Congressional Democrats to Address Legislative Priorities in Coordinated Speeches Across the Country Today

From CNN's Morning Grind today a few notes on John Kerry's speech scheduled for 1:00 pm, est and the "effort by Congressional Democrats to address several of their legislative priorities in a series of coordinated speeches across the country":

Sen. John Kerry will deliver his second "major" address on Iraq and broaden his remarks to winning the war on terror at a 1 pm speech before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Kerry, who is also considering a 2008 presidential campaign, will criticize President Bush's efforts to win the war on terror and emphasize it is imperative for the U.S. to not only "destroy the terrorist cells," but also win the "war of ideas."

"This war has drawn us smack into the middle of an internal struggle in the Islamic World," Kerry will say, according to excerpts of his speech released by his office. "A struggle ultimately for the transformation of the greater Middle East into a region that is no longer isolated from the global economy, no longer dependent on despotism for stability, no longer fearful of freedom, and no longer content to feed restive and rising populations of unemployed young people a diet of illusions and excuses."

Kerry's speech to CFR comes 24 hours after President Bush spoke on Iraq before the same group in Washington.

The Kerry address is being billed as an effort by Congressional Democrats to address several of their legislative priorities in a series of coordinated speeches across the country. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) will speak on prescription drugs and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) will deliver an economic address, in their respective states. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) joins Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) and Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland) in Baltimore to talk about education, while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) speaks about corruption in Congress.