–One of the few areas of comity and cooperation between the parties during the Obama administration has been education policy. The Washington Post reports this morning that Democrats and Republicans in the House are taking a bipartisan stab at rewriting No Child Left Behind.
–It looks like the White House may have a deal on forming a risk assessment council as part of financial reform, an effort to shift some regulatory power away from the Fed.
–It is very unclear whether or not they have a health reform deal going into next week’s summit. Both the White House and the leadership in Congress have managed to play their cards very close to the vest since the Scott Brown recalibration.
–The “Cadillac” excise tax continues to be a sticking point in the House, and it’s not just about the unions.
–The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) kicks off today with thousands of activists gathering in Washington for the event. Today’s speakers include a number of politicians looking to build notoriety and momentum, including Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio. On the rhetorical menu: plenty of red meat.
–The U.S. scores more high-level Taliban arrests.
–As I previously suggested, rising premiums are quickly becoming a cornerstone of the administration’s case for health reform. Secretary Sebelius calls the rate hikes “a wake-up call” in a Thursday op-ed for the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
–Previewing Obama’s trip to Colorado and Nevada to help out the beleaguered re-election efforts of Michael Bennet and Harry Reid, the Denver Post writes that the great western realignment for Democrats was short lived.
–And Organizing for America turns that jobs graphic into a video:
[youtube =http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWmUnU7HS-I&feature=player_embedded]