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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Kerry gets a hero's welcome from Senate
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Stay with CNN-USA for our political team's updates and analysis on the battle of the campaign ads and other aspects of the race for the White House.
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 CNN's Bruce Morton on the 270 people invited to stay at the Bush White House.
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 CNN's Bob Franken on John Kerry's refusal to apologize for comments about the GOP.
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 CNN's Bill Schneider on the divide between conservative and liberal Americans.
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RELATED |
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• Franken to heat up liberal radio
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
HERO'S WELCOME: John Kerry, for years branded a loner in the Senate, was embraced with a standing ovation yesterday when he returned to the chamber's weekly meeting of Democratic members for the first time since he emerged as the party's presumptive presidential nominee.The Boston Globe: Democrats on Hill give Kerry hero's welcome on return
RNC LASHES OUT: Lashing out at John Kerry, the chairman of the Republican National Committee attacked the presumptive Democratic nominee Thursday night on a range of votes that Kerry cast in the Senate, citing his 1995 plan to cut intelligence funding and his opposition to the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The Chicago Tribune: RNC leader attacks Kerry on spy, '91 war votes
ATTACK ADS: President Bush's re-election campaign will broadcast its first hard-hitting commercials against John Kerry on Friday, attacking him as "wrong on taxes, wrong on defense" and accusing him of not sufficiently "defending America." The New York Times: Bush campaign goes on attack in new anti-Kerry ads
OVERSTATING HIS CASE: President Bush, in his first major assault on Sen. John F. Kerry's legislative record, said this week that his Democratic opponent proposed a $1.5 billion cut in the intelligence budget, a proposal that would "gut the intelligence services," and one that had no co-sponsors because it was "deeply irresponsible." In terms of accuracy, the parry by the president is about half right. The Washington Post: Bush exaggerates Kerry's position on intelligence budget
ACCOUNTING FOR SHARPTON: The Rev. Al Sharpton will get $100,000 in public money for his presidential bid -- and will face an investigation into his campaign's finances, the government told the Democrat yesterday. The Federal Election Commission is examining whether the New Yorker spent too much of his own money on his campaign. Presidential candidates who accept public financing agree to spend no more than $50,000 of their own resources. The Boston Globe: Sharpton gets funds, faces probe
SENSITIVE SUBJECT: September 11 has been a sensitive subject for the president in recent days, as he was criticized for using images from the terrorist attacks in his campaign ads, a decision that some families of the victims saw as exploitative. Bush did not have a speaking role in the ceremony and family members welcomed him in the wake of a backlash from the recent ads. The Los Angeles Times: Bush attends 9/11 memorial
ANOTHER JOB LOSS: The White House was poised to announce the nomination of a new manufacturing czar to come up with ideas to save America's factory jobs -- until a major hitch developed. It turned out that the prospective nominee had established a plant in China, leading to charges from Democrats that he had "outsourced" American jobs within his own company. The Chicago Tribune: Jobs czar candidate withdraws
INTERNATIONAL NODS: John Kerry refuses to provide any information to support his assertion earlier this week that he has met with foreign leaders who beseeched him to prevail over President Bush in November's election. The Washington Times: Kerry fails to back up foreign 'endorsements'
DEFENSE CONTRACTS: Pentagon auditors found a Halliburton Co. subsidiary gave faulty cost estimates on a $2.7 billion contract to serve American troops in Iraq and Kuwait, and company officials acknowledged making mistakes, Defense Department documents show.The Washington Post: Halliburton admitted faulty Iraq costs
VOTER 'RECEIPTS': Two Democratic senators are pushing legislation that would ensure a printed receipt of votes cast on new touch-screen computer terminals, arguing it will restore voter confidence in the election process. USA Today: Clinton, Graham push printed 'receipts' for voters
