TPMDC Morning Roundup

WaPo: White House Revamps Communications Strategy
The Washington Post reports that the White House is retooling its communications strategy for this midterm election year. "It was clear that too often we didn't have the ball -- Congress had the ball in terms of driving the message," said communications director Dan Pfeiffer. "In 2010, the president will constantly be doing high-profile things to be the person driving the narrative."

NYT: After 9/11 Trial Plan, Holder Hones Political Ear
The New York Times reports that Attorney General Eric Holder has started to work on his political skills, in the wake of controversy over the planned 9/11 terrorism trials: "'The political attacks over terrorism cases were 'starting to constrain my ability to function as attorney general,' he said in an interview last week. 'I have to do a better job in explaining the decisions that I have made," Mr. Holder also said, adding, 'I have to be more forceful in advocating for why I believe these are trials that should be held on the civilian side.'"

Obama At Camp David
President Obama is spending the day at Camp David, and does not have any public events scheduled. He will return to the White House later in the day. Vice President Biden will travel back to Washington today, from his trip to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and does not have any public events scheduled.

Hillary Clinton Asks Middle East For Patience With U.S. Strategy
Speaking in Doha, Qatar, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for patience from the Muslim world, acknowledging concerns "that the U.S. commitment is insufficient or insincere, that we have not fully embraced the spirit of mutual respect and partnership that the president described, or that we will fail to translate that spirit into the concrete steps needed to achieve real and lasting change in the world." Clinton said that the desired changes "cannot happen overnight or even in a year," and that "It takes patience, persistence and hard work from us all."

Trial Lawyers To Obama: Don't Make Deal On Tort Reform In Health Talks
The Hill reports that trial attorneys are speaking against any efforts to restart a compromise on health care reform by including tort reform. "I would hope this would be an area we just don't go," said Linda Lipsen, vice president for public affairs at the trade group the American Association for Justice. Lipsen added: "The last thing Congress should be doing is eliminating people's rights when the real issue is safety in hospitals."

NYT Looks At TV Analyst-Politicians
The New York Times examines the large number of political commentators on the news channels who are themselves former candidates, and could potentially be candidates again, such as Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and Harold Ford. "It's a little awkward," said CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman, who added that the networks themselves "probably ought to realize that they're being taken advantage of a little bit."

'Joe The Plumber' Blasts McCain: 'He Really Screwed My Life Up'
Samuel Joseph "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher lambasted Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), during an appearance Saturday in Pennsylvania. "I don't owe him s--. He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it," said Wurzelbacher, who explained: "McCain was trying to use me. I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It was a ploy."