Daily Briefing: Hanging In There, Getting It Done
•Second term agenda could be consumed by increasing violence in Iraq; election there scheduled betweenBush's inaugural and State of the Union.Powell: "Certainly, we're going to be there through '05 in significant numbers."Rudman: "If this is in some way a precursor of an escalation into a more sophisticated attack by the guerilla insurgents, it would make members of Congress very uneasy and the American people very uneasy." [ NYT , WT ]
•Fresh evidence shows abuse of detainees was more intense and common than previously known. ACLU: "What the documents show so far was that the abuse was widespread and systemic, that it was the result of decisions taken by high-ranking officials, and that the abuse took place within a culture of secrecy and neglect."McClellan: "In terms of specifics, this information is becoming public, so we're becoming aware of more information as it becomes public, as you are." [ WP , NYT ]
•Public skeptical ofBush's plan for Social Security, poll finds. [ WP ]
•Pressure is onBushto get Democrats on board for Social Security plan. [ WSJ ]
•HHS says imported prescriptions won't save consumers money: "The public expectation that most imported drugs are less expensive than American drugs is not generally true." Rep.Gutknecht(R-Minn.): "I don't know whether to describe this as an insult or an embarrassment." [ WP , WSJ , LAT , NYT , USAT , USAT ]
• MfumemeetsBush, Rove.Mfume: "He said they would continue to try to find ways to communicate their message in hopes that it would resonate with more people who are black and Latino." [ WP , LAT ]
•Americans express resolve in face of horrific violence in Iraq: "We've got to hang in there and get it done." [ NYT ]
•Government to limit global food aid to only emergency crises like Darfur; $100m in savings affects 5-7m people. [ NYT ]
•States in the West and the South are ranked as fastest-growing. [ NYT , USAT ]
• Conyersrequests raw exit poll data from news consortium: "Without the raw data, the committee will be severely handicapped in its efforts to show the need for serious election reform in the United States." [ NYT ]
• Bushhas strong support among Hispanic men. [ WT ]
•DHS awards larger share of funds to big cities. [ NYT ]
•Social Security privatization modeled on little-known Thrift Savings Plan. [ WSJ , USAT ]
• Bushpardons four. [ WP ]
•Fannie Mae boss fired. [ NYT ]