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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Bush, Kerry canvass the U.S. for votes
 |  President Bush and the first lady leave for Michigan on Monday. |
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|  VIDEO |
 President Bush avoids the war in his one-liners at a correspondents' dinner.
 CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports the war in Iraq is costing the United States $5 billion a month.
 CNN's John King on Bush, Cheney and the 9/11 panel.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
A BROADER REACH: As President Bush and John Kerry canvass the United States, and their campaigns saturate the airwaves with advertisements, both political parties also are paying unprecedented attention to the millions of Americans living abroad. With analysts predicting that the November election could be every bit as close as the Bush-Gore finish in 2000, the consensus is that the overseas vote could be the deciding factor.The Boston Globe: Both Parties reaching for votes from abroad
KERRY'S LOW PROFILE: Two months after John Kerry in effect captured the Democratic presidential nomination, the Massachusetts senator has no staff or headquarters in New Mexico, the nation's most heavily Latino state. In each of the three other battleground states where the Latino vote is pivotal -- Arizona, Nevada and Florida -- the same is true: Bush has staff and headquarters; Kerry does not.The Los Angeles Times: Kerry's low profile may cost crucial Latino Votes
SHAKY ISSUES: Conventional wisdom among Democratic strategists has been that sooner or later national security will recede as a concern and bread-and-butter domestic issues will decide the presidential election. But the continuing violence in Iraq is shaking these assumptions. The Los Angeles Times: If election hinges on Iraq, Kerry may need added firepowerThe Los Angeles Times: If Election Hinges on Iraq, Kerry May Need Added Firepower
KERRY ADS: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is ramping up his television advertising this month with a $25-million purchase of air time that targets key states across the country, competes with Republicans on cable TV and opens new fronts in Louisiana and Colorado. The Los Angeles Times: Kerry launching national TV splash
LIKABILITY FACTOR: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has a serious likability problem, with many voters seeing him as cold, aloof and distant, according to focus groups, recent polls and election analysts. The complaint has dogged the Massachusetts senator throughout his political career, but it has gotten more attention in recent weeks as he undergoes deeper scrutiny in the press and from political pundits. The Washington Times: Voters don't see Kerry as likable
POLITICAL COMBAT: The political fires around the race for the White House have been stoked recently, with Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry on the defensive about his anti-Vietnam War activities and President Bush's appearance before the September 11 commission. But Mr. Bush, so far, has let his surrogates engage in the daily hand-to-hand political combat. The Washington Times: Surrogates do Bush's dirty work
CASH FLOW: One of the most striking phenomena of the 2004 political campaign: the rise of the small donor. It is not just the amount of money flowing to Republicans and Democrats that is setting records this campaign season. The number of individuals who are giving and raising money, often for the first time, is unprecedented, too.The Washington Post: Small donors grow into big political force
BILLION DOLLAR ADVICE: Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who has publicly criticized President Bush's tax cuts as favoring the wealthy, said yesterday he has agreed to serve as an economic adviser to John Kerry. The Boston Globe: Investor Buffett to offer economic advice to Kerry
HOME STRETCH: Election Day is six months off, but President Bush is campaigning with the urgency of a politician in the home stretch, barnstorming across the battlegrounds of Michigan and Ohio by bus Monday and Tuesday. Bush heads a convoy of about eight buses - red, white and mostly blue - trolling a voter-rich triangle along Michigan's southern flank Monday. The Las Vegas Sun: Bush takes campaign to Michigan, Ohio
DOLE'S DEFENSE: Former Sen. Bob Dole isn't making much of the controversy over whether decorated Vietnam veteran John Kerry threw away his medals or ribbons during a 1971 anti-war protest. When it comes to choosing a president, "I don't think it matters," Dole, the Republican candidate for president in 1996 and a veteran whose arm was badly injured in World War II, told Fox New Sunday. The Las Vegas Sun: Dole rises to Kerry's defense over Vietnam
LAUGHING MATTERS: Did President Bush attempt humor or play it safe at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner? The New York Times: From hot seat to warming up for Leno
Compiled by Heather Riley
