VOL. 4 NO. 14 POLITIfriday, february 12, 2010 CO www.politico.com An Irritated Pelosi Speaks Out By Mi k e Al l e n For months, the California lawmaker Earlier this month, Pelosi criticized a n d Pa t r i c k O’Co n n o r has been pushing Obama hard in private the president’s State of the Union call to while praising him in public. But now exempt defense spending from a budget House Speaker ’s in- she’s being more open in her criticism, freeze. And in a meeting creasingly public disagreements with in part because she feels the White with leaders of both parties this week, President are a reflec- House was wrong — in the wake of the she questioned the effectiveness of his tion of something deeper: the seething Democrats’ loss in Massachusetts — to plan to give small businesses tax breaks resentment some Democrats feel over push the Senate health care bill on the to hire workers. what they see as cavalier treatment House when she knew there was no way from a wounded White House. it would pass. See pelosi on Page 15

AP Georgia Rep. Tom Price could be GOP health care face. Dems, GOP Can Republicans Dust Off Shine at Health Their Old Care Summit? Favorites

By Pa t r i c k O’Co n n o r By Da v i d Ca t a n e s e a n d Ca r r i e Bu d o f f Br o w n Polls show overwhelming ma- All week, Republicans have been grousing about jorities of voters frustrated with the president’s health care summit like it’s a trip to government gridlock. They are the dentist. fed up with partisanship, look- But their complaints ignore an obvious opportu- ing for different approaches and nity. The nationally televised event gives the GOP a laser-focused on jobs. venue to accomplish something it hasn’t been able The Democratic and Republi- to do since President Barack Obama took the oath can responses? Two hardy par- of office: Sell voters on Republican solutions to big tisan perennials: fear-mongering problems. surrounding Social Security and Even as the president’s poll numbers dip, Republi- , and national security. cans have failed to capitalize, in part because they’ve REUTERS While those aren’t the only is- failed to elevate an appealing face to help make the Former President Bill Clinton was taken to a New York hospital for a heart procedure Thursday. sues the two ma- sale. Obama’s summit later this month gives them a jor parties are chance to do that — if they can just settle on who talking about, that appealing face might be. the dusting off of time-honored See republicans on Page 12 Clinton Hospitalized playbook staples — Democrats Former president gets two heart stents tapping voter REUTERS fears over cuts Democrats Face President to entitlements By Jo s h Ge r s t e i n Barack Obama and Republicans mining worries Tough Tax Politics Former President Bill Clinton was hospitalized Thursday with chest about terrorism pains, after suffering what doctors say appears to have been a recurrence and American strength — have By Vi c t o r i a McGr a n e of the heart disease he was diagnosed with more than five years ago. Washington resembling a scene Clinton, 63, was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital in Harlem, from the popular film “Groundhog President Barack Obama doubled-down this year where doctors placed two stents in one of his coronary arteries, top Clin- Day,” where characters awaken on his campaign pledge to roll back the Bush-era tax ton adviser Doug Band said. each morning to relive the same cuts for the richest Americans while keeping them in “President Clinton is in good spirits and will continue to focus on the day over and over. place for the middle class. work of his foundation and Haiti’s relief and long-term recovery efforts,” For Republicans, it’s the famil- Raising taxes is always tough to do. But Demo- Band said in a statement. iar national security card that’s crats this year would be doing so within a particular- In 2004, Clinton underwent urgent quadruple-bypass surgery at the suddenly front and center, pegged ly brutal political environment — during a midterm same New York hospital. He had follow-up surgery the next year after suf- to the Obama administration’s de- election season, in a still-limping economy, amid a fering a buildup of scar tissue and fluid near his lungs — a known compli- cision to try alleged Sept. 11 sus- ballooning federal budget deficit. cation of open-heart surgery. pects in Manhattan and the han- And a newly emboldened Republican Party would After the earlier heart surgery, Clinton’s doctors required him to take dling of the notorious “underwear just love to pounce on the issue, too. physicians on all his foreign trips. bomber,” the suspect who sought The situation promises to cause plenty of heart- Last month, President Barack Obama named Clinton and former Presi- to blow up an airliner Christmas burn, especially for vulnerable incumbents cam- dent George W. Bush to head U.S. fundraising efforts for relief related to the Day. paigning in Republican-leaning districts, over let- earthquake in Haiti. Clinton, who was already serving as a United Nations For Democrats, it’s the tried- ting any of the Bush tax cuts expire in December and-true senior scare tactic about See clinton on Page 13 See bush taxes on Page 10 See groundhog on Page 12

inside politico 44 politics ideas Bill click Maher New Senate team tries to sal- A wild card surfaces in the Texas Christine Todd Whitman urges Look out. Bill Maher’s heading back vage a financial reform bill. Republican gubernatorial primary. the GOP to engage on health care. ap to HBO, eager for a dust-up. Page 3 Page 8 Page 17 Page 21