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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Can Dean stand the heat?
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Dean's rivals are turning on the heat over what they say are the former Vermont Gov.'s flippant and sometimes untrue remarks.
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Saddam Hussein's capture has caused a sharp spike in President Bush's approval ratings, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.
CNN's Walter Rodgers looks at what Wesley Clark has been saying during his visit to Europe about his candidacy for president.
An Osama bin Laden image is used to attack candidate Howard Dean's security credentials.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
• TALKING POINTS: Dean's penchant for flippant and sometimes false statements is generating increased criticism from his Democratic presidential rivals and raising new questions about his ability to emerge as a nominee who can withstand intense, sustained scrutiny and defeat President Bush. He has distorted his past support for raising the retirement age for Social Security and slowing Medicare's growth. He has falsely said he was the only Democratic presidential candidate talking about race before white audiences. And he made allegations -- some during his years as governor -- that turned out to be untrue.
The Washington Post: Dean's remarks give rivals talking points
• Dean is not a schmoozer and makes little effort to charm the reporters who swarm around him in growing numbers. Reporters who have spent hours with Dean express surprise that he never asks a single question about them. With crowds, Dean shakes hands and fields questions but, like the general practitioner he was trained to be, he is cordial and patient without throwing his arm around anyone.
The Washington Post: Schmooze-makers
• Howard Dean's supporters from other states have written more than 100,000 letters to Iowa Democrats encouraging them to support Dean in the leadoff caucuses. The campaign has organized another round of letters to go out this week, campaign manager Joe Trippi said Wednesday.
The Des Moines Register: Dean supporters target Iowa with letters
• NEW N.H. NUMBERS: A new WMUR/WCVB poll of New Hampshire primary voters shows Dean leading John Kerry by 46 percent to 17 percent, an increase of 7 percentage points since a similar poll last month. The survey had Wesley Clark at 10 percent and Joe Lieberman at 7 percent.
The Manchester Union Leader: Poll: Dean widens lead over rivals in NH
• OSAMA FIRST: Wesley Clark said in a New Hampshire speech yesterday that President Bush should have tracked down and captured Osama bin Laden rather than waging war in Iraq, arguing that while the arrest of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was "good news" for the world, bin Laden's al Qaeda network represents a far greater threat to the security of the country.
The Washington Post: Bush should have found bin Laden, Clark says
• EDWARDS' PLAN: John Edwards on Wednesday in South Carolina touted his plan to provide health insurance for every child and strengthen education for children. While more than 85 percent of parents cover their children today, universal coverage cannot be achieved unless both government and parents take responsibility, he said.
The Columbia State: Edwards has plan for kids' health insurance
• TAXING ROLLBACK: Taking a close look at the Democratic candidates' various proposals to rollback some or all of the Bush tax cuts, Raleigh's News & Observer finds that married couples with children could feel a pinch from a full rollback of the Bush tax cuts.
The Raleigh News & Observer: Democratic tax plans vary at core
• THE GENDER GAP: The political divide between college-educated men and women has been growing for a decade. And the trend has become more important as the number of women getting undergraduate and postgraduate degrees has surged. And as a result, each party has become a more complicated coalition in which social issues and "values" are as much a unifying force as traditional bread-and-butter concerns.
USA Today: 'Til politics do us part: Gender gap widens
• STILL POLARIZED: Three years after one of the most disputed presidential contests in the nation's history, Americans remain polarized and divided as they approach the 2004 White House election. But most voters, including most Democrats, are largely unmoved by any of the nine Democrats who are seeking to unseat President Bush, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
The New York Times: Poll shows candidates failing to move Democratic primary voters
• MEA CULPA: Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, a Republican, offered a public act of contrition Wednesday for lying about renovations to his summer cottage, but Democrats responded by questioning whether Rowland could continue governing at a time when many citizens believe he should resign.
The Hartford Courant: An apology, and then a rebuke
• SHOW ME THE MONEY: At her news conference yesterday, Essie Mae Washington-Williams didn't talk business. While she said she does not plan to challenge the late Senator Strom Thurmond's will, she hasn't talked about movie rights or a book deal. But her lawyer has offered some hints.
The Columbia State: Book, movie or both may soon be in the offing
Compiled by Mark H. Rodeffer
