The Note

— -- WASHINGTON, Dec. 8

Things to watch for in the coming hours, days, and weeks:

1. The House ethics committee report on the Foley scandal. Does it get dumped out with the trash this Friday? Will the outgoing and incoming majorities work equally hard at trying to move beyond it quickly?

2. The planning conversations and intimations between and among Beth Myers, Patti Solis Doyle, David Bonior, Terry Nelson, and David Plouffe to try and avoid five top-tier presidential contenders "announcing" their candidacies in the same news cycle. (Don't forget to watch for those "I've decided not to run" announcements too.)

3. President Bush's job approval rating on that pre-Christmas day he delivers his "way forward" in Iraq to the country. The drumbeat and thumb-sucking begins.

4. LA-02 and TX-23

5. Secretary of State Bill Gardner's New Year's Eve toast for any clues on how the Gang of 500 plans to spend the holidays next year.

As for what else to watch today, President Bush met with bicameral/bipartisan congressional leadership at the White House this morning. ABC News' Jessica Yellin reports that at the end of his meeting with congressional leaders this morning, President Bush took no questions. He thanked the leaders for a "constructive conversation" on Iraq and promised to have "an open door policy" in the future so that Democrats feel welcome to come and talk with him. The President also thanked Speaker Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Frist for their service.

Mr. Bush plans to hold a closed meeting at 10:50 am ET with members of the Blue Dog Coalition at the White House. At 1:15 pm ET, the President welcomes President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa to the White House.

First Lady Laura Bush visits the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC at 11:45 am ET.

At 10:15 am ET, Democratic Senate leaders Reid, Durbin, Schumer, and Murray hold a pen and pad press briefing "to discuss the close of the Do Nothing 109th Congress."

The AFL-CIO kicks off its "Organizing Summit" with remarks from its president, John Sweeney, at 11:25 am ET at the Hyatt Regency in Capitol Hill. At 12:15 pm ET, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Rep. George Miller (D-CA), and Sweeney participate in a rally in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. At 7:00 pm ET, former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) receive the Paul Wellstone Awards. The event will run through Saturday.

Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) holds a press conference with Apollo Alliance president Jerome Ringo and United Steel Worker president Leo Gerard on clean energy at 10:00 am ET at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) is spending the night in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola to highlight the success of faith-based initiatives in prisons around the country.

Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) holds a press conference regarding minority-owned businesses in Iowa at the state capitol in Des Moines, IA at 2:30 pm ET.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) kicks-off "Conversations with Kirkland" at 4:30 pm ET at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) is in China.

At 2:00 pm ET, Gov. Huckabee (R-AR) presents the "Jermain Taylor Day" proclamation to Middleweight Boxing Champ Jermain Taylor in Little Rock, AR. Gov. Huckabee hosts a reception for the "Farm Family of the Year" at 3:00 pm ET.

Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) is scheduled to give the noon ET keynote address for the Center for American Progress's "Economic and Policy Implications of the Housing Bubble" in Washington, DC.

Real-Estate mogul R.C. Tolbert hosts an inaugural gala honoring Senator-elect Jim Webb (D-VA), Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and others at 6:00 pm ET at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD.

At 10:00 am ET Gov.-elect Charlie Crist (R-FL) participates in a bipartisan meeting of Florida's congressional delegation in Washington, DC.

Judicial Watch holds a discussion at the National Press Club on "Hillary and the Presidency: Ethics, Policy, and Bill" at 2:00 pm ET in Washington, DC.

On Saturday, Louisiana holds its runoff with all eyes on the outcome of Rep. Bill Jefferson's (D-LA) contest in the second congressional district.

From 6:45 pm - 8:00 pm ET, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) attends a meet and greet reception hosted by his All America PAC in Manchester, NH.

Today and tomorrow Gov. George Pataki (R-NY) meets with former Republican governors in New York City to discuss the future of the party. Gov. Pataki appears on Fox News at 2:30 pm ET for a live interview.

On Sunday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) makes his inaugural trip to New Hampshire -- which will likely garner a bit more network television coverage than Sen. Bayh's trip to the Granite State this weekend. Sen. Obama signs copies of his book at 10:00 am ET in Portsmouth, then attends a 2006 election celebration with the New Hampshire Democratic Party in Manchester, NH at 4:15 pm ET. (You may have heard that the event is sold out with more than 1,500 people expected to attend.)

Also on Sunday, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) attends a reception at the Symposium Cafe in Spartanburg, SC at 4:00 pm ET. Spartanburg's largest industrial firm (Milliken and Co.) is reportedly quite fond of Rep. Hunter, according to a Palmetto State GOP source.

Along with many of you, The Note will spend its holiday season awaiting the shaking out of who's in and who's out in the 2008 presidential field and looks forward to returning on January 2, 2007 - a mere 12 months before the voting begins. Thanks much for your readership in 2006. Have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.Until then, please be sure to enjoy our 2006 archives to catch up on any Notes you may have missed: LINK

Politics of Iraq:
The Washington Post's Peter Baker and Robin Wright report that President Bush "expressed little enthusiasm" for the central ideas in the ISG Report. LINK

The Los Angeles Times breaks down exactly what parts of the report President Bush took issue with at his press conference with Tony Blair yesterday. LINK

The San Francisco Chronicle's Carolyn Lochhead sees a post-ISG report President Bush who is running out of people to turn to for political support and denying his denial of the woes in Iraq. LINK

Bill Nichols of USA Today reports on some of the Iraq Study Group "skeptics" up on Capitol Hill. LINK

In an exit interview with Kathy Kiely of USA Today, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) tells the newspaper, "We need to find a way to get out of Iraq that doesn't cover us with dishonor." LINK

U.S. military commanders in Baghdad are advancing a plan to increase the number of American troops involved in training Iraqi soldiers, report the Wall Street Journal's Greg Jaffe and Neil King Jr.

Be sure to go back and read Sen. Gordon Smith's (R-OR) floor speech on Iraq yesterday.