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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
You're 'more sensitive!' No, you are!
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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 VIDEO |
 CNN's John King reports on John Kerry's courting of seniors.
 CNN's Lisa Sylvester on soft money and political candidates.
 CNN's Brian Todd on a book blasted for slamming Kerry's war record.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Fighting intensifies this morning in the holy Shiite Muslim city of Najaf, a major offensive designed to defeat insurgents loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The battle shifts the campaign's focus today back to Iraq, where it already seemed to be heading anyway.
More specifically, we'll be watching a debate today over who would wage a less "sensitive" war. On this, Bush-Cheney tries to take the lead. (If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hits the campaign trail for Bush, as he now says he might, he'll likely pick up the charge, maybe even calling Kerry a "girlie man." More on this below). (Schwarzenegger: 'Girlie men' jibe just a joke)
CNN's Catherine Berger reports that Dick Cheney, wrapping up his "Southwest tour" in Dayton, Ohio, today (he's toured the southwest corner of Missouri, Michigan and Ohio this week), will whomp John Kerry for saying he thinks he could fight a "more sensitive" war on terror. (Cheney to blast Kerry over 'sensitive war' remark)
In the harshest line of his speech to veterans and first responders, Cheney will say, "America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of them was won by being sensitive. President Lincoln and Gen. Grant didn't wage sensitive wars. Nor did President Roosevelt or Gens. Eisenhower and MacArthur."
Cheney will make the case that a "sensitive war" would not "destroy the evil men who killed 3,000 Americans and who seek chemical, nuclear and biological weapons to kill hundreds of thousands more. The men who beheaded Daniel Pearl and Paul Johnson will not be impressed by our sensitivity."
Lynne Cheney previewed her husband's "we're no wimps" speech yesterday, saying in response to a non-planted, totally coincidental question at a Missouri town-hall meeting that Kerry's "sensitive" comment at the Unity conference last week sounded "so foolish."
Prompting laughter from the audience, she added, "I can't imagine that al Qaeda will be impressed by sensitivity. ... This is kind of left-wing foolishness that certainly isn't appropriate for someone who would seek to be commander in chief. I just kind of shook my head when I heard that."
Camp Kerry "pre-sponded" to Cheney's anticipated attack. "What Dick Cheney doesn't understand is that arrogance isn't a virtue when the lives of our men and women are on the line," a Kerry spokesman said.
"George Bush and Dick Cheney both went out of their way to avoid combat duty, pursued policies that have made America less safe, alienated key allies and overextended our military to its thinnest levels in years. Their campaign attacks are pathetic and desperate attempts to avoid coming clean with the American people about their failed policies."
And the Democratic National Committee hits back with a new radio ad, spending $650,000 for the week in 19 states.
"It's beneath the office of president," a narrator says in the new spot. "We were all together in this country after 9/11, and we all wish it had stayed that way. But now President Bush is attacking John Kerry on terrorism. And once again, his facts are wrong."
Heading west
In their ongoing game of political leapfrog, Bush and Kerry are both in Southern California today.
Of course, only one of them -- Bush, joined by his wife, Laura -- gets to appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" at 9 p.m. ET.
Earlier today the president, reaching out to the labor vote, addresses the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, one of the few GOP-friendly unions, in Las Vegas. He then heads to Los Angeles to talk with Larry and then headline a fund-raising dinner with Schwarzenegger at the Santa Monica Airport.
The $3 million haul won't go to Bush-Cheney, but the president will get a nice photo op with Arnold, whose poll numbers these days in the Golden State are, well, golden.
Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, tells the Los Angeles Times that he might reverse course and agree to campaign outside California for Bush. "If there's a place, one place where they want to pop me in, this makes sense for me," he said.
Patricia Clarey, the governor's chief of staff, has been talking with Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman about a time and place where Schwarzenegger would campaign on the president's behalf.
Kerry makes a rare public appearance in California, his bus caravan having rolled into Los Angeles last night as his "Believe in America" tour officially completed its coast-to-coast -- or "sea to shining sea," as campaign spokesman Jeremy Van Ess prefers to say -- trek.
Along the way, the caravan stopped yesterday in the Mojave Desert. There Kerry saw the world's tallest thermometer, which noted the 114 degree temperature, and visited the original Bun Boy restaurant.
As if this weren't enough camp for a one-day road trip, pool reporters also got to hear Kerry's best John Belushi imitation as he said, "cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger" while waiting to order. (We expect, of course, to hear from Bush-Cheney shortly on whether Kerry actually ate a cheeseburger, as promised, or returned to his diamond-studded bus for catered caviar and Crystal.)
Later, Kerry heads to Oregon, where he'll hold another virtual face-off with Bush tomorrow in Portland. Camp Kerry today begins a two-week drive to promote his economic and tax plans.
Bush-Cheney "pre-ttacks" Kerry's arrival in Oregon, which apparently has the only state flag in the nation with separate designs on each side. "This is a great fit for a candidate who takes both sides on every issue, and, as President Bush once noted, 'If he could find a third side, I imagine he'd take that one, too,' " Steve Schmidt said in a campaign memo.
"Many of this country's great pioneers arrived in the state via the Oregon Trail, fueled by hope and optimism," Schmidt added. "John Kerry's trail to Oregon has been driven by pessimism and half-truths."
Gay marriage
Also today, gay marriage in California. The California Supreme Court is set to issue a written opinion at 1 p.m. ET in the two same-sex marriage cases that were argued before the court May 25.
The ruling is expected to go against San Francisco and the clerk, but it's not clear how broadly the court will rule. Will it say, for example, that the city overstepped its bounds and invalidate those marriage certificates already issued? Or will it allow the marriage certificates to remain in limbo until a constitutional challenge is heard?
The bottom line, we're told, is that today's ruling is not the definitive legal decision on gay marriage in California. That question will be decided when the city of San Francisco challenges the constitutionality of barring gay marriage.
City officials plan to file their opening brief for that challenge during the first week of September. The city attorney plans a news conference for 3 p.m. ET at City Hall to respond to the ruling.
Also today, Republicans give us another list of speakers at Madison Square Garden. The list includes Kerry's home-state governor, Mitt Romney; his LG, Kerry Healey; Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval; former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik; Labor Secretary Elaine Chao; and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
Republicans also will feature their very own Reagan, eldest son, Michael. Also speaking: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist; Sens. Elizabeth Dole, Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback; House Speaker Dennis Hastert; Reps. Heather Wilson and Anne Northup; Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele; and, of course, Miss America 2003 Erika Harold.
And finally today, we hear that an Amtrak conductor has been suspended in Missouri for telling passengers on a Kansas City-to-St. Louis train to "vote accordingly" after their train was delayed by Kerry's whistle-stop this weekend.
Leslie Farr told the AP that he used the public address system to tell passengers about the delay and joked to "defuse the situation." But Farr's not just a conductor, he's a GOP congressional candidate and a Missouri delegate to the Republican National Convention.
