**NGA Meeting
*Reuters: "Republican governors were split on Sunday over whether to accept all of the money their states stand to receive from a $787 billion economic stimulus plan which President Barack Obama signed last week. Three governors of southern states have come out against taking part of the money designated to extend unemployment benefits and perhaps for other programs. A handful of others are considering follow suit."

*The Hill: Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, who appeared with Obama in the Oval Office to promote the stimulus, "said the split was overblown but he stressed that the stimulus is much needed help. He noted that most governors will likely face tough decisions to cut spending and tax raises." Douglas: "We're not just getting a handout. We're doing the heavy lifting."

*"Despite the partisan potshots, the governors appeared united in their worries over their states' economic and fiscal situations," Wall Street Journal found.

*Jindal, Sanford and Pawlenty all denied, to the extent they could, 2012 interest in their Sunday show appearances. Check out all the Sunday talk shows on RCP Videos, including Republican Govs. Bobby Jindal, Charlie Crist and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

*Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, meanwhile, denied having any conversations yet with Obama about the HHS appointment. Sebelius tells AP: "There really isn't anything to tell." Asked about the 2010 Senate race as well, she jokes: "You know, everybody has lots of plans for me."

*Barbour criticized Obama's "perpetual campaign," noting his itinerary in selling the stimulus plan. "David Axelrod, who's his campaign consultant/manager/guru really is one of the brightest, most capable people in American politics. And so this is what we've become accustomed to, the perpetual campaign," he told CNN.

*Politico looks at Jindal's "big moment" coming out of this weekend into the spotlight as the Republicans designee to respond to Obama's budget address. "It's a prime opportunity for the 37-year-old state executive to introduce himself to the public and define himself as a leader of his party--and a potential contender for national office." Eric Cantor, a rising star himself: "He's somebody I think we're all looking to, to demonstrate that Republicans do have a positive solution to the challenges facing this country."

*Keep checking RCP for our coverage of the NGA, including a talk with Gov. Sanford.

**President Obama
*The New York Times has details on Obama's first budget, which aims to halve the budget deficit by the end of his first term through reductions in military spending and letting Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy expire. The projected deficit will be higher as the White House is "forsaking several gimmicks that President Bush used to make deficits look smaller. He will include war costs in the budget; Mr. Bush did not, and instead sought supplemental money from Congress each year. Mr. Obama also will not count savings from laws that establish lower Medicare payments for doctors and expand the alternative minimum tax to hit more taxpayers -- both of which Mr. Bush and Congress routinely took credit for, while knowing they would later waive the laws to raise doctors' payments and limit the reach of the tax."

*Wall Street Journal notes that the forecast for narrowing the deficit will "rest on the assumption that the economy recovers from the current slump." A White House official declined to say how any further steps to address the crisis would affect the "upbeat deficit projection."

*The New York Daily News calls Obama "Barack The Knife," as he plans to announce cuts "across a wide range of the budget, sparing neither the Pentagon nor entitlement programs. Even longstanding Democratic sacred cows like Medicare will not be immune from Obama's scalpel, sources said."

*Washington Post has details on today's summit, "which will feature five topic-specific breakout sessions, will include lawmakers, economists and a range of special interest leaders. Invitations were still going out yesterday, but the list includes representatives from the Business Roundtable, AARP and the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that promotes balanced budgets." "It's a media event," said former senator John C. Danforth (R-Mo.), who co-chaired a similar commission under President Bill Clinton.

*As part of the fiscal responsibility theme, Obama plans to announce the appointment of Earl Devaney, a former Interior Department inspecter general, to chair the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board. ABC: "Devaney has built a solid reputation for ferretting out corruption in the beleaguered Interior Department, which was part of the Abramoff scandal." Biden will also be part of the panel.

*The Washington Post: "The stimulus package is not only a political crucible for Obama and the congressional Democrats who pushed it through; it is also the ultimate test of government's ability to deliver, from a vast array of federal agencies and departments down to state and local offices across the country. It will be up to thousands of Cabinet undersecretaries, regional agency directors and local contracting officers to get the stimulus money out fast enough to boost the economy and to meet Obama's broader policy goals."

**Congress
*Spending Omnibus: "After a week off taking a victory lap for passing an economic stimulus, Congress' Democratic leaders return to Washington on Monday for a second race against the clock to pass another massive spending package. This time it is a roughly $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill that would fund most of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, replacing stopgap funding that expires March 6."

*In their quest to return to power, Republicans are digging up an old strategy, writes Politico's Cummings. "Its themes: Unite against Democrats' economic policy, block and counter health care reform and tar them with spending scandals. Those represent the political trifecta that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich bet on in 1994 to produce a historic Republican takeover of Congress."

*D.C. Examiner, on the Senate's consideration of the D.C. Voting Rights Bill: "Today's floor debate leads into Tuesday's cloture vote, which will determine whether proponents have the wherewithal to quash a filibuster. Supporters need 60 votes to end debate and raise the bill for final consideration, which could happen Wednesday. Opponents say the bill flagrantly violates the U.S. Constitution, which allots House seats only for the people of the "several states." But proponents contend the Constitution's District clause provides Congress with unlimited power over D.C., including the right to enfranchise its citizens."

*Nancy Pelosi visited Afghanistan, days after President Karzai spoke to President Obama for the first time. AP: "Karzai and Pelosi talked about the U.S. strategy review of the situation in Afghanistan, and Pelosi reiterated America's long-term commitment to Afghanistan's security situation and economic development, Karzai's office said."

*Sen. Mitch McConnell doesn't quite call on Roland Burris to resign. "I think the Ethics Committee can work," he told CNN. "I think in this particular instance, it ought to work quickly, and resolve these differences and make a recommendation to the full Senate."

*Mark Leibovich interviews Sen. Ted Kennedy on his 77th birthday. "I don't really plan to go away soon," he says.

*Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), speaking to a local Republican dinner, predicts that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will pass away this year. "Even though she was operated on, usually nine months is the longest that anybody would live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer," Bunning said, according to the Courier Journal.

*Speaking of judges, a group of prominent legal experts will propose limiting the terms of Supreme Court justices. "The group proposes a form of term limits, moving justices to senior status after 18 years on the court. The proposal says that justices now linger so long that it diminishes the likelihood that the court's decisions 'will reflect the moral and political values of the contemporary citizens they govern.'"

**Campaign Stuff
*The New York Times spoke with Meg Whitman, a likely Republican candidate for governor of California. The former eBay exec predicted she may have to spend $150 million on the race; she'll face another wealth self-funder in the GOP primary, Steve Poizner, and the victor will face a well-known Democrat in the deep blue state. "I don't think you get into this game unless you have a very thick skin and can take it," she said. "It's just the nature of the industry, if you will, and I'm as prepared as anyone can be."

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad