The New York Times says, per Administration officials, that the choice of new military commanders "was part of a broader effort to change almost all of the top American officials in Iraq as Mr. Bush changes his strategy there.  'The idea is to put the whole new team in at roughly the same time, and send some clear messages that we are trying a new approach,' a senior administration official said Thursday." 

NBC's Andrea Mitchell provides some background on the civilian personnel changes Bush will announce today, noting that Bush's nominee to replace John Negroponte as director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, had turned down requests to replace Negroponte before.  What changed?  Primarily, he has told friends, the replacement of Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.  Rumsfeld had jousted with intelligence leaders over turf.  New Defense Secretary Robert Gates and McConnell have worked together in the past and have a good relationship. 

As for Negroponte's new job at the State Department, Mitchell says, the agency has been struggling for months without a top deputy for Condoleezza Rice.  The problem became even worse this fall with the resignation of her top counselor.   The changes come as Rice is about to undertake a major new diplomatic initiative in the Middle East and wants to be able to delegate more of the responsibility for North Korea and Iraq.  Negroponte brings a strong diplomatic background and experience in both areas.  While the White House denies any dissatisfaction with Negroponte's short tenure as director of national intelligence, privately, some have said he wasn't a good enough bureaucratic infighter against Rumsfeld and never fulfilled their hopes for a more streamlined intelligence operation.

The Wall Street Journal says the troop surge will be "as many as 20,000."  "The administration's emerging Iraq strategy, which it is calling 'The New Way Forward,' will also include an effort to funnel U.S. money to moderate Iraqi political parties as a means of building a centrist political coalition to support Mr. Maliki, according to people familiar with the matter." 

The Washington Post on the expected troop surge: "The U.S. military is increasingly resigned to the probability that Bush will deploy a relatively small number of additional troops -- between one and five brigades -- in part because he has few other dramatic options available to signal U.S. determination in Iraq, officials said.  But the Joint Chiefs have not given up making the case that the potential dangers outweigh the benefits for several reasons." 

Further illustrating the splits in the Democratic party over Iraq, new Senate Armed Services chair Carl Levin said yesterday that a temporary surge in troops, with concrete conditions, is "worthy of consideration," NBC's Ken Strickland reports.  Repeating what he'd told the New York Times earlier, Levin said that "a temporary surge that's part of an announced drawdown of troops below the current level starting in 4-6 months," with "milestones for a political settlement which are announced and must be met before the surge begins,... would be worthy of consideration."

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair and presidential candidate Joe Biden (D) tells the Washington Post in an interview that "he believes top officials in the Bush administration have privately concluded they have lost Iraq and are simply trying to postpone disaster so the next president will 'be the guy landing helicopters inside the Green Zone, taking people off the roof,' in a chaotic withdrawal reminiscent of Vietnam."  Biden appears on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. 

Looking at recent public polls in his National Journal column, NBC political analyst Charlie Cook writes that if Bush calls for a surge of troops in Iraq, "he'll find himself standing on exceedingly thin ice...  Obviously, the situation is bad for Bush.  But it is also awkward for Democrats.  Voters expressed displeasure with the war, yet haven't amended the Constitution.  The president remains commander-in-chief." 

A new Pew Hispanic Center poll finds that two in three Hispanics want to bring home troops from Iraq as soon as possible, the Houston Chronicle writes.  "It shows a marked, negative shift in the Hispanic population's perspective on the war, even among those born here, who were traditionally more supportive."  

"House Democrats have drawn up sweeping legislation that would authorize billions of additional dollars to screen all cargo bound for the United States, purchase new screening technology for airline passengers, and dramatically expand efforts to secure nuclear materials around the world," the Boston Globe has learned.  "But while the Democratic initiatives have attracted some Republican support, conservative think tanks have warned about the budgetary implications of creating large programs that may not achieve their goals." 

Expect President Bush and his Administration to jump on this today: "Employers stepped up hiring last month, boosting payrolls by a brisk 167,000 and keeping the unemployment rate steady at a still historically low 4.5 percent.  Workers' wages grew briskly...  The tally of new jobs added to the economy last month exceeded analysts' forecasts for a gain of around 115,000 and was the best showing since September," the AP says.

The White House yesterday responded to a New York Daily News report that Bush, in a signing statement just before the holidays, asserted government authority to open Americans' mail without a warrant.  White House spokesman Tony "Snow said Bush was simply reiterating authority the government already has under the law...  Snow did not say what emergency circumstances might warrant inspections of the mail." 

The Daily News writes that the GOP sponsor of the postal reform bill, Sen. Susan Collins, "called on President Bush yesterday to explain why he used it to claim he can open domestic mail without a search warrant."  

The Washington Post casts counsel Harriet Miers' resignation yesterday in the context of a White House preparing for "a sustained struggle with a new Democratic Congress eager to investigate various aspects of his administration...  Bush advisers inside and outside the White House concluded that she is not equipped for such a battle and that the president needs someone who can strongly defend his prerogatives." 

The Los Angeles Times says "Bush will have to burnish rusty skills at working across the political aisle.  And he is facing partners in government who view him with deep suspicion and have relationships with the White House that range from frigid to nonexistent." 

A New York Times analysis notes that Democrats face a choice and appear to be choosing the latter: "They can spend their energy trying to reverse what they see as the flaws of the Bush administration and a dozen years in which conservative philosophy dominated Congress.  Or they can accept the rightward tilt of that period and grudgingly concede that big tax cuts, deregulation, restrictions on abortion and other Republican-inspired changes are now a permanent part of the legislative framework."  

The Wall Street Journal says of the earmark reforms coming up for a House vote today, "There are sure to be tensions when the Senate turns to these subjects next week.  [Reid] is a frequent user of corporate jets, while the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Robert Byrd (D., W.Va.) is famous for his pork-barrel appetite." 

Senate Democrats retreat today to the Library of Congress, where they'll strategize and get pep talks from Senate spouse and former President Clinton and also from former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.  Yesterday, they rolled out 10 legislative priorities that happen to overlap with the "six for '06" agenda, which was shared by Democrats in both chambers but has come to be much more closely associated with the House.  Roll Call points out that many of the 10 items are pretty vague. 

The Washington Post says of the new Senate organization with such a narrow Democratic majority, "Republican leaders decided not to seek special language spelling out the terms of a transition in case of a power shift -- say, if [hospitalized Democratic Sen. Tim] Johnson vacates his post and his state's GOP governor appoints a Republican to replace him.  Under that scenario, power would effectively shift to Republicans...  But for Republicans to take parliamentary control, the Senate would have to vote for new organizational rules, a move Democrats could filibuster." 

Yesterday's first moves by the House Democratic leadership marked "an important dynamic between the House and Senate in the opening weeks.  On issues from raising the minimum wage to curbing oil subsidies, Democrats know they can't make law without the Senate, but they will use the House to lay down markers on initiatives they see appealing to independents and Republican moderates," says the Wall Street Journal. 

The Hartford Courant observes of reformist Rep. Chris Shays, the only Republican member left from New England, that Democrats now "need his vote and his vocal support in order to give their ideas the image of bipartisanship." 

The Houston Chronicle focuses on the House Democrats' "Six for '06" package on energy, which would target oil producers "who have been able to pump crude in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico without paying royalties to Uncle Sam…  And responding to the popular anger with an industry that has racked up record profits at a time when Americans were paying high prices at the gas pump, House Democrats want to take a whack at some tax breaks handed to the industry when Republicans controlled the halls of Congress." 

Pelosi's hometown paper says that in her speech, she "challenged President Bush on the Iraq war, an issue that more than anything else paved the way for her leadership.  'The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end in November's election,' said Pelosi, who has opposed the war from its outset."  

NBC's Chris Donovan points out that Pelosi is now the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in the federal government, at least according to the presidential line of succession.  Madeleine Albright made history in 1997 when she became Secretary of State and thus the highest-ranking woman (as the New York Times and Washington Post both pointed out the day after Clinton named her), and that position is fourth in the line of presidential succession.  Condoleezza Rice can now claim that same distinction.  But Pelosi is now second in line of succession.

NBC's Doug Adams notes that Rep. Gene Taylor (D) of Mississippi voted for Pelosi as Speaker yesterday and received a standing ovation from his Democratic colleagues.  In every other leadership election, Taylor has cast a contrarian vote for Rep. Jack Murtha as a way of showing his displeasure with the heads of the Democratic party.  But yesterday, with Democrats reclaiming the House after 12 years, Taylor decided to vote with his colleagues.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney's camp is touting him as "the first prospective 2008 candidate to sign a 'taxpayer protection pledge,' in which he promised to oppose 'any and all efforts' to increase income taxes on people or businesses."  Romney refused to sign such a pledge in 2002 when running for governor.  "Romney's announcement about signing the pledge came on his first day out of office, and it symbolized what's now his biggest priority: building support from GOP activists and voters, especially in states with early primaries." 

The State reports that Sen. John McCain has "locked up nearly every major Republican donor in South Carolina" to lead his finance committee.  "The decision by such high-level Republican donors is significant because it continues the trend of McCain picking up the endorsement of many of Bush's top backers from 2000."

The New York Daily News reports that Rudy Giuliani hosted New Hampshire political activists at his New Year's Eve bash.  "He kept the chit-chat personal, but those in attendance said they left with the unmistakable sense that Giuliani is putting together a real campaign staff in New Hampshire and elsewhere as he mulls a 2008 presidential bid." 

Sen. Sam Brownback (R) announced yesterday that the president and executive director of Iowa Right to Life, Kim Lehman, has signed onto his campaign and his upcoming "Iowans for Brownback Leadership Committee."

Presidential candidate and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) "brokered one reconciliation" yesterday by "introducing [Rep. Keith] Ellison to Representative Virgil Goode, a Virginia Republican who had publicly criticized Ellison's decision to take the oath of office holding a Koran.  The two shook hands, Kucinich said." 

From NBC's Mark Murray and Kelly O'Donnell
It doesn't quite rank up there with the Iraq war, the Abramoff scandal, or even the losing pushes for Social Security and immigration reform, but Harriet Miers' failed nomination to the Supreme Court was certainly another sign of the White House and GOP struggles in 2005 and 2006 that eventually led to their midterm losses. And today -- the very day that Democrats take control of Congress -- the Administration has announced that Miers is resigning from her job as White House counsel.

White House officials say her letter of resignation was sent this morning and was "reluctantly accepted by the president," and she will be "missed dearly." Since February 2005, Miers has served as counsel, essentially the president's lawyer; she had also been his personal lawyer in the past. Miers succeeded Alberto Gonzales, who became attorney general, and she was appointed in 2001 as the staff secretary to the president, which is a high level position controlling all paper that appears on his desk.

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray and Huma Zaidi.
One year ago yesterday, Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in Washington to felony counts of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe officials.  A year ago today, he pleaded guilty in Miami to counts of wire and mail fraud.  The timing cannot be lost on the new majority party as they prepare to do what the former majority party failed to do: pass ethics and lobbying reform.  Immediately after the new House is sworn in, Democrats will bring up proposals to curb gifts and travel paid for by corporations and lobbyists.  The proposals are less than sweeping, but more than Republicans offered.

After an initial frenzy to put together a congressional reform plan last January in the wake of Abramoff's infamous perp walk, the GOP majority merely passed a searchable database of earmarks, a/k/a pork.  Up until the day the Mark Foley scandal broke, they figured that the difficulty Democrats were having in making their "GOP culture of corruption" charge stick, and the absence of a drumbeat among voters for reform, meant that the worst had passed. 

It's difficult to measure how much that failure to act hurt Republicans in the elections, other than to say that clearly, it did.  At a minimum, Democrats captured at least eight GOP-held seats due to ethical or other kinds of scandals, including the seats of three Republicans who had ties to Abramoff, as well as Foley's own seat.  Many other seats may also have been jeopardized by an overall impression of the Republican majority as arrogant and corrupt. 

Standing with Democrats casting votes on ethics reform today will be Rep. William Jefferson (D), who was as hard-hit by scandal as any Republican in 2006.  The $90,000 in cash found in his freezer became as iconic a symbol for congressional corruption as the Abramoff perp walk.  And yet Jefferson was re-elected. 

President Bush himself and advisors Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman suggested after the elections that ethics was a dominant cause of GOP losses.  In his first post-election speech, outgoing Republican National Committee chair Mehlman said Republicans must recommit themselves "to be the party of reform."  "If there are Republicans for whom influence or power or money have become more important than serving the public and the nation, then let me make it perfectly clear: we don't want you."

The Abramoff scandal and other recent accounts of lawmakers profiting through earmarks has had the effect of making the practice, long a source of outrage for good-government groups and the media, much more widely viewed as scurrilous.  Both President Bush and Democrats are now seeking to benefit politically by damning it.  Yesterday, Bush criticized the "dead-of-the-night process" as siphoning funds from national defense.  Tomorrow, House Democrats have scheduled a vote on a resolution to require the sponsor of an earmark to publicly acknowledge their provision, as well as sign something swearing that neither they nor their spouse will personally benefit from that spending project.  

But Democrats' sunshine rule wouldn't limit earmarks in and of itself, and NBC's Mike Viqueira suggests that it could actually lead to more of them, rather than fewer.  The intention behind the rule is to shame those who author earmarks, but it could have the opposite effect, Viq says.  Up until now, it was always difficult to impossible to ascertain the author of any particular earmark.  Once the list of which lawmaker gets what becomes public, more lawmakers might be inclined to try to get their share because their constituents and local press will be able to see how much -- or how little -- they're delivering for their districts.

The Senate opens today with a joint caucus meeting behind closed doors.  Per the leadership of both parties, the point of the session is to set to the tone for comity and compromise, NBC's Ken Strickland reports.  Leadership aides say this will be the first joint caucus in the Senate's historic old chamber since Clinton's impeachment.  After that, the Senate will officially convene and new members will be sworn in, with Vice President Cheney serving in his role as President of the chamber.  But the process won't involve votes, Strickland says, and will be otherwise unremarkable compared with what's happening on the House side.

MSNBC has wall-to-wall coverage today of the opening of the 110th Congress, including the election of the first woman Speaker of the House.  Anchoring throughout the day will be NBC's Brian Williams, Matt Lauer, David Gregory, Andrea Mitchell, and Chip Reid, along with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Joe Scarborough, Tucker Carlson, and Norah O'Donnell.

Bush's announcement yesterday that he'll present a budget in February that would eliminate the deficit by 2012 while making his tax cuts permanent has suddenly returned fiscal and economic issues to the fore.  The Wall Street Journal says that "getting to a balanced budget by 2012 will require some big assumptions.  Among them, the president's budget is unlikely to reflect the full cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the cost of preventing the Alternative Minimum Tax from affecting more middle-class Americans." 

Bush "reasserted his role in domestic policy as the spender in chief and ultimate legislative backstop," says the Washington Times, which points out, "Mr. Bush has increased the annual federal budget by $800 billion, from $1.86 trillion in 2001 to $2.65 trillion in 2006, and has rung up deficits every year from 2002 to 2006." 

His proposal drew criticism from prominent Democratic economists, says the Financial Times.  "A former budget official said only the detail of the president's budget proposal would show whether he was serious about cutting the deficit." 

The Washington Post reports that Bush's announcements were greeted by Democrats as 'me-tooism'...  The incoming House and Senate budget committee chairmen have set 2012 as a target for balancing the budget, and the incoming House and Senate appropriations chairmen have decided to freeze earmarks this year...  In trying to adopt such ambitions as his own, Bush hopes to regain the initiative after his party lost Congress... and to counter his reputation as a president who took a budget surplus and turned it into record deficits, analysts said." 

Keying off Bush's Wall Street Journal op-ed yesterday, the New York Times notes that Democrats "have refused to discuss dismantling his tax cuts or even to engage in a debate with him about the best way to stimulate economic growth." 

The Los Angeles Times notes that "in a sign of how much the election has pushed reform to the top of the agenda, President Bush strode before cameras Wednesday to highlight his overhaul ideas even before the Democrats unveiled theirs." 

Bush criticized the "dead-of-the-night" process of earmarks yesterday, but his Administration continues to make the most of his own signing statements.  The New York Daily News reports that Bush "has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant…  The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20.  Bush then issued a 'signing statement' that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions." 

The New York Times says Democrats' proposed ethics rules "do not address the most valuable gifts that come from lobbyists and others interested in legislation: campaign donations.  And the Democratic Party's fund-raising machine - revved up by the advantages of being in the majority - continued apace this week with individual members inviting lobbyists and other contributors to a host of events." 

The Washington Post: "a number of loopholes in the proposal have led ethics watchdogs to warn Democrats that their work will be far from done, even if the new rules are secured today.  Under the changes, lobbying groups would be able to finance lawmakers' travel as long as those funds were channeled through a nonprofit foundation.  And almost all banned perks would still be permitted if given in the context of a campaign fundraiser." 

NBC's Viq reports that judging from Democrats' day-to-day schedule for the first 100 hours, floor and committee action on oversight and investigations on Iraq will likely be put on hold during the course of this month.  The balance of this week will see resolutions on ethics and budget reform.  Next week will see action on enacting the September 11 commission's recommendations (Tuesday), increasing the minimum wage (Wednesday), expanding federal funding for stem cell research (Thursday), and allowing the government to negotiate prescription-drug prices within Medicare (Friday).  On January 17, the House will vote on a measure to cut student loan rates, and the next day on repealing tax cuts for energy companies.  The State of the Union will be on January 23.

What about the war?  At least on the House side, there isn't much action planned until the President's budget arrives during the first week in February, Viq says.  All told, Bush is expected to ask for a total of $170 billion to fund the wars in 2007.  Incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, asked yesterday what Democrats plan to do about the war, mentioned "oversight" and "review" of the President's policies, while once again pledging that Democrats won't cut off funding for the troops.  At about the same time, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and about 30 supporters were canvassing the halls on the House side, demanding a stop in funding and an investigation into the war and how it has been conducted.

Democratic leaders don't want to step on their 100 hours push, either in terms of communications and legislative manpower.  There is some -- just a little -- grumbling from some committee Democrats about how Pelosi is using a heavy hand in telling them how to conduct war oversight and investigations.  She's said be eager to avoid the perception that Democrats are going overboard in their zeal to investigate the Administration.

In a letter to his caucus yesterday, incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid laid out his agenda and work schedule, NBC's Strickland reports.  He also tried to set the tone for bipartisanship with a commitment to working with Bush and Hill Republicans.  Reid said the first work session will address ethics and lobbying reform, increasing the minimum wage, reforming the Medicare prescription-drug program, and acting on the September 11 commission recommendations.  During the second work period, starting in mid-February, Reid says they'll deal with stem cells, global warming, energy independence, college tuition loans, rebuilding the military, and immigration reform. 

While acknowledging  Pelosi's commitment to complete legislation on many of these items in the first 100 hours, Reid says it will take longer given Senate rules (and his razor-thin majority), Strick says. 

Tomorrow, Senate Democrats will retreat to the Library of Congress, where they'll strategize and get pep talks from former President Clinton and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. 

The AP covers yesterday's statement from Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson's office that he's recovering.  "While the statement said Mr. Johnson's overall medical condition had steadily improved, it also said he faced several months of physical therapy and rehabilitation." 

The AP also writes that incoming Rep. Keith Ellison (D), the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, will use a Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson at his swearing-in ceremony. 

Bloomberg says Pelosi "is taking office with two goals: becoming an effective counterweight to [Bush], and proving that a woman can thrive at the summit of U.S. political power...  Her success at retiring the notion that women aren't qualified to manage the responsibilities of top leadership may affect others' aspirations, including New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's possible bid for the White House in 2008." 

The Los Angeles Times, covering the three-day series of events celebrating Pelosi's new job, says, "The installation of a new speaker is the closest Congress comes to a presidential inauguration.  Some critics accused her of putting on a 'Nancy Fest,' but supporters said the events were as much political roadmap as biography." 

USA Today says Pelosi's ascension is just the most prominent of a number of recent breakthroughs for women in politics. 

NBC's Courtney Kube reports that signs continue to point to Bush delivering his speech about the new way forward in Iraq next Tuesday.  Pentagon officials have been told not to schedule events that would overshadow the President that day.  The speech could slide to Wednesday, Kube says.

Per NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, repeated attempts by reporters to get some kind of White House comment on Saddam Hussein's execution netted little.  Clearly the White House is not prepared to draw Bush into the controversy, despite his statement praising the "fair" process prior to the execution, and despite his willingness to comment on the Abu Ghraib detainee scandal.  As of yesterday, Bush had not seen the video of the execution because that "is not his focus."  His focus is the "new way forward," according to his advisors.

Channeling First Read from earlier this week, the Financial Times says the political battle over Iraq is likely to choke the spirit of bipartisanship in Washington.  "Few believe Mr Bush is prepared to compromise on his most basic principles, which includes 'victory' in Iraq, an extension of the controversial tax cuts that were pushed through in his first term, and opposition to the funding of stem cell research.  The Democrats have promised contrary action on all three." 

The New York Times reports that some key Democrats, including new Senate Armed Services chair Carl Levin, say they could support a temporary "surge" of US troops in Iraq -- "a stance that reflects division within the party and could provide an opening for President Bush as he prepares to announce his revised plan for Iraq as early as next week." 

The last Republican House member left standing in New England thinks an increase in troops is a bad idea. 

John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, is moving over to the State Department to become Condoleezza Rice's deputy, a slot which has been vacant.  To replace Negroponte, Bush will nominate Mike McConnell, who is currently a senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, the big Washington contractor and consultant.  From 1992-1996, he was director of the National Security Agency.  And before that, he was head of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, holding that position during the first Gulf War.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is now focusing full-time on his presidential bid.  "Today, Romney is to address the media from his new presidential campaign headquarters in the North End."  This weekend, he will "head to Georgia for a gathering of southern conservatives, and on Monday hold a major fund-raiser... at the South Boston convention center," reports the Boston Globe.  Romney will not be present today for the inauguration of his Democratic successor.

The Manchester Union Leader says it's hearing "that quiet meetings are being held throughout the state these days laying the groundwork" for Rudy Giuliani's campaign.  "We don't believe that information is in the plan leaked to the New York Daily News this week." 

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) tells the Des Moines Register he'll be in Iowa at least one day a week as he campaigns for the presidency. 

In a Washington Post op-ed, presidential contender and Sen. Barack Obama (D) calls for a series of tougher restrictions than those being debated today and tomorrow, including a full ban on gifts, meals, and free or subsidized travel on private jets.  He also promotes a nonpartisan, independent ethics commission.  And he explains that he voted against the final ethics bill produced last year "because it was too weak and unresponsive to the obvious need for comprehensive reform." 

The New York Times, in an article hyped earlier by Drudge, reports on recent meetings Sen. Hillary Clinton has had about her plans for the presidency.  "Mrs. Clinton has pressed to find out everything from whether Al Gore will run again (he is inclined not to, people tell her) to how much support remains for Senator John Kerry… among Democratic leaders (anemic, she has heard)."  The article adds that Clinton views Obama and Edwards as her top competition, "but that she believed the threat of [Obama's] candidacy would diminish as voters learned how inexperienced he was." 

Kerry has an op-ed in today's Boston Globe calling for greater intervention in Lebanon, where he says the "threat of three simultaneous civil wars" is "least understood." 

Slate's John Dickerson, in his wrap of all the political activity over the holidays, pokes fun at the idea -- which we've mentioned before -- that folks in Iowa are considering a nationally televised event (featuring celebs like Britney Spears) to kick off the caucuses.  "Apparently the American democratic process needs more gold lamé and wobbly acts of public drunkenness." 

Indeed, the idea "generated almost universal derision in the blogosphere this week," writes the Des Moines Register. Terry Rich, one of the event organizers, said, "'I also guess Gerald Ford is out of the question, unless our satellite connection is good,' he added, in an interview after the former president died." 

Incoming House Financial Services chair Barney Frank said in a speech at the National Press Club yesterday that he'll try to enforce laws which reverse income inequality.  He also said he'll hold hearings on executive compensation in the wake of Home Depot outgoing CEO Robert Nardelli's $210 million severance package.  "A measure on executive pay that Frank wrote stalled in the Republican-controlled Congress last year," Bloomberg notes. 

And Democrats' return to power is being accompanied by a rise in the influence of Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Bloomberg says, as evidenced by Democrats' attitude toward Wall Street. 

David Stanton of NBC's Columbia, SC affiliate WIS-TV has started a political blog, and with presidential candidates already trooping through his state, which is scheduled to hold the first Southern primaries in late January (Democrats) and early February (Republicans) 2008, Stanton has plenty to write about. In his inaugural entry, about John Edwards' visit to the state last weekend, Stanton notes how Edwards "drew enthusiastic cheers when he said he opposed sending any more U.S. troops to Iraq. Edwards also called for universal health care, increasing the minimum wage and college financial aid for students from poor families. And he took a shot at Wal-Mart, charging that half the retail giant's workers are on Medicaid. The Edwards campaign in South Carolina is again being run by Columbia lawyer John Moylan. Among those attending Saturday's event was Terry Richardson, one of South Carolina's wealthiest trial lawyers..."
More from Stanton: "The S.C. Republican Party is considering having a straw poll at its convention on May 19th. That would be four days after the state GOP holds a presidential debate. Executive Director Scott Malyerck says a straw poll of the 2,000 delegates from around the state would be a good test for the candidates."

From NBC's Chip Reid and Mark Murray
As the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress prepares to officially begin tomorrow, Sen. Tim Johnson's (D) office today just released a statement, saying that the senator from South Dakota underwent an angiogram this morning, and that he appears to be improving from the intracranial hemorrhage he suffered last month. That hemorrhage sparked speculation that the Democrats could possibly lose their newly gained one-vote majority in the Senate, since South Dakota's GOP governor would be able to appoint someone if Johnson's seat became vacant.

"Today's angiogram revealed no evidence of residual arteriovenous malformation," said neurosurgeon Dr. Vivek Deshmukh in the statement. "Senator Johnson continues to be responsive to both his family and physicians -- following commands, squeezing his wife's hand, and understanding speech."

Johnson's wife, Barb, added: "My family and I are so pleased with today's angiogram results, and I want thank everyone for their constant prayers and support. Tim has had some challenging days since surgery, but step by step, he's been making great progress. We know there is a long road in front of us, but Tim's determination will make all the difference and he'll be back at work as soon as he can be."

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Democrats announced their day-to-day schedule for the "100 Hours" legislative agenda today but ran into some opposition. Just as Rep. Rahm Emanuel and other House Democrats were speaking wtih reporters in the Cannon building, Sheehan and her followers, who were in the building visiting offices and demanding that war funding be stopped and investigations begin in Congress into the conduct of the war, began chanting: DE-ESCALATE, INVESTIGATE, TROOPS HOME NOW!

Emanuel and other Democrats were forced to retreat to another room at which point Sheehan took to the microphone. "We are here to let the Democrats know that the grassroots movement and the peace movement elected them for change," Sheehan declared. "Pelosi and leadership can no longer tell us what is on the table," she added.

At the same time, Democratic leaders do not want to step on the "100 Hours" push, both in terms of communications and legislative manpower. There is some grumbling from some committee Democrats about how incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is using a heavy hand in telling them how to conduct war oversight and investigations. She is said be eager to avoid the perception that Democrats are going overboard in their zeal to investigate the administration.

As a result, it seems Democratic floor and committee action on oversight and investigations on Iraq will likely be put on hold this month. The balance of this week will consist of resolutions on ethics and budget reform. On Tuesday, Congress will act on 9/11 recommendations, will target the minimum wage on Wednesday, funding stem cell research on Thursday and allowing the government to negotiate prescription prices within Medicare on Friday.

What about the war? At least on the House side, there isn't much action planned until the president's budget arrives during the first week in February. All told, the president is expected to ask for a total of $170 billion to fund the wars in 2007. Incoming Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was asked today what Democrats planned to do about the war. He mentioned "oversight" and "review" of the president's policies, while once again pledging that Democrats will not cut off funding for the troops.

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray and Huma Zaidi
On this first workday of 2007, President Bush meets with his Cabinet and publishes an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, both efforts to get out in front of the new majority in Congress and their much-publicized agenda for their first 100 hours.  On the nation's most prominent conservative-leaning editorial page, Bush reiterates his desire to find common ground with Democrats.

Beyond calls for immigration and entitlement reform, the Administration hasn't communicated much to the public lately about their vision for domestic policy during Bush's final two years in office.  In the Journal today, he repeats his calls for his tax cuts to be made permanent and for line-item veto authority as part of earmark reform.  The one hint of new policy is his comment that today, presumably after his Cabinet meeting, he'll propose his own earmark reform plan.  House Democrats have scheduled debate on earmark reform for Friday.

Today's Cabinet meeting and op-ed are reminders that usually around this time in January, we start to see dribs and drabs of new policy being floated in the press as the White House road-tests ideas for the State of the Union address.  Right around a year ago today, for example, we started to hear about a range of items from boosting the Gulf Coast's recovery to encouraging American students to learn Arabic.  Two years ago at this point, on the heels of Bush's re-election in November 2004, we already were hearing a great deal about Social Security reform.  The 2007 State of the Union is now less than three weeks away.

A senior Administration official tells First Read that the earmark announcement today "could be viewed as the first dribbling of new policy."  "Energy is also likely to be a focus," per the official, who adds that Bush also will push immigration reform, the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, and tax-cut permanency.  "And, a few surprises." 

The fact that such dollops of domestic policy may only now be starting to appear reflects the intense attention on Iraq and anticipation of Bush's speech on a way forward there.  As NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reported last night, Bush is expected to deliver the speech on Tuesday and will lay out a strategy of "surge and accelerate," which likely will include sending 20,000 more US troops to Iraq.

One of the more viable Republican contenders to replace the lame duck President is expected to file the necessary paperwork with the FEC today -- which also happens to mark Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's final day on the job.  As we wrote yesterday, Romney has been benefiting from a gelling conventional wisdom in Washington that he is the mainstream conservative alternative to Sen. John McCain.  The polls don't yet reflect that, however.  An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll from mid-December showed Romney in a distant fourth place (with 8%) behind Rudy Giuliani (34%), McCain (29%), and Newt Gingrich (10%).  Romney fared no better on the question of which candidate has the best shot at winning the general election: 40% of Republicans polled picked Giuliani, 32% picked McCain, and 5% picked Romney.

So why this hardening CW?  In part, because the "mainstream conservative" slot had already been carved out by Sen. George Allen and was left vacant when Allen lost his re-election bid last November.  In part, because those who have been paying close attention to the nascent primary know that the McCain campaign has been taking opportunities to needle Romney.  And in part because despite Giuliani's status as the frontrunner in the polls, many in political circles assume that ultimately, he'll either decide not to run, or his personal issues and business dealings will derail his bid. 

The same NBC/Journal poll highlighted a concern for Romney: 53% said they either "have some reservations" or are "very uncomfortable" with the idea of a Mormon candidate for president; only 38% said they would be "enthusiastic" or "comfortable" with it.  (Then again, 66% said they either "have some reservations" or are "very uncomfortable" with a candidate for president who is over age 70, as McCain will be.)

Illustrating what a mixed bag his adopted home state poses for him, although Romney himself claims a successful term in the statehouse, he was unable to engineer the election of his GOP lieutenant governor to succeed him; his Democratic replacement will be sworn in tomorrow.  He can claim a victory in yesterday's vote by the state legislature to advance a ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage, a credential which may help him make his case with conservative activists.

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell notes that it's uncommon for the President to write op-eds.  Advisors recall that he did one on the first anniversary of September 11 and wrote a letter to the editor for USA Today as a message to US troops.  

The Wall Street Journal, covering the op-ed, focuses on Bush's call for his tax cuts to be made permanent: "Mr. Bush's comments reflect his administration's reliance on tax cuts as both an economic elixir and a political weapon.  During the 2006 congressional campaign, as Republican scandals and the Iraq war increasingly dominated the debate, the White House leaned heavily on tax cuts as an antidote for bad news...  He also frequently attacked Democrats on the campaign trail -- including incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- for claiming to support tax cuts while voting against many of his." 

The New York Times focuses on Bush's call for a balanced budget: "Mr. Bush offered no specifics on how he intends to achieve a balanced budget, beyond declaring that his tax cuts had led to economic growth and generated large increases in tax revenue for the past two years."  The article notes that "Mr. Bush's budget plans in the past several years have consistently failed to take into account two major costs in the years ahead: the war in Iraq and the cost of restraining or repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax."  

The Los Angeles Times covers the Justice Department's refusal "to turn over two secret documents, describing the CIA's detention and interrogation policies for suspected terrorists, to the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee," calling the move "the first showdown between the Bush administration and the new Democratic Congress." 

NBC's Mike Viqueira reports that after Pelosi and the rest of the 110th Congress are sworn in tomorrow, the House will immediately turn to a couple of the items on their "Six for '06" agenda, starting with a vote on their ethics rules package, which would curb gifts and travel paid for by corporations and lobbyists and change some inner workings of the House.  On Friday, they will vote on a resolution on earmark reform which would require the sponsor of an earmark to publicly declare and acknowledge their provision, as well as sign something swearing that they or their spouse will not personally benefit from that spending project. 

Also on Friday, Viq says, the House will vote on a so-called pay-as-you-go ("paygo") provision, which simply states that any new spending must be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget.  Next week will come debate and votes on stem cell research funding, the first federal minimum wage increase in a decade, and the federal government's ability to negotiate drug prices directly within Medicare.  The week after will see a vote on cutting student loan rates.

The Hill says of the new ethics and rules changes, "The biggest challenge for the new majority has been translating political rhetoric into tightly drafted legal language without loopholes, said Democratic aides.  The concern is that language could be exploited for loopholes or yield unintended consequences.  New House rules could take eight weeks or longer to go into effect because the ethics committee... might be required to clarify and interpret issues."  The story adds, "Democratic leaders plan to pair three freshman members with more senior lawmakers to lead the" debate, including the Democrat who defeated Abramoff-tainted Rep. Bob Ney (R). 

House Republicans are making noise about Democrats not sticking to pledges to allow minority participation (i.e., more minority participation than Republicans themselves allowed when they were in the majority).  The San Francisco Chronicle follows up on yesterday's news that Pelosi will bypass House Republicans and the committee process to pass the first items in her agenda.  "The decision opens Pelosi to attack from Republicans who say she is beginning her speakership by reneging on a campaign promise to restore the rights of the minority party."   

A new AP-AOL phone survey shows that Democrats enjoy broad public support on issues that top their legislative agenda, including increasing the minimum wage, funding for stem cell research, and addressing prescription drug issues.

The Washington Post reports that Democratic leaders are "facing mounting pressure from liberal activists to chart a more confrontational course on Iraq and the issues of human rights and civil liberties, with some even calling for the impeachment of President Bush...  To Democratic activists and some lawmakers, the agenda" for the first 100 hours "skirts the larger issues that damaged the president's approval ratings and torpedoed Republican control of Congress." 

The tour that some in Washington are calling "Pelosi-palooza" will kick off today.  The incoming Speaker's day will include a mass in remembrance of child victims of Hurricane Katrina, which will be held at her alma mater; a women's tea in honor of the late Ann Richards, who preceded Bush as governor of Texas (and lost to him).  Dinner tonight will be at the Italian Embassy, where Tony Bennett will sing.  The series of events, which run until Friday, are "a thread of the things that have been important to her," said a Pelosi aide, who noted that the events will give thousands the chance to show their excitement about the first woman Speaker.  Pelosi's campaign committee is paying for all events except a big fundraiser tomorrow night, which will be covered by the Democratic House campaign committee.

The Wall Street Journal profiles new House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, who "symbolizes the rise of a set of Southern black lawmakers, shaped by the region and with a distinctive approach to politics separate from that of black leaders representing urban Northern districts." 

The New York Times notes that former President Gerald Ford's funeral yesterday "provided a stage for those thinking about the politics of tomorrow, as well as those of yesterday.  Along with the three former presidents sat several of those who may aspire to the job, including" Sen. Hillary Clinton (D), Rudy Giuliani (R), and Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D).  

The Washington Times points out, as MSNBC.com has before, that Romney's "entry into the ranks of Republicans officially exploring a run for the presidency underscores the strange nature of the field at this point - there is no candidate able to claim the position of the clear conservative standard-bearer, so all of the candidates think they can win a sizable chunk of those all-important primary voters."  Romney "took steps in the final days to shore up his credentials as tough on illegal immigration." 

Romney made a "blizzard of 11th-hour appointments" which will, "in many cases, place people loyal to Romney on the boards for years to come -- in some cases until 2011 -- ensuring that his influence will reverberate in such areas as education, healthcare, and criminal justice long after the governor leaves the State House," notes the Boston Globe -- which also points out that "[a]lthough governors often appoint political allies, Romney has decried such traditions, declaring the day after he won the governor's race in 2002, 'I will look for people to get jobs based on what they know, not who they know.'" 

Following up its scoop about the Giuliani camp's 140-page strategy book, the New York Daily News has a Giuliani spokesperson claiming they were victim to a "'dirty trick.'"  She said "that while working on the 2006 campaign trail, a Giuliani aide lost a piece of luggage containing the paper.  'During one leg of his campaign travel, all luggage was removed from a private plane and later put back on,' she said in a statement.  'However, one staffer's bag was not returned,'" and "'it is clear that the document was removed from the luggage and photocopied.'"  

The New York Post adds that the dossier could have been swiped by aides working for incoming Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), for whom Giuliani had been campaigning on that trip. 

The Washington Post says Sen. Barack Obama's unexpectedly successful books have made him "a genuine publishing phenomenon."  But now "his open narrative of early, bad choices, including drug use starting in high school and ending in college, as well as his tortured search for racial identity, are sure to receive new scrutiny...  What remains to be seen is whether the candor he offered in his early memoir will be greeted with a new-style acceptance by voters."  The story notes that President Bush "suffered little criticism from his conservative base after acknowledging that he drank too much in the past and is now a teetotaler." 

A hobbled Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) "will deliver his inaugural address outlining a long-term vision for California when he is sworn in for a second term Friday.  He is also expected on Monday to put forward his plan for revamping the state's healthcare system.  The next day, he will make his annual State of the State speech, and his budget proposal is scheduled the day after.  In these four speeches, Schwarzenegger will offer his most concrete proposals yet for insuring the millions of Californians who lack healthcare coverage, the centerpiece of his 2007 agenda.  But he also hopes to establish a legacy as a builder on a par with former Gov. Pat Brown." 

And the AP, calling it the latest in "an annual tradition of prognostications," reports that religious broadcaster Pat Robertson "said Tuesday God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in 'mass killing' late in 2007...  'The Lord didn't say nuclear.  But I do believe it will be something like that'...  Robertson said God also told him that the U.S. only feigns friendship with Israel and that U.S. policies are pushing Israel toward 'national suicide.'"  Robertson, who has previously predicted "that President Bush would easily win re-election," and "that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America's coastline in 2006," said he has "'a relatively good track record...  Sometimes I miss.'" 

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray and Huma Zaidi.
Before Washington becomes consumed by the world's first $1 billion presidential campaign, it will pause to salute a man who won the office without ever seeking or even appearing to aspire to it.  The city will then get down to business of governing, and the race to replace the lame-duck President Bush will be the running subtext to all that happens here from January 4, 2007 until November 4, 2008. 

With both parties wanting to demonstrate lessons learned from the midterm elections, the first few weeks of the 110th Congress will feature a degree of bipartisanship not seen since the days after September 11, 2001.  Democrats, aware that they didn't win the election so much as Republicans lost it, hope to spend much of January passing ethics reform and wish-list items like a minimum wage hike and cuts in oil industry tax breaks.  Republicans chastened by their November losses will let many items pass without a fight.  House Democrats will seat a Florida Republican member-elect despite an ongoing probe into his narrow election victory; Senate Republicans will continue to extend every courtesy to Sen. Tim Johnson (D), who remains in intensive care.

But with both parties looking to build platforms for 2008, most expressions of bipartisanship eventually will fizzle out.  At some point, Democratic leaders are likely to try to force Republicans to vote against -- or Bush to veto -- publicly popular legislation.  Bush and Republicans will try to cast doubt on Democrats' stewardship of the government, perhaps beginning with the spending fights that will boil up when Bush submits his budget proposal next month.  And of course, Bush and most Democrats remain fiercely at odds over Iraq, a fight from which many Republican lawmakers will now abstain rather than support the White House.

Bush is expected to outline his proposed way forward in Iraq in a speech to the nation next week.  He will deliver a more domestic-focused State of the Union address on January 23.  Bush is taking a two-pronged approach to Iraq and domestic policy, rejecting bipartisan overtures on the former but making them on the latter.  A Democrat-run Congress boosts his chances of getting comprehensive immigration reform; he wants to take another run at reforming Social Security; and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the last big domestic goal he achieved with bipartisan support, is up for reauthorization this year.

Democrats are also carefully meting out the olive branches.  While the Hill leadership makes nice with their GOP counterparts, incoming committee chairs are planning dozens of hours of hearings on Iraq.  Many of these hearings will be tinged with presidential ambitions.  Sen. Joe Biden's Foreign Relations Committee will begin three weeks of hearings on January 9.  Biden will oppose any effort by Bush to increase US troop levels in Iraq, putting him at odds with Armed Services ranking member John McCain, whose committee also will hold hearings on the war. 

Biden plans to announce his intentions about 2008 this month -- along with fellow Democrats Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson.  John Edwards (D) last week became the first top-tier candidate to declare he's running.  Edwards is casting himself as unafraid to be real and unwilling to be guided by paid professionals, setting up a contrast with the more cautious Clinton.  On the Republican side, outgoing Gov. Mitt Romney is expected to form an exploratory committee tomorrow.  Romney (R) is benefiting from a gelling CW in Washington that he is the mainstream conservative alternative to McCain, but polls don't yet reflect that.  Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) will launch a longshot bid for that mantle this week.

On the brink of becoming the first woman ever elected Speaker, Nancy Pelosi embarks this week on a tour as elaborate as any presidential campaign announcement swing.  Scheduled stops include her native Baltimore; the Italian Embassy, where she'll be serenaded by Tony Bennett; and a big fundraiser.  The protracted coming-out party is meant to define her as the face of the Democratic party, at least until the party has a presidential nominee. 

And as Bush limps into the final two years of his Administration, his Vice President's relevance and influence are in question.  Cheney's role in Ford's funeral over the weekend marked a rare public appearance.  His testimony in the Scooter Libby trial will distract attention from Bush's big speeches and policy goals.  His gay daughter's expected baby is the source of controversy.  And of course, his decision not to run for president leaves the party without an obvious heir.  The race to fill that vacuum could pose the greatest distraction to Bush's presidency of all.

The ceremonies for the late Gerald Ford have prompted some adjustments to long-planned events for this first week of the new Congress.  NBC's Mike Viqueira reports that Pelosi's four-day coming-out party is being bumped back a day, sort of: The Tuesday event in Baltimore's Little Italy has been postponed until Friday.  City leaders plan to rename the street where Pelosi grew up Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi Way. 

The countdown on House Democrats' agenda for the first 100 legislative hours will start on Thursday afternoon with ethics reform and should wrap up, by their estimation, shortly before Bush's State of the Union address -- with the help of votes on Mondays after 6:00 pm and on Friday mornings.

Business and government strategist Billy Moore (D) tells First Read, "I think we are continuing to struggle to define the bipartisanship angle."  Moore writes in a memo, "Democratic leaders claim a strategy of selective bipartisanship, but Republicans complain of being in the dark on the details of the January agenda, leaving them skeptical of Democrats' bipartisan promise.  Longer-term priorities, including immigration and an outside ethics monitor, are the subject of bipartisan negotiations."

On cue, the Washington Post reports on House Democrats' plans for the first 100 hours that "instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Democratic victory in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures...  The episode illustrates the dilemma facing the new party in power.  The Democrats must demonstrate that they can break legislative gridlock and govern after 12 years in the minority...  Yet in attempting to pass laws key to their prospects for winning reelection and expanding their majority, the Democrats may have to resort to some of the same tough tactics Republicans used the past several years." 

NBC's Viqueira also reports that House Democrats won't challenge the swearing-in of Rep.-elect Vern Buchanan (R) this week, but will put down a marker to let everyone know that they reserve the right to unseat him if and when the time comes.  With Pelosi's approval, Rep. Rush Holt (D) has announced that he will stand up on the House floor on Thursday, opening day, and ask for a parliamentary clarification of House rules.  The ruling is likely to state the obvious: The House has the right to seat or unseat anyone it likes at any time.

Democrats then will sit back and wait for inquests and deliberations in Florida to be resolved.  If a revote or a special election is called for, it is quite possible that House Democrats would simply allow that to go forward and not act unilaterally, Viq says.  But if the dispute drags on and becomes more contentious, then a separate House inquest might render judgment.  In any event, Pelosi and her charges would not be bound by anything other than their own judgment in deciding whether Buchanan or Democrat Christine Jennings should take the seat.

Holt told reporters last week that indeed, this initially less confrontational strategy is meant to show that political "brute force" will not be the modus operandi of Washington now that Democrats are in charge.  Yet as Viq points out, by allowing the seating of Buchanan now, they run the risk of a later, contentious vote to unseat him if they choose to.  Holt said he ultimately does expect a challenge to Buchanan.

The most recent update on Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson's condition came from his office last Thursday, which happened to be his 60th birthday.  At that time, Johnson remained in intensive care, his "overall general medical condition [had] improved and he is gradually being weaned from the sedation," per an attending neurosurgeon.

USA Today: "The first week or week-and-a-half of business will be devoted to ethics and lobbying reform that stalled in the last Congress...  All of this is reminiscent of January 1995, when Republicans kept the House in past midnight on their first day in power after 40 years of Democratic rule...  Like the 100 hours of the Democratic agenda, Gingrich gave the House 100 days to vote on the far-broader Contract with America.  In the end, Republicans did achieve some of the goals of that political treatise," while others "ultimately failed.  Democrats may have more success because they have taken a less ambitious approach." 

The Hartford Courant notes that "beginning Thursday, thanks to the Democratic takeover of both Houses, the power to control key committees and floor action shifts to members from places like Wisconsin, Michigan, New York - and Connecticut...  The sudden shift in geographic power results from two factors: Senior Democrats tend to come from more urban areas, particularly on the East Coast, and the party has a heavy concentration of other members on the East and West coasts and in the upper Midwest." 

In a USA Today op-ed, Rep. Virgil Goode (R) further explains his controversial criticism of the first Muslim member of Congress' plan to use the Quran during his swearing-in: "I believe that if we do not stop illegal immigration totally, reduce legal immigration and end diversity visas, we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to infiltration by those who want to mold the United States into the image of their religion, rather than working within the Judeo-Christian principles that have made us a beacon for freedom-loving persons around the world."  The paper editorializes against Goode.

The Chicago Tribune notes that Democrats won't find it easy to pass legislation, let alone enact new laws.  "'I don't think the 110th Congress is going to be very productive,' said Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution.  'If you thought the 109th was down the drain, wait till you see this.'" 

The New York Times examines the upcoming battle over the Democrats' plan to require the federal government to negotiate lower Medicare drug prices.  "Administration officials suggested that Mr. Bush would veto a bill calling for price negotiations.  Democrats could then exploit the issue in the 2008 campaign, as they did in the midterm elections." 

The Times also looks at what might be a divide between the old bulls among House Democrats and their newly elected colleagues.  "While most attention will be focused on the divide between Republicans and Democrats, members of the new majority have their own differing perspectives, corresponding largely to length of service, that could ultimately prove more crucial to their success or failure." 

The San Francisco Chronicle examines the personal challenge that Pelosi will face.  "After the 66-year-old San Franciscan built a reputation as a shrewd Democratic operative and a blunt critic of her GOP opponents, Pelosi's ability to balance the goals of her party and her duty to the House will be among the most closely scrutinized aspects of the new Congress."