IPW Daily Report – Friday, February 20, 2004
“Fox
News, citing unnamed "advisers,"
reports that Ralph Nader "will enter the 2004 race
for the White House as an independent candidate.
. . . A formal announcement by Nader is expected
this weekend." This is going to be fun. “ –
writes James
Taranto, Wall Street Journal’s “Best of the Web”
“Mr. Bush is the triumph of the seemingly average
American man. He's normal. He thinks in a sort of
common-sense way. He speaks the language of
business and sports and politics. You know him.
He's not exotic. But if there's a fire on the
block, he'll run out and help. He'll help direct
the rig to the right house and count the kids
coming out and say, "Where's Sally?" He's
responsible. He's not an intellectual.
Intellectuals start all the trouble in the world.
And then when the fire comes they say, "I warned
Joe about that furnace." And, "Does Joe have
children?" And "I saw a fire once. It spreads like
syrup. No, it spreads like explosive syrup. No,
it's formidable and yet fleeting." When the fire
comes they talk. Bush ain't that guy.”
– writes Peggy
Noonan.
"I have to vent. I think he's nuts,"
said AFSCME
President Gerald W. McEntee about Howard Dean.
"The beauty of John Kerry is 32 years of votes and
public pronouncements,"
said Mark
McKinnon,
the chief media
adviser. McKinnon suggested a possible tag
line: "He's been wrong for 32 years, he's wrong
now."
“When you hear people say, `Oh, let's just let the
tax cuts expire,' it's a tax increase," Bush said
in an event at the White House to promote his
economic record. "It's a code word for, `I'm
raising your taxes,' to increase the amount of
money we have to spend here in Washington on new
programs, on programs that meet a particular
political desire of the appropriators."
said President
Bush.
“… George Bush said he couldn’t be held
responsible for knowing the number of new jobs
because he’s not in charge of the numbers. Well it
doesn’t take a lot of math to count to zero,”
said John Kerry.
Kerry & Edwards head-to-head this Sunday
Peggy Noonan on Dubya: he’s normal
AFSCME prez: “Dean’s nuts”
Labor says race over
Edwards wants a ‘mano a mano’ with Kerry
Delegate count
Bush campaign ads
Nader Yes/No this Sunday
“Fox News, citing unnamed "advisers," reports that
Ralph Nader "will enter the 2004 race for the
White House as an independent candidate. . . . A
formal announcement by Nader is expected this
weekend." This is going to be fun. “ – writes
James Taranto, Wall Street Journal’s “Best of the
Web”
The Associated Press reports that Ralph (The
Spoiler) Nader will make his yes or no
announcement on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” But
FoxNews is already proclaiming, “He’s IN” due to
leaked info they have already received.
Nader spokeswoman Linda Schade says that he will
be “available for interviews” after his Meet the
Press appearance, and plans to do a press
conference on Monday.
Though Nader has not gotten the ball rolling yet
to get his name on state ballots (a process that
takes thousands of signatures), the AP story
reports that Nader was on almost all the states’
ballots when he ran in 2000.
Part of the controversy surrounding another Nader
presidential run is due to his “spoiler”
reputation, according to the AP story:
Nader was on the ballot in nearly every state in
2000 and garnered 2.7 percent of the popular vote.
In Florida and New Hampshire, Bush won such narrow
victories that had Gore received the bulk of
Nader's votes in those states, he would have won
the general election.
Kerry & Edwards head-to-head this Sunday
DRUDGE is alerting the world that John Kerry
and John Edwards have agreed to go head to head on
ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” The
show will air this Sunday. And according to
Stephanopoulos:
“No politics, no process, no gotcha…We want to
focus the candidates and the voters on the big
differences over the big issues.”
And the big issues to be covered are: jobs, trade
and the economy, health care, Iraq, and terrorism.
Peggy Noonan on Dubya: he’s normal
Excerpts of Peggy Noonan’s column in the Wall
Street Journal on George W. Bush, excerpts:
I was asked this week why the president seems so
attractive to the heartland, to what used to be
called Middle America. A big question. I found my
mind going to this word: normal.
Mr. Bush is the triumph of the seemingly average
American man. He's normal. He thinks in a sort of
common-sense way. He speaks the language of
business and sports and politics. You know him.
He's not exotic. But if there's a fire on the
block, he'll run out and help. He'll help direct
the rig to the right house and count the kids
coming out and say, "Where's Sally?" He's
responsible. He's not an intellectual.
Intellectuals start all the trouble in the world.
And then when the fire comes they say, "I warned
Joe about that furnace." And, "Does Joe have
children?" And "I saw a fire once. It spreads like
syrup. No, it spreads like explosive syrup. No,
it's formidable and yet fleeting." When the fire
comes they talk. Bush ain't that guy. Republicans
love the guy who ain't that guy. Americans love
the guy who ain't that guy.
Someone said to me: But how can you call him
normal when he came from such privilege? Indeed he
did. But there's nothing
lemonade-on-the-porch-overlooking-the-links-at-the-country-club
about Mr. Bush. He isn't smooth. He actually has
some of the roughness and the resentments of the
self-made man. I think the reason for this is
Texas. He grew up in a white T-shirt and jeans
playing ball in the street with the other kids in
the subdivision. Barbara Bush wasn't exactly
fancy. They lived like everyone else. She spoke to
me once with great nostalgia of her early days in
Texas, when she and her husband and young George
slept in the same bed in an apartment in Midland.
A prostitute lived in the complex. Barbara Bush
just thought she was popular. Then they lived in a
series of suburban houses.
George W. Bush didn't grow up at Greenwich Country
Day with a car and a driver dropping him off, as
his father had. Until he went off to boarding
school, he thought he was like everyone else.
That's a gift, to think you're just like everyone
else in America. It can be the making of you.
AFSCME prez: “Dean’s nuts”
"I have to vent. I think he's nuts," said AFSCME
President Gerald W. McEntee.
McEntee, president of the American Federation of
County & Municipal Employees revealed in an
interview with Adam Nigourney of the NY Times that he was not pleased with his
choosing to have his union endorse Howard Dean’s
candidacy:
I go to Burlington, and I meet with him," Mr.
McEntee said. "I'm telling you, I threw more ice
water on his head in about 25 minutes than
probably he has ever had. And I said: `Don't do
Wisconsin, O.K.? Don't go in.' I told him to get
out. I said, `You can't win.' "
"He said he's still going into Wisconsin," Mr.
McEntee continued. "I said: `We're not. We're off
the train. If you think I'm going to spend $1
million to get you another point after this
election is over, you're crazy.' "
As for AFSCME’s next move it seems that we might
need to check with his Doctor, and that would not
be Dr. Dean:
Mr. McEntee, who flirted with endorsing John Kerry
and Gen. Wesley K. Clark before settling on Dr.
Dean, said his union was probably going to sit it
out for a while. "At this point, there's no way
we're going to endorse anybody," he said. "I think
we need a rest. Maybe in an asylum."
Labor says race over
"Today we know the time has come to unite behind
one man, one leader, one candidate," said John
Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, an umbrella
organization of 64 unions. "Throughout his
distinguished political career John Kerry has been
a friend of working families."
While Labor’s number one spokesman may have been
calling the race, Sen. John Edwards was
criticizing Sen. John Kerry’s vote in support of
NAFTA.
Meanwhile Kerry bashed Bush and the Economic
forecast that projected more jobs being created in
December than what looks feasible now.
“Every year, George Bush has promised to create
jobs. And every year, he’s ended up losing them.
Just last week, the White House promised to create
2.6 million jobs this year. But yesterday, George
Bush said he couldn’t be held responsible for
knowing the number of new jobs because he’s not in
charge of the numbers. Well it doesn’t take a lot
of math to count to zero,” said Kerry.
Kerry also sounded the isolationism and trade
barrier theme that has come to dominate the
Democrat’s rhetoric:
“It makes no sense at all for the American
taxpayer to subsidize sending our jobs overseas.
We’re going to repeal every tax loophole and
benefit that rewards any Benedict Arnold CEO or
company for exploiting the tax code to export
American jobs. We should be exporting American
products, not American jobs.
“George Bush said that if our trading partners
engage in unfair trading practices, they’ll hear
from us. But today, when foreign countries engage
in unfair trading practices, all they hear from
this President is the silence of a wink and a nod.
I will insist on real worker and environmental
provisions in the core of every trade agreement.
Unlike George Bush, I will enforce them.
And I am honored by the confidence of working men
and women that I will stand up and fight for you.”
Edwards wants a ‘mano a mano’ with Kerry
This week Senator John Edwards has been calling
for a man-to-man debate with John Kerry. The
leader in the Democrat Party nomination process,
Kerry has yet to respond… and likely will not due
to his vast wins in the contests thus far.
Edwards came on strong in the Wisconsin Primary
this week, giving Kerry what some pundits have
called “the scare of his life.” The Edwards surge
and Kerry decline in recent polls suggest it would
not be to Kerry’s benefit to debate exclusively
with Edwards – well renown for his personal and
affable style.
Reports of money shortage in the Edwards campaign
also point to an advantage for Kerry, who shows
signs of physical drain these past days.
Delegate count
The
Greenpapers.com has the vote count for the
Democrats as follows.
Wesley Clark – 44
Howard Dean – 112
John Edwards – 171
John Kerry – 494
Al Sharpton – 12
This site is excellent in explaining the delegate
selection allocation for both the Republicans and
Democrats.
Bush campaign ads
The Bush campaign is looking to roll out ads to
define Sen. John Kerry to the public, according to
the Washington Post.
"The beauty of John Kerry is 32 years of votes and
public pronouncements," said Mark McKinnon, the
chief media adviser. McKinnon suggested a possible
tag line: "He's been wrong for 32 years, he's
wrong now."
While there will be positive Bush ads that will
focus on Bush’s proposals there will also be the
Kerry defining ads as well beginning next month:
Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said: "These
attacks and smears against us are just one more
example of the fundamental need to change the
direction of the nation from George Bush's extreme
agenda to an agenda that meets the needs of
mainstream America. And these attacks allow us to
turn to real issues in response, which is
precisely what the voters want to hear." As for
the liberal label, she said: "The fact is John
Kerry doesn't fit the mold Republicans throw
Democrats in -- and they don't know what to do
about it."
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