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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Scene of the crime
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
 |  What happens at a meeting of the Federal Election Commission this morning could have a big impact on the upcoming presidential election. |
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| | ON CNN TV | 
Stay with CNN for updates and reactions to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's trip to Iraq and on congressional focus on the costs of the war and the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. |
VIDEO |
 CNN's Karl Penhaul on Donald Rumsfeld's arrival in Baghdad.
 CNN military analyst Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd on Rumsfeld's trip.
 CNN's Joe Johns on lawmakers' comments after seeing new images of abuse.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As you slept, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers landed in Baghdad for a quick meeting with senior military commanders that, while unannounced until shortly before they jumped on the plane, is aimed at quelling the public storm over prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.
Today's guest in the Armed Services hot seat: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
Meanwhile back home, we're closely monitoring the Federal Election Commission today for a decision (or delayed decision) over money mechanics that could have almost as much of an impact on the '04 election as anything Rumsfeld and Myers could say in Iraq.
When it meets at 10 a.m. ET, the F.E.C. is expected to delay any action on independent spending groups for at least 90 days, enabling so-called "527s" -- named for a section of the tax code -- to continue spending money on ads, among other things, until the conventions this summer.
Republicans are watching the F.E.C. closely today -- the commission's move would launch a renewed GOP drive to raise unregulated soft money through 527s, a practice Democrats so far have dominated in '04. (How it works: 527s)
"We will raise money to get out the Republican message," lobbyist Susan Hirschmann, who is a former chief of staff to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, told USA Today. "We don't want to see [George] Soros and the unions and liberal Democratic 527s go unanswered."
Also today, Ralph Nader has to decide whether to accept backing from the party that launched Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan and Jesse Ventura. The Reform Party's support would give him ballot access in seven states, including Florida and Michigan.
Today President Bush goes to Parkersburg, West Virginia, continuing his education drumroll leading up to the 50th anniversary celebration of Brown v. Board of Education on Monday. He then returns to Washington to address the American Conservative Union at 7 p.m. ET.
Speaking of 527s, the Media Fund will run anti-Bush ads today around the president's visit to West Virginia in the local newspapers and on radio stations. The radio spot, called "Game Show," opens with "Welcome to Putting Our State in Jeopardy, the show that's all about what President Bush has done to West Virginia."
Cash and Clark and Kerry
At an airport rally in Little Rock, Arkansas, and later at a fund-raiser (expected haul: $750,000), John Kerry was introduced by Gen. Wesley Clark. Clark -- perhaps trying his hand at the attack dog role -- told the crowd that when Kerry "was a young man, he could have had an easy life. He could have worn cowboy boots, he could have put his feet up on the desk.
"But John Kerry didn't manage a professional sports team, using some of his daddy's name. John Kerry took tough assignments. He went to a war and fought a war that wasn't popular. He answered his conscience call after that was over."
Kerry returned the praise, sort of. As someone in the crowd yelled "Make him vice president!", Kerry laughed and said, "Well, there you go. They told me down here in Arkansas you guys just lay it out."
Kerry also did his own impersonation of Bill Clinton at the rally, doing his voice telling the story of a young president who told him, "You have got to watch those Razorbacks."
So, has the Kerry campaign ramped up its security? CNN's Mike Roselli noted that the senator's motorcade yesterday afternoon in Orlando included 54 motorcycle cops -- which some campaign wags said was a new record for the Dem.
Veep tea leaves
Two would-be V.P.'s, together on the same stage?
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, chairman of the Democratic convention in Boston, and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, will hold a news conference today in Boston at 11:30 a.m. ET. The joint appearance follows a tour the New Mexican is giving the Iowan of Fleet Center.
Price probe
Also, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano last night made public a response from the White House to her letter asking for an inquiry into gas price hikes. Napolitano said the White House provided "no new answers."
"What is incredible to me is that, at a time when the oil industry is reporting billions in profit, we can't get anything better than the standard answers." Her statement came from the Arizona governor's office, not the Kerry campaign.
