Daily Briefing: A Sense of Abandonment
•Fourteen senators avert showdown with compromise orchestrated byMcCain, Warner, Byrd;Owen, Brown, Pryorwill be voted on.Lieberman: "In a Senate that's become increasingly partisanized and polarized, the bipartisan center held."McClellan: "We will continue working to push for an up-or-down vote on all our nominees." [ WP , NYT , NYT , WSJ , LAT , WT , LAT , USAT ]
•Compromise is a "split-the-baby outcome" forBush. Veteran Republican: "The only reason he's still up there [with approval ratings] in the 40's is that the Democrats are really brain dead and have nothing positive to put on the table. What you see is that he's increasingly turning overseas to demonstrate leadership because he's having so much trouble in the molasses of the Beltway." [ NYT , WP , LAT ]
•Conservative groups miffed by compromise.Dobsonexpresses "disappointment, outrage and sense of abandonment." [ LAT ]
•Supreme Court accepts case about parental notification. [ NYT , WP , WT , USAT ]
•Gallup hasBush's approval at 46%. [ USAT ]
• Laura: "I think the protests were very expected. If you didn't expect them, you didn't know what it would be like when you got here. I was very, very welcomed by most people." [ WP ]
• Bushis unwilling to giveKarzaigreater authority over U.S. military actions in Afghanistan. [ WP , NYT , USAT ]
• Grassleyis working with Democrats to repeal alternative minimum tax. [ NYT ]
•Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will tackle the Patriot Act. [ WP ]
• McCain, Davis, Waxmanwill introduce bill to restrict use of steroids in sports. [ WSJ ]
• Pirro, district attorney of Westchester County, will not seek re-election; may challengeHillary, seek governorship, or run for state attorney general. Advisor: "If she ran and lost againstHillary, she'd at least come away with her own show on Fox." [ NYT ]