Courtesy Roberto Rizzato via Flickr and the New York Daily News

On the heels of that Scare Force One flyby earlier this week, the New York Daily News is holding a contest inviting folks to submit their best photoshopped images featuring Air Force One. Some are seriously hysterical. Your Gaggler recommends paging through all of them, though her personal favorites are here, here, here and here. (RIP Bob Ross.)

Sarah Palin is a guest on TLC’s American Chopper tonight. The guys meet up with Palin to talk about a motorcycle they are building to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Alaska’s statehood. The preview, up on YouTube, shows Palin cozying up against a HUGE bear rug that’s about, oh, three times her size. We’d seen it in pictures before, but for some reason, it just looks bigger this time. Wow.

Uh oh: Is Joe Biden in trouble? The Veep went on the Today Show this morning to talk about swine flu. NBC’s Matt Lauer asked Biden about the advice he’s giving his family. Here’s the exchange:

LAUER: Let me ask this. And this is by no means a gotcha type of question, I promise. But if a member of your family came to you... (LAUGHTER) No, Mr. Vice President -- if a member of your family came to you and said, "Look, I want to go on a commercial airliner to Mexico and back within the next week," would you think it's a good idea?

BIDEN: I would tell members of my family -- and I have -- I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not just going to Mexico, it's you're in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway. So from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation. If you're out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes, that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft or a closed container, a closed car, a closed classroom, it's a different thing.

The thing about town halls is that anything can happen. Here’s an excerpt from President Obama’s stop in St. Louis earlier today, where he took questions from the audience:

Q: I'm a licensed acupuncturist and licensed massage therapist in Florissant.  And so --

THE PRESIDENT:  I could use one right now.  (Laughter.)  My back is stiff.  I've been working hard.

Q    I'll be happy to help you.  (Laughter.)

Meow.

What's President Obama going to talk about at his press conference tonight? The White House just released excerpts of his opening statement:

EXCERPTS OF THE PRESIDENT’S OPENING REMARKS AT TONIGHT’S NEWS CONFERENCE
As Prepared for Delivery

We are continuing to closely monitor the emerging cases of the H1N1 flu virus throughout the United States.  As I said this morning, this is obviously a very serious situation, and every American should know that their entire government is taking the utmost precautions and preparations. 

Remember that whole question of whether the White House flip flopped on prosecuting former Bush administration officials for those controversial CIA interrogation techniques? Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff, initially said his boss didn’t want to prosecute former Bushies, only to be contradicted by Obama himself, who said it was up to Attorney General Eric Holder to weigh the legal merits. Well, ABC’s Charlie Gibson brought up the apparent contradiction in an interview with Emanuel today. His response: Emanuel says he was talking about "policy guidance." Huh? Here’s the excerpt:

GIBSON: You told George Stephanopoulos that the president did not believe those who devised the interrogation policy should be prosecuted. A day later, the president opened the door to that. What happened?

Vice President Joe Biden was on the road in Texas yesterday, where he was the featured attraction at fund-raiser in Austin (which, for the record, happens to be one of your Gaggler’s favorite cities in the world). These events are mostly pep talks for the party faithful, but Biden, as usual, did a little bit of stand-up comedy. Verdict: Pretty funny. Here’s an excerpt from the pool report:

“Texas is the only place I know that turns a river into a lake,” Biden gibed to laughter, a reference to Lake Austin being in a chain of lakes broken up by dams along the Colorado River.

Biden went on: “You Texas guys are ugly as hell, but your women are beautiful. In southern Delaware, they would say y’all married up.”

And, taking note of guests not touching their bbq-rubbed tuna on jalapeno-ginger rice cakes: “Please eat your meat, please. I’m a former United States senator. I’m used to not being taken seriously.”

Official White House photo by Pete Souza

Three months in, there is one major stylistic difference between Barack Obama’s White House and that of George W. Bush: Obama seems to care a lot more about his image. Last night, the White House posted nearly 300 behind the scenes pictures covering Obama’s first 100 days on Flickr. Many of the photos are familiar to those of us who have walked through the West Wing. White House photographer Pete Souza and his staff have blown up many of the candid shots and hung them on walls throughout the White House. There’s a photo of Obama wearing 3-D glasses in the White House theater while watching the Super Bowl and another of him moving a couch around in the Oval Office on his first day on the job. The Bush White House hung up similar pictures in the West Wing that showed the 43rd president in candid moments with staff and riding his mountain bike on trails at his ranch in Crawford. The difference: The public rarely got to see them and that hurt him.

First, as a candidate, now as a president, Obama and his aides seem to understand the importance of giving the public a glimpse behind the curtain. It shows them that Obama, no matter how powerful or famous he may be, is a human being. Why is this important? The public likes people they can relate to. This isn’t to say that Bush never let his guard down. Newsweek and other news organizations occasionally got permission to shoot photos of him behind the scenes, and in the second term, his aides often posted photo essays of the president on the White House Web site. But Bush and his aides fretted about photos that might be too personal. One reason: They didn’t want the president to be made fun of. But the Obama team is different. Last year, they posted thousands of photos of the future president on Flickr, showing him in settings beyond the typical candidate on stage giving a stump speech moment. The White House’s “official” Flickr continues the same thing, even allowing people to download and use the pictures for free. It may seem like a little thing, but it’s not.

...

Did you catch President Obama’s comments this morning about swine flu? Well, he didn’t actually use that specific term. Obama referred repeatedly to the “H1N1 virus,” which is the scientific term for the sickness. What changed? Well, the Obama administration has been hearing big time complaints from the pork lobby and others that the term “swine flu” is misleading—after all, you technically can’t catch the virus from eating pork—and they contend its damaging to the industry. Earlier this week, several countries, including China and Thailand, announced a ban on pork products from the US. That has prompted some damage control among Obama officials, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This really isn’t swine flu. It’s the H1N1 virus,” Vilsack told reporters Tuesday. “We want to say to consumers here and broad that there is no risk to you, there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that there is any link between consuming pork, prepared pork products and the H1N1 virus.” But it’s hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube. This morning, your Gaggler noticed the White House has posted a big notice on its home page, referring its audience to information on the “H1N1 virus” including Obama’s speech Monday in which he repeatedly referred to “swine flu” and briefings on the “swine flu.”

Our favorites this morning from all over the web:

Specter's battle will still have an incline
When Arlen Specter jumped ship on Tuesday to the Democratic party, analysts figured his odds for re-election just got a lot better. But he's not yet a shoo-in. Several Democratic opponents could still make the road to victory in 2010 less than smooth. (Wall Street Journal)

GOP defection a favor to Republicans?
Edging closer to a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate, the Democratic party thinks it has gained a huge advantage from Specter's defection. Not so, says one GOP lawmaker, who says the advantage is exactly what the Republicans needed. (Politico)

Pelosi's call for truth commission loses gusto
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once called for maximum accountability for Bush Administration officials on the issue of torture. Now, one blogger says she's singing a different tune. (SF Chronicle)

We've got the power
In a simple yet intriguing thought experiment (that, we'd just like to point out, is decidedly unfit for radio), NPR visualizes what a national energy grid would look like if constructed across America. (NPR)

When Arlen Specter decided to switch parties, the first person he called at the White House wasn’t President Obama but his longtime friend Joe Biden, who has been pushing Specter for years to join the Democrats. A senior administration official tells Newsweek that Specter phoned the vice president around 8:45 Tuesday morning, but Biden, who is traveling in Texas today, wasn’t able to take the call. Specter tried calling Obama at 10:15am, but the president was in his economic briefing, though they subsequently talked a few minutes later. Shortly before 11am, Specter and Biden finally connected. According to the senior official, Biden didn’t know before Tuesday that Specter would join the Democrats, though they had been talking about it. But the official, like other Obama aides, insisted that Specter made the decision on his own and that nothing was promised to him, at least on their end.

It’s no secret that Biden and Specter are extremely close. For years, the two rode the train home together from Washington—Biden to Wilmington, Specter to Philly. They were on the Judiciary committee together and remained close even when Biden came to the White House. According to the senior aide, the two men talked at least once a week. In February, the two traveled to Philadelphia, where they held a meeting on the economy. “I’ve been telling him for the 30 years I’ve been working with him that I know in his heart he’s a Democrat,” Biden said. Turning to Specter, the vice president grinned. “I’ll still love you if you stay over there,” he said. “But come on, in your heart, you know.”

If Democrats are celebrating their newfound proximity to the magical number 60, thanks to Arlen Specter, perhaps they should pause to consider some of his statements at today's press conference. And then they should ask themselves "How loyal a Democrat will this guy be?" Rather than a Democrat, Specter seems like a man with no party; a man who's realized that he no longer has a place in the party he aligned himself with for decades. But that certainly doesn't make him a Democrat. At his presser today, he slammed the conservative wing of his party, bemoaning that their ill-fated electoral strategies cost him a Senate Chairmanship and cost President Bush 13 circuit judges. He appears disappointed that the leader of his new party, President Obama, will have the opportunity to appoint judges that were "left on the table" when President Bush lacked a majority.  Here's the quote:

Republicans didn't rally to Wayne Gilchrest in Maryland. He was beaten by the Club For Growth on the far right. They lost the general election. Republicans didn't rally to the banner of Joe Schwartz in Michigan and he was beaten by a conservative in the Club For Growth. They lost the general election. Republicans didn't rally to Heather Wilson in New Mexico last year and she was beaten in a primary and lost in the general election.

The Club For Growth challenged Linc Chafee. Remember Linc Chafee? They made him spend all his money in the primary and he lost the general. And had Linc Chafee been elected in 2006, the Republicans would have controlled the Senate in 2007 and '08 and I would have been chairman of the committee. And President Bush nominated 13 circuit judges. They were all left on the table for President Obama. And President Bush nominated 21 district court judges, and they were all left on the table for President Obama. Now take the social conservatives in America and how they prize circuit judges. Remember what we went through for Judge Southwick last year to go a circuit judge confirmed?

And one of the my opponent's principle advisers said, "We don't care about stage two. Stage one, we want to beat Arlen Specter. We'll worry about stage two later." They don't make any bones about their willingness to lose the general election if they can purify the party. I don't understand it, but that's what they said. And for the people who are Republicans that just sit by and allow them to continue to dominate the party after they beat Chafee, cost us the Republican control of the Senate and cost us 34 federal judges, there ought to be a rebellion. There ought to be an uprising.

 Just wondering: does that sound much like a Democrat talking to anyone?

Although the Democrats will nominally have a filibuster-proof majority, your Gaggler wonders if it won't just be business as usual on the Hill. Specter already votes with Democrats around 40% of the time. Sure, he will likely vote with Democrats more often on smaller issues. He won't be under pressure to satisfy GOP leaders that he's actually one of them, and so his compulsion to ally with them on low profile issues will evaporate. Maybe the proportion of time he votes with Democrats will be kicked up to 60%. But on the important stuff, Specter is still a moderate with a legacy to consider. He may have switched parties, but he hasn't switched brains. Even he admits his rationale for changing was that his "prospects for winning a Republican primary are bleak." He talked less about how his ideology increasingly fits with Democrats than how it no longer fits with Republicans. He didn't really discuss how Democratic policies correspond with his views these days. His over-riding messages were that Republicans have shifted to the right, and that he will continue to consider himself independent. "The principles that I subscribe to are my independence, which I will retain regardless of party label," Specter said. "I have always agreed with John Kennedy that sometimes a party asks too much. And if the Democratic Party asks too much, I will not hesitate to disagree and vote with my independent thinking." That doesn't sound like reason enough for Democrats to crack open the champagne just yet.

Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is one of Specter's closest pals on the Hill. The two men have known each other for decades, and Specter is now the Ranking Member on Leahy's committee. He'll now serve as the number 2 Democrat. Here's what Leahy had to say today:

“Senator Specter called me this morning. He and I have been friends for 40 years.  We first met when we were both young prosecutors.  We have a particular friendship, and he wanted me to know before it became in the press. In talking with him, I had the impression that he went through much the same that Jim Jeffords of Vermont did.  I had the impression that Senator Specter had a feeling that the Republican Party, a great party in this country, had left him – not the other way around. I know how hard he has agonized. I believe he's going to be happier.” 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell just talked to reporters on the Hill. He said Specter broke the news to him yesterday afternoon. According to McConnell, Specter said that he’d determined that he couldn’t win the GOP primary in Pennsylvania or be elected as an independent so he was switching to the Dems. McConnell was quick to paint this development as a “Pennsylvania story” and not reflective of the party nationally. Here’s the notable excerpts:

We are not happy that Senator Specter has decided to become a Democrat. He visited with me in my office late yesterday afternoon and told me quite candidly that he'd been informed by his pollster that it would be impossible for him to be reelected in Pennsylvania has a Republican because he could not win the primary; and he was also informed by his pollster that he could not get elected as an independent, and indicated that he had decided to become a Democrat.

Ah, how the love affair ends. Here’s one more statement from a prominent GOPer, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, who brings up Specter’s “left wing voting record.” He's already left wing? Wow. Here's Steele:

Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not. Let’s be honest-Senator Specter didn’t leave the GOP based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record. Republicans look forward to beating Sen. Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don’t do it first.

It’s worth noting that your Gaggler’s in-box already being crowded by lots of opposition research e-mails from the GOP party committees, bringing up Specter’s recent statements on how he wouldn’t switch parties. Did they have all of this ready to go? We checked the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee Web site, which has already made the switch, citing Specter as a Democrat. That was fast. The NRSC only formally endorsed Specter on April 14th.

Arlen Specter has never won popularity contests on Capitol Hill. During the course of writing a recent profile, Hill staffers who didn't wanted to be named trashing a powerful Senator variously described him to me as "difficult", "irascible", "unreliable" and "mean". He has voted with Democrats around 40% of the time in recent years, but that doesn't mean he didn't make them earn it. Yet today Dems are letting bygones be bygones and heartily embracing their new colleague. Senator Schumer from New York, who's a bit of a street fighter himself, issued a statement calling Specter "effective, intelligent and moderate." "We welcome him into the Democratic Party and our caucus in the Senate with open arms and can understand that his party, particularly in the last three months, has shown no room for moderates," Schumer's statement read. "The Republican party will no longer be able to revert to kneejerk filibusters at every whim to block progress, and that is a very good thing for Americans."  

Erstwhile Democrat Joe Lieberman (who is now technically known as an "Independent Democrat") was positively giddy in his endorsement of Specter's new affiliation: "I enthusiastically welcome my good friend Arlen Specter into the Democratic caucus. It will be very good to have the company of yet another independent minded Democrat in the caucus!... Arlen understands that we get thing accomplished when we listen to the vital center of American politics." (Note: I did not add that exclamation point). Lieberman had discussed this possibility with Specter and had encouraged him to join the Democratic caucus during the stimulus negotiations. Majority Leader Harry Reid was more tempered. He described Specter as "a man of honor and integrity and a fine public servant." Reid says he welcomes Specter's moderate voice to the caucus and notes that he and Specter have had "a long dialogue about his place in an evolving Republican Party." According to Reid, Specter "puts people over party." Interestingly that's not how most Democrats described him when he reversed his support for the Employee Free Choice Act earlier this year.

The area where Specter's new affiliation will excite Democrats most is healthcare. After surviving multiple bouts of cancer, Specter has become a staunch advocate for investment in health research. He successfully negotiated for additional funding for the National Institute of Health in the stimulus package, and will likely play a critical role in the pursuit of healthcare refrom on Capitol Hill. A filibuster-proof majority in the Senate opens new possibilities for healthcare reform this year.

One Democrat who's not too happy about today's developments is Representative Joe Sestak (PA-7). The former Navy Vice-Admiral is said to have been seriously mulling a run for Senate; he's already raised over half a million dollars for a possible campaign. He just spoke to NBC's Andrea Mitchell, telling her the Democrats would "have to wait" to see if he will support Specter's candidacy as a Democrat. Sestak tried to be diplomatic at first saying that he had hoped Specter would use his leadership to transform the GOP from within, but he ended the interview by telling voters they had to question why Specter was running as a Democrat, implying that Specter's decision wasn't just a matter of principle.

At the moment, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is huddling with other top Republicans on the Hill trying to figure out how exactly to respond to word that Arlen Specter is switching parties. It goes without saying that it’s a devastating blow to a party struggling to stay politically afloat. Several Senate Republican aides contacted by Newsweek declined to talk about what the party knew about Specter’s discussions with Democrats, preferring to leave it up to McConnell, who will go before reporters later this afternoon.

Sen. John Cornyn, who heads up the Senate GOP’s campaign committee, just issued a statement that sums up what most Republicans are saying: That Specter sold out his principals for politics in what Cornyn’s aides describe as “seemingly insurmountable bid for re-election.” “Sen. Specter’s decision today represents the height of political self-preservation,” Cornyn said. Other Republicans aren’t quite that nice. “Disgusting,” one Senate GOP aide told Newsweek. “What you’ve seen today is someone selling out everything for politics.” It’s worth noting there is no love lost for Specter among many of these Republicans, who have distrusted the moderate Pennsylvania senator for years.

But not every Republican is totally trashing Specter. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has been an occasional swing vote in the Senate himself, issued a statement on Specter's decision that mentioned the political dilemma facing the GOP. "Ideologically, we are a center-right party and I am committed to maintaining that position," Graham says. "However, for us to have national relevance we have to run and win in blue states.  As a party we have to expand our base and diversify our membership while maintaining our fiscally conservative, limited government approach." That won't be easy.

Obviously one of the biggest questions is what role the White House played in convincing Arlen Specter to join the Democrats. It’s highly unlikely that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Dem leaders didn’t tell the White House about their conversations with Specter, who Obama officials have viewed as reliable ally in the Senate. So far, the White House isn’t saying. All we know is how President Obama found out. According to two administration officials, who spoke to Newsweek on background, Obama was in the middle of daily economic briefing when an aide handed him a note around 10:25 this morning. “Specter is announcing he is changing parties,” it read. A few minutes later, Obama called Specter. “You have my full support,” Obama told him, according to aides. “Thrilled to have you.”

Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter announced this morning that he will be switching party affiliations. He will now caucus with Democrats in the Senate, meaning that if and when Al Franken is seated, Democrats will have a filibuster proof majority. This is huge news for Democrats, removing roadblocks to the President's agenda in a year where he's vowed to tackle thorny issues like the environment and healthcare. But perhaps the more important story here is what Specter's defection says about the state of the Republican Party. Specter's statement, released on Politics PA earlier today, amounts to a critique of a shriveling party which has deserted Specter, rather than Specter deserting it. Specter refuses to allow his political fate to lie in the hands of the conservative wing of his party. He writes:

Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.....Since [voting for the stimulus] I have traveled the State, talked to Republican leaders and office-holders and my supporters and I have carefully examined public opinion. It has become clear to me that the stimulus vote caused a schism which makes our differences irreconcilable. On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania.

Although he's voted with Democrats on significant items like the stimulus this year, Specter's switch won't necessarily make his vote an easy get for Democrats. He was clear in his statement that he won't be the automatic 60th vote that Democrats need in the Senate, and he won't be changing his mind on the controversial Employee Free Choice Act (card check) bill again. As Daniel Stone and I wrote in our recent profile of Specter, the Pennsylvanian is guided as much by politics as ideology, and this decision easily fits his pattern. Specter is facing a tough primary against the same conservative challenger he barely beat in 2004. Since then, as Specter himself notes in his statement, a significant number of moderate Republicans (i.e. those most like to support Specter) have switched parties, leaving Specter to fish for votes in a pool that is far less sympathetic to his propensity to cross party lines, as well as his moderate positions on stem cells, abortions and judges. Specter would likely have lost that primary, and his challenger Pat Toomey, would be far too conservative for Pennsylvanians. Specter's Senate seat would likely become Democratic, which works out well for Specter as a newly-minted Democrat.

One source told Holly Baily that Majority Leader Harry Reid found out that Specter would switch for sure yesterday. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell is reporting that Specter has been in discussions with Democrat leaders about the switch for around three weeks. They reached an agreement that the DNC would not field a candidate to challenge Specter, but no deals have been made with regard to committees. But we'd be surprised if Specter, once chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee, didn't seek a chairmanship in the next Congress.

So how startling is this news? I spoke to the man himself a couple of weeks ago, and while I think the decision fits entirely with his political calculus, he waved off the notion in our conversation. Here's what he said:

Newsweek: Would you consider running as an independent.

Specter: No.

N: No? Definitely not?

S: I'm a Republican and I'm going to run in the Republican primary and on the Republican ticket.

N: We talked to Governor Rendell who said that the running joke is that you could easily become a Democrat and if you did, the framework in the state would make things very easy for you.

S: I'm not considering it. Rendell said he would help me raise money. He said that publicly a few weeks ago and I responded publicly that if I became a Democrat I wouldn't need to raise money.

N: We heard from your sister who told us that you were once a Democrat and you came to her at one point at said 'What will Dad think if I become a Republican?'

S: She talks too much. Hilda's the matriarch of the family. It was a big decision to run on the Republican ticket. I did that without changing my registration when I ran for DA in 1965. I was still a registered Democrat. It was a big decision. My father was a devotee to Franklin Roosevelt and I was JFK Democrat.

N: So your dad was a Democrat, you were a Democrat, you became a Republican to win an election and now you're steadfast in that party. What's your political philosophy?

S: My voice is very important I think to the Republican party. There has been a dwindling term. There are only a few of us there now. When I came to the senate, the Wednesday Club was overflowing. If you were a fly on the wall, you'd say 'you need Arlen Specter in the Republican caucus, you need him for the country.'

N: When you look at the dynamics of the primary, a lot of former party members registered as Democrats in 2008, so now you have a more conservative group. What's your strategy to win those people over.

S: We're trying to win those people back. We know who they are, they're identifiable, but it's a very difficult job. It's daunting, there's no easy answer.

N: You could lose. Have you given thought to life after the senate?

S: No, none at all. I'll jump off that bridge if and when I come to it.

CBS's Leslie Stahl profiled Joe Biden on last night's 60 Minutes. (Watch the interview here.) Unlike the President's interviews on the same program, Stahl doesn't have the same easy chemistry with Biden as her counterpart Steve Kroft has with Obama. Still there are a couple of moments worth noting. Biden tells Stahl that the President has sought his advice on every major issue. Obama appeared to concur, calling Biden "fearless" in offering his opinion and characterizing his advice as "valuable". "Joe's not afraid to tell me what he thinks, and that's exactly what I need and exactly what I want," the President said.

Washingtonians love to speculate about tension in the cabinet, but Hillary Clinton proved again that she's become a crucial team player, praising the Vice President and looking geniunely pleased to be in his presence at their regular Tuesday policy breakfasts. His foreign policy expertise was unchallenged. Clinton noted that "we all listen to him." Stahl awkwardly covered the topic of Biden's infamous gaffes, but the only news here was Biden explaining that the President had apologized to him for one instance (which we can only assume was the Justice Roberts joke just days after the inauguration) for his body language being taken "out of context" by the press (and presumably Jon Stewart, who had an unforgettably hilarious take on the President's face, but for reasons of civility, the language can't be repeated here.) But the main message was that Joe's not about to change, and nobody is asking him to. Although if he'd used any prominent "rhetorical flourishes" of late, we suspect that message might have been slightly different.

As a man who is openly emotional about his family, the most unusual and perhaps honest moment of the interview was when Biden appeared almost lost for words when discussing his son Beau's deployment to Iraq. But all in all, the VP seemed his usual garrulous but engaging self, and judging by the comments section on the website this morning (and keeping in mind that these sections are often filled with quite harsh comments) that is just how Americans like him.

A round-up of our favorites from around the web:

Really, be honest!
A tool on the British government's website that allows people to sign petitions seemed like a great idea to connect voters with the prime minister. It now appears to be backfiring, as one popular petition now calls for PM Gordon Brown to resign. (The Guardian)

Monkey in the middle
CNN rose to success with its middle-of-the-road approach to covering news. Now, that strategy is making it increasingly difficult for the network to fight the cable news wars with rivals MSNBC and Fox, both of which bring opinionated rantings (representing both poles) during prime time. (NY Times)

Taking nature in stride
Officials in a small Swiss town passed some, well, colorful legislation over the weekend: no more hiking nude, responding to an increasing number of German tourists descended on the trails to take them au natural. (AP)

Pelosi picking up her game of defense
Things didn't look good for house speaker Nancy Pelosi last week when it was revealed that she was indeed briefed on interrogation techniques she now criticizes. Now, she and her staff are trying to respond strategically. (Politico)

Change afoot in NorKo
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appointed his 26 year old son over the weekend to a high-level government post -- a reliable sign, say analysts, that the aging leader with deteriorating health could be preparing to pass the torch. (Denver Post Wire)

...

Drama has been afoot at the White House lately, at least in the media area. A week or so ago, someone posted these handwritten signs throughout the workspace just off the briefing room. The back story: Several members of the press corps have been up in arms over seeing details of private conversations and other generally off-the-record moments between reporters posted on blogs. (Yes, just like this one! We see the irony!)

Our favorites this morning from all over the web:

Lengthy discussions surrounded memos' release
The decision to release the DOJ torture memos was indeed a tough one. Internal White House sources say it was the most difficult decision yet of the young presidency, with lots of unknown factors that entered into discussions. (Wash Post)

Hardin, Montana: We'll take one for the team
The city of Hardin, Montana has a brand new jail that's, oddly, empty. Seeing dollar signs and no imminent threat, city leaders think it could house enemy combatants, as a new, domestic Guantanamo. Of course, not everyone is on board with the idea. (NPR) 

Just keep the budget under 140 characters
Putting on his game face (before an expected run for his state's governorship) Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa opts to skip the state Democratic convention this weekend to stay home working on budget issues. Your Gagglers believe his quote sums it up better: "Antonio Villaraigosa is not going to Twitter while Rome burns.'' (SF Chronicle)

To be counted, get out of town
The 2010 U.S. census is supposed to take a new count of everyone in every state. But in lots of states, people live in hard to count areas, and could be skipped over. Your best bet to make sure you're counted? Move to Wyoming. (Wall Street Journal)

Everyone gets their 15 minutes
Over the weekend, a contestant in the Miss USA pageant gave a garbled answer in response to the question of whether she supports same sex marriage. The answer may have lost her the crown, but she's now an icon for Republican analysts and young conservatives. (Politico)

Go on, just count to a trillion
The team from public radio's Planet Money, which breaks down incredibly complex news about the economy and financial markets, explores a seemingly simple question -- How much is a trillion? -- in a colorful way. (NPR)

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

For the second time in his tenure as Director of the National Economic Council, Larry Summers has nodded off in public. According to the pool report, during a meeting with credit card industry officials, "Summers appeared to be nodding off near the beginning of Obama's remarks. And then he DID nod off, doing the head on the hand and then head falling off the hand thing." Last time Summers dozed off was at the White House's Fiscal Responsibility Summit. Admittedly Summers is probably working crazy hours, and fiscal responsibility can be a dry topic, but c'mon! Maybe someone should remind him of that Seinfeld episode where George naps under his desk - that might be a more discreet solution.  

Noam Scheiber of The New Republic remarked on Larry Summers' sleeping habits in his profile: "As at Harvard, Summers functions on exceedingly little sleep. (A former student told me Summers once praised his dedication after noticing he'd run a computation at 4 a.m.; the student didn't have the heart to tell him he'd queued it up at six the night before.) To power through the day, Summers relies on a punishing Diet Coke regimen. The combination of fatigue and extreme caffeine intake can produce the occasional verbal and physical tic: Summers is a chronic foot-tapper and sometimes turns over words and clauses like an engine that won't start." Guess that wasn't enough today.

The Associated Press reports the sobering news that, according to a "previously undisclosed Iraqi government tally", 87,215 Iraqis have been killed as a result of violence since 2005. The AP managed to procure a copy of the report, and notes that the figure does not include people listed as missing or "civilians who were buried in the chaos of war without official notice." The AP estimates 110,000 Iraqis have been victims of the war. Sad, shocking figures indeed.

So what did we learn about Michelle today? She doesn't have much spare time, but these days what little time she has is spent training and walking Bo. "Oh, my dog.  Oh, the dog.  Oh, he is a crazy dog," she said as children giggled. He's still a puppy who likes to play a lot, and chew on people's feet, Michelle says. At about 10pm last night the First Couple was disturbed by the sounds of barking and jumping around. Concerned that there was a problem, they went to check what was wrong. "We thought somebody was out there.  And it was just Bo. He was playing with his ball.  And it was like there was another person in the house," Michelle said. Even in the White House, puppy training ain't easy.  

Michelle told the children that she thinks being First Lady is the best job it the White House, but she still feels like a mom, a job she takes very seriously. Sometimes she likes to take her staff and sneak out unannounced. Recently she had a covert field trip to DC burger chain Five Guys. (Um, that's not very healthy!) "Nobody knew it. It was good," she said. She spends a lot of time doing things with Sasha and Malia, like watching them play soccer, making sure their friends are having fun at the White House and watching movies with them. She's proud of the herbs in her garden, some of which she got from Thomas Jefferson's garden, but she's concerned about the snap peas. Her least favorite thing to do in the White House is running on the treadmill. She sees her husband more now than she has in several years. "If I really need to see him, I can walk to his office, and, you know, cool stuff like that," she said. They have dinner as a family every night,  and she doesn't miss cooking at all.

But the kids weren't all fluff. One had no qualms about asking the tough questions - what would she do if something bad happened, like an earthquake in China? "Well, first of all I'd wake my husband up if it were at night, and I'd tell him, hey, buddy, you're the President, get down to the Oval Office and call some leaders," she said. "He'd probably talk to the people who were in charge.  He'd talk to the Secretary of State.  He'd call the leaders of other countries, and they'd work to figure out what they could do to help another nation in trouble.  And then I'd go back to sleep and ask him how it turned out when I woke up the next morning." Sounds like Michelle has got this First Lady gig all figured out.    

The Pew Research Center today released results from its latest survey. Your Gaggler just attended a roundtable with Pew Director and pollster extraordinaire Andrew Kohut where he discussed the major findings. The basic message is all good for Obama. For Republicans, eh, not so much. You can read the full results here, but these are a few of the highlights (apologies for the very long post, but your Gaggler loves polls):

• Obama's personal favorability ratings are higher than his job approval: 73% of Americans have a favorable impression of Obama, while 63% approve of the job he's doing as President. By contrast, Clinton and Bush had favorability ratings of 60% and 61% and job approval ratings of 55% and 56% respectively at comparable points in their presidencies.This personal popularity will probably give Obama some cover in pursuing difficult or unpopular policies.
  

• Pew's data confirms that there is a large partisan gap in Obama's job approval rating, but Kohut says this doesn't mean the President is a polarising figure. Obama's approval rating among Republicans is actually a little higher than Clinton's was in May 1993 - 30% for Obama, 25% for Clinton. The partisan gap is largely a result of Obama's enormous popularity amoung Democrats. Republicans are about as critical of Obama as expected, but Democrats are much more approving of him. The poll gauges the strength of the public's feelings towards Obama by asking if they approve or disapprove of his performance very strongly or not so strongly. A vast majority of Democrats (79%) say that they very strongly approve of Obama's performance. By the same measure, only 39% of Democrats very strongly approved of Clinton. Even President Bush, who was very popular with his base, doesn't match Obama's figure - 71% of Republicans strongly approved of him at the same stage in his presidency. (MORE AFTER THE JUMP)
  

Our favorites this morning from all over the web:

Prosemaker in chief
It'd be hard to argue that George W. Bush was the most poetic of presidents, but his successor, who won an election using flowery metaphors and articulate declarations, uses surprisingly few crafted phrases. "This is going to be prose and not poetry,” he told an audience at Georgetown last week. (Politico)

What do they think he is, some kind of machine?
Foreseeing angry attacks from state lawmakers, CA Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger told the producers of Terminator 4 (which hits theaters next month) that he didn't have time for the fourth film in the series he helped pioneer. Instead, they've been tinkering with digital tools to insert his image from his past roles. (AP)

Social outcast
GOP chairman Michael Steele has relied on the word "collectivists" to describe Obama and Democrats' spending policies. It's not hard to figure out what he really means (uhh, socialists?), and party members are urging him to hit harder with the rhetoric. (Washington Times)

Tortured definitions
As the Obama Administration has tried to tackle the issue of the torture the past two weeks, his message has been less than consistent. He has contradicted several of his aides and the president himself has left his thoughts on what will come next, perhaps purposely, quite ambiguous. (Slate)

Motor town channeling Motown
Detroit's music industry -- a scene that produced voices like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye -- could bring needed salvation to the struggling city. But the modern motor city hasn't figured out how to lucratively tap into its Motown roots. (NPR)

Your Gaggler is surprised this isn’t getting more attention: In an interview with USA Today, Sen. John Kerry trashed the Obama administration’s plan for dealing with Pakistan, calling it “not a real strategy.” Kerry, who just returned from Pakistan, says the country is “in a moment of peril” and “there is not in place yet an adequate policy or plan to deal with it.” And this comes from one of Obama’s most vocal supporters during the campaign and someone who was rumored to be on the short list for Secretary of State. Ouch. As the paper notes, Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was way more positive about Obama’s Afghan/Pakistan plan when it was unveiled last month. Back then, Kerry called it “realistic and bold.” What changed? For one, Kerry doesn’t think the counterinsurgency strategy is entirely working.  It looks like he also got an earful from someone during his trip about Obama’s decision to deal with both Afghanistan and Pakistan together, as opposed to separately. He’s asking the adminstration to stop using the term “Af/Pak.” The governments in question, Kerry says, “don’t see the linkage” and find it insulting.

**UPDATE**: Kerry spokesman Fred Jones tells the Gaggle that Kerry’s comments about Obama’s Pakistan plan were “misconstrued” in the USA Today report. What Kerry meant, Jones says, is that the administration’s Pakistan policy needs to be more “comprehensive” and that “many more details need to be fleshed out.” “In no way was he disparaging the administration or the president,” Jones says. “He wasn’t trying to imply there’s no plan, only that there needs to be a more comprehensive one. More details need to be figured out, and he is working closely with the administration to do that."

Hillary Clinton was on Capitol Hill today for a House Foreign Affairs Committee when she was asked about Cheney's demand that Obama release classified documents that prove torture (yeah, I said torture) works. "It won't surprise you that I don't consider him a particularly reliable source," Clinton replied. Zing! She was later asked whether she would advise the President to release the memos, to which she replied: "I'm not going to share that with you."

Clinton has become a pretty reliable player for Team Obama. She showed her team colors at the hearing when asked about her disagreement with Obama on the issue of whether to meet with foreign dictators. She told committee members that the United States had spent eight years trying to isolate Chavez without getting results so it's time to try a new approach. She added, "My bottom line is, I am here to serve my country, which I have loved ever since I was a little girl. And I'm going to support my president, because he is committed to doing whatever he can in the time he is given to serve to make this a better, safer, more secure world." Sounds like a pretty good cheerleader to me.

...

By the way, President Obama is in Iowa today, where he’s marking Earth Day by speaking at a former Maytag plant that’s been converted into factory where they make parts for wind turbines. This morning, your Gaggler took a quick field trip over to the White House with a Newsweek intern (Hey Dina!) where we watched Obama and his aides take off on Marine One. It was us, a bunch of other reporters and several dozen elementary school students who went absolutely nuts when they saw Obama exit the Oval Office and head toward his helicopter. When we say absolutely nuts, we mean all out pandemonium: yelling, crying, shouts of “I Love You.” Your Gaggler hasn’t heard screaming like that since, well, last year when she was run over by a soccer mom chasing the Jonas Brothers at the White House Correspondents Dinner. No kidding. Even Obama, who has probably seen it all, laughed. More photos after the jump.

Your Gaggler just attended a reporter roundtable with Speaker Nancy Pelosi where she divulged that she had been informed in a confidential briefing that her colleague Jane Harman had been wiretapped but, due to strict intelligence rules, she was unable to speak about it with anyone, including Harman. “Even if I wanted to share it with her I would not have had the liberty to share it with her," Pelosi said. CQ first reported Saturday that the NSA had eavesdropped on a call between Harman and a suspected Israeli agent, Haim Saban, in which Harman had allegedly said she would lobby to reduce espionage charges against two former AIPAC officials. The New York Times later reported that Saban, a wealthy Democratic donor, told Harman that he would threaten to withhold campaign contributions to Pelosi if she did not appoint Harman as Chair of the Intelligence Committee. (Pelosi did not.) Harman has vehemently repudiated these allegations.

Pelosi today denied that Saban had threatened her, but said that he was one of many people who spoke to her about Harman's chairmanship. It's no secret on Capitol Hill that Pelosi and Harman, who differed fiercely on Iraq, aren't BFF. But today, Pelosi took great pains to explain that it was the House tradition of serving only two terms that had barred Harman from the Chair she sought.  “The only reason Jane was not chosen [as Intelligence Chair] is because she already had two terms [as Ranking Member]. It had nothing to do with wiretaps or Iraq,” she said. (Right. Sure. Politics never influences committee chairmanships. And first dog Bo never poops...)

Pelosi was also asked about possible investigations into the use of coercive interrogation techniques. The Speaker reiterated her support for a Truth Commission to look into the issue. She said she would not like to see immunity taken off the table, but nor would she support blanket immunity being granted.

And, on Earth Day, she had a message for the coal industry: "I have your interests at heart." After instructing a staffer to bring from her office a sculpture of a coal miner that her father had given her, she told reporters that "coal pollutes the air, there's just no question about that", but that coal companies would not be left out in the cold as Congress pursues energy legislation. She'd like to see investments in technology which would mitigate the effects of coal, like carbon sequestration, rather than eliminating it from the energy equation altogether. "We're all going down that path together or else we can't go down that path, and we must," she said. 

The White House is trying very hard to convince reporters that President Obama didn’t make news yesterday when he left the door open for possible prosecution of former Bush administration officials who played a role in approving those controversial CIA interrogations. On board Air Force One this morning, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs flat out insisted that what Obama said wasn’t new or surprising and that it had been his policy all along. Oddly, Gibbs analogized Obama’s role in the process to what would happen if a reporter were caught defacing AF1. It wouldn’t be the president who would decide the punishment, Gibbs said. It would be someone else. Er, okay. But didn’t Obama make the call to not prosecute the CIA agents who acted on the advice of Bush-era Justice Department officials? Here are the notable excerpts:

MR. GIBBS:  Well, I think what -- maybe what I wasn’t clear about yesterday and -- because what was said yesterday was exactly what the President has said for not just the past week, as we've dealt with these OLC memos, but for the past many months.  Let's just go through the whole sort of decision in general. The President, at the beginning of his administration, banned the use of enhanced interrogation techniques because he believed they were -- they opposed our values and, on balance, they made the country less safe.  As part of an ongoing legal proceeding, the President released these memos because there was no legal justification for continuing to keep them classified; that a lot of the information that was contained in the memos, that the types of techniques were in the public domain.

So that is part of the backdrop of where we are.  The President also believes that the memos and their release should be a moment for us to reflect, but not a moment for retribution. The President, as he said yesterday, has a lot on his plate and he believes that our focus looking forward should be on the crises that we have in the bank industry, in unemployment, the financial sector, and as he and the Attorney General have said, that while no one is above the law, those that worked within the four corners of the legal advice they were given, and those that acted in good faith based on the advice they were provided should not be subject to interrogation.

That's what the President said -- that's what the President has said all along.

In amongst all the serious news today, the President carried out one of the more fun tasks of his Presidency - presenting the Commander in Chief's trophy to the winner of a football competition between the nation's military academies. For the sixth year in a row, the Navy team took out the honors. Obama was clearly enjoying himself in the East Room ceremony. After lauding the Navy team's many victories, he joked "I understand your unofficial motto is "No Excuses, Nobody Cares". That is my wife Michelle's motto for me also." He later made a light-hearted reference to his own performance in the stoplight. "Your starting quarterback is also Hawaiian -- where is he?" the President asked, referring to star player Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada."I hear Kaipo is a pretty easygoing guy.  He doesn't get rattled easily, performs under pressure.  That's the Hawaiian spirit.  That's how we roll."

According the the pool report, at the end of the ceremony, Obama was presented with a silver helmet. After pondering whether the helmet would fit, he said he wouldn't be trying it on. "There's a rule for Presidents that you never put anything on your head," Obama said (which may explain why he didn't appear to be wearing a yarmulke at the White House Seder a few weeks back, but does not explain George W. Bush's various hats.) Off-mike, the President also told the players that his body man Reggie Love, who was a star football and basketball player at Duke, had said that the Navy team was "pound for pound" the toughest team around.  

First it was the "war on terror.” Now it looks like “torture” is being retired from the White House lexicon. Greg Sargent blogs over at The Plum Line that he’s noticed almost no use of the word since the White House made the decision last week to release the interrogation memos. Instead, they’ve been using terms like “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Catchy. Here’s Sargent:

At the White House press briefing yesterday, press sec Robert Gibbs avoided the word “torture,” instead using the phrase “enhanced interrogations” twice in answering a questioner who had used the T-word. At a religious conference yesterday, according to reporter Beth Marlowe, top adviser David Axelrod refrained from the T-word and instead referred four times either to “these practices,” “techniques,” or “enhanced interrogation tactics.” In an ABC News interview on Sunday, Rahm Emanuel referred to “these techniques and practices.” In his statement last Thursday announcing the release of the torture memos, Obama repeatedly referred to “interrogation techniques,” a phrase he repeated during his speech to CIA employees yesterday.

By contrast, in the days and weeks after Obama signed executive orders revoking Bush-era torture techniques in January — and the White House wanted to signal a clean break with Bush practices — he and his top advisers used the T-word again and again. On February 9th, Obama proclaimed that “we do not torture” and that “we abide by the Geneva Conventions.” Obama used the T-word on February 24th, as did another adviser that same month. Gibbs repeatedly used the word in early March. Joe Biden used it in February and March. Obama did use the T-word in early April, but that was in Turkey, two weeks before the final decision to nix prosecution was made.

White House aides insist there’s no intentional banning of the word. Apparently, “enhanced interrogation techniques” just rolls off the tongue easier. You know, like “overseas contingency operation.”

Does anyone think it’s sort of funny that we’re seeing Dick Cheney more often these days than we did when he was actually still vice president? The former Veep was back on TV again last night, this time trashing President Obama’s decision to release those CIA interrogation memos. In an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity, Cheney called for documents that showed the “success” of the interrogations to be declassified and released so that there could be an “honest debate” over whether the controversial methods worked. "One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that showed the success of the effort," Cheney told Fox. “I know specifically of reports that I read, that I saw, that lay out what we learned through the interrogation process and what the consequences were for the country. I've now formally asked the CIA to take steps to declassify those memos so we can lay them out there and the American people have a chance to see what we obtained and what we learned and how good the intelligence was.” In fact, that's one of the central debates about the so-called torture methods: Did it actually produce accurate intelligence? Or were the suspects just saying anything to make it stop? 

So far no response from the White House on Cheney’s request--though we suspect that they aren't exactly worried about sniping from someone the public viewed as the most unpopular member of the Bush administration (Cheney's approval rating was at 20 percent in January, according to Gallup). But then again, Cheney didn't exactly have kind words to say about Obama's photo-op over the weekend with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his other meetings with other foreign leaders, where, according to Cheney, Obama seemed too apologetic for past U.S. behavior. "I don't think we've got much to apologize for," Cheney said, warning Obama to "be careful" of the message he's sending. "The world outside there, both our friends and our foes, will be quick to take advantage of a situation if they think they're dealing with a weak president or one who is not going to stand up and aggressively defend America's interests," Cheney told Fox. A "weak" president? Oh no he didn't! Such ugly words between family.

Erstwhile Presidential aspirant Mitt Romney writes a scathing editorial in the National Review Online today (read it here) which calls President Obama "a timid advocate of freedom at best." He blasts the President for sitting through Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's blistering 50 minute attack on the United States at the Summit of the Americas and offering only what Romney sees as a mild rebuke in return. He admonishes the President for not responding to the North Korean missile launch with financial punishments or sanctions, and for offering "no hint of military options" toward Iran for violating the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. "Ahmadinejad can act with confidence that the forceful options once on our proverbial table have been shelved," Romney writes. He fails to note, predictably, that the enhanced capabilities in North Korea and Iran in question were largely developed under President Bush's watch. And although he criticizes Obama for failing to deter nuclear brinkmanship, he doesn't mention the President's proposal for a new arms control regime or his anti-nukes speech in Prague. Still, it is a forceful, uncompromising critique that is bound to get conservative hearts racing. 

Romney has been a fairly regular face on cable TV over the past few months, and up until now has offered measured criticism of the administration. That he would choose foreign policy as the subject for his most vigorous attack, when his notable strong suit is economics and finance, is a likely window to his barely sublimated Presidential ambitions. And that he chose conservative magazine the National Review to publish this attack, rather than the Wall Street Journal or the Boston Globe where he has published before, gives us a clue as to just who he is burnishing his foreign policy credentials for: GOP party faithful.

Here's a taste of his oped (after the jump):

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Required GOP reading
Republicans in congress all seem to be reading a book called "The Forgotten Man" that they say has new national significance. A 2007 historical look at the Great Depression, with a critical eye on the New Deal, argues against government interference in large economic crises. (Politico)

Risk assessment at the CIA
According to an unnamed source within the Obama Administration, the president's decision to release the CIA torture memos was the most Obama-esque thing he has yet done in office. Having done so has already started the giant pendulum swing of risk-taking and risk-aversion at the agency now on defense. (The Atlantic)

Chess with Iran
The Wall Street Journal thinks that after Iranian elections roll by in June, the pieces will be set for a slow game of chess -- diplomatic strategy edition -- between between the nuclear-enriching country and the U.S. Will Obama be able to talk to Iran and squeeze it at the same time? (Wall Street Journal)

Fast-moving footwear
Shoe throwing gained international attention last year when a journalist in Iraq hurled a loafer at President Bush. Now, the practice among journalists has become widespread -- too widespread -- in India, where the sole of a shoe represents a grave insult. (LA Times)

Four corners: Missed the mark
When it comes to political boundaries, the four corners of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado is among the most visited. Now, an accurate geological survey reveals that the marker for the intersection of the states is off by 2.5 miles. (NPR)

Fortune Magazine is out today with an interview with President Obama. According to the magazine, it submitted written questions about the president’s views on business after his big speech last week at Georgetown. That means there’s not much chance for follow-up or spontaneity, but it’s still worth a read. Here’s an excerpt:

The economic crisis has compelled the administration to assert itself over corporate America in ways that Americans aren't used to. How permanent will this be?

I did not invite the crises that I inherited, and I have always believed that our role as lawmakers is not to stifle the market, but to strengthen its ability to unleash creativity and innovation. But I also have a responsibility to take aggressive action to avoid an even deeper recession and to move this nation toward recovery. History has shown repeatedly that when nations do not take early and aggressive action to get credit flowing again, they have crises that last for many years instead of many months. My hope is that by taking the steps we are taking today, from stabilizing our financial system to helping our auto industry restructure to become more competitive, it will help speed the day that the government can get out of the way and let the private sector do what it does best - innovate, create jobs, and grow the economy.

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

All smiles
Call it a difference of lots of opinions. President Obama has taken heat for his cordial, even chummy, approach to diplomacy with foreign leaders. His response? Letting leftist countries gripe about the past will make them more likely to cooperate on the tough issues of the future. (AP)

Back in the rat race
Just three years ago, former California governor Jerry Brown brushed off rumors that he'd seek the state's high office again. But in next year's gubernatorial election, he sees an opening, and himself as a logical successor to Arnold Schwarzenegger. He says his next administration would be about the basics -- "meat and potatoes." (LA Times)

Pen pal in chief
Every day, the White House chief of correspondence culls 10 letters from ordinary Americans to meet the eyes of the president. Obama thinks of it as a way to minimize the effect of the White House bubble, and a reminder of the struggles of actual people. To the delight of a few, he sometimes even writes back. (NY Times)

English learning
The Supreme Court hears a case today over whether, and how, to teach English in public schools. Along the southwest border, what seems like a simple question involves lots of taxpayer money and, as with any educational issue, actual kids' lives. (NPR)

Celebrity endorsement
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez interrupted a meeting at the weekend's Summit of the Americas to hand Obama a book on Latin American oppression. Whether it was a good political move for either man is debatable, but now that the book has shot up to #2 on Amazon.com, the author owes someone a thank you note. (AP)

The Venezuelan Embassy in Trinidad has been releasing attention-grabbing communiques throughout this Summit, another way of enabling their President to pervade news coverage. The latest one caught administration officials by surprise. The Embassy says that Chavez is considering the possibility of naming an ambassador to the U.S. Chavez dramatically recalled his ambassador and expelled the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela in 2008, saying that the posts would only be filled again once the U.S. had a government that "respected" Latin America. Perhaps that day has arrived. “It is possible we will begin evaluating the designation of an ambassador in the United States.  We want to move in that direction. We take Obama at his word, with the one difference we have: we are socialists,” President Chávez said today, according to the release. Chavez also apparently spoke with Secretary Clinton. The communique claims that Clinton "affirmed" that the two nations would soon begin "working meetings". “I spoke with the Secretary of State.  She thanked me for the references [to the Clinton presidency], which are not new—every time I have been asked in the past few years about the possibility of improving relations, I have replied with the Clinton era as an example.  I have said it and I have repeated it here and she thanked me for it.  I sent greetings to [Bill] Clinton, with whom we had dialogue as the human beings we are,” the release attributes Chavez with saying.

But when ABC's Jake Tapper questioned administration officials about these developments at a press briefing this evening, they were blank-faced, simply replying that they'd have to get back to him. You won't be seeing this exchange on GMA tomorrow though. Television cameras weren't allowed into the briefing, causing consternation among TV correspondents and prompting Energy Secretary Steven Chu, one of the officials involved, to wonder if he should ask the White House press team "why I am not physically presentable?" Don't worry Dr. Chu. We think you look just fine.

While most U.S. reporters expected South American leaders to ramp up pressure on President Obama to dissolve the embargo on Cuba during last night's opening ceremony, few expected the scorching, 50-minute long critique of the capitalist system offered by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. And although Obama urged leaders to look to the future -- to "move forward with a new sense of partnership" -- the night's speeches were firmly rooted in the past.

All of the speeches last night seemed directed, to varying degrees, towards the U.S. president, most referencing historical disputes. Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called the Cuba embargo "anachronistic" but was careful that her speech not constitute a "telling off" of Obama. "It’s simply an exercise to look back at what happened," she said. Ortega appeared to have no such qualms. Although he read a letter from Cuban President Raul Castro that absolved the President of blame for the Bay of Pigs (POTUS, born August 4 1961, was in utero at the time of the invasion), he railed on the United States for supporting a capitalist system that brings about "poverty, misery" and assymetrical development, and he called for a global alternative to capitalism. During his peripatetic and indulgent speech (Ortega knowingly spoke for well over his allocated time), Ortega said he refused to call the meeting the "Summit of the Americas" while Cuba and Puerto Rico are not represented.

This is Obama's first experience of a frosty international reception, but he appeared characteristically unfazed. And the iciness certainly wasn't pervasive -- not counting those on the dais, Obama seemed pretty popular in the auditorium. He received the biggest response during the entrance procession, with many delegates applauding loudly and leaping to their feet. When Obama coaxed his audience to be forward looking, they were most responsive: his biggest applause came when he said  "we cannot let ourselves be prisoners of past disagreements" and "I didn't come here to debate the past -- I came here to deal with the future."

Obama departed from his prepared remarks to briefly respond to Ortega's blistering rhetoric. Here is what he added at the podium, courtesy of the White House transcript: (after the jump, click MORE)

The purpose of this trip is largely symbolic. Reporters yesterday quizzed Robert Gibbs about what concrete outcomes the U.S. is hoping for from the Summit but his responses were consistently vague: “to re-engage…to listen, to learn and to help lead.” One aide expressed some surprise that the President decided to make this trip so soon after the G-20, but said that it underscored the importance of sending a strong, positive message to Latin America. That message? You’re important. We care.  But the Administration might get more than it bargained for. Already Cuba is dominating local and international media, and cable channels are bound to chatter about the President’s first encounter with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (and the slight possibility the two men will have an impromptu side chat) all weekend. Stay tuned.

We already knew President Obama loves organizing summits. But with the naming earlier this week of official border czar Alan Bersin, David Rothkopf over at Foreign Policy writes that that Obama officially has more czars than Russia’s faved Romanev Dynasty. Hmm, maybe that’s why Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hit it off? Here’s Rothkopf:

The Obama administration has by any reasonable reckoning passed the Romanov Dynasty in the production of czars. The Romanovs ruled Russia from 1613 with the ascension of Michael I through the abdication of Czar Nicholas II in 1917. During that time, they produced 18 czars. While it is harder to exactly count the number of Obama administration czars, with yesterday's appointment it seems fair to say it is now certainly in excess of 18.

In addition to Bersin, we have energy czar Carol Browner, urban czar Adolfo Carrion, Jr., infotech czar Vivek Kundra, faith-based czar Joshua DuBois, health reform czar Nancy-Ann DeParle, new TARP czar Herb Allison, stimulus accountability czar Earl Devaney, non-proliferation czar Gary Samore, terrorism czar John Brennan, regulatory czar Cass Sunstein, drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, and Guantanamo closure czar Daniel Fried. We also have a host of special envoys that fall into the czar category including AfPak special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell, special advisor for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia Dennis Ross, Sudan special envoy J. Scott Gration and climate special envoy Todd Stern. That's 18.

Your Gaggler missed this story earlier this week, and she’s sorry she did. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke to a group of high school essay winners here in Washington a few days ago—a pretty big deal, the New York Times notes, because Thomas is the justice who rarely talks, on the bench or off. Standing behind a glowing hot pink lectern, Thomas hinted he was feeling a little burned out. “I tend to be morose sometimes,” he admitted. “That’s the one thing about this job. You get a little tired.” One of his few comforts: an apparent man den in his basement, where he escapes to watch movies. “I have on many occasions or a number of occasions when things were becoming particularly routine gone down to my basement to watch ‘Saving Private Ryan,’” he said. “I can’t tell you why that particular movie, except we have it and it’s about something important in our lives—World War II.” We get it: Being one of the nine people in charge of intepreting the U.S. Constitution is super hard. Later, Thomas railed against people who expect a “certain standard of living." Air-conditioning, cars, telephones, TVs: They are luxuries, he said. What makes him happy? “I have to admit,” Thomas said, “that I am one of those people that still thinks the dishwasher is a miracle. What a device! And I admit that because I think that way, I like to load it. I like to look in and see how the dishes were magically cleaned.” Your Gaggler is amazed too, mainly that Justice Thomas has forgotten about other miracles in life, like free trips and elaborate gifts.

...

What’s the French word for two-faced? After appearing all buddy buddy with President Obama earlier this month in Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly went off on the new American president, describing him as weak and inexperienced. His comments came during a luncheon this week with members of the French Parliament, who subsequently went and blabbed all the details to the press. “Obama has a subtle mind, very clever and very charismatic,” Sarkozy said, according to one parliament member quoted by the paper Liberation. “But he was elected two months ago and never ran a ministry in his life. He doesn’t have a position on a number of things.”

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Laughing off the work load
Minnesota's only senator Amy Klobuchar turns to savvy political humor for legislative successes. It's also helped her deal with a unique predicament for both her and her state. (AP)

The Internet race
As an economic boost, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown threw his support behind a national broadband system -- an idea that's also been floated in America, but to no avail. (The Guardian)

The price to spend
Spending money apparently isn't free. In states that have received stimulus money, the cost to track where it all goes, and how well it's applied, is a pricey expense -- to the tune of $1.2 million for a state like Nebraska -- that Washington won't reimburse. (AP)

Vive les greves
The worthy competition tackles an age-old question: why do the French strike? The answer is rooted in the country's history, and the track record that manifestations, in their various forms, actually work pretty well. (Time)

Tea-ing up for more
Knowing that one day of protest, without any follow up, can be easily forgotten with time, Republican protesters are seeking the channel momentum from earlier this week. Republican lawmakers are also curious how they can cash in. (Washington Times)

National appeal
Inside Alaska, Governor Sarah Palin is dealing with low approval and frequent attacks from even members of her own party. But outside Alaska, her star still shines mighty bright. (Politico)

Following the money
When a lobby firm closes its doors in Washington, the echo can be heard on Capitol Hill. Since one firm closed up shop last month, campaign donations to three Democratic congressmen has noticeably dried up. (Washington Post)

Your Gaggler is holding with the Presidential press pool while the President dines al fresco with Mexican dignitaries at the impressive National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Outside the room a the Navy Mariachi Band is preparing to entertain the VIPs. I've had my fill of soy fake chicken tacos and guacamole (I'm not kidding! As a vegetarian who loves fake meat, I'm feeling pretty pleased.)  So, I figured there's no better time to discuss what POTUS is munching on this balmy April eve. For all you foodies out there, here's what was on the Presidential menu tonight:

Appetizer: Shrimp in "roosters beak" sauce, pico de gallo made with mango and cilantro pesto.

Entree: Beef fillet in molcajete sauce accompanied by a corn leaf base served with cactus-paddle strips and a zucchini stuffed with squash flower and tomato. The sauce made of green tomato, fried chillies, garlic and onion.

Dessert: Fig barrel in sapodilla sauce with a chocolate curl. The menu described sapodilla as "a legendeary fruit that formed part of the diet in pre-hispanic society."

Drinks: A selection of Mexican wines.

The menu also reminded readers of the history of one of the most amazing substances on this good earth: "Chocolate is one of the contributions of the Aztec culture to the world. First used as a currency, it spread across Europe in the form of a drink." Thank you Aztecs, thank you.

Your Gaggler is with POTUS in Mexico today, where one of the most chatted about issues is Obama's reluctance to renew a ban on assault weapons which expired in 2004. Mexican officials have made no secret of their desire to see the United States reinstate the ban. Gun violence is a chronic problem here, even though regulations are much stricter. Both nations agree that 90% of guns can be traced to the U.S. As a candidate, Obama said he'd reinstate the ban, but in recent weeks Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has been tepid on the issue, saying that the President had other priorities. Today, the President was more blunt. He said he hadn't backed off his support of the assault weapons ban, but that "none of us are under any illusions" that reinstating the ban will be easy. President Calderon acknowledged Obama's predicament, calling the situation "politically delicate." That's putting it nicely.

When Attorney General Eric Holder voiced support for the ban in February, gun advocates, predictably, saw red. As Newsweek's Isikoff and Hosenball reported, the NRA quickly mobilized, sending out action alerts to members. Soon sixty-five House Democrats had signed a letter opposing the ban along with the two Democratic Senators from Montana - which basically means the ban wouldn't make it out of Congress. So it's hardly surprising that Obama won't waste political capital on it. In his short time in office, he's already proven to be somewhat of a political realist. He's got a lot of other big battles to fight this year and a divisive, and likely prolonged, skirmish over assault weapons has the potential to poison other initiatives and exhaust goodwill (not to mention White House staff.) The public would also likely tire of a distracting debate over guns at a time when jobs are drying up and the economy is just, well, a bit scary. So, while it's fun for pundits to make sport out of Obama's newfound reticence when it comes to the ban, he's just being realistic about his capacity this year, and that's certainly something we should by now expect. 

It's been a big week in Washington, especially for Bo Obama, the recently-promoted presidential pup. Just how big was the news that the first pooch had arrived? Our friends at Newsweek Video pulled together a surprising mash-up of all the coverage. With such a high profile, we wonder if the fifth Obama could soon be getting a PR agent of his own.

Did Barack Obama’s book sales decline last year? On Wednesday, the White House released tax returns for the president and first lady, who jointly reported about $2.8 million in income last year. The bulk of that—about $2.6 million—were royalties from the president’s two books: “The Audacity of Hope” and “Dreams From My Father.” That’s hardly a shabby figure, but Obama’s book income was much higher the year before, when he reported almost $4.1 million in royalties, according to his 2007 Senate financial disclosure. The likely explanation: Although both of his books were best-sellers all last year, most of the sales were of the paperback versions, which earned Obama a lot less money. In May 2007, just after he officially declared his candidacy for president, Obama filed a financial disclosure that included an explanation of just how much money he gets from his books:

Royalties for the two non-fiction books are: 15 percent of the US price for hardcover book sales; 7.5 percent  of the U.S. price for trade paperback sales; 8 percent of the U.S. price for the first 150,000 of mass market paperback book sales—10 percent thereafter; and 10 percent of the amount received by the publisher for audio book sales.

In other words, Obama struck it rich by publishing “The Audacity of Hope” in October 2006—just as the buzz for a presidential run was beginning. The book was available in hardcover only for more than a year, right up until the Democratic primaries began, hence the big royalties he reported in 2007. By your Gaggler's estimation, Obama got $3.75 for every hardcover sold, versus the roughly $1.12 he got per paperback.

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Flying away from this mess
Corporate jets, painted as symbols of greed, haven't gotten great PR lately. That's caused the industry to experience a painful slowdown. (NPR)

Tabloid politics
The public back-and-forth between the Palin family and former to-be son-in-law Levi Johnston has been an embarrassing distraction for a governor with ambition. It may also be permanently damaging to the family's political future. (Washington Times)

Cut off their booty
SecState Hillary Clinton has an idea for dealing with the problems posed by piracy: cut to the root. Freezing the assets and targeted diplomacy with people on land could be the most effective way to cut off Somali perpetrators. (NPR)

Should have bcc'd
An e-mail snafu at the top levels of the British government led to one senior-level firing, and a very public apology from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, eager to put the whole thing behind him. (The Guardian)

Bo's ego boost
To preface, yes, we're also sick of hearing about Obama's new dog, but the NY Times poses an interesting question. Will Bo Obama ever realize that he's a celebrity? The answer from dog whisperers is yes. And when he does, the canine's sure to get cocky. (NY Times)

President Obama will travel to Mexico City tomorrow to meet with President Calderon. It's been twelve years since the last visit by a U.S. President to Mexico City, where crime and massive gridlock cause nightmares for the Secret Service. The two leaders have a lot to talk about, but here's a quick look at six things likely to be on the agenda.

1. Drug Violence: No surprises here. Drug-related violence has been all over the news for months, as Mexican authorities continue their attempts to crack down on powerful drug cartels. The two leaders will discuss ways that the U.S. can aid in curbing drug violence. (There is some talk of the U.S. sending Black Hawk helicopters to help, but arrangements are complicated by Mexico's longstanding wariness of U.S. military aid). Obama will probably want to discuss police corruption and judicial reform, both of which impede the government's ability capture and prosecute drug criminals. Calderon is likely to ask Obama to help stem the southward flow of guns and cash. Mexico stepped up the pressure on this front last weekend when its Ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan, told CBS's Bob Scheiffer that U.S. guns and cash are fueling Mexico's drug problems. He said that 90% of the weapons seized in Mexico can be traced to the United States and linked the influx of guns to the expiration of the assault weapons ban. Robert Gibbs has indicated that reinstating the contentious assault weapons ban is unlikely, telling reporters Tuesday that "there's a lot on our plate" and that the President has "other priorities". Hmmm - anyone think this conversation might be a little awkward?

2. The Economy: Mexico's economy relies heavily on exports to the U.S, so even though Mexico had limited exposure to sub-prime mortgages, the downturn here is having a serious impact south of the border. The two leaders have already had a chance to talk broadly about the financial crisis and aid for the poor at the G-20 summit in London, but Calderon will likely want to talk about a couple of specific issues. Mexico is concerned about the "Buy America" provision in the stimulus package. Calderon has made clear his belief that a recession is no excuse for protectionism, and so is likely to be disdainful of "Buy America". He's also bound to be worried about the potential bankruptcy of General Motors. GM has four large plants in Mexico, and layoffs could be devastating to local economies.

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Joe Six Pack on the high seas
Former presidential candidate and current congressman Ron Paul sees a unique Constitutional power -- one that was used most heavily during the Revolutionary period -- to deal with Somali pirates. Let private citizens keep the seas safe in exchange for government "bounty" money. (Politico)

Blago's reality check
NBC has reportedly approached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to be the star of a reality show filmed in Costa Rica. The conditions of his impending trial don't allow him to leave the country. But his attorneys are petitioning the court to allow it. (NPR)

Timing it right
Joining a growing list of state leaders, NY Governor David Patterson said Tuesday that the only thing that has been stopping New York from accepting same-sex marriage until now was the political will of leaders. "The timing was always right. It's just who is willing to take that step, and I am," Mr. Paterson said. (Washington Times)

Redefining pot
A marijuana advocacy group in California says its time the government revised its definition of the controversially illegal substance. Accepting that it has pain relieving qualities could be one step toward the drug's eventual decriminalization. (LA Times)

What you'll probably never see from an American politician
Bolivian President Evo Morales ended a hunger strike Tuesday, in protest of term limits that prevent him from running for re-election. After days of chewing cocoa leaves and gathering support from the people, deadlocked lawmakers finally said okay. (Denver Post)

The air appears tense in upstate New York, where absentee ballots from the recent special election to fill Kirsten Gillibrand's seat are being counted. The DNC just sent out a blast email alerting us to this nugget from The Times Union, an Albany paper:

"When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s absentee ballot came up in the queue, the poll watchers for Jim Tedisco objected to it, saying the senator was in the county on election day and should have voted in person."

According to the latest count on MSNBC, Democrat Scott Murphy is still up by around 47 votes.

After a three judge panel ruled against Norm Coleman in his contest with Al Franken for a Minnesota Senate Seat last night, Coleman's lawyers announced that they will appeal. This appeal will likely push a resolution of the disputed election results off for another couple of months, as Governor Pawlenty, who must certify the results, has said he can't do so until the appeals process is complete. Franken seemed pretty chuffed after the ruling was announced, urging Coleman to let him get to work, because Minnesota "like every other state" deserves to have two Senators.

Franken probably has good reason to be grinning. Law professor Rick Hasen, over at Election Law Blog, thinks that Coleman's chances of a successful appeal are slim, saying that the judges were careful, reasonable and measured in their ruling. But Coleman may have an ace up his sleeve: Ben Ginsburg is on his legal team. Ginsburg shot to political fame in 2000 when he represented Bush in the Florida recount. Don't be fooled by the meek portrayal of Ginsburg on HBO's 2008 docudrama Recount: He's a pull-no-punches guy (his name is still muttered like a curse word by Democrats), and is one of the country's foremost election law specialists. He's likely to have a few tricks up his sleeve. On a conference call with reporters today, Ginsburg firmly reiterated the Coleman camp's intention to pursue every legal avenue to fight last night's ruling. Ginsburg said he believes the judges "misunderstood" some of the issues and the Coleman appeal will be filed within the ten day window. It looks like the appeal will focus on 4,000 or so disputed absentee ballots that have not been counted. Whatever the focus, the fun and games are set continue, at least for now.

Maybe it was major after all. Although President Obama did not announce any new policy today in his speech at Georgetown, he did go back and explain, in great detail at times, the origins of the financial crisis and how the administration has been trying to respond. And Obama implied that he's going to tackle two major issues that have felled his predecessors at the White House: entitlement reform and re-jiggering the tax code. Although he didn't offer many details, that's big news.

But first, when we say “go back,” Obama did literally explain, in several paragraphs, what caused the current recession, which he says was prompted by a “perfect storm of irresponsibility and poor decision-making stretched from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street.” “Our most urgent task has been to clear away the wreckage, repair the immediate damage to the economy and do everything we can to prevent a larger collapse,” Obama said. “Since all the problems we face are all working off each other to feed a vicious economic downtown, we’ve had no choice but to attack all fronts of our economic crisis at once.”

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Abe's secret even he didn't know
Knowing that the pillow on which Abe Lincoln died still contains usable DNA and blood samples, a Philadelphia cardiologists wants to use them to test a popular theory: whether Lincoln was concurrently suffering from a rare genetic type of cancer. Ethical questions abound. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The dog-conomy
The new puppy Bo Obama just inherited a lifetime of royalty, but others of his breed could be facing a surge in popularity, which turns the wheels of inhumane puppy mills scrambling to meet the demand. (Chicago Tribune)

Playing defense on energy
The Department of Defense, which is the largest consumer of U.S. energy, wants to invest more in renewables. But not just to save money. Moreso to save lives. (Washington Post)

Spitzer's comeback?
Eliot Spitzer has had a lot of time on his hands since resigning as governor of NY last year. Now, the rumor mill's a-turning that the poll-turned-pundit is eyeing his old job, what he thinks was a successful run as the state's attorney general. (NY Post)

Pas de pirates
Piracy is a new struggle to Washington and the U.S. Navy, but France has been fighting against Somali sea bandits for years, with surprising success. (NPR)

GOP withering away
Low and falling GOP voter registration in California is slowly turning a state that is hardly competitive even less so, putting current Republican office holders in congress in danger of re-election. (LA Times)

The moment is finally here: First Puppy Bo will have his inaugural public outing tomorrow. (We wonder if he was a little sad to not be involved in the Easter Egg Roll today.) The form this event will take is unclear as yet, but we'll be watching. 

Perhaps the most amusing part of this whole puppy saga was the shenanigans over which newspaper would get the exclusive. The Washington Post won the battle, after some serious diplomatic wrangling. Manuel Roig-Franzia wrote yesterday:

Bo's story starts sometime around the Ides of March. Word on the street was that the White House was going to plant a vegetable garden. Health gurus had been pushing the Obamas to plant seedlings for months, hoping it would set a good example for children everywhere.

A Washington Post food reporter was making calls, probing, pushing. But the White House was mum. Word filtered out that the exclusive had been promised to the New York Times. But the White House offered The Post, the newspaper that cracked Watergate, a mollifier: A puppy exclusive.

Animal rescuers aren't so pleased about Bo though. They'd hoped the Obamas would rescue a dog from a shelter. Steve Gruber, spokesman for the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals in New York City, told Reuters:  "His choosing to go to a breeder is a disappointment. Choosing a shelter dog, that would have been a really powerful message to the American people." One thing is for sure though: Portuguese Water Dog breeders will be seeing dollar signs.

The President received an important thumbs up on his Cuba announcement this afternoon: Florida Senator Mel Martinez, a Cuban-American, seems pretty pleased. He released the following statement:

"The announcement today is good news for Cuban families separated by the lack of freedom in Cuba. Likewise the change in remittances should provide help to families in need. Given these changes will benefit the regime in Havana, it would be wise in the implementation to place some reasonable limits on this type of travel and the amounts that can be sent to Cuba.

"The President has expressed his commitment to freedom - libertad - for the Cuban people, and policy implementation should advance that objective. To this end, the Administration is right to call on the Cuban government to end the onerous charge of 20 percent on remittances. Lowering remittance charges and allowing travel for Cuban families wishing to see relatives abroad are two steps the Cuban regime could immediately take that would show change in Havana."

 Martinez, who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba when he was 15, has already announced he won't be running for re-election when his term is up in 2010.

In advance of the President's trip to Mexico and Trinidad later this week, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has announced that the United States will be easing restrictions on trade and travel to Cuba. (Interestingly the announcement was made first by Gibbs in English at the daily briefing and then by foreign policy adviser Dan Restrepo in Spanish - an inclusive nod to hispanic communities.) In line with his campaign promises, Obama will lift restrictions imposed by President Bush in 2004, thereby allowing Cuban-American families to make unlimited visits and send unlimited amounts of money (known as remittances) to family members on the island. The administration will allow for expanded humanitarian aid to Cuba and for the construction of telecommunications links between the two countries. Obama is expected to be pressured by South and Central American leaders to fully lift the trade embargo on Cuba at this week's Summit. President Chavez of Venzuela is also likely to push for Cuba's readmittance to the Organization of American States. 

Easing restrictions on Cuba might have been politically untenable not long ago, particularly in years where Florida, home to the nation's largest Cuban-American population, was the key to the Presidency. But the power of that constituency has been lessened by an influx of immigrants from other Latin American countries and, even with his promises to lift restrictions, Obama won Florida convincingly. It's also early enough in Obama's presidency for anger over lifting restrictions to dissipate some before Florida takes the electoral spotlight again. Indeed demographic changes may make it politically possible for Obama to consider easing restrictions even further. We know you've given up smoking cigarettes Mr. President, but Cuban cigars anyone?

There are some mixed signals here though. The White House couched the move as "reaching out to the Cuban people",  but the announcement was not made by the President himself which, as Chuck Todd pointed out during the briefing, is unusual for such a major policy shift.

Courtesy The Root

The Root, a sister site to Newsweek (Yay Wash Post Co!), was over at the White House last Thursday covering the First Lady tending to the First Garden when they spied a funny moment nearby: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hanging out at the First Playground.

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Small battles at sea
The U.S. Navy does a fine job protecting against threats like North Korea and Iran. An op-ed argues that it'll have to expand a third arm and develop a more micro approach to "asymmetric" treats like Somali pirates. (NY Times)

Now for pirate justice
The case against the one pirate who was captured could set major precedent should pirate cases continue. The Justice Department now weighs legal questions -- should he be tried in New York or Washington? How should he be prosecuted? -- in the first U.S. piracy case in, according to AG Eric Holder, hundreds of years. (AP)

The current and impending crisis
President Obama's next foreign policy crisis won't be a missile attack or government collapse. It's happening right now, in the form of the slow "deterioration of the global nuclear-nonproliferation regime." (New Yorker)

Earth's wave of woes
Climate change is often defined as an earthy condition, but Grist picks up word of how it's affecting human behavior. The island of Australia, where suicides are rising and more families are breaking up, is showing new signs of depression caused by environmental strain. (Grist)

Most of the coverage of the President's plan to improve healthcare for veterans, announced yesterday, revolved around the establishment of a new electronic medical records system that will allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to more easily access military health records. But some veterans groups will be more pleased with a less publicized aspect of the plan: an increase in funding for vets suffering from mental health problems or traumatic brain injury. In his remarks, the President said:

Because the nightmares of war don't always end when our loved ones return home, this budget also meets the mental health needs of our wounded warriors.  Untold thousands of servicemen and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or other serious psychological injury.  The growing incidence of suicide among active military returning veterans is disturbing.  Sometimes the deadliest wounds are the ones you cannot see, and we cannot afford to let the unseen wounds go untreated.  And that's why this budget dramatically increases funding for mental health screening and treatment at all levels.  It increases the number of vet centers and mobile health clinics, expanding access to this needed care in rural areas.  And it helps reduce the stigma of seeking care by adding mental health professionals to educate veterans and their families about their injuries and their options.

And because thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have suffered from Traumatic Brain Injury, one of the signature injuries of these wars, this budget improves services for cognitive injuries.  And many with TBI have never been evaluated by a physician.  And because such injuries can often have long-term impacts that only show up down the road, this funding will help ensure they receive the ongoing care they need.

The administration will also attempt to tackle veteran homelessness by funding a pilot program to help prevent veterans from losing their homes.

1. Is it a little tone deaf for the President to be ordering pizza from interstate during a recession?

2. While Obama did well by Jewish communities with last night's Seder, how do America's Catholics feel about the President eating pizza on Good Friday, a day when devout Catholics usually fast or refrain from eating meat?

Okay. We're done. No more pizza talk this week. 

When Katie wrote earlier this week that the White House asked some Midwest pizza makers to come bake deep-dish pies for the first family, we thought it was a fun enterprising story about life on Pennsylvania Avenue. Pizza in the White House? Oh those Obamas. They're just like the rest of us!

But it turns out that everything -- and apparently everything -- that POTUS does is a political statement, least of which being his pizza choice. Here's why: White House staff extended the come-bake-for-us invitation to two pizza makers from St. Louis even though the Obamas are from Chicago, which also happens to be the origin and epicenter of deep-dish pizza. At first Chicago pizza-bosses didn't believe it. Then, when confirmed, they got insulted.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the snub has ruffled feathers in Obama's home town. "I like his economic policy—I think he's going to get us out of trouble. I like his foreign policy—he's making friends around the world. His pizza policy is going to have to change," Marc Malnati, who owns 30 pizzerias around Chicago, told the Tribune. Other hometown pie brokers were simply bemused at why Obama would want pizza that is "not as good as ours." The White House's original reasoning was that Obama remembered the St. Louis pizza that he had on the campaign trail as the best he had ever tasted. But when asked for a response to the hurt feelings in the Windy City, the White House declined to comment.

Let's just hope Obama, who grew up in Hawaii, doesn't develop an itchin' for those delicious New England pineapples.

Andy Barr over at Politico is reporting that President Obama will not be receiving an honorary degree when he gives the commencement address at Arizona State University on May 13. A spokesperson for ASU told Barr that: "It’s normally awarded to someone who has been in their field for some time...Considering that the president is at the beginning of his presidency, his body of work is just beginning." But Obama will be receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame when he delivers their commencement address on May 17.

If the six member panel that decides who gets honorary degrees isn't excited about Obama, ASU students are making up for it. Each graduate receives up to six tickets for the ceremony, and some enterprising students are trying to make a quick buck out of Obama's appearance. CNN reports that students are scalping their tickets for between $60 and $100 on craigslist. I guess they're just doing their part for the economy.

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Why not go to three?
When Utah instituted a four-day work week for state employees last summer, legislators thought the biggest savings would be on energy no longer needed to power buildings all week. What they're getting instead is a surprising increase in worker satisfaction and productivity. (NPR)

Lost footing on social issues
A rise in debate over social issues -- gay marriage, immigration, gun control -- has put social conservatives on the defense. But this time, without sympathetic allies in the White House or congress, conservative group leaders are left to form obscure Internet campaigns and cause procedural interruptions. (Politico)

She didn't win, but you could
Hillary Clinton can't raise money anymore to pay off the last of her campaign debt. Fortunately for her, Dem pal James Carville has taken the lead and added some incentives. Donate $5 to Hillary and you could spend a day with him in Washington. Or see the American Idol finale live. (Washington Times)

44's real historical parallel
It seems like Barack Obama has been compared to almost every major president in history. But analysts are missing what historians call the most apt parallel: Obama's striking similarity to Lyndon Johnson. (CNN)

Hitting the bottom
Breaking news and choosing his words strategically, White House economic adviser Larry Summers said Thursday that the economic free fall will end soon. Before anyone got too hopeful, he cautioned that even so, job losses would continue. (NPR)

Bobbing in a new kind of battle
Responding to the pirate threat in the Indian Ocean, a U.S. Navy destroyer arrived on the scene this week to meet a bobbing lifeboat of the offenders. But despite having the strongest navy in the world, the U.S. government is quickly finding it has surprisingly few options for such an unconventional enemy. (NY Times)

You may have already noted our piece about Arlen Specter in this week's magazine, where we discuss Specter's precarious position as the man in the middle. Democrats are looking to him to provide the magical 60th vote in the Senate (assuming Franken is eventually seated), but he's up for re-election in 2010, and needs to burnish his conservative bona fides to beat out challenger Pat Toomey in the GOP primary. Specter only just grazed past Toomey in their 2004 primary match up. One option we didn't discuss in the magazine article, but that pundits are buzzing about, is the possibility of Specter running as an independent - doing a Joe Lieberman if you will. But in Pennsylvania a candidate can only run as an independent if they haven't already lost in a primary, thus ruling out the Lieberman's path. Specter would have to declare himself as an independent and bow out of GOP primary. Dan Stone and I asked Specter about that possibility when we sat down with him. His response was unequivocal:

Newsweek: Would you consider running as an independent.

Specter: No.

Newsweek: No? Definitely not?

Specter: I'm a Republican and I'm going to run in the Republican primary and on the Republican ticket.

Newsweek: We talked to Governor Rendell who said that the running joke is that you could easily become a Democrat and if you did, the framework in the state would make things very easy for you.

Specter: I'm not considering it. Rendell said he would help me raise money. He said that publicly a few weeks ago and I responded publicly that if I became a Democrat I wouldn't need to raise money.

 I guess that's that, but when are things ever that simple in politics?

The White House today unveiled the design for the eggs to be used in this year's White House Easter Egg Roll. The White House is touting them as " the ‘greenest’ egg in White House Easter Egg Roll history." No, they didn't add pesto to the eggs (although pesto scrambled eggs are delicious, we suggest you try them immediately) but they did use 31% less paperboard than the 2008 egg and used renewable, vegetable oil based inks. You can purchase your own egg online.

In another break from tradition, the White House announced yesterday that it distributed tickets for the Egg Roll to gay and lesbian parents to ensure these families were included in the event. According to the AP, the White House reached out to various LGBT organizations and over 100 of these families are expected to attend. A similar number of gay parents and their children attended the Egg Roll in 2006 (although they were not sought out by the White House), causing great consternation amongst some religious conservatives.

The President will host the first ever White House Seder in the Residence this evening, marking the second night of the Jewish holiday. This isn't the President's first Seder: He attended an informal celebration organized by staffers on the campaign trail last year. ABC's Jake Tapper reports that Eric Lesser, a special assistant to David Axelrod, will lead the festivities. Interestingly, the two highest profile Jews in the White House, Axelrod himself and Rahm Emmanuel, will not be attending, presumably celebrating with their kin.

As President Obama prepares to head south of the border next week to meet with allies at the Summit of the Americas, the New York Times reports that Obama is gearing up to tackle what is traditionally a hot button issue at that forum: immigration. The Times reports, citing a White House official, that Obama plans to pitch an immigration reform plan that includes pathway to citizenship for the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. There are few other details on what exactly else he’ll build into the plan. Obama is expected to speak publicly on his immigration proposal in May and over the summer, the White House will convene working groups to examine the issue.

It’s a little unclear why the White House is leaking this information out now, though we guess it’s a move to possibly test the political waters on what will clearly be a divisive issue. Just ask George W. Bush, who saw his bipartisan proposal tank amid strong opposition from Republicans two years ago. The atmospherics are a lot different now—and not for the better. The economy is clearly not in a great place, with unemployment numbers on the increase. And that likely will only enhance the argument reform opponents made last time that legalizing immigrants could hurt U.S. jobs.  Obama appears to have learned some lessons from that last battle: He’ll apparently couch his proposal by arguing for more border protections and cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. The thing to watch is who in Congress will get on board with Obama. With some exceptions—including possibly, John McCain—the White House likely won’t attract much support from Republicans. But it’s Democrats who may be the biggest challenge for Obama. He'll need to support of the majority of his party for immigration reform to pass, but that won't be easy. Conservative Democrats, including the Blue Dog coalition in the House, weren’t very enthused about this issue the last time it came up. Will Obama's popularity among voters make the difference?

From the team of aces that brought you The District, here's the next installment of Newsweek's reality TV take of the Obamas' new life. Last week, TV pundits turned Michelle Obama into a globetrotting supermodel. This week, the folks at Newsweek Video take it a step further.

Holly Bailey/Newsweek

President Obama just arrived back in Washington a short time ago. He landed at Andrews Air Force Base at about 2:30 in the morning and helicoptered to the White House a few minutes later. This was one of those days where your Gaggler feels sort of overwhelmed by what she’s seen. About 24 hours ago, we started off the day trailing the president in Turkey, as he walked through one of the most historic mosques in the world. Then we went to Baghdad, where Obama spent four hours on the ground meeting with troops and Iraqi leaders in an old palace compound built by Saddam Hussein. Twelve hours later, your Gaggler was in Washington, passing the dome of the U.S. Capitol building on her way home. Wow. After the jump, more photos from the trip to Iraq.

*** SPOILER ALERT***  If you are like me and DVR-ed last night's episode of House, you might want to stop reading now.

Actor Kal Penn, of Harold and Kumar and House fame, has announced that he's one of the lucky few to have scored a gig at the White House. He's leaving Hollywood to become an Associate Director in the Office of Public Liaison, the office primarily responsible for public outreach. Penn, 31, was a regular on the campaign trail for Obama, campaigning for him as far back as the Iowa caucuses. Indeed some long-time Obama staffers told the Gaggle back in January how fond they were of Penn. "He was there for us when there was hardly any of us," one advance staffer told your Gaggler. Penn tells Entertainment Weekly that he was "incredibly honored a couple of months ago to get the opportunity to go work in the White House. I got to know the President and some of the staff during the campaign and had expressed interest in working there." We wonder if he had to submit his resume on change.gov, along with the 300,000 others wanting to work there.

Penn, whose grandparents marched with Ghandi in the Indian independence movement, says he's been thinking about trading his lab coat for a suit and tie for some time, but described leaving House as "bittersweet." We imagine the "bitter" part of that equation might have something to do with the massive pay cut he'll have to take. (And perhaps with the shocking way his character was written out of the show. Let's just say there'll be no running back to Hugh Laurie's sexy arms for Penn.) Fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the actor will likely be able to see him see him showing up to work at the Old Executive Office Building, where his office will be located.

Holly writes from Iraq:

The press pool is now told that Talibani may be on his way. We are at the generals palace just across the lake from Al Faw palace, holding outside while Obama meets with Maliki. It's dark out now and the only sound I can hear is fighter jets flying overhead.

Gagglette-in-chief Holly Bailey is with the President in Iraq. Here's what she has to say:

Upon arrival in Baghdad, your Gaggler sprinted to a long caravan of SUVs and vans.  Before exiting AF1, secret service read your pool reporters a long scary explanation of what to do should they hear a siren indicating a bomb about to hit. Holy um, bad word. The motorcade, which was tailed in the sky by low flying black helicopters, slowly exited down a dusty road for the five mile drive to Camp Victory. In all directions, there is just total devastation. Dead trees, piles of bricks and rubble that were once presumably buildings. Just nothingness. It looked like moonscape, only dusty. On the ride there, we passed what appeared to be a mobile home park or something like it but there were no people there, just military vehicles parked everywhere.

Upon arrival, the motorcade passed lots and lots of soldiers informally standing along the side of the road saluting Obama. Near Al Faw palace (Saddam's former home, built to commemorate the retaking of the Al Faw peninsula during the Iran-Iraq war, but which now serves as a Camp Victory), we passed a group of several hundred soldiers formally assembled to salute the President. Our driver pointed out another palace across a small lake. "That was Udays house," he said, referring to Saddam's son. Al Faw, which is enormous marble behemoth, is in impeccable condition considering it's in the middle of a war zone.

Inside, the palace is characterized by massive gleaming crystal chandeliers. The press pool was taken into a meeting with Obama, General Odierno and other military folks. They were heard talking about the perseverance of the troops. Asked why he was here, Obama said "to thank the troops" and said that although the focus has been mostly on Afghanistan lately, Iraq was still important even if conditions had improved. His presence here was a reminder of that. Obama said he would meet with Prime Minister Maliki. Gibbs said afterwards that Maliki would come to see Obama and that there was a possibility that President Talabani will too.

More than a thousand marines gathered in an immaculate circular rotunda, under a massive chandelier, to hear the President. An enormous American flag hung one side of the room. As Obama entered virtually everyone in the room whipped out digital cameras and held them above their heads to snap photos. "Hooah," Obama yelled, doing his best impression of the traditional Marine cry, when he took the stage. The crowd went wild: He's a rock star here too. His remarks were primarily about thanking the troops for their service. During the speech someone shouted, "I love you" and Obama shouted, " I love you back". The President talked at length about sacrifice of the troops and how people had missed the birth of babies and crucial moments in their lives.  "As long as I am president you will get the help you need and the support you deserve," he said. The Vice President's son, Beau Biden, who serves in the Delaware National Guard, was in the audience.

Actually, not that much. Except same sex marriage. Vermont just became the fourth state in the union to legalize it, after the legislature voted to override Governor Jim Douglas' veto. Vermont was the first state to adopt to legalize civil unions, and now joins this very small group. Here at the Gaggle, we keep re-reading the names of these states -- three Northestern and one Midwestern -- and a song from childhood comes blasting back: One of these things is not like the other ones things....Can you guess which thing?

In a surprise visit, President Obama traveled to Baghdad to visit with troops and meet with top Iraqi officials. It was his second visit to Iraq, his first as president. Reporters traveling with the president have been whispering for days about the possibility of Obama tacking on an extra stop to his week-long tour of Europe. Speculation had centered on Afghanistan, which has emerged as Obama’s top military priority since being sworn into office in January. But Obama went to Iraq instead, partly because of proximity. Baghdad is just a two-hour flight from Istanbul, the last scheduled stop on Obama’s trip.

At about 4:40pm local time, Obama landed in Baghdad on Air Force One under a hazy dusty sky. In fact the weather forced the White House to scale back its plans. Initially, Obama planned to helicopter around Baghdad and meet not just with troops but with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and President Jalal Talibani. But the weather was too bad, forcing Obama to motorcade to Camp Victory only. “Commanders on the ground determined weather prevents helicopter travel,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told the press pool on AF1. Asked why the leaders wouldn’t come to him, Gibbs cited “timing.” But upon arrival at Al-Faw Palace, one of Saddam Hussein’s former homes that is now occupied by top military command, reporters learned from Obama himself that Maliki would indeed travel to meet him.  Asked why he came to Iraq, Obama said he was here to “thank the troops.” They are doing extraordinary work,” Obama told reporters. He said that although Afghanistan is getting much attention these days that Iraq still deserves attention and that his presence here is a reminder of that. Reporters are now waiting to hear Obama’s remarks to troops here.

The White House insisted on ultimate secrecy about the trip and took only the small travel pool of 14 reporters who regularly fly with Obama. On Monday, a senior administration official disclosed the trip to Newsweek, who was scheduled to fly home with Obama on Tuesday under the condition that it not be discussed with anyone or reported until Obama had landed safely in Baghdad. “Don’t worry about telling your bureau chief,” the official said. To keep word of the trip from somehow being intercepted over e-mail or phone, the White House had already called him.

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Home sweet historic home
Obama's "historic" bubble has already been constructed around his persona. Now, almost 6,000 miles away, Hawaii lawmakers are considering whether the 12-story apartment building that was his boyhood home should be named a "historic place." (NPR)

Omnipresent Axelrod
There's little in the White House that David Axelrod doesn't do. He talks policy and strategy with different teams, and has the president's constant ear. But history has shown that the public is leery of all-encompassing advisers, which could quickly turn Axelrod into a liability. (Politico)

Hands off NorKo
North Korea defied global condemnation last week when it tested a long-range missile. Fred Kaplan argues that in order to get the U.S. back in the driver's seat with the isolated Asian country, the Obama Administration needs to play a much different -- and hands off -- game. (Slate)

Supreme bypass
If the Supreme Court decides this summer to hear a case from former Guantanamo detainees, the eventual ruling would set standards and procedures for treatment of terror suspects almost entirely out of the hands of the president. (AFP)

Minnesota: End in plain sight
Probably best not to hold your breath, but NPR reports that a conclusion to the indefatigable Minnesota senate race could end as early as today with a new ruling of a review panel. It also could stretch on. (NPR)

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After the Hagia Sofia, President Obama walked the short block to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque. It’s the national mosque of Turkey, and before going inside, everybody—including the president—had to remove their shoes, while women covered their heads with a scarf. The building is not nearly as old as the Hagia Sofia, but it’s still pretty old. It was built sometime between 1609 and 1616. It's called the Blue Mosque because it was built with thousands of blue tiles inside. More photos after the jump.

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President Obama kicked off his final day in Turkey with a visit to two of Istanbul’s most recognizable sites, the Hagia Sofia. Built almost 1,500 years ago (it was constructed between the years 532 and 537), it was initially one of the world’s largest basilicas before being converted into a mosque. It’s now a museum--and a home, your Gaggler must note, to a lot of cute cats. Obama, with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in tow, took a quick walking tour through the building this morning. Click for more pictures after the jump.

As your Gaggler noted yesterday, security has been noticeably tighter around President Obama since his arrival in Turkey on Sunday night. Perhaps this is why: CBS News, citing a report in a Saudi newspaper, says a man was arrested in Istanbul on Friday for alleging plotting to kill the president. Their World Watch blog reports:

The man, who was carrying an Al-Jazeera TV ID card in the name of M.G., confessed after his arrest that he was planning on stabbing the U.S. president with a knife during the Alliance of Civilizations summit held in Istanbul, adding that he had three other accomplices to help him execute his plan. According to the paper, Turkish investigators were trying to verify whether the Qatari-based Arab TV channel has truly issued the ID card produced by the man, or if it’s a forged copy. The suspect, a permanent resident of Istanbul, has been regularly attending all conferences and events relating to the Middle East held in the city.
 
According to the paper, Al-Jazeera here in Turkey claim they don’t know the man. A cause for concern for the White House: The man was reportedly credentialed to attend Obama-related events here in Istanbul today.

...Courtesy AP

Back in January, George W. Bush told reporters that he just couldn’t see himself sitting around and relaxing post-presidency. “I’m a type A personality,” Bush said. He wasn’t kidding. This afternoon, the former president threw out the first pitch at the home opener for the Texas Rangers, the baseball team he used to own. According to the Associated Press, Bush stopped by the press box to gab for a while, talking baseball and telling stories about all the first pitches he’s thrown out over the years. Sounds like someone might be a little lonely.

The Dallas Morning News writes about Bush’s life in Dallas, where he lives on a quiet cul-de-sac near Southern Methodist University, the future home of his presidential library. In recent weeks, Bush has been spotted riding his mountain bike on nature trails around the city. He’s made surprise visits to SMU classes and dropped by a Wounded Warrior bike ride. Most importantly, he’s the one in charge of walking his dog, Barney, where, for the first time, he's cleaning up after him. Here’s the Morning News:

When Barney recently left a "deposit" on a neighbor's yard, Bush told a private Canadian audience, the former president "put on one of these little plastic bags and reached out ... and it dawned on me [that] for eight years I was dodging this stuff and now I'm picking it up."

Classic.

...Courtesy AP/Charles Dharapak

In a speech aimed at mending ties with the Muslim world, Barack Obama today insisted the U.S. “is not and never will be at war with Islam.” The president, speaking before a special session of the Turkish parliament, acknowledged the strain between Americans and the Muslim world and pledged to bridge the divide between the East and West. “America’s relationship with the Muslim community, the Muslim world, cannot, and will not, just be based upon our opposition to terrorism,” Obama said. “We seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground.” In making those promises, Obama illustrated his own ties to the Islamic faith—a subject that was taboo during his presidential campaign. He told his audience that the U.S. had been enriched by “Muslim Americans.” “Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country,” Obama said. “I know, because I am one of them.” Click here for the full speech. In case you’re wondering,  today’s remarks were not “the” speech that Obama has pledged to deliver to a Muslim audience within his first 100 days in office, according to White House aides. That, apparently, is still to come.

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

The vote that's getting popular
A California group opposed to the electoral college system of electing a president is gaining momentum to abolish the procedure. Four states -- Hawaii, New Jersey, Illinois and Maryland -- have already vowed to support only the popular vote -- but only if other states do too. (Washington Times)

Olympics: Thanks, but no thanks
Olympic officials will visit Chicago this week as the IOC nears a final decision for the 2016 games. Chicago-based writer Steve Chapman thinks that the games would be more hassle than benefit and that the voting body should give them to someone else. (Reason)

The choice for a commencement speaker
Notre Dame is a traditional pro-life university, so when pro-choice President Obama was invited to speak at the school next month, it rankled some on campus. Now, the dispute of whether the school should rescind the invitation has escalated, with one student calling it a downright "scandal." (NY Times)

Now more pleasant to fly
Congress never passed an Arline Passenger Bill of Rights when it was introduced in 2007, but last month saw huge improvement in airline passenger logistics. Fewer delays, fewer lost bags and fewer bumped customers. The glowing winner of customer service? Southwest Airlines. (NPR)

Crisis diplomacy moves on
With the crisis in Darfur at the risk of deepening, Foreign Relations Committee head John Kerry will visit Sudan later this week. Meetings with Sudanese officials and the Obama Administration's special envoy to the region will be the next step in thawing U.S. relations with Sudan. (AFP)

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Looks like someone has sour grapes over all the attention Michelle Obama is getting for her fashion choices these days. We missed this last week, but Women’s Wear Daily reports that the “big guns” of American fashion are not entirely thrilled that the First Lady has overlooked their designs in favor of wearing lesser known designers like Thakoon and Jason Wu. Oscar de la Renta, who has dressed Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and other first ladies, insists that he’s not mad that Michelle is wearing a lot of J.Crew and new designers but says “it’s wrong to go in one direction only.” (Um, like other first ladies did by wearing you all the time?) He even gets all hoity toity about it. “You don’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater,” Oscar insists, implying Michelle needs to learn about protocol. (Heh. Where have we heard that before?) This isn’t the first time Oscar and other designers have griped about Michelle not wearing their clothes. The New York Times reported a similar story in February that mentioned Oscar de la Renta had sent 12 designs for Michelle’s inaugural wardrobe but “never heard another word.” Maybe, gasp, the First Lady has a different style?

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By the way, if you ever come to Ankara to visit the tomb of Ataturk, leave your trumpet at home. Your Gaggler spotted this sign just inside the entrance. It likely means no honking, but who knows?

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President Obama is in Ankara today on the first day of his two-day trip to Turkey. Security is noticeably tighter here than on other legs of the Europe tour. Your Gaggler flew in on Air Force One with the president last night, where he was met at the airport by a larger than usual motorcade. There were two presidential limos and two presidential SUVs, in addition to dozens of other additional security vehicles. On the drive to Obama’s hotel, the motorcade split, with one set of cars turning off onto a highway and the other, which included the press, turning off for a drive straight into the heart of Ankara. Today, Obama is meeting with Turkish leaders, including President Abdullah Gul, and speaking before the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Earlier this morning, he followed the tradition of other American presidents who have come to Ankara and laid at wreath at the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey.