Daily Roundup

Leader: Foreclosure and the World Economy

- President Obama will speak on Phoenix today to unveil his plan to address the home mortgage crisis. The plan will focus primarily on those who took out loans they could not afford, and are facing certain foreclosure in the near term. Additionally, the government will allow people with mortgages through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance, and will work to keep mortgage rates low for all borrowers. The plan will cost about $75 billion, and should keep 9 million Americans from losing their homes. 

- The WaPo leads with a gloomy piece today about the global slide in markets. From East Asia to Western Europe, economies are suffering badly. Martin Wolf looks at the lessons of the Japanese "lost decade" and concludes that we can't yet rule out a "lost decade" for the entire world economy.  

Politics

- The chattering classes have spent a few weeks declaring failure and defeat for Obama's efforts at bipartisanship.  A growing chorus of über-pundits, however, takes the opposite view.  Mike Tomasky has an excellent post praising Obama's strategy, and Rick Hertzberg has an excellent essay as well--  "Even if it fails as a tactic for compromise," he writes, bipartisanship "can succeed as a tonal strategy."

- Did you know President Obama issued economic sanctions to warring parties in the Côte d'Ivoire? Neither did anyone else.  Despite unprecedented transparency and intense scrutiny, a number of presidential actions have slipped entirely under the radar.  

- What began as a sad, sorry affair has turned comedic. Senator Roland Burris offered his fifth version of events leading up to his appointment by "Crooked" Rod Blagojevich, now admitting that he tried to raise cash for Blago, but failed.  Sounds like he'll be a cracker jack senatorial candidate in 2010... if he lasts that long.

Economy

The WSJ reports that GM is seeking an additional $16.6 billion on top of the cash they've already requested. Chrysler, too, wants billions more. The NY Times has slightly different numbers, but the message is the same: these companies are on the brink, and need serious, immediate help lest they be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

- GM is cutting some of its oldest lines of autos, and apparently some people are upset about this.  Goodbye, Saturn.

International

- President Obama authorized the deployment of an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, beginning in May, bringing the total to 36,000 Americans among 55,000 NATO troops.  This marks the beginning of a strategic shift away from the conflict in Iraq, toward Afghanistan and Pakistan.

- Hundreds of people in Mexico blocked key crossings into the United States, in protest of the Mexican government's use of the military to fight the drug war.  Protestors allege abuse of civilians, while the government countered that the protests had been organized by drug gangs.

One More Thing

- Shaq couldn't meet Obama, so he sent his size 23 sneaker instead. Before unwrapping the package, Obama took one whiff, and thought his Chief of Staff was sending him a message.

- Last, is all this bad news getting you down? Okay, let's pause at the end here for a Stephen Colbert vs. Conan O'Brian invisible string dance-off.

Leader: Car Wars

- GM and Chrysler have been finalizing their plans to restructure, and will submit their plans to the Obama Administration today. Chrysler is in the process of trying to be taken over by Fiat, and GM is attempting to sell off its Hummer and Saab divisions. No luck so far for either company.

- While the Administration backed away from naming a Car Czar, opting instead for a panel to be overseen by Secretary Geithner and Larry Summers, Ron Bloom, a former investment banker will be a key advisor to the Presidential task force. Reactions to the decision have been mixed.

Politics

- The world's fifth biggest economy is collapsing in a heap.  The California State Legislature failed to come up with a budget after three days of negotiations, and now Governor Schwartenegger is poised to lay off 10,000 workers and cut 275 government programs. 

- Eric Cantor, apparently fashioning himself as a leading voice in opposition to the Obama administration, offers up a fabulously incoherent knock on the $50 billion plan to stem home foreclosures expected soon.  Apparently, Cantor believes that "If we put the bill for $50 billion plus on top of all the bills that families have right now, you may very well be set to encourage more foreclosures." Wait, what?

- Have I mentioned that we're hosting an event here at NDN today?  No, I haven't.  But Jose Antonio Vargas of the Washington Post has. If you're in the neighborhood, why not RSVP and come by to hear all about New Tools for a New Era?  If you're not, tune into our brand new livestream page at noon, to catch the action as it happens.

- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wants Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be a real woman and stand up to a Senate that seemed slightly hijacked by three centrist Republican Senators. The WaPo reports that liberals everywhere would also like to see a sterner line set by President Obama. 

International

- 12,000 Pakistani troops have been held off by 3,000 Taliban fighters in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, and the government has effectively conceded the area to the Taliban, accepting the rule of Islamic law in the region and calling a truce. The valley is just 100 miles from the capital city Islamabad.

- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will be the first foreign head of state to visit the White House.  Secretary Clinton's visit to Tokyo is going swimmingly, thus far.

One More Thing

- Did you hear about the chief executive who, even as his organization was laying people off and facing insolvency, took home nearly $1 million including ample bonuses? No, he's not a banker, he's the Postmaster General.

- Can we finally have a serious discussion about Howard Fineman's hair, please? Sometimes it's like this city doesn't even care.

- Last, the Japanese Finance Minister will resign after this fiasco, in which he addresses a G7 meeting appearing well-soused.  He was apparently just strung out on cough syrup:

Leader: ARRA Signature

-  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed by congress on Friday, with nearly all Republicans voting no, and nearly all Democrats voting yes.  The WaPo has the defectors from each side. The package, which President Obama will sign tomorrow in Denver, contains most of the provisions Obama outlined in his initial plan.

- Politico has the seven lessons Democrats learned through the process of passing this bill.  Lesson one: House Republicans are Furniture. Too early for lessons? The WaPo reports that the "stimulus battle has just begun," as both sides position themselves to cast blame and take credit accordingly. Obama's approval ratings remain high, which came in very handy last week as he peddled his ARRA around the country.

Politics

- Roland "Plaxico" Burris shot himself in the foot on Saturday when he announced that the brother of "Crooked Rod" Blagojevich had requested $10k in exchange for a Senate seat. Evidently trying to head off later controversy, the plan backfired. Though he didn't give any money, some Senators are now calling for Burris's resignation, because he failed to disclose this fact when he was appointed, and now resides under an ethical cloud.

- The US military is opening its doors to recent immigrants, and offering a path to citizenship through service.  Recruiters are expecting the immigrants to have higher levels of education, foreign language skills, and professional expertise than many Americans who enlist.  

- Ezra Klein explains why 2009 isn't 1993, and why Democrats aren't going to get blown away in the midterms.

Economy

- President Obama dropped the idea to have a "Car Czar" charged with rescuing Detroit from itself.  Instead, Treasury Secretary Geithner and Grand Poobah Larry Summers will oversee a panel on the auto industry.  

- Nationalization, or whatever you want to call it, is gaining support on Capitol Hill, where some Republicans are now calling for radical measures to save our financial system. Nouriel Roubini and Matthew Richardson called for nationalization on the op-ed page of the WaPo yesterday: We're all Swedes now, they say.

- Paul Krugman continues his campaign to convince everyone that this recession will be long, deep, and serious.

International

- Hugo Chavez won a referendum last night to abolish presidential term limits, allowing him to stay in office after his current term ends in 2013.  This came a bit more than a year after a similar attempt failed, though in the previous vote, the ballot had other constitutional measures, as well. In a celebratory mood, Chavez stayed up much of the night with other revelers, leading the nation in singing the national anthem, and chanting, in unison (and in Spanish) "the people, united, will never be defeated!"  If it looks like authoritarianism, and sounds like authoritarianism... 

- Hillary Clinton is on her way to Asia.  First stop: Japan. In the fourth quarter, Japan's economy shrank at a faster pace than at any point since the 1970s.

- Second (and more important?) stop: China. Here, Time looks at how Beijing will react to the long list of asks that Clinton will be carrying to Beijing.

One More Thing

- Here's something: Junior New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sleeps with two rifles under her bed.  But that's nothing compared to the .44 caliber hand cannon that senior New York Senator Chuck Schumer keeps under his pillow.

- Last, President Obama issued a recorded address during last night's NBA All-Star game using basketball analogies to call for national service:

Leader: Another One Bites The Dust

- Senator Judd Gregg withdrew his name from consideration to be Commerce Secretary yesterday. Said Gregg: Don't feel bad, it's not your fault, it's mine.  Said the White House: You're damn right it's your fault!  Echoes of my own life, there...

From the White House Statement:

Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.

- Simon's commentary on the Gregg withdrawal is here. The Economist rounds up reactions from Simon and others, concluding that everyone comes out of this mess looking a bit silly, not least the Republicans who have thrown another fit in full view of a public that wants them to work with the popular president. Mike Tomasky's thinks Obama shouldn't abandon bipartisanship, but says "good riddance to a real jerk."

Politics

- The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment bill is likely to go up for a vote in the House today, and members are sifting through the full text now. Many House Democrats are irked, and feel like the bill was hijacked by the center. They'll still vote in favor. House Republicans, who voted against the bill two weeks ago, are now under pressure from the powerful AARP to switch sides.  

- Paul Krugman comments on the recovery bill and the bank bailout, and worries that America is failing to rise to the greatest economic challenge in 70 years.  Sure, Obama got what he asked for in the recovery bill, but he didn't ask for enough.

Economy

- A bit of front page economic analysis in the NY Times concludes that many big banks in the U.S. are, quite simply, insolvent. The only real solution here is for Washington to get its hands dirty, as it did in 1987 and 89, and "plunge in, weed out the weakest banks, pour capital into the surviving banks and sell off the bad assets."

- Japanese bankers and economists who lived through Japan's "lost decade" in the 1990s, see the United States making the same mistakes, and are baffled that Washington failed to learn from Tokyo's missteps. The only solution: "more money, faster."

International

- Richard Holbrooke met key Afghan leaders in Kabul today, just two days after the attacks that killed 20. He is slated to meet President Karzai later today.

- Dennis Blair, the new Director of National Intelligence, said yesterday that the greatest threat to the United States comes not from al Qaeda, nor from Russia's loose nukes, nor from the mountains of southern Afghanistan but from-- you guessed it-- the global economic crisis.

One More Thing

- Today is Friday the 13th!  Stay away from ladders, don't touch any mirrors, and be aggressive with any black cats who dare try to cross you.

- Last, this one belongs right up there with Will.I.Am's "Yes We Can" video, and "Vote Obama," by TISA. They credit Barack with being a follower of Hanuman, which is kind of a big deal: 

Leader: Deal

- Working surprisingly quickly, the House and Senate reconciled their differences yesterday, and agreed on a compromise Economic Recovery and Reinvestment bill at a cost of $789 billion. The bill will likely go up for a vote in the House tomorrow, and the Senate will take it on soon thereafter. If everything goes according to plan, everybody will be able to go home for recess next week, and  President Obama will get to sign the bill by his Presidents' Day deadline.

- The WaPo points out that this compromise bill is actually surprisingly similar to the plan outlined by Obama on Inauguration Day.  Despite all the give-and-take between the parties on both sides of Congress, the plan is true in its fundamentals to Obama's basic objectives. The President may be able to thank his Chief of Staff, at least in part-- The Hill writes that Rahm's fingerprints are all over the package.

- The Post's E.J. Dionne writes today on the lessons Obama has learned recently about "bland centrism"-- that it's "not pragmatic, that it's not helpful in resolving a big crisis and that it certainly doesn't buy you any love." Tom Edsall, writing on HuffPo, takes issue with one of the less stimulative parts of the bill-- the 10% devoted to upper-middle class tax cuts.

Politics

- Secretary of Energy Steven Chu gave a great interview to the NY Times yesterday, talking about a range of topics including global warming, renewable energy, and nuclear waste. Solving our environmental and energy problems will require "Nobel-level breakthroughs" in three areas, he said: Electric batteries, solar power, and crops for use as fuel.

Economy

- Chief Executives from eight big banks were excoriated yesterday in a seven hour long hearing in the House Financial Services Committee. Money quote from Rep. Michael Capuano:

"You come to us today on your bicycles, after buying Girl Scout cookies and helping out Mother Teresa, telling us: 'We're sorry. We won't do it again.' America doesn't trust you anymore."

International

- Taliban suicide bombers attacked a government compound in Kabul yesterday, killing 20 and injuring more than 50. For one of the more cogent explanations of Afghan society today, and the relationships between the government, the Taliban, and Afghan people, listen to this interview with Sarah Chayes, former journalist and current development advocate, who spends most of her time now living in Kandahar.

One More Thing

- Michelle Obama has taken an interest in our community here in DC, visiting a local community health organization earlier this week.  I see this kind of engagement as one way Michelle can make a great and valuable impact during her tenure as first lady.

- Last, Jon Stewart freaks out on Bill O'Reilly's hypocrisy:

Leader: Bad Assets Relief Fund (BARF)

- Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner announced the White House plan to rescue the financial system yesterday. The fundamentals of the plan are similar to what was reported beforehand, but the plan is far larger than anybody expected-- the Administration committed as much as $2.5 trillion yesterday, with $350 billion coming from the leftover TARP funds, and the rest from private investment and new money to be printed by the Treasury.

- The response to the plan has been negative almost across the board. Wall Street gave the most resounding condemnation, as a sell-off led to a 4.6% drop in the Dow.  Larry Summers says the reaction of Wall Street should not be seen as an accurate measure of the plan's quality.

- Many have criticized the plan for failing to offer enough specificity.  Such was the verdict of the LA Times, and Ezra Klein rounds up responses from web-based economists. The FT's Martin Wolf sees the plan as both too optimistic and too indecisive. Jamie Galbraith (via Paul Krugman) labels the plan the Bad Assets Relief Fund. 

Politics

- An FBI agent involved in the investigation of former Senator Ted Stevens has said that prosecutors improperly concealed evidence from the court and the defense. This could affect Stevens's conviction or sentencing.

Economy

- The NY Times's David Leonhardt raises the crucial question of whether, as consumers, we ought to spend or save, both for our own financial well-being, and for the success of the economy.  Simon asked the same question last week.

International

- Elections were held in Israel yesterday, and Tzipi Livni's Kadima party outperformed expectations, appearing to beat out Likud by a single seat in Parliament.  It is still not clear, however, which side will form the government, as members of the far-right party slightly outnumber members of the Labour party. 

- Robert Mugabe's rival Morgan Tsvangirai was finally sworn in as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe yesterday, but control of most of the nation's security apparatus remains under Mugabe's control.

One More Thing

- Will Barack Obama have a beer with Sean Hannity?  Could be.  Weird.

- Last, I can't embed this video of Nouriel Roubini and Nassim Taled on CNBC, but you need to watch it, so follow the link. Check out Josh Marshall's commentary, which is spot-on.

Leader: Hey Buddy, Wanna Buy a Stimulus?

- President Barack Obama gave his $800 billion Economic Recovery and Reinvestment plan the hard sell yesterday, speaking first in Elkhart, Indiana, and then conducting his first formal press conference in the East Room of the White House. While conceding that the plan is not perfect, Obama maintained his assertion that failing to act would turn "a crisis into a catastrophe."

- He took a sharp tone on questions of bipartisanship, admitting that his overtures to Republicans had been mostly fruitless, and renouncing bipartisanship as an end in itself. Obama sounded less like the conciliatory bridge-maker of the past few weeks, and more like a politician on a campaign trail, "dismissing critics as apostles of a failed philosophy."

- John Dickerson at Slate describes the evening's presser as not unlike a law school seminar.  This is, he says, a new form of political communication, and we must wait to see if it is effective. 

Politics

- The Obama administration and Justice Department came to the same legal conclusion as the Bush administration on the question of seizing terror suspects overseas and relocating them to third-party countries for questioning. Much to the chagrin of the ACLU and other civil liberties advocates, DoJ lawyers are still arguing that allowing a criminal case initiated by five men who were subject to "extraordinary rendition" would put state secrets and national security at risk.

- Do you have a Tom Daschle problem?  The Hill reports that many MoCs have Tom Daschle problems, and might not stand up if forced under the same scrutiny that poor old Tom got.

Economy

- The Obama administration will unveil today a plan to use the second half of the TARP funding to rescue our financial system.  The three-pronged plan may commit as much as $1.5 trillion, though mostly in guarantees of private funds. Bailout cash will only go directly to those banks deemed healthy enough to lend.

- The NY Times reports that, within the Obama administration, a vigorous debate took place over the shape of the bank rescue package.  Apparently, Geithner won.

International

- In a sharp break from his previously belligerent rhetoric, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran was open to talks with the United States, given a "fundamental change" in U.S. policy. Obama, speaking in Indiana, said he could foresee diplomatic openings with Iran.

- A huge fire in one of the buildings most iconically associated with the 2008 Beijing Olympics was reportedly caused by fireworks on the last day of the Lunar New Year celebration. The structure was an auxiliary building connected to the O-shaped CCTV headquarters, and was slated to open later this year as a Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

One More Thing

- Last, as Simon has written, the GOP just isn't a serious party anymore. In one of the stranger assertions of the week, GOP Chairman Michael Steele insists to George Stephanopoulos that government jobs aren't real jobs.  For the record, my mailman disagrees:

Leader: When Two Become One

- The Senate will have a procedural vote today to determine if the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment bill has enough support to pass.  When it passes, as it presumably will, the Senate will begin negotiations with the House to reconcile the two versions of the bill.

- Our congressional leadership is hoping to have the bill signed before Presidents' Day-- this coming weekend-- because time, as my old baseball coach used to say, is of the importance. The WaPo warns us, however, that spending all this money too quickly could lead to waste and inefficiency.

- President Obama himself is hitting the road today, heading to Elkhart, Indiana, to sell the stimulus package to the American people. Tomorrow he'll be in Florida. Obama is evidently cashing in, trying to use his personal popularity to promote a measure that hasn't, so far, been very popular with voters. Simon is quoted at length in an SF Chronicle article about Obama's challenges:

The country is hurting, people are desperate for their leaders to succeed - and their expectations are very high. And he's just a man. He's not a god. People are coming to realize that change, as it always is, will be hard. Barack Obama will have to grind it out.

- Sen. Arlen Specter writes in the WaPo why he supports the bill. Paul Krugman writes in the NY Times why he thinks the bill has become too centrist.

Politics

- John Heilemann writes in New York about Obama's brief honeymoon and the risk he faces of being seen as just another politician. "Change you can believe in can't be outsourced," he writes, "Least of all to Capitol Hill."

- Howard Fineman is already tired of Obama's transparency, and wishes he would stop spending so much time appealing to the press.

- David Broder offers a familiar argument in the WaPo: If Republicans are going to overcome the solid "Blue Wall" that Democrats have built in the last two decades, they'll need to abandon the Southern Strategy that has guided them for so long.

Economy

- Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will tease us all for another day, as he waits to unveil the specifics of his plan to use the rest of the $700 billion in TARP funds. He wants to keep the focus on the economic recovery and reinvestment plan, rather than distracting everyone with the financial recovery and reinvestment plan.

- Geithner's plan, in the shape it will likely take, will prioritize involving the private sector in buying the troubled assets that are burdening the banks. Rather than letting government set the prices for the assets, and risking overpaying, government will guarantee investors against excessive losses.

International

- The NY Times's Roger Cohen writes from Tehran on prospects for reform.  The challenge for Iranians, he says, will be for the country to reform as China has-- with the authoritarian hierarchy enduring through liberalization-- rather than as the USSR did under Gorbachev.

- Mixing his metaphors, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said he was very pleased with VP Joe Biden's remarks about US-Russia relations in Munich on Saturday, particularly in Biden's apparent commitment to "restarting the button."

- A car bomb was set off earlier today in Madrid, but there were no injuries or fatalities.  The bomb was apparently set by the Basque militant group the ETA.

One More Thing

- Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic "Hope" image of Barack Obama, was arrested in Boston on Friday on outstanding graffiti charges. I would agree with the BPD that his graffiti is indeed outstanding. No big deal-- this was at least the 15th time Fairey has been arrested.

- Last, Rep. Barney Frank doesn't like that the Senate cut billions in state aid from their version of the stimulus bill:

Leader: Workhorse Squadron

- A bipartisan squadron of 18 Senators is ganging up on the stimulus bill to trim $100 billion of the $920-something billion in spending. Curiously, the bill was just about $100 billion trimmer when it first showed up in the Senate, but most of the additions have come in tax breaks, and the cuts will come in spending programs. About $90 billion is apparently already on the chopping block, and rumor has it that education spending will be a major casualty.

- If the dissenting group comes to a consensus today, the Senate will likely vote this afternoon.  If not, Majority Leader Harry Reid says he'll call a session on Sunday to move toward a final vote. Reid claims to already have the votes to push the bill through, but would rather have the bipartisan votes that the current haggling could provide.

- The WaPo's Dana Milbank sees the Senate as divided between workhorses and show horses-- the former holed up trying to reach bipartisan consensus, the latter parading around giving speeches and trading blame. Paul Krugman also has beef with the political theatre that has taken the place of what should be serious economic debate.

Politics

- President Obama ordered the Department of Energy to write new regulations to raise energy efficiency standards on many household appliances.

- The Topeka Capital Journal is spreading the chatter that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius could be at the top of the list to replace Tom Daschle as Obama's nominee for Secretary of HHS.

- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery yesterday for pancreatic cancer.  Doctors report that the tumor was found early enough that Ginsburg will likely fare better than most with the disease.

Economy

- The Department of Labor reported yesterday that January saw nearly 600,000 more jobs lost, with the unemployment rate rising to 7.6%. 

- With job cuts hitting male-dominated industries particularly hard, the NY Times reports that women could soon outnumber men in the American workforce.

- Things are bad here, but FT columnist Martin Wolf writes that it's much worse in the UK.  Still, even in London, the situation is manageable.

International

- Instead of the usual Europe-first itinerary for a new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton will make Asia her first stop.  Japan, China, South Korea, and Indonesia are on the list.

- In the WSJ, Joe Lieberman lays out the five "surges" we need to succeed in Afghanistan. 

One More Thing

- Obama got his first trip as President on Air Force One-- his "spiffy new ride," as he hokily called it.

- Last, Jon Stewart on Barack Obama's latest difficulties:

Leader: Comp Cap

- President Obama announced strict restrictions on executive pay at banks and other companies that receive "extraordinary assistance" from the government. Compensation will be capped at $500,000 annually, with restrictions on "golden parachute" severance packages, and other luxury spending.

- The restrictions will only apply going forward, and will not affect those banks that received bailout funds in the initial round of TARP fund distribution. An additional, important measure of the new restrictions applies to stock options offered to employees-- they can only be redeemed after the firms have repayed their debts to the government.

- The effectiveness of these measures will take years to understand.  Many fear that the limits will force the top talent away from banks taking federal funds, toward hedge funds and other financial firms without such caps.

Politics

- The WaPo's EJ Dionne unpacks a paradox: Despite getting hammered in November, the Republicans are winning the media war over Obama's first big initiative. In an analysis piece, the paper looks at the President's struggles to strike the right tone. Lately, he's been putting the heat on the Republicans.

- An NY Times editorial reminded us yesterday of the importance of the census, set to be conducted in 2010, and the danger of having an anti-census Republican in charge of the Commerce Department, which oversees the process. The Obama team relieved us all by stepping in to say that the director of the census bureau would report directly to the White House.

- President Obama signed the SCHIP bill into law yesterday, describing it as a first step toward universal coverage. A Las Vegas Sun article looks at the opposition that came from Republicans because it covers non-citizens. Simon is quoted:

“The immigration system is broken and there are a lot of people who live in this country who are not legal citizens, so the issue of whether benefits are conferred upon them will come up again and again.”

Economy

- Richard Milne at the FT looks at the dangers posed by protectionism.  Sparked by the Buy American provisions in the stimulus bill, many European countries have been gently pushing against international trade. The endgame of a trade war is not pretty.

International

- Tzipi Livni, candidate for the Israeli Prime Ministership, is pretty baldly and boldly invoking Obama in her campaign, inviting her electorate to "vote for change." Opposition candidate Bibi Netanyahu has countered with t-shirts that read "No, she can't."

One More Thing

- Did you hear about the time Sen. Judd Gregg, our new Commerce Secretary, won over $800,000 playing the Powerball?  Yeah, that happened.

- A Republican was voted the hottest member of Congress. No surprises there.

- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, however, has turned out to be the funniest member.  No fooling.

- Last, Obama and Geithner speak on the limits on executive pay yesterday: