Indiana Congressman Mike Pence (R) -- who had mulled running for president at one time -- today announced his candidacy for Indiana governor.

In a video, Pence says:

I've been humbled by the outpouring of encouragement we've received from people across this state, and it's for that reason today I'm announcing my candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor of Indiana in 2012.

While a formal campaign kickoff will come later, I wanted you to be the first to know that I'm in this race. We think now is the time to move forward.

Ground Zero vs. Greenville… The power of the presidency vs. the Gang of Five debating in South Carolina… After the story changes again, White House says it will not provide new details on the raid in Pakistan… Blair House Project to reduce the deficit begins today at 10:00 am ET… Comparing Orangeburg in ’07 vs. Greenville in ’11… TPaw’s in the spotlight in tonight’s debate… Another absence from the debate: the Associated Press… Report: Huckabee gets deadline from FOX… And Newt will be a candidate by next week.

*** Ground Zero vs. Greenville: There’s a reason why incumbent presidents -- who aren’t facing a primary challenge -- typically win re-election: The power of the presidency is incredibly strong. That power enabled President Obama to recently fly on Air Force One to attend a town hall at Facebook headquarters. It allowed him to break into network coverage to announce Osama bin Laden’s death. And just days after the news of bin Laden’s death, it invites coverage of his visit today to Ground Zero, where he participates in a wreath-laying ceremony at 1:25 pm ET to pay tribute to those who died in the 9/11 attacks, and where he later meets with 9/11 family members. On Friday, Obama heads to Ft. Campbell, KY, where he will meet with service members returning from Afghanistan. It’s probably why, aside from Jimmy Carter, a sitting president hasn’t lost re-election since 1896 after taking the reins from the opposite party four years earlier.

*** Who’s coming to the debate and who isn’t: Meanwhile, more than 700 miles away from New York City, five Republicans will share a debate stage tonight in Greenville, SC at 9:00 pm ET. Those five include just one top-tier candidate (Tim Pawlenty), two second-tier ones (Rick Santorum and Ron Paul), and two others (Herman Cain and Gary Johnson), who all registered a combined 11% in the Quinnipiac GOP trial heat. Those who aren’t attending: Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Newt Gingrich, as well as those mulling a bid (Daniels, Huntsman, Huckabee, and Trump). On split-screen days, it will always be difficult for the GOP field to compete with the president, especially before there’s an official Republican nominee.

*** No more (information) soup for you: Turning back to the bin Laden story, NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reported last night that the narrative of the raid in Pakistan has once again changed. U.S. officials now say that three of the four men shot and killed in the operation were unarmed, including bin Laden. (One senior administration official tells NBC’s Savannah Guthrie: "They weren't raiding the Girl Scout Troop looking for overdue library books. They were on a kill mission for Osama Bin Laden. They are heroes.") And now the White House says it will not provide new details on the raid. On the one hand, the administration has provided unprecedented information about a special-ops raid. On the other -- because it’s about bin Laden and an operative straight out of “24” -- it isn’t enough to satisfy our appetite. The biggest PR mistake the White House made: not stressing that the narrative it unveiled on Monday was preliminary and subject to change after further debriefing. As NBC’s Mike Viqueira points out, would anyone have batted an eyelash had bin Laden been killed by a missile instead -- whether he was armed or not?

*** The Blair House Project: For the first time since the news of bin Laden’s death, we begin to shift to real policy. At 10:00 am ET, Vice President Biden hosts a bipartisan meeting at the Blair House to work on a deal to reduce the nation’s deficit/debt. The participants include: Sens. Daniel Inouye (D), Jon Kyl (R), and Max Baucus (D); Reps. Eric Cantor (R), James Clyburn (D), and Chris Van Hollen (D); and administration officials Tim Geithner, Jacob Lew, and Gene Sperling. The Washington Post notes that Cantor “conceded Wednesday that a deal is unlikely on a contentious plan to overhaul Medicare and offered to open budget talks with the White House by focusing on areas where both parties can agree, such as cutting farm subsidies.” More: “That search could start, Cantor said, with a list of GOP proposals that would save $715 billion over the next decade by ending payments to wealthy farmers, limiting lawsuits against doctors, and expanding government auctions of broadcast spectrum to telecommunications companies, among other items.” Roll Call reports that Democrats are divided on how to approach the meetings and a debt solution (where and how to cut.

*** Greenville in 2011 vs. Orangeburg in 2007: To explain the poor attendance at tonight’s debate in Greenville, it’s instructive to think back to four years ago. Back then, the first Democratic presidential debate took place on April 26, 2007. That was three months after Hillary Clinton declared she was “in it to win it”; more than two months after Barack Obama officially launched his presidential bid in Springfield, IL; and plenty of time for the field to issue policy white papers, embark on statewide tours of Iowa and New Hampshire, throw jabs at each other. By comparison, as of this first debate, none of the top-tier candidates -- including Pawlenty -- has officially announced his or her candidacy, and there’s been almost no intra-party jousting. As Romney’s camp stated earlier this week, "Gov. Romney will not be participating in this week's South Carolina debate because it's still early, the field is too unsettled, and he's not yet an announced candidate.” Pawlenty responds in a Daily Caller op-ed that while some candidates believe it’s too soon, “I only hope that it’s not too late.”

*** Pawlenty in the spotlight: With Romney’s absence, the spotlight shines on Pawlenty. The problem for the former Minnesota governor -- so far -- is that in past GOP cattle calls, the Cains and Santorums have overshadowed him. This was especially true at the Faith & Freedom forum in Iowa back in March (which featured Pawlenty, Santorum, Gingrich, Cain, and Buddy Roemer) and the Americans for Prosperity Tax Day rally in New Hampshire (featuring TPaw, Santorum, Cain, and Roemer). One reason why these other folks have overshadowed Pawlenty: They are all showmen, in some form or fashion. By the way, Pawlenty in New Hampshire is STILL polling in low single digits, even behind people like Bachmann.

*** If a tree falls in a forest… : As it turns out, Romney, Bachmann, and Gingrich aren’t the only ones who will be absent from tonight’s GOP debate. So, too, will the AP and Reuters. Politico: "The Associated Press announced Wednesday night that it’s not going to cover tomorrow night’s Republican presidential debate, citing 'restrictions placed on media access.' 'The debate sponsors, Fox News Channel and the South Carolina Republican Party, will only allow photos to be taken in the moments ahead of the debate and not during the event itself,' the AP said in an advisory to editors." More: "Reuters confirmed that it would not be covering the event photographically, because it shared concerns about access. However, Reuters did not confirm whether it would be going as far as AP and not filing text either."

*** Huckabee has a deadline: Speaking of FOX and the GOP field, RealClearPolitics reports that network executives there have “told Huckabee he has until the end of the month to make up his mind about the race or he'll be cut off, just as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were when the then-contributors were still in the consideration phase.”

*** Newt’s in next week: While Newt isn’t attending tonight’s debate -- because he’s yet to at least form an exploratory committee -- First Read confirms that he’ll be getting into the race next week. As spokesman Rick Tyler told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “By the time Newt speaks to the Georgia convention [on Friday, May 13], he’ll be a candidate,” Tyler said.” So, Friday the 13^th?

Countdown to NY-26 special election: 19 days
Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 99 day
Countdown to NV-2 special election: 131 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 187 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 277 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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Politico’s Roger Simon writes that because of the death of bin Laden “the Republican field has been fried like an egg.” He adds that Obama has created an image of “a competent, cool, skilled, experienced, capable leader of this country.” Plus he “rescued the economy, saved the auto industry, expanded health care to millions of children, passed health care reform for everybody, repealed the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military and eased the restrictions on stem cell research. And, oh, yeah, he found and killed Osama bin Laden.” So is Obama invincible then? Simon concludes: “He has vulnerabilities. He is going to have to defend a four-year record. And the economy could tank. Even further. The Republicans could beat this guy. All they have to do is find someone to do it. They have to find a candidate who is smart, gutsy, nimble, creative, credible, determined and capable of raising vast sums of money. Give me a minute, and I’ll try to come up with a name.”

A new Quinnipiac two-day poll after bin Laden’s death shows President Obama with a six-point bounce, up to 52%, his highest in almost two years in that poll. The movement was all with men. They went from 39%-54% disapprove to 51%-42% approve. There was no movement with women; in fact, his approval ticked down a point with them. Obama’s approval on the economy is still a 19-point net-negative, 38%-57%, which is essentially unchanged.

Many Americans took to the streets to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden. “But amid such displays, and as President Obama prepares to visit New York today to lay a wreath at ground zero and meet with victims’ families, clergy and theologians are debating public shows of triumph. Many doubt it is wise — or right — to exult over any death. Even within religions, there is disagreement over what the ideal response to an evildoer’s demise should be,” the Boston Globe reports.

“President Obama ruled out publicly releasing photographs of the deceased Osama bin Laden on Wednesday, and White House officials said they would give no new details about the raid on his compound in Pakistan, an information clampdown that followed fitful attempts to craft a riveting narrative about the killing of al-Qaeda’s leader,” the Washington Post writes.

The Boston Globe’s editorial page says Obama should have released the photos of bin Laden’s death: “Even in a situation like this one, with a reasonable degree of concern that the bloody photos would rile up some of bin Laden’s followers, the government shouldn’t regard secrecy as its default position: Close calls should go in favor of openness.”

The New York Daily News’ cover: “No photo finish.”

Sour grapes? “George W. Bush won't be at Ground Zero with President Obama Thursday in part because he feels his team is getting short shrift in the decade-long manhunt for Osama Bin Laden,” the New York Daily News’ DeFrank reports. “‘[Bush] viewed this as an Obama victory lap,’ a highly-placed source told the Daily News Wednesday… ‘He doesn't feel personally snubbed and appreciates the invitation, but Obama's claiming all the credit and a lot of other people deserve some of it,’ the source added. ‘Obama gave no credit whatsoever to the intelligence infrastructure the Bush administration set up that is being hailed from the left and right as setting in motion the operation that got Bin Laden. It rubbed Bush the wrong way."

“President Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House later this month as the two attempt to improve their sometimes fractious relationship,” The Hill reports. “President Obama will visit Fort Campbell in Kentucky on Friday to address service members returning from Afghanistan,” The Hill adds. And: “Big-dollar donors in Washington, D.C., are being asked to open their wallets for President Barack Obama on May 16,” Roll Call writes.

“Senate Democrats won’t be putting much on the table when the first bipartisan debt panel meeting with Vice President Joseph Biden takes place today at Blair House,” Roll Call says. That’s partly by design, partly by necessity. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appears to be eyeing the less-is-more strategy that he employed during the partisan brawl over spending that almost ended in a government shutdown this year. Just as he did then, the Nevada Democrat is keeping his own cards close to his vest, urging his Caucus to keep its options open and waiting to see what the White House puts on the table.”

The Washington Post adds, “Senior Republicans conceded Wednesday that a deal is unlikely on a contentious plan to overhaul Medicare and offered to open budget talks with the White House by focusing on areas where both parties can agree, such as cutting farm subsidies.”

The Hill: “Tax policy is again dividing Democrats and Republicans as they begin negotiations Thursday on what budget process reforms to attach to legislation raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.”

“House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will unveil an energy legislation package Thursday morning, one day after House Republicans launched their own task force to stay ahead of the issue,” Roll Call reports.

“The first Republican debate of the 2012 presidential race could be defined by who wasn’t there,” The Hill writes. “Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will be the biggest name attending Thursday night’s gathering in South Carolina, and even he is unknown to most voters.”

“With the strongest possible contenders holding back — not just from debating, but also from gearing up their campaign operations — a queasiness is setting in among Republicans about whether their field will be strong enough to produce a standard-bearer who can beat an incumbent,” the Washington Post’s Tumulty writes.

The New York Times front-pages that Huckabee, Gingrich, and Bachmann are the seeking the advice of Christian (self-taught) historian David Barton.

DANIELS: How many GOP primary voters knew Mitch Daniels was of Syrian ancestry? “Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said the increased notoriety from speculation he may run for president has helped him reconnect with his Syrian ancestors,” The Hill says. “Daniels, whose paternal grandparents emigrated from Syria to Western Pennsylvania, said the new connections have also deepened his concern for the country's people. While accepting an award for public service Wednesday from the Arab American Institute at a dinner in Washington, Daniels told the audience how speculation he may seek the GOP's 2012 White House nomination was covered in the Syrian press, which prompted two people to contact him.”

In an appearance at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. yesterday, Mitch Daniels called it a “happy surprise” that the opportunity for him to run for president still existed relatively late in the decision-making process, the Washington Post’s Cillizza writes. “I really thought that by April 29....it might become too late somewhere along the line but for whatever reason it appears not to be. … “We won’t take long,” Daniels said. “I said we were going to do our duty, finish this session and then we’d turn our attention to it. And now we are.”

Politico’s Martin: “Mitch Daniels hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll run for president, but his Wednesday appearance at the American Enterprise Institute sure had all the makings of a campaign-in-waiting... The only thing missing: the candidate."

GINGRICH: Newt Gingrich’s spokesman tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Gingrich will be a candidate next week. “Gingrich is scheduled to speak to Georgia Republicans at their state meeting on Friday, May 13,” the AJC writes. “By the time Newt speaks to the Georgia convention, he’ll be a candidate,” said spokesman Rick Tyler. Gingrich has opened campaign headquarters in Atlanta in advance of his expected entry into the race next week, the AP writes.

He will give the commencement address at Ronald Reagan’s alma mater, Eureka College in Illinois, on May 14, the AP reports. 

HUNTSMAN: Huntsman will meet with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Friday, the AP reports.

PALIN: Palin slammed President Obama’s decision not to release a photo of Osama bin Laden’s corpse, tweeting that he should “show the photos as a warning to others seeking America’s destruction… No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama; it’s part of the mission,” The State Column notes.  

PAWLENTY: Tim Pawlenty told a crowd in Urbandale, IA that unlike the other candidates, he has a history that proves he can bring about conservative change, the Des Moines Register writes. “‘Don’t just look at the words,’ he told about 130 people – a record turnout – at a Westside Conservative Club meeting… ‘Look at the person, and say, ‘Does this person’s life and record demonstrate the fortitude that they’re actually going to do it?’ Because we’re sick of speeches and I’m sick of, and I hope you are too, of politicians flapping their jaws.’”

The benefits of being the only top-tier candidate in the presidential debate today are that Tim Pawlenty has “a chance to show Republican primary voters that he’s prepared to cast the first stone against President Barack Obama – setting him apart from a larger group of viable presidential candidates who have shied away from fully engaging the campaign,” Politico observes.

ROMNEY: Romney leads the field in New Hampshire. A new WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll shows Romney with 36%, followed by… Donald Trump with 11%. Rudy Giuliani gets 7%, Mike Huckabee 6%, Ron Paul 6%, Sarah Palin 4%, Newt Gingrich 4%, Michele Bachmann 4%, Pawlenty 2%, Daniels 2%.

The Atlantic’s Joshua Green writes in The Boston Globe that the best thing Mitt Romney can do to promote himself right now is nothing: “In a field as weak as the current one, Romney can win without really exciting anybody. The key is for him to wait patiently until the noisier contenders burn themselves out like Roman candles and the conservative mood shifts from eager anticipation to concern to desperation. This process is already underway.”

TRUMP: Donald Trump will appear at a Tea Party meeting on May 19^th at the South Carolina State House, The State reports.

NEVADA: “Nevada state Treasurer Kate Marshall (D) announced Wednesday she is running in the 2nd district special election,” Roll Call writes.

NEW YORK: “While evidence is emerging that New York’s looming special election is more competitive than many expected, GOP operatives have long worried about the impact of wealthy third-party candidate Jack Davis. It is only now, however, that those fears are on display,” Roll Call reports. “The Tea Party Express, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the state GOP have joined the fight to protect the western New York seat previously held by former Rep. Chris Lee (R). And with the May 24 election less than three weeks away, the powerful conservative group American Crossroads is actively considering whether to pour resources into the race as well.”

One day before the first Republican presidential debate, the 2012 field is still developing. Today, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), a potential -- but not yet declared -- Republican presidential candidate commented on the slow start to 2012 and the opportunity for more entrants to the race.

"I think that even people far more sage than I about our political process and presidential process are very surprised that on May the 4th, it's not already far too late, but for whatever reason it's not," Daniels told the audience gathered for his speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

"I consider that from the stand point of the public a blessing," Daniels added, "Unless you're a political professional or running a bed and breakfast in New Hampshire, it's a darn good thing that we'll have a campaign measured in months, a nomination campaign measured in months and not in years."

Daniels' speech was focused on recent education reforms passed in his home state that expand charter schools and vouchers, aim to improve teacher quality, and limit collective bargaining to wages and benefits.

He praised President Obama and his administration on education policy. "Most of what I've talked about so far and much of what I will is strongly supported by the Obama administration. I salute the president, Secretary Duncan," Daniels continued. "They're right about these things. They have had the courage to, in many cases, irritate some of their allies."

On the death of Osama bin Laden, Daniels wasn't critical of the president, as some of the other potential presidential candidates have been over the past few days. "This was a very significant achievement, tremendously powerful from a symbolic standpoint," he said.

Not one U.S. Senator has told NBC News that they have seen the official Osama bin Laden death photo. Many, who attended the CIA Director Leon Panetta briefings, say they were not shown in those sessions. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein says no senators have seen the photos. Feinstein adds she believes a fake has circulated.

Here's the confusion: Three senators -- Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), all Republicans on the Armed Services Committee, said they had seen a picture of the deceased bin Laden, but now are backing off.

Brown's office is backtracking and says the photo he referred to was not authentic. Brown agrees with President Obama and opposes the release.

Chambliss says he would make a judgment after he sees the picture but is concerned about the impact of distributing the death picture. 

"I was shown a photo by an individual that was represented to be a photo of bin Laden after he'd been shot," Chambliss said. "It appeared to be an accurate photo. It was not an official photo."

Ayotte said she was shown a photo by another senator on an electronic device. Ayotte said she believed the photo depicted a deceased bin Laden. Now, her office says she is not sure if the image she was shown is legitimate.

"I was shown a photo," Ayotte said. "I don't know whether its authentic. It appeared obviously to look like Osama bin laden but I can't verify whether its authentic or not."

Ayotte differs from the president and supports the release of the official death photo. She is the former attorney general of her home state and her husband Joe Daley is an Iraq war veteran.

NBC's Chuck Todd reported on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams that, according to multiple administration sources, "No senator has been shown a photo."

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Wednesday that President Barack Obama’s decision not to release photos of Osama bin Laden’s corpse is a “mistake” that  could “unnecessarily prolong” the debate over what the United States should have done in the wake of the al Qaeda leader’s death.

“I respectfully disagree with President Obama's decision not to release the photos,” Graham said in a written statement. It's a mistake.”

Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a leading Republican voice on national security issues, does not dispute that bin Laden has been killed but argues that definitive public proof would underscore his demise and protect the nation’s interests.

"The whole purpose of sending our soldiers into the compound, rather than an aerial bombardment, was to obtain indisputable proof of bin Laden's death,” he said. “I know bin Laden is dead.  But the best way to protect and defend our interests overseas is to prove that fact to the rest of the world.”

Earlier this week, Graham raised concerns about the speed with which bin Laden’s body was buried at sea – a move that administration officials said was in accordance with Islamic law.

“This idea of disposing the body within 24 hours because of tradition bothers me a bit because we will be under attack as to whether or not it really was him,” Graham said on Fox News Radio.  “And I’m not so sure that was a wise move.”

Abortion is back -- again -- as a central issue for the Republican-controlled U.S. House.

The House is considering H.R. 3, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” NBC’s Luke Russert reports. The bill would do the following:

"No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act -- which expands the ban on federal subsidies for abortion to prohibit government subsidization of health plans that cover abortion services and prevent the use of tax breaks to help underwrite abortion costs. It would also prohibit any federal health care facility -- including those in the District of Columbia -- and any doctor paid by the federal government from providing abortion services."

It is expected to pass the House later today in the afternoon. But it likely has no chance of passing the Senate and becoming law, since Democrats control the Upper Chamber. However, during negotiations on another bill -- budget, debt limit etc. – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) could demand and up-or-down vote on the bill.

“I say with true regret and sadness that President Obama has been, sadly, the abortion president,” claimed Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) during debate on the House floor, NBC’s Shawna Thomas reports. He added, "ObamaCare for example, where there was an opportunity under the Stupak-Pitts amendment to take abortion completely out of his healthcare reform package did not and now one of the things that this legislation will do is to ensure that whether it be the community health centers or the exchanges or the high risk pools which have the very thing veneer of an executive order which is not binding... would ensure that there's no taxpayer funding for abortion in any of those instances either."

Yet, as NBC’s Mark Murray reported in March 2010, even before the final legislation passed:

From pages 2,071-2,072 of the health-care bill: "If a qualified health plan provides coverage of services described in paragraph (1)(B)(i)" -- i.e., abortion -- "the issuer of the plan shall not use any amount attributable to [health reform's government-funding mechanisms] for purposes of paying for such services. …

What's more, the Senate bill explicitly ensures that Americans who receive federal subsidies under the reform plan must pay separately for abortion coverage. Here's pages 2,074-2,075: "In the case of a plan to which sub paragraph (A) applies, the issuer of the plan shall collect from each enrollee in the plan (without regard to the enrollee's age, sex, or family status) a separate payment" that "may not estimate such a cost at less than $1 per enrollee, per month."

Here's the kicker: Under the Senate bill, due to Nelson's changes, states can choose NOT to offer abortion coverage in the health exchange. Page 2,069: "A State may elect to prohibit abortion coverage in qualified health plans offered through an Exchange in such State is such State enacts a law to provide for such prohibition." And those states that do not prohibit abortion coverage must provide a choice of health plans on the exchange that include abortion coverage and don't include abortion.

Furthermore, the president signed an executive order on March 24, 2010 -- after he signed the legislation into law -- that stated the following:

Section. 1. Policy. Following the recent enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "Act"), it is necessary to establish an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered), consistent with a longstanding Federal statutory restriction that is commonly known as the Hyde Amendment. The purpose of this order is to establish a comprehensive, Government-wide set of policies and procedures to achieve this goal and to make certain that all relevant actors -- Federal officials, State officials (including insurance regulators) and health care providers -- are aware of their responsibilities, new and old.

It’s also not clear if there is any actual data Smith uses to back up his claim that President Obama is “the abortion president.” The Centers for Disease Control and the Guttmacher Institute (which also tracks abortions) do not have any more recent information on the number of abortions in the United States than 2007 and 2008, respectively.

*** UPDATE *** The White House issued a veto threat on H.R. 3.

The president has decided not to release photographs of Osama bin Laden's body, according to a senior White House official.

*** UPDATE *** Here is what President Obama told Steve Kroft of "60 Minutes" about his decision. The interview will air on Sunday.

"The risks of release outweigh the benefits," he said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."

"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet," he continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaeda has been eliminated."

*** CORRECTION *** Those quotes above are from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, not President Obama. (It's unclear why CBS decided not to release quotes from the president in its story about the news.)

Here is what Obama told "60 Minutes," per White House Press Secretary Jay Carney: "We've done DNA sampling and testing. There is no doubt we killed Osama bin Laden." Obama went on to say that releasing the photos could incite violence and run contray to America's values. "We don't trot out this stuff as trophies... We don't need to spike the football." 

*** UPDATE 2 *** NBC's Athena Jones reports:

At the top of the briefing this afternoon, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney shared the exchange President Obama had with 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft in his interview today during which he explained his rationale for not releasing photos of bin Laden's body.

Obama said he had seen the photos and they proved, along with facial analysis and DNA evidence, that the US team had killed bin Laden.

KEY OBAMA QUOTE TO KROFT:

"It is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool. That's not who we are. We don't trot out this stuff as trophies. The fact of the matter is this was somebody who was deserving of the justice that he received and I think Americans and people around the world are glad he is gone, but we don't need to spike the football. And I think that given the graphic natures of these photos, it would create some national security risk and I've discussed this with Bob Gates and Hillary Clinton and my intelligence teams and they all agree."

In the interview scheduled to air on Sunday, the president said officials were monitoring worldwide reaction to news of the mission and that there was no doubt bin Laden was dead.

Obama told Kroft:

"Certainly there is doubt- no doubt among Al Qaeda members that he is dead. And so we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference. There are going to be some folks who deny it. The fact of the matter is, you will not see bin Laden waling on this earth again."

Ayman al Zawahiri is by no means a shoo-in as al Qaeda's next leader. He is not liked by many in the organization, and he faces competition from at least two others, one of them an American, a senior U.S. official tells NBC News.

In addition to having a face for radio, and not at all charismatic, he is not nearly as popular as bin Laden internally. He has a reputation as being arrogant," said the official. "We could see Anwar al-Awlaki move in, or Ilyas Kashmiri, a Pakistani militant.

Al-Awlaki, 40, is the New Mexico-born American leader of al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, who had contact with both Abdul Muttallab, the underwear bomber, and Col. Nidal Hassan, who killed 15 people at Ft. Hood two years ago...as well as two of the 9-11 bombers while preaching in San Diego. Al Awlaki is viewed as the most charismatic official in al Qaeda today and regularly used social media, including Facebook and a blog, to recruit members to the cause.   

Less well known is Ilyas Kashmiri, 46, who is a leader in the Pakistani terrorist organization Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, which is closely tied to Al-Qaeda. Kashmiri rebuilt its strength while collaborating with the Taliban. He is under indictment in the US for his role in the planned attacks on the Danish cartoonist who drew the Prophet Mohammed.

"They have a lot to sort out, said the official and it will be difficult for them to convene a meeting," said the official.

Computers could reveal al Qaeda money men
A senior U.S. official also says the initial exploitation of the computers and other digital devices retrieved from the bin Laden compound have proven that the materials "contain very valuable information."

The official, asked if there was donor information on the computers, hard drives, etc., would not deny it adding it was "entirely possible." The U.S. has long sought lists of donors to the al Qaeda cause, those private individuals in the Gulf states who have financed operations.

President Obama has already -- tongue in cheek -- given potential GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman his endorsement. Huntsman, a former Utah governor, served as Obama's ambassador to China.

And now comes news that former Democratic President Jimmy Carter finds him a "very attractive" candidate.

The Hill reports:

Carter, the one-term president to whom conservatives sometimes gleefully compare Obama, told CNN that Jon Huntsman, the former Republican governor of Utah who resigned last Saturday as Obama's top diplomat in China, might make for Obama's best GOP challenger.

Carter said that Huntsman is "very attractive to me personally," but also said that his "intention is to vote for the Democratic candidate."

This will be Huntsman's challenge if he runs for president: being portrayed as the left-most candidate in an increasingly right-leaning Republican Party.

Two key Republicans on foreign policy -- Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) -- say the United States should not release the postmortem photos of Osama bin Laden.

"I don't want to make the job of our troops serving in places like Iraq and Afghanistan any harder than it already is," Rogers said, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports. "The risks of release outweigh the benefits. Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East. Imagine how the American people would react if al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders and put photos of the body on the Internet.

"Osama bin Laden is not a trophy; he is dead, and let's now focus on continuing the fight until al Qaeda has been eliminated."

After an intelligence briefing on Capitol Hill, McCain said it was a "judgment" the president has to make, but that he believes it's "not necessary to do," NBC's Joel Seidman reports. McCain said he had himself not seen any of the photos.

McCain added it was his understanding that the information on the bin Laden "courier" did not come from so-called "enhanced interrogation."

*** UPDATE *** Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who said he has seen the photos, also says the administration should not release the pictures.

“Let me assure you that he is dead, that bin Laden is dead — I have seen the photos,” Brown said in an interview with NECN, according to the Boston Globe. He added, “If it’s to sell newspapers or just have a news cycle story, no, I don’t think they should be released. We’re still dealing with the sensitivities of the Muslim and Arab world. And we still have men and women serving throughout the world.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** Here's video from NBC partner NECN.

*** UPDATE 3 *** Uh oh. Bad headline for Scott Brown here from the Boston Globe: "Brown admits he was fooled by fake picture."

The CIA categorically denies two stories coming out of Pakistan, sourced to bin Laden family members:

1) that Osama bin Laden was captured at the scene and then killed minutes afterward; this from his daughter.

2) that a second bin Laden son, Mohammed, was thrown on the chopper as it departed Abbottabad.

"We categorically deny both of those," said a CIA spokesman.

Two senior US officials told NBC News Tuesday that the "only person other than the team who left Abbottabad was Osama Bin Laden's remains."

If you’re interested in becoming the president of the United States, there’s one first crucial question you have to answer for the American people:

“Wait, wait… WHO?”

A new national poll out Wednesday underscores that, in this year’s 2012 potential presidential field, there’s a wide discrepancy between the name ID haves and the have-nots.

According to the Quinnipiac survey – which, as we wrote this morning, shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leading the GOP contenders at 18 percent – most Americans have an opinion on the candidates who have dominated recent national polls.  Only one percent of all Americans said they haven’t heard of Donald Trump or Sarah Palin; ten and nine percent, respectively, could not identify Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Seven percent scratched their heads at Newt Gingrich’s name as well.

But over a third (35 percent) of respondents said they haven’t heard of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, one of the first declared contenders. Pawlenty clocked in at four percent support in the Quinnipiac poll.

Also with 35 percent of respondents replying “who?” was former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who won the support of just one percent of respondents in the poll.  

Both Santorum and Pawlenty are planning to attend tomorrow night’s first – and sparse -- GOP debate in Greeneville, S.C.

They’ll appear on stage alongside a series of longshot candidates: former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, Godfathers Pizza CEO Herman Cain, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul.  

Of the five debaters, Paul is the most recognized and the most popular, according to Quinnipiac. About 4 in 5 Americans in the poll have heard of the quirky libertarian-leaning congressman and former presidential candidate, and he’s polling at five percent.

A canary in a coal mine?

Democrats won an open seat for Wisconsin state Assembly that was held for 16 years by Republicans.

AP:

Democrat Steve Doyle defeated Republican John Lautz for the Wisconsin District 94 Assembly, flipping a seat held by Republicans for 16 years in a race that focused attention on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's plan to curtail collective bargaining right for most public employees.

With 92 percent of precincts reporting, Doyle won 54 percent to 46 percent, based on unofficial results in Tuesday's special election. The race flips a GOP Assembly seat for the Democrats, who remain in the minority.

The seat was previously held by Mike Huebsch, who Walker picked in January to serve as secretary of administration. Huebsch was first elected in 1994.

To release the photos, or not to release them?... Why it’s important for the administration to get its narrative straight: because it would be FAR WORSE if discrepancies are discovered later… Panetta admits they had a license to kill bin Laden… Fact-checking shows that the “enhanced interrogations” played only a minor role in getting to bin Laden… NYT/CBS poll finds Obama getting an 11-point bounce… Mitch Daniels in the spotlight… Fodder for tomorrow’s debate: TPaw supports a decrease in the level of U.S. troops in Afghanistan… And the DNC today makes Wasserman Schultz official.

*** To release the photos, or not to release them? Senior administration officials have told NBC News that a decision on whether to release the photos of a dead Osama bin Laden will be made today. The pro to releasing them: They will provide additional proof -- to the news media, nation, and world -- that he is dead (though as we saw with President Obama’s birth certificate, extra proof doesn’t necessarily mean it will end the conspiracy theories). The con: They could inflame the Arab street and become an image others could exploit. Here is our question, however: Who is asking for the photos outside the media and a handful of U.S. politicians? Is there really doubt he’s dead? Al Arabiya is reporting, per Pakistani security forces, that bin Laden’s daughter even admits he’s dead (though she alleges he was held captive for 10 minutes before being killed). At this point, the most prominent member of the president's national security team advocating release is CIA chief Leon Panetta (as he told NBC’s Brian Williams yesterday). But most of the members of the team are leaning against, including folks that sit at the State Department and Pentagon. Ditto with key West Wing aides.

*** Getting the narrative straight: While the Obama administration is probably frustrated by the attention it has received for changing its initial story on the raid on bin Laden’s compound -- it turns out that bin Laden wasn’t armed and that he didn’t use his wife as a shield -- consider it would be FAR WORSE for the administration if news organizations (say in Pakistan, thanks to ISI leaks of THEIR interviews with those compound residents who were left behind alive) found out the discrepancies later. Even the allegation by bin Laden’s daughter that her father was held before being killed is a reminder that Team Obama needs to have its story straight as quickly as possible. The last thing they want to do is have to CHANGE their story AFTER a discovery from an outside source. They have to be able to stay ahead of this to keep their own credibility.  Better to take a small lump of youknowwhat 24 hours later than deal with cable catnip problems in a few weeks/months (see: Lynch, Jessica)

*** A license to kill: Speaking of killing bin Laden, perhaps the most newsworthy part of Brian Williams’ interview with Leon Panetta yesterday was this line from the CIA chief: The orders were to kill him. “The authorities we have on Bin Laden are to kill him. And that was made clear. But it was also, as part of their rules of engagement, if-- if he suddenly put up his hands and offered to be captured, then-- they would have the opportunity, obviously, to capture him. But that opportunity never developed.” This was a kill mission; there was a VERY high bar for the Seals before they could make the determination that he should be taken alive.

*** Did the harsh interrogations play an important role? News organizations are fact-checking the assertion that the “enhanced interrogation techniques” during the Bush administration helped lead to bin Laden. And the emerging consensus is that they played a small role. The New York Times: “[A] closer look at prisoner interrogations suggests that the harsh techniques played a small role at most in identifying Bin Laden’s trusted courier and exposing his hide-out. One detainee who apparently was subjected to some tough treatment provided a crucial description of the courier, according to current and former officials briefed on the interrogations. But two prisoners who underwent some of the harshest treatment — including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times — repeatedly misled their interrogators about the courier’s identity.” As one former U.S. counterterrorism official told NBC’s Michael Isikoff: “They waterboarded KSM 183 times, and he still didn’t give the guy up.” More: “Come on. And you want to tell me that enhanced interrogation techniques worked?"

*** Looks like Obama will be solo at Ground Zero tomorrow: As NBC’s Savannah Guthrie reported last night, President Obama invited former President George W. Bush to attend Thursday's event at Ground Zero in New York. Bush, however, declined. Yet he plans to be at Ground Zero for the 10th-year anniversary of 9/11 this September. Guthrie adds that Obama also invited former President Bill Clinton, but he is unlikely to attend due to a scheduling conflict.

*** Where’s the bounce? The day after a one-day Washington Post poll found Obama getting a nine-point bounce in his approval rating, a new two-day New York Times/CBS poll shows the president’s numbers increasing 11 points, from 46% last month to 57% now. “The increase in Mr. Obama’s ratings came largely from Republicans and independents. Among independents, his approval rating increased 11 points from last month, to 52 percent, while among Republicans it rose 15 points, to 24 percent. Among Democrats, 86 percent supported his job performance, compared with 79 percent in April.”

*** Daniels in the spotlight: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) steps into the Beltway -- and presidential-speculation -- spotlight today when he delivers a speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in DC at 12:30 pm ET. The subject of the address is the education reform that Daniels signed into law, which includes expanding charter schools and vouchers in Indiana. But the subtext is the growing speculation that Daniels could enter the GOP presidential race. On FOX yesterday, per NBC’s Jason Seher, he acknowledged speaking about a possible bid with George W. Bush. But Daniels also didn’t sound like an enthusiastic candidate When asked if he would like to run for president, he gave this short answer: “No.” Daniels added he only agreed to consider running for president after "a lot of people" insisted he give it some thought. On the other hand, National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru, who was part of a journalists’ meeting with Daniels, believes he’s leaning toward a run. Tonight, also in DC, Daniels will receive an award from the Arab American Institute Foundation.

*** Fodder for tomorrow’s debate: Yesterday in Iowa, Tim Pawlenty said the U.S. should try to decrease its troop levels in Afghanistan within the next two years if the conditions are right, the Des Moines Register reports. “‘I think we need enough military capacity in Afghanistan or at least in the region, so if another material threat to the United States is identified, that we can respond and interrupt it and defeat it, efficiently and quickly,” he said.” *** UPDATE *** A Pawlenty spokesman responds, "Gov. Pawlenty has always said that troop levels in Afghanistan should be determined by conditions on the ground and military commanders' recommendations. On the Governor's third trip to Afghanistan last summer, General Petreaus told him that if progress continued, we could begin to reduce troop levels in about two years. This weekend's attack shows the importance of maintaining our presence in the region and determining future troop levels based on conditions on the ground."

*** Who’s acceptable and not: A new national Quinnipiac poll measures which GOP presidential candidates the American public finds acceptable and not. On the unacceptable side: 58% said they would NEVER vote for Palin or Trump, and 42% said they wouldn’t vote for Gingrich. By comparison, just 26% said they would never vote for Romney, and 32% said the same of Huckabee. In the poll’s trial heat among Republicans and GOP leaners, Romney leads the field with 18% -- followed by Huckabee and Palin at 15% each, Trump at 12%, and Gingrich, Daniels, and Paul at 5%.

*** Making Wasserman Schultz official: At 3:00 pm ET, the Democratic National Committee meets to formally elect Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the DNC’s next chairman. She will replace Tim Kaine, who is running for Virginia’s open Senate seat.

Countdown to NY-26 special election: 20 days
Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 100 days
Countdown to NV-2 special election: 132 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 188 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 278 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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“Osama bin Laden’s death fueled demands yesterday for a hastened drawdown of US forces in Afghanistan, despite warnings that a rapid withdrawal could lead that nation into chaos,” the Boston Globe reports. Here was Sen. Richard Lugar (R), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at a hearing yesterday: “With Al Qaeda largely displaced from the country, but franchised in other locations, Afghanistan does not carry a strategic value that justifies 100,000 American troops and a $100 billion per year cost, especially given current fiscal constraints.”

“Hassan Ghul, an Al Qaeda courier arrested in Iraq in 2004, spent two years in a secret CIA prison, where detainees were subjected to interrogation practices such as facial slaps and sleep deprivation,” the Boston Globe writes. “Sometime during those two years, Ghul named another important courier, a crucial tip that eventually helped lead to Sunday’s daring raid on Osama bin Laden’s hide-out, according to the Associated Press. US officials have acknowledged that clues gleaned from the Bush administration’s controversial network of detention centers, coupled with years of patient intelligence work, netted the terrorist mastermind on Sunday. But they declined to say whether harsh interrogation practices — which President Obama opposes — played a role in their historic intelligence success.”

The New York Times: “[A] closer look at prisoner interrogations suggests that the harsh techniques played a small role at most in identifying Bin Laden’s trusted courier and exposing his hide-out. One detainee who apparently was subjected to some tough treatment provided a crucial description of the courier, according to current and former officials briefed on the interrogations. But two prisoners who underwent some of the harshest treatment — including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times — repeatedly misled their interrogators about the courier’s identity.”

“CIA boss Leon Panetta said Tuesday night that the Osama Bin Laden death photos - which the White House labeled ‘gruesome’ - will be released,” the New York Daily News reports. “‘We got Bin Laden, and I think we have to reveal to the rest of the world the fact that we were able to get him and kill him,’ Panetta said. The government reportedly has three sets of photos of Bin Laden's body, with the clearest shots showing a gaping bullet wound in his forehead.”

But the ultimate decision will be made by the Obama White House.

“Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) — one of two Muslim-American in Congress — said he did not have a problem with the White House releasing photos of a dead Osama bin Laden,” The Hill reports, though, “Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the other Muslim lawmaker, declined to comment.”

Roll Call looks at Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s upcoming 2012 role for Obama, that “The White House and Obama campaign officials have helped create two new organizations that will enable Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to become a lead defender of the president’s signature health care reform law during the 2012 election campaign.”

“Prosecutors in the corruption retrial of Rod Blagojevich focused quickly yesterday on the most serious and sensational allegation: that the former Illinois governor tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Obama’s old US Senate seat,” AP writes. “At Blagojevich’s first trial last year, the government didn’t delve into that accusation until weeks into testimony.”

"Whatever sense of unity the nation might have felt after the killing of Osama bin Laden, it did not extend to the pressing domestic policy issues that divide Congressional Republicans and Democrats, who returned to work in earnest Tuesday," the New York Times writes. "Lawmakers were quickly back to arguing over economic and health care policy, trading blame for high gasoline prices and positioning themselves for the fight over raising the federal debt limit. The Senate found itself at multiple impasses over a small-business bill and judicial confirmations."

Kent Conrad (D-ND) says there will be a plan coming soon, but it might be the Gang of Six’s. He “said the plan calls for a complete overhaul of the tax code -- stripping numerous tax write-offs while lowering income tax rates -- but would leave Social Security untouched. The overhaul would boost overall taxes by about $1 trillion over the coming decade,” AP writes.

Roll Call writes, “The much-hyped ‘gang of six’ is on the verge of being left behind. Democratic and Republican leaders have never been overly enthusiastic about the bipartisan group and have already started looking for other ways to cut a deal on the budget and raising the debt limit. And with the group still unable to reach an agreement despite months of negotiations, Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad said Tuesday he is prepared to go forward in his committee with a budget blueprint of his own as soon as next week. … Conrad said the group’s talks haven’t yet produced a deal, although he still hopes they will. In the meantime, he’s obligated as Budget chairman to move forward anyway. ‘I’m running out of time,’ Conrad said.”

“A shift to foreign policy and national security seems to highlight how weak the current field appears on those issues,” Real Clear Politics writes. “On one end of the spectrum is Huntsman, who has held a number of foreign jobs, and on the other is Michele Bachmann, who has just a few years of experience in the House and has been prone to gaffes. The rest of the field is somewhere in between, but they tend to fall closer to Bachmann's level of experience than Huntsman's.”

A new Quinnipiac poll shows that no potential candidates in the Republican presidential field breaks 20 percent, according to Bloomberg. Mitt Romney leads the pack with 18 percent.

DANIELS: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said that he spoke to former President George W. Bush about running for president in 2012, although he said the details of the conversation were “between him and me,” Real Clear Politics writes of Daniels’ appearance on Fox on Tuesday.

NBC’s Jason Seher breaks down Indiana’s new education law, which Daniels will discuss in his speech today. The centerpiece of the sweeping reforms is expanding vouchers and school choice.  -The law also lowers obstacles to increasing the number of charter schools in the state. Another part of the education reform is changing how teachers are paid.

The Wall Street Journal notes that Daniels joked about how much fun it would have been to run against his friend, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who decided not to run. “‘I tell you what — you all would have had a little more fun, a few more laughs, if we were both in there. And it would’ve been very clean and upbeat, which I hope it will be, anyway,” Daniels said.

Daniels spoke to a group of reporters in New York City yesterday. NRO’s Ramesh Ponnoru’s takeaways: he’s not combative when criticizing Democrats or Republicans; he is passionate about cutting entitlements for the wealthy; and when asked whether he’s prepared to debate President Obama on foreign policy, he candidly answered, “Probably not.” 

The Daily Caller has this tough headline: “Mitch Daniels isn’t ready to be president”

Noting that a presidential announcement could come on May 12, the Indiana Republican Party’s spring dinner, the Washington Post’s Cilizza publishes a list of Daniels’ inner circle.

NPR profiles Daniels, which it says was offered Dan Quayle’s vacant Senate seat in 1988, but turned it down.

HUCKABEE: Huckabee will speak at the Republican Leadership Conference in Louisiana in June, which according to Politico is the latest indication that he’s looking seriously at running for president.

HUNTSMAN: Jon Huntsman formed a federal political action committee, “H-PAC,” on Tuesday, his first concrete step toward a presidential campaign, CNN reports. A spokesman said he will not form an exploratory committee and will simply make a final decision early this summer.

PALIN: Sarah Palin spoke in Baldwin County, AL, last night, where she told an audience that she’d visit some of the tornado destruction in the state, WKRG reports. She also said she was anxious for President Obama to release pictures of Osama Bin Laden’s body “so the world would know that you don’t challenge the United States.”

PAUL: Predictably, Rep. Ron Paul says U.S. troops should come home from Afghanistan now.

PAWLENTY: Speaking in Ames, IA, Tim Pawlenty told the AP that he would devote the necessary “one-on-one” attention to the state that party activists expect.

Pawlenty told Radio Iowa yesterday that Republican presidential hopefuls should start campaigning against President Obama, according to Reuters. “You know, it's May and I can understand if people didn't want to start in December or January. I mean, in the past they've said, 'That's too early,' he said. “Well, you know, it's time.”

ROMNEY: Mother Jones interviews Bruce Keough, the 2008 director of Romney’s New Hampshire campaign who says he won’t rejoin in 2012 because “he’s no longer sure what Romney stands for.” “I don't think the voters are looking for somebody who's going to be recasting himself," Keough said. "They want somebody who's been true to a certain set of political ideals for a while."

SANTORUM: The Rick Santorum campaign announced its official formation of a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission, making him eligible for tomorrow’s South Carolina debate. In a statement, Santorum said, “The debate this Thursday is a unique opportunity to put forth ideas and solutions to bring our economy back on track, and with Osama bin Laden's death, I look forward to also discussing in depth ways to tackle our many national security challenges.”

FLORIDA/SOUTH CAROLINA: There are bigger Republican kingmakers in South Carolina and Florida than Nikki Haley and Rick Scott, the governors of those states, the Daily Caller notes. Rather, the big endorsements to get will come from Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush of Forida.

NEW JERSEY: Carl Lewis appealed the Secretary of State’s decision that he couldn’t run for state Senate.

SOUTH CAROLINA: A group of Democrats in South Carolina will launch a new independent group geared towards drawing attention to what they call the “crazy” elements of the Republican base, CNN reports. The group will call itself “South Carolina Forward Progress” and Politico’s Ben Smith notes its goal will be similar to what liberal groups like ThinkProgress are doing on a national scale.

“Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is the only top-tier candidate expected to participate in [Thursday’s presidential] forum at the Peace Center in Greenville, S.C.,” the  L.A. Times writes.

President Obama invited former President George W. Bush to attend Thursday's event at Ground Zero in New York.

Bush, however, declined. But he plans to be at Ground Zero for the 10th-year anniversary of 9/11 this September.

On MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S. stressed that the Pakistani government wasn't complicit in hiding Osama bin Laden and

Said Husain Haqqani:

The fact remains that no one in the United States government has alleged that the Pakistani government was in any way complicit in keeping Osama bin Laden there. So I think that is something we should be very clear about. However, did our intelligence services or our law enforcement fail to perform optimally in not discovering him earlier? That is a question that we are examining ourselves.

[snip]

A lot of people in Pakistan are upset over the intrusion into Pakistan -- an infringement of Pakistani sovereignty, and a statement has been made to that effect that has, I've seen, received some media commentary. All I will say is that we have had a situation. I understand the American concerns. I understand why America acted the way it did. We will talk about it between ourselves. We are allies and partners, and sometimes allies and partners face embarrassing or difficult moments, but we will work together because that is the only way forward.

Republican Sen. Rick Santorum took the next step in his likely campaign for president by today announcing the formation of an exploratory committee. The former Republican senator had previously only formed a "testing the waters committee." 

Santorum's announcement comes just two days before the first Republican presidential debate hosted by FOX News and the South Carolina Republican Party -- which requires its participants to have formed exploratory committees before the debate.  

"I filed today for an exploratory committee. I'm not announced for president, but basically I'm in the position now where I can participate in the FOX debate," Santorum told Sean Hannity on his radio program.

The May 5 debate in Greenville, SC will include other potential candidates in addition to Santorum -- like former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, and businessman Herman Cain.

Santorum's radio interview later turned to the death of Osama bin Laden. While Santorum gave the president credit for making the call, he also was critical saying that President Obama "should give credit to the person he got the information from -- and that's George W. Bush."

But as NBC's Michael Isikoff reported, while some current and former U.S. officials "credited those interrogations [during the Bush administration] with producing the big break in the case, others countered that they failed to produce what turned out to be the most crucial piece of intelligence of all: the identity and whereabouts of the most important figure in bin Laden courier's network."