The Los Angeles Times reports that the internal probe at the Department of Justice has expanded due to Monica Goodling's testimony.

Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Schumer is insisting that he'll get his non-binding vote of no confidence.

From NBC's Antoine Sanfuentes
There is so much control a president and his handlers can have during a Rose Garden press conference. Today, while President Bush was asked about the Justice Department's controversy, a review of the tape shows a bird pooped on his sleeve. He then quickly wiped it off. The bird dropping was first reported by ABC's Ann Compton.

It's not clear whether the Secret Service apprehended the bird...

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer says the Senate will take a "no confidence" vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after it completes action on the immigration reform bill. Under the current working schedule, that would be about the week of June 11th. But his efforts will still face both procedural and political hurdles before getting to such a vote.

At a news conference today, Schumer introduced his non-binding resolution against Gonzales which states, "Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and the American people." Schumer says he consulted with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid about the timing of vote. But Senate rules afford the minority party several tools to jam the process or push Democrats back on their political heels. While there are a handful of Senate Republicans who've called for Gonzales to resign (and several more who've shunned support for him), Schumer's resolution has no Republican co-sponsors. And without GOP support, Schumer would be unable to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

One of the Republicans who's called for the attorney general to step down has already indicated he'd throw up one of those political obstacles. Sen. Tom Coburn says if there's a no-confidence vote on Gonzales, there should also be one on Congress' ability to balance the budget -- a jab to the Democratic leadership. "It is hypocritical for the Senate to grand stand for political purposes while ignoring its own shortcomings that threaten the solvency of Social Security and Medicare and the standard of living of future generations," Coburn wrote in a letter to Republican leaders. 

From NBC's Mark Murray and Carrie Dann
At a town hall today in Florida, Romney pounced on Edwards' statement yesterday that the "war on terrorism" is nothing more than a slogan. Per a transcript provided by his campaign, Romney said, "I was shocked to see just a day or two ago, John Edwards – a candidate for President of the United States – say there's not a War on Terror." There were boos.
 
Romney continued, "Yeah, boo. Maybe he needs to explain that to the people in London, to the people in Madrid, to the people in Tanzania, to the people in Saudi Arabia. Explain that to the people in Indonesia, in Bali. Explain that to the people of New York City. Explain that to the people of Lebanon. Explain that to the people in Israel that there's not a War on Terror. You see the terrorists are fighting a war on us. We've got to make sure that we're fighting a war on them."
 
Interestingly, Edwards took this shot just a few hours ago. "George Bush has made America less safe and less respected in the world... And what we're seeing now in this campaign is John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, the other Republicans running for president of the United States are trying to be a bigger, badder George Bush. Is that really what America wants over the next four years?"

From NBC's Ken Strickland and Robert Windrem
The Senate Intelligence Committee is poised to release another section of its Phase II prewar intelligence report on the Iraq war. The committee tells NBC that the report has been cleared and declassified by the Director of National Intelligence, and it could be released by the panel as early as today, but maybe tomorrow.

This section of the report deals with the prewar assessments of a postwar Iraq. In other words, were the intelligence community's judgments about what Iraq would look like after the war accurate? 

The report, which was written by the Senate Intel Committee, is expected to be about 40 pages or so. It will also be accompanied by two declassified reports written by the National Intelligence Council:  "Principal Challenges in Post-Saddam Iraq" and "Regional Consequences of Regime Change in Iraq."

From NBC's Chuck Todd
I am listening since I have to be an anchor buddy....

He punted on the Iran question, bought time by vamping on press interest

Sectarian violence... More casualties.... Every quarter we talk about that

Surge isn't done!?!?!?

Troops aren't all there? So he acknowledges a September deadline...

Need a "different configuration" his phrase for "redeployment" iraq study group "appeal to me."

Beef!

Acknowledged being warned tacitly about iran and Al Qaeda influecne... Didn't say but didn't deny it.

Called those who don't see this as a "war on terror" as naïve.

From NBC's Mark Murray
The Clinton campaign has announced the finalists in its campaign theme song contest: KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See," Shania Twain's "Rock This Country!" U2's "Beautiful Day," The Temptations' "Get Ready," and Smash Mouth's "I'm a Believer. The campaign also lists the top write-in candidates, which include Tina Turner's "The Best" and the Police's "Everything Little Thing She Does Is Magic."

To announce this, the campaign includes a video of Hillary going over some of the more bizarre entries via YouTube. The video shows off her humor -- something the campaign wants voters to see.

From Chuck Todd and Mark Murray
*** Caught Between Iraq And A Hard Place: Here we go again. Like they did with Feingold-Reid, Dodd and Edwards are pushing Clinton and Obama to the left on the Iraq supplemental. So far, both front-runners haven't said how they'll vote. Do they vote against it (and risk being branded as not supporting the troops in a general), or do they vote for it (and risk [further] alienating anti-war liberals)? This all seems similar to the 2003 vote over the now-famous $87 billion, which Kerry voted for before he voted against. The difference this time? As we've noted before, Bush and the war aren't nearly as popular as they were in 2003-4.

*** Iow-ay Or The High-away? What continues to have us talking, of course, is the leaked Clinton memo by deputy campaign manager Mike Henry, who proposed that Clinton skip Iowa -- an idea the campaign has since rejected. After reading the memo, there are a few contradictions in it, including the argument Henry makes about skipping Iowa because these small states may not have the influence they had in the past. The contradiction? He argues to campaign in New Hampshire, which is SMALLER than Iowa. So one can't help but see this memo as an attempt to rationalize the possibility of losing Iowa and trying to wiggle out of that scenario. The good news for Clinton, we guess, is that she's certainly lowered expectations a bit. Still, she's Hillary Clinton, and as the national frontrunner, she can't skip any states, particularly one so important in the general. Plus, the Clintons can't ever look over-calculating, and skipping Iowa is over-calculating.

*** More On That Memo: What's interesting is that the campaign is saying that this was the opinion of one senior staffer. Could it be Henry was really the only one arguing against Iowa inside the campaign? Isn't that hard to believe? By the way, is Henry being thrown under the bus? This is a deputy campaign manager, not just any old staffer. As for the memo itself and how it became public and why etc., we'll never know for sure. But the New York Times acknowledges that it got its copy of the memo from a rival campaign. Will the Clinton camp ever email anything to each other again?

*** Back On The Saddle: In a way, Hillary Clinton addressing health care is akin to a Titanic survivor deciding to ride an ocean-liner again, or a baseball closer who blew it in Game 7 getting back on the mound. In each case, that person has the courage to overcome a mistake or tragedy, learn from it, and jump back on the saddle. Clinton is doing that as we publish, with a speech on rising health-care costs at George Washington University, in which she'll unveil proposals that would reduce costs by at least $120 billion per year. But did she learn the right lesson from her health-care failure in the '90s? As Joshua Green wrote in the Atlantic last fall, "Yet it is fair to wonder if Clinton learned the lesson of the health-care disaster all too well, whether she has so embraced caution and compromise that she can no longer judge what merits taking political risks."

*** Let's Get Ready To Ron-ble: Ron Paul -- yes, Ron Paul -- steps into the political spotlight with a press conference at the National Press Club. Appearing with former CIA official Michael Scheuer, ex-head of its Bin Laden Unit, Paul finally punches back at Giuliani after the ex-mayor blasted him at last week's GOP debate for stating that the US presence in the Middle East was responsible for 9/11.

*** On The Trail: Elsewhere today, Brownback campaigns in Iowa; Edwards addresses Alabama's Legislature (although that may get canceled), while his wife gives a speech in Wisconsin; Huckabee continues to do media hits in Texas; Hunter stumps in South Carolina; Richardson raises money in New Mexico; and Romney travels to Florida, where he holds an "Ask Mitt Anything" forum and a media avail later in the day.

Countdown to the Ames Straw Poll: 78 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 165 days
Countdown to Iowa: 234 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 256 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 529 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 606 days

Per NBC's Ken Strickland, the Senate is expected to vote today on the revised Iraq supplemental, which does not contain timelines for troop withdrawal. Here's where the Democratic presidential candidates stand (for now) on this new war-funding bill:
BIDEN: At a news conference on military equipment, he said YES, he'll vote for the war-funding bill. And later in a written statement, he said: "I believe that as long as we have troops on the frontlines, we must give them the equipment and protection they need. So I will vote for the supplemental."
CLINTON: She didn't answer the question when asked yesterday at an immigration news conference or in the hallway pursuit of her that follows.
DODD:  in a written statement, he said NO, he will not vote for it. "I cannot and will not simply give this President another blank check."
OBAMA: His office says he wants to read the bill, see what the benchmarks are, and then announced his decision.

Edwards put out this statement: "Every member of Congress who wants to support our troops and end the war should oppose this proposal. If you're in Congress, and you believe this war is wrong, I urge you to use every power you have to stop it if it's brought up for a vote. Block the blank check."

The New York Times examines why congressional Democrats caved on the Iraq supplemental. "Democrats said they did not relish the prospect of leaving Washington for a Memorial Day break — the second recess since the financing fight began — and leaving themselves vulnerable to White House attacks that they were again on vacation while the troops were wanting. That criticism seemed more politically threatening to them than the anger Democrats knew they would draw from the left by bowing to Mr. Bush."

But the threat from the left seems serious. The Politico writes, "Enraged by what they considered capitulation by Democrats, anti-war leaders vowed to redouble their efforts at defeating the next funding request when it comes up as expected in September. The group MoveOn.org, which previously had been an ally of the Democratic leadership on the war issue, in a statement raised the specter of 'in-district advertising and recruitment of primary challengers' as punishment for Democrats who supported the deal… MoveOn circulated a flier among lawmakers' offices reading 'Congress: Have some backbone. Vote No on the supplemental.'"

The Los Angeles Times notes, "The hearings have failed to produce support for Democrats' most provocative theories: that the firings were driven by a desire to find U.S. attorneys who would pursue legal action — in voting fraud or public corruption matters — in ways that would help Republican candidates."

Yet the Boston Globe chimes in with this: "Goodling's admission that she considered party affiliation when vetting candidates for civil service assistant prosecutor jobs added to a growing picture of politicization of the nation's law enforcement system under Gonzales, critics alleged. Under federal law, officials may not take politics into account when hiring for civil service jobs."

Goodling, though, may have done herself some good, the New York Times writes. "Goodling's soft-spoken, careful and often deferential answers seemed to clash with descriptions of her as an abrasive conservative at the Justice Department."

The Washington Post adds that Goodling "leveled serious new accusations against" Alberto Gonzales "and his deputy yesterday, describing an 'uncomfortable' attempt by Gonzales to discuss the firings of U.S. attorneys as Congress and the Justice Department were intensifying their investigations of the issue."

The Justice Department released this statement regarding Goodling's charge: "The Attorney General has never attempted to influence or shape the testimony or public statements of any witness in this matter, including Ms. Goodling. The statements made by the Attorney General during this meeting were intended only to comfort her in a very difficult period of her life as Monica described today when she said 'he was being kind.' The meeting was requested by Ms. Goodling to ask for a transfer within the Department and occurred before the U.S. Attorney resignations matter was referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility which jointly investigating this matter with the Office of Inspector General."

The American Spectator's Quin Hillyer is adding his conservative voice to the list of folks who think Gonzo should go: "What Monica Goodling and so many others have described over the course of the past three months is a Department of Justice in circumstances of Keystone Cops writ large. The public is not being well served. Replace Gonzales now!"

BROWNBACK: He's campaigning with Christian leader David Barton throughout Iowa today.

This morning, meanwhile, the Brownback camp announced that it picked up the endorsement from Norma McCorvey -- the now pro-life "Jane Roe" of  Roe v. Wade.

GINGRICH: A Dallas-based radio show that Gingrich appeared on yesterday sent out a press release noting that the ex-Speaker said on this show that he'll "probably" run.

GIULIANI: While the Giuliani camp has given the same reassurances to Iowans and reporters about competing in Iowa in January, the campaign has yet to commit to competing in the straw poll. The campaign said it would make a final decision about the straw poll in the next 20 days (actually, its now 19 days).

HUNTER: South Carolina's famous -- or infamous, depending on your point of view -- Bob Jones III stopped by a Duncan Hunter event yesterday. Jones didn't endorse Hunter but was simply checking him out. In an interview, Jones ruled out supporting either McCain or Giuliani but did have nice things to say about Romney. Jones "said he respects Romney's beliefs as long he doesn't try to confuse Christianity with Mormonism." Jones also said good things about Huckabee.

MCCAIN: By the way, isn't McCain "just being McCain?" That's what GOP analyst Jennifer Rubin asks. And if that's the case, hasn't that worked for McCain in the past?  "This is the real McCain -- stubbornly principled and impatient toward those he perceives with lower ethical standards. His critics would add: politically reckless. He may be one voter's maverick and another's lose cannon, but I suspect it is the real McCain. The GOP voters will decide if he is what they had in mind to lead the party and the country."

Also, it's not every day that McCain gets some love from the conservative Union Leader editorial page. "We disagree with the senator about the immigration bill. But we admire his determination to do what he believes is right even at great personal risk. McCain is gambling his political career on his belief that Americans want a leader, not a follower. So far, no other presidential candidate has had the guts to do the same."

ROMNEY: Mitt Romney ripped into ABC News for their report about US operations in Iran, saying that the network was hurting national security. Romney has escalated his attacks on the media over the last few months.

CLINTON: The campaign is in major Iowa damage control mode after a memo leaked out that her campaign was considering bypassing Iowa. Clinton, herself, called the grand poobah of the Iowa press corps, Des Moines Register's David Yepsen, to reassure him and all of Iowa that she's in it to win.

The New York Times: "Any hint that Mrs. Clinton was not committed to winning in Iowa could hurt her there. Recent polls in Iowa have shown Mrs. Clinton trailing John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. And the disclosure of a memorandum suggesting she might not play in Iowa could also have the effect — intended or not — of lowering expectations for her performance there, softening a defeat and or making a victory that much more dramatic."

Here's the memo itself.

One other thought: This idea that the campaigns are going to need to save money for February 5 is an odd argument in this respect. Outside of some candidate that can spend $100 million in one week, is there a campaign that can actually afford 1,000 points to advertise in a slew of states like California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Texas? The truth is no campaign (outside of Romney's checkbook) can afford it. Even the front-runners will be riding free media by the time February 5 rolls around -- and that's assuming Tsunami Tuesday matters. Florida, on Jan. 29, may actually end this thing.

Bloomberg explores the potential conflicts Mark Penn is encountering between his work for Clinton and his work for some corporate clients. The heart of this piece involves excerpts Bloomberg obtained of an internal corporate blog Penn contributes to at Burson. Penn sees no conflict, according to the blog, "which he regularly writes for colleagues at the 2,500-person, New York-based Burson. In one entry, 'Workin With Hillary,' he wrote, 'I have found the mixing of corporate and political work to be stimulating, enormously helpful in attracting talent, and helpful in cross-pollinating new ideas and skills.' 'And,'' he added, 'I have found it good for business.'"

EDWARDS: A non-Edwards fan sent us a slew of examples where Edwards used the phrase "war on terror" during the '04 campaign. In fact, this Web site found references to the phrase earlier this year by the ex-senator's campaign.

His speech to Alabama legislators today may be postponed.

OBAMA: The Chicago Tribune explores what black Americans are saying about race and Obama's candidacy. "The basic question is whether society has made enough progress on race to elect a black person to lead it. In a country where a black man still can have a hard time catching a cab, can he be president of the United States? Opinions within the black community are mixed. In some circles there is a reluctance to believe that white people will vote for Obama. While some blacks question whether he is black enough, others think that in the end he will prove to be, in effect, too black. They say they are resigned to the notion that he is doomed, not by black ambivalence but by white prejudice."

RICHARDSON: The New York Times front-pages how the sole Hispanic candidate in the presidential race is handling the immigration issue. Richardson's mother, who is Mexican, lives in Mexico. Initially, Richardson supported the Senate compromise on immigration. But he told the paper that, after looking at the details, he's decided to oppose it. "'This is fundamentally flawed in its current form, and I would oppose it,' he said. 'We need bipartisanship, but we also need legislation that is compassionate. I'm not sure that this is.'"

Here's Chuck's full write-up of the focus group teased out in yesterday's First Read.

Is America falling more in love with all the presidential candidates? If it's possible, every single major candidate for president has seen his/her FAV/UNFAV ratio improve in the most recent Gallup poll. Clinton, McCain, Edwards, Romney, Obama, and Giuliani all saw their FAV ratings rise and their UNFAV ratings go down. A sign the country is getting more comfortable with their choices?

Clinton: went from 50/47 earlier this month to 53/45 now; McCain from 50/30 to 54/27; Romney from 24/22 to 27/19; Edwards from 49/31 to 56/24 ratio; Obama from 50/24 to 55/20; and Giuliani -- in the smallest improvement -- from 61/24 to 62/24.

Did you know the Democratic candidates were invited to participate in a forum that's going to be held at an Indian gambling resort? So far, only Richardson and Gravel have committed thanks mostly to a problem regarding labor.

Speaking of Richardson, Dean David Broder is smitten with him and Huckabee -- and he believes that if any candidates break through from the second tier to the first, it will be one of these two.

The New Hampshire Union Leader's DiStaso reports that it is a "near certainty" now that the Granite State will move its primary up from Jan. 22, thanks to the move by Florida to Jan. 29. Speculation by some has indicated New Hampshire will be a week earlier, Jan. 15 -- which in turn would motivate Iowa to move from Jan. 14 to Jan. 7.

And The Politico looks at both why Bloomberg can't win a presidential race and why it his run could still matter. 

From NBC's Chuck Todd
In one of his first appearances on the wire since re-joining AP, Ron Fournier and Beth Fouhy co-report on a leaked memo the AP obtained from Hillary Clinton's campaign which apparently argues for skipping the Iowa caucuses.  We know it's not easy being the national frontrunner, but can any frontrunner skip an early state? As I detailed in a column a few weeks ago, skipping Iowa has proven to be a bad strategy. The last candidate to successfully do it was Bill Clinton and that's because EVERY one of his primary foes skipped Iowa due to the presence of Tom Harkin in the race.  Oh, and by the way, Iowa is a swing state in the general election and voters will take skipping the caucuses personally and could punish that candidate should they happen to actually get the nomination.

From the AP report, which is not yet on line: "The memo is a sign of division among the New York senator's strategic advisers. The memo by [dep. manager] Mike Henry was described generally by two senior Clinton advisers who, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was little chance the senator would take his advice. Harold Ickes, a top Clinton strategist, said the campaign is studying various options for dealing with the rush of nomination contests in early 2008, including bypassing Iowa, but he said the senator was determined to continue her Iowa campaign.  "Every campaign games out different scenarios and this is one scenario," he said. "The campaign is moving in Iowa, is going to stay in Iowa and Mrs. Clinton is very dedicated to winning the state."

From NBC's Mike Viqueira and Mark Murray
This morning, Hotline's blog reported that House Minority Leader John Boehner told a closed gathering of GOP "rapid responders" last night that the Senate immigration bill is a "piece of @#$%." Said Boehner, according to two attendees: "I promised the President today that I wouldn't say anything bad about ... this piece of @#$% bill."

Boehner's office today didn't deny that Boehner said those words. "The comment attributed to the Republican Leader was nothing but an off-the-cuff wisecrack made jokingly during a private gathering," said Boehner's press secretary. "While he has serious concerns about the Senate bill, it's unfortunate that this comment in particular found its way into print."

From NBC's Mark Murray
So how angry are anti-war liberals at the Democratic deal that would remove withdrawal timetables from the Iraq supplemental? Pretty angry -- at least according to an unscientific survey at Daily Kos, one of the leading liberal blogs.

In the poll of more than 9,000 respondents (so far), 37% say they are "off the charts livid"; 25% say they as "mad as hell"; 28% say they're disappointed; 4% say they're mildly frustrated; 2% say they're satisfied; and 1% is undecided.

From NBC's Mark Murray
First Read obtained the outline of the national security speech Edwards will give later today at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. In the speech, he will call for moving beyond Bush's "Global War on Terror" doctrine. "What we need is not more slogans but a comprehensive strategy to deal with the complex challenge of both delivering justice and being just," he will say. "Not hard power. Not soft power. Smart power."

To achieve that, Edwards will propose strengthening US partnerships, having an effective intelligence strategy that adheres to the rule of law, and solving global poverty (which he believes is a moral AND security issue). He also will calls for rebuilding the military -- by repairing civil-military relations, rooting out cronyism and waste at the Pentagon, and reconfiguring force structure to meet the challenges of the new century. And Edwards will say that he will use offensive force only after all others options, including diplomacy, have failed.

From NBC's Chuck Todd
It's been interesting to watch Sen. Hillary Clinton try and win the favor of some anti-war Democrats. A few weeks back she floated the idea of de-authorizing the war. Frankly, it didn't take off like they probably hoped. Today, this release from her SENATE office (not her campaign) caught our eye. In both a letter to Defense Sec. Robert Gates and in a private meeting with Joint Chiefs Chair Peter Pace, Clinton "called on the Pentagon to brief the Congress on any existing plans for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, or provide an explanation as to why such plans have not been properly created." Nothing like getting the words "Clinton" and "Iraq withdrawal" in the same sentence. More from the release of Clinton's letter to Gates and Pace: "The seeds of many problems that continue to plague our troops and mission in Iraq were planted in the failure to adequately plan for the conflict and properly equip our men and women in uniform," Senator Clinton wrote.Å  "Congress must be sure that we are prepared to withdraw our forces without any unnecessary danger."

Moves like this may not please the anti-war activists but for the rank-n-file anti-Iraq Democrat? Maybe.

From NBC's Chuck Todd and Mark Murray
*** Rudy Obama? Barack Giuliani? If a focus group of 12 Baltimore County voters could build the perfect 2008 candidate, it's likely they would choose Giuliani and Obama as their main prototypes. Both candidates scored very well in an Annenberg-sponsored focus group (evenly split between Dems, indies and GOPers) conducted by veteran Democratic pollster Peter Hart. One could sense the focus group was torn between wanting a president with a hopeful vision (Obama in their minds right now) and a president who will keep them safe (Giuliani).

*** Other Observations: From the focus group, Clinton has a LOT of work to do. Eight of the 12 said they couldn't support her under any circumstance, and seven of the 12 said she has the "furthest to go" in winning their trust. Edwards has gone from a "fresh face" to a "pretty boy" (one had even seen that YouTube parody). McCain was seen as presidential but also "disappointing" and "old school." There was an openness to Romney and Fred Thompson but, frankly, the group didn't know a lot about the two. Something Dems should worry about, by the way, is the fact that when the group was asked who would be the "safest choice" for president, 10 of the 12 picked Republicans (four for Rudy, four for McCain, two for Romney and one each for Obama and Edwards). That's right, no one picked Clinton. Look for more insights from this focus group in Chuck's weekly column, which will be posted later today.

*** Not Moving On: Now that congressional Dem leaders have decided to drop their call for a withdrawal timeline in the Iraq supplemental, expect to see MoveOn and other anti-war groups go after these Democrats. Hard. In the past few months, these groups and their allies helped push the Democratic leaders into a position that's supported by a strong majority of Americans. But a strong majority in the polls doesn't necessarily translate into veto-proof majorities in Congress. Will the anti-war crowd be able to forgive the Dems? Do note that Pelosi says she will vote AGAINST the deal.

*** The Daily Kos Crowd Will Love This: Edwards, who has certainly been gunning for the MoveOn/antiwar vote, told NBC's Matt Lauer on TODAY that the Democrats "should be standing their ground" and not back down on the withdrawal timeline. "This should not be about politics at all," he said. "This is about life and death… We need to stand our ground." Edwards also gives a speech today on national security and the military to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. In last month's presidential debate, he was one of four Democrats (Biden, Gravel, and Kucinich were the others) who said he doesn't believe there is such a thing as the "Global War on Terrorism." In his speech, Edwards calls for a comprehensive strategy to replace the GWOT.

*** Winning the Battle But Not the War? Monica Goodling, the former DOJ aide who pleaded the 5th in the US attorneys controversy but later struck an immunity deal, testifies before the House Judiciary Committee. Is Gonzales' job now safe -- no matter what new revelations come out? If so, the White House may very well have won its showdown with Congress over Gonzo's fate. But what happens the next time the White House needs its attorney general to go to bat for the Administration in a prickly matter on Capitol Hill? Does he strike out?

*** It's Fletcher vs. Beshear: Scandal-plagued GOP Gov. Ernie Fletcher got a surprising majority -- 50% -- in last night's Kentucky gubernatorial primary, but that means he has to win over the 50% or so of GOPers who didn't vote for him to survive in November, which won't be easy. Perhaps more surprisingly, former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear (D) was able to avoid a costly run-off by grabbing 41% of the vote. Beshear seems to have the edge going into the general election. Can he keep it?

*** On the Trail: Giuliani campaigns in Vermont and New Hampshire; Huckabee, in Houston, meets with the anti-income tax group Fair Tax and later appears on FOX's Hannity & Colmes; Hunter continues to stump in South Carolina; McCain raises money in Forth Worth, TX and holds a media avail afterwards; Obama holds a young professionals fundraiser in DC; Richardson raises money in New Mexico; and Romney fundraises and holds a media avail in Oklahoma.

Countdown to the Ames Straw Poll: 79 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 166 days
Countdown to Iowa: 235 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 257 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 530 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 607 days

The headline in the New York Times: "Democrats Pull Troop Deadline From Iraq Bill." From the story: "The decision to back down was a wrenching reversal for leading Democrats, who saw their election triumph in November as a call to force an end to the war. It was the first time since taking power in Congress that the Democrats had publicly agreed to allow a vote on war financing without a timetable for troop withdrawal."

Antiwar Democrats criticized the decision. "'We've given everything away,' Virginia Democrat Jim Moran said. 'It will split the Democratic caucus.'"

The Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was so disappointed with the outcome that she said she might vote against the Iraq portion of the package, which will be split into two parts when it comes before the House. 'I'm not likely to vote for something that doesn't have a timetable,' she said."

San Francisco Chronicle says the Democrats "finally blinked Tuesday, at least for now."

GOP Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon, who is up for re-election in 2008, just came back from Iraq and is slightly more optimistic than he was after his last visit, but he's still one of the few GOPers who want to get out.

NBC's Mike Viqueira yesterday reported on the agreement on the new war-funding bill, and NBC's Ken Strickland has some of the details of what's likely to be in it. For starters, it would tie non-military aide to the Iraqi government meeting political, security, and economic benchmarks.  But President Bush would be allowed to waive the requirements if he chooses. This framework comes from an amendment introduced last week by GOP Sen. John Warner, and it picked up 52 supporters in a non-binding, symbolic vote.

The bill lists 18 benchmarks for the Iraqi government, including legislation on de-Baathification, oil revenue sharing, forming semi-autonomous regions, reducing sectarian violence, and eliminating militia control of local security. The Bush Administration made it clear last week it supported the Warner plan. After a contentious negotiations session with congressional leaders, White House chief of staff Josh Bolten told reporters on the Hill that "it's the only proposal in this area of Iraq language that achieved a truly bipartisan majority." All but three Republicans supported it, along with seven moderate Democrats (Byrd, Landrieu, Lincoln, Nelson, Nelson, Pryor, and Salazar). 

But Strick and Viq note that since the new bill contains no timelines for troop withdrawal from Iraq, Democrats will no doubt lose support from some of their liberal members. While it's especially problematic for House Democrats -- with their "Out of Iraq Caucus" -- the Senate is also not immune. The most glaring Senate defection might be Russ Feingold, who was the first senator to propose legislation that would cut most funding for the war. In a written statement yesterday, he said, "I cannot support a bill that contains nothing more than toothless benchmarks and that allows the President to continue what may be the greatest foreign policy blunder in our nation's history."

Here's the statement Edwards put out last night: "Conceding to the president on full funding for the Iraq war is a serious mistake. It is time to force an end to this war, and the only way for Congress to do that is to use its funding power. Any compromise that funds the war through the end of the fiscal year isn't a compromise at all, it's a capitulation."

The Los Angeles Times profiles Monica Goodling. "How a 33-year-old graduate of a little-known law school that teaches courses on the philosophy of punishing and controlling 'sin' became such a powerful figure in the Justice Department is a key question for congressional investigators looking into charges that the department has been turned into a political tool of the Republican Party."

While Goodling testifies before the House Judiciary Committee today, NBC's Pete Williams reports that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is out of the country for the remainder of the week -- in Germany for the G-8 ministerial meetings, which precede the G-8 heads of state sessions June 6-8.

Fired US attorney David Iglesias has an op-ed in the L.A. Times, in which he all but calls for Gonzales to resign. "The nation needs leaders who take ultimate responsibility for the wrongful actions of their subordinates; leaders who do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. Mr. Attorney General, it's time for you to cowboy up and do what's best for the American people you serve."

BROWNBACK: Building his Iowa campaign one supporter at a time, Brownback's campaign announced the support of Iowa State Sen. Mark Zieman.

GIULIANI: The Boston Globe's Pindell is not happy that Giuliani's "town hall" meeting in N.H. is closed to the public.

HUCKABEE: Yesterday, the ex-governor sent out a fundraising email playing off of his shot at Edwards' $400 haircut at last week's GOP debate. "A resourceful staffer came up with the idea of asking people to leave a comment on our blog telling us how much they pay for their haircuts (the consensus seems to be falling between $10-$15) and so I thought, why not ask people to contribute to my campaign what they would typically pay to have their hair cut, or contribute what I pay ($15) when I visit my barbershop."

MCCAIN: The Politico's Martin wonders whether McCain's more pointed barbs at Romney are helpful. "The question for his presidential campaign this time is whether such attacks are helpful reminders for many people of why they originally liked the man or enhance his image as someone inclined to lose his cool when threatened."

The New York Times posits that the McCain-Romney spat is only helping Giuliani. "If Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney have been skirmishing, Mr. McCain and Mr. Giuliani have something between a nonaggression pact and a mutual admiration society going. When they both appeared at a fund-raiser last week in New York, Mr. McCain praised Mr. Giuliani's debate performance, and Mr. Giuliani went so far as to say of Mr. McCain that 'if it weren't for another candidate, I might actually be supporting him.'"

Immigration is making life difficult for the GOP in a number of places, particularly in McCain's home state of Arizona, where the party is split on the issue.

And don't forget that the 2nd quarter fundraising for McCain is singularly important. The Washington Post hasn't. "It's the new McCain: Working furiously to rebound from a lackluster fundraising effort in the first three months of the year, he is forgoing many opportunities for public campaigning and sharply cutting back his role as a high-profile legislator with a knack for brokering deals." McCain has missed a ton of Senate votes to focus on the campaign and fundraising. What happens if McCain doesn't have a good fundraising quarter?

PAUL: In response to Giuliani calling out Paul at last week's GOP debate for saying that 9/11 was caused by the US presence in the Middle East, NBC's Abby Livingston reports that Paul will hold a press conference -- called "Educating Rudy" -- on Thursday with Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit. Paul's spokesman Jesse Benton said, "The leading advocate for a sound foreign policy in Congress will stand with the top expert on Islamic terrorism and Osama Bin Laden to teach Rudy Giuliani how years of intervention in the Middle East have motivated terrorism and violence against America. We hope the former Mayor pays attention."

BTW, Paul may be running for president, but he also has to watch his back if he seeks re-election to his Texas House seat. He got his first primary challenger yesterday.

ROMNEY: Is "Yankee" Mitt Romney having a problem connecting with Southern Republicans? The Boston Globe thinks so. "If you don't count the Bushes, who emigrated from New England to Texas, the last Republican from the Northeast to win the presidency was Calvin Coolidge, a native Vermonter and Massachusetts governor who led the country more than 80 years ago."

Team Romney is putting a new 30-sec. TV ad in its rotation, beginning Thursday. From the ad: ANNCR: "In the most liberal state in the country, one Republican stood up and cut spending, instead of raising taxes. He enforced immigration laws, stood up for traditional marriage and the sanctity of human life."  ROMNEY: "This isn't the time for us to shrink from conservative principles.  It's a time for us to stand in strength.  Strong military, strong economy, strong families." ANNCR: "In the toughest place, Mitt Romney's done the toughest things."

F. THOMPSON: The fledgling campaign-to-be added another staffer: ex-FEC GOP appointee Michael Toner, who has agreed to serve as the campaign's chief counsel.

The AP's Sidoti writes the he's-about-to-get-in piece.

T. THOMPSON: A few candidates really are focusing on Aug. 11 as their first -- or possibly last -- day on the campaign trail. Aug. 11, of course, is the day of the Ames GOP straw poll. According to one of our Iowa GOP spies, Tommy Thompson has been making more robo-calls to likely GOP caucus goers than any other candidate to date. Our spy received his SIXTH contact from Thompson yesterday. It was an auto-dial call from Thompson (his voice) where he asks for straw poll support. If you press 1, you are then connected to a live person in his Iowa campaign office. To date, this very active Iowa Republican (i.e. he's on every key supporter/activist list) has received six contacts from Tommy Thompson, two from Romney, one from McCain, and none from anyone else.

BIDEN: We were intrigued to get a release from the Biden campaign touting the upcoming Iowa schedule by the candidate and his spouse, "Dr. Jill Biden." We hadn't seen Mrs. Biden referred to as a "Dr." before. After a little investigating, we found out that she just got her Ph.D. recently. Congrats to Mrs. B on the new degree.

BTW, Biden got his wish for an Iraq-only debate. The only problem? He may be the only participant. Johns Hopkins has invited all the candidates for an Iraq-only debate on June 6. Even Chris Dodd has said he has a scheduling conflict.

CLINTON: Bill Clinton headlines a major fundraiser in Boston on June 6.

Ex-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack stumped for Clinton and N.H. and touted her new pre-K program yesterday.

New York Sun's Gerstein notes the ties between the Clintons and infoUSA founder Vinod Gupta, who is facing allegations that his marketing firm "does business with scam artists targeting the elderly."

DODD: Fresh off of airing a TV ad in support of Feingold-Reid Iraq legislation that is seen by Chris Dodd's campaign as the impetus to get both Clinton and Obama to support the March 2008 cut-off date, Dodd is going up with a new Saul Shorr-produced TV ad bragging that his candidate colleagues are following him on Iraq. Dodd's new ad says, per the Union Leader: "Now, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have changed their position to follow Chris Dodd."

EDWARDS: How many folks have read the Bob Shrum book, and gotten to the part where the famed media consultant takes a few shots at John Edwards? The New Republic has read that far. "Shrum says that, in the end, Kerry "wished that he'd never picked Edwards, that he should have gone with his gut" and selected Dick Gephardt. And the feelings between Kerry and Edwards seem fairly mutual. After Kerry reached out to Edwards in the wake of his wife's disclosure of a recurrence of cancer, Shrum writes, "Kerry told me that the Edwardses simply stopped returning calls or talking to him and Teresa."

On TODAY, NBC's Matt Lauer asked Edwards about the hedge fund, $400 haircut, etc. Edwards replied, "I come from being a have-not," and he mentioned his work championing minimum-wage legislation and union organizing as proof that someone with money can also fight against poverty and be a champion of the middle class.

Speaking of the haircut et al, New York Observer's Kornacki wonders if Edwards is too easy of a mark for the GOP and argues that Democrats might need to consider that during the primaries.

OBAMA: Michelle Obama has resigned from her position on the board of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. The Illinois-based company's largest customer is Wal-Mart. In a filing with the SEC, the company stated, "Ms. Obama's resignation is the result of increased demands on her time and is not due to any disagreement with the company on any matter." TreeHouse is a food manufacturer and its largest customer is Wal-Mart. The company supplies pickles and other food products to the retailer.

The Obama party circuit continues tonight, NBC's Lauren Appelbaum says. And one thing is clear: Obama continues to play to the younger generation of voters. Last night, the venue was the Electric Factory, a hip concert venue that typically attracts patrons in their teens and 20s. Tonight, the party's at DC's H20 Restaurant & Lounge, a trendy bar in the district. The DC kick-off is even advertised as a young professional event. To top it all off, the Facebook phenomenon is taking place once again -- complete with a page created by GWU students advertising the Generation O (Barack Obama) DC Launch Party.

Josh Teitelbaum, a law student at George Washington University is one of the administrators of the site. He says the entire process was spontaneous but easy. A GWU undergraduate contacted Teitelbaum because the law student had already started a GWU Law Students for Obama Facebook group. Together, they advertised the function to students and recent grads through Facebook. 

 

Twenty-six members of the Congressional Black Caucus have written the three Democratic front-runners (Obama, Clinton, and Edwards) to ask them to reconsider their decision to skip a debate cosponsored by the CBC and Fox News.

Speaking of debates, The Politico's Wilner writes that CNN, a sponsor of the next round of debates on June 3 and 5, "recently announced it would release its debate footage for public use. If other networks follow suit, the debates will outlast a few television news cycles to become fodder for the conversation online. Past presidential debates have all but faded from memory except for a handful of legendary turning points… But this year's debates won't have to live in memory. Web editors will carve them up into the most interesting segments and sound bites, reinforcing the 'gotcha' quality the 2008 discourse has taken. The snappy one-liner, the odd facial expression, the painful trip -- all will live on the Web in perpetuity."

The AP on yesterday's gubernatorial primary in Kentucky: "Gov. Ernie Fletcher won the GOP nomination for a second term Tuesday, nine months after authorities dismissed charges that he violated hiring laws in a scheme to reward supporters with state jobs. Accomplishing what some critics had thought impossible, Fletcher withstood challenges from former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup of Louisville and millionaire businessman Billy Harper of Paducah. With 85 percent of precincts reporting, Fletcher had 50 percent of the vote to Northup's 37 percent. Harper had 13 percent."

The Louisville Courier-Journal: "Former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear rode a late campaign surge to capture the Democratic nomination for governor with just enough votes to avoid a runoff. The Lexington attorney won 41 percent of the vote in a crowded field of six Democrats. He needed 40 percent to avoid a June runoff election."