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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
A taxing exchange
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Dick Gephardt settles in front of the microphone before yesterday's NPR-sponsored debate.
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VIDEO
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As the first of the Democratic presidential caucuses and primaries near, candidates are in constant motion.
Four years ago, Al Gore beat outsider Bill Bradley in Iowa. This year, outsider Howard Dean is the front-runner.
Teresa Heinz Kerry and her husband, Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, talk with CNN's Paula Zahn
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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.
• A TAXING EXCHANGE: Yesterday's NPR-sponsored debate allowed the presidential candidates to draw their own dividing lines on economic and social issues, including a Kerry-Gephardt-Dean exchange on taxes.
The Des Moines Register: Competitors keep heat on Dean
• WORD FOR WORD: Click below for a full transcript of yesterday's debate.
The Washington Post: Transcript: Democratic presidential radio debate
• OH YEAH AND THESE GUYS TOO: While the Iowa debate went on, several of the lesser-known hopefuls -- including 15 presidential and two vice-presidential candidates -- debated at a forum in Concord, New Hampshire.
The Union Leader: Lesser-known candidates debate at Concord forum
• WELCOME HOME, FOR NOW: New Bush proposal will allow undocumented immigrant workers to apply for temporary worker status in the U.S.
The New York Times: Bush would give illegal workers broad new rights
• A LATINO VOTE? A look into the Iowa's booming Hispanic population and its muted impact on the state's politics.
The Chicago Tribune: Politics second to 'survival' for Iowa Latinos
• CUTTING TAXES AFTER ALL: After campaigning for months on a plan to repeal President Bush's tax cut, Howard Dean is now talking about a tax-cut package for middle-income Americans.
The Boston Globe: Dean may support middle-class tax cut
• REDISTRICTING MAP WINS: A panel of federal judges ruled yesterday that a Republican plan to redraw Texas' Congressional districts for a GOP advantage did not violate the law. Border-hopping, rebellious Democratic state legislators lose, Tom DeLay wins.
The Austin American-Statesman: Judges uphold new map
• AD OFFENSE: Iowa labor leaders are criticizing an ad by the group Coalition for the Future American Worker -- which calls on the presidential candidates to change their positions on immigrant workers -- because of its anti-immigration message. Despite the complaints, several local stations are continuing to air the ad.
The Des Moines Register: KCCI keeps ad against immigration
• GORE TO IOWA: Al Gore will stump for Howard Dean in Iowa later this week.
The Associated Press: Gore plans Iowa swing for Dean
• FASTER, FASTER: Dean's fundraising in the last half-year has averaged $5 million per month, a record-breaker for a Democrat. But he'll have to raise much faster than that -- more like $20 to $26 million a month -- to catch up to President Bush's goal of nearly $200 million.
The Washington Post: Dean fundraising sets party record
• TIED FOR SECOND: American Research Group's daily tracking poll now shows Wesley Clark and John Kerry tied for second place with 14% of the vote.
PoliticsNH.com: Clark tied for second in NH, latest poll says
• NO REGRETS? Pundits are wondering whether Clark should be kicking himself for skipping out on Iowa.
The Boston Globe: Clark's decision is debated
• MMMM, COLD DOGS: A tale -- a fable really -- of what happens when a campaign gimmick involving a hot dog stand in Iowa, in January (think: tear-jerkingly cold winter) freezes over.
The Des Moines Register: Not-so-hot dogs throw a kink in Kerry backers' picnic plans
• HERE'S JUDY: Howard Dean says his politically-elusive wife may appear in television ads and interviews as the campaign progresses.
The Associated Press: Dean says public will see his wife
• CONDI AT THE HELM: A look into the partnership of President Bush and Condoleezza Rice and their passage from the 2000 campaign trail to today.
The New York Times: A partner in shaping an assertive foreign policy
Compiled by Shirley Zilberstein
