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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Follow the leader
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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 VIDEO |
 CNN's Jeff Greenfield on Iraq and the tone of the political season.
 CNN's John King on John Kerry's stance on nuclear waste.
 CNN's Barbara Starr on Donald Rumsfeld's views of intelligence reform.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After overnighting in Crawford, Texas, with Sen. John McCain, President Bush campaigns in New Mexico and Arizona today, just a few days after Sen. John Kerry hit those same swing states.
Bush heads to California and Oregon later this week. So does Kerry. In a bit of Davenport, Iowa, deja vu, they'll be just a few hours and a few miles apart Friday in Portland, Oregon.
So, is Bush playing a game of "Follow the Leader," as Camp Kerry claims, by trailing the Democrat on his cross-country tour? Or is Kerry, the one more able to adjust his travel schedule, manipulating his itinerary to stay a day ahead of Bush? (Special Report: America Votes 2004)
The most likely answer, we say, is neither. But in a campaign in which the focus has dwindled to such a narrow list of battleground states, get used to the questions.
Bush takes the lead in the game next week, we're told, when both he and Kerry make appearances two days apart at the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Bush is to address the VFW delegates Monday. Kerry is scheduled to speak at the convention two days later. The VFW doesn't endorse candidates for president. Both candidates are expected to discuss health care for veterans.
But as Kerry campaign spokesman Phil Singer notes, Bush had a habit during the Democratic primaries of showing up in states a few days after their nominating contests. Two days after the New Hampshire primary, for example, Bush visited the Granite State. He did the same thing after the South Carolina and Missouri primaries.
"It would appear that a few weeks after the Democratic convention, the Bush team is following Kerry around again in an effort to defend the last four years and keep its base interested," Singer writes in a memo to reporters.
Kerry is in Henderson, Nevada, today, a fast-growing suburb south of Vegas, to talk about prescription drugs. The campaign is expected to release a new report showing the record costs of prescription drugs under Bush. Aides say Kerry will call on the president to "side with seniors over big drug companies" and back reimportation legislation.
As Bush campaigns with McCain, Kerry takes the opportunity today to remind folks that the two Republicans don't agree on everything. "Leaders on both sides of the aisle -- from Trent Lott to John McCain to Ted Kennedy -- agree on reimportation, and it's time the one in the White House did too," Kerry will say, according to an advance copy of his text.
TV wars
Also today, Bush-Cheney launches its second new TV ad this week. The spot, called "Solemn Duty," features Bush sitting with the first lady and talking about the high priority he places on protecting the country. "You can't imagine the great agony of a mom or a dad having to make the decision about which child to pick up first on September the 11th," Bush says in the ad. "We cannot hesitate, we cannot yield. We must do everything in our power to bring an enemy to justice before they hurt us again."
In a much smaller but targeted TV ad buy, the Media Fund 527 is going up with a new spot in Ohio tonight on outsourcing. The ad features testimonials from residents of Cleveland, Mayfield Heights and Maple Heights about losing jobs to outsourcing. "When President Bush says that he's going to help companies outsource jobs, it's infuriating," says Cleveland resident Louis Russo in the 30-second spot.
The Ohio ad airs just a few days before Americans Coming Together holds a miniconvention of its state directors and top staff in Cleveland this weekend.
Meanwhile, the fallout continues today after Bush's nomination yesterday of Florida Rep. Porter Goss, 65, to become CIA director. Republicans and some Democrats, most notably Sen. Bob Graham, moved quickly to back Goss, suggesting his likely confirmation in the coming weeks. (Goss nominated for CIA)
But other Dems are expected to use the occasion to pose strong questions to the House intelligence committee chairman, mostly over prewar intelligence failures and his initial reluctance to create an independent 9/11 commission.
Speaking of Goss and partisanship, we were one of many folks who noticed yesterday that Bush-Cheney temporarily pulled down recent anti-Kerry remarks made by Goss from their Web site.
Aides quickly put the remarks back up and called the move a "mistake," but not before liberal groups complained that the campaign was trying to block criticism of Goss by concealing some of his recent partisan rhetoric.
Senate races
Two key Senate races have nominees today.
In Georgia, freshman Rep. Denise Majette won a Democratic runoff last night, defeating businessman Cliff Oxford, becoming the first African-American nominated for the Senate from the Peach State. Majette now faces daunting odds against Rep. Johnny Isakson, the GOP nominee and clear front-runner to succeed retiring Sen. Zell Miller. (Coors, Majette winners)
In Colorado, Peter Coors won the GOP Senate primary by an unexpectedly wide margin, beating Rep. Bob Schaeffer in a race that focused on taxes and gay marriage. Coors' win sets up a big-money showdown for an open seat against Democrat Ken Salazar, the state's attorney general. (Special Report: America Votes 2004, the race for the Senate)
Nader air
Out of the blue, Ralph Nader (remember him?) put out a statement yesterday. And while that ought to be news enough, what he said in the statement was even more, uh, notable.
Nader announced that Southwest Airlines is his "unofficial" campaign airline, praising the airline's prices, staff and service and mocking Bush's "under-reimbursing" the government for Air Force One use and Kerry's leased 757.
Asked for a response to Nader's unsolicited endorsement, Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart was speechless.
"I don't know what to say other than we're flattered," Stewart told CNN. "When it comes to the political side, we're a zillion miles away (from the campaign). But we love customers. Boy, do we love customers."
We wonder if, like those darling flight attendants, Stewart sang his response to our staff.
