Wonkette

• Rep. Rahm Emanuel, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, hurls expletives at Dean over election strategy; Emanuel fears Dean is spending too much money too soon: “This is a historic opportunity, and we can’t squander it.” [WP, NYT]
• The NSA is “amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren’t suspected of any crime”; calls made by tens of millions of Americans are logged. [USAT]
• Bush is losing support among his base at a “rapid” clip; Gallup registers “a 13-percentage-point drop in Republican support for Bush in the past couple of weeks.” [WP]
• Republicans seek to gain upper-hand on energy issues with a “whole series” of measures. [WSJ]
• National issues are shaping local races this year; “Republicans are swimming against a national tide of voter unrest.” [WSJ]
• House passes $70B tax package mostly along party lines, 244 to 185. [WP, NYT, USAT]
• National Archives violated rules when White House lawyers looked at John Roberts‘ files; papers on affirmative action are missing. [WP]

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• Congressional Republicans propose five-year, $70B tax bill; the main component is the extension of tax rates on capital gains and dividends. [WP, WSJ, NYT]
• Bush’s “political strength continues to dissipate,” according to fresh CBS/NYT poll; his “overall job approval rating hit another new low, 31 percent, tying the low point of his father in July 1992, four months before the elder Mr. Bush lost his bid for a second term.” [NYT]
• Centrist Democrats say the party “should concentrate on charting alternative policies for fighting terrorism and succeeding in Iraq” instead of launching investigations of Bush’s mistakes. [WP]
• Rumsfeld, backing selection of Hayden to head the CIA, denies a power play is underway; nomination seen as setting “the stage for new wrangling with the Pentagon.” [WP, NYT]
• Bush stands by Monday deadline for Medicare program; plan is “emerging as a surprise plus for Republicans in a rocky election season.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
• GOP’s ‘06 roster features three African-American candidates running for statewide offices. Ken Mehlman: “We’ve gone from a model of outreach to a model of inclusion. Outreach is a top-down approach. Inclusion says, ‘Let’s find some really good people and encourage them to run for office.’” [WP]
• Ethics issue is “two-edged sword” for Democrats. [USAT]
• House Republicans are still struggling to agree on ‘07 budget. [WSJ]
• Pro-immigration groups aim to register 1M new voters by November. [WP]

• The LA Times cites a drop in ratings. O’Reilly responds, “Eh, not so much.” And that’s the denial-laden memo. [TVNewser]

• “Bitches ain’t shit,” Rove replies to GOP denouncers of General Hayden. [Whiskey Bar]
• Once you sleep with a Nutella-crusted European, you’ll understand the Democrats’ pain. [The Rude Pundit]
• “Well, one day Mommy decided to play with the vibrator Daddy bought her when he thought he still had a shot at a three-some, and — our little bundle of joy arrived!” The New Yorker still has an eye for great fiction writers. [Unfogged]
• Colonialism re-defined: make us stuff, give us stuff, but let’s pretend you’re doing neither. [The Fly Trap]

• White House, in effort to win over critics, makes the “highly unorthodox move” of nominating Gen. Michael Hayden to head the CIA while announcing his new deputy. [WP, NYT, USAT]
• John Negroponte says Hayden is “independent-minded.” [WP]
• Former aide to Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio) pleads guilty to “conspiring to corruptly influence Ney’s official actions by showering him with gifts and trips.” [WP, NYT]
• Sensing “historic opportunity,” Democratic intellectuals and analysts argue over the best strategy forward. [NYT]
• American Bar Association downgrades rating of Bush judicial nominee Brett Kavanaugh; Senate Judiciary Committee holds unusual second hearing today. [NYT, USAT]
• CIA official resigns amid accusations of unethical behavior. [WP]
• What will the Bushes do about Katherine Harris? [NYT]
• Media blitz thrusts Mary Cheney in the limelight to promote her new memoir. [WP]
• Senate votes down limits on malpractice awards. [NYT]

* DC owns the half-smoke! Extra chili and double extra liquid cheese, please. [NPR via Unrequited Narcissism] MORE »

We’re gonna be glued to the confirmation hearings. They’re gonna be great. We learned today that Hayden has a tenuous connection to MZM Inc., the contractors who bribed their way into Katherine Harris’ heart and the Cunningham suite of the Watergate. He’s up to his ass in the NSA scandal. He looks like George’s old boss Kruger from Seinfeld. MORE »

Having finally recovered from Prom, Chatology returned to her perch on the couch to sit through 3.5 hours of bone-grindingly obvious talking points. We’re used to butt-punishing workouts, but this is not our favorite among them. That said, a surprisingly sexy Sunday morning. ALSO: Can’t get enough of that wacky Bush impressionist? We can.

Top Topics:
• Michael Hayden, spook or just creep? Rep. Pete Hoekstra makes news by negation: Hayden “is the wrong man at the wrong place at the wrong time.” McCain is more loving.
• ‘06 sickness/Congressional “culture of corruption,” with Republicans showing Reaganesque — which is to say, delusional — optimism.
• Goss’s departure: Not did he jump or was he pushed but rather, “Pushed, shoved, or run over with a truck and stomped on the face?”

Quotes to live by:
• Saxby Chambliss on Hayden: He is “just a class individual” (as someone who questioned the patriotism of a paraplegic, he knows class!)
• George Stephanopolous makes right wing bias hunters’ heads explode: “That was not one of the top four pieces of legislation that Speaker Pelosi…ah, I don’t know why I have that stuck in my head today…”
• Chris Wallace masters the obvious: “I don’t have to tell you, you are the chairman of the intelligence committee.”
• George Will teases the Kennedy story: “One reason this story touched all of this city’s erogenous zones…”
• Bill Kristol looks on the bright side: “I’m looking forward to getting more sex into this scandal.”
• David Brooks auditions to be Maureen Dowd: “This has more layers than a Tom Clancy novel.”

Your full-on weekend chat soup after the jump.

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Yes, you! [AP Photo] MORE »

• Top Republicans and Democrats express reservations about the expected nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden to replace Porter Goss at the CIA; “Bush is politically at his weakest and members of his party are distancing themselves from the White House in the hopes of retaining their grip on Congress in the midterm elections.” Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.): “We should not have a military person leading a civilian agency at this time.” [WP, NYT, WSJ, NYT, USAT, USAT]
• Patrick Fitzgerald “is weighing Rove’s foggy-memory defense against evidence he has acquired or accumulated over nearly 2 1/2 years that shows Rove was very involved in White House efforts to beat back allegations that Bush twisted U.S. intelligence to justify the Iraq war”; decision on an indictment could come this month. [WP]
• Fear of losing seats in November is Rove’s “best weapon” for “motivating his party’s conservative base to turn out”; officials are “trying to turn vulnerability to advantage” and are “telling fellow Republicans that criticizing the president risks bringing the party down with him.” [NYT]
• Bush may close Gitmo prison: “I would like to close the camp and put the prisoners on trial. [The Supreme Court] must still rule on whether they should go before a civil or military court. They will get their day in court. One can’t say that of the people that they killed.” [NYT]
• Sen. Frist seeks to start partisan confrontation over judicial nominations. Sen. Thune: “A good fight on judges does nothing but energize our base. Right now our folks are feeling a little flat. They need a reason to get engaged, and fights over judges will do that.” [NYT]

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We’ll spend the weekend wishing we had a $2.5 million book deal — congrats, Valerie! — and disappointment that the new CIA director is probably going to be Gen. Michael V. Hayden (rather than the uber-hot Fran Townsend). But here are a few things that you can do on this glorious spring weekend: MORE »