Not surprisingly, House Republicans and the Obama White House have two different versions of today's White House meeting on the debt ceiling.

Per a GOP aide, President Obama gave opening remarks, followed by House Speaker John Boehner and a few other House Republican members. Then House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan spoke. "Hey, I'm that Ryan guy," he said.

Ryan then stated that leaders can either exacerbate the problem -- or solve it. He continued, per the GOP aide, that the year started well (with the Bush tax cuts and the continuing resolution). Then came Obama's speech, where he blasted the House Republican budget -- written by Ryan -- including its overhaul of Medicare. "It's a signal to your party to turn it on, and to us that you are thinking about 2012."

Ryan argued that the House budget plan doesn't turn Medicare into a voucher program -- it's a subsidy. And seniors would deal directly with Medicare, not private insurance companies.

And, according to this Republican, Ryan concluded, "Leaders have to lead, and you haven't done it yet." House Republicans then gave Ryan a standing ovation.

However, in a stakeout after the meeting, Ryan noted, "That's not exactly what I said," per NBC's Mike Viqueira. We've got to get our spending under control," he said. "We have to deal with this. If we try to demagogue each other, then we're not applying political leadership."

A White House source has a different version of events:

[Ryan] was very nervous and defensive. POTUS pointed out that he disagreed with Ryan's plan because he didn't think we should change Medicare fundamentally to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. And that both sides shouldn't demagogue, which is something he knows something about since he has been called the "job killing, death panel, probably-wasn't-born-here president."

For their first meeting since the 2010 midterm elections, President Obama hosted the entire House Republican Caucus at the White House this morning to discuss the budget and debt crisis. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), Republican Policy Chair and member of the Budget Committee, told NBC's Andrea Mitchell today on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports that "it was a very frank exchange, and it was a sincere exchange on both sides,” but criticized the president for being too much talk and too little action.

“The problem that we have is that his words rarely match his deeds or his actions,” Price said. “And, so, we're very concerned that if we get the same kind of policies that we have seen out of this White House that we will not be creating jobs in this country and won't be decreasing spending, which we think are the key elements that the American people are interested in.”

Though Price said the president was "on board" with decreasing spending and creating jobs, he doubted whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement on a bipartisan approach.

“The president said what he believed ought to be done is short-term solutions, mid-term solutions and long-term solutions,” Price said.  “So he has, again, adopted the points that we have been making, whether or not we're able to translate that into real policy and agreement on that policy is yet to be determined. But we clearly understand the gravity of this situation.”

With the next round of talks scheduled for June 9, Price called upon the White House to produce a concrete plan to decrease federal spending and increase jobs, pointing out that Republicans have already submitted their proposal.

“We need a plan,” Price said. “We need a plan from the White House about how we're going to address the fundamental challenges. If we get that, then we may actually have some opportunity for discussion.”

In another sign Michele Bachmann is running for president, her chief of staff, Andy Parrish, is taking a temporary leave from his position and will continue to work for her in "an exciting new position," Parrish confirms to First Read.

Asked if the job will take him to Iowa and New Hampshire, Parrish responded, "We will see."

The news was first reported by The Daily Caller. Hat tip: Political Wire.

UPDATED AT 4:30 PM ET WITH A REPORT FROM ANOTHER WEINER PRESS CONFERENCE. Weiner attempts a joke, saying he regrets being a little "stiff" with reporters yesterday.

From NBC's Luke Russert and Carrie Dann
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) said Wednesday that he can’t say “with certitude” whether or not a lewd below-the-belt photo depicted his body, but he insisted that he did not tweet the picture to a  21-year old college student in Seattle, Wash.

In an interview with NBC’s Luke Russert, Weiner repeated his claim that his Twitter account was hacked and said that he has hired a private security firm to investigate the matter.  

“I was the victim of a prank,” Weiner said.

Weiner sat down with NBC News a day after a testy exchange with reporters on Capitol Hill. He said Wednesday that he was “frustrated” with media coverage of the Twitter dustup but that questions about the issue are fair and reasonable.

But, he added, the controversy should be placed in context.

“This is not a national security matter. We are not making a federal case out of this and I don’t think anyone else should,” he said in explaining his decision not to pursue an independent investigation led by Capitol Police.

The New York congressman also repeated his assertion that he did not know the woman who received the photo over the weekend.

Asked why he follows less than 200 Twitter users – some who are young women unconnected to the political world – Weiner said that his selection of who to engage with on the site is “fairly random.”

He is often asked by Twitter users to “follow” him back on the network, he said, and he sometimes obliges.

“I’m not sure that there’s anything more here than just a little bit of silliness, and I'm going to try to brush it off my shoulder,”  he said. 

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Libby Leist reports... In a press gaggle with reporters, Weiner suggested that the lewd picture may have been "manipulated" and he has retained an internet security firm to investigate. He refused to answer repeated questions about whether photos exist of him in his underwear and whether one may have been "manipulated."

"There are photographs of me in the world. Yes," he said. "We dont know where the photograph came from. We dont know for sure whats on it, we dont know for sure if its been manipulated, if it was taken out of one place and dropped in something else. And i'm going to let this firm try to get to the bottom of all that."

He said he for sure did not SEND the photo.

On why there isn't a U.S. Capitol Police investigation, he said he's retained an Internet security firm that's going to give him advice on next steps. He doesn't believe it's a federal case.

"I believe this is a case of someone sending a nuisance Twitter making fun of my name. We all get spam."

He joked that comedian Jon Stewart may have been right, referring to the fact that Stewart joked it couldn't have been him due to its size.

Weiner tried to deflect questions with jokes. He said, in one attempt at humor, that he regrets being a little bit "stiff" yesterday with reporters.

A new Democratic poll out today shows that a majority of likely voters in the 2012 election are firmly opposed to the House Republican’s overhaul of Medicare.

The poll, conducted by Democratic firm Anzalone-Liszt for Dem-leaning groups, found that 54% of respondents don’t support "transformational" changes to Medicare -- when they’re told that "Medicare would be turned into a voucher program" and "the government would provide vouchers to help seniors buy their own private health insurance policy" instead of paying doctors and hospitals directly for treating seniors.

Opposition to the plan is even greater among seniors (58% of them don’t support it) and independents (60%).

"A lot of people don't actually know about the House Republican budget," said Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress and the Dem group Know Your Care, which helped commission the poll. "But what they do know, they don't like."
 
The poll also found that voters trust Obama and Democrats more than congressional Republicans on health care, Medicare, and protecting the middle class. Obama holds a seven-point margin over the John Boehner-led House Republican caucus (48%-41%) on Medicare, as well as a whopping 15-point advantage when it comes to protecting the middle class (51%-36%). Democratic pollster Jeff Liszt argues these numbers have a "good" chance of staying the same as the campaign season for 2012 heats up, even if Democrats offer an alternative plan that cuts some Medicare benefits.

"I would be surprised if a Democratic alternative has the same impact," Liszt said. "When you talk about the kind of changes Democrats propose -- going after waste, fraud, abuse -- there is a lot less political fallout in that than replacing the program wholesale with a voucher program that may not cover seniors expenses."

Tea Party-backed Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, has Sen. Orrin Hatch in his sights.

A grinning Chaffetz said on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown that he remains a “definite maybe” on a bid to unseat the six-term Utah Republican in a primary.

Hatch’s recent voting record has turned rightward in recent years, particularly since he witnessed his Senate colleague Bob Bennett defeated by Tea Party-supported primary challenger Mike Lee in the 2010 election.

Asked if that made Hatch now more worthy of conservative support, Chaffetz offered an emphatic no.

“No, I don’t. I don’t,” he said. “That’s why I’m considering running against him.”

Chaffetz said that he “applauds” some of Hatch’s recent outspokenness against the Democratic majority in the Senate but that he remains concerned about Hatch’s past legislative history, which has included some bipartisan projects that angered staunch conservatives.  

“He’s been a great public servant,” Chaffetz said of Hatch, “but the election in 2012 will also be about the future.”

This morning, we wrote about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) dinner with Iowa Republican donors last night. But it was his ride to his son's baseball game -- before the dinner -- that's raising questions about his fiscal-conservative credentials.

COURTESY CHRISTOPHER COSTA/PATCH.COM

Yesterday's Newark Star-Ledger:

Gov. Chris Christie arrived at his son's baseball game this afternoon aboard a State Police helicopter.

Right before the lineup cards were being exchanged on the field, a noise from above distracted the spectators as the 55-foot long helicopter buzzed over trees in left field, circled the outfield and landed in an adjacent football field. Christie disembarked from the helicopter and got into a black car with tinted windows that drove him about a 100 yards to the baseball field.

The Wall Street Journal adds:

Use of the state helicopter is a frequent target of political gadflies, an easy way to make the chief executive seem like big spenders hopelessly out of touch with their auto-bound constituents.

Former Gov. Jim McGreevey came under fire for using the state helicopter 277 times in his first year in office, but cut back later on. The state Democratic party and other groups reimbursed New Jersey for some of his 19 helicopter trips in 2004 at a rate of $1,830 per hour... A Christie official, speaking on background Tuesday evening, said that the governor is not required to reimburse the state for his trip to the baseball game.

We're shooting another edition of Inside the Boiler Room with Mark and Domenico. If you've got a question, post it below!

Forget about Palin’s “dinner” last night and pay more attention to Chris Christie’s… The reason: He actually has the ability to put together an “A” campaign… After dinner with Iowa donors last night, Christie said he’s focused on remaining New Jersey governor… But guess what: He’s heading to Iowa later this summer… At 10:00 am ET, Obama meets with House GOP conference to discuss raising the debt ceiling… Weiner’s actions (and non-answers) raise additional questions… Huntsman pivots to the right in WSJ op-ed… It’s T-shirt time before Romney’s announcement tomorrow… Pawlenty remains in Iowa… Rudy Giuliani keynotes “Voices of Sept. 11” gala… And do Dems have the redistricting edge?

*** Pay more attention to Christie: Forget about Sarah Palin’s "dinner" last night with Donald Trump, one of whom isn’t running for president and the other of whom probably won’t run, either. The more important dinner -- at least as far as the “summer of speculation” goes -- took place across the river in New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie (R) met with Iowa Republican donors. In attendance: Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Stepien, Communications Director Maria Comella, NJ RNC Committeeman Bill Palatucci, and NY-NJ Port Authority Chairman David Samson. And get this: Christie’s wife was present, too. She was a question mark, and it's a signal we're told that shouldn't be overlooked.

*** The reason: He has the ability to put together an “A” campaign: Christie told the donors he was focused on remaining New Jersey’s governor, the AP writes. “What we heard from him very clearly was the same response he has given publicly: that he made a commitment to New Jersey and continuing to work to solve their problems,” one of the Iowa donors said. And it’s still unlikely he ever gets in. But consider these things: 1) he took the meeting, 2) he has agreed to go to Iowa later this summer to keynote an education summit there, and 3) if he were getting in late, he wouldn’t say he was getting in right now. Of all the folks sitting on the 2012 sidelines -- including Palin -- Christie is the one who could put together an “A” campaign. Fundraising? Check (with Wall Street’s help). Elite enthusiasm? Check. Tea Party enthusiasm? Check. And then there’s this for Christie: the realization that 2012 could be easier than 2016, with a potential tough run for re-election in 2013.

*** Listening time: At 10:00 am ET, President Obama meets at the White House with the entire House GOP conference to discuss raising the debt ceiling. The meeting comes after yesterday’s symbolic (and staged) vote rejecting debt-ceiling increase without attached spending cuts. Expect the meeting to be more of a listening/venting session than actual negotiations. As the AP puts it, “Wednesday's meeting seems more of a listening session than earnest negotiations between Obama and the staunch conservatives who have taken back the House.” Still, the White House will make its case that it’s: 1) necessary to raise the debt ceiling, and 2) it’s willing to do something to cut spending. By the way, the unexpected COULD happen at this meeting during the Q&A portion. Still, the White House is very aware that anything said during this off-the-record meeting likely won't remain off the record.

*** Weiner’s actions raise questions: At first glance, it was easy to dismiss the story that a lewd photo to a young woman had come from Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-NY) Twitter account. The explanation: Weiner’s account was hacked, and that seems like a common thing these days. But the congressman’s actions over the past 24 hours have raised more questions than answered them. For one thing, he hired an attorney. Second, and more importantly, he refused to answer reporters’ simple question on whether or not he sent the photo. Question: Was it from you or not? Weiner’s non-answer: “If I were giving a speech to 45,000 people and someone in the back threw a pie or yelled out an insult, I would not spend the next two hours of my speech responding to that pie or insult.” Third, he refused to answer why he was following the young woman on Twitter. Here’s this truism about Washington scandals: If someone is guilty, it’s never an isolated incident. Weiner has now put himself in a position of having to prove innocence -- which is never a good place to be for a politician, especially one who resides in the media capital of the world.

*** Huntsman’s pivot to the economic right: Turning back to the 2012 race, Jon Huntsman writes an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, in which he fully embraces Paul Ryan’s overhaul of Medicare. “I admire Congressman Paul Ryan's honest attempt to save Medicare. Those who disagree with his approach incur a moral responsibility to propose reforms that would ensure Medicare's ability to meet its responsibilities to retirees without imposing an unaffordable tax burden on future generations of Americans.” The piece also mentions Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and tax cuts. This is Huntsman’s pivot to the economic right.

*** It’s T-Shirt Time! The day before Mitt Romney’s presidential announcement in New Hampshire, the state Democratic Party has printed T-shirts that read on one side: “Mitt Romney. Pro-Health Care Reform. Pro-Individual Mandate. Pro-Recovery Act. Pro-Immigration Reform. Pro-Cap and Trade. Pro-Gay Rights.” The other side reads: “Mitt Romney. Anti-Health Care Reform. Anti-Individual Mandate. Anti-Recovery Act. Anti-Immigration Reform. Anti-Cap and Trade. Anti-Gay Rights.”

*** On the 2012 trail: Pawlenty remains in Iowa for another day, hitting Council Bluffs.

*** “Summer of Speculation” watch: Rudy Giuliani keynotes tonight’s “Voices of Sept. 11” gala, which is emceed by NBC’s Brian Williams. By the way, Giuliani heads to New Hampshire on Thursday -- the same day Romney announces. But keep in mind: Some of the key Giuliani 2008 people are with Christie.

*** The Dems’ redistricting advantage: After the Democrats’ aggressive redistricting map in Illinois, as well as after the U.S. Justice Department gave initial clearance to Florida’s passed ballot amendments that stop congressional gerrymandering, you can see how Democrats could pick up 10 of the 24 seats they need to take back control of the House. On the other hand, it’s possible that states under GOP control can pass redistricting maps that benefit the Republican Party. Bottom line: The House has the POTENTIAL to be more in play for 2012 than we all thought a few months ago. Charlie Cook adds today, “If Democrats can continue to make his Medicare proposal an effective issue, it will represent an important test for the GOP. If the advantage stays with Democrats, it is a sure sign the Ryan proposal was a huge mistake. And if that happens, then you can say Democrats have a realistic chance of taking a majority in the House.” 

*** Dem group trying to make more political hay out of the Ryan budget: Speaking of Medicare, the Democratic group Protect Your Care is hosting a 10:00 am ET conference call with reporters to unveil new polling data on the GOP efforts to overhaul Medicare.

Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 73 days
Countdown to NV-2 special election: 104 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 160 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 250 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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GOP 12's Heinze writes, "It’s rare that a presidential aspirant opts out of a run if he truly believes he can win. But the hesitance on the part of some dynamic GOP presidential prospects seems to reflect the fact that most Republicans think President Obama is unbeatable. But that leaves the GOP in a pickle: In complaining that Republicans have no one to beat Obama, the party establishment worsens its fortunes by scaring away candidates who can actually beat the president."

BACHMANN: "Presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann says she has the highest endorsement she can get: an endorsement from above," the New York Daily News writes. "The Minnesota congresswoman said she received a 'calling' to enter the 2012 presidential race. She spoke in an interview with Iowa Public Television on Friday."

Bachmann has hired prominent Republican pollster Ed Goeas, president of The Tarrance Group, according to National Journal. But Goeas told NBC yesterday that a final conversation hasn’t taken place yet. So it’s not a done deal…

CAIN: Herman Cain will deliver three speeches as part of Iowa conservative powerbroker Bob Vander Plaats’ Family Leader Presidential Lecture Series, Politico reports. He will speak in Iowa City, Pella and Sioux City in a one-day swing through the state on June 6^th. 

CHRISTIE: "A group of influential Iowa Republican activists dined with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in Princeton last night in a bid to get him to run for president," the New York Post reports. "The unusual trip by Iowa leaders to the Garden State to draft Christie is a sign of growing displeasure with the current crop of Republican candidates stepping forward to take on President Obama in 2012, GOP officials said." Christie said, "I'm a kid from Jersey who has people asking him to run for president. I'm thrilled by it. I just don't want to do it," Christie told a radio interviewer.

The AP adds, “Over a dinner of chicken, rib eye and sweet corn, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie thanked a team of seven Iowa campaign donors and GOP activists for coming to his home Tuesday night, but said his job is in the governor’s office — not the White House.”

DEMINT: "Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says he is considering running for president after frustrated conservative activists have pleaded with him to run," The Hill reports. He said, “It’s humbling and out of respect, my wife and I have talked about it. Out of respect for the people who have asked us to think about this, that’s what we’re going to do. I don’t want to imply that I’m changing in mind, but I want to consider what all these folks are doing.”

HUNTSMAN: Breaking away: President Obama’s former ambassador to China Jon Huntsman stressed, in an interview with Real Clear Politics, that he doesn’t have a “personal relationship” with the president. He also criticized the president’s handling of the economy, saying, “We have no pro-growth policies.”

On the other hand… Time notes that in 2007, Huntsman was quoted as saying whether he’s comfortable with requiring every Utahan to purchase health insurance. “I’m comfortable with a requirement,” Huntsman says. “You can call it whatever you want, but at some point we’re going to have to get serious about how we deal with this issue, and that means there will have to be a multitude of different policies that are available in the marketplace.”

PALIN: Sarah Palin and Donald Trump ate pizza in Times Square, of all places, yesterday at a Famiglia's Pizza, a chain equivalent to a Sbarro's. Nothing screams attention more than Times Square.

"The meeting, part political parley and part reality TV show, capped the third day of Palin's bus trip through historic sites along the East Coast," the AP writes.

PAWLENTY: Pawlenty had a “day of hiccups” yesterday in Iowa, as his campaign canceled two of its events with little or no notice, and at a coffee shop stop with a handful of Iowans, some participants voiced views about illegal immigration and gay marriage with which Pawlenty had to politely disagree, according to the Des Moines Register.

ROMNEY: "For anyone who listened to Mitt Romney during his first campaign for president, it’s no surprise that Olympic speedskater Dan Jansen attended the biggest fund-raiser to date for Romney’s second campaign," the Boston Globe's Johnson writes. "Jansen became an international sports celebrity with his example of picking himself up after defeat and pushing on to victory. It’s an example the former Massachusetts governor hopes to emulate starting tomorrow, when he publicly kicks off his 2012 White House bid."

Per the AP, “Scores of House Republicans are heading to the White House for a meeting with President Barack Obama to demand trillions of dollars in spending cuts as the price for providing any increase in the government's power to borrow… Wednesday's meeting seems more of a listening session than earnest negotiations between Obama and the staunch conservatives who have taken back the House.”

Politico: “Defense Secretary Robert Gates, during a valedictory interview in the nose-cone cabin of his airborne command center, admitted quietly Tuesday that his experience running two wars and serving eight presidents had become a burden. ‘I think one of the reasons it’s probably time for me to leave is that sometimes too much experience can get in the way, and you can get too cautious,’ Gates told POLITICO as he flew over his native Kansas on the first leg of an overseas farewell tour. ‘It may … be making me more cautious that I ought to be.’”

About lowering that corporate tax rate… "A number of U.S. corporations had an effective tax rate of less than zero in recent years, a new study has found," The Hill says.

"House Republicans made a show of voting down a standalone debt limit increase Tuesday, but the failure of the measure will have no effect on ongoing bipartisan negotiations led by Vice President Joseph Biden," Roll Call writes.

The Hill: "The House overwhelmingly voted down an unconditional increase to the $14.3 trillion debt limit Tuesday, as the Republican majority delivered a symbolic rebuke to President Obama ahead of a meeting at the White House."

The New York Times: “Republicans brought up the measure, which was defeated 318 to 97, to show the lack of support in the House for raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling without concrete steps to rein in chronic budget deficits. The preordained outcome followed several acts of odd political theater on the House floor: Republicans urged the defeat of their own measure, while Democrats — who not long ago were seeking just such a vote to raise the debt ceiling without attaching spending cuts — assailed Republicans for bringing it up, saying its certain defeat might unnerve the financial markets.”

"Wall Street recognizes Tuesday night's vote on the debt ceiling as nothing but a kabuki dance that likely won't send the stock market into a tizzy, analysts said," the New York Daily News writes.

But The Hill notes, "Wall Street so far has shrugged off Washington’s fight over raising the debt ceiling, but experts warn patience will wane and nerves will fray after the Fourth of July holiday."

Rep. Anthony "Weiner called one reporter a 'jackass' for repeatedly interrupting to ask if the Queens Democrat had really posted the photo," the New York Daily News writes of Weiner being pestered yesterday about someone hacking his Twitter page and posting a lewd photo.

Politico’s Ben Smith: “After a long weekend’s fuss over a photograph of a man’s crotch, sent over his Twitter account, Weiner appears to have decided not to pursue an investigation that would conclusively settle how the image made its way online. He also refused repeatedly to answer direct questions about whether he’d taken or sent the photograph. Technical data could settle this question. The photograph was uploaded to the site yfrog.com, which is integrated with Twitter, and either Twitter, yfrog, or both almost definitely have logs indicating the unique digital address of the computer or device that sent the image.”

The New York Post throws this grenade as its top story: "It takes a certain type of woman to set his heart a-Twitter. Rep. Anthony Weiner follows only a select 198 of his nearly 49,000 Twitter fans -- and a surprising number of them are total babes."

Roll Call looks at some immigrants to the U.S., who have migrated to the Tea Party: "In Northern Virginia, many of the immigrants who have gravitated to the tea party have roots in socialist countries and are intensely afraid that the U.S. is headed down the same path. They embrace the tea party’s small government, socially conservative messages and say the only immigration they are for is the legal kind. They don’t bat an eye when it comes to the movement’s tough anti-illegal-immigrant rhetoric."

ILLINOIS: "Illinois Democratic lawmakers passed an ambitious and aggressive new Congressional map Tuesday that seeks to put up to five current GOP seats into Democratic hands next year," Roll Call writes. "But the new map might not easily stand the test of time. If Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signs the approved map into law as expected, some current and future Democratic Members will have to deal with both demographic and partisan shifts that will likely make some of their districts more competitive in future cycles."