GENERAL NEWS:                                                                                         Friday, May 2,  2003

… A quote to ruin the morning for the Dem presidential wannabes – from advance coverage of tomorrow’s South Carolina debate: “No Democrat has won a presidential race in South Carolina since Georgia’s Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976, and the chances of the Democratic nominee capturing the state’s electoral votes next year are somewhere between slim and none.” – AP’s Jim Davenport, Columbia, SC. 

… Among the offerings in this morning’s update: Kerry trapped in another record distortion – this time involving Roe v. Wade remarks on Senate floor, misrepresenting his actions during remarks in Des Moines

…New national poll – released yesterday -- puts Lieberman in lead, Gephardt second, Kerry third

…Edwards in hot – very hot – South Carolina political water after insulting state legend Gov-Sen Strom Thurmond

…Clinton – Bill – sidesteps Dean-Kerry squabble & praises Rummy. That’s what the story says – “strong words of praise for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld”

…New York Times: Even Lieberman aides question “whether the nation is prepared to elect its first Jewish president…”

…It’s routine now – Gephardt misses vote on special education bill…National Review online raises a question: Have Democratic donors forgotten Lieberman?

…BUT Lieberman leads the field in latest South Carolina poll

…Legislature adjourns without passing Iowa Values Fund economic development package, but Vilsack calls them back for 5/10 special session.  IA House Dem Leader Myers to step down this summer

…Grassley introduces legislation to crackdown on “secret anti-competitive agreements” between brand-name drug companies and generic manufacturers

… Graham says he will quickly “close the gap” on rivals – emphasizes that it’s easier to raise money, build organization than to match his resume as a FL gov and sen

…From the Wanted to be a Wannabe File: CA Guv Davis raising money – again -- to fight recall bid

… Report: Prowler writes that Gephardt blew it in not getting Rep. Harold Ford’s endorsement, shows “where his campaign may be headed…an early loser in the primary season.”

…Chicago Tribune headline: “Bush faces write-in fate in some states”

…Most Dem state parties outlined 2004 caucus-primary plans yesterday. AP’s Will Lester reports that “all but the shouting in the party’s presidential race could be over” by next March 2

…Nearly 80 Sioux City area leaders due in DC next week for the 49th annual Washington Conference and Steak Dinner

…More on those wacky South Carolina Dems – faced with the cost of paying for next Feb’s Dem pres primary, AP reports the party had $288.93 on hand less than a month ago

…All these stories below and more.  

(For those not interested in the Larry Eustachy situation at Iowa State – although it got more interesting last night  – go forward to CANDIDATES/CAUCUSES section.)

THE EUSTACHY SAGA:  … Overnight: Situation with men’s basketball program goes from just crazy to even crazier with suspension last night of associate coach Steve Barnes for allegedly intimidating and threatening “a student-athlete” and his family. WHO-TV reported that Barnes contacted the student to rally support for head coach Larry Eustachy – and to retaliate against media, ISU officials and others who are investigating and reporting on the Eustachy story. Barnes is suspended with pay while Iowa State officials investigate. Meanwhile, the trial date for former Iowa State assistant basketball coach – Randy Brown, who in March pleaded innocent to federal child porn charges – was delayed yesterday until June 2.  
      … Top front-page headline, this morning’s Des Moines Register: “ISU suspends Eustachy aide…Eustachy: I don’t want it to end this way…Barnes: ISU says he intimidated player”…Main headline, today’s Register sports section: “STATE DEBATE: Should Eustachy get another chance? Depends on who you ask” Register has eight different articles on Eustachy/ISU situation – including Opinion page explanation of why the newspaper pursued the Eustachy story and published photos of him partying with University of Missouri students. 
      … The Iowa story that won’t go away – but at least is putting the state on the national sports map: Reaction – from pro-Eustachy rallies to “fire Larry” emails – to the Eustachy saga dominates the state’s sports and news headlines and newscasts. Eustachy, the Iowa State basketball coach who was captured in photos attending a post-game campus party in Missouri and admitted he is an “alcoholic,” has four days left to appeal a decision to dismiss him. Meanwhile, DSM talk show host Mickelson (not to mention the state’s sports talk radio shows) has devoted two entire programs this week to the Eustachy situation and posted reactions on his website – an example: “Mentioning his income has nothing to do with class warfare. Eustacy (sic) is a public employee… the HIGHEST PAID public employee. If he was knocking down a million bucks a year in the private sector, his income would be a moot point. When he is working for taxpayers, it’s a different story. We do have [a] legitimate right to expect performance and behavior commensurate to compensation.”  On the other hand, those who want him back in Ames and on the Big 12 basketball-party circuit next year can join the more than 2,500 who have already gone to www.petitiononline.com and signed the “Keep Larry Eustachy at ISU” petition.  Also, a group of supportive Iowa State students camped out on the yard at Eustachy’s home in Ames last night.  

CANDIDATES & CAUCUSES: 

… Washington Post headline: “Clinton Sits Out Democratic Feud…Dean Campaign Sought Ex-President in Dispute With Kerry” Veteran political reporter Dan Balz reported yesterday: “The presidential campaign of former Vermont governor Howard Dean tried to draw former president Bill Clinton into a dispute with the campaign of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), but the former president said he wanted no part of the feud. At the same time, Clinton threw an unexpected challenge to the candidates with strong words of praise for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and encouraged his fellow Democrats to start a serious debate over reforming the military in ways Rumsfeld has advocated. Dean and Kerry continued to spar with each other in advance of Saturday’s Democratic debate in South Carolina, with Dean’s campaign offering Clinton in defense of its candidate on the question of whether the United States will remain the lone military superpower in the world…’I don’t want to get in the middle of Dean and Kerry,’ Clinton said in a telephone call yesterday from Mexico City, where he was making an appearance…’In all probability, we won’t be the premier and economic power we are now’ in a few decades, he said, pointing to the growth of China’s economy and the growing strength of the European Union….But he said he did not want to be misunderstood. ‘I never advocated that we not have the strongest military in the world…I don’t think a single soul has thought I was advocating scaling back our military.” 

… Headline from this morning’s NH Union Leader: “Lieberman leads in new national poll” Report says survey – released yesterday by Sacred Heart University in Connecticut – has Lieberman with 20.2% followed by Gephardt (16.7%) and Kerry in third with 10.7% -- followed by Dean (6.5%) and Edwards (4.2%). The Sacred Heart outcome –poll conducted 4/21-26 -- basically reflects results of a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted about the same time.

… Edwards – who was born in South Carolina and became a North Carolina Sen – has “stepped on the first political landmine of the young Democratic presidential primary season by criticizing Strom Thurmond. Or he just might have boosted his own campaign.” according to The State newspaper in Columbia, SC. The State report yesterday by veteran political writer Lee Bandy said: “South Carolina Republicans – and some Democrats – pounced on the U.S. senator from North Carolina Wednesday for making what they said were insulting comments about Thurmond, who retired in January after 46 years in the Senate. House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, called the remarks ‘disrespectful.’ State Sen. Thomas Moore, D-Aiken, called on Edwards to apologize to the 100-year-old Republican. At issue were comments Edwards made in a recent fund-raising appeal to Southern Democrats in which he claimed to be a different kind of Southerner from Thurmond and Trent Lott, the former Senate majority leader from Mississippi …Edwards stood by his remarks …S.C. Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian defended Edwards. ‘Does anybody doubt that Thurmond ns his heyday was racially divisive?’ he said. Francis Marion University political science professor Neal Thigpen saw the remarks as a ‘calculated try to win the African-American vote’ in the state’s Feb. 3 Democratic presidential primary…Clemson University analyst Bruce Ransom said the comments could boost Edward’s stock outside the South …Few, however, thought that Edwards’ comments would have little, if any, impact on the outcome of the primary.”  (Iowa Pres Watch Note: For real trivia – Edwards was born 6/10/53 in Seneca, SC, about the time Thurmond was gearing up for a 1954 write-in bid for the U.S. Senate in SC.)

… The New York Times reports, “There is some speculation, even among Mr. Lieberman’s closest aides, about whether the nation is prepared to elect its first Jewish president next year beyond questions like whether Mr. Lieberman is too conservative for voters in Democratic primaries.” That observation is included in a report – headlined, “Crash Course in Orthodox Judaism for Lieberman’s Aides” – that said: “When the nine Democratic presidential contenders arrive in Columbia, S. C., on Saturday for their first debate, they are supposed to show up no later than 7:30 p.m., 90 minutes before air time. Except for Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. He will be there, his aides say, at 8:58, two minutes before the debate begins. In fact, the reason the debate on ABC News is starting so late on Saturday night, past many newspaper deadlines and considerably later than other candidates would have liked, is because Mr. Lieberman will not take his seat until after the sun has set and he has completed his weekly observance of the Jewish Sabbath.” 

… Boston Globe headline – “Kerry admits to an error in boast about 1st speech” The Globe report yesterday by Glen Johnson said: “Senator John F. Kerry said yesterday that he will stop declaring that his first speech on the floor of the US Senate highlighted his support for the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights, a recollection he has learned is not true. As he has campaigned for the presidency, the Massachusetts Democrat has on numerous occasions stated that his maiden speech as a senator was about abortion rights. Kerry did so last month before a group of women in Des Moines, as he pledged to nominate only supporters of abortion rights to the Supreme Court. But the Congressional record shows that Kerry’s first speech in the Senate, on March 19, 1985, was made in opposition to President Reagan’s push to build 21 MX missiles. A States News Service report at the time said that Kerry’s planned remarks were reduced to a relatively brief four minutes, because more senior colleagues wanted to speak and floor debate was limited to 10 hours.” 

… Congress has returned from the Easter recess, but has Gephardt noticed – or did he even know they had an Easter recess this year? Gephardt, who must be on some kind of world-record pace for missed votes this year, missed another one Wednesday when the House voted 251-171 to revamp the federal law requiring public schools to provide free, appropriate education for disabled students. Gephardt was listed as “not voting.” The Iowa Five – King, Latham, Leach, Nussle, Boswell – all supported it, but Kucinich opposed it. The Washington Post reported the measure would “push school systems to offer earlier help for students with learning problems, reduce paperwork for educators and give schools more latitude to discipline special education students.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note: IA GOP Congressman King said on Mickelson radio talk show in DSM earlier this week that during his first months in Congress he has never seen Gephardt on the House floor.)

… Speaking of Gephardt, Greg Pierce reported – under the subhead, “Gephardt’s loss” -- in the “Inside Politics” column in yesterday’s Washington Times: “’Rep. Harold Ford Jr. spurned entreaties by allies of Rep. Dick Gephardt and endorsed Sen. John Kerry for the Democratic presidential nomination,’ the anonymous Prowler writes at www.spectator.org. ‘Kerry didn’t have to work hard for the Tennessean’s nod, which is all the more surprising when you consider the two don’t know each other very well. In that case, it also speaks volumes about where Gephardt stands with his House colleagues and where his campaign may be headed …Ford’s jump to Kerry is the latest blow to Gephardt’s attempts to line up his own caucus’ support in his campaign. With Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi still refusing to throw her support behind him, his campaign, which is floundering in Iowa and New Hampshire, is already looking like an early loser in the primary season.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note: The Ford endorsement is a bigger deal that just one congressman – because it includes the endorsement of Ford’s father, longtime Congressman Harold Ford Sr. and access to their TN campaign operations. For more, see the 4/29 Morning Report.) 

… Under the headline “Is Lieberman Sinking?…Remember Joe Lieberman? Apparently Democratic donors don’t.” on National Review online, Jim Geraghty writes: “By a lot of measuring sticks, Sen. Joe Lieberman is having only a marginally better spring than the Detroit Tigers …For most candidates, ranking fourth out of ten Democratic candidates in national fundraising wouldn’t be too bad – unless your name is Joe Lieberman …An adviser to one of Lieberman’s rivals attributes the Connecticut senator’s campaign doldrums to a poorly defined message and a confusion over what, exactly, [he] stands for. ‘He’s running far left socially, deserting the socially conservative credentials that defined him in the first place, and getting nothing for it.’ The adviser says. ‘He’s not raising money because many liberal Jewish voters still remember he was once in their minds a social conservative and remains a hawk …He’s not generating political support because in running left he’s just seemed like everyone else, just later to get there and phonier because of where he used to be …He has reinvented himself and done it suicidally.”

… For Lieberman, it’s too bad every state isn’t South Carolina – because he leads the Dem field in awareness, favorability and ballot preference among likely SC Dem voters. According to an American Research Group survey (conducted 4/24-29), almost half of the state’s Dem voters are still undecided (47%) – but Lieberman has nearly one-fifth (19%) the vote. Three wannabes are bunched together behind Lieberman – Gephardt 9%, Kerry 8% and Edwards (who was born in Seneca, SC) 7% with Sharpton at 3%. The 2% players are Dean and Graham, while Biden (who’s not an announced candidate), Hart (who’s not an announced candidate) and Moseley Braun (who is an announced candidate) register in with 1%. Bringing up the pack – Kucinich and Gen/CNN war analyst Clark with solid 0% showings.

… Yesterday was the deadline – although a dozen states got extensions – for Dem state parties to submit their plans for the 2004 presidential nominating season. Based on the states already filing their dates, the process could be over by 3/2 when 12 states – including California and New York, not to mention Minnesota, Massachusetts and Vermont – are scheduled to hold their primaries and caucuses. According to the schedule, DC leads off with a non-binding primary on 1/13 – and then the real action starts with the 1/19 IA caucuses and the 1/27 NH primary. Six states (although some legislative action is still pending on approval of the date in some of them) are on the possible 2/3 schedule – Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Carolina. They would be followed on 2/7 with caucuses in Michigan and Washington state, and the Maine caucuses the following day. AP’s Will Lester reported, “While no candidate will have the 2,160 of 4,318 convention delegates needed to win the nomination by that day, political observers expect the leading candidate to have so much momentum by early March that victory is inevitable. A total of 2,021 pledged delegates will have been awarded by the end of voting March 2. The crowded schedule early puts pressure on the candidates to build a considerable campaign warchest and have a solid strategy.”

… The Chicago Tribune – under the headline, “Bush faces write-in fate in some states” – reports: “First came the news that Alabama officials might have to put President Bush on the ballot as a write-in candidate. It turns out Alabama isn’t the only state wondering what it must do to ensure Bush’s name appears on the state ballot next year. The unusually late Republican convention – it does not begin until Aug. 30 – is the problem. Bush is not scheduled to accept his party’s nomination until Sept. 2, 2004, after the deadline for certifying presidential candidates in Alabama, California, the District of Columbia and West Virginia …Bills in the Alabama Legislature would move the deadline from Aug. 31 to Sept. 5, but if they don’t pass, Bush would have to run in Alabama as a write-in candidate. The biggest question might be in California, where election officials plan to begin printing about 15 million ballots almost immediately after its Aug. 16 deadline.” 

… Graham, who made his first campaign visit to IA earlier this week, discounted suggestions he’s getting a late start and predicted he will quickly “close the gap” on the other Dem wannabes. Radio Iowa reported Graham, whose campaign was delayed due to his heart valve surgery in January, cited his resume, that “he’s the only candidate from a ‘major’ state” in the Dem race, and his “fire in the belly” as reasons his candidacy will succeed. He also noted that he is one of two former governors (along with Dean) in the Dem pres field. During his Iowa visit, Graham announced that he and his family – including four daughters and 10 grandchildren – would tour IA during their annual August vacation in two Winnebago RVs, which are manufactured in Forest City.     

… Although this has little connection with the Iowa Dem caucuses, there was a time when California Guv Davis was considered a Dem rising star (even a potential pres wannabe) – and that’s good enough for Iowa Pres Watch to report this item. The Los Angeles Times yesterday reported: “With opponents pushing for an election to recall him from office, Gov. Gray Davis has resumed campaign fund-raising, an effort that has mired him in controversy for years.” And piling on from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal: “If the government of California were a company, it’d be American Airlines. It’s nearly broke, and everyone is mad at the CEO. American decided to let its chief go, and soon California voters may be able to do the political equivalent and recall Governor Gray Davis.”  

… More from AP’s Jim Davenport in Columbia, SC, (see quote at top of morning report, too) – “Consider the bottom line number. In South Carolina, the political parties pay for the presidential primaries, and the statewide primaries last year cost more than $2 million, according to the state’s election commission. As of April 10, the state Democratic Party had $288.93 cash on hand, with nine months before the Feb. 3 primary. Unknown is the amount of soft money the Democrats have in separate accounts.” 

IOWA POLITICS: 

… Iowa House Minority Leader Dick Myers announced yesterday he will step down on July 1. WHO Radio reported the Iowa City Democrat is “calling it a career.” Myers, who has been in-and-out of political office over more than three decades, said he would return for a legislative special session this year – but he was retiring for health reasons and to become anonymous again. (Iowa Pres Watch Note: We know Dick Myers and it’s hard to believe he’ll be anonymous anywhere – unless he plans to retire to cave in Afghanistan.)

MORNING SUMMARY:    

… This morning’s headlines:

Top front-page headline, Des Moines Register: Other than Eustachy top headline – “Vilsack to call special session May 10…Lawmakers adjourn before agreeing on the development fund”

Main online headline, Quad-City Times: “Bush: Major combat operations complete”

Sioux City Journal top online head: State issue – “Iowa Legislature adjourns…for now”

Daily Iowan (University of Iowa) national headline: “Bush claims victory in Iraq, but much left to be done”

Omaha World-Herald, top online headline: “Bush hails defeat for terror”

Chicago Tribune online headline: “Bush to Push National Security in Calif.” 

… Despite the heavy rains in most sections of IA earlier this week, the drought situation hasn’t ended for all Iowans. That’s the thrust of a report on WHO Radio yesterday that indicated IA still needs similar rains over the next two to three months. The report said the drought situation worsened late last summer, but that the state has had insufficient rainfall and snow cover over several years.

WAR & TERRORISM: 

… Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea – but Ireland’s still there, too. BBC News reported yesterday: “The Northern Ireland Assembly elections have been postponed until the autumn over lack of clarity about the IRA’s future intentions, the government has said. Prime Minister Tony Blair said the IRA’s point-blank refusal to rule out all paramilitary activities meant the postponement of the elections until the autumn was necessary. The move, announced on Thursday, came against a background of intense discussions by the British and Irish Governments over the latest Sinn Fein assurances on the IRA’s future intentions.” The BBC report said British officials decided that “Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams’ latest assurance that the IRA would not engage in activities that would undermine the peace process did not go far enough.” 

… VOANews (Voice of America) – under the headline, “Pre-War Disagreements Affect Future Role in Iraq” – reported: “With the battlefield action in Iraq ended, attention is again focused on the United Nations. The Security Council was the scene of acrimonious debate before the war erupted. Now the debate is over what the Security Council should do next with regard to Iraq and what potential role exists for the United Nations there. The war may be essentially over, but at the United Nations there are some things that have not changed. The Iraq sanctions are still in place, despite calls by the United States for them to be lifted. Because of that, the ‘Oil for Food’ program under which Iraqi oil is sold to buy food and other necessities for Iraqis, is still in existence. The reason, analysts say, is because the deep wounds opened by the bitter debate in the Security Council over endorsing military action against Iraq are coloring postwar deliberations.” 

FEDERAL ISSUES:  

… From yesterday’s Des Moines Register – headline, “Grassley aims to unify Republicans on tax cut” – the Washington Bureau’s Jane Norman wrote that Grassley warned “that Senate Republicans must ‘remember history’ and avoid driving moderate members out of the party.” Grassley said he did not know of any GOP moderates on the brink of leaving the Senate caucus – as Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords did in 2000…” But Grassley said it’s his obligation to keep reminding his colleagues of the Jeffords episode as conservative and moderate Republicans battle over the tax cut.” Grassley, who lost his Senate Finance Committee chairmanship after Jeffords left the GOP until Republicans regained control in last November’s election, said: “Part of reminding people about governing is just the historical fact of Jim Jeffords and what can happen if you’re split or if you don’t take into consideration the views of everybody in your party.” 

… Sen Grassley has introduced legislation that would tighten restrictions on pharmaceutical companies that “exploit the law” by discouraging production of generic brands. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reported that Grassley said the bill would “close a loophole for secret anti-competitive agreements between brand names and generic drug manufacturers.” He said the bill’s objective is to bring drug costs down since, Grassley says, generic drug makers sometimes make unscrupulous pacts with brand-name drug manufacturers to hold off marketing generic versions. 

… The Sioux City Journal – headline, “Siouxland lobbyists to carry 10 priorities on steak dinner trip” – reported that tax reform, transportation, health care and economic development issues will top the list of priorities during next week’s annual lobbying trip to DC. The report said 77 area leaders – from Sioux City and surrounding IA, NE and SD communities – are scheduled to be in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday next week for the 49th annual Washington Conference & Steak Dinner. The Journal said that “around 70 Capitol Hill representatives” have accepted invitations to the dinner, and that a “new highlight” has been added to this year’s agenda – a White House briefing with “top Bush administration aides.”  

IOWA ISSUES:

… The Iowa Legislature adjourned last night (the Senate at 6:49 p.m., House at 10:11 p.m.), but Vilsack plans to call them back for special session on 5/10 – a week from Saturday – to finish work on major priorities. The guv urged lawmakers to meet during the interim to iron out differences on proposed Iowa Values economic development fund, regulatory reform legislation and tax code revisions. This morning’s Register reports that Senate President Mary Kramer (GOP, Clive) said it would be “a disaster” if Vilsack recalls the lawmakers before agreements are reached and finalized. She said legislators didn’t believe they would be ready to meet until after Memorial Day. Vilsack told WHO Radio action on the Values Fund couldn’t wait months for approval – and that summer vacation schedules interfered with calling the special session later in the year.   

OPINIONS: 

… This morning’s Des Moines Register editorials: Lawmakers: Please explain…The public might help break the deadlock – if people were told what was in the bills” Says Vilsack and legislators should explain impact of the major legislative initiatives. & “Big war over; small war begins …America may be in a race against time” Says recent incidents show that Iraq fighting “goes on and on. A smaller war after the bigger one …Securing the peace looks, as usual, to be more difficult than winning the war.” & “Extremism run amok …Even Bush incurs the wrath” Excerpt: “Those trying to push their social agenda on poor people dying from AIDS should clam up.” 

IOWA SPORTS:  

… The Daily Iowan (University of Iowa) reported that “the UI Board in Control of Athletics is enforcing a self-imposed ban on all superfluous travel to postseason football games after a committee questioned the policy that gave the board members free trips to the Orange Bowl” – costing around $46,000 for the members, spouses and friends. In the future, only the board chairman – education professor Nicholas Colangelo – or a designated board member will have expenses paid for bowl-game travel.

IOWA WEATHER: 

DSM 5 a.m. 52, fog/mist. Narrow temperature range across IA this morning – 45 in Iowa City to 53 in Burlington and Waterloo. Today’s high 65, showers. Tonight’s low 45, mostly clear. Saturday’s high 68, mostly sunny. From WHO-TV’s Ed Wilson: “Some drying time the next couple of days, then another round of what could be severe weather Sunday night into Monday. Highs will stay around 60 degrees and lows in the 40s.”  

IOWAISMS: 

… A new movie – with a central focus on Iowa’s methamphetamine problem – is scheduled to begin production in Centerville later this month. The movie, tentatively called “Iowa,” is the brainchild of director Matt Farnsworth, who said he fondly remembers spending summers with his grandparents in the area. KCCI-TV (Des Moines) said the film is a story of two young lovers whose lives are ruined after they experiment with and become addicted to meth. Farnsworth said Midwesterners are aware of meth abuse, but those living on the coasts are not familiar with it. In 2001, the federal government ranked Iowa tenth in the nation in meth lab seizures.

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