From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, who is also a physician, has just set into motion the reading of an entire 767-page amendment on the Senate floor.  Typically, "the reading" is waived, but Coburn objected, which is his right. 

Republican sources say this is an intentional use of the procedures to slow down the bill. Reading this amendment could, by GOP estimates, take until midnight.

Senior aides say, "If we need to lay down in traffic to stop the bill we would."

Republicans cite polling they say shows Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan is not popular among voters.

A Senate clerk is now reading the text aloud. This is an amendment to the healthcare bill designed to create a "single payer" alternative to health care. A single-payer option is favored by the most liberal wing of the Democratic Party but has never been considered politically viable. This amendment is offered by Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders. 

The clerks will rotate the reading duties.

Coburn released a statement on his action:

"I admire Senator Sanders for his willingness to fight for publically (sic) what many advocate only privately -- a single payer health care system funded and controlled by bureaucrats and politicians in Washington. Every American should listen to the reading of this amendment and pay careful attention to its vote tally."

The statement also notes that Coburn, along with Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Reps. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Devin Nunes (R-CA), introduced in May his own health-related bill: the Patients' Choice Act:

"The American people deserve to understand the competing approaches to reform in the U.S. Senate. It's unfortunate that Senator Reid waited until the last minute to introduce his bill and now wants to rush it through the Senate. This reading will provide a dose of transparency that has been lacking in this debate."

From NBC's Jay Barbree
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- President Barack Obama plans to meet with NASA chief Charles Bolden this morning to discuss the space agency's future -- a future most hope will get America out of Low Earth Orbit and on flexible spaceflights within our solar system.

If the two executives decide to stay NASA's current course, the agency will have rockets and spaceships capable of stopping a future asteroid threat to millions, flying to and beyond the moon and, partnered with Russia and China, place in low orbit solar flux reflectors for climate control.

The meeting is expected to be the first for Obama to chart NASA's course by the time his 2011 budget request is submitted to Congress in February.

From NBC's Savannah Guthrie and Domenico Montanaro
We noted this morning the news of Iran test-firing a missile.

The White House's has this hawkish response from National Security Council Spokesman Mike Hammer:

At a time when the international community has offered Iran opportunities to begin to build trust and confidence, Iran's missile tests only undermine Iran's claims of peaceful intentions. Such actions will increase the seriousness and resolve of the international community to hold Iran accountable for its continued defiance of its international obligations on its nuclear program.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Coming full circle: Now that the eventual Senate health-care bill won't contain anything resembling a public option -- even the Medicare "buy-in" compromise -- it's worth noting that we've now come full circle back to Max Baucus' Senate Finance bill. You might remember that legislation, which passed committee in October, didn't contain any kind of public option. But Senate Majority Harry Reid decided to insert a public option (with a state "opt out") in his bill, and then later retreated to offer the Medicare buy-in compromise. At the time, many observers (and most notably the White House) were convinced that the eventual legislation would end up looking more like Baucus' bill, simply due to the tough road to 60 votes. Was it a mistake for Reid to make a play for the public option? Given everything that has transpired, a senior Senate Democratic aide said the fight was worth having. "The caucus as a whole had to come to an understanding what was possible and what wasn't possible," the aide told First Read. "Would having a public option made it stronger? Yes. But that doesn't mean it isn't a strong bill." So this was about bringing along the liberal/progressive members...

*** Lieberman doing the dirty work? There is plenty of speculation about whether Joe Lieberman -- by opposing any kind of public option compromise -- was going at it alone or doing the dirty work for a few Senate Dem moderates. (After all, we're no longer talking about Blanche Lincoln, as Politico's Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith reminded us yesterday.) Whatever happened, Lieberman is now clearly on board. The biggest unknown right now is Ben Nelson (over abortion). Also, are we finally going to get that CBO score today? As for President Obama's remarks on health care yesterday, his tone seemed to be one of exasperated optimism -- if there is such a thing -- after sitting down with the Dem caucus. Most of his statement, including the shout-out to Tom Harkin, seemed designed to begin an attempt to calm the liberal wing of the party, which may tell us about the tone of the private meeting. 

*** How many times can you say 'no'? While all the attention is focused -- correctly -- on the tenuous Democratic coalition as the president and Senate Dems attempt to get health care passed, does the likelihood that the legislation WON'T include a public option OR a Medicare buy-in mean that some Senate Republicans are running out of reasons to oppose this bill? Isn't the legislation, as it potentially stands, something that Snowe and Collins should be able to support? What about Grassley? It may be that the politics of this and the bitterness that's descended inside the Senate prevent anyone from crossing party lines. But do Republicans risk looking totally like obstructionists if some of their bigger concerns about the bill are gone? Similarly, Republicans are criticizing the administration's decision to relocate Gitmo detainees -- to the president's backyard of Illinois (!!!). At some point, don't Republicans have to agree (or at least try to cut a deal) on something besides Afghanistan?

*** Can you govern if you're unwilling to play ball? Again, like what appears to be happening on health care, the White House took the sting out of the toughest part of the Gitmo decision (where to relocate the prisoners). Some will say we're being naïve -- that, of course, the GOP is making a political calculation. But will Republicans be able to sell the idea to the middle that they are ready to govern if they don't appear to want to play ball on an issue besides Afghanistan? Aren't they handing Obama the "obstructionist" message that benefited Bush and Clinton in their first terms?

*** Poll day! So how are Americans viewing the health-care fight? What are their thoughts about the military escalation in Afghanistan? And what are their impressions of Obama's nearly first full year in office? Be sure to tune into NBC Nightly News, or click on to MSNBC.com, beginning at 6:30 pm ET for the results from our new NBC/WSJ poll. Of course, we'll have some early numbers to report before then, so be sure to visit the site later this afternoon. By the way, a new Washington Post/ABC poll has some tough health-care numbers for the White House and congressional Democrats, as it finds "the public generally fearful that a revamped system would bring higher costs while worsening the quality of their care." A top Senate GOP aide reminds us of this Post headline from October: "Public option gains support; CLEAR MAJORITY NOW BACKS PLAN; Americans still divided on overall packages."

*** Lots of international news: International affairs share today's political spotlight. First, per Reuters, Iran "successfully test-fired a long-range, improved Sejil 2 missile, state television reported on Wednesday, an announcement likely to add to tension with the West."… The AP reports (and NBC's Savannah Guthrie confirms) that Obama wrote "a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as part of an intense effort to draw the reclusive nation back to nuclear disarmament talks." … Obama phoned Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to wish him a speedy recovery after suffering an attack that broke his nose and chipped his teeth… And tomorrow, Obama embarks to the climate change conference in Copenhagen.

*** Drum roll, please: Time magazine's Man of the Year is … Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, as was announced on TODAY this morning. Bernanke beat out others including Obama, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. This is the type of pick that will look smart in 25 years; it fits the moment in history well. Also, you think this will help Bernanke at his committee confirmation vote tomorrow?

*** Obama vs. George W. Bush: Yesterday, liberal blogger John Aravosis raised a provocative question: Why was George W. Bush seemingly more successful getting some his legislative priorities passed (the two tax cuts, the Medicare prescription-drug law, No Child Left Behind) than Obama has been, and with smaller GOP majorities in the Senate? While recognizing that Obama has been in office for just 11 months, and that the Medicare prescription-drug fight had nearly the amount of drama this current battle has, perhaps here's an answer to Aravosis: Democrats actually voted with the Republicans. After all, Ted Kennedy worked with Bush on No Child Left Behind, and numerous Dems backed the tax cuts. By nature, are some Democrats just more willing to want to cut a deal than their current GOP counterparts are? 

*** Programming note: MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," which airs at the 1:00 pm ET hour, will interview RNC Chairman Michael Steele, as well as Barney Frank and Jay Rockefeller.

*** 2012 watch: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) heads to Concord, N.H., today to speak at a fundraiser for state Senate Republicans at 5:30 pm ET. RealClear Politics curtain-raises Pawlenty's visit by wondering why so many more prospective 2012 candidates have traveled to Iowa but not to the Granite State. "Iowa, another early nominating state, has already seen a visit from Pawlenty, two from Mike Huckabee, and others even from dark horses like Rick Santorum, George Pataki and Mike Pence… The only other national political figure of note to visit New Hampshire this year was Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who attended a state party fundraiser in June." 

Countdown to MA Special Election: 34 days
Countdown to IL primary: 48 days
Countdown to TX primary: 76 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 321 days

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"Senate Democratic leaders abandoned the last vestige of a government health plan yesterday but pledged to move ahead on a sweeping health care overhaul, infuriating many liberals but pleasing President Obama, who said victory on his highest domestic priority was within sight," The Boston Globe writes. "Lawmakers, after getting another pep talk from Obama at the White House, said they would rather pass a weaker measure than go home empty-handed and miss a rare opportunity for a historic expansion of health care."

The Washington Post: "Liberals fumed over the abandonment of a government-run insurance option, but they did not defect, and as a final vote neared, strenuous efforts to win the support of even a single Republican seemed increasingly unlikely to succeed."

Roll Call adds, "One day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) dropped proposals to expand Medicare and implement a public insurance option from the health care package, most liberal Democrats supportive of those measures said they would still vote for the bill. Democrats stressed that the legislation included long-sought-after insurance reforms and said passing something this year would facilitate additions and improvements to the package in the future."

The Wall Street Journal reminds us that plenty of hurdles still remain. "Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) was pressing for tighter restrictions on insurance coverage of abortion procedures. The bill already includes provisions intended to limit the use of federal funds for abortion. But a spokesman for the antiabortion Democrat said that if the bill's language wasn't tightened further, the senator would not support efforts by Democratic leaders to close off debate and move to final passage. Also, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was scrubbing the latest version of the bill to determine its overall cost, an issue crucial for Democratic moderates." 

"In a headlong rush to leave town for the year, the House is trying to clear its plate of legislation to finance the military, help the jobless and permit the government to run up more debt," the AP writes. "Democratic leaders also are touting a new $154 billion measure combining help for state and local governments and the unemployed with nearly $50 billion in spending on highways, housing and school repair as part of a year-end plan to create jobs. That measure was scheduled for a vote along with the other issues Wednesday, though the Senate won't act this year."

USA Today looks at the "tri-partisan" group of senators trying to combat climate change: John Kerry (D), Lindsey Graham (R), and Joe Lieberman (I). "The three are touting their alliance as proof that Congress is prepared to approve significant reductions in carbon emissions. Suspicions about U.S. intentions surfaced Tuesday at the United Nations global climate conference in Copenhagen, as China's representatives accused their U.S. counterparts and other developed nations of not going far enough to help poor nations." 

Roll Call looks at Chuck Schumer's under-the-radar stewardship of immigration reform. Schumer is "quietly trying to build a bipartisan coalition for a measure that could actually be approved next year. Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat as vice chairman of the Conference, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have worked for months to reach an agreement on the controversial issue, and aides say just a few issues remain before the duo offers "conceptual language" for their bill. The package could be released as soon as January and taken up in the Judiciary Committee soon thereafter."

"Congressional Republicans expressed outrage Tuesday over President Barack Obama's plan to transfer detainees from the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, prison facility to Thomson, Ill., and warned that Democrats in the House and Senate will pay a stiff price if they agree to the proposal… National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) said that the prisoner transfer plan, which is sure to play heavily into Illinois' open-seat Senate election, would also hurt Democrats running in other parts of the country. Cornyn warned the proposal 'enhances a stereotype of Democrats being soft on national security,' which Democrats such as Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) will have to address during their campaigns." 
 
(Yet the plan has the support of the governor of Illinois, its senators, most of the congressional delegation, and the Illinois town. On top of that, it's in the president's home state.)

The Wall Street Journal says that Obama "used the backdrop of a suburban Virginia Home Depot Tuesday to press his plans for job creation, the third event in four days in which the president has tried to show his concern for economic woes on Main Street. But political realities are clouding Mr. Obama's efforts. On Tuesday, House Democratic leaders unveiled a $75 billion job-creation package that doesn't include the two new ideas the president proposed last week: tax rebates for home energy-efficiency renovations -- dubbed 'cash for caulkers' -- and tax credits for small businesses that hire new employees."

Also: "A presidential push to loosen lending to small business has been weakened by the big banks' repayment of federal bailout money to get out from under government control. And looming over all of Mr. Obama's efforts on the jobs front is an annual budget deficit running at a projected $1.4 trillion that White House aides promise to address in the fiscal 2011 budget release in February."

"President Barack Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as part of an intense effort to draw the reclusive nation back to nuclear disarmament talks, a senior State Department official said Tuesday," AP writes. "The letter was delivered to North Korean officials last week by Obama's special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, during a visit to Pyongyang aimed at restarting the stalled negotiations, the official said."

GOP WATCH: Granite State of Mind
RealClear takes a look at Tim Pawlenty's trip to New Hampshire tonight for a Republican Party fundraiser. It is "among the first by any would-be candidate this year, even if it is more than two years until the first-in-the-nation primary." So why have more candidates visited Iowa so far than the Granite State.

"Likely more of a factor is format of the contests themselves, as well as the profile of the electorate in each," RealClear writes. "Iowa's caucuses are more likely to be dominated by conservative activists with an emphasis on social issues. New Hampshire, where fiscal issues tend to be paramount, has an open primary includes a significant independent bloc. And since Democrats will likely have just a token primary in 2012, moderate and even liberal-leaning independents will have a significant voice in that primary."

The DCCC is running radio ads in six districts, hitting Republican members for voting against the financial regulations bill. The targets: Dan Lungren (CA-3), Mary Bono Mack (CA-45), Lee Terry (NE-02), Charlie Dent (PA-15), and Joe "You Lie" Wilson (SC-02).

The DNC, meanwhile, has released this Web video. http://bit.ly/4HgOBw
 
CONNECTICUT: In an interview with Princeton University's newspaper, Ralph Nader (an alum of the Ivy League college) says he is considering a run for Chris Dodd's Senate seat.  
 
FLORIDA: Rep. Alan Grayson (D) says he'll vote against Afghan war funding.

ILLINOIS: "Rep. Bobby Rush claims that the 'white-dominated' media are ignoring an African-American candidate running for President Obama's old Senate seat. In an interview with The Hill, Rush also said the black community in Illinois is worried that Sen. Roland Burris's (D-Ill.) retirement will leave the chamber without an African-American member. 'When Roland retires, then there is the possibility again we will turn back to an all-white Senate. There's something wrong with that.'" 
 
Cheryle Jackson, who is backed by EMILY'S list, is African American and running in the primary for Obama's Senate seat against state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, the presumed front runner. A recent Chicago Tribune poll showed Giannoulias with a 31%-17% lead over Jackson. Jackson was, in part, a former Rod Blagojevich spokesperson. Rush leapt to the defense of Blagojevich in a wild press conference that saw the disgraced former governor quote Rudyard Kipling and have a handicapped constituent on stage. 

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson asks whether Mark Kirk is "the most electable guy the Illinois GOP can put up in 2010," listing some un-conservative votes the candidate has made in Congress, like those against the Defense of Marriage Act and the Iraq war strategy. While the consensus among Washington conservatives, Erickson notes, is that Kirk's conservative primary opponent Patrick Hughes can't win in the general election, Erickson suggests they "take one more look at Hughes before getting into bed with a man they all admit will knife them in the chest with a smile once he gets to D.C." 
 
MASSACHUSETTS: The two nominees for the special Senate election are debating debates. The Boston Globe reports that state Sen. Scott Brown (R) has already accepted invitations to seven debates, while Attorney General Martha Coakley has declined so far to participate in any debate that doesn't include independent candidate Joseph L. Kennedy, not related to the famous Kennedy clan. 

NEVADA: Writing at Politico, Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher writes that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is "an easy scapegoat," especially for incumbents in shaky districts like Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV). Hamsher writes that Lieberman's opposition to a compromise on a public insurance option and Medicare buy-in "is the answer to everyone's prayers. Reid has to worry about a 38 percent approval rating that leaves him 10 points behind any Republican in Nevada with a pulse, and Obama's numbers are slipping below the magic 50 percent mark. So someone has to take the hit for delivering a massively unpopular bill."

From NBC's Kelly Paice
As Congress scurries to get health care passed by the end of the year, conservative bloggers claim that Democratic Party leadership is losing its grip on the substance of the bill and are criticizing Democrats for not caring what gets passed as long as something gets passed.

Weekly Standard's Matthew Continetti writes, "After causing Senate Democrats reportedly to drop the public option and the Medicare buy-in, Sen. [Joe] Lieberman released a statement today saying he senses that 'we are now taking significant steps forward to obtain 60 votes on the Senate floor.'" Continetti sums it up: "Lieberman and Ben Nelson likely will dictate the terms of a new deal."

Erick Erickson opens a his blog on RedState with a cautionary note: "Don't believe everything you hear. The Senate Democrats are not on the verge of a collapse. They are on the verge of compromising every single thing they want just so they can get a 'health care reform' bill passed." Erickson gives the inside scoop on what he's hearing about health care on the Hill: "The Democrats have given Joe Lieberman everything he wanted. Joe will now vote for the bill. Ben Nelson (D-NE) is being threatened with having every major military installation in Nebraska shut down. ... Lastly, the CBO scoring of the bill is going to look fine now that the Medicare affecting portions are going to be dropped." Erickson concludes that with this health care push, President Obama and Democrats "want to be seen as doing something and beating the Republicans -- with what, they don't care."

National Review Online's Rich Lowry also gives his take today on "the Democrats' rush on health care." Lowry recognizes that if health care reform is passed, "[i]t'd be the first time Congress had passed a major new entitlement program without bipartisan support; it'd be the first time it passed such a program without popular support; and the first time it passed such a program without knowing or particularly caring what's in it." Lowry particularly points to Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) handling of the situation, calling the senator's bipartisanship style that of "nontransparency for everyone" -- particularly regarding "the highly touted backroom deal that Reid sent to the Congressional Budget Office for evaluation." Lowry concludes, "Every day, every hour matters in the now-or-never calculus of Democrats who already feel their moment slipping agonizingly away."

Dan Perrin writes on RedState today that in one of their last-ditch efforts to get health care passed before the end of the year, "The White House and Democratic Leadership in the Senate has...offered Senator [Ben] Nelson between $300 million to $500 million in earmarks, according to key hill health care operatives. These hundreds of millions will be available for whatever he wants to spend them on in Nebraska." Will the senator grab for the cash? Whether or not, Perrin says, "The Dem leadership could still win without Nelson, if they got Snowe since there is no public option, or they could cave to Nelson like they did to with Lieberman, and like the Speaker did with Stupak, and add in the abortion restrictions, but this would tempt fate since their liberal base would have to swallow both no public option and abortion restrictions." Perrin sums up the Senate's position right now: "It's all about Nelson now, plain and simple. Will he do what his constituents want and kill the bill, or will he take the cash?"

In another health care post, NRO's Rich Lowry writes, "It's been strange how the public option has been so radioactive throughout the health-care debate when it's not particularly unpopular compared to other provisions of the bill. This is where I think Lieberman's otherwise obnoxiously over-the-top critics have a point -- he's opposed to the public option partly on grounds it'll add to the deficit, when it's really the rest of the bill that he supports that adds to the deficit. Will a Democrat ever pop up and say he's not going to vote for the thing because of the truly politically poisonous provisions, the tax hikes and Medicare cuts? And object to the essential fiscal dishonesty of the entire endeavor? That's the dog that hasn't barked here."

From NBC's Ali Weinberg
Liberal bloggers and left-leaning writers have plenty of criticism for Democratic leadership on health care reform -- heaping most of it on Connecticut independent Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman, who yesterday announced he would not support an expansion of Medicare that would allow people ages 55 to 65 to buy in to the government coverage provider -- although he supported such legislation while campaigning as Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential election. Some criticism, however, is saved for President Obama. 

AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay writes of Lieberman's effect on health care reform: "[Liberal senators] learned a tough lesson this week: They don't matter to the White House. Lieberman does." Sudbay also comments on the Senate bill's inability to control costs without provisions like the House's public option. "Democratic leaders are going to have to explain how forcing a mandate on people to buy private health insurance, without controlling the insurance industry, makes sense. That concept might appeal to Joe Lieberman, but it doesn't sit well with everyone else." 

Posting on Daily Kos, Steve Singiser--with perhaps a drop of irony--recommends Senate Democrats write Republican leaders John Boehner and Mitch McConnell a "thank you card" for "crafting health care legislation that will, ultimately, please no one. The Democratic base is going to voice strong objections, because instead of taking bold steps in the face of a health care crisis, you allowed a guy that spent 2008 campaigning for a Republican presidential nominee to have unilateral veto power over the legislation (the optics of that aspect of this story could not possibly be worse). Good luck getting that base to the polls in 2010."

Politico's Ben Smith posts, in its entirety, Lieberman's latest written statement, which "aims at  repositioning himself as a man of principle, after a day of liberal blogs and mainstream media interpreting his balking as an act of pure petulance." In the statement, Lieberman distinguishes the 2000 political and economic environment, in which he supported a Medicare buy-in, from today's atmosphere, in which he believes the compromise would be untenable:  "[T]he Medicare buy-in proposal was part of the Gore/Lieberman platform in 2000, but in 2000 our nation's budget was balanced, debt levels were less than half current levels, Medicare was not on the verge of insolvency, and there was no viable proposal like the one we are debating today to provide affordable coverage to more than 30 million Americans who currently lack health insurance, including people 55 to 65." 

The New Republic senior editor Jonathan Chait posits that "liberals are somewhat overreacting to Lieberman's turn against health care reform. It's true that Lieberman refused to take part in negotiations with Reid over the compromise, suggested he could support the bill presuming a positive CBO score, and then decided to stick in the knife. However, I don't think that health care reform is in peril. If Harry Reid decided to submit to Lieberman's demands, the health care bill would basically revert to what the Senate Finance Committee produced. That's still a major piece of legislation. Expectations among liberals have risen since then, so the come-down is understandable. But this isn't the end of reform." 

More Chait: "Now, the counter-argument is that Lieberman may well come up with a reason to back away from that bill as well. Given his obvious bad-faith negotiation, that's certainly a danger. But Olympia Snowe is not negotiating in bad faith, and she, unlike Lieberman, actually seems to care about health care reform. So even if you revert to something like the Senate Finance bill and Lieberman tries to stab you in the back, you can still pick up Snowe. (A fact that itself reduces the chance that Lieberman will attempt a second act of sabotage -- why try to knife health care reform if you can't kill it?)" 

The Washington Post health policy writer Ezra Klein also picks up on the concern Chait mentions--that Lieberman still won't go for the bill, even without the Medicare compromise--but Klein says that trying to get Snowe on board will set the bill's passage back to the New Year, something Senate Democrats are loath to do. "Some on the Hill remain worried that Lieberman will discover new points of contention in the coming days, as they believe he had signaled that he wouldn't filibuster the Medicare buy-in. They worry whether his word is good. But assuming it is, he can provide the 60th vote Reid needs to move the bill by the end of next week, and keep health-care reform on some sort of schedule."  

Also writing on AMERICAblog, John Aravosis compares President Obama's ability to unite the majority in Congress to former President George W. Bush, during whose presidency Republicans were able to pass sweeping legislation without ever having a filibuster-proof 60 votes. "It's not about the votes, people. It's about leadership. The current occupant of the White House doesn't like to fight, and the leadership in Congress has never been as good at their jobs, at marshaling their own party, as the Republicans were when they were in the majority. The President is supposed to rally the country, effectively putting pressure on opposition members of Congress to sit down and shut up. And the congressional leadership is supposed to rally its members to hold the line, and get the 51 votes necessarzy for passing legislation in a climate where the minority is too afraid to use the filibuster. When you have a President who is constitutionally, or intellectually, unable to stand for anything, and a congressional leadership that... cedes legislative authority to a president who refuses to lead, you have a recipe for exactly what happened last night. Weakness, chaos, and failure."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
AP reports: "Washington's city council has voted to legalize gay marriage in the U.S. capital. Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which was co-sponsored by 10 of the council's 13 members. The final vote Tuesday was 11-2. 

The bill now goes to Congress, which has final say over the the capital city's laws. Opponents say they will try to get Congress or voters to overturn it."

Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont and will be in New Hampshire starting in 2010. Maine and California previously  approved same-sex marriage, but those laws were repealed by referenda. Despite passing the New York state Assembly, it failed in the state Senate. A bill is also being considered in New Jersey.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
While Democrats have made several major concessions to its centrist members, moderate Republican Olympia Snowe today refused say if she's leaning towards supporting the healthcare bill.

"I'm not leaning any way," she told a gaggle of reporters. "I'm leaning to try to get it right, if it's possible."

Snowe said she still has several outstanding issues, including the effects on small business and ensuring affordable health insurance plans for all Americans.  She also described the provision that requires some companies to provide insurance--or pay fees--as a "significant concern."

But Snowe reserved her strongest criticism for President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's self imposed deadline for passing the Senate's healthcare bill by Christmas. 

"You can't say it's historic, you can't say it's never been done before in the history of our country but then say we've got to put it on this ambitious, unrealistic timetable," she said. 

The Senate has been debating and voting on the bill for about two weeks and later this week, Reid is expected to start the procedural process to bring the bill a final vote. However, the leadership has yet to receive the cost analysis for the Congressional Budget Office or produce the text for a final bill.

"It takes a considerable amount of time just to review all of this once we see the final document as well as the final score from CBO," she said, adding that she thinks it would be "difficult" to address all of her concerns before Christmas.

"I'm not going to get into what my votes are. I'm just working through this process," she said. "I just think that Christmas is going to be a very ambitious timeframe." 

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
Democratic sources say it is possible that the Congressional Budget Office numbers on Senate Majority Harry Reid's bill could come today or "possibly" tomorrow. Senior leadership already has guidance from the CBO on what those costs, are and tweaking is being done by staff writing the bill. 

Abortion
On abortion insurance coverage, that issue is still very much alive. Sources say staffers writing the bill are trying to craft new wording that would gain the support of Democrats who do not want any kind federal subsidy to be used for abortion services. That is intended to bring in Democrats like Sen. Ben Nelson who says he cannot vote "yes" without more controls on federal money and abortion coverage.

No public option
Sources say there are signals from House leadership that they could be prepared to support a bill without a public option in the interest of  "getting it done." The House bill did contain a public option and had different taxes to fund reform.
 
Timing
One scenario would see Reid taking the procedural step of filing cloture tomorrow, which could clear the way for votes to begin on Friday. The procedural moves would set time limits on debate, and Republicans have some options to attempt to slow that down.

Sources expect the Senate to work well into next week -- with the hope of wrapping up by Wednesday, Dec. 23. However, assuming health care is resolved, there are other year measures the Senate is required to finish.

From NBC's Athena Jones
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- "Insulation is sexy" was President Obama's message today, as he urged Congress to provide temporary incentives to Americans who want to retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient.

The idea is one of the new initiatives the White House announced last week to help spur job creation as the nation faces 10% unemployment and the president's critics argue he has not done enough to help put people back to work.

Clean energy has long been a key part of the president's agenda. As a candidate, Obama often spoke about investments in renewable energy that he said would create 21st century jobs that could not be exported. Today at a Home Depot near Washington, he talked about how helping update older, inefficient homes would create jobs and help the environment in the process.

"I know the idea may not be very glamorous, although I get really excited about it," Obama chuckled as he described the discussion at a roundtable on job creation he took part in just before his remarks. "Insulation is sexy stuff."

The president went on to explain what he meant, saying that what's sexy about insulation is its ability to help save people money.

"Think about it this way, if you haven't upgraded your home yet, it's not just heat or cool air that's escaping, it's energy and money that you are wasting," he said. "If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window up into atmosphere you'd try to figure out how you were gonna keep that, but that's exactly what's happening because of the lack of efficiency in our buildings."

Obama said a report from Vice President Joe Biden showed that, due to Recovery Act investments, a "major transformation of our economy is well underway" and that the country was on track to double renewable energy production and double the capacity to produce clean energy components -- like wind turbines solar panels -- in the United States by 2012. Recovery Act investments mean the about half a million American homes will have been upgraded by this time next year, he said, arguing the incentives he has proposed would go even further.

In a reference to the climate change debate, Obama reiterated his argument that clean energy is "a powerful engine" for growth and a job creator not a job destroyer.

"In the debate that's going on about climate change right now, a lot of people say we can't afford to deal with these emissions to the environment, but the fact of the matter is energy efficiency is a perfect example of how this can be a win win," he said, explaining that manufacturers win because they produce the materials needed for the retrofitting.

The president heads to Copenhagen later this week, where countries from around the globe are working toward an agreement to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Obama ended his brief remarks with a return to the sexy theme.

"See, I told you, insulation is sexy," he said to laughter and applause.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Is this the first-ever TV ad aimed at a White House chief of staff?

In the wake of the news that Senate Democrats are abandoning the Medicare buy-in -- or any other type of public option compromise -- to get 60 votes on health care, the liberal group Progressive Change Campaign Committee says it's airing a TV ad in Chicago targeting Rahm Emanuel.

"Will Rahm Emanuel fight for the insurance companies -- or for us," the ad says.

[Youtube:ZNAZHcKP6QY]

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Bowing to Lieberman: As Joe Lieberman has now proved in this health-care debate, any U.S. senator can be a king. The question is whether that power is used in good faith to make the legislation better, or whether it's used for another reason. Last night, according to multiple reports, Senate Democrats appeared ready to drop the Medicare "buy-in" compromise that Lieberman said he objected. "Democrats aren't going to let the American people down," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after the meeting, per the AP. "We all stand shoulder-to-shoulder." At 1:40 pm ET, President Obama invites the entire Democratic caucus -- including Lieberman -- to the White House to discuss health care, and the message he'll relay is essentially this, NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports: It's now or never to pass health reform. The White House wants the Senate to pass its bill before the Christmas holiday. After today's closed-door meeting, Obama will make a statement to the press at 3:00 pm ET.

*** Principle or Politics? There's now growing evidence that Lieberman's objection to the Medicare "buy-in" compromise isn't necessarily based on principle. Yesterday, a video from this past September made the rounds that showed Lieberman clearly stating he supports expanding Medicare to those in their 50s. In addition, while Lieberman has been a hawk on national security issues, he's been a consistent liberal on economic ones. According to National Journal's vote ratings for 2008, he was MORE LIBERAL than 68% of the Senate on economic issues, putting him squarely in the Democratic mainstream. (By comparison, he was more liberal than just 38% of the chamber on foreign affairs, placing him to the right of the Dem caucus.) In 2007, he was more liberal than 72% of the Senate on the economy, and his ratings for 2005 and 2006 were similar. Bottom line: It appears Lieberman is acting a bit out of character on this issue, given his history of being a rank-and-file Democrat (leaning liberal/progressive) on domestic issues. This is why the charge of playing politics with the left is looking so believable to some.

*** Time for SNL's "The Rock" Obama? If there is one thing that both yesterday's meeting with the bankers and today's meeting with Senate Democrats have in common, it's that they're situations where some might argue that it's time for the cool, calm, collected Obama to, well, lose his cool a bit. Of course, it's only worth getting angry if you can follow it up with a tangible punishment. What's the tangible punishment, for instance, with Lieberman? The Democrats and the White House have no margin of error on health care; they just don't have the handful of Republicans they need to simply ignore Lieberman or Nebraska's Ben Nelson. It certainly appears that Lieberman is getting everything he wants, which is causing a HUGE revolt of sorts on the left. Last night, one of the more influential progressive activists, Markos Moulitsas, Tweeted: "Insurance companies win. Time to kill this monstrosity coming out of the Senate." What's left besides the mandate, he and others argue, if public option and a Medicare buy-in are both gone. Of course, the White House and others would argue that expanded health-care coverage for millions of Americans, as well as new restrictions on health insurers, is significant reform. But the White House needs to sell that -- especially to its left flank. By the way, where is Olympia Snowe in all of this?

*** Gitmo detainees get new home: Besides health care, the other big news today is the report that the federal government will acquire the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, IL to house a limited number of Gitmo detainees. According to the AP, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin are set to make the announcement today at the White House with administration officials. "The facility in Thomson had emerged as a clear front-runner after Illinois officials, led by Durbin, enthusiastically embraced the idea of turning a near-dormant prison over to federal officials." Of course, the politics of relocating Gitmo detainees to the United States has been incredibly tricky. But we guess the politics becomes a bit easier when an economically ailing community like Thomson wants the business, and when the governor, both U.S. senators, and nearly the entire congressional delegation (13 of 19) are Democrats. Also, it doesn't hurt when the Democratic president hails from the state, either… He put it in HIS backyard.

*** DeMint-ed? Today, conservative activists are gathering on Capitol Hill to protest the health-care bill. It's similar to Michele Bachmann's "Super Bowl of Freedom," but this time the action is on the Senate side. Speaking at the event will be Laura Ingraham and GOP Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint. In fact, perhaps more than any other politician outside Palin and Bachman, DeMint has become the GOP politician most identified with the Tea Party movement. And DeMint has made his presence felt: He has endorsed conservative primary candidates (Marco Rubio, Chuck DeVore) running against more moderate/establishment opponents; he has set up his own PAC (the Senate Conservatives Fund); and is now being talked about a possible presidential candidate. Above all, he represents a strand of Republicanism that places ideology over victory. As he said earlier in the year after Arlen Specter switched parties, "I would rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who really believe in principles of limited government, free markets, free people, than to have 60 that don't have a set of beliefs."

*** Unintended consequences: One recently retired REPUBLICAN senator blamed DeMint and his style -- not necessarily his ideology -- as a big contributor to the perceived breakdown of the Senate to get things done on hot-button issues like, say, immigration. Republicans in D.C. are no longer shunning DeMint even as some want to. Being out of power makes many a pragmatist, but what is the unintended consequence for Republicans if they do get a majority back in the House or Senate and if the new members come from a more purist conservative background?

*** Gordon gone in a flash: Yesterday, Bart Gordon of Tennessee became the fourth House Democrat in recent weeks to announce his retirement, following Dennis Moore of Kansas, John Tanner of Tennessee, and Brian Baird of Washington state. This fourth retirement is going to set off a mini-frenzy among political handicappers that this is how a wave begins. And it is: DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen tells the Washington Post that more retirements are coming, but he denied it was a "wave" or "flood" of retirements. On paper, both parties now have almost an equal number of competitive open seats. Yet if the Dem open-seat number climbs closer to 20, then suddenly the ingredients are there for Republicans not only to make the case for big 2010 gains -- but also to start laying out plausible scenarios that they can regain control of the House. It's still a stretch at this point. But as we've seen in previous "wave" or "change" elections in 2006 and 2008, nothing should be ruled out. At this point in the '06 cycle, it was laughable to suggest Democrats could take back the Senate.

*** Obama's (and Biden's) day: In addition to his health-care meeting with Senate Democrats, President Obama visits a Home Depot at 10:45 am ET in Alexandria, VA, where he'll discuss the economic impact of making energy-saving home retrofits. As for Vice President Biden, he made an appearance on "Morning Joe" earlier today, saying that the economic stimulus has "primed the pump." Later, he hosts a Recovery Act implementation meeting with the cabinet. Per a release, Biden "has delivered a progress report to President Obama on how the Recovery Act is helping build a cleaner, more energy-efficient economy by tapping homegrown sources of energy.  In his memo to the president, the vice president reports on specific advances already underway as a result of the foundation the Administration has laid through the Recovery Act and other initiatives, and details how our economy will be transformed by these investments in the coming years." 

*** Elsewhere today: John McCain gives a speech on Afghanistan at the conservative Heritage Foundation at 2:30 pm ET… U.S. Af/Pak envoy Richard Holbrooke speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations at 6:30 pm… And Secretary of State Clinton meets with an official from Serbia (2:45 pm), then the U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman (4:40 pm), and then heads to the White House for a National Security Council Principals Meeting (5:15 pm).

Countdown to MA Special Election: 35 days
Countdown to IL primary: 49 days
Countdown to TX primary: 77 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 322 days

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"President Obama has ordered the federal government to acquire a virtually empty prison in Illinois to house 'a limited number of detainees' currently held at the terror lockup in Guantanamo Bay, an administration official said Monday night," the New York Daily News says. "The White House is set to announce Tuesday that it will take over the idle Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., the official confirmed. Other federal prisoners, along with suspected terrorists, will also be held in Thomson once it goes on line, the source said."

In advance of Obama's trip to Copenhagen later this week: "China and the United States were at an impasse on Monday at the United Nations climate change conference here over how compliance with any treaty could be monitored and verified. China, which last month for the first time publicly announced a target for reducing the rate of growth of its greenhouse gas emissions, is refusing to accept any kind of international monitoring of its emissions levels, according to negotiators and observers here. The United States is insisting that without stringent verification of China's actions, it cannot support any deal."

"Computer technicians have found 22 million missing White House e-mails from the administration of President George W. Bush and the Obama administration is searching for dozens more days' worth of potentially lost e-mail from the Bush years, according to two groups that filed suit over the failure by the Bush White House to install an electronic record keeping system." More: "A Microsoft Corp. document on the Bush White House's e-mail problems states that Microsoft was called in to help find electronic messages in October 2003, more than two years before the problem surfaced publicly. October 2003 was the month that the Justice Department began gearing up its criminal investigation into who in the Bush administration leaked the identity of Plame, the wife of Bush administration war critic Joseph Wilson."

The AP looks at the decade of partisanship: "It wasn't so long ago that politicians had the luxury to bicker over how to spend a record budget surplus, Barack Obama was a state senator trying unsuccessfully to get a foot in the door of the U.S. Capitol, and George W. Bush went to sleep with visions of a dominant Republican majority dancing in his head. This first decade of the 21st century has taken us from hanging chad to fist bumps and beyond. From peace and prosperity to war and economic turmoil."

"Senate Democratic leaders appeared poised Monday night to abandon efforts to create a government-run insurance safety net in their push for health-care reform, as they attempted to close ranks around a bill they hoped would win the backing of all 60 members of their caucus," the Washington Post reports. "Democratic negotiators had already disappointed liberal lawmakers by jettisoning a full-fledged public insurance plan a week earlier. Last night, party leaders conceded that a key portion of the compromise they crafted to replace the public option -- a proposal allowing people as young as 55 to buy into Medicare -- also did not have sufficient support from Democratic moderates to overcome a likely Republican filibuster."

The Hill says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "indicated at a closed-door Democratic Conference meeting on Monday that he would drop a controversial Medicare buy-in provision, which was offered as a replacement to the government-run health insurance option, to win the votes of Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)."

"Influential liberal Sens. Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.) and Tom Harkin (Iowa) said they'd be willing to drop a government insurance option and an expansion of Medicare to win passage for a broader proposal," the New York Daily News writes. " 'This bill, without public option, without Medicare buy-in, is a giant step forward toward transforming American health care,' Harkin said."

John McCain has jumped to his pal Joe Lieberman's defense. He Tweeted, "Joe Lieberman -- standing up for his principles on health care is being viciously attacked by the liberal left...what a disgrace!" Though it's not clear what his principles are considering his endorsement of a Medicare buy-in just months earlier. 

"Convinced for the first time that they can bring down Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) health care reform package, Republicans are trying to get votes on more amendments as part of a strategy to divide the Democratic Conference and turn a few wayward moderates against the bill," Roll Call says, adding: "Given increased Democratic infighting over the public insurance option, abortion and an amendment by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) relating to the reimportation of prescription drugs, Republicans now believe they have a realistic chance of defeating the majority's health care package."

Praying for the demise of health reform? Really? "Conservative lawmakers plan a 'prayercast' on Wednesday against healthcare reform legislation," The Hill writes. "Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), along with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) will team up with a group of pastors and religious leaders for a "prayercast" organized by the socially conservative Family Research Council's action group."

"House Democrats appeared to be scaling back their ambitions for a year-end Defense spending bill, dropping the idea of adding a $70 billion infrastructure spending plan and scaling back a plan to add to the debt limit. Democratic aides said late Monday night that the debt-limit hike was likely to be closer to $300 billion than the $1.8 trillion to $1.9 trillion they envisioned last week, keeping the government operating for only about two more months and requiring a difficult vote in the beginning of an election year to possibly raise the debt ceiling again."

Roll Call says that after Rep. Bart Gordon's announced retirement yesterday, "several party strategists conceding that more departures are inevitable… GOP strategists are convinced they will be able to at least trim the Democrats' majority by ousting junior Members who captured Republican seats in their party's 2006-08 upswing. But the net gain of at least 41 seats that Republicans need to capture a majority is daunting. The last time a party swallowed that many seats in one gulp was in 1994, when the Republicans scored a 52-seat gain."

"The Tea Party movement's desire to dent the slate of Republican-establishment candidates faces one huge hurdle next year: closed primaries," CongressDaily's McPike writes, adding: "[I]f the Tea Party groups can't mobilize to register voters before registration deadlines in the 25 states that close their primaries to those not registered as Republicans, the movement might have little or no impact in those states. At least seven states with closed primaries could feature Senate races with competitive GOP primaries: Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada and Utah. Many House races might also be affected… Senate races attracting a lot of attention in Kentucky and Nevada require voters to pick sides for next year's primaries by the end of this year."

CALIFORNIA: Along with New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte and Kentucky's Trey Grayson, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has formed a joint fundraising committee with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, CQ Politics reports.

HAWAII: Roll Call: "Rep. Neil Abercrombie's (Hawaii) imminent resignation has left his otherwise-safe Democratic House seat vulnerable to a takeover in a special election in the coming months. Abercrombie's announcement last week that he is leaving Congress early to focus on his 2010 gubernatorial campaign leaves Democrats in a bind and officials in Hawaii fumbling to figure out when to schedule a special election."

ILLINOIS: Republican Senatorial contenders Rep. Mark Kirk and Patrick Hughes appeared before the Chicago Tribune editorial board. "Are we going to be the party of the principles of Ronald Reagan, which is limited government, low taxes and our traditional social values and a strong national defense? Or are we going to be the party of Arlen Specter and Olympia Snowe and the policies of Barack Obama?" asked Hughes, while Kirk said he would "build a coalition of Republicans, independents and Democrats." Kirk leads in a recent Tribune poll, with 41% of likely primary voters.

NEW YORK: "Marc Mukasey, the son of Bush administration Attorney General Michael Mukasey is mulling mounting a challenge to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, sources tell The Post. But the younger Mukasey, a partner at Rudy Giuliani's law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, would run only if the former mayor opts out of the race, the sources said."

TEXAS: "The ever-changing Democratic race for governor morphed into a contest between the mayor and the millionaire Monday as humorist Kinky Friedman dropped out to run for state agriculture commissioner," the Houston Chronicle writes. "Friedman's departure left outgoing Houston Mayor Bill White and hair-care millionaire Farouk Shami as the two main contenders for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and lessened the chances of the race going to a runoff."

From NBC's Luke Russert
Here's a clip from an interview Joe Lieberman (I-CT) did with "The Connecticut Post" newspaper in September of 2009. He flat out says that he supports a Medicare buy-in for those in their 50's and strengthening public options that already work.

Now, Lieberman is 100% against the Medicare buy-in for those 55 and older. This would seem to suggest that Liberman has flip-flopped on the issue outright. His support comes at about 1:04 into the video. (Hat tip: Greg Sargeant at the Plum Line).

Here's the response from Lieberman's office:

Senator Lieberman has long been concerned about making health care more affordable, especially for those over the age of 55 and not yet eligible for Medicare. One idea that has been discussed for years is expanding Medicare to people younger than 65. Senator Lieberman's comment reported by the Connecticut Post in September was made before the Finance Committee reported out the Baucus Bill, which contained extensive health insurance reforms, including a more narrow age rating for pricing health insurance premiums and extensive affordability credits that would benefit this specific group of individuals.

These health insurance reforms and affordability credits have been strengthened in Senator Reid's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and will provide even greater relief for those 55-65 years old. Any inclusion of a Medicare buy-in for that same age group would be duplicative of what is already in the bill, would put the government on the hook for billions of additional dollars, and would potentially threaten the solvency of Medicare, which is already in a perilous state. The Senator also has concerns that this provision would result in cost-shifting that would drive up premiums for others, including those with employer-based coverage.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
While stopping short of saying the White House told Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), an administration official today said eliminating the provision Lieberman objected to would be acceptable.

On Sunday, Lieberman said he couldn't support a bill that included the expansion of Medicare to Americans from 55- to 64-years old. The administration official said if the provision was removed from the bill, it would not be a deal breaker for the White House.

The source also hinted at the possibility of garnering the support of Republican Olympia Snowe (R-ME) if the item was off the table because it was also a point of contention with her. 

Though no one has confirmed Medicare expansion proposal is dead, removing it would also throw cold water on another fire simmering within the Democratic caucus. On Friday, 10 Democrats wrote a letter to Reid expressing concern about the Medicare expansion idea, which Reid sent to the Congressional Budget Office for cost analysis.

The group says that hospitals and doctors in their smaller, more rural states currently get less money in Medicare reimbursement rates. They urged Reid to hold off on expansion until the inequities can be addressed.

"Creating a Medicare buy-in program will exacerbate the existing funding inequity," the group said in the letter it Reid. It was signed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Al Franken (D-MN), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Pat Leahy (D-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Tom Udall (D-NM). "Medicare is spending over one-third more for each Medicare beneficiary in some states compared to ours. The combination of an antiquated payment formula that tends to penalize rural providers and greater medical efficiency in our states has forced many physicians to stop accepting Medicare patients or limit the number of Medicare patients they serve," they wrote.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
The trickle of retiring House Democrats continued continued today with the news that Rep. Bart Gordon will not run for re-election next year.

Gordon, who represents TN-6, is the fourth Democrat in the past few weeks from a competitive district to announce they won't run.

"Turning 60 has led me to do some thinking about what's next," he said in a statement, per AP. "I have an 8-year-old daughter and a wonderful wife who has a very demanding job, and I am the only child of my 83-year-old mother Margaret. They have made sacrifices to allow me to do what I love by serving Congress, and now it's my turn."

Gordon's seat will be a prime target for Republicans. Republican John McCain won the district in the 2008 election with 62% of the vote. Gordon, 60, who was first elected in 1984, ran without a real opponent in 2004 and won with 74%.

The other retirements: Dennis Moore (KS-3), John Tanner (TN-8), and Brian Baird (WA-3).

Democrats have tried to make the argument that these retirements are isolated, but it's growing harder to make that case -- one is isolated, two raises an alarm and three is a trend.

"It's official: Democrats now have a retirement problem," The National Republican Campaign Committee's Ken Spain proclaimed in an e-mail to reporters. "After being forced to toe the line for Nancy Pelosi's reckless agenda too many times, Blue Dog Democrats would rather roll over and retire than face the political headwind that is barreling toward them. This is evidence of the fact that the Obama-Pelosi agenda of government takeovers, permanent bailouts, and fewer jobs is taking a political and mental toll even on incumbent Democrats who were once-perceived to be firmly entrenched."

Democrats would argue that they are faring certainly better than Republicans did last year, and certainly far better than in 1994 -- when Democrats saw huge losses.

"At this point last cycle, there were 18 Republicans who said they would not run for reelection, three of those 18 announced they were running for other office," the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Ryan Rudominer wrote in an e-mail last week. "So far this cycle, [four] Democrats have announced retirements while six more Democrats are running for higher office. Twelve Republicans have announced they are running for other office.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Continuing with his recent populist rhetoric, President Obama today said he urged executives from the nation's largest banks to begin issuing more loans to small businesses and to support the financial reform legislation moving through Congress.

"America's banks received extraordinary assistance from American taxpayers to rebuild their industry," he said after a hosting a White House meeting today with representatives from 12 banking institutions. "And now that they're back on their feet, we expect an extraordinary commitment from them to help rebuild our economy."

The president explained that he has heard from many small businesses that they have been  unable to get loans in today's economic climate. "Now no one wants banks making the kinds of risky loans that got us into this situation in the first place," he said. "But given the difficulty businesspeople are having as lending has declined, and given the exceptional assistance banks received to get them through a difficult time, we expect them to explore every responsible way to help get our economy moving again."

Obama added, "We expect some results, because I'm getting too many letters from small businesses who explain that they are credit-worthy."

The president also relayed that he told the bank executives to get behind the financial reform legislation the House of Representatives approved last week and the Senate is still considering -- or be prepared for a fight.

"I made very clear that I have no intention of letting their lobbyists thwart reforms necessary to protect the American people. If they wish to fight common-sense consumer protections, that's a fight I'm more than willing to have."

Obama's statement today after his meeting with the bank executives comes after his interview on "60 Minutes" last night, in which he said, "The people on Wall Street still don't get it. They're puzzled why is it that people are mad at the banks. Well, let's see -- you guys are drawing down 10-, 20-million-dollar bonuses after American went through the worst economic year in decades and you guys caused the problem." 

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele doubled down today on his embrace of obstructionism -- at least when it comes to health care.

"We wanted to stop this lurch toward nationalized health care," Steele said at a news conference, where he announced the launch of a "National Listen to Me Effort." Steele reiterated that it is exactly Republicans' goal to "stop and slow down" Democrats to "prevent a takeover of our health care system." He added, "The bottom line remains, that's exactly what we want to do. It's amusing to the point of being sad that we're just starting to have a conversation on jobs, the one thing this president said he'd run on."

Of course, President Obama's first priority in taking office was to urge Congress to pass a $787 billion economic stimulus plan.

"We've seen the arrogance of power displayed in some amusing and not so amusing ways this past year," Steele continued. "And the American people have taken note." Steele said they're "tired" of and "disappointed" in "this leadership."

So as to pre-but the criticism that Republicans have offered up no ideas on health care, Steele appeared next to a poster board of 10 principles and ideas on health care that Republicans have put forward over the past year.

He added that a "majority of Americans do not want this. And I think they have been very clear going forward about what they want us to do." Among some of those things: Focus on foreclosures, jobs losses, small businesses access to credit.

He said that the president is "beating up" banks today, but the "regulatory burden, tax burden is too much." (It is notable that despite the fall of Lehman Brothers and the ensuing financial crisis, not a single Republican voted for the stricter regulatory reforms that recently passed the House.)

The "National Listen to Me Effort" is an attempt by the GOP to lift up the voices, as Steele put it, of people outside of Washington's power center. The RNC is deploying staffers to six states (North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, Arkansas, Virginia, and Connecticut), will be hosting tele-town halls (two today), and launched a "multifaceted Internet campaign" through GOP.com, where voters can reach out more directly to members of Congress.

Steele also announced the launch of a radio ad that will run nationally. In it, Steele says that Democrats who accuse Republicans of stonewalling are "finally right. We are trying to stop them." He adds that Democrats are "arrogantly trying to jam it down our throats. … Make Washington listen before it's too late."

He added at the news conference, Democrats "talk about Republicans stalling. I say to them, you have the votes, pass the bill. But they seem to have a little problem with that."

Asked if there would be repercussions for Republicans who might vote in favor of the final bill, Steele said that he is "confident that Republicans have laid out a well-founded case to stay together on this. I feel really good that Republicans are unified on this; it's not [about] what the U.S. Senate wants, not what the congress wants, it's what the American people want."

From NBC's Libby Leist
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stopped just short of saying that the Obama administration's outreach toward Iran has been a failure.

"I don't think anyone can doubt that our outreach has produced very little in terms of any kind of positive respones from the Iranians," she said in a news conference today with Spain's foreign minister.

She also signaled that a push for sanctions may be coming soon.

Clinton called on the Iranian government to free the three American hikers "as soon as possible" and she called the charges against them "unfounded."

"With respect to the three hikers -- we consider this a totally unfounded charge," Clinton said. "There is no basis for it. The three young people who were detained by the Iranians have absolutely no connection with any kind of action against the Iranian state or government. In fact, they were out hiking and unfortunately, apparently, allegedly, walked across an unmarked boundary. We appeal to the Iranian leadership to release these three young people and free them as soon as possible."

Clinton was also asked about reports that Iran is testing a trigger for a nuclear bomb and she said she would not comment on any intelligence.

As far as how the treatment of the hikers may effect U.S. efforts to engage Iran on their nuclear program, Clinton said U.S. concerns "have been heightened already" in recent months, with the exposure of the Qom nuclear facility,  Iran's    apparent backpeddaling on its initial agreement to ship its low enriched uranium out of the country for reprocessing and its recent announcement that it intends to build 10 to 20 more nuclear plants.

These developments "should raise deep concerns among all people," Clinton told reporters.