The Illinois Primary Results: Too Close To Call In Gubernatorial Races
In the Illinois primaries for President Obama’s former Senate seat, state Treasury Alexi Giannoulias and Rep. Mark Kirk won the Democratic and Republican primaries, respectively. In the gubernatorial primaries, incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn — who succeeded to the office upon the impeachment and removal of Rod Blagojevich — has claimed victory with a margin of less than 1% against state Comptroller Dan Hynes, though Hynes has not conceded defeat. In the Republican primary, state Sen. Bill Brady leads by just a few hundred votes over state Sen. Kirk Dillard — and with only 20% of the vote in a multi-candidate field
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:15 a.m. ET. Obama will deliver remarks and take questions at the Senate Democratic Policy Committee Issues Conference, at 10 a.m. ET. Obama will meet with senior advisers at 11:15 a.m. ET. Obama and Biden will have lunch at 12:30 p.m. ET. Obama and Biden will meet at 2 p.m. ET with a bipartisan group of Governors, to discuss energy policy, and will lead a Cabinet-level exercise at 4 p.m. ET., to discuss preparedness and crisis response.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will attend President Obama’s daily briefing at 9:15 a.m. ET. He will hold a Recovery Act Implementation Cabinet Meeting at 11 a.m. ET, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. At 12:30 p.m. ET, Obama and Biden will have lunch. Obama and Biden will meet at 2 p.m. ET with a bipartisan group of Governors, to discuss energy policy, and will lead a Cabinet-level exercise at 4 p.m. ET., to discuss preparedness and crisis response.
WaPo: Obama’s Budget Plan Underpinned By Dour Economic Forecast
The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration’s proposed budget assumes a lackluster economic situation for some time to come: “In estimating budget figures for the years ahead, the administration assumed that the unemployment rate will average 10 percent this year and come down at a glacial pace — to 9.1 percent in 2011, 8.2 percent in 2012 and above 5 percent through the end of the decade. The administration forecasts tepid overall economic growth this year — a 2.7 percent rise in gross domestic product — followed by stronger growth in the four subsequent years.”
Obama: ‘There Is No Place Better To Have Fun Than Vegas’
President Obama has clarified his remarks yesterday that people shouldn’t “blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college,” a remark that drew the ire of Nevada politicians of all parties. “I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun,” said Obama, in a the letter released by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office. “There is no place better to have fun than Vegas, one of our country’s great destinations.”
Palin To Headline Tea Party Rally In Reid’s Hometown
Sarah Palin will be headlining a Tea Party Express rally on March 27, in the town of Searchlight, Nevada. Searchlight is the hometown of none other than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been aggressively targeted for defeat this year by the right.
Evan Bayh Won’t Pose Nude
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) has turned down an invitation from Cosmopolitan to pose nude. “I’m all for full disclosure, but not the full monty,” said Bayh. The magazine’s editor had said that if they couldn’t get Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) to come back and repeat his 1982 nude pictorial, then they would like to get Bayh instead.
Hannity To Headline March NRCC Dinner
Roll Call reports that Fox News personality Sean Hannity will headline the National Republican Congressional Committee’s fundraising dinner in March. The NRCC will need a big fundraising haul this spring — though the political climate appears to favor the GOP right now, the NRCC has only $2.7 million in cash on hand, compared to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s $16.7 million.
