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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Kerry faces challenge in his own party
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Stay with CNN for updates, reports and analysis on reactions to the week's 9/11 commission hearings and the campaign efforts of John Kerry and President Bush.
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 CNN's John King on th e White House defense against Richard Clarke's assertions.
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 CNN's David Ensor about the day of drama at the 9/11 commission.
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 'Larry King Live:' Richard Clarke on his assertions and testimony before the 9/11 commission.
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RELATED |
 Gallery: Key testimony in the 9/11 investigation
• Audio Slide Show: Testimony
• Gallery: Commission members
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 Staff statements
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
KERRY'S BACK: Even as John Kerry sets his sights on the fall contest against President Bush, he faces a challenge within his own party, rallying Democrats who seem more passionate at this point about beating the Republican incumbent than backing the party's apparent nominee-to-be.The Los Angeles Times: Kerry's task now is to win enthusiasm of Democrats
KERRY'S TESTIMONY: In a question-and-answer session before a Senate committee in 1971, John Kerry asserted that 200,000 Vietnamese per year were being "murdered by the United States of America" and said he had gone to Paris and "talked with both delegations at the peace talks" and met with communist representatives. Kerry yesterday confirmed through a spokesman that he did talk privately with a leading communist in Paris. But the spokesman played down the extent of Kerry's role and said Kerry did not engage in negotiations.The Boston Globe: Kerry spoke of meeting negotiators on Vietnam
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS?: While Dean plans to endorse Kerry today, but he "didn't like Kerry" during the campaign and the two New Englanders were "like oil and water," his former pollster says.The Washington Post: Dean, Kerry 'like oil and water'
FUZZY MATH: Bush's advisers and allies have attacked Kerry for what they call his "trillion-dollar tax gap" -- the difference between what they say he has proposed in new spending and the revenues his proposed tax changes would generate. But the president is vulnerable, too. The Washington Post: In a war of words over numbers, both campaigns have problems
THE KENNEDY FACTOR: Senator Teddy Kennedy of Massachusetts has been active behind the scenes of the Kerry campaign. He talks with Kerry daily by phone when the candidate is on the road. Friends of both senators say Kennedy rises early to read the morning newspapers and often calls Kerry's cell phone by 7 a.m. with advice. During the campaign's toughest months late last year and in early January, that often led Kerry to call top aides with fresh orders.USA Today: Democrats' liberal lion boosts Kerry
GIVE 'EM ZELL: Sen. Zell Miller, a Georgian who is the lone Democratic senator to publicly back Bush's re-election bid, made a case yesterday that Kerry's policies are inconsistent with some of history's most popular Democratic presidents.The Associated Press: Miller blasts Kerry at 'Democrats for Bush' rally
GASSY POLITICS: The record-high price of gasoline has suddenly become one of the most contentious issues, with presidential candidates and members of Congress rushing to assign blame and propose ways to lower voters' costs at the gas pump.The New York Times: As gasoline hits record price, Bush, Kerry and Democrats spar over policy and next move
THE CLARKE EFFECT: While Bush campaign aides deny that the new allegations and hearings questioning its counterterrorism efforts are hurting their candidate, the intensity of the White House's counteroffensive against Richard Clarke hints at the depth of their concern.The Chicago Tribune: Clarke's charges put Bush campaign on defensive
CULTURE WAR IS ON: From same-sex marriage to the immensely popular film "The Passion of the Christ," cultural issues are emerging as an important subplot in a campaign dominated by national security and the economy.The Washington Times: 'Culture wars' shaping election
DELAY MAY GO: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, has begun quiet discussions with a handful of colleagues about the possibility that he will have to step down from his leadership post temporarily if he is indicted by a Texas grand jury investigating alleged campaign finance abuses.Roll Call: GOP rule could force DeLay aside
LAURA RAISES CONGRESSIONAL CASH: First Lady Laura Bush made a rare foray into congressional politics Wednesday when she delivered a short, supportive keynote speech at a high-profile lunch to raise money for Republican Rep. Rob Simmons' re-election campaign in Connecticut.The Hartford Courant: Laura Bush speaks up for Simmons
Compiled by Mark Rodeffer
