While analysts say the GOP-run 109th Congress was the least effective in decades, retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist touts its accomplishments and blames Democrats for obstructing some others in a USA Today op-ed. 

Ousted GOP Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island does The Daily Show tonight.

The financial markets will be running full throttle on news events this week, per CNBC's Patti Domm.  The Fed meets Tuesday on interest rates, OPEC gathers on Thursday, and a crew of economic heavyweights from the Bush Administration head to China to discuss all matters economic, including currency issues. 

The head of Bush's council of economic advisors tells Bloomberg that Bush "wants to make energy independence a domestic priority next year with an eye to gathering bipartisan support in the Democratic-controlled Congress...  House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, has pledged to make rolling back subsidies for oil companies one of her top priorities when Democrats take over Congress in January.  The president also will make immigration reform a top priority, Hubbard said...  On another Bush priority, shoring up the Social Security system, Hubbard said it's too early to tell if a Social Security deal is possible." 

Democratic presidential candidate and incoming Senate Banking chair Chris Dodd wants to haul credit-card company CEO's in to testify. 

Tomorrow brings the final runoff of the 2006 cycle in a district that could change partisan hands.  Recent polls suggest that former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D) is closing in on Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla in Texas' 23rd district, but as the Jefferson race just showed, turnout is the volatile and key X factor in any special election.  The Washington Post says the close race reflects the downside of former GOP Rep. Tom DeLay's mid-decade Texas redistricting. 

In her last act on her last day of Congress, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D), who lost in a primary run off due in part to the fallout from her striking a Capitol Hill police officer, is introducing articles of impeachment against President Bush.

Per a press release, the three articles say Bush deserves impeachment for repeatedly violating both parts of his oath of office, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," and the Constitutional duty that "he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." One of the articles also names Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as deserving impeachment.

McKinney's last act won't go anywhere -- after all, the 109th Congress is all but over -- but talk about going out with bang.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) just announced that they will convene a joint caucus meeting on Jan. 4 -- the first such joint meeting since Bill Clinton's impeachment. Per a release, the joint conference will give senators an opportunity to meet before the Senate session begins, in an attempt to foster a better working relationship between Democrats and Republicans.

"We won't always agree," Reid says, "but we can sit down, side by side, and forge consensus on the issues important to the American people."

Skeptics would wonder if such a joint meeting will make any difference in changing the tone in Washington. But you have to start somewhere, right?

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Republican Sen. Gordon Smith says he's tried to be a "good soldier" for his party and his president, but has reached "the end of his rope" supporting the Bush Iraq policy and wants to bring the troops home whether it's "cut and run or cut and walk."  Smith made his remarks in an emotional speech on the Senate floor last night to an almost empty chamber, feeling the need to "speak from my heart."

His speech covered his problems with the Iraq strategy from the initial invasion to the Iraq Study Group Report.  Smith said he would not have voted for the war if he'd known the intelligence was bad, adding that he's tired of seeing 10 or more troops die per day in Iraq.  He even echoed the sentiments of Winston Churchill from when the British held Iraq, quoting, "at present we are paying eight millions a year for the privilege of living on an ungrateful volcano."

Among some of his most memorable lines from the speech:

"And I, for one, am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal. I cannot support that any more.  I believe we need to figure out not just how to leave Iraq but how to fight the war on terror and to do it right. So either we clear and hold and build or let's go home..."

"I believe the president is guilty of trying to win a short war and not understanding fully the nature of the ancient hatreds of the Middle East..."

"And I'm afraid rather than leveling with the American people saying this was going to be a decade-long conflict because of the ancient hatreds that exist in that part of the world, that we tried to win it with too few troops in too fast a time..."

"I welcome the Iraq Study Group but I'd rather do it quicker rather than later. Whatever it is, it will not be pretty.  I am looking for answers but the current course is unacceptable to this U.S. senator...  but I, for one, am tired of paying the price of 10 or more of our troops dying a day. So, let's cut and run or cut and walk, but let us fight the war on terror more intelligently than we have, because we have fought this war in a very lamentable way. Those are my feelings, Mr. President. I regret them. I would have never voted for this conflict had I reason to believe that the intelligence we had was not accurate. It was not accurate, but that is history..."

"We have paid a price in blood and treasure that is beyond calculation by my estimation.  And now as I witness the slow undoing of our efforts there, I feel to speak, to speak from my heart.  I was greatly disturbed recently to read a comment by a man I admire in history, one Winston Churchill, who after the British mandate extended to the peoples of Iraq for five years, the British withdrew. He wrote to David Lloyd George, the prime minister of England: "At present we are paying eight millions a year for the privilege of living on an ungrateful volcano."  When I read that, I thought, not much has changed."

"... I remember the thrill I felt when three times Iraqis risked their own lives to vote democratically in a way that was internationally verifiable as legitimate and important.  But now all of those memories seem much like ashes to me...."

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Congress has held off on giving themselves another raise -- at least for this year. Democrats have insisted that the scheduled congressional cost-of-living adjustment be delayed for the time being until they can hold a vote next month on raising the minimum wage.

Language just negotiated in the "continuing resolution" that will keep the government funded through February 15 delays the raise until one day later, February 16. By that time, Democrats will have presumably passed the first raise in the minimum wage in 10 years.

Members of Congress currently make $165,200. The delayed raise is for $2,800.

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, and Jennifer Colby
The 109th Congress is winding down.  Some big tax and trade measures are likely to pass by tomorrow, while some pork-laden spending bills will get foisted onto the incoming majority.  President Bush has a few key meetings, sitting down this morning with the bipartisan Hill leadership to talk about Iraq, and meeting later today with the leaders of the conservative Blue Dog Democrats, who could wind up deciding the fate of some of his legislative priorities.

A handful of Senators are off to politically hotter climes.  It's not unusual for Hill lawmakers with certain higher ambitions to cut out of Washington a little early on Fridays.  Today is no exception -- but may mark the end of this long tradition.  With the new majority party promising longer work-weeks in the next Congress, Friday hooky may become tougher to play.  For starters, incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced that the Senate will be in session for the first seven weeks of 2007, eschewing the typical two-week break before the State of the Union.  And "we will have votes on Mondays and Fridays," one leadership aide tells First Read.

The irony is that Reid pushed for his home state of Nevada to win an early Democratic nominating caucus in 2008, and now as many as six of his own ranks who appear to be seeking the presidency are going to have a tough time campaigning there if his legislative schedule makes it difficult for them to get out of town. 

That's probably fine with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), who may be eyeing Nevada as his best shot to win an early state -- even as his staff quibbles over whether he actually declared on TV yesterday that he's running.  During an interview with FOX, Richardson said, "I am Hispanic, which I believe is an asset.  But I'm not running as an Hispanic, I am running as an American who is proud to be Hispanic."  Richardson aides dispute that this amounted to his saying he's actually running.  Richardson is scheduled to give an energy speech in Washington today, so listen for what he says about ethanol, if anything. 

Sen. Barack Obama (D), still outshining Sen. Hillary Clinton (D), sets foot in the Granite State for the first time on Sunday.  As of yesterday, 140 members of the press had requested credentials for Obama's main event in Manchester, per the state party.  Sen. Evan Bayh (D) is also in New Hampshire this weekend and may wind up being the latest example of how Democratic candidates who aren't named Obama or Clinton are getting eclipsed in the national press.

Louisiana isn't currently scheduled to hold an early nominating contest, nor are felons able to vote.  But presidential candidate and Sen. Sam Brownback (R) will be spending the night at the state penitentiary at Angola to highlight his call for prison reform.  NBC's Lauren Appelbaum reports that Brownback will record a radio address for the prison radio network (dubbed "the incarceration station") and then stay over, most likely in a cell rather than in a guest house.  Brownback's press secretary said, "I know the Senator and I know he'll want to stay in the cell."  Tomorrow he'll tour the facility, visit with people on death row, and attend a prayer service with inmates. 

Louisiana also hosts a runoff tomorrow for Democratic Rep. William Jefferson's seat.  While scandal helped fuel the GOP's losses at the polls last month, costing them at least eight House and Senate seats, scandal might claim its final victim -- and first Democrat -- of the cycle in Jefferson, who faces a tough challenge from fellow Democrat Karen Carter.  Jefferson gained national attention after he became ensnared in a federal bribery scandal and $90,000 cash was found in his freezer.  He has denied any wrongdoing, but Democrats booted him from his seat on the Ways and Means Committee. 

On election day, Jefferson finished first in a crowded field with just 30%, dangerous territory for any incumbent involved in a runoff.  That makes Carter the nominal favorite, but remember that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin triumphed in his runoff, despite being the underdog.  A Jefferson win could complicate Democrats' drive for ethics reform.

And the Iraq Study Group report continues to reverberate in Washington and among the 2008 field.  Possible candidate and GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel said last night in a speech that a new strategy for Iraq "must include timeframes," NBC's Ken Strickland reports.  The former Vietnam veteran elaborated that "timeframes are forcing mechanisms that prompt action and define consequences."  Hagel also repeated his belief that "substantial withdrawal of American forces must begin next year...  Time is not on our side."  And he dismissed assertions that the withdrawal of US military forces would guarantee that Iraq will become "a terrorist haven for al Qaeda.  I do not believe it is preordained." 

A new AP-Ipsos poll shows that "Americans are overwhelmingly resigned to something less than clear-cut victory in Iraq and growing numbers doubt the country will achieve a stable, democratic government no matter how the U.S. gets out."  Also, "dissatisfaction with President Bush's handling of Iraq has climbed to an alltime high of 71%...  Even so, Americans are not necessarily intent on getting all U.S. troops out right away, the poll indicated.  The survey found strong support for a two-year timetable if that's what it took to get U.S. troops out." 

In his joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday, Bush once again "cast the Iraq war as part of a global struggle between violent ideological extremists and defenders of freedom and democracy" -- but "shied away" from embracing many of the Iraq Study Group's key recommendations, per the Los Angeles Times, which also looks at the very mixed reception the report is getting from Congress 

The Boston Globe notes that "Bush used the word 'prevail' 11 times... in his first expansive remarks since the Iraq Study Group offered a devastating assessment Wednesday of US policy in Iraq."

McClatchy notes that Bush isn't the only one who's unconvinced.  "[T]he U.S. ground commander in Iraq, while welcoming the report's broad principles, warned that meeting its goal of withdrawing combat units by early 2008 could prove to 'be very problematic.'  Such widespread reservations raised doubt that the group's approach will become a blueprint for U.S. policy." 

On the day after the report came out, "much of Washington maneuvered to pick out the parts they like and pick apart those they do not," says the Washington Post.  "The report's authors were greeted with skepticism on Capitol Hill, and Democratic leaders used the occasion to press Bush to change course without embracing the commission's particular recipe themselves...  The emerging debate over the report sets a baseline for the administration's own internal review of Iraq policy, which officials hope to complete in time for Bush to give a speech to the nation before Christmas announcing his new plan for Iraq." 

Sen. John McCain (R) called the report a "recipe" for defeat.  "The harsh criticism from Mr. McCain, one of the most talked-about figures to possibly replace President Bush in the White House in 2008, further suggests that it will dominate national politics for at least the next two years," says the Washington Times. 

A New York Times news analysis points out that many "of the blistering critiques of the Bush administration contained in the Iraq Study Group's report boil down to this: the differing worldviews of Baker versus [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice" -- with Baker favoring engagement with America's adversaries and Rice against it (unless the conditions are right).  

"In a little-noticed section of its report, the [group] lambasted the method the Bush Administration has used to pay for the Iraq war, saying its reliance on 'emergency' budgeting procedures has circumvented congressional oversight and led to billions of taxpayer dollars spent on extras and pet projects not directly related to the war," adds the Boston Globe. The group "said the American people deserve to know exactly where the money is going.  It recommended that President Bush begin including money for the war in his annual budget request for the 2008 fiscal year."

Yesterday, the White House announced the ten newest recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  None of the 10 have been involved in the Iraq war.  Two years ago, NBC's Chris Donovan points out, Bush presented this honor to Paul Bremer, George Tenet, and Tommy Franks in an East Room ceremony, and in turn was criticized by some Democrats and other war critics for rewarding three key Iraq war players.  But in case anyone is tempted to read anything into outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld not making the list, Donovan says, Rumsfeld's bio notes that he already has a medal from 30 years ago, awarded to him by President Gerald Ford on his last full day in office in early 1977.

Democrats are evicting Vice President Cheney from his sumptuous House-side suite, NBC's Mike Viqueira reports.  But even more interesting is who he's vacating the office for.  Six years ago, Republicans gave Cheney some prime real estate on the House side: a corner office just off the chamber to use on his occasional journeys to the Capitol.  He has used it maybe once a week for a few hours at a time whenever Congress is in session.  For years, the ornate space was occupied by the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee -- and that's who Cheney will have to make way for now.  Cheney and Rep. Charlie Rangel (D) don't exactly get along.  Don't feel too bad for the Vice President, though, since as President of the Senate, he still has a place to hang his hat on that side of the Capitol. 

Incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also considering abolishing the smoke-filled room -- literally.  The Washington Post front-pages Pelosi's pondering of "banishing tobacco from the most popular smoking spot in the building: the Speaker's Lobby outside the House chamber." 

But while Democrats have promised to enact tough ethics reforms, the New York Times writes that lobbyists on Wednesday were throwing parties and fundraisers for the opportunity to meet and greet lawmakers.  "Some politicians had just won election, or re-election, and needed to pay off campaign debts.  Others were raising money for 2008, hoping that a fat campaign war chest would discourage serious challengers."  

"Lawmakers on Thursday pieced together legislation extending popular tax breaks and saving doctors from a cut in Medicare payments as Republicans prepared to cede control of Congress to the Democrats.  The legislation also contained several trade-related measures, including extending normal trade status to Vietnam."  The AP also says "Democrats are unhappy that the budget impasse is being dropped in their laps next year, when it promises to clutter their early agenda." 

"The Republicans' likely decision today to defer Congress's unfinished budget work to January means the Democrats will be considering the measures, which are loaded with spending projects known as 'earmarks,' at the same time they have promised to consider new ethics rules to make the often-secret earmarking process more open," Bloomberg reminds us.  "Republicans and congressional critics say they'll be watching closely to see how the Democrats handle this clash between their promises to root out corruption and the practical politics of pork-barrel spending." 

The Washington Times notices that the House Ethics Committee has not released its report on former GOP Rep. Mark Foley's behavior "despite looming adjournment and an October promise that the probe would conclude in 'weeks, not months'...  A spokesman for [Pelosi] said the California Democrat would be disappointed if the investigation is unresolved when the House adjourns either today or tomorrow." 

The AP says that hug between retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and incoming Leader Harry Reid "was awkward at best.  When… Reid held open his arms to the man he battled and will replace… the Tennessee doctor hesitated before returning the embrace.  Loosely." 

Bloomberg writes up GOP Gov. Mitt Romney's emergence as the alternative to McCain, noting how Romney has been courting conservatives, has avoided rookie mistakes, conveniently left the country before the Iraq Study Group report came out, and "aims to reconstitute [Bush's] coalition."  He wants to attract "evangelical Christians with his support for a gay-marriage ban, and will try to lure economic conservatives with plans to overhaul health care and the tax system."  He also seems to be trying to set up sharp contrasts with McCain on immigration reform -- he "stresses tough border enforcement over a new guest-worker plan" -- and possibly on taxes. 

But a Boston-based gay newspaper has revived comments Romney "made during his 1994 Senate bid, in which he said the gay and lesbian community 'needs more support from the Republican Party,'" per the Boston Globe.  In a 1994 interview with that paper, "Romney said it should be up to states to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage and he criticized Republican 'extremists' who imposed their positions on the party."  (He also he personally opposed gay marriage.)  Twelve years later, in a recent interview with the DC Examiner, Romney "accused McCain of being 'disingenuous' on same-sex marriage, because McCain says he's against [a constitutional ban of gay marriage] but believes states should decide the issue." 

Last week, McCain "crashed" Romney's RGA conference.  This week, McCain is "hitting" Romney "right on his home turf: not Massachusetts, but Utah," reports the Boston Herald.  McCain is "snapping up endorsements from the governor and attorney general of Utah, the Romney family's home state," and home to the Mormon church. 

The Washington Post says the perceived Clinton-Obama rivalry "is already the talk of the [Senate] chamber, an amusing sideshow for Democrats and Republicans -- at least the handful who aren't weighing their own White House bids...  Senators say Obama's explosive rise has startled Clinton and her advisers, who are mulling how to react." 

A new WNBC/Marist College poll found that while Clinton is the most popular presidential option among Democrats, a whopping 47% of all voters said they would "definitely not" vote for her in 2008.  The same poll found Rudy Giuliani ahead in the GOP field.  In a head-to-head match up, Giuliani bests Clinton, 49%-43%. 

Sen. John Kerry (D) takes another beating in a new poll which asks voters how they react when they hear that Kerry is thinking of running for president again.  The top reaction was that Kerry "already lost/had his chance," followed by those who said they "don't like him."  Only about 4% said he was a good candidate, and the same percentage of people said he was "traitor" or "disloyal to military." 

Sen. Chris Dodd (D) will kick off "Conversations with Kirkland," a series of talks between students and potential 2008 presidential candidates at Harvard, later this afternoon.  Dodd will make brief opening remarks, but the majority of the event will be Q&A. 

In his weekly National Journal column, NBC News political analyst Charlie Cook observes that the presidential field hasn't changed much from a year ago.  "The question marks in the Republican race are former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich...  For Democrats, the only significant remaining question is whether Obama runs."

The Administration is ready to make a big deal out of the November jobs report, which shows a gain of 132,000 jobs, though the unemployment rate edged up to 4.5%.  Per the AP, "The increase in payrolls was stronger than the 105,000 jobs that economists were expecting.  Analysts were anticipating a rise in the jobless rate, however."  CNBC's Patti Domm advises that investors have been heavily focused on the jobs report, hoping to get a clear message on the economy's strength after a batch of mixed signals from recent economic data. 

Presidential candidate and incoming Senate Banking chair Chris Dodd said yesterday that he wants Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson "to return from a visit to Beijing with firm progress" on persuading China's government to revalue its currency, says the Financial Times. 

The US Election Assistance Commission met yesterday to conduct its post-mortem of the first elections to be held since the full implementation of the Help America Vote Act.  According to a panel that testified before the commission, the midterm elections -- which many in the election reform community expected would produce a cornucopia of problems -- went more smoothly than predicted.  Deborah Markowitz, Vermont Secretary of State and the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, said that "predictions of election day chaos... were overblown."  However, data on problems encountered across the country is still being collected and analyzed.

There are some issues to watch out for looking ahead to 2008.  R. Doug Lewis, executive director of the Election Center, told the commission that poll workers are expected to know and do too much, which is why his group will organize a national task force to train poll workers in the future.  Elizabeth Ensley, a local elections official and director of the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers, added that states may be burdened with having to replace or repair costly election equipment for which they may not have the appropriate funds.

The EAC also voted to approve federal standards for voting machine certification.  Sen. Hillary Clinton issued a statement yesterday commending the announcement and urged Congress to approve the Count Every Vote Act, which calls for a voter verified paper trail.

And USA Today points out that immigration has hardly been a hot topic in a race where you'd expect to hear about it, the Texas runoff between Rep. Henry Bonilla (R) and his Democratic challenger, former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, because both men are of Mexican descent. 

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Possible presidential candidate and GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel says a new strategy for Iraq "must include timeframes." And while not blatantly embracing Democrats' oft-used terms of "timetables," he clarifies that "timeframes are forcing mechanisms that prompt action and define consequences."

Hagel, a Nebraskan and Vietnam veteran, plans to deliver these comments in a speech tonight in Washington. In that speech, he'll also repeat his belief that "substantial withdrawal of American forces must begin next year... Time is not on our side." And he'll dismiss assertions that withdrawal of US military forces would guarantee that Iraq will become "a terrorist haven for al Qaeda. I do not believe it is preordained."

Hagel does take issue with some of the ISG recommendations. On the acceleration of training Iraq's military and police forces, he will say, "We cannot make the training of Iraqi troops a prerequisite for our withdrawal from Iraq." He cites more than $12 billion already spent on on training and that "the Administration has continuously provided unrealistic reports of the success we were having training Iraqi forces." He'll also caution against embedding substantially more US soldiers with Iraqi troops, saying it could make them "dangerously exposed and unsupported in combat and caught in the middle of a civil war."

Hagel is expected to decide sometime between now and early 2007 whether he'll seek the presidency (and he's been keeping his decision-making much closer to the vest than many of his Senate colleagues).

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says he didn't mean for people to take literally his comments about the House working five days a week next year. It was widely reported that Hoyer pledged to crack down and have members in Washington each day of what constitutes a normal work week for most working stiffs. The past several years of GOP rule have typically seen the House coming in early evenings Tuesday and splitting town by late afternoon Thursday.

But a great hue and cry ensued. Democrats were accused of not being "family friendly" and that members -- who apparently did not realize when they ran for office that they would be expected to come to Washington every once and a while -- would end up strangers in their own homes. This is said to be especially true of members from rural or West Coast districts.

It turns out that it won't be quite that bad. Monday will be a travel day, with votes scheduled for 6:30 pm, as is typically done on Tuesdays now. And they won't be here most Fridays, save for the appropriations season in June, which is usually full of rock'em-sock'em legislative action. Hoyer just clarified this for us at a presser.

To be fair to Hoyer, this is largely what he said earlier in the week, but things kind of got out of hand. You know how we do. Moreover, the recess schedule will be somewhat curtailed next year. We are also likely to be here the entire month of January, which hasn't happened lately. So the likelihood is that the House will easily surpass the total legislative days in session that has been the standard for any recent Congress.

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, and Jennifer Colby.
It turns out that yesterday not only marked the release of what the Iraq Study Group co-chairs are suggesting is the only bipartisan advice President Bush will get on Iraq, but NBC has confirmed that it was the deadliest day of the year for US forces there, with 11 killed.  That grim news adds poignancy and urgency to today's two high-profile meetings: President Bush's sitdown with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Jim Baker and Lee Hamilton's testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Everywhere you look today in Washington will be the faces of the fallen, politically speaking: lawmakers and leaders whose influence is waning because of their support for the unpopular Iraq war.  Bush and Blair, his chief international ally in the war, no doubt will discuss the Iraq Study Group's findings.  These two leaders who are now in their final stretches, and whose popularity and political leverage have been undercut as the situation in Iraq has deteriorated, will hold a joint press availability later this morning.

Today is also likely to be the final day of the 109th Congress, at least as far as the House is concerned, ending the 12-year GOP majority and Dennis Hastert's run as the longest-serving Republican Speaker.  Party lawmakers and Republican National Committee chair Ken Mehlman have conceded that the war, along with congressional scandals, played a major role in their losses on election day.  Although there had been talk that Hastert might resign, he now appears ready to stay in his seat for at least a few months to help ensure that it remains in GOP hands in a special election.  He will lose his security detail and some staff.

The Senate might also adjourn today -- or if not, there could be a Friday session with no votes.  Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will give his farewell speech on the floor this afternoon, marking the end -- for now, at least -- of the political career of a lawmaker who just weeks ago was aspiring to run for president in 2008.  (Sen. George Allen gave his farewell speech yesterday, with little fanfare.)  "Our time here is temporary," Frist will say, per advance excerpts that echo his recent remark to supporters about being a "citizen legislator."  "We are here to occupy a seat for a time, not to possess it, never to own it."  He'll note his two-term limit pledge and his commitment "to the people of Tennessee that I would go to Washington... with a mission to accomplish and then return to Tennessee to live under the laws I helped to pass."

Vice President Cheney, in a rare public appearance these days and in his role as President of the Senate, will preside during the speech and the two will walk into the chamber together.  Frist's family also will be present.  Watch to see how many Democrats show up compared to then-Democratic Leader Tom Daschle's farewell speech in 2004.

So depart the leaders of a Congress that accomplished less and met the fewest days in half a century, as business and government strategist Billy Moore, a former longtime Democratic Hill aide, noted in a memo to clients earlier this week.  The next time Cheney presides over the Senate, it will be over a Democratic majority.  Not all members of the House will be quitting town today, though: NBC's Mike Viqueira reports that the bipartisan, bicameral leadership will meet with Bush at the White House tomorrow morning to talk about Iraq. 

As Bush and Blair prepare to meet, the Financial Times says the Iraq Study Group's report "is particularly damaging to Mr Blair, as it highlights the limits of British influence on US policymaking and the fact that the UK premier is inextricably linked with the Bush administration's battle plan." 

The Wall Street Journal says, "Policy makers and the public are likely to view events in Iraq through the lens of the report -- already widely available in paperback form -- well into the coming year.  A circuit of congressional hearings, talk shows and lectures featuring the panel members ensures their advice will remain in headlines...  Still, a senior administration official said the White House doesn't feel bound by the report and is unlikely to implement many of its recommendations, especially regarding calls for diplomatic outreach to U.S. foes Syria and Iran."

"Except for the recommendations on Iran and Syria, the panel appeared to steer away from language that might inflame the Bush administration," says the Washington Post.  "But in language and tone, the 96-page report offered an assessment of the U.S. mission in Iraq that was strikingly different from what has been heard until recently from the White House.  There was no mention of the goal of establishing democracy, and no discussion of 'victory' or the centrality of Iraq in 'the war on terror' -- staples of Bush rhetoric." 

The Los Angeles Times: "To try to make it easier for Bush - a man who prides himself on consistency and who consequently is criticized by opponents as stubborn - the 10-member commission delivered its report in two parts and two different tones...  Members of the commission said they were pleased that Bush gave them as much attention as he did...  But they acknowledged that the president did not endorse any of their findings."  The story also notes that Cheney may oppose certain recommendations -- but may not have as much influence as he used to. 

"The White House insists that Bush will not outsource his decision-making on Iraq, yet the changing political landscape would seem to make it difficult for him not to embrace or - at least seriously consider - opposing views," per the AP. 

The Boston Globe's Canellos writes that "the commission's key recommendations carry an emphasis on diplomatic engagement that has been missing from the Bush administration so far" and "represent a direct challenge to President Bush's foreign policy." 

The group's assessment that the Administration has underrreported violence in Iraq "confirmed a Sept. 8 McClatchy Newspapers report that U.S. officials excluded scores of people killed in car bombings and mortar attacks from tabulations measuring the results of a drive to reduce violence in Baghdad." 

A military analysis by the New York Times notes that the group is positing that the United States "can accomplish in little more than one year what it has failed to carry out in three" -- which is build up Iraq's security forces.  "In essence, the study group is projecting that a rapid infusion of American military trainers will so improve the Iraqi security forces that virtually all of the American combat brigades may be withdrawn by the early part of 2008."

Some troops in Iraq aren't optimistic that the group's recommendations are realistic.  "The soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment welcomed the plans for change but questioned the high-level U.S. panel's recommendation Wednesday that most combat troops leave Iraq by early 2008."

The Senate confirmed Defense Secretary nominee Robert Gates yesterday, 95-2, "with Democrats and Republicans portraying him as the man who will help overhaul President Bush's Iraq policies." 

The Des Moines Register reports that 50 House members have sent Bush a letter urging him to nominate defeated Rep. Jim Leach (R) as UN ambassador.  I's unclear, however, whether Leach wants the job. 

At a hearing yesterday, incoming Senate Judiciary Committee chair Pat Leahy put the Administration on notice that Democrats intend to monitor its counterterrorism programs, the New York Times writes. 

NBC News military analyst Bill Arkin hears that Tommy Franks' decision to sell his house in Tampa and move to Oklahoma is based on his desire to run for federal office from the Sooner State.  The former CENCOM commander, responsible for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, is a native of Wynnewood, OK.

Potential presidential candidate and Sen. Barack Obama (D) tells The Hill that there will be "'a push from both sides to craft a meaningful strategy in Iraq...  The question is whether the administration will be amenable.'"  Obama called the report "'a realistic portrayal of what's taking place'...  Several other Democrats who have begun vying for their party's presidential nomination placed similar weight on the White House's next move."  Republican Sens. Sam Brownback and Chuck Hagel also found something to support in the recommendations. 

Presidential candidate and incoming Senate Foreign Relations chair Joe Biden says the recommendations aren't enough and pushes his own plan for Iraq in a USA Today op-ed.  He promises "intensive and extensive hearings, over many weeks.  We won't be wedded to any one plan or proposal.  Our mission will be to shine a light on what options remain for America in Iraq and to help complete the work that this report has so valiantly begun." 

Sen. John Kerry (D) "said in an interview that the report 'validated much of what we have been saying for more than two years,' particularly the need to rely on forceful diplomacy to achieve a political solution.  'A major diplomatic effort and getting the Mideast peace process back on the block is how you get from here to there.'"

Bloomberg notices that both Sen. John McCain (R) and Rep. John Murtha (D) "ripped the panel's proposals from different ends of the spectrum...  Aside from McCain, the other Republican presidential frontrunners, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who was traveling in Asia, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, had no immediate response to the report." 

GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, who's also running in 2008, "suggested that everyone should back the president, as the government's chief executive and the military's commander in chief: 'American policy should flow from our shores with one voice.'" 

Gov. Bill Richardson (D) gives a major address on immigration reform at Georgetown today.  As we wrote yesterday, he and his aides have been looking for a point of entry for him on this debate, which allows him to showcase his credentials as a border-state governor and as a Latino.  Expect more speeches from Richardson between now and January, when he will decide and announce whether he's running for president or not.

Per a Richardson aide, in his speech, Richardson will call out the new Congress to act on immigration now instead of delaying; call for significant and specific increases in the legal immigration quota; call for specific increases in Border Patrol agents to seal the border; call for a verifiable ID system to track workers; specifically discuss how to engage Mexico in the process and say it can't happen without them; and call for enforcement of employer sanctions.  He'll also rebut the argument that comprehensive immigration reform amounts to amnesty and will hurt American workers and the nation's economy.

Just in time for the holidays, the two presidential frontrunners are turning to the Internet to lay claims in the values debate.  Yesterday, McCain introduced the "Stop the Online Exploitation of Our Children Act."  (Clearly, the Mark Foley scandal has dissipated enough that it's safe to talk about online sexual predators again.)  And today, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) teams up with her colleague Joe Lieberman, a longtime foe of the entertainment industry, to announce the launch of a nationwide, televised PSA campaign about video game ratings. 

Liberal columnist/blogger Arianna Huffington charges that "the profile that has emerged" of Clinton "is that of a politician more comfortable following than leading," calling her "the quintessential political weather vane."  More: "David Geffen has already declared for Obama, and many other Hollywood power brokers, who are not ready to go public yet, are making it known in private that they are in the ABH (Anyone But Hillary) camp.  And all because they don't trust her to stand up for what is right - or even to know anymore what is right." 

Yesterday, when asked how he felt about running for president against nemesis Clinton, Rudy Giuliani said, "Déjà vu all over again?" and, "She's not running in the Republican primary, I don't think." 

Brownback does MSNBC's Hardball today, the day before he spends a night in prison.  It'll be his second night in prison, as an aide points out, after he spent a night in one in Ellsworth, KS.  (Maybe he'll start calling for prisoners to have the right to vote?)

The Boston Globe says that while Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey (R) lost the race for governor, she's been acting like one since election day.  With Romney traveling the country, Healey has "amended bills, sworn in five judges, and presided over three meetings of the Governor's Council.  Yesterday afternoon, she had three gubernatorial appearances."

The Washington Times says that a new conservative PAC in Virginia "mirrors a national movement that ascribes the Republicans' historic losses in Congress last month to the Bush administration and national Republicans' abandonment of conservative tenets such as limited spending, lower taxes and enforcement of immigration laws" -- and that Newt Gingrich recently appeared at a fundraiser for them. 

Noting how some of these guys are getting off to an unprecedented early start, Roll Call consults history and finds that in announcing his candidacy last week, Democratic Gov. Tom "Vilsack became just the fifth candidate to file FEC paperwork and hold his formal announcement ceremony in the same year as the midterm elections in the modern presidential campaign era since 1968.  And the comparison is not an auspicious one," since the only candidate to file and announce this early over the past 40 years and go on to win the nomination was Jimmy Carter. 

The Des Moines Register writes that late night talk shows have been getting a lot of mileage out Vilsack.  On "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart appeared to be struggling to remember the candidate's last name, until an animated duck came on screen and quacked: "Vilsack!" -- a parody of the infamous AFLAC commercials. 

Roll Call's Stuart Rothenberg writes that a good personal story certainly can help with a presidential bid, but "let's not go overboard...  A candidate's "story" may get voters' attention, but a story is by its very nature backward-looking, while presidential contests are about the future."

The news that Vice President Cheney's openly gay daughter Mary is pregnant and expecting a baby with her longtime partner caused dismay among some social conservatives yesterday and was applauded by the pro-gay rights Human Rights Campaign. 

The New York Times says the news sparked a debate over the Administration's opposition to gay marriage.  

Gas prices seem likely to head upward, not downward, between now and Christmas. 

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may be heading for a showdown with congressional Democrats over his warning that wage gains risk causing a jump in inflation," Bloomberg says.  "Fed policy makers are threatening to raise interest rates should inflation remain elevated, even as the housing slump slows the economy.  Democrats... vow to grill Bernanke over borrowing costs and wage increases that have lagged behind profit growth under [Bush's] administration."  Bernanke will visit Capitol Hill in February "for his semiannual testimony on the economy." 

Christine Jennings (D), who still isn't conceding her congressional race to Vern Buchanan (R), holds a press conference in Sarasota, FL today with hundreds of voters who say they experienced problems registering their votes.

The Saturday runoff for Democratic Rep. William Jefferson's seat in Louisiana may be the state's last December runoff for a congressional seat "thanks to a bill passed this year by the Louisiana state legislature," says The Hill.  "The state is departing from its unpredictable nonpartisan open primary system in favor of more traditional closed primaries, allowing it to settle all of its congressional races on Election Day, just like the rest of the country.  The change affects only federal races, not state and local ones." 

The runoff is going down the wire, per the New Orleans Times-Picayune.  Challenger Karen Carter (D) yesterday "hammered home the message that Jefferson can't be effective given the taint of the corruption investigation and the loss of his seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee."  Jefferson, meanwhile, "said he would remind voters that he hasn't been charged with a crime in a probe that began back in March 2005." 

And the nonpartisan Cook Political Report's Jennifer Duffy recounts some instances of bloggers taking things a bit too far in 2006, sometimes on behalf of or against certain campaigns.  Duffy asks, "the bigger issue is whether some of the campaign staffers/bloggers are becoming the new hit men of campaign politics.  Do they end up in the position--knowingly or not--of doing the campaign's dirty work, allowing the campaign to appear to remain at a respectable distance with a degree of deniability?  Or consider the flip side of the argument.  What if a campaign gets blamed for questionable postings by campaign staffers/bloggers or other sympathetic bloggers that they knew nothing about?" 

From the presidential pool report
White House spokesman Tony Snow noted that the Iraq Study Group report contains "no timetable" and "no recommendation for immediate withdrawal." "There is nothing in there about puling back militarily," he said. There is, though, a recommendation that the United States "engage directly with Iran and Syria," and that the United States "consider incentives and disincentives" for the two nations.

Per Snow, group co-chair Lee Hamilton (D) told Bush during the meeting, "This is the only bipartisan advice you're going to get." Every member of the group made a statement. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke about religion, co-chair Jim Baker about diplomacy, and former Sen. Charles Robb (D) about the military. Per Snow, "one thing that was striking" was that every member of the group spoke about the bipartisanship of the commission. Snow said the members realize there is a "sense of exhaustion at the political tone."

Snow's briefing took place in his office, which has a poster on the wall showing Uncle Sam and saying, "We're at War: Are YOU Doing All You Can?"

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, and Jennifer Colby
The Iraq Study Group report rings in at 96 pages containing 79 specific recommendations.  Per NBC's David Gregory, the report says, among other things: "There is no magic formula to solve the problems of Iraq;" the situation there is "grave and deteriorating;" that US troops should shift from combat to training, with the goal of removing them by 2008; that the United States should threaten Iraq with loss of economic and military aid if it fails to meet benchmarks for reducing violence; and that a new diplomatic initiative should be launched with Iraq's neighbors and other key Arab states to help Iraq achieve security and reconciliation, "neither of which Iraq can achieve on its own."  NBC's Andrea Mitchell notes that the group calls on President Bush or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to personally lead that "diplomatic offensive." 

Bush, who met with the group earlier this morning and commented afterward about its "very tough assessment," sits down with members of Congress to discuss the report later today. 

In a press conference on November 8, one day after his party got a "thumping" in the midterm elections partly because of the war, Bush said, "As we work with the new leaders in Congress, I'm also looking forward to hearing the views of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group...  This group is assessing the situation in Iraq and... is expected to provide recommendations on a way forward." 

Since Bush highlighted the group's effort in that press conference, however, the White House has emphasized that he's considering a wide array of options on what course to pursue in Iraq, including the results of bilateral talks with key Iraqi and other foreign leaders, and two additional sets of recommendations.  One of those reports is their own and the timing of its release is TBD, allowing them to set their own timetable for determining which proposals, if any, they plan to embrace.  White House reporters and spokesman Tony Snow have engaged in several tortured, inconclusive conversations about how the Iraq Study Group's report could factor into Bush's decision-making.

Despite White House attempts to dilute the importance of the report, not since the September 11 commission released its findings in July 2004 has such a set of recommendations been so avidly anticipated by Washington.  As with the September 11 panel's proposals for a Bush Administration approach toward fighting the war on terror, the hot question today is how many of the Iraq Study Group's proposals will the Administration incorporate into its approach going forward in Iraq.  Bush has already rejected some of the recommendations that became public earlier, including a gradual withdrawal of US troops to be completed by early 2008.  (As NBC's Andrea Mitchell reported last week, the group clearly has an eye on the presidential nominating calendar.)

Congressional Democrats, who made the enactment of the September 11 panel's recommendations a staple of their thin 2006 campaign platform, have been clamoring for weeks now for Bush to implement the group's suggestions.  Senate Democrats have scheduled a press conference for today featuring the incoming chairs of the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence committees.  Per one Senate Democratic source, Armed Services Committee Democrats, including new members, will meet behind closed doors in incoming chair Carl Levin's office to discuss the report and other matters.  As NBC's Ken Strickland reported earlier, the committee may hold a hearing on the recommendations tomorrow. 

The jury is out on the new Defense Secretary's role in pushing the recommendations of the group to which he recently belonged.  When Bush nominated Robert Gates to replace Donald Rumsfeld, he mentioned a need for a "fresh perspective."  Gates spoke quite skeptically of the Administration's approach to Iraq during his confirmation hearing yesterday, but he also suggested the report will not be "the last word."  As of his expected approval by the Senate today, his future comments on the report will come as an Administration official.

Other analysts go back much further than the September 11 commission to find an appropriate point of comparison.  The Washington office of economic research firm ISI, in a memo to clients, compares "the Baker group to the 1983 Greenspan commission on Social Security.  That we had to go back 23 years to find a relevant bipartisan commission is testimony to how rare that is."  More: "Washington has been preoccupied with the question of what Baker will recommend on the assumption that is what Bush will decide, but that's looking less likely."  The group "will likely have something for everyone," and may "become more of a reference point in debates ('and the ISG agrees with me') rather than the driver of the specific set of policies most likely to be adopted."