4.16.07 Blue Radar

As I post each morning, here are some of the political stories thatmight not be worthy of their own posts, but are nonetheless newsworthy:

• According to the Federal Elections Commission -- which released its official figures yesterday -- Barack Obama out-raised former First Lady Hillary Clinton in the first quarter of 2007 by a margin of $24.8 million to $19.1 million.
• Former CIA Director George Tenet is about to release his new book "At the Center of the Storm."  As Washington Post writer Al Kamen writes, "Tenet is not going to get too many Christmas cards from Vice President Cheney'soffice," and adds, "Folks from downthe river at the Pentagon, including former deputy secretary of defensePaul Wolfowitz-- a guy who's already going through a rough patch -- and former defense undersecretary Douglas Feith, might also get some heartburn."
• A new CBS Poll puts President Bush's approval rating at 31%.  61% disapprove.
• Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee will be on Tuesday at 10 AM ET, and will be broadcast on C-Span.  He will be under oath.  (Don't forget that we will blog live during the hearing.)
• Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), who serves on the Judiciary Committee, promises tough questioning of Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday.  "I think the attorney general is going to have to explain how he saidhe was not involved in discussions when the e-mails [released by theJustice Department] show that he was at the meeting when all of thesematters were discussed," Specter said. "And he's going to have to showthat there were reasons for what was said."
• In an excerpt of a speech that John McCain will give later today, he calls on lawmakers to stop wasteful spending.  "No' is always the right answer to wasteful spending," McCain will say today.  (Though, McCain supports the roughly $8 billion we spend in Iraq each week.)
• In an interview with the ANKA News Agency, Hillary Clinton called for more U.S. troops to be sent to Northern Iraq.  "America should deploy its troops in Iraq in Kurdistan and regions neighboring Kurdistan," the former First Lady said.
  
• Officials at the World Bank are still divided on whether it was improper for bank head Paul Wolfowitz to give such a huge pay-raise to his girlfriend.  Time Magazine reports that "Britain said Saturday the controversy had damaged the World Bank."
• Robert Novak: "The White House is letting it be known on Capitol Hill that toppresidential adviser Karl Rove will play no part in President Bush'sforthcoming big push to pass a compromise immigration bill."  (Is Rove in Bush's doghouse?)

If we left anything out, feel free to add any new stories in the commentbox.