UPDATE: Just in case you thought that Sarah Palin's press-goosechase bus tour of the I-95 corridor couldn't get any more surreal...

Michael Cohen, special counsel to Donald Trump, confirmed to NBC News that the real estate mogul and his wife will meet and dine with Palin and her husband Tuesday night in New York City.

Cohen tells NBC News that Palin and Trump had previously discussed meeting up the next time Palin visited the city.

Trump and his wife, Melania, ate pizza with Palin and her daughter Piper at La Famiglia on 50th Street and Broadway.

Senate Republicans are threatening to block Commerce Secretary nominee John Bryson's confirmation until President Obama sends three free-trade agreements to Congress for approval. At issue are agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea that were negotiated during the Bush administration.

The initial threat to block the eventual Commerce nominee over the trade agreements came in March -- in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, which was signed by 44 Senate Republicans. Aides to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said today the Senate GOP position remains the same.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters this afternoon that "technical discussions" with Congress are on-going, but it would be "folly" to hold up the Commerce Secretary nomination over the free-trade agreements.

Senate Republicans and the White House disagree over extending financial and other assistance to workers who lose their jobs or whose work is reduced by rising imports. This is known in Washington-speak as TAA -- Trade Adjustment Assistance. Parts of TAA expired in February.

Carney today said the White House believes renewal of TAA assistance should be part of congressional approval of the trade agreements. Republicans are reluctant, given the don't-spend-anymore-money climate in Congress.

At a Senate Finance Committee hearing last week, Ranking Member Orrin Hatch said TAA is too expensive and President Obama should drop his insistence that it be attached to the free-trade agreements.

"TAA, as I view it, is not going to pass in this Congress. And what I'm having trouble with is stopping these three trade agreements when you know that it isn't going to pass, especially in the form that you want it to pass, in 7.2 billion bucks over 10 years," he said.

Both political parties are continuing to spin the upcoming vote to raise the debt ceiling.

House Republicans, for instance, are holding a test vote today to demonstrate that a "clean" debt-ceiling measure -- that is, one without attached spending cuts -- doesn't have enough support to pass Congress. Democrats and liberals are calling the vote a political ploy.

Meanwhile, the Obama White House is invoking Ronald Reagan to make its case that raising the debt ceiling is a normal practice --which the conservative icon once pursued. 

The White House has distributed a letter, dated Nov. 16, 1983, from Reagan to then-Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker (R-TN).

"This letter is to ask for your help and support, and that of your colleagues, in the passage of an increase in the limit on the public debt," Reagan writes in it. "Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and on the value of the dollar in exchange markets. The Nation can ill afford to allow such a result. The risks, the costs, the disruptions, and the incalculable damage lead me to but one conclusion: the Senate must pass this legislation before the Congress adjourns."

Of course, it was easier for a Republican president to ask a Republican Senate majority leader to help with this vote. It's harder for a Democratic president asking a GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

Below is the full Reagan letter to Baker.

                                         November 16, 1983

Dear Howard:

This letter is to ask for your help and support, and that of your colleagues, in the passage of an increase in the limit on the public debt.

As Secretary Regan has told you, the Treasury's cash balances have reached a dangerously low point. Henceforth, the Treasury Department cannot guarantee that the Federal Government will have sufficient cash on any one day to meet all of its mandated expenses, and thus the United States could be forced to default on its obligations for the first time in its history.

This country now possesses the strongest credit in the world. The full consequences of a default -- or even the serious prospect of default -- by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and on the value of the dollar in exchange markets. The Nation can ill afford to allow such a result. The risks, the costs, the disruptions, and the incalculable damage lead me to but one conclusion: the Senate must pass this legislation before the Congress adjourns.

I want to thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent problem and for your assistance in passing an extension of the debt ceiling.

                                        Sincerely,

                                        Ronald Reagan

Calling him a man of integrity and vast experience who will play important part on his economic team, President Obama named John Bryson as his choice to replace outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

A Yale Law School graduate who has served as chairman and CEO of utility company Edison International and on numerous corporate boards, Bryson also co-founded and served as attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, a leading national environmental organization, according to a biography on Edison's website. He must be confirmed by the Senate.

"John is somebody who will bring to this job a wealth of experience in the public and in the private sector," Obama said during the brief State Dining Room remarks. "In this new role, John will be able to draw on decades of business experience across a range of industries from his role on the boards of major companies like Disney and Boeing to his leadership in the clean-energy industry; that's the expertise that will help us create new jobs and make america more competitive in the global economy."

Bryson is just the latest addition to the Obama team from the corporate world, as the administration attempts to strengthen its ties with the business community. Earlier this year, the president named former Commerce Secretary and J.P. Morgan executive Bill Daley as chief of staff and created a new jobs council headed by GE CEO Jeff Immelt. He also delivered a speech before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The president made a point today of highlighting Bryson's status as a promoter of clean energy, a field he has consistently argued the government must invest in to keep America competitive and spur the growth of new jobs and businesses.

"John understands this better than virtually anybody," Obama said. "Throughout a distinguished career in which he's led non-profits government agencies and large companies, he's been a fierce proponent of alternative energy."

Among the many posts Bryson has held is senior advisor to KKR -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co -- chairman of the board of BrightSource Energy, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) Board of Overseers, co-chairman of the Pacific Council on International Policy (PCIP) and a trustee of the California Institute of Technology, according to White House release.

Locke has been nominated to serve as ambassador to China.

The White House confirms to NBC News this story below by the AP -- President Obama will nominate businessman John Bryson to be the administration's next Commerce secretary. He'll do so at a White House event at 1:15 pm ET.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A White House official says President Barack Obama will nominate businessman John Bryson to lead the Commerce Department.

Bryson is the former chairman and CEO of Edison International, a California-based energy company. Bryson was also the co-founder for the Natural Resources Defense Council and a member of a United Nation's advisory group on energy and climate change.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bryson would replace outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. Obama nominated Locke to serve as ambassador to China.

From NBC's Pete Williams
A unanimous US Supreme Court today ruled that former attorney general John Ashcroft cannot be sued by a American-born Muslim man who claimed that he was improperly detained in the early days of the war on terror. The ruling is a blow to civil liberties groups who challenged a controversial post-9/11 policy.

The lawsuit was brought by Abdullah al-Kidd, who was arrested by the FBI as he sought to board a flight to Saudi Arabia in March 2003 for what he claimed was a study-abroad trip.

The government said he was needed to testify at a trial in Idaho of a man accused of helping al Qaeda run a computer-based recruiting network. Al-Kidd was held for 16 days as a material witness, but he was never called to testify at the trial.

Al-Kidd claimed his arrest amounted to unconstitutional preventive detention, and he said then-attorney general Ashcroft's approval of the practice amounted to a kind of "round up the usual suspects" policy forbidden by the Constitution. Lower courts said Ashcroft could be sued, but the Supreme Court today threw the case out.

The court held there was no constitutional violation, and even if there was, Ashcroft would be protected by the immunity public officials enjoy from lawsuits over their official acts.

Here come the Republicans … a 10-month reality show – what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger … The changing Republican Party … On TODAY, Romney repeats defense of Massachusetts health care, says he listens to the Beatles and read Twilight series book. … the Palins’ summer vacation … the Summer of GOP speculation … Bachmann, Santorum, Pawlenty hit the trail.

*** Here come the Republicans: For the past two-and-a-half years, if not longer, Barack Obama has been the central actor in American politics. Almost every crisis, poll, or political event has involved him or revolved AROUND him in some form or fashion. But in the next several days -- with Mitt Romney’s formal announcement on Thursday, Rick Santorum’s on Monday, and the next GOP presidential debate on June 13 -- that will begin to change. Over the next 10 months, the race for the Republican nomination will become the chief political story in America, and that will affect the contours of the general election. We even started seeing it yesterday, with Palin, Pawlenty, and Bachmann taking center stage. “The Democratic ‘race’ is more akin to watching a single athlete run a marathon,” says Democratic strategist Jano Cabrera, who was a spokesman for Joe Lieberman’s presidential campaign in 2004, the last time a group of candidates from the other party were vying to take on an incumbent president who wasn’t facing a primary challenge.  

*** Sharing the stage: This isn't to say President Obama won't be a main character in the story, it just means he'll be sharing the stage. And that has its pluses and minuses for him. On the plus side, it's the beginning of turning the election away from SOLELY being a referendum. The minus: the sheer volume of attacks from the GOP field could take a toll on him. Just ask former President George W. Bush. The 2004 Democratic primary campaign brought the president down to their level. He still won, though…

*** The GOP’s 10-month reality show: “On the Republican side, we'll have reality television at its finest. A small group of strangers will be thrown together into a series of increasingly intense, high-stake challenges and somehow, out of that circular firing squad, a nominee will emerge,” Cabrera adds. And that impacts the general election. “If history is any guide, the nominee will come with the scars of the process … as the negative narratives that emerge in the primaries often return for a retelling in the general.” In other words, it won’t just be Obama taking the slings and arrows of Republicans anymore. That said, Obama actually emerged stronger through the long 2007-‘08 primary fight with Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. The same could be true for someone like Mitt Romney -- if he can satisfy his party on health care. About the only potential nominee that does not NEED a long campaign but could survive one is Romney; the rest of the challengers need a long campaign in order to find time to both define themselves and create contrasts with their fellow challengers.

*** Ch-ch-changes: Speaking of health care and negative narratives, the main takeaway from Ryan Lizza's New Yorker piece on Mitt Romney's health-care law is similar to a point we made earlier this month: The GOP opposition to the individual mandate is more a story about the changing Republican Party. Back in 2006, Romney, the Heritage Foundation, and the Bush administration all supported the mandate. Now? It’s anathema to Republicans and conservatives. “If it were not for Mitt Romney, with assistance from the Heritage Foundation and George W. Bush, it is extremely unlikely that Obama would have passed his universal health-care law last year,” Lizza writes.

*** Romney: “If I become president, I will repeal Obamacare: In his interview with NBC’s Jamie Gangel, which aired on “TODAY” this morning, Romney defends his Massachusetts health-care law. “I understand that there are a lot of people who would just like me to get up and say, ‘Oh, it was a terrible idea. A boneheaded idea. It was just a terrible mistake.’ There's only one problem with that: It wouldn't be honest. What we did was to solve a very serious need that existed in our state.” When Gangel mentions the charge that “Romneycare” helped inspire “Obamacare,” Romney responds, “If I become president, I will repeal Obamacare on the first day I'm in office. My bill was 70 pages. His bill is 2,700 pages. In those extra 2,630 pages he's doing a lot of stuff that is just devastating to the healthcare system in this country… He's wrong.” (He also said his iPad has mostly 60s and 70s music on it, especially The Beatles; and he read The Rule of Nine, a thriller about the death of a congressional gofer and a terrorist plotting an attack on the U.S.; former President George W. Bush’s “Decision Points;” and one of the books in the vampire Twilight series.)

*** The Palins meet the Griswolds: As others have noted, Sarah Palin’s East Coast bus tour -- of which she hasn’t divulged the actual schedule to reporters -- seems more like a family summer vacation than any kind of presidential campaign rollout. The Palin family has visited George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Fort McHenry in Baltimore. And the next stop appears to be Gettysburg. Writes Politico: “For supporters and reporters looking for more details, Palin isn’t providing them. Palin’s staff has been unresponsive to reporters’ requests or told them to check the SarahPAC website, which updates with information only after she’s stopped somewhere.” The New York Times added yesterday, “Ms. Palin, the former governor of Alaska, has made it quite clear that she just wants to be left alone. She doesn’t want to accommodate members of the news media (except, perhaps, Fox)” -- except for the fact that Palin announced this trip to the media.”  Of course, for someone who wants to be left alone, she certainly has quite the attention-seeking bus. The last thing she wants is to be ignored, and she picked her spot -- a slow news hole known as Memorial Day weekend.

*** Hey, look kids, there’s Big Ben and there’s Parliament: Or in this case, there’s Fort McHenry, Gettysburg, and the Liberty Bell… Per NBC’s Shawna Thomas, the Palins plan on visiting the Gettysburg battlefield today, based on what Palin told media yesterday as she walked out of the hotel. Every time Thomas and other reporters following Palin ask one of the media wranglers where they are going next, they say either to watch the Web site or that Sarah's in charge, and they don't know what the next stop is. Trying to read into anything Palin does is futile. She’s unconventional and her fans love that she keeps the media off balance. Her tour doesn’t mean she’s running, or not running. It’s par for the course. One Republican noted to First Read that this tour is just a “head fake.” Any good defender knows that when someone head fakes, you should keep your feet on the ground.

*** On the 2012 trail: Elsewhere today, candidates, who are actually putting together campaigns and should be taken more seriously than the bus sideshow, hit the trail: Bachmann remains in New Hampshire… Pawlenty is in Iowa, making stops in Sioux Center and Le Mars… And Santorum spends his day in the Granite State.

*** “Summer of Speculation” watch: In New Jersey today, Iowa Republican donors meet with Gov. Chris Christie and his top political adviser, Mike DuHaime. Also this week, Rudy Giuliani has a couple of high-profile events. And Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he’s now “thinking about” a run for president.

Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 74 days
Countdown to NV-2 special election: 105 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 161 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 251 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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“The next 98 days will be a time of testing for the men and women running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination,” the Washington Post’s Cillizza writes. “With the field largely settled, the three months between Memorial Day and Labor Day amount to the first extended period in which the candidates must learn how to interact with one another and, more important, with voters. This is when the race truly begins.”
“The Republican establishment probably will wait in vain for a white knight -- Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan are the most oft-cited -- to rescue the party’s presidential prospects,” Bloomberg’s Al Hunt writes, but, he adds, “The Republican field seems set, with the major contenders likely to be former Governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Jon Huntsman of Utah and possibly Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.”

BACHMANN: “On a Memorial Day sweep across New Hampshire, Bachmann, a potential presidential candidate, was greeted enthusiastically by Republicans and Tea Party activists, who have made Bachmann a conservative icon,” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “Bachmann did not say whether a run by 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin — another Tea Party hero — would affect her decision. ‘The person that I compare myself to is Barack Obama and I think that’s a very favorable comparison,’ Bachmann said, when asked about Palin.”

AP: “The Minnesota Republican says she considers Palin, the GOP's 2008 vice presidential candidate, a ‘friend,’ not a ‘competitor.’ But she told ABC's ‘Good Morning America’ on Tuesday that she has no problem running against a friend.”

Michele Bachmann gave her strongest indication yesterday that she is preparing for a presidential bid, the Washington Post writes, telling a Republican activist that she wanted to run for president rather than challenge Sen. Al Franken (D) in her home state of Minnesota because “we need a person who is going to stand up to Obamacare… You’ve got to be willing to take on our party, the other party and then explain it to the people. I know I can make the case to the American people and win them over to our side.” She made the remarks during a meet-and-greet in New Hampshire.

GOP 12’s Heinze writes, following all the questions Bachmann got about Palin on FOX and on the trail: “By the media's standards, Michele Bachmann is still very much Sarah Palin's little sister.”

CAIN: Herman Cain goes Rodney Dangerfield in a column in The Daily Caller: “Wow! I must be causing some people quite a concern as a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. The establishment skeptics are still stuck in the traditional campaign paradigm of immediate name ID, lots of money, and having held a worthy elective office before. The critics are pounding on what they perceive as my weaknesses. And the Democratic National Committee now has me on its radar and is sharpening its blades for a Cain attack.”

The Washington Post asks of Herman Cain’s success with many Republican: “Who’s calling the shots in the Republican Party — the elite establishment or the grass-roots activists? What does the popularity of a black tea party hero say about the movement’s relationship with race? Is the goal of the upstarts in the Republican field the presidency or a cushy Fox news gig? And in the tea party era, do quixotic candidates tilt at windmills or reap electoral windfalls?”

CHRISTIE: Seven Iowa Republican contributors will head to New Jersey today to court that state’s governor, Chris Christie. “The heavy hitters’ journey is being closely watched by political operatives across the nation who read it as evidence of Republican discontent in the lead-off voting state with the developing field of GOP hopefuls – and a sign that Christie’s resistance might crack,” the Des Moines Register writes. 

GIULIANI: “Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is set to headline a state GOP fundraiser this week, an early-primary state visit likely to fuel speculation that the 2008 presidential candidate may yet enter the 2012 race,” Roll Call writes.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is scheduled to appear in New Hampshire on Thursday, where he’ll headline a fundraiser for the state GOP and have lunch with several Republican activists, the AP writes, “stirring further speculation that he may jump into the 2012 Republican presidential field.”

HUNTSMAN: Deseret News writes that Huntsman gathered with his family in Salt Lake City over the weekend to talk about whether he should run for president. “We're moving inexorably in that direction and I think in the next few weeks, we'll arrive at a decision,” he said on Friday.

PALIN: “Sarah Palin rumbled through Washington on the back of a Harley as she and her family began an East Coast tour Sunday, renewing speculation that the former Alaska governor would join the still unsettled Republican presidential contest,” the Boston Globe writes of Palin’s appearance at the Rolling Thunder rally this weekend.

Sarah Palin’s announcement of a cross-country bus trip this weekend had immediate reverberations through the rest of the republican field, The Hill writes. Shortly after the announcement, “Mitt Romney, arguably the Republican front-runner, said he would formally enter the race next week in New Hampshire… Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.), a Tea Party favorite sometimes compared to Palin, likewise said she would visit Iowa in June to announce whether she will run.”

“This past week, it was Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann who took their campaigns to Iowa, but it was the news of Palin's bus tour that really had people talking. A simple announcement on her website, and she got all the attention, all the interest,” Politico writes.

So what did Palin have to say at Rolling Thunder. Among other things: “I love that smell of emissions.”

This says it all: Palin on Greta Van Sustern last night, per GOP 12: "[The media wants] kind of the conventional idea of a schedule, we want to follow you, we want you to bring us along with you. I'm like a) I don't think I owe anything to the mainstream media. I think that it would be a mistake for me to become some kind of conventional politician and doing things the way that it's always be done with the media, in terms of relationships with them. .... I want them to have to do a little bit of work on a tour like this, and that would include not necessarily telling them beforehand where every stop's going to be."

PAWLENTY: “Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the key difference between his Medicare proposal and that of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., is that his plan will change the way providers are paid,” the Des Moines Register writes.

Pawlenty would be the candidate most affected by a Bachmann bid, the St. Cloud Times writes: “Already struggling to make his name known, Pawlenty would have a difficult time overcoming Bachmann’s appeal to the party’s conservative base, which is the most active during the nominating season.”

By the way, there’s a new Pawlenty video.

PERRY: The New York Times writes of Rick Perry’s indication on Friday that he was “going to think about” running for president: “The ritual of reporters asking Gov. Rick Perry if he is running for president and getting a firm no has become so entrenched in Texas that jaws dropped Friday afternoon when Mr. Perry abruptly changed his tune -- slightly -- and hinted that he might run after all.”

ROMNEY: On NBC’s TODAY, Mitt Romney again defended his health-care overhaul in Massachusetts, repeating that it “wouldn’t be honest” to say it was a mistake. But he drew a distinction between his plan and Obama’s, saying that his plan was 70 pages, Obama’s was 2,700. He said much of what’s in it is “devastating to the health-care system,” and he pledged to repeal it. On his Mormon religion, he said, “We’re not electing a pastor-in-chief, we’re electing a commander-in-chief.” He said his chances of winning were “very good actually,” and better than 50-50. On some softer items, Romney said he has mostly 60s and 70s music on his iPad, including a lot of country and the Beatles. He said he watches American Idol, just finished reading “The Rule of Nine” and former President George W. Bush’s “Decision Points,” which he called “Decisions.” He said he also read a book from the vampire series, Twilight, which he called “fun.” His wife described him as a “casual guy,” and that he said he swears on occasion. There’s “been a damn or a hell from time to time,” Romney said.

AP: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is calling Barack Obama ‘one of the most ineffective presidents’ he's ever seen, and says he can beat him next year. Romney tells NBC in an interview that while Obama wasn't responsible for the recession he inherited, ‘he made things worse. He's failed.’”

“Mitt Romney returned [Friday] to the state that delivered to him a disappointing defeat in 2008, and once again began trying to woo Iowa caucus-goers for his nascent presidential campaign,” the Boston Globe writes. “ ‘It’s good to be home,’ he said to an audience of about 200 here. ‘Ah, this isn’t exactly home, but it felt like it last time I was around.’ But his first high-profile event in the state – held at the State Historical Building, with about 200 people sitting on fold-out chairs eager to hear from the former Massachusetts governor -- was cut short by burning popcorn that triggered a fire alarm and an evacuation.”

“Romney traced familiar highways as he traveled to Ankeny, where he sat at a desk and wielded an ear of corn while talking to the owners of a software company. Late in the afternoon he headed for Cedar Rapids, in eastern Iowa, the region of the state where he fared best in 2008, for a friendly GOP picnic,” the Boston Globe writes. “Romney focused his remarks on economic themes, avoiding the hot-button social concerns that dominate the agenda for many of Iowa’s voters.”

“Making a decidedly low-key maiden trip to Iowa on Friday, Mitt Romney delivered a sharp critique of President Obama, saying his presidency was ‘an experiment’ that had ‘failed because he doesn’t understand how the economy works,’” the Washington Post writes.

“President Obama nominated Army General Martin E. Dempsey as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and promoted two other senior military leaders yesterday, completing an overhaul of his national security team in advance of his reelection campaign,” the Washington Post writes. “Obama’s appointments will usher in an entire new leadership at the Pentagon, where for the first 2 1/2 years of his term he had kept most of the existing brass from his predecessor, President George W. Bush.”

“A new CNN/Opinion Research survey finds President Obama's approval rating has steadily risen over the past two months, from 48% in early April to 52% in early May and the current mark of 54%,” PoliticalWire notes.

But “optimism brought on by [a recent jobs] report has waned as recent data on the nation’s economic growth and first-time applications for unemployment have since disappointed,” The Hill notes. “Financial markets and policymakers will be looking to the Friday report for an update on where the economy is headed.”

President Obama’s headed to Miami June 13 for “his first fundraising foray into the Sunshine State since he officially announced his reelection campaign,” Roll Call writes.

“And so it was on Sunday, while many in the public were enjoying a round of golf, digging into a trashy beach novel, or breaking into provisions for the first barbeque of the summertime season. JFK’s only daughter, Caroline, traveled to the presidential library named for her father to witness an announcement: The US Navy is going to name its next aircraft carrier in honor of the nation’s 35th president,” the Boston Globe writes.

Germany is “abandoning nuclear power,” The Hill writes.

FLORIDA: After Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum all visited Florida last week, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune writes that the visits “before the state will even set a date for its primary vote underscores Florida's importance heading into the 2012 presidential election.”

Politico calls Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) “Obama’s secret weapon.” “Obama’s biggest asset in a critical swing state he won by a mere 2.8-percentage-point margin in 2008 might be Rick Scott, the wildly unpopular Republican governor Democrats are casting as Lex Luthor to Obama’s Clark Kent.”

ILLINOIS: “If beauty is in the eye of the gerrymanderer, the new congressional map leaked by Illinois Democrats is a priceless work of art. While politicians and pundits inside the Beltway have been fixating on the results of a special election for a single congressional district in upstate New York, Democrats in Springfield are on the verge of quietly passing a new congressional map that could net them a jackpot of five seats next November, more than a fifth of the total they now need to take back control of the House. In the process, six Republican incumbents could be left without districts,” David Wasserman and Cameron Joseph write in National Journal.

INDIANA: “State Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) was endorsed by former presidential candidate Steve Forbes,” Roll Call notes. “Mourdock is running against Sen. Dick Lugar in the GOP primary and is on track to give the six-term Senator the most challenging race of his Congressional career.”

IOWA: Some Iowa Republican activists looking to filch some of the new caucus participants that Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign found in Iowa, the Des Moines Register writes. National pollster Ann Selzer “said about 144,000 of the 240,000 people who participated in the Democratic caucuses that year were newcomers to the process. The largest share of those people supported Obama, and some probably have become disenchanted with his presidency, Selzer said. If a relatively moderate Republican candidate could corral a few thousand of them, it could make a significant difference in the outcome – especially if hard-core conservatives split their support among the several choices they’ll have, she said.”

MASSACHUSETTS: “The torrent of small campaign contributions from around the country that flooded GOP Senator Scott Brown’s campaign coffers ahead of his special election last year has all but dried up, as the excitement generated by his campaign has faded and some of his votes have disillusioned rank-and-file conservatives,” the Boston Globe reports.

WISCONSIN: “Rob Zerban thinks he can knock off a Wisconsin giant next fall,” Roll Call writes. “And Democrats on Capitol Hill agree that this 42-year-old businessman, a former Republican with limited experience in county politics, could be their best shot at defeating House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R) in more than a decade.”

“Setting the stage for a long summer of heated negotiations, the House plans to reject a proposal today that would increase the nation’s ability to borrow funds without also making dramatic cuts in federal spending,” the Washington Post writes. “A day before they huddle with President Obama at the White House, Republicans will hold a vote on the administration’s initial request that the nation’s debt ceiling be lifted above the current $14.3 trillion limit without any accompanying spending reductions. … House GOP leaders timed the vote tonight to demonstrate that point before all 241 members of the Republican conference visit Obama tomorrow. It will be his first meeting with the entire group of Republicans since they won the House majority in the November midterms.”

Stu Rothenberg notes hypocrisy on the debt ceiling.

Speaking of hypocrisy, see if you can follow along with the rhetoric on Medicare. “Political opportunism is nothing new in Washington, nor is the occasional policy flip-flop,” The Hill writes. “But the brazenness with which lawmakers are changing their rhetoric to woo seniors has amazed even long-time Washington hands who can't recall such a rapid - and complete - role reversal.”

“House Republicans are underlining their support for Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reforms a week after the bitter loss of a New York congressional seat,” The Hill writes. “Even as newly emboldened Democrats hopeful of retaking the House intensify their criticism, there seems to be little appetite or inclination among Republicans for modifying their approach — even if that approach ends up carrying electoral costs.”

“The glacial pace of action in the Senate this year is starting to wear on some of the ambitious junior Democrats who want more of a record to run on,” Roll Call writes. “Several first-term Democrats said the all-encompassing budget and debt debates have put other ideas on hold — from education to energy to infrastructure and more.”

Former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg (R) has joined Goldman Sachs as an adviser.

“Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) criticized the economic record of his party’s last president on Sunday, saying George W. Bush’s administration was not committed enough to limiting government,” The Hill writes. “ ‘He grew government. And he increased the government’s spending,’ the freshman congressman, a Tea Party favorite, said on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ “ ‘And, so, you cannot have a cut in taxes and also have a gross enlargement of government. That’s one of the things we don’t want to see happen,’ West added.”

On this Memorial Day, Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann visited New Hampshire, addressing the Dover/Stafford GOP picnic. And in media avail afterward, she discussed her potential 2012 presidential bid, Sarah Palin, and why she was in the Granite State.

When asked about timing for her possible presidential announcement, Bachmann said "We're very close. I had just announced on Thursday that I'll be making the announcement in the state where I was born, Iowa, and in the city of my birth, which is Waterloo, Iowa. So I'm looking forward to making that announcement next month."

Asked about Palin potentially getting into the 2012 race, she said, "I think we're gonna have a very wide deep bench of great candidates to come against Barack Obama, and if I decide to throw my hat in the ring, I think that I'll do very favorably against Barack Obama."

Asked why she was in New Hampshire, Bachmann said that "it's very important. It's one of the first states and people in New Hampshire take this very seriously. What I have discovered in my travels across New Hampshire is the fact that people want change at the White House; they want to have their country back; they want the economy to work; and have jobs again. I'm a job creator, together with my husband. I'm a former tax lawyer. I understand what needs to be done to have American-made jobs again. That’s my focus if I choose to run."

Sarah Palin and her family rolled up to historic Mount Vernon this morning to tour George Washington's mansion. Palin got the VIP treatment, as she was whisked in through a back entrance and walking the grounds with a VIP tour guide.

As she, her parents, Todd, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and staffers made their way through the grounds, other tourists gaped at the family and took pictures. Palin shook hands and laughed. At one point, NBC News asked her if she was being encouraged to run by the people she's met. Palin responded, "We're being encouraged to keep spreading the message."

Around 11:30 am ET, the family walked up to George Washington's home to speak with people in period costume and take pictures with other visitors before touring the inside of the home.

Only snippets of Palin's conversation could be heard while on the mansion grounds like, "Medicare" and "We love you."

The family went from the house to Washington's tomb, and then they boarded their bus to get back on the road.

Melissa Wood, media relations manager at Mount Vernon said she was never contacted directly by the Palin organization. She was told by another staff member on Sunday afternoon that the former vice presidential nominee could show up around 11:00 am and made a plan on how to wrangle the media based on relatively little information.

The family's next stop, reportedly, is at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, followed by Gettysburg.

Former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, is greeted by fans at Rolling Thunder motorcylce ride in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, May 29.

By Alexandra Moe, NBC News

Sarah Palin kicked off her "One Nation" bus tour today at the Rolling Thunder ride in Washington, DC.

"This is our first stop and we're very, very thankful to have such an event that is so worthwhile, so worthy and I appreciate being invited," Palin told NBC News outside the Pentagon before the bikes took off for the National Mall.

She joined thousands of motorcycles from across the country in the annual ride that draws attention to American veterans and  missing troops.

Palin, who may run for president in 2012, received mixed reviews for participating in this years event because organizers say it is not meant to be a political event. 

"We're here to honor our vets and remind Americans how extremely important it is to express our gratitude," Palin said when asked why she was at the event.

Her husband, Todd, and daughters Bristol and Piper also joined in the rally - all riding Harley Davidson bikes towards the front of the pack.

By Andrea Mitchell and Lauren Stephenson, NBC News

WASHINGTON — One day after Sarah Palin announced her bus tour, a group sponsoring a Memorial Day weekend event she plans to attend said they never invited her.

"She wasn't invited. We heard yesterday she came out with a press release she was coming to Rolling Thunder," Ted Shpak, national legislative director of Rolling Thunder, told "Andrea Mitchell Reports." Shpak is one of three members of Rolling Thunder's current leadership who says he had no idea Palin was coming until it was posted on her website.

On Thursday, the former governor of Alaska and potential GOP presidential candidate announced her bus tour on her political action committee's website, Sarahpac.com.  The tour is to begin in Washington, D.C., where Palin plans to participate in the Sunday motorcycle rally sponsored by Rolling Thunder Inc., a group that raises awareness of prisoners of war and those missing in action.

"She's not invited to speak. We're not endorsing her ... (but) we can't stop her from coming to ride, if she wants to ride," Shpak continued.

Organizers of Rolling Thunder say their guest speakers are Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Palin's representatives say they were invited to Rolling Thunder - by a former board member who is emceeing the event.

Mike DePaulo tells NBC News he had a standing offer for her to ride with them from the Pentagon across the bridge to D.C. - and that he got a call from what he called "the Palin campaign" on Wednesday to see if they could take him up on it.  He coordinated it with a friend of his, Joe Fields, of the Alaska Veterans' Advisory Council, who had worked with Palin when she was governor.

A spokeswoman for Rolling Thunder says they frequently invite celebrity guests to ride with them.  

DePaulo says he has a permit for the Palin bus to be parked on Henry Bacon Drive near the Lincoln Memorial.  He acknowledges he didnt tell current leaders of the organization that she was coming, since they were already on the road.

When asked if Palin's bus will be participating in the event, Shpak of Rolling Thunder Inc. responded, "Absolutely not."

Shpak says Palin's attendance "is a big distraction" and that his "phone has been ringing off the hook" ever since she announced her intention to attend the event.

"We're not political. This is not a political event ... Maybe she's coming because she knows we have a half a million people in town and thinking she can start her [campaign]?" stated Shpak.

"We're taking care of our issues and that's why we're here."

President Obama meets with survivors of the tornado in Joplin, MO, Mitt Romney jumps in the presidential race, Sarah Palin's back, and Andy’s bling.

An intrepid White House aide’s nail-bitten mission to board a transcontinental commercial flight and hand-deliver crucial national security legislation to the president before midnight WOULD have made a great subplot in the next Jason Bourne blockbuster.

Which is probably why the White House opted for an autopen instead.

Hill sources say there had been a plan to have a White House aide hand-carry legislation re-authorizing the Patriot Act to Europe, where President Barack Obama is traveling for G8 talks. But a delayed vote process meant that the bill might not have reached the signer-in-chief before the act expired at midnight.

So last night, the president made history by authorizing the first use of an autopen signature for a bill to become law.

At least one Republican lawmaker now says those robotic scratches of ink could set “a dangerous precedent” for constitutional shenanigans ahead.

Georgia Rep. Tom Graves -- who voted against the PATRIOT Act extension -- put his concerns in writing to the president today. 

After quoting Article I, section 7 of the United States Constitution in a short letter, he then, politely, assigned the president homework. 

He asked that Obama provide a "detailed, written explanation of your constitutional authority to assign a surrogate the responsibility of signing bills passed by Congress into law." 

Graves may want an answer, but when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was asked about “Autopen-gate and the Mystery of the Secret Signature” he said, “I haven't looked at the legality of it and therefore don't have an opinion to express on it.”

In 2005, the then Deputy Assistant Attorney General Howard C. Neilson, Jr., (who is getting a significant amount of Google play today no doubt) released an opinion that deemed the use of an autopen to sign a bill constitutional:

“We conclude that neither past practice nor previous opinions relating to the signing requirement of Article I, Section 7 foreclose reading that requirement in a manner that is consistent with the traditional common law understanding of ‘sign,’ with attorney general and Department of Justice opinions applying that understanding to statutory signing requirements, and with the settled interpretation of the related presentment and return provisions.”

But what IS an autopen?

Bob Olding, the owner of the Damilic Corporation, one of what he says are only two companies in the United States that make and sell the devices described it like this:

“There are basically two kinds that we provide.  One is mostly mechanical and that is the old classic autopen. It has a large plastic wheel in it ... as that rotates between two levers it pushes the pen in the appropriate direction.”

They can cost anywhere from $2000 to $10000 and it’s another $175 to create each signature template that  tells the machine  what to do.  The more expensive machines are automated and involve programming your handwriting into a computer.

When asked if he had sold a machine to the White House or possibly Sarah Palin, he said, “I couldn’t tell you if we did.” He keeps his client list very hush hush but said it includes large corporations, universities and political campaigns.  

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell contributed to this report.

2012 presidential race to pick up speed in June… Team Obama’s good week, BUT… President signs Patriot Act extensions via auto-pen… NBC’s Brian Williams provides perspective on the auto-pen… Romney’s Iowa dilemma… Bachmann’s technical difficulties… Demon RINO… All politics -- even regarding Middle East peace -- is local… “Meet the Press” has McConnell and Schumer… And have a great and safe Memorial Day weekend.

*** Off and running: If this month was the 2012 presidential field stretching its legs, jogging in place and walking up to the starting line, next month is when the race really begins. Last night, we learned that Mitt Romney will formally announce his presidential campaign from New Hampshire this Thursday on June 2. Rick Santorum will do the same from southwestern Pennsylvania on June 6. Also in June, Michele Bachmann will announce her presidential decision from Waterloo, IA, where she was born. (World history buffs, though, might raise their eyebrows at that location.) And the month will bring us another GOP presidential debate, this one to take place in New Hampshire. It took us a while, but the 2012 presidential race is finally about to pick up speed. Everyone, enjoy your long Memorial Day weekend.

*** Team Obama’s good week, but…: If Mitt Romney -- who today visits Iowa -- had a good week last week, then that honor this week goes to President Obama and the Democrats. Yes, the Israel-Palestine story remained a domestic headache for the White House. And, yes, the European trip provided some protocol and date-signing gaffes. But look at the positives: a well-received stop in Ireland (the ancestral homeland to quite a few U.S. swing voters), the Democrats’ victory in NY-26 (which put Republicans on the defensive on Medicare), Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s 29% approval rating in the state (which isn’t welcome news for the eventual GOP nominee in this key battleground state), and Sarah Palin’s return to the 2012 spotlight. But this under-the-Beltway-radar story isn’t good news for Team Obama: The U.S. economy appears to have hit a wall. It was a good week, but…

*** Auto-tune and auto-pen: After the Senate and the House passed legislation yesterday extending key Patriot Act provisions right before they expired, President Obama signed it into law -- from France, via an auto-pen. The White House confirms to NBC News that this is the FIRST time in U.S. history that a president has authorized the use of an auto-pen to sign a bill into law. "Failure to sign this legislation poses a significant risk to U.S. national security. As long as Congress approves the extension, the president will direct the use of the auto-pen to sign it," White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said. That said, of all laws to do this with, this may have been the worse one to pick -- given the conspiratorial feelings about this law on the left and right about it. Then again, the national-security aspect probably gives the White House cover.

*** Some perspective on the auto-pen: NBC’s Brian Williams, whose duties as a White House intern in the 1970s included changing the pens, emails First Read a bit of perspective: "The machines are ubiquitous in American politics and even business. Presidents, governors, senators, and members of Congress and some CEO's use them to personalize correspondence -- or in this case legislation." More from Williams: "They are also ubiquitous on signed photos of politicians -- though experts, collectors, and lay people alike can invariably spot small flaws, mostly in the form of unnaturally squiggly lines on signatures -- a dead giveaway of brands like Auto-Pen, and the one preferred by the White House for many years, Signa-Signer."

*** Romney’s Iowa dilemma: Back to the 2012 race… As mentioned above, Romney’s in Iowa today, making stops in Ankeny (at 11:15 am ET), Des Moines (1:00 pm ET), and Cedar Rapids (at 6:45 pm ET). And the visit has produced this speculation: Does he play or not in Iowa? The New York Times’ Zeleny writes that “the evidence suggests that he is leaning against a strategy of bypassing Iowa. He is the only candidate with a network of supporters in all 99 counties, many of whom say they have received calls from Mr. Romney’s aides in recent days.” The downside to Romney playing in Iowa: If he loses the caucuses -- as he did in ’08 -- that could wound his candidacy. (See: Clinton, Hillary.) But if you believe Iowa is a swing state in a general election, you have to play in the caucuses.

*** Technical difficulties: Due to the Patriot Act votes, Michele Bachmann was unable to attend a GOP dinner in Iowa last night. And her address -- via video -- didn’t go smoothly. The Washington Post: “Bachmann later addressed several hundred Republican activists on a shaky video link. As she talked about the Patriot Act, the video went dark. She said she recorded the speech she had planned to deliver here, but because of technical difficulties could not play it at the dinner. She instead directed people to her Facebook page to watch the speech. ‘I feel terrible about this, absolutely terrible,’ Bachmann said, promising to ‘take a rain check.’”

*** Demon RINO: Anyone who read our stuff from the 2010 cycle probably remembers our fondness for “Demon Sheep” -- the Carly Fiorina Web video that was produced by GOP ad-maker Fred Davis. This cycle, Davis is working for Jon Huntsman. But a Christian conservative blog, Verum Serum, has a video that appears to be a “Demon Sheep” spoof. It shows a rhino walking through the grass and then cuts to Huntsman’s moderate positions, portraying him as a Republican In Name Only (RINO, get it?).

*** Folks, all politics is local: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu got a poll bump out of his trip to the U.S. A new Haartez poll shows that after Netanyahu’s trip, his approval jumped 13 points to 51%, up from 38% five weeks ago. (By the way, a Jerusalem Post poll shows that by a 40%-12% margin, more Israeli Jews think President Obama is more Palestinian than Israeli.) It’s a reminder that it’s important to view world leaders through the same political lense we view our own. (Hat tip: PoliticalWire)

*** On the 2012 trail: Gingrich is in South Carolina… Santorum delivers a speech in DC… And Pawlenty is in New York. 

*** Meet’s Sunday lineup: On Sunday, NBC’s David Gregory interviews Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, and a roundtable consisting of Harold Ford Jr., Alex Castellanos, David Brooks, and Ruth Marcus.

*** Have a great and safe Memorial Day weekend: Our morning First Read note will return on Tuesday…

Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 78 days
Countdown to NV-2 special election: 109 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 165 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 255 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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In his latest National Journal column, NBC’s Charlie Cook breaks down the 2012 GOP field. On Huntsman: "[I]t’s awfully hard to see how this candidacy works." On Romney: "Although he enjoys national name recognition and an impressive network of supporters and donors remaining from his 2008 bid for the GOP nomination, Romney carries burdens that may limit his ability to expand his current levels of support." On Pawlenty: "At this stage, Pawlenty’s strength is more theoretical than real, but when you work through the challenges that each of the other candidates faces, he seems to have fewer problems than the rest."

BACHMANN: Politico’s Jonathan Martin points out that Bachmann announced she was likely to launch a presidential bid, “hours after Sarah Palin announced a bus tour.” And: “The Minnesotan called Palin ‘a friend,’ but quickly added that no two candidates ‘are interchangeable’ and then touted her resume as a tax attorney, education reformer and former state senator. Bachmann declined to say if she would announce in time to participate in a debate on June 13th in New Hampshire, but said she would decide soon.”

Proof the Bachmann people know they’re competing for the same oxygen as Palin… The New Hampshire Union Leader writes of Palin’s trip to New Hampshire and then adds, “Coincidentally, late this afternoon, the point person for Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, a potential presidential candidate who, like Palin, is a champion of the Tea Party/liberty movement, released details of Bachmann's aggressive schedule in New Hampshire this weekend and early next week.”

“Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann told reporters tonight that she will travel to her hometown of Waterloo next month to announce whether she will run for president,” the Des Moines Register writes.

The Des Moines Register’s Obradovich: “People don’t come to Iowa to announce they’re not running. If she actually schedules a speech, that’ll be pretty big tip-off that she’s jumping in. She touted her fund-raising, including a 30-hour effort that her staff said raised over $260,000.”

“Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on Thursday night spent five minutes on the House floor in an attempt to justify her vote for the Patriot Act, after admitting to receiving significant feedback from her supporters urging her to reject it,” The Hill reports.

CHRISTIE: The Bergen Record: “Governor Christie said this morning that he will pull New Jersey out of a regional cap-and-trade energy program.” GOP 12’s Heinze writes that the move “will encourage speculation that he might run for president in 2012.”

GINGRICH: The Comeback Kid? In New Hampshire, “[T]he crowds heard Gingrich declare at nearly every stop that his campaign is alive and well, casting himself as a ‘comeback kid’ — a moniker once widely applied to his old nemesis Bill Clinton,” the Washington Post writes. He said, “Look what happened to me over the last 10 days: We had every Washington analyst, except one, explain that my campaign was dead. I just relaxed. They were in a feeding frenzy, they had to get it out of their system, and I knew they would eventually calm down. The trick is, we need to stay focused on talking about what matters for America.”

“Republican presidential hopeful and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is heading to Columbia,” the AP writes. “Gingrich will speak at a Five Points Rotary Club luncheon Friday at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. It will be Gingrich's first visit to the state since he criticized GOP plans for a sweeping overhaul of Medicare, and his first visit since officially launching his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president earlier this month.”

HUNTSMAN: Demon RINO: A Christian conservative blog, Verum Serum, makes this video taking aim at Huntsman’s moderate positions.

While on his California swing, the Orange County Register’s editorial page writes, “It's too early to make any meaningful judgments about Mr. Huntsman as a presidential contender but his credentials, particularly the economic stability of Utah and his unique foreign policy experience, make him an intriguing addition to a Republican field of candidates that needs some pizzazz.”

PALIN: On the news of Sarah Palin’s reemergence, The Chicago Sun-Times’ Steinberg writes, “As if the death of Osama bin Laden weren’t enough good news for one month to offer the once-sagging political fortunes of the Obama administration — the terrorist mastermind was killed May 1, though it already seems like a year ago — when you include the failure of the Republican Medicare overhaul to pass in the Senate, plus indications that Tea Party darling Sarah Palin might actually run for president, the mood at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue must border on unbridled jubilation.”

PAWLENTY: “In his first foray into New Hampshire since becoming an official candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty yesterday denounced the federal stimulus program, even though under his leadership his state benefited from billions of dollars of the aid,” the Boston Globe reports. “Pawlenty met with reporters and the public and toured Cirtronics, an electronics manufacturing company that indirectly received $935,000 in federal stimulus money.”

“Promising honest debates about the nation’s most serious problems, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty paid a visit to Cirtronics Corporation on Thursday afternoon,” the New Hampshire Union Leader writes. (But check out the photo accompanying the story…)

ROMNEY: The Des Moines Register tees up Romney’s trip to Iowa today, his first trip this cycle, and it’s not glowing: “Many of Mitt Romney’s key Iowa backers from four years ago have scattered or have so far declined to commit to support the potential presidential candidate, partly because he has campaigned so lightly here so far… Several Iowans who were gung-ho for Romney last election argue that given the current circumstances, he has few excuses for avoiding Iowa.”

“Republican Mitt Romney is returning to Iowa to begin what his aides promise will be a leaner campaign for the state's leadoff nominating caucuses than the expensive juggernaut he assembled here in his 2008 race,” the AP’s Beaumont reports. The former Massachusetts governor plans to officially announce his second bid for the presidency next week in New Hampshire, the state around which he's built his 2012 strategy.”

The Boston Globe’s headline on Romney’s trip: “For GOP moderates, new hope in Iowa.” From the story: “[S]plit loyalties within its ranks could improve the chances of a more moderate GOP candidate like Mitt Romney, who stumbled here in 2008 and has spent little time in Iowa since. The former Massachusetts governor, who makes his first 2011 visit to Iowa today and will formally announce his candidacy Thursday, is up against the fact that, over the past quarter-century, highly motivated Christian conservatives have played an outsize role in a presidential selection process here.”

RYAN: Dick Cheney, according to the Houston Chronicle (via GOP 12) says he hopes Ryan doesn’t run, because “that would ruin a good man who has a lot of work to do.” He also said (really, he said this): "I worship the ground the Paul Ryan walks on.”

The New York Times: “President Obama tried to marshal global economic support for Egypt and Tunisia at a gathering of industrialized countries on Thursday, even as some European allies were privately urging him to increase the United States’ role in the military campaign in Libya.”

In Florida, President Obama has a 51% job approval rating, according to a Quinnipiac poll, and leads a generic Republican contender 44%-37%.

President Obama is going to visit Puerto Rico June 14, the first U.S. president to do so since 1961, the New York Daily News writes. And speaking of Florida, “Obama's visit is aimed more at the U.S. than the island… Perhaps the most important state is Florida, which has outstripped all the others in the growth of its Puerto Rican population and is the biggest battleground state in presidential elections,” the Daily News writes. “The 2010 Census counted 848,000 Puerto Ricans living in Florida. That's a 76% jump from 10 years earlier. There are almost as many Puerto Ricans in the Sunshine State as there are Cuban-Americans.”

Folks, all politics is local: This might have something to do with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s stance in appearing defiant to President Obama: A Jerusalem Post poll shows that by a 40%-12% margin, more Israeli Jews think President Obama is more Palestinian than Israeli; 34% were neutral, 13% had no opinion. (Hat tip: PoliticalWire.)

And a new Haartez poll, per PoliticalWire, shows Netanyahu got a bounce from his trip to the U.S. His approval jumped an astounding 13 points from just 38% to 51%. Five weeks ago, his approval was just 38%/53%.

“After two days of wrangling and last-minute deal-making in the Senate, Congress cleared a reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act on Thursday, and the Obama administration announced that the president signed the bill into law before provisions of the anti-terrorism act expired at midnight,” Roll Call writes.

“With Obama currently in France, the White House said the president would use an autopen machine that holds a pen and signs his actual signature. It is only used with proper authorization of the president. Minutes before the midnight deadline, the White House said Obama had signed the bill,” AP writes.

Roll Call: “Senate to Take Weeklong Break Without Adjourning.” From the story: “Senate Budget ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) threatened this week to block any unanimous consent request to adjourn because Senate Democrats had not offered a budget resolution for a floor vote.”

Why? The Hill writes, “Some Republicans feared that Obama would use the recess to appoint Elizabeth Warren to head the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will have broad powers over Wall Street.”

“War-weary Republicans and Democrats yesterday sent the strongest message yet to President Obama to end the war in Afghanistan as the commander in chief decides how many US troops to withdraw this summer,” the AP writes. “A measure requiring an accelerated timetable for pulling out the 100,000 troops from Afghanistan and an exit strategy for the nearly 10-year-old conflict secured 204 votes in the House, falling just short of passage but boosting the hopes of its surprised proponents.”

“The House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly voted to prohibit ground troops from being sent to Libya, showing the limits of congressional support for US involvement in military action,” the New York Post writes. “The House voted, 416-5, to add the ban to a defense-authorization bill.”

“The US House of Representatives risked a potential veto by President Obama yesterday when it approved a $690 billion defense bill that throws a lifeline to a disputed jet fighter engine with parts that would be built at a General Electric plant in Lynn, [MA],” The Boston Globe reports.

Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss the possibility of a 2016 presidential run by Vice President Biden. Plus, what other names may surface in the coming years? Watch to find out.

Thanks to SteelerFan for the question.

Edited by Alexandra Moe. Produced by Alexandra Moe, Ali Weinberg, and Jason Seher.

In DC yesterday, Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty called the House GOP budget plan -- which phases out Medicare in its current form for those under 55 -- "positive," but said that he'd be unveiling his own plan soon.

But while in New Hampshire today, Pawlenty went a step further, saying he'd sign that House Republican budget plan into law, if given the choice.

"As president I'll have my own plan," he said. "If I can't have that, and the bill came to my desk and I had to choose between signing or not, Congressman Ryan's plan, of course I'd sign it."

Later in the day, Pawlenty fired off this Tweet on Medicare:

@BarackObama sorry to interrupt the European pub crawl, but what was your Medicare plan?

A sign that FOX News isn't taking the 2012 Palin story seriously, at least so far -- it isn't suspending her the same way it did for paid contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum when they were mulling presidential bids. FOX later terminated Gingrich's and Santorum's contracts when they jumped into the 2012 race.

“We are not changing Sarah Palin’s status,” said Bill Shine, FOX News' executive vice president for programming, in a statement to NBC News.

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski
Officials in the Pentagon tell NBC News that President Barack Obama is expected to call Army Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey Thursday to tell him he's been selected to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dempsey, who had two combat commands in Iraq and as CENTCOM Commander oversaw both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, took over as Army Chief of Staff only six weeks ago.

The White House was forced to change course over questions about the personal conduct of Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman, Marine General James Cartwright, the early frontrunner for the job. While on the road, General Cartwright reportedly permitted a drunken female military aide to sleep it off in his hotel room.

Although an investigation by the Pentagon Inspector General found no evidence of any personal relationship or wrongdoing, the incident raised doubts about Cartwright's personal judgement.

If confirmed, Dempsey would takeover from the retiring Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, on October 1.