Daily Briefing: No One Wants to Die
•Republicans "increasingly critical" of administration's strategy for Social Security while voters' edginess persists; GAO says solution will "exacerbate the solvency problem" and "accelerate the negative cash flows." [ WSJ , NYT , USAT ]
•Competing Republican budget plans propose major domestic spending cuts to preserve majority of tax relief.Chambliss: "Nobody was totally happy with the president's budget, so it's a matter of trying to get as comfortable as we can with it."Nussle: "Everyone wants to get to heaven, but no one wants to die." [ WP , WSJ , NYT ]
•Vote on bankruptcy bill postponed until today. [ WP , NYT ]
•Republicans step-up effort to drill ANWR.Bush: "Developing a small section of ANWR would not only create thousands of new jobs, but it would eventually reduce our dependence on foreign oil by up to a million barrels of oil a day. And that's important." [ WP , NYT , LAT ]
• HillaryjoinsSantorum, Liebermanto introduce bill on sex and violence in children's entertainment products. [ NYT ]
•Administration throws support behind industry drive to repeal 76 federal rules. [ WSJ ]
•GOP establishing counsel of African American leaders, experts to develop strategy for winning black vote.Mehlman: "This is a very serious priority for this party today." [ LAT ]
•Republicans try to getHarold Fordto swing for Social Security overhaul. [ USAT ]
•New FCC chairman to be announced soon; 2 front-runners are administration loyalists. [ NYT ]
•Some evangelicals urge action on global warming. [ NYT ]
•Clear Skies bill deadlocked in committee. [ WP , WSJ , NYT , LAT ]
•White House pool reports leaked to Wonkette;Ana Marie Coxgets illustratedWSJhead-shot.Cox: "I like when you can sense the clear antagonism, the passive-aggressive relationship between the press and the administration." [ WSJ ]