 |
|
The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Candidates pursue center: Kerry the ideological one, Bush geographic
 |  Middle of America: President Bush greets a crowd in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Tuesday. |
| |
| | ON CNN TV | 
Stay with CNN-USA for ongoing updates on the controversy over abuse of prisoners in Iraq, as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld prepares to testify Friday before the House and Senate Armed Services Committee. |
VIDEO |
 Gallup's Frank Newport on a poll indicating Bush's job approval is falling.
 CNN's Jamie McIntyre on Donald Rumsfeld under pressure.
 CNN's Bruce Morton on presidential apologies and non-apologies.
|
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
GUNNING FOR THE CENTER: Kerry arrives in Phoenix late this afternoon to give the keynote address Friday morning at the annual conference of the Democratic Leadership Council. About 250 elected Democrats and party leaders, mostly officials at the state and local level, will cover subjects ranging from health care to the environment in their two-day meeting at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa.The Arizona Republic: Kerry to address 'New Dems' in Phoenix
BUSH'S BUS: Expressing compassion for Ohioans "who hurt" over lost jobs, the rising toll in Iraq and an array of other insecurities -- financial and emotional -- President Bush promised that better times are ahead as he rolled through southwestern Ohio Tuesday aboard a red, white and blue bus emblazoned with the slogan, "Yes, America Can."The Cincinnati Post: Bush vows better times ahead
BUSH CONSOLES: In a moment largely unnoticed by the throngs of people in Lebanon, Ohio, waiting for autographs from the president of the United States, Bush stopped to hug a teenager. After being told the girl lost her mother in the World Trade Center on 9/11, Bush turned to the girl, asked "How are you doing?" He then reached out with his hand and pulled her into his chest.The Cincinnati Enquirer: Bush pauses to comfort teen
POLL TRACK: A Gallup poll released Thursday morning shows a decline in President Bush's job approval rating and a close race for the presidency in November. Registered voters are in a dead heat among the two candidates, John Kerry and Bush each garnering 47 percent. Likely voters -- those who say they plan to vote in the November election -- give Kerry a slight lead, 49 to 48 percent.CNN: Gallup poll shows tight race for presidency
KERRY'S FBI PROFILE: A confidential FBI memorandum dated April 29, 1971, on a just-concluded antiwar march on Washington by Vietnam Veterans Against the War concluded that the group's nominal leaders had been overshadowed by "a more popular and eloquent figure, John Kerry," who was "glib, cool and displayed best what the moderate elements wanted to reflect." In all, the raw files -- a mix of unsubstantiated tips from informers, newspaper clips and surveillance by FBI agents -- paint a portrait of extensive government scrutiny of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, which Kerry served as a prominent spokesman for much of 1971.The New York Times: FBI papers describe role of young Kerry against war
TOO SLOW: In a Los Angeles news conference, Kerry criticized the Bush administration Wednesday for responding to U.S. military abuse of Iraqi prisoners in a "slow and inappropriate" manner, and called on the president to "guarantee that the world is going to have an explanation."The Los Angeles Times: Kerry Says abuse of Iraqi prisoners is 'inexcusable'
TAKING ON THE CRITICS: Talking to the press, Kerry also countered whispers of criticism within some Democratic circles that he was running a lackluster campaign for the presidency, pointing to a recent poll indicating that he is leading President Bush and arguing that his own $25 million ad blitz begun this week projects a campaign "that is active and on the move."The Boston Globe: Kerry defends campaign amid Democrats' criticism
COMPARING SIZE: Bush's plans for expanding health care would provide coverage to fewer than 2.5 million uninsured Americans at a cost of $90 billion, a far more modest approach than Kerry's $653 billion package that would insure 27 million people, according to an analysis released yesterday. The 10-year cost projections by Emory University health economist Kenneth E. Thorpe illustrate the widely divergent views of the two presidential candidates on an issue that continues to be high on the list of voter concerns.The Washington Post: Candidate health care plans analyzed
NO SECOND OPINION: The doctor who says he treated Kerry for the injury resulting in his first Purple Heart yesterday denied any political motivation in charging that Kerry may not have deserved that medal. Louis Letson, a retired Alabama physician, made the charge through an organization of veterans critical of Kerry's conduct during and after the war, a group Kerry supporters say has ties to the Bush administration.The Boston Herald: Doc shows mettle on medal
LOBBYING FOR DONATIONS: Bush, whose campaign criticized Kerry earlier this year for ties to special interests, has received four times as much in donations from lobbyists than Kerry over the last six years, according to a new study. The Center for Public Integrity, a Washington-based watchdog group, found that more than 1,300 registered lobbyists have given slightly more than $1.8 million to Bush since 1998 compared with the $520,000 Kerry received from 442 lobbyists during the same period.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Lobbyists gave more to Bush
QUESTIONABLE COMMITTEES: Both Democrats and Republicans are considering the deployment of separate campaign groups for spending unlimited amounts of "hard dollar" contributions on advertising and other activities for its presidential candidates. What worries party and campaign officials is that the law forbids such separate units to coordinate their work with the rest of the national committee or the candidate's campaign, creating both legal and political risks.The Washington Times: Parties eye new campaign option
YUCCA POLITICS: Nevada's economy is robust, with close to 83,000 jobs created since Bush took office -- more than half of them in the last year. Still, Democrats regard Nevada as highly competitive, thanks to nearly dead-even voter registration and an issue that juts up like the rugged peaks rising from the brown desert floor: Yucca Mountain.The Los Angeles Times: Odds are, Nevada will be a tossup
MOORE'S MOVIE OFFENSE: Michael Moore took to television on Wednesday to denounce the Walt Disney Company's refusal to allow its Miramax division to distribute his new documentary criticizing Bush, stoking a controversy that Hollywood executives expect to lure new distribution partners to the project and, eventually, audiences.The New York Times: Disney takes heat on blocking Bush film
FLORIDA FELONS: Six months before a presidential election that is again expected to be decided by a narrow margin in Florida, state officials ordered local election supervisors Wednesday to begin purging voter rolls of felons -- a move that may take as many as 40,000 people off the rolls, many of them likely to be black Democrats.The Miami Herald: State: Purge felon voters on list
COMMUNION CONTROVERSY: New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey yesterday bowed to pressure from several Roman Catholic bishops by agreeing not to receive communion at public Catholic Masses. The Democratic governor said he disagreed with the views of Catholic clerics but respected their arguments that Catholics who, like him, advocate abortion rights should not seek communion when they attend Mass.The Trenton Times: McGreevey decides to skip communion
Compiled by Mark Rodeffer
