From NBC's Luke Russert
In a vote that split the parties, the House just adopted an amendment - sponsored by Reps. Tom Rooney of Florida and John Larson of Connecticut -- to eliminate funding for the Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine (F-136).

The final vote was 233-198, with 110 Republicans and 123 Democrats voting to strike the funding.

The engine, which costs $450 million, won backing from 130 Republicans but was opposed by some high-profile Tea Party-backed freshmen, including Reps. Allen West of Florida and Kristi Noem of South Dakota.

The only member of House GOP Leadership to vote for the amendment was GOP Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas.

Due to an aggressive lobbying push from people on both sides of the Striker engine issue, the vote caused for some strange bedfellows.  For example: Democrats Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of Florida voted with Republicans Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota and Eric Cantor of Virginia to keep the funding.

The Senate still has to pass the amendment when they deal with the Continuing Resolution to fund the government later this month.

Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts has revealed that he was sexually abused at the age of 10 by a camp counselor.

"Fortunately, nothing was ever fully consummated, so to speak but it was certainly  - back then  - very traumatic," the Massachusetts Republican said in an interview with 60 Minutes. He has never reported the incidents, he added, saying "I haven't told anybody. That's what happens when you're a victim."  

Brown, who said that he was sexually abused "more than once," recalled that the perpetrator threatened to kill him if he revealed the abuse.

A video excerpt of his interview with CBS is available here.

*** UPDATE *** In a statement, Brown noted that the abuse is only one part of his life story as detailed in a forthcoming book. "My book is about overcoming obstacles," he said. "The physical and sexual abuse is in my book. It's a part of my life, but it certainly isn't the only part of my life story which I tell. My book will be out on Monday and I hope people will read it and be inspired by its message."

Forget tips for shrinking waistlines before swimsuit season. It’s slashing the deficit that seems sexy this spring.

Gov. Mitch “The Blade” Daniels won glowing reviews from some Beltway pundits after he called the debt "the new Red Menace” in a keynote speech to a gathering of thousands of conservatives in Washington D.C. this weekend. The president’s freshly-inked budget was panned by editorial boards for failing to tackle the nation’s long-term debt, which is projected to reach $15.5 trillion by the end of the fiscal year. GOP budget whiz Rep. Paul Ryan skewered Obama’s latest fiscal plan by accusing him of “punting” on the issue of the nation’s debt.

But how popular is the idea of deficit reduction – really?

While public apprehension about the nation’s debt seems to have reached booming levels in recent months, polls show that Americans view the debt as a top priority at similar rates as they have at various points throughout the last decade.

According to an NBC/WSJ poll taken last month, 17 percent of those surveyed said that the deficit is the most important economic issue facing the country, compared to almost half of respondents who named unemployment – hovering around nine percent - as the most pressing economic problem.

That’s a similar level of urgency expressed in the same poll in January 2001 and in September 2005 – when the unemployment rate was about half as high as it is now (or less.) And it’s slightly less than the level of intensity voiced about 18 months ago, when almost a quarter of respondents rated the deficit as the top economic issue facing the nation.

While people of all ideological stripes appear to agree that the debt puzzle must be addressed eventually, there appears to be just as much division among the American public as there is among lawmakers.

The recent NBC/WSJ poll asked respondents what steps should be taken to reduce the deficit, assuming that it “cannot be eliminated solely by cutting wasteful spending.”

About a third suggested raising taxes, while a third selected “cutting important programs.”

The remaining folks said “postpone elimination of the deficit.”

In other words: Punt.

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
Personal friends and congressional colleagues of Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords (D) are organizing a fundraiser for her in DC.

Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Congressman Adam Smith and Sen. Kirsten Gilibrand joined forces and together sent out a fundraising letter (text below).

Aides to Wasserman Schultz say, "Rep. Giffords' friends and colleagues want to make sure that Gabby can completely focus on her recovery. We all look forward to Rep. Giffords return to Washington and there are many people here who want to make sure that she has the resources she needs to continue to serve as a strong advocate for the people of Southern Arizona."

Aides provided NBC with this fundraising letter for the event next month.

Dear Friend,

We have joined together with our colleagues to support our good friend and colleague, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

As we all know, Gabby suffered serious injuries in the January 8th shooting in Tucson, AZ. We are so proud of her as she continues to make incredible strides in her recovery. We look forward to seeing her again soon and to the day that she will
rejoin us in the halls of Congress and resume her role as a leading advocate for solar energy, increased border security, job creation through innovation, and protecting the needs of military families and veterans.

But first Gabby must focus on the important work of her recovery. With that in mind, we have joined together to support Gabby, and we hope that we can count on you to join us!

Thank you for your friendship and support.

Obama: All we need is just a little patience -- on entitlement reform… Both NYT and WaPo report that there’s behind-the-scenes movement to tackle entitlement reform and deficit reduction… But what the effort is missing: a hard deadline… Obama huddles with Dem Senate leaders at 2:20 pm ET… Will Iowa be less important in 2012? (Our guess: No.)… Chris Christie’s “Time to do big things” speech in DC at 1:00 pm… Barbour commits another unforced error on race?... Santorum comments on his "Google problem"… And Carney takes the press-briefing wheel at 12:30 pm.

President Obama answers questions during a press conference in Washington yesterday.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Just a little patience: At yesterday’s White House press conference, one of your First Read authors asked President Obama why his budget didn’t adopt his deficit-reduction commission’s recommendations, and if those recommendations have been shelved. Obama’s answer: “The notion that it has been shelved I think is incorrect.” He continued, “Let’s face it, you guys are pretty impatient. If something doesn’t happen today, then the assumption is it’s just not going to happen.” And: “My goal here is to actually solve the problem. It’s not to get a good headline on the first day.” Now there’s chatter suggesting -- behind the scenes -- a bipartisan willingness on Capitol Hill to tackle entitlement reform. Let's see if it goes beyond talk.

*** Back-channel negotiations? Here’s the New York Times: “Now some Democrats and Republicans are re-examining whether the political risks of raising revenues and curbing the most popular social programs might be outweighed by the urgency of addressing the looming budget impact of an aging population and rapidly rising medical costs... The White House has already opened back-channel conversations to test Republicans’ willingness to negotiate about the soaring costs of Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security’s long-range solvency and an income-tax code riddled with more than $1 trillion a year worth of loopholes and tax breaks.”

*** McConnell offers some breathing room: And here’s the Washington Post: “‘Entitlement reform will not be done except on a bipartisan basis with presidential leadership,’ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters. ‘I've been inviting the president to have that conversation since he took office two years ago,’ he added. ‘It doesn't have to be in public. We all understand there are some limitations to negotiating significant agreements in public." Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a longtime advocate of bipartisan entitlement reform, echoed that view in a Budget Committee hearing.” Translation: Senate Republicans are willing to negotiate behind closed doors on this issue. But will House Republicans go along? Remember, their chief budget point man, Paul Ryan, could not sign on to the deficit commission recommendations that Tom Coburn COULD sign on to.

*** The importance of deadlines: But here’s why we’re pessimistic that any kind of grand-bargain deal will happen: No one wants to be first. Obama even alluded to this yesterday. “This is a matter of everybody having a serious conversation about where we want to go, and then ultimately getting in that boat at the same time so it doesn’t tip over.” The times we can remember Democrats and Republicans getting into the boat together -- whether it was last December’s tax-cut deal or the Social Security fixes in the 1980s -- come when there’s a serious, do-or-die deadline attached. But when there’s not a deadline, politicians usually kick the can. That said, House Republicans have said that they will offer some type of entitlement reform later this spring. And, as if on cue, Politico reports that some Democrats are licking their chops. “‘They are suckers,’ said one senior Democratic congressional aide of the House GOP plans to release the first detailed proposals to reduce entitlement spending. ‘They have painted themselves into a corner.’” See how hard this is?

*** Obama huddles with Dem Senate leaders: Entitlement reform and budget issues will obviously be a topic of conversation when President Obama meets with Democratic Senate leaders (Reid, Durbin, Schumer, and Murray) at 2:20 pm ET. Also today, Obama is doing local TV affiliate interviews in swing states.

*** Will Iowa be less important? The AP's Mike Glover wrote yesterday that the Iowa caucuses -- due to their VERY conservative electorate -- could be less important to next year's GOP presidential nominating process. But the same could be said for New Hampshire (because or Romney's big poll lead and house there) or Nevada (because Romney easily won it in 2008) or South Carolina (if home state Sen. Jim DeMint decides to run). Bottom line: As in years past, no single state will determine the ultimate GOP nominee. What will are combinations of the early states, as well as the states that follow. But remember: Every presidential cycle, we always see the story why Iowa or New Hampshire won’t matter. But guess what: They always end up mattering. It’s a warning to any presidential candidate who thinks he/she can marginalize the early states.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gestures in a January photo in Trenton, N.J.

*** Time to do big things: At 1:00 pm ET today, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will deliver a speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. The speech, entitled “It’s Time to Do the Big Things,” will serve as a foundation for his budget, AEI says. “Christie believes reductions in spending are the key to restoring fiscal health and fueling long-term growth and that Republican and Democratic leaders must be prepared to tackle the toughest issues.” The speech comes just a few days after Christie -- who repeatedly has said he isn’t running for president in 2012 -- surprisingly tied for third in the CPAC straw poll.

*** Barbour and race, part 3: As good of a politician and operative as Haley Barbour is, he has committed some early unforced errors when it comes to the issue of race. The first error occurred in the sympathetic Weekly Standard profile of him. The second was the odd way he announced the Scott sisters pardon. And now the latest unforced error: Barbour not denouncing an effort in Mississippi to create license plates honoring Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest. “Asked about the NAACP's stance [calling on Barbour to denounce the effort] Tuesday, Barbour replied: ‘I don't go around denouncing people. That's not going to happen. I don't even denounce the news media.’ Asked to clarify what he thinks is not going to happen, Barbour said he believes lawmakers won't approve a specialty license plate depicting Forrest. ‘I know there's not a chance it'll become law,’ Barbour said.”

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington last week.

*** Santorum’s Google problem: If you Google Rick Santorum’s last name, you probably discover that the first couple of entries are things that we can’t describe on this family-friendly note/blog. But Roll Call got Santorum to respond to his Google problem. “It’s one guy. You know who it is. The Internet allows for this type of vulgarity to circulate. It’s unfortunate that we have someone who obviously has some issues. But he has an opportunity to speak.” What Santorum is referring to: “Santorum’s Google problem began in 2003, when gay sex-advice columnist Dan Savage sought to mock Santorum’s comments on homosexuality. Then the third-most-powerful Republican in the Senate, Santorum told the Associated Press that April that gay sex could ‘undermine the fabric of our society.’ The interview touched on a Supreme Court case related to sexual privacy, and Santorum compared homosexual acts to allowing for ‘man on child, man on dog’ relationships.”

*** Carney takes the wheel: Brand-new White House Press Secretary Jay Carney holds his first press briefing at 12:30 pm ET.

Countdown Chicago’s mayoral election: 6 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 265 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 355 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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"President Obama conceded on Tuesday that his new budget does not do enough to resolve the nation’s long-term fiscal problems, but he counseled patience, suggesting that he would eventually come together with Republicans on a broad deal," the New York Times writes. "The president spoke as Republicans on Capitol Hill accused him of a lack of leadership for not proposing a bolder budget for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Yet behind the scenes are signs that both parties, for all their public crossfire, are reassessing the politics of deficits."

Roll Call adds: “Republicans and Democrats vowed to push forward Tuesday with bipartisan efforts to reach a grand deficit-cutting deal even though President Barack Obama largely ignored the issue in his fiscal 2012 budget. A growing coalition of Senators is working to bring the $4 trillion deficit reduction package proposed by Obama’s fiscal commission to the floor, said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who is leading the effort with Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Mike Crapo (Idaho) and Tom Coburn (Okla.), as well as Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Many more Senators support the idea. ‘I think you guys are going to be surprised by the number of Senators who are engaged,’ Warner said Tuesday.”

The Boston Globe’s Lehigh calls the president’s budget a “punt.” And says this “pretty much describes the American mindset when it comes to our country’s long-term federal budget deficit. Everyone wants it addressed — but in a way that won’t affect their programs or increase their taxes. It would be gratifying to say that President Obama used this week’s budget release to bravely explain that our large fiscal challenges will require widespread sacrifices. Gratifying, but untrue. Obama’s budget was at best a small step toward fiscal realism.” And he adds: “Obama hasn’t spoken a tough budgetary truth to the middle class: They are getting a lot more government than they are paying for, and that’s got to change.”

AP’s Raum: “Despite GOP rhetoric, the bulk of the current budget deficit has little to do with Obama's stimulus spending or other Democratic policies. It is basically due to a shortfall in tax revenues because of the recession combined with ‘structural’ deficits — fast-rising costs of Social Security, Medicare and other guaranteed-benefit programs — carried over from previous budgets. And these longer-term issues are not addressed directly — either in Obama's new budget or in various GOP proposals.”

“The Obama administration on Tuesday threatened to veto the House GOP's measure funding the federal government,” The Hill writes.

The Boston Globe has a humorous front-page photo of President Obama trying to get the Medal of Freedom on the 6-9 Bill Russell.

Roll Call interviews Phil Schiliro, the president’s legislative affairs director, who leaves that post. Roll Call describes him as Obama’s “top lobbyist.” “Even on his way out the door, White House Legislative Affairs Director Phil Schiliro still won’t take credit for his role in making the 111th Congress one of the most productive in decades,” Roll Call writes, adding, “Not that he’ll be going far: He’s moving to another office 20 feet away, where next week he’ll begin his less defined job as a senior adviser to Obama. Schiliro said, “The president has some things he wants me to work on; he thinks there are a couple things more to do before I go. So that’s what I’m going to do.” 

Roll Call says the continuing resolution is causing “headaches for GOP.” “Republican leaders are discovering that by putting out one fire, they may have ignited another — emboldening moderates who want their own changes to the stopgap spending bill,” Roll Call writes.

“Rifts have already begun to emerge in the Senate Republican Conference over a House GOP proposal to cut $61 billion from the federal budget,” The Hill writes. “Conservative and even some mainstream members are calling for Senate Republicans to go even further than the House in trimming government expenditures for the rest of this year. But centrists facing reelection in 2012 say it would be unwise to cut crucial funds for people who depend on federal assistance to heat their homes or feed their children. The emerging disagreements signal the challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will face in keeping his conference unified throughout a debate over spending.”

“Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio), who is spearheading the effort for centrist Republicans, has balked at the $61 billion reduction plan offered by House GOP leaders,” The Hill writes, with this point of context: “The uphill effort shows that some GOP lawmakers are skeptical of their leaders’ proposed spending cuts. It might also be an indicator that there will be defections in the House Republican Conference when the final spending plan is voted on later this week.”

 “The House on Tuesday night defeated four amendments that would have trimmed several hundred millions of dollars from Defense Department spending for the remainder of fiscal year 2011,” The Hill reports. “The failure of the first amendment seemed to set the tone for the rest, as it would have cut just $19 million from various Defense Department advisory boards. Its sponsor, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), said during the debate that Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended this cut.”

“Democrats joined Republicans on Tuesday in criticizing President Obama’s budget request for doing too little to bring down the national debt,” The Hill writes, citing Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Chris Coons (D-DE).

Congressional watcher Norm Ornstein said he “winced” when he heard that Sen. Orrin Hatch, facing an angry Tea Party in 2012, apologized for his vote on TARP. “[W]e had a program that was and is deeply unpopular — and wildly successful,” Ornstein writes, adding, “Lawmakers who voted for it should not apologize for their votes — much less, as some craven ones have, demagogue against it.”

“Show us the jobs’: “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) trotted out on Tuesday her own variation of the Republican mantra of ‘Where are the jobs?’ used to some effect against her and House Democrats in the 2010 elections,” The Hill writes. "Democrats are saying 'no' to the Republican majority. We are saying, 'Show us the jobs,'" Pelosi said.

Really, Ron Paul? Tea Party activists are like the Egyptian protesters? "Nobody controls the Tea Party people. They're restless," he said. "It's sort of like looking at those people who finally rebelled in Egypt and saying, OK, what is the consensus on what you want?"

Jane Harman’s last day will be Feb. 28. 

Roll Call notes the influential roles that a trio of Republican senators will play in the upcoming 2012 early nominating contests -- Sens. Chuck Grassley in Iowa, Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, and Jim DeMint in South Carolina.

ANGLE: Sharron Angle will stop in South Carolina on Friday and New Hampshire on Feb. 25 for viewings of the movie “The Genesis Code,” CNN reports.

BACHMANN: “Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has added another event to her upcoming South Carolina trip as she explores the possibility of running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012,” according to CNN. “The outspoken conservative will headline a low-dollar fundraiser for the York County Republican Party in Rock Hill on Friday evening.”

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington last weekend.

BARBOUR: “Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has a decision to make, and it’s not just about running for president. Barbour must decide whether to embrace Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’s call for Republicans to agree to a truce on social issues,” The Hill writes, in light of recent “mixed signals” on his stance.

“Governor Haley Barbour said he will not denounce a southern heritage group's proposal for a state issued license plate honoring a confederate general,” WLBT writes. "’First of all, I know the bureau of revenue's not going to approve it. Secondly, I don't think there's a chance it'll come out of the legislature, and then I know there's not a chance it'll become law,’ said Barbour.” The license plate would honor Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was also an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

HUCKABEE: “Mike Huckabee told attendees at an anti-abortion event in Tennessee last night that his beliefs on that hot-button issue ‘transcend all of the political issues’ and said a major reason he's thinking of running for president is to "elevate" the topic,” Politico writes. He added that he's giving ‘serious’ thought to a second presidential run after capturing Iowa in 2008 but losing the nomination to John McCain, and one reason is to “elevate the issue of life.”

PALIN: The Washington Post’s Cillizza writes that presidential underdogs like Rick Santorum and John Thune are using “smart political strategy” when they criticize, Sarah Palin, even indirectly, “It's the political equivalent of punching up; anytime a lesser known candidate takes a swing at a better known candidate -- and that better known candidate responds -- it's a victory for the little guy… The real question moving forward is whether -- and how -- bigger name candidates like former Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and Mike Huckabee (Ark.) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) follow the lead of Santorum and Thune.”

Politico’s Ben Smith links to a New York Magazine article that writes that “Palin parted ways with longtime aides Jason Recher and Doug McMarlin just before the midterm elections… The shuffling of mid-level staffers would seem like a minor, inside development, but the move carries much larger significance: Palin's staffing issues remain one of her biggest political weak spots when compared to her talents as a speaker, fund-raiser, and media personality.”

PAUL: “Texas Congressman Ron Paul will meet with Iowans on March 7 during three stops as part of the Presidential Lecture Series sponsored by The Family Leader,” the Des Moines Register reports. “The social conservative group said Tuesday that Paul will deliver his pro-family lectures and meet with members of Leadership Roundtables at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Pella Christian High School in Pella, and the University of Iowa in Iowa City.”

PAWLENTY: “Tim Pawlenty travels to Nevada next week, visiting the early-caucus state for private meetings on Monday,” Politico reports. “The event is being hosted at a private home by November Inc., one of the state's top GOP consulting firms. Headed up by Mike Slanker, a former political director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the firm managed Gov. Brian Sandoval's successful 2010 campaign.”

SANTORUM: The most viewed story on Roll Call’s Web site is Rick Santorum talking about his “longtime Google problem.” “Santorum himself sounded slightly defeated when asked about it recently,” Roll Call writes. He said, “It’s one guy. You know who it is. The Internet allows for this type of vulgarity to circulate. It’s unfortunate that we have someone who obviously has some issues. But he has an opportunity to speak.”

THUNE: “Sen. John Thune said his poor showing in [the CPAC] national straw poll of 15 potential Republican presidential candidates this past weekend won't factor into whether he runs for the White House in 2012,” the Argus Leader writes. He told the Leader he's not dismayed by the findings, which he thinks were ‘engineered’ by supporters of certain candidates.”

TRUMP: Does Donald Trump want to buy the New York Mets? "Fred Wilpon is a good friend of mine," Trump told The Post, referring to the Mets' principal owner. "Anything I can do to help Fred, I'd love to do."

VIRGINIA: “Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is expected to speak with President Barack Obama in the next day or two before deciding whether to re-enter elective politics and run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic incumbent Jim Webb in 2012,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. 

Gov. Chris Christie speaking during a town hall meeting in Union City, N.J., earlier this month.

The AP previews Chris Christie’s speech in DC today. “An emerging player on the national stage, Christie has become so beloved among conservatives for his efforts to shrink government and rein in spending that some Republicans are clamoring for him to run for the White House next year. Christie insists he won't — at least in 2012 — and there are no signs that he will. But, even without launching a bid, he's still part of the campaign conversation and putting his imprint on the race. And he could end up on the eventual GOP nominee's vice presidential short list.” 

“The Republican Governors Association will name New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to be its new policy vice chairman today, giving the RGA another popular, media-friendly spokesman to help lead opposition to the Obama administration and promote conservative governance in the states,” Politico reports.

From NBC’s Kevin Hurd
With the announcement of President Obama's 2012 budget this morning, here’s a look back at previous budgets over the past decade.

The numbers show how much money was allocated for spending. They also show whether or not that amounted to a surplus or deficit, depending upon how much revenue the government took in that year.

Since 2000, spending has only dropped twice (if the president’s 2012 budget proposal is enacted) -- both times under President Obama. But total government spending under President Obama is at an all-time high for the country.

Fiscal Year/U.S. Government Budget (Spending)/Deficit or Surplus
2000: $1.79 trillion/$236.2 billion surplus
2001: $1.86 trillion/$128.2 billion surplus
2002: $2.01 trillion/$158.8 billion deficit
2003: $2.16 trillion/$377.6 billion deficit
2004: $2.29 trillion/$412.7 billion deficit
2005: $2.47 trillion/$318.3 billion deficit
2006: $2.66 trillion/$248.2 billion deficit
2007: $2.73 trillion/$160.7 billion deficit
2008: $2.98 trillion/$458.6 billion deficit
2009: $3.51 trillion/$1.4 trillion deficit
2010: $3.46 trillion/$1.3 trillion deficit
2011: $3.82 trillion/$1.6 trillion deficit
2012: $3.73 trillion/$1.1 trillion deficit

Future Estimates
2013: $3.77 trillion/$767.5 billion deficit
2014: $4.00 trillion/$644.6 billion deficit
2015: $4.19 trillion/$606.7 billion deficit
2016: $4.47 trillion/$648.7 billion deficit

SOURCE: Government Printing Office, Budget of the United States Government.

Future estimates show spending continuing to climb over the coming years. The budget report out today projects the 2021 spending budget to hit $5.7 billion dollars. But beginning in 2013 through 2021, the deficit stays between $600 billion and $700 billion. The offset comes from assumed increasing government revenue as the economy gets better. In 2013, the government expects to take in about $3 trillion dollars. By 2021, that number is at about $4.9 trillion dollars.

From NBC's Shawna Thomas
"So be it."

That's what House Speaker John Boehner said today when asked about the possibility of federal job losses as a result of the Fiscal Year 2011 funding bill that is currently being debated on the House floor.

In a GOP leadership press conference, Boehner was asked if he had an estimate on how many jobs could be lost as a result of the spending cuts House Republicans are seeking to various government programs.

His response: "Over the last two years since President Obama has taken office the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs. And if some of those jobs are lost in this, so be it. We're broke. It's time for us to get serious on how we're spending the nation's money."

Democrats quickly seized on the remarks by Boehner, who during the 2010 midterm season constantly hurled this phrase at Obama and the Democrats: "Where are the jobs?"

When asked about Boehner's comments today, Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) responded, "What I wonder is, so what if it's aircraft controllers that make the skies safe?...So what if it's USDA meat inspectors that make sure the food supply is safe?... I think there's a lot of concern about that and this blithe assumption that anyone who works for the federal government must be part of waste fraud and abuse, maybe that should extend to the Congress as well as the federal work force. I think that's a very flip attitude about a very serious problem."

Andrews did say Congress needs to consider where there is redundancy in our government but still called the speaker's words "reckless rhetoric."

According to Politifact.com, Boehner's numbers may be off on how many jobs have been added to the federal government since President Barack Obama took office. Counting temporary workers who were hired to conduct the 2010 census the federal government increased by about 379,000 workers, as of June of 2010. However, when you subtract those temporary workers from that figure, you get an increase of about 46,000. 

From NBC's Athena Jones
The sales push for the Obama administration's 2012 budget began in earnest today with the president appearing to downplay stiff Republican opposition to his spending plans.

"We have found common ground before," Obama stressed.

During an hour-long press conference, the president also tackled questions on issues ranging from the bipartisan fiscal commission, to the Chicago mayor's race to protests that have spread to many countries across North Africa and the Middle East in the aftermath of the downfall of regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.

Republicans -- who slammed the president's budget claiming it spends too much, borrows too much and taxes too much -- plan to unveil their own budget in April.

The upcoming months-long debate over federal spending represents the classic philosophical argument between the two parties about the size and scope of the government. Republicans won control of the House of Representatives last fall, in part, by running on a message of fiscal restraint, and they want to see deep cuts made -- not just in the budget for fiscal year 2012 which begins in October -- but for the rest of this year.

Other members of the Obama administration head up to Capitol Hill today and in the coming days to defend the president's budget priorities before various committees.

Today, Obama defended what he called "tough choices" made in the budget, while acknowledging that more needed to be done to put the country on a strong fiscal path by dealing with costly entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. He said the tax deal reached in December was an example of the two parties being able to work together to reach a compromise.

"Let's, together -- Democrats and Republicans -- tackle these long-term problems in a way that I think will ensure our fiscal health and at the same time ensure that we're making investments in the future," he said. "This is going to be a negotiation process, and the key thing that I think the American people want to see is that all sides are serious about it and all sides are willing to give a little bit."

He said if the two parties work together to agree to a continuing resolution to fund the government for the rest of this year, a government shutdown -- which he said would be "destabilizing" and "disruptive" to the recovering economy -- would be avoided.

When challenged on why his budget seemed to ignore many of the recommendations for substantial, deep cuts made by the bipartisan fiscal commission he set up last year, Obama said the group's ideas had not been shelved, and that it still provided a framework for a conversation.

"Part of the challenge here is that this town -- let's face it -- you guys are pretty impatient. If something doesn't happen today, the assumption is it's just not gonna happen," he said, stressing that this particular brand of Beltway impatience had come up in the debates over health care, on repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, on Egypt, and others.

Obama said he agreed with much of the framework laid out by the commission and disagreed with other parts of it as a matter of principle.

"This is going to be a process in which each side in both chambers of Congress go back and forth and start trying to whittle their differences down until we reach something that has an actual chance of passage," he said. "My goal here is to actually solve the problem, it's not to get a good headline on the first day."

The press secretary for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) reacted strongly to the president's characterization of the country's fiscal condition and the urgency of making cuts.

"It's disturbing that the President won't even fully acknowledge the crushing scale of our fiscal crisis -- and the fact that his budget does nothing to address it," the statement by Brendan Buck read, in part.

Obama to Mideast allies: 'Look to Egypt ... as opposed to Iran'
The president spent several minutes talking about the Middle East, reiterating his belief that "real change" in the region would come not through violence, but by people coming together to apply "moral force to a situation" and arguing that America's role was to "lend moral support" to people seeking freedom.

He said that while there was still a great deal of work to be done in Egypt to help build Democratic institutions and rebuild its economy, what the administration has seen so far was positive. He said the events in Egypt had ramifications throughout the region and that while the United States could not "dictate" what happens in different countries, it was important for governments to deal with protesters peacefully.

"We've sent a strong message to our allies in the region, saying let's look to Egypt's example as opposed to Iran's example," he said. "I find it ironic that you've got the Iranian regime, pretending to celebrate what happened in Egypt when, in fact, they have acted in direct contrast to what happened in Egypt by gunning down and beating people who are trying to express themselves peacefully in Iran."

'I definitely feel folks' pain'
Today was the president's first full-blown press conference this year, and he took questions from 10 reporters on numerous topics, including the Chicago mayor's race. He said his former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel seemed to be doing fine without his help. On the case of an American diplomat detained in Pakistan for his involvement in the deaths of several Pakistanis, the president said he expected Pakistan to recognize Raymond Davis as a diplomat and release him.

At one point, when challenged on proposed budget cuts to things like heating aid for low-income families and grants for community development, the president said these cuts were difficult for him.

"I definitely feel folks' pain," he said. "Sometimes I'm also just frustrated by the number of people out there, who are struggling and, you know, you want to help every single one of them individually. You almost feel like you want to be a caseworker and just start picking up the phone and advocating for each of these people."

From NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
After the Obama administration unveiled its budget yesterday, the common Republican response was this: Where's the presidential leadership -- on reducing the deficit, on reforming entitlement spending, and on putting the nation on a more stable fiscal course?
 
Here was President Obama's response at his news conference today: Big change can't come from the president alone.
 
"This is going to be a negotiating process," he said on efforts to rein in entitlement spending. "The key thing that the American people want to see is that all sides are compromising... Both sides are going to have to give."

That was the template, Obama argued, for the tax-cut deal that the White House and congressional Republicans reached in December, when Republicans gained a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts for high earners, while Democrats got an extension of jobless benefits and a payroll tax cut.
 
That appears to sum up his legislative philosophy: A president should set the objectives and can settle disputes, but he can't enact legislative change -- top-down -- by himself. It was the process the Obama White House tried to avoid in the health-care battle, with the president initially deferring to Capitol Hill. But when passage of the legislation was in jeopardy, Obama had to take more ownership of it, which didn't help his poll numbers.
 
Obama also stressed that slow and steady usually wins the legislative race. "The notion that it's been shelved is incorrect," he said in response to Chuck Todd's question why Obama didn't adopt many of the president's deficit-reduction commission recommendations in his budget.
 
"You guys are pretty impatient," he added. "There is a tendency for us to assume if it didn't happen today, it isn't going to happen... I agree with much of the [commission's] framework; I disagree with some of the framework."
 
Obama continued, "This is a going to be a process in which each side, in both chambers of Congress, go back and forth until we arrive at something that has an actual chance of passage. My goal is to solve the problem, not get a good headline on the first day."
 
But the biggest marker the president laid down was this: With Republicans in control of the House and with them having 47 seats in the Senate, they need to be partners to get things down. "This is a matter of everybody ... getting in the boat at the same time so it doesn't tip over."

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Two Democratic senators are asking baseball commissioner Bud Selig to ban all tobacco use in the sport, specifically citing smokeless products.

Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey are suggesting that Selig push for a ban as part of the negotiations in the players' collective bargaining agreement later this year.

Major League Baseball banned tobacco use in its minor leagues in 1993, but still allows it in the big leagues. The senators say Major League Baseball "is undoubtedly complicit" in the increase its use with school-aged boys.

In a letter to Selig, Durbin and Lautenberg wrote, "We now know conclusively that smokeless tobacco endangers the health of baseball players who use it, but it also affects millions of young people who watch baseball."

"The use of smokeless tobacco by baseball players undermines the positive image of the sport and sends a dangerous message to young fans, who may be influenced by the players they look up to as role models," they wrote

The senators say they were motivated to write the letter because of an recent newspaper article written by Washington Nationals pitcher Steven Strasburg. The pitcher said his initial use chewing tobacco stemmed from a desire to emulate pro baseball players.

Referencing a National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the senators say the use of smokeless tobacco products has increased 36% among high school boys since 2003, raising its use among all boys to 15%.

"While tobacco companies spend millions on ads tailored to attract young people to use tobacco products, MLB is undoubtedly complicit in attracting many young people to try smokeless tobacco after seeing their baseball heroes chew tobacco," they wrote.

The senators sent an identical letter to Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Mark Murray
We have a few thoughts on President Obama's news conference. Here's our first: He tried to hit the reset button on the budget message war in Washington, as Republicans have accused him of "punting" and lacking "leadership" on entitlements.

On the budget his administration unveiled yesterday, the president said it meets his goal of cutting the budget deficit in half, and that U.S. revenues would match expenditures by 2015. But that doesn't include, as he acknowledged, interest on existing debt -- which would still be a significant portion of deficits to come.

"We won't be running the credit card up anymore," Obama contended, arguing that his budget shows his administration is serious about the U.S. needing to "live within its means while investing in the future."

He added, "You might put off a night out for dinner or a vacation," but you "wouldn't want to sacrifice" a child's college savings or "key repairs to your house. That's what we've done with this budget."

He said there are budget cuts that are his priorities, like freezing government workers' salaries for two years, community action programs, and conservation programs.

At the end of the news conference, Obama said his first two budgets ran up deficits to prevent an economic depression. But in his current budget -- his third -- the focus is changing. "The economy is growing again, created more than a million jobs in the last year. And in that environment, we have to look at these long-term problems, in a much more serious and urgent way."

The president said he still intends to push for entitlement reform, but, he said, it requires Democrats, independents, and Republicans to "work together" the way Ronald Reagan and former Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill did in the 1980s.

He added that he believes Social Security will be easier to shore up than Medicare and Medicaid.

"All of these steps will be difficult," Obama said, adding that there will be "discussions" on entitlements in the months to come.

He expressed optimism that a deal could get done, but noted that it wouldn't only get done if both parties "are committed" to tackling the problem "in a serious way."

"This is going to be a negotiation process," he said, adding that "all sides" have to be "serious" and "willing to give," and that there has to be a "genuine spirit of compromise."

In First Thoughts today, we wrote that conservative groups like Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform and the Club for Growth have worked to pressure Republicans against agreeing to almost any kind of tax increase.

The objective in supporting any tax cut and opposing any tax increase, liberal critics have argued, is to starve the beast. As Norquist has said, "Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub."

Well, the beast-starving is well under way in Texas, where Republicans have controlled the governor's mansion over the past 16 years and where Republicans now have a super-majority in the state legislature.

The New York Times reports:

All across Texas, school superintendents are bracing for the largest cuts to public education since World War II, and the state is not alone. Schools across the country are in trouble as billions in emergency stimulus grants from the federal government have run out, and state and federal lawmakers have interpreted the victory of fiscal hawks in November’s midterm elections to mean that tax increases are out of the question.

Nowhere has that political trend been more potent than in Texas, where Republicans who ran on a promise to never raise taxes not only retained every statewide office, but also added to their majorities in both houses of the Legislature.

Gov. Rick Perry, easily re-elected in November, made it clear in his annual speech to lawmakers last week that he regarded raising revenue for schools as out of the question, saying Texas families “sent a pretty clear message with their November votes.” He has also refused to consider using $9.4 billion in a reserve fund to bail out the schools.

“They want government to be even leaner and more efficient,” Mr. Perry said, “and they want us to balance the budget without raising taxes on families and employers.”

To balance the budget with cuts alone, the governor and Republican leaders in the Legislature have put forth bills that would reduce the state’s public school budget by at least 13 percent — nearly $3.5 billion a year — and would provide no new money to schools for about 85,000 new students that arrive in Texas every year. School administrators predict that as many as 100,000 school employees would have to be laid off to absorb the cuts.

Profiles in discouraged: When both parties engage in hypocrisy over the budget… But why Republicans -- in their refusal to consider raising taxes -- might be the biggest obstacle to reining in the deficit/debt… Obama to hold news conference at 11:00 am ET… House Republicans, on second try, pass Patriot Act extensions… Poll: Romney the overwhelming front-runner in New Hampshire… Barbour headed to Iowa next month… Christie comes to DC tomorrow… And Obama to present the Presidential Medals of Freedom at 1:30 pm.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Profiles in discouraged: On the one hand, you have a president who can’t endorse the recommendations of his bipartisan deficit-reduction commission, especially when it comes to entitlement programs like Social Security. And on the other hand, you have the Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee criticizing President Obama for that -- and yet he didn’t vote for deficit-reduction commission’s recommendations when he had the chance. “Presidents are elected to take the country’s challenges on and fix them before they get out of control,” Budget Chairman Paul Ryan said, per the New York Times. “Everybody knows the debt is out of control. The president set up a commission to that effect, and he doesn’t even take on any of the commission’s big recommendations.” Neither did Ryan. This is all just example of why Washington’s approval ratings are so low. If hypocrisy were a currency, then this country could truly pay down its debt.

*** The biggest obstacle: That said, the biggest obstacle right now to a grand compromise in tackling the deficit/debt might be the Republican Party. If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that Obama has not hesitated to poke his finger in the eye of his liberal base (examples: the public option, the tax-cut deal, parts of his FY 2012 budget). But Republican leaders so far have been unwilling to stand up to their base; in fact, it’s the base that’s been standing up to the GOP leaders. As most budget experts have noted -- including the folks on the deficit commission -- the only way to reduce the deficit/debt is to BOTH raise some taxes and cut some entitlement spending. Yet right now, there are few Republican elected leaders willing to stand up to the Grover Norquists and Club for Growths and do something Ronald Reagan did multiple times: raise taxes. (Remember, Norquist helped torpedo a congressionally-backed deficit commission by promising to score a vote for the commission as a vote for a tax increase.) Indeed, this is most likely the reason behind the White House’s current budget proposal: Why put anything on the table regarding Social Security or other entitlements when Republicans are unwilling to consider tax increases? The no-you-first-no-you-first strategy.

*** Presidential news conference: NBC’s Savannah Guthrie reports that Obama will hold a news conference today at 11:00 am ET. Was this always part of the budget rollout plan? The schedule yesterday was missing a press briefing; clearly they were keeping their options open for this. Had the rollout gone well, would they have gone ahead with this? It's hard to find anyone truly cheerleading this budget proposal. At a minimum, the White House hopes the president leaning harder into it today and trying to defend the decisions he made will help.

*** If at first you don’t succeed… : After failing to pass an extension of some Patriot Act programs last week by a two-thirds vote -- due in part to a defection by a handful of Tea Party-backed freshmen -- House Republicans succeeded yesterday in a second attempt that needed only a simple majority support. “The PATRIOT Act extension was passed 275-144, with 27 Republicans opposing the measure and 65 Democrats supporting it,” Roll Call says. Per NBC’s Luke Russert, 210 Republicans joined 65 Democrats in supporting the measure, while 117 Dems and 27 GOPers opposed it. The legislation, Russert says, must still clear the Senate. Obama supports the legislation and has called for its quick passage.

Mitt Romney speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington last week.

*** As expected, Romney’s the front-runner in New Hampshire: A year before the New Hampshire primary is scheduled to take place, a WMUR Granite State Poll has Romney in the lead with support from 40% of likely primary voters, Giuliani (is he really going to run?) gets 10%, and Pawlenty and Huckabee are tied at 7%. After that, it’s Gingrich and Palin at 6%, Paul at 5%, Trump at 3%, and Barbour and Santorum at 1%. So Romney -- who hails from nearby Massachusetts and owns a home in New Hampshire -- begins as the overwhelming front-runner in the Granite State, a status he enjoyed for much of 2007. (Of course, this time, there’s no McCain to contend with.) More: “In a hypothetical race between Obama and Romney, Romney leads, 49 to 41 percent. Against Palin, Obama does much better, leading 57 to 34 percent. Against Pawlenty, Obama leads 44 to 37 percent.”

*** Barbour heads to Iowa next month: As for Iowa, Politico reported yesterday that Barbour is headed to the Hawkeye State next month to give a high-profile speech. “The Mississippi governor will keynote a March 15 dinner in Scott County, the first of a yearlong series of Iowa Republican Party fundraisers aimed at bolstering county parties. Each of the events, to be held in jurisdictions across the state, will feature an out-of-state headliner.” We told you that Barbour -- from his interview on FOX this past Sunday -- seems ready to dive head first into the presidential waters. And this Iowa speech appears to be more evidence of that.

*** Previewing Christie: And then there’s Chris Christie, who has repeatedly said he has no interest or plans to run for president in 2012. But that isn’t stopping folks from hyping his speech tomorrow in DC. Per Politico, “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is bringing his blunt talk about fiscal responsibility to Washington this week in a speech sure to stoke speculation about his national prospects... Like Christie himself, the message he’ll deliver Wednesday at the conservative American Enterprise Institute is unorthodox and straightforward: he accuses both parties, Democrats and Republicans alike, of ‘timidity’ in the face of the coming fiscal calamity.”

*** Obama’s day: At 1:30 pm ET, President Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award, to former President George H.W. Bush, German Chancellor Merkel, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Natural Resources Defense Council co-founder John Adams, poet Maya Angelou, businessman Warren Buffet, artist Jasper Johns, Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissman Klein, Yo-Yo Ma, former NBA star Bill Russell, former MLB star Stan Musial, former AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, and posthumously awards Dr. Tom Little, who was killed in Afghanistan.

*** On the Hill: OMB Director Jask Lew testifies before the House Budget Committee at 10:00 am ET, while Secretaries Tim Geithner and Kathleen Sebelius testify, respectively, before the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees.

Countdown Chicago’s mayoral election: 7 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 266 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 356 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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The New York Times: “With President Obama’s release on Monday of a budget for next year and House action this week on a Republican plan for immediate deep spending cuts, the nation is getting its clearest view since the president took office of the parties’ competing visions of the role of government, the urgency of addressing the deficit and the best path to long-term economic success.”

More: “Mr. Obama used his budget for the fiscal year 2012 and beyond to make the case for selectively cutting spending while increasing resources in areas like education and clean energy initiatives that hold the potential for long-term payoffs in economic growth. With this year’s deficit projected to hit a record, $1.6 trillion, he laid out a path for bringing down annual deficits to more sustainable levels over the rest of the decade. Republicans said it was not nearly enough to address chronic fiscal imbalances and reduce the role of the federal government in the economy and society.”

The Washington Post’s take on the president’s budget: “[T]he document serves as a measure of his presidency - revealing vastly diminished ambitions and practical political calculations.”

“Obama’s budget lays the groundwork for a political battle with the GOP-controlled House, which is urging much deeper cuts to fight the nation’s deficit more aggressively,” the Boston Globe reports. “Obama’s proposal also quickly drew criticism yesterday from the other side of the political spectrum, as some Massachusetts Democrats and social-service advocates decried the cuts as excessively harsh.”

“The austerity plan President Obama outlined yesterday for 2012 does not go nearly far enough to satisfy House Republicans, who seek deeper, more immediate cuts…,” the Globe adds.

The Wall Street Journal: "By trimming programs dear to his party's liberals, Mr. Obama may improve his credibility as a budget-cutter. Yet the White House budget plan offers little new on one of the nation's most fundamental problems, spending on mandatory programs, which would grow to nearly $3.5 trillion by 2021 from $2.1 trillion next year."

Roll Call reports, “President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will host a party for Democratic National Committee members on Feb. 25, the second day of the party’s three-day winter meeting.” 

“Republicans blasted President Barack Obama for bypassing the nation’s fast-growing entitlements in his $3.7 trillion fiscal 2012 budget blueprint Monday — but they now have to figure out how bold they will be on the issue,” Roll Call writes. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “The budget was an opportunity for the president to lead. He punted.”

“House Republicans on Tuesday will launch their attempt to slash $61 billion in government spending, but the actual level of cuts that will emerge is anyone’s guess. GOP leaders have pledged an open process for the floor debate on legislation to fund the government for the remainder of the year, and they are relishing the unpredictability that comes with it,” The Hill writes, adding, “Despite the fact Republicans saw the surprising defeat of two bills on the floor last week, aides said leaders are unconcerned about the potential chaos the debate on the continuing resolution could bring.”

“The chances of a government shutdown are on the rise,” The Hill adds. “With less than three weeks to strike a deal before government funding for the year is scheduled to expire, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are moving in opposite directions.”

Roll Call looks at the relationship between Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell (the Senate’s Minority Leader) and Tea Party freshman Rand Paul. “After years of strained cordiality in the Kentucky Senate delegation, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) has forged an unlikely but good rapport with Sen. Rand Paul (R)… ‘The real test will be in the coming months and years as Rand Paul continues to hold the conservative line when leadership tries to center the caucus,’ one Senate GOP aide said. ‘Those two roles are in tension and conflict — I don’t see Rand Paul changing and I don’t see Mitch McConnell changing.’”

Stu Rothenberg in his Roll Call column looks at the age discrepancy between House Democratic leaders and Republican ones. “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will celebrate her 71st birthday next month. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will be 72 in June. And Assistant Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) turns 71 in July.” Boehner is the oldest member of the House GOP leadership at 61. “Since nobody (not even columnists) can go on forever, House Democrats have to be starting to think about their possible next generation of leaders.” 

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington last week.

BARBOUR: “In another sign that he's moving toward a presidential bid, Haley Barbour will visit Iowa next month,” Politico reports. “The Mississippi governor will keynote a March 15 dinner in Scott County, the first of a year-long series of Iowa Republican Party fundraisers aimed at bolstering county parties.”

Pushing back on a Time magazine story that said Barbour lobbied for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants (or, as many Republicans call it, “amnesty”) on behalf of the Mexican government, he released a statement saying he rejected the claim that he supports “amnesty,” CNN reports. “Barbour's advisers also released a ‘fact sheet’ outlining what Vincente Fox, then the newly-elected president of Mexico, paid Barbour's firm $35,000-a-month to accomplish.”  

Catch this: Barbour said in a video to Human Events, per The Hill, "The main thing is to elect a Republican president in 2012. It's why we all need to work together — that unity is what we need that'll help us win, and that purity is not a winner in politics."

BUSH: In a new Fox News poll, President Obama would beat Jeb Bush 54% to 34%, according to Talking Points Memo.

DANIELS: “A tough, Arizona-style anti-immigration bill in the Indiana state Legislature has put Gov. Mitch Daniels — who is mum on whether he backs it — on a collision course with tea party activists who see it as a big priority and could have national implications for the Indiana governor in a GOP presidential primary,” Politico writes.

Rush Limbaugh attacked Daniels and CPAC.

But National Review’s Lowry praises Daniels, saying that unlike other CPAC speakers who threw their conservative audience hunks of red meat, “Daniels, in contrast, seems temperamentally incapable of unseriousness; he is the anti-panderer.”

GINGRICH: Gingrich will speak at Salem State University in Massachusetts on March 30, the Salem News reports.

HUCKABEE: “Former Arkansas governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was in Knoxville Monday evening,” Knoxville station WATE writes. “Huckabee was the keynote speaker at an event called ‘Celebrate Life' at the Knoxville Convention Center.”

PALIN: “A Democratic official points out that Sarah Palin's latest attack on the Obama administration's budget cuts is not quite accurate,” Politico’s Smith writes. “On Twitter, Palin writes ‘Here's how minuscule the White House's $775 million a year cuts are: less than 1/10 of 1% of this year's budget deficit,’ responding to an op-ed by Obama budget director Jacob Lew. But in his piece, Lew only picked three examples that added up to $775 million -- rather the administration's cuts are more in the rage of $75 billion.”

Palin’s paradox: Per the AP, “Her chips-fall-where-they-may attitude could attract a GOP primary electorate that, during last year's elections, showed a disdain for Washington and the Republican Party machine. Even so, her allies recognize they must encourage their unconventional Republican to embrace parts of a traditional campaign because there are realities to running for president, like turning out voters.”

ROMNEY: “Mitt Romney spent Valentine's Day in Las Vegas, speaking to business groups and supporters in preparation for his likely White House run,” the Las Vegas Review Journal reports. He had lunch with about 40 Republicans including former first lady Dema Guinn, her sister-in-law and local Republican women’s leader Betty Rumford.

The Boston Globe’s Johnson has some details of the speech. Romney touted that he would be a friend to the business community if elected; he explained his support for a similar health-care plan in Massachusetts to what got passed last year in Congress this way: “You learn from experiments. Some parts worked well; some didn’t;” and then he claimed he wasn’t a politician: “Romney went on to focus on what he saw as differences between the public and private sectors, often referring to ‘they’ in government and saying, ‘I’m not really a politician yet. I have to get elected at least twice to be a politician.’”

(Um, Romney may not have been elected twice but he’s lost twice -- once to Ted Kennedy in 1994 for the Senate and, of course, for president in 2008 -- in addition to serving as governor of Massachusetts for one term.)

Maricopa, Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks to the media outside the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum after making a speech last week in Yorba Linda, Calif.

ARIZONA: “Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Monday he is open to the possibility of running for the seat of retiring Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) in 2012,” The Hill writes. This comes after a robo poll showed him leading the potential field of GOP candidates.

MASSACHUSETTS: “Local Democrats and political insiders are holding a fundraiser for [Massachusetts] Governor Deval Patrick next month — and seeking up to $5,500 per person — despite the Democrat’s assertion he will not seek a third term in 2014 or challenge Republican Senator Scott Brown next year,” the Boston Globe reports, adding, “A Patrick spokesman said the governor has over $200,000 in debts he is trying to repay and the fundraiser is for that purpose.” But “Patrick could be a particularly effective counter-puncher if his immediate predecessor as governor, Mitt Romney, wins the GOP’s presidential nomination. Meanwhile, over the weekend, Patrick made an overnight trip to Chicago to meet with political strategist David Axelrod, who previously served as a Patrick political adviser and left the Obama administration last month to prepare for a re-election role. Today, Patrick is seeing Obama himself as he visits the White House to attend a ceremony to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

NEW YORK: “It looks as if Rep. Charlie Rangel wants to come back for a 22nd term,” Roll Call reports. “The 80-year-old New York Democratic Congressman filed a 2012 statement of candidacy Monday, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.”  

From NBC's Ali Weinberg and MSNBC's John Bailey
This year's Conservative Political Action Conference was full of trial balloons from potential 2012 Republican hopefuls. Here's a look at some of the most popular phrases - and former presidents - invoked during the three-day confab.

From NBC's Shawna Thomas, Luke Russert, and Kelly O'Donnell
Here's a wrap up of responses to President Obama's budget proposal out today. (For some details on the budget, see First Thoughts.)

REPUBLICANS

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH):

"The president's budget will destroy jobs by spending too much, taxing too much, and borrowing too much. By continuing the spending binge and imposing massive tax hikes on families and small businesses, it will fuel more economic uncertainty and make it harder to create new jobs.

"The president's budget isn't winning the future, it's spending the future. A group of 150 American economists signed a statement sent to the White House yesterday that says we need to cut spending to help create a better environment for job creation in our country. Our goal is to listen to the American people and liberate our economy from the shackles of debt, over-taxation, and big government. That's why the new House majority will vote this week to cut $100 billion in discretionary spending over the next seven months - with more cuts to come - in contrast to the Obama administration, which has proposed no cuts to the current fiscal year's budget while simultaneously asking for an increase in the national debt limit. And in the coming weeks, Budget Chairman Paul Ryan will offer a comprehensive budget for the next fiscal year that will contrast sharply with the president's job-crushing FY12 budget."

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA):

"President Obama says he wants to win the future, but the future will not be won by repeating the mistakes of the past and failing to live up to our responsibilities in the present. The future will be won by bold and honest leadership that addresses our challenges head on.

"Today, the President missed a unique opportunity to provide real leadership by offering a budget that fails to address the grave fiscal situation facing our country. At a time when unemployment is too high and economic growth is elusive in part because of the uncertainty created by our skyrocketing debt, we need serious reforms that will help restore confidence so that people can get back to work. We need a government that finally does what every other American has to do in their households and their businesses, and that's to live within our means. Instead, President Obama's budget doubles down on the bad habits of the past four years by calling for more taxes, spending and borrowing of money that we simply do not have.

"President Obama has used tough rhetoric about the need to get our fiscal house in order, even assembling a bipartisan commission to address entitlement spending which accounts for more than half of our federal budget including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, the President again failed to put action behind his words by neglecting to even acknowledge these tough issues that everyone knows drive up our debt and must be reformed if they are to meet their obligations for younger Americans.

"As our government continues to borrow forty cents of every dollar that it spends, our Democrat colleagues have offered no credible plan to get Americans back to work or seriously address our debt. In contrast, House Republicans are fully committed to using every tool at our disposal so that we can boost long-term economic confidence and help businesses to grow. And this week we will cut at least $100 billion of wasteful spending, a first step toward getting our fiscal house in order.

"For years, Democrats have proposed more government spending to create jobs, resulting in the largest debt and deficits in history while unemployment remains too high. Republicans believe in free markets and the ability for small businesses and entrepreneurs to keep more of their own money so they can invest, grow their companies and hire employees. This is the difference, and it will be clearly evident in the coming weeks as Chairman Paul Ryan and House Republicans introduce our own budget, one that addresses the challenges we face so that our children have the same hope, opportunity, and ability to achieve that our parents gave to us and their parents to them."

House Budget Chair Paul Ryan:

"The President's budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much - stifling job growth today and leaving our children with a diminished future. In this critical test of leadership, the President has failed to tackle the urgent fiscal and economic threats before us."

"Failing to heed the warnings of economists and the demands of the American people, the President's budget accelerates our country down the path to bankruptcy. Far from 'living within its means,' the President's budget puts the government on track to nearly double in size since the day he took office - a direct result of his party's reckless spending spree. His budget destroys jobs by imposing a $1.6 trillion tax hike, adding $13 trillion to the national debt and fueling uncertainty in the private sector.

"We cannot tax, spend and borrow our way to prosperity. Where the President has fallen short, Republicans will work to chart a new course - advancing a path to prosperity by cutting spending, keeping taxes low, reforming government, and rising to meet the challenges of our time."

Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH):

"Thanks to House conservatives, the spending culture in Congress is beginning to change. The White House still hasn't gotten the message, however.  Even as Americans are looking for Washington to cut back, President Obama wants to burden families and employers with higher taxes, more spending, and more debt.

"The President failed a crucial test of leadership by ignoring the need for reforms that will preserve Medicare and Social Security for future generations.  These safety-net programs are in serious trouble without significant reforms, yet this budget has nothing to say about the problem.

"House Republicans are working to reduce spending and put the country's budget back on the path to balance.  Americans know that prosperity does not spring from government's power to tax, borrow, and spend.  We need to rein in Washington's massive spending deficits and give American job-creators the freedom to grow once again."

Sen. Bob Corker:

"The president has missed an opportunity to show real leadership on the number one issue threatening our country's future. Getting spending under control and reducing our deficit will be difficult without presidential leadership. I hope in the coming weeks he will come to the table in a meaningful way to address these issues," said Corker. "As we approach our debt limit of $14.29 trillion, I see no better time to impose a fiscal straitjacket on Washington. We need to vote on and pass spending cuts this year, and we need to pass the CAP Act Senator McCaskill and I have offered to force Congress to dramatically cut spending over 10 years. By capping spending - discretionary and mandatory - to a declining percentage of GDP, we would put our country on a path to fiscal sanity, while incentivizing Congress to pass policies that promote economic growth."

The Commitment to American Prosperity Act, the "CAP Act," would:
(1) Put in place a 10-year glide path to cap all spending - discretionary and mandatory - to a declining percentage of the country's gross domestic product, eventually bringing spending down from the current level, 24.7 percent of GDP, to the 40-year historical level of 20.6 percent, and
(2) If Congress fails to meet the annual cap, require the Office of Management and Budget to make evenly distributed, simultaneous cuts throughout the federal budget to bring spending down to the pre-determined level. Only a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress could override the binding cap, and
(3) For the first time, eliminate the deceptive "off-budget" distinction for Social Security - providing a complete and accurate assessment of all federal spending.
The Corker-McCaskill CAP Act is currently cosponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX):

"President Obama's timid budget proposal represents a missed opportunity to lead. It increases the national debt by nearly $11 trillion, raises taxes, and ignores the recommendations of the President's own bipartisan debt commission. Republicans are ready to show we are serious about making these tough choices and getting the boot off the neck of American entrepreneurs and small businesses."

NBC's Shawna Thomas reports that Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), vice chair of Budget committee, this morning made brief remarks that set up the GOP's prepared response to the budget with the line that it's "a budget that unfortunately spends a little bit too much, taxes too much and borrows too much again." House Budget Chairman Ryan and Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-AL) will hold a presser this afternoon on the budget.

"In the preview of what we've seen so far it is a continuation of a, as our chairman has said, a budget that unfortunately spends a little bit too much, taxes too much and borrows too much again," Garrett said. "The President has indicated to us that it's imperative that we sign the raising of the debt limit but at the same time we look at this budget and we see that the debt of the federal government continues to grow at outstanding rates and he's going... to ask us to do so again."

When asked if he sensed there would be any common ground between the GOP and the president on this budget, Garrett couldn't seem to find any this morning.

"Well he, he says that he wants to work with us to begin reigning in spending," Garrett said. "Most of what we have seen as far as preliminary numbers go in exactly the opposite direction. Most of what we've seen is that the actual amount of borrowing will be going, as I said before,  in an increased direction and that's why you're actually seeing a doubling of the debt since the time this administration came into office. On the tax side of the equation, the president said he wanted to work with us, basically to place less of a burden on the American taxpayers. But we see here again that it goes in the opposite direction about $1.5 trillion increase in the opposite direction, in that direction, as well. And he also said he wanted to care, as you said, for our future generations, our children and our grandchildren,  but this is just going to place even our heaviest burden on them as well. So we're more than happy, I think all of us on our side of the aisle to reach a hand out to the administration to work where we can but there is very little that we see in this so far that there's commonality on spending."

DEMOCRATS

Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD):

"Today, President Obama released his proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget. The president's budget makes the tough choices we need to reduce spending and put our nation's fiscal house in order; in fact, it would reduce our deficit by $1.1 trillion over the next decade. At the same time, however, the budget identifies those investments we need to grow our economy and create jobs-investments in out-building, out-innovating, and out-educating competitors around the world. President Obama's priorities-protecting our fiscal future while investing in growth-stand in strong contrast to the priorities of Republicans. Their spending bill for the rest of this fiscal year would make indiscriminate and short-sighted cuts to the investments our economy needs to stay competitive. I hope that Republicans will, instead, work with President Obama to reduce our deficit without sacrificing America's competitive edge."

Budget Committee ranking member Chris Van Hollen (D-MD):

"The President has put forth a budget that reduces our deficit, while also investing in our future. Two years after the President inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and a structural deficit that came from years of fiscal irresponsibility, we have made progress. But we must do more to invest in job creation and economic growth in the short-term, as well as get our nation on a long-term, responsible path to fiscal sustainability. This budget makes an important step towards both those goals.

"There is no question President Obama has made some tough decisions. But this budget also keeps in mind that we need to make smart choices that will create more jobs, lift up middle-class families, and keep our economy growing. While I don't agree with everything in this budget, it is a responsible place to start. It prioritizes national investments that will help our economy continue to recover and keep America competitive, focusing on important investments in things like infrastructure, education, and research. It also extends tax cuts for the middle class, while rejecting tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent. And it represents an important down payment on getting our fiscal house in order.

"The President's budget stands in sharp contrast to the House Republicans' proposed funding bill for the remainder of the year. We need to get serious about debts and deficits in this country - but while Democrats propose smart, precise cuts, the GOP wants to blindly slash in the short-term and has no plan for long-term fiscal sustainability. The President's budget is a responsible proposal that will help America move forward, while the reckless Republican bill will cost jobs and hurt the economy."

From NBC's Athena Jones
As he unveiled his administration's proposed 2012 budget, President Obama today sought to make a case for balancing efforts to reduce the deficit with investments in areas like education that he sees as key to the nation's long-term competitiveness.

The $3.7 trillion budget aims to slash $1.1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade, with two-thirds of that reduction coming from a five-year freeze on annual domestic spending and the rest through tax increases. Republicans in Congress say the plan does not go far enough to rein in spending and are opposed to tax hikes, with House Speaker John Boehner saying the president's budget spends too much, taxes too much, and  borrows too much.

The budget would cut Pell Grant funding for summer school, as well as loan subsidies for graduate students; reduce Defense spending by $78 billion over five years; and reduce heating aid to low-income families, grants for large airports, and aid to states for water and sewage projects. It also would raise taxes and limit deductions on charitable giving and mortgage interest for wealthier Americans.

But it does not take significant steps to bring down the costs of the government's most expensive programs -- Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid -- a fact that drew the ire of critics. In Baltimore, the president said the proposal met a goal he set out at the upon taking office -- to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term -- and he pledged to work with members of both parties to make further cuts to meet the country's long-term fiscal challenges.

"As the bipartisan fiscal commission concluded, the only way to truly tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it: in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending and spending through tax breaks and loopholes," Obama said, during a visit to a Baltimore middle school. "So what we've done here is make a down payment, but there's gonna be more work that needs to be done, and it's gonna require Democrats and Republicans coming together to make it happen."

The president's trip to Parkville Middle and Center of Technology -- which has a magnet program that emphasizes math and science -- was meant to highlight his goal of "out-educating" other countries in order to better compete. He was joined at the event by Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Budget Director Jack Lew.

The upcoming budget battle will not just involve spending for fiscal year 2012 (which doesn't start until October) but also spending for the remainder of this year (which Republicans propose to slash by some $60 billion). It's a return to the classic debate between the two parties about the size and scope of the federal government.

In his remarks today, the president argued that while it was important to put the country on a stronger fiscal path, "we can't sacrifice our future in the process" by not investing in education, infrastructure, and innovation. The budget -- which would also cut funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and for community service block grants, community development block grants -- includes proposals to fund high-speed rail and to expand wireless internet access.

Copies of the budget were delivered to the Senate Budget Committee this morning, and much of the rest of this week will involve members of the administration heading up to Capitol Hill to defend the president's budget priorities before various committees.

Shirley Sherrod is suing Andrew Breitbart.

The former Agriculture Department employee got swept up in a high-profile controversy about race after an out-of-context video of her was posted on the conservative Breitbart's Web site. Sherrod, who was forced to resign before the administration offered her another job when the broader context of her remarks were revealed, filed suit in DC Superior Court for "libel and slander."

Breitbart was served with papers at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, Friday, the New York Times reported.

Breitbart's company responded in a blog post. The headline says, in part, "Bring it on." The post even ropes in President Obama.

"The lawsuit served today does not name as co-Defendants President Barack Obama, the USDA and USDA head Tom Vilsack, even though it is they who fired the Pigford claimant, and who, according to the Pigford claimant herself, denied her due process," Breitbart wrote. "Mr. Breitbart categorically rejects the transparent effort to chill his constitutionally protected free speech and, to reiterate, looks forward to exercising his full and broad discovery rights. Mr. Breitbart is absolutely confident of being fully vindicated."

The first scheduled hearing in the case is May 13.

*** UPDATE *** The law firm representing Sherrod says it's suing for "false light and infliction of emotional distress."

Here's the 42-page complaint.

Here's the law firm's press release with a statement from Sherrod (copied below):

“This lawsuit is not about politics or race. It is not about Right versus Left, the NAACP, or the Tea Party. It is about how quickly, in today’s internet media environment, a person’s good name can become ‘collateral damage’ in an overheated political debate. I strongly believe in a free press and a full discussion of public issues, but not in deliberate distortions of the truth. Mr. Breitbart has never apologized for what he did to me and continues -- to this day -- to make the same slurs about my character.

I am issuing this statement because I know there may be intense media interest in this case. But I do not intend at this time to discuss the lawsuit further, and I hope members of the media will respect that decision.”