Steve Clemons on the Obama-Netanyahu relationship …

Netanyahu is very clearly Obama’s Khruschev.

Netanyahu is poking the Obama White House, ridiculing his foreign policy team, and launching preemptive strikes at the very necessary deal-making that Obama must move forward in the region to shore up America’s power position and global relevance.

The Moskowitz-Netanyahu Plan to expand settlements in East Jerusalem, clearly over the red lines set by previous presidential administration and Israeli prime ministerships, is designed to pommel Obama and deflate his power in the eyes of other regional stakeholders.

Obama needs to politely crush Netanyahu — and do it with a smile, without losing his temper, just as Richard Wolffe — in his new book Renegade: The Making of an American President — describes Obama doing to political foes he politely vanquished.

Read the rest here.

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

This is very odd, at a minimum. As we reported yesterday, an aide to Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) read a statement at a rally in Maine over the weekend in which Snowe appeared to back a public option for health care.

Then today Snowe’s office released the complete statement which included additional qualifying language beyond what was originally reported that means Snowe’s position is same as it ever was: she doesn’t favor a true public option.

But now we have video of the rally, and the Snowe aide doesn’t appear to have included the qualifying language. Is Snowe trying to have it both ways? Give it a close listen.

Fox News’ Neil Cavuto is outraged — outraged! — that anyone would criticize his segment on whether the new surgeon general is too fat for the job.

How can we ever have real health care reform if Orrin Hatch isn’t on board?

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “We’re not going to cry ‘emergency‘ every time we have a Katrina.”

7:52 p.m. ET … Excerpts from Obama’s prepared introductory remarks.

7:54 p.m. … Washington press corps mindset: Whether one man can save his presidency/salvage his domestic agenda is a faux drama much more compelling than whether millions will actually benefit from health care reform.

7:58 p.m. … The Nation‘s Chris Hayes twitters about what presidential presser is like for non-prestige media: “Headed to WH to go pretend I might get called on. Sort of like putting on a tux on prom night and waiting for an imaginary date to show up.”

8:01 p.m. … Here we go …

8:03 p.m. … Complete text of Obama’s introductory remarks.

8:05 PM … Reform not just about uninsured, but deficit and economic future too.

8:09 PM … This push, these arguments, make me wonder why the conversation didn’t begin with them, rather than get to them now.

8:10 PM … Who’s the GOP strategist who said go for the kill? Bill Kristol.

8:12 PM … Here’s the transcript of Obama’s opening statement.

8:13 PM … Curious whether we get a sharp-edged public option question.

8:15 PM … Interesting angle, Kleefeld points out: president framing status quo as alternative plan. Just one that’s a lot more expensive and involves a lot more people losing their coverage.

8:18 PM … Sheesh, glory night for the wire services. AP, Reuters … UPI next?

8:19 PM … “The default is inertia.”

8:20 PM … It’s interesting to note this list Obama has of just how many interest groups or organizations are behind the plan and yet it seems to be so jammed up. The key is that most of these groups are extremely fair weather friends. Happy to sign on nominally but not putting an ounce of muscle into the effort.

8:22 PM … Chuck Todd rolling out the seldom seen extemporaneously articulated question.

8:26 PM … DeMint too pitiful to be named? Probably.

8:27 PM … No mention of faction in Democratic party owned by insurance industry.

8:27 PM … Sheesh, “Jake” requires no identification. That’s fame. Obama’s answer is pretty solid. Jake’s was essentially assuming that reform means rationing.

8:41 PM … Half hour plus, health care not interesting enough. On to transparency and bailouts.

8:44 PM … Broad-ranging defense of bailouts.

8:45 PM … This seems to be what Obama was referencing, a list released tonight of health care execs who have visited the White House to discuss reform.

8:48 PM … I’m sure we’ll hear GOPers mention that line about “taking out some of the profit motive.”

8:53 PM … Obama arrested trying to jimmy the front door at the White House. Quite a moment to consider.

8:55 PM … Hmmm. I may be mistaken but I think he managed to navigate his way through that Gates question and pull it off by hitting the key points and not getting tripped up on any of the tripwires. That was pretty impressive.

After refusing to make visitor logs public, the White House late today released a list of health care executives who have visited the White House.