The American Spectator

A White House official with knowledge of the coordination plan says that Strautmanis, Messina, and Jarrett communicate routinely with about five different groups, all of which were integral to the Obama political machine last fall.

Americans United for Change is the key entity, however, as it is now fully integrated into the DNC. A number of AUFC officials, such as former AUFC president Brad Woodhouse, are now DNC employees, and AUFC has been leading the coordinated campaign efforts against Republican congressional leaders.

Getting Evan

While President Barack Obama has publicly called off attacks against Sen. Evan Bayh and other moderate Democrats who raised doubts about the White House’s budget and stimulus package, he has privately told aides to keep up the pressure on Bayh’s Moderate Democrats Working Group.

“We’re not going to let this thing go,” says a White House aide. “Bayh is raising funds and seeking PAC underwriting for his organization. If that’s the kind of game he wants to play, to throw sand in the gears of our legislative efforts, then we have ways to complicate matters for him, too.”

Bayh has told colleagues that he hopes to have about 10 members in his working group, which will meet regularly. At one time Bayh was thought to be a possible Obama running mate or cabinet member. Now, he may be setting himself up to be the president’s most visible Democratic critic.

Present Tense

House Republican whip Eric Cantor has become the man conservatives love and love to hate, depending on the day of the week. Cantor angered conservatives recently by voting “present” on legislation related to limiting executive bonuses.

He claimed that he did so not because he didn’t want to vote against the bill, but because his wife is an executive of a bank that received TARP bailout money. Now Democrats are attempting to determine if Cantor’s wife received a bonus for her work in the 2008 fiscal year.

Cantor has been walking a fine line on such issues ever since he persuaded a number of fellow House Republicans to vote for the Bush administration’s initial financial bailout plan, when many wanted to vote on principle against it.

Mr. Know-It-All

Department of Energy secretary Steven Chu is not making a positive impression on his staff inside the department. Chu arrived with a reputation for being brusque and acting like he was the “smartest guy in the room,” according to current career Energy staffers, and he’s done nothing to soften that impression. “He may be the smartest guy, but he’s also the most obnoxious,” says one staffer.