Today: Illinois House Set To Impeach Blago
The Illinois state House is expected to vote today to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, after the special impeachment committee approved its full report yesterday evening. Assuming that Blagojevich is impeached by the House, the case will then proceed to the state Senate for a trial.

Obama Press Conference This Morning
Barack Obama is holding a press conference at 10:30 a.m. ET, officially billed as an "announcement." Specifically, Obama is expected to announce the appointment of Leon Panetta as head of the CIA, and retired Adm. Dennis Blair as Director of National Intelligence.

Joe Biden In Pakistan
Joe Biden has arrived in Pakistan, accompanied by Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), where they will be meeting with government officials. The Pakistan trip is the first part of a longer South Asian tour.

Pelosi: Bush "Did Great Harm To America"
In an interview with PBS, Nancy Pelosi declared: "I think the Bush presidency did great harm to America, with this war, with the enormous budget deficits, the challenges to the Constitution of the United States, the financial crisis that we are in." Pelosi also found it very curious that Bush recently said his attempt to privatize Social Security was his proudest achievement -- even though he didn't succeed at it.

Geithner Preparing Overhaul Of Wall St. Bailout
The Washington Post reports that incoming Secretary of the Treasurer Timothy Geithner is working on a reformulated second half to he Wall St. bailout, a necessity if Congressional authorization for the additional $350 billion is to be obtained. The new package would expand aid well beyond Wall St. itself, giving aid to municipalities, small businesses and homeowners.

Blunt, Talent Looking At Missouri Senate Race
House Minority Whip Roy Blunt and former Sen. Jim Talent are reportedly among the Republicans who are considering a run for the Senate seat of retiring GOP Sen. Kit Bond. Both have their strengths in terms of experience and popularity with the party base, but both have their drawbacks -- Blunt's son Matt just retired after one term as an unpopular governor, and Talent lost re-election in 2006.

Chris Christie Running For New Jersey Governor
U.S. Attorney Chris Christie has announced that he is running for governor of New Jersey against Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine. Christie starts out as the immediate frontrunner for the Republican nomination and should be taken very seriously, thanks to his record of putting corrupt politicians from both parties in prison.

Campaign Spending Hit Record High In 2008
Bloomberg reports that campaign spending by candidates and political parties for all federal offices reached a record high of $4.1 billion in 2008, blowing away the $3 billion from 2004. This statistic can be viewed in different ways: Is it a matter of too much money in politics, or a good sign that so many more people were contributing to campaigns and getting involved, or a combination of both?

Nancy Pelosi had a message for the president-elect today. The House Speaker wants the Bush tax cuts for wealthy individuals, which Barack Obama had been hinting he would let expire in 2010 rather than proactively repeal, gone for good -- and quickly.

"Put me down as clearly as you possibly can as one who wants to have those tax cuts for the wealthiest in America repealed," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol today. On her way to her weekly press conference, she made the point more overtly to the Politico.

Repealing the cuts for those making between $250,000 and $300,000 per year and above would be Pelosi's preference. Looks like there's a new bargaining chip on the table for the stimulus bill.

We now have a high-ranking Democrat openly saying Joe Lieberman should pay for his betrayal of the party once this election is over.

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Nancy Pelosi was asked about the Lieberman problem, in light of his recent comments implying that Barack Obama doesn't "put the country first."

"The Democrats in the Senate are in a tough spot. They have 51 votes. Joe Lieberman organizes with them," said Pelosi. "In 85 days or something, they will have five more Democrats -- they won't need him to make the majority. And it will be interesting to see what the leadership in the Senate, the Democratic leadership in the Senate, does at that point in terms of Joe Lieberman's chairmanship of his committee."

GOP Preparing Legal Effort To Challenge Voter Registrations
The Wall St. Journal reports that Republican lawyers are preparing an organized response to Democratic voter-registration efforts, with a training session held this past weekend on how to comb through registrations and challenge them as ineligible -- particularly in swing states like Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Obama campaign already has their own response underway, with legal counsel in all 50 states ready to oppose the challenges.

Obama Holding Hawaii Fundraiser Tonight
Barack Obama is taking some time out from his Hawaiian vacation for some political activity, with a fundraiser scheduled for tonight in Honolulu.

McCain In Pennsylvania Today
John McCain is spending today in York, Pennsylvania, where he has a town hall scheduled for 11:45 a.m. ET, and will also tape a Fox News interview set to air in the 6 p.m. time slot. He'll be accompanied by former two-term Governor Tom Ridge, as he attempts to win over a big swing state that hasn't voted Republican since 1988.

Obama Camp Announcing Republicans For Obama Group
The Obama campaign will be hosting a conference call this morning to roll out their Republicans For Obama group, featuring former GOP Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa. Leach served in the House for 30 years as a relatively liberal Republican, most notably voting against the Iraq War in 2002, before being defeated in an upset by Democrat Dave Loebsack in 2006.

Pelosi Could Allow Vote On Drilling Compromise
Nancy Pelosi has softened her opposition to offshore drilling, following Barack Obama's lead in indicating that she could accept a compromise that included it. Pelosi told Larry King last night she could potentially allow a vote on drilling, if it was coupled with Dem-favored policies such as releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Sheehan Gets On The Ballot For House Bid Against Pelosi
Cindy Sheehan has officially qualified for the ballot in her Congressional race in San Francisco, where she is running as an independent against Nancy Pelosi. Election officials confirmed yesterday that Sheehan collected enough signatures for her campaign, which has the stated goal of punishing Pelosi for not ending the Iraq War or impeaching President Bush.

Stevens Now Opposed By Former Governor Who First Appointed Him
A new voice has come out against indicted GOP Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska: Former Governor Walter Hickel, the same man who first appointed Stevens to the Senate way back in 1968. "I don't care if I appointed him," Hickel told Bloomberg. "That was a long time ago."

As Nico Pitney reports, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a Catholic, denounced televangelist John Hagee during a blogger conference call today, saying that Hagee's harangues against the Catholic Church (among other things) are "outside the circle of civilized debate in our democracy."

When a blogger on the call asked about Hagee, Pelosi rejected him out of hand and seemed convinced that "it won't be long" before McCain rejected Hagee too.

It had to be pointed out to her that McCain, in fact, had sought out Hagee's endorsement. She seemed genuinely surprised by that, said that she "certainly" thinks that McCain should reject it, and then added "I can't imagine that he wouldn't reject it."