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The Situation: Wednesday, December 7Editor's Note: The Situation Report is a running log of dispatches, quotes, links and behind-the-scenes notes filed by the correspondents and producers of CNN's Washington Bureau. Watch "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer on CNN 4 p.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET weekdays. The Morning Grind On CNN TV
RelatedSEND YOUR COMMENTSYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSPosted: 9:30 a.m. ET Iraq and Katrina President Bush addresses the Council on Foreign Relations this morning in his continuing effort to highlight progress being made in Iraq, as Congress and his father focus attention on the recovery operations in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Bush will speak specifically about the successful steps taken so far in helping to rebuild and revitalize Iraq's economy and infrastructure, CNN's Dana Bash reports. Bush's 10:45 am remarks at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, are part of a series of addresses he is delivering in the run-up to Iraq's Dec. 15 elections. Democrats will immediately respond using Capitol Hill as their backdrop. Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) will take the podium at noon and Rep. John Murtha (D-Pennsylvania) follows with a 1:30 pm news conference. Prior to Bush's speech, House Democrats will convene behind closed doors for their weekly strategy meeting and discuss how the party should address the Iraq situation. Some Democrats are unhappy that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) endorsed Murtha's call for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, suggesting it would hurt them in the 2006 midterm elections. Meanwhile, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) and other state officials testify before the House Select Hurricane Katrina Committee. The New York Times reports that Barbour's relative, Rosemary Barbour, is "one of the biggest Mississippi-based winners of federal contracts for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts." The Times writes that Rosemary Barbour, who is married to the governor's nephew, has been awarded $6.4 million to "install and maintain showers for relief workers and evacuees, to deliver tents and to provide laundry equipment." The governor's spokesman said Barbour had no idea his nephew's wife was being awarded contracts. Former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton will visit New Orleans this afternoon to announce "a major grant" being made by the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. The former presidents will also name Alexis Herman and Don Evans as co-chairs of the fund. Bush and Clinton are guests on CNN's Larry King Live tonight. Last night, Clinton appeared at a Manhattan fundraiser for his wife, who is running for a second term in the Senate. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) did not attend the fundraiser at the Crobar night club, CNN's Phil Hirschkorn reports. But despite the senator's absence, the event drew a sellout crowd of 2,000 people, helping her raise $100,000 for her campaign war chest. "Please do everything you can to keep helping Hillary, 'cause she'll always do you proud," the former president told the crowd of young professionals. "I never met anybody with more ability in public life, including me." Sen. Clinton is getting some unsolicited help for a potential run for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Peter Feddo, a 22-year-old Virginian, has filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to register the Hillary Rodham Clinton for President Committee. Feddo told the Grind he launched the committee to help Clinton build a national grassroots network, while she focuses her attention on the 2006 Senate race. "We need to be out there raising support for her, while she is running for re-election," said Feddo, a computer consultant. Feddo said he has not spoken to the Clinton campaign about his efforts but he added, "They know we are out here and raising her profile in a positive way." Another Virginian, Gov. Mark Warner (D), was being talked about last night as the alternative to Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary contest. Warner held a fundraiser for his Forward Together political action committee that took in $2.5 million, CNN's Sasha Johnson reports. The unmistakable theme of the event was looking ahead to Warner's future when he leaves the governor's mansion in January. That future will include testing the waters for a possible presidential bid in 2008. Attendees listened to Warner speak about his vision for America and watched a video highlighting his accomplishments. One of the last images in the video was a photo of Warner and Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D). Warner is viewed as instrumental in helping Kaine defeat Republican Jerry Kilgore in the race to succeed him. Former Sen. John Breaux (D-Louisiana) was seen mingling in the crowd and when Johnson asked him whether he had "signed up for Warner" Breaux responded, "I've signed up for tonight." He added, "They know Hillary and they need to know Mark Warner." Warner heads to South Carolina today as a special guest at the South Carolina Democratic Party's first annual Governor's Appreciation Dinner. Congress welcomes its newest member today when state Sen. John Campbell (R) is sworn-in as the representative for California's 48th District. Campbell won a special election yesterday to replace Rep. Chris Cox (R), who resigned to become the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. And in other California news, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) will join former Gov. Gray Davis (D) at a ceremony to unveil Davis' official portrait at the state capitol. Political Hot TopicsPosted 9:30 a.m. ET DID NANCY AND HOWARD GO TOO FAR? Strong antiwar comments in recent days by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have opened anew a party rift over Iraq, with some lawmakers warning that the leaders' rhetorical blasts could harm efforts to win control of Congress next year. Several Democrats joined President Bush yesterday in rebuking Dean's declaration to a San Antonio radio station Monday that "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong." The critics said that comment could reinforce popular perceptions that the party is weak on military matters and divert attention from the president's growing political problems on the war and other issues. Washington Post: Democrats Fear Backlash at Polls for Antiwar Remarks NO RUSH TO REPLACE DeLAY: Senior House Republicans said Tuesday that they saw no need to rush party leadership elections to replace Representative Tom DeLay while he contests criminal charges in Texas. But a leader of House conservatives, Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, said restless lawmakers could seek changes if the party's legislative agenda veered off course in coming days. "I'm not calling for leadership elections," Mr. Pence, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said. "But I suspect in hearing from members that much will depend on the progress we make in putting our fiscal house in order in December." New York Times: Amid Party Struggles, House Republicans Say They Won't Move to Fill DeLay Post LITTLE ATTENTION BEING PAID TO ALITO ADS: Opponents and supporters of the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. have bought hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of TV and radio ads, but senators in battleground states say their constituents aren't listening. "We really haven't been hearing about it," said Rodell Mollineau, a spokesman for Sen. Mark Pryor, Arkansas Democrat. "It's been pretty silent." Arkansas has been the focus of two ad campaigns, one of which attacks the groups attacking Judge Alito. Those groups, according to the ad by the conservative Committee for Justice, support partial-birth abortion and burning the American flag, and oppose pornography filters on public library computers. "Do these groups represent you?" the commercial says. "If not, call your senators. Tell them to support Judge Alito." The calls haven't arrived, Mr. Mollineau said. Washington Times: Alito ads stirring little interest CAMPBELL TO REPLACE COX: Republican state Sen. John Campbell was scheduled to be on an airplane to Washington, D.C., early this morning, just hours after the voters of the 48th Congressional District elected him as Orange County's newest member of the House of Representatives. Campbell, 50, bested a field of five candidates in Tuesday's special election to fill the seat of former Rep. Christopher Cox, now chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "I've been campaigning for 17 of the last 24 months," said Campbell, pointing to this race and last year's Senate re-election. "I'm ready to legislate and not campaign." Orange County Register: Sen. John Campbell: GOP welcomes his vote KEAN JR. TO LAUNCH NJ SEN BID: Two well-known political family names, Kean and Dole, came together in Newark yesterday to pursue something not seen in New Jersey politics in a generation: election of a Republican to the U.S. Senate. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), whose husband also was a senator and ran for president, flew in to endorse state Sen. Tom Kean Jr., whose father also was a state legislator and became a popular two-term governor. The younger Kean is seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Gov.-elect Jon Corzine. He appeared a bit tentative before a bank of cameras and reporters, but beamed as he accepted Dole's lavish praise. Dole is chair of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, and her presence at a fund-raising breakfast at a Newark Liberty International Airport hotel was significant beyond the alliance of prominent political families. Newark Star-Ledger: A Dole adds clout to Kean Senate bid "HONORED" TO BE THE "FAT LITTLE BROTHER IN FLORIDA": Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that he was "honored" Cuban President Fidel Castro had referred to him as President Bush's "fat little brother in Florida." During a Nov. 17 speech at the University of Havana, Castro made the comment while questioning whether the governor had helped a suspected anti-Cuba terrorist enter the United States. Students responded with laughter. "I'm flattered and honored," Bush replied with a smile, but then turned serious. "I will take any criticism from Fidel Castro, of all people, as an honor given the fact that, you know, 8 million people, I believe, live on the island, 8 million people are repressed and they've been that way for 40 or 50 years," Bush said. AP via Yahoo! News: Jeb "Honored" by Castro's Jab 
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