TPMDC Morning Roundup

Gates Staying On At Least Through End Of 2010
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who was originally appointed by then-President George W. Bush but has been kept on by President Obama, has agreed to stay on at least through the end of 2010. "They agreed to revisit this issue again later this year," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, who also said that the commitment remains open-ended.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET, meet with senior advisers at 10 a.m. ET, and receive the economic daily briefing at 10:30 a.m. ET. He will meet at 11 a.m. ET with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, and at 11:45 a.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He will make a statement to the press at 2:40 p.m. ET.

Schumer Tells Harold Ford Not To Run For Senate
The New York Times reports that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met with former Rep. Harold Ford (D-TN), working to dissuade him from running for Senate in New York against appointed incumbent Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: "The meeting between Mr. Schumer and Mr. Ford took place on Wednesday at the senator's Midtown office. There, the senior senator laid out the challenges that Mr. Ford would face if he decided to run, ticking off the support Ms. Gillibrand enjoys from New York's elected leaders, unions and many advocacy groups."

GOP Casting Wide Net For House Races
House Republicans are trying to recruit recruit credible candidates for as many seats as they can this year, in case of a Republican wave. "You get enough people on their surfboards, you send them in the right direction and see how many can get to shore," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is in charge of candidate recruitment. "If the wave is big enough, we get there. But if you don't have them out there and you see the wave coming, it takes too long to paddle and try to turn around and catch it, so you've gotta be prepared."

Obama Meets With Baucus, Dodd On Health Care
President Obama met yesterday with Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Chris Dodd (D-CT), pressing them to move as quickly as possible on health care reform. "We look forward to continued work with the President, Leader Reid and our colleagues in the House to get this done," said Baucus in a statement.

Cook Report Downgrades Dem Chances In MA-SEN Special Election
The Cook Political Report has downgraded Democratic chances in the January 19 special Senate election between Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown: "At this point, we suspect that the race has indeed closed somewhat and that the result will probably be closer than it ought to be, but we continue to believe that Brown has a very uphill struggle in his quest to pull off a Massachusetts Miracle. At the same time, we have a well-earned appreciation for how unpredictable special elections can be even in states or congressional districts that sit solidly in one party's camp or the other. For that reason, and an abundance of caution, we are moving it from the Solid Democratic column to the Lean Democratic column."

Landrieu Spreads PAC Money To Vulnerable Dems
CQ reports that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), who was just re-elected in 2008, has been donating money extensively from her PAC to vulnerable Democratic Senators in 2010. Recipients of money from Landrieu's PAC include Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).