**President Obama
*The AP reports that the administration "is considering creation of a regulatory commission to protect consumers of financial products such as credit cards and mortgages." But such a panel "could set off a turf war among federal agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the various bank regulatory agencies."

*WaPo on today's recovery board meeting, the first significant public forum since it was assembled. "Volcker has had sporadic contact with the president, and his role in the administration remains unclear, according to sources with direct knowledge of his thinking. ... Volcker is unsure what influence the panel ultimately will have, the sources said." The White House "acknowledged getting off to a slow start, but said the panel is among the most influential advisory boards in Washington."

*The New York Times answers its own question: Why did automakers suddenly change course and agree to new fuel emissions standards? "Because they had no choice. ... Simply put, Detroit and the other companies need Washington's help, and they are powerless to block the rules Washington dictates."

**Congress
*Gitmo: "Democrats rejected President Obama's request for funding to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and vowed to withhold federal dollars until the president decides the fate of the facility's 240 detainees," WaPo reports.

*Pelosi: "Democrats, including the president, rallied around House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday as Republicans plotted their next step in the politically charged flap over CIA interrogation tactics. President Obama praised the Speaker's work; House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), a powerful Pelosi ally, took aim at the credibility of CIA records; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) went out of his way to back Pelosi; and conservative Democrats dismissed the feud as partisan politics," The Hill reports.

*More Pelosi: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi would like to move past the controversy over her claim that the CIA 'misled' her about waterboarding, but Minority Leader John Boehner seems determined to stand in her way," Politico reports. "suggest privately that Boehner is using the Pelosi flap in order to shore up support among his own members. Although he's the top Republican in the House, Democrats say Boehner is under pressure from the more aggressive leaders just below him: Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia and GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana."

*A provision allowing loaded guns in national parks was included in the Credit Card bill passed in the Senate yesterday, and the House will likely approve it in a vote today, AP reports.

**Republicans
*The Baltimore Sun covers the RNC Chairman's key speech yesterday. "Michael Steele, in an effort to move beyond the woes of his party and his own gaffe-prone leadership, declared in a speech Tuesday that Republicans have turned a corner and are ready to step up their attacks on President Barack Obama." While he dismissed "inside-the-D.C. Beltway chatter about 'phony disputes and intra-party intrigue.' But in an earlier, closed session with the party leaders, he conceded that he had made mistakes and learned from them, according to several people who were present."

*CNN reports that Steele's supporters argued that the media has "ignored the chairman's efforts to rebuild the party from the bottom up by getting out of Washington and meeting with Republicans in 23 states since assuming the chairmanship." They say grassroots activists are being courted, candidates are being recruited, state party chairmen are communicating about strategy on a weekly basis, and low dollar donations are pouring in to the committee like never before.

*Also, after Steele came out against the "Democratic Socialist" resolution, RNC member David Norcross says language "is being changed so that the proposers and chairman Steele are on the same page."

**Campaign Stuff
*CA-32: Judy Chu (D) won 32% of the vote in the 12-person, multi-party primary yesterday. Because she didn't win a majority, she will face Republican Betty Chu, the Republican with the most votes (10%) yesterday, in a July 14 special general election.

More on the Dem fight between Judy Chu and Gil Cedillo (23%), per L.A. Times: "From the start, the race was generally seen as a two-way contest between Cedillo, a labor union leader before his 1998 election to the state Assembly and later the state Senate, and Chu, a former member of the Monterey Park City Council and the Assembly.

Both are liberal Democrats with similar views and strong ties to labor in the working-class district. But their candidacies were testing the power of ethnic politics in the district, home to large numbers of Latinos -- about half the registered voters -- and a growing population of Asian Americans.

*KY Sen: Jim Bunning once again went off on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) during a conference call with reporters. From the Louisiville Courier Journal: "If Mitch McConnell doesn't endorse me, it could be the best thing that ever happened to me in Kentucky," Bunning said.

*MN Sen: By a 54%-41% margin, a majority of Minnesota voters think Norm Coleman should concede now, and 67% say Gov. Tim Pawlenty should sign an election certificate for Al Franken if the state Supreme Court rules in his favor, according to a new Rasmussen poll.

*Chris Christie has jumped out to a 23-point lead with less than two weeks to go in the New Jersey GOP primary for governor, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

*Chris Kennedy, son of RFK, is apparently all but in to the Illinois Senate race. He tells the Sun-Times: "I'm keeping my options alive and working through a whole series of issues still."

*For the second time in recent weeks, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) is denying speculation that she will drop her bid for the U.S. Senate, the Plain Dealer reports. The latest rumor had her running for state Supreme Court. "I want to make it clear that under no circumstances will I consider seeking re-election to the Secretary of State's position, or any other statewide or federal office, other than the open U.S. Senate seat," she wrote to Democrats last week.

**Sports Alert: The Los Angeles Clippers won the NBA Draft Lottery last night and the right to select Oklahoma stud Blake Griffin with the 1st overall pick in next month's draft. We here at Politics Nation feel bad for Griffin and his family, but in four years or so he'll be a free agent and able to leave.

**Mr. Tony Alert: We're happy to hear that Tony Kornheiser is looking to return to the DC radio airwaves, after ESPN announced he's off the Monday Night Football gig. He talks to the Washington Post about the news, and it's clear he wasn't expecting to leave.

--Kyle Trygstad and Mike Memoli