From NBC's Mike Viqueira

Among the great questions of our time are what type of dog will the Obamas get come spring, and, where and with whom will the new president indulge his passion for hoops.

Nothing here on the first issue, but perhaps we can, ahem, move the ball on the second.

Seems that at the Statuary Hall luncheon on Inauguration Day, Sen. John Ensign challenged the new president to a game of two-on-two. Ensign, a roundball enthusiast, proposed that he and Sen. John Thune, a high school star back home in South Dakota, play Obama and the wingman of his choice.

It has been widely reported that the president has some people, both in his cabinet and in the West Wing, who have got serious game.

A Senate source says that the president was receptive, and that the venue of Camp David was specifically mentioned.

Incidentally, there a couple of games that take place on a semi-regular basis around here. There is a court over in Rayburn in the House gym, to date noted mostly as the place where Gary Condit hid from the press. Nevertheless, it is considered a sacred treasure by some members, and they would really rather not talk about it.

There is also a game at a local Capitol Hill high school from time to time where staffers and an occasional member are known to play.

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube
The Pentagon is preparing initial orders to send an additional 22,000 soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan before the end of the year. That would include a Marine Expeditionary Brigade of 12,000 Marines with combat infantry and combat air power that would be deployed in the hotly-contested south in Afghanistan. 

Besides combat forces the overall 22,000 would include a headquarters, logistics, engineer and military police forces.

The first of the deployments would begin in the spring and be strung out through the rest of the year, depending, in part, on troop reductions in Iraq.

These orders would not be the last. The total number of additional U.S. forces sent to Afghanistan this year is expected to be at least 30,000.

In today's meeting with the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Obama will be briefed on Iraq, Afghanistan and the overall global risks facing the U.S. military after more than seven years of wars.  Pentagon officials say that no decisions on troop deployments or strategies are expected out of this meeting today.

From NBC's Athena Jones

WASHINGTON -- President Obama took a page from the campaign trail Wednesday when he brought together 13 CEOs to push for the passage of package to help the struggling economy.

The session, though closed to the press, was reminiscent of the kind of roundtable Obama-as-candidate held during the long campaign season to discuss everything from nuclear proliferation to America's ability to compete with the rest of the world.

Video: Google CEO Eric Schmidt discusses Obama's plan to build out broadband infrastructure and his thoughts on what's needed for an economic recovery.

In attendance at the meeting were Steve Appleton of Micron Technology; David Barger, of Jet Blue; Motorola's Greg Brown; John Bryson, the retired CEO of Edison International; Debra Lee of BET Holdings, Inc; Xerox's Anne Mulcahy; Antonio Perez of Eastman Kodak; Michael Splinter of Applied Materials; Corning's Wendell Weeks; and Ron Williams of Aetna.

Obama, in remarks to an East Room audience after the meeting, spoke about recent job losses at big corporations underscoring the need for swift action that makes "good economic sense for their workers and companies."
 
He added, as he has at nearly every opportunity since taking office, that he hopes to sign the stimulus plan into law in the next few weeks and went on to stress that most of the money would be spent immediately on job creation and noted that there was skepticism about the size and scale of the plan. He also said a new Web site -- Recovery.gov -- would allow the public to follow how the government uses taxpayer money.

"I firmly believe with what Justice Brandeis once said, that sunlight is the best disinfectant," Obama said, "and I know that restoring transparency is not only the surest way to achieve results, but also to earn back that trust in government without which we cannot deliver the changes the American people sent us here to make."

But the president again insisted that solving the nation's economic problems would take more than just government action, returning to the theme of "responsibility" he has stressed since last Tuesday.

"In the end, the answer to our economic troubles rests less in my hands, or in the hands of our legislators, than it does with America's workers and the businesses that employ them," he said. "They are the ones whose efforts and ideas will determine our economic destiny, just as they always have."

Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, a frequent sight at roundtables on the campaign trail, was also at the meeting and Honeywell CEO David Cote and IBM's Sam Palmisano both spoke to an East Room audience in support of the plan, before Obama delivered his brief remarks.

Palmisano said it was imperative for business and government to come together and Cote said the economic situation was "dire" and thanked the president for not being too timid to take bold action.

"We're very supportive of the reinvestment act. Our message would be it has to get done fast," Cote said. "We can't let perfect be the enemy of good."

Richard Parsons, the former head of Time Warner who has been tapped to head Citigroup, was also at the East Room event.

From NBC's Pete Williams and Ken Strickland
The Senate Judiciary Committee today voted in favor of Eric Holder's nomination for attorney general.

The vote was 17-2. The "no" votes were both Republicans, John Cornyn of Texas (who is also the National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman) and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.

Video: The Senate Judiciary Committee has endorsed Eric Holder for Attorney General and will send his nomination to the Senate for a vote.

So the obvious next question is "when is the final vote before the full Senate?" And the unfortunate, yet realistic answer is "unclear."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would like to call for the vote ASAP, but if any single senator objects to an immediate vote -- as Democrats suspect a Republican will -- it delays the process by at least a day or two.

As was the case earlier with Tim Geithner and Hillary Clinton, Republicans who don't serve on the relevant committees will say they want time to review nominees' qualifications and time for hearty debate on the floor.

So the best guidance is this: Reid is hopeful the final vote will can be held some time this week. At this point, the exact timing depends on cooperation from Republicans.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Ready, set, vote: With the House set to vote tonight on the economic stimulus -- and with the Senate expected to consider the legislation next week; it's already passed some key committees -- President Obama speaks yet again on the economy at 11:15 am ET, after meeting with business leaders at the White House. He also heads to the Pentagon in the afternoon to continue talks about how to wind down the war in Iraq. As for the president's goals yesterday, Tuesday's meetings were less about gaining support for the stimulus package, and more about garnering good will for future, tougher votes -- believe it or not, possibly for more bailouts. What was probably most striking were the different agendas each Republican caucus had with the president. House Republicans wanted to talk about the actual stimulus package. Senate Republicans wanted to talk about the bigger problems with the economy. In fact, according to two senators in the room Tuesday, the president wouldn't dissuade those who kept asking if more money was going to be needed to solve American's financial crisis. Meanwhile, a new plan going forward on saving banks and dealing with home foreclosures could come out of the Treasury Department next week, including an idea that includes creating a so-called "bad bank," a government entity that buys up bad assets. Also, Al Gore testifies this morning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he will endorse Obama's economic recovery plan, as well as talk about climate change and the need to move forward THIS YEAR on cap-and-trade, rather than using the economic crisis as an excuse to put it off.

Video: The House will vote on Obama's stimulus package; meanwhile, there is some opposition to the $825 billion price tag.

*** Palin and Limbaugh: One of the things Republicans did very effectively during their 24-year run from '80 to '04 was define who the opposition was, whether it was raising the profile of a Michael Moore or a Jesse Jackson or someone from the most liberal or divisive wing of the Democratic Party (see Ted Kennedy or Hillary Clinton). Well, it appears Democrats in general, and President Obama specifically, seems to enjoy propping up two of the more divisive figures in the Republican Party, Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. The more attention a Palin or a Limbaugh gets right now, the harder it will be for the Republican Party to pitch itself as a Big Tent party again. This is a dangerous period for the GOP, the party is, well, without definition. Is it a less-government, low-tax, fiscally responsible party? It's hard to make that case after the last decade of governing. Because it's hard to define the GOP on issues right now, it becomes easier for the Democrats to paint the GOP with the brush of a personality like Limbaugh and Palin.

Video: MSNBC's Pat Buchanan and radio talk show host Heidi Harris debate whether Rush Limbaugh is running the GOP.

*** Good news and bad news for Duncan: The RNC's winter meeting begins today, and the contest for RNC chairman takes place on Friday. With that contest just two days away, a First Read survey of the RNC's 168 voting members -- conducted by NBC's Claire Luke and Jade Taenzler -- finds current chairman Mike Duncan leading the field of six candidates. But Duncan, who was appointed by George W. Bush, is still well short of the needed 85 votes (50% plus one vote) to be named chairman, with some RNC members seeing him as too tied to Bush, as today's Washington Post reports. Duncan starts with a solid advantage with 44 committed supporters saying they prefer to keep him in charge. The next closest is former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele with 20. South Carolina party chairman Katon Dawson is a close third with 18; former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell is next with 16; Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis is at 15; and former Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman rounds out the group with just one person supporting him. While Duncan is leading the pack, almost as many (43) as have said they're voting for him have said they're undecided. One RNC member said he/she is choosing between Duncan and Steele. First Read was unable to reach 10 members during the survey, which was conducted by phone and email over the past two weeks.

*** What about second choice? We also surveyed second-choice preferences, but the vast majority would not commit, either publicly or privately, or said they were undecided. A statistically insignificant number expressed a preference -- three for Anuzis, two for Blackwell, two for Steele, one for Dawson, one for either Steele or Blackwell and one for either Duncan or Anuzis. One thing to keep in mind when it comes to Duncan's support is how solid it is in a second round of voting. Will he experience drop-off in a second round or does the fact that he's leading in various surveys mean he'll solidify these folks? Duncan doesn't strike us as someone who is the LAST choice of RNC members and that could be the key to victory for him. Everyone else in this field has some baggage that seems difficult to overcome and, barring, a superstar alternative, Duncan may find himself as the last man standing.

*** Here come the 2010 ads: In what appears to be the first TV ad of the 2010 Senate cycle -- with that election 643 days from now! -- the National Republican Senatorial Committee announced today it is airing a spot on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. As we've mentioned before, Reid very well may be the most endangered Democrat in 2010 (not counting, of course, those controversial appointees in Illinois and New York or the appointees in Colorado and Delaware). The ad, which begins running this week in Reid's state of Nevada, blasts the Democratic leader on the original financial bailout (which several Republicans supported), as well as on the stimulus. "Super spending partisan Harry Reid," the ad goes. "As Democrat leader, he helped pay for vicious attack ads criticizing last year's bailouts. But guess who voted for the $700 billion bailout. You guessed it -- Harry Reid. And now he wants a trillion more dollars in new spending? A trillion dollars?? Tell Harry Reid to stop wasting our hard-earned money." By the way, if Reid goes down or comes close and has the party spending millions to save him, will it permanently spook Senate Democrats from ever electing another red-state or swing-state senator as party leader? 

*** Divide and conquer? Speaking of Democratic leaders, are House Republicans trying to drive a wedge between Nancy Pelosi and President Obama? Indiana Rep. Mike Pence (R) appeared to be at it on Hardball yesterday, having nothing but praise for the president after their meeting on the Hill. He softly called him "very sincere" in his call to bipartisanship, but stressed that Obama was likely "surprised" to see that House Democrats aren't following in his call. He lamented that Republicans have had no input into the stimulus. The White House, for its part, seems to relish the role of mediator. It's exactly where they want to be. The question is, of course, how long will Speaker Pelosi put up with the idea that Republicans have the president to whine to when they are not getting their way?

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The Washington Post previews the House vote on the stimulus. "The House is scheduled to vote tonight on an $825 billion stimulus proposal aimed at creating 4 million jobs and giving individuals and businesses an infusion of cash. The bill includes $275 billion in tax cuts and $550 billion in spending on roads and bridges, alternative-energy development, health-care technology, unemployment assistance, and aid to states and local governments. The Senate is expected to consider a separate bill next week. Last night, the Finance and Appropriations committees passed parts of the stimulus bill that total about $888 billion, clearing the way for debate to begin in the full chamber."

Echoing NBC's Mike Viqueira on First Read yesterday, The Hill notes, "President Obama's trip to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to sell his economic stimulus package won style points but few GOP votes."

Republicans also live-Twittered Obama's appearance on the Hill as well as passing to news organizations (us) minute-by-minute accounts.

Covering Obama's meetings yesterday with congressional Republicans, the New York Times notes that the president is open to some compromises on the stimulus. "In a session with House Republicans, Mr. Obama said he would not compromise on a central element of his plan that has drawn particular Republican opposition: his campaign promise for a middle-class tax credit that would also go to low-wage workers who earn too little to pay income taxes but are subject to payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare… But, Republicans interviewed after the meeting said, Mr. Obama told them he would listen to proposals to expand on provisions cutting taxes for small businesses and would be open to corporate tax cuts as well if Republicans cooperated to close tax loopholes for big business."

"Democrats said Mr. Obama could also support a demand from a senior Senate Republican, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, to add a provision adjusting the alternative minimum tax so that it does not hit millions of middle-class taxpayers this year. That would add costs of nearly $70 billion over 10 years to a package that Republicans already say is too big." 

The Washington Post says that some Democrats are voicing their own complaint about the stimulus: "that the plan may fall short in its broader goal of transforming the American economy over the long term." But isn't it a little late for Congressional Democrats to begin airing their problems with Obama's stimulus plan?

NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports that the Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Leon Panetta to be CIA director for next Tuesday, Feb. 3. That committee had been awaiting a series of answers to policy questions, which have now been received. Officials say there are no legal impediments that are delaying the hearing.

NBC's Viqueira notes that among the great questions of our time are what type of dog will the Obamas get come spring, and where (and with whom) will the new president indulge his passion for hoops. Well, Viq reports, it seems that at the Statuary Hall luncheon on Inauguration Day, Sen. John Ensign (R) challenged the new president to a game of two-on-two. Ensign, a fellow roundball enthusiast, proposed that he and Sen. John Thune, a high school star back home in South Dakota, play Obama and the wingman of his choice. It has been widely reported that the president has some people, both in his cabinet and in the west wing, who have got serious game. A Senate source says that the president was receptive, and that the venue of Camp David was specifically mentioned.

Congress sent the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to Obama's desk. It "makes it easier for women and others to sue for pay discrimination, even if the discrimination has prevailed for decades." And it's on to card check? "Having succeeded with the Ledbetter bill, labor rights advocates can turn to tougher issues, including a controversial measure, expected to come up later this year, that would take away a company's right to demand a secret ballot when workers are deciding whether to join a union."

Obama heads to the Pentagon today, where he "was to hear the opinions of the four U.S. military service chiefs on Wednesday in a meeting the White House called one more step toward fulfilling his promise of withdrawing all combat troops from Iraq. The Joint Chiefs of Staff will be ready with a rough sketch of what would be required to fulfill the president's timetable for a 16-month withdrawal. Defense officials have said they can meet Obama's campaign pledge, but several officials have signaled that a fast withdrawal could upset the fragile security that currently holds in Iraq."

The New York Times says that Obama "intends to adopt a tougher line toward Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, as part of a new American approach to Afghanistan that will put more emphasis on waging war than on development, senior administration officials said Tuesday. Mr. Karzai is now seen as a potential impediment to American goals in Afghanistan, the officials said, because corruption has become rampant in his government, contributing to a flourishing drug trade and the resurgence of the Taliban."

More: "The officials portrayed the approach as a departure from that of President Bush, who held videoconferences with Mr. Karzai every two weeks and sought to emphasize the American role in rebuilding Afghanistan and its civil institutions."

More Bill Lynn problems? "The man nominated to be the Pentagon's second-in-command could make at least a half-million dollars next month with vested stock he earned as a lobbyist for military contractor Raytheon," the AP reports.

By the way, the Obama White House is one more lobbyist exception away from having to deal with a slew of hypocrisy stories regarding their pledge to ban lobbyists from key jobs. The latest lobbyist to land a key post: Tim Geithner's chief of staff. 

The Chicago Tribune writes up yesterday's action in the impeachment trial. Blagojevich's "voice resonated through the Illinois Senate at his impeachment trial Tuesday in the first tantalizing airing of the undercover recordings that triggered his arrest on federal corruption charges. But the snippets of bugged phone calls cut both ways for House prosecutors trying to boost their case for removing the governor by using his own words against him. Some senators said the recordings strengthened their resolve against the two-term Democrat, but several others said the meaning was ambiguous and left them with new doubts about the criminal charges at the heart of the impeachment effort."

The paper also covers the latest in Blago's media tour. "In a FOX radio interview, Blagojevich remained true to his style of comparing himself to iconic figures, likening his battles with the state legislators to the fights President Franklin D. Roosevelt had with Congress over helping England in World War II. Blagojevich acknowledged on MSNBC that he soon would have to 'find some employment,' but also compared himself to the 'hundreds of thousands of people across America who, unfortunately, are losing their jobs because this economy is so bad.' Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan lashed out at Blagojevich for 'making a mockery of the constitution' by failing to participate in his impeachment trial. She predicted that the governor could be out of office by Thursday."

The Washington Post writes, "With six candidates competing for the party's helm at the winter meetings this week, some committee members are determined to remove the current RNC chairman, Mike Duncan, who is seen as a candidate of the status quo at a time when they want to sever all ties to the former president. Duncan has held the office since 2007, when he ran unopposed after Bush chose him for the post."

More: "In a further sign that the group wants to signal its displeasure with Bush policies, members are expected to adopt an unprecedented resolution attacking 'the bloated bank bailout bill' that Bush championed and demanding that the committee 'take all steps necessary to oppose bailouts of industries, individuals or governments.' The resolution also calls for strong opposition to the stimulus plan before Congress, which it labels 'President-elect Obama's public-works program.'"

"On Day 2 of the trial over Coleman's lawsuit challenging the U.S. Senate recount, lawyers for him and for Democrat Al Franken questioned a half-dozen voters whose absentee ballots were rejected, a group that was generally sympathetic and indignant that their ballots had not been counted," the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. "Coleman is focusing his efforts on counting thousands of rejected absentee ballots in an effort to overcome the 225-vote Franken lead that was certified this month after the recount concluded."

COLORADO: The Hill profiles Colorado's Michael Bennet, who Republicans are still feeling out before running against him.

FLORIDA: "Florida state Sen. Dan Gelber officially entered the Democratic primary for Florida's open Senate seat on Tuesday, becoming the second candidate in what is expected to be a contentious primary… He joins Rep. Kendrick Meek on the Democratic side, while Reps. Ron Klein and Allen Boyd are still looking at the race." Possible Republicans: "Former state House Speaker Marco Rubio is expected to enter the race, but he has not made his plans official. Other potential GOP candidates include state Attorney General and past Senate nominee Bill McCollum, former state House Speaker Allan Bense, and Reps. Connie Mack and Vern Buchanan."

NEW YORK: "Republican Party leaders Tuesday tapped Assemblyman James Tedisco as their nominee in an upcoming special election to fill Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-N.Y.) vacated House seat."

A new Quinnipiac University poll "gave Bloomberg a comfortable 50-35 percent lead over [Rep. Anthony] Weiner, his fiercest Democratic rival, and a 50-34 percent edge over Comptroller Bill Thompson."

From NBC's Ken Strickland
President Obama surprised Capitol Hill reporters when he held a short impromptu gaggle after his meeting with Senate Republicans. He immediately lowered the bar -- lower than he had before the meeting -- for how much Republican support he expected from an economic recovery package.

"We're not going to get 100 percent agreement, and we might not even get 50 percent agreement," he said. "But I do think people appreciate me walking them through my thought process. I hope that I communicated a sincere desire to get good ideas from everybody."

Senate Republican Leaders respected Obama's efforts and, in turn, seemed reluctant to harshly criticize him or the meeting.

"I think everyone was very pleased with the level of candor, the desire to look for bipartisan solutions," said Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. "I know I'm speaking for every single member of our conference that we appreciated his coming up, and enjoyed the whole exchange."

Video: Politico.com's Jonathan Martin discusses Obama's major efforts to sway Republicans on the stimulus plan; one Republican has called him the "Charmer-in-Chief."

While House Republican leaders were definitive in their opposition to the proposal moving through their chamber, Senate Republicans held their fire. When asked directly if his caucus supports the stimulus package, McConnell said, "That's a question none of us need to answer, because the bill as it currently stands has not been seen by anybody yet."

McConnell said he was optimistic that when the bill comes to the floor, Republicans would be given a chance to change the legislation by offering amendments.

"We have a new Senate now, in which amendments are offered and voted on," he said, referring to the last Congress where Republicans were often blocked from the amendment process. "We'll see what [the bill] looks like when we get to the final voting."

Senate Republicans were also publicly quiet on the specifics of the meeting, only calling it "constructive" with "a very frank exchange of views." One attendee suggested he heard nothing new, nothing that hadn't already been reported.

But GOP leaders were quick to acknowledge their recommendations to the president. 

"Housing is something that's very much on the minds of our members," said Sen. John Thune, vice chairman of the Republican Conference. "And it's something that we think is fundamental to trying to get us out of this situation that we're in."

Sen. Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, suggested a 4% Treasury-backed mortgage "for every credit-worthy American," or a $15,000-dollar tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

"Among Republican senators there's more focus on housing and toxic assets and less enthusiasm for spending," Alexander said. "You heard many Republicans express concern about the amount of spending dollars we are borrowing, dollars we don't have on projects that don't create jobs."

President Obama's efforts at bipartisanship seem directed beyond the current stimulus package.

"My attitude is that this is the first major piece of legislation we've been working on and over time some of these habits of consultation and mutual respect will take over," Obama said. But he quickly added, "Old habits die hard."

From NBC's Libby Leist

Since President Obama's interview with Al Arabiya last night, State Department public diplomacy officials have been closely monitoring reaction in the Arab media -- TV, newspapers, radio and blogs -- to get a sense for how the interview is playing.

The State Department is busy preparing a report for the White House on what they've observed and, so far, the reaction has been a very positive one.

In reviewing Arab media commentary, officials say, two messages seem to have resonated: Obama's focus on listening and not dictating U.S. policy and his emphasis on the fact that he has lived in the Muslim world and has Muslim family members.

"I think that his mention of his familiarity with the Muslim world and respect for Islam was taken very well," one official, who served under the Bush administration and now Obama, told NBC News. "That got a lot of positive commentary."

He added, "There's long been a belief that the U.S. was opposed to Islam."

The official was careful to note, however, that despite the positive reaction to Obama's overture, there was also a "wait-and-see" attitude about the direction of U.S. policies in the region, specifically on the Arab-Israeli issue.

Also interesting, Al Arabiya's Arab satellite rival Al Jazeera has been low key about the interview, mostly out of competitive reasons. They've barely mentioned it, the official said.

In addition to a close review of news and blog sites, U.S. Embassies in the region have today been informally surveying the public for reaction, officials say.

A State Department official read to NBC News a few of the emails coming in from posts abroad.

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo reports: "We are getting overwhelmingly positive feedback from bloggers and contacts in country. Their main points are that they were highly impressed..." that he gave his first TV interview to an Arab satellite channel.

In Saudi Arabia, a newspaper editor told the embassy, "The reader reaction that he's getting so far is astonishingly positive."

In the United Arab Emirates, the embassy said, "Anecdotal public reaction has been highly positive."

In Bahrain, one newspaper normally critical of U.S. policies commented favorably on the appointment of George Mitchell as special envoy.

Important to note: Obama's interview aired too late in the Middle East for many newspaper deadlines. So tomorrow's reaction will be closely monitored as well, especially in places like Iran and Syria, arch enemies of the U.S. under the Bush Administration.

From NBC's Abby Livingston
Despite news organizations coming out with surveys showing his chances are slim, Chip Saltsman said in an interview today with MSNBC's Contessa Brewer that he thinks he is on the road to becoming the next chairman of the Republican National Committee. And if he doesn't, he blames the media.

The interview began with Saltsman being asked if he had a chance on Friday, he answered, "I do. I think we'll be competitive on Friday. We have not been running the same campaign as some of the other folks, rolling out endorsements. That's not been our strategy from the very beginning. We've got enough support to get on the ballot on Friday. I think we're going to surprise a few people Friday at the election."

(Although, there is a section of Saltsman's Web site labeled "endorsements.")

Saltsman, who has previously worked for Mike Huckabee and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, hit troubled waters in his campaign for chair in December, when he distributed a CD that included a song previously played on Rush Limbaugh called, "Barack the Magic Negro." At least one RNC voter has cited that CD as a reason for not supporting Saltsman.

Video: GOP chair nominee Chip Saltsman defends his Christmas mailing of the "Barack the Magic Negro" song.

He told Brewer, "It was -- it was a parody Christmas gift, and I sent it out without even thinking about what was on it… Obviously, when you do something like that, you don't want to offend a lot of people when you do. That's something you don't want to do. And, you know, hopefully that we'll move on, talk about the future of the party."

He then blamed the press for the issue: "I think it highlighted a couple of things -- one, that we're definitely not playing on a level playing ground with the media on that issue."

He then cited a Los Angeles Times column as the source of the phrase, and wondered why the blowback had not also hit the author of the piece.

"I mean, there was no outrage when the L.A. Times article coined that phrase," Saltsman said. He followed up, asking, "Contessa, I'm asking you, were you outraged when you read the article in the L.A. Times a year and a half ago?"

An interesting point, but that author isn't running for RNC chair.

From NBC's Athena Jones and Domenico Montanaro
Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill, a Ph.D. in education, who has been teaching at the community college level in Delaware and wanted to continue doing so in the Washington area, has picked a school.

The vice president's office said Jill Biden will teach two English courses as an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va.

"I am thrilled to return to the classroom to continue working with community college students, whom I greatly admire and enjoy teaching," Jill Biden said in a statement. "I have always believed in the power of community colleges to endow students with critical life skills, and I am pleased that I can make a difference by doing what I love to do, teaching people who are excited to learn."

From NBC's Pete Williams

Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who is the ranking minority member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said today he'll support Eric Holder when the committee votes on the nomination Wednesday.

Committee Republicans had asked to have the vote delayed a week to further examine Holder's record and to seek written answers to other questions. Sen. Specter himself appeared highly skeptical during a confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Video: Attorney General nominee Eric Holder answers questions from Sen. Arlen Specter about his involvement in the Marc Rich pardon issued by President Clinton.

But Specter said, despite what he views as Holder's mistakes in handling pardons and other issues, Holder "is entitled to the benefit of the doubt in the context of his excellent record."  Specter said he was also impressed by enthusiastic endorsements from Louis Freeh, the former FBI director, and from James Comey, a former deputy attorney general under President George H.W. Bush.

His questions about Holder, Specter said, concerned matters of judgment. 

"At no time did I question his integrity," he said. 

By contrast, Specter added, he voted against the nomination of Timothy Geithner for Treasury Secretary, because it appeared Geitner intentionally avoided paying taxes. 

Specter said he believes Holder will receive "significant" Republican backing but declined to predict the outcome. With the new Senate composition, the Judiciary Committee is now 11 Democrats and eight Republicans. It was was a 10-9 Democratic majority in the last Congress. 

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

The 10 or so House Republicans that we spoke with coming out of their meeting with the president were uniformly impressed with him as a person and a speaker, but that's as far as it goes.

"No blood drawn, no minds changed," said one southern conservative who went on to praise Obama as "a nice guy." At the mics later, John Boehner allowed that the president is "sincere."

Another Texas conservative admiringly referred to the president as "The Charmer-in-Chief," as well as "personable" and "funny." But when asked if any minds were changed on the bill, he and a colleague together laughed and, without saying anything more, got on the elevator.

I spoke with Rep. Jim Gerlach, he of the 59% Obama district in Pennsylvania who has been invited, along with other "Tuesday Group" GOP moderates, to meet this evening at 6:30 at the White House with Rahm Emanuel. But he says he is voting against the House bill tomorrow, schmoozing or no schmoozing.

Rep. Peter Roskam is said to have gotten into a friendly back and forth with Obama over the funding for repairing the National Mall. The two know each other from their days together in the Illinois legislature. Roskam told the president, according to a GOP aide, that he won by rising above "Republicans" and Democrats," but that House Democrats are not living up to the Obama standard. They have written a bill that spends more on re-sodding the Mall than small business tax relief.

Bottom line, the differences are both ideological and political. The House GOP, fresh off big losses in two cycles and trying to reestablish their fiscal conservative bona fides, isn't going to vote in large numbers for an $825 billion big-government measure that includes measures like the EITC, provisions that essentially give tax breaks to people who don't pay taxes, in their view.

So...

From NBC's Chuck Todd and Lisa Myers
WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department pressured Citigroup yesterday to abandon plans to buy a new corporate jet, an Obama administration official said.

Citigroup got the message and said in a statement this morning "we have no intent to take delivery of any new aircraft."

The company came under criticism for its plans for a new plane because it has received federal bailout money.

Several lawmakers have expressed concern about how banks have been spending the money the government has provided to help them through the current credit crunch and Pres. Obama himself has called for a better accounting of the federal money being provided to struggling companies.

From NBC's Pete Williams and Antoine Sanfuentes

Sources familiar with the conversation say Vice President Joe Biden telephoned Chief Justice John Roberts last week to apologize for a remark he made about the chief's memory.

"My memory is not as good as Chief Justice Roberts's," Biden said last Wednesday, as he prepared to administer the oath of office to new senior White House staffers. The remark did not appear to go over well with President Obama, who did not smile, though some in the room laughed. Biden's remark came the day after the infamous flub that occurred as Roberts led Obama through the oath of office.

A spokesman for the vice president confirms that Biden called Roberts after making the remark. 

"They had a good conversation," the spokesperson said.

A Supreme Court official declined to comment.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

This is a sort of a live blog from a member and aide inside the room with President Obama, via e-mail:

---
Obama speaking now.... Talking about how bad the economy is and that it is deteriorating rapidly
Mentioned caterpillar and Microsoft having to layoff workers.
Says Stimulus is just one leg in multi leg stool to get economy going.
Must get credit lines moving
Must clean out troubled assets
Restore confidence to lenders
Deal with housing market more aggressively.
This is just the first step.
Says would love to not spend this money
Has no interest in increasing government just to increase the size of government.
But he talked to many economists who told him almost uniformly that they needed to get a stim bill up and running asap to avoid huge unemployment------------
So... We put together a package with direct spending and tax cuts.
Mentioned martin Feldstein.
Spending has a more simulative [sic] affect than tax credits.
For every dollar of direct spending, we get 1.5 dollars of stimulus
For every dollar of tax cuts, we get 75 cents of stimulus
We have included NOL and small business provisions.
Obama wrapping up now. Some spending will not get done within the two year timeframe.
Closing with a budget that makes some very tough choices.. Everyone will have to take a haircut. Doesn't want to create programs that will last forever.
No pride of authorship...a good idea is a good idea. Honest effort to deal with a tough problem.

---
First q from dave camp.
First meeting with house dems was the markup.
Can we find some more common ground on tax relief.

---
(responding to Camp) Obama says tax relief for some working families must come from payroll so even families who don't pay income taxes get relief and they will spend it.
He said "feel free to whack me over the head because I probably will not compromise on that part.
Obama said that there will be time to beat him up and a time for politics. He said I understand that and I will watch you on fox news and feel bad about myself.
Question 2--Roskam asked about grass on the mall vs. $41 million for small business.
Obama said if we can do more small business tax relief, we should do it, but I am just as concerned about the long term impact of tax cuts as I am about spending.
Obama says (kind of joking and getting laughs) that the national mall is kind of important.

---
Third q from Stearns is about dTV transition We are ready to go on the transition so why are we delaying? Please reconsider.

Obama: I have no ideological problem, but I have been told that a lot of people's TVs will go dark. He said people like TV's to work. He wants the transition to work as fast as is possible.

*** UPDATE *** MORE...
---
Brady (TX): can you assure us that this stimulus will not be an excuse to raise taxes and have wasteful spending (applause)

Obama: spending can sometimes be like closing the barn door after the horse has already left. This recession is different, deeper, and global.

Nobody is more worried about the deficit and the debt than me. I will be judged by the legacy I have left behind. I don't want to leave our children with a legacy of debt. I am inheriting an annual yearly debt of over 1 trillion

At the pace we are going, we are doing irreparable damage to our economy. We are going to have to make some very painful choices. We will present a budget with a realistic approach to eliminate debt, and bring down spending.

From NBC's Norah O'Donnell

In a sign Sarah Palin wants to continue to be a player on the national political stage, the Alaska Governor has started a new political action committee to raise funds, SarahPAC.

The PAC is registered in Virginia and is modeled after HillPAC, Hillary Clinton's former political committee. Palin's committee allows her to raise money for other Republicans.

According to the Web site, the committee will also support Palin's "plans to build a better, stronger, and safer America in the 21st century."

Palin continues to have a huge political following. As of noon today, she has 464,000 friends on Facebook.com.

From NBC's Andrea Mitchell and Libby Leist
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fleshed out today how the Obama administration plans to approach Iran.

"There is a clear opportunity for the Iranians as the President expressed in his interview to demonstrate some willingness to engage meaningfully with the international community," Clinton said. "Whether or not that hand becomes less clenched is really up to them. But as we look at the opportunities available to us, we're going to have a very broad survey of what we think we can do."

She added that whether the U.S. hand is extended is "really up to them [the Iranian leadership]."

In his first television interview from the White House last night, notably to the Arab network Al Arabiya, Obama made a similar appeal to Iran.

"I do think that it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran to express very clearly where our differences are," the president said, "but where there are potential avenues for progress. …And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us."

Also yesterday at the U.N., U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice made some waves by saying, "We look forward to engaging in vigorous diplomacy that includes direct diplomacy with Iran."

Asked about Rice's comments today, Clinton said Rice was reiterating what Obama had said on the campaign trail and that nobody should be surprised about the administration's willingness to reach out to Iran.

On the Middle East, Clinton expressed concern about today's breach of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. George Mitchell arrived in Cairo today, and Clinton stressed that he is there to listen and will report back to her and the president.

On China, Clinton stressed the importance of working with China on a "comprehensive" strategy during the economic crisis, seeming to take a step back from the more confrontational approach that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner took in written responses to the Senate Finance Committee last week.

Geithner suggested concerns about China's currency manipulation, concerns that if carried out could eventually lead to sanctions. His remarks were viewed in China as a big departure from previous U.S. policy.

Clinton told reporters that in her calls with foreign leaders so far, "there is a great exhalation of breath" around the world now that Obama is in the White House. But when pressed, she said that was not meant to be a "repudiation or indictment" of the Bush years.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

The 10 or so House Republicans that we spoke with coming out of their meeting with the president were uniformly impressed with him as a person and a speaker, but that's as far as it goes.

"No blood drawn, no minds changed," said one southern conservative who went on to praise Obama as "a nice guy." At the mics later, John Boehner allowed that the president is "sincere."

Video: A controversial provision that would allocate money for contraceptives is pulled from the proposed economic stimulus package. Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson discusses with MSNBC's David Shuster.

Another Texas conservative admiringly referred to the president as "The Charmer-in-Chief," as well as "personable" and "funny." But when asked if any minds were changed on the bill, he and a colleague together laughed and, without saying anything more, got on the elevator.The provision within the stimulus that would allocate money for contraceptive programs through Medicaid will be pulled out of the package.

NBC News confirms that the president called Henry Waxman, the chairman of the committee that inserted the contraception provision into the stimulus during the mark up last week, to ask him to remove the measure from the bill, according to a Democratic leadership source.

In short, the idea has simply become too controversial. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's defense of the program over the weekend, where she indicated that it would be a money saver, was not well received.

So that provision is out.

Complicating matters, both Minority Leader John Boehner and No. 2 Eric Cantor have told House Republicans that "all Republicans should vote against the stimulus" if it remains "in its current form," according to a GOP leadership aide.

They spoke inside their weekly conference meeting, behind closed doors. Afterward, both men came to the on camera stake out. The House will begin debate on the stimulus package late today, with no votes expected until tomorrow. Debate is expected to begin somewhere close to 5 p.m. ET.

The way your U.S. House works is that anyone who wants to offer an amendment to be considered on the floor has to go to a committee, the Rules Committee, beforehand.

The Rules Committee is a complete and utter tool of the majority leadership. It decides which amendments will be allowed on the floor for consideration. The minority is habitually unhappy with the result, as their measures, especially the ones that have a chance of passage or contain some political mischief or "poison pill" language, are barred. The Rules committee meets this afternoon to make its decisions.

"I think what our big moves will be today are to ask the President to help us," Boehner said. "Help us make this plan better, so that it will put Americans back to work. The goal has been to preserve jobs and to create new jobs and if that is the laser focus that we want to have, a lot of the spending in this bill does not achieve that. All it does is burden our kids and their kids with more debt. So we need the president's help to make this plan better so it will work for the American people."

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Doug Adams adds that in the House version of the stimulus bill is a provision that would allow states, thru Medicaid, to provide "family planning services and supplies" to low income women. States have been able to do this already (27 already do), but they had to seek a waiver from the federal government. The provision would have eliminated the waiver requirement. 

The CBO report out today estimates the cost of this provision would be about $550 million over the next 10 years, with most of the costs coming up front in the first three years.

Republicans have riduculed the provision, with Boehner famously asking last week, "How can you spend millions on contaceptives? How does that stimulate the economy?"

Rush Limbaugh had a long tirade yesterday on this subject on his radio show; and Drudge has also given it big play. 

Pelosi defended the provision Sunday on ABC, saying the family planning services would "reduce costs," presumably by decreasing unplanned pregnancies.

The issue is a winner for Republicans, because it helps them to rally their base, and allows them to portray Democrats as liberals (not to mention Pelosi as a Bay Area far lefty). 

Given all the bad press, and the bad politics, House Democrats decided today to reverse course, and strip it from the stimulus bill.

*** UPDATE 2 *** The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association takes issue with the post pointing out the cost.

A spokeswoman writes: "It's our understanding that this provision would continue to SAVE money, just as public funds for family planning usually do. The 2007 report pegged federal government savings at $200 million over 5 years and $400 million over 10 years, in addition to savings at the state level."

Here's the link to the CBO estimate (Page 16 for the Medicaid family planning provision).

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Seeking bipartisanship: Since winning November's presidential election, Obama has named two Republicans (Bob Gates and Ray LaHood) to serve in his cabinet, met with John McCain and attended a dinner in his honor, and listened to GOP ideas on the stimulus. Today, he makes an additional effort to extend a hand to Republicans when he travels up to Capitol Hill. According to NBC's Mike Viqueira, Obama will meet with House Republicans at 12:15 pm ET, and then with Senate GOPers at 1:25 pm. Another sign of compromise: As part of the stimulus, the White House has apparently agreed to fix the Alternative Minimum Tax, which would cost an estimated $70 billion, boosting the total current cost of the stimulus to nearly $900 billion. But Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell hinted on TODAY that agreement to this idea -- pushed by Senate Finance Committee ranking Republican Chuck Grassley -- isn't enough. Will the president acquiesce on anything else? Does he need to? By agreeing to include a few Republican ideas, the White House may have the talking points they want. If they don't get the bipartisan support they would like, then expect to hear the spin from the West Wing along the lines of, "It was a plan with bipartisan input," or something to that effect. By the way, Obama and the Democrats got a more complete study from the CBO, which now gives them more leverage in the stimulus impact debate after an initial CBO report was being used by the GOP to hammer away at the Democrats.

Video: Obama heads to Capitol Hill seeking to convince Republicans to get behind his $825 billion stimulus package.

*** How will Republicans respond? Of course, bipartisanship is a two-way street. The Los Angeles Times gets right to the conundrum congressional GOPers are facing. "For Republicans, the economic debate is the first test of how they will play the weak political hand they were dealt by the 2008 elections. They have proven willing to oppose Obama's stimulus plan so far, but some Republicans worry about the risk of confronting a popular president during an economic crisis, when their party's power is lower than it has been in more than a decade." Just what does the GOP do? This is a big week for the party, as it selects a new leader on Friday. It does seem as if McConnell wants to work more with Obama than House Leader Boehner. Of course, this simply could be the reality where Boehner has a more conservative caucus he's leading in the House than McConnell's leading in the Senate. McConnell knows he'll have Republicans vote for Obama's stimulus; it's possible Boehner won't have that many. Imagine this scenario: More Senate Republicans vote for Obama's stimulus package than House Republicans. Possible? More likely than you think, given the ideological makeup of both caucuses. Also worth noting, Rahm Emanuel has a dinner with some moderate House Republicans tonight.

Video: TODAY's Meredith Vieira talks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell about Obama's stimulus package.

*** A strong signal: In his inaugural address, Obama pledged to reach out to the Middle East. He sent another strong signal by 1) sending special envoy George Mitchell to the region and 2) giving his first TV interview from the White House not to American TV network -- but to the Arab news channel Al Arabiya. Obama made little news in the interview, but its symbolism was the news in and of itself. "I think the most important thing is for the United States to get engaged right away," Obama said. "And George Mitchell is somebody of enormous stature. He is one of the few people who have international experience brokering peace deals." More: "Ultimately, we cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what's best for them. They're going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people. And that instead, it's time to return to the negotiating table."

*** Rangel back in the news: Is this a sign of things to come for Rangel? Per The Hill, "Peter Welch (Vt.), a new Democratic member of the House ethics committee, gave back nearly $20,000 in donations he received from Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who is under investigation by the panel for an array of ethics charges."

*** RNC Chair race update: Hotline yesterday released its survey of the 168 RNC members who will choose the next chairman of the Republican Party. Current chair Mike Duncan leads with 25 committed supporters, followed by former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele with 17, South Carolina Party chair Katon Dawson with 12, Michigan chair Saul Anuzis with 11, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell with 10, and ex-Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman with no solid votes. The Web site 'YourRNC.com has it Duncan 35, Dawson 19, Steele 18, Anuzis 15, Blackwell 13, and Saltsman 0. First Read has been working on our own count over the past couple of weeks, and we'll release our tally tomorrow.

*** Slow and Tedious: If yesterday was any guide, the recount trial in Minnesota -- which could last for weeks -- seems about as much fun as watching paint dry. Per the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "The trial to determine Minnesota's disputed U.S. Senate election got off to a slow start Monday -- and then bogged down. The trouble came over testimony that workers for Republican Norm Coleman's campaign had marked or obscured copies of some absentee ballot envelopes offered as evidence. The acknowledgment provoked confusion and prompted the judges to demand the original documents… That turn promised to prolong a trial that Coleman lawyer Joe Friedberg predicted in his opening statement would be 'extremely tedious' and involve the examination of 5,000 ballots, one at a time." 

Countdown to RNC winter meeting: 1 day
Countdown to NJ GOP primary: 126 days
Countdown to VA Dem primary: 133 days
Countdown to Election Day 2009: 280 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 644 days

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The Hill previews Obama's trip to Capitol Hill today. "President Obama will meet with skeptical House and Senate Republicans on Tuesday as he seeks to prevent partisanship from boiling over on the economic stimulus bill while GOP lawmakers lobby for major changes to the measure that is moving quickly through Congress."

This doesn't bode well for a bipartisan stimulus plan: "But Republicans said Obama will have to do more than flatter them by agreeing to appear at their luncheons today, even as they give him credit for trying to change the overtly partisan tone that has gripped Washington for two decades," Roll Call reports. 'Unless he's prepared to walk over to [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid's [D-Nev.] and [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi's [D-Calif.] offices and tell them to reset their priorities on this stimulus bill, I think the reality of bipartisanship on this bill is going to be hard to achieve,' one Senate GOP leadership aide said."

What does Obama want out of this meeting with the GOP? "The goal is to seek their input. He wants to hear their ideas," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, per the AP. "If there are good ideas -- and I think he assumes there will be -- we will look at those ideas… I think the president is genuinely serious about this."

In one sign of bipartisanship, according to the New York Post, say goodbye to that "contraceptives" line that Minority Leader John Boehner's been peddling. "House Democrats seem likely to drop family-planning funds for Medicaid recipients from the $825 billion economic stimulus bill after an appeal from President Obama, who is trying to woo Republican critics of the legislation."

Live by the CBO, die by it? After the GOP used a CBO analysis to rake Obama's stimulus package over the coals, the Democrats now have the same CBO to use via a new study showing 65% of the $825 billion stimulus will end up in the economy by 2010.

Going into his meeting with Cong. GOPers today, there's nothing like the Democratic president having a Weekly Standard column to point to as proof his stimulus plan isn't old-school Democratic orthodoxy.  "Obama might have it wrong, just as many of his critics say Franklin Roosevelt had it wrong. But nitpicking around the edges of this recovery program won't be enough either to derail or to lay the basis for a "we told you so" campaign in 2010 or 2012. That will take a coherent counter-proposal."

Speaking of FDR, the New York Times writes that FDR's response to the Great Depression in the '30s and '40s offers a cautionary tale for Obama. "Roosevelt had his triumphs. He stemmed panic and stabilized the banking system with a combination of deposit insurance, government investment in banks, restrictions on banking practices and his 'fireside chat' radio addresses, which repeatedly steadied the national mood and bought Roosevelt time to make changes."

"Still, even after the government assistance, the surviving banks were shaken and lending remained anemic -- much as the nation's banks today are reluctant to make loans again, despite receiving more than $300 billion of taxpayers' money in Round 1 of the federal banking bailout. So, throughout the 1930s, economic recovery remained frustratingly elusive and arrived only with the buildup for World War II in the 1940s."

Per the Wall Street Journal, yesterday's White House announcement on fuel standards kicked off "the first round of what promises to be a lengthy fight between major industries and his administration over how to combat global warming. His announcement drew cheers from California's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many environmental groups whose members strongly backed Mr. Obama's election. But it also drew condemnation from congressional Republicans, who said it would allow the Golden State effectively to set fuel-efficiency standards for much of the country. And some Rust Belt Democrats also expressed disappointment, saying California's law would fall hardest on domestic auto makers, who sales mix is skewed toward pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles and minivans, which consume a lot of gasoline." 

The Washington Post says yesterday's White House action capped "a week of widespread changes aimed at reversing the legacy of George W. Bush. In his first seven days in office, Obama has banned the use of controversial CIA interrogation tactics, ordered the closure of the U.S. military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and begun planning for the drawdown of troops in Iraq. He also imposed stringent limits on lobbyists, unveiled an $825 billion stimulus plan, and ordered a halt to any last-minute rules and regulations put in place by his predecessor."