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MORNING REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever. Our
Mission: To hold the Democrat presidential
candidates accountable for their comments
and allegations against President George W.
Bush, to make citizens aware of false
statements or claims by the Democrat
candidates, and most especially, to defend
the Bush Administration and set the record
straight when the Democrats make false
or misleading statements about the
Bush-Republican record. GENERAL
NEWS:
Saturday,
May 10, 2003 Among
the offerings in this morning’s
update: ...
Graham
accuses Bush administration of stalling
release of report on 9/11 terrorist attacks.
And Lieberman also joins in the attack ...
Three
candidates – Dean, Kucinich, Graham –
scheduled in Iowa today ...
Kerry
tells New Hampshire reporters GWB tax cut
is inefficient, ridiculous waste of federal
revenue ...
Gephardt
postpones New Hampshire visit today ...
During
Miami stop, Lieberman urges Bush
administration to keep focus on achieving
Cuban democracy ...
GOP
State Chairman Larson on Mickelson radio talk
show urges Iowans to mobilize against
multi-million dollar Iowa Values Fund ...
In
Iowa yesterday, Kerry not joining Dems
criticizing GWB landing on aircraft carrier ...
Vilsack
calls special legislative session later this
month – May 29 ...
Gephardt
shows up for a House vote – but Iowa
delegation all over the place yesterday on
passage of tax cut package ...
A
Norwegian lawmaker – saying small wars
are sometimes necessary to prevent bigger wars
– nominates Bush, Blair for Nobel Peace
Prize ...
Graham
blindsided by “Today” show’s Katie
Couric as she questions him about a Washington
Post parody, as if it were accurate ...
Lieberman
picks up key IA endorsement ...
Flood
prevention: Saylorville Dam officials
reduce outflow to curtail flooding in DSM
metro area ...
Iowa
City Press-Citizen editorial tribute to
outgoing IA House Dem Leader Myers ...
All
these stories below and more. Online
poll: Early returns from Chicago Sun-Times
online survey in response to question “Do
you believe George Bush shows the hallmarks of
a true ‘Christian’ by his words and deeds?
Yes – 62%. No-38%. Morning
report: ...
Three
Dem wannabes due in state today – Dean arrived
in IA last night and is scheduled to be in Jefferson,
Ankeny and Des Moines, including an
appearance at Polk County Dem event tonight. Kucinich
is expected to campaign today in Ellsworth,
Story City, Ankeny and Des Moines, and will
also be at the Polk County dinner. Graham
also is scheduled at the Polk County event
at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in DSM. Lieberman
is due in Iowa tomorrow for campaigning in
Ames and Des Moines.
...
New
Hampshire report: The Union Leader reports
this morning that Gephardt has postponed
today’s swing through four NH communities
because his mother is ill. He had been
scheduled to attend functions in Manchester,
Derry, Portsmouth and Dover.
...
Graham
wasn’t alone in urging the Bush
administration to release the 9/11 report.
The AP’s Nedra Pickler reported that Lieberman
also “called on the administration to stop
blocking the report’s release. ‘I fear the
administration is placing bureaucratic,
political, or secrecy interests ahead of the
national interest,” Lieberman said in a
statement.”
...
From
Lloyd Grove’s “The Reliable Source”
column in yesterday’s Washington Post:
“Democratic presidential candidate Richard Gephardt,
discussing his 30-year-old daughter, Chrissy
Gephardt, in an interview yesterday with Alan
Murray and Gloria Borger on CNBC’s
‘Capitol Report’ – ‘Chrissy is a
lesbian …She’s a social worker here in
D.C., and I’m very proud of her and I want
her help in my campaign, and she’s going
to help with gay and lesbian people, but
she’s going to help with people all over the
country.’”
This
morning’s headlines: ...
Des
Moines Register, top front-page headline: “Rasmussen
quits RACI post… Gambling probe leads to
resignation.” Jim Rasmussen, who has been
chairman of the board that oversees Prairie
Meadows racetrack and casino since 1995,
resigned yesterday due to his involvement in
an illegal gambling probe.
& “D.M. business climate among
nation’s best” Forbes magazine ranks DSM
eighth on new list of nation’s best places
for businesses and workers. ...
Quad-City
Times, main online head: “All signs point
to a rough Q-C weekend” Excerpt:
“Thunderstorms equivalent in intensity to
those that have bedeviled the mid-South and
Great Plains states the past few days could
strike the Quad-City region this afternoon and
evening, officials with the National
Weather Service in Davenport warned
Friday.” ...
Top
online headline, Sioux City Journal: “Vilsack
calls special session for May 29” Report
says the 5/29 schedule gives “Statehouse
leaders nearly three weeks to work out a deal
on creation of an Iowa Values Fund and other
issues.” ...
Omaha
World-Herald, top world headline: “War
opponents open to U. S. resolution” ...
Chicago
Tribune, online headline: “Powell
Optimistic on Mideast Peace Trip” Iowa
Briefs/Updates: ...
WHO
Radio (Des Moines) reported yesterday
that the Corps of Engineers has reduced the
outflow of Saylorville Lake – located
northwest of Des Moines – to prevent
downstream flooding, including the DSM
downtown area, on the Des Moines River.
Officials said a boat ramp and beach will be
closed because of higher water levels –
reportedly rising at a foot-and-a-half a day
-- caused by heavy rains across the state
during the past week ...Morning newscasts say
state officials reporting IA has received more
rain during past six weeks than in the
previous eight months.
...
VOANews
(Voice of America) reported that “U.S.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage
arrives in New Delhi late Friday on the last
leg of a three-nation tour of South Asia. Mr.
Armitage says he is cautiously optimistic
about recent improvements in the relationship
between nuclear rivals, India and Pakistan …Indian
leaders are expected to tell the U.S. envoy
that real dialogue will depend on steps
Pakistan takes to end its alleged support of
Muslim militant insurgents waging a
separatist war in Indian Kashmir.” ...
From
yesterday’s Sioux City Journal – headline,
“Siouxland delegation upbeat about
Washington trip” – said” “A
77-member Siouxland delegation returned home
Thursday, generally upbeat about what they
accomplished during their three-day lobbying
trip to the nation’s capital. Veteran
staffers for one member of Congress described
the trip as one of the best
ever for the tri-state
group, said Debi Durham, president of
the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, which
coordinated the 49th Washington Conference
& Steak Dinner.” ...
Vilsack
calls special legislative session for May
29. ...
IA
Republican State Chairman Chuck Larson
appeared on Mickelson’s talk radio program
(WHO, Des Moines/WMT. Cedar
Rapids) yesterday to encourage Iowans
to mobilize against the proposed Iowa Values
Fund being advocated by Guv Vilsack, ex-Gov.
Ray and several state business and farm groups.
Larson, who also is a state senator from Cedar
Rapids, said he was concerned about the
legislation that would “grow the size of
government by 25%” – and leave “our
children and grandchildren to pay for it over
the next 25 years.” He said the Values
Fund was “not about economic
development,” but is about
politicians who want to spend more money. The
legislation, he said, was “about more
spending politicians couldn’t
squeeze into the existing
budget” because of tight revenues.
Mickelson asked him if he was reflecting the
views of Republicans – Larson response: “I
think I’m with the people of Iowa.” ... Meanwhile,
Vilsack has been on an aggressive statewide
campaign to promote and seek support for the
Iowa Values Fund package. He has been in
all corners of the state during the week –
from northeast IA on Wednesday to western
sections of the state on Thursday. The
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported that Vilsack
told a group of John Deere employees in
Waterloo, “We are engaged in a fight for the
future of our state, pure and simple.” The
Courier reported that Vilsack said the
Values Fund “would promote economic
development by creating 50,000 jobs
statewide.”
...
This
morning’s Des Moines Register editorials:
“Let cities ban smoking (or not) …Bans
in restaurants might not be wise, but towns
should have the authority.” & “To
market, to market (today)” The Des
Moines Downtown Farmers Market – a
traditional magnet for caucus candidates
passing through IA -- opens summer season
today. Editorial says Country Home magazine
has list the DSM market as one of the
top four markets in the country which “puts
us right up there with San Francisco and
Seattle.” ...
Citizen
commentary from the Sioux City Journal:
“Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says
that eliminating the tax on corporate
dividends would not be fair because it favors
people who already have plenty of money.
Shouldn’t his advice take precedence over
that of the Politician in Chief?” Nancy
Riggan, Orange
City
... DSM
5 a.m. 55, fair. Temps across IA this morning
mostly in upper 40s and lower 50s – from 43
in Spencer and Estherville and
44 in Waterloo to 61 in Keokuk
and Burlington. Today’s high 65,
showers and T-storms. Tonight’s low 45,
showers and T-storms. Sunday’s high 58,
windy. ...
The
USS Sullivan – named for five Waterloo
brothers who died in the South Pacific during
World War II – should be in a new
location today after making its first voyage
in more than two decades. The destroyer was
scheduled to be towed about 300 yards
yesterday to a new location in the Buffalo
(N.Y.) and Erie County Naval & Military
Park. The ship was repositioned in the park as
part of a major development program. The
Sullivan brothers – who enlisted in the Navy
together after Pearl Harbor – insisted on
serving together on the same ship and all five
were killed when their ship, the cruiser USS
Juneau, was sunk in 1942 by Japanese
warships.
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...
Headline
from this morning’s Sioux City Journal
online: “Kerry gives Bush thumbs-up for
carrier landing” Report from Des
Moines by Todd Dorman says Kerry said
“he will not join a chorus of Democrats
criticizing President Bush for the
headline-grabbing landing on a U.S. aircraft
carrier last week.” Excerpt: Kerry said
“he’s ‘grateful’ to the president for
thanking U.S. troops. Kerry made a
quick campaign trip to central Iowa
Friday…’It’s the prerogative of the
commander in chief,’ Kerry said,
‘These troops worked hard. They’ve been
out there a long time. I think they
appreciated his visit. Speaking as a pilot,
I was jealous of his stick-time, and not a bad
photo,’ he said.” 
...
Des
Moines Register reports this morning that IA
Attorney General Tom Miller has endorsed
Lieberman – a former Connecticut attorney
general. Miller quote: “I’ve known him
for 20 years. I’ll never be embarrassed to
support him, and no American will ever be
embarrassed to have him as their
president.” Miller is the first
statewide Dem elected official to endorse a
2004 presidential wannabe. 
...
The
Union Leader political reporter John DiStaso
– under the headline “Kerry: Bush tax
cut plan ‘ridiculous’ waste of funds”
– wrote that Kerry “called New
Hampshire reporters from Capitol Hill
yesterday to label President Bush’s tax cut
plan an ‘incredibly inefficient,
ridiculous’ waste of federal revenue. The
Massachusetts senator is a member of the
Senate Finance Committee, which debated
scheduled votes on the plan yesterday. Kerry
said he filed an alternative plan to
cut the payroll tax by $765 a person. He
said he knows it will not be in the final
version passed by the Republican-controlled
Senate because it simply does not have enough
support. Kerry called the Bush plan a
‘cheap political trick’ to convince
average Americans that the economy will be
spurred on by tax that Kerry said clearly
would benefit the wealthy …Kerry called
yesterday’s committee meeting ‘one of
the disappointing moments of the
administration in terms of its choices.’”
...
From
Los Angeles Times online – headline, “Bush
Delays 9/11 Report, Graham Says” – a
report yesterday that said Graham “accused
the Bush administration Thursday of stonewalling
on the public release of a congressional
report on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. ‘The
only reason that delay has occurred is because
the administration does not want our report to
be available to the American people,” said
Graham, Florida’s senior senator and
former chairman of the Senate Intelligence
Committee.” The Associated Press report
said, “After months of investigation and a
series of congressional hearings last year,
the House and Senate intelligence panels
wrapped up their report Dec. 20 and released a
summary. The full classified report is still
under review at the FBI and CIA, which are
trying to determine whether any disclosure of
information might pose a risk to national
security. Graham, who chaired the committee
at the time the report was completed, said he
thinks the White House is behind the delay.
‘They don’t want this report to come
out,” he said. “There has not been in my
memory, and I would question whether there has
been in modern American history, an
administration that was so committed to
secrecy as this Bush administration.”
...
Gephardt
finally showed up yesterday to cast another
vote as the U.S. House – by a 222-203 margin
– approved a $550 billion tax-cut package. The
two Dem wannabes – Gephardt and Kucinich
– both, as expected, opposed the
legislation. On the other hand, the Iowa
congressional delegation went 2-2-1 on the
legislation that would reduce taxes by $550
billion over the next decade: IA GOP Reps. Latham
and Nussle supported the tax cuts, Dem
Rep. Boswell and GOP Rep. Leach
voting against it and GOP freshman King
was recorded as “not voting.” 
...
Miami
Herald headline: “Lieberman’s radio
message resonates with Cubans” The
Herald’s coverage yesterday said Lieberman
“sent
a message of encouragement to Cubans across
the Florida straits on Thursday – and appealed to the Bush administration not to back away from its pledge
to promote democracy on the island –
during a campaign stop at Radio and TV Marti
…In the nine-minute interview on the U.S.
government-run station, broadcast live to the island,
Lieberman
said Cuba is ‘nearing the gates’ of
Castro’s demise and
addressed those affected by the recent
crackdown of opposition on the island. ‘For
years I have
believed that the end of the Castro regime
would be not only what would give hope and
freedom and opportunity to the people of Cuba,
but what would be consistent with the
principles of America’s founding,’ said
Lieberman,
who spoke through an on-air interpreter to
Marti newscaster Margarita Rojo.” Lieberman,
who made the Marti stop between FL campaign
fundraisers, also “urged President Bush not to fall short on his May 2002 pledge to promote democracy on the
island
and modernize Radio and TV Marti,” according
to the Herald report. 
...
And
the Graham campaign keeps stumbling along…
Graham hasn’t
even been a candidate a week yet, but not a
day goes by that one of the FL newspapers
hasn’t had a story about his campaign
misadventures, missteps or general lack of
charisma. The latest installment, courtesy of
yesterday’s Congressional Quarterly midday
update – “Sen. Bob Graham,
D-Fla., got a prime opportunity to discuss his
presidential campaign on the ‘Today’ show
Wednesday morning, but host Katie Couric focused on Graham’s habit of logging his activities each
day.
She quoted a Washington
Post story about unusual entries, such as one
noting the music at his campaign kick-off that
said, ‘We Are Family plays (Sister
Sledge).’ Couric, NOT REALIZING THE POST
PIECE WAS PARADOY,
asked
Graham incredulously, ‘
What do you do this for?’ Graham
said,
‘That is absurd.’ The St. Petersburg Times
reported that Graham
tried to explain the log was bogus, but his
answer was unclear and viewers probably did
not realize what he meant.
‘Today’ show spokesperson Lauren Kapp
declined to discuss whether Couric had
misunderstood the Post story, saying only: ‘Katie followed up on a story in The Washington Post regarding the
senator’s daily log. The senator answered
the question.’” 
...
From
the opinion page in yesterday’s Iowa City
Press-Citizen – the topic, retiring Iowa
House Dem Leader Dick Myers: “Rep. Dick
Myers’ announcement last week that he’ll
retire July 1 certainly struck Iowa City and
the state by surprise. Myers, 68, wouldn’t
elaborate why – he was just reelected in
November – but for the moment that is
irrelevant. What’s important is that Myers
has ably served the Iowa
City area in the Statehouse for the past
decade. His success and character will
make the position difficult for anyone to fill
…Myers
got results because he was a straightshooter
who believed in his ideas and would talk with
the other side about them. And that’s a good
model for lawmakers everywhere to follow.”
...
Chicago
Tribune online headline: “Lawmaker pushes
his picks: Bush, Blair for peace prize”
Coverage – Reuters report, Oslo dateline –
said: “A Norwegian legislator nominated
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony
Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday,
praising them for winning the war in Iraq.
‘Sometimes it’s necessary to use a
small and effective war to prevent a much more
dangerous war in the future,’ said Jan
Simonsen, a right-wing independent in the
parliament. ‘If nobody acted, then Saddam
Hussein could have produced weapons of mass
destruction and, in five or 10 years, could
have used them against Israel,” he
said.” 
... Top
headline on sports section of today’s Des
Moines Register – “Lebo enters fray in
ISU search …Fresno State’s Lopes no
longer a candidate to replace Eustachy.”
Report says Iowa State has added
Tennessee-Chattanooga coach Jeff Lebo, a
former North Carolina player, to list of
candidates it plans to interview this weekend
for basketball coaching job. Meanwhile, the
Register said Fresno State coach Ray Lopes has
withdrawn from consideration to replace Larry
Eustachy.
to read past Iowa Morning Reports