* Official “How’s Tim Johnson doing?” spokesman Harry Reid says, “Just fine.” [WP]
* Colin Powell faces the nation, calls for new strategy in Iraq that incorporates full withdrawal by 2007. Also notes, “there really are no additional troops” to send to Iraq, so there better be another plan. [WP, NYT]
* Somalia’s Islamist government just dying to get on the wait-list behind Iran and Syria. [WP]
* Newt Gingrich wants to join the has-beens, also-rans, and have-rans in 2008. [WP, NYT]
* Evan Bayh, on the other hand, is happy to watch Obama and Clinton slug it out from the comfort of his living room. [WSJ]
* Administration plans to stiff pharmacies on Medicaid, just to save a lousy $5 billion. [NYT]
* Military espionage program started by Donald Rumsfeld to get “close scrutiny” by Robert Gates. [NYT]
* “I’m gonna get that wascally wabbit!” exclaims Margaret Spellings as PBS’s lesbian-friendly Buster Baxter returns to the air. [NYT]

John Edwards, the ambulance chaser-turned-Senator-turned-next President of Make Believe America, hired former Michigan Rep. David Bonior to run the 2008 campaign he hasn’t announced yet. Bonior ran for Governor back in ‘02 and lost, embarrassingly. In the words of our Detroit Operative, MORE »

* The 126 House Democrats that voted against the Iraq war in 2002 enjoy feeling prescient, will soon enjoy chairing powerful committees. [WP]
* Robert Gates’s confirmation hearings begin tomorrow, learn all you never needed to know about him today. [WP, LAT]
* The “other” Iraq Study Group, working for Gen. Peter Pace, recommends more troops in Iraq. So, there’s that. [WSJ]
* National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley tells Russert that “significant changes” are afoot for Iraq, still hasn’t a clue what they’re likely to be. [WP, NYT]
* Barack Obama’s massive popularity and promise is pissing off other potential Presidential candidates… [NYT]
* …like second-generation White House grasper Evan Bayh, whose exploratory committee has begun exploring. [WP]
* President Bush can’t stop thinking about those Alaskan oil fields. [NYT]
* CIA unable to sway Venezuelan Presidential elections as Hugo Chavez wins easily. [LAT]
* Steven Spielberg, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dolly Parton, and Smokey Robinson among those “knighted” at the Kennedy Center Honors last night. [NYT]

• Heard on the Hill: The new issue of GQ features an obviously doctored photo of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)… House Speaker Dennis Hastert is encouraging a boycott of Miller Brewing Company after they sponsored pro-immigration rallies in his district… Senator Chuck Schumer grew a beard and went to Paris on vacation. [Roll Call]
• Yeas and Nays: The House’s new anti-Horse slaughter bill is being considered partly due to the influence of horse-lover Bo Derek… Chief Justice John Roberts’ six-year-old son: “Let me explain the government to you. There’s God, then there’s the president and then there’s my father.” [Examiner]
• D.C. Confidential: Karl Rove’s stepdad: gay. [Radar]
• Under the Dome: Pink magazine says nine women have a “good shot” at the presidency. [The Hill]
• Page Six: The following people are in New York seeking money for a presidential run: John Edwards, Mark Warner, Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, and John Kerry. [NYP]

BREAKING: No one in Iowa knows who Evan Bayh is.

The highlight of the video (this was posted by his PAC, by the way): MORE »

* The UN makes your desk job even more soul-crushing. [Boing Boing]
* Catholic school girls are still unsafely screwed. [Captain's Quarters]
* Photojournalism is the new hate-spewing blog entry. [Michelle Malkin]
* Abolish the electoral college — because bitching about it for 200 years has got to end somewhere. [Wizbang]
* Some people are profiting on the war in Iraq. Can we call that the bright side? [Political Cortex]

Hotline’s running down the ‘08 money list, and it’s looking increasingly like we’ll be emigrating in ‘07. Here’s what everyone has sitting in their big fat PACs: MORE »

We asked for your guesses as to the identity of this anonymous Democratic governor (as mentioned in this article from the Post):

Governors privately scoff at the slogan [?Together, America Can Do Better?]. They also say the message coming from congressional leaders has been too relentlessly negative. ?They want to coordinate. They want to collaborate. That’s all good,? said one Democratic governor who declined to be identified in order to talk candidly about a closed-door meeting. ?The question is: Coordinate or collaborate on what? People need to know not just what we’re against but what we’re for. That’s the kind of message the governors are interested in developing at the national level.?

So, which Democrat was playing the familiar game of carping about fellow Democrats? Your thoughts on this question, after the jump.

MORE »

In this edition of Chatology, Department of Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff pulls a half-Ginsburg, spinning through both Meet the Press and This Week. On various issues, Chertoff blames Michael Brown, Mary Matalin blames the media, Joe Lieberman blames Chertoff, Evan Bayh blames the Democrats, and David Gregory blames himself. Random wisdom from Ari Fleischer: “You can be right and still be bonkers.” Speaking of which: Cheney is “almost like the wizard dealing with the muggles” — Howard Fineman.

Full rundown and highlights after the jump.

[Ed. note: Don't miss Ana Marie Cox's appearance at the National Press Club, this Wednesday, February 22, at 6:30 PM. For more details, as well as information about how to obtain tickets to this free event, click here.]

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• Bush calls for oil conservation: “We can all pitch in. People just need to recognize that the storms have caused disruption.” [NYT, WT]
• Bush may endorse expansion of the military’s responsibilities in responses to natural disasters. [NYT, WT]
• Congressional Republicans turn attention to unsteady oil market; proposals will likely become Energy Bill II. Bush: “The storms have shown how fragile the balance is between supply and demand in America.” [WSJ]
• Republicans change rhetoric about fiscal policy, not the policy itself. [WP]
• Hundreds of anti-war protesters led by Cindy Sheehan are arrested in front of the White House; they lacked a permit. [WP]
• Bush hints next Supreme Court nominee will not be a white male. [NYT]

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• Bush commits federal resources to Gulf Coast: “The challenges that we face on the ground are unprecedented. But there’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to succeed.” Pollster: “To the degree that he is the consoler and healer of the nation, it helps.” [WP, WP, WSJ, USAT]
• Financial burden of recovery strikes at federal budget deficit; over $20b will be requested. [WSJ, WP, USAT]
• Katrina sends oil prices over $3 a gallon, possibly beyond $4; Europeans may lend their stockpiles. [WSJ, MarketWatch, Bloomberg, NYT]
• Commodity prices jump. Supply-chain expert: “The Mississippi River is the aorta of the American economy, and New Orleans is the access point to it.” [WP]
• In Baghdad, nearly 1,000 Iraqis die in stampede sparked by panic; greatest loss of life since the invasion. [NYT, USAT]
• Bush tested again by circumstances, but will he deliver? Professor: “It is usually the case with large-scale disasters that it centralizes power in the presidency and improves the president’s ratings in public opinion.” [NYT, LAT]

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