From NBC's Mark Murray and Ken Strickland
Tonight's GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire will most likely feature some heated discussions on immigration. But the Republican scuffling on this issue got an early start today in the Granite State. We've learned that Rep. Tom Tancredo and his presidential campaign held a news conference in the parking lot of fellow GOPer Judd Gregg's Senate office in Manchester, NH, protesting Gregg's apparent support of the compromise Senate immigration bill.

AP file

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., is upset with New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg over the proposed immigration bill.

Gregg wasn't all too happy about the news conference and issued a statement slamming Tancredo. "The need to address our out of control immigration situation is critical to maintaining our nation's security, rule of law and culture. The bill before the Senate is a sincere attempt to do this, and hopefully will be amended and improved in a manner that will give us full control of the borders and a logical approach to a guest worker and immigration program."

But he went on to say, "There are, unfortunately, people who wish to bury their heads in the sand by ignoring the threat our present dysfunctional system represents to our country, and who are using a jingoistic and demagogic approach of opposition to immigrants as a way to raise their own political visibility. These politicians are not constructive players to the process of working towards solving one of America's most pressing and critical problems. Congressman Tancredo has chosen to align himself with this approach. I strongly reject this new 'know nothing' wing of the political spectrum and hope the people of New Hampshire will as well." Ouch.

Bay Buchanan, Tancredo's campaign manager, confirmed to First Read that they held a press conference outside of Gregg's New Hampshire office. She said it was the beginning of an effort by Tancredo to get lawmakers to sign a "no amnesty" pledge. If these lawmakers don't sign the pledge, Buchanan said, Tancredo would raise the issue in their districts and states -- and would work to defeat them when they're next up for re-election.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
According to a House Democratic aide, indicted Rep. Bill Jefferson (D) has told Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he will temporarily step down from his last remaining committee seat, the small business committee.

Recall that Pelosi had tried earlier this year to get Jefferson on the Homeland Security Committee, but was thwarted by Republicans. Also, the move by House Republicans to force the ethics committee to recommend within 30 days whether Jefferson should be expelled from the House is expected late tonight.

*** Update *** Jefferson's office just issued this statement that he will temporarily step down from the committee, but the office stressed that the decision "is in no way an admission of guilt."

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file

Representative William Jefferson has reached an agreement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to give up his committee seat, but is not admitting guilt.

"In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.), Congressman William J. Jefferson (D-La.) said he will take a temporary leave from his position on the U.S. House Small Business Committee until recent legal developments are successfully resolved. Congressman Jefferson emphasized that his request to temporarily vacate his committee seat is in no way an admission of guilt to charges filed against him yesterday. "

"In addition, Jefferson said, 'I have supported every ethics and lobbying reform measure that you and our Democratic Majority have authored, and I make this request for leave to support the letter and the spirit of your leadership in this area.' Congressman Jefferson believes that he will be cleared of these charges and will later be able to resume his service on this committee."

BREAKING NEWS: I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is sentenced to 30 months in prison for perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
The antiwar group Americans Against Escalation in Iraq plans to fly a plane with the message: "Republican Iraq Plan: 50 Years in Iraq" before and during the GOP debate in Manchester, N.H. tonight.

This isn't the first time the group has tried to steal the spotlight from the Republicans. At the first debate at the Reagan Library in California, it also had a plane flying. At the second debate in South Carolina, the group used a truck.

From NBC's Mark Murray
While most national polls show Clinton with a comfortable lead over Obama and the rest of the Democratic field, there's a new USA Today/Gallup poll showing that Clinton and Obama are essentially tied. Obama "bests Clinton by a single percentage point, 30%-29%, if the contest includes former vice president Al Gore. Clinton bests Obama by a single point, 37%-36%, if it doesn't include Gore."

Charlie Neibergall / AP

One poll reports Sen. Barack Obama appears to be making inroads on Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead in the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

More: "The survey of 310 Democrats and 160 independents who 'lean' Democratic, taken Friday through Sunday, has a margin of error of +/-5 percentage points... Among Democrats alone, Clinton leads Obama by 5 points, 34%-29%. That's a significant narrowing from the USA TODAY Poll taken in mid-May, when she led by 17 points. Among independents, Obama leads by 9 points, 31%-22%."

From NBC's Mark Murray
While Fred Thompson won't be participating in tonight's GOP debate, he will still get to weigh in on it when he appears on FOX's Hannity & Colmes after the debate concludes.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
The controversy surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the US attorney firings get another hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee today. This time, senior Justice Department official Brad Schlozman and former US Attorney Todd Graves -- both minor players in the panel's investigation –- will testify before the committee.

Reuters

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales continues to hang on to his job despite the question of political reasons for the firing of U.S. attorneys.

Also, there's still no date set for the much-hyped no-confidence vote on Gonzales. Enthusiasm for the vote in the Democratic leadership and within most of their caucus is lukewarm, at best.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Move Over Iraq: Tonight's GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire might not have the same build up as Sunday's Democratic one, mainly because these Republicans debated just three weeks ago in Columbia, SC. But there are a few intriguing storylines. One is immigration -- an issue which the Senate works on today, and which McCain addressed yesterday in an attempt to shape tonight's debate (where he'll likely clash with Romney). The silent interested party in this immigration issue will be Giuliani, who has supported comprehensive immigration reform in the past. How against this bill is he really? Can he sell his opposition with conviction?

*** All Eyes On McCain: With the June 30 second-quarter fundraising deadline looming for McCain, the onetime front-runner is in need of a spark. After all, this is New Hampshire, which he won in 2000 and where his maverick style plays well. But now McCain is being squeezed on two fronts: His support for the war has hurt him with independents (who have soured on the war more than him for now), and his support for immigration has hurt McCain on any inroads he'd been making with the GOP's conservative base.

*** The 6'5 Elephant (Not) In The Room: Thompson may be 6'5, but his shadow will loom even larger over tonight's debate. Can Romney show he's a consistent enough conservative to disprove the need for Thompson? Can McCain show he's the straight-talking candidate who disproves the need for Thompson's homespun rhetoric? Can Giuliani show he's tough enough on terrorism to disprove the need for Thompson's own tough terror talk? But Thompson is starting to attract some skeptical press. Check out Charlie Cook's column today.

*** Will Freudenthal Look Ahead To '08? The death of GOP Sen. Craig Thomas will not affect the balance of power in the Senate. Wyoming bars a governor from appointing someone of the opposite party to replace a deceased lawmaker. The state GOP will select three potential replacements and submit those names to Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D), who will then choose one for the vacancy. The entire process will happen in the next 15-20 days. A special election to fill the remainder of Thomas' term will be held in November 2008. As with any death of an elected official, the politics of the appointment process will be something to watch. Freudenthal is likely the best candidate Democrats could come up with to run in the special election, so he may be appointing a future political opponent. In years past, there has been idle speculation of Lynne Cheney's interest in running for office. Don't be surprised if her name pops up at some point in this process.

*** Don't Forget: First Read will be live-blogging to provide instant analysis of tonight's debate, which begins at 7:00 pm ET. Also, remember that First Read isn't just for mornings anymore. We're updating our blog constantly with the best news and analysis available from NBC News.

*** On The Trail: Elizabeth Edwards is in Savannah, GA, where she holds a media avail and speaks to the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina's summer conference. Meanwhile, Obama is in Virginia, where he addresses Hampton University's Ministers' conference.

Countdown to GA-10 Special Election: 13 days
Countdown to CA-37 Special Election: 20 days
Countdown to the Ames Straw Poll: 66 days
Countdown to MA-05 Special Election: 90 days
Countdown to LA GOV election: 136 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 153 days
Countdown to LA GOV run-off (if necessary): 164 days
Countdown to Iowa: 222 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 244 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 517 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 594 days

The Arizona Republic curtain-raises tonight's debate for McCain, and it notes the New Hampshire setting. "No longer is McCain the anti-establishment 'maverick' who attracted so many independents and others skeptical of party dogma. He is viewed as one of the leading spokesmen for his old rival President Bush's Iraq war, which is possibly even more controversial in New Hampshire than in other parts of the country. Anti-war sentiment prompted New Hampshire, usually a reliably Republican state, to oust its two GOP congressmen in 2006 and deliver full control of state government to the Democrats."

Local Manchester TV station WMUR previews tonight's GOP debate. "With two more candidates trying to be heard than the Democrats … candidates may have to do more to stand out."

The Concord Monitor: "The Republicans enter their debate with far more acrimony in their ranks than the Democrats are experiencing. Sen. John McCain of Arizona is the subject of much of the sniping by other candidates because of his stance on illegal immigrants. Yesterday, McCain reiterated his support for a Senate immigration bill as a practical solution, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney again disagreed. Also shadowing tonight's discussion will be President Bush's low approval rating and recent high-profile criticism of his administration from former House speaker Newt Gingrich."

A new Washington Post/ABC poll finds that frustration over Iraq is now punishing both parties. "Disapproval of Bush's performance in office remains high, but the poll highlighted growing disapproval of the new Democratic majority in Congress. Just 39 percent said they approve of the job Congress is doing, down from 44 percent in April, when the new Congress was about 100 days into its term. More significant, approval of congressional Democrats dropped 10 percentage points over that same period, from 54 percent to 44 percent."

More: "Much of that drop was fueled by lower approval ratings of the Democrats in Congress among strong opponents of the war, independents and liberal Democrats. While independents were evenly split on the Democrats in Congress in April (49 percent approved, 48 percent disapproved), now 37 percent said they approved and 54 percent disapproved. Among liberal Democrats, approval of congressional Democrats dropped 18 points."

The fate of the immigration reform bill will likely be determined this week on the Senate floor, NBC's Ken Strickland notes. Members will vote of several amendments that could undermine -- and ultimately sink -- the fragile deal struck between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators, led by Ted Kennedy (D) and Jon Kyl (R). While both senators feel they can defeat any of these so-called "poison pill" amendments, Senate passage of the final bill will ultimately require 60 votes and is still uncertain.

The dominant issue within the remaining immigration debate will likely be focused on family reunification. In the current proposal, future immigration would be weighted more on job skills and education than on family ties, as it is under current law. This issue is especially important to Democrats: presidential candidates Clinton, Obama, and Dodd have all penned or co-sponsored amendments that steer the priority back to family reunification.

The New York Times front-pages this contentious issue. "President Bush and some senators champion the point system as a way to select immigrants most likely to make long-term economic contributions to the United States. Supporters say it would be the most systematic effort in the nation's history to evaluate would-be immigrants, using objective criteria to measure job skills, education and other attributes. But the plan is provoking strong opposition from leading Democrats, who say it smacks of social engineering and reflects a class bias."

The Boston Globe reports that the proposed immigration legislation will cost about $18 billion over the next decade, according to an analysis done by the Congressional Budget Office. But proponents of the bill were buttressed by the report's noting the "legalization of immigrants would contribute tens of billions to the federal Treasury."

The San Francisco Chronicle's Marinucci writes that Romney "appears to have backed away from his calls for an estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants to register with the government."

The New York Times reviews the Big Three's performance at last night's Sojourners forum on faith. Edwards "demonstrated dexterity with speaking the language of Christian belief." Clinton "appeared comfortable chatting on stage" with CNN's Soledad O'Brien." She "drew the most rounds of applause. There were moments on stage that had an almost confessional quality for her."  Obama "dwelled somewhat more on policy and global concerns than on his personal faith or Scripture, in large part because of the nature of the questions."

NBC's Carrie Dann notes that Clinton insisted at the forum that her "if I'd known then what I know now" line about her 2002 war authorization vote is an implicit acknowledgement of the consequences of her vote. "I think that IS taking responsibility," she told CNN's Soledad O'Brien, who moderated the forum. "And I don't think you get off the hook. I think you take responsibility and then you move on." Dann says that Clinton also discussed the other 800-pound gorilla in the room. "Infidelity in your marriage was very public," O'Brien said. "I would like to know how your faith helped you get through it." It wasn't quite a "Tammy Wynette" moment, but Clinton did candidly stand by the decision to stand by her man. "I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right," she said, "regardless of what the world thought."

NBC's Lauren Appelbaum reports that Edwards was asked about gay marriage.
Q: So I'll just ask it again. Maybe more pointedly. Do you think homosexuals have right to be married?
A: No. Not personally. You're asking about me personally. But I think there is a difference between my belief system and what the responsibilities of the President of the United States are. It is the reason we have a separation of church and state. There are very good people, including some people I am very close to, my daughter who is sitting in the front row here tonight feels very differently about this issue, and I have huge respect for those who have a different view about this. I think we have to be very careful about ensuring that the President of the United States is not using his belief system and imposing that belief system on the rest of the country.

The New York Daily News leads its coverage of last night's forum with Edwards' every day sinning and Clinton's admission that she sometimes prays to lose weight.

CLINTON: The Clinton campaign forwarded us the results of a new Franklin Pierce College/WBZ poll, which as administered the day after the debate. It shows that her lead over Obama increased after the debate – from seven points three months ago (32%-25%) to 22 points now (38%-16%).

Two prominent unions aren't pleased that Clinton strategist Mark Penn heads up "a public relations firm that is helping a company fight a unionization drive."

DODD: The Connecticut senator heads to Alabama on Wednesday for a speech to the Over the Mountain Democrats. Dodd will also raise money in Birmingham. Alabama has moved up its primary to Tsunami Tuesday (February 5, 2008).

The Hartford Courant's Lightman writes that Dodd campaign officials "were angry and annoyed that their candidate was often forgotten during" Sunday's debate. "Dodd badly needs a breakthrough in the eight-person Democratic field… Dodd's staff has hoped for some time that the five-term senator would be able to showcase his breadth of knowledge and ability to think on his feet once he shared the stage with his rivals. Instead, Dodd got nine questions Sunday night, the same as Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Everyone else got more."

OBAMA: The Obama campaign is trying to get a Day Two or Day Three story out of Sunday's debate by questioning Clinton's suggestion that we are safer now than since 9/11. Obama's camp sent a memo to "interested parties" (i.e. the media) that we are "not safer since 9.11." The AP writes that the memo did not mention Clinton by name, of course. "But the target was clear."

"The Clinton campaign responded with a statement by her fellow New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer crediting first responders with making the nation safer despite failures by the Bush administration. Schumer suggested that the two are not really in disagreement on this issue. 'Senator Clinton has said many times that the Iraq war has been a distraction from fighting terrorism, and if George Bush doesn't end the war, when she is president, she will,' Schumer said."

The New York Post also writes up the Obama camp's memo.

CBN's Brody has an item on Obama highlighting his faith and says, "There may be some Evangelicals very much willing to listen to him because he wears his faith on his sleeve." Brody praises Obama for highlighting his faith on his Web site under section called "Faith, Action, Change."

Here's an interesting take on race and Obama. San Jose State University professor Phil Trounstine (a one-time political reporter and Gray Davis confidante) writes that Tiger Woods' success paved the way for Obama's possible nomination.

GIULIANI: A Rhode Island Catholic bishop is criticizing Giuliani's positions on abortion. Wrote Bishop Thomas Tobin in the Rhode Island Catholic, per the AP: "'As Catholics, we are called, indeed required, to be pro-life, to cherish and protect human life as a precious gift of God from the moment of conception until the time of natural death,' Tobin wrote. 'As a leader, as a public official, Rudy Giuliani has a special obligation in that regard.'" Tobin says he is not a Republican but that he would never back a candidate who supports legalized abortion. You'll recall John Kerry received similar criticism from Catholic Church officials in 2004.

HUCKABEE: The former Arkansas governor did his best to secure the League of Conservation Voters endorsement with his promise in New Hampshire yesterday that if elected he'd make the U.S. energy independent within 10 years. "'I want to be the president that said we're going to be energy independent in 10 years and stop sending money to Saudi princes,' said Huckabee."

F. THOMPSON: Conservative leader Paul Weyrich is ready to believe that Thompson -- while not quite the second coming of Reagan -- is as close as he's going to find this year.

Meanwhile, American Conservative Union chair David Keene is a bit more skeptical of Thompson. Keene: "He's a nice enough guy, but the idea he is the second coming of Reagan is a bit exaggerated. The interest in his candidacy signals the dissatisfaction voters have with the first tier. He could fill the void for people who are saying, 'gee, isn't there anybody else.'"

In his column in CongressDaily this morning, NBC political analyst Charlie Cook sees some red flags for Thompson's presidential bid -- particularly the news that he might spend less time on the campaign trail (and instead rely on the Internet). "For folks that have been around politics for a while, statements and strategies such as these are flashing lights and warning signals that these folks think they've found a shortcut to the White House. What a truly ridiculous notion… Campaigns are about pressing the flesh."

Per NBC's Joel Seidman, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, will be sentenced this morning in federal court before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, who presided over his trial. The judge will inform Libby of his fate, the term of his prison time (if any), and whether he will be remanded immediately to a federal facility.

The Los Angeles Times: "Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) was indicted Monday on charges that he used his congressional office to enrich himself and his family through a pervasive pattern of fraud, bribery and corruption that spanned five years and two continents. The charges — the first against a Democratic member of Congress in the wake of the Justice Department's recent crackdown on public corruption — follow a two year-investigation that gained public notoriety when FBI agents raided Jefferson's home and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in his freezer."

The Washington Post writes that the Jefferson indictment could rekindle a dispute between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Black Caucus, a group that has been more supportive of Jefferson throughout this ordeal than Pelosi. 

The Politico: "House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) moved quickly to force the expulsion of" Jefferson. "The Republican leader will ask members of the House to vote on a resolution requiring the ethics committee to review the indictment filed against him in order to seek his expulsion from the House, according to his office."

The New York Times: "Political analysts and his rivals said that a long fight to clear his name could distract him and leave a cloud hanging over the state's efforts for increased federal assistance. 'Here we are trying to get all of this money out of Congress, and here we have a longtime incumbent indicted on public corruption charges,' said Edward F. Renwick, a political scientist at Loyola University here. 'It doesn't help Louisiana post-Katrina because he will be less effective.'"

Wyoming GOP Sen. Craig Thomas died Monday after a months-long battle with leukemia. He was 74. Just before winning re-election to a third term in '06, Thomas was hospitalized with related symptoms to his cancer. He won nonetheless with 70% of the vote, monitoring the election from his hospital bed. The AP: "After his first round of chemotherapy, Thomas returned to the Senate in December, a month earlier than expected. A few months later, he said he felt better than he had in a long time. But he returned to the hospital for a second round of chemotherapy in May."

The New York Times: "Under Wyoming's election laws, the state Republican Party will nominate three people to be his successor. The final choice will be made by the state's governor, David Freudenthal, a Democrat."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro:
Richardson has a new 30-second ad up in Iowa called "Clean Energy Nation." Here's the script from National Journal:

Announcer: New Mexico. No other state has done as much to promote renewable energy and fight global warming.

Under Gov. Bill Richardson, New Mexico is requiring utility companies to produce energy from renewable sources. He set tough standards to reduce greenhouse gases and is offering tax credits for using wind, solar and biofuels.

Richardson: I'm Bill Richardson, and I approve this message because we made New Mexico the clean energy state. As president, I'll make us a clean energy nation.

From NBC's Mark Murray and Chuck Todd
As we noted earlier, one of the several issue contrasts that came up at last night's Democratic debate was whether or not the US is safer since 9/11. The Obama campaign just issued a campaign memo that implicitly hits Clinton for her response last night that "I believe we are safer than we were. We are not yet safe enough." 

"Senator Obama believes and asserted in the debate that America is less safe since 9/11 largely because the war in Iraq has fueled terrorism around the world," the memo says. "Recent studies by the U.S. State Department and the Council on Global Terrorism confirm that the war in Iraq has accelerated the spread of terrorism and increased the threat of attacks."

This is an attempt to create a bad Day Two story for her. Either Clinton has to back off and say we're not safer or she has to say "we're not safe enough." She put herself in a box with her answer last night.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
After addressing Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition conference earlier today, Obama was bombarded by the media with a variety of questions. Some local reporters were left disappointed. He was asked a question concerning an issue being considered by the Illinois state legislature (where he got his start in politics), and Obama responded that he did not know. "I haven't been following the negotiations closely enough to know what's taking place." He then made the issue national, "I do know that the state of Illinois, like states across the country, are seeing a crunch when it comes to education funding [and] continue to struggle with funding health care. New sources of money are needed." When asked about a local issue in Springfield, IL, Obama responded, "I apologize guys, but I really have not followed closely what's been happening in Springfield. I've had a little bit of other stuff to do." A reporter in the background complained, "The senator of Illinois should know what's going on ... I bet [Sen.] Durbin knows ... [Obama's] still the senator of Illinois."

(However, Durbin isn't running for president and didn't spend the last couple of days preparing for a debate on national issues.)
 
Obama also was asked to address issues that Richardson and Kucinich, who spoke to the group earlier this morning, brought up. Richardson stated while he may not have the fundraising and rock-star status, he has the resume. When pressed to respond, Obama said, "If the measure of leadership is how long you've been in Washington, then there are a wide range of choices to choose from. I don't think as I travel around the country, that that's the measure Americans are applying. What they are asking is who can bring people together to solve problems. They find the experience of serving in the state legislature, the experience of a community organizer, somebody who has taught constitutional law, as very relevant experience." When pressed to address that Richardson's point was he is the one with the foreign policy experience (the reporter implied Obama does not have this experience), Obama diverted. "Look, you're not going to draw me into this argument. I'm glad that I attracting a lot of attention. It must mean we're doing pretty well."
 
On Kucinich's assertion that the candidates in the Senate have failed their leadership test because the country is still in Iraq, Obama (although he did not address the topic during his speech to the conference until the last five minutes of his speech) now fought back. "With the respect to the war in Iraq, Dennis and I are the two people on stage, and I guess Mike Gravel ... who have been against this war from the start. The only difference between Dennis and I on this issue is that he believes we can unilaterally cut funding. It's just not true. We don't have the votes. We can't do that without an adequate number of votes. That's why my focus on my plan has been to begin a phased redeployment, have all our troops out by March 31st of next year. We need 16 votes in the Senate and a comparable number in the House to get that done. We are far more likely to get enough votes to impose a timetable than we are to get enough votes, at this stage, to cut off funding."

From NBC's Pete Williams and Mark Murray
A federal grand jury has indicted Lousiana Rep. William Jefferson (D), accusing him of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also charging him of bribing an official of the Nigerian government.

VIDEO: Rep. William Jefferson faces a 16 count indictment involving alleged bribery.

Jefferson -- who drew headlines across the country for having $90,000 in his freezer -- became a political embarrassment for Democrats, who campaigned in 2006 on ridding Washington of the GOP "culture of corruption." Surprising many political analysts, Jefferson won re-election last year, despite the allegations hovering over him.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro:
Earlier, we told you the Brownback camp was hitting Romney on abortion the day before the Republican debate. Here's Romney's response:

"Governor Romney is firmly pro-life and he will continue to encourage, promote and defend pro-life policies.  Advocacy of these policies and bringing others towards a pro-life position is an important part of the governor's efforts."

-Kevin Madden, spokesman for Governor Romney

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro:
The day before the GOP debate, candidates are taking aim -- at Romney. First, we saw the rivalry between Romney and McCain ramp up on immigration, and now Brownback hits him on abortion.

The Brownback camp is circulating a press release with the headline, "Mitt Romney Doesn't Believe Abortion is Murder: Rejects GOP Platform on Abortion - A Human Life Amendment to the Constitution."

"Mitt Romney's flip-flops on abortion throughout the years make more sense now," said Martin Gillespie, political director of Brownback for President, in the release. "Every different Romney flip-flop on abortion has coincided perfectly with the most politically expedient position of the campaign he was in."

 

From NBC's Andrew Merten:
This is not much different from what McCain said earlier, but we watched McCain's address on immigration reform in Coral Gables, Fla., this morning, and we wanted to update.

McCain used the opportunity again to take some not-so-subtle jabs at GOP presidential opponent Mitt Romney. Without mentioning the former governor by name, McCain repeated his familiar challenge for a better alternative to the bill, saying, "If someone objects to it, especially if they are a candidate for President, they should have the responsibility and courage to propose another way." 

He continued, taking his rebuttal to Romney even further this time:  "I would hope that any candidate for President would not suggest doing nothing. And I would hope they wouldn't play politics for their own interests if the cost of their ambition was to make this problem even harder to solve."

Romney camp responds to McCain:
"Governor Romney has made his priorities clear. We must secure our borders, implement a rigorous employer verification program and ensure interior enforcement without providing a special pathway towards citizenship for those who have entered the country illegally."

Stefan Zaklin / EPA file

Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., says the proposed immigration reform bill is a step in the direction towards progress.

"This Senate immigration bill falls short of the American public's expectations for a fair and workable solution on the problem of illegal immigration. Pressing on with a flawed approach that isn't equitable toward legal immigration is not a step in the direction towards progress. And, being so dismissive towards the principled opposition of so many Americans is a terrible mistake."

-Kevin Madden, spokesman for Governor Romney

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro:
*** Consensus from last night's debate: There's the big three – Clinton, Obama and Edwards – and then everyone else. The gap between 3rd and 4th has grown in the Dem primary. Edwards v. Clinton v. Obama garners all the leads with Obama engaging Edwards and Clinton deciding not to. Obama gets kudos for improving his game, Clinton gets praise for staying above the fray and Edwards gets ups for engaging. Our guess: all three campaigns are relatively pleased.

*** Obama seemed much more at ease answering 60-second questions than he was during the first debate. There are still times when he "ums" too much, which can give the viewer the sense that he's meandering -- but that's a style point. He was clearly at ease and more comfortable than last month and looked and sounded as presidential as anyone on stage. 

*** Edwards seemed very engaged and clearly carved out opportunities to engage Clinton and Obama. It was Edwards' best debate performance to date (and we're counting the ones from 2003-4).

*** As for Clinton, she was good tonight but she wasn't head and shoulders better as she was in the first debate. She is very good at not taking the bait, but sometimes one wishes she would directly engage one of her rivals. By the way, we were surprised at how much she referred to her husband's admin. She did it quite a bit and, well, so did the questions.  BTW, considering how poorly both Obama and Edwards played after the first debate compared to Clinton, does the campaign regret agreeing to this debate and giving her two challengers a chance to right their debate ships pre-June 30 (the end of the 2nd fundraising quarter)?  Sure, she still did well, but…

*** The Rest: Gravel was better behaved. Kucinich wasn't a rabble-rouser, either. Biden showed the most emotion (on the Darfur question), but he yelled and voters never like yelling. Dodd is doing a great job at keeping his cool (because the guy knows every issue up and down, that's crystal clear, but he gets very little chance to chime in). Richardson also tried to distinguish himself but seemed to fail to grab any moments. 

*** The Problem With Putting Just One Foot In The Water: After filing paperwork for his "testing the waters" committee on Friday and speaking to the Virginia GOP on Saturday, Fred Thompson and his supporters today hold their fundraising kick off. But there's one downside of waiting about a month between raising money and officially "getting in": It gives his primary foes and reporters plenty of time to dig up dirt on him and make him a target. And if there are negative stories, and they suddenly all come within days of the announcement, it can really put a damper on a launch.  BTW, don't miss Thompson's weekend interview with NBC News and AP where he struggles with the "what did he accomplish in the senate" question. Paging Roger Mudd? 

*** Border Talk: On the eve of Tuesday's GOP debate in New Hampshire, McCain gives an address on immigration this morning in Coral Gables, FL to lay out his reasons for supporting the contentious Senate immigration bill. According to excerpts of his speech, he'll argue that the status quo is unacceptable and he'll directly challenge criticism from Mitt Romney. Looks like the McCain folks are trying to dictate the first 30 minutes of tomorrow's debate. 

*** Cause I Gotta Have Faith…: The three Democratic front-runners -- Clinton, Edwards, and Obama -- participate in a forum tonight on faith and religion that's sponsored by the left-leaning religious group Sojourners. In 2004, per the exit polls, John Kerry lost badly among voters who said they attended church at least once a week. Democrats slightly improved on those figures in 2006, and at least two Democrats (Tim Kaine and Ted Strickland) won gubernatorial contests in '05 and '06 by, in part, emphasizing their faith. Interestingly, the '08 Dems are flaunting their faith more than the '08 GOPers. Go figure.  

*** Looking For Things To Do? For reporters in New Hampshire looking for events to cover today before tomorrow's GOP debate, Huckabee campaigns in Concord. Plus, former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and others hold a press conference late this morning to open the campaign headquarters of "ED in '08," a group calling on all presidential candidates to campaign on improving the nation's schools.  

*** On The Trail: Elsewhere, Clinton attends a "Women for Hillary" town hall breakfast with supporter Billie Jean King; Obama, Kucinich and Richardson speak at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition's annual convention in Chicago; and Paul appears on the Daily Show. 

Countdown to GA-10 Special Election: 14 days
Countdown to CA-37 Special Election: 21 days
Countdown to the Ames Straw Poll: 67 days
Countdown to MA-05 Special Election: 91 days
Countdown to LA GOV election: 137 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 154 days
Countdown to LA GOV run-off (if necessary): 165 days
Countdown to Iowa: 223 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 245 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 518 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 595 days

Rich Thau, a pollster who frequently uses dial-testing for messaging strategy, held a focus group of likely N.H. Dem voters and dial-tested the candidates. One can go to his web site to check out some details. Overall, Biden, Clinton, Obama and Dodd made the most progress, each improving their prospects pre vs. post debates. Overall, on a scale of 1-10, Obama and Clinton scored highs (8.0 and 7.8 respectively) on the question of "how comfortable" they would be with [insert candidate name here] as their POTUS. The next closest candidate was Richardson at 6.6. Interestingly, Edwards lost ground from pre to post on the same question, dropping from 6.3 to 5.5. According to Thau, Edwards' early shots didn't play well.

VIDEO: Democratic candidates call it Bush's war

A WMUR-sponsored focus group, conducted by SMU profs, and also found that Clinton, Obama and Biden all improved their standings. The Clinton camp is touting this focus group because it showed a significant pre- vs. post- debate bump. A much greater jump than the above referenced focus group.  

Now, how it played in the papers:

Boston Globe's Canellos notes, "Clinton last night took a page from her husband's 1992 primary campaign and tried to emphasize the broad points of agreement among Democrats against Republicans. But several of the Democratic candidates on stage with her were not listening." 

The New York Times picked up on the improved Obama, who they said "appeared more forceful and poised than he did during the first debate." 

The L.A. Times sums up the frontrunner heaviness the format encouraged. "Although eight candidates participated, much of the focus was on Clinton, Obama and Edwards, whose center-stage placement underscored their position in the contest."

New York Sun's Gitell scores it for Clinton. She "immediately established herself as a candidate who could be credible on national security. With Senators Obama (once again) and Edwards befuddled by a question about the war on terror, Mrs. Clinton gave a crisp declarative answer befitting the risk New Yorkers and all Americans face in the modern world." 

The hometown Manchester Union Leader writes that the debate "was highlighted by several sharp exchanges that helped to delineate the differences between the eight contenders on stage." 

The Washington Post's Balz and Kornblut write: "Obama delivered a stronger performance than he had in South Carolina, where he had several weaker moments. On Sunday night he was far more forceful in making his points and in challenging his rivals' positions." 

The New York Times says Clinton often "seemed to be looking beyond the Democratic primary and toward the general election. On the war in particular, she seemed intent on focusing attention not on her initial vote to authorize the war and how her record on that issue compares with the records of her rivals for the nomination, but on the larger divide between the two parties." 

The Globe's Lehigh writes that Obama and Biden stood out.  

The NY Post got a group of random NH voters together to ask them what they thought of the Democrats. According to the Post, the voters "expressed serious concerns about the Democrats' ability to fight the war on terror."  

The NY Daily News gives A to F report card grades on last night's debate. Obama makes the grade and gets an A.

The NY Daily News' Goodwin thinks it was Edwards who won.

Des Moines Register's Yepsen scored it for the three frontrunners with a slight edge to Edwards. 

Per USA Today, several story lines emerged from the two-hour debate… Clinton repeatedly cited the administration of her husband, Bill Clinton. She noted he balanced the federal budget and tried to kill bin Laden. Edwards, the party's 2004 vice presidential nominee, sought to portray himself as a leader and his rivals - five of whom remain in Congress - as followers. Biden, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was most forceful in his responses to foreign policy questions." 

The Hartford Courant's Lightman adds, "The format so frustrated" Chris Dodd "that after about an hour and a half, his staff issued a press release declaring 'Debate Fails to Achieve Full Discussion of Nation's Most Important Issues,' and pointed out that in the first part, Dodd was asked only four questions."

Can't get enough of the Dem frontrunners? The three meet at a religious forum tonight (to be televised on CNN). The Miami Herald current raises the event noting that Democrats have been finding their religion.