The Note: Veto Day

May 2, 2007— -- It took nearly four months, but the White House and congressional Democrats finally got the showdown they wanted -- and have ended up just where they started. House Democrats will try and fail to override President Bush's veto of the war funding bill this morning, and congressional leaders will meet with the president at the White House at 2:25 pm ET to discuss the next step.

Behind the standoff is the political reality of a polarized country -- and the parties' bases are pushing the executive and legislative branches in opposite directions. That's why both the president and Democratic leaders were so eager to grab photo-ops yesterday, conveying very different messages. Don't expect an agreement out of today's meeting; both sides know there's no constituency for compromise.

When the posturing ends, though, Republicans are in a position to drive the debate. The simple reason: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid know they're nowhere close to being able to override a veto on the war. They may draw closer if, as Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) wants, the president has to come back for more money every few months. But the Democrats will still need to move toward the Republican position, unless they want to shut down war funding. "I think the Democrats are in a box," Rep. Eric Cantor, R-VA, told the Associated Press' Charles Babington. LINK

Still, if everybody knows it's going to work out, nobody is quite sure how it will happen. Democrats can't give in too much without alienating liberals who want a quick end to the war. Republicans are standing with the president for now, but signs of discord in the GOP ranks are emerging. There could be "major defections by this fall" if the situation in Iraq doesn't improve, David Rogers reports in The Wall Street Journal. LINK

Pressure is building on Democrats from the 2008 field. Former senator John Edwards (D-NC), who is airing an anti-war ad in the Washington, DC media market, told ABC's Jake Tapper in a podcast recorded yesterday that he will push Congress to keep sending the president bills calling for troop withdrawals until he signs one. "This president is completely convinced that the Congress will back down. And they can't do that," Edwards said. (He also reveals that he is now getting $12 haircuts.)LINK

Another 2008 candidate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), added to the partisan acrimony with his recent comment about how Congress plans to handle its confrontation with the president over the war bill: "We're going to shove it down his throat." LINK

But this could be one of those YouTube sensations that the candidate embraces -- like Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) unique rendition of "Barbara Ann." It's Biden being Biden, and few Democrats are likely to turned off by tough talk aimed at the president.

Also today:

Dan Eggen of The Washington Post identifies another area where the Gonzales Justice Department used the Patriot Act to tighten its control on US attorneys: a little-noticed provision allowing federal prosecutors to live outside their districts and serve simultaneously in other jobs. LINK

The New York Times' Russ Buettner examines the record of the Texas law firm that bears Rudolph Giuliani's name -- Bracewell & Giuliani -- and casts it as key to the former New York mayor's fund-raising successes in the Lone Star State. The firm "is one of the higher-profile defenders of the oil, gas and energy industries, to which it provides legal help and extensive lobbying services in Washington." LINK

Giuliani also gets unflattering treatment in Vanity Fair, with Michael Wolff offering a succinct judgment: "he is nuts, actually mad."LINK

Odds and ends:

The Boston Herald sees a new flip-flop in former governor Mitt Romney's (R-MA) choice of favorite books: It was "Huckleberry Finn" before, "Battlefield Earth" now. LINK

Newsweek's Howard Fineman gets Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) telephone briefing call slipped under his door. No bombshells, but Fineman finds that "the scripted rigor borders on the comic." LINK

The New York Post's Ian Bishop tags Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) as a "fussy frequent flier," reporting that she demanded a Gulfstream upgrade on a recent campaign swing. LINK

Matt Stearns of McClatchy Newspapers reveals the "management philosophy of the CEO presidency," whereby the president stands by Alberto Gonzales and Paul Wolfowitz, but is glad to see Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias go after admitting to getting massages from an escort service through the "DC Madam." LINK

And sorry, Mike Gravel, but you're going to have company: Clinton and Obama are both in for the June 3 Democratic debate in New Hampshire, guaranteeing a full stage for the first debate in the state with the first primary. The peer pressure was fun to watch -- first Edwards committed, then Clinton and Obama followed suit yesterday, much like Edwards' refusal to participate in Fox News debates pushed his counterparts in the top tier to reject the forums.

The kicker:

"Everybody holds their nose and maybe a couple of times vomits, but you get it done,' Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), talking in the Washington Post about the need to compromise with Democrats on the Iraq war.

"If he has not been killed today, he will be killed tomorrow," Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, not quite confirming the death of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri

Today's Must-Reads: LINK

The Sneak Peek:LINK

Welcome to the new Note:

Before I close today, I wanted to briefly outline my ideas for this forum. As a longtime Note reader, I know that it has long been essential reading for those who live and breathe politics, a tip sheet that is as readable and interesting as it is vital. I hope to continue that tradition, while taking the product in new directions -- with video, feedback capabilities, and a look at a broader spectrum of what's making news every day.

The Note should mirror politics at its best -- a conversation about the issues and personalities that shape the direction of the nation. Sometimes that conversation is humorous, sometimes it's serious, but it should always be thought-provoking. Like the best of the Web, this will be an evolving product. And, as always, thanks for reading.

What's different:

The Note's most popular features -- its links to must-read political stories, its ahead-of-the-curve analysis, and its political daybook -- are now published as three different documents. The Note's Must Reads, which pulls together the day's best political stories, publishes at 6:30 am ET. The Note -- the flagship product looking at what's driving the political news cycle for the day and why publishes at 9:00 am ET. And The Note's Sneak Peek, which offers a look ahead to the next day's political events, publishes at 4:30 pm ET.

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