GENERAL NEWS:                                                                                     Tuesday, May 6,  2003

… Eustachy Countdown I ends ...Eustachy Countdown II begins: Countdown I ends with Eustachy resignation – and a payoff of nearly $1 million. But before he resigned the reports kept coming in -- ISU grad said she’s embarrassed by Eustachy incident and another Eustachy party photo surfaced in the Omaha World-Herald.  (See updated “Eustachy File” below.) …And now Countdown II begins with the search for a new coach, uncertainty about the future of ISU program (not to mention current players and recruits) and what happens to Eustachy and his career – as well as his new non-drinking commitment – next? Speculation begins on Eustachy replacement – three possibilities in “Eustachy File.” 

Among the offerings in this morning’s update:

So Larry Eustachy heads into the Iowa State coaching sunset – but Graham appears on the IA political horizon. Today may be the real pinnacle of Graham’s presidential campaign – the day he formally announces his candidacy. Keep reading

…Home state paper – Orlando Sentinel – headline: “Bob Graham – nowhere man in 2004”

…Overnight: Newscasts this morning report train derailment near Carroll in western IA, concern that at least one car leaking diesel fuel. No injuries reported

…Washington Times headline: “Democratic presidential candidates seem unimpressive”

 …Sioux City Journal online poll reveals considerable dissatisfaction with 2003 IA legislative session

…Tight security, $10,000 reward offered to protect Spirit Lake female team members at track-and-field event this evening

…Des Moines Register columnist Yepsen writes this morning that “undecided” continues to lead the Dem field

…Kerry “regime change” comment revisited in New Hampshire – but in the irony of the campaign so far Kerry is sidelined due to hoarseness

…Quad-City Times: Iowa push underway to promote Social Security savings accounts

…No wonder Dean’s getting the good coverage – NewsMax.com says he’s a media darling

…In yesterday’s “Best of Web” column, James Tartanto dismisses chances of two wannabes – Edwards and Graham

…More post-debate analysis: Washington Post says the “Democrats’ Great Divide” exposed

… Kucinich in Iowa –proposes health care plan that would envision raising taxes on employers

…DSM radio talk show host Mickelson opens week by saying “virtue-crat” Bill Bennett is “toast …as far as being in the finger-wagging business.”(Mickelson’s comments came just hours before Bennett statement indicating he’s done gambling.)

…Daily Iowan reports University of Iowa has “quietly abandoned” policy of notifying parents when students arrested or cited for underage drinking

All these stories below and more.

CANDIDATES & CAUCUSES: 

… Headline from this morning’s Union Leader online in New Hampshire: “Graham to join Democrats in race” He officially becomes the ninth Dem wannabe today with an announcement in his hometown of Miami Lakes, FL – a community his family developed from its expansive dairy farm. Associated Press reported that Graham “launches his Presidential campaign several months behind a crowded field of Democrats but is resolute in the belief his credentials, and years of toiling in the nation’s key battleground state, will help separate him from the crowd.” Florida news reports – outside of those already dismissing his candidacy – indicate he’ll emphasize his experience as a three-term senator and former governor, while highlighting that the last three Dem Presidents (Clinton, Carter and Johnson) are from the South. (Iowa Pres Watch Note: It would appear Graham missed a history or geography lesson along the way. If he thinks a Southerner should be elected president – and considers LBJ a former president from the south – what’s wrong with the Texan who’s already there?) 

… Des Moines Register political columnist David Yepsen – under the headline, “Leading the Democratic horse race: Undecided” – this morning writes “look at this race as a battle between the Democratic centrists and the Democratic left. Who is rallying the moderates? Who is collecting the liberals? So far, neither faction has a clear champion.” 

… Kucinich in IA: Register’s Thomas Beaumont from Davenport – under the headline “Kucinich proposes health plan …Idea would raise employers’ taxes to pay for universal program” – reports that Kucinich said yesterday “he would propose raising taxes on employers for a government-run health insurance program …Kucinich is the only candidate in the field for the 2004 presidential nomination who has proposed raising taxes. He is the second of the nine candidates to offer a plan to cover the nation’s uninsured.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note: Dean may take issue with that observation, especially since he announced an extensive health care proposal – and criticized an earlier Gephardt plan – in a New York speech last week. The difference, however, was that Gephardt’s plan got the big headlines.) 

… Post-debate analysis from the Washington Times, headline: “Democratic presidential candidates seen unimpressive” Veteran political watcher Donald Lambro writes: “Democratic presidential candidates, who nearly spent more time criticizing each other than President Bush in Saturday night’s debate, got poor-to-lackluster reviews from political analysts yesterday. ‘I was singularly unimpressed,’ said independent pollster John Zogby. ‘From the vantage point of the public, I doubt that any undecided viewer came away with anything new out of this.’ …Ed Craig, a former director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said he was ‘fairly disappointed’ by the candidates’ performances, and that they had not learned from their party’s losses in last year’s elections.” Zogby also was quoted as saying: “Clearly, nobody emerged as a winner or someone able to challenge President Bush, at least for now.”  

… Graham – known affectionately by Iowa Pres Watchers as “Graham Crackers” – is a former FL gov, a current FL sen and the target of a commentary by Peter A. Brown in the Orlando Sentinel. Headline, “Bob Graham – nowhere man in 2004” Brown wrote: “Virtually every four years some thoughtful, well-respected senator indulges himself into thinking his Capitol Hill reputation is useful currency in a White House campaign. Then he falls flat on his face. Five dollars will get you 10 that, in 2004, his name will be Bob Graham. Graham, a well-regarded three-term senator and former governor, is revered in Florida politics. But he is a much longer shot than most presidential wannabes with a similar profile. Three times in the past 16 years, Democratic presidential candidates have considered and rejected Graham as their running mate. Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton and Al Gore each knew what he was doing. Graham is the 2004 version of Richard Lugar of Indiana and Orrin Hatch of Utah, who in 1996 and 2000 somehow thought their decades in the Senate and position as the Republicans’ congressional expert on foreign affairs and the judiciary, respectively, would impress primary voters. Boy, were they wrong…. Graham, of course, argues correctly that, when he began his political career with a long-shot run for governor, he was in a similarly precarious situation. Perhaps, but in this race, he sure looks like the 2004 model of Lugar and Hatch.”

… Washington political newspaper Roll Call reported yesterday that “mega-lobbyist” Ed Gillespie is under serious consideration to be named the new chairman of the RNC. The report said Gillespie, 41, could replace Marc Racicot, who is expected to take a senior position in the Bush re-election campaign, during the next month. The Drudge Report said White House and RNC officials declined comment on the report, but that anonymous sources said a final decision awaits approval by Karl Rove. 

… Kerry continues to insist his “regime change” comment was just a quip, but apparently nobody in New Hampshire remembers laughter when he made it. From New Hampshire – The Union Leader political reporter John DiStaso, in his column, wrote that Kerry is “still trying to explain his recent call for a ‘regime change’ in Washington. The latest attempt came [last] Tuesday in Alabama. He said, ‘When I fought in Vietnam and fought for my country, I didn’t give up my right to make quips and to participate in the debate.’ We don’t recall any reports of people laughing in Peterborough when he made the comment. ‘That’s because it wasn’t a joke,’ said a Democratic onlooker. ‘It was red meat he was throwing out to the crowd – and probably wishes now that he hadn’t.’”

… Kerry won’t be making any quips or statements about ‘regime change’ – or anything else – in the immediate future since he’s been sidelined with a hoarse voice. He told syndicated radio superstar Don Imus yesterday that allergies and a spring cold caused him to lose his voice. Associated Press reported that Kerry has rescheduled a planned policy speech on Wednesday until later this month to rest his voice. He’s also cancelled a New York campaign appearance Thursday in New York – but his campaign folks said that’s due more to a scheduled Senate Finance Committee meeting (to discuss the president’s tax cut proposal) than his vocal challenges. The Union Leader in New Hampshire reported this morning that Kerry also postponed a scheduled noon appearance there Thursday – at Central High School in Manchester.   

… Under the headline “Media Love Bush-Hating Howard Dean,” NewsMax.com reports: “Here’s why long-shot White House wannabe Howard Dean is getting so much positive press. The former Vermont governor is a favorite of the media establishment. Not coincidentally, he’s also one of the most left-wing of the countless Democrat would-be presidents. Dean is ‘the media’s favorite long-shot for president’ and enjoys an ‘adoring national press,’ confirms Editor & Publisher magazine. Why? Because he loathes President Bush even more than his rivals do and attacks him on everything possible: Operation Iraqi Freedom, tax relief, education reform, national defense …He has more in common with the Bush administration than he’d like to admit, however, notably the secrecy he so hypocritically attacks. The frequently out-of-state guy refused to reveal his campaign trips on his schedule. It took a lawsuit by a local yokel newspaper and an order by the Vermont Supreme Court to force him to make public his trips campaigning for the White House. By the way, here’s the inside story of why Bush-hating cartoonist Garry Trudeau gave Dean extra publicity in ‘Doonesbury’: The two are longtime friends who met at summer camp when they were 13, a fact Trudeau fails to disclose in his free plugs.” 

… From yesterday’s “Best of Web” column by James Taranto on OpinionJournal.com (Wall Street Journal): “Two of the candidates – John Edwards and Bob Graham – seem likely to join Fritz Hollings, TOM HARKIN, Dick Lugar, Orrin Hatch and others in the Annals of Forgotten Senators’ Presidential Campaigns. Edwards’s only distinction is that he’s the prettiest of the nine candidates (OK, not much of a distinction in this crowd). He’s only a first-term senator, and hardly anyone outside of his home state other than political junkies has heard of him. Granted, he’s spent as much time in public office as George W. Bush had four years ago …Bob Graham is the one candidate we feel sorry for. He’s as unknown outside his home state as Edwards is, and he doesn’t have inexperience as an excuse. If anyone has paid his political dues, the 66-year-old has: elected governor of Florida in 1978, and to the Senate in 1986, where he’s been ever sense. When he opens his mouth, the reason for his obscurity becomes clear; to put it bluntly, he is one of the dullest men in American politics. To be sure, dullness also reflects good qualities -- responsibility, sobriety – but America is electing a president, not a designated driver.” 

… More post-debate analysis: Washington Post’s Dan Balz – headline, “Debate Bares Democrats’ Great Divide” – wrote in yesterday morning’s editions: “Democrats are united in their determination to send President Bush back to Texas in November 2004, but the first debate of the presidential campaign exposed the limits of that unity and the near-total absence of consensus about how best to challenge the president in the general election. The president was barely a presence at Saturday’s 90-minute debate on the campus of the University of South Carolina, attacked from time to time for his tax cuts and record on the economy but hardly the main focus of the nine candidates on the stage. Instead, the Democrats turned on one another – in some cases to bare serious differences over the war in Iraq or how to expand health care coverage; in other cases to reveal personal animosities and to begin in earnest the jockeying for position in what now promises to be an especially tough battle for the nomination.” Balz noted that during the debate Kerry and Dean “attacked one another” …Edwards attacked Gephardt … Lieberman “attacked any number of his rivals” …Graham and Sharpton, at different points, “urged their fellow candidates to aim their fire at the president, rather than give the Republicans ammunition to use against the Democratic nominee – but to no avail.”   

IOWA POLITICS: 

…From yesterday’s Des Moines Register front page – headline, “Iowan ready to push NRA’s agenda …Robinson moves to center stage” Coverage by Register Washington Bureau’s Jane Norman: “Kayne Robinson roiled Des Moines and Iowa politics for years in his dual roles as a top city cop and conservative Republican activist. Now he’s off to fill Moses’ sandals, trying to push gun rights to the top of a national agenda dominated by battles against terrorism and economic doldrums, rather than the lightening-rod social issues of a few years ago. Robinson, 60, ascended to the presidency of the National Rifle Association a little more than a week ago, after waiting on the sidelines as the star of ‘The Ten Commandments.’ Charlton Heston, served an unprecedented five years in the leadership.”

MORNING SUMMARY:    

… This morning’s headlines:

Top front-page headline, Des Moines Register: “‘We need to end it’ …Eustachy resigns, accepts $960,000 ISU settlement”

National headline, Daily Iowan (University of Iowa): “U. S. captures ‘Mrs. Anthrax’”

Quad-City Times, main online headline: “Twister death toll hits 38”

National headline, Omaha World-Herald online: “Nature’s terrible force” Report says 10 remain missing, at least 38 dead from violent storms and tornadoes, 

Top online head, Sioux City Journal: “Leaders search for agreement” Report on efforts by Republican legislative leaders and Guv Vilsack to reach agreement on major issues to be addressed during upcoming special session. 

Chicago Tribune online, main headline: “Post-Saddam Leaders May Soon Take Shape”

… Radio Iowa reports the postmaster in Manchester – in northeast IA – has been placed on leave without pay pending an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service. The report said postal officials declined to say why Jerry Doyle, who has served as postmaster since 1980, was relieved of his duties.  

… Apparently searching for a topic other than the Larry Eustachy saga, radio talk show host Mickelson (WHO, Des Moines/WMT, Cedar Rapids) kicked off his program yesterday by saying virtues advocate Bill Bennett has experienced “his Jimmy Swaggart moment” because of revelations about his expensive gambling history. Mickelson: “I’d say he’s toast career-wise as far as being in the finger-wagging business” and there is no way to “justify that kind of character flaw.” Mickelson – who described Bennett as a “virtue-crat” -- said he was “on one hand deeply saddened by this [reports of Bennett’s gambling habit]” – but “this is an example of the double-standard that seems to occupy Washington.”  He added that Bennett’s gambling was “a ridiculous, disrespectful way” for him to treat those who have bought Bennett’s books on virtue. Mickelson said Bennett, who reportedly has lost over $8 million during the past decade, has “basically spit in the face of all those who supported him” – and, in effect, supported his gambling expenses. NOTE: Mickelson made his comments just hours before Bennett issued a statement saying he has “done too much gambling, and that is not an example I wish to set,” adding that his “gambling days are over.”

WAR & TERRORISM: 

… VOANews (Voice of America) headline: “Yemen asks Pakistan to Extradite USS Cole Bombing Suspect.” The VOA report – “Yemen has asked Pakistan to extradite a Yemeni man suspected of involvement in the 2000 bombing of a U. S. warship in Aden harbor. Waleed Mohammed Attash was arrested earlier this week in Karachi, along with five other suspected members of the al-Qaida terror network. Mr. Bin Attash is wanted for questioning in the bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen. Seventeen U. S. sailors were killed in the attack.”

FEDERAL ISSUES:  

… The Quad-City Times reported that a group pushing for private Social Security savings accounts is preparing to aim its message at Iowans and Democratic presidential hopefuls campaigning in the state. The report by the Times’ Todd Dorman quotes Quad-City businessman – and National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) board member – Mike Whalen as saying, “We want to make Iowa the place where we start to save and protect Social Security.” NCPA also released a poll of 400 Iowa voters indicating 35.5% said they favor allowing Americans to invest a portion of their withholding in private accounts. Just more than 16% said no reforms were needed. Whalen is CEO and founder of Heart of America Restaurants, which he started in Davenport 25 years ago with the Iowa Machine Shed Restaurant.

IOWA ISSUES:

… Based on about 170 initial responses to a Sioux City Journal online poll, Iowans are not satisfied with the actions of the 2003 legislative session. The Journal’s “quick poll” asked: “Are you satisfied with the accomplishments of the 2003 Iowa legislative session?” Even just the early responses indicate a trend – Yes – 13.8%, No – 86.2%. 

… From yesterday’s Daily Iowan (University of Iowa), headline – “Jones quietly ditches UI alcohol letter” The report by Phil Davidson said: “Phillip Jones, the UI vice president for Student Services, has quietly abandoned his policy of sending letters home to parents of UI students who are arrested or cited for underage drinking. He said his office was tapering back on the number of letters sent to parents this semester, and it will cease the activity altogether next fall.” The DI story said the policy was announced last spring after a fiery stunt at a downtown bar that burned several students. According to the DI, Jones said the “goal was to assess the amount of underage-drinking offenses and inform parents ‘to the potential difficulties that may occur when students drink alcohol under the legal age.’ Jones said last week his office has collected sufficient data and decided notification to parents was no longer necessary.”

OPINIONS: 

… This morning’s editorials, Des Moines Register: State issue – “Sign one, Veto one …The governor should reject a proposed ban on city-county mergers in most of Iowa.” & “Pretty expensive dirty work …Vilsack shouldn’t have needed consultants to identify where to cut …In the end, the consultant’s proposals aren’t about new ideas or reinventing government.”

… Register political columnist David Yepsen – see above in “Candidates/Caucuses.”

THE EUSTACHY FILE: 
        … Headline from this morning’s campus newspaper – Iowa State Daily online: “Eustachy submits resignation” Opening sentence on coverage by Jeff Raasch – “One of the ugliest weeks in the history of the Iowa State men’s basketball program is over.” 
… Early speculation on Eustachy’s replacement focuses on Creighton’s Dana Altman, who’s developed a winning program in Omaha by recruiting IA high school basketball players …Wyoming’s Steve McClain, an Iowa native (Orient, a community of about 400 in SW IA) with an average of 20 wins a year …and University of Denver’s Terry Carroll, an Ames native who’s a former Eustachy assistant and won national junior college championships while coaching at Indian Hills in Ottumwa. 
        … Under normal circumstances, this would be the last “Eustachy File” report – since he’s resigned and has accepted a settlement of just under $1 million – but, given the various twists and turns over the past week there’s no certainty about the future for 1) the Iowa State basketball program or 2) Larry Eustachy. About all that’s certain this morning is that Eustachy has resigned for an agreement ($110,000 to 7/1 and $850,000 next 1/1), it took three very high-profile IA lawyers (including former GOP guv candidate Doug Gross) to pull it off, and Iowa State is in the market for a new men’s basketball coach.  
        … Citizen commentary from Sioux City Journal online – “So Mrs. Eustachy thinks her husband is a ‘great example to our kids’ because he ‘stepped up to the plate’ and acknowledged his poor decisions. He only apologized because he got caught. Some great example. He makes me embarrassed to be an ISU grad.” – Laurel Davis, Paullina  
        … The Quad-City Times reported yesterday that more photos of Eustachy have surfaced – this time with two K-State students at a January 2002 party in Manhattan, Kansas. The Times’ Steve Batterson wrote that the Omaha World-Herald ran a photo in its Sunday edition of Eustachy and Kansas State assistant Charles Baker on a couch with two students. Batterson’s report said “the party was one of two that Eustachy apparently attended in Manhattan after an ISU loss to the Wildcats …the latest picture was taken at a party that took place prior to Eustachy’s visit to the Kansas State fraternity party, a visit not previously disclosed.” The Batterson coverage said Creighton University student Jayme Muelenkamp of McCook, Neb, took the photo published in the World-Herald. He wrote that it “shows Eustachy and the two students, one male and one female, seated on a couch with Baker. The two students and Eustachy all are holding blue plastic cups.”   
        … And from the other Big 12 Conference precincts – KETV-TV in Omaha online poll revealers voters in their area (which includes Council Bluffs and SW Iowa) are about evenly split on whether Eustachy should lose his job. The question: Do you believe Iowa State University men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy should be fired following his actions at a Missouri campus party? Out of nearly 12,000 responses, Yes – 6,150 (52%), No – 5,779 (48%).   

IOWA SPORTS: 

… Tight security and increased police protection is expected to be in place for this afternoon’s Sheryl Maahs Relays in Spirit Lake after threats were received against female members of the Spirit Lake High School track team. Radio Iowa reported that school officials got a letter last week threatening to disrupt the event – and making threats against specific female athletes. They notified the athletes and their parents of the threats – and the decision was made to proceed with the event. Spirit Lake Superintendent Timothy Grieves said fencing was being installed around the track field to limit access. In addition, local law enforcement officials said a $10,000 reward has been offered for information about the person or persons sending the letter – which is the latest in a series of letters sent over recent months threatening Spirit Lake girl athletes. This was the first letter that gave a specific date and location for carrying out the threats. 

… Tough day at Sec Taylor Stadium in Des Moines yesterday – Iowa Cubs outscored 20-1 in doubleheader. Lose first game 8-1 to Tacoma and then get pounded 12-0 in second game. 

… The Quad-City Times reports that former Hawkeyes tight end “passed his first test in the Indianapolis Colts’ offense this weekend.” Clark, the team’s first-round draft choice as the 24th overall selection in the NFL draft, participated in five practice sessions over the weekend.  Colts coach Tony Dungy said Iowa native Clark did “everything we thought he’d do. He’s learning what we’re doing, and he’d a very eager guy.” 

IOWA WEATHER: 

DSM 5 a.m. 51, fog/mist. Temps range from 43 in Dubuque to 51 in Des Moines. Today’s high 68, chance T-storms. Tonight’s low 48, chance T-storms. Wednesday’s high 70, partly sunny. From WHO-TV meteorologist Brandon Thomas: “Partly sunny on Wednesday, with t’storms likely Wednesday night. Highs will be in the upper sixties to low seventies. Showers and t’storms are likely on Thursday, with highs in the upper fifties to low sixties.” 

IOWAISMS: 

… When a group of more than 70 officials and business leaders from the Sioux City area arrives in DC today for the 49th annual Washington Conference and Steak Dinner lobbying trip they should find City Manager Paul Eckert waiting for them – probably wearing his bike-riding gear. The Sioux City Journal reported that Eckert flew to Philadelphia last Thursday to pick up his bike – which he’d shipped ahead to a bike shop near the airport – for the 300-mile trip to Washington. Eckert said he was hoping to “get there in three days” – doing about 100 miles a day. He also shipped a suitcase with his dress clothes ahead to the DC hotel.

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