Poll: Obama Tied With Generic Republican
A new CNN poll finds President Obama tied, at 47%-47%, against a generic Republican challenger for 2012. In addition, only 44% think Obama would win re-election, to 54% who think he would lose. CNN polling director Keating Holland said: “That may sound like a bad position to start from, but note that Bill Clinton was down 15 points to an unnamed Republican in March of 1994, and wound up winning the election two years later.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will meet at 9 a.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET. He will depart from the White House at 4:45 p.m. ET, en route to Camp David.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will meet this morning with senior advisers. In the afternoon, he will have meetings on Capitol Hill.
Palin To Campaign With McCain Today
Sarah Palin will campaign with her former running mate John McCain today, in support of McCain in his Republican primary for re-election to the Senate in Arizona. McCain is being challenged from the right by former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, and Palin’s appeal among conservative activists could potentially help McCain.
Government To Unveil Plan To Shrink Some Home Loans
The Obama administration is expected to announce today a plan to reduce the amount some homeowners owe on their mortgages. The program will let people who owe more than their properties are worth get new loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, financed with $14 billion from the existing $75 billion foreclosure-prevention program.
NYT: White House Preparing For Stevens Retirement From SCOTUS
The New York Times reports that the Obama administration has been preparing for the much-expected retirement of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, which could set off a charged ideological battle heading into this year’s elections: “Wary of appearing presumptuous, the White House has avoided overt moves to prepare, but it already has long dossiers on a host of candidates after last year’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. If Justice Stevens retires, Democrats close to the White House said, the leading contenders will be three runners-up from last year: Elena Kagan, the solicitor general; Diane P. Wood, an appeals court judge in Chicago; and Merrick B. Garland, an appeals court judge in Washington.”
Dems Walk Out Of Prayer Breakfast Over Neugebauer Speech
Roll Call reports that Congressional Democratic attendees walked out of a bipartisan prayer breakfast Thursday morning, after Republicans had invited Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) — who shouted out “baby killer” during debate on the health care bill — to speak. Reps. Charlie Wilson (D-OH) and Heath Shuler (D-NC) wrote in a letter to Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO): “Your last minute invitation to Rep. Randy Neugebauer to address our group at this morning’s breakfast was not only irresponsible, but politically tone-deaf.”
