Daily Report: 2004 Presidential Watch: Republican conservative news on the Democrat caucus, primary candidates national campaigns.

THE CLINTON COMEDIES:

“Hillary and the California hijinks” – Headline from Joan Vennochi in yesterday’s Boston Globe. Excerpt: “As California goes, so goes Hillary Clinton? Bill Clinton is offering comfort and strategic advice to embattled California Governor Gray Davis. According to The New York Times, the former president is helping Davis fight the Oct. 7 recall election out of sympathy for another victim of right-wing politics. Clinton also feels personal loyalty to Davis, who stood by him during his impeachment trial. But, as even Clinton loyalists know, at the end of the day with Bill and Hill, it's always about Bill and Hill. Besides helping out Davis, there is very possibly a second agenda: setting the stage for Hillary Clinton to enter the Democratic presidential race. After all, if Davis triumphs despite the threat from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who else is a big winner? Both Clintons. A Davis victory could help Hillary Clinton launch a presidential candidacy with a claim to crucial New York and California electoral votes. She is undoubtedly controversial, and her enemies can't wait for an opportunity to drive up her political negatives as high as possible. But all the vitriol in the talk-show universe can't change these facts: Hillary Clinton has money and celebrity, the two most important ingredients in American politics today…Politics today is all about buzz. Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate has some buzz, but the rest of the Democratic presidential field remains virtually buzz-less. Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry, another Democratic presidential hopeful, got some buzz when he went to Philadelphia this week and ordered a cheese steak with Swiss cheese instead of the more usual Cheez Whiz…Hillary Clinton definitely has buzz. But for the Clintons successfully to tie her political future to California, Davis has to do what most pundits assume he cannot do. He has to beat back the Terminator and the recall effort. It may sound difficult, but it's not impossible. Nothing in politics ever is. That's why the unlikeliest candidates jump into political races. Perhaps California voters will ultimately consider the views of another bodybuilder and king of buzz, Jesse Ventura, the former governor of Minnesota. On television this week, Ventura said he did not support the California recall election and reminded viewers that while he ran as an unconventional third party candidate, he did it during a regularly scheduled election cycle. Rather than reveling solely in the wackiness of the California recall effort, shouldn't the media make a good faith effort to examine the budget crisis that is the underpinning of this particular moment in political time? On July 29, the San Francisco Chronicle published a thoughtful editorial entitled ‘Distorting the budget crisis.’ Noting that the paper's editorial pages had taken Davis to task in the past for ‘displaying insufficient leadership,’ the editorial went on to say: ‘But to blame him for creating it is an even more egregious claim than Al Gore taking partial credit for creating the Internet.’ Sorting through a state budget debacle as big as California's is a matter of fact, not buzz. It is much more entertaining to watch Arnold on Jay Leno, follow Bill to Hollywood, and wonder whether Hillary is getting ready to steal the show and the buzz from the rest of the Democrats who want to replace George W. Bush.”

“Schwarzenegger Outcome Could Affect Bush in 2004…Gubernatorial Win in California Would Bring Potential Risks as Well as Rewards, Strategists Say” – Washington Post headline. Excerpts from Post report yesterday by Dana Milbank and Mike Allen: “President Bush arrives in California [Thursday] with his political fortunes increasingly tied to the powerful but unpredictable figure of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bush has kept a distance from the Oct. 7 ballot drive to remove Gov. Gray Davis (D) from office, and he has declined to endorse the movie star and bodybuilder who has overnight become the leading Republican and most popular candidate on the ballot. ‘He would be a good governor, as would others running,’ is all Bush would say yesterday, tempering earlier remarks that appeared to favor Schwarzenegger. For better or worse, however, a number of Bush aides, Republican strategists and pollsters believe the Terminator's fortunes in the recall, if only because of his dominating presence in the race, will affect the president's reelection prospects next year in the nation's most populous state -- and possibly beyond. One prominent adviser to Bush said the excitement behind the muscle man's candidacy means ‘California's not lost forever.’ On the other hand, said GOP strategist Scott Reed, ‘If Arnold flames out after this historic buildup, it'll look like Republicans can't get their act together. Like it or not, the Bush White House is a little pregnant on the Arnold candidacy.’ In the best scenario for Bush, Davis is ousted, Schwarzenegger triumphs with a united Republican vote and California's bleak fiscal situation begins to improve. With the governorship in popular Republican hands, the state's 54 electoral votes, once a lost cause for the GOP, could come within Bush's grasp in 2004. Alternatively, if Schwarzenegger's candidacy implodes, it could leave the Republicans without an obvious candidate to face reinvigorated Democrats. And Schwarzenegger's candidacy could turn the vote into a referendum on racial politics because he supported an immigration crackdown in 1994 that continues to infuriate Hispanics. Such a backlash could hurt Bush beyond California in 2004. Bush's aides and advisers are caught between the potential risks and rewards. Though rumors swirl about involvement in the Schwarzenegger campaign by Karl Rove, Bush's top strategist, the White House is officially mum. ‘I haven't asked anybody to get engaged, and I'm not aware of anybody that has been engaged,’ Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. said yesterday. The White House finds itself in the awkward position of playing spectator in a race that could alter Bush's political future. Though Rove cares so much about California that an associate calls the state ‘Karl's Ahab,’ the recall was driven by people at odds with the administration, such as Shawn Steel, who was pushed out by Bush allies as state Republican Party chairman. ‘It changes the fortune for the presidential campaign dramatically if we win,’ Steel said. A Bush adviser acknowledged that ‘the recall was not something that we wanted to happen because it potentially gives the Democrats a chance to say what's happening in California is all about the recall process and not about the governor and his Democratic leaders.’ The adviser said Bush's 2004 prospects would be hurt if Davis, or Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D), prevails and performs well in office, or if a Republican wins and does poorly. ‘There is fear that, beloved this year, the [new Republican] governor could be unpopular next year,’ a Bush campaign official said. ‘Maybe it's better to keep Gray Davis as a punching bag.’ Still, Schwarzenegger's decision to join the race, and early polls showing broad support, has buoyed the Bush campaign's hopes of a lift in 2004. ‘Schwarzenegger is the only candidate who has a chance to achieve what we wanted,’ one adviser said, adding that the two leading conservatives in the race, businessman Bill Simon and state Sen. Tom McClintock, have too much of a ‘hard edge’ to add to Bush's appeal in the state.”

Des Moines Register, top front-page headline: Register devotes page to one story under the headline “Blackout” Second story on page, headline – “Iowa soldier in Iraq dies; heatstroke blamed”

Main online heads, Quad-City Times: “Blackout punishes Canada, eastern U. S.” & “U. S. sets records for heat, rainfall”

Nation/world report, Omaha World-Herald online: “The say the lights went out: Historic outage affects 50 million people” & “Heat kills up to 3,000 in France”

Featured online stories, New York Times: “Midday Shutdowns Disrupt Millions” & “Power Failure Reveals a Creaky System, Energy Experts Believe”

Sioux City Journal online, top heads: “Huge power blackout hits U. S., Canada” & “Senior al-Qaida operative captured in Southeast Asia”

Main online reports, Chicago Tribune: “50 million lose power” & “Liberia’s wait ends; U. S. troops land”

WHO Radio (Des Moines) reports that it has been 11 years since the state’s “unemployment rate was as high as it is now.”

The Great Missouri River Flow Feud: It won’t have a great impact on western Iowa, but the Omaha World-Herald reported that the Army Corps of Engineers may release water from three Kansas dams to help barge navigation on the lower Missouri River. Water levels were lowered earlier in the week to comply with a federal judge’s order.

“Iran vows to allay international fears about its nuclear program” – Headline from yesterday’s Chicago Tribune. Excerpt from report: “Iran will ‘remove’ global concerns about its nuclear program during negotiations with the UN nuclear watchdog agency to get Tehran to accept unrestricted inspections, the head of Iran's atomic energy organization said Wednesday. The head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, is to present a report on Iran's nuclear activities to the agency's board next month. Washington has accused Iran of running a clandestine nuclear weapons program and wants the IAEA to declare Tehran in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. ‘I give the possibility that before the September meeting, we will have positive developments on this issue. We will take effective steps to make progress on the protocol,’ Gholamreza Aghazadeh, Iran's atomic energy chief, told reporters after a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. ‘We will remove international concerns. In return, we expect transparency from other parties to the degree we make progress.’ Aghazadeh did not elaborate. Last week, experts from the IAEA met with Iranian officials to discuss unrestricted inspections. Aghazadeh said those experts visited nuclear sites and took samples. ‘We had extensive cooperation with the experts and tried to meet all expectations of the IAEA,’ Aghazadeh said. He added that IAEA inspectors were allowed to visit Kalaye Electric Co. in west Tehran, two months after inspectors were turned away from the site when they went to take environmental samples. Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Nuclear Council approved plans to build a second reactor at Bushehr, state-run Tehran television reported Wednesday. The broadcast gave no further details.”

Despite recent decisions and headlines, Washington Post survey shows solid opposition to same-sex unions. Headline from yesterday’s Post: “Majority Against Blessing Gay Unions…60% in Poll Oppose Episcopal Decision” Excerpts from report by Richard Morin and Alan Cooperman: “A strong majority of the public disapproves of the Episcopal Church's decision to recognize the blessing of same-sex unions, and a larger share of churchgoing Americans would object if their own faith adopted a similar practice, according to a new Washington Post Poll. So broad and deep is this opposition that nearly half of all Americans who regularly attend worship services say they would leave their current church if their minister blessed gay couples -- even if their denomination officially approved those ceremonies, the survey found. As courts, companies and congregations across the nation consider what standing to give gay couples, the poll demonstrates strong public disapproval of any religious sanctioning of same-sex relationships. It underscores the sharp distinction most Americans make between relationships blessed by the church and those recognized by the law. ‘Americans are saying, 'We're willing to move pretty far on this issue, we're much more tolerant than we used to be, but don't mix it up with religion and God,' " said Boston College political scientist Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. Opposition to blessing gay unions is strongest among Americans who go to church every week, The Post's poll found. Three out of four frequent churchgoers opposed the Episcopal convention's decision, and a similar proportion said they would object if their own faith took a similar step. But even among those who acknowledged that they rarely or never attended church, nearly six in 10 objected to blessing gay couples.”

Des Moines Register: “All politics are rural…Candidates with rural platforms can dovetail with national priorities…Rural economic development hinges not on crop subsidies but on creating more non-farm employment.” & “What’s a consumer to think?…Some definitive advice is needed on subsidies in animal feed.”

Radio Iowa reports that Wartburg College – which last season shared the Iowa Conference football title and advanced into the second round of the NCAA Div. 3 playoffs – is gearing up to attempt a repeat performance. The Knights are ranked as high as 11^th nationally in preseason polls. Wartburg, located in Waverly, returns 16 starters from last year’s team.

DSM 7 a. m. 69, clear. Warm morning across Iowa at 7 a.m. with temperatures from 63 at six reporting locations – including Mason City, Mount Pleasant and Ames – to 70 five locations, including Fort Dodge, Algona and the Quad-Cities. Today’s high 90, areas of fog. Tonight’s low 72, mostly clear. Saturday’s high 91, mostly sunny. Saturday night’s low 67, mostly clear. Sunday’s high 89, mostly sunny. Sunday night’s low 66, mostly clear.

Iowa Bridge to De-ice Itself. Excerpt from report by KCCI-TV (Des Moines): “Work was under way this week on the a-first-in-Iowa de-icing system for bridges. It's being put on a bridge on U.S. Highway 30 near Cedar Rapids. The system will spray a brine mix when an instrument on the bridge detects freezing conditions. The test is being done only in the westbound lanes. DOT spokesman Dennis Burkheimer said they wanted to start with the Interstate 380 bridges in Cedar Rapids, but decided to test it on Highway 30. He expects to gather information for a year before deciding whether it's suitable for other sites in Iowa.”