From NBC's Mike Viqueira

Process alert! But it's important... The House will include a provision in its version of the budget that would protect the president's health-care initiative from a filibuster, according to a very senior House Democrat.

Health care will be the only provision to enjoy such protection, termed, "reconciliation."

It's important because the Senate, where the actual filibusters happen, is not expected to include the procedure in its budget, in part, owing to the fact that many senators, some Dems included, do not think it is appropriate use of the technique.

Republicans have spoken darkly of legislative mayhem as a means of retribution if Dems go down that path.

Both the president and vice president will be here for closed-door meetings today with Democrats. Biden will meet with the speaker at noon.

The respective budget committees meet today to prepare their measures for floor consideration next week.

The House move is intended as a "stick" to get Senate Republicans to the table on health care, according to an aide.

From NBC's Claire Luke
WASHINGTON -- Since Rush Limbaugh said he wants President Obama to fail, Republicans have been asked repeatedly if they share the sentiment.
 
Last night, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, unprompted, offered his answer.
 
"It depends on what he's trying to do," Jindal told a crowd of about 1,200 Republicans at the National Building Museum, gathered for a fundraiser for the National Republican Campaign Committee, which supports GOP candidates running for Congress. Jindal spoke just minutes before President Obama took to the podium for his nationally televised prime-time news conference.
 
Answering yes to the question of wanting Obama to fail seems like treason, Jindal said, adding that Democrats wanted to see President Bush fail. 
 
If the president does what Jindal agrees with -- like cutting earmarks -- then he said he wishes Obama success. But if the president, as Jindal perceives, keeps the United States indebted to China, taxes Americans to fund abortions in foreign countries, taxes private businesses or allows public union elections, then, Jindal said, Republicans should want Obama to fail in those measures.
 
"We are loyal to the United States, but we don't have to be loyal to every policy," he stated. "We can't allow policies like those of European socialism."
 
He added that opposition, as he sees it, is a healthy exercise for democracy.

Jindal warned against the continued Republican "navel gazing," but said that the party's mistake was in shifting away from conservative values, whereby both parties seemed to be wanting bigger government. He added that he thinks the GOP is beginning to find its way, and it needs to worry more about fixing the country rather than mistakes of the past.
 
There was some red meat for the partisan crowd, as the governor charged that Democrats are the experts at wasting money, and echoed Minority Leader John Boehner's point that Americans are witnessing the greatest expansion of government ever. He added he believes both parties want to do what is best for the country, but Democrats' priorities are misplaced.
 
He also took his shots at Obama. "I don't know about you, but this doesn't look like the Barack Obama we met on the campaign trail," Jindal said, per Roll Call. "I don't know about you, but I liked that guy a lot better."

Jindal reiterated, however, that Republicans need to argue for tangible solutions, not just philosophies, and noted that the party needs to own issues like healthcare, education and energy.
 
He argued that health care, for example, needs to be provided for everyone. He called the current system broken.
 
"We can do better," he said.
 
On education, he said, "We need to ensure every child has this."
 
He argued that there needs to be a clean energy push, but unlike Democrats, he said, Republicans would utilize every energy source available.
 
Jindal then pivoted, countering Democrats' charge that Republicans are nothing more than the "Party of no."
 
"We are the party of yes," he said.
 
The NRCC said it took in more than $6 million from last night's event, $1 million more than officials say they were expecting.
 
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is in Washington next week, when he headlines a fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

From NBC's Pete Williams

FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress today that the bureau is struggling to keep up with an explosion of investigations into corruption by public officials and mortgage fraud.

He told a Senate committee today that the FBI has a surprising 2,500 public corruption investigations open now -- up nearly 60 percent since 2003. In just the past two years, FBI investigations have brought about more than 1,600 convictions of federal, state and local public officials. 

Mueller said the FBI's mortgage fraud load has more than doubled in the past three years, to more than 2,000 cases from 700. The FBI has more than 566 open corporate fraud investigations, including some directly related to the current financial crisis, he said.

But Mueller said these cases are putting a strain on the FBI, which has been forced to shift resources from other criminal investigations. The number of agents investigating mortgage fraud has risen from 120 to 250 in the past two years. And it's clear that will have to grow more. Since last fall, nearly 29,000 reports of potential fraud have been filed, he said.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Firing their shot in the current battle over the budget, the liberal group Americans United for Change has launched a six-figure ad blitz (likely to exceed $700,000) that will run in states that just happen to be represented by some of the more conservative Democratic senators -- including North Dakota (home to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad), Nebraska (Ben Nelson), Virginia (Mark Warner), Indiana (Evan Bayh), Arkansas (Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor), Louisiana (Mary Landrieu), Alaska (Mark Begich), North Carolina (Kay Hagan), and New Hampshire (Jeanne Shaheen).

The ad also will run on cable and broadcast in DC.

Largely repeating President Obama's message from last night, the ad goes: "For eight years, the Bush administration turned our economy into a house of cards. Last fall that house came tumbling down. Now President Obama has drawn up a budget blue print that will rebuild our economy on a solid foundation."

[Youtube:ar4FTclpVkg]

Said Tom McMahon, the group's acting executive director: "This ad is designed to engage the American people in the process of bringing about the transformational change they voted for in November by contacting their elected representatives and asking for their help in putting our country on the road to prosperity."

The script:
ANNCR: For eight years, the Bush Administration turned our economy into a house of cards.
Last fall that house came tumbling down.
Now President Obama has drawn up a budget blue print that will rebuild our economy on a solid foundation.
Jobs, health care, education, clean energy – reform.
On this foundation we can build real, long term economic prosperity – for all Americans.
Call Congress. Tell them you support President Obama's budget. Let's all get to work rebuilding America.

From NBC's Mark Murray
For the first time since becoming president, Barack Obama has endorsed a political candidate and is urging his supporters to vote for him.

In an email to supporters in Upstate New York, Obama has asked them to back Democrat Scott Murphy in his race on Tuesday against Republican Jim Tedisco. The two men are vying to fill the congressional seat vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand (D), who replaced Hillary Clinton in the Senate.

"I'm writing to you now because you have the opportunity to make a big impact on my efforts to bring about a lasting economic recovery," Obama writes. "Today I'm announcing my support for Scott Murphy... To restore our economy and build a foundation for lasting prosperity, I'll need Scott's help. This week, Scott needs yours."

Interestingly, Tedisco has embraced the president somewhat in this traditionally GOP-leaning congressional district that Obama narrowly won in November. "Like the president says: In these difficult times, we're not Republicans or Democrats. We're Americans," Tedisco says in one of his ads.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** The Obama ocean-liner: More than anything else, Obama's news conference last night resembled a campaign TV ad -- one in which the serious candidate talks directly to the camera (although this one went on for nearly an hour, and it sometimes was interrupted by tough questions from the press). Indeed, how many times did we hear Obama mention his budget's top priorities: education, energy, health care, reducing the deficit? Perhaps the most striking thing was the president linking his budget to the current economic crisis. ("The budget I submitted to Congress will build our economic recovery on a stronger foundation, so that we do not face another crisis like this 10 or 20 years from now.") He preached persistence and pleaded patience. ("We'll recover from this recession, but it will take time, it will take patience.") Rahm Emanuel's grin, in fact, might have said it all at the end of the news conference, when Obama turned a question on Middle East peace back into a defense of his first two months in the White House. "I think that you look back four years from now, I think hopefully people will judge that body of work and say, 'This is a big ocean-liner. It's not a speedboat. It doesn't turn around immediately. But we're in a better, better place because of the decisions that we made.'"

Video: Obama asks for patience on his plan to fix the economy at his new conference last night.

*** With friends like these…: Of course, Obama is going to need a lot of persistence and patience when he sits down with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill at 1:00 pm ET today (closed press). His budget is not going over well some of his own party's deficit hawks, who are already signaling that they want to cut major portions of his budget like his middle-class tax cut. Also today, Obama meets with the UN Secretary General at 10:45 am; he and Biden deliver remarks to commemorate Greek Independence Day at 5:05 pm; and then he hits two DNC fundraisers in the evening -- his first two fundraisers since becoming president.

*** Other quick thoughts about last night: Despite all the past week's attention on the AIG bonuses, that subject barely came up at last night's press conference… The only true foreign policy question came at the end (re: Middle East peace)… He took several questions from non-traditional media outlets (Univision, Ebony, Stars and Stripes) and bypassed some of the big newspapers (NYT, WashPo, LATimes, WSJ)… His answer on the race question was very interesting ("At the inauguration, I think that there was justifiable pride on the part of the country that we had taken a step to move us beyond some of the searing legacies of racial discrimination in this country, but that lasted about a day")… And his defense of paring charitable tax deductions for the well-off might have been the most fascinating exchange of the evening.

*** Card check's death? Did the legislative battle over the Employee Free Choice Act (a.k.a. "card check") end before it truly began? GOP Sen. Arlen Specter's decision yesterday to oppose the bill, even though he voted for cloture on the measure in '07, dealt a blow to organized labor, denying them the 60 votes they need to end debate -- even if Al Franken ends up joining the Senate. We can tell you this: The White House appears to be happy (but very quietly so) to have this debate out of the way. No doubt they were for it. But it was always more of a Biden cause than a Barack cause. At this point in time, with everything else on their plate, sticking a finger in business' eye wasn't something the White House was looking forward to. Would Obama have signed it? Yes. But he doesn't have to worry about it now, at least maybe not until 2011.

*** Specter in trouble? Even though Arlen Specter supported the card-check legislation in '07, there's a reason why he isn't now -- he likely has a tough GOP primary on his hands next year. And, according to a new Quinnipiac poll, that primary might be even tougher than we imagined. The poll shows conservative Pat Toomey topping the more moderate Specter by a whopping 14 points in a hypothetical Pennsylvania GOP primary, 41%-27%. Overall, Specter gets relatively high marks from Pennsylvania voters. His fav/unfav is 45%-31%, but among Republicans, it's just 29%-47%; among Democrats, it's 60%-16% (who would have thought that?). Per the poll, the reason why Republicans are upset with Specter: his support for Obama's stimulus. Specter, of course, narrowly beat Toomey in a GOP primary in 2004. And while he has said he will remain a Republican, does Specter start second-guessing that decision after this poll? And with the prospect that Toomey might defeat Specter in a GOP primary, how many Pennsylvania Democrats will now start thinking about jumping into this Senate race?

*** AIG, yeah you know me: Be sure not to miss the letter in today's New York Times from Jake DeSantis, executive VP of AIG's financial products unit, who tells AIG CEO Edwards Liddy 1) that he's resigning from AIG; 2) that he's giving his bonus money to those suffering from the economic downturn; and 3) that he and his co-workers have been unfairly maligned. "I am disappointed and frustrated over your lack of support for us. I and many others in the unit feel betrayed that you failed to stand up for us in the face of untrue and unfair accusations from certain members of Congress last Wednesday and from the press over our retention payments, and that you didn't defend us against the baseless and reckless comments made by the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut." It's a fascinating read.

*** South of the border: Also today, Secretary of State Clinton travels to Mexico, where she meets with President Calderon. There's also a Senate hearing on the border violence. Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, as well as Deputy Secretary of State Steinberg and Deputy Attorney General Ogden testify at 9:30 am ET. Clinton's visit comes one day after Obama unveiled his plan to help curb the drug violence in Mexico, and as the New York Times front-pages that the administration's next big foreign policy challenge could be next door. "Mexico's economy is being dragged down by the recession to the north. American addicts have turned Mexico into a drug superhighway, and its police and soldiers are under assault from American guns. Nafta promised 15 years ago that Mexican trucks would be allowed on American roads, but Congress said they were unsafe."

Video: Obama discusses how the U.S. is helping control the border with Mexico. 

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The Boston Globe says Obama "urged the nation last night to be patient, pledging a presidency of perseverance that he said will eventually result in recovery from the recession."

The Washington Post: "Although he spoke sharply once in response to Republican criticism, Obama struck a tone of common purpose throughout his second prime-time news conference, urging the country to be patient as he works on issues as divergent as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the malign impact of lobbying in Washington."

The New York Times says the Obama who appeared at last night's presser was the "familiar character from early in the campaign. Placid and unsmiling, he was the professor in chief, offering familiar arguments in long paragraphs…Speaking past the reporters in the room to the tens of millions of viewers tuning in at home, he tried to reassure the nation that he could solve the crisis that has gripped the economy for more than a year. 'We're beginning to see signs of progress,' he said, calling for a 'renewed confidence that a better day will come.'"

The Hill: "President Obama said Tuesday night that the budget he has presented to Congress is 'inseparable' from economic recovery and will ensure that the nation does not face a similar economic crisis '10 or 20 years from now.'"

The Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Obama largely focused on defending his domestic economic proposals. He repeatedly took openings to make the case that the government should spend now on renewable-energy development, education and a health-insurance overhaul that would put the economy on a sounder footing once it recovers."

Politico says Obama "made it clear that he believes that his success or failure depends above all on whether he is able to make seismic shifts—and expensive ones—in the nation's health care and energy policies. And he is fairly easy-going about the precise legislative path these initiatives take, or whether certain details fall out along the way."

The AP's Woodward fact-checks Obama's assessments on economic recovery and deficits: "The president's spending plans and deficit projections rest on the assumption that the economy will post solid growth next year after a mild, further decline this year. Many economists think that's too rosy. Obama was more cautious than that in his prime-time news conference -- possibly to the point of having it both ways."

The New York Daily News' cover has the president with the headline: "It's gonna work." Story: "President Obama feels your pain - and your anger -- but that assumes you have any feeling at all after his less-than-electrifying press conference Tuesday night."  and

CBN's Brody writes, "President Obama is like the guy in baseball who always seems to get on base and rarely strikes out. He is what you call a guy with a high on base percentage. At Tuesday's prime time press conference he was at it again. He was hitting singles all night. The guy is methodical. He basically makes his point and moves on and never seems to stumble. Ever."

Salon's Mike Madden: "The press conference … revealed a president who realized the occasion was mostly about talking directly to voters watching at home."

And the Washington Post writes about the reporters asking the questions.

Geithner and Bernanke yesterday "argued Tuesday for unprecedented powers to regulate and even take over financial goliaths whose collapse could imperil the entire economy. President Barack Obama agreed and said he hoped 'it doesn't take too long to convince Congress.'" 
 
The president expects to get that authority. 
 
"While the power seems likely to be granted by Congress, it's unclear which wing of the government would be given the authority. Mr. Geithner proposed that any emergency action be based on a determination by the Treasury secretary along with the Federal Reserve and the federal regulator overseeing the company," the Wall Street Journal adds.

Third time's the charm, we guess. Gary Locke was confirmed as Obama's commerce secretary. "Locke, 59, the nation's first Chinese-American governor, was approved by a voice vote and has promised to focus on job creation and to closely oversee the 2010 census."

And don't miss this… "Bill Clinton's White House era is finally getting the Tinseltown treatment. Dennis Quaid will play Bubba and Julianne Moore will portray Hillary in a new movie tentatively titled "Special Relationship," from Academy Award-nominated British screenwriter Peter Morgan, the Daily News has confirmed."

"Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has proposed slashing President Obama's discretionary spending by half with a budget resolution that is expected to fracture the Democratic Conference," The Hill writes. "The Senate Budget Committee chairman outlined his plan privately before colleagues at Tuesday's closed-door policy lunch — one day ahead of Obama's visit to Capitol Hill to discuss the topic — and publicly at a late-afternoon news conference."

"Conrad's budget resolution does not set aside a fixed amount of money for the president's healthcare reform or cap-and-trade proposals. Instead, it creates "deficit-neutral" reserve funds that give Senate and House committee chairmen a free hand to craft their own proposals as long as they do not add to the deficit."

Politico adds, "Obama, who will come to the Capitol Wednesday to meet with Senate Democrats, sought to downplay the differences at his White House news conference hours after Conrad's announcement. But he was firm that he expects the final budget plan to foster 'serious efforts at healthcare reform' and his major investments —including energy and education—were 'inseparable to this recovery.'"

MoveOn has radio ads up in districts and states of oft-targeted "moderate" Democrats, urging them to support President Obama's budget. The ads mention Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Warner and Evan Bayh, as well as Reps. Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell, Jason Altmire, Joe Donnelly, Chris Carney, Baron Hill and Mike McIntyre.

Hotline has more on the radio ads.

Is card check now doomed? The Hill: "Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) announced Tuesday he will oppose the card-check bill, giving an apparent death blow to the most important bill for organized labor this Congress."

Chris Hill "is expected to pass the first Senate hurdle to confirmation [as ambassador to Iraq]. But he faces a fight from some Republicans who wonder whether his lack of experience in the Middle East makes him unsuitable."

And Ted Kennedy "is back in Washington this week to shepherd a bipartisan bill that would greatly expand funding for national service and to hold a series of meetings on healthcare as part of an effort to draft a massive overhaul plan this summer."

About an hour before President Obama took to the podium for his primetime news conference, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was back in town for the NRCC's largest fundraiser of the year. Roll Call: "An energetic Jindal told 1,200 partisans that Republicans are finished 'navel gazing' on the direction of their party and must be prepared to rebound. 'We need to worry more about fixing our country and helping to chart America's future,' Jindal said."
 
More: "A particularly partisan Jindal addressed the crowd minutes before President Barack Obama held a nationally televised press conference. Jindal did not mince words, criticizing the Democrats for liberal spending practices and plans to expand government. 'I don't know about you, but this doesn't look like the Barack Obama we met on the campaign trail,' he said. 'I don't know about you, but I liked that guy a lot better.'" 
 
The event took in more than $6 million, according to the group. That's about a million more than officials say they expected.

MINNESOTA: "Ex-Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.), at the Capitol on Tuesday to lunch with his former GOP colleagues, said he does not expect to take his election recount battle all the way to the Supreme Court," Roll Call reports. "'I'm not anticipating being across the street,' Coleman said, pointing toward the Supreme Court building as he stood just off the Senate floor. 'In the end for me, fundamentally, it's about making sure every vote is counted.'"

The Hill looks at Republicans' chances for the '09 Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races. It calls them "golden opportunities." 
 
NEW YORK: In the NY-20 special election, Jim Tedisco (R) and Scott Murphy (D) debated last night. "Tedisco sounded off on his experience; 'I am the only candidate in this race with a proven record of public service who has represented upstate New York.' Scott Murphy touted himself a not only a successful business man but also a family man. 'A big part of the reason why I'm running is because of my big family and my ties here,' says Murphy."

More: "The two spoke on a wide range of topics from negative campaign ads, to AIG bonuses and the economy. On multiple occasions Murphy referenced his support of the stimulus bill. 'What I've said from the beginning is that I've got the experience from working with small businesses to get the economy moving first step is President Obama's recovery act.' Tedisco rebutted saying he supports the stimulus bill, but not everything in it."

The hits keep on comin' for Gov. David Paterson. The New York Post has him on the cover: "Gov orders 8,900 layoffs."

From NBC's Mark Murray
The White House just released excerpts of the opening statement that President Obama will deliver at his news conference just three hours from now.

Per the excerpts, Obama will (as expected) push for his budget. "The budget I submitted to Congress will build our economic recovery on a stronger foundation, so that we do not face another crisis like this ten or twenty years from now. We invest in the renewable sources of energy that will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and less dependence on foreign oil.   We invest in our schools and our teachers so that our children have the skills they need to compete with any workers in the world."

He'll also discuss cutting (eventually) the deficit: "At the end of the day, the best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is not with a budget that continues the very same policies that have led to a narrow prosperity and massive debt. It's with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest."

And he'll ask the country for patience in getting out of the recession: "We will recover from this recession. But it will take time, it will take patience, and it will take an understanding that when we all work together; when each of us looks beyond our own short-term interests to the wider set of obligations we have to each other -- that's when we succeed. That's when we prosper. And that's what is needed right now. So let us look toward the future with a renewed sense of common purpose, a renewed determination, and most importantly, a renewed confidence that a better day will come."  

From NBC's Mark Murray
AFL-CIO president John Sweeney released this statement regarding Arlen Specter's decision to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. "Today's announcement by Sen. Specter -- a sponsor of the original Employee Free Choice Act who voted for cloture in 2007 -- is frankly a disappointment and a rebuke to working people, to his own constituents in Pennsylvania and working families around the country."

Sweeney continues, "The fact is the Employee Free Choice Act has more support than ever -- large majorities in both houses of Congress, the President and Vice President, 73 percent of the public. We will continue to work with Democrats and a number of Republicans to create commonsense solutions to the decades of corporate power. We do not plan to let a hardball campaign from Big Business derail the Employee Free Choice Act or the dreams of workers."      
 

From NBC's Mark Murray
Did the campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act (a.k.a. "card check") end before it truly began?

It looks like it after Sen. Arlen Specter (R) signaled today that he would vote against cloture on the measure, denying Democrats 60 votes to break a GOP filibuster on the legislation -- even if Al Franken gives Democrats a 59th vote. Specter was the only Republican to vote for cloture on the legislation in 2007.

"The problems of the recession make this a particularly bad time to enact Employees Free Choice legislation. Employers understandably complain that adding a burden would result in further job losses," Specter said on the Senate floor. "If efforts are unsuccessful to give Labor sufficient bargaining power through amendments to the [National Labor Relations Act], then I would be willing to reconsider Employees' Free Choice legislation when the economy returns to normalcy."

Politics, of course, hovered over Specter's decision, especially since he's up for re-election in 2010. Organized labor floated the idea that it would back the Republican in a general election if he supported card check. But supporting the legislation would also potentially hurt him in a GOP primary.

Specter, in fact, referred to the political speculation over his vote in his Senate floor speech. "This announcement should end the rumor mill that I have made some deal for my political advantage. I have not traded my vote in the past and I would not do so now."

Big business cheered Specter's decision. "We applaud the Senator for taking a principled stand to support Main Street employers and workers in Pennsylvania," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a statement. (Organized labor has yet to officially react to the news.)

Conservative Pat Toomey, a potential GOP primary challenger to Specter, issued this response: "The difference between Specter's vote on the big government stimulus bill and Specter's vote on card check: a threat in the Republican primary. It's nice to see Sen. Specter reverse his position in a positive direction on card check, but I wish it didn't take primary opposition to get him to do it."

VIDEO: Chuck Todd previews Obama's second prime-time news conference tonight. The budget and the economy will dominate, and "Obama wants to get back on message."

Produced by NBC's Athena Jones

From NBC's Athena Jones

WASHINGTON -- The drug violence gripping Mexico is not just a Mexican problem, the Obama administration made clear Tuesday when it announced $700 million would be devoted to stepped-up border security efforts this year.

The plan, dubbed the Southwest Border Security Initiative, aims to improve screening and technology to help reduce arms smuggling and drug trafficking in border regions.

It would increase personnel and improve intelligence gathering and coordination with state, local and Mexican law enforcement officials, so that the "rule of law is upheld and enforced" in border areas, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters during a press conference that was added to the White House schedule this morning.

The secretary said she and Attorney General Eric Holder planned to visit Mexico next week to talk about security. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels there tomorrow.

"Our goal is two-fold," Napolitano said, "one is to provide assistance to the government of Mexico to break up these huge cartels which are funneling tonnage quantities of illegal drugs into our country on a regular basis and are conducting this war of violence within Mexico that has resulted in over 6,000 homicides over 550 of which were assassinations of law enforcement and public officials. The second is to guard against an increase in violence in the United States as a result of the actions undertaken in Mexico."

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised today's announcement, calling it a great first step.
 
"What our border needs is more personnel, more assets and improved technology, so I'm encouraged by President Obama's multi-department approach that commits to doing just that along our southwest border," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "The United States must help President Calderon crack down on Mexican drug cartels in order to prevent the spillover of violence from Mexico across our border and into our state. I will continue to fight for more federal resources at our border."

Napolitano said a decision had not yet been made regarding Texas Gov. Rick Perry's request that National Guard troops be dispatched to the border but that she would be meeting with the governor to discuss the matter on Thursday. She said there had been an increase in violence between drug cartels, including kidnappings in Phoenix and Houston.

Perry reiterated his request for troops in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

"I have asked the administration for an immediate deployment of 1,000 additional National Guard troops to support civilian law enforcement and border patrol agents and remain hopeful that we will get the resources we need," the statement read in part. "The state of Texas will continue to fill in the gaps until the federal government provides adequate resources necessary to secure our border and protect our citizens from those seeking to do us harm."

Perry said the Lone Star State was spending $110 million to secure the Texas-Mexico border and that he had requested an additional $135 million from the Texas Legislature to continue border security efforts and combat transnational gangs.

The unrest in Mexico has led to growing concerns within the administration because of the potentially destabilizing effects along the countries' long, shared border.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that if AIG folks are really coughing up their bonuses, "then we have accomplished what we set out to do."

Recall that it was Pelosi who last week rushed the 90% bonus tax to the floor of the House, only to see congressional ardor for legislation fade this week in the Senate. It now appears that the Senate won't even get to its own version of the "clawback" measure until late in April, after the spring recess.

Pelosi says the goal was "to get the taxpayer money back," yet it is unclear just how much will be returned by AIG bonus recipients.

ON another front, Pelosi is supportive of Geithner's proposal for new power to "unwind" companies like AIG through a broadening of federal power. "It is a good step in the right direction," she said.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
The Federal Election Commission essentially hit the reset button on funding for the never-ending Minnesota Senate race.

On Day 140, the FEC ruled that both Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken can go back to the well and re-tap maxed out donors. Both sides lobbied for this.

"For instance, a person who gave the maximum contribution of $30,400 to a national Democratic or Republican party organization this year can now give the same maximum to a party recount and trial fund for one of the candidates," the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. "The party organization can use the fund to help the candidate pay his expenses. Similarly, a political committee could give another $15,000 to such a fund even if it gave the maximum amount during the campaign."

And get this: "[T]he candidates are believed to have raised at least $11 million combined since the November election to pay for the recount and trial. That's about one-fourth of what they raised and spent during the entire 2007-08 election cycle. Election law experts estimate that each of the six or more lawyers actively working on the case made about $500 an hour while in the courtroom."

Specter to vote against card check?
Accentuating why Democrats want that 60th senator (and Republicans want to delay, delay, delay), there are a couple of reports that say Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter "will vote against a cloture motion to limit debate on the Employee Free Choice Act," Congress Daily writes, citing business sources.

What that essentially means is that he would filibuster card check as it is currently written. This could be a big blow to advocates of the legislation that would, in part, make it easier for workers to form a union.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
We did a very tongue-in-cheek post on Elizabeth Kucinich participating in a local version of "Dancing with the Stars," but now her husband, congressman and presidential also-ran Dennis Kucinich, is plugging the show and urging people to vote for her... on Twitter.

"D-OH Dennis Kucinich Please vote for Elizabeth in week 2 of Cleveland Dancing show. Vote poll is half way down right side."

Just so you know.

Elsewhere in the Twittersphere:
Zach Wamp makes this claim: "The democrat budget spends too much, borrows too much and taxes too much. More debt in this budget than last 43 Presidents combined."

Bill Shuster wants you to help him decide on whether Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner should keep his job: "Added a new poll on my blog - should Geithner resign or should he stay? Stop by and vote."

John Ensign still wants you to be his friend: "Help me reach 900 Facebook supporters tonight (just 10 away), by inviting your friends to support me."

From NBC's Pete Williams

After a morning of very spirited argument about freedom of speech at election time, including banning books, the U.S. Supreme Court seemed prepared to rule in favor of the conservative backers of "Hillary: The Movie" -- and make a new exception to the laws restricting campaign ads.

The Hillary movie is a harshly critical 90-minute film that long-time opponents of the Clintons wanted to put on cable TV, as a video-on-demand offering, just as the primaries were heating up in January 2008. The federal government blocked it, deeming the film nothing more than a glorified attack ad, improperly paid for in part by corporate contributions. That ran afoul of the McCain-Feingold law intended to keep corporate money out of politics, even though the corporate contributions to the film came from a small non profit.

Video: "Hillary: The Movie," produced by a former Republican congressional aide, is being debated in the Supreme Court. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

The moviemakers claimed that the ban was an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, and a majority of the Supreme Court appeared to agree.

Because the movie was to be a video-on-demand selection, people who wanted to see it would have to seek it out. That would make it different from the short attack ads that wash over captive television viewers, several of the justices suggested. "Isn't the First Amendment interest greater when the government is trying to stifle not only the speaker but also the person who wants to listen?" asked Justice Antonin Scalia.

The entire court seemed alarmed by the argument of a government lawyer, defending the ban on "Hillary: The Movie," who said the law would ban any potential electioneering message funded in any part by a corporation -- even a book publisher. Even a book could be banned before an election if a labor union paid an author to write it and then got a mainstream publisher to print it, said Malcolm Stewart of the Justice Department.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Meeting the press, again: The last -- and only other -- time President Obama conducted a primetime news conference was on Feb. 9, the very day he traveled to Indiana to sell his stimulus plan. Since that newser six weeks ago, the president signed that stimulus into law (2/17); announced he was redeploying 17,000 troops to Afghanistan (2/17); unveiled his $3.6 trillion budget (2/26); announced his plans to bring home troops from Iraq in 19 months (2/27); began facing the furor over the AIG bonuses (3/16); and went on the road to sell his budget (3/18). Indeed, tonight's news conference comes at a crucial time for Obama. While his poll ratings have held steady, the public's anger over bailouts and the AIG bonus mess in particular have created a volatile political environment. "The American public is rooting for him. They want him to succeed," Democratic pollster Peter Hart told NBC. "But against that, they want answers." Before the news conference, which begins at 8:01 pm ET, Obama meets in the morning with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Also today, the president calls the space station, and we might learn more about the administration's plan about the drug violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Video: President Obama is taking his economic message directly to the people with his second prime-time news conference since becoming president. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.

*** A lesson learned? The new polls out in the last few days all seem to agree on one thing: AIG has not hurt Obama personally. Instead, it has hurt Washington, Wall Street, and some views on the economic fixes -- but not the president. The lesson the White House will take from these polls? They aren't risking over-exposure; they probably believe that had the president NOT done this six-day media blitz, he would have been more singed on AIG than he was. But he was out there talking all week about it and wasn't hunkered down at the White House. Look back at this last week and realize this will be a lesson the Obama White House learns.

*** From Wall Street goat to genius? Six weeks ago, Treasury Secretary Geithner got panned after his first policy rollout -- and then pretty much every day after that. But after unveiling yesterday's toxic-asset plan, and with the Dow jumping up almost 500 points, Geithner has suddenly turned into a Wall Street hero, at least for now. As Jackie Calmes writes, "This time President Obama directed some of the stagecraft. This time … Geithner fleshed out the substance of their long-anticipated program to remove banks' toxic assets and revive the financial system. And this time the reaction was widely positive, giving the embattled Mr. Geithner a critically needed boost." But it's important to keep this in mind: While the press will continue to watch the market's daily reactions to the administration's policies, what truly matters is what the Dow and the economy in general look like come the summer and fall of 2010. And one other risk: Will some on Main Street look at Wall Street's reaction and wonder if this new banking plan is TOO pro-Wall Street?

*** Slowly but surely: One potential question that Obama might receive tonight -- on the dearth of high-level appointees at the Treasury Department -- might be a tad easier for him to answer now that he announced yesterday that he's filling three of the top four jobs underneath Geithner. The picks: Neal Wolin (deputy secretary), Lael Brainard (undersecretary for international affairs), and Bush appointee Stuart Levey (undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence), who will remain at the post he's held since 2004. These picks come as government expert Paul Light writes a New York Times op-ed arguing that Congress needs to do a better job speeding up the confirmation process. Light also makes this point: While the Senate has confirmed just one Treasury appointee, Geithner is hardly alone at Treasury. "He has an at-will chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, press officer, three special counselors and 50 at-will appointees working in his executive suite." Still, something needs to give on the confirmation process. The Senate Finance Committee is holding up the vetting process at an unprecedented rate.  

*** Regulators, mount up: Speaking of the Treasury Department, Geithner and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify on AIG oversight before House Financial Services Committee beginning at 10:00 am ET. During his testimony, Geithner will urge Congress to pass legislation that would give the federal government new regulatory powers, including "resolution authority," to help ensure that key financial institutions that fail don't pose risk to the country's financial system. "We must ensure that our country never faces this situation again," Geithner is expected to say. "To achieve that goal, the administration and Congress have to work together to enact comprehensive regulatory reform and eliminate gaps in supervision. All institutions and markets that could pose systemic risk will be subject to strong oversight, including appropriate constraints on risk-taking. Regulators must apply standards, not just to protect the soundness of individual institutions, but to protect the stability of the system as a whole." This new agency could be a public way for the Treasury Department to appoint a secretary of AIG or an AIG czar. Keep this in mind: AIG has received more government guarantees than the annual budgets of State and Homeland Security COMBINED!!!

*** Global author: In advance of the upcoming G-20 meeting in Europe, the president has written an op-ed running in more than 30 countries (including the U.S.) that calls for bold international action to confront the global economic crisis. "Our leadership is grounded in a simple premise: We will act boldly to lift the American economy out of crisis and reform our regulatory structure, and these actions will be strengthened by complementary action abroad," he says. "Through our example, the United States can promote a global recovery and build confidence around the world; and if the London Summit helps galvanize collective action, we can forge a secure recovery, and future crises can be averted."

*** 2012 watch: Last night, DNC chair Tim Kaine announced he was appointing 37 members -- including Jim Clyburn and Claire McCaskill as co-chairs -- to look at the Democratic presidential primary calendar and nominating process. (Obama campaign manager David Plouffe also is a member of the commission.) Question here: Do we really think Obama's DNC is going to back any plan that costs Iowa or South Carolina its place in the calendar? For those folks in Michigan and Florida looking for a role early in the process, they may have to start asking for a rotation of some sort beginning in 2016 -- not 2012. Then again, the length of the primary process in 2008 could help sell some states and state party leaders that earlier isn't necessarily better. In fact, could this lead to a push to guarantee longer primary seasons? The quick end of the 2008 GOP primary campaign doomed McCain.

*** More 2012: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal headlines a fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which takes place at the National Building Museum in DC at 7:00 pm ET. Remember the last time Jindal was the main GOP responder to an Obama event in primetime?
 
Countdown to NY-20 special: 7 days
Countdown to Obama's 100th day: 36 days 
Countdown to NJ GOP primary: 70 days
Countdown to VA Dem primary: 77 days
Countdown to Election Day 2009: 224 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 588 days

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Previewing tonight's big political event, the AP says that "Obama is virtually certain to use Tuesday's prime-time news conference to continue an effort that began over the weekend: cooling the anti-AIG ferocity, now that it threatens to undermine his efforts to bail out the nation's deeply troubled financial sector." 

The Washington Post's Cillizza: "Expect Obama to follow the outline utilized in his first prime-time press conference on February 9 -- introductory remarks designed to frame the context for those watching at home followed by a dozen (or so) questions from reporters. (In his first press conference Obama took 13 questions -- five of which centered on the economy.) Obama likely will filibuster a question or two, spending considerable time expounding on his economic policies in order to limit the total number of questions asked."

In advance of tonight's press conference, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has released a Web video -- entitled "Change We Can Believe In?" -- that contrasts Obama's rhetoric on the campaign trail with some of his actions as president.   

Meanwhile, the liberal Campaign for America's Future, along with liberal blogger Jane Hamsher, will host a conference call at 11:00 am ET to announce the launch of a campaign to target conservative Democrats who are opposed to Obama's budget.

Obama meets with the Australia's PM today, but he might have hoped perhaps for a more hawkish leader. "Obama is boosting the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and pushing for more international help to end a 7-year-old war against resurgent Taliban fighters," the AP writes. "Rudd has suggested Australia is unlikely to substantially increase troop numbers in Afghanistan, saying recently that Australia's level of some 1,000 troops is 'about right.'"

The lobbyists strike back? "Irate over the demonization of their profession, lobbyists say they will push back against a new White House directive aimed at limiting lobbyists' influence on how the government doles out $787 billion in stimulus funds," Roll Call reports. "The Obama administration memo released Friday says lobbyists cannot meet or speak with executive branch officials regarding specific stimulus projects or applications. Instead, lobbyists are relegated to submitting written comments about stimulus funding, which will be posted publicly within three business days."

The New York Times front-pages, "The Obama administration's new plan to liberate the nation's banks from a toxic stew of bad home loans and mortgage-related securities is bigger and more generous to private investors than expected, but it also puts taxpayers at great risk… Investors reacted ecstatically, with all of the major stock indexes soaring as soon as the markets opened. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day up nearly 500 points, or 6.84 percent, to 7,775.86. The thundering response was the mirror opposite of the bitter disappointment by investors when the plan was first vaguely described on Feb. 10." 

The cover of the New York Daily News: "Wow! That's better." Subhead: "Bam's bank plan sparks Dow rally; AIG execs start giving back OUR cash."
 
The New York Post goes all glass is half empty on it's cover: "Half A$$ AIG." Subhead: "Giving back on 50% of bonus bucks." 
 
While the market may have liked the plan, some economists didn't: "Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff, a former International Monetary Fund chief economist, said the government is 'trying to keep the banks going, trying to hope they'll recover profitability.' He said the plan fails to address the fundamental problem -- that some banks are insolvent and should not be propped up."

The Washington Post adds, "But even as markets exulted, conflicting interests among the program's participants -- banks, investors and taxpayers -- were emerging, leaving in doubt the fate of a program meant to revive bank lending and in turn reinvigorate the overall economy."

The AP on Bernanke's and Geithner's testimony on the Hill today: They make "a rare joint appearance at a congressional hearing, ostensibly to take a scolding over the handling of bonuses at AIG." Also expect them to ask about the new toxic asset relief program.
 
Geithner's going in with (another) plan. He "will face tough questions from lawmakers on Tuesday as he spells out the basics of the Obama administration's plans to reshape financial regulation at a high-profile congressional hearing," Reuters says.

Meanwhile, "President Obama and Senate Democrats have buried a bill passed last week by the House that would have heavily taxed executive bonuses at bailed-out firms," The Hill writes. "Despite the public outcry over $165 million in bonuses awarded at troubled insurer AIG, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) showed little inclination Monday to bring the explosive issue to the floor this week or next. Instead, Reid is likely to delay action on executive compensation until late April, after the Senate returns from a two-week recess starting April 4."

The Washington Post: "Reid's shift came as senators in both parties voiced increasing skepticism about the tax approach taken by the House, echoing President Obama's admonition Sunday night on CBS News's '60 Minutes' against using the tax code 'to punish people.'"  
 
(By the way, AIG stripped the sign from its New York headquarters.) 
 
House and Senate Democrats are at it again… House Democrats are happy to use reconciliation; Senate Dems are not.

Murtha watch.
 
Nancy Pelosi is a grandmother for the eighth time.