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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Bush outlines second term
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 VIDEO |
 The 9/11 commission is expected to recommend intelligence reforms.
 John and Elizabeth Edwards talk about today's terror threats.
 Former national security adviser Sandy Berger investigated.
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Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
BUSH'S SECOND TERM: Just one week before his Democratic rival will receive his party's nomination, President Bush last night offered the first outlines of what his own presidency would look like if he wins a second term, citing plans for changes in education standards and the tax code and seeking to dampen criticism that he has not offered a vision for how a Bush presidency would look if it continues to 2008.
The Boston Globe: Bush shifts gear, speaks of vision for second term
KUCINICH ENDORSEMENT: Dennis Kucinich plans to endorse John Kerry for president today, ending his long-shot bid for the nation's highest office only days before the start of the Democratic National Convention. Kucinich is expected to fly to Michigan for a joint appearance with Kerry, who is scheduled to deliver a speech at a National Urban League conference in Detroit.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Kucinich to endorse Kerry's candidacy
KERRY'S LATINO LEAD: Kerry holds a strong lead over President Bush among the nation's Hispanic voters, with a majority rejecting the president's handling of the economy and the war in Iraq, according to a survey by The Washington Post, Univision and the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.
The Washington Post: Kerry has strong advantage among Latino voters
EDWARDS NY CASH: John Edwards, swept through New York City last night, raising an impressive $1.3 million from his party's clubhoppers and its Wall Street elite.
The New York Post: Edwards' $1.3 apple jaunt
BELLWETHER POLL: Missouri, considered the best presidential bellwether state in the nation, is torn between Kerry and Bush, a new Kansas City Star poll shows. With just more than three months to go before the November election, the statewide survey found Kerry leading Bush 46 percent to 44 percent. But the poll's 4-point margin of error suggests the race remains a virtual tie.
The Kansas City Star: Missourians split on Kerry, Bush
FOREIGN POLICY DETAILS: Kerry's team of well-known foreign policy advisers has played an increasingly important role in setting a course for the nation if the Democratic candidate is elected in November. But Kerry's prescription for U.S. engagement overseas has been short on details, and now Democrats and Kerry aides worry that incidents like the recent flap involving Sandy Berger will draw attention from the Massachusetts senator's ideas on foreign policy.
The Chicago Tribune: Clinton team helps Kerry set policy agenda
WH DENIES BERGER LEAK: The White House said Wednesday that senior officials in its counsel's office were told by the Justice Department months ago that a criminal investigation was under way to determine if Sandy Berger, the national security adviser under President Bill Clinton, removed classified documents about al Qaeda from the National Archives. Scott McClellan, the president's press secretary, denied Wednesday that the White House had anything to do with the leak, or was seeking a diversion from the report.
The New York Times: White House knew of inquiry on aide; Kerry camp irked
NEW CONSERVATIVE 527: Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp and former White House Counsel C. Boyden Gray are joining forces to counter MoveOn.Org and other liberal groups in the November elections. Armey, chairman of Citizens for a Sound Economy, and Kemp, a co-founder of Empower America, are merging their two organizations into FreedomWorks to foster a "freedom agenda."
The Washington Times: New group to counter liberals
ASIAN ANGER: Asian American media leaders complained that Kerry's $3 million advertising campaign targeted at African Americans and Latinos excluded their publications and programming -- giving the impression that the Asian community's vote has been taken for granted and does not count.
The San Francisco Chronicle: Asian media rip Kerry strategy
CONVENTION CANCELLATIONS: Boston convention organizers have canceled two of Mayor Tom Menino's signature convention welcoming parties because delegations from Ohio and Michigan are refusing to cross threatened police picket lines at the events, even with a police union contract set to be announced today.
The Boston Globe: 2 parties halted over picket threats
PARTY CRASHER: Democrats were abuzz and Republicans aghast yesterday as Bush-hating filmmaker Michael Moore unveiled plans to descend upon, and steal some thunder from, Kerry's hometown nominating party. Moore will team up with the Democratic presidential primary's chief Bush critic, Howard Dean, for one of his three Hub appearances in the first two days of the convention.
The Boston Herald: Fahrenheit 7/26: Michael Moore: I will crash Kerry's party
NADER'S ALASKA PUSH: Ralph Nader predicted Tuesday in Anchorage, Alaksa, that he would gather enough signatures to appear on the ballot this fall in Alaska, a state where he won just over 10 percent of the vote in the 2000 race. Nader is working to get his name and that of running mate Peter Camejo placed on the Nov. 2 ballot here. Nader supporters in Alaska need to collect 2,878 valid signatures by August 4.
The Associated Press: Ralph Nader visits state, works to appear on Alaska ballot
Compiled by Mark H. Rodeffer
