Election Recycling: Manufacturing Mirage Edition
• Powellsays troops are "under the most difficult of circumstances;"KerryattacksBushfor vacationing: "[I]'m told that when he takes days off, you know, he totally relaxes: He doesn't watch television, he doesn't read the newspapers, he doesn't make long-term plans, doesn't worry about the economy. I thought about that for a moment. I said, sounds to me like it's just like life in Washington, doesn't it?"Bartlettresponds thatBushis "not skiing" in Texas. [ WP ]
• KerryquestionsBush'sIraq policy: "Why is the United States of America almost alone in carrying this burden and the risks which the world has a stake in?. . . There is no Arab country that is advanced by a failed Iraq. There is no European country that is safer by a failed Iraq. Yet, those countries are distinctly absent from risk-bearing. . . This is essentially an American occupation." [ WP and BG ]
•Iraq and the 9/11 commission become sidebar topics inKerry'seconomic speeches. [ LAT ]
• Ricestays on script, defendsBush,as panel presses her on pre-9/11 warnings. [ NYT and NYT and WP ]
• Cheneyheads to Japan, China, and South Korea, just as kidnappings of Japanese and South Koreans occur in Iraq. "It's a classic case, I think, of those who are opposed to what we're trying to do in Iraq, trying to change the behavior of governments through terror, intimidation, the threat of violence. It's important that those of us who are working on this overall effort not allow that to happen," said a senior administration official. [ WP and WT ]
• Bushnominates executive for a new position on manufacturing policy;Kerrysays it's a "manufacturing mirage;"Pelosi: "Manufacturing workers want action, not another government employee." [WP and NYT ]
•Internal conflicts over advertising cause one ofKerry'schief consultants to reduce his role;Kerrycamp sees a long summer of ad spending. [ NYT ]
•AfterRice, Clintonpays panel a visit. [ NYT ]
•In Crawford,BushwatchesRice,meets with "wildlife conservation organizations" including the NRA. [ USAT ]
•Likely Hispanic voters favorKerrytoBush,according to new poll. [ WT ]
Not on the 321st date, John! REUTERS/John Gress US ELECTION