The Note
WASHINGTON — -- 66 Days Until Inauguration Day
Lots happening today: ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports that Secretary of State Colin Powell will resign upon the naming of his successor, and we expect much of the day will focus on gaming out who will follow him. Democrats contemplate their future in Little Rock, and the clash setting up a huge priority of the Bush second term -- judicial nominations -- keeps going.
The Washington Post's Helen Dewar takes a look at Sen. Arlen Specter's Senate tenure and public image, and lays out the battle over the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. LINK
And as the fight continues to gurgle in Washington, Sen. Specter, the man at the center of the tempest, is scheduled to travel today to New York City along with his Keystone State colleague, Sen. Rick Santorum, for an appearance before the principal Gotham City forum for national conservative politics, The Monday Meeting.
The Monday Meeting, run by top New York conservatives Mallory Factor and James Higgins, is a deliberately low-profile (but extremely influential) group whose off-the-record sessions have become the place where Administration officials, House leadership, and Senators come to demonstrate their conservative bona fides to political organizers, conservative media, and A list donors.
Keen observers of the Judiciary Committee brouhaha will be watching the smoke signals carefully, as this is the only known appearance before a conservative group that Specter -- who sources say has turned down invitations to explain his position before numerous conservative groups, including the Federalist Society and Americans for Tax Reform -- has scheduled.
Specter's 2003 appearance before The Monday Meeting is credited by many with stopping a conservative stampede to primary rival Pat Toomey and saving Specter's seat.
Senate Majority Leader Frist isn't exactly in Specter's cheering section. LINK
The presence(s) that continually loom in the background of Democratic politics move to the forefront as Little Rock becomes a real live political epicenter with the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library.
Seriously, don't even think about missing the overview of the Clinton legacy and the (Sen. Hillary) Clinton future -- not to mention the future of the Democratic Party, as cannily Noted by Jake Siewert -- that the Washington Post's John Harris has made the cornerstone of his look at this week's opening of the Clinton Presidential Library. LINK
New York Magazine's slightly revitalized Intelligencer column goes with a story The Note has sat on for a week or so -- Patti Solis Doyle, who used to run Sen. Clinton's PAC is now ensconced at the Glover Park Group. If you don't understand the cosmic significance of that fact, you can do one of two things -- reevaluate every aspect of your life (including why you read The Note), or go buy the magazine, which does an excellent job of Rosetta Stoning this key development. LINK
Prof. Brownstein Notes that while a 51 percent victory is decisive, President Bush still needs a successful second term, because he didn't leave his party with much of a cushion, even with his coattails that brought a more comfortable margin on the Hill. LINK
Dean Broder made a similar point on Sunday. LINK
The Los Angeles Times' Richard Simon looks at how President Bush may try to take some of his political capital for a spin with the lame duck Congress. LINK
The Wall Street Journal's David Rogers reports the lame-duck post election session -- which has [by his account] two key tasks: "first, raising the limits on government borrowing; and second, enforcing caps on domestic spending for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1."
And/but/also "Democrats appear so dispirited by their election losses they are hardly resisting the pressure to hold the line on spending, but the talks also are a test of how far Republican moderates will bend, given the promise of a more conservative Congress next year." LINK
Time's Michael Duffy takes a closer look at Alberto Gonzales -- and wonders what the Democrats may have in store for him if his AG appointment is in fact a dry run for a SCOTUS nomination process down the line. LINK
The Wall Street Journal's David S. Cloud reports the honeymoon is over for Porter Goss as senior CIA officials clash with their new boss two months after his confirmation. "By several accounts, Mr. Goss's early tenure at the CIA has been rocky, in part because many agency officials fear that he is under orders from the White House to clean house." LINK
The Sunday Boston Globe -- with bylines galore -- did its Kerry campaign deconstruct; it tracks closely with Newsweek, but it makes it seem like history will record that all that stood between Joe Biden and Foggy Bottom was Mary Beth Cahill's failure to call Paul Begala back. LINK
The Nashua Telegraph reports on Jeanne Shaheen's serious potential as a replacement for Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe, though "Shaheen hasn't decided whether she can give the time and commitment to the DNC post." LINK
We're also watching political animals of a different sort -- the CEO sort -- who have their eyes on the DNC chairmanship. Namely, Leo Hindery, chairman of HL Capital, Inc., and former CEO of Global Crossing and AT&T Broadband & Internet Services, who is expected to decide in the next week or two whether to officially throw his hat into the ring.
The Boston Globe's Susan Milligan gives voice to Republican moderates who dismiss the idea cultural conservatism running amok in the Senate. LINK
The New York Times' Robin Toner looks at the shrinking ranks of Southern Democrats on the Hill -- and with them the shrinking center. LINK
Roll Call's Chris Cillizza looks at how 527s may shape-shift for 2006.
David Schribman took a weekend look at who can be expected to set up shop in New Hampshire soon. LINK
The Washington Post's Bob Kaiser offers up an update-your-scorecard-for-2008 profile of Sen. Chuck Hagel in the Style section. LINK
Can you believe New Mexico is still counting provisional ballots? LINK
Glenda Hood got a little closure Sunday as Florida's election results were confirmed -- fanfare free. LINK
New Jersey State Senate President Richard Codey was sworn in as acting governor yesterday, the New York Times reports. Gov. James McGreevey's resignation is effective tomorrow. LINK