Daily Political Wire 6-29-2010

George Wenschhof

Today, President Obama will try to build consensus for Energy/Climate bill - he has invited 23 Senators to the white House for discussions. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will not be attending. He withdrew his support for a bill he and fellow Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) had introduced when he learned the president might move immigration reform in front of their bill. Reuters.com has more here.

With the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill still gushing into the Gulf, energy/climate legislation is now front and center.

The president also has lunch and a meeting with Suadia Arabia King Abdullah. The NY Times has more here.
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Vice President Joe Biden to head to Gulf - He will visit New Orleans, Louisiana and Pensacola, Florida with a press conference scheduled for afternoon. You can read more here.

Drilling of relief wells continue and weather permitting, the hope is they will be completed by sometime in August which would finally stop the never ending flow of oil into the ocean.

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Kagan Hearings continue - Republicans continue to attack Elena Kagan without much success. Expect her to win confirmation to the Supreme Court, but by a narrow filibuster proof margin with only a few Republicans in support - which has become the Republican Party standing operating procedure during the Obama administration. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Supreme Court rules against City of Chicago right to ban handguns - once again following ideological lines, the court in a narrow 5-4 decision, ruled in favor of "the right to bear arms" under the 2nd amendment.

This comes after a similar decision overturned handgun ban legislation in the District of Columbia in 2008.

Politico.com has a good read here on how Democratic Party leadership feels this now takes the issue off the table as an issue in the upcoming mid term elections. You can read it here.

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General David Petraeus confirmation hearing begins today. He is expected to receive quick approval - you can watch live beginning at 9:30 AM.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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