* Hank Paulson carries the budget flag up to the hill, and by the end of the day is looking for an ATM to fully fund every program. [WP]

* President Bush has a sense of Morissettian irony over the Senate's support of Gen. David Petraeus while opposing the surge. [WP]

* Luckily, Robert Gates has a back-up to the back-up plan. [LAT]

* Thanks to Walnuts, Ill Hill, and Barry Hussein the '08 election will likely cost over a billion dollars. [WP]

* MPAA uses actor from West Philadelphia to illustrate their blue-collar base. Patrick Leahy really liked The Queen. [NYT]

* Military wants civilian agencies to "step up" and "get 'r done" in Iraq. [NYT]

* Which six states want to expand death penalty powers? Exactly the ones you think. [USAT]