Election Recycling: Oftentimes Lazy Edition
• Kerryconsults friends, reviews history in VP selection process;Kerryis close toGephardt, Vilsack, Biden,but "the delay in announcing someone has helpedEdwards,"says source.Clark,unity ticket unlikelyHolbrooke: "John [Kerry]has foreign policy experience. He does not need a prime minister [likeCheney]." The Hotline: "IfEdwardsisn't picked, how does theKerrycamp handle that first-day story of snubbing" him? [ WP and WSJ ]
• Gephardtinterrupts post-campaign calm to meetKerry: "IfJohn Kerrywants me to do something, including vice president, I will do it. But I'm very happy to do something else. My life is not all focused on government and public service." [ NYT and LAT and BG ]
• Bush: "The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda: because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda."Kerry: "The president owes the American people a fundamental explanation about why he rushed to war for a purpose that it now turns out is not supported by the facts."Cheney: "The fact of the matter is, the evidence is overwhelming. The press is, with all due respect, and there are exceptions, oftentimes lazy, oftentimes simply reports what somebody else in the press said without doing their homework." [WP and NYT and LAT and WSJ and WT ]
• Kerryadds phrases to speeches that are similar toEdwards'stump; focuses on optimism, college tuition, off-shoring. [WT ]
• Kerry, Bushoptimistic about economy. [ WP ]
• Bushappeals to Baptists to encourage turnout; 16 million Southern Baptists organize first registration drive in their history;[ NYT ]
• Bushcampaigns past midnight for Washington Senate candidate; raises $750,000: "Both of us are going to carry this state. And we're going to because we've got optimistic plans to make this country safer, stronger and better."McCainhits stump today withBush.[ NYT and LAT ]
•Three debates planned: one on domestic policies, one on foreign affairs, one town hall with undecideds. [ LAT and USAT ]