**100 Days Press Conference
*Kyle's take, from the White House: The president handled this press conference perhaps as well as he ever has. While he slightly evaded a question here or there, Obama took good questions and churned out great answers more often than not.

*Politics Daily's Carl Cannon: "Obama handled himself deftly, articulately striking a balance between sticking to his talking points and actually answering the questions that were asked-something presidents don't always do. The White House press corps acquitted itself well, too, which is not always the case, asking an eclectic mix of questions about policy, politics, and governing style."

*The AP's lead: "President Barack Obama said Wednesday night that waterboarding authorized by former President George W. Bush was torture and that the information it gained from terror suspects could have been obtained by other means. 'In some cases, it may be harder,' he conceded at a White House news conference capping a whirlwind first 100 days in office."

*Pakistan: Obama said he was "gravely concerned" about the stability of the Pakistani government but that he was confident Pakistan's nuclear arsenal would not fall into the hands of Islamic militants.

*Politico's Martin and Harris: "Far from electric, this was a tranquilizing performance. So much so that it was impossible not to conclude that a president who certainly knows how to be exciting was making a calculated effort not to be."

*The Fix: "Obama didn't offer any insight into whether he is rethinking his opposition to a truth commission or prosecutions of those involved in the CIA's harsh interrogation of terror suspects, but he did make a VERY clean break with the Bush administration on waterboarding -- among the most controversial of those tactics."

**Congress
*Congress passes budget: "Democrats in Congress capped President Obama's 100th day in office yesterday by pushing through a $3.4 trillion federal budget blueprint - a third of it borrowed - that lays out the path for his chief policy initiatives. The vote of 233 to 193 in the House, closely following party lines, demonstrated again the deep ideological divisions, as all Republicans rejected the spending plan, joined by 17 Democrats. The Senate vote later yesterday afternoon was 53 to 43, also with no Republican support. Newly turned Democrat Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania voted no, as he did earlier this month when it initially passed the Senate."

*"Legislation to rein in credit card practices and eliminate sudden rate hikes and late fees that have entangled millions of American consumers is getting closer to becoming law, bolstered by presidential pressure and the backdrop of economic calamity," AP reports.

**Specter Fallout/Republican Party
*"As Specter was greeted warmly by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, many in his old party pushed to paint him as a political opportunist and argued that his move did not reflect a wholesale public rejection of the GOP," L.A. Times reports.

*"Faced with a high-profile defection and the prospect of political irrelevance in the Senate, Republicans took off the gloves Wednesday for a ferocious game of finger-pointing," Politico reports.

*"By this morning, the transformation will be officially complete, as Senate officials plan to unbolt Specter's desk from the right side of the chamber, where he has sat since January 1981, and wedge it into the cramped quarters on the Democratic side of the aisle," Washington Post reports.

*"Senior Senate Democrats are objecting to the deal Majority Leader Harry Reid made with Sen. Arlen Specter, saying they will vote against letting the former Republican shoot to the top of powerful committees after he switches parties," The Hill reports.

*The New York Times gets at the key debate amongst Republicans: "Should it purge moderate voices like Mr. Specter and embrace its conservative roots or seek to broaden its appeal to regain a competitive position against Democrats?"

Chris Chocola, of Club for Growth: "We strayed from our principles of limited government, individual responsibility and economic freedom. ... We have to adhere to those principles to rebuild the party. Those are the brand of the Republican Party, and people feel that we betrayed the brand." Sen. Lindsay Graham: "We are not losing blue states and shrinking as a party because we are not conservative enough. If we pursue a party that has no place for someone who agrees with me 70 percent of the time, that is based on an ideological purity test rather than a coalition test, then we are going to keep losing.

*WaPo's Perry Bacon: "Looking to rebrand a struggling Republican Party, a group of party heavyweights including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) are launching a new group that will hold town halls around the country and look to produce GOP ideas on issues like education and health care." The so-called "National Council for a New America," also includes former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. "A letter announcing the group's creation does not specifically say that it is separate from the Republican National Committee, but controversial RNC chair Michael Steele is not involved in the effort. "

*Speaking of Steele, the Washington Times reports that the "embattled" RNC chair "angrily returned fire in his fight with current and former officers over control of the GOP's purse strings," blasting a group of members who want new checks on his spending abilities. "I have just returned from an overseas trip to learn that the five of you have developed a scheme to transfer the RNC chairman's authority to the treasurer and the executive committee," he writes. "It is of course not lost on me that each of you worked tirelessly down to the last minute in an effort to stop me from becoming chairman."

*The Washington Post notes that Specter voted against Obama's budget yesterday, because of the reconciliation issue with health care.

*Washington Times: Republican donors are asking Specter for their money back, including fellow Sens. Johnny Isakson, Lamar Alexander, Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn.

**Campaign Stuff
*"Despite Republican Norm Coleman's appeal to the state Supreme Court, Democrat Al Franken continues to hire staff," First Read reports.

*"The NRSC late Wednesday announced a phone campaign to registered Pennsylvania Democrats, 'introducing them to their new Democrat U.S. Senator, Arlen Specter.' The calls feature a glowing endorsement by former GOP President George W. Bush and Specter's own words stating his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act and his intention not to be a guaranteed Democratic vote," The Hill reports.

*Jim Bunning said on Tuesday that he does not expect any major GOP opposition. He also said there are promising signs in fundraising: ""In fact, I'm having a much better second quarter (of the year) than I had first," Bunning said, per the Louisville Courier Journal.

*VA GOV: Gun control was a major topic as the three Democratic candidates for Virginia governor debated in Blacksburg last night. Brian Moran criticized Creigh Deeds for voting to override Gov. Tim Kaine's veto of a bill to let people with concealed weapons permits carry concealed weapons into bars.

**Live Free Or Die!: The New Hampshire Senate approved bills authorizing gay marriage and the use of medical marijuana.

--Kyle Trygstad and Mike Memoli