Obama To Seek $17 Billion In Budget Cuts
President Obama is set to announce today a proposed $17 billion in budget cuts for Fiscal Year 2010. Already, the proposed cuts are getting some pretty negative reviews from the Associated Press and the Washington Post, as being too small. White House Budget Director Peter Orszag defended the cuts this morning on MSNBC: "But $17 billion a year is not chump change by anyone's accounting."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will be speaking at 10:35 a.m. ET from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on the proposed budget cuts for Fiscal Year 2010. At 12:45 p.m. ET, he will meet in the Oval Office with Al Sharpton, Mike Bloomberg and Newt Gingrich to discuss education reform. At 2 p.m. ET, he will meet with Council of Economic Advisors Chair Christina Romer. At 2:45 p.m. he will meet with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. At 4:15 p.m. ET he will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Biden's Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will be at the Delaware Historical Society at 12 p.m. ET, where he will receive the 2009 Delaware History Makers Award, and make remarks. At 3:30 p.m. ET, he will be in Lodi, New Jersey, promoting the Recovery Act program. He will be joined by Gov. Jon Corzine, Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, Rep. Steve Rothman, Lodi Mayor Marc Schrieks and other New Jersey officials.

Gates: Troops In Afghanistan Won't Be Sent To Pakistan
Sec. of Defense Robert Gates told Marines in Afghanistan, during a question-and-answer session, that they do not have to "worry about going to Pakistan." Gates also said the Pentagon was working to get troops more time at home between deployments.

Centrist Dems Ask Pelosi To Shelve Climate Bill
The Hill reports that centrist Democrats are asking Nancy Pelosi to put climate-change legislation on hold in favor of other priorities. "What a number of us believe is that if we're in the business of passing legislation, healthcare is where we ought to be putting our emphasis," said Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL). "That means putting that over climate change policy. But in the throes of a recession, more of a burden on industry is not a good idea."

NYT: Specter Having Confused Transition To Dems
The New York Times analyzes the time that Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) has had since he switched parties: "After a week and a day as a Democrat, Mr. Specter is viewed with suspicion by his new Democratic colleagues, with general disdain by his old Republican friends, and with an odd mix of amusement and pity all around." Said DSCC chair Bob Menendez: "We are working with Senator Specter and his staff so that he understands the universe that he is in."

Rove: Obama's Votes Against Roberts And Alito Could Haunt Him
In his latest Wall Street Journal column, Karl Rove analyzes the road ahead for President Obama in picking a Supreme Court nominee -- and says that while Republicans would normally go easy on the nominee, Obama's prior opposition to John Roberts and Samuel Alito could create problems: "By voting against well-qualified conservative nominees, Mr. Obama lost the ability to argue that a well-qualified liberal should be given the benefit of the doubt."