**President Obama
*New York Times' Baker writes that Obama "faces a daunting challenge. He must convince the country that it is in safe hands despite warnings to the contrary from the right, and at the same time persuade the skeptical left that it is enough to amend his predecessor's approach rather than abandon it. ... Rather than an easily labeled program, Mr. Obama is picking seemingly disparate elements from across the policy continuum -- banning torture and other harsh interrogation techniques but embracing the endless detention of certain terror suspects without trial, closing the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but retaining the military commissions held there."

*Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on "Today" that the administration had no choice but to close Guantanamo, which he called "probably one of the finest prisons in the world today." But it had become "a taint" on the reputation of America, he said.

*AP on Obama's speech today: Obama "planned to tell the graduates that his administration would invest in military personnel to fight the unconventional threats facing the country, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the speech ahead of its delivery.

*Obama will be speaking to an Annapolis class that includes Jack McCain, son of the Arizona senator. McCain will receive a Bachelor of Science degree, take the oath of office and be commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy 103 years after his great-grandfather did the same, CNN reports.

*Joe Biden will visit Lebanon today. WaPo: "The planned visit is interesting enough, but so is the announcement. Normally, senior U.S. officials never announce in advance that they are traveling to Beirut, for security reasons. The main airport is located in the Southern part of the city and diplomatic motorcades generally have to travel through Hezbollah-controlled territory to get to Beirut's center for meetings."

*"A new tax on employer-provided health insurance is emerging as a likely option to finance an overhaul of the nation's health-care system, key Democrats say, despite opposition from organized labor and possibly the Obama administration," Washington Post reports.

**Congress
*House Democrats unanimously lined up behind Speaker Pelosi yesterday (and two Republicans, too), "rejecting a Republican resolution calling for an investigation into the California Democrat's assertion the CIA misled her about the nature of terrorist interrogations in 2002," Washington Post reports.

*Charlie Cook writes: "If I were a confidant of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, my advice to the California Democrat would be, 'No more news conferences. No more television appearances. Keep your public profile low. Focus on what you do best.' "

*71% of Dem members of Congress say Pelosi has hurt herself a little and 81% of GOP members say she's hurt herself a lot with her handling of the waterboarding controversy.

*"Eleven Democrats crossed the aisle to support a GOP-sponsored resolution blocking any future funding for Jack Murtha's lushly appointed and under-used airport in Johnstown, Penn," Politico reports.

*"The Senate late Thursday easily passed a $91 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After stripping it of funds to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and placing restrictions on the transfer of its detainees, the bill was adopted 86 to 3," CNN reports. The Senate also inserted language prohibiting the release of detainee photos.

*"A controversial climate-change bill cleared a key hurdle on Thursday night, passing the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a 33-25 vote. The 932-page bill imposes dramatic cuts on greenhouse-gas emissions and creates a cap-and-trade system requiring power plants, manufacturers and other polluters to buy emissions allowances. Only four Democrats voted against the bill, an indication of the series of compromises made by the sponsors of the legislation," Waxman and Markey, Politico reports.

**Republicans
*"Founded in the decade before the Civil War as the Northern voice of union, the Republican Party today is more electorally dependent on the South than at any point in its past. In the House and Senate, nearly half of all Republicans were elected from that region, defined as the 11 states of the Confederacy, plus Kentucky and Oklahoma," National Journal reports.

*The RNC released a web video this morning that attempts to highlight a difference of opinion among Democrats on Gitmo.

**Campaign Stuff
*The Washington Post endorsed Creigh Deeds in the Democratic primary for governor in Virginia.

*Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) tells ABC that the 2010 landscape will be decided not by national security, but by "spending and borrowing and the anxiety the public have there as well as the failure to deal with other looming fiscal challenges like entitlement reform that threaten to swamp us."

*Florida Agriculture Secretary Charles Bronson decided not to run for governor, leaving Attorney General Bill McCollum as the leading Republican in the race. Or did he? "Bronson was, however, careful not to completely rule out a possible run for governor. He noted there are 18 months to go before the 2010 general election, and not until July 2010 will candidates officially qualify."

*A DSCC-commissioned poll shows Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) leading Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) 56-16.

*Terry McAuliffe led the VA Gov Dem Primary field in two polls released yesterday, while Republican Bob McDonnell led all three Dems in both polls as well.

*Conservative Crist?: "Looking to tout his conservative credentials, Gov. Charlie Crist wrote an op-ed in [yesterday's] Tampa Tribune attacking President Obama's budget proposals while making the case that he cut taxes and spending as governor of Florida. This, from the governor who stood alongside the president at a rally designed to help him win key support for a stimulus bill that was opposed by most Republicans," Politico's Kraushaar reports.

More on Crist: "With the faltering economy squeezing would-be primary contenders for the 2010 Senate race, the focus for the next 18 months is likely to stay on Gov. Charlie Crist (R) and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D). For now, advantage Crist," National Journal's Herbert writes.

--Kyle Trygstad and Mike Memoli