounted to "Twilight in America." The Los Angeles Times: Bush campaign cranks up attack ads on Kerry
REPUBLICAN ROADBLOCKS: Republican operatives attempting to compete with Democratic groups for large sums of unregulated presidential campaign funds have run into a number of roadblocks, including reluctance on the part of many corporations to contribute to new independent groups. The Washington Post: Republican 'soft money' groups find business reluctant to give
BOOST FOR BUSH?: Can Ronald Reagan's political magic work in one last election -- this time for President Bush? Republican strategists acknowledged Monday that they hope the nation's week of mourning for Reagan, who died Saturday, will turn into a boost for Bush's reelection campaign. The Los Angeles Times: A week that could bolster Bush
LEGACY QUESTIONS: The death of former president Ronald Reagan has put John Kerry on the political sidelines, elevated President Bush to center stage and touched off a debate tinged by partisanship about the possible impact of Reagan's legacy on the November election. The Washington Post: Reagan events put race on brief hold
GORE STIRS IT UP: Former candidate Gore had some choice words for Florida Senate candidate Alex Penelas last week, effectively stirring up the race there. The New York Times: Gore's venting stirs up Senate race in Florida
SENATORS STRIKE BACK: Florida's two Democratic senators defended U.S. Senate candidate Alex Penelas on Monday, a day after Al Gore's published comments calling Penelas "the single most treacherous and dishonest person I dealt with" during the 2000 election. Sen. Bill Nelson questioned Gore's decision to inject himself into the race, saying it hurts the party's ability to keep retiring Sen. Bob Graham's seat and threatens a key state for presidential candidate John Kerry. Graham called Penelas, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, "a good Democrat." SENATORS STRIKE BACK: Florida's two Democratic senators defended U.S. Senate candidate Alex Penelas on Monday, a day after Al Gore's published comments calling Penelas "the single most treacherous and dishonest person I dealt with" during the 2000 election. Sen. Bill Nelson questioned Gore's decision to inject himself into the race, saying it hurts the party's ability to keep retiring Sen. Bob Graham's seat and threatens a key state for presidential candidate John Kerry. Graham called Penelas, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, "a good Democrat." The Associated Press: Florida senators rebut Gore's comments
NO-STRIKE STRUCK: The Greater Boston Labor Council last night rejected a project labor agreement with organizers of the Democratic National Convention, meaning that convention construction will begin at the FleetCenter today without a no-strike guarantee from the influential consortium of local unions. The vote could persuade more construction workers to honor the picket line planned for this morning at the FleetCenter, where more than 100 Boston police officers and their union allies are expected. The Boston Globe: Labor rejects a no-strike agreement
RICHARDSON'S ROLE: Already, the 56-year-old Richardson is carving out a convention role for himself to fit his persona and his boundless energy. He stationed an aide in Boston months ago to keep tabs on planning, and is conferring with top convention officials by telephone almost daily. He has also been making semi regular trips to Massachusetts, usually timed so he can catch a Red Sox game as well as handle some convention business. The Boston Globe: New Mexico's governor carves convention role
TERROR TURN: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry spent the past week hawking a tough national-security image to convince voters that he can be trusted to aggressively fight the war on terrorism, calling it the "greatest threat" facing America today. But less than six months ago, the Massachusetts senator said in a televised debate that the Bush administration had exaggerated the threat posed by terrorism. The Washington Times: Kerry flip-flops on terrorism
TORTURE POLICY: Administration lawyers concluded in a policy paper last year that a president can legally order interrogators to torture terrorist suspects. The lawyers, who were not identified by name, were part of a working group writing a policy governing interrogation techniques to be used at the prison for terrorist suspects at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Associated Press: Lawyers argued Bush could order torture
WHAT'S IN A NAME?: When the chairwoman of the $1.3 billion Heinz Endowments signs a document, she uses what she calls her "Pittsburgh name": Teresa Heinz. Her surname is everywhere in the Steel City. The Associated Press: Kerry's asset in Pennsylvania: His wife, her name
Compiled by Heather Riley
