Daily Briefing: The Budget Gets Unspun
• Bush's "time bomb" budget dumps expenses on successor. Professor: "You've got a shadow budget coming in behind that's a whole lot more expensive." [ WP ]
•Government picked by Iraqis is "last thing the administration expected from its costly Iraq policy -- $300 billion and counting," say analysts. [ WP ]
• FristurgesDeanand Dems to be open to Republican policy.Dean: "I'll pretty much be living in red states in the South and West for quite a while. The way to get people not to be skeptical about you is to show up and say what you think." [ USAT ]
•Budget slams red states; Republican senators respond angrily.Cochran(R-Miss.): "I don't think anyone in the administration really thought Congress would go along with this." [ WP ]
• Laurawants to get the party started; shuffles social staff members in preparation for more entertaining. Fired chef: "We've been trying to find a way to satisfy the first lady's stylistic requirements, and it has been difficult." [ NYT ]
•Democrats counterBush's bully pulpit on Social Security with hundreds of town hall meetings. [ WP ]
•Democrats try to imitate unity, message control of Republicans. [ LAT ]
• Fristsays he has the votes to change filibuster rules, but doesn't want to. [ WT ]
•U.S. increases pressure on North Korea. [ NYT ]
• Spellingsrelinquishes some control of NCLB to states, cities. [ NYT ]
• Liebermanto replaceRumsfeld? [ WP ]