The nation is just waking up today to learn the rather huge political news that Chief of Staff Bill Daley‘s role at the White House is changing, with many outlets reporting that he is moving into a more of a “big picture” or “ambassador” role in the Obama administration. The news of Daley’s evolving role at the White House, however, is just about as unclear and muddied as the administration’s detractors claim the White House policies to be; is he being demoted?

Last week I wrote about the White House “We The People” open government initiative to allow average Americans to bring their concerns directly to the president and the fallout after people learned the White House would be issuing standard responses to all of the petitions. Well, the White House is continuing to respond, and one of the latest shows the White House has no interest in studying whether or not extraterrestrial life exists beyond our planet.

Most people would agree that a more open government is a good thing for our democracy. The ability to bring your issues directly to political leaders is a way to ensure that voices are heard and the concerns of average Americans are being addressed. Last month, the White House launched “We The People,” an online platform where people can create and sign petitions. If 25,000 people sign a petition, the website pledges to have someone in the Obama administration issue a public response.

The White House Press Briefing Room got a little disorderly yesterday as comedian Will Ferrell swung by to say hello to Press Secretary Jay Carney and generally fool around in the White House. CNN caught some of the footage of Ferrell posing for pictures and joking with Carney.

The reported death of Muammar Gaddafi is certain to be the biggest topic of today’s White House briefing, which you can watch via the magic of the INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY, and live streaming video technology brought to you by the White House, and paid for by you, the American taxpayer. If you are a tax cheat, then please do not watch. That would not be fair to those of us who do. (Especially Warren Buffett’s secretary, who I gather needs a new Accountant. She is paying WAY too much.)

President Barack Obama has been traveling the country in the last few days aiming to drum up support for the “>American Jobs Act, the plan he put forth intended to spur the economy and lower unemployment in a joint session speech last month. This is Obama’s first speech since announce the $450 Billion plan, which appears to already be facing predictable opposition from House GOP leaders like Eric Cantor.

With the “fall” of Texas Governor Rick Perry and the rise of Herman Cain, the bizarre side quest the media has undertaken of trying to convince New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to hop into the race has been at the forefront of many headlines. Naturally, what the ultimate opponent any of these candidate would face has to say on the matter is worth noting and, to that end, we sent out own White House Correspondent Tommy Christopher to ask President Obama just what he thinks about the rumored Christie run.

Earlier this month, we looked into a report Fox News’ Megyn Kelly presented on an anti-bailout ad from Ford Motor Co. Was this commercial, she wondered, trying to piggyback onto the Tea Party movement’s energy (and its wariness) by voicing disapproval of American car companies that, unlike Ford, agreed to take government bailout money?

Well, now Detroit News columnist Daniel Howes is reporting that the car company has pulled the ad after questions from the White House.

At a classified briefing, head of the Air Force Space Command Gen. William Shelton informed House members that he he had been pressured to change prepared congressional testimony in order to better compliment a Virginia-based satellite and communications company funded by major Democratic donor Philip Falcone. The GOP has been wondering for some time now whether work done by that company, LightSquared, has been “unduly expedited” by the Obama administration in its push for nation-wide wireless network upgrades.

Ed Henry, who made a fast friend in White House Press Secretary Jay Carney upon leaving CNN to become Fox News’ White House correspondent, gave Adweek a very revealing interview about the course his career has taken.

Henry even tackles the media buzz surrounding his switch to Fox News, sharing that he feels his questions are just as tough as when he was at CNN.

In advance of tonight’s presidential address of a joint session of congress in which President Obama plans to unveil a new jobs plan to stimulate a stagnant economy, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney appeared on Fox and Friends for what turned out to be a spirited discussion with host Gretchen Carlson over the president’s plan. Future historians will likely view the heated exchange as a microcosm of today’s political climate, before shaking their collective heads in disbelief.

Like many Americans who were somewhat confused, the cast of the The Five took a minute to reflect upon the bizarre case of nearly half a NASCAR team declining an invitation to be honored at the White House, citing “scheduling conflicts.” While positing some reasons for the potential conflict– from lack of moon pies to, perhaps, legitimate scheduling conflicts– co-host Greg Gutfeld gave a perfectly succinct analogy to summarize the political situation: “it’s like inviting the cast of Glee to Michele Bachmann‘s house.”

Newly-minted MSNBC host Al Sharpton updated viewers on the latest details from Speechgate 2011: The Incredible One-Day Saga Of A Minor Scheduling Issue, and wondered if “John Boehner [has] been the problem all along” in dealings between the White House and House Republicans, and not necessarily the tea party members of Congress.

The White House has unrolled a new way for Americans to ask their government for change on the internet, announcing yesterday plans for “We the People”, a program that references the U.S.’s first petition, the Constitution. Through “We the People,” Americans can start petitions to then be circulated through email and social network until they get enough votes to merit the White House policy staff’s attention.

At today’s White House briefing, Press Secretary Jay Carney fielded questions about the scheduling of next week’s jobs speech like a shortstop playing pepper with a meth addict, and while little new was revealed, Carney did say that he spent “a great deal of time with him this morning, and it never came up.”

Carney downplayed the issue, calling it media “catnip,” but reporters continued to press Carney over whether the scheduling snafu was a sign of poor communication.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney appeared on Morning Joe this morning, and after exchanging pleasantries about what its like to be a “classic sort of outsider” and his son’s rock band, the discussion finally turned to yesterday’s scheduling conflict, heretofore known as “speechgate.” Carney made clear that the administration had called the office of Speaker about the speech who then made no objection until the formal letter had been received by John Boehner‘s office.

Earlier today, the White House announced that President Obama is calling for a joint session of the U.S. Congress to deliver his plans to address a stagnant economy and high jobless rate. Given the heightened and bipartisan calls for the administration’s plan to address these issues, this would be big news on its own, but the fact that the White House set the date for the speech on the same evening as a planned GOP Presidential debate has added an intriguingly nuanced level of political gamesmanship that’s been noticeably absent of late from the Obama administration.

President Barack Obama last month approved the installation of Norman Rockwell‘s famous “The Problem We All Live With.” The painting depicts the racial tension at play as 6-year-old Ruby Bridges makes her way to William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, escorted by U.S. Marshals dispatched by President Eisenhower. Bridges is known as the first black child to attend a formerly all-white school following court-mandated integration. (She lives in New Orleans to this day, where she is now chair of The Ruby Bridges Foundation.)

Politico notes the painting’s place in the White House has never been mentioned by President Obama publicly. But evidently, it was Bridges herself — with the help of Louisiana’s Senator Mary Landrieu (D), Georgia Rep. John Lewis (D) and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) — who convinced the President to display the painting at the White House.

With the fall of Muammar Gaddafi‘s compound in Tripoli today, American political commentators have begun to analyze whether that fall represents a victory for the Obama administration or a victory despite them. On tonight’s O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly asked Col. Ralph Peters to assess the President, and despite not being a fan of the President at all, argued that the removal of Gaddafi was “as good as war gets.”

President Obama is beginning to wrap up his Midwestern bus tour and has taken what is reported to be another surprise stop: a county fair in Whiteside County, Illinois. At this event the president is planning to deliver some prepared remarks and take questions in a Town Hall setting, which you can watch live via live streaming video.

Tavis Smiley and Cornel West continued their media tour on C-Span this morning, and expressed frustration with President Obama over a much more personal issue than merely not talking about poverty. Smiley noticed that Obama invited Bill O’Reilly to the White House, but he himself has yet to receive an invitation from the President, who regularly appeared on his show before being elected President.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is about to take questions from the media. Hot topics that he is certain to address are the President’s visit to Dover AFB yesterday to greet the fallen soldiers killed in Afghanistan this weekend, market volatility and recent appointments to the congressional super-committee to address the deficit spending crisis that has gripped the nation in the last few weeks.

The White House is not conceding that Vice President Joe Biden likened the Tea Party to “terrorists” in a private discussion, as VP Biden himself has denied. But in today’s press briefing, Press Secretary Jay Carney was made to speak on the matter, and he made clear that the language was “not appropriate” for the discussion, heated though it may be: “The Vice President doesn’t think so; the President doesn’t think so.”

It was a question asked repeatedly during today’s White House press briefing, but some conservatives are lashing out at CBS’ Norah O’Donnell for asking Press Secretary Jay Carney how the Democrats benefit, if at all, from the final debt deal. The controversy began with a post from Commentary Magazine entitled “CBS’s O’Donnell to Carney: ‘We Got Nothing,’” which was technically a correct quote, except Commentary omitted some key words preceding that statement: “You have Democrats saying…”

Count Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren among those upset at the way White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to the network’s new White House correspondent, Ed Henry. You’ll recall that, earlier this week, Henry asked Carney, rather bluntly, “What was the point of giving a prime-time address to the nation, without an Obama plan?” Carney, upset, accused Henry of bringing up a “Republican talking point.” The next day, Carney circled back to Henry’s question while responding to another reporter and told Henry that “I know you’re creating…you’re creating a thing here for Fox.”

Now, Van Susteren is coming out in her colleague’s corner through her blog, even calling the White House’s treatment of Henry “pretty petty.”