From NBC's Mark Murray and Ken Strickland
Obviously not the way he wanted to kick off his presidential campaign, Sen. Joe Biden's conference call with reporters this afternoon announcing his White House bid was dominated by questions about his comments to the New York Observer regarding fellow Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

In the New York Observer article, Biden called Clinton's plan for Iraq "nothing but disaster"; said Edwards doesn't know "what the heck he is talking about" on Iraq; and said this about Obama: "'You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy... I mean, that's a storybook, man.'"

In the conference call, Biden didn't question the accuracy of those quotes, but said they were being taken out of context. He said Clinton is "clearly qualified to be president," but that he disagreed with her plan for Iraq (especially the provision to cut off funding for Iraqis). "I think her policy is a serious mistake."

He also said he disagreed with Edwards call to withdraw troops from Iraq. "I don't understand the logic of that," Biden said on the call.

And regarding his comment about Obama, which some have interpreted to be offensive to African Americans, Biden said he spoke with Obama about it -- and that Obama "knew what I meant by it." What he meant to say, Biden stated, is that Obama "is something brand new, that no one has seen before... Clean as a whistle, sharp as a tack. That's the context." He went on to say this about his relationship with African Americans: "I have a long, long relationship with these folks. No one is going to misunderstand it."

Meanwhile, Obama was swarmed by reporters just outside the senate chamber, asking for comment about Biden's remark. "I don't think he intended to offend and I'll leave it at that," Obama said. "He called me. I told him it wasn't necessary.  We have more important things to think about. We've got Iraq. We've got health care. We've got energy. This is low on the list."

Did he apologize? Obama didn't answer, but said, "He was very gracious. I have no problems with Joe Biden."

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
Politics abhors a vacuum, and the delay in the debate over the resolutions opposing a US troop increase in Iraq is giving some of the bigger participants time to jockey for better positions.  Two leading presidential candidates have further fleshed out their stances on the war, and the White House and Democratic Hill leadership have announced the formation of a bipartisan working group to discuss the way forward.

NBC's Ken Strickland reports that the still unnamed group would be assembled by Senate Majority Leader Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, likely consisting of chairs and ranking members of the committees with oversight of national security issues.  The group "offers the best prospect for meaningful bipartisan consultations," per Reid spokesman Jim Manley.  He added that leadership will urge President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and some Cabinet members to attend the meetings, the first of which will be next week.  Strickland notes that a similar idea was first introduced last December by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I) and Susan Collins (R), leaders of the Senate's Homeland Security Committee. 

Sen. Barack Obama (D), in a speech on the Senate floor last night, called for US troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by March 31, 2008 in order to end "a foreign policy disaster," although he did not endorse a cut-off in funding.  His proposal goes further than those offered by his viable competitors for the Democratic presidential nomination.  Obama is the only one of them who did not vote in favor of the war (not being in the Senate at the time), and he has consistently opposed it.

Next up came Sen. John McCain (R), whose support for the troop increase places him squarely on the opposite side of majority public opinion, and who has been seeking to temper his stance at the margins by arguing, for example, that Bush's proposed 21,500-troop increase probably isn't enough, and by criticizing Gen. George Casey's work as commander of US forces in Iraq.

Now McCain says the Administration has failed to adequately supply him with information critical to Bush's new strategy.  Strickland reports that in a statement released last night, McCain and Armed Services chair Carl Levin said the Administration, after repeated requests, has not provided enough details on the benchmarks Bush has said he'll hold the Iraqis to.  Over the past two months, Levin has sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice two letters seeking clarification on those benchmarks and any timelines associated with them.  McCain signed onto a third letter earlier this month, Strickland says.  In that letter, he and Levin said they found it "both baffling and disturbing" that Rice would not provide the information. 

Per their statement, Rice finally did respond with a document presumably adopted by the Iraqis last year on political, security, economic benchmarks.  But the senators felt the document "vividly demonstrates the failure of the Iraqi Government to meet the vast majority of its commitments."  Rice also listed additional commitments made by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but again, without details or timelines.  "What Secretary Rice's letter makes abundantly clear is that the Administration does not intend to attach meaningful consequences for the Iraqis' continuing to fail to meet their commitments," they said. 

And Sen. Joe Biden (D) finally/formally enters the presidential race today, filing online and announcing via the Internet.  His campaign homepage's lead graphic shows Biden's image superimposed on a map of the Middle East.  He also marks his announcement with another hearing on Iraq in his Foreign Relations Committee, which will feature former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright.

On the economy, President Bush is likely to lose out to the Fed for Wall Street's attention today.  Bush delivers part two of his economic State of the Union in Federal Hall on the Street later this morning.  The Fed will meet to discuss interest rates -- though probably not change them -- and issue comments about inflation and the state of the economy this afternoon.  CNBC's Patti Domm expects to hear some of the same message Bush used in his State of the Union address last week, tailored to Wall Street.  But, she says, the Street knows the issues already, and unless Bush is going to unload something new and big, his remarks won't capture much attention.  A Washington-based economic analyst tells First Read that "Bush might get attention if he made a genuine effort on entitlement reform or ratcheted down pressure on Iran." 

Pelosi and members of her recent delegation to Iraq and Afghanistan plan to go to the White House later today to brief the President on their trip.  Roll Call raises the possibility that even though House Democrats will have a limited Q+A session with Bush at their retreat this Saturday, there could be some unscripted moments on Iraq. 

The Washington Post reports on internal splits among Republicans over which resolution(s) to support.  "Vice President Cheney and senior military officials attended a Republican policy lunch yesterday, which turned into a raucous debate about the various resolutions...  Bush will meet with GOP senators on Friday as the White House continues to try to tamp down opposition...  Having chastised Democrats for not showing unity on Iraq, Republican leaders have decided they need a resolution of their own when the Senate begins debate on nonbinding resolutions of opposition next week." 

The San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Iraq war "already has cost the Republicans control of Congress, devastated the Bush presidency and made Democrats the favorites heading into the 2008 presidential campaign."  Now, "there is widening concern among Republicans that losing what was described widely in 2003 as 'the biggest gamble of the modern presidency' could hurt their party's electoral prospects for a generation to come."   

The New York Daily News plays up GOP Sen. Arlen Specter's comment yesterday that Bush is not the sole "decider" when it comes to Iraq. 

The Washington Times notes how "at least a dozen Democratic senators who in the past have called for more troops in Iraq... now support a resolution condemning President Bush's plan to do just that.  Many Republicans who voted for the war now plan to support a no-confidence resolution, including Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who in the past had warned that the war would be a long, tough slog and that Americans should 'speak with one voice.'" 

USA Today looks at how "Democratic leaders in Congress plan to make extensive changes to the Bush administration's anticipated $100 billion request for new war funds.  They want to redirect money from Iraq to military readiness at home and say Iraq, Afghanistan and other NATO countries must carry more of the financial burden.  The administration is to formally seek the new money Monday." 

Bloomberg previews Casey's expected trial by bipartisan fire tomorrow during his confirmation hearing to become Army chief of staff.  "Democrats who oppose [Bush's] Iraq troop buildup are likely to ask Casey how he can support it after earlier saying more forces were unnecessary.  Republicans who favor adding troops plan to ask the departing U.S. commander in Iraq  why he stuck with a flawed battle plan long after it was failing.  And lawmakers of both parties may question whether he was candid with them in the past."  More: "Casey is politically vulnerable because he is one of the last of the senior Pentagon officials who ran the war still in government." 

Adm. William Fallon, who has been tapped by Bush to oversee his new strategy for Iraq, "testified yesterday that he does not know much about the plan that the administration says will determine whether the U.S. wins the war."  He also "specifically declined to endorse Mr. Bush's plan, saying he first has to get to the region and assess matters." 

The New York Times: "In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, President Bush said stern measures aimed at Iran should not be seen as a precursor to war.  'Some are trying to take my words and say, "Well, what he's really trying to do is go invade Iran,"' he said.  'Nobody's talking about that.'"  

Also today, Bush will also give interviews to FOX and the Wall Street Journal editorial board. 

The Wall Street Journal follows up on yesterday's New York Times report on Bush's latest controversial executive order: "A White House move to tighten its control over federal regulations is providing fresh evidence of the Bush administration's intent to leave its conservative imprint on government over the next two years...  Most notably, the White House has given itself more review authority over many informal agency dictates known as guidance.  Critics say the executive order gives the White House a chokehold over new guidance it dislikes.  White House officials deny that, saying it is simply strengthening a review process that already occurs in many instances." 

As NBC's Andrea Mitchell reported last night, the Financial Times says today that scientists claim the Administration "has routinely suppressed or ­distorted communication of climate change science to the public."  Their "testimony risks embarrassing the Bush administration ahead of the release on Friday of a landmark report on climate change science that will say there is a 90 per cent certainty that human activity is changing the world's climate and temperatures will rise by 3 degrees Celsius by 2100." 

The Los Angeles Times looks at how "[l]egislation to curb global warming is still a long shot in Congress, because there is no consensus on a solution" -- but the Democratic Hill leadership and most of the contenders for president "are far ahead of [Bush] in proposing ways to reduce carbon emissions." 

Today is White House counsel Harriet Miers' last day.

Bush's visit to Caterpillar yesterday has returned the usually back-burner issue of trade to front sections this morning.  Hill Democratic leaders are asking former top Clinton aides like Gene Sperling and Robert Rubin "to help persuade the freshman class of '06 to moderate the militant critique of globalisation that helped get them elected." 

The Los Angeles Times says House Ways and Means chair Charlie Rangel is willing to work with Bush on fast-track trade negotiating authority. 

In an interview with the New York Observer, Biden has harsh words for his Democratic opponents on Iraq.  He calls Sen. Hillary Clinton's plan to cap troops "'nothing but disaster,'" and says that former Sen. John Edwards, who has proposed an immediate withdrawal, doesn't know "'what the heck he is talking about.'"  He also expressed his skepticism of newcomer Obama: "'You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy...  I mean, that's a storybook, man.'"  Biden added the accusation that his rivals are posturing on the Iraq issue purely to advance their 2008 bids: "'You didn't hear any one of them get in this debate at all until they announced for President.'" 

Marring his announcement a bit, Bloomberg reports that Biden's son Hunter, a lobbyist, is being sued by a partner for fraudulently excluding him from the purchase of a hedge-fund investment firm.  "Biden and his uncle James Biden squeezed investment consultant Anthony Lotito Jr. out of the 2006 acquisition of New York-based Paradigm Cos., Lotito says in a complaint filed Jan. 5 in New York state court.  The Bidens lied to Lotito about their joint offer while negotiating a better deal alone, Lotito's complaint says...  The Bidens have not yet filed a response to Lotito's complaint.  Their attorney... e-mailed a statement denying Lotito's allegations." 

Clinton delivers the keynote address today at the "Ten Big Ideas for a New America" Policy Forum.  Pegged to MSNBC capturing Clinton singing the national anthem off-key, the New York Times takes its turn looking at how the Internet has become a blessing and a curse for presidential candidates.  "The video clip may have been trivial, but the brief episode surrounding it illustrated how visual and audio technologies like video streaming have the potential to drive political news in unexpected directions, and how White House candidates are aggressively monitoring and trying to master them." 

Edwards has a town hall in Hanover, NH.  The Politico has an interview with Edwards in which it becomes clear, as noted, that he's no longer Mr. Nice Guy toward his rivals like he was in 2004.  "Should Hillary Clinton apologize for backing the Iraq war?  'That is a moral decision she has to make'...  Is George Bush a 'good man in difficult circumstances trying to do the right thing?'  No, Edwards said.  He is not.  That nonbinding resolution against the Iraq troop surge favored by Barack Obama?  'Useless,' said Edwards.  'Exactly like a child standing in the corner and stomping his feet.'" 

Gov. Bill Richardson gives an interview to the New York Times Magazine, in which he: repeats his statement that if he doesn't win the nomination, he's not interested in being the running mate or Secretary of State; says he's sure that Condoleezza Rice would prefer that he stay out of foreign policy (and probably thinks he's annoying); says he doesn't think the nation should be officially bilingual; basically admits to dieting whenever he's up for election, and claims he's lost 30 pounds in the past five months; and, declines to comment on Sen. Hillary Clinton's level of experience to be president.

The Politico also looks at who might become Pelosi's pick, and notes that Dodd "is considering asking Pelosi for her backing. He was one of the few presidential candidates who called Pelosi shortly after the November election to congratulate her." 

McCain has put together a House GOP whip team in an effort "to jump-start his effort to build support for his 2008 presidential bid in a chamber where he has never been terribly popular with his fellow Republicans," says Roll Call.  "At times [McCain] has riled conservatives with his willingness to buck the Republican establishment, and his efforts to limit pork barrel spending also have drawn the ire of appropriators and other Members seeking to fund pet projects back home." 

Campaigning in South Carolina this week, where he said his campaign would focus on grassroots support and not political endorsements, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said his decision to become pro-life was one based on the morality of the issue, not politics. 

While there, Romney also faced questions about his Mormon faith. 

On a day when other candidates were calling on the government to act on global warming, former Gov. Mike Huckabee -- in his first campaign stop in Iowa -- poked a little fun at it.  "This is day in which it would be hard to convince me there's global warming going on," he told a group at lunch.  "It may be, but it's not in Waukee today."  Huckabee also implored the lunch patrons to think hard before choosing a frontrunner: "Every person wanting to be president will spend a lot of time thinking about what Iowans think until January 2008 ,when the caucuses are going on.  How many of them will still be thinking about you after those caucuses?  Who will reflect who you are?  What you care about?  I hope that is one of the criteria you use."

Campaigning in Iowa yesterday, Huckabee avoided the issue of Iraq but made promises to "lower health care costs, fight illegal immigration, and restore art and music to classrooms." 

Sen. Sam Brownback campaigns in Michigan.  During his first trip to Iowa since announcing his intention to seek the presidency,  Brownback told supporters that he will focus on issues that have "bipartisan consensus," including human trafficking, climate change and poverty, reports the Des Moines Register.  Brownback "also voiced support for a diplomatic rather than a military solution in Iraq." 

In an interview with the Manchester Union Leader, former New York Gov. George Pataki elaborated on his proposal for Iraq, which he outlined in a speech last week.  While the paper has dubbed him a presidential candidate, "Pataki said he does not expect to announce his intentions soon, but will be engaging in some 'thoughtful policy analysis about the real challenges facing this country.'" 

The New York Times on the testimony yesterday by its former reporter, Judy Miller, who spent 85 days in jail for originally refusing to reveal her sources: "In her more than two hours on the stand, Ms. Miller became the focal point for an intense drama involving three people in the room: herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Libby.  As she provided the testimony that was most damaging to Mr. Libby, he sat almost motionless in his chair about 20 feet away and stared at her."   

The Washington Post's Kurtz: "Throughout the afternoon, an unspoken question hung in the air: What do journalists give up when they agree to protect high officials in exchange for juicy information?" 

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama today introduced legislation calling for a phased redeployment of US troops in Iraq to be concluded by March 31, 2008. "The time for waiting in Iraq is over," he said this evening on the Senate floor. "The days of our open-ended commitment must come to a close. And the need to bring this war to an end is here."

His bill, "The Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007," also caps the number of US troops in Iraq to those there on January 10, 2007. Parts of his bill are consistent with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group -- which Obama says President Bush has "so assiduously ignored." If the Iraqi government is successful in meeting the 13 benchmarks laid out by the Bush Administration, Obama's plan allows for a temporary suspension of the redeployment, provided Congress agrees.

Introducing his bill on the senate floor moments ago, Obama called his legislation a responsible course of action: "Too many lives have been lost and too many billions have been spent for us to trust the president on another tried and failed policy." He concluded by saying, "It is time to give Iraqis their country back."

From NBC's Mark Murray
The first Democratic presidential cattle call will occur this weekend in DC at the Democratic National Committee's annual winter meeting, and the DNC has just released the speaking order for the 10 announced, all-but announced, or possible candidates who will participate. On Friday morning, after speeches by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and DNC chairman Howard Dean, Chris Dodd will kick off the cattle call -- and he'll be followed by Barack Obama, Wes Clark, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, and (last but certainly not least) Hillary Clinton.

On Saturday morning, Joe Biden will lead things off -- followed by Bill Richardson, Mike Gravel, and Tom Vilsack. The DNC says that each candidate's speech will be limited to about seven minutes. And as we mentioned earlier, we'll find out which songs they all will be using for their entrance and exit music.

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
Much anticipated Senate votes on the various non-binding resolutions opposing a US troop increase in Iraq won't take place until next week, NBC's Ken Strickland reports.  While leadership aides on both sides expect the minimum wage bill to pass sometime on Thursday, no votes are scheduled for Friday because of a GOP retreat. 

There's also no agreement between Senate leaders as of yet on the terms of the debate.  One Senate Republican who opposes a troop increase claims that the White House strategy is to flood the zone with various resolutions that would provide fence-sitting Republicans with alternatives to the two measures that reject Bush's plan, Strickland reports.  Siphoning GOP support away from those resolutions, this Republican believes, would ensure that no resolution musters the filibuster-proof 60 votes.  The White House-backed resolutions could include one being drafted by GOP Sen. John McCain (on Iraq having to meet political, economic, and military benchmarks), and/or another by White House ally John Cornyn (on giving Iraq a reasonable chance to execute the new plan).

Senate Democrats Ted Kennedy and Russ Feingold and their White House-eyeing colleagues Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Chris Dodd all have talked about offering binding resolutions that range from capping funding for additional troops to a six-month withdrawal.

Even without a debate or votes, Iraq will come up often this week, Strickland notes.  Sen. Joe Biden's Foreign Relations Committee holds three hearings on possible alternative strategies, including one with the chairmen of the Iraq Study Group today.  And the Judiciary Committee joins the fray with two sessions.  Several confirmation hearings this week also are expected to touch on Iraq, including the hearing for Gen. George Casey, Bush's nominee for Army chief of staff.  McCain already has suggested he opposes Casey's nomination based on Casey's approach to Iraq, giving the GOP presidential candidate a chance to adjust his support for the war at the margins.

President Bush, meanwhile, devotes two days to delivering a sort of economic State of the Union, minus the national attention, by visiting a Caterpillar plant in Peoria today and stopping on Wall Street tomorrow.  Asked why Bush is commenting at length on the economy separate and distinct from his actual State of the Union speech one week ago, spokesman Tony Snow said it's "worth reminding people of how good this economy is."  The most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll suggests this remains an uphill battle for Bush by showing continuing pessimism about the economy and that people prefer Democrats to Republicans when it comes to handling it (by 13 points).

Perhaps not coincidentally, Bush is expected to present his budget on Monday and simultaneously call for a balanced budget in five years and for Congress to make his tax cuts permanent, despite a recent Congressional Budget Office verdict that he can't have both.  As we've noted before, one motive for him to convince Americans that the economy is strong is his need to lay that groundwork in order to gin up public support for extending the tax cuts. 

Snow also echoed a familiar Administration refrain in previewing Bush's remarks today: "Over the last six years the American economy has had to endure a great deal: recession, September 11th terrorist attacks, the bursting of the technology bubble, devastating hurricanes that have crippled entire regions.  We have had corporate scandals, we have had wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a larger war on terror; we have had an oil shock.  And, despite all that, the economy continues to thrive." 

Even as the economy has thrived over the past six years, however, it has not played a big role in the outcome of any federal election during that time period -- or indeed, not since before Bush became president.  As we've noted before, in 2000, Democrats lost the White House even though the country had just experienced the biggest economic expansion in US history.  (That expansion is a big reason why people now look back fondly on the Clinton presidency.)  In 2002, Republicans actually picked up seats in Congress despite a recession.  In 2004, Republicans held onto the White House even though there was no net job growth during Bush's first four years.  And in 2006, despite all-time highs in the Dow, millions of jobs created, and a relatively low unemployment rate, Republicans lost control of Congress.

The Chicago Tribune covers Bush's remarks yesterday to National Public Radio, in which he said that Iranian aggression inside Iraq would be met with US force.  "At the same time, Bush asserted his determination to resolve what the U.S. sees as Iran's ambitions for nuclear weaponry through diplomatic channels." 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to hold a press conference this afternoon to review her findings from her recent trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Roll Call reports that with debate over the resolutions now a week away, "Senate Democratic leaders are expected to use the delay to push back against tough White House rhetoric and attempt to build a bipartisan coalition on the issue."

USA Today looks at the Senate's "tiny caucus of Vietnam combat veterans," a handful of whom "provided some of the most riveting exchanges last week as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved" the Biden-Hagel-Levin resolution opposing Bush's proposed troop increase.  "All three Vietnam War veterans on the panel - two Democrats and a Republican - voted for the resolution."  Channeling First Read, the story notes the diametrically opposed roles being played by McCain and Hagel. 

Roll Call reports that conservative radio talk-show host Hugh Hewitt "recently has taken to the airwaves and the Internet, urging the National Republican Senatorial Committee to refrain from making money available to GOP Senators" who are on the ballot in 2008 and "who vote to condemn Bush's Iraq War policy...  NRSC spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said Monday the committee is taking Hewitt's effort seriously, indicating the NRSC is concerned about the practical implications it might have on fundraising and grass-roots support for GOP Senate candidates."

Less than a week after sharing rather close quarters with Obama at the State of the Union, Clinton again found herself being photographed with her competition yesterday, NBC's Carrie Dann notes.  This time, she was seated next to McCain during the emotional dedication ceremonies for the US Army's new Intrepid rehabilitation center in San Antonio.  The two exchanged a brief embrace between their back-to-back speeches, but each spent much of the program looking vaguely annoyed at the proximity of the rival sun in the political solar system.

The New York Times front-pages that Bush, in a recent executive order, directed each federal agency to have a regulatory policy office headed by a political appointee.  "The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency to analyze the costs and the benefits of new rules and to make sure the agencies carry out the president's priorities."  More: "This strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts.  It suggests that the administration still has ways to exert its power after the takeover of Congress by the Democrats." 

The AP previews Bush's stop at Caterpillar today, saying he'll tout the company as an example "of how his administration's trade agreements and tax breaks can boost global sales and create jobs for U.S. workers…  Others, though, say Caterpillar itself is behind a global sales surge that helped the heavy equipment maker post record profits and revenues for three straight years, creating about 5,000 jobs at its U.S. plants in Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Tennessee." 

While both are taking steps to tackle the huge issue of the uninsured, the Los Angeles Times says that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's agenda may conflict with Bush's.  "Schwarzenegger wants $3.7 billion a year in new federal funding to cover a big chunk of his healthcare plan for Californians...  The cost of helping states fund their health plans has already attracted the attention of budget cutters because it is complicating President Bush's stated goal of balancing the federal budget in five years.  In his new budget,... Bush is expected to call for a substantial slowdown in federal healthcare spending.  Some of the cuts Bush proposes could affect programs Schwarzenegger is counting on to help pay for his plan." 

First Read has mentioned before how global warming has become a hot topic for some presidential candidates, in part because of the success of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."  Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a hearing on the issue, and chairwoman Barbara Boxer has asked her colleagues who have offered pertinent legislation to testify.  Among the witnesses expected are Biden, McCain, and Obama.  Clinton is a member of the committee and is expected to attend.  NBC's Strickland notes that some of the witnesses may wind up on the same panel. 

The Wall Street Journal emphasizes the significance of House Democrats' $463.5 billion spending bill, which is "designed to keep the government operating for the rest of the fiscal year and bridge the gap left by the collapse of the budget process last fall.  Never before in modern times has Congress attempted this type of streamlined funding resolution on such a large scale.  The bill touches almost every corner of the government, down to securities transaction fees charged by federal regulators and even lawmakers' pay."

NBC political analyst Charlie Cook writes in CongressDaily AM, "As tempting as it must be for Democrats to embark on a big, bold and ambitious policy agenda, particularly after having been mired in minority status for a dozen years, the simple truth is that between the reality of narrow majorities and their decision to abide by PAYGO -- pay as you go spending/taxing rules -- their options are few and limited to relatively small ticket items."

Bush told NPR yesterday that his dropping of the "-ic" from "Democratic" during his State of the Union address was an accident.  (Note that the original version of Bush's week-ahead schedule that was released to reporters over the weekend listed Bush as speaking to "the House Democrat Conference" this Saturday.  Last night, the White House issued a new week-ahead schedule which says he's speaking to the "House Democratic Conference.")  The Los Angeles Times is the latest to delve into why this particular semantic issue rankles Democrats. 

The White House was asked yesterday if Bush has been asked to authorize Secret Service protection for any of the announced presidential candidates yet, and if the budget that comes out next week will provide for what may be an unusually large number of candidates.  Snow said he knew "the answer to neither" at the time.  Clinton already has Secret Service protection.

A new Quinnipiac poll shows Clinton performing well in the key battleground state of Ohio, besting McCain (46%-42%), Giuliani (46%-43%), and Romney (52%-31%).  Also in the poll, McCain edges Obama (41%-38%) but loses to Edwards (44%-41%).

The New York Post notes that White House press secretary Tony Snow pounced yesterday on her comment over the weekend that Bush was being irresponsible for passing along the Iraq war to his successor. 

At a Senate field hearing in New Orleans yesterday, Obama "blasted the Bush administration Monday for the slow pace of Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, saying reconstruction no longer seems to be a White House priority.  'There is not a sense of urgency in this administration to get this done,' said the senator from Illinois.  'You get a sense that will has been lacking in the last several months.'"

Former Gov. Tom Vilsack "met his fundraising goal for the end of 2006," campaign aides say.  "Vilsack raised $1.1 million between Nov. 9, when he formed a campaign organization, and Dec. 31," after saying "he planned to raise $1 million before the end of the year."  (The most serious contenders for the parties' nominations are expected to raise around $100 million.) 

Bloomberg says Rudy Giuliani's affiliation with a big Texas-based law firm gives him a Southern base from which to raise his profile and possibly a lot of cash. 

GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel may be acting like a possible presidential contender in some ways, but not in others.  The Hill points out that Hagel's "year-end financial filing shows that he raised just $80,000 for his campaign committee in the final three months of 2006, bringing his cash on hand to $140,000 from $110,000."  But: "Spokesman Mike Buttry said Hagel's campaign financial filings offer no clue about his future plans and emphasized Hagel's fundraising through his political action committee, which raised more than $400,000 during the last cycle." 

The Wall Street Journal looks at how former Gov. Mitt Romney (R) benefited from "a little-noticed gap between federal and state law" which allowed Romney to "set up fund-raising committees in three" states which don't limit political contributions: Michigan, Iowa and Alabama.  "During that time, his political action committees raised $7 million." 

Newly filed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) told reporters on a conference call yesterday afternoon that he's in the race to win.  "I've never entered anything in my life just for the pleasure of participating."  He added, "The people of this country love an underdog… because they see in themselves a person who can come from the bottom and make it to the top."  NBC's Carrie Dann says Huckabee offered a candid explanation of the timing of his announcement: "Right now there's a lot of speculation about who's actually going to get in and is who isn't, and I felt like in order to solidify some of the support with people in key states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, I needed to let those folks know that I would be in."

Huckabee and Sen. Sam Brownback, now rivals for the mantle of conservative favorite in the GOP primary, both campaign in Iowa today.  The Politico notes today, as MSNBC.com has noted previously, that there is no heavyweight conservative candidate in the race -- that all the frontrunners' conservative credentials are somehow flawed. 

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) of Texas tells the Washington Times in an interview that "she would consider an offer to run for vice president next year."  The paper notes that Hutchison was "the largest Republican vote-getter in the 2006 congressional elections...  Mrs. Hutchison, who garnered more than 2.6 million votes in November and defeated her opponent by 62 percent to 36 percent in an overall bad year for Republicans, attributed her popularity, in part, to her stand on Iraq.  'People in my state see me as having a few degrees of separation" from the president.'" 

The ethics bill being "unveiled in the House of Representatives today would limit lawmakers' ability to raise money from special interests for conventions but would not affect the 2008 events," says USA Today.  "A Senate bill passed this month would bar members from attending lobbyist-sponsored parties thrown in their honor but would leave intact the ability of special interests to pay for the quadrennial events.  The host committee in Denver, where Democrats will gather next year, already has collected more than $16 million, some from companies lobbying Congress and federal agencies.  Organizers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, site of the Republican event, also raise money from companies with business in Washington." 

Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller is expected to take the stand today, "the first time the former New York Times reporter has testified publicly against the man she went to jail to protect as a source," the AP notes. 

The Washington Post's Milbank lampoons former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer's testimony yesterday, saying that Libby's defense team learned "what any reporter could have told them: The longer you question Fleischer, the less knowledge you take away from the experience.  And Fleischer, protecting his own role in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame, was determined not to give even a kernel of fact to Libby's defense."  As a main prosecution witness, Fleischer testified that Libby informed Fleischer of Plame's identity three days earlier than Libby has claimed to investigators that he first learned of it. 

"During more than three hours of testimony that offered a rare glimpse inside the usually secretive Bush White House, Fleischer showed little of the unyielding discipline that defined his tenure as press secretary.  He pointed fingers at a former colleague, acknowledged frustration at how powerless he often was to sway the media, and described in detail the frantic White House efforts to contain a spreading public relations debacle," says the Los Angeles Times. 

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
As we near the end of the current Bush presidency, with Iraq overshadowing the rest of his agenda and endangering his legacy, the question is no longer whether he'll be able to accomplish big things during these final two years.  Poll after poll shows him lacking the influence to force his legislative priorities through, at least not without considerable compromising with the Democratic majority.  The question going forward is whether Iraq will inflict long-term damage on his party's standing on national security, similar to how the Monica Lewinsky scandal wrought lasting damage on the Democratic party on moral values.   

The Democratic party's hangover on values from the Clinton era lingers even today.  The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows Republicans retaining a 9-point advantage on the question of which party is better at promoting strong moral values -- though that's a far cry from their years of double-digit leads, presumably because Iraq is weighing them down on every issue.

Even now, with a majority of the public opposed to the war and to Bush's proposed troop increase, the GOP is still the preferred party when it comes to fighting the war on terrorism, though again, their advantage is narrower today than in the past five years.  But Iraq clearly has damaged the party's brand on national security, and as with Bill Clinton's handling of his personal scandals, the public and lawmakers of Bush's own party increasingly see Bush as steering the party off a cliff on the issue. 

For some Republicans in Congress, the realization dawned when Bush ousted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld immediately after the midterm elections, rather than before, when (they believe) it might have spared them from some of their many losses.  For others, the idea has taken hold more recently as Bush and Vice President Cheney have continued to insist that they don't need Congress' approval to send more troops to war. 

While a handful of high-profile Republicans like Sens. Chuck Hagel and John Warner are distancing themselves from Bush's policies, most of the party's rank-and-file will sink or swim with Bush on Iraq no matter how they try to separate themselves from him, a scenario which former longtime Democratic Hill aide Billy Moore likens to when Democrats "tried to split with Clinton over Lewinsky" and "it did no good because all Democrats were tarred with Clinton's misbehavior."

The new Newsweek Poll, like the recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, shows that Bush's insistence on increasing US troops at a time when a majority of Americans want the war wrapped up is fueling a growing public perception that he's obstinate and unwilling to listen.  Per the Newsweek survey, 67% "believe Bush's decisions about policy in Iraq and other major areas are influenced more by his personal beliefs regardless of the facts, while just 22 percent say his decisions are influenced more by the facts," the release says.  Bush receives his lowest-ever job approval rating in the survey, 30%. 

Simply by insisting that his successor will inherit the problems in Iraq, Bush arguably focuses the public's attention onto the looming presidential race and poisons the well for Republican candidates who support his policies on the war.  The issue already may be dragging down the party's widely accepted frontrunner, Sen. John McCain, who has firmly embraced a troop increase.  In the Newsweek Poll, he loses to all three top Democratic candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards.  Until recently, most polls had depicted McCain as the only Republican capable of beating Clinton.

This week, Bush will take another stab at focusing attention on issues other than Iraq.  He has an energy event today and economic events on Tuesday and Wednesday, including a Wall Street stop.  But the prospect of a Senate debate over the resolutions opposing a troop increase, and the return of Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, ensure that the war will remain front and center and overshadow Bush's domestic events.  NBC's Ken Strickland advises that debate over the resolutions could start as early as this week, depending on what agreement leaders reach on the terms, and on the Senate's finishing up the minimum wage bill.

In Iowa yesterday, Clinton, still trying to get out from under her vote in favor of the war, asserted that it would be "the height of irresponsibility" to pass the war along to the next president.  White House spokesman Rob Saliterman responded, "It is disappointing that Senator Clinton is responding to the President's new strategy for Iraq with a partisan attack that sends the wrong message to our troops, our enemies, and the Iraqi people who are working to make this plan succeed.  The height of irresponsibility would be to cap our troop numbers at an arbitrary figure and to cut off their funding."

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Joe Biden said yesterday on ABC that he estimates that no more than 20 of his colleagues support a troop increase.  Biden is expected to finally/formally enter the 2008 race this week.

On FOX yesterday, underdog 2008 contender and Sen. Sam Brownback (R), who opposes a troop increase, said, "'I think if the president would reach out to the Democratic leadership and ask them not what are you opposed to, but what are you for, we can start coming together.  I thought that was the whole purpose of [the Iraq Study Group].'" 

Columnist Robert Novak writes about how GOP Sen. John Warner's refusal to merge his own non-binding resolution with the one introduced by Biden and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) has imperiled the chances that Biden-Hagel could even get a majority  -- let alone enough to withstand a filibuster.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "faces a difficult choice.  He could crack the whip on Democrats to get a majority to pass the Biden resolution.  Or, he could swallow an unamended Warner resolution to win a bipartisan vote." 

A group of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans embark on a two-day media tour today to unveil a new ad opposing a troop increase.  The ad, sponsored by VoteVets.org, rebuts recent claims by the Bush Administration that those who oppose the increase are against the troops.  "On the other hand, there's George Bush, who supports escalation.  If you support escalation, you don't support the troops," the ad counters.  The group's ad buy will target key Senate Republicans, including Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Richard Lugar of Indiana, George Voinovich of Ohio, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Judd Gregg and John Sununu of New Hampshire, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and John Warner of Virginia.

Making her way home from the region, Pelosi told the San Francisco Chronicle that three days "in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan have made [her] even more certain of her view that moving troops out of Iraq is the best way to bring stability to the region." 

House Democrats may not be champing at the bit to consider the resolutions, but the Oversight and Government Reform Committee is preparing for three days' of hearings on the Administration's prosecution of the war starting on February 6.  "Any new disclosures about lax oversight or misspent funds could prove embarrassing to the Bush White House just as it is pressing for an additional $1.2 billion to spend on reconstruction and economic stimulus in Iraq," says the Wall Street Journal.  "The new funds are a central part of the president's plan to stabilize the country."

Both McCain and Clinton will be at Fort Sam Houston today to dedicate a new burn center.

And "a small army of anti-war activists will fan out across Capitol Hill to lobby for congressional support to impeach President Bush," reports The Politico, which notes what "a tricky issue" this will pose for Democrats in Congress who are trying not to go overboard in their opposition to Bush on Iraq. 

The Wall Street Journal covers the start of Democratic efforts to divest spending bills of earmarks.  "Restoring earmarks in future budgets will be that much harder once whole accounts have been wiped out...  But eliminating earmarks doesn't always produce savings.  For example, the Environmental Protection Agency will continue to distribute the roughly $197 million earmarked in fiscal 2006 for state water projects.  However, that distribution now will be dictated by the agency or federal funding formulas -- not by lawmakers.  That is the biggest rub, since Democrats know they are giving more spending discretion to a Republican, President Bush." 

The White House schedule notes that Bush is attending and speaking at the House "Democrat" Conference this coming weekend.

Spotting a lot of Administration figures in the press lately?  The Washington Post notes that Cheney's Newsweek interview "was the third granted to the media this month by the vice president, who had been relatively quiet since Republicans lost both houses of Congress in November's midterm elections." 

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley touts Bush's focus on Baghdad in a Washington Post op-ed.  And in a USA Today op-ed, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman touts Bush's plan to "reduce gasoline use by 20% in ten years," while the paper's editorial page calls Bush's energy proposals weak.

The Los Angeles Times, covering Clinton in Iowa, says her husband's White House legacy "led to her first stumble of the campaign" yesterday, "as she made a joke widely understood to be about the Monica Lewinsky scandal, then denied it had crossed her mind.  Repeating a man's question for those who could not hear him..., Clinton said he wanted to know 'what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men'...  When asked later at a news conference what was on her mind during the laughs, she said she was thinking she 'could do a pretty good job' in pursuing Osama bin Laden...  Finally, asked whether the crowd was thinking of President Bill Clinton, she said no." 

The New York Post: "Clinton's quip, made during a morning rally with about 500 Iowans, drew 31 seconds of straight laughter and applause that left little doubt among attendees that she'd made a joke at hubby Bill Clinton's expense…  The flap over her quip overshadowed her slap at President Bush's war policy." 

The Wall Street Journal on the point of her trip: "Getting enough people to know her as she'd like to be known -- rather than as the cold figure that even some admirers perceive -- is critical to her hopes of getting the party's nomination, let alone being elected the first female president."

The Des Moines Register says she "showcased a wry wit, an appetite for confrontation and a more approachable demeanor than one might expect from a person traveling in a 10-car motorcade, surrounded by Secret Service and 150 members of the media."  

The New York Post also writes that Bill Clinton is weighing curtailing his paid speeches and his role in a California equity firm.  "[B]oth income sources raise potential conflict-of-interest questions for his wife's candidacy." 

The Democratic National Committee's winter meeting late this week looms as a major draw for the party that will feature most if not all of its presidential hopefuls.  The schedule isn't set yet, but the candidates will speak on Friday and Saturday morning, with speaking slots to be determined by their schedules and a lottery.  A DNC spokesperson tells First Read that all candidates will get to choose their own entrance and exit music!

A new Des Moines Register Poll shows lingering doubts among Iowans about former Gov. Tom Vilsack (D), who probably has to win his home state to be considered a real player for the nomination. 

Last Friday, we looked at how Bush made no mention of Hurricane Katrina or New Orleans in his State of the Union address.  Today, Sen. Barack Obama takes part in a Homeland Security Committee field hearing on Hurricane Katrina and Rita recovery efforts in New Orleans.  Per his prepared remarks, Obama will note that "we heard not one word - not one word - in the President's State of the Union address about New Orleans.  And so I have one more set of questions to ask today: 'Are we willing to do whatever it takes?  To stay as long as it takes?  Are we in danger of forgetting about New Orleans?'"  Edwards also was in the city last week and did an online chat from there.

The Washington Times looks at how deep-pocketed liberals are helping Obama keep fundraising pace with Clinton. 

The New York Times front-pages how a discredited article (on Obama attending a madrassa as a child) in a publication that doesn't have the greatest reputation (Insight) created the first "feeding frenzy" of the race.  It "illustrates how easily dubious and politically charged information can spread through the constant chatter of cable news commentary, talk radio programs and political Web sites.  And at the start of a campaign with perhaps a dozen candidates hiring 'research directors' to examine one another, the Insight episode may be a sign of what is to come." 

The State looks at how Democratic candidates seem to be making few inroads in South Carolina. 

McCain "has decided not to address House Republican conservatives when they convene at their annual retreat this week," Roll Call reports.  "Republican sources said that McCain's campaign never responded to the invitation."  Rudy Giuliani has declined, but former Gov. Mitt Romney and former Speaker Newt Gingrich will attend and speak.

The Los Angeles Times leads its front-page look at the proliferation of both promotional and damaging web videos with a professional film producer's effort to cast McCain as a flip-flopper.  "The explosion of video-sharing on the Web poses major risks for presidential candidates: Gaffes and inconsistent statements witnessed by dozens can be e-mailed instantly to millions."  More: "Obama... is just starting to draw the sort of negative attention that the Clintons have long attracted.  Last week, Chicago-area political consultant Joe Novak posted several Web videos taking aim at the Illinois senator's wife, Michelle, for her healthcare business dealings." 

In New Hampshire this past weekend, Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Tom Tancredo and Jim Gilmore all addressed the Republican State Committee's annual meeting. 

The Financial Times says of Giuliani's stop, "The contradictions of his will-he-won't-he campaign were evident this weekend in New Hampshire, typically the first primary state.  Not everyone is convinced - including the man himself - that he really aspires to be president.  Mr Giuliani's stump speech... seemed a work in progress.  He appeared awkward, looking down at his notes, as he paid the necessary homage to the problems faced by local Republicans...  The audience was attentive but not avid." 

Asked about Hagel's split from the White House over the war and a troop increase, Cheney told Newsweek, "Let's say I believe firmly in Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.  But it's very hard sometimes to adhere to that where Chuck Hagel is involved."

As expected, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is joining the GOP pack.  He told NBC's Tim Russert that he expects to file an exploratory committee today, and he'll travel to Iowa tomorrow. 

Another Republican former governor who may join the field, George Pataki of New York, gave a speech on Iraq in Washington last Friday in which he staked out his position on a troop increase, saying the Administration should not commit more troops to Iraq until the Maliki government fulfills four conditions, including the disarming of Al Sadr's army.  Despite his tough talk, Pataki declined to give a timeline for the Maliki government to achieve these goals.

More real estate issues for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid?  The Los Angeles Times reports that in 2002, Reid bought land in fast-growing northern Arizona for $166 per acre from a friend whose pension fund had owned the land jointly with Reid.  "Reid's price... was less than one-tenth of the value the assessor placed on it at the time.  Six months after the deal closed, Reid introduced legislation to address" an issue that his friend's "family had brought to Reid's attention in 1994...  If Reid were to sell the property for any of the various estimates of its value, his gain on the $10,000 investment could range from $50,000 to $290,000...  In a statement, Reid's spokesman Jon Summers said that the transaction was not a gift and that the price was due to the property's history and the fact that only a partial interest was sold."  Summers also said Reid's action on the legislation "was unrelated to the sale." 

USA Today, sticking to the ethics beat, reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, fourth-ranking House Democrat Rahm Emanuel, and Sen. Evan Bayh (D) "have failed to disclose they are officers of family charities, in violation of a law requiring members of Congress to report non-profit leadership roles...  All three foundations are funded and controlled by the lawmakers and their spouses, and do not solicit donations from outside sources."