The Sac Bee's Dan Weintraub has an interesting piece looking at how past economic crises have hit California harder than the rest of the country (think Dot Com bubble). The upshot: this economic crisis is the worst since the Great Depression, but by most metrics California is faring no worse -and in some cases a bit better - than the rest of the country.

Larry Kudlow on his program last night:

Tonight I want to talk to you for a quick moment about me. Several weeks ago, I was approached by the Republican Party to consider a run for the US Senate in the great state of Connecticut. It was a flattering conversation, and one that I thought about, but to me it was never really a serious proposition.

However, this story seems to have a life of its own. It started as a solitary blog post and then spread like wildfire. Now CNBC, my network, is getting questions from a number of high-profile reporters wanting to know what I'm going to do. I'm glad they care.

So this evening, I'm letting the world know that I am not running for the US Senate. And here's why: in my heart I know that I belong right here at CNBC. This is my love. I just signed a new long-term deal here and I can't think of anything else I would rather do.

I've invested and worked very hard at this job, and I am so blessed to have it. My great hope is I'll be around this network, doing my thing, for many years to come. So I appreciate your interest and support. The case is closed.

President Obama endorsed this morning Scott Murphy, the Democratic candidate in the special election to replace Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) in the House. Murphy is locked in a tight race with Republican Jim Tedisco in the upstate 20th District of New York, with just less than a week to go until the March 31 election.

Obama won the 20th District by 3 points in November, and Gillibrand defeated a Republican challenger by 24 points.

Obama sent an e-mail to supporters announcing his endorsement and asking for last-minute volunteers. "What you do now can make all the difference as we work in the coming weeks and months to lead our country in a new direction," Obama wrote.

Here is the press release provided by the Murphy campaign:

"Scott Murphy is the right candidate for Upstate New York to turn the economy around and create jobs,” said President Barack Obama.

“Scott has the right experience, with a record of creating real, high-paying jobs in Upstate New York. Now he's ready to go to Washington to continue that work alongside me and Democrats and Republicans in Congress. He has shown he's willing to take a stand for the people in his district by supporting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to get Upstate New York's economy moving again.”

“Not only will Scott Murphy be a strong ally in creating jobs and stabilizing the economy, he also shares my commitment to improving health care, bringing our schools into the 21st century, and pushing for openness in government and responsible budgeting.”

“Scott Murphy will follow in the footsteps of Kirsten Gillibrand by delivering for Upstate New York, and I look forward to working with him in Congress.”

“I could not be more honored and humbled to have the President's support,” said local businessman Scott Murphy. “I look forward to working with the President as well as Democrats and Republicans in Washington to implement his recovery package, help create jobs Upstate, and ultimately get our economy back on track.”

With a Republican primary race awaiting him next year, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter leads two potential challengers in a new Franklin & Marshall poll (March 17-22, 662 A, MoE +/- 3.8%). Tested against Specter were two more-conservative challengers, ex-Rep. Pat Toomey and activist Peg Luksik.

While more people would like to see a change (46%) -- including half of Republicans -- than believe Specter deserves another chance (40%), he received his highest favorability rating (48%) in more than 10 years.

Specter 33
Toomey 18
Luksik 2
Und 42

Specter made news yesterday for announcing that he would not back the controversial 'Card Check' bill that would make it easier for labor to organize. Toomey released a statement afterward accusing Specter of making his decision purely for political reasons.

From the White House Press Office:

[W]e've put in place a comprehensive strategy designed to attack this crisis on all fronts.  It's a strategy to create jobs, to help responsible homeowners, to re-start lending, and to grow our economy over the long-term.  And we are beginning to see signs of progress.

…

The budget I submitted to Congress will build our economic recovery on a stronger foundation, so that we do not face another crisis like this ten or twenty years from now.  We invest in the renewable sources of energy that will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and less dependence on foreign oil.   We invest in our schools and our teachers so that our children have the skills they need to compete with any workers in the world.  We invest in reform that will bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and our government.  And in this budget, we have made the tough choices necessary to cut our deficit in half by the end of my first term – even under the most pessimistic estimates.

At the end of the day, the best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is not with a budget that continues the very same policies that have led to a narrow prosperity and massive debt.  It's with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest.

That's what clean energy jobs and businesses will do.  That's what a highly-skilled workforce will do.  That's what an efficient health care system that controls costs and entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid will do.  That's why this budget is inseparable from this recovery – because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.

…

We will recover from this recession.  But it will take time, it will take patience, and it will take an understanding that when we all work together; when each of us looks beyond our own short-term interests to the wider set of obligations we have to each other – that's when we succeed.  That's when we prosper.  And that's what is needed right now.  So let us look toward the future with a renewed sense of common purpose, a renewed determination, and most importantly, a renewed confidence that a better day will come.

Republicans on the House Budget Committee are preparing an alternative to President Obama's budget, while GOP leaders continue to paint the President's plan as an expensive, liberal agenda that will increase the national debt at an incomparable rate.

At a morning press conference, Republican leaders John Boehner (Ohio), Eric Cantor (Va.) and Mike Pence (Ind.) railed against the budget in advance of the President's prime-time news conference tonight.

"Our position is his budget is far outside of the mainstream," said Cantor.

"The president is proposing a gusher of new debt, new taxes and more spending," concurred Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), ranking member of the Budget Committee. "The president's budget is so far to the left that it's to the left of the Progressive Caucus budget that came to the floor last year that about 130 Democrats voted against. So we're seeing a strong lurch to the left."

"When you look at the debt numbers in this budget you'll see that over the next six years President Obama will create more debt than his 43 predecessors have in the last 220 years," said Boehner.

"The President's budget is the most fiscally irresponsible budget in the history of the United States," said Pence.

As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) did yesterday, Cantor noted that Obama's planned trip to Capitol Hill tomorrow was a sign that his plan was not favored by centrists in Congress or around the country. "We wouldn't have to see a campaign to try to convince moderate Democrats to support this budget if it was reflective of the mainstream of this country," Cantor said.

Boehner has planned a news conference this afternoon to talk about the President's prime-time event tonight, and Ryan will discuss the President's budget further at another press conference.

Meanwhile, Democrats are touting the priorities of the budget as a way forward in the tough economic climate. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) noted four specific priorities: reducing the deficit by half over the next five years; making a down payment on health care reform; investing in energy independence; and reforming and investing in education.

Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) spoke today about the health care, education and energy investments in the budget.

"Investing in education is one of the most certain ways to prepare a skilled and ready workforce and to strengthen our economy well into the future," said Murray, the Democratic Conference Secretary. "Now is not a time to sit back and criticize. Now is a time to be bold and make the critical investments in our country that are so overdue."

Hoyer also said that while Democratic leaders in the House "are all very concerned about the level of the deficit" Congress is facing in the near future, it was Republican policies that put the government in this position.

"I've been very very criticial over the last eight years of the policies that have been pursued by the previous administration which put us deeply into debt," Hoyer said. "We're going to be working on getting that budget deficit down, but it will not be done near-term because of the budget hole we were dealt and left and that was so deep."

(Cross-posted at RCP's Politics Nation.)

Apropos my earlier post about the public's utter disgust at AIG, here's a handy look at where AIG bailout funds have been funneled around the globe. As you can see, well less than half (43.5%) is staying inside the United States:

This is either evidence of the ongoing cult of Obama, or a sign of the coming Apocalypse, I'm not sure which:

San Francisco-based Joseph Enterprises, the company behind the Chia Pet and The Clapper, is rolling out its own brand of patriotism with a clay statuette of the commander in chief. Just add water and Obama's hair grows faster than the national deficit.

"It's unbelievable the interest we've had on the product," says Joe Pedott, president of Joseph Enterprises and the company's namesake, speaking by telephone Monday from the International Home & Housewares Show at McCormick Place.

Although the official launch of the product is April 2 for stores such as Walgreens, the Chia Obama has been rolling out slowly on the Internet and in Chicago and Tampa, its first two test markets. [snip]

Others who share the Chia honor: Homer Simpson, SpongeBob SquarePants and Scooby-Doo.

That's quite a distinguished list.

This just in: the public hates AIG. More specifically, the public hates the fact that AIG paid bonuses to its employees after it took more than $170 billion in taxpayer provided bailout funds.  Consider the following poll results released in the last 24 hours from Gallup and CBS News:

50% describe themselves as "angry" about the AIG bonuses, and another 38% are "bothered" by them.

83% say AIG should have found a way not to pay the bonuses despite their legal obligations.

80% are "dissatisfied" with the way AIG management handled the bonus situation.

77% say the government should "try to recover" the bonus payments, and 69% believe that the payment should be recovered "in full."

71% do not buy the argument that bonus payments are needed to "hire and retain people with the necessary expertise."

65% say bonus payments to any employees (executive, mid, or lower-level) by companies that accept bailout funds are "unacceptable."

56% belive the Obama administration should have prevented AIG from paying the bonuses, and 51% approve of the legislation passed by the House of Representatives taxing bailout related bonuses at 90%.

Lastly, in perhaps the least surprising results of all given the events of the last couple of weeks, 76% say the government should not give AIG one penny more in financial assistance, even if it means they have to go out of business.

Obama's job approval rating is up a couple of points in the latest CBS News poll, despite the fact that for the first time a plurality of the public disapproved of his handling of an issue: the AIG bonus mess. Forty-one percent approved of his handling of the situation, while 42% disapproved and 17% had no opinion.

Obama's approval rating in the CBS Poll is 64%, which is a two point increase from their last poll taken 10 days ago. Overall, Obama's job approval rating has also ticked up slightly in the latest RCP Average to 61.2% while his disapproval rating has declined to 30.5%: