Daily Briefing: Penetrate the Public
• Abramoffpaid directly for trips by Democratic and Republican lawmakers; payments forClyburn, Thompsonseen as against House rules. [ WP , NYT , WT ]
•Only 41% say war with Iraq was worth it, in new Gallup poll; down from a high of 76%. [ USAT ]
• Boltonwidely portrayed as "hard-charging" and unaccommodating. [ WP ]
•White House impliesBushis flexible on Social Security plan;Lottsays he's "not overjoyed" by current proposal.Thomas, on the other hand, is in favor of "progressive indexing." [ NYT , USAT , WSJ ]
•House, Senate finalize $82b for Iraq, Afghanistan. [ NYT , LAT , WT ]
•Proposal byDavis(R-Virginia) gives D.C. a seat in the House. [ NYT ]
• Lampson, former four-term Representative, plans to run againstDeLay. [ WP ]
• DeLayscandal rings similar to House banking scandal of the early 90s. Consultant: "I don't know if this will penetrate with the public in the same way the ability of members of Congress to routinely overdraft their checks did." [ NYT ]
• Clinton, Huckabeelaunch program to curb childhood obesity. [ NYT ]