The Minneapolis Star Tribune on the latest in the Coleman-Franken recount: "The U.S. Senate election trial went topsy-turvy Thursday, with lawyers for Republican Norm Coleman arguing that the Constitution demands the counting of every legitimate vote -- even if you have to bend the rules -- and lawyers for Democrat Al Franken insisting on a by-the-book reading of state law that would limit the number counted to only legally cast ballots."

More: "It's usually Republicans who express concern over voter fraud and seek stricter identification requirements at the polls, among other safeguards, while Democrats more often champion efforts to increase turnout by making voting easier. But with Franken ahead by 225 votes in the certified recount results, it's to his advantage to point to black-letter law and to Coleman's to show that the trial is about nothing less than the right to vote."

INDIANA: Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) already has four primary challengers.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Judd Gregg said he didn't expect to seek reelection, but even if he did, Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes said he'd stay in the race.

"The extraordinary turn of events led Gregg to say he would 'probably not' seek reelection in 2010, creating a wide-open field for politicians in both parties in New Hampshire to consider running for his job. Representative Paul Hodes, a Democrat, quickly issued a statement affirming his candidacy. John E. Sununu, a former US senator, is among those mentioned as possible Republican candidates."

Before Gregg bowed out and announced that he won't seek re-election in 2010, National Journal's Jennifer Skalka spoke with former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu (R), who left the door open that his son -- former Sen. John E. Sununu, who lost his seat last November -- could make a run for Gregg's Senate seat. "He's officially been out of office about one month. The beginning of January is when the official transition took place. So he's taking it slowly, evaluating what he wants to do with this period in his life. And I think taking it slowly is the right process. I'm sure he's giving a little bit of thought to private-sector opportunities. I can't afford him, so there are other people who would pay him a lot more than I could to come work for them. I'm sure he has on his list of options some of the opportunities coming back into the political process. But he's got to evaluate it on his own with his wife and kids and make a family-oriented as well as a state- and a nationally-oriented decision."

From MSNBC's David Gerlach and NBC's Mark Murray
Despite citing the economic stimulus as one of the reasons behind his withdrawal to be President Obama's Commerce secretary, Judd Gregg had been saying some very nice things about the plan, even though he recused himself from voting for or against it while being considered for the Commerce post.

Video: Gregg has withdrawn his name for Commerce Secretary over disagreements with President Obama's stimulus and census plans. MSNBC's David Shuster reports.

On Feb. 4, the day after Obama officially nominated him for the job, Gregg told CNBC's Larry Kudlow that a major stimulus plan made sense. "I think a major stimulus package ... makes a lot of sense, and the Senate is still working its will and I expect it will come up with an even stronger package than the package that left the House. If we don't get this economy going, the numbers that represent this stimulus package are going to be small compared to the loss of revenue to the federal government."

When Kudlow then asked whether the conservative Gregg had an "epiphany" on the stimulus, the New Hampshire senator responded, "I have been supportive of a very robust stimulus package from Day One. I think this economy has to have a major stimulus initiative because the only group with liquidity is the federal government."

Gregg did say in the CNBC interview, however, that he wanted the legislation to focus more on homes and homebuyers. "I have said I think we need to put more targeted effort on the real estate side, where we balance and basically look at how we control the price of real estate, so people have more confidence in the value of their home."

As far as how he'll vote tomorrow on the final stimulus legislation, Gregg today wouldn't say if he'll vote for it or against it.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
The White House just put out a statement on Gregg withdrawing his name from Commerce. But who really made the call here?

"Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce.  He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President's agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama's key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart".

From NBC's Jade Taenzler and Claire Luke
The Department of Defense's involvement in the CIA's "ghost" detention program is certain, according to three human rights groups -- Amnesty International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice.

They released documents today from the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of State that, they said, prove the existence of secret prisons at Bagram and in Iraq as well as the Department of Defense cooperation with the CIA ghost detention program. They also said the documents show one case where the Defense sought to delay the release of Guantanamo prisoners.
 
"JS 43," a Defense Joint Chief of Staff document, is a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross that contains information about the secret detention facility at the Bagram Air Force Base. Most of the useful information, however, is redacted.

Another document, entitled "JS 986," affirms that Defense prohibited the Red Cross from visiting the facilities. The document shows that the Defense failed to notify them of the existence of detainees, an action which the Defense, the groups said, recognized to be illegal.

Additionally, Defense did not register detainees with the Red Cross until they had been in custody for up to 14 days and sought authorization to hold some of these individuals for up to 30 days, which documents JS 1026 and 1048 reveal, the groups charged.
 
But perhaps most notably is an internal e-mail from Feb. 17, 2006, relating to Guantanamo detainees scheduled for release. It recommends to "hold off on return flights for 45 days or so until things die down. Otherwise we are likely to have heroes welcomes awaiting the detainees when they arrive."

The e-mail also recommends using a smaller, more discrete plane to transport the detainees.

"It is astonishing that the government may have delayed releasing men from Guantánamo in order to avoid bad press," said Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Gitanjali Gutierrez, who represents many of the men held in Guantánamo and has made 30 trips to the base since 2004. "Proposing to hold men for a month and a half after they were deemed releasable is inexcusable. The Obama administration should avoid repeating this injustice and release the innocent individuals with all due haste."
 
This is the first time the Defense Department has provided any documents in response to the 2007 lawsuit based on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests dating back to 2004, the groups said.

Through their lawsuit, the human rights groups seek the disclosure of government documents that relate to secret detention, extraordinary rendition and torture, they said.

Here are some of the documents, per Ambinder: 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., 7., 8. 

From NBC's Mark Murray and Ken Strickland
Breaking news: Judd Gregg, the New Hampshire Republican senator President Obama tapped to be Commerce Secretary, has withdrawn his nomination to serve in Obama's cabinet.

Just askin,' but did Gregg only discover now that Obama is a Democrat? The withdrawal will remove a possible GOP Senate vacancy, if Gregg decides to run for re-election in 2010. And it eliminates the possibility that Bonnie Newman (R) would serve in Gregg's place in the Senate.

The statement from Gregg: "I want to thank the president for nominating me to serve in his cabinet as secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle."

"However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy."

"Obviously the president requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives. I greatly admire President Obama and know our country will benefit from his leadership, but at this time I must withdraw my name from consideration for this position. As we move forward, I expect there will be many issues and initiatives where I can and will work to assure the success of the President's proposals. This will certainly be a goal of mine."

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, listening in a conference call that Gregg just conducted with New Hampshire reporters, reports that Gregg said he notified the White House earlier this week about his decision, and they have known for some time his concerns. Gregg would not say exactly when he spoke to the president.

Gregg cited the stimulus vote and Census count, but emphasized overall differences of views philosophically between him self and the president. He added that he "could not be a full time team member."

Gregg also said he does not plan to seek re-election.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Dear Members of Congress and Other Elected Officials,

As much as we reporters enjoy your Tweets, or Twittering, or whatever it's called, you really need to ask yourself, "What am I doing??"

I mean, Pete Hoekstra, is it necessary to Tweet where and when you get into Baghdad?

And remember the guy who said Obama's like Osama because they both have "terrorist friends?" He Tweeted (Twittered? Who cares?) this Tuesday, per USA Today: "Big news coming out of Senate: Apparently one dem is either switching or leaving the dem caucus. Negotiations for power sharing underway."

"Shortly thereafter, Democrats piled onto the potential switcher and he didn't switch. National Review's Campaign Spot reported on the initial sequence of events here and followed up with Frederick saying his Twitter didn't scuttle the plan -- despite some lawmakers' views to the contrary."

But, honestly, what is the point? Who are you writing to and for? How does this help you?

Early 2010 issues: Not a bad wrap by Susan Davis of Dem ethics problems. So, for 2010, the issues we're looking at that Republicans will push: 1. The stimulus; 2. Dem ethics. That's quite a shift from '06 (provided GOPers between now and then don't turn up in jail.)
 
The ethics problems: Blagojevich, Richardson, Dodd, Rangel, Murtha (connected possibly to Jim Moran and Peter Visclosky). Not to mention mayors: Sam Adams (Portland), Eddie Perez (Hartford); Kwame Kilpatrick (Detroit); Sheila Dixon (Baltimore)

Obama v. Clinton: Ambinder goes all Venn diagram on Obama '09 and Bill Clinton '93.

Pondering New Mexico: Ben Smith notes that Val Kilmer was spotted in Alexandria at a political hangout.

Ads watch: In NY-20, Democrat Scott Murphy is up with his first ad in the special to replace Gillibrand. It's a good opening, 60-second bio spot. He needs to build Name ID vs. Tedisco, who is much more well known in the area and scores high marks, at least according to Tedisco's own internal poll by a reputable organization. These are the kinds of ads Murphy needs to blanket in the region if he hopes to be competitive. We'll see if he has the cash to keep it up.

Speaking of... Speaking of ads, MoveOn yesterday went up with a radio ad hitting Sen. John Cornyn "for missing a key vote on the economic stimulus bill to meet with Wall Street donors."

Speaking of speaking, Jon Tester continues to call the stimulus plan, the "Jobs Bill," eschewing the more popular "stimulus." Yesterday, he gave a fiery speech on the Senate floor. Armed with a photo of a man holding a sign on a street corner in Whitefish, Mont., that read: Work Needed," Tester said, "The word 'stimulus' is a Washington, D.C., word that doesn't mean much in my book. That's why -- from day one -- I have called this the Jobs Bill. Because that's exactly what it is. You're either for jobs. Or you're against jobs… Now some D.C. politicians say we don't need to pass a Jobs Bill because the current recession is only temporary. I ask you to tell that to this guy standing on the street in Whitefish, Montana."

Speaking of words, what does bipartisanship mean to you? Steny Hoyer says, in its current form, it somehow means "elitist." He said: " 'Bipartisanship' is one of those words that everyone is for -- words like freedom, or security, or happiness -- until we get down to the hard work of defining what they mean. ... To begin with, bipartisanship does not mean going to the same parties. It does not mean going out for drinks after the gavel goes down in the evening. It does not even mean that we in Congress have to like each other. That would be nice -- but frankly, none of that matters to the people who sent us here.

"Nor does bipartisanship mean that, because there are two parties, each party gets to write exactly half of every bill. I think that misconception underlies a lot of Republican anger right now. But that kind of bipartisanship would make elections irrelevant. It would say that, no matter what happens out in America, Washington will stay the same. It would say that the ideals that separate us are far less important than our membership in the club that is Congress. For that reason, it is a deeply elitist idea." (More here.)

Cillizza's got your bipartisanship right here. He looks at other potential GOP cross overs for the stimulus.

Vegas, baby: The Las Vegas mayor sticks up for his town (with friends), which he says is just a little misunderstood, Mr. President.

Obama's funny? After lamenting how un-funny Obama is, late-night comics actually made fun of Obama, Andrew Malcolm reports.

What's (not?) on tap? Is Hop Obama going away? ATF questions whether a Brooklyn brewery should be selling beer with names of famous people who haven't endorsed the product. Interestingly, remember the White House is looking at ways to limit the commercialization of this president. (Hop doesn't quite look like this one, does it?) 

Era of responsibility: Looking for a summer house in the Hamptons? Jon Corzine can help you out with that, Real Clear Politics reports. For just a cool $900,000, according to Newsday, "The 6,200-square-foot, six-bedroom, 5.5-bath home is on a gated property. The 6.64-acre spread includes a heated gunite pool, a Har-tru tennis court and more than 500 feet of ocean frontage along Gibson Beach."

Not sure how well this and other examples of the former Goldman CEO's wealth will play in the angry populist year in his reelection campaign for NJ GOV.  
 
Remainder: Whatever happened to.. Mike Duncan. He's taking over the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Good luck with this.)

From NBC's Mark Murray
In the past two election cycles, Republicans have lost a combined 13 Senate seats -- and possibly 14, if Al Franken ends up winning in Minnesota.

This afternoon, Sen. Robert Menendez, the new chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, fired off this warning to the GOP: be prepared to lose more seats in 2010.

In an off-camera briefing with reporters, Menendez said the party controlling the White House typically doesn't fare well in midterms. But noting that every Democratic senator up in 2010 is running for re-election, that Republicans already have to defend five open seats (in FL, KS, MO, NH, and OH), and that Democrats plan aggressive challenges for GOP-held seats in Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, he said: "Even [with] a cursory look at the map, that fear has to be on the other side of the aisle."

Menendez also criticized Republican incumbents for opposing the stimulus. "They voted to do nothing. It seems to me they still don't get it." He added, "They are betting against President Obama and betting against the economy recovering."

Despite that apparently favorable Senate map, Menendez will need to hold on to the seats in Colorado, Illinois, and New York, where Democratic governors appointed (respectively) Michael Bennet, Roland Burris, and Kirsten Gillibrand to fill those positions. In particular, the Burris and Gillibrand appointments were controversial.

Asked what the committee would do if there are primaries in those states, Menendez said he presumed the DSCC would support the incumbents, if they decided to run. But, in another question about whether the committee would stay out of a primary, he reversed course, saying it's Feb. 2009 and he will look at them on a case-by-case basis.

Menendez also side-stepped a question on whether Gillibrand is the best candidate in New York. "I know Sen. Gillibrand is doing a fantastic job," he said.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

The path for the stimulus in the House is not yet cleared.

Speaker Pelosi just canceled her scheduled press conference. Not a good sign. Sources say there are continuing problems on the House side about the language on school modernization.

The original House bill had $14 billion for that purpose. Nelson-Collins zeroed it out, on the strength of their conviction that having the federal government provide a line item specifically for that purpose would "establish a new baseline" -- Washington talk meaning that building schools is traditionally a state-level function, and they don't want to create a new precedent by having the feds start doing it.

The compromise reached yesterday was that money could be spent for that purpose from a larger state aid pool of money in the stimulus. That's not good enough for many over here in your U.S. House, so there are some bumps today.

They're not hitting the panic button yet. The House is still likely to vote on this thing tomorrow. Today was always a long shot.

For more on what's in the stimulus, click here.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Republicans are launching an ad campaign against the stimulus.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, responsible for trying to get members of congress elected, "will target approximately 30 vulnerable Democrats for voting in favor of stimulus package" with a series of radio ads.

This comes after liberal groups have begun running ads against vulnerable Republicans in districts and states hardest hit by the economy.

The ads will begin running Friday.

"There is a difference between the salesman and the product," NRCC spokesman Ken Spain told Politico. "Early in the debate, Democrats arrogantly proclaimed that Republicans who voted against the stimulus package did so 'at their own peril,' but now it appears that in many Democrat-held districts, there could be greater risk in actually having voted for Pelosi's pork-laden package."

*** UPDATE *** The NRCC's release just went out.

"While middle-class families are hurting and looking to their leaders for help, Congressional Democrats have failed to deliver real relief," Spain said in the statement. "Democrats had a choice to pass an alternative proposal that would have created twice as many jobs at half the cost and in less time, but they chose to pass this package of pork instead.  Many of these very same Democrats who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility now have the obligation to explain why they're willing to pile even more mountains of debt onto our grandchildren without regard for how middle-class families' hard-earned tax dollars will be spent."

The release lays out the argument this way, focusing on sexually transmitted disease prevention and other items: "Democrats said they would fight for fiscal responsibility in Washington, but went back on their promise by voting for $335 million in STD prevention, $75 million for smoking cessation and even $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts."

The radio ads will air against the following, oer the NRCC: 
John Barrow (GA-12); Bruce Braley (IA-01); Chris Carney (PA-10); Travis Childers (MS-01); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Steve Driehaus (OH-01); Chet Edwards (TX-17); Bart Gordon (TN-06); Alan Grayson (FL-08); John Hall (NY-19); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Larry Kissell (NC-08); Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24); Dan Maffei (NY-25); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Eric Massa (NY-29); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Charlie Melancon (LA-03); Dennis Moore (KS-03); Glenn Nye (VA-02); John Salazar (CO-03); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Kurt Schrader (OR-05); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); Ike Skelton (MO-04); Zack Space (OH-18); Harry Teague (NM-02); Dina Titus (NV-03) and Tim Walz (MN-01).

From NBC's Mark Murray
Today it's not only Abraham Lincoln's birthday; it's also Charles Darwin's.

And a brand-new Gallup poll tied to Darwin's birthday finds that just 39% of Americans believe in evolution.

As expected, Gallup notes, education plays a big role here: 74% of those with post-graduate degrees believe in evolution. That's compared with only 21% of high school grads (or those with less education) who believe in the theory.

Ditto religion: 55% who don't attend church believe in evolution, versus 24% of weekly churchgoers who believe in it.

And vote here on who you think had a a bigger impact on the world, Lincoln or Darwin?

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Stimulus winners and losers: For the fourth-consecutive day, President Obama hits the road to sell his stimulus -- this time visiting Caterpillar in Peoria, IL, before heading to Springfield to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. But today's campaign stop is mostly superfluous, especially after congressional negotiators struck a final deal on the now-$789 billion spending measure. The House could vote on the legislation either today or tomorrow, with the Senate soon following to get the bill to the president's desk by Monday. The obvious winner here, of course, is Obama, who will get the first big victory of his four-week-old presidency. Other winners are Collins/Snowe/Specter (who proved that they will control what passes in the 111th Congress), Harry Reid (who got the 60-plus votes he needed), Joe Lieberman (who helped behind the scenes with Collins), White House aide Phil Schiliro (who played an unsung role on the Hill), the Republican Party (which demonstrated unity after its big losses in November), and No.2 House Republican Eric Cantor (who raised his profile during the debate, although he took a BIG hit yesterday for that profane AFSCME video his office released). The losers, in our opinion, are Nancy Pelosi (some House priorities lost out in the end) and governors (who didn't get all the money they wanted and will have to make some tough cuts before a re-election year).

Video: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., talk about the Senate's vote to pass the stimulus bill.

*** In the long run…: But those are the winners and losers in the short term. In the long run, we won't really know who won this debate until 2010 or even 2012. Indeed, the eventual state of the economy -- no matter if the stimulus played a real role or not -- will be the deciding factor here. If the economy begins to pick up steam before the midterms, the Democrats will look like geniuses. If not, Obama is going to have a race on his hands in 2012. So the stimulus was a political gamble for the White House. But ask yourself what you'd rather inherit: a booming economy that could go nowhere but down, or a struggling economy that could -- and we stress "could" -- go nowhere but up by 2010?

*** Rove's two cents:

 In his Wall Street Journal column today, Karl Rove applauds the way congressional Republicans played their hand during the stimulus, saying that they were smart to point out politically unpopular spending provisions; that they were "gracious" in talking with the Obama White House (really?); and that they were wise to propose alternative solutions (tax cuts). But, echoing our comment above, he also issues this warning to his party: "[I]f Republicans predict economic doom, they will overplay their hand. The Democratic stimulus will slow recovery, but not stop it. Recessions don't last forever and, if history is a guide, sometime late this year or early next the economy will rebound on its own. When that happens, Democrats will argue that their untargeted, permanent spending actually revived the economy." Yet perhaps the bigger risk for Republicans is this: Does the president that Rove worked for end up getting blamed for the current economic climate?

*** A Few other White House victories: In addition to the stimulus, Congress also made some movement yesterday on a few of Obama's stalled nominees. The full Senate approved Bill Lynn (the ex-lobbyist) to be deputy Defense secretary; a committee finally voted to send Labor nominee Hilda Solis to the full Senate; and the Senate Intelligence Committee also moved to approve Leon Panetta's nomination to head the CIA.

*** Bobby Jindal's big night: Republicans yesterday tapped Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal -- one of the party's rising stars and a potential presidential candidate in 2012, 2016, or beyond (he's just 37!) -- to deliver the GOP's response to Obama's congressional address on Feb. 24. But as NBC's Abby Livingston points out, giving your party's response to a State of the Union (or other big address) hasn't always been a stepping stone to bigger and better things politically. Some past responders: Bob Dole (who lost the '96 presidential election), Christine Todd Whitman (out of politics), J.C. Watts (out of politics), Bill Frist (out of politics, decided to not run for president), Dick Gephardt (lost '04 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, out of politics), Gary Locke (out of politics), and Tom Daschle (defeated in '04, out of politics). 

Countdown to NJ GOP primary: 110 days
Countdown to VA Dem primary: 117 days
Countdown to Election Day 2009: 264 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 628 days

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The Los Angeles Times reports that "House and Senate Democratic leaders, negotiating into the night to forge a compromise with three moderate Republican senators, reached agreement Wednesday on a $789-billion economic recovery bill that President Obama has called crucial to pulling the country out of its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The bill, slimmed down and reworked to win the handful of GOP votes needed to ensure final approval by the Senate, would finance a flurry of infrastructure and construction projects, extend unemployment benefits, subsidize healthcare coverage for those out of work, and provide tax relief for many."

The Boston Globe: "The deal was announced by Senate leaders, who appeared to drive the private negotiations with their House counterparts. They had to navigate competing interests as they worked to deliver a bill to President Obama by his end-of-week deadline, balancing a House majority that sought robust new funding for long-standing priorities and Senate centrists of both parties who had threatened to scuttle any bill that emerged larger than $800 billion."

"The deal all but clinches passage of one of the largest economic rescue programs since Franklin Roosevelt launched the New Deal," the Wall Street Journal writes. 

The Washington Post says the "House is expected to vote on the plan today or tomorrow, and with Senate action quickly following, the legislation is set to arrive on President Obama's desk no later than Monday -- the target Democratic leaders set last month for enacting it into law."

The New York Times: "The White House is considering a prime-time bill signing ceremony, and on Wednesday asked the television networks if they would air the event." 

But… "After bungling the selling of the economic stimulus bill and miscalculating how much political capital they had to ram it through Congress, Democrats stumbled again on Wednesday's announcement of a deal -- delaying the beginning of the end for the now-$789.5 billion measure," Roll Call writes.

In his Wall Street Journal op-ed, Karl Rove applauds the way congressional Republicans played their hand. "The first smart move House Republicans made was to raise objections to specific parts of the House stimulus bill. Pointing out that there is money in the bill for condoms, livestock insurance, refurbishing the National Mall, and other outlandish things revealed that it is a massive spending spree, not an economic stimulus. House Republicans had the wisdom to continue to talk to the Obama White House. This made them look gracious, even as the president edged toward a 'my way or the highway' attitude." (Really? We're not so sure that Republicans won the P.R. battle over who was more gracious during the debate.)

But Rove also issues this warning to Republicans: "But if Republicans predict economic doom, they will overplay their hand. The Democratic stimulus will slow recovery, but not stop it. Recessions don't last forever and, if history is a guide, sometime late this year or early next the economy will rebound on its own. When that happens, Democrats will argue that their untargeted, permanent spending actually revived the economy."

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee yesterday voted to send Hilda Solis' nomination to be Labor secretary to the full Senate. "Senators could vote on her long-stalled nomination this week," the Washington Post writes. More: "The vote … ended weeks of delay in considering the nomination. Committee Republicans had raised objections about what they saw as Solis's unresponsive answers during her confirmation hearing. Then there were questions about her work on the board of the pro-labor group American Rights at Work, followed by revelations that her husband had recently settled tax liens filed against his auto repair business."

The Hill notes, however, that the Senate panel "advanced Rep. Hilda Solis's nomination as Labor secretary after the California Democrat signed an affidavit to secure GOP support for her confirmation as Labor secretary… In the affidavit, Solis declared she did not have check writing or signing authority when she was treasurer of American Rights at Work (ARW), a labor advocacy group." Two Republicans voted against her -- Tom Coburn and Pat Roberts.

Also yesterday, the full Senate confirmed Bill Lynn, the former Raytheon lobbyist nominated to be deputy Defense secretary, by a 93-4 vote. The "No" votes were three Republicans (Coburn, Cornyn, and Grassley) and one Democrat (McCaskill).

A New York Times analysis says that yesterday's stimulus deal was a "quick, sweet victory for the new president, and potentially a historic one. The question now is whether the $789 billion economic stimulus plan agreed to by Congressional leaders on Wednesday is the opening act for a more ambitious domestic agenda from President Obama or a harbinger of reduced expectations."

More: "While it hammered home the reality of bigger, more activist government, the economic package was not the culmination of a hard-fought ideological drive, like Lyndon B. Johnson's civil rights and Great Society programs, or Ronald Reagan's tax cuts, but rather a necessary and hastily patched-together response to an immediate and increasingly dire situation. On the domestic issues Mr. Obama ran and won on -- health care, education, climate change, rebalancing the distribution of wealth -- the legislation does little more than promise there will be more to come." 

Obama held a roundtable with regional reporters yesterday. The White House emails First Read some of the headlines…
-- (Raleigh) News & Observer: "Obama talks about N.C.'s big issues"
-- Omaha World-Herald: "Obama praises Nelson's role in stimulus bill"
-- Portland (Maine) Press Herald: "Obama: Snowe, Collins 'outstanding' senators'"
-- Anchorage Daily News: "Obama calls Alaska gas pipeline promising"
-- Columbus Dispatch: "Stimulus not perfect but will help Ohio, Obama says"
-- Dayton Daily News: "Stimulus package provides relief to Ohio, Obama says"
-- Philadelphia Inquirer: "Obama: Plan will save millions of jobs"
-- Detroit Free Press: "Obama: I can offer serious auto help"
-- Detroit News" "Obama to Big 3: Craft plan that works"

The Hill highlights Rahm Emanuel's role in the stimulus bill and his unrelenting efforts in negotiations. "Rahm Emanuel may have moved his office down Pennsylvania Avenue, but to stand in the hallways of the Capitol lately, it seems he never left. And if anyone's fingerprints are on the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus package being sorted out in Congress this week, they belong to Emanuel...."

The Washington Post previews Obama's trip today to Peoria, IL "to visit the headquarters of Caterpillar, a mainstay of his home state's economy, which recently announced that it will lay off more than 20,000 workers. Obama said Jim Owens, Caterpillar's chief executive and a recently appointed member of the White House's new Economic Recovery Advisory Board, relayed that if the stimulus bill passes, 'his company would be able to rehire some of those employees.'"

Damage control? "Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, rebuffing criticism of his bank bailout plan for not providing significant details, told lawmakers on Wednesday that the administration would move swiftly to complete its work on the plan," the New York Times reports. In a second day of hearings in the Senate, Mr. Geithner said he was sympathetic toward Wall Street's craving for more information but said that a rushed plan would be more costly and less credible, and might require expensive revisions that would damage its credibility."

MINNESOTA: "In what could prove to be the most important day of the U.S. Senate election trial so far, lawyers for Al Franken and Norm Coleman will trade arguments today on whether several types of rejected absentee ballots should be reconsidered or rejected once and for all," the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes.

The stimulus is the first 2010 issue. "The near-universal GOP opposition to the stimulus means that, for 2010 at least, Democrats own the result. Republicans, meanwhile, are in the awkward position of banking on it, at least electorally, to fail." 
 
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the new chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee holds a pen-and-pad briefing on the 2010 Senate races at noon ET.

DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen says he's done "talking about waves." Now, it's about "holding the line." 
 
FLORIDA: If Charlie Crist wants it, he probably could coast to a Senate victory, a poll shows.  
 
Meanwhile, Rep. Allen Boyd has a primary challenge from state Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson, who is term-limited in the state Senate. 
 
MISSOURI: Jim Talent's out, setting up a likely Roy Blunt (R) vs. Robin Carnahan (D) match-up. 

Video: Gillibrand gets Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.

NEW YORK: Morgan Hook, spokesman for Gov. David Paterson, tells First Read the special election for Kirsten Gillibrand's congressional seat will take place March 31st, and a proclamation to make the announcement official will come Feb. 23rd.
 
PENNSYLVANIA: Arlen Specter's fav/unfav is 56%-30% in a new Quinnipiac poll. (More Dems approved of him than did Republicans, and only 40% of all respondents said he deserved to be reelected.)

Romney will be among a group of conservative thinkers penning an ongoing column for the Washington Times. The column will be called "Reinventing Conservatism." The first -- by Newt Gingrich -- was published yesterday.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

The "deal" on the stimulus is close to being official, but not quite yet.

In a very short while -- perhaps any minute -- the formal House-Senate conference committee will convene. This comes at the conclusion of a long closed-door meeting of House leaders that came after the agreement was announced on national television by members of the Senate.

House members balked at the agreement, mostly on the issue of how much and how the funds for school renovation would be spent.

At the same time the conference committee meets, House Democrats will meet as a caucus behind closed doors in the Capitol basement. There, they will get details of the agreement. They are expected to go along, albeit reluctantly.

If things go as hoped in the House, they will take up the bill tomorrow.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Bill Lynn, the former Raytheon lobbyist nominated to deputy Secretary of Defense, has just been confirmed by the Senate.

The vote was 93-4.

The "No" votes were three Republicans (Coburn, Cornyn, and Grassley) and one Democrat (McCaskill).

From NBC's Abby Livingston
Earlier today, we mentioned that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, one of the GOP's rising stars, would give the Republican response to Obama's address to Congress on Feb. 24.

 
With a massive audience after the president's delivery, this response might seem like an ideal perch to move on to bigger and better things. 
 
That, however, has not always been the case. See these past responders. 
 
1994 – Sen. Robert Dole (R-KS) LOST '96 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, OUT OF POLITICS
1995 – Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R-NJ) BECAME EPA ADMINISTRATOR, NOW OUT OF POLITICS
1996 – Sen. Robert Dole (R-KS)
1997 – Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) OUT OF POLITICS
1998 – Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) OUT OF POLITICS
1999 – Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-WA) and Rep. Steven Largent (R-OK) DUNN IS DECEASED; LARGENT OUT OF POLITICS
2000 – Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. William Frist (R-TN) FRIST DECIDED NOT TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT, OUT OF POLITICS
2001 – No response
2002 – Rep. Richard Gehphardt (D-MO) LOST BID FOR DEM NOMINATION IN '04, OUT OF POLITICS
2003 – Gov. Gary Locke (D-WA) OUT OF POLITICS
2004 – Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) DASCHLE WAS DEFEATED IN '04, OUT OF POLITICS; PELOSI NOW HOUSE SPEAKER
2005 – Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) REID NOW SENATE MAJORITY LEADER
2006 – Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA) STILL GOVERNOR, BUT ALSO DNC CHAIR
2007 – Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)
2008 – Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS)

From NBC's Mike Viquiera and Mark Murray
Politico was writing a story about a new TV ad that Dem-leaning groups -- including the union AFSCME -- had taken out attacking Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican.

In response, Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring e-mailed the reporter an old, grainy video -- laden with Soprano-esque language and profanity -- about AFSCME. Here's the video (and we also warn that it contains very foul language).

It appears that Dayspring did not intend for the video to be an official response, but Politico quotes Dayspring saying: "You could post this as my response."

Dayspring later issued this apology: "I would like to apologize for a joke that was in no way an official response from Congressman Cantor, but instead an inappropriate email. I apologize to AFSCME for my inappropriate email containing an old video. Let me be clear, we know people are hurting in these trying times and House Republicans completely agree that we must pass an economic recovery bill that preserves, protects and create jobs for Americans facing these economic challenges."

From NBC's Mark Murray

Not a big surprise, but still interesting nonethless... Republican congressional leaders have announced that they've tapped Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to deliver the GOP response to President Obama's address to Congress on Feb. 24.

Although he's served as governor for slightly more than one year, Jindal, 37, is one of the GOP's rising political stars. What's more, for a Republican Party that's trying to extend its appeal beyond white voters, he's one of its most prominent minority faces.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

Happy birthday, Sarah. Sarah Palin turns 45.

On the Tube: Blago tonight on Hannity: Live interview to air at 9p. And what a guy... he says though he and his wife are unemployed, they won't file for benefits. "Blagojevich also joked about a job offer he's received from the Joliet Jackhammers to be a rookie for the Northern League team. The Democrat described himself as being '52 going on 8' and said his childhood dream has always been to be a centerfielder for the Cubs."

The Interviews: The LA Times talks to Meg Whitman "exclusive."

Black Enterprise chats with President Obama.

Real Clear Politics reports that Obama, Crist get high marks in Florida. Roland Burris might be in trouble in Illinois. He remains largely unknown to Illinoisians. He gets a 34/18 fav/unfav, but a plurality, 43%, have no opinion of him. They were also split pretty evenly in three on whether Burris should run in 2010.
 
Quotables: "Let me get this straight -- this is coming from a guy who threw more than twice as many interceptions than touchdowns?" -- Harry Reid aide and Capitol Hill veteran Jim Manley on Heath Shuler criticizing Obama for not seeking his input on the stimulus more.    
 
"Don't give me that wine and dine baloney, young lady." -- Arlen Specter responding to conservative radio host Laura Ingraham's criticism that Obama wined and dined him into voting for the stimulus.
 
It's a day or two old, but still worth reflection: Bob Herbert: "Mr. Obama is like a championship chess player, always several moves ahead of friend and foe alike. He's smart, deft, elegant and subtle. While Lindsey Graham was behaving like a 6-year-old on the Senate floor and Pete Sessions was studying passages in his Taliban handbook, Mr. Obama and his aides were assessing what's achievable in terms of stimulus legislation and how best to get there."
 
Averting Catastrophe: "If they had not done that, their estimation is that by 2 p.m. that afternoon, $5.5 trillion would have been drawn out of the money market system of the U.S., would have collapsed the entire economy of the U.S., and within 24 hours the world economy would have collapsed. It would have been the end of our economic system and our political system as we know it." -- Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) on C-Span, explaining, per Political Wire, "how the Federal Reserve told members of Congress about an electronic run on the banks 'to the tune of $550 billion dollars' within 'an hour or two' last fall. According to Kanjorski, on September 18, 2008 the Fed tried to 'stem the tide' by pumping money into the financial system but it didn't work and decided instead to announce an immediate increase in deposit insurance to $250,000 per account to stop the panic."

Mike Huckabee says the stimulus is "anti religious" because of a provision that prohibits federal dollars for higher education construction grants to be used for. On his PAC's Web site, yesterday, he wrote, "You would think the ACLU drafted this bill."

Speaking of the stimulus, PolitiFact has the latest on Obama's promises kept and broken. 
 
Jeb's weird "corpus" exchange with Miami Herald reporter:
Q: Why did you decide not run for senate.
Bush: "You saw the statement."
Kristy Campbell (Bush spokeswoman): I'm going to end this gaggle.
Q: It's not a gaggle. I'm the only reporter here.
Bush: "He's the only guy up here. He's the press. Whats the singular of press corps?"
Q: Body?
Bush: "Corpus."

Politically Incorrect: As the House and Senate conference negotiations continue today -- with, as we pointed out -- the average age of negotiators being 71, how do we refer to these folks? Seriously, people are arguing about which terms are offensive or not, and there's actually now a stylebook for the media on how to refer to the aged. Even "elderly" and "senior citizen" are unacceptable and not appreciated, apparently. Geez.

The New York Times writes, that under "obviously ageist words and phrases to avoid" are: "biddy," "codger," "coot," "crone," "fogy," "fossil," "geezer," "hag," "old fart," "old goat," "prune," "senile old fool" and "vegetable."

OK, we'll avoid those.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

Negotiations on the stimulus continue behind closed doors today, with participants expected to come up for air this afternoon -- long enough to stage a public session of the formal conference committee.

The total of the bill is now down to $789.5 billion, from the Senate bill's $838 billion. The provision to up the home buyer credit to $15,000 has been reduced, as has the measure on auto loans. Both were inserted during Senate debate.

Still in flux, according to aides, is a restoration of some of the school construction funds that were stricken from the Senate bill, as well as aid to states (and the allocation formula for that aid).

From NBC's Courtney Kube
A senior defense official says that the U.S. is tracking as many as seven or eight separate attacks at several government buildings across Kabul today.

The defense official said that all of the places targeted in Kabul were Afghan government facilities, and that there are no U.S. casualties (they are looking in to a report of a French casualty).

Video: Gunmen launch a series of attacks across Kabul, killing at least 20.

The attack was "highly coordinated," the official said, describing it as "deeply troubling."

The economy may be the focus, but Afghanistan provides a reminder of what else the country and President Obama face.

U.S. officials are still unclear whether the attack was carried out by Taliban or al Qaeda.  One official said that simultaneous attacks like this often indicate al Qaeda, but that the combination of suicide attackers and gunmen is "not beyond the realm of capability for several players there" in Afghanistan. For now, no one believes this marks the beginning of the spring fighting season in Afghanistan, but they are watching it closely.

Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman said that the government of Afghanistan will likely review how the attack was "as successful as it was," in order to mitigate future attacks like this one.