Monday, March 17, 2003

GENERAL: Morning reports: Despite war possibilities, St. Patrick’s Day events and noon parade still on in Des Moines…Overnight: United States notifies U. N. to start withdrawing weapons inspectors from Iraq. Security Council to meet on status of inspectors, consider next moves this morning. U. S. also issues travel advisory urging Americans out of Israel. British Foreign Office says English citizens should leave Kuwait. Brit news reports indicate two of Tony Blair’s cabinet members may resign if war plans proceed. Israel indicates it will retaliate if attacked by Iraq, tells residents to make sure their “safe rooms” are ready. FBI to put hundreds of agents on around-the-clock alert status against possible terrorism … Not unexpectedly, most media outlets – and humans on the planet – fixated on one headline and story this morning with prospect that hourly countdown underway for Iraq invasion. Other stories all secondary – or lower -- on interest scale… ST.  PATRICK’S DAY…but even more important GWB says, after yesterday’s Azores summit, today is the “moment of truth” for the global community. Speculation mounts – and continues this morning – an Oval Office announcement could come as early as tonight. The president outlined two basic alternatives to war – Saddam can disarm or leave Iraq…CNN/USA Today poll confirms GWB message and instincts: It’s time to go – indicating two-thirds (64%-33%) support military action against Saddam and Iraq, a five-point upswing in past ten days. In fact, more than half (54%) believe U. S. has waited too long and majority (53%-43%) don’t care about U. N. considerations much more. Interesting poll disclosure: Despite possible increase in domestic terrorist activities due to war, 50% believe threat greater if U. S. doesn’t go to war vs. 43% who believe threats exist (but presumably at lower level) even without war… More bad news for anti-war advocates: VOANews (Voice of America) headline: “UN Moves 5 Inspection Helicopters Out of Iraq” Report says the choppers were evacuated to Cypress because of “possible war” – leaving only three helicopters to assist in search for weapons of mass destruction. VOA says the helicopters were withdrawn after western insurers refused to cover the aircraft while Iraq faces possible war…From CNN anchor Aaron Brown last night – says for now Iraq situation is like “a Texas two-step.”…On this St. Patrick’s Day, Irish are faring much better than French – who are taking increased hits for reluctance to support anti-Saddam war efforts. Is it time to put “freedom dressing” on the menu with “freedom fries” and “freedom toast” yet?

CANDIDATES/CAUCUSES: Tough Dem California convention for Lieberman – didn’t even attend, but still got booed by delegates. L. A. Times reports this a.m. “the doves took wing [Sunday]…with activists cheering antiwar sentiments and booing the leading hawk in the party’s presidential field, Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman.” Lieberman addressed – or attempted to address – the delegates via prerecorded video, but Times reports “they jeered and booed the disembodied face of Lieberman, as he peered down impassively from two jumbo-size TV screens, a small bust of Abraham Lincoln over his left shoulder.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note: Maybe it would have gone better if he’d had bust of FDR or JFK – or even Bill Clinton – over his left shoulder?) …The weekend is over and six of the nine Dem aspirants have – presumably – moved eastward again after addressing the Dem California state convention. The main stars – Dean, Edwards, Kerry, Sharpton – appeared early in convention. (Gephardt, Lieberman passed on convention – although, obviously, Lieberman sent a videotape. Graham still in recovery mode from heart surgery.) Two others – Kucinich and Moseley Braun – were scheduled yesterday, but coverage of their appearances sparse and/or irrelevant. The real bottom line, especially given Iraq war possibilities, on Kucinich and Moseley Braun – who cares?  (Iowa Pres Watch Note: West Coast journalists probably more concerned about whether or not to hyphenate Moseley Braun’s name – or whether Kucinich’s name should be hyphenated or not?)…L. A. Times report says most delegates were gone – “only a few hundred” of 2,000 delegates remained -- when Kucinich and Moseley Braun spoke. The apparent highlight: “Kucinich briefly silenced the hall -- and had many shifting awkwardly in their seats – by starting his speech with an a cappella medley of patriotic songs.”…General – and apparently perpetual unannounced Dem presidential wannabe (and CNN military analyst) -- Clark said on CNN last night he expects U. S. to be at war by end of week. (Iowa Pres Watch Note: At least Clark said something most of the announced candidates have trouble doing – saying something most Americans agree with.)

IOWA POLITICS: Ed Fallon for governor? A six-panel newsletter has surfaced indicating “Fallon for Governor Exploratory Committee” has been established to support Dem State Rep. Ed Fallon (Des Moines) for a possible 2006 gubernatorial run. In the newsletter, Fallon says he is considering the campaign because he has “a clear vision of a better future for Iowa. That vision is focused on the needs of average Iowans…” A website also has been set up – www.fallonforgovernor.org -- but the main message states: “This page is under construction. Please pardon our mess.” To contact him: Fallon is a somewhat, sometimes liberal maverick who refused to sign a Dem Party unity pledge in 2000 – primarily because he was supporting Green Party’s Nader for President…Des Moines Register columnist Rob Borsellino reports hotel owner Bob Conley – a registered independent with “no political experience” – is considering bid for Des Moines mayor. Conley has owned the downtown Holiday Inn since 1988.

MORNING SUMMARY: Super day for headline writers – among the bluntest and best: Los Angeles Times online, “”U. S., Britain, Spain to U. N.: Act by Day’s End” and Detroit Free-Press, “Bush to U. N.: Join or Watch” Most headlines look a lot alike, using the “Moment of Truth” theme and phrasing…Morning headlines -- Des Moines Register: “‘Moment of Truth for the world’…Bush, allies give U. N. until today to authorize force against Iraq”…Omaha World-Herald online, “Today is ‘moment of truth’ for Iraq”…Chicago Tribune online, two headlines: “World Faces Crucial Day in Iraq Crisis” and “Saddam Warns Iraq Will Take War Anywhere” – warned if Iraq attacked it will take war anywhere in world “wherever there is sky, land or water.”

WAR/TERRORISM: BBC News reports American peace activist Rachel Corey (23, of Olympia, WA) has been run over by an Israeli bulldozer and killed in the southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses told BBC she was trying to stop demolition of a Palestinian building in the Rafah refugee camp near the Gaza-Egypt border…Headline from yesterday’s Washington Times online, “Voice of America radio reaches to young Arabs” Report says the U. S. is “sending anti-terrorism messages to large young audiences in the Arab world, including Iraq, through Voice of America’s Radio Sawa” and also plans to launch a TV network in the Middle East. During anticipated war, Radio Sawa will offer all-news/information format to present America’s side of the issues.

FEDERAL ISSUES:  Opponents of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) are focusing on IA GOP Congressman Nussle, chairman of the House Budget Committee, in battle to stop legislation to authorize drilling. Quad-City Times reported the Alaska Coalition of Iowa and area environmental groups hinge their efforts on fact budget passed by Nussle’s committee last week did not include a provision allowing for oil exploration in ANWR. The Senate Budget Committee, however, included language opening the door for development of refuge oil – and proponents indicated they are within a vote or two of securing passage in the full Senate. Several reports indicate – if the additional vote or two (with VP Cheney breaking a possible tie, if necessary) can be secured – the Senate will consider the ANWR legislation in a matter of days…Leftover from yesterday: Headline, Sioux City Journal online: “Action on Social Security unlikely in current Congress”

STATE ISSUES: Iowa Policy Project of Mount Vernon reports state flat-tax proposal by GOP Sen. Sen Larry McKibben, Marshalltown, would shift income tax burden to lower-and-middle income groups. McKibben, who’s supporting a 3.5% flat-tax, said analysis by the legislative Fiscal Bureau indicates it would be evenly balanced between low- and high-income taxpayers. The policy project report said: “Moves to simplify Iowa taxes in some cases may not only fail to make filing simple, but also may raise new fairness and revenue issues.”

FROM THE WEEKEND:  Headline on “Potomac Fever” column in Des Moines Sunday Register. “Boswell plans to break pledge of 3 terms only” Jane Norman, Register’s Washington Bureau, reports Dem Congressman Boswell will break three-term commitment to run again in 2004. Key Boswell quote: “It’s as simple as this – I made a mistake.” He says he didn’t realize that to have an impact Congressmen have to stick around for awhile. Norman also reports Republican Stan Thompson, who lost to Boswell last fall, is anticipating another run in 2004. (For more on Boswell term-limit commitment, see 3/12 Iowa Press Watch morning update.)…On Sunday, the Washington Times reported that Dixie Chicks “quickly discovered their timing was off – and that country music fans want to keep the country in their music.” Last Monday, lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience, “we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” Country music radio stations – including three K. C. stations that stopped playing their songs – were flooded with protest calls. In a written statement over the weekend, Maines said the president is “ignoring the opinions of many in the United States and alienating the rest of the world” – but added, “As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful.” CMT.com (Country Music TV) visitors’ poll running about 70% of respondents view, “I don’t like them at all.” About 15% say, “I still love them.” Eleven percent say they “don’t like them as much as I once did” and 4% “don’t care.” …Anti-GWB criticism continues: Letter to editor from Des Moines Sunday Register – “President Bush is a man of his word. One can only admire him for honoring his campaign pledge to be a ‘uniter not a divider.’ He has succeeded in uniting world opinion against his administration for its unilateral positions on global warming, nuclear disarmament and impending war with Iraq.” – Herbert Fromm, Ames.

OPINION:  Des Moines Register editorial, state issue: “A tax hike in disguise…If lawmakers want a higher sales tax, there are better uses than school projects.”       …Letter to the editor in the Sioux City Journal: “What happened to the oil conservation of the ‘70s when speed limits were reduced? What will it cost to replace the speed limit signs in Iowa if it is raised to 70 mph? If the speed limit of 70 mph is passed, I guess we will just have to slow down 5 mph.” – Gary Conaway, Sioux City, re a proposal being considered in the IA legislature to increase the speed limit on the state’s interstates.

COLUMN OF WEEK II: Iowa Pres Watch has already done a column of the week (John Kass’ column from the Chicago Tribune), but – given events of the past 20 or so hours – another is in order: From Kathleen Parker, Orlando Sentinel – “Once again it seems America has been deceived by her own better angels. We have assumed, incorrectly, that our enemies can be reasonable. They cannot – will not – and so we face the grim reality that we are viewed as the evildoers while Evil itself is nourished by the deception. Here’s what would be reasonable: that Saddam Hussein disarm. Reasonable would be for Saddam to recognize that he is imposing mass suicide on his countrymen and immediately desist. Reasonable would be for the rest of the world to join the United States in demanding that he behave reasonably…That world opinion has been so easily massaged and manipulated by a madman proves the true power of evil and confirms only the imperative that Saddam be eliminated.”

SPORTS: Iowa teams strike out in NCAA basketball selections, but land four NIT berths – Iowa and Iowa State men’s teams, Iowa and Northern Iowa women’s teams. Hawkeye men, in fact, play 8 p.m. tonight vs. Valparaiso in Iowa City. ISU hosts Wichita State in Ames on Wednesday. Both women’s teams play Thursday: St. Louis at Iowa, UNI at Baylor… Boys state basketball tournament opens in Des Moines today with six games  …the late Pete Taylor – the “Voice of the Cyclones” who died two weeks ago – has been recognized for his three-decade career as Iowa State’s sports broadcaster in this week’s (3/17 edition) Sports Illustrated. SI’s Steve Rushin devotes his column to Taylor, saying: “Strange, isn’t it? In wanting to make stars of the Cyclones, he became a star. In 33 years, Iowa State University had five athletic directors, seven football coaches, seven basketball coaches, 675 losses in those two sports combined and one – one – radio play-by-play announcer for football and basketball.” Rushin added Taylor was “world-famous all over Iowa.”

WEATHER: Dense fog advisory thru mid-morning for northern Iowa, primarily north of highway 20, some schools delaying classes a couple hours…DSM 5 a.m. 52 with light fog, mist…Temps across state range from upper 30s to lower 50s – from 36 in Harlan and Estherville to 53 in Quad Cities…High today 72, chance of T-storms. Low tonight 48, rain/storms continue. High Tuesday 58, more rain and storms. WHO-TV meteorologist Brandon Thomas says, “Better chance of t-storms and heavy rains on Tuesday with highs in the mid-fifties to low sixties. Heavy rains likely on Wednesday, with highs in the low fifties.”

IOWAISMS: St. Patrick’s Day is here and it’s time for Iowans – especially DSM area residents – to turn their thoughts and attention to bulldogs. That’s right, entry forms are now available for the 24^th annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest – which is held in conjunction with the 94^th running of the Drake Relays in Des Moines 4/24-4/28. Up to 50 bulldogs usually participate in the contest -- which will be held 4/21 to kickoff Relays Week activities. For entry form: dolph.pulliam@drake.edu…Two Iowa high school teams will compete in national academic contests later this year after winning Iowa Academic Decathlon over weekend in Denison – Cedar Rapids Jefferson won the large-school division while Southern Cal High School (Southern Calhoun County, Lake City-Lohrville) was small-school winner.

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