In light of the discussion regarding President Obama's recent meeting with Venezualan President Hugo Chavez, check out RCP's list of 8 Handshakes That Changed History.

**President Obama
*The Des Moines Register: Obama "is expected today to tout his administration's effort to accelerate the creation of renewable-energy jobs in his first trip as president to Iowa, the nation's No. 2 wind energy producer." The event in Newton, Ia., "marks a turn toward energy and domestic economic policy for Obama, who has spent the last several weeks traveling overseas and focusing on diplomatic and global economic issues."

*Chris Cillizza notes the influence former VP Al Gore holds as the energy debate gets going. "Two of the top administration officials dedicated to environmental issues -- Carol Browner and Rod O'Connor -- have long ties to Gore. ... Gore huddled with Obama in early December in Chicago (a meeting overshadowed by the arrest of the former governor of Illinois) and the former vice president also waded into the legislative fight over Obama's economic stimulus package -- offering a strong endorsement of the plan as right and necessary during highly-publicized testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the end of January. Less obvious is the broader impact Gore has had on Obama's thinking and rhetoric about the environment, according to those close observers of the two men."

*The New York Times reports that Obama's statement on a panel to investigate torture "amounted to a shift for the White House. ... His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said Sunday in a television interview that Mr. Obama believed that 'those who devised policy' should not be prosecuted. But under intense pressure from Democrats on Capitol Hill and human rights organizations to investigate, the president suggested Tuesday that he would not stand in the way of a full inquiry into what he has called 'a dark and painful chapter' in the nation's history."

*"A majority of Cuban Americans support President Barack Obama and back his moves to improve relations with Cuba, according to a new poll that suggests the community's staunch support for a tough U.S. stance against the Castro government may be eroding," Miami Herald reports.

*AP: "He is out to find just the right balance -- hold those accountable who may have broken the law but do nothing to encourage the kind of partisan, perfect-for-television investigatory hearings on Capitol Hill that could steal time and attention away from his agenda. The turn of events also underscored that even a powerful president doesn't have control of all the events."

*White House Director of Communications Ellen Moran will step down to become chief of staff to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. The Washington Post notes that Moran "was rarely in the spotlight, overshadowed by press secretary Robert Gibbs, who performs the daily news briefing, and by Dan Pfeiffer, her deputy, who worked with the president throughout the campaign." Moran was also the "only senior woman in the communications shop." Deputy Press Secretary Jen Psaki now holds that distinction.

AP, which first reported her departure, said Moran "She met with Locke twice in recent weeks, and said she decided that the role was a better fit for her professionally and personally in the long run."

*After a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, Obama invited the leaders of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian territories to the White House for separate talks over the next six weeks. "Obama said he wants to see Israelis, Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries take their first steps toward progress within months," the LA Times notes.

*WaPo Video: Ben Bradlee looks back at JFK.

**Congress
*USA Today: "Despite congressional pledges to stop the revolving door between Capitol Hill and the lobbying industry, 16 of the 62 lawmakers who left Congress last year have landed jobs with groups that seek to influence policymakers, a USA TODAY analysis has found."

*Politico: "The GOP's scattershot messaging on climate change threatens to distract from the party's primary attack on the Democrats' global warming plan: that the cap-and-trade system will dramatically raise prices on business and consumers."

*Politico: "Environmental groups are storming the airwaves this week, taking out significant ad buys in key states to push climate change legislation and increased investment in renewable energy, even as the issues face a tough fight in the Senate."

*The Hill: "Reps. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.) and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who are in their second terms, are co-sponsoring a measure that would prevent lawmakers from taking campaign contributions from entities for which they have requested earmarks, as well as the entities lobbyists and employees."

*NY Times: "Representative Jane Harman said Tuesday that she had not contacted the White House or any other agency about an investigation of two pro-Israeli lobbyists, and she asked the Justice Department to release without deletions any transcripts of conversations in which she was secretly recorded by government surveillance systems."

Politico has more on Harman's counter-offensive, and WaPo notes the awkward timing of AIPAC's invitiation that was sent out yesterday announcing that Harman would speak at its annual policy conference in early May.

**Campaign Stuff
*The Hill: "The man in charge of electing more Republicans to the Senate said it will be difficult to stop the Democrats from winning a 60-seat majority in 2010."

*RCP Blog: "Two separate polls out this morning find New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine with a 54% disapproval rating and trailing Republican challenger Chris Christie."

*Sen. Jon Kyl said that John McCain shouldn't sweat the Senate challenge.

*The Observer notes Obama's high praise for Michael Bloomberg at yesterday's bill signing, calling him the "outstanding" mayor of New York.

*PA State Rep. Bill Kortz (D) will run for the Senate. Meanwhile, the Patriot News notes that William Parker, a founder of the Pennsylvania Club for Growth who backed Pat Toomey in '04, is urging him to quit the Senate race.

--Kyle Trygstad and Mike Memoli