Good Tuesday morning. Indianapolis is still undefeated, and we're not quite sure why everyone thinks it's the Patriots who are going to end up undefeated. Anyway, neither here nor there. Here's what Washington watches today:

-- Today, the Senate is expected to vote on final passage of the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill, after tackling the final four amendments. The House takes up a terrorism bill and a veterans' suicide prevention bill.

-- As many reported yesterday, the RNC has recommended to its executive committee that New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wyoming be stripped of half their delegates to the national convention. Following Florida Democrats' lead, South Carolina is said to be considering legal action, per the Associated Press. Check back with Politics Nation later this morning for a rundown of how the DNC, which has stripped Florida of all its delegates and is expected to do the same to Michigan, and the RNC handle their delegate selection process. Jonathan Martin says Sen. Mel Martinez's decision to step down last week came because he didn't want to serve as chair as the party was punishing his home state. We eagerly await the next set of fav/unfav and job approval numbers out of the Sunshine State.

-- In Virginia, the Republican Senate race will get a little lighter soon, as Rep. Tom Davis is expected to take a pass on the race, per The Fix. Davis had long been seen as the heir apparent to retiring Sen. John Warner -- a moderate who could perform well in Northern Virginia -- but the Virginia Republican Party's decision to hold a nominating convention instead of a primary gave more conservative former Gov. Jim Gilmore a leg up. Davis told the Washington Post that he will address the media Thursday, but that he hasn't made up his mind on the race. Both Davis and Gilmore have run well behind former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner in early polls.

-- Washington State Republicans get their wish later this week as former State Sen. Dino Rossi is expected to make his second bid for Governor official. Rossi, a Republican from just east of Seattle, came within 133 votes of defeating then-Attorney General Christine Gregoire, a Democrat from Olympia, in 2004. Rossi's decision to run again gives Republicans a good shot at taking back a blue state's governor's mansion, a seat Republicans haven't held since John Spellman lost to Booth Gardner in 1984. For previous coverage of the race, click here.

-- Back to the White House race for a moment: Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, coming off another strong debate performance and a Values Voters summit in Washington where attendees couldn't seem to get enough of him, scooped up the best endorsement so far, writes CBN's David Brody: Watch out, opponents, Chuck Norris is coming after you. Meanwhile, JMart talked to Huckabee manager Chip Saltsman, who said fundraising is going a lot better for the dark horse, and Byron York thinks Huckabee is beginning to be included among the top-tier candidates.

-- While I thought Fred Thompson did much better in Sunday's debate than in his first effort, in Dearborn, Michigan, he's still having to confront the lazy question. "I'm going to do it the way I want to do it," Thompson told the AP, per Wilshire & Washington. Thompson hasn't taken a lot of major campaign swings lately, though blank schedules can be explained away, according to supporters. One Thompson surrogate in the spin room Sunday after the debate said the former Senator, because of his late start, has had to spend a lot of time fundraising lately. Enough to quell the rumors? Of course not.

-- The cult of the consultant continues in two papers today. The New York Times spotlights John McCain campaign manager Rick Davis ("Savior or Machiavelli," the header begins). Davis' smartest move, the piece argues, is to let McCain be McCain and put him in front of as many town hall-type events as possible. The Washington Post, meanwhile, puts John Edwards strategist Joe Trippi back in the limelight. Trippi, the profile reveals, has a close relationship with Elizabeth Edwards, who wields more power than an ordinary candidate's wife.

-- No Longer Bedfellows Of The Day: The Hill reports today that a former Bush Administration official is actively lobbying Republicans in Congress to come out against recent agreements with North Korea to end its nuclear program. That former official: One-time acting UN Ambassador and former top State Department official John Bolton. Bolton's opposition to the deal is well-known, but to actively lobby against a top priority of his former boss' administration is unusual.

-- Today On The Trail: Barack Obama picks up Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's endorsement in Boston, Joe Biden is in Iowa City and Hillary Clinton rallies supporters in Denver. On the Republican side, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani file papers today to get their names on the New Hampshire ballot. Later, McCain heads to Concord, Rochester and Hampton. Giuliani starts the day in Boston, then holds town halls in Concord and Lebanon. Mitt Romney gives speeches in Greenwood and Greenville, South Carolina, then keeps chalking up the "Ask Mitt Anythings" in Columbia and Summerville. Also today, Maria Shriver, first lady of California, hosts a forum with potential first ladies Elizabeth Edwards, Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain, Jeri Thompson and Ann Romney in Long Beach.