Daily Briefing: Moving Forward
* Senior Democrats complain they have failed to seize momentum ahead of November elections. Sen.Chris Dodd(D-Conn.): "We seem to be losing our voice when it comes to the basic things people worry about." Sen.Barack Obama(D-Ill.): "I think we have been very good at saying no, but not good enough at saying yes." [ NYT ]
*Bush's tribute ofCoretta Scott King"marks the latest step in the administration's effort to repair its frayed relations with many black civil rights and political leaders"; televised service used as a platform to criticize administration's policies. [ WP , NYT , LAT ]
* Lawmakers and legal experts question why the administration doesn't eavesdrop domestically. [ WP ]
* Rep.Heather Wilson(R-N.M.), chairwoman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, calls for Congressional inquiry of domestic eavesdropping. [ NYT ]
* Most ofBush's State of the Union and budget proposals have been rejected in the past by the Senate. [ WP ]
* Rep.John Boehner(R-Ohio) is renting an apartment from a lobbyist; conflicts of interests seen. [ WP ]
*Jack Abramoffscandal is unrelenting for the White House. [ W$J ]
* Jockeying for 2008 is well under way.Chuck Todd: "Presidential money is almost like the housing bubble. It's growing at such an astronomical rate, you think it can't get any bigger." [ USAT , USAT ]
* Abortion debate focuses on "humanizing the unborn" in state laws. [ USAT ]
* Lawmakers seek to curtail earmarks. [ NYT ]
* Senate votes to consider fund for victims of asbestos. [ WP , NYT , LAT ]
*Bushappointee at NASA resigned after resume is discovered to be forged. [ NYT ]
* In spat between Sens.John McCain(R-Ariz.) andObama, "no one backed down, but they agreed to move forward," saysMcCainflack. [ WP , LAT ]
*Reagan's Navy secretary announces bid for Democratic nomination to run against Sen.George Allen(R-Va.). [ WP ]
* 86 evangelical Christian leaders announce support of initiative to tackle global warming. [ NYT ]