TPMDC Morning Roundup

Obama: New Bin Laden Tape 'An Indication Of How Weakened He Is'
In an interview aired today on Good Morning America, President Obama said that the new purported tape message from Osama bin Laden is a sign of weakness in Al Qaeda: "Al Qaeda itself is greatly weakened from where it was back in 2000. Bin Laden sending out a tape trying to take credit for a Nigerian student who engaged in a failed bombing attempt is an indication of how weakened he is because this is not something necessarily directed by him."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:45 a.m. ET. Obama will meet at 10:15 a.m. ET with senior advisers, and will have lunch at 12 p.m. ET with business leaders. At 4:30 p.m. ET, Obama and Biden will meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Biden's Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will attend President Obama's morning briefings at 9:45 a.m. ET. He will deliver remarks at 11:40 a.m. ET, at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee's National Finance Committee, in Washington. At 4:30 p.m. ET, he will attend a meeting with President Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Obama: 'I Think Bernanke Is The Best Person For That Job'
In an interview with ABC News, President Obama again restated his support Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's reappointment. "What we need is somebody at the Federal Reserve who can make sure that the progress that we've made in stabilizing the economy continues," said Obama. "I think Bernanke is the best person for that job."

White House Asks Levin To Hold Off On Hearing To Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Wait For State Of The Union Speech
The Hill reports that Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was asked by the White House to hold off on announcing a hearing that would explore repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, in order to not pre-empt President Obama's State of the Union speech: "Levin was also told that Obama will address the issue of "Don't ask, don't tell" in his speech on Wednesday, but Levin does not know what's in the speech, the aide added. Levin also mentioned this in a huddle with reporters on Monday. A source familiar with some details of the initial draft of the State of the Union said it would address the repeal of the controversial law."

Gregg: GOP Would Make Reconciliation 'An Extraordinarily Difficult Exercise'
The New York Times reports that Democrats face a new set of choices on whether to pursue the strategy of passing the Senate health care bill, plus a budget-reconciliation bill to modify it -- with Republicans ready to throw up new procedural hurdles against that strategy. "It would be a very hard lift," said Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH). "We would make it an extraordinarily difficult exercise."

Hoyer: 'Turn Frustration Into Something Constructive'
House Majority leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) will give a speech today at the National Press Club, in which he will say that Democrats can turn the voters' anger at Washington into an opportunity. "Our test," Hoyer will say, "is whether we can turn our frustration into something constructive -- whether we can be passionately positive."