Good Wednesday morning, Washington and beyond. The stimulus bill is still in the Senate, Obama's hitting the airwaves to defend it, and Dick Cheney is worried about the country's safety.

**Administration
*President Obama made the network anchor rounds yesterday, sitting down for brief interviews with ABC's Charlie Gibson, NBC's Brian Williams, CBS's Katie Couric, CNN's Anderson Cooper and FOX's Chris Wallace. On Tom Daschle, Obama told Cooper he "screwed up" and Couric he "messed up." Watch the interviews here.

CNN: "I think I screwed up." NBC: "It made me angry and disappointed and it's something I have to take responsibility for." CBS: "When you make these self-inflicted wounds, you end up being distracted really from the people's business." ABC: "I think I've been very clear of the fact that this was a bad mistake. I don't think it was purposeful, but I think it was a mistake." FOX: "I think it's fair to say that I don't always get my most favorable coverage on Fox."

*The latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds that as many people think the tone in Washington between Republicans and Democrats has gotten worse as think its gotten better (21% vs. 23%). "In the category of small favors, Obama can feel gratified that a slight majority of Americans believe the political tone in Washington hasn't grown any worse under his presidency. But given his efforts at bipartisanship...he could well be disappointed in the finding that as many Americans say the political climate has gotten worse since his election as say it has improved," Gallup's Lydia Saad writes.

*CBN's David Brody reports that Obama "will announce the creation of a new President's Advisory Council on Faith during this Thursday's National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC."

*So it looks like Claire McCaskill was floating a trial balloon. Last week, she proposed that no executives at banks receiving TARP funds should be paid more than the president, $400,000. Well, now new rules on executive compensation that the Obama administration will put forth today will cap salaries at $500,000. NY Times: "Executives at companies that have already received money from the Treasury Department would not have to make any changes. But analysts and administration officials are bracing for a huge wave of new losses, largely because of the deepening recession, and many companies that have already received federal money may well be coming back."

**Tom Daschle
*Must-See-TV: Read Mark McKinnon's piece on Daschle, including a YouTube video of an old Daschle campaign ad. "But I'll tell you what probably sealed it for most folks: the commercial of Daschle when he ran for the Senate bragging about driving his own car around Washington, D.C. Ouch. Hypocrisy is the scarlet letter in politics."

*Washington Post puts the Daschle withdrawal in perspective: "Now Obama must forge ahead without his close friend and Washington mentor, a setback that health experts across the political spectrum described yesterday as serious but not insurmountable."

*Among the many names being floated for HHS: Debbie Stabenow. Also Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Howard Dean, former Oregon Gov. David Kitzhaber.

**Economic Stimulus
*Washington Post: "Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support, they will seek to cut provisions that would not provide an immediate boost to the economy. ... Moderate Republicans are trying to trim the bill by as much as $200 billion, although Democrats working with those GOP senators have not agreed to a specific figure."

*Larry Summers says that Obama is willing to shed some spending items, but doesn't want to weaken the overall stimulus bill. "We're focused on the pie, not the crumbs," Summers told USA Today. "The president's prepared to compromise but our focus is on the fact that the American economy badly needs help."

**Back In The News: Dick Cheney sat down with Politico yesterday and "warned that there is a 'high probability' that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration's policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed."

**Political Journalism Alert
*Huge news in Iowa : Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen leaving the paper to head the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University

--Kyle Trygstad and Mike Memoli