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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sandintoes who wrote (471155)	10/4/2003 11:55:45 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Arnold Goes on the Offensive URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99122,00.html Saturday, October 04, 2003 MERCED, Calif. — Arnold Schwarzenegger (search) went on the attack Saturday, denouncing the latest sexual harassment allegations made against him as untrue and charging that all of the 11th-hour accusations were intended to wreck his campaign for governor. The Austrian-born candidate, also accused of expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler nearly 30 years ago, received support from a leader of a Jewish human rights organization and the man who trained the teenage Schwarzenegger as a bodybuilder, both of whom said the actor has championed tolerance. The harassment allegations earned Schwarzenegger criticism from his rivals in the final debate of the campaign, which the actor sat out. Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (search) said if one of his three daughters had experienced the groping Schwarzenegger is alleged to have committed "it wouldn't have taken a campaign to resolve it." Green Party candidate Peter Camejo (search) suggested Schwarzenegger has gotten away with harassing women all these years because he's rich, white and famous. "If he were a black man, he'd be in jail. If he was brown, he'd be in jail. If he were a poor white he'd be in jail," said Camejo. "What does it tell us about our society that a rich white person can do the type of things that he's alleged to have done?" State Sen. Tom McClintock (search), Schwarzenegger's main Republican rival, agreed that the accusations were serious and called for investigation. But he added extra caution was needed because the allegations surfaced so close to Tuesday's election. Also Saturday, the Democratic National Committee (search) issued a resolution calling on Schwarzenegger to apologize for the alleged Hitler remarks. The action star dismissed the move as "sleaze politics" and said for the third consecutive day that he despises Hitler. During a stop near Clovis on Day 3 of his bus trip across the state, Schwarzenegger denied the latest harassment allegations. "The last accusations that I read today are absolutely untrue. They're trying to torpedo my campaign. They're trying to make me look bad out there so that people vote no," said Schwarzenegger, who has been leading in polls on the recall election. "Why has this not come out before?" he said of allegations by 11 women that he groped or sexually harassed them. "Why have they not called me? Why has no one said, 'Arnold you went too far.' If someone said this to me I would apologize immediately." Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (search) canceled his plans to campaign Monday for the actor, saying he still supports Schwarzenegger but wanted to avoid "sideshow politics" surrounding Tuesday's gubernatorial recall election. Meanwhile, Davis flew around the state with several big-name Democrats in a final effort to persuade people to vote no on the recall. Recent polls showed more than 50 percent of likely voters want him removed from office. Bustamante and McClintock also made campaign appearances. Much of the focus remained on the front-runner Schwarzenegger, however, after the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that six women claimed he groped or sexually harassed them between 1975 and 2000. After the story was published, five other women came forward to report similar incidents, including two who said Friday the actor harassed them on the set of the 1988 film "Twins." Another woman said she was a television intern in the early 1980s when Schwarzenegger groped her buttocks and made untoward remarks about her anatomy as she was escorting him to a set. Schwarzenegger, who apologized Thursday for having sometimes "behaved badly" around women, said the latest allegations were untrue. In Merced, where he was joined by his wife, Maria Shriver (search), Schwarzenegger joked briefly about the allegations, pulling away when a supporter at an In-N-Out burger stand attempted to hug him. "Don't do it! Don't do it! Otherwise it will be in the paper again," he told her before relenting. Schwarzenegger said he suspected the governor's supporters were behind the allegations, but Davis has denied any connection. The Times has said none of the first six accusers were put in touch with the newspaper by any of Schwarzenegger's opponents. The others came forward after the first story broke. Meanwhile, Austrian gym owner Kurt Marnul told The Associated Press on Saturday that as a teenager Schwarzenegger helped break up neo-Nazi rallies at least twice. "It's absurd. It's 100 percent wrong that he could have ever liked Hitler," Marnul said at his gym, where the former world champion bodybuilder began training when he was 15. Transcripts from a book proposal by George Butler, who directed "Pumping Iron," the 1977 bodybuilding documentary that brought Schwarzenegger to mainstream attention, quoted the actor as expressing admiration for Hitler not for what he did, but for rising to power with little formal education, and for his public speaking abilities. Butler issued a statement Friday saying the remarks were quoted out of context and that he'd never heard Schwarzenegger utter an anti-Semitic remark. Schwarzenegger has said he despised Hitler and could not recall ever saying anything in favor of him. Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (search), said that if Schwarzenegger did express admiration for Hitler he should apologize. But he added that the actor has worked on the center's behalf for years, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars and speaking out in favor of its pro-tolerance programs. "For the 20 years that I've known Arnold, I can say without reservations, he is not an anti-Semite, he is not a supporter of neo-Nazis or racists," Hier said in a telephone interview Saturday from Jerusalem. The Davis campaign said its internal polling showed support and opposition to the recall vote was running even after word of the allegations. The Schwarzenegger camp said its polls showed a slight movement in favor of Schwarzenegger. Before the remarks, polls showed the recall passing and Schwarzenegger leading the candidates to replace Davis. Davis noted Schwarzenegger has acknowledged mistreatment of women. "Electing a governor who might have committed a crime is going to distract the state from the work it has to do," he said.

To: sandintoes who wrote (471155)	10/5/2003 1:02:50 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 769667

'I Think We Can Do This' URL:http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004111 Sunday, October 5, 2003 12:01 a.m. EDT This is the informed opinion of Washington Democrat Norman Dicks, just back from visiting Iraq, as expressed to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a House hearing last week on the Bush Administration's request for $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. Given most reporting on these subjects of late, his optimism struck us as news. Speaking of his visit to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Congressman Dicks said: "That should be a model for the rest of the country, Mr. Secretary. I mean, I was so impressed with the level of detail and involvement and interaction that the 101st is having with all these people in those three provinces. I think that that should be the model. If we follow that, and if we can give those generals the resources necessary to keep up their effort, I think this--I think we can do this." He was referring to the Army's 101st Airborne Division, under the command of Major General David Petraeus. Mr. Dicks isn't the only Democrat impressed with the coalition's progress in Iraq. Georgia Representative Jim Marshall came back from a visit and wrote an op-ed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month in which he accused the media of reducing the chances of success in Iraq by publishing only the bad news. He repeated this view in the Washington Post Wednesday. "Our news coverage disproportionately dwells on the deaths, mistakes and setbacks suffered by the coalition forces," he wrote. "Democrats should carefully avoid using the language of failure. It is false. It endangers our troops and our effort." We'll let readers decide what to make of the fact that CNN recently had Mr. Marshall appear in a point-counterpoint segment with its very pessimistic Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf. Republicans at Monday's House hearing also spoke up about the reality of life in Iraq based on what they had seen with their own eyes. Texan Henry Bonilla: "Some of us who were in Iraq got to see firsthand the reality, which is the glass is really more than half full, not half empty." Washington's George Nethercutt: "As one who has just come back with the delegation, I think the plan has worked remarkably well."And Kansan Todd Tiahrt told the following story: "A week ago on Tuesday, as I was coming into the Capitol, I heard an ABC News report on the radio on Iraq. The news radio report said there was chaos in the streets, there was limited water, sporadic power--the criminals ran in the streets and the Iraqis resented our presence. In my trip over the weekend I found that to be totally false." We suppose it's possible that the U.S. military and Iraqis sold all of these politicians a bill of goods during their visit to Iraq. Then again, their views echo those of nearly everyone who has visited Iraq, as opposed to those who merely read the papers or watch TV. The security problem in Iraq is serious, and Americans are at risk, but there is also enormous political, economic and security progress being made. The House hearing, by the way, received very little coverage. That is in sharp contrast to blanket coverage given the six-hour grilling Mr. Rumsfeld received at the Senate last month, when West Virginia's Robert C. Byrd and others all but declared the war in Iraq to be lost. Not every American can go to Iraq to see for himself what is happening there. Which is all the more reason for the press to report what Members of Congress are saying after their visits--even if it's good news.

To: sandintoes who wrote (471155)	10/5/2003 1:13:17 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

White House Appears Calm as Leak Probe Deadline Looms Saturday, October 04, 2003 WASHINGTON — The White House projected a business-as-usual air Saturday, though a Tuesday deadline to turn over documents in a leak investigation hung over nearly 2,000 staff members. Interviews with nearly a dozen White House officials found no sense of urgency among the few workers in the office on a weekend. All White House staffers face an order from President Bush's counsel to come forward by 5 p.m. Tuesday with any documents that might help the investigation into the leak of an undercover CIA (search) officer's identity. Employees were required to sign a memo certifying either that they have produced relevant documents or have no such documents. The order covers materials such as electronic records, telephone logs, correspondence, computer records, notes and calendar entries. Late into Friday night, the White House press office sifted through thousands of phone messages dating back to February 2002 and beyond, seeking potential contacts between administration officials and journalists who were the subject of the memo from White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales (search): syndicated columnist Robert Novak (search); Newsday's Washington bureau chief, Timothy M. Phelps; and Knut Royce, a Newsday staff writer. Investigators are trying to determine who leaked to the three journalists the identity of Valerie Plame (search), a CIA operations officer who has served overseas. She is married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who publicly accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence to exaggerate the threat from Iraq. The news leak that exposed her identity also exposed the name of the CIA front company she used as a cover. The company's identity appears in Federal Election Commission (search) records because the CIA operative, using her married name Valerie E. Wilson, contributed $1,000 to Al Gore's presidential primary campaign in 1999. Her husband contributed to both the Bush and Gore presidential campaigns. The company that appears in FEC records, Brewster-Jennings & Associates, had been a CIA front for Plame, according to The Washington Post. That account was confirmed Saturday, only on condition of anonymity, by an official who recently left the government. The arduous work of poring through phone logs turned up a few messages from the three journalists. "We're just double-checking our records because the Department of Justice requested it and because the president made clear he wants to cooperate fully," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. The effort did not resume Saturday. McClellan firmly ruled out any involvement in the leak by Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Libby did not provide the information, know who did and does not condone it, said McClellan said. He condemned "false, unsubstantiated accusations" that have been published in the news media about Libby's role. Most people in the White House have no relevant documents and plan to simply sign Gonzales' directive saying so, several officials said. Others, such as the White House Office of Political Affairs, virtually completed scouring their records Friday, though it was not clear what the search had produced. Still others planned to wait until Monday to complete the process. The upper West Wing offices of Bush's top aides was described as hectic Friday, but quiet on Saturday. Some officials made jokes about the inquiry; others complained bitterly that it was being driven by Democrats eager to fan a White House scandal. No White House official has received a subpoena or hired a lawyer, several said.

To: sandintoes who wrote (471155)	10/5/2003 1:15:12 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Grasso Furor Puts Spotlight on Exchange Chiefs Friday, October 03, 2003 CHICAGO — The furor over the $140 million pay package that brought down Richard Grasso (search), former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange (search), has turned up the heat on other exchanges to reveal the pay details of their own chiefs. "The Grasso controversy has understandably fired up the inquiries. It's natural to ask how much other exchange executives have been paid," said Brian Foley, managing director of Brian Foley & Co. Inc., an executive compensation consulting firm in White Plains, New York. Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (search) called on the heads of the dozen or so U.S. stock and options exchanges to reveal their pay packages by Oct. 3. Grasso resigned as NYSE chairman on Sept. 17 after the disclosure that he had received a $140 million payout of deferred compensation and pension payouts and was entitled to $48 million in additional benefits. The pay of American Stock Exchange (search) Chairman and Chief Executive Sal Sodano has also drawn attention, given Amex's status as the No. 3 U.S. stock and equity options exchange. Sodano's 2002 compensation consisted of a $1 million base salary and a $1.4 million bonus, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. Under a 1999 contract agreement, Sodano was entitled to a retention bonus of $2 million, provided he remained employed by the exchange through 2002, the source added. The Amex declined to comment on the exact figures. Exchanges generally have different CEO pay structures than big publicly traded companies because they serve different functions. "Their objectives are not to maximize revenues or earnings but to provide a well-regulated marketplace," said Dale Carlson, spokesman for San Francisco's Pacific Exchange (search). "Therefore the pay structures are different from corporate CEO pay levels. If you look at what exchange CEOs are paid, it's appropriate for their responsibility. Whereas Grasso's compensation was an anomaly." Pay packages among top brass in the U.S. options and futures industry vary, partly reflecting the different market structures of the exchanges. James McNulty, president and CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME), received a base salary of $1 million with a bonus of $500,000 in 2002. But McNulty, who will leave the exchange on Dec. 31, holds CME stock options which, if exercised, would be worth $65 million to $70 million based on current CME share prices, according to a recent SEC filing. The CME, the largest U.S. futures mart, became the first publicly traded U.S. financial exchange in December 2002. Cross-town rival the Chicago Board of Trade, still edging toward becoming a for-profit entity, paid President Bernard Dan a total of $891,121 in 2002, according to an SEC filing. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (search), the largest options mart, paid Chairman and CEO William Brodsky a base salary of $1.25 million and $373,400 pension contribution for fiscal 2002. In a Sept. 26 memo to its members, the CBOE said: "We believe that CBOE's compensation process is responsible to our membership and fair in all respects." At the International Securities Exchange, the biggest equity options exchange, CEO and President David Krell was paid $600,000 last year, plus a bonus of $250,000. He also bought 1 percent of the outstanding shares of the New-York based electronic exchange and has options to buy another 4 percent. The value of the shares was not disclosed. Last year the ISE demutualized, or separated trading rights from the exchange's ownership rights. The pay envelope of Philadelphia Stock Exchange (search) Chairman and CEO Meyer "Sandy" Frucher last year consisted of a base salary of $600,000 plus a bonus of $240,000. Pacific Exchange Chairman and CEO Philip DeFeo's base salary in 2002 was $700,000, plus a $450,000 bonus. Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, a New York-based compensation and consulting firm, said the fuss generated over Grasso may prove brief, because "No one really cares about these exchanges except their actual members." "The SEC was clearly asleep at the switch, and now they are belatedly trying to institute some good governance practices," Johnson said. "Grasso was grossly overpaid, even by the well-paid standards of Wall Street."

To: sandintoes who wrote (471155)	10/5/2003 6:45:15 PM
From: American Spirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

CIA agent confirms Wilson's Wife was Undercover agent. "Jim Marcinkowski, an ex-CIA officer who called Plame the best shot in their class with an AK-47 rifle, told Time magazine her career as an undercover operative was over. "She will no longer be safe traveling overseas," said Marcinkowski, who trained with Plame at Camp Peary, the Virginia school for CIA recruits. "I liken that to the knee-capping of an athlete." With pressure mounting for answers over the leak, Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, said it was up to the president to get to the bottom of the story. "The president should be asking some pretty tough questions, if he's not already," Hagel said on CBS. "My guess is that he is asking some tough questions. He needs to get a hold of this himself, call his chief of staff in, his national security adviser, the vice president and say 'OK, what do we have here? This is serious, I want it fixed."' Wilson's wife's cover was blown in mid-July by syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who reiterated on Sunday he would not reveal his source for the story.