The Note: Competence Is the New Black

— -- WASHINGTON, Mar. 15

Ideal tables for three for lunch at the Palm today would include you, The Note reader, and the following pairs -- ripped from today's headlines:

David Brody and Kevin Madden.

Rudy Giuliani and Hugo Chávez.

Bob Shrum and Hillary Clinton.

John McCain and Jake Tapper.

Tommy Vietor and his rabbi.

Nancy Pelosi and Dick Durbin.

Fred Fielding and David Gergen.

David Broder and Adam Nagourney.

Chuck Schumer and Scott Jennings.

Mike Allen and anyone.

Tom DeLay and Newt Gingrich.

Richard Serrano and Alberto Gonzales.

John Ensign and Ken Mehlman.

Adam Mendelsohn and Kevin Sheekey.

John Sununu and Josh Bolten.

Read on to understand why, in case you don't already.

The Iraq debate continues on the Senate floor today.

Gov. Schwarzenegger (R-CA) signs SB 113 -- which will move California's presidential primary to February 5, 2008, from its current June date -- at 1:30 pm ET at the State Capitol in Sacramento, CA.

"Making California important again in presidential nominating politics is an important step toward restoring voters' confidence in government. And it means our issues will get their due respect along the campaign trail, and then in Washington," Gov. Schwarzenegger is expected to say at the bill signing ceremony according to prepared remarks released by his office.

Sen. John McCain revs up the "Straight Talk Express." He meets with state legislators this morning and plans to hold an 11:25 am ET media availability. Sen. McCain also holds a 1:10 pm ET town hall meeting at the Quality Inn in Ames, IA, followed by another at 7:00 pm ET at the Elk's Lodge in Mason City, IA.

President Bush meets with the Vice President of Iraq at 10:05 am ET in the Oval Office. He then attends a 12:30 pm ET St. Patrick's Day luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, and delivers 6:50 pm ET remarks at a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner at the Washington Hilton and Towers. The NRCC hosts former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) earlier in the day for a 1:15 pm ET luncheon.

Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) and his wife Ann Romney make a 9:00 ET appearance on CNN's Larry King Live.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) delivers 9:00 am ET remarks at the Center for Strategic Studies' Presidential Candidate Forum in Washington, DC.

Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) delivers an 11:30 am ET speech at Saint Anslem College in Manchester, NH. Prior to the speech, Sen. Edwards plans to hold an 11:15 am ET conference call with reporters.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) holds a 6:30 pm ET private fundraiser in Chevy Chase, MD.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) deliver 11:30 am ET remarks to a conference of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Karl Rove speaks at Troy University's Hall School of Journalism at noon ET in Troy, Alabama. Let's see what he says about the US Attorneys today.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) holds an 11:15 am ET on-camera briefing for reporters in the House Radio and TV Gallery of the U.S. Capitol.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a 9:30 am ET hearing on the nomination of Zalmay Khalilzad to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The 14th Politics Online Conference was scheduled to get underway this morning at 9:30 am ET at George Washington University's Marvin Center in Washington, DC.

Politics of Iraq:
In his must-read column, David Brooks of the New York Times delivers a scathing review of the Democratic approach to Iraq. LINK

"The fact is there are two serious approaches to U.S. policy in Iraq, and the Democratic leaders, for purely political reasons, are caught in the middle, and even people like Carl Levin are beginning to sound silly," writes Brooks.

Brooks then goes on to describe what we will call the Kucinch vs. the Bush/McCain/Romney/Giuliani positions as the two serious approaches.

"The Democratic leaders don't want to be for immediate withdrawal because it might alienate the centrists, and they don't want to see out the surge because that would alienate the base. What they want to do is be against Bush without accepting responsibility for any real policy, so they have concocted a vaporous policy of distant withdrawal that is divorced from realities on the ground," argues Brooks.

"Say what you will about President Bush, when he thinks a policy is right, like the surge, he supports it, even if it's going to be unpopular. The Democratic leaders, accustomed to the irresponsibility of opposition, show no such guts."

"Despite the measure's slim prospects for final passage, Democratic strategists hope that it will step up pressure on the administration and Republicans on Capitol Hill to shift course on a war that, many noted (sic), will pass the four-year mark next week," write Robin Toner and Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Noam Levey looks at where things stand in the upper chamber under a "Battle in Senate stalls debate on Iraq war" header. LINK

The Washington Post on same: LINK

Politics of prosecutorial independence:
A Justice Dept source tells USA Today that before Deputy Attorney General McNulty testified in February that the White House was not involved in the firings and approved them only after initiated by Justice, he met with top DOJ officials -- including Kyle Sampson -- who expressed no objections as the group went over McNulty's testimony. LINK

Washington Post reports McNulty and others were enraged when they learned about the Sampson documents last Thursday.

New York Times reports White House Counsel Fred Fielding has been given the task of determining Gonzales' fate. LINK

Eric Lipton and David Johnston of the New York Times look at one of the main critiques leveled against Gonzales -- his close political ties to the White House may cloud his ability to be an independent minded Attorney General for all. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Evan Perez reports that the political storm brewing around Gonzales has exposed a "potentially serious vulnerability -- he lacks a significant base of support outside the White House."

In a separate story in the Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin writes that it is still unclear why the prosecutors were fired.

The Washington Post's Dan Eggen reports that the conflict between documents released this week and previous Administration statements is "quickly becoming the central issue for lawmakers who are angry about the way Gonzales and his aides handled the coordinated firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year. "LINK

The Washington Post's Peter Baker and Bill Brubaker on President Bush backing Gonzales. LINK

Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin of Politico write in a must-read from which we stole our headline and subhead, how the unfurling fiasco has caused further disaster for the Bush Administration, as congressional Democrats and Democratic presidential contenders are emboldened while the GOP won't come to its defense. LINK

Politico's John Bresnahan reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to vote today on subpoenas for 14 current and former Administration officials, including Karl Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers. LINK

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos interviewed Sununu and has his comments regarding his belief that the President should fire Gonzales. "The President should fire the Attorney General. That's what is in the President's interest and the country's interest," Sununu told ABC News. LINK