*HOUSE VOTES TO BAN CLONING: The House of Representatives passed a ban on all human cloning by a bipartisan majority of 241-155 (see roll call next week). The margin would have been much larger, but, on a snowy evening in Washington, 38 congressmen-including strong cloning ban supporters such as Henry Hyde (R.-Ill.), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R.-Fla.) and Bob Ney (R.-Ohio)-did not show up for the vote.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where passage will be far more difficult. "History is watching and the Senate cannot afford to be silent any longer," said Sen. Sam Brownback (R.-Kan.), the primary sponsor of the ban. So far, however, Brownback has only about 44 votes for his bill. Most Senate Democrats still oppose it, as do some Republicans, including Orrin Hatch of Utah and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.
*GRAHAM'S GOODBYE: Saying through a spokesman that he intends to be the Democratic nominee for President next year, Democratic Sen. Bob Graham of Florida announced last week he would not seek another term in the U.S. Senate. The 66-year-old Graham is the second Democratic senator out of the 19 who would be up for reelection next year to announce that he would not be running again. (Zell Miller of Georgia was the first.) Republicans have a good chance to pick up Graham's seat. Rep. Mark Foley is running, as is former Rep. Bill McCollum. Former Secretary of State Katherine Harris, elected to the U.S. House in November, also has signaled she may enter the race.
*KERRY'S UP: Graham apparently is undeterred by the polls up north in New Hampshire, where the latest Zogby survey showed he was attracting the support of 0.4% of likely voters in next year's Democratic presidential primary.
As expected, Sen. John Kerry from next-door Massachusetts has emerged as the early frontrunner in New Hampshire. According to Zogby's poll (conducted Feb. 22-24), Kerry leads the pack in New Hampshire with 26%. He is followed by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean at 13%, Rep. Dick Gephardt (Mo.) at 11%, and Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) at 9%. All other candidates polled 2% or less.
*FULL NELSON: Less than a week after Sen. Ben Nelson (D.-Neb.) declared he would support Bush nominee Miguel Estrada for the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, fellow Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida (no relation) also indicated he would support the Honduran-born, Harvard-educated nominee. Together with John Breaux (La.) and Zell Miller (Ga.) that brings to four the number of Senate Democrats on record supporting Estrada. With all 51 Senate Republicans on board, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) now needs five more Democrats to break the filibuster holding up the confirmation.
*IS BLANCHE BENDING? Senate sources say the next Democratic senator likely to announce support for Estrada is Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Lincoln has a real incentive to do so: Judicial nominations was one of the hottest issues for Republicans in Senate races last year, particularly in the southern states of Georgia and Missouri. Lincoln already is expected to face a stiff re-election battle next year from Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee. If she jumps to the pro-Estrada camp, fellow Arkansas Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor is likely to follow suit. That would bring Estrada's supporters to 57. Who might be the final three? Republicans are targeting presidential hopeful Bob Graham (Fla.) and Ernest Hollings (S.C.) and Evan Bayh (Ind.), who are expected to have competitive races in 2004.
*BUSH HIRES SUPPLY SIDER: Glenn Hubbard resigned from President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers last week, making way for Bush's new choice for that post, Gregory Mankiw. Mankiw, a professor of economics at Harvard University, served as a staff economist for Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers from 1982 to 1983. If his academic work is any indication, Mankiw will be an ally to conservative proponents of tax cuts. In line with a supply-side view of government and the economy, he has argued that government budget deficits do not put as much pressure on interest rates as many economists believe.
*THOMAS WOULD END DIVIDEND TAX: Ending the double taxation on dividends, already a centerpiece of President Bush's tax cut proposal, was included in the stimulus plan presented last week by House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R.-Calif.). This was a significant step because Thomas had not immediately embraced the Bush proposal.
"Ending the double tax on dividends will promote investment, encourage consumer spending, and create jobs for Americans," said Rep. Chris Cox (R.-Calif.), who has been pushing to abolish dividend taxes since proposing legislation to that end in 1992. "Every person who pays taxes, invests in the stock market, saves for retirement, lives on a fixed income, or is looking for a job will benefit from the President's plan."
*THOMPSON V. BARTLETT? Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R.-Tenn.)-who plays the Manhattan district attorney on NBC's "Law and Order"-may have grander fictional political aspirations. The Drudge Report recently highlighted an interview with the Memphis Commercial Appeal in which Thompson declared, "I've been thinking about the possibility of having my character run against Martin Sheen [President Josiah Bartlett] for President."
Meanwhile, Thompson has filmed a pro-war commercial for the conservative group Citizens United to counter anti-war ads that NBC "West Wing" star Sheen filmed for the left-wing group MoveOn.org. "My concern is that there is an awful lot of ads out there pounding on the President and his policy on Iraq. And nobody was doing anything on the other side," Thompson told Scripps Howard.
