Daily Briefing: 'Pulling Out All The Stops'
• Michael Chertoffmoves to distribute DHS funds based on threats, not politics. [ NYT ]
•Advocacy groups "are pulling out all the stops" asSamuel Alito's hearings approach. [ NYT ]
•Administration "is trying to recalibrate the military and foreign service to better handle postwar developments in future conflicts." Rand expert: "There is wide recognition of the need to professionalize our response to postwar challenges." [ WSJ ]
•U.S. is reducing its presence in Afghanistan. [ WP ]
•White House will make aggressive push for rebound in '06.Mark McKinnon: "This president has a real pattern of defying conventional wisdom." [ USAT ]
•Iraq and economic issues will likely dominate the administration's agenda in '06. [ WT ]
•Democrats plan to attack Republicans for violating the public's privacy. [ USAT ]
•"Democratic gains appear to be inevitable" in '06 election,Stuart Rothenbergreports. [ WT ]
•Lawmakers' divisions and inconsistencies over immigration are due in part to the public's ambivalence. GOP pollster: "You wonder why politicians are not always consistent. It's because public opinion's not always consistent." [ WP ]