N2K Top 10: The Daley News; Obama Back at 50 Percent

1. THE DALEY NEWS. National Journal has confirmed that former Commerce Secretary William Daley is one of several candidates under consideration to be White House chief of staff. NJ also learned that President Obama and Daley met face-to-face in the White House in December and that he’s one of several candidates being vetted for the top post, currently being held by Pete Rouse. Bottom line: Daley would bring strong ties to the business community and proven managerial talent to the demanding post, but replacing Rahm Emanuel with another Chicago political titan isn’t exactly a message of hope and change. 
2. OBAMA BACK AT 50 PERCENT. With resurgent Republicans flexing their muscle in Washington and feeling confident as they start their campaigns in Iowa and New Hampshire, President Obama can take comfort in new polling numbers. He’s reached 50 percent approval in the new Gallup poll, the first time he’s hit that mark since June 1. Also: Ron Faucheux at Clarus Research Group has averaged the major polls to put the president’s approval rating at 47 percent. But he compares that with the average approval rating for two other presidents at the same point in their first terms: Ronald Reagan was at 37 percent and Bill Clinton was at 40 percent.
3. OIL AND GAS CREEPING UP. Oil prices hit a 27-month high of $92.66 per barrel on Monday, as average gasoline prices went up to $3.07 for a gallon of regular, about 41 cents higher than a year ago.  Experts predict 2011 could see the second-highest oil and gas prices on record.
4. REPEAL, EVENTUALLY REPLACE. House Republicans are set to vote on a straight repeal of the health care law on January 12, followed by a resolution requiring health committees to report alternative legislation to the existing law. The committees have no deadline to write the replacement bills, but they would have to achieve a standard wish list of Republican health care goals, including medical liability reform and expanded state control over Medicaid programs. The bills would also need to lower health care premiums and provide individuals with preexisting conditions access to coverage.
5. EPA WHIP COUNT. According to a National Journal analysis, 60 senators would vote for a two-year delay on EPA’s controversial carbon regulations. Of those 60, 49 would support repealing the regulations altogether, and 11 would support only a delay. Forty senators (all Democrats) support the regulations. These positions will likely shift, as votes on the issue seem inevitable. 
6. FILIBUSTER CONTINUANCE. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., aims to delay until later this month a vote on changing the Senate filibuster rules. By recessing, and not adjourning the Senate on Wednesday, Reid will keep the Senate in a single, continuing “legislative day,” forestalling some of the fireworks predicted by some Democrats when Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., plans to offer his proposal to restrict filibusters. The showdown thus may be averted until at least January 24 and perhaps permanently if Democrats cut a deal with the GOP in the interim.
7. MOVING OUT. Maj. Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. commander in restive eastern Afghanistan, told National Journal in an interview that he's reviewing the locations of the 130 NATO bases there with an eye towards pulling out of remote regions and doubling down on 19 higher-priority areas. Campell, who has lost 103 soldiers in the east since June, believes his forces have reversed the Taliban's momentum and regained the battlefield initiative there.
8. FOOD FIGHTS CONTINUE. Food safety heads to the president's desk today, but that doesn't mean legislative battles to revamp how the nation's food supply is monitored are finished. The long-stalled legislation authorized many new programs and authorities for the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department, but the agencies now need Congress to appropriate funds to carry out the new duties. In a tough budget environment, the $1.4 billion cost of the bill over five years, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, could present an uphill battle.
9. EAT THIS. The White House has spread out bill signings since the lame duck to convey a sense of movement and progress, which is why you saw him signing the 9/11 first responders bill while he was in Hawaii.
10. VOTING IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray is to appear this morning with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton at a protest in the Rayburn House Office Building foyer against House Republican leaders’ plans to strip Norton and other delegates and resident commissioners from U.S. territories of their limited right to vote on the House floor. Democrats have allowed Norton and other delegates to vote on some tax and spending amendments as part of the Committee of the Whole, a term that applies to the entire House when it is designated as a committee. But Republicans are set to undo that arrangement, just as they did in 1995.

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