Daily Briefing: Scott McClellan Upgrades
• Democrats seen to have a better chance to gain governorships than Congress. Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.): "The math is not in our favor this cycle." Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.): "If we're going to win in '08, strengthening the Democratic party shouldn't be through Washington, but through the states." [WSJ]
• GAO finds government credit cards were misused and overcharged in the wake of Katrina. [WP]
• White House press briefings will be held across the street for at least seven months while the briefing room is renovated. [WP]
• Both parties are increasingly running minority candidates. [USAT]
• Adam Kidan takes responsibility for dealings with Jack Abramoff; says he was not duped: "I wish I had never met Jack." [LAT]
• Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid made up nearly half of the total 2004 budget. [USAT]
• South Dakota tests the boundaries of abortion restrictions. [WP]
• Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) likes ruffling GOP feathers over immigration: "Party I couldn't care less about. If it gets hurt by this, it deserves to be hurt." [LAT]
• Military contractors are grinding for a "flattening of the defense budget." [NYT]
• Administration supports Anna Nicole Smith in Supreme Court case. [WT]