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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Focus narrows to 18 states
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Stay with CNN-USA all evening for updates and analysis from our political team, following President Bush's trip to Pennsylvania and John Kerry's comments to an annual conference of firefighters.
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 VIDEO |
 CNN's Carol Lin on John Kerry's stance about international leaders and Bush.
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 CNN's Bruce Morton on the tough jobs market as a challenge for Bush-Cheney 2004.
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 CNN's Bill Schneider on how the Dems are funding Kerry ads.
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RELATED |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
PICKING THEIR FIGHTS: The battle has begun in earnest in the 18 most contested states in the upcoming presidential election. The principal battlegrounds range from familiar swing states of Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania to new arrivals of Nevada, West Virginia and Minnesota that reflect changing demographics or the clash of cultural values that can affect voters' behavior as much as the unemployment rate.
The Washington Post: Candidates narrow focus to 18 states
NO COMPARISON?: Congressional black Democrats said comparisons shouldn't be made between the struggle by homosexuals to legalize same-sex "marriage" and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said they are on shaky ground with their constituents after the presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry compared the two issues during a town hall meeting in Jackson, Mississippi, last week.
The Washington Times: Black caucus resists comparison of gay 'marriage' to civil rights
BUSH THE CANDIDATE: With the election still nearly eight months away, Bush has surrendered some of the mystique of the presidency to take on a very public role as candidate for re-election. After spending months steadily building up campaign cash, he now is taking on John Kerry directly by name both in speeches and in a huge first burst of campaign ads. Many think the president had no choice but to shift into an overtly political role early, but some say that he has given up one of his greatest assets - the mystique and power of incumbency.
The Washington Post: Bush losing some mystique of presidency
DEAN TEAM: Just a few weeks ago, Howard Dean was a bitter critic of John Kerry, his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. But yesterday, in the name of party unity, Dean turned the tables and praised the Massachusetts senator as someone who will "make a far better president" than George W. Bush. Kerry, Dean said, has the leadership and experience to help make the country safer, something the former Vermont governor contends Bush has not done.
The Boston Globe: Dean praises Kerry, urges anti-Bush focus
CLINTON TIME: Senator Hillary Clinton came to the city yesterday where Democrats will gather in four months to nominate their candidates for president and vice president and said she isn't interested in being on the ticket. Clinton also came out against a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
The Boston Globe: Elections and expectations
KERRY'S WORLD: John Kerry on Sunday defended his recent assertion that foreign leaders have told him that they hope he beats President Bush in the fall election, but he rebuffed requests to identify any of those officials. Questions about the Massachusetts senator's claim came from such disparate sources as Secretary of State Colin Powell, who called on Kerry to name the leaders, and a man at a town hall meeting in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who engaged the candidate in a contentious argument about his statement.
The Los Angeles Times: Kerry maintains that world leaders want Bush to go
WEB WAR: The presidential ad war has gone online. This is just one of the latest twists in online politicking. As more people get access to high-speed Internet connections, candidates have begun moving beyond e-mails, blogs and other Web sites. The Web videos combine the audio, video -- and, experts said, emotional impact -- of television advertising with the ability to target a message to a particular audience.
The Washington Post: Presidential ad war hits the Web
IMAGE CONCERNS: When President Bush went on television last week with advertisements attacking John Kerry , Kerry's campaign took precisely 12 hours to fire back with an expensive multistate ad barrage that accused Mr. Bush of "misleading America." The speed and scope of the counterattack took the Bush team by surprise and enlivened Democrats hungry for a fight this year. And the quick-paced exchange offered a glimpse of the strategy that Kerry's aides have settled on to deal with what they describe as a daunting task: how to redefine a president about whom most voters have very strong opinions, in the face of Mr. Bush's huge financial advantage.
The New York Times: Kerry setting out to make a good second impression
9/11 IMPACT: The nation is on the threshold of a long and potentially nasty contest for the White House and for the first time it is being forced to consider 9/11 in purely political terms, terms the Republicans would like to frame around the notions of leadership and security, and the Democrats around exploitation and outrage. But while this is all new and raw on the national stage, it is a dynamic that has played out in New York - especially during the governor's race in 2002 - and continues to influence the thrust and parry of local politics at the highest levels.
The New York Times: New York offers a lesson on using 9/11: Tread lightly
A DAY IN THE LIFE: From meals to workouts to meetings, the president's day is carefully timed out.
The New York Times: It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your president is?
