From NBC's Mark Murray
After Liz Cheney spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in DC, her father -- former Vice President Dick Cheney -- made a surprise appearance and called President Obama a "one-term president.'

"I think the sky is the limit," the former VP said about the midterms. "I think 2010 is going to be a phenomenal year."

And then he delivered this line: "I think Barack Obama is a one-term president."

From WNBC's Jonathan Dienst
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Bernard Kerik has been sentenced to 48 months in prison. The maximum guideline had been 33 months. The judge went above the maximum guideline.

*** UPDATE *** Kerik will suurender on May 17.

"I make no excuses and take full responsibility for my grave mistakes," Kerik said in court. He added: "I have learned from this. ... I will become a better person. ... I know I deserve to be punished. ...I hope to return to be with my wife and girls as soon as possible."

 

From NBC's Mark Murray
WASHINGTON -- In the keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference here, Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio stirred the activists in attendance with a speech taking aim at both President Obama and GOP primary opponent Charlie Crist.

Rubio began by mentioning the snow storms that buried Washington more than a week ago.

"Congress couldn't meet to vote on bills," he said to applause. "The president couldn't find a teleprompter" to announce new tax increases, he added. (Ironically, Rubio uttered this line in front of two teleprompters, although it was unclear whether he was using them to deliver his speech.)

Receiving a thunderous applause, Rubio blasted the Obama administration's decision to try some of the suspects linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in civilian court. 

"We will bring them to justice in a military tribunal in Guantanamo -- not a civilian courtroom in Manhattan," he said when discussing the threat of "radical Islamic terrorism."

Rubio also criticized Crist, who received boos when introducer Sen. Jim DeMint (R) invoked the Florida governor's name.

"The U.S. Senate already has one Arlen Specter too many," Rubio said in a reference to Crist's moderate record.

Crist's campaign responded this way to Rubio's speech: "In the past year, we have all seen the results of allowing a candidate to hide his record behind the veil of a good speech while touting his so-called ideals," said Andrea Saul, Crist's communications director, in a statements. "While Speaker Rubio claims he will not be co-opted by big government, his record as a Miami lobbyist while simultaneously serving in the legislature demonstrates he is willing to be co-opted by much worse."

Obama's executive order creating a debt commission is all about winning back indies… President also makes his first real 2010 foray of the year -- to the battleground of Colorado… Jane Norton blasts Obama in TV ad… CPAC is back, and so is the GOP… CPAC, like the GOP, appears to be co-opting the Tea Party message… Rubio's the "belle of the CPAC ball"… And Romney's big city book tour.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** All about the indies: At 10:10 am ET, President Obama will sign an executive order establishing a commission to look at ways to reduce the nation's debt, and he will meet with the bipartisan commission co-chairs (Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson) about 30 minutes before that. There are still many details to work out -- unlike the debt commission the Senate rejected two weeks ago, this commission's recommendations aren't binding to Congress -- but today's executive order is just the latest attempt by the White House to begin repairing its image with independents, the group of voters who typically are concerned about the deficit and who have been trending Republican in the recent elections in MA, NJ, and VA. Also, the White House is hoping that having Simpson part of the commission does two things: 1) quiets GOP critics and 2) gets the media's attention since the former Wyoming senator remains one of the great quotable politicians in the land. Don't be surprised if Bowles and Simpson do the major TV rounds.

*** Rocky Mountain high … in Colorado: After signing that executive order, Obama meets behind closed doors with the Dalai Lama (By the way, many China watchers say the Chinese aren't nearly as offended by this as some are trying to assume), and then he heads to Denver, CO for his first real 2010 foray of the year. He speaks at a grassroots fundraiser for Sen. Michael Bennet (D) at 5:30 pm ET, and then at another fundraising reception for Bennet at 6:40 pm ET. Colorado, of course, is a state that helped propel Obama and Democrats into power. And all is not lost here for the Democrats. Compared with other swing states, the Democratic candidates for governor (Hickenlooper) and Senate (Bennet) are right now holding up better than their colleagues in Ohio, Iowa, and Nevada. Part of this is due to such a weak GOP bench given that the party has taken such a beating over the last six years in the state. 

*** Norton's shot at Obama: Yet given the gains Democrats have made in Colorado, as well as the fact that this is where the 2008 Democratic convention took place, there's a lot of symbolism in this state -- for both parties. That's why GOP Senate candidate Jane Norton is airing this TV ad aimed at Obama (which ironically is coming out on the very day Obama is creating his debt commission): "Mr. President, as a candidate you came to Denver and promised to 'go through the federal budget eliminating programs that no longer work,'" she says in the ad. "You've done just the opposite. Massive spending and debt. It's ruining our economy and it's wrong. Mr. President, you should pledge to balance the budget or else decline to seek re-election. Now that'd be change we could believe in." Meanwhile, Obama isn't just taking it on the chin from Republicans. Yesterday, three Colorado Democrats backing Andrew Romanoff, who is challenging Bennet in the Democratic primary, criticized Obama for helping and endorsing Bennet.

*** CPAC is back -- and so is the GOP: What a difference a year makes. When the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gathered in Washington last February, Republicans and conservatives were still licking their wounds after their losses in the '08 election. Political journalists -- including your authors here -- were wondering if the GOP would be in the minority for a generation, given demographic, regional, and ideological trends. And that month's NBC/WSJ poll showed the Republican Party with a 26%-49% fav/unfav rating. My, how things have changed a year later as the 2010 CPAC confab kicks off today in DC. Republicans and conservatives are downright giddy about their midterm prospects. Political analysts are now wondering if the GOP is going take back the House and Senate -- this year. And our most recent NBC/WSJ poll shows the GOP with a 32%-38% fav/unfav (yet that is the best rating for the GOP in years).

*** The CPAC cattle call: CPAC, which takes place today through Saturday, is part presidential cattle call, part conservative pep rally, and part political carnival. On the cattle call front, we'll see speeches by Mitt Romney (today at 1:30 pm ET), Tim Pawlenty (Friday at 10:00 am), Mike Pence (Friday at 11:00 am), Rick Santorum (Saturday at 8:30 am), and Newt Gingrich (Saturday at 2:00). Mike Huckabee also will make an appearance tonight. But Sarah Palin will NOT be attending CPAC; she'll make her big cattle-call appearance at April's Southern Republican Leadership Conference meeting in New Orleans. There will be a straw poll -- on the ballot are Romney, Palin, Huckabee, Santorum, Pence, Pawlenty, Haley Barbour, John Thune, Ron Paul, and Mitch Daniels -- and the results will be unveiled at 5:30 pm on Saturday. FYI: Romney has won the last three CPAC straw polls (in '07, '08, and '09). 

*** Freedom isn't free; it costs a buck o' five: One early takeaway from CPAC is how this normally establishment conservative event -- it's hosted by the American Conservative Union -- is tapping into the Tea Party movement. For one thing, just look at some of the other speakers. Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio gives the first big speech of the confab at 10:00 am; Dick Armey speaks at 11:30 am; Michele Bachmann goes on Friday; and Glenn Beck delivers the concluding remarks on Saturday. Another example is to look at the names of some of the CPAC panels taking place today: "Saving Freedom One Patriot at a Time"; "Saving Freedom Through Technology: Growth of the Online Movement"; "Saving Freedom from the Tax Collectors"; "When All Else Fails: Nullification & State Resistance to Federal Tyranny"; "Saving Freedom from a Big Government Agenda: Liberate to Stimulate"; and "They Want Us to Shut Up: Saving Freedom and the First Amendment." 

*** The belle of the CPAC ball: As mentioned above, Marco Rubio is giving the first big speech at CPAC this morning, and Politico is calling him the "Belle of the CPAC ball." As it turns out, we've got our hands on excerpts of Rubio's remarks today. A sampling: "As we near the midterm election, what voters are looking for is very clear. They are looking for leaders that understand what is happening, will stand up to it and in its place offer a clear alternative." More: "2010 will not be just a choice between Republican's or Democrats. It will not just be a simple choice between liberals and conservatives.  It will be a referendum on our nations very identity." And: "People want leaders that will come here to Washington D.C. and stand up to this big government agenda, not be co-opted by it. The Senate already has one Arlen Specter too many. And America already has a Democrat party. It doesn't need another Democrat party."

*** Big city Romney: Meanwhile, Mitt Romney's PAC yesterday announced the cities for his book tour next month. As we noted last week, the Boston Phoenix reported that Romney appears to be pursuing a blue-state strategy as he prepares for 2012 -- for example, concentrating on New Hampshire but avoiding South Carolina. Well, according to his book tour schedule, he's hitting all of the early states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, AND South Carolina. Yet unlike Palin's book tour last year, Romney's schedule has him hitting big (and usually blue) cities versus the GOP-leaning areas Palin visited. For instance, while Palin traveled to Washington, PA, Romney hits Philadelphia; while Palin went to Roanoke, VA, Romney goes to DC; and while Palin visited Sioux City, IA, Romney hits Des Moines.

*** W. calls for more competitive House races: Speaking of CPAC and Rubio, former President George W. Bush's event in Naples, Fla., with brother Jeb has gotten some attention for W.'s, "Who the hell is Marco Rubio?" comment. But don't miss Bush apparently taking a shot at gerrymandering for leading to a too-hot-for-Washington partisan tone. Here's the Naples News' take: "George W. Bush said more competitive congressional districts are needed so that politicians have to work harder on their campaigns. That, he said, could help diminish the partisanship as political leaders would be forced to focus more on the issues." Wow. So is W. blaming Tom DeLay for the partisan tone in Washington? The GOP did more gerrymandering in 2001 in places like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Michigan -- in addition in addition to Texas. So to have this come from bush is a big, though, late concession. It's an easy one to make now that he's out of power and doesn't need the numbers in the House -- and considering that after the 2010 Census the largest population increase will come from a Democratic demographic: Latinos. 

*** Today's filing deadline: Ohio. By the way, Rob Portman caught a big break with the millionaire gadfly car dealer switching to a House race. Democrats have picked up four seats in Ohio since 2006 (CDs 1, 15, 16, 18). Structurally, the GOP is worried that Democrats have made such substantial gains that this state will be a lot harder to win than it looks now. That said, Democrats said the same thing about Ohio this time TWO years ago. By the way,, the next star in the RE-making is John Kasich. If he wins the governorship, the one-time star on the rise (the Paul Ryan of the '90s) will be in a place that puts him on an auto-VP list for 2012 and a presidential list for 2016 (he ran a terrible quixotic campaign in 2000, er, 1999).

*** More midterm news: David Paterson's getting advice from Eliot Spitzer … Rand Paul up on Christian radio … Casino magnates are betting Harry Reid to win re-election … Dems' continuing Appalachia problem … And, we know he was born in a small town, but could John Mellencamp really run in Indiana?

Countdown to IN filing deadline: 1 day
Countdown to NC filing deadline: 8 days
Countdown to TX primary: 12 days
Countdown to AR filing deadline: 18 days
Countdown to OR, PA filing deadlines: 19 days
Countdown to CA, NV filing deadlines: 22 days
Countdown to IA, UT filing deadlines: 29 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 257 days

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There's lots of coverage on yesterday's back-and-forth over the stimulus. The Washington Post: "The giant economic stimulus package enacted a year ago has helped stabilize the economy but has not made much of a dent in the nation's vast unemployment. The Obama administration is acknowledging that its program of spending cuts and tax breaks has yet to ease joblessness, and White House officials are increasingly engaged in shaping the details of new legislation to boost job creation."

"'You can argue, rightly, that we haven't made as much progress as we need to make when it comes to spurring job creation,' President Obama said Wednesday in marking the program's anniversary. 'That's part of the reason why I expect Congress to pass additional measures as quickly as possible that will help our small-business owners create new jobs, give them more of an incentive to hire.'"

The New York Times adds, "There is little dispute among economists that the measure has kept the jobless rate from being even higher than it is. But with unemployment at 9.7 percent on average, and higher in some states, the president conceded that there was widespread confusion about the bill, and a sense that it had not lived up to expectations." 

The DNC, by the way, has a Web video defending Obama and touting the stimulus -- contrasting job losses from the Bush administration with the current administration.

The Washington Post previews Obama's meeting today with the Dalai Lama. "President Obama's failure to meet the Dalai Lama last year set back the Tibetan cause, but a new meeting at the White House this week is a chance for the president to repair the damage, according to a top aide to the exiled leader. The Dalai Lama is to meet with Obama on Thursday. China has criticized the meeting and warned of unspecified consequences. Obama postponed that initial meeting last year because of his concerns about China's reaction." 

So does AP: "What the Dalai Lama and Obama say to each other will matter less than how the White House portrays the meeting Thursday, as Obama welcomes the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet's Buddhists in a visit that has infuriated China. Chinese officials will be watching closely to see how great a stage Obama offers to his fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a man Beijing accuses of being a separatist. The Chinese want to know: How long will the meeting last? Will Obama's wife attend? Will the White House put out a written statement or answer questions about the visit at daily press briefings? Will cameras be allowed to film any part of the encounter?" 

AP also looks at how recent past presidents have greeted the Dalai Lama. 

The New York Times reports that some environmentalists are souring on Obama after he proposed expanding nuclear power. "Environmental advocates largely remained silent late last year as Mr. Obama all but abandoned his quest for sweeping climate change legislation and began to reach out to Republicans to enact less ambitious clean energy measures. But the grumbling of the greens has grown louder in recent weeks as Mr. Obama has embraced nuclear power, offshore oil drilling and "clean coal" as keystones of his energy policy. And some environmentalists have expressed concern that the president may be sacrificing too much to placate Republicans and the well-financed energy lobbies." 

The president also pushes forth with his bipartisan debt panel, and though it will be co-chaired by a Republican, Roll Call writes, "it remains to be seen whether the panel will actually have Republican members." 

Time's Beinart argues that to fix Washington, you need more New Hampshires, more "Crossfires" and more Ross Perots. 

A mentally unstable man described as being obsessed with the vice president and carrying a fake Olympic credential got within steps of Joe Biden in Vancouver.

So Gen. Petraeus is a Rudy Giuliani fan? 

Politico calls Rubio the "belle of the CPAC ball." From the article: "Conservatives from across the nation will get their first in-the-flesh look at Marco Rubio Thursday as he delivers the keynote address before the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington Thursday.

Roll Call previews CPAC: "The American Conservative Union on Thursday will kick off the 37th annual Conservative Political Action Conference -- an event long known for red-meat rhetoric and patriotic fervor." 

Politico's Vogel: "On Thursday, when some 10,000 activists gather in Washington for this year's conference, they will find themselves part of a conservative movement significantly different than it was during the Bush administration, or even in 2009. A jolt of anti-Obama populist energy has upended the movement's traditional hierarchy, lifting some new or previously low profile groups to unprecedented heights while leaving traditional powers struggling to adapt." 

Some excerpts from Minority Leader John Boehner's speech today at CPAC, provided to First Read: "In the months ahead we're going to tell the nation exactly what we'd do differently if we're entrusted with power. But it won't be a document handed down from on high by politicians, because something like that would land with a big thud. It's going to be built by listening. Congressman Kevin McCarthy will lead this project on behalf of all House Republicans. We're going to listen to things like the 'Contract FROM America.'. We're going to listen to things like the Mount Vernon statement. We're going to listen to the tea party movement. It will come from those who are really in charge of this country: the American people. While the other side is busy mocking the tea partiers and calling them names, we're going to listen to them, stand with them, and walk among them."

Speaking of documents "handed down from on high"… The Washington Post covers the "Mount Vernon Statement" that prominent conservatives unveiled yesterday. "The conservative leaders unveiled and signed the 'Mount Vernon Statement,' a manifesto of conservative values that cites the Constitution and 'the ideas of the American Founding.' It is modeled after the 1960 Sharon Statement, signed at a meeting hosted by William F. Buckley Jr. in Sharon, Conn., which helped usher in the modern conservative movement."

More: "The document -- produced by the Conservative Action Project, a new group seeking to coordinate the latest movement -- says the nation's founders created a framework of limited government and "sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government."

By the way, "Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) deemed it necessary that politicians endorse the Mount Vernon Statement, a document outlining a vision of 'constitutional conservatism' backed by a number of right-wing activists. 'If our leaders cannot agree to the Mount Vernon Statement, they are part of the problem and should be replaced,' DeMint tweeted."

Time's David von Drehle argues of the Tea Party movement, "Democrats are not the only ones rattled. Tea Partyers are boosting former Republican state legislator Marco Rubio's challenge to Governor Charlie Crist for the GOP's U.S. Senate nomination in Florida. In Arizona, the movement is targeting Senator John McCain, whose willingness to compromise on issues like immigration makes him vulnerable in his primary to former Representative J.D. Hayworth. Indiana Republican Dan Coats, a former Senator, is itching to get his job back after the retirement of Democrat Evan Bayh. But he too hears rumblings on his right. It is the sound of Tea Partyism on the march."

The Hill reports Reid doesn't have the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster for his jobs bill.

In fact, Republican leaders appear to have a plan to stop Reid's bill, Roll Call reports.

Newt Gingrich has an essay in Time, in which he argues that Republicans shouldn't be afraid to negotiate in good faith: "[Obama] should commit to work in an open, bipartisan manner on new legislation that would earn public support both for its substance and through the transparent process by which it is crafted. The Republicans should not be afraid to walk in with a series of positive ideas and to work with Democrats on legislation in a genuinely bipartisan fashion ... Indeed, they should be open to the possibility of finding supportable measures that would be good for the country and totally compatible with their values." 

"Transparency requirements pushed for by the Obama administration have not changed the total spending on earmarks for 2010, according to a study by a group critical of the practice," The Hill writes. "The amount of money directed by lawmakers in 2010 to specific projects back in their districts adds up to $15.9 billion, according to the analysis by Taxpayers for Common Sense."

"The Navy will conduct an in-depth review of the surgery performed on Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) to see if a surgical error led to his death, a Navy spokesman said Wednesday," The Hill reports. "Murtha died Feb. 8 from complications of gallbladder surgery that he underwent at Bethesda Naval hospital. After that surgery, Murtha sought care at a hospital in Arlington, Va." 

And, "The special election to replace Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) will be May 18 -- the same day as Pennsylvania's primary election." 

And what about health care? "Top House Democrats on Wednesday suggested in a conference call with reporters that a deal on health care reform is in reach, but they had no answers on how or when they will get there," Roll Call writes. 

AP looks at role Judd Gregg wants to play in health care. 

It looks like a compromise on how to deal with "too big to fail" is getting closer. But check out how the bipartisan negotiations are going. They seem a lot more genuine than anything like health care last summer. 

The Washington Post looks at how Democrats could struggle to carry congressional districts in Appalachia and focuses on vulnerable Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher. 

But the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will announce today it raised $5.1 million last month, "its biggest monthly haul of the cycle -- and the best January we've ever had," says spokesman Eric Schultz. It now has almost $13 million cash on hand. Its biggest January haul previously was $3.9 million in 2008.

COLORADO: The Wall Street Journal previews Obama stumping today for Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and tomorrow for Harry Reid. "President Barack Obama visits Western battleground states this week in a show of support for two of his party's vulnerable 2010 candidates, in particular embattled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. The Western swing, an unusual effort so early in an election year to bolster a top party figure, begins with a fund raiser Thursday for Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, who is running a tight race."

FLORIDA: At a discussion in Naples on Tuesday night, former President George W. Bush and his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, gave their non-endorsements in the Florida governors' race: "Jeb Bush says he is officially neutral, but is disappointed in Crist's embrace of the stimulus bill. George W. Bush joked, "Who the hell is Marco Rubio?"

INDIANA: No, He Cannot Forget From Where It Is That He Comes From… "There's a small but growing movement to draft John Mellencamp for Senate in Indiana."

KENTUCKY: "Republican Rand Paul is taking his Senate campaign to Christian radio in hopes of winning the support of Kentucky's most ardent social conservatives, many of whom choose political candidates based on their stand against abortion," the AP reports. "Paul calls abortion 'an abomination' in a political ad that will begin airing on Monday. He goes on to say he would vote for any law or constitutional amendment that would stop it."

MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe asked the Republican candidates for governor who criticized Gov. Deval Patrick's budget proposal last month "to come up with five ways they would close the more than $2 billion budget gap the state is facing next year as it continues to grapple with the economic crisis." "Charles D. Baker Jr. would lay off 5,000 state workers, reduce the number of health and human services agencies, and ask chains like CVS, Wal-Mart, and Walgreens to take over some of the transactions handled by the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Christy Mihos would cut the governor's staff by 50 percent, lay off 300 toll takers, and legalize sports betting at stores that sell lottery tickets. And state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, although he promises to cut spending on health care, education, and local aid, says he cannot offer more details about his plans until he is elected governor."

NEVADA: Reid's gamble: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's poll numbers make him look like an easy mark, but casino owners who have a history of disregarding party and going with the winner in Nevada politics are putting their money on him winning re-election," AP writes. "While his leadership is under assault in Washington and the GOP has made him its No. 1 target in November's election, Reid is counting on decades of close ties with the gambling industry and the nearly one in every three jobs it supports in the state to win over disapproving voters." 

NEW YORK: It just gets better and better for David Paterson: "As he struggles to save his flailing campaign, Gov. Paterson has told people he's taking counsel from the man responsible for him being in charge in the first place -- Eliot Spitzer," the New York Post reports, adding, "Sources said the advice has largely gone through an intermediary, instead of direct strategy sessions."

From NBC's Mark Murray
As the Republican Party and establishment conservative groups court and co-opt the Tea Party's message and grassroots energy, one risk is that they get identified with some of the Tea Party's more impolitic statements and protests. 

Here's one example from KLEW-TV in Idaho that a Democrat forwarded to First Read:

They say it's all about traditional values and pushing back against the government.

And there were some strong words spoken at Saturday's Tea Party in Asotin [WA].

"How many of you have watched the movie Lonesome Dove?," asked one speaker from the podium. "What happened to Jake when he ran with the wrong crowd? What happened to Jake when he ran with the wrong crowd. He got hung. And that's what I want to do with Patty Murray."

Link to the video.

From NBC's Will Brown
In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Alexi Giannoulias' strategists touted new poll numbers that showed Ginnoulias leading Illlinois Congressman Mark Kirk in the race to fill President Obama's Senate seat this November.

"What this poll is a testament to is [Giannoulias'] ability to withstand a tough Democratic primary and maintain a lead," strategist Kathleen Strand explained. "This is a great position to be in when compared to Democrats nationwide."

The poll shows the Democrat with a 49%-45% lead over Kirk, and a 57%-33% advantage with voters who describe themselves as "moderate."

Pollster Michael Bocian also expressed confidence in the campaign's position.

"Despite a deteriorating national climate for Democrats, Alexi Giannoulias is in a strong position to beat Washington insider Mark Kirk in November," Bocian said.

Giannoulias strategists also sought to label Kirk as a "Washington insider" and "career congressman."

"If you could create a poster child for everything that's wrong with Washington, it would look a lot like Mark Kirk," strategist Pete Giangreco stressed.

Strand echoed Bocian and Giangreco, asserting that Giannoulias' numbers will improve as Election Day approaches.

"We're very confident that once his record comes out, Mark Kirk will have nowhere to go but down," Strand said, "and we'll have nowhere to go but up."

The poll was conducted Feb. 9 to 14 among 600 likely voters. The margin of error is + or - 4 points.

*** UPDATE *** The Illinois Republican Party put out a release hitting Giannoulias after the conference call with the subject line: "Put Alexi on the Phone!" State GOP Chairman Pat Brady said,

"Alexi Giannoulias should stop hiding and start answering questions about Broadway Bank,"  "The Chicago Tribune is right, Alexi.  It's time for that talk."

From NBC's Ali Weinberg
For Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, President Obama's written explanation of his "don't blow a bunch of cash in Vegas" comment just doesn't cut it.

Two days before Obama travels to Nevada to campaign for vulnerable Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Goodman said that he had not yet responded to the president's invitation to meet. Obama must apologize to him personally, Goodman said, or no dice.  

"I'm just hoping he's man enough to say, 'Look, I made a mistake, I want to straighten everything out,' and do it in advance of his trip here, then I'd be happy to embrace him," Goodman told Nevada reporters today. "But anything less than that, I'm not interested." 

Nevada legislators took offense to President Obama's comments at a Feb. 2nd town hall in Nashua, N.H., when he invoked Sin City while praising American thriftiness during hard economic times. "You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college," Obama told the crowd. "You prioritize. You make tough choices." 

Sen. Reid responded to Obama's statement later that day, saying through a release, "The President needs to lay off Las Vegas and stop making it the poster child for where people shouldn't be spending their money."

Other Nevada lawmakers like Rep. Dina Titus chimed in, noting that the New Hampshire speech wasn't the first time Obama had alluded to Vegas' extravagant image while encouraging frugality. At a town hall last February in Elkhart, Ind., Obama said big banks shouldn't be able to "get corporate jets, you can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime." 

In a statement earlier this month, Titus wrote, "This pattern of bashing Las Vegas to make a point must stop." 

Obama responded to Reid's criticism by sending him a letter of explanation. "I hope you know that during my Town Hall today, I wasn't saying anything negative about Las Vegas," Obama wrote. "I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun." He added that he looked forward to his visit this Friday. 

When asked in today's daily briefing about Goodman's request for an apology, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said he had not yet seen Goodman's remarks, but added, "Whether the president wants to help the people of Nevada understand the context of what he said, that will give us something to look for tomorrow."

But if Obama doesn't issue a personal mea culpa to Goodman, he may find his visit void of the colorful Vegas mayor.

From NBC's Mark Murray
The annual Conservative Political Action Conference kicks off tomorrow morning, and the person giving the first big speech will be none other than conservative wunderkind Marco Rubio (R).

While Rubio's Senate GOP primary opponent, Gov. Charlie Crist, won't be addressing the CPAC confab -- for obvious reasons -- Crist's campaign is firing all of its political guns at Rubio before his speech tomorrow.

For starters, the Crist campaign has mailed political reporters a packet of news clippings -- as well as a DVD -- questioning his conservative bona fides and pointing out his past career as a lobbyist. "I think you will find that there is good reason Speaker Rubio continues to try and hide his record: Facts are stubborn things, and they show the real Marco Rubio is a far cry from who he claims to be on the campaign trail," said Crist communications director Andrea Saul.

And now the Crist campaign fires off this mock draft of Rubio's speech:

Good morning.  Thank you for that warm welcome and the opportunity to speak to you about why I'm running for the U.S. Senate. [WAIT FOR APPLAUSE]

Since my campaign began, I've had the privilege of becoming the latest cover boy. Ask my lobbyist[1] colleagues -- I'm a capitalist (at least when it comes to benefitting financially while claiming to serve the people of Florida[2]). And, capitalizing on that wave, I have successfully painted myself as a political outsider[3]. Our success in convincing voters that I am a new voice in Florida politics is surprising even to me. It seems that people are quick to forget (and I certainly won't remind them!) that I was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000 and rose through the Republican leadership ranks to become the Speaker of the Florida House. All of this by a spry 36.

I owe most of my recent success from a single photograph. I say, 'image is everything' – and luckily, I found a photo with the Governor of Florida greeting the President of the United States. And Presto! Instant candidacy for moi! Sure, my opponent was aware Florida was facing a $6 billion dollar deficit and supported getting Florida our fair share of federal money. And, sure, I admitted I would have accepted the stimulus money too in a recent interview[4] (Stimulus! See, just like that, I say the word whenever I can). But that's the Magic of Marco – I just back-tracked. I find it's easier to criticize when you are out of office than when you are in office. I'm glad I was not Speaker at that time, or else I would have joined my Republican colleagues in the Florida Legislature and supported the stimulus money for our state, which would have been much harder to back track. That's what you call lucky.

From NBC's Pete Williams
Suppose you're writing a screenplay and your premise is that one of the 50 states wants to secede from the union. You assume that the legal battle will end with a dramatic showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court, but you don't know much about how that would work. Who do you ask for advice?

How about the justices, themselves?

We're learning now that a screenwriter tried that very thing, and to his great surprise, one of them actually answered -- Antonin Scalia.

"There is no right to secede," he replied.

The issue is getting traction now in the blogosphere, with some followers of the Tea Party movement suggesting it would be a way out of their frustration with the federal government. Professor Eugene Volokh of the UCLA School of Law weighed in on the controversy recently on his blog.

But in 2006, it was an idea explored strictly for laughs, by a screenwriter named Dan Turkewitz, who was working on a movie comedy in which Maine tries to leave the union and become part of Canada. He wrote to all nine sitting justices, and to retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Turkewitz's brother, Eric, a New York personal injury lawyer, writes on his blog that such an effort was bound to go nowhere.

"I told Dan he was nuts," Eric Turkewitz writes. "I told him his letter would be placed in the circular file."

But Justice Scalia did reply. In a brief letter, he wrote, "If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede. (Hence, in the Pledge of Allegiance, "One Nation, indivisible.")

"Secondly, I find it difficult to envision who the parties to this lawsuit might be," Scalia wrote. "Is the State suing the United States for declaratory judgment? But the United States cannot be sued without its consent, and it has not consented to this sort of a suit.

"I am sure that poetic license can overcome all that -- but you do not need legal advice for that. Good luck with your screenplay," Scalia concluded.

From NBC's Athena Jones
While the work is far from over, the $787 billion stimulus package rescued the American economy from the brink of collapse, President Obama said today as he marked the one-year anniversary of signing the controversial legislation into law.

Upon signing the bill -- dubbed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- in Colorado last year, the Obama called it the "the most sweeping economic recovery package" in history and said that it would mark the "beginning of the end" of the worst economic crisis in decades and lay a stronger foundation for future growth.

The White House credits the act with adding between 1.5% and 4% to the country's Gross Domestic Product in each of the last three quarters of 2009, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates the act was responsible for as many as 2.4 million jobs last year, with White House advisers saying the economy is on track to create 1.5 million more this year.

"One year later, it is largely thanks to the Recovery Act that a second depression is no longer a possibility," Obama told an audience made up of business owners and employees who have benefited in some way from stimulus. "It is the main reason the economy has gone from shrinking by 6% to growing by about 6%."

Critics argue the bill has been too costly and has not done enough to stem to tide of job losses, given that more than 8 million people have lost their jobs since the recession began and the unemployment rate still hovers at nearly 10%.

The president acknowledged that the stimulus was politically controversial, because of its size and because millions of Americans were still jobless. Yet he pushed Congress to pass additional legislation in the coming weeks to boost job creation.

"You can argue rightly that we haven't made as much progress as we need to make when it comes to spurring job creation," Obama said. "That's part of the reason why I expect Congress to pass additional measures as quickly as possible that will help our small business owners create new jobs give them more of an incentive to hire."

Obama listed the stimulus package's accomplishments -- from providing tax cuts to working families to helping states balance their budgets. He added that the administration was closely watching states and local governments that are running out of the very stimulus funds that helped them keep teachers, police, firefighters, and first responders on payrolls. He announced stimulus funding for 51 transportation projects in states across the country and spent several minutes touting advances in the nation's capacity to product batteries for hybrid cars, saying the stimulus package was about more than jobs, it was partly about investing building a 21st century economy.

"A big part of the Recovery Act has been about investing in that future," Obama said. "Yes it created jobs now. Yes, it created business opportunities now. But more importantly, it's laying the foundation for where we need to go."

Republican criticism
Opponents have sought to use today's anniversary to draw attention to what they see as the bill's major failings. House Republican Whip Eric Cantor led a group of his colleagues in an online forum on the stimulus dubbed "1 Year, $862 Billion Spent, 3.6 million jobs lost".

The Republican National Committee, which puts the cost of the stimulus at $862 billion, sent around a Daily Caller op-ed, in which Chairman Michael Steele writes, "The president might call his fiscal and job creation plans a 'new foundation for prosperity,' but in reality his binge spending agenda sets the stage for the type of economic stagnation that would make even Jimmy Carter blush."

And House Minority Leader John Boehner released a statement calling the package a "trillion dollar 'stimulus'" and slammed the administration and Democrats in Congress for failing to hold down the unemployment rate and for adding to the deficit.

"The majority promised that under their 'stimulus' unemployment would not exceed eight percent and job creation would begin 'almost immediately," Boehner's statement read. "But since President Obama signed it into law, more than three million Americans have lost their jobs, unemployment is near 10 percent, and the deficit is set to hit a record $1.6 trillion."

From NBC's Luke Russert
House Democrats from the Education and Labor Committee are putting out the following video on the one-year anniversary of the stimulus being signed into law.

It's the latest Democratic attempt to portray the stimulus as a success in the wake of the onslaught from the GOP claiming it has been a failure.

The video is a parody of the popular iPhone ads. Instead of saying, "There's an app for that" this ad says, "There's an ACT for that."

Stay tuned for more statements, videos, etc., as both sides try and win the day regarding the stimulus.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) released Republicans' report on the stimulus and had this to say:

"Today's anniversary of the Democrats' trillion-dollar 'stimulus' marks one year of broken promises, bloated government, and wasteful spending. The majority promised that under their 'stimulus' unemployment would not exceed eight percent and job creation would begin 'almost immediately.' But since President Obama signed it into law, more than three million Americans have lost their jobs, unemployment is near 10 percent, and the deficit is set to hit a record $1.6 trillion. Americans are asking 'where are the jobs' but all they are getting from Democrats who control Washington is more spending and more debt piled on the backs of our kids and grandkids.

"This report outlines the Democrats' broken promises and wasteful spending, as well as Republicans' better solutions to help small businesses create jobs. Republicans have proposed better solutions to help boost job creation and get our economy moving again, and we hope in the months ahead Democrats will change course and start working in a bipartisan way on behalf of struggling families and small businesses."

From NBC's Pete Williams
Can a U.S. senator be removed from office by popular vote -- through the procedure known as recall?

That question is now being hotly debated in New Jersey, where the Sussex County Tea Party is pushing a recall of Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat and head of the Democrats' Senate political arm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, or DSCC. 

"He has voted for unconstitutional bills, including health care and cap and trade," the group says. "He also has consistently voted for legislation favoring illegal immigration and irresponsible fiscal spending."

But do a state's residents have the power to vote a senator out of office?

Yes, New Jersey law explicitly says.

"The people of this state shall have the power to recall ... any United States senator or representative elected from this state," a state law provides, written to conform with a similar provision in New Jersey's constitution.

But throughout U.S. history, no U.S. senator or representative has ever been recalled, and many legal scholars believe such an effort would be unconstitutional. They note that the U.S. Constitution provides for removing a senator or congressman only by vote of a member's peers -- through expulsion.

"The recall of members was considered at the time of the drafting of the federal constitution in 1787, but no such provisions were included in the final version," says a 2003 report by the Congressional Research Service.

It's that very silence that the Sussex County Tea Party believes provides an opening. Powers not specifically spelled out in the U.S. Constitution for the federal government are reserved to the states, including the recall authority, they argue. The U.S. Supreme Court has never squarely decided the question, but has suggested in other rulings that states have no power over positions created by the federal government, such as senators and congressmen.

For now, the group is fighting in state court over a more fundamental issue -- the legal right to gather signatures on a petition seeking the recall vote. Last month, New Jersey's secretary of state said any such petition could not be accepted because a recall effort would violate the federal Constitution.

"This is a matter of free speech," says Dan Silberstein, a lawyer for the Tea Party group. "Gathering signatures on a petition is core political expression."

On Feb. 26th, a state appeals court will hear oral arguments on the petition issue. If the courts allow the Sussex County Tea Party to gather signatures, the group would then face the bigger legal battle, testing whether the voters actually have the power, under the U.S. Constitution, to recall a U.S. senator.

From NBC's Mark Murray
While the stimulus has been a political problem (so far) for the White House, as we noted earlier today, it has been an economic success (so far).

Writes New York Times business columnist David Leonhardt:

Perhaps the best-known economic research firms are IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody's Economy.com. They all estimate that the bill has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5 million jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers these estimates to be conservative.

[snip]

The program has had its flaws. But the attention they have received is wildly disproportionate to their importance. To hark back to another big government program, it's almost as if the lasting image of the lunar space program was Apollo 6, an unmanned 1968 mission that had engine problems, and not Apollo 11, the moon landing.

Breaking down the three problems that have plagued the White House with the stimulus, which turns one year old today… The three problems: 1) communication, 2) politics, and 3) process/perception… And these three problems have also played out in the health-care, Gitmo, and Christmas Day bomber debates… Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson to spearhead Obama debt commission… Today's Mount Vernon Statement -- What Would George Washington Do (WWGWD)?... The NYT's scoop on Paterson's trusted aide… And liberals and historians complain about new "Kennedys" mini-series.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** The stimulus problem(s): Perhaps nothing better epitomizes the White House's current/past political struggles than the $787 billion economic stimulus that President Obama signed into law exactly one year ago. How did a package that's helping spur economic growth -- 5.7% last quarter -- turn into something that, at best, is now a wash? Let us count the ways. One problem has been on the communications front. The White House originally sold it as a jobs bill instead of legislation that was going to grow the economy (or at least be a safety net for the freefall), even though jobs are always a lagging indicator. ("It will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years," Obama declared a year ago.) And the decision to call it a jobs bill came LATE in the political selling of the stimulus, just as it was stalling a tad in the Senate. What's more, Democrats are finding that it isn't easy to prove a negative -- for example, that the economy would have fallen off a cliff had there been no stimulus. What's easier to sell, as Boehner's and Cantor's have done, is to show the number of jobs lost since the stimulus' enactment, even though the act certainly lessened that number.

*** Politics, process, and perception: A second problem has been the politics. How did Dems not take advantage of Republicans who voted against middle-class tax cuts in it? (Obama poking Republicans on this during the State of the Union was the exception.) Or why didn't they better publicize all the GOPers who voted against the legislation but that touted its goodies? Just imagine what the congressional Republicans would have done under similar circumstances. (That said, we have seen the DNC, DSCC and DCCC hit Republicans incumbents on this, but these attacks have yet to resonate the way the GOP's "Cornhusker Kickback" and "Louisiana Purchase" gut-punches did to the Dems on health care.) Part of the problem here is that Democrats have only engaged in this pushback, oh, in the last few months; they tried to be above politics in the beginning. Third, you had a process/perception problem. As Obama himself has admitted, many still mistakenly conflate the stimulus with the bank and auto bailouts. Critics also seized on the stimulus' overall price tag, which has ballooned to more than $800 billion, even though that amount is smaller than the 2001 Bush tax cuts.

*** Bayh's shot: Finally, it doesn't help when outgoing Sen. Evan Bayh (D) is saying this, like he did yesterday: "[I]f I could create one job in the private sector by helping to grow a business, that would be one more than Congress has created in the last six months." Ouch. Of course, Bayh's technically correct. Congress hasn't passed a single bill in the LAST SIX MONTHS that has involved the issue of jobs. By the way, another point to ponder: If the president had vetoed that spending supplemental that was packed with earmarks in the early part of 2009, would it have increased his credibility on selling the stimulus?

*** The problems aren't relegated to the stimulus: Per our January NBC/WSJ poll, 49% approve of the stimulus, compared with 43% who disapprove. Democrats are hopeful that those numbers improve as the economy does. "Provided that progress continues, then this will have worked out well," one Dem strategist tells First Read. But the same communications/political/process problems we've seen play out in the stimulus debate have also surfaced in the health-care fight, the battle over Gitmo, and even the back-and-forth over the Christmas Day bomber -- until the White House really began to push back. Today, at 10:25 am ET, Obama delivers remarks commemorating the stimulus' one-year anniversary. The president's cabinet also fans out to mark the anniversary: Education Secretary Arne Duncan is in Virginia (with Rep. Gerry Connolly); Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar head to Washington state (with Gov. Christine Gregoire); Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is in Arizona; and Transportation Secretary LaHood goes to Kansas City.

*** Afghanistan today, debt commission tomorrow: Also today, Obama meets with national security team at 11:00 am ET to discuss Afghanistan (which is closed to the press), meets with Secretary of State Clinton at noon (closed press), and has lunch with King Carlos I of Spain at 12:50 pm. And tomorrow, the president is expected to sign an executive order establishing the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, as well as announce that former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles (D) and former Sen. Alan Simpson (R) will serve as the commission's co-chairs. FYI: Getting Simpson involved probably makes it harder for congressional Republicans to walk away from this commission; he's not a pushover or anyone's RINO.

*** The 11 to watch: Salon's Mike Madden does a good job boiling down the swing Dem votes in the Senate, if the Dems try to pass big parts of health care via reconciliation. His 11 Senate Dems to watch: Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Lincoln, Bayh, Landrieu, Byrd, Conrad, Pryor, Carper, Webb and Begich.

*** WWGWD? The day before the CPAC conference begins, prominent (but non-elected) conservative leaders will gather in Alexandria, VA at 2:30 pm ET to unveil their "Mount Vernon Statement" that defines conservative principles, beliefs, and values. The event will be led by former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese. Others in attendance will include Edwin Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center; Alfred Regnery, publisher of the American Spectator; David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union; and Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. If the Tea Party folks are the grassroots conservatives to watch, these folks are the conservative elite who will, at a minimum, drive the Republican Party's politics over the next two to four years.

*** The NYT's scoop on Paterson: So this was the bombshell on New York Gov. David Paterson (D) that the New York Times was working on? The paper profiles Paterson aide David W. Johnson, who rose from intern and Paterson driver to become of the governor's most trusted aides. "A review of Mr. Johnson's rise and his history … shows that he was twice arrested on felony drug charges as a teenager, including a charge of selling cocaine to an undercover officer in Harlem… Mr. Johnson, 37, has also on three occasions been involved in altercations with women, two of which led to calls to the police." The story isn't sexy, but it's no less of a political problem for the embattled governor; it's the type of story that hurts Paterson as he tries to rehabilitate himself ethically. Paterson released a statement, saying: "The New York Times has chosen to splash [Johnson's] youthful offenses across the pages of its newspaper - even though the courts of our State have ordered them to be sealed." More: "There is no independent evidence presented that would substantiate any claims of violence committed by David Johnson against a woman."

*** Today's cable catnip: The Times also provides us with what might be today's cable catnip. The paper reports that -- similar to the conservative criticism over the 2003 TV movie about the Reagans -- liberals and historians are now crying foul about an upcoming TV mini-series on the History Channel spearheaded by conservative Joel Surnow, the creator of "24." Critics "say the 'Kennedys' screenplays contain many factual errors, some benign and others less so. For example, they say the scripts refer to exit polling for the 1960 presidential election when exit polling had not yet been invented; and that President Kennedy introduced the Peace Corps during the Bay of Pigs crisis in April 1961, when in fact he signed an executive order creating the corps one month earlier." More: "In another scene cited, a Secret Service agent approaches the president while he is having sex in a pool with a young woman who is not his wife; in yet another, the president asks his brother Robert, 'What do you do when you're horny?'"

*** More midterm news: In Arkansas, the Sierra Club is up with radio ads targeting Blanche Lincoln (D)… In Colorado, GOP Senate candidate Jane Norton is running a TV ad tomorrow aimed at Obama and his visit to the state on Thursday. ("You should pledge to balance the budget or else decline to seek re-election. Now that'd be change we could believe in," she says in the ad.)… Also in Colorado, Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and challenger Andrew Romanoff debated last night… And in Illinois, we still don't have a winner in that GOP gubernatorial primary.

Countdown to OH filing deadline: 1 day
Countdown to IN filing deadline: 2 days
Countdown to NC filing deadline: 9 days
Countdown to TX primary: 13 days
Countdown to AR filing deadline: 19 days
Countdown to OR, PA filing deadlines: 20 days
Countdown to CA, NV filing deadlines: 23 days
Countdown to IA, UT filing deadlines: 30 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 258 days

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A year ago today, President Obama signed the Recovery Act (i.e., the stimulus) into law, and the anniversary has sparked a P.R. skirmish between the Democrats and Republicans.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor's office released this statement: "In the year since the Democrats' 'stimulus' program was enacted, over 3 million jobs have been lost, billions of dollars have been wasted, and an unprecedented debt has been passed on to our children – these are not the results that America hoped for. Struggling small business owners, families, and young workers see trillions in debt, on their tab, and still no job creation."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has a similar statement: "In the first year of the trillion-dollar stimulus, Americans have lost millions of jobs, the unemployment rate continues to hover near 10 percent, the deficit continues to soar and we're inundated with stories of waste, fraud and abuse. This was not the plan Americans asked for or the results they were promised."

The NRSC has this Web video spoof of the Google Super Bowl ad.

And House Minority Leader John Boehner's office issues a report entitled: "Where are the jobs?"

Meanwhile, the DNC produces a Web video highlighting the Republicans who voted against the stimulus but who have also touted the goodies in it. In fact, the DNC says it has identified at least 93 GOPers who have done this.

And: "Vice President Joe Biden asserted in an interview Wednesday that taxpayers have 'gotten their money's worth' out of the $787 billion stimulus program that Congress passed during the depths of the recession."

The Washington Post wraps up Obama's nuclear-power announcement yesterday. "By helping to finance the construction of the reactors -- the first new U.S. nuclear power units in more than 30 years -- Obama is hoping to jump-start his efforts to pass comprehensive climate-change legislation, which has stalled in Congress in the face of GOP opposition. The president is also casting the nuclear initiative as a centerpiece of his plan to produce clean-energy jobs, although construction on the two reactors would not begin for more than a year. Nonetheless, after touring a Maryland training facility for energy jobs, Obama said the competition for those positions worldwide will be fierce." 

And the New York Times calls the failure of Washington to come together on a debt commission "Exhibit A" of the state of political dysfunction right now. "After decades of warnings that budgetary profligacy, escalating health care costs and an aging population would lead to a day of fiscal reckoning, economists and the nation's foreign creditors say that moment is approaching faster than expected, hastened by a deep recession that cost trillions of dollars in lost tax revenues and higher spending for safety-net programs."

"Yet rarely has the political system seemed more polarized and less able to solve big problems that involve trust, tough choices and little short-term gain. The main urgency for both parties seems to be about pinning blame on the other, before November's elections, for deficits now averaging $1 trillion a year, the largest since World War II relative to the size of the economy."

The AP has a woe-is-me, being-a-senator's-such-a-bad-job story: "The moderate middle is disappearing from Congress. Evan Bayh is just the latest senator to forgo a re-election bid, joining a growing line of pragmatic, find-a-way politicians who are abandoning Washington. Still here: ever-more-polarized colleagues locked in gridlock -- exactly what voters say they don't like about politics in the nation's capital." More: "Not so long ago, Senate seats were among the most sought-after positions in the land. They meant power and prestige, some posturing but also some significant problem-solving. Now, many believe the $174,000 salary just isn't worth it."

The Washington Post's Dan Balz weighs in. "But it was as much Bayh's stated reasons for leaving as the consequences that stirred controversy. 'If in fact he believed that the Senate was broken and dysfunctional, then he had a responsibility to stand and man the pumps rather than run for the lifeboat,' said Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University."

More: "Baker said Bayh's depiction of Congress overstates the case that lawmakers are dealing with something unprecedented in American politics. While acknowledging that there is "an extreme level of partisanship" right now, Baker said there have been other periods of partisanship and venomous politics in the Senate. 'I won't say it's cyclical, but from time to time . . . even the Senate goes berserk,' he said. He cited the red-baiting era of the early 1950s, saying, 'The McCarthy period was a terrible time, in which reputations were ruined, senators attacked each other and questioned each other's motives.'" 
 
The New York Post's Hurt asks of Bayh's exit: "Could anyone deliver a more crushing rebuke of the Democratic reign we have seen over the past 13 months?"

"Democrats are in danger of losing their grip on the majority in Congress if they don't show more leadership and coordinate better, according to former aides and restive party strategists," The Hill writes. "Those interviewed say the White House and congressional leaders must settle internal disputes and focus on Republicans. Otherwise, they could face landslide losses during this year's midterm elections." 
 
Roll Call looks at Harry Reid trying to court GOP votes for the latest jobs bill.

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank writes, "Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele treated tea party leaders like an ugly date Tuesday afternoon: They were good enough to take upstairs, but not good enough to be seen with in public. Steele invited leaders of the conservative movement over to the GOP's Capitol Hill headquarters (to the adjacent National Republican Club, technically) for a private meeting on the third floor. But Republican leaders, probably wary of TV footage showing a tea party takeover of RNC headquarters, denied the activists' request to use the facility for the news conference they had planned for afterward."

"'They wouldn't allow it,' said Karin Hoffman, the grass-roots activist who organized the meeting. The tea partiers were out in the cold -- 21 degrees with the wind chill, to be exact. They held their news conference, sans Steele, on the sidewalk across from the Capitol South Metro entrance. 'You guys are all frozen,' Hoffman observed as she greeted the shivering camera crews and reporters after her session. The meeting itself, she said, was 'healthy,' if not conclusive. 'It's the beginning of a relationship.' A long-distance one, if Steele's absence was any indication."

ARKANSAS: "Sen. Blanche Lincoln's opposition to EPA regulating greenhouse gases put her on the League of Conservation Voters' 'Dirty Dozen' list," The Hill writes. "Now it's the subject of a 60-second Sierra Club ad that will run for two weeks in the Little Rock and Fort Smith markets." http://bit.ly/biuaUz
 
Sarah Huckabee, Mike Huckabee's daughter, was named Rep. John Boozman's campaign manager for his bid to unseat Lincoln for Senate.

CALIFORNIA: Per the AP, "What the world already knows of Prince Frederic von Anhalt reads like a tabloid writer's dream: eighth husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, lover (never confirmed) of Anna Nicole Smith, self-proclaimed member of European royalty. The flamboyant socialite says he'll add a new title on Wednesday: California gubernatorial candidate."

The AP also interviews Meg Whitman, the former eBay CEO running for California governor. She "dismissed criticism that she is trying to buy the California governor's seat by spending millions from her personal fortune."

COLORADO: Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and his primary challenger, former Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, had their first debate last night. The Denver Post writes, "When Bennet agreed with Romanoff on the need to fix the health care system, Romanoff turned toward his primary opponent. 'I appreciate the accord that is breaking out on this stage, and I welcome you to join the team,' Romanoff said… But Bennet was equally quick. 'I love you, and I just wish you were running a primary against one of the people causing the problems,' Bennet said, also to cheers and laughter."

ILLINOIS: "The primary was two weeks ago, but Republicans are no closer to determining their nominee for governor in Illinois," Real Clear Politics wrote yesterday. "Bill Brady (R) still clings to a razor-thin lead over fellow state Sen. Kirk Dillard (R) [yesterday], which [was] the deadline for local election boards to count absentee and provisional ballots."

INDIANA: "Republicans are livid about the timing of Sen. Evan Bayh's (D-Ind.) retirement announcement," The Hill reports. "They have at least four candidates in the upcoming primary while the Indiana Democratic Party will get to decide its nominee. Indiana required nominating petitions to be filed by noon Tuesday. Bayh announced Monday he would not seek reelection, giving would-be candidates less than 24 hours to get on the ballot." 
 
As First Read has also reported, "One day after Bayh dropped his bombshell, Rep. Brad Ellsworth is at or near the top of a roster of Indiana Democrats weighing whether to ask a selection committee of 32 Democratic officials to be considered for the Senate vacancy caused by Bayh's eleventh-hour decision," Roll Call says. Ellsworth told a local paper that he will decide "within a week, maybe sooner than that." Baron Hill, another contender, is overseas. Hill ran for Senate "in 1990, when he lost a close race to then-Sen. Dan Coats (R), who is now running to reclaim his former seat."

NEW YORK: "Gov. Paterson's campaign kickoff will be a lot closer to a blintz than a blitz," the New York Daily News writes. "He picked a cozy Greek restaurant outside of Buffalo for a 'meet & greet' with voters as part of his four-stop campaign launch this weekend. The warm setting spares the poll-challenged governor of the potential embarrassment of hosting a sparsely attended campaign rally in the Queen City." 
 
The New York Post's Dicker says Andrew Cuomo will officially get in the race for governor in April. Why? One operative said: "There's not a chance Paterson can deliver an on-time [April 1] budget, and if the war between [Assembly Speaker Sheldon] Silver and the governor keeps going, there won't be a budget until after the November election. So he waits until mid-to-late April." Another: "Andrew will let the budget deadline pass, let the governor show what he can or can't do, and that way he can't be accused of politicizing the budget process." New York has a Sept. 14th primary.

"After six weeks of mulling a Senate run, Harold Ford will clarify his 'political intentions' by the end of next week, his spokeswoman told the Daily News on Tuesday." 
 
The New York Post: "Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has been hammering possible election rival Harold Ford Jr. daily to 'come clean' about his taxes, wasn't interested in releasing her own tax information when she first ran for Congress in 2006. But when Gillibrand was under fire for months in the House race in the 20th congressional district by incumbent GOP Rep. John Sweeney to release her tax returns, she firmly refused to budge."

TEXAS: "Gubernatorial candidates Bill White and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison cast their ballots Tuesday on the first day of early voting for the March 2 primary" -- White in Houston and Hutchison in Dallas, the Dallas Morning News reports. Hutchison "declined to discuss a recent poll by five major newspapers that showed Perry with a substantial lead over Hutchison and Medina."

From NBC's Athena Jones
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, famed for his sarcastic zingers and ubiquitous sports analogies, could soon become known for pithy Tweets.

He spoke about his reasoning for joining hundreds of reporters on the social network Twitter during Tuesday's briefing.

When asked if he was firing off the messages himself or whether he had a ghost-Tweeter, Gibbs said "inexplicably, yes" and then went on to explain that he was drawn to the site after watching reporters' Tweets during a surprise presser President Obama gave last Tuesday.

"I was fascinated to watch it," Gibbs told the assembled journalists. "It seemed, as I said to some of you, an avenue that our voice would be important in. It's been fascinating to watch just over the few days that I've, since I've joined it. I have enjoyed watching you all comment on women's figure skating and ski jumping."

"There's a tremendous amount of information that we all get and have to read and go through each day," he continued. "This is certainly one way to get, you know, on a rolling basis to see that, a lot of that information in front of you. It's an interesting thing to watch."

Gibbs explained that joining the site required some modifications by computer technicians to make sure messages could be properly archived in accordance with rules governing White House records.

Members of the White House team have been Tweeting for months, using various handles, along with both major political parties, multiple news organizations and thousands of politicians, entertainers and ordinary folks looking to share their thoughts in 140-word increments -- a restriction Gibbs admitted was proving to be a challenge.

Obama himself Tweeted for the first time on Jan. 18th during a visit to the Red Cross to get an update on Haiti relief efforts -- pushing send on a message under that organization's handle.

The subject of Twitter came up several times during Tuesday's briefing, with the press secretary at one point joking with reporters about his count of "followers."

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Today's White House announcement of $8 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors addresses one of Senate Republicans top priorities for job creation. And the announcement drew immediate praise from the two Georgia GOP senators whose state would benefit directly from those loans.

Following a bipartisan meeting with congressional leaders at the White House earlier this month, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell listed nuclear power first among four areas where Republicans would work with the president on job creation.

"These are areas where I think there could be pretty broad, bipartisan support to go forward on a collaborative basis," McConnell said outside the White House following the meeting.

The loans would be directed toward the construction and operation of two new reactors at an existing plant in Waynesboro, GA. Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss -- both Republicans -- called in a "step in the right direction" in reducing America's dependence of foreign oil. 

While the joint statement from the senators did not specifically mention job creation, the Obama administration said the project would create 3,500 on-site construction jobs and approximately 800 permanent operations jobs.

From NBC's Mark Murray
The little-known Indiana Democrat, Tamyra d'Ippolito, did not get enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, which means that state Democrats will end up picking someone to run in Evan Bayh's stead.

Per the Indianapolis Star:

Tamyra d'Ippolito had said earlier today that she had the requisite 4,500 petition signatures of registered voters — 500 from each congressional district. But Terry Burns, a member of the Marion County Board of Voter Registration, said that in Marion County she turned in only one petition with three signatures. That's 497 too few for the 7th Congressional District, which is entirely in Marion County.

Democrats now will have party insiders choose their candidate. The 32 voting members of the Indiana Democratic Party's state central committee will meet sometime before June 30 to pick a nominee.

Earlier this morning, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn released a statement calling for Indiana Democrats to choose their nominee through more democratic means. "Assuming there is no qualified candidate that files the appropriate documentation before the deadline, Senator Bayh should call on the State Democratic Party to ask an Indiana court to extend the candidate filing deadline, Cornyn said.

"In Indiana, running for Senate is, as it should be, an open and transparent process. It is my hope that Senator Bayh and his Party's leadership will re-commit themselves to that important principle by immediately rejecting the notion that their nominee will be chosen behind closed doors and allow Hoosiers the opportunity to choose their respective candidates in this important Senate race."