Daily Briefing: Moving Forward

• Senior Democrats complain they have failed to seize momentum ahead of November elections. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.): “We seem to be losing our voice when it comes to the basic things people worry about.” Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.): “I think we have been very good at saying no, but not good enough at saying yes.” [NYT]
• Bush’s tribute of Coretta Scott King “marks the latest step in the administration’s effort to repair its frayed relations with many black civil rights and political leaders”; televised service used as a platform to criticize administration’s policies. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Lawmakers and legal experts question why the administration doesn’t eavesdrop domestically. [WP]
• Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), chairwoman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, calls for Congressional inquiry of domestic eavesdropping. [NYT]
• Most of Bush’s State of the Union and budget proposals have been rejected in the past by the Senate. [WP]
• Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) is renting an apartment from a lobbyist; conflicts of interests seen. [WP]
• Jack Abramoff scandal is unrelenting for the White House. [W$J]
• Jockeying for 2008 is well under way. Chuck Todd: “Presidential money is almost like the housing bubble. It’s growing at such an astronomical rate, you think it can’t get any bigger.” [USAT, USAT]

• Abortion debate focuses on “humanizing the unborn” in state laws. [USAT]
• Lawmakers seek to curtail earmarks. [NYT]
• Senate votes to consider fund for victims of asbestos. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Bush appointee at NASA resigned after resume is discovered to be forged. [NYT]
• In spat between Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Obama, “no one backed down, but they agreed to move forward,” says McCain flack. [WP, LAT]
• Reagan’s Navy secretary announces bid for Democratic nomination to run against Sen. George Allen (R-Va.). [WP]
• 86 evangelical Christian leaders announce support of initiative to tackle global warming. [NYT]

READ MORE: 2006, 2008, Barack Obama, Democrats, abortion, asbestos, budget, chris dodd, chuck todd, coretta scott king, earmarks, eavesdropping, evangelicals, george allen, george w. bush, global warming, healther wilson, jack abramoff, john boehner, john mccain, nasa, nsa, senate, sotu