Roses are sent, get cheaper for you

Maybe the roses made the difference.

As a Valentines week stunt to call attention to high tariffs, Sen. Bob Graham took a dozen roses to the White House on Tuesday. He planned to give them to first lady Laura Bush.

He wanted to remind the White House that the Colombian-grown roses were subject to a 6 percent tariff because a trade agreement expired in December.

The stunt went awry once Florida's senior senator arrived at the White House. The Secret Service seized the flowers for security reasons before Graham could carry them into the East Room.

The flowers were ultimately delivered and Graham got his Valentines wish: On Friday, the Bush administration announced a 90-day deferral of the tariff.

Graham said that would provide temporary relief until the trade law can be passed by Congress. He said flower buyers would be happy.

"I'm pleased that my message got through, even though it didn't take effect in time to save money for those who purchased cut flowers from Colombia for Valentine's Day," Graham said. "But take note: This extension is good through Mother's Day."

Religion puts Ashcroft in hot water again

After a grueling confirmation battle waged in part over his conservative Christian beliefs, Attorney General John Ashcroft shied away from discussing religion in interviews. But he apparently loosened up a bit with a fellow conservative Christian. And now he finds himself under attack again.

In a November radio commentary, syndicated columnist Cal Thomas said Ashcroft had told him: "Islam is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him. Christianity is a faith in which God sends his son to die for you."

The remarks had gone unnoticed until last week, when the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other Muslim groups started publicizing and criticizing them.

In a written statement last week, Ashcroft said: "The reported remarks do not express my views and do not accurately reflect what I believe I said some 12 to 13 weeks ago."

Thomas said he stood by the quote.

The flap was reminiscent of Ashcroft's controversial remarks at Bob Jones University in 1999. In America, he said, "We have no king but Jesus." And before Ashcroft became too busy with terrorism investigations, he was holding daily morning prayer meetings that prompted some Justice Department attorneys who do not share Ashcroft's Pentecostal beliefs to complain anonymously in the press.

Finance reform splits area lawmakers

The west-central Florida delegation voted along party lines on the landmark bill on campaign finance reform.

Republican Reps. C.W. Bill Young and Michael Bilirakis voted against the bill. Democratic Reps. Karen Thurman and Jim Davis supported it.

Only two Florida Republicans voted in favor of the bill: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mark Foley.

The bill would prohibit national political parties from accepting large unlimited contributions known as soft money and, for state parties, it would limit individual contributions to $10,000. It also would raise the individual limit for contributions to candidates from the current $1,000 to $2,000.

The bill now goes to the Senate.

Davis said Friday that Senate supporters have 59 votes for the bill but need one more to overcome a filibuster.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Davis said. "The momentum is building."

-- Times staff writers Bill Adair and Mary Jacoby contributed to this report.

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