Add doctors and satellite TV viewers to the list of people who will be angered by Sen. Jim Bunning’s foot-stomping over a package of spending extensions pending in the Senate.

The Kentucky Republican is blocking a vote on the bill, which would also extend unemployment benefits and the COBRA subsidies that help laid-off workers keep their health insurance. This unusual turn of events (the bill in question has been in the works for some time and was considered a sure thing for passage) has brought to fruition a looming — but widely considered unlikely — pay cut that doctors have been screaming about for years.

That cut had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, but it was postponed by Congress late last year under the assumption that a longer-term, or even permanent, solution would be passed before the end of this month.

The American Medical Assn. is not happy. In a statement, AMA President J. James Rohack called on the Senate to “stop playing games” and making patients “the collateral damage of their procedural games.”

Under an arcane formula that dates to 1998, physician payments under Medicare are automatically reduced when spending outpaces GDP growth in a given year. Since 2003, Congress has legislatively intervened to prevent the cuts — as happened in December when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) stuck a temporary two-month fix into an unrelated spending bill. The practice of ignoring the cuts (nicknamed the “doc fix”) has become commonplace – but also a source of controversy over the AMA's role in the healthcare debate.

The issue came to a head in October, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attempted to push through a bill that would...

Remarks by President Obama on the earthquake in Chile, as provided by the White House:

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. Earlier today, a devastating earthquake struck the nation of Chile, affecting millions of people. This catastrophic event was followed by multiple aftershocks, and has prompted tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean.

Earlier today, I was briefed by my national security team on the steps that we’re taking to protect our own people, and to stand with our Chilean friends. Early indications are that hundreds of lives have been lost in Chile, and the damage is severe.

On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the Chilean people. The United States stands ready to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts, and we have resources that are positioned to deploy should the Chilean government ask for our help.

Chile is a close friend and partner of the United States, and I’ve reached out to President Bachelet to let her know that we will be there for her should the Chilean people need assistance, and our hearts go out to the families who may have lost loved ones. We’re also preparing for a tsunami that could reach American shores later today, particularly in Hawaii, American Samoa, and Guam.

A tsunami warning is in place, and people have been alerted to evacuate coastal areas. I urge citizens to listen closely to the instructions of local officials, who will have the full support of the federal government as they prepare for a potential tsunami, and recover from any damage that may be caused. I also urge our citizens along the West Coast to be prepared as well, as there may be dangerous waves and currents throughout the day.

Again, the most important thing that you can do is to carefully heed the instructions of your state and local officials. Once again, we’ve been reminded of the awful devastation that can come at a moment’s notice. We can’t control nature, but we can and must be prepared for disaster when it strikes.

In the hours ahead, we’ll continue to take every step possible to prepare our shores and protect our citizens. And we will stand with the people of Chile as they recovery from this terrible tragedy. Thank you very much, everybody.

White House statement concerning President Obama’s call with President Michelle Bachelet of Chile:

This afternoon, President Obama spoke with President Michelle Bachelet to express his condolences for the losses Chile suffered as a result of this morning’s tragic earthquake. The President commended President Bachelet for the Chilean government’s response to the disaster and recognized Chile’s capacity and expertise in responding to earthquakes.

He reiterated that the United States stands ready to assist the Chilean government’s rescue and recovery efforts. President Bachelet thanked President Obama for his call, and said that she would be in touch should Chile require any support.

-- Steve Padilla

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Photos: Earthquake destruction in Concepcion, Chile; President Obama discusses the quake Saturday. Credit: Associated Press.

ABC's "This Week" with Elizabeth Vargas: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.),George Will, Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts.

Bloomberg's "Political Capital" with Al Hunt: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Bloomberg’s Mike Firn, Lizzie O’Leary, Julianna Goldman and Kate O’Beirne.

CBS' "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer: Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.),Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Jim VandeHei.

CNN's "GPS" with Fareed Zakaria: George Soros, Simon Schama, Lionel Barber.

CNN's "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley: Pelosi and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

"Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace: Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a panel with Liz Cheney, Bill Kristol, Juan Williams and Mara Liasson.

NBC's "Meet the Press" with David Gregory: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Obama’s director of health reform Nancy-Ann DeParle, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and Marc Morial of the Urban League and Katty Kay.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Eric Cantor. Credit: Associated Press

Remarks by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), as provided by the Republican National Committee:

Hello, I’m Dr. Tom Coburn, a practicing physician from Oklahoma and a member of the United States Senate.

This week I had the opportunity to join President Obama and my Democrat and Republican colleagues for a summit on health care. We had a respectful and constructive discussion.

While we listened to one another, I’m concerned that the majority in Congress is still not listening to the American people on the subject of health care reform. By an overwhelming margin, the American people are telling us to scrap the current bills, which will lead to a government takeover of health care, and we should start over.

Unfortunately, even before the summit took place the majority in Congress signaled its intent to reject our offers to work together. Instead they want to use procedural tricks and backroom deals to ram through a new bill that combines the worst aspects of the bills the Senate and House passed last year.

The American people have rejected the majority’s plan for good reason. Their plan includes half a trillion dollars in new tax increases, a half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare, job-killing penalties for employers, taxpayer funded abortion and new boards that will ration care to American citizens. At its core, their plan continues a government-centered approach that has...

(UPDATE: Saturday: Julianna Smoot has been named the new White House party chief. The Obamas are "pleased" to have her on the team. She is "humbled and excited." Her qualifications as social secretary? She's an ex-Tom Daschle aide and been chief of staff in the U.S. Trade Representative's office. Oh, and she was finance chair of Obama's $750 million presidential campaign.)

When President-elect George W. Bush's brand-new Chief of Staff Andrew Card called the assembling White House transition team together for its first pre-inaugural staff meeting two blocks from their about-to-be workplace in January 2001, he told everyone in the eager room to look around.

"In 18 months," White House veteran Card announced, "most of you will be gone." (What he didn't say was, most of you will use this job on your resume to move on to really good money.)

The White House always looks the same when a new president moves in. But inside, it's a high-pressure, highly-competitive arena of determined egos, most of whom have just invested two or three years of their lives at crummy wages, eating crummy food, scrapping and tearing to get there. Not everyone gets along, including some big names who look all pally for the photos. And there's a perpetual turnover. Hard to believe in power-addicted D.C., but many folks actually prefer life back home.

The departures have started early for the Obama Chicago crowd -- just 13+ months in. But the power jockeying has been going on inside all along. And today....

Jim Bunning used to be a hero. In fact he's in the Baseball Hall of Fame -- only the second pitcher in history to get 1,000 strikeouts and 100 wins in both the American (Detroit Tigers) and National (Philadelphia Phillies) leagues.

This week he proved the goat, the only one of 100 senators to block a 30-day extension of unemployment benefits. Without it, for an estimated 1.2 million Americans, benefits expire Sunday.

Actually, some think Bunning has a point -- he wants the Senate to pay for the $10-billion, 30-day band-aid by dipping into the $400 billion in unspent stimulus funds -- instead of adding to the federal deficit.

But Bunning's reputation as a loose cannon precedes him, and he had few defenders even among Republican colleagues. A loose-lipped maverick who once accused an opponent of....

The White House pushed, hinted, suggested, cajoled and otherwise tried to send the message to embattled New York Gov. David Paterson that he should get out of the race.

Now, he has, with various news sources reporting he is going to serve out his term, which ends in January, but won't seek a new term.

(UPDATE: Democrat Paterson confirmed the reports Friday. He's out.)

Paterson has been under fire in recent days for having contacted a woman who accused one of his top aides of domestic violence.

But that is hardly his first brush with controversy. Paterson inherited the governor's office after fellow Democrat Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal. With Paterson's poll numbers down and amid grumbling about his ineffectiveness, the White House sent word to Albany in September that perhaps Paterson could fall on his sword for the party.

As The Ticket reported at the time, New York's First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson blasted President Obama for the backroom push, saying it was wrong for the White House to get involved. "David's the first African American governor in the state of New York and he's being asked to get out of the race. It's very unusual and it seems very unfair," she told the New York Post. "I never heard of a president asking a governor not to run.... I don't think it's right."

But the current scandal -- in which Paterson reportedly called a woman who was about to testify against one of his top aides -- was the tipping point.

The biggest winner from today's decision? Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo, the darling of the Democratic left and the son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who can now go for it without a bruising or expensive Democratic primary.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Gov. David Paterson; credit: Associated Press.

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A brief online kerfuffle raged this week over a perceived similarity between a newer military agency logo and that trademark Obama O circle from the presidential campaign.

According to an initial conspiratorial theory, the newest logo for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (above, right) bears a remarkable resemblance to the Obama campaign logo. And is that perhaps some potentially sinister insinuation of the Muslim crescent in there too?

The answer is, simply: Not.

According to Richard Lehner of the MDA, the agency added the second, more contemporary, three-colored logo to its recruiting materials three years ago as a cost-saving procedure over the continuing five-color logo. The newer design was added to the agency's updated website last fall, where both now appear.

For those of us who in high school days may have been symbolically challenged by some Shakespearean lines, Lehner provides this explanation:

"The symbolism of the design is that it shows missile defense as a global system to defend the US, our deployed forces and allies and friends, as depicted by the path of an interceptor missile and a flash (not a star) denoting a missile intercept."

Another way to explain "missile intercept" is an intentionally premature explosion of an incoming enemy armament caused by our own missile, a super laser beam and/or a secret method that we'd have to kill you for if we told you about.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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In case you got so wrapped up in the wonky drama of Thursday's bipartisan healthcare summit and forgot to track the time, the office of Sen. Mitch McConnell helpfully did it for you.

For some bizarre reason having to do with working in Washington more than 24 hours, the distinctly minority Republican representatives meeting with President Obama and his Democratic posse suspected they might get the short end of the timing switch when it came to talking on national TV.

And you will be shocked to learn that, according to the GOP timers, they did.

According to that count, Republican voices could be heard for 110 minutes out of the meeting's 343 minutes.

Democrats were speaking for 114 minutes.

Which seems about equal unless you count Obama as a Democrat, which many people do.

In that case, Democrats out-clocked Republicans 233-110.

At one point, McConnell raised the issue of time imbalance, prompting this comment by Obama:

"You're right, there was an imbalance on the opening statements because I'm the president and so I made...(Laughter) I didn't -- I didn't count my time in terms of dividing it evenly."

Related item:

Healthcare summit opening remarks: Obama, Alexander, Pelosi, Reid

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: EPA

For the first time in 13 months, the two men who worked together every day in the White House for eight years got back together quietly this afternoon in suburban Washington.

Former President George W. Bush arrived at the McLean, Va., home of former Vice President Dick Cheney, newly returned from a hospital stay from his fifth heart attack.

"Lookin' good," said Bush.

"Holding up," said Cheney.

Cheney still addressed his former boss as Mr. President in the brief repartee before an ABC News camera. (See video below.) The two men spent about an hour together.

They were both scheduled to appear at a Bush-Cheney administration reunion in Washington on Friday, but Cheney has begged off for more recovery time.

The Ticket previewed the Bush-Cheney meet-up earlier today right here and reviewed what both men have been up to in the ensuing year.

Both men have been working on their memoirs in recent months. Bush has confined his observations and comments to closed exchanges with private audiences, Cheney has been considerably more outspoken in his opposition to many Obama policies as well as his support for the Democrat's strategy in Afghanistan.

Last week in a surprise appearance at a conservative convention, Cheney predicted Obama would be a one-term president, an observation confirmed by a recent CNN / Opinion research Poll. (See links below.)  

A majority of Americans now predict NObama second term

Dick Cheney predicts Obama a 'one-term president'

Obama nears Day 400: What's happened to him?

-- Andrew Malcolm

Is party-hardy Nevada ready for a bachelor governor?

This week, Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons, who recently reached a divorce settlement with his estranged wife, Dawn, likely realized the perils of being an (almost) single public official running for reelection in a relatively small state.

On Monday night, just before the part-time Legislature convened to close an $887-million budget gap, a KLAS-TV news crew confronted Gibbons at the Reno airport. He was returning from a governors’ conference and presidential banquet in Washington.

Essentially, the crew asked: Who was your date?

Gibbons initially denied he was traveling with a woman named Kathy Karrasch, one of the women Dawn Gibbons had accused of being her husband’s mistress. Karrasch was also the infamous recipient of more than 800 text messages from the governor during the 2007 legislative session.

(She and Gibbons have denied they are romantically involved. In fact, in a recent deposition that KLAS obtained, the governor claimed he hasn’t had sex with anyone, including his wife, for 15 years: “I'm living proof that you can survive without sex for that long," he said.)

After Gibbons’ airport denial, the news crew cornered Karrasch outside. She was heading toward the governor’s state-owned SUV.

“You know what? I could have been in Las Vegas having tea with the first lady,” Karrasch said.

Soon after, Gibbons joined Karrasch, the wife of a Reno doctor, and offered a few choice words to the news crew.

“You are full of (expletive). You are. You really are. All you're doing out here late at night trying to make a scene,” Gibbons said.

The next day, Gibbons apologized for his denials. He apparently had no choice. Karrasch, according to a Reno TV station, had posted on Facebook that she had very much enjoyed dinner at the White House.

-- Ashley Powers

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Photo: The Gibbons couple in happier times. Credit: Cathleen Allison / Associated Press

UPDATE: 10:52 a.m.: Here are the brief remarks of President Obama to reporters during the lunch break:

Q   How is it going, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT: It’s interesting.  I mean, I don't know if it’s interesting watching it on TV, but it’s interesting being part of it.

Q  Are you making progress?

Q  How is the progress?

THE PRESIDENT: I think we're establishing that there are actually some areas of real agreement and we're starting to focus on what the real disagreements are. If you look at the issue of how much government should be involved -- the argument that Republicans are making really isn’t that this is a government takeover of health care, but rather that we’re insuring the -- or we're regulating the insurance market too much. 

And that's a legitimate philosophical disagreement. We'll hopefully be able to explore it a little more in the afternoon.    ###

A list of summit participants has been added at the end of the transcript.

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody. Welcome. Thank you so much for participating today. I am very grateful to all of you because I know how busy you are.

What I want to do is just make a few brief remarks on the front end, and then we're going to allow leadership from the both the House and the Senate to make some opening remarks, and then we will dive in.

Last year obviously was one of the toughest years we've had on record, and all of us in one way or another were devoted to focusing on breaking the back of the recession, restoring economic growth, putting people back to work.  We've still got a long way to go.  And so I know both the House and the Senate are interested in how do we propel economic growth forward; how do we create more jobs. 

I was very pleased to see a glimpse of bipartisanship in the Senate recently in passing a jobs bill, and I hope that continues, and I know there are going to be some additional pieces of....