The Note:

— -- WASHINGTON, Dec. 7

President Bush meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at 9:35 am ET in the Oval Office. There will be a press conference at 11:00 am ET at the White House following their meeting. ABC News will be carrying live coverage of the press conference across multiple platforms including the television network, ABC News Radio, and ABC News Now.

President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush participate in the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the opening ceremony for the 2006 Christmas Pageant of Peace on the Ellipse in Washington, DC.

Vice President Dick Cheney presides over Dr./Sen./Leader Bill Frist's (R-TN) farewell speech on at 2:30 pm ET on the floor of the United States Senate. Sen. Frist plans to leave the chamber with his family after the speech.

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds a press availability following the AFSCME board meeting at its headquarters in Washington, DC at 9:30 am ET. At 10:30 am ET, Pelosi is joined by incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Rep. David Obey (D-WI) for an "end of session" news conference. She'll later join the outgoing Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) at a photo opportunity with Prime Minister Tony Blair at 12:20 pm ET at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. At 1:40 pm ET, Leader Pelosi holds a photo opportunity with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) speaks today at Georgetown University's Gaston Hall in Washington, DC at 11:45 am ET about his views on immigration calling the border fence "ridiculous" and promoting a "reasonable but tough" plan for immigrants to gain citizenship. The Hotline's Marc Ambinder and the Associated Press provide previews. LINK and LINK

Sen. Chris Dodd kicks off Harvard University's "Conversations with Kirkland" series at 4:30 pm ET. This will be the first of many conversations between students and potential 2008 presidential candidates.

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) presents the annual Rostov Lecture on International Affairs at the John Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at 5:00 pm ET. Hagel will discuss Iraq and the greater Middle East.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) attends the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing at 9:30 am ET to examine the Iraq Study Group report in room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building. She later joins Sen. Lieberman (I-CT) at a press conference to announce the launch of a nationwide television PSA campaign about video game ratings at 3:00 pm ET in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) is in South Korea.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean addresses the Party of European Socialists' Conference in Porto, Portugal and meets with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero of Spain.

Congressional candidate Christine Jennings (D-FL) holds a press conference with voters regarding the machine failure in Sarasota County at 11:00 am ET in the Sarasota County Judicial Center in Florida.

Political potpourri:
The politics of the Iraq Study Group:
Former Secretary James Baker and Lee Hamilton defended their report on "Good Morning America" this morning. Hamilton acknowledged that while there are risks in their recommendations, "the path we're on now is also high risk" and there is the "reasonable chance that this can succeed." Baker emphasized that "there really is no magic formula" and the report "does not in any way call for a graceful exit" making clear that it suggests our troops take on an enhanced role in Iraq "for a long, long time."

The duo also responded to criticism that drawing Iran and Syria into the discussion is not beneficial, Baker emphasized that "all we're suggesting is doing with them what we did in Afghanistan" repeating that they're "simply suggesting we do what we've already done."

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos also weighed in on GMA stating that "the President's going to have no choice but to make an address" to the public to outline his strategy now that the group has issued their 79 recommendations.

The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler and Thomas Ricks report that the ISG report will "help incoming Democratic congressional leaders frame the debate over Iraq as a disaster largely of the administration's making." LINK

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in a New York Times analysis, "For Mr. Bush to embrace the study group's blueprint would mean accepting its implicit criticism of his democracy agenda, reversing course in Iraq and throughout the Middle East and meeting Democrats more than halfway." LINK

Stolberg continues, "Assuming he is not ready to go that far, despite some recent signals of flexibility, he faces the more general question of whether he is ready to embrace the spirit of the report -- not to mention the drubbing his party took in the midterm elections a month ago -- and produce a new approach of his own that amounts to more than a repackaging of his current worldview."

"Administration officials said they expected President Bush to announce his own 'way forward' this month. They were careful not to take issue with the report's findings in public, and said Mr. Bush had yet to make firm decisions. But some suggested that the diplomatic strategy in the report better fit the Middle East of 15 years ago, when Mr. Baker served as secretary of state," writes David Sanger of the New York Times. LINK

The Washington Times' Charles Hurt reports that congressional Democrats -- including ones who voted in favor of going to war -- portrayed the ISG Report as vindicating their criticism of the war effort as they pledged to begin "'extensive hearings'" in January that will "continue for months." LINK

ABC News' Jake Tapper writes in his Blog "Political Punch" that, despite what you see in most media coverage, not everyone is happy with the Baker report. For example, Bill Bennett wrote in the National Review that, "In all my time in Washington I've never seen such smugness, arrogance, or such insufferable moral superiority. Self-congratulatory. Full of itself. Horrible." LINK

Robert Gates for SECDEF:
A bipartisan chorus of approval for Bob Gates as Secretary of Defense. The AP has the vote count including Sen. Santorum's parting shot. The new SECDEF is expected to be sworn in on December 18. LINK

GOP agenda:
The AP's Jim Abrams reports on House Majority Leader John Boehner's announcement yesterday that the "goal of adjourning on Thursday was not feasible and that members should put off plane reservations until Saturday morning" so that Congress could address issues of federal funding and tax breaks among others. LINK