First Read: A 'West Wing' moment?

First Read from NBC News
---------------------------------------------------------------------

First Read: A 'West Wing' moment?

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg

FIRST THOUGHTS.
*** A "West Wing" moment? Did the White House get its -- take your pop culture pick -- Sorkin-like "West Wing" moment/"Sister Souljah" moment/"Dave" moment from President Obama's news conference yesterday? "This notion that somehow we are willing to compromise too much reminds me of the debate that we had during health care," Obama said regarding complaints over the tax-cut compromise he cut with Republicans. "This is the public-option debate all over again. So I pass a signature piece of legislation where we finally get health care for all Americans... But because there was a provision in there that they didn't get that would have affected maybe a couple of million people, even though we got health insurance for 30 million people and the potential for lower premiums for 100 million people, that somehow that was a sign of weakness and compromise." He continued, "Now, if that's the standard by which we are measuring success or core principles, then let's face it, we will never get anything done. People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position and no victories for the American people."

*** Liberal revolt: Of course, some House Dems viewed the compromise -- as well as yesterday's presser -- as Obama throwing them under the bus. "The last person that said we didn't matter was Newt Gingrich," one rank-and-file House Dem told NBC's Luke Russert after Obama's press conference yesterday. "I don't like seeing that message from my president." Per NBC's Shawna Thomas, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) said, "We expressed very serious concerns, very serious" at last night's House Dem caucus meeting. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT): "Where we are today ... is just not acceptable to people." And Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who represented House Dems in the bipartisan tax negotiations, added: "I have very serious reservations about this package primarily because of the [estate-tax] provision." What should make congressional Democrats truly nervous is that maybe the president doesn't hold them in high regard, and there's an argument to be made that he NEVER has. He holds their ideology and their beliefs in high regard, but NOT their tactics. The disdain for the Washington way of doing business came through big time yesterday.

*** Denial, anger, bargaining, and acceptance: This anger from liberal House Democrats is more than understandable. Over the past two years, they've had to accept the Senate watering down legislation (stimulus, health care). What's more, they lost 63 seats in last month's elections -- the most by one party since the 1940s -- which will relegate them to minority status come January. So in the stages of grief, we've seen House Dems experience denial (keeping Pelosi as their leader), anger (see above), and bargaining (hoping for a better deal). And at some point, we'll see acceptance. The reason: With the tax cuts set to expire at the end of the month, and with Republicans set to take over the House, the deal in front of Democrats is likely the best one they'll get. And that will probably be the message that Vice President Biden will try to get across when he speaks to the House Dem caucus today.

*** Mixed polling results: Per a Gallup poll, conducted Dec. 3-6, 66% support extending the Bush tax cuts for all income levels for two years, and another 66% support extending unemployment benefits. But a Bloomberg poll has different results: "The survey, conducted before, during and after the tax negotiations, shows that only a third support keeping the lower rates for the highest earners, and less than half of those respondents say the breaks for the wealthy should last for a shorter period than cuts for the middle class. Overall, two- thirds of those polled favor a permanent extension of the lower rates for the middle class. More than a fourth say all the tax cuts should be allowed to expire Dec. 31, as scheduled." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B23:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66& and http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B24:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&

*** Breaking the ice: The Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein makes an interesting point today: After the White House and Republicans -- for the first time -- compromised where both sides had to give up something, the next time might be easier. "Now that the ice has been broken," he writes, "maybe the next one will come a little easier." Speaking of the White House-GOP negotiations, we can report that the White House has been dealing mainly with GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell (who has guaranteed at least half of his caucus to vote on the tax deal), and then McConnell is dealing with incoming Speaker John Boehner (who has yet to guarantee any votes from his caucus). http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B25:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&

*** The clock is ticking: By the way, this tax-cut deal was announced on Monday. It's now Wednesday. And -- at the earliest -- Congress won't begin to work on the deal until tomorrow. What has this done to New START, plus other agenda items (like repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell")? The Senate probably can ratify the treaty in a week. But what about less than a week? Congress is supposed to adjourn after next week (though it could keep its doors open up until Christmas).

*** To DREAM the impossible DREAM [Act]: Speaking of other agenda items, Congress today is expected to take up the DREAM Act, which would provide a citizenship pathway for illegal immigrants who attend college or who serve in the U.S. military. "Votes on the measure were expected in the Senate and the House on Wednesday, Congressional leaders said," the New York Times notes. "It stands a slim chance of passage in the House, where Democrats are in the final days of their majority. In the Senate, although its champion is the Democratic majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, the bill appears unlikely to succeed." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B26:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&

*** Emmer is expected to concede: Well, it appears the Minnesota gubernatorial recount won't last as long as the Franken-Coleman one did. The Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Republican Tom Emmer is expected to concede the Minnesota governor's race to DFLer Mark Dayton Wednesday, a GOP source with knowledge of Emmer's plans said late Tuesday. Emmer's campaign issued a news release early Wednesday saying the candidate would make a "major announcement" about the recount at a 10:30 a.m. event at his Delano home. The planned concession clears the way for Dayton, a former U.S. senator, to become the first Democratic governor in Minnesota in two decades." Dayton has enjoyed a nearly 9,000-vote lead over Emmer, a difficult margin for Emmer to close. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B27:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
Click here to sign up for First Read emails. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B28:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B29:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66& and http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B2A:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&

OBAMA AGENDA: Scolding the left
The Boston Globe: "Seeking to stem a full-scale rebellion within his party, a frustrated President Obama said yesterday that he had no choice other than to negotiate a tax deal with Republicans, and he lashed out at "purists'' in his own party who have castigated him for capitulating to GOP demands. The day of verbal volleys turned the usual political balance of Washington on its head. Republicans who just weeks earlier had mocked Obama as a socialist lauded his effort at bipartisanship, while Democratic leaders expressed deep reservations about the president's move and withheld their support." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B2B:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
The New York Daily News: "President Obama scolds political left, for opposition to deal with GOP on tax cuts, jobless benefits." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B2C:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
The New York Times' Leonhardt calls the deal a second stimulus. "Mr. Obama effectively traded tax cuts for the affluent, which Republicans were demanding, for a second stimulus bill that seemed improbable a few weeks ago. Mr. Obama yielded to Republicans on extending the high-end Bush tax cuts and on cutting the estate tax below its scheduled level. In exchange, Republicans agreed to extend unemployment benefits, cut payroll taxes and business taxes, and extend a grab bag of tax credits for college tuition and other items."
More: "Congressional Democrats have reacted with a mix of wariness and anger, and some said Mr. Obama should have put up a fight on the high-end tax cuts. Yet once the Democrats bungled this issue — failing to deal with it before the midterm elections — their choices were extremely limited. If they stood firm on the high-end tax cuts and Republicans stood firm as well, all of the Bush tax cuts, not just those on income above $250,000, would have expired Dec. 31. The economy would surely have suffered as a result, and a bad economy is rarely good for the party that holds the White House." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B2D:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
Organizing for America put out an e-mail with a video with President Obama explaining tax cuts deal. From the e-mail: "This agreement, while not perfect, is vital to millions of Americans who are out of work through no fault of their own -- as well as millions of middle-class families, students, parents, and small businesses." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B2E:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
PoliticsDaily's Jill Lawrence writes, "Democrats are the harshest critics of Obama's tax deal with the GOP -- yet it could be a key to recovery for both the economy and their party." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B2F:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
Yet, of course, there are the liberal critics. MoveOn.org's Ruben: "Watching the tax cut negotiation has been like watching a car crash in slow motion. The president's commitment to bipartisanship should not mean leaving principles behind." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B30:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
The Hill wonders if this is "President Obama's Sister Souljah week." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B31:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&

CONGRESS: Biden's 'rowdy' and 'raucous' meeting
"Obama, eager to quell a potential revolt, dispatched Vice President Joe Biden in an effort to soothe angry Democrats, in a closed-door meeting that Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland described as 'rowdy' and 'raucous,'" the New York Post writes. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B32:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
Roll Call: "House and Senate Democrats remained deeply skeptical of President Barack Obama's tax cut deal Tuesday, after a full-day sales pitch by White House officials that the agreement with the GOP is the best they could get given the circumstances." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B33:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
"House Democratic leaders unhappy with the tax-cut deal President Obama struck with Republicans are signaling they will try to draw the line at a GOP-favored proposal for the estate tax," The Hill reports. "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday escalated the Democratic criticism of the agreement and said the estate-tax provision was 'a bridge too far.'"
"The Senate wrapped up its first impeachment trial since the 1999 case against President Bill Clinton, scheduling votes for today on the fate of a Louisiana judge accused of corruption," the AP writes. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B34:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
"House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) has unveiled his $1.25 trillion, 181-page spending bill that omits earmarks, freezes civilian salaries and funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," Roll Call reports. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B35:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
"The office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced early Wednesday that the House will take up a $1.1 trillion continuing resolution funding the government though Sept. 30," The Hill writes. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B36:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
"With the first key test vote set for today on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, some 60 responders paid a visit to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)," the New York Daily News reports. "Enzi is blamed for circulating a document filled with distortions about the bill. Dozens of responders hoped to tell him not to block the $7.4 billion measure." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B37:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
Republicans picked their House committee chairmen. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B38:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&

GOP WATCH: Abortion to be an issue.
In two years that have not been dominated by social issues, candidates for RNC Chair will have to confront them at an upcoming forum.
"Anti-abortion rights group Susan B. Anthony List has signed on as a co-sponsor of the upcoming debate between candidates running for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee," The Hill notes. "Americans for Tax Reform, the group headed by Grover Norquist, is also sponsoring the forum, which will be held Jan. 3 at the National Press Club." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B39:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
2012: Santorum waiting on Palin
BLOOMBERG: "Mayor Bloomberg this morning will unveil a state and national plan to create more jobs - and maybe help him get a new job, too," the New York Daily News writes. "His slated speech at the Brooklyn Navy Yard will take leaders in Washington and Albany to task for not finding common ground to spur the economy, one insider said." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B3A:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
GINGRICH: Newt Gingrich pulled a Tweet promoting books he'd written on Pearl Harbor after media sites Gawker and Mediaite criticized the move. Gawker's headline: "Newt Gingrich Tries to Cash in on Pearl Harbor Anniversary." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B3B:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66& and http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B3C:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
"Newt Gingrich likes to challenge liberals to leave their comfort zones, consider new ideas and defend what they believe. Now, the possible Republican presidential candidate is doing the same to fellow conservatives," Ruben Navarette writes in the San Jose Mercury News. "Gingrich is wise enough to acknowledge that there is a significant breach between the GOP and Latinos, and he's ambitious enough to think he can help repair it… Last year, Gingrich launched a bilingual, Latino-themed website intended to promote conservative thought and Latino heritage. Recently, that site -- named The Americano -- hosted a two-day conference in Washington with several dozen speakers." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B3D:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
HUCKABEE: "Mike Huckabee, who left Arkansas, where he built the platform for his media success and which, incidentally, has an income tax, is putting down expensive roots in a beach development in Walton County, Fla., east of Destin — a $3 million home," the Arkansas Times reports. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B3E:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&

GOP 12 also notes Huckabee will begin his book tour on March 1st, according to an interview the former governor did with Ocala.com. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B3F:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
PALIN: "Sarah Palin took shots at a caribou on her TLC reality show; now critics are taking aim at Palin's hunting skills," the Wall Street Journal writes. "A piece on the Awl pointed out several rookie mistakes that Palin apparently made during a hunting trip with her father that she filmed for 'Sarah Palin's Alaska.' Among them was Palin's failure to sight her rifle before shooting and not personally loading shells into the gun she used… Palin's performance as a hunter -- she missed several times before killing the animal and was heavily coached through the process by her father -- would likely not be an issue if she hadn't touted her hunting experience in previous interviews." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B40:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
PAWLENTY: "A man convicted of having sex with his underage girlfriend in the 1990s and pardoned two years ago by Gov. Tim Pawlenty was back in jail Tuesday after a judge revoked his bail on charges in an alleged sexual assault," the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B41:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
We missed this one over the weekend, but it's worth reviving. Politico goes to Minnesota and profiles Pawlenty, the goalie. Pawlenty contended, though, "My accomplishments I like to highlight go well beyond being a 'goalie.' "I'll put my record against the record of any governor in the country, both offensively and defensively. We've stopped a lot of dumb stuff that the Democrats wanted to do, but we also got a lot done." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B42:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
SANTORUM: "Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) hinted he's waiting on Sarah Palin before deciding whether to announce a run for president," The Hill reports. "'If she decides to get into the race, she will take a lot of air out of the room, that's for sure,' Santorum said Monday during a swing through South Carolina." John Thune made similar remarks earlier this year while floating a potential White House bid. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B43:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
THUNE: "Sen. John Thune has quietly begun seeking the counsel of his closest Senate colleagues and an array of party operatives as he considers a bid for the White House in 2012," Roll Call reports, adding, "On the list of Republican Members whose advice Thune is seeking -- if he hasn't spoken with them already -- are Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the GOP presidential nominee in 2008, and Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), who sought the party's nomination in 1996 and 2000. Thune is personally close with GOP Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.) and Jim DeMint (S.C.), both conservative favorites, and could discuss the matter with them as well." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B44:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
NEW HAMPSHIRE: "Juliana Bergeron yesterday became the first official candidate to replace retiring Republican State Committee Chairman John Sununu. Bergeron, 57, of Keene, chairs the Cheshire County Republican Committee," the Concord Monitor reports. http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B45:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&

2010: Turn out the lights in Minnesota
It's Over: "Republican Tom Emmer will concede the 2010 Minnesota governor's race this morning to Democrat Mark Dayton," the Pioneer Press reports. "Emmer's 10:30 a.m. concession means he will not contest the election in court — thus averting a scenario that could have kept Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty in office past the scheduled Jan. 3 swearing-in of the next governor." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B46:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&
NY-1: Newsday says that Republican Randy Altschuler picked up four votes on Rep. Tim Bishop yesterday as Suffolk county election officials counted 100 ballots. "Bishop's margin over Altschuler is now either 263 votes (according to Altschuler spokesman Rob Ryan) or 270 votes (according to Bishop spokesman Jon Schneider)." http://broadcaster.msnbc.msn.com/t?ctl=23B47:B2CA5A050EF65E32EFAB375FCFFD6A66&