WASHINGTON, May 19 (UPI) -- Capital Comment -- Daily news notes, political rumors and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.
Off and running...
President George W. Bush kicked off his bid -- unofficially -- for a second term Friday as papers were filed with the Federal Election Commission permitting the creation of a formal re-election committee. As expected, White House Political Director Ken Mehlman will serve as campaign manager when the effort moves ahead. Former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein Mercer Reynolds and deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee, Jack Oliver, will fill the top two posts in the finance division. Oliver's departure from his RNC post, yet to be officially announced, is said by some GOP insiders to be the first of several prominent departures from the committee's leadership, possibly including RNC Chairman Marc Racicot.
Racicot, the former governor of Montana, is rumored to be the president's choice to serve as the re-election's general chairman. No plans have been announced but, if he goes, there are many who hope that Ed Gillespie, a former Bush campaign staffer and longtime associate of former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas -- and now one of the most influential lobbyists in Washington -- will be tapped to replace him.
Off, but not running...
In an open letter to supporters, U.S. Rep. Doug Ose, R-Calif., announced he would neither seek re-election in 2004 nor run for the U.S. Senate -- as many expected he might do.
Ose, who in 1998 was elected to a congressional district that the Democrats had held for more than 20 years, was considered by many to be a rising star in the California Republican party and among GOP moderates in the House, who will feel his lose acutely.
Sarah Resnick, the executive director of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of moderate-to-liberal GOP'ers, called Ose, "a powerful voice for improving the efficiency of government. He brings a common-sense approach to governing, and the country needs more Republicans like him."
"While I may pursue public office again in the future," Ose said in his letter, "I have come to the conclusion that this is not my time to seek higher office. I did not make my decision due to a lack of support or financial commitments, but because of my strong desire to be a good husband and father."
Off...
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer has announced he will be leaving his post in July. A former Bush campaign aide, Fleischer started the 2000 cycle as the spokesman for Elizabeth Dole's short-lived presidential bid. No replacement has been named though many suggest that Fleischer deputy, Scott McClellan, is next in line. Other possibilities include current Defense Department spokeswoman Victoria Clarke and Suzy DeFrancis, at present a deputy assistant to the president for communications.
Running...
Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Mac Collins has thrown his hat into the U.S. Senate ring. First elected to the U.S. House in 1992, Collins is a former Democratic local official who has never really had to fight to keep his seat -- he is quite popular among the Democrats and Republicans whom he represents. He joins fellow GOP U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson in the race for the Republican nomination for the seat held by retiring U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, a Democrat.
Still on the fence about making a run is U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, whom many had urged to make the race. Kingston, who is now a powerful Appropriations Cardinal -- chairman of the subcommittee on legislative spending -- has not officially closed the door on a Senate bid but, with Collins now in the race, is considered likely to do so sooner rather than later.
Senate says "Yes" to excess...
The U.S. Senate turned back an effort by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., to limited the amount of money paid out to attorneys who do work on behalf of the government in mass tort cases. A Kyl amendment to restrict payments to no more than 500 percent of "reasonable hourly rates" where the judgment is greater that $100 million, was defeated by a vote of 61 to 37. According to some estimates, the Kyl amendment, if applied to the judgments handed down on the tobacco lawsuits, could have freed up close to $9 billion in funds that would be available to cash-strapped states looking for ways to close budget gaps. That money will instead be paid out to the various attorneys who worked on -- or at least said they worked -- on the various cases.
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