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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Reaction to Rice no match for Easter weekend
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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Stay with CNN for ongoing updates from the campaign trail and analysis of reactions to the 9/11 panel testimony of national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.
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 VIDEO |
 CNN's Jeff Greenfield reviews highlights of the testimony.
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 CNN's Joe Johns on senators' reactions to Rice.
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 Democratic commissioner Timothy Roemer tells CNN's Anderson Cooper that Rice left questions unanswered.
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RELATED |
• Gallery: Key 9/11 testimony
• Gallery: Commission members
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush may benefit more from Condoleezza Rice's testimony before the 9/11 commission than most expected.
Barring unforeseen developments, analysis of the national security adviser's performance -- rated as anywhere from steady to stellar -- will spill into a sleepy Easter weekend as the most chewed-over news of the week.
It likely will overshadow former President Clinton's three-hour appearance Thursday afternoon (and former Vice President Al Gore's on Friday) and the most violent week in Iraq since the fall of Baghdad a year ago.
How do the American people think Rice fared? The public's view on her testimony will become more apparent when a new CNN/Time poll gets released Friday. There was no survey on Clinton's closed-door meeting with the commission, but accounts from both parties indicate that the former president was "generous" with his time and provided "valuable" information.
But a sleepy weekend, it's likely to be.
Meanwhile, back on the campaign trail, Sen. John Kerry finishes up a two-day trip to Chicago, Illinois, with his first appearance with Barack Obama since the rock star-esque candidate won the Democratic Senate nomination there last month.
Kerry and Obama, who leads Republican Jack Ryan by 19 points in a new Democratic poll, plan to talk about the senator from Massachusetts' job creation plan. Kerry also is set to meet privately with the Rev. Jesse Jackson to discuss ways to increase turnout among black voters.
Later Friday, Kerry heads to Boston, Massachusetts, with no public events scheduled for the rest of the weekend.
Back at the ranch
The president, still on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, is set to appear in nearby Fort Hood, but he is not expected to make big news.
On Thursday night in Chicago, Kerry took a shot at Bush for lying low at the ranch.
"I notice President Bush is taking some days off down at Crawford, Texas, and I'm told that when he takes days off, you know, he totally relaxes," Kerry said. "He doesn't watch television. He doesn't read the newspapers. He doesn't make long-term plans, doesn't worry about the economy. I thought about that for a moment. I said, 'Sounds to me like it's just like life in Washington, doesn't it?' "
Kerry also addressed more than 1,000 activists at a Chicago dinner that aides said raised about $2 million. The senator has raised some $4 million over the past two days.
Kerry kicked off the evening with a joke that Bush frequently uses, saying he "married up." He then introduced wife Teresa Heinz, who spoke for about five minutes. She told the crowd, "I always thought Chicago is the most grown-up and sophisticated city," noting how much she loves the architecture and how she's trying to help make Pittsburgh -- base of the Heinz family philanthropic activities -- more like Chicago.
Kerry also told the gathering that his daughter Alexandra had a film accepted at the Cannes Film Festival. Congratulations, Alexandra!
CNN's Sasha Johnson contributed to this report.
