Daily Report: 2004 Presidential Watch: Republican conservative news on the Democrat caucus, primary candidates national campaigns.

Because of the extensive coverage of the AFSCME forum in Des Moines this weekend in Sunday morning's report, Iowa Pres Watch as decided to leave it on the website for an extended period. The next Morning Report will be posted Tuesday, 5/20.

Timely, appropriate editorial cartoon of the weekend:
On the Opinion page yesterday – as the Dem wannabes were preparing for their first labor union forum in DSM -- the Des Moines Register reprinted a Steve Sack editorial cartoon from the Minneapolis Star Tribune: It showed a group of suit-and-tie-wearing donkeys leaving a “Democratic Debate” with one of them saying to another donkey: “So, if the election were held today, which candidate do you think would give the best concession speech to George W. Bush?…”

… It’s no wonder there are potholes in IA or that prisoners escape from state institutions or it sometimes takes a day to clear two inches of snow off the state’s roadways. WHO-TV reported last night that the hundreds of government employees – otherwise known as members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – attending the DSM forum preferred what Kucinich and Sharpton said yesterday. They demonstrated some minor inclination toward political sanity by saying Gephardt would be the eventual Dem nominee – but that prediction is probably wrong too.

(Iowa Pres Watch Note: Let’s find out how good – and powerful – AFSCME really is in the union/political world. For the past decade, AFSCME has been riding the political crest as the first union to back Bill Clinton – so let’s see them follow their philosophical, ideological and political hearts by endorsing Kucinich and/or Sharpton now. If the AFSCME magic worked for Clinton, it might work for Dennis and Al – not to mention that they are probably as well qualified as Bill was to be president. Don’t wait. Get on the Kucinich bandwagon now and endorse the AFSCME union favorite – the former Cleveland “Boy Mayor” – today.)

... Dean moves to center stage today at Harkin forum in Davenport. Live coverage at 2 p.m. on C-SPAN

... Dem candidates start taking the political gloves off – attack president yesterday during Iowa labor union forum. See section highlighting coverage below

... And DNC chair McAuliffe accuses GWB of introducing era of “new McCarthyism.’”

... Lieberman on warpath – calls for hearings on Halliburton contracts in Iraq, wants investigation of homeland security department involvement in search for renegade Texas lawmakers

... NC report: Edwards returning to IA for rural policy address this week

... Quad-City Times report this morning: Juvenile crime increasing in eastern Iowa

... Washington Post reports House, Senate and White House remain “deeply divided” on final tax cut package; Register says Grassley expected to chair conference committee

... Settlement: LeMars students get moment of silence at high school graduation

... Report on CNN.com: Graham & Edwards putting Senate Democrats in a bind, frustrating efforts to regain Senate majority in 2004

... A different view of Dean’s Oregon visit – accusing GWB of catering to bigotry and hate

... Iowaism: Sioux City gardeners tackle downtown beautification projects

FROM YESTERDAY’S AFSCME FORUM:
... Front page coverage in this morning’s Des Moines Register – photo of the Dem Seven in attendance above headline, “Candidates focus on taxes, health care in civil debate” Thomas Beaumont reported: “Democrats splintered over health care and tax cuts in Des Moines, but kept their differences civil during the largest single gathering of 2004 presidential candidates so far this year. The seven candidates who attended the national labor forum at the Polk County Convention Complex spent more time attacking President Bush’s record than each other. The biggest difference among the candidates: how broadly to advance universal health care.”
... From the Los Angeles Times: Headline – “Democratic Candidates Unload on Bush …At a union gathering in Des Moines, seven of the nine presidential hopefuls play down their differences and strike a populist tone.” Excerpt from Ronald Brownstein coverage – “Seven of the nine Democratic presidential candidates muted their differences with each other and sharply criticized President Bush’s record on the economy, health care, judicial appointments and homeland security at a town meeting [in Des Moines] Saturday sponsored by a powerful union …the candidates competed to deliver the most enthusiastic denunciations of Bush, the Republican Party and big corporations, usually in pointed populist terms.”
... From the New York Times: Headline – “Democrats Say Bush Is Weak on Terrorism” Excerpt in Adam Nagourney coverage – “Democratic presidential candidates challenged President Bush [yesterday] for his handling of the war on terrorism, questioning the administration’s failure to find Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and asserting that Mr. Bush failed to protect the nation adequately against further terrorist attacks. The candidates …repeatedly castigated Mr. Bush, their presumptive opponent in November 2004, for what the White House has portrayed as one of Mr. Bush’s chief strengths: his record in battling terrorism and protecting Americans at home.”
... Headline from Boston Globe online: “Democrats target Bush policy” The Globe uses Brownstein’s Los Angeles Times report
... Sioux City Journal online headline: “Democratic presidential hopefuls in Iowa take on economy, condemn Bush tax cuts” Report by Todd Dorman: “Seven Democratic presidential hopefuls sought to convince voters Saturday they have the best strategy for reviving the sluggish U. S. economy while rounding condemning tax cuts favored by President Bush …There were virtually no jabs between the candidates, who saved their best shots for the Republican White House. The event was part liberal-labor revival, part policy seminar and part morning at the improv.”
... Excerpt from Washington Post coverage by Dan Balz: “For almost three hours, the Democrats appealed to an audience of union members with relentless attacks on President Bush and barely raised an eyebrow toward one another.”

... After weeks of attacking each other and spending the past week or so pretending to be universal health care experts, the Dem wannabes in Des Moines yesterday shifted their focus to red meat politics – attacking GWB. Associated Press Iowa watcher Mike Glover reported that virtually all of the Dem contenders “charged that Bush is pushing tax cuts for the rich as the nation’s economy staggers and budget deficits swell.”

... Quotes – From Dean: “We’ve lost a lot in the last 2 ½ years. This president’s prescription for everything is take two tax cuts and call me in the morning.”

... From Graham: “We’ve lost jobs, we’ve lost pensions and we’ve lost confidence in the American economy.”

... From Edwards: “They honor wealth; we honor the work that creates wealth. The president says he wants a debate about values. We’re going to give him that debate.”

... From Gephardt: “As this debate moves forward, people are going to begin to notice that Democrats have a very different view than the president, He has one program: tax cuts…I’m trying to offer a clear choice. I tell people that if they like the Bush tax cuts, they ought to vote for him”

... From Kerry – in New Hampshire, but addressing the AFSCME forum by phone: “Under this president, America is off course. Time and time again, he [Bush] has chosen to protect the privileged at the price of progress for the whole nation.”

... From Sharpton: “This is not about what you say, but is about what you do.”

... Meanwhile at an Ohio Dem state dinner last night, AP’s Nedra Pickler reported that in prepared remarks DNC Chairman McAuliffe “accused President Bush on Saturday of unleashing a ‘new McCarthyism’ by vilifying people who oppose his policies.” The quote from Pickler’s coverage: “George Bush has unleashed a new McCarthyism that, under the cloak of a time of crisis and peril, has vilified and questioned the patriotism of those who have policy and political differences with him and his administration.’”

... Although some of the Dem wannabes were scheduled to be lingering in the state this morning after yesterday’s AFSCME cattle call in Des Moines, the spotlight clearly focuses on Dean this afternoon as he participates in a Harkin-sponsored forum in Davenport – and gets live C-SPAN coverage. Even Dean knows what’s at stake this weekend with the AFSCME event and Harkin forum, telling the Quad-City Times: “This is a big weekend in Iowa.” Coverage by the Times’ Ed Tibbetts: “Howard Dean is already known to politically active Iowans. He’s running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, and he has been to the state about three dozen times. In fact, the ex-governor of Vermont has stepped inside the Quad-Cities’ borders more times than other candidates have even made it to the entire state. So this Sunday, when he faces 200 of the most-politically engaged Democrats in the Iowa Quad-Cities in the second “Hear it From the Heartland” forum, it might seem as if he has little to say that they have not already heard. Not so, Dean said. Earlier this week, Dean laid out a detailed universal health-care plan in New York. And, he said, he’s got a few ideas about homeland security and ‘corporate responsibility and ethics’ he wants to lay out [today].’”

... Headline on CNN.com – “Graham, Edwards put Senate Democrats in bind …Possible replacements await decision” CNN.com featured a Reuters report that said Edwards and Graham “may be busy running for president, but their fellow Democrats back home are in limbo as they anxiously await word on the pair’s Senate re-election plans next year. Edwards, a freshman from North Carolina, and Graham, a three-term veteran from Florida, have left open the option of running for the Senate again next year if their presidential campaigns do not take off. The uncertainty has left the Senate races in both states in suspended animation and complicated Democratic hopes of recapturing a Senate majority next year …Neither Edwards not Graham have set a timetable to decide, although they might not know the fate of their presidential bids until February of next year.”

... Save the forests – from Lieberman. Over the past 72 hours, he has written more letters, used more paper and called for more investigations than many members of Congress do in a career. First, the letter-writing Lieberman –in his role as ranking member of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee – wrote to Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge asking why the department’s “resources were used to track down Texas legislators embroiled in a bitter state feud over a proposed redistricting plan.” Lieberman said if reports are accurate that the agency assisted in tracking down the missing Texas Dem lawmakers, “I am outraged that Homeland Security resources are being used to help settle partisan political scores.” Lieberman said he wants to “hear from whoever it was who thought the department’s mission includes assisting the Republican party of Texas in a party dispute.” The ink had hardly dried on that letter when he found another situation demanding his literary talents – a call for congressional hearings to “examine in detail the no-bid contract awarded to a Halliburton Corporation subsidiary to extinguish Iraqi oil well fires.” In a letter to Governmental Affairs Committee chair Susan Collins of Maine, Lieberman also asked that the hearings “include a closer look at Iraqi reconstruction contracts that were awarded through a closed or limited bidding process.” Lieberman wrote: “Only through complete disclosure, can we ensure that the American people will have confidence in how their government chose to award these contracts.”

... A different Dean view. Friday’s Morning Report (5/16/03) highlighted comments by Dean in the Portland Oregonian, citing the newspaper’s coverage of his comments about foreign policy and tax cut, but there’s another version – the Associated Press coverage -- that deserves attention. The AP report – headlined, “Dean describes Bush as catering to bigotry, hate” on The Union Leader online – said Dean “predicted that U.S. troops will be forced to remain in Iraq for at least a decade to ensure a stable democracy after toppling Saddam Hussein. ‘This president has made a fateful decision, and he’s going to be there a lot longer than he says he is,” Dean said of President Bush …But Dean reserved his harshest words for Bush for not denouncing recent remarks by Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican who compared homosexual behavior to incest or polygamy in comments about a pending Supreme Court case on a Texas law. ‘For him (Bush) to put his arm around Sen. Santorum and say he’s an inclusive person is pathetic catering to bigotry and hatred and is not becoming of the president of the United States,” Dean told reporters following a campaign speech at an Oregon fund-raiser.”

... The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that Edwards is scheduled to return to Iowa next Wednesday to outline a rural policy statement that – according to his campaign -- will “emphasize the importance of rural America and outline his goals and ideas for rural communities in Iowa and across the country.” The News & Observer’s John Wagner wrote that “the speech comes amid a flurry of policy speeches by other Democrats on health care. Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat, plans to outline his views on that subject in coming weeks, aides said.”

... Des Moines area news outlets, including the Des Moines Register, reported over the weekend that DSM Mayor Preston Daniels, who’s retiring after his current term, has endorsed Councilwoman Christine Hensley to be the city’s next mayor. Hensley, who has enjoyed considerable Republican support during her years on the council, is expected to declare her candidacy for the mayoral job on Tuesday.

... Since thousands of Iowans live closer to Lincoln, Neb., than Des Moines, this report from the Omaha World-Herald may be of interest to some – Barry Rubin, 31, will be moving from the DC area to become executive director of the Nebraska Democrats. Rubin – who was campaign manager for Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s unsuccessful gubernatorial run last fall – said: “There are some basic things we can do to re-energize the party.” World-Herald staff writer Henry J. Cordes noted, “Democrats in Nebraska are in need of some energizing. In 2002 they had their worst showing in the state since the 1950s, although they did recently win the Lincoln mayor’s race.”

... Des Moines Sunday Register, top front-page headline: “Overtime? Not for farm workers …It’s Legal: ‘30s-era pay exemption applies …They’re stuck: Laborers lack advocates”

... Main headline, Quad-City Times online: “Juvenile crime rates on rise” The Times reported that “a faltering economy aided by a 4.9-percent increase in juvenile crime in 2002 while squeezing the budgets of agencies helping those troubled juveniles get back on track, an annual report from Iowa’s 7th Judicial District states …The increase in the number of juveniles being charged with crimes ended a five-year decline in juvenile crime, and the numbers continue to rise.” The 7th District includes five eastern IA counties: Scott (Davenport), Muscatine (Muscatine), Cedar (Tipton), Clinton (Clinton) and Jackson (Maquoketa).

... Top story, Sioux City Journal online: “Morocco stunned by suicide attacks”

... Omaha World-Herald online, world head: “Pope has Parkinson’s, Vatican official says”

... Chicago Tribune online, top headline: “Suicide Bombers Strike Israel Amid Summit” Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon postponed a trip to Washington on Sunday after a suicide bomber killed seven passengers and himself on a Jerusalem bus while a second bomber blew himself up on the city’s outskirts, police said.”

... The Quad-City Times reported yesterday that the “Peace Camp” on the northern edge of the Pentacrest area on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City has shut down. Organizers of the camp – which sprung up days after the start of the war in Iraq – said they had accomplished their goal by stimulating a dialogue about the Iraq situation. The Times report said the eight tents and up to two dozen campers withstood a late winter snowstorm, several heavy rains and high winds over seven weeks before the “camp” was closed on Friday.

... The LeMars Seven – the seven seniors who filed a lawsuit in U. S. District Court in Sioux City last week to secure a moment of silence at their high school graduation – have succeeded. The Sioux City Journal reported that LeMars school officials agreed on Friday to permit a 30-second moment of silence during next Saturday’s commencement ceremonies, but emphasized they were not endorsing religion or that the school district was sponsoring a religious activity.

... Iowa Briefs/Updates: Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reported that the state’s poorest areas haven’t improved much during the past decade according to an analysis released by the Iowa Kids Count coalition – and that the “economic stagnation is focused in the state’s inner cities.” The coalition’s executive director, Michael Crawford, said 37 of 49 census tracts that were considered “high risk” areas for poverty in 1990 were still in the high-risk group in 2000.

... Under the headline “Signs of Al Qaeda revival seen,” the Chicago Tribune yesterday published a New York Times Service report that said: “Leaders and operatives of Al Qaeda have reorganized bases of operations in at least a half-dozen locations, including Kenya, Sudan, Pakistan and Chechnya, senior counterterrorism officials said Friday. The leaders have begun to recruit members, train them and plan attacks on Western targets in earnest, according to senior counterterrorism officials in Washington, Europe and the Middle East.”

... VOANews (Voice of America) reported yesterday “another mass grave has been found in Iraq. An Iraqi group opposed to Saddam Hussein says as many as 600 Kuwaiti prisoners of war killed in 1991 could be buried there. The stench of death hangs over the burial ground in the desert wasteland outside Habaniya, a lakeside resort, about 100 kilometers west of Baghdad.”

... The Washington Post reported yesterday that the “Bush administration launched an aggressive campaign [Friday} to pressure House leaders to abandon their version of an investor tax cut in favor of the one the Senate approved Thursday night …But if anything, Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) and other top House leaders are sharpening their rhetoric against the White House-backed plan. ‘The fact of the matter is, Thomas has a better bill,’ said one senior House GOP aide. ‘And at some point or another, policy has to matter.’ The exchange highlights how deeply House, Senate and administration Republicans remain over the tax bill’s ultimate fate.”

... And on the Senate Front, the Des Moines Register’s Jane Norman reported yesterday that IA GOP Sen Grassley “is expected to play a key role in resolving House and Senate differences over tax cuts as lawmakers hope to complete work by Memorial Day. Grassley, a Republican, is expected to be named chairman of a House-Senate conference on the tax cut because it is his turn to serve, aides to Grassley said Friday.”

... And a comment from GOP activist Chuck Muth in his daily e-mail newsletter to conservatives: “The Senate advanced the budget football down the field [Thursday night) by passing a $350 billion tax cut with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote. But wait, you say, don’t the Republicans have the majority in the Senate? Why did the Veep have to break a 50-50 tie? Well, because three Republicans voted AGAINST the tax cut: Olympia Snowe, Lincoln Chaffee and John McCain. None of them voted against the bill because the tax cut was too SMALL.”

... Radio Iowa reports a researcher at a “think tank” based in Mount Pleasant says the $810 million economic growth initiative – the Iowa Values Fund – that’s been endorsed by Guv Vilsack and the Iowa House will do little to stimulate Iowa’s economy. The Radio Iowa story said David Hogberg of the Public Interest Institute indicated that the majority of academic research he’s reviewed “concludes state economic development spending has little effect on growth.” Hogberg was quoted as saying, “the literature suggests tax cuts would be a more promising economic growth policy.”

... This morning’s editorial, Des Moines Sunday Register: “When test scores shouldn’t count …The brain-damaged boy was asked to sit up six times. He made it four times. That is a score pf 67 percent right, or supposed proficiency.” Editorial focuses on required No Child Left Behind standards.

... Register political columnist David Yepsen: Headline – “Little bills are icing for Iowa” Yepsen writes about legislation – in addition to the Iowa Values Fund – that require attention during the upcoming 5/29 legislative special session, including measures on city-county mergers and complying with the federal Help America Vote Act.

... Register columnist Rekha Basu: Headline – “More protection for polluters” Writes about “the Legislature’s recent refusal to adopt DNR air-quality standards.”

... Golf. Headline from yesterday’s Quad-City Times: “Deere Run ‘tweaking’ precedes Weibring’s move to Champions Tour” Report by Craig DeVrieze: “D. A. Weibring will join the Champions Tour at the end of the month, but the soon-to-be senior citizen has not forgotten his grand baby. Weibring was in the Quad-Cities recently to check up on some changes at the Tournament Players Club at Deere Run …’Just a little tweaking to a few things,’ is how the player-design consultant described a pair of projects at the 4-year-old course. The major change was a re-sloping of the pond at the 18th green. That will bring the water more into play, both for the PGA Tour pros, who will take on Deere Run at the September John Deere Classic, but for everyday players …He won the first of his five Tour titles at the 1979 Quad-Cities Open and added subsequent Q-C wins in 1991 and 1995 and is the only three-time winner in tourney history.”

... DSM 5 a.m. 59, fog/mist. Temps this morning range from 50 in Dubuque to 59 in Des Moines. Today’s high 80, partly sunny. Tonight’s lows 62, partly cloudy. Monday’s high 78, chance T-storms. From WHO-TV’s Brandon Thomas: “Partly cloudy on Sunday, with highs in the upper seventies to low eighties. As you head back to work on Monday, a cold front will push through the state, triggering showers/t-storms by early afternoon. Highs will be in the low/upper seventies. Partly sunny on Tuesday, with highs in the low/mid sixties. Plenty of sunshine and warmer on Wednesday, with highs in the low seventies. Partly sunny on Thursday, with a good chance of t-storms in the evening. Highs will be in the low/mid seventies.”

... A few days ago the Des Moines Register’s David Yepsen devoted a column to encouraging Iowa communities to enhance downtown beautification efforts by planting more plants and trees – and the folks in Sioux City were apparently paying attention, or probably a couple steps ahead of him. The Sioux City Journal reported yesterday that a “major step in downtown beautification” was under way as members of the Woodbury County Master Gardeners, the city of Sioux City and Downtown Partners joined together yesterday to complete a planting project. The report said yesterday’s agenda included “the planting of an array of colorful plant materials in the 70 above-ground planters located on the sidewalks of downtown Sioux City.”