Changing Her Tune?

The latest from the Political Grapevine:

'No Doubt' Saddam Hid WMDs?
Former Iraqi nuclear scientist Hussein Ismail al-Bahdli told an Iraqi TV station on Tuesday that there was, "certainly" a reason to fear Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and that Saddam kept chemical and biological weapons hidden from UN inspectors.

The Middle East Media Research Institute reports that Al-Bahdli said Saddam was only 2 years from developing a nuclear weapon before the first gulf war, and that he would certainly have used it.

What's more, said al-Bahdli, there is, "no doubt" that Saddam hid chemical and biological weapons left over from the invasion of Kuwait, and used Republican Guard forces to move them around Iraq.

Acceptance Anecdote
In his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention last month, John Kerry told the story of Mary Ann Knowles, a New Hampshire woman with breast cancer who Kerry said, "had to keep working day after day right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because she was terrified of losing her family's health insurance."

But New Hampshire's Union Leader newspaper reports Knowles had 26 weeks of paid disability leave available, and was never in danger of losing her insurance.

Following Kerry's Footsteps?
President Bush (search) has been hot on the heels of John Kerry on the campaign trail recently, so much so that the Kerry camp suspects the president may be following them. Earlier this week, Senator Kerry visited Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Las Vegas, Nevada, while President Bush campaigned in Albuquerque today, and will swing through Las Vegas tomorrow.

What's more, both Senator Kerry and President Bush will be in Los Angeles on Thursday and in Portland, Oregon on Friday. Kerry spokesman Luis Vizcaino says of the parallel itineraries, "I do find it curious, maybe even suspicious," but Bush/Cheney spokesman Terry Holt says, "The president's schedule is not determined by the machinations of the Democratic ticket."

Changing Her Tune?
After President Bush (search) announced that he would nominate Republican Congressman and former CIA officer Porter Goss to be the new director of Central Intelligence, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said, "a person should not be the director of central intelligence who's acted in a very political way when we're dealing with the safety of the American people."

But on June 5th, Pelosi told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that she would support Goss if he were nominated for the post, adding that as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee he had shown the ability to stay above political pressure.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report