Now that Hillary’s on her last leg, again, what new pro-Hillary 527s will form to release silly ads attacking Barack Obama? One of these — the newly minted “American Leadership Project” — incorporated with the IRS on February 15. According to ABC News, white men in Ohio will be a focus, “and if there are any excess funds Latinos in Texas and middle class families in Pennsylvania will also be targeted.” Anyone else smell a race-baiting ad that will ultimately damage the party but will still be funny forever? After the jump, check out ALP’s first ad. It’s a timid start, but they’ll get there. MORE »

* Administration projects the cost of rebuilding New Orleans levees will be $10 billion, triple the previous estimate. Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D): “This means that, just two months before hurricane season, the Corps of Engineers informs us they cannot ensure even the minimum safety of southeastern Louisiana. This is totally unacceptable.” [WP]
* Bush, in Cancun with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, aims to rebuild trust and find “move forward” on immigration. Bush: “We don’t want people sneaking into our country who are going to do jobs Americans don’t want. We want them coming in an orderly way.” [WP, NYT, USAT, AP]
* Pentagon will test the “largest single explosive we could imagine” –a bunker-busting 700-ton explosive– at the Nevada Test Site. [WP]
* Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner says restructuring of intelligence agencies is not an improvement. [WP]
* Immigration issue divides Democrats and organized labor. [WP]
* Senate begins arduous task of debating immigration legislation. [W$J, NYT]

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* Bush will reaffirm strategy of preemption: “When the consequences of an attack with WMD are potentially so devastating, we cannot afford to stand idly by as grave dangers materialize.” [WP, NYT]
* Concern about Iraq pushes Bush’s approval rating to 37% in NBC/WSJ poll; only 32% have positive view of Democrats. [WSJ]
* Ethics package proposed by House Republicans includes limits on 527 groups. [WP, NYT]
* Dubai Ports World to sell American port operations to “an unrelated U.S. buyer.” [WP, NYT]
* Talk of censure and impeachment used to rally Republican voters. [NYT]
* Michael Brown ignored plans and circumvented Michael Chertoff during Katrina response, House report concludes. [WP]
* Bush nominates family friend to head FDA as Plan B threatens to stall vote. [NYT]
* Rep. Katherine Harris will drop $10m on her senate bid. [NYT]
* Rep. James Moran Jr. (D-Va.) says Gore should run in 2008. [WP]

* Senate votes 72 to 25 to hold roll call on Samuel Alito’s confirmation today; Sen. Kerry defends his filibuster attempt. [WP, NYT, LAT, WT, USAT]
* Bush will promote alternative fuels and nuclear power in tonight’s State of the Union. Senior official: “What’s interesting about this discussion is that he isn’t talking about oil exploration at home. Nobody wants to get bogged down in those arguments again.” [NYT, USAT]
* 76% of Americans deem health care “an absolute priority” for ‘06 and only 28% support maintaining the current force in Iraq, according to new WSJ-NBC poll. Bush’s approval rating is steady at 39% as leadership and honesty numbers have fallen over the past year; 63% say Democrats lack a “clear agenda.” [WSJ, MSNBC]
* Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) questions Attorney General Alberto Gonzales‘ statements on warrentless eavesdropping. During his confirmation, Gonzales said the practice was “not the policy of the agenda of this president” and offered to tell Congress if that changed. [WP]
* Administration official explains White House strategy on Alito: “Any time they are yelling, preaching, lecturing, and you are cool and calm and breathing deep, you are winning. What that means on television sets where the American people are watching this is, you look good and they look bad. It was the central operating premise.” [NYT]

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