———BREAKING — "China Tells U.S.: No Deal," by POLITICO's Glenn Thrush: "COPENHAGEN — China's climate negotiators have told Western counterparts they can't agree to an 'operational agreement' on climate change that President Obama had hoped to bring home from Copenhagen and will push for a short, noncommittal collective statement at the end of the talks. … Lead U.S. negotiator Todd Stern told POLITICO late Wednesday that his staff had not engaged in one-on-one 'bilats' with China for a whole day — and hadn't even addressed a major issue, a proposed 'border tax' on countries that flouted international accords."
— President Obama leaves for Copenhagen at 6:50 p.m. ET. Secretary Clinton arrived today — AFP: "The United States would contribute towards a fund worth 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to help poor countries cope with climate change, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. … She said the contribution would be 'in the context of a strong accord in which all major economies stand behind meaningful [greenhouse-gas] mitigation actions and provide full transparency as to their implementation.'"
EXCLUSIVE — SPEAKER PELOSI, heading to Copenhagen today, e-mailed this PowerPoint to members of the House Democratic Caucus so they can use it back home, after she won rave reviews for her presentation from it yesterday (some polling removed from this version).
MICHAEL GRUNWALD's magisterial cover story on Time's 2009 Person of the Year: Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, "the most powerful nerd on the planet. … He didn't just reshape U.S. monetary policy; he led an effort to save the world economy."
DNC, around 9 p.m., passes 1 million Organizing for America calls to senators since August to "Ring In Health Reform."
SENATE REPUBLICANS are holding their second radio row of the week in the Capitol this morning "to conduct interviews on national and regional shows throughout the country to discuss the perils of the Democrats' health care bill."
Good Thursday morning. N.Y. Post wood: "TOP DOG! Tiger named athlete of the decade (and he golfed, too)."
SIREN — "Vote by Christmas in Peril," by POLITICO's Carrie Budoff Brown: "Harry Reid's plan to pass the Senate health care reform bill by Christmas looked increasingly in doubt Wednesday, as Republicans launched an offensive to stall the legislation and Democrats had yet to strike a 60-vote compromise. Senators privately considered one scenario Wednesday that would have them casting a final vote at 7 p.m. Christmas Eve. Surprising Democrats, Republicans brought the debate to a standstill and forced the Senate clerk to read a 767-page amendment on creating a government-financed health care system. Democrats pulled the measure as the reading entered its third hour, but the move was the start of the GOP's attempts to use every procedural tool necessary to delay the bill. Away from the floor, Reid continued wrangling with the Congressional Budget Office over a cost estimate, which Democrats had initially hoped to receive by Monday. Without the analysis, Reid has been unable to lock down votes for the bill. And Democrats on both ends of the political spectrum remained uncommitted, saying they had problems that needed to be addressed."
POLITICO print edition — P. 1 image
THE MOOD MUSIC — "Democrats' Blues Grow Deeper in New [WSJ/NBC] Poll," by WSJ's Peter Wallsten: "[F]or the first time, less than half of Americans approved of the job President Barack Obama was doing, marking a steeper first-year fall for this president than his recent predecessors. … Now, for the first time, more people said they would prefer Congress did nothing on health care than who wanted to see the overhaul enacted. 'For Democrats, the red flags are flying at full mast,' said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff." Full results
RUTH MARCUS ASKS: "Has Howard Dean Lost His Mind?" And in a withering pair of blog posts, the White House and John Podesta go after the governor for his late hits on health reform. In private, the West Wing is livid at Dean. On the record, officials are merely baffled and frustrated. Typical of the headlines he has produced over the past two days is ABC's "Howard Dean: Health Care Bill 'Bigger Bailout for the Insurance Industry Than AIG': Top Democrat Urges Lawmakers to Kill the Bill and Start Over."
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer doesn't name Dean but links to the ABC story in a blog post headlined "A Dream for Insurance Companies? Must Be News to Them": "Recently, a somewhat perplexing new line of argument has emerged about health insurance reform, with some folks [so good!] suggesting the Senate bill is a 'dream' for insurance companies. If that's the case, though, it must be news to them. The insurance industry has been leveraging its considerable resources in a ferocious effort to defeat this bill, … [which includes] many provisions to end insurer abuses, lower premiums, and hold insurance companies accountable. … [W]hile none of us are shedding any tears for the insurance industry, the primary goal of health insurance reform isn't to punish insurers — it's to give every American the ability to find affordable coverage while controlling the unsustainable cost growth in our current health care system that is crushing families and businesses."
PODESTA NAMES DEAN in "The Progressive Case for Passing the Senate Health Bill," a post on the Think Progress blog, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund: "Since Joe Lieberman demanded stripping the public option and Medicare buy-in provisions from the merged Senate bill, some strong progressives like Howard Dean have argued that without a public option or a Medicare buy-in provision, the bill is a giveaway to private insurers and should be killed. … [A]s a senior White House staffer with a ringside seat for the slow death of comprehensive care in 1994, I am keenly aware of the real alternative to the bills now before us: millions more Americans without health care and billions more for health care spending as the same challenges President Clinton tried to resolve continue to metastasize unchecked. So while I have great respect for Governor Dean, … I come down on the side of the Senate passing the bill."
GOV. DEAN, in a WashPost op-ed, "Health-Care Bill Wouldn't Bring Real Reform": "Any measure that expands private insurers' monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform. … I have worked for health-care reform all my political life. … I reluctantly conclude that, as it stands, this bill would do more harm than good to the future of America."
"HOLLOW SHELL OF A BILL" — KEITH OLBERMANN: "Ruined Senate bill unsupportable," a "Countdown" Special Comment, addressed to Obama: "This is not health, this is not care, this is certainly not reform. … Some speaking for you, Sir, have called the public option a fetish. They may be right. But to stay with this uncomfortable language, this bill is less fetish, more bondage. Nothing short of your re-election and the re-election of dozens of Democrats in the house and senate, hinges in large part on this bill. Make it palatable or make it go away or make yourself ready — not merely for a horrifying campaign in 2012 — but for the distinct possibility also of a primary challenge. … No single payer? No sale. No public option? No sale. No Medicare buy-in? No sale. I am one of the self-insured, albeit by choice. And I hereby pledge that I will not buy this perversion of health care reform. Pass this at your peril, Senators, and sign it at yours, Mr. President. I will not buy this insurance. Brand me a lawbreaker if you choose. Fine me if you will. Jail me if you must." Video, Text
** A message from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: The CFPA will make a bad economy even worse, cutting access to credit for millions of small businesses and making it harder for struggling companies to weather the financial storm. To learn more, visit www.stopthecfpa.com **
WHAT THE WEST WING IS READING — AP's Liz Sidoti, on an Associated Press-Gfk poll: "In some good news for Obama, more people said the country is heading in the right direction, 46 percent compared with just 38 percent last month. And the increase is evident among Republicans, Democrats and independents. Nonetheless, half the country still says the nation is on the wrong track, and 42 percent don't approve of how Obama is governing."
BIRTHDAYS: Rebecca Collegio (hat tip: hubby Jonathan) … MoveOn.org's Eli Pariser (h/t Patrick Gavin).
JOSHUA SPENCER DECKARD e-mails: "Whitman Spencer Deckard was born at 4:07 [Wednesday] morning, weighing 8 lbs. 9 oz. He is 21.5 inches. Ali is doing extremely well, as is Whitman. We are grateful for those of you who have been praying for Ali and baby. Psalm 139:13-16: 'For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.'"
STATE VISIT: Tommy Anderson, in from SLC.
COOL CLICK, from Michael Falcone — "'He Wolf' Hearts 'She Wolf' Shakira": CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviews Shakira on "The Situation Room" about the title of her new album.
TODAY'S AGENDA — The White House: "Vice President Biden will kick off over $2 billion in Recovery Act grants and loans that will be made on a rolling basis over the next 75 days to bring broadband to communities that currently have little or no access to the technology. At an event at Impulse Manufacturing in Dawsonville, Georgia, he will announce an initial $182 million investment in eighteen broadband projects benefiting seventeen states which has already been matched by over $46 million in private capital. The awards are not only expected to provide initial job opportunities in infrastructure and manufacturing, but help bridge the digital divide and boost economic development for communities held back by limited or no access to the technology."
EXCLUSIVE — SARAH PALIN, from her unannounced vacation in Hawaii (no tweets!), DENIES TMZ SLAM in statement to Playbook — Declaring that she "was honored and proud to run with him," the former Alaska governor pushed back hard last night against a report that she had disrespected Sen. McCain by blacking out his name on a sun visor she wore on the beach. In "Sarah Palin's McCain Cover Up," TMZ accused Palin of "a frontal attack on Sen. John McCain": "Sarah chose to wear a visor from her campaign — a visor that was emblazoned with the former presidential candidate's name ... that is, until Palin redacted McCain's name with a black marker." Palin tells us she was just trying to "be incognito" and shield her children and husband, Todd, from paparazzi: "I am so sorry if people took this silly incident the wrong way. I adore John McCain, support him 100 percent and will do everything I can to support his reelection. As everyone knows, I was honored and proud to run with him. And Todd and I were with him in D.C. just a week ago. So much for trying to be incognito."
TALE OF THE TAPE — The Palins were taking a break from a three-and-a-half-week book tour for "Going Rogue." Palin has signed more than 59,000 books — an average of 1,750 per stop — and has traveled more than 19,000 miles by plane and bus. She has spent 115 hours — or 4.8 days — signing books in 33 cities in 25 states. Her stops have included five military bases.
ADMINISTRATION REBUTS YESTERDAY'S WASHPOST LEAD STORY AS "NONSENSICAL" ("Tax Deal Is Worth Billions to Citigroup," by Binyamin Appelbaum http://bit.ly/7WtTdr). The bottom line of Treasury's response is that you don't take a law intended for Carl Icahn and apply it to Uncle Sam. "Official response to the Washington Post / From Herb Allison, Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability, U.S. Department of Treasury: Your story on the impact of the government's upcoming sale of its Citi shares mischaracterizes the tax law and its application in this case. The fundamental purpose of the law in question was to prevent a private company or investor from evading taxes by buying a company with significant tax losses and then using those losses to lower its own tax rate. … [I]t's nonsensical to argue that a law designed to prevent tax evasion should be applied to the government's purchase of shares in Citi, or to the future sale of those shares."
SPEAKER PELOSI, LOVING THE HUFFPOST BANNER: "PELOSI GETS THE JOB DONE: Fights Off Deficit Hawks to Pass $154 Billion Jobs Bill — House Also Extends Unemployment Benefits ... Raises Debt Ceiling, Funds Pentagon."
— "Pelosi in 'campaign mode,'" by POLITICO's David Rogers: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted Wednesday that job creation and deficit reduction will be the central Democratic themes for the coming year — and that public support for health care reform will rebound once a bill has been sent to President Barack Obama. … Pelosi made her comments at a year-end roundtable with reporters where she described herself as back in full 'campaign mode' and confident House Democrats will retain 'a strong majority' after the 2010 elections. 'He didn't give me 72 hours notice,' she joked of Rep. Brian Baird's surprise decision to not seek re-election in his swing district in Washington state. But Pelosi said her rule of politics was 'don't assume anything' and she wasn't panicked by the recent spate of retirements in her ranks."
— BUT: "Pelosi Says Rallying Votes for Troop Surge in Afghanistan Will Be Obama's Job," by WashPost's Paul Kane: "President Obama will have to argue his own case to House Democrats as he seeks support for a planned surge of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday, adding that she is finished asking her colleagues to back wars that they do not support. 'The president's going to have to make his case,' Pelosi told reporters at a year-end briefing on the legislative session. While the next round of war-funding legislation is not likely to be considered until spring, Pelosi said there will be a test vote in January on support for the troop buildup. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) has said he will offer a privileged resolution next month calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The vote is likely to fail because of broad Republican support for the war, but it could reveal the depth of the schism between Obama and his fellow Democrats on the new troop plan. … Pelosi, who has warned of 'serious unrest' among House Democrats about Afghanistan, said Wednesday that she intends to live up to that vow on the upcoming supplemental bill, which will require $30 billion to $40 billion for the additional 30,000 troops."
ALSO DRIVING THE CONVERSATION:
SCENE SETTER — "Obama Will Be in Climate Spotlight in Copenhagen," by LAT's Jim Tankersley: "President Obama leaves for stalemated climate talks in Copenhagen today facing global expectations that he can salvage an agreement on greenhouse gases as well as heavy domestic pressure not to sign a deal that could kill American jobs. Obama will join more than 110 world leaders, who, barring a major breakthrough, will convene Friday with many of their core issues apparently unresolved and persistent rifts between wealthy nations and the developing world. … Failure would undercut hopes for a complete and binding global climate treaty next year; imperil climate legislation in Congress, a top priority for the Democrats; and handicap Obama's efforts to reshape the world's view of the United States. … But perhaps more than any of his fellow heads of government, Obama's efforts will be complicated by the competing demands of a world that expects him to deliver on pledges to lead the way to climate action and a nation increasingly anxious about its fragile economy."
NYT LEAD STORY — "U.N. Officials Say Aide Had a Plan: Replace Karzai," by James Glanz and Richard A. Oppel Jr.: "As widespread fraud in the Afghanistan presidential election was becoming clear three months ago, the No. 2 United Nations official in the country, the American Peter W. Galbraith, proposed enlisting the White House in a plan to replace the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, according to two senior United Nations officials. Mr. Karzai, the officials said, became incensed when he learned of the plan and was told it had been put forth by Mr. Galbraith, who had been installed in his position with the strong backing of Richard C. Holbrooke, the top American envoy to Afghanistan. Mr. Holbrooke had himself clashed with the Afghan president over the election. Mr. Galbraith abruptly left the country in early September and was fired weeks later. Mr. Galbraith has said that he believes that he was forced out because he was feuding with his boss, the Norwegian Kai Eide, the top United Nations official in Kabul, over how to respond to what he termed wholesale fraud in the Afghan presidential election. He accused Mr. Eide of concealing the degree of fraud benefiting Mr. Karzai. Mr. Galbraith said in an interview that he discussed but never actively promoted the idea of persuading Mr. Karzai to leave office."
WASH POST lead story — "Federal Reserve Edges Away From Crisis Measures," by Neil Irwin: "The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will shut down some of the emergency triage measures it put in place at the height of the financial crisis but will leave interest rates near zero out of continuing concern about the weak U.S. economy. The decision reflects steady improvement in the functioning of financial markets. In recent months, the Fed's emergency programs to support money-market mutual funds, short-term corporate lending, investment banks and overseas banks had gotten little use, and major banks have begun to repay their government bailout money. … Still, the central bank's plans to terminate its unconventional lending programs on Feb. 1 will present a new test for the financial industry. There have been waves of worry in global markets in recent weeks, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, and losses on commercial real estate could endanger many smaller U.S. banks in the coming year."
SANFORD SPARED — "House Panel Kills Sanford Impeachment Plan," by The State's John O'Connor: "Gov. Mark Sanford will not be removed from office, as a [State] House committee decided Wednesday to reprimand — and not impeach — the governor. The House Judiciary Committee, in an 18-6 vote against the impeachment resolution, determined Sanford had not met the 'serious crimes' or 'serious misconduct' standard required by the state Constitution to remove him from office. Though the bill could be revived by the full House, lawmakers said it was unlikely and the bill's sponsor said he would not try. Instead lawmakers approved, after some spirited debate, a formal rebuke of Sanford — known as censure. Sanford, the censure resolution says, abused his power during a 2008 trade trip to Argentina where he engaged in an extramarital affair, was derelict in his duties in secretly leaving the state for five days in June to meet his lover and misled the public among other allegations. … The censure must still be approved by the full House and the Senate. … Lawmakers debated the bill for more than three hours, wrapping up more than six months of questions about Sanford's use of public resources. The State Ethics Commission has charged Sanford with 37 counts of buying pricier business-class airfares in violation of state law, using the state airplane for personal use and misusing campaign funds."
2010 — "Pollster: 2010 Could Be Year of 'the Angry White Male' Heading Into Elections," by The Hill's Sean J. Miller: "2010 could be the year of the 'angry white male' as Americans are anxious about the state of the economy, according Republican pollster Ed Goeas. Citing results from a new bipartisan survey released on Wednesday that found more men than women are struggling to find work, Goeas said, 'There is the potential for this being a 1994 year of the angry white male.' … Of the 1,000 likely voters surveyed Dec. 6-9 in The George Washington University Battleground Poll conducted by the Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners, 20 percent described themselves as 'angry' about 'the way things are going in the country today.' While only 5 percent of Democrats feel that way, 26 percent of Independents and 33 percent of Republicans described themselves as angry. Moreover, 35 percent of respondents said the country is in recession and 56 percent said it is on the wrong track."
2012 — "Pawlenty: U.S. Is Not a Beggar," by Concord Monitor's Shira Schoenberg: "Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty last night delivered a stinging critique of Democratic policies as he urged Republicans to band together and grow the party. At a $50-a-ticket fundraiser for the State Senate Republicans at the Grappone Center in Concord, Pawlenty spoke to about 150 Republican activists. The Republicans also held a $500 a person reception with Pawlenty, who is said to be considering a 2012 presidential run. 'The federal government is running a Ponzi scheme on the Potomac,' Pawlenty said. 'It needs to end.' Pawlenty, 49, set up a Political Action Committee called Freedom First, which he is using to help Republican 2010 candidates in October. According to the PAC spokesman Alex Conant, Pawlenty has traveled to six states in the past eight weeks. … Pawlenty talked about the importance of individual freedom and responsibility instead of government intervention. 'As we stand here tonight as conservative Republicans, we watch efforts by the other side of the aisle to take away one more bit of freedom, one more bit of entrepreneurial spirit, one more encroachment on the marketplace,' he said."
TEXAS — "Labor Leader Seriously Weighs Run for Lieutenant Governor," by Austin American-Statesman Capitol Bureau Chief Jason Embry: "Linda Chavez-Thompson, a former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, is leaning toward running for [Texas] lieutenant governor as a Democrat, according to multiple sources familiar with her plans. The San Antonio resident, born and raised in the Lubbock area, is now executive vice president emerita of the labor organization and is also a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. She was also a super-delegate during the 2008 presidential primary. … Among Democrats who know about her plans, there is already considerable excitement about a Chavez-Thompson bid. The thinking goes that her personal story — she quit school in the ninth grade so she could start working and earn money for her family — creates a contrast with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the wealthy Republican incumbent. … And as someone who has risen to the top of the national labor movement and the top of the national Democratic Party, Chavez-Thompson has a myriad of contacts within the party from whom she can raise money."
BUSINESS BURST — "Bank of America Names Moynihan as Next Chief, Replacing Lewis," by Bloomberg's David Mildenberg: "Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender, promoted Brian T. Moynihan to chief executive officer, opting for an insider to repair the company after the tumultuous takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. prodded Kenneth D. Lewis into early retirement. Moynihan, the 50-year-old head of the consumer banking unit, takes over at year's end, the Charlotte, North Carolina- based bank said yesterday in a statement. Lewis, 62, said in September he'd step down Dec. 31. … Bank of America's new boss must stanch defaults on consumer loans tied to the recession, which led to two losses in the past four quarters. He must also integrate Merrill Lynch and smooth relations with regulators after they clashed with Lewis over the purchase. The bank paid back $45 billion to the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program on Dec. 9."
** A message from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: The CFPA will make a bad economy even worse, cutting access to credit for millions of small businesses and making it harder for struggling companies to weather the financial storm. To learn more, visit www.stopthecfpa.com **
I was wondering when i would see that on Mike's playbook :) That is so neat!
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