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Obama Signing Stimulus Bill Today, In Denver
President Obama is scheduled to leave Washington at 10 a.m. ET, en route to Colorado. He will arrive in Colorado at 1:30 p.m. ET, where he will conduct a 2:15 p.m. ET tour of a solar panel installation in Denver — and then at 2:40 p.m. ET, he will sign the stimulus bill into law at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Afterwards, he’ll leave for Phoenix, Arizona, where he will talk about the housing crisis tomorrow.

Obama Giving Interview With Canadian TV, Ahead Of Visit This Thursday
President Obama is also preparing for his first trip to another country, namely Canada, with an interview set for this morning at 9:25 a.m. ET with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. During Thursday’s visit, Obama will meet Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal opposition leader Michael Ignatieff, with trade issues expected to be a major point of discussion.

Japanese P.M. Will Be First Foreign Leader To Visit Obama
Hillary Clinton has announced that Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will be the first foreign leader to visit President Obama at the White House. The meeting will happen next week.

WaPo: Geithner’s Bailout Speech Spoiled By Last-Minute About-Face
The Washington Post reports that Tim Geithner’s speech last week on the revamped financial bailout — which was heavily criticized for a lack of detail — happened that way because of a last-minute decision to drop the whole plan he’d been working on: “They needed an alternative and found it in a previously considered initiative to pair private investments and public loans to try to buy the risky assets and take them off the books of banks.”

NYT: Obama Fights With Congressional GOP — And Gets Help From Republican Governors
The New York Times says that the stimulus bill has shown a split between the Congressional Republicans and the party’s governors — that is, the GOPers who actually have real political power right now have almost entirely supported the stimulus bill. Florida Governor Charlie Crist told the Times: “As a governor, the pragmatism that you have to exercise because of the constitutional obligation to balance your budget is a very compelling pull.”

Pope To Meet With Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi will be meeting Wednesday with Pope Benedict XVI, as part of her official trip this week to Italy. The Pope is officially receiving Pelosi in her capacity as a head of state, but The Hill points out there could be some friction — Benedict has endorsed religious sanctions, from denying communion to full-blown excommunication, against pro-choice Catholic politicians.

Steele Reaches Out To The Online “Rightroots”
As part of his efforts to modernize the Republican Party’s organization and reach out on the Internet, Michael Steele and former RNC rival Saul Anuzis held a meeting with 300 conservative techies this past Friday morning. “When we get to 2010, I want my campaigns here,” Steele declared, holding up a BlackBerry. A tip for Steele: Don’t seek out any advice from this man.

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