THE WHITE HOUSE NYT'S MAUREEN DOWD: "The Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden Show": "Joe Biden has respect for his elders. And there aren't that many of them. Before the president's rally near Atlanta on Thursday, he and Jill went out of their way to pay respects to the 96-year-old JIMMY CARTER. "This made Biden the first president to make a pilgrimage to Plains since Carter left office, unless you count YASIR ARAFAT. If there's a pol who knows what it feels like to be underappreciated by his own party, it's Biden. And he wasn't going to continue to let Carter, at the end of his life, be treated like a pariah in peanutville. … Carter has long nursed hurt feelings about how he was slighted by his Democratic successors." THERE'S A RIVER OF POWER — "Biden stocks his White House with Ivy Leaguers," by Daniel Lippman: "Joe Biden, a proud graduate of the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School who has bragged about going to a 'state school,' has stocked his top White House staff with nearly twice as many Ivy League graduates as the first iteration of the Trump White House, according to a POLITICO analysis. "Forty-one percent of senior- or mid-level Biden White House staffers — or 82 people out of 201 aides analyzed — have Ivy League degrees. By contrast, only 21 percent of the comparable White House staff had such credentials under President Donald Trump." VEEP FILES — "Harris-led campaign to stem migration from Central America faces steep challenges," WaPo: "Vice President Harris has kicked off U.S. efforts to deter people from leaving Central America's 'Northern Triangle' countries through programs designed to create more economic and political stability in the region. "Facing a surge of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Biden administration has said it is seeking to demonstrate a commitment to improving conditions in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras as part of an effort to reduce the flow. But similar campaigns under previous administrations have failed to make meaningful progress, leading to cyclical spikes at the border since 2014. And high-level corruption among government officials has complicated U.S. efforts to negotiate with leaders who have little political will for reform." — "Beam her up: Harris to chair the National Space Council," by Eugene and Bryan Bender: "Kamala Harris is adding chair of the National Space Council to her expanding vice presidential portfolio, senior administration officials announced Saturday. "Harris will put her own 'stamp' of priorities on the cabinet-level body that coordinates national security priorities, civilian exploration and the growing private economy of space, including 'supporting sustainable development of commercial space activity, advancing peaceful norms and responsible behaviors in space, achieving peaceful exploration objectives with our allies and partners,' an official said. The list also includes a focus on climate change, STEM education, diversity in the workforce, promoting regional economic development and enhancing cybersecurity in space systems." CONGRESS BIPARTISAN BLIP — "Democrats signal they're open to concessions on infrastructure," WaPo: "President Biden and top Democrats are signaling privately they are willing to make concessions over Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, or break it into chunks, if that will attract even a handful of Republican votes and allow them to notch a bipartisan win, people familiar with the strategy say. "The president spoke recently with Sen. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.) and suggested he was contemplating her counteroffer of roughly $568 billion more seriously than he viewed the Republican response to his Covid-19 relief legislation … "Now, there is a 'significant' level of back-and-forth between the administration and the Senate Republicans who were involved in crafting a counterproposal, [Capito] added. 'I don't think there's been, you know, stop signs or caution flags or anything like that that I'm seeing to think that we shouldn't be negotiating in earnest,' she said. 'And that's what we're doing.'" POLITICS ROUNDUP BIG IMPLICATIONS — "'There's a lot of crazy going on': Pro-Trump lawyer blows up key GOP race," by Marc Caputo: "LIN WOOD played a starring role in Georgia's GOP civil war after the 2020 elections. Now the pro-Trump lawyer is taking his roadshow to South Carolina, where he's campaigning as a 'chaos' candidate to lead the state Republican Party … mounting an unexpectedly strong challenge to the incumbent chairman, DREW MCKISSICK. "The outcome has outsized implications because of South Carolina's role in GOP presidential primaries — the state hosts the first primary in the South, and almost always votes for the eventual Republican nominee. It's emblematic of broader divisions between longtime GOP members and those brought into the Republican fold by Donald Trump, who remains the party's center of gravity." 2024 WATCH — "Why Kristi Noem Is Rising Quickly as a Republican Prospect for 2024," NYT: "If Gov. RON DESANTIS of Florida is widely seen as the brash heir apparent to Mr. Trump, and senators like JOSH HAWLEY and TOM COTTON are attempting to put a more ideological frame on Trumpism, [South Dakota Gov. KRISTI] NOEM is trying to cement her place as the only female Trump ally echoing the former president's trigger-the-left approach among the upper tiers of potential 2024 candidates. "But her stumble on the trans bill planted some doubts among social conservatives, and her appearances on Fox News most weeks and her time spent at Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago fund-raising site have prompted griping in South Dakota. At home, Ms. Noem's apparent White House ambitions bother Republicans who want her focused on the state's needs, even as some in the party relish the attention her rising profile is bringing to the tourism-dependent state. "She's now on her fourth chief of staff in just over two years and has an increasingly awkward relationship with JOHN THUNE, South Dakota's senior senator, and has favored the national party circuit over building relationships in the turn-of-the-century State Capitol in Pierre." OH, CRIST — "Charlie Crist's bid for Florida governor faces early threats," by Marc Caputo and Matt Dixon: "Former Florida Gov. CHARLIE CRIST officially launches his comeback campaign for his old job early next week — his third bid for the office but the first as a likely underdog in what could be a crowded field. … "Crist advisers say they understand the complications he faces. … And the Republican-turned-independent-turned Democrat has lost his last two statewide races: his 2014 campaign to unseat then-Gov. RICK SCOTT and his decision to forego reelection as governor to run for U.S. Senate in 2010, when MARCO RUBIO chased him out of the GOP primary and beat him in the general election." DON JR. GETS HIS SENATE CANDIDATE IN PA — "Republican Sean Parnell expected to run for Senate in Pennsylvania," by James Arkin: "SEAN PARNELL, a military veteran and former congressional candidate in Pennsylvania, met with Republican leaders in Washington last week as he moves towards a potential Senate campaign, according to two sources familiar with his plans. … "In 2020, Parnell lost to Democratic Rep. CONOR LAMB by roughly 2 percentage points. … Parnell is close with DONALD TRUMP JR., the former president's son and political adviser. Trump Jr. has previously said he would support Parnell for whatever office he sought in 2022." OL' KENTUCKY HOME — "Biden's Expansive Infrastructure Plan Hits Close to Home for McConnell," NYT: "[T]he Brent Spence Bridge [between Cincinnati and northern Kentucky] has become a window into the depth of the political and ideological divide that is shaping the debate in Washington over Mr. Biden's $2.3 trillion plan, so profound that [MITCH] MCCONNELL — a longtime proponent of fixing the structure — has become its most vocal and hostile opponent. "Although the president's initiative could provide the best chance in decades to upgrade a bridge that Mr. McConnell has deplored as 'outdated and inadequate,' it is also a costly plan, paid for primarily through substantial tax increases on businesses and the rich. The senator wasted no time denouncing it as a bloated, partisan expansion of big government." YANG GANG — "Yang describes himself as serial entrepreneur, but he often worked for someone else," by Joe Anuta KEMP'S NEXT MOVE — "Kemp's visit to Texas border in 'crisis' highlights his 2022 strategy," Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "It wasn't [Gov. BRIAN] KEMP'S first visit to the region: He made a far quieter trip in December in the teeth of Georgia's U.S. Senate runoffs, when his absence didn't capture much widespread attention during the brutal campaign for control of the chamber. "This trip was a different story, thanks in part to aggressive promoting by Kemp's office. Pictures of the governor standing under a towering section of the border wall and flanked by National Guard troops on a remote road were splashed on social media — along with a torrent of criticism that made Kemp a trending topic on Twitter." CALI'S SHADOW GOVERNOR — "Arnold Schwarzenegger Is No Longer the Governor of California. Right?" NYT: "ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER settled into a big leather rocker recliner on the back patio of his mansion. … Here is where Mr. Schwarzenegger has been holding court in person ever since he went to Dodger Stadium in January to get vaccinated, an event that has been viewed 20 million times on social media. "People clamor to get penciled in for a back-patio visit — not just the usual show business people, but also political consultants, talk show hosts and people trying to oust Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM. Up Mandeville Canyon they come, through the wrought iron gates, to talk Newsom with Schwarzenegger. They usually end up talking Schwarzenegger with Schwarzenegger." GOLDEN STATE READ — "'I Got Obama'd': A California conflict-resolution guru entered politics thinking he could fix it. Instead, it brought a punishing counterattack," by Amanda Ripley for POLITICO Magazine HELPFUL VISUAL — "See How Few People It Takes for a State to Lose or Gain a House Seat," NYT | 
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