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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Kerry and conservatives, back again
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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 VIDEO |
 The Morning Grind's John Mercurio is at the convention.
 CNN's Kelly Wallace on the Dick Cheney factor.
 CNN's Aaron Brown reviews the convention at the half-way point.
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| MAKING THEIR CASE |  Day Three: Wednesday
• Theme: 'A Land of Opportunity'
• 7 to 11:15 p.m. ET: Speakers include Rick Santorum, Mitch McConnell, Elaine Chao, Mitt Romney, Zell Miller, Lynne and Dick Cheney
• Highlight: A tribute to Ronald Reagan
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Conservatives snatch the stage back from moderates tonight as Republicans hear from Dick Cheney, Zell Miller, Rick Santorum and Michael Reagan, described by one GOP wag as "the real heir to the Reagan name." (Take that, Ron!)
Then again, the Cheney-Miller-Santorum-Reagan wing have already had a good run this week. McCain, Giuliani and Schwarzenegger may truly be moderates, but their speeches here delighted the red-meat Right.
President Bush arrives in New York this evening and meets with firefighters in Queens, wasting no time linking his convention to 9/11.
Bush planned to rehearse his speech today at the White House before he and wife Laura travel to Columbus, Ohio.
He then heads to New York where he'll visit with firefighters at the Italian Charities of America Hall in Elmhurst, about 10 miles from Ground Zero.
Word is that Bush will receive a firefighters endorsement while in the Big Apple.
Meanwhile, John Kerry tries to shout down a growing chorus of Democratic hand-wringers urging pre-Labor Day changes to his listless campaign.
Kerry returns to the trail after five days of windsurfing in Nantucket, attacking Bush before the Bush-friendly American Legion and launching a massive TV ad buy, set to start airing Friday, that's designed to carry him through November.
We hear Kerry's speech will be "tough" -- so "tough" that aides said "tough" five times in a six-paragraph email previewing the speech, which is "tough."
While they're worried about Kerry, Dems are cheered by Cheney's prime-time spotlight tonight and plan a full drumroll leading up to his speech.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer lead the DNC attack, which also includes a video questioning why Cheney always praises Halliburton. Dems answer, not surprisingly, by pointing out that Cheney has received $2 million from Halliburton while serving as VP.
And in Florida today, it's Castor vs. Martinez as Democrat Betty Castor and Republican Mel Martinez easily won their respective primaries.
Martinez, endorsed by Bush and the Senate GOP leadership, was planning to travel to New York on Wednesday to attend the Republican National Convention, where he was expected to receive a prominent speaking role.
Palm Beach County bids adieu to elections supervisor Teresa LePore, who lost her bid for re-election.
VP voice
Cheney takes the stage tonight as the most controversial vice president since, well, Dan Quayle. But whether he ultimately offers Bush gravitas or gravity, he's likely to stay in the cross hairs, as both parties see benefits to making him a lightning rod.
In a new USA TODAY survey, Cheney for the first time has a net negative rating: 45 percent unfavorable, 44 percent favorable. But he remains a popular GOP draw, having raised some $21 million this year for Republican candidates around the country.
Cheney will reflect little tonight on himself or his personal life, but we're told his adorable granddaughters -- Kate, Elizabeth and Grace -- will be on hand to soften any rough edges.
We're told the VP will talk about America as a country of opportunity where anything is possible and will discuss what gives these opportunities life -- a public education system that strives for excellence, a vibrant and growing economy, and a health care system that puts patients first.
He'll say Bush has recognized that these are the cornerstones of opportunity that Americans have known for generations and knows that for future generations to enjoy these, we must preserve safety and security here and around the world.
Next, the VP will put the times in which we live in historical context, saying the nation is at a crossroads, as after World War II, when we faced the threat of the Cold War.
Then, we're told, he'll say Bush led America in unprecedented challenges and has the vision to reform our thinking and the structure of government to meet the threats of today. Finally, he'll outline the momentous choice Americans will face on Election Day -- a choice between leadership and decisiveness (Bush) and the "confusion of conviction" in both foreign and domestic policy (Kerry) as shown during his 20 years in the Senate.
Tough crowd
Picking up on a top DNC mantra, Kerry will expand upon Bush's "miscalculated" comment in Nashville, offering what aides call a tough critique of Bush's post-war handling of Iraq.
"Kerry will focus on the president's decision to go to war without a plan to win the peace, his failure to properly equip the troops for the mission, or listen to experts about the needs of the military on the ground," one aide said in a campaign memo.
"Kerry will discuss his plan to turn the president's 'catastrophic success' in Iraq into a real success. And taking issue with Bush's claim that we can't win the war on terror, Kerry will lay out his strategy for doing so."
Aides admit that Kerry has chosen a "tough" place to make this "tough" speech. "But with over 150,000 men and women serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan, John Kerry believes that they deserve an honest assessment about where we are now and what we must to do succeed," one aide said.
"Despite the American Legion's more conservative membership, he's going to tell it like it is, and take it as it comes. That's what real leadership is."
During a rally of 1,000 supporters last night in Nashville, Kerry offered up another jibe at Bush. "We can, we must and we will win the war on terror," he said, referring to Bush's misstatement earlier this week that the war on terrorism is un-winnable.
Following his speech today, Kerry will receive a classified briefing by acting CIA Director John McLaughlin at the Hermitage hotel in Nashville. John Edwards received his briefing Tuesday in Pennsylvania.
Also today, Kerry's campaign will begin buying $45 million worth of commercial time in 20 states that will run through Election Day. Aides described the investment, about half of Kerry's overall budget for the fall campaign, as a down payment on their advertising strategy.
Some ads will run on cable as well as black and Hispanic media. The first spots will be broadcast in just 10 states; Spots will begin running in the remaining 10 states between now and November 2.
Off Keyes?
Just when things were getting dull in our favorite Senate race, "Illinois" Republican Alan Keyes calls Cheney's lesbian daughter a "selfish hedonist."
Keyes comments about Mary Cheney came during an interview Monday night on Sirius OutQ, a New York-based satellite station that provides 24-hour gay and lesbian programming.
After Keyes said that homosexuality is "selfish hedonism," he was asked whether Mary Cheney is a "selfish hedonist."
"Of course she is," he replied. "That goes by definition. Of course she is."
Bush-Cheney spokesman Steve Schmidt said the comment was "inappropriate."
Protesters jailed
Police arrested more than 900 protesters all around Manhattan yesterday. At least two buses carrying delegates to the convention were blocked by demonstrators along Sixth Avenue before police cleared the way.
One of the stranger moments came during a live MSNBC broadcast at Herald Square. A protester jumped a fence and ran onto a stage being used for a broadcast of "Hardball."
Host Chris Matthews was on the set with Christie Todd Whitman. An MSNBC spokesman tells us the man jumped over security fences and leapt onto the stage. Private security personnel quickly detained the man. No one was hurt.
The protester ran in front of the camera and charged towards the set, and the live broadcast showed security grabbing the hooded man before he reached the on-air personnel. The show later resumed from the Herald Square location.
The man was handed over to police by security personnel. No word yet what charges he'll face, if any.
Meanwhile, for the second day in a row, an anti-war protester came within a short distance of Cheney. A woman wearing an antiwar shirt and valid convention credentials stood in front of the VP's box and shouted at Cheney.
The Secret Service escorted her from the floor but released her after they determined she did not pose a threat. Monday at the Garden, a student posing as a volunteer got within 10 feet of Cheney while yelling anti-Bush statements. He has been jailed for allegedly resisting the Secret Service.
