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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Bush storming into blue states
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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|  VIDEO |
 Kerry steers clear of Bush's Guard service controversy.
 Bush spoke highly of his service at National Guard convention.
 Bill Schneider says attacks in Iraq may affect voters.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Hurricane Ivan slammed into the Gulf Coast early this morning with 130-mph winds, threatening any chance that President Bush or Sen. John Kerry would get much TV air time for the rest of the week. (Is it just us, or does every political reporter want to be covering that awesome storm? It sure beats the "debate over the debates.")
Undaunted, the Bush-Cheney ticket continues its jaunt through Gore-friendly blue states where Kerry is now struggling. Bush talks about health care during a Minnesota bus tour; Cheney touches down in New Mexico. Laura Bush stumps this morning in suburban New Jersey, her first 2004 trip to the Garden State, where a poll last week showed Kerry's lead, once in double digits, trimmed to just four points. If Bush wins Jersey, we likely can all go to bed early on Election Night.
Indeed, evidence abounds that Kerry, trailing by about five points nationwide, is losing key support in states Al Gore won in 2000. Wisconsin and New Mexico started leaning toward Bush late last month. This week, it's Pennsylvania and Maine, according to a CNN analysis of the Electoral College. (For our full map and more analysis, watch "Paula Zahn Now" at 8 p.m. ET.)
Not that Democrats seek our guidance too often, but we'd like to add our voice to the growing chorus of folks, including CNN's Judy Woodruff and MSNBC's Don Imus, who wonder what Kerry-Edwards has done with John Edwards. The New York Times also weighs in today, reporting that some big Dems are "concerned that Edwards seemed to be slipping to the side of the stage." One of them, Donna Brazile, who ran Gore's 2000 campaign and prides herself as a top-notch Cajun cook, had this advice: "[Edwards] needs to put a little Tabasco in his message,'' she told The Times.
Kerry travels to Las Vegas today for his turn addressing the National Guard's conference. According to his aides, he'll make no reference to the controversy surrounding Bush's service.
Instead, aides say, Kerry will argue that Bush's decision to go to war without a broad coalition of allies has overstretched the U.S. military. "No one understands this more than those in the National Guard. Forty percent of our troops in Iraq are from the National Guard and reserves and nine out of 10 active duty Army divisions are in Iraq, either currently there, preparing to go, or recently returned," spokeswoman Allison Dobson wrote in a campaign memo.
"Our troops, and the American people deserve no less. More than a thousand Americans have been killed. Instability is rising. Violence is spreading. Extremism is growing. There are now havens for terrorists that weren't there before," he's expected to say. "Even George Bush's Pentagon admitted that entire regions of Iraq are now controlled by insurgents and terrorists. The situation is serious -- and we need a president who will set a new direction and tell the truth to our troops and the American people."
Dems hope Nevadans, who narrowly backed Bush in 2000, will turn to Kerry this year, following Bush's decision to support storing nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain. While they still may do so, voters for now appear to be leaning toward the president, who won one of his first big newspaper endorsements earlier this week from the state's largest paper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, whose center-right editorial board called Bush the "right president at the right time."
And on the lighter side of 2004 politics, Barbara and Jenna Bush continue their campaign spree today with a visit to Michigan. They'll visit the Bush-Cheney HQ in Southfield, make remarks to supporters in Brighton, attend a reception in Brighton and then speak to students at a "Students for Bush" rally at Michigan State University in Lansing.
Meanwhile, the "Schwarzenegger for President" movement picked up steam yesterday when California GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, an early supporter of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in last year's recall campaign, introduced a constitutional amendment in the House that would allow the Austrian-born Arnold, among others, to run for the highest job in the land. Stay tuned.
And finally today, speaking of musclemen, an update on Ralph Nader and his campaign for ballot access -- er, we mean for the White House.
As of today, he's off the ballot in Florida again, at least for now. Circuit Judge Kevin Davey yesterday ruled that his name should be removed from the November ballot, saying that the Reform Party that nominated him isn't a legitimate party under state law. Davey also said the four counties that have already mailed absentee ballots listing Nader send out amended ballots without his name.
Davey had issued the same order last week, but his ruling was suspended Monday after Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood filed an appeal. Hood, who succeeded Katherine Harris as the state's top elections officer, was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush. Davey's latest ruling reinstates his original decision. The state Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow on the appeal.
