GENERAL:                                                                                              Sunday, April 6, 2003

Optimistic headlines and news reports this morning report an interim government for Iraq could be established as early as tomorrow – while Saddam henchmen keep insisting the Coalition invasion is a Hollywood production or desert mirage…

Discovery by Brit troops of bodies that looked like they’d been in “a shooting gallery” in Iraq strengthens case – and resolve – against Saddam. Meanwhile, military experts say American technology superiority showing as campaign into Baghdad continues. Coalition forces can “see” whatever they want whenever they want while Iraqi forces are blind and may soon be reverting back to smoke signals and carrier pigeons. 

(Iowa Pres Watch Note: In Iowa caucus campaign, it’s like the difference between being Kerry, Gephardt and Edwards or being Kucinich, Dean and Moseley Braun.)… 

Almost all of IA under Winter Storm Warnings and Watches this morning – up to 10” inches expected in central/north central areas before it ends. Radar indicates snow and ice just south of Omaha area and should be entering southwest/western Iowa shortly, expected in DSM area mid-afternoon. Weather Channel says Interstate 80 will be a “major mess” from Cheyenne to Chicago over next 24 hours. Omaha World-Herald online weather headline: “Welcome to spring break; now shovel the driveway” High temperatures in Baghdad today 80s and 90s …

A question for snowbound Iowans – as well as Washington politicos and even California beachcombers – to ponder while waiting for “The John Edwards Show” on C-SPAN this afternoon: Are GOP attacks on Kerry’s call for “regime change” in DC actually helping the Dem wannabe? Here’s the coverage in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times by Mark Z. Barabak: “Strategists for Kerry were thrilled at the back-and-forth, which crowded out news of their candidate’s second-place finish this week, behind North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, in the early campaign money chase. ‘Any day we’re having a fight with Tom DeLay and Rush Limbaugh is a day we’re having a fight with the right people,’ said the strategist, referring to the radio talk show host who helped fuel Republican rage over Kerry’s comments. ‘It only serves to validate for Democratic voters what a good Democrat you are.” (More on Kerry episode below.)…

Los Angeles Times poll shows solid support for Iraq operations – and beyond if necessary. The headline: “Support of U. S. Military Role in Mideast Grows… Americans’ backing for Bush rises; many might endorse action against Iran or Syria.” Ronald Brownstein reports, “More than three-fourths of Americans – including two-thirds of liberals and 70% of Democrats – now say they support the decision to go to war. And more than four-fifths of these war supporters say they will back military action even if allied forces don’t find evidence of weapons of mass destruction.” The poll, published in yesterday’s Times, also said Bush’s overall approval rating jumped to 68%, the highest level since last summer, and three-fourths of those polled said they trust him to make the right decision on Iraq.” 

More from poll: A 2-to-1 majority said that, because of the war, the country cannot afford even the $350 billion version of GWB’s tax cut…Exactly half said U. S. should take military action against Iran if it continues to move forward with nuclear-weapon development, 36% disagreed…42% said the U. S. should take action against Syria if it provides aid to Iraq, while 46% said no.

CANDIDATES/CAUCUSES:  

Two Dem aspirants – Edwards & Kerry – scheduled into Iowa today. Edwards participates in the first Harkin-sponsored candidate forum this afternoon in Des Moines (4 p.m., carried on C-SPAN), continues DSM visit tomorrow. Kerry campaigns in Marion, Clinton and Davenport – a nice Sunday media swing into eastern IA’s top markets – and will be in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo tomorrow before a Tuesday visit to DSM.  

Due in through next weekend: Dean, Gephardt, Hart, Lieberman, Kucinich. 

Still awaiting Graham first trip as well as Sharpton and Moseley Braun return visits...

At Dem State Convention in New Hampshire yesterday, state chairwoman Kathy Sullivan jumped into the fray over Kerry’s “regime change” remarks. Speaking before a cheering crowd, Sullivan accused Republicans of trying to squelch freedom of speech by criticizing debate over the war… 

Pundits watching Edwards closely today to see if he repeats inept performance on “Meet the Press” a few months ago when he practiced self-immolation on his own candidacy that setback his campaign before it started…

Lieberman campaigning in antiwar territory – San Francisco area. Sacramento Bee headline: “Lieberman campaigns in Bay Area…War backing makes his task tougher in Northern California” Margaret Talev coverage: “Arriving at the epicenter of national anti-war activism, Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Lieberman, a supporter of the U. S.-led invasion of Iraq, found refuge Friday in an out-of-the-way lounge at the Fairmont Hotel. Tired from a long day of fund raising in Silicon Valley, the Connecticut senator and former vice presidential nominee sipped ice water and sized up his prospects in California and across the country, nine months before the first presidential primary.” His prospects: “I hope people will judge me by my whole record.” His support for Iraq military operations, Lieberman added, is “just one stand that I have.”…

Kerry continues responding to GOP criticism of his “regime change” comments and, according to the L. A. Times, accused Republican leaders of “purposely distorting a tongue-in-cheek remarks and vowed ‘not to be silenced by their fake patriotism argument.’” Kerry, quoted in yesterday’s Times: “Republicans are falsely and phonily trying to trump up an issue.” He said the remark “was a rhetorical twist, nothing serious” and “had nothing to do with the troops and nothing to do with over there.” Mark Z. Barabak’s report added Kerry “also insisted that he has stayed true to his promise not to second-guess Bush’s conduct of the war once it commenced. ‘I’ve defended the administration against the armchair quarterbacking, which I think is premature.’”…

From Chuck Muth’s News & Views: “Hillary Clinton has been leading the charge in Democrat attacks against the Bush administration for not, in their opinion, funding homeland security sufficiently. Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money. So if we don’t have enough money for something as critically important as homeland security, in Madame Hillary’s opinion, then why is she sponsoring legislation to appropriate $1.2 million to fund a ‘historic trail’ of the women’s rights movement in New York? How does this support of radical feminism boost support for the first-responders she pretends to be so worried about?”

IOWA POLITICS:

In his Des Moines Sunday Register column, David Yepsen writes about possibility Vilsack positioning himself for a possible presidential run in the future. The headline: “Yes, governor – er, Mr. President” Cities Vilsack’s ambitious overseas travel schedule, becoming chair of Democratic Governors Association this summer, and consultants and staff with national contacts and reputations. An excerpt: “But first things first. For now, the Vilsackers must get Iowa’s economy going. If Vilsack wants to be president, he has to have national media people writing about an ‘Iowa Miracle.’”

MORNING SUMMARY: 

Morning headlines continue to pound on Baghdad situation. Some examples – Des Moines Register top front page head: “Troops menace Baghdad”  

Omaha-World Herald online: “U. S. troops find easy access to Baghdad”   

QCTimes.com (Quad-City Times) online top headline: “Confusion reigns as the battle for Baghdad begins”…

Des Moines looked a lot like Baghdad (but without bombs, invading troops or Saddam impersonators) yesterday due to smoke from a downtown four-alarm fire. Blaze consumed a joint public-private brownstone condominium renovation project near the Court Avenue district. No injuries reported, but damage will exceed $1 million. Mayor Preston Daniels, on the scene, told WHO-TV he believes some units had been sold and plans to meet with building owners about continuing the downtown housing project…

Iowa horse owners have been advised to get their animals vaccinated against the West Nile disease. Radio Iowa reports that State Veterinarian John Schiltz said more than 1,100 horses contracted West Nile in Iowa last year…

The Sioux City Journal reports that a local man – Alton Andre Burden, 32 – was arrested on a felony pimping charge and injured his leg while trying to flee from police after allegedly setting up a “date” for another man with an undercover police officer. According to the court affidavit, Burden approached an undercover Sioux City police officer working a prostitution sting, went and got a friend, and paid $40 for sex. But there was more – the police complaint said he told the undercover officer to charge the friend $100 and then give Burden $10. He was arrested for pimping (a felony), eluding a peace officer (another felony), driving while license revoked, simple eluding, failure to obey a police officer and simple domestic assault…

Des Moines senior police officer Dustin Ray Flynn and DSM safety administrator Edward Peterson are on unpaid leave after being arrested on Thursday during a vice squad prostitution operation. Both men called a fake escort service that police set up and was advertised in the Des Moines Register. 

WAR/TERRORISM:  

A support-the-troops rally has been scheduled today in Fairfield. Organizer Bob Diveley, a Vietnam veteran, said that after watching antiwar protests for months he was sick of the “1 percent” sending a message to the troops they are not being supported in the U. S…

The BBC reports that – with U. N. Security Council scheduled to discuss North Korea situation on Wednesday – the United Nations envoy to North Korea, Maurice Strong, warned the “the crisis could quickly escalate, and that conflict on the Korean peninsula was ‘entirely possible.’” Strong said Wednesday’s session could be “contentious” – but also represented a chance for steps towards peace. He said both the U. S. and North Korea believed they had time on their side, but that “the longer they wait…the more risk there is of incidents that will provoke a hardening of attitudes.”…

VOANews (Voice of America) reported that the U. S. has formally forgiven $1 billion worth of loans to Pakistan as a “reward for Pakistan’s cooperation in the global war against terrorism.” The account says U. S. Ambassador – and native Iowan – Nancy Powell and senior Pakistani officials signed a formal agreement to write off the debt, which represents nearly one-third of what Pakistan owes the United States. Powell was born in Cedar Falls and was a high school social studies teacher in Dayton before joining the Foreign Service.

FEDERAL ISSUES

In the Democratic response to the president’s weekly radio address, Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner yesterday urged Congress to provide more money for first responders who are combating domestic terrorism. Minner – continuing a long-standing theme of Dem governor – said more resources are needed for police, firefighters and medical personnel at a time when the nation is on high alert. She urged the president and Republicans to revisit the Iraq war-homeland security legislation passed late last week in both the House and Senate – to add more money for homeland security…

Several media reports indicate the Senate will not attempt to revive efforts to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during consideration of an omnibus energy bill – which a Senate committee is expected to start working on this week. The Senate voted down an ANWR amendment (to the budget bill) by a 52-48 margin two weeks ago. But the House – which could consider its version of the energy bill as early as this week – will consider (and probably pass) language that would provide for ANWR drilling.  

STATE ISSUES:

The following was presented as “Local News” in the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald yesterday – indicating the priorities (and opinions) in Dem-dominated Dubuque – The headline: “GOP pushing rewrite of collective bargaining law…Arbitration: Democrats decry the changes and say Gov. Vilsack will never sign the measure” Some excerpts: “Republicans are using their majority status in the Iowa Legislature to push through a bill that will change the way the state and local governments negotiate labor contracts, even though there is little chance Gov. Tom Vilsack will sign it. Senate File 313…is popular with budget conservatives opposed to Iowa’s binding arbitration law…But Democrats, including Vilsack, see it as an assault on labor, which is traditionally where their party gets its strongest support…Employees [of the state] have endured more than 78,000 hours of unpaid furlough and seen their numbers reduced by 10 percent.” 

(Iowa Pres Watch Note: No, this was not published on the Opinion page.)…

A key Republican legislator says that it’s time for Vilsack to “use the bully pulpit” to indicate which income tax reforms he favors. Sen. Larry McKibben (Marshalltown) outlined a flat tax plan several weeks ago and other proposals have been offered, but the governor has remained silent. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson – noting House GOP leaders have just about abandoned hope of enacting income tax reform this year – reported that the House will still consider proposals if McKibben can come up with something Vilsack will sign.

OPINION:   

Des Moines Sunday Register editorial on state issue: “Get a grip on public-worker benefits…sweet deals for health insurance should be scaled back” Cites benefit packages for state, county and local employees, especially for health care coverage…

Register columnist Rekha Basu headline: “Minority program perseveres” Basu writes that while some colleges are dropping minority-based programs for fear of lawsuits Grinnell College will welcome 12 freshmen from Los Angeles – 11 of them minorities – to campus as freshmen next fall…

Headline on Cal Thomas syndicated column: “More pork: Congress freely, outrageously spends money”

SPORTS:   

Kansas – with Iowa natives Nick Collison (Iowa Falls) and Kirk Hinrich (Sioux City) starring – rolls past Marquette 94-61 last night and into Monday national title game vs. Syracuse. Therefore, the opening sentences of Register sports columnist Sean Keeler’s column yesterday about the Collison-Hinrich era at Kansas are appropriate: “Unselfish. That’s the main thing. There are other words, nice ones, too, that people throw out there: Talented, mature, hard-working, trustworthy, obedient, thrifty, kind, clean, brave, revered. Start a conversation with Kansas people about seniors Nick Collision and Kirk Hinrich and you’re bound to hear, at same point, all or part of the Boy Scout Law. But the word they always come back to is ‘unselfish.’ Always.” 

Another indication of how big the Kansas-Collison-Hinrich story is in IA: Keeler has two reports about them in the sports section of today’s Des Moines Sunday Register …

Joe Frank, a 1959 state champion wrestler from Cresco High School, will be inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame later this month – along with his nephews Jim and Joe Gibbons. Frank wrestled at Iowa State before coaching teams that won state championships in Oregon and Minnesota. Both Gibbons brothers won NCAA national championships wrestling for Iowa State.

WEATHER: 

Weather Service reports late season winter storm moving into IA later than expected, but storm warnings and watches issued for most of the state. DSM 6 a.m. 29, overcast. 

High today 35, snow/rain. Low tonight 28, heavy snow. High Monday 32, chance snow.

IOWAISMS: 

Des Moines Register’s Frank Santiago reports that customers have “marched into tattoo parlors in Des Moines to have flags, eagles, jet fighters, even colorful cockroaches etched onto their skin to shout patriotism” as Operation Iraqi Freedom has escalated.

 Santiago story says Dan Koenig – owner of Yankee Doodle Dandy tattoo parlor – the interest has a lot to do with a rush of pride in the country and a desire to help in the war effort. Most DSM tattoo parlor operators indicate that business during the war has been as good as the patriotic surge after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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