PAGE 2                                                                                                                   Sunday, Aug. 24,  2003

 IOWA/NATIONAL POLITICS: 

“Security May Not Be Safe Issue for Bush in ‘04” – headline from Friday’s Washington Post. Excerpt from report by Dana Milbank and Mike Allen: “The wave of violent death this week in Iraq, Israel, Gaza and Afghanistan brought to the fore a reality that President Bush has been reluctant to discuss: Peace is not at hand. A confident Bush stood in the Rose Garden less than a month ago, saying, ‘Conditions in most of Iraq are growing more peaceful,’ boasting of ‘dismantling the al Qaeda operation’ and pronouncing ‘pretty good progress’ toward Middle East peace and a Palestinian state within two years. Those sunny characterizations may yet prove true, but Bush allies and foes alike are coming to the conclusion that the progress may not be noticeable by the time Bush faces the voters again in 15 months. For a president who has staked his reputation on making ‘a tough decision to make the world more peaceful,’ this could be a big problem. Both Republican and Democratic strategists have begun adjusting their plans for what they once viewed as unthinkable: that Bush's handling of national security in general, and the war in Iraq in particular, could become a vulnerability rather than an asset in his reelection race. One presidential adviser said the suicide attacks hours apart in Iraq and Israel, which undermined the two anchors of Bush's ambitious effort to transform the Middle East, made Tuesday ‘by far the worst political day for Bush since 9/11.’ In one of the new Democratic charges, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), ranking minority member on the Foreign Relations Committee, said the images from Iraq are making it ever plainer to the public that Bush's plan for a more peaceful world ‘has clearly not occurred.’ On the contrary, he said, ‘the world is more apprehensive about our leadership.’ Bush will have a chance to refine his portrayal of the stakes in postwar Iraq when he addresses a friendly audience of veterans, the American Legion's national convention, Tuesday in Missouri, a crucial state in the presidential race. Some foreign policy experts, even conservatives who support Bush's policy, say he should begin to prepare the country for a long haul. ‘We should not try to convince people that things are getting better,’ said former Reagan official Kenneth Adelman, who is close to several Bush officials. ‘Rather, we should convince people that ours is the age of terrorism.’ To be sure, there is plenty of time for events in Iraq and elsewhere in the region to improve, as yesterday's announcement of the capture of Ali Hassan Majeed, Iraq's ‘Chemical Ali,’ confirmed. If former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is killed or captured and the illicit weapons uncovered, it is possible that resistance would fold quickly and U.S. troops could return home. Even without that, GOP pollsters say, there is no cause for alarm. A poll taken in late July by Public Opinion Strategies found that the number of people calling the war and its aftermath a success had fallen from 85 percent in April but was at a still-strong 63 percent. ‘Americans are quintessential optimists,’ said Bill McInturff, who conducted the poll. Still, after this week's violence, several Republican officials said they are rethinking calculations that Bush's vulnerability is the economy. ‘A couple of months ago, everyone believed national security was the president's trump card,’ said one Republican with ties to the White House. ‘Now, we could be in a position where the economy is growing very nicely, well in advance of the election, and the vulnerability could be on the national security side.’”

 MORNING SUMMARY:    

This morning’s headlines:

Des Moines Sunday Register, top front-page headlines: Iowa – “Women top men in embezzling…70% of Iowa thefts done by females…Nationally, men are more tempted”

Quad-City Times, main online heads: “Former Boston priest killed” & “3 British soldiers killed in guerilla attack”

Nation/world reports, Omaha World-Herald: “Ex-priest killed while serving time for abuse” & “Rights groups vary the face of movement”

New York Times, featured online headlines: “Rumsfeld Seeking to Bolster Force Without New G. I.’s” & “Abusive Ex-Priest Is Killed in Prison”

Sioux City Journal, top online stories: “Priest at center of sex abuse scandal killed in prison” & “Mexican officials say deadly Texas, Iowa immigration cases are part of same smuggling ring”

Featured morning heads, Chicago Tribune online: “Pedophile Ex-Priest is Killed in Prison” & “Arafat Seeks to Change Security Chief”

Iowa Briefs/Updates:

WHO Radio (Des Moines) reported that fire officials are warning of grass fires in several sections of the state due to “extremely” dry conditions. Some parts of IA have not received significant rainfall during the past month and, without precipitation soon, the officials say fire risk will increase in a few weeks when Iowans start burning yard debris

In an editorial on Friday, the Quad-City Times noted that area of the state is “MIA” in the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame. The editorial – while congratulating the four who were inducted into the Hall yesterday – said just eight of the 116 members are connected to the Iowa Quad-Cities. The editorial added that it’s been a decade since a Quad-Citian has been inducted. 

 WAR & TERRORISM: 

FEDERAL ISSUES:  

“Drought anyone?” – subhead on column item in Friday’s “Inside the Beltway” column in Friday’s Washington Times. Columnist John McCaslin wrote: ‘Here in Washington, it's been raining all month, so people aren't talking about drought,’ complains Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, Florida Democrat. ‘However, just because we aren't talking about it, doesn't mean that we shouldn't be doing something about it.’ Apart from recent forest fires engulfing Montana's Glacier National Park, the media have virtually ignored the severe drought out West, which has seen little rain and snow for several years running. That's one reason Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Dennis Rehberg, both of Montana, have joined Mr. Hastings (the latter's state is currently blessed with an abundance of rain) in introducing companion National Drought Preparedness Acts. Congress five years ago passed legislation creating the National Drought Policy Commission to examine current U.S. policy on drought. Mr. Hastings summarized the commission's 50-page findings by saying: ‘The U.S. does not have a policy on drought. I wish I had just made a joke,’ he says. ‘The fact that we don't have a drought policy, however, is a joke — and not a good one at that. Drought is not just an agriculture issue, nor is it only a water-management issue. When droughts occur, forest fires erupt, small businesses close, crop yields decrease, and in many instances, people die.’ The bill would provide for better preparation and planning, improved delivery of federal drought programs, and improved weather forecasting and monitoring abilities.’”

IOWA ISSUES:

OPINIONS: 

Today’s editorials, Des Moines Register:

“Iraq: Get out now? Or get in deeper?…Neither course is desirable, but doing nothing is unacceptable.” Excerpt: “There are no good options. The least bad option is to send as many troops as necessary to quell the insurrection and get some kind of Iraqi government functioning as quickly as possible. Then bring the troops home.”

Saturday’s editorials, Des Moines Register:

“So who needs a power grid?…Go ahead and fix it – but move quickly toward a new age of energy.” & “Uh-oh, the ozone hole is back”

 IOWA SPORTS: 

  Big Day ahead at Senior Golf Tournament in West Des Moines. Nine players – with 2002 U. S. Senior Open champion Don Pooley leading at –9 – were stacked at the top of the leaderboard at the Allianz Championship at Glen Oaks. Three were at –8 going into today’s final round with two at –7 and another two at –6.

IOWA WEATHER: 

DSM 7 a. m. 68, fog/mist. Warming up in northwest Iowa at 7 a.m. with temperatures ranging from 59 in Independence, 60 in Ames and 61 in Harlan, Shenandoah, Washington and Mount Pleasant to 72 in Orange City, 71 in Spencer and 70 in Carroll, Denison, LeMars and Storm Lake. Today’s high 89, mostly sunny. Tonight’s low 68, mostly clear. Monday’s high 89, mostly sunny. Monday night’s low 62, chance T-storms.

IOWAISMS: 

Iowa Games top old participation mark by more than 1,000. Radio Iowa’s Darwin Danielson reported that the tally is in and the Iowa Games set a new record with 18, 719 athletes participating in the 2003 Summer Iowa Games -- breaking the previous record of 17,636 set in 2000. Games executive director Jim Hallihan said spreading the events over two weekends gave them more room to play. He said it allowed them to use less fields, but have more fields available. Hallihan said the participation always has it's ebb and flow in different sports each year. He believes the future growth of the games is in adult Iowans because of all the competition available for young athletes. The 17th annual sports festival offered 45 sports in 2003, including the additions of figure skating and sand volleyball.

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