* Tony Snow will “likely” replace Scott McClellan. [CNN, NYT]
* Bush and Republican lawmakers face blame for high gas prices yet have “few if any” available short-term solutions; president will call today for the strict enforcement of price gouging laws. [WP, W$J]
* Attorney for fired CIA officer denies his client leaked classified information to the Washington Post. [WP]
* Bush presses for bipartisan agreement on immigration, though he is not backing a specific proposal. Bush: “I know this is an emotional debate, and I can understand it’s emotional, but one thing we cannot lose sight of is that we’re talking about human beings, decent human beings.” [WP, NYT, W$J, USAT]
* Many Republican candidates are plotting how to distance themselves from Bush and the war; approval of the president dips to 32% in CNN poll. [NYT, CNN]
* Excessive supplemental provisions to emergency spending bill receive renewed criticisms. [NYT]

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Considering that yesterday we posted an old resume of his and analyzed the Google results for his name, you might think that we’re a bit obsessed with Joel D. Kaplan, who’s replacing Karl Rove as deputy White House chief of staff for policy.

But we’re not the only ones these days scrutinizing Joel Kaplan — who, given the high-profile shoes he’s filling, can expect to be placed under the microscope. Last night Jon Stewart had a riff about Kaplan on the Daily Show, discussing Kaplan’s participation in the “Brooks Brothers riot” that contributed to halting the Miami recount in 2000. In today’s Post, Al Kamen chimes in, noting that Sen. Frank Lautenberg is not a Kaplan fan (but that’s not a problem for Kaplan’s promotion, since his new gig doesn’t require Senate confirmation).

The most interesting info about Kaplan is that he used to be a Democrat, in his college days. Back in 1990, he was elected as an alternate delegate to the Massachusetts State Democratic Convention. Who’d have thunk that a Brooks Brothers rioter and successor to Karl Rove was a Democrat in his youth? A college classmate of Kaplan has this to say:

I vaguely remember that he was an active Democrat, albeit a somewhat conservative one. He was a total politico: he represented Eliot House in the Undergraduate Council, and IIRC, he agitated for bringing ROTC back onto campus. I’ll bet my last dollar he voted against Bush 41 in ‘88.

And there’s much more to say about the White House’s new policy guru. After the jump, an extremely detailed, “Single White Male”-style email from a law school classmate of Kaplan’s, who has some highly specific recollections.

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Please note, as reflected in the purple-versus-blue colors for the hyperlinks, that we have not visited the sites for “LoveHoney UK Sex Toys” and “Dr Joel Kaplan (The Original) Penis Pump.” MORE »

Sometimes it pays to be a pack rat. A reader just sent this our way:

This is a very random thing to possess, but I happen to have a copy of the resume of Joel Kaplan, Karl Rove’s replacement as deputy chief of staff for policy. I think it’s from fall 1995 or spring 1996. When he was a law student at Harvard, Joel applied to be a resident tutor in my dorm. He didn’t get the job — probably the first and last time this overachiever didn’t get something that he applied for.

Anyway, here it is (attached). It’s not terribly interesting in and of itself; it’s a pretty typical resume for a high-powered law student, which is what Joel was back then. But I’m totally holding on to it. If Joel becomes president or a Supreme Court justice someday, I can sell it on eBay to feed myself in my old age, after Social Security goes belly up.

Check out the goods, after the jump.

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