GENERAL NEWS:                                                                            Thursday, April 24, 2003

 … Among the offerings in this morning’s update:

... New York Times reports this morning Justice Department looking into Edwards campaign contributions

…Talk show host Mickelson questions why IA senator – Harkin – going to Cuba

…Kerry and Dean join Dem partisan parade calling for Santorum to step down from GOP leadership post

…Big day for Kerry – counters “looks French” remark and won’t rule out using his (and Teresa’s) wealth against GWB

…Sharpton decides he’s a legitimate wannabe

… Iowa GOP activist Marvin Pomerantz hospitalized in Iowa City

…Vilsack, in DC, makes pitch for increased homeland security funding

…Gephardt – stealing a page from Hillary’s political agenda -- announces major health care proposal that he has already test driven in IA and NH. But as talking heads appear on morning newscasts – and Americans wake up today – it becomes extremely obvious Gephardt “plan” has more to do with attracting attention to his candidacy and showing he’s still relevant than providing health care coverage for American taxpayers

…Harkin finalizes (Bush-bashing) IA forum schedule for Dem candidates – until Hart or Hillary or Clark announce presidential plans

…Conservative, anti-gay activists rally at Central College in Pella.

All those items below and more. 

… Overnight: Iowa State health department officials tell WHO-TV (Des Moines) there’s possibility of one SARS case in Iowa, reportedly in eastern IA. Iowa officials said yesterday the SARS outbreak is already having an impact on Iowa. Not only did 10 Central College (Pella) students return yesterday from China study abroad program, but others studying in China from IA schools expected to return. Other areas impacted: Officials for this summer’s World Pork Expo in Des Moines tell WHO Radio that Chinese and Vietnamese participants already canceling reservations. Ag trade missions to China – which occur on a fairly regular basis, not to mention Chinese visits to IA – in limbo. WHO-TV reports IA companies – specifically Pioneer Hybrid in Johnston – will be doing more video-conferencing with Chinese than actually traveling there. The SARS outbreak is a big deal in IA – Asia is state’s second largest trading partner. (Des Moines Register editorializes this morning on SARS impact. See below.)  

… Speaking of Central College, conservative and anti-gay activists descended on Pella yesterday to protest a campus appearance by gay proponent – and IA culture war lightening rod – Rev. Mel White. Opponents to White’s visit scheduled a two-day (yesterday and today) blitz to hand out materials, etc., in opposition to White speech. Central website said White – executive director and co-founder of the Christian gay, lesbian, bi and transsexual (GLBT) advocacy group Soulforce – was scheduled to speak yesterday morning. Also from the Central website: “In 1916, Central was transferred from Baptist control to the Reformed Church in America. The relationship with the RCA strengthened the College as families within the denomination sent their sons and daughters to be educated for teaching and the ministry.” 

… Headline from John Fund’s Political Diary on OpinionJournal.com this morning: “Demolition Derby…With the war won, it’s time for Bush to master the Senate.” Excerpt: “If President Bush doesn’t get a grip on the Senate, it will grab hold of his agenda and keep much of it from getting anywhere.”

CANDIDATES & CAUCUSES: 

… The headline: “Touché! Kerry fires back at Bush camp” The coverage – by Joe Battenfeld in yesterday’s Boston Herald: “Responding to a taunt by the White House that he ‘looks French,’ U. S. Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday brushed off the political insult – saying it’s part of an expected barrage of Republican attacks on his character. ‘It means the White House has started the politics of personal destruction,’ Kerry said of the comment by an unnamed Bush adviser. A New York Times report quoted Republican officials and Bush advisers yesterday saying that Kerry’s presidential campaign wouldn’t play well out of New England because of his ‘haughty air’ and Boston upbringing. ‘He looks French,’ said one Bush adviser, handing the Massachusetts Democrat what is probably the ultimate postwar political putdown.”

… New York Times – under headline “U. S. Looks Into Edwards Campaign Donations” – this morning reports, “The Justice Department’s public integrity section has opened a criminal investigation into donations made to the presidential campaign of Senator John Edwards by employees at a prominent Arkansas law firm, according to lawyers close to the matter.” The contributions from law clerks at North Little Rock firm – Turner & Associates – first reported last week, and Edwards campaign has returned them.  

… Des Moines Register sidebar this morning reports Graham moving up date of first IA visit. He was originally scheduled in state 5/9-10 – but is now coming next Monday and Tuesday, and then will return to state again during week of 5/5 after announcing candidacy 5/6.  

… Hart update: The Concord (NH) Monitor – which published an editorial encouraging Hart to seek the Dem nomination – reported yesterday Hart won’t run unless he thinks he can win. Monitor online headline: “Hart: I’ll run only if I think I can win it all” Monitor’s Jennifer Skalka reports: “Gary Hart doesn’t simply want your podium, your television studio, your stage. He shakes his head at those who think he’d run for president just to hear himself speak. Hart, a former Colorado senator and two-time presidential candidate, said he’ll only run if he thinks he can beat the lot of Democrats lining up for a chance to battle President Bush and then, of course, if he thinks he can beat Bush himself…But Hart is still weighing his options and being, well, coy in his otherwise eloquent, erudite, professional way. He told the Monitor that he’ll make a decision by early summer at the latest.” 

… Dean scheduled back in IA tomorrow for a three-day visit – focusing on eastern, northeast Iowa. Among expected stops: Davenport, Clinton, Tipton, Fairfield, Peosta, Decorah, New Hampton and Charles City.

… Buried under the barrage of Democratic demands GOP Sen. Santorum resign his Senate leadership post – the No. 3 ranked in the Senate Republican -- for comments comparing homosexuality to bigamy, etc., Kerry issued a statement condemning Santorum’s remarks and criticizing White House – “The White House speaks the rhetoric of compassionate conservatism but they’re silent while their chief lieutenants make divisive and hurtful comments that have no place in our politics.” He added, “Every day in our country, gay and lesbian Americans get up, go to work, pay their taxes, support their families and contribute to the country they love. These comments take us backwards in America.” This must have been a priority statement for Kerry – since he issued it through his U. S. Senate office, not his presidential campaign operation.

… And Dean plays me-too politics, too. Dean, although he’s not a senator or elected anything anymore, also called on Santorum to resign his Senate leadership post. In a statement, Dean said: “Gay-bashing is not a legitimate public policy discussion; it is immoral. Rick Santorum’s failure to recognize that attacking people because of who they are is morally wrong and makes him unfit for a leadership position in the United States Senate.” As Vermont governor, Dean signed legislation allowing gay couples to enter into civil unions.  

… Until Hart, Hillary, Clark or somebody else comes along to join the Wannabe Nine, Harkin has finalized the schedule for the “candidate forums” he is hosting around IA during the coming months. Harkin outlined the plans for the first six candidates – and forums – earlier, but has now found dates and locations for all nine.  Edwards was first to appear at the Bush-bashing orgy earlier this month and Dean’s up next – 5/18 in Davenport. AP’s Mike Glover reports the rest: Graham 6/7 in Council Bluffs; Kerry 6/22 Mason City; Gephardt 7/13 Dubuque; Kucinich 7/27 Ottumwa; Moseley Braun 8/3 Waterloo; Sharpton 8/5 Sioux City; and Lieberman 9/21 Cedar Rapids.

… Kerry warning – from yesterday’s Boston Globe: “If Republicans forge ahead with plans to spend $200 million or more on President Bush’s re-election campaign, Senator John F. Kerry would make it a campaign issue and would not rule out tapping his personal wealth to compensate, he said yesterday. The Democratic presidential contender, who recently reported $8 million cash on hand in his campaign kitty, said that if Republicans double the amount they spent on their 2000 campaign, it would confirm the party as the handmaiden to the wealthiest Americans.” The Glen Johnson report added, “While Kerry’s personal wealth is limited, his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, has a family fortune that has been assessed as worth $550 million or more. Federal election law makes it unlikely she could transfer the bulk of that money to Kerry, but in the past, both he and his wife have said they would consider tapping the reserve if either one was attacked personally in a campaign.”

… For Dem wannabes, it’s too bad Earth Day only happens once a year. Headline from Ron Brownstein’s coverage in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times – “Kerry Calls for Pollution Fight in Urban Areas…Fellow Democratic presidential candidates Edwards and Lieberman also use Earth Day to promote environmental causes.” Brownstein reports Kerry “urged a new offensive against inner-city pollution, an Earth Day effort to elevate the visibility of environmental issues in the Democratic presidential race.” He noted that Kerry called for establishment of  ‘environmental empowerment zones’ to concentrate federal efforts against pollution-related health problems --- such as asthma – in low-income neighborhoods. Also from the Brownstein article: “Other Democratic presidential hopefuls offered their own proposals at Earth Day appearances elsewhere in the country. In upstate New York, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut called for a crackdown on power-plant emissions. In Los Angeles, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards proposed a $500-million federal program to boost production of clean-burning energy sources, such as ethanol.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note: Although all the Dem proposals are questionable, it should be clear Edwards is a true environmentalist who believes in issue recycling, too. How much coverage does Edwards expect to get on his $500-million proposal – and that highlights his pro-ethanol appeal to IA farmers? His plan would be even more impressive – and attractive to Iowa corn growers – if it had a prayer of ever getting passed by the Congress or Edwards had a prayer of being elected president.)

… Headlines from Kerry’s Earth Day swing through New Hampshire: Nashua Telegraph, “Kerry offers ways to fight pollution” The Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday Times online, “Kerry wants enforcement of ‘environmental justice’”

… From Greg Pierce’s “Inside Politics” column in yesterday’s Washington Times – under the subhead, “Sharpton’s turnabout” – “The Rev. Al Sharpton did an about-face yesterday, announcing he has only now decided to become an official candidate for president and thus will file a fund-raising report with the Federal Election Commission. Mr. Sharpton, unlike the other eight Democrats running for president, failed to file a quarterly financial statement with the FEC, saying he was not legally obligated to do so. However, the Sharpton campaign issued the following statement yesterday: “The Reverend Al Sharpton has made the decision to seek the Democratic nomination for the office of president of the United States. As a result, a statement of candidacy and the supporting financial disclosure documents will be filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, April 28th, 2003.” The report was due on April 15. Did public pressure or the complaint filed by the conservative National Legal and Policy Center play a role in yesterday’s anti-climatic announcement? ‘None whatsoever,’ campaign manager Frank Watkins said.” 

… Gephardt gets big headlines, major coverage for alleged innovative health care program – and commitment to eliminate GWB tax cuts during first days as president – but Iowa Pres Watch passes on the story this morning for three reasons. The first reason: It’s nothing much different than what Gephardt said (that has been covered by IA media and in previous morning reports) – right down to his first-week-as-president commitment – in IA and NH living rooms during recent campaign swings. The second reason: We’ll wait until sanity returns and analysts start ripping the Gephardt scheme apart. The third reason: It’s an academic exercise in political tomfoolery since Gephardt will never – emphasis on the word “never” – be president. (Iowa Pres Watch Note: So Gephardt has decided to make health care the centerpiece of his campaign – who’s he think he is? Hillary?)

… But, after outlining his plan in NY, Gephardt participated in a conference call for Iowa reporters. This morning’s headlines – Des Moines Register: “Gephardt unveils plan to give all in U. S. access to health care…$200 billion would come from repealing tax cuts” & Quad-City Times: “Gephardt says his health plan would cover 97% of Americans”

… This probably has little to do with the Dem presidential nominating process – except that political coverage was edged out in New Hampshire yesterday with reports that airline passengers landing at the Manchester airport from Toronto are being given information about SARS. The Union Leader online head yesterday was dedicated to “Manchester Airport to issue SARS risk cards” – not about Kerry’s NH visit and Earth Day proclamations. On a related matter, the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday advised international travelers to not visit Toronto, Beijing and China’s Shanxi providence. 

IOWA POLITICS: 

… Des Moines Register reports that long-time GOP activist and contributor Marvin Pomerantz is hospitalized at University Hospitals in Iowa City. Report says Pomerantz went into hospital for a heart checkup and doctors found irregularities, no other details. Pomerantz is a former president of the Iowa Board of Regents and was a honcho in the campaigns of Govs. Ray and Branstad. 

… Talk show host joins Harkin-Boswell Cuba Watch: Talk show host Mickelson (WHO, Des Moines/WMT, Cedar Rapids) yesterday raised questions about why Harkin traveling to Cuba? Mickelson: “Do we really want to do business with a tyrant while getting rid of one in Iraq?” Referring to Harkin, Mickelson asked, “What is our senator doing there in essence giving aid and comfort?” 

… Although comments by IA GOP Congressman Nussle committing to fight for the tax cut were included in yesterday’s Iowa Pres Watch morning report, here’s more from the Quad-City Times coverage (by Ed Tibbetts) of Nussle’s Davenport comments: “Nussle, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has been at odds with U. S. Sen Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, over the size of the tax cut. The House and Senate leadership agreed to pursue $550 billion in tax cuts, but Grassley promised two moderate Republican senators that he would not support any more than $350 billion in a budget conference committee. Grassley, as the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is a powerful force in federal tax policy…The White House, though, has said the debate is just beginning, and President Bush will be in Ohio this week promoting his plan…Nussle said that he wants to see how ‘the whole plan comes together’ before expressing a preference for individual pieces of the tax-cut plan.” 

MORNING SUMMARY:    

… Morning headlines: 

Top front-page headline, Des Moines Register: Coverage of funeral for Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeffery Bohr – “’Godspeed to heaven’…’The next time someone tells you that burning our flag is right, and that it’s just a piece of cloth, that piece of cloth symbolizes a 6-foot, 200-pound hero that gave you that right. It’s called Gunnery Sergeant Jeff Bohr.”

Online main headline, Quad-City Times: “GOP might pull plug on ’03 session” Report by Todd Dorman from DSM: “Senate Republican leaders, frustrated by the apparent collapse of income tax reform efforts Wednesday, warned they are on the brink of ‘pulling the plug’ on the 2003 legislative session.” Similar headline on front page of Des Moines Register: “Miffed Senate leaders threaten early exit…Without income tax reform, Republicans say they may finish the budget and leave.” 

National online head from Daily Iowan (University of Iowa): “U. S., N. Korea start talks”

Sioux City Journal top online headline: “Frustrated Iowa Senate GOP on brink of ‘pulling the plug’ on 2003 session” Coverage similar to Quad-City Times report above.

Headlines from Chicago Tribune online: “U. S. Captures Four Top Iraqi Officials” & “N. Korea: U. S. Leading Region Toward War”

National headline from Omaha World-Herald online edition: “4 top officials of Saddam’s regime captured” 

… Iowans said goodbye yesterday to Marine Gunnery Sgt. – and Ossian native – Jeffery Bohr, who was killed earlier this month during battle at a Baghdad mosque. Morning news reports indicate that Iowans paid tribute by lining the 95-mile funeral route from Ossian, where services were held, to the Cedar Rapids burial site. (See Des Moines Register front-page headline above.)  

… Newscasts also report the 1,200 union workers at the Firestone Agricultural Tire plant north of Des Moines are expected to continue working on a day-to-day basis. The contract for the United Steelworkers Local 310 expired early yesterday, but negotiations will continue between the union and Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. The contract talks in St. Louis affect about 5,000 union members at Bridgestone/Firestone plants in eight cities.

… Quad-City Times reports this morning Bettendorf family of four homeless following fire – “It took Bettendorf firefighters about 10 minutes to put out the flames that destroyed a home in the Devils Glen Mobile Home Court. It will take longer for Clint Courtois and his family to get their lives back on track. The fire not only left the family of four homeless, it killed their dog.”  

… WHO Radio (Des Moines) reports passenger traffic at DSM airport has increased 11 consecutive months – just under 155,000 last month vs. about 149,000 a year ago. Airport officials attribute increases to lower airfares – but wags suggest it’s due to growing number of Dem presidential candidates and their staffers.  

WAR & TERRORISM: 

… Register’s Jane Norman this morning reports from Washington that Vilsack yesterday appealed for more homeland security funding. Headline: “Vilsack pushes for more security money…He says governors need $5.5 billion.” Norman report says Vilsack “pleaded with business leaders here [Washington] Wednesday to support increased federal money for states’ homeland security needs, saying that American business suffers when consumers feel too unsafe to purchase goods.” 

… Headline from BBC News – “Galloway faces new Iraq claims” The BBC report says “the Daily Telegraph has published fresh claims about the Labour MP, George Galloway, and his alleged links with Saddam Hussein’s regime. Mr. Galloway has strongly denied allegations he was paid hundreds of thousands of pounds by the Iraqi regime, and has promised to take ‘whatever legal action’ may be necessary against the newspaper. Tuesday’s paper alleged official documents found by its reporter in Baghdad suggested that in 1999 Mr. Galloway had asked an unnamed Iraqi intelligence officer for more money. Wednesday’s Telegraph claims to have found a memo purporting to have been written on behalf of Saddam Hussein, in which the Iraqi leader rejects Mr. Galloway’s alleged request.” Galloway’s solicitors have said that allegations he received money from the United Nations’ oil-for-food program used to feed Iraq as “totally untrue.”

FEDERAL ISSUES:  

… Sioux City Journal headline: “Corps issues new compromise plan for Missouri River” Excerpt: “Missouri River flows will remain fairly steady for most of the summer season according to the compromise plan worked out by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to meet the biological requirements of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The plan is designed to allow for successful reproduction of two threatened bird species that nest on the river’s sandbars, yet still provide enough water for barge navigation” Report notes that first barge of the season arrived in Sioux City on Tuesday – “more than three weeks late due to low river flows and resulting sandbars.” 

… Leftover from busy Easter weekend: Daily Iowan (University of Iowa) coverage – headline, “Iowa official faults Bush’s education act” Coverage by Laura Jensen says Ted Stillwell, the state’s top education official, “criticized the No Child Left Behind Act, saying it places too much emphasis on the accountability of schools and not enough on increasing educational opportunities for students. Under the program’s accountability provisions, approximately half of Iowa’s high schools could be designated as institutions failing to improve fast enough in their level of proficiency – institutions that would be subject to increasingly harsh sanctions.” The DI report said “one point of controversy” was how student proficiency would be assessed with Stillwell saying he is “willing to fight to maintain use” of the Iowa Basic Skills test.

IOWA ISSUES: 

 … Article by Kathie Obradovich in yesterday’s Sioux City Journal and Quad-City Times reported that Vilsack indicated “he’s worried that the Legislature’s decision to raise the age limit for mandatory reporting of child abuse could lock up enough amorous teen-agers and others to require a new prison.” The Senate this week completed legislative action on a bill that would raise the reporting age from 12 to 16 years of age, as well as adding clergy to the list of those who have to report suspected abuse to state officials. Obradovich reported that Vilsack said he “feared the bill could allow two 13-year-olds who have sex to be charged with a felony, jailed and put on the sexual abuse registry.” 

He has asked a “law firm outside of the politics of all this” to review the legislation before he decides whether to sign it. 

OPINIONS:  

… Today’s Des Moines Register editorials: “SARS could cost you your job…Stopping the disease is a matter of saving lives – and economic security.” & “Look beyond the cronies…Contracts for rebuilding Iraq should be open for competitive bids.” & “A bench, not a rocking chair” about 64-year-old Dr. Tom Davis becoming Drake’s new men’s basketball coach – “Good for Davis. Good for Drake.” 

… Register columnist David Yepsen, “It all comes down to business, business, business” Writes about standoff between GOP legislative leaders who want regulatory reform package and Vilsack’s push for creation of multi-million dollar economic development fund. 

… Citizen commentary from Sioux City Journal online – “Since it has been revealed that Saddam is the Ace of Spades in the coalition’s card deck, who are the Jokers? Saddam and his two sons would have been my choice in the deck of 55.” – Joseph Hayes, Everly, Iowa

IOWA SPORTS:  

… Drake Relays resume with second day of decathlon and heptathlon competition.

… ESPN mock NFL draft has Iowa offensive lineman Eric Steinbach going as the 19th pick – to the New England Patriots – this weekend. Two Iowa small-school players who started Hawkeye careers as walk-ons, tight end Dallas Clark of Livermore and center Bruce Nelson of Emmetsburg, also expected to go in early rounds. Draft analysts predict as many as seven Hawks could be drafted by NFL in Saturday-Sunday rounds. 

… The Iowa Cubs – thankfully – had a rare day off yesterday. While the Big Cubs in Chicago are leading division, the Triple-A Cubs are 5-14 in Pacific Coast League competition. Iowa Cubs resume play tonight vs. Portland at Sec Taylor Stadium in Des Moines. 

… Dr. Tom mania update: Drake University athletic ticket office – usually consumed with Drake Relays ticket sales this time of year – already getting inquires about basketball tickets after hiring former Lafayette-Boston College-Stanford-Iowa coach Tom Davis. Ticket officials told Des Moines Register at least 50 basketball ticket inquiries first day Davis on the job. Usual number of basketball requests they get this time of year – “Zero” 

IOWA WEATHER: 

DSM 5 a.m. 50 rain. Fog. Mist. High today 58, light rain. Low tonight 45, chance rain. High Friday 62, cloudy. Temps across IA this morning bunched together between 45 in six locations to 52 in LeMars, Fort Dodge and Vinton. Report from WHO-TV meteorologist Brandon Thomas: “Mostly cloudy on Friday, with a few showers along the Missouri/Iowa border. Highs will be in the mid fifties to around sixty degrees. Partly cloudy on Saturday, with highs in the mid/upper sixties. Partly sunny on Sunday, with a chance of showers/t’storms late. Highs will be in the upper sixties to low seventies.” 

IOWAISMS: 

… The Sioux City Journal reports – under headline, “Model T rolls into Buena Vista County Historical Museum” – that in recognition of the 100^th anniversary of introduction of the Model T Ford a new exhibit will be featured at the Storm Lake museum. The yearlong display will feature a 1911 Model T touring car from the collection of John Dvergsten of Storm Lake. The annual meeting of the Buena Vista County Historical Society will be held next Sunday. 

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