Looking Down the Road, Advisers Join Races Now

The small group of advisers who guided President Bush to victories in 2000 and 2004 are beginning to choose sides in the 2008 nomination fight.

Mary Matalin, who served as counselor to Vice President Cheney, is the most recent Bushie to pick a candidate, signing on as treasurer for a fundraising committee that will aid Sen. George Allen's 2006 reelection race in Virginia. Former secretary of the Navy James Webb and ex-technology lobbyist Harris Miller will face off in the June 13 Democratic primary for the right to challenge Allen.

Matalin will oversee fundraising for the Allen Victory Committee, which will collect cash for the state GOP's get-out-the-vote efforts, according to Allen chief of staff Dick Wadhams.

"Senator Allen is very pleased that a Virginia leader of such prominence would agree to be treasurer of this important committee," Wadhams said.

While Matalin's profile among Republicans is sure to aid Allen's reelection fundraising, her real importance is properly understood in a 2008 context.

Allen has made little secret of his interest in a 2008 presidential bid and is sure to get a boost among party insiders and activists by landing the well-regarded Matalin. Earlier this year, Allen brought on former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie to serve as chairman of his Good Government for America Committee.

Allen isn't the only potential 2008 candidate inking Bush campaign talent. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) recently announced that Bush-Cheney '04 national political director Terry Nelson will be a senior adviser to his Straight Talk America political action committee; Mark McKinnon, lead Bush media consultant in 2004, has also pledged to aid McCain, assuming neither Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice nor Florida Gov. Jeb Bush runs.

Several key Bush advisers remain uncommitted. They include RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman; Steve Schmidt, former communications aide and now campaign manager for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.

Kash and Carry

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) did not prevail in the 2004 presidential election, but at least he got a consolation prize -- an e-mail list 3 million strong.

Since his 2004 defeat, Kerry has used the list to drive donations and grass-roots support to a wide variety of House and Senate candidates, a strategy that has helped to keep him relevant as a potential 2008 candidate.

Last Friday, Kerry sent on an e-mail appeal for Francine Busby, the Democratic favorite running in Tuesday's special election to succeed Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), who resigned after pleading guilty to corruption charges.

"If you want to send a message that you're tired of business as usual in Washington, there is no better way to demand change than by acting in the next four days to help elect Francine Busby to Congress in the 50th district," Kerry wrote. "We need volunteers to man the phones, walk the precincts, help with visibility and organize for Election Day."

If no candidate wins a majority Tuesday, there will be a runoff June 6 between the top two party vote-getters. The winner will sit in Congress until the November election when the two nominees compete again, for the full two-year House term.

Kerry recently raised more than $400,000 for five Iraq war veterans running for Congress, including Tammy Duckworth, who recently won the Democratic nomination for the open 6th Congressional District seat in Illinois.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), who helped recruit Duckworth, praised Kerry. "I couldn't be more appreciative of his efforts," Emanuel said. "Like any good chair, I have asked for more."

Kerry has not ignored Democrats who want to join him in the Senate. He used his e-mail list to collect $100,000 each for Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota, and Reps. Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Harold E. Ford Jr. in Tennessee just before the March 31 fundraising deadline of the Federal Election Commission. All three are running in competitive Senate contests this fall.

All told, Kerry has raised and contributed more than $7 million for Democrats through his Keeping America's Promise political action committee since 2004.