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- The Obama administration unveiled its housing plan today, reactions to which Tim has helpfully rounded up here and here.
- Yesterday the president pledged to send an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, leading USA Today to declare the escalation part of "Obama's war."
- Bobby Jindal, slated to give the Republican response to next week's presidential address of Congress, claims he will reject $3.8 billion in funding for Louisiana as part of the economic stimulus package. Obviously this is political suicide, and I'd agree with Jonathan Stein, who argues Jindal is just posturing to prove his conservative bona fides if and when he runs for higher office. Indeed, Jindal has already raised more money than any previous Louisiana governor looking for reelection, with more than two years before his 2011 bid. Not to be outdone, Texas Gov. Rick Perry claims he too will turn down money for the Lone Star State. They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that no doubt includes bluffs.
- In other stimulus news, Pro Publica discovers that most infrastructure money won't go to states with high unemployment; Republicans in the House and Senate who voted against the stimulus love talking about how helpful it will be in their home states; Americans United for Change puts out a pro-stimulus advertisement; and Newt Gingrich boldly proposes eliminating the capital gains tax as part of his "alternative" stimulus proposal.
- This internal memo [PDF] detailing Politico's marketing strategy for their news stories is merely proof of what everyone already expected of the D.C. daily. But as Ed Kilgore suggests, this does not prove that Politico is the future business model for journalism given the uniqueness of the market (the Beltway) it caters to in print form. Still, I'd rather take the mindless fluff of Politico than The Washington Post editorial page's desperate need to promote the fantasies of conservative hacks who recycle old columns and then deign to lecture Congress about being more open to new solutions for climate change.
- Remainders: Laura Rozen wonders why key foreign policy appointments are taking so long; CQ Politics finds Democrats flush with cash for the 2010 election cycle; D.C. takes a few more steps towards taxation with representation; Brad DeLong recommends U.C. Berkeley's chancellor fire Boalt Law professor John Yoo; Aerosmith deprives the GOP use of their music; Barack Obama comes out against reinstating the Fairness Doctrine; and Mike Tomasky defends Obama's push for bipartisanship.
- Recommended reads: Michael Leahy keeps us in the loop on the governing style of Sarah Palin; Chris Hayes takes a look at the Blue Dog caucus; and Dave Weigel looks under the hood of Scott Rasmussen's polling firm.
--Mori Dinauer
