"Top House Democrats, working in concert with anti-war groups, have decided against using congressional power to force a quick end to U.S. involvement in Iraq, and instead will pursue a slow-bleed strategy designed to gradually limit the administration's options," Politico reports.  The effort will seek to "limit or sharply reduce the number of U.S. troops available for the Iraq conflict," and will "be supplemented by a multimillion-dollar TV ad campaign designed to pressure vulnerable GOP incumbents into breaking with President Bush and forcing the administration to admit that the war is politically unsustainable."  Democratic lawmakers hope the strategy will help "circumvent the biggest political vulnerability of the anti-war movement -- the accusation that it is willing to abandon troops in the field." 

The Chicago Tribune looks at how the White House has "downplayed the significance of the (House) resolution, although historians say congressional admonition of a president during wartime may be unprecedented." 

USA Today covers the front-and-center involvement of the military veterans in both parties' ranks during the House debate.  "By letting combat veterans take a lead role on the opening day..., Democrats were directly confronting Republican accusations that any debate about the war will undercut U.S. servicemembers...  Republicans will counter on Thursday, when Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas leads a group of GOP veterans speaking against the resolution." 

The Democratic Senate campaign committee plans to start running print ads on Friday in New Hampshire and Oregon attacking GOP Sens. John Sununu and Gordon Smith for their procedural votes against the resolution opposing Bush's troop increase.  "Democrats, retired Generals, and the majority of the American public stand opposed to George Bush's Iraq escalation," one of the ads will say.  "But Sen. Sununu is taking orders from President Bush and blocking Senate debate on Iraq. Maybe it's time Sununu starting representing New Hampshire."

The California Senate yesterday approved a resolution "calling for a halt to boosting the number of troops in Iraq or spending any more taxpayer dollars on the war without explicit approval from Congress."  The resolution now heads to the state Assembly. 

The Los Angeles Times notes that Giuliani, while campaigning in California, "has framed Iraq as a battle in the war on terrorism without addressing questions on its original rationale." 

In "discussing the deployment of more troops, Mr. Giuliani has been alone in saying that such a strategy may not succeed, potentially providing him cover should the situation in Iraq deteriorate further," the New York Times points out.  "And he has put the strategy in a broader context that plays down the importance of Iraq…  'Giuliani may be in the best position of any of the Republican primary candidates on this because he uses very strong language in support of the war and its goals, but he doesn't have to take simple up-or-down votes, like McCain does,' said Dan Schnur, a Republican political consultant…  'He can voice the same ambivalence the voters feel.'" 

Bloomberg points out that the accord just struck by the Administration "to limit and eventually dismantle North Korea's nuclear program resembles one signed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, a deal [Bush] denounced...  Bush's spokesman, Tony Snow, asserted the newest agreement was stronger than Clinton's two-way accord because it includes China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, and holds North Korea to short-term benchmarks for compliance.  [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice echoed that position." 

Former Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns in South Carolina and New Hampshire.  Romney's optimistic announcement speech yesterday contained "50 references to 'America,'" the Financial Times notes.  "Romney referred to his faith in God and the 'sanctity of human life' but made no mention of his biggest political challenge, his Mormon religion." 

NBC's Carrie Dann notes that Romney's speech also was noticeably light on the top issue on voters' minds: In his 18-minute address, he devoted less than 90 seconds to Iraq.  Romney spoke for over 10 minutes before bringing up the war, and in his first mention of the conflict, he mistakenly said "Iran."  Counting that instance, the tally in his prepared remarks for mentions of the word "Iraq" was a mere five, while he uttered his thematic word "innovation" a whopping 10 times. 

In Des Moines, hours after his announcement in Dearborn, Romney added an interesting line to his position on the war: "I support the President in his effort to stabilize the population of Iraq."  Romney invoked Bush by name at the smaller Iowa event but not at his formal announcement because, as Romney's rival Sen. John McCain is swiftly proving, GOP candidates risk putting themselves on the political chopping block by aligning themselves with Bush's unpopular surge strategy.

"Even with the soaring language, Romney... at times struck an uncharacteristically subdued tone, especially in the beginning of his address.  The crowd also missed some applause lines, making for some awkward pauses," notes the Boston Globe.  "Despite the penchant for stagecraft, Romney's announcement lacked the vigor of some of his past campaign appearances." Per the campaign, the event drew about 800 people.

The Globe also laments that the Bay State received just two mentions in Romney's address. "And that was it.  No self-congratulations over the landmark healthcare plan he helped craft.  No boasting of how he steered the state through financial crisis in 2003.  No recounting of battle stories from his bouts against gay marriage."  

The Boston Herald reports that "[t]hree of the Bay State's five Republican senators said they plan to endorse someone other than Romney in 2008, a surprising defection given that they used to offer Romney's only ideological support on a Beacon Hill where liberal Democrats rule." 

Romney portrayed himself "as both a political outsider and an experienced executive who would bring efficiency to the White House," the Washington Post says, noting that he took a subtle jab at McCain for being unable to change Washington from the inside. 

The Chicago Tribune: "Though he didn't mention Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) or any other candidates by name, Romney also said voters should not be content with candidates who make broad appeals to voters' hopes.  'Our hopes and dreams are going to inspire us, because we are an optimistic people,' he said.  'But let me tell you, just hoping is simply crossing your fingers.  What we really need are hands that will go to work.  It's time for hope and action. It's time that we do as well as dream.'" 

Wrapping up a long weekend in California yesterday, Giuliani offered yet another statement that will make his eventual formal announcement even more anticlimactic.  Asked by reporters at the World Agricultural Expo if he's running for president, Giuliani all but rolled his eyes and laughingly replied, "Sure, I'm running...  Hard and very fast and a lot sooner than I ever thought.  But yes, I am."

The Washington Post picks up on the recently leaked, old Giuliani "'vulnerability study,' including warnings about his 'weirdness factor' and other perceived liabilities," which "surfaced from his second campaign for New York mayor, 14 years ago...  Tony Carbonetti, a senior political adviser to Giuliani, said last night that the report was not 'relevant' because of the former mayor's record of reducing crime and welfare rolls...  The 'weirdness' question involved Giuliani's first marriage, to his second cousin." 

OH-EIGHT (D).
The New York Daily News covers yesterday's e-mail spat between the Clinton and Obama camps over Clinton's views on Iraq.  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/497349p-419250c.html

The New York Post reports that former President Bill Clinton helped his wife snag an endorsement from a key African-American official in South Carolina whom Obama had been courting. 

The second Edwards blogger has resigned; the other blogger resigned on Monday. 

The Des Moines Register writes up former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's speech in San Francisco yesterday, in which he said "that corn-based ethanol will fail to meet the nation's renewable-fuel needs," and "proposed tax incentives to promote other sources as part of a long-term national energy plan. 

The Wall Street Journal looks at the uncharted territory into which leading campaigns are wading when it comes to getting their message out via the web.  "Leading Republican and Democratic candidates have all hired bloggers to connect with the political blogosphere and to update and manage their official campaign blogs.  Sometimes, though, that can backfire, as Mr. Edwards learned when two of his campaign's official bloggers were accused by conservatives of posting offensive comments on their personal blogs."  And when Clinton announced via the web, her team "offended some Democrats by purchasing ads on at least four conservative blogs and originally passing over some smaller local bloggers." 

House Democrats are postponing the rollout of their domestic agenda until after the President's Day recess so as to focus more closely on the debate over the non-binding resolution opposing a troop increase in Iraq. 

"Congress is poised to send President Bush a $463.5 billion spending bill that bears the imprint of the new Democratic majority and presages budget battles over defense and domestic priorities," says the Wall Street Journal.  "Veterans' medical services, education and health care will see spending increases even as $3.1 billion is cut from Mr. Bush's 2007 request for military-construction funds to accommodate base closings overseas.  Senate Republicans had protested the cut, but 23 of them joined Democrats on a... vote that sealed passage of the bill." 

The Financial Times says "Democrats seized" on yesterday's announcement of a record $764 billion trade deficit "to press the White House to be more aggressive in its enforcement of trade rules that favour US-based industry."  Speaker Nancy Pelosi "called on [Bush] to submit a plan to Congress 'within 90 days' to address the elevated deficits with China, Japan and the European Union." 

The Washington Post also picks up on Bush's light schedule these days. 

Here's something Cheney may address today in his speech to the National Association of Manufacturers: "business and labor interests are poised for a multimillion-dollar clash over a measure to make it easier for workers to unionize," says Roll Call.  "Deep-pocketed corporate lobbying groups have joined together to defeat the proposal, today announcing the launch of a new coalition to coordinate their activities...  Facing them is an informal alliance of labor groups... working across a divide in the labor movement to advance the measure...  At issue in the fight is the Employee Free Choice Act.  A top priority for labor unions and Democratic leadership, the bill would allow employees at a workplace to organize once a majority sign cards indicating they want to join a union." 

The passing of GOP Rep. Charlie Norwood of Georgia has state officials quickly preparing for a special election to replace him.  His Augusta-based district leans Republican.

Closing arguments in the Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial are expected to take place next Tuesday.  Neither Libby nor Vice President Cheney is expected to testify.  The Los Angeles Times calls that decision by the defense "a high-wire maneuver that drastically reduces the opportunity for presenting defense evidence...  The move apparently reflects a decision by Libby's legal team that exposing Cheney and his former chief of staff to crossexamination could do more harm than good." 

Rep. William Jefferson (D) is now being sued by a former shareholder of the bankrupt tech company whose ex-president already has pleaded guilty to trying to bribe Jefferson.  "The lawsuit alleges that Jefferson, his wife, Andrea, and the former president of iGate, Vernon Jackson, 'acted in concert and conspired to use the funds of iGate' to solicit and deliver bribes from individuals and businesses in Africa and the United States.  The suit charges Jefferson with soliciting and accepting nearly $400,000 in bribes from Jackson to promote iGate's services in the U.S. and abroad.  It further alleges that Jackson transferred 30,775,000 shares of iGate stock to Jefferson from 2001 to 2005."  Jefferson is waiting word from federal law enforcement about whether or not he'll be indicted. 

From NBC's Huma Zaidi
Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are debating via email today over whether they both support a phased redeployment from Iraq. On the campaign trail yesterday, Obama said the most "substantial" difference between his plan and Clinton's was that he supports a phased withdrawal while Clinton does not.

Today, the Clinton campaign fired back. "Senator Obama is mistaken," writes Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson in a statement issued earlier today. "Senator Clinton has long been on record in favor of a phased redeployment of our troops. In fact both she and Senator Obama voted in 2005 to begin such a withdrawal." 

But the Obama camp is sticking to their position. In their own press release, Obama's press secretary Bill Burton says that only "Obama opposed the war in Iraq from the start and only Barack Obama has legislation that would, by force of law, begin a redeployment by May 1, 2007 and have all combat forces out of Iraq by March 31, 2008."

The email wars have begun ...

 

From NBC's Joel Seidman
Lewis "Scooter" Libby's attorney Ted Wells told presiding U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton that the vice president's office was informed over today's lunch break that the Cheney would not be called to appear as a witness. Wells said that the Cheney made himself available to appear in court on Thursday.

The defense indicated that it would rest its case by the end of the week.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
House Minority Leader John Boehner got emotional this morning as he spoke about the "solemn" debate that the House is set to begin today over the non-binding resolution opposing Bush's troop increase. Boehner appeared at a stake out of House GOP leaders that featured an appearance by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, who recounted his experience as a POW for seven years in North Vietnam, and how it was 34 years ago today that he was released from prison and had his first full day of freedom. Johnson talked about how his captors would play audio of antiwar protesters back in the United States over the loudspeakers at the prison. He drew a comparison with the message that he believes Congress is sending with this debate.

Boehner, standing by off Johnson's right shoulder, began to shed tears. A moment later he took the microphone and -- referring to Johnson's remarks while speaking about the "solemn" nature of the debate this week -- got misty all over again.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Standing inside the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) officially announced for president this morning. Pointing to the innovations in the museum, he said, per his prepared remarks: "Innovation and transformation have been at the heart of America's success. If there ever was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now."

And Romney came out swinging, it seems, at GOP presidential front-runner John McCain and even Venezuela president Hugo Chavez, although he didn't either name. "I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician. There have been too many deals, too many favors, too many entanglements… I do not believe Washington can be transformed by someone … who has never even managed a corner store, let alone the largest enterprise in the world." McCain has served in Congress since 1983 and has no business experience.

Seeming to refer to Chavez, he added: "We must campaign for freedom and democracy in our own hemisphere, now threatened by a second aspiring strongman."

Romney also ticked off his beliefs: "I believe in God and I believe that every person in this great country … is a child of God... I believe the family is the foundation of America… I believe in the sanctity of human life… I believe we are overtaxed and government is overfed… I believe that homeland security begins with securing our borders."

And he repeated his argument that withdrawing US troops from Iraq could further destabilize the country and the Middle East. "I believe that so long as there is a reasonable prospect of success, our wisest course is to seek stability in Iraq, with additional troops endeavoring to secure the civilian population."

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi.
The House takes up Democrats' two-graph, non-binding resolution opposing President Bush's planned troop increase in Iraq.  The measure is expected to draw as many as 60 Republican votes.  Although the White House lobbied hard to try to head off a damaging vote on a similar resolution in the Senate, they don't appear to have waged such an effort in the House, where rules and sheer numbers give Democrats a firmer grip on the agenda.  Bush told C-SPAN yesterday that he doesn't plan to watch the debate.

Democrats are billing this as a straight up-or-down vote, and as we reported yesterday, Republicans will not be permitted to offer an alternative resolution.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected say in her floor speech, "At the end of the debate, we will vote on a straightforward proposition: whether we support the President's plan or oppose it."  Minority Leader John Boehner is expected to say that the "fundamental" question of the debate is whether Americans "have the resolve that will be necessary to defeat our terrorist enemies?  Will we stand and fight for the future of our kids and theirs?"

As NBC's Mike Viqueira has reported, Democratic leaders say the debate could stretch until midnight tonight, Wednesday, and possibly Thursday, with a vote on Friday, but this timetable is fluid as it's possible that not as many members as expected -- and particularly, not as many Republicans -- will want to speak.  Democrats will focus on the vote during the upcoming week-long President's Day recess.  Pelosi has promised that this will be a "first step" before the $100 billion war supplemental is taken up in the coming weeks.  Closing the detainee facility at Guantanamo, barring the deployment of the final brigades involved in the troop increase, and/or tying the war supplemental to troop readiness -- all have been mentioned as possible strings Democrats could attach to that bill, while still keeping their pledge not to cut off funding for "troops in the field." 

In the Senate, after last week's intense procedural sparring over a troop increase, the debate has been relegated to the sidelines and closed-door strategy sessions, NBC's Ken Strickland reports.  Barring any procedural high jinx from Republicans, there won't be any action on the floor on Iraq, except maybe some speeches.  But the war will surface in a few committee hearings.  On Thursday, the Foreign Relations Committee will hold confirmation hearings for Bush's nominees to become ambassadors to Iraq and Afghanistan.  And in the Armed Services Committee on Thursday, the generals representing the Army and Marine Corps will testify on their current and future readiness. 

It should be a short week for Senate activity with votes unlikely on Friday, the day before the week-long recess.  The Iraq debate should resurface in some form after that, Strickland says.       

And former Gov. Mitt Romney (R) becomes the latest presidential candidate to make a full-blown announcement.  Choosing his home state of Michigan over his adopted state of Massachusetts because of Michigan's location both regionally, in the Midwest, and on the presidential nominating calendar, Romney gives his speech at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.  Romney, whose father was an auto company executive before he became governor, addressed the problems faced by the auto industry in an economic speech in Detroit last week.  After Dearborn, he'll stop in Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Boston, and Florida. 

The National Jewish Democratic Council is decrying his chosen venue for his announcement because, the group charged in a statement yesterday, Ford was "a notorious anti-Semite and xenophobe" who was "bestowed with the Grand Service Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle by Adolf Hitler."

Even on his announcement day, Romney faces some competition for the spotlight from rivals and Sens. John McCain and Sam Brownback.  McCain's campaign, which has made a point of trying to rain on Romney's parade at every opportunity, will hold a press conference in Michigan today to talk about McCain's support in the state.  McCain eked out a narrow win in the Michigan primary in 2000.  And underdog Brownback, who like Romney addressed state Republicans at their convention this past weekend, is trying to fight his way into the spotlight by charging Romney with misleading social conservatives about the evolution of his position on abortion.

 

A new Gallup/USA Today poll finds that "Americans overwhelmingly support congressional action to cap the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and set a timetable to bring them home by the end of next year... - tougher action than the non-binding resolution the House of Representatives is to begin debating today."  The poll also finds "majority support for congressional action on Iraq: 51% back a non-binding resolution, 57% a cap on troop levels and 63% a timetable to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of 2008. However, 58% oppose denying funding for the additional troops."  And Republicans get more blame for the scuttled debate in the Senate. 

The Los Angeles Times focuses on the White House's decision not to try to lobby House members to oppose the resolution.  "With Democrats in firm control of the House, Bush has little chance of derailing the resolution, which he has said he will ignore.  But the White House also appears increasingly unable to unite Republicans behind its Iraq strategy." 

The Hill reports that problems between Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer have flared up over Hoyer's refusal to allow Republicans to offer an alternative resolution.  "This episode suggests that old tensions from previous disputes have not been laid to rest - tensions seen most recently in Pelosi's unsuccessful effort in December to push John Murtha (D-Pa.) as majority leader." 

The Washington Times covers unhappiness on the left that the resolution does not call for cutting funding for the war. 

The Wall Street Journal, indeed, says the focus of debate already has begun to shift from an up-or-down vote on the troop increase to what to do about funding the war.  "The mounting war costs make it a fight about money as well as policy.  The Pentagon has begun to say the increase will be closer to 25,000, when support personnel are counted.  That would bring the total U.S. troop level in Iraq to about 160,000 soldiers; but the administration has budgeted for that number only through Sept. 30, after which the fiscal 2008 numbers assume troop levels of about 140,000, according to the White House budget office." 

The Boston Globe notes that "GOP leaders are practically daring Democrats to try to cut off funding for the war -- an indication of political peril. If some Democrats tried to financially starve the war, others would join Republicans to kill the proposal. The GOP would then accuse Democrats of jeopardizing the safety of American troops." 

The Politico's Simon predicts that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) eventually will concede that her vote for the war was wrong.  "Because if she doesn't, she risks losing...  Hillary Clinton can be open, charming, funny and warm on the stump.  When she talks about her Iraq vote, however, she sounds closed, guarded, calculating and defensive.  Her refusal to say a mistake was a mistake also feeds the impression that she is a divisive figure." 

Slate's Dickerson considers how Sen. Barack Obama (D) is handling his inexperience on foreign affairs, noting that "Obama is in part making a pitch against experience when he talks about foreign policy.  Answering a question about Iraq in a press conference after his announcement, he suggested that judgment can exist without extensive experience...  If experience is defined by Bush foreign policy veterans and the long-serving senators who gave Bush authority to invade Iraq, then Obama is saying let's try going without it."

Anticipating tough questions for Ryan Crocker, Bush's nominee to become ambassador to Iraq, the Washington Times observes that "Democrats controlling Congress have so far not denied President Bush any of his nominations, but they have used extensive hearings to score political points and send a signal to the administration they will play tough." 

The New York Times writes that former CIA chief George Tenet, who has been blamed for the intelligence failures leading up to the Iraq war, is set to publish a memoir sometime this spring. 

 

Hot on Clinton's heels, Obama wrapped up his announcement tour in the Granite State yesterday, taking questions from a young audience that filled a university field house.  NBC's Carrie Dann reports that Obama compared the obstacles faced by gay couples to those faced by his own parents, whose biracial marriage was considered illegal in the eyes of some state legislatures at the time of their marriage in 1960.  (He clarified, though, that he supports civil unions but not gay marriage, noting that "it's going to be very hard to build consensus" around the latter.)  When asked about his chief vulnerability, a perceived lack of experience, he pointed to his pre-Washington years as a state legislator, professor, and community organizer.  "I think that people believe that me being a constitutional law professor for ten years is relevant experience because we've been ignoring our Constitution for the last six," he said, earning an approving roar from the crowd.

"Obama's advisers expressed general satisfaction with the initial campaign swing," the Washington Post reports.  "Still, they do not underestimate the difficulties ahead...  Their hope is that the judgment of Obama's readiness will not be reached only through the customary measures of experience on the national stage or as a governor, the route taken by most successful presidential candidates." 

Obama spoke mostly of the war as well as the "need to improve education and to provide healthcare to the uninsured.  But he gave no details of how he would accomplish those tasks, instead keeping largely to a theme of uniting the country and healing the political divisions in Washington." 

Nathan Gonzales of the Rothenberg Political Report writes about the numerous "present" votes that Obama cast as an Illinois state senator.  While Obama criticized the smallness of American politics in his presidential announcement, a closer look at his record in the Legislature "reveals something seemingly contradictory: a number of occasions when Obama avoided making hard choices." 

The New York Times notes how Clinton invoked her husband on the campaign trail in New Hampshire -- at least eight times.  "For the first time in her bid for the White House, Mrs. Clinton directly laid claim to the legacy and popularity of former President Bill Clinton - and did so in a crucial primary state where her husband showed his resiliency in 1992, when he finished second despite weeks of troubles." 

Former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa lays out his energy plan for San Francisco's Commonwealth Club today.

Roll Call's Brazile recounts why Sen. John Kerry's endorsement will prove valuable to any of the Democratic contenders who earns it (which raises the question of whether or not he'll endorse his former running mate John Edwards).

Edwards declined to fire two bloggers for posting comments critical of the Catholic Church, but one of them resigned yesterday anyway "with a blast at 'right wing shills' for driving her out of the campaign," as the Washington Post's Kurtz writes.  Kurtz notes that Edwards came to the conclusion not to fire the bloggers after "days of indecision." 

 

The Washington Post front-pages the battle among the GOP frontrunners for the support of social conservative activists, which is complicated by the fact that conservatives aren't crazy about any of them.  Romney, for example, will "host a private reception for Christian radio and television hosts during the National Religious Broadcasters' annual meeting next week in Orlando, and he is expected to be the commencement speaker at the Rev. Pat Robertson's Regent University in May.  Not to be outdone, McCain will be feted by [the Rev. Jerry] Falwell at a reception at the religious broadcasters' convention, the latest sign of detente between onetime adversaries." 

The Los Angeles Times covers Romney's progress in winning the Washington Establishment primary.  "Romney's Washington endorsements, coming from lawmakers and lobbyists whose own political clout depends on backing a winning candidate, may help confer legitimacy on his campaign."  Also, the House of Representatives "is a target-rich environment for Romney because it is a conservative bastion home to many Republicans who dislike McCain." 

USA Today considers how his Mormon faith could hurt and help his bid -- and vice versa.  "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)... has an unusual theology and a past scarred by racism and polygamy.  A national political race that conveys its focus on family life and traditional values could improve its image."  More: "Romney says it is not his job as a presidential candidate to educate people about his church.  'I'm running for a secular position,' he said in an interview.  'I subscribe to what Abraham Lincoln called America's political religion.'" 

Per the New York Post, "Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday he's '100 percent committed' to a White House bid and wasted no time taking a shot at potential foe Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.  'I'm not sure she'll be the candidate,' quipped Giuliani, swatting down Clinton's Democratic front-running status, to a group of Silicon Valley executives." 

The San Francisco Chronicle adds that while wooing these Silicon Valley leaders, Giuliani said he believed in global warming, praised Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for being a "'progressive'" leader on the environment, and called "for immigration policies that welcome 'people who make contributions' to America's economy." 

Although Giuliani has been invoking Ronald Reagan's name, the SmokingGun.com Web site has unearthed documents during his 1993 bid for New York mayor advising him to distance himself from Reagan, the New York Daily News says. 

McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I), who have introduced the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act, co-author an op-ed in today's Boston Globe stressing the need to address global warming. 

Karl Rove tells The Politico that the 2008 race has become too intense, too early, to the detriment of the candidates.  "Rove recalled that Bush and his Austin brain trust had the ability to think about the message for a number of months, while this year's candidates are 'being driven by the calendar and by the competition to move into the fray earlier -- less prepared, and focused more on the tactical, short-term advantages.'"  More: "Candidates and their aides quietly seek his advice as the reigning GOP strategist, and he is likely to serve as the liaison between the Republican nominee and the White House in the fall of 2008." 

Bush focuses on volunteerism today with a White House briefing and a visit to a local YMCA.

Following Obama's presidential announcement in Springfield, Rove spoke in the Illinois capital on Monday, telling local Republican leaders "that it was essential for the GOP to accept and work with the new Democratic majority in Congress but said the party should not become timid or surrender its conservative ideals…  'The president and our [GOP] leaders in Congress can act in principle, and yet we can work across the aisle to accomplish big things,' said Rove…  'Over the last 20 years, some of the biggest things that have happened in America have happened because Republicans and Democrats have worked together.'"  (That's quite a change in tone, isn't it?) 

"The Bush administration is close to a deal with Congress to pass pending trade agreements and form a common international economic agenda for the president's last two years in office," the Financial Times reports.  "The negotiations are designed to reach an agreement that would leave the administration six weeks to submit agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama and possibly South Korea to Congress for ratification.  The talks are complicated by mutual distrust and internal divisions but are edging close to a breakthrough, according to participants." 

The New York Times covers yesterday's developments, which featured a parade of prominent Washington journalists who testified that Libby never discussed Valerie Plame's identity with them in July 2003.  "It was unclear if or how the cumulative impact of those reporters saying Mr. Libby had not discussed Ms. Wilson with them would lead jurors to discount the testimony of the two reporters who said earlier that he had, in fact, discussed her with them." 

The Washington Post's Milbank finds the lighter side of the journalists' testimony, noting how Libby's team tried to build up the witnesses' credibility by pointing out how many Pulitzers they'd won. 

From NBC's Mark Murray
So far, most of the presidential maneuvering, events, and attention have been coming from the Democratic side. But that's about to change tomorrow, when Mitt Romney -- from Michigan -- makes his presidential candidacy official. Yet proving that John McCain is not going to cede the entire stage to Romney, McCain's exploratory committee has announced it's holding a press conference tomorrow -- also in Michigan -- to unveil endorsements from the elected officials in that state who are backing McCain. 

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Below is the text of the House resolution on Iraq that will be the subject of a week long debate in the House:

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq, and;
(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 19, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi.
The Senate having forfeited its big chance to debate Bush's planned troop increase in Iraq (denying the handful of aspiring presidents in its ranks the chance to cast votes for or against it), the House takes up the issue and will occupy the spotlight this week.  As NBC's Mike Viqueira notes, House Democrats had promised Republicans a vote on an alternative resolution of their choice, but that's not going to happen.  Unlike the Senate, the majority in the House can do virtually anything it wants, procedurally speaking.  Republicans are protesting angrily, but this is how the House works, prior Democratic pledges of procedural fairness notwithstanding. 

The resolution itself will be simply worded; will express a sense of the House that Bush's policy is not the correct course; and will contain an expression of support for US troops, Viq reports.  There will be no mention of funding the troop increase, pro or con.  The resolution is being billed by Democrats as "a straight up-or-down vote" on the increase.

Debate is expected to begin on Tuesday around 12 noon.  Each of the 435 members will be allowed to take up to five minutes to speak on the floor.  Democratic leaders say that debate will stretch until midnight on Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly Thursday, with a vote on Friday, but this timetable is fluid.  It's possible that not as many members as expected -- and particularly, not as many Republicans -- will want to speak.

Viq advises that anti-war Democrats are largely on board, for now.  There's a general sense on the left that this resolution doesn't go far enough, but no one wants to stick a thumb in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's eye right now.  She has promised that this will be a "first step" before the $100 billion war supplemental is taken up in the coming weeks.  Closing the detainee facility at Guantanamo, barring the deployment of the final brigades involved in the troop increase, and/or tying the war supplemental to troop readiness -- all have been mentioned as possible strings Democrats could attach to that bill, while still keeping their pledge not to cut off funding for "troops in the field." 

House Democratic leaders are taking a gradual approach, hoping to bring their contentious caucus along one step at a time.  It's unclear whether the left will stick with the pack, and for that reason, the coming debate over funding may be more consequential than the debate next week.

Republicans will strike familiar themes during the debate.  They'll try to put Iraq in the larger context of the global war on terror, issue warnings about the dangers of leaving Iraq in chaos, assert that Democrats have no plan, and decry that the Democrats' resolution would send the "wrong message to the troops."  Republicans are divided and even Minority Leader John Boehner admits that he will lose members on this vote, Viq reports. 

And no sooner is one top presidential contender wrapping up his announcement tour than another one is starting his: Sen. Barack Obama (D) has a house party in Nashua and a town hall in Durham today before returning to Washington.  Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R) announces his candidacy in Michigan tomorrow.  Much, much more on this past weekend's developments on the campaign trail below.

The Los Angeles Times has one senior Republican member predicting "that 30 to 60 of his colleagues will back the nonbinding resolution, which would be the strongest repudiation of Bush's Iraq policy from Republicans since the war began...  The resolution will have at least one GOP co-sponsor, North Carolina Rep. Walter B. Jones, a conservative who publicly broke with his party over the war in 2005." 

Roll Call has more details on how the debate is expected to proceed: "While the Democratic leadership is expected to spotlight several freshman lawmakers who also are military veterans, other internal factions are seeking blocks of time as well, including the fiscally conservative Blue Dogs and the Progressive Caucus, which has endorsed funding a six-month redeployment plan."  And on the GOP side, "Boehner will open debate for the Republicans...  Ranking GOP lawmakers on the Intelligence, Armed Services, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees will share control of the party's debate time."

The Hartford Courant focuses on Rep. Chris Shays, the last GOP House member left standing in New England, and anticipates the hostility Shays will face back home if he votes against the resolution, as expected. 

The Wall Street Journal: "Opponents of the troop increase have essentially won the first round...  It is precisely because of this loss that Republicans and the White House want to skip ahead quickly to the second and higher stake round: the $93.4 billion spending bill.  That is why there is so much Republican emphasis on resolutions opposing any reduction in funds, and why Democrats are still struggling to come up with restrictions that are do-able."

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) said on the campaign trail yesterday that the United States should refuse to baby-sit a "civil war." 

Presidential candidate and Sen. Chris Dodd (D) repeated his call yesterday for Congress to refuse to fund a troop increase. 

NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports from the campaign trail in New Hampshire that Clinton drew large crowds but little passion.  Attendees didn't seem emotionally committed to her.  Mitchell also interviewed Roger Tilton, the audience member in Berlin who challenged Clinton to renounce her Iraq war vote, and Tilton said he still wants an admission from Clinton that her war vote was a mistake. 

Mitchell also reports that Debora Pignatelli, who introduced Clinton at her home in Nashua yesterday, is going to meet with Obama today.  Even though Pignatelli and her husband are longtime Clinton supporters, she says she wants to see what Obama is all about and isn't committed to Clinton.  Four state senators Mitchell spoke with who attended Clinton's events also told Mitchell that they're uncommitted and want to see what Obama and former Sen. John Edwards are about.  All agreed that the war is the most important issue, and that Clinton's answers on it so far are problematic.

The Washington Post notes how Clinton "veered away from drawing simple conclusions on issues such as the war in Iraq and health care, insisting that each is a complex problem that does not lend itself to a simple solution."  In addition to refusing to say her vote for the Iraq war was wrong, she "pointedly refused to offer a comprehensive proposal" on health care "over the weekend, instead theorizing on how the current system is failing and criticizing those who she said believe that throwing more money at the problem will solve it." 

A man with a "Quit stalling.  Bring our troops home" sign at Clinton's town hall in Concord on Saturday had it confiscated by Clinton's staff just before her town hall began, reports the Manchester Union Leader. 

Many audience members leaving her house parties "said they were particularly impressed with Clinton's command of the issues." 

She also claimed that she's the candidate Karl Rove fears the most. 

And she was quick to credit her husband's administration with putting more police officers on the street, making jobs and the economy a priority, and working with international allies on key issues of global interest -- all as indicators of what she would do in her own administration.  But we noticed that she couldn't resist making another joke at her husband's expense, intentional or not.  In Berlin, her first stop on her two-day swing, a woman named Evelyn told Clinton that she spent 12 hours in line waiting for the former President to autograph a book.  Clinton, expressing surprise at the amount of time Evelyn had waited in line, replied: "I've waited for him a lot myself."  The response got a chuckle out of the crowd. 

The Los Angeles Times says of Obama's announcement on Saturday, "truth be told, there was little that was really new or different about the issues Obama raised...  Washington gridlock.  Poison politics.  Overweening special interests.  Poverty, poor schools and an exorbitantly expensive healthcare system.  Candidates cluck over them every presidential election.  Obama offered little in the way of concrete solutions.  And most of the proposals he did throw out, like harnessing technology to bring greater efficiencies to the healthcare system, were hardly novel." 

Ironically, the one frontrunning Democratic candidate who can say he's consistently opposed the war from the start was greeted by anti-war protestors.  At his last event of the day yesterday at the University of Chicago, Obama was interrupted repeatedly by protestors.  While their chants were unintelligible, the banner they displayed made their message clear: Cut the funding for troops.  For the most part, though, Obama was greeted by raucous and excited crowds were armed with blue campaign posters.

The New York Daily News says that Obama "took several shots" at Clinton, "suggesting she hasn't got a clear plan to end the war she shouldn't have helped to start.  'I know she has stated that she thinks the war should end by the start of the next President's first term,' he said.  'Beyond that, how she wants to accomplish that, I am not clear.'" 

After a rally in Ames, IA yesterday, Obama apologized for saying that the lives of military personnel killed in Iraq had been "wasted," reports the Des Moines Register.  "'I was actually upset with myself when I said that, because I never use that term,' he said.  'Their sacrifices are never wasted...  What I meant to say was those sacrifices have not been honored by the same attention to strategy, diplomacy and honesty on the part of civilian leadership that would give them a clear mission." 

Obama also took a shot at the media for allegedly focusing more on his celebrity status than on his record on issues.  "Obama has been the subject of almost entirely favorable coverage from the national media, and his aides acknowledge that he's parlayed that new profile into his presidential campaign," Politico notes.  "But Obama also espouses a new brand of politics aimed at transcending the celebrity obsessions and superficiality promoted by modern 24-hour news cycles...  In a brief interview on the campaign plane later Sunday, Obama denied that he feels any personal hostility toward the press." 

One of us, writing for MSNBC.com, looked at the color from Obama's announcement on Saturday.  "Three things seemed to be on everyone's mind here at Barack Obama's presidential announcement: his White House bid, the symbol of Abraham Lincoln, and the bitter cold.  And not necessarily in that order." 

Former Gov. Tom Vilsack, whose Saturday Washington Post op-ed calling on Congress to get US troops out of Iraq was overlooked in the Obama announcement frenzy, is trying to work his way into the spotlight by challenging Obama to a debate.  Obama declined to take part in a presidential candidate forum hosted by a government employees' union in Nevada on February 21 because he'll be campaigning in Iowa that day, so Vilsack is offering to leave Nevada immediately after that event to head to Iowa and debate Obama before the local chapter of the same union. 

Rudy Giuliani toyed with the audience and the press attending his well-received California GOP convention speech on Saturday by fudging whether or not he was announcing his run for president. 

Covering his remarks this weekend, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Giuliani telling California Republicans "that he wants to be a president who will 'win the world for a set of ideas... that I believe come from God.'"  More: "Giuliani lavished praise on President Bush, insisting Bush will have 'a very strong place in history,' in part because of his 'very brave and very wise' decision to go after al Qaeda in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." 

Because of his advocacy of straight talk and reform, McCain is having to contend with a lot of scrutiny about how he's approaching his 2008 bid differently from his 2000 one.  First came reports on how he has hired some of the same consultants and operatives whose behavior he has decried in recent years.  Now, the Sunday Washington Post reports that "McCain has embraced some of the same political-money figures, forces and tactics he pilloried during a 15-year crusade to reduce the influence of big donors, fundraisers and lobbyists in elections.  That includes enlisting the support of Washington lobbyists as well as key players in the fundraising machine that helped President Bush defeat McCain in the 2000 Republican primaries." 

The McCain campaign rejects the story's implication that he's embracing campaign finance tactics he has excoriated in the past, telling First Read it's not as though he's endorsing the creation of 527 organizations, which he continues to staunchly oppose.

The Boston Globe examines Romney's position on embryonic stem cell research, which conservative critics say doesn't go far enough in favor of preventing it.  "Romney supports research on excess embryos created during fertility treatments," reasoning that "it is ethical to use the leftovers for research when they would otherwise just be discarded."  The story anticipates more notice for Romney's position when the Senate takes up a House-passed bill expanding federal funding for the research.  Romney "supports the principle at the heart of the bill -- that it's ethical to use excess embryos for research -- but opposes the bill itself, in part because he objects to any expansion of taxpayer-funded human embryonic stem cell research." 

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson was also in Iowa over the weekend, sharing his vision for Iraq, which is to divide it into regions.  The Des Moines Register shares that Polk County GOP chairman Ted Sporer asked, "'How would you like to have to vote for someone running whose name rhymes with 'Osama'?'" 

A National Association of Secretaries of State meeting about the nominating calendar last Friday was pretty short.  Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, who moderated the debate, expressed frustration over the way the calendar is shaping up.  He said the process has been "hijacked" by states, political strategists and the like, and is of no service to voters.  California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said it's a "pretty safe" bet that California will hold its primary on February 5.  Bottom line, nothing was decided -- they just passed a motion to meet with national party committee officials to try to sort this out.  They want party "decision-makers" at the table and not just representatives from both sides there to "take notes."  The meeting date is TBD but will probably take place in March or April.

In an interview with the Manchester Union Leader on Friday night, Clinton said "she will ignore her own national party's rules and campaign in New Hampshire even if the first-in-the-nation primary is set for a date that does not comply the party's predetermined calendar." 

The Los Angeles Times' Skelton writes that for an early California primary, serious contenders "should discard any notion of competing only where people think as they do" in the state, "because a party's primary voters think pretty much the same everywhere...  There'll be no particularly productive pools of ideologically based voters.  Candidates will need to fish for convention delegates all over."  Skelton adds, "One issue that voters of both parties and independents basically agree on everywhere is abortion.  They don't want the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn" Roe v. Wade.  He notes that Giuliani "seems to have the currently correct profile for California Republicans: backs the war, projects strong leadership, preaches the low-tax gospel and favors abortion rights.  He should be able to sell that to Republicans all over the state." 

The Wall Street Journal previews the report from the White House economic team that's coming out today.  The CEA is predicting that "rapid gains in U.S. productivity can continue for the foreseeable future, as long as rising protectionist sentiment and higher taxes don't get in the way."  Also: "Administration officials are optimistic they will see more productivity-driven earnings growth in the years ahead.  That could help them score some political points with lower-wage workers, who have been falling further behind the well-to-do for years.  It could help blunt attacks by Democrats that Bush policies have exacerbated differences between the haves and have-nots."

The Washington Times reviews the suddenly heavy bidding on Congress on legislation to address climate change, while the Los Angeles Times focuses on a sudden shift among key Republicans in favor of stricter fuel economy standards

The AP reports that Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson is starting to do some work from his hospital bed.