Melody Barnes, director of President Obama's Domestic Policy Council and his newest golfing partner, called the Albuquerque Journal today to trumpet some positive - and for this White House, much needed - economic news. She also took a moment to dispel the notion that Obama's White House has become a "boys club," as the New York Times reported this week.

Barnes is in charge of the president's domestic agenda. While the economy is not technically under the domain of the Domestic Policy Council, economic issues are an integral part of everything Obama does domestically these days, so Barnes is in sync with the president's thinking on the subject.

The White House conducted a PR blitz Friday to tout a new in-house report that shows that the stimulus package Congress approved in February has saved or created almost 650,000 jobs. It's a far cry from the 3.5 million jobs Obama said the stimulus would save or create by the end of 2010, but it's a respectable start, Barnes told me.

"It's an indication the Recovery Act is doing what we hoped and believed it was designed to do," Barnes said in the telephone interview. "But this is also just the beginning for us."

So, good news on the jobs front. But not good enough. Overall employment remains sluggish, Barnes conceded. Some projections indicate the jobless rate could remain near 10 percent well into 2010, even though the stimulus does seem to be having some positive effect. I asked Barnes what Obama believes is an "acceptable" rate of unemployment.

"We are far, far from what the president finds acceptable," she said, declining to offer a specific number that would be acceptable.

I also asked Barnes about this week's - in my opinion overwrought - article in the New York Times that portrayed the Obama White House as a testosterone-fueled "boys club." Barnes became the first woman to play in the president's golfing foursome the day after the story was published. Coincidence? I doubt it.

"The golf game was very low-key and a lot of fun," she said, adding with laugh that she's been golfing for a good 10 years and wasn't "posing" out there on the golf course to placate the president's gender equality critics.

"The White House is not a boys club - it isn't at all," she said. "I sit at the table with Rahm and Axelrod and Anita Dunn and (others). It's a mix of very sophisiticated and savvy men AND women, and the president looks to all of us to bring expertise to the table."

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As soon as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he would include a public option in the bill he brings to the Senate floor, critics pounced with even some moderate Democrats signaling opposition.

There is no single reason for the opposition but it seems the bill, as it stands now, has a precarious legislative path ahead. However, there is still a lot of legislating to come with more chances to fine-tune the bill.

New Mexico's senators are not among those voicing complaints about Reid's effort. Both Sens. Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman have signaled support for Reid's plan - at least as a starting point. Both have voiced support for a public health insurance option all along.

Meanwhile, I'm checking in with New Mexico's House delegation members to get their opinion of the bill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to unveil today. Stay tuned.

Here's what Udall had to say about Reid's Senate bill in a statement provided to me:

"Nearly half a million New Mexicans lack health insurance and among Hispanics only one in two have coverage," Udall said. "Including a government-sponsored insurance option in reform is critical to giving New Mexico's uninsured access to quality, affordable health care. A public option would insert honest competition into the health insurance market and bring down the skyrocketing health care costs. Without it, the same insurance companies that have tripled and quadrupled their profits in just a few years, and given their CEO's millions in bonuses, have little incentive to reduce their prices. In one of the wealthiest nations in the world, it's a travesty that working American families can't afford to see a doctor when they're sick. Although I would prefer a stronger national public option, I'm encouraged the Senate legislation we'll vote on includes a compromise that would allow states to opt-out of the system."

Sen. Bingaman worked directly on both the Senate health and finance committee bills that Reid has merged into one. He delivered the following remarks this week at a Capitol Hill press conference:

"I congratulate Senator Reid on taking the best of both bills and putting them together and coming up with a merged piece of legislation that we can get CBO to react to, and then hopefully move ahead with on the Senate floor," Bingaman said. "I think it is an important initiative.The president has made it his top priority. Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi have made it their top priority, and getting this done is important for the American people, so I'm glad to be part of it."

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Sen. Tom Udall today went to the Senate floor to honor a New Mexico police officer and soldier killed in the line of duty this year.

You can watch a video of the Democratic senator's remarks here.

Here is some information about these men, provided by Udall's office:

Army Sergeant 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook, who grew up in Shiprock, NM, died last week from injuries sustained while serving his country in Afghanistan. His death came just over four years after his brother, Sergeant Marshall A. Westbrook, was killed when a bomb exploded near his Humvee in Baghdad, Iraq. He will be buried by his family tomorrow in Farmington.

 New Mexico State Police Sergeant Andrew Tingwall was killed in a June helicopter accident after rescuing a stranded hiker in the Santa Fe Baldy Mountains. On Friday, Tingwall will be inducted into the New Mexico Military Institute Alumni Association Hall of Fame, an honor for which he was nominated by Udall, among others.

And here is part of written statement Udall just released to the media:

"Duty, honor, country - three words you hear often when talking about those who commit themselves to a lifetime of public service. Sergeants Westbrook and Tingwall personified those words, both in the way they lived their lives and in the way those lives ultimately ended," Udall said in his remarks on the Senate floor. "New Mexico is proud to honor these true American heroes. To their families, we say thank you and ask them to accept the thanks of a grateful state, and a grateful nation."

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After months of sometimes contentious negotiations, the Senate Finance Committee passed its health care overhaul bill and one of the legislation's key architects - Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico - voted in favor of it.

The low-key lawmaker said little during the bill's final hearing this morning except to ask expert witnesses some questions about the implications of imposing an excise tax on so-called "Cadillac" health plans, or those that offer uncommonly good benefits. Bingaman told me in a phone interview a few minutes ago that the Senate Finance Committee plan is a good one, despite the fact that it doesn't include a public health insurance option.

He said it remains to be seen if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will include a public option in the bill he brings to the floor in the next few weeks. It will almost certainly be offered as an amendment if Reid doesn't include it, Bingaman said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Udall just told me he that he and other Democrats plan to fight hard for inclusion of a public option in the bill Reid produces from a melding of the Senate finance and health committee bills.

The Finance Committee bill doesn't include a public option, but the Senate health committee bill does. Please read tomorrow's Journal for much more from both of New Mexico senators.

Meanwhile, here are a few quotes Bingaman just issued in a news release:

"We have been talking about health insurance reform for decades. With this vote, we're finally on a path to enacting it," Bingaman said. "This bill reduces the growth in health care costs, which is important to all American families but particularly important to New Mexican families, who are expected to experience the highest growth in premiums in the nation if reform is not enacted.

"The bill also prevents insurance companies from denying health insurance to Americans because they have pre-existing conditions. It also prevents insurance companies from capping coverage at an annual or lifetime level. And if Americans like the coverage they have, they can keep it Bingaman said. In short, it is a very good bill for Americans and, in particular New Mexicans, who already have insurance."

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If you were thinking that Congress might wrap up its months-long national health care debate soon, think again.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, in his weekly call with New Mexico radio reporters today, said the debate is likely to extend into November - and possibly beyond.

Here's why:

The Senate Finance Committee on which Bingaman sits is still hashing out its high-profile health care overhaul bill. Once that work is complete, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid must decide how to reconcile that bill with the bill already passed by the Senate health committee. A full Senate floor debate will ensue.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House has passed three separate bills and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to decide how she will merge those bills. A House floor debate also looms.

Of course, once the House and Senate pass (I should say IF they pass - and that's still a big "if") final health care bills, then the two chambers must negotiate a compromise, and then send it back for final floor votes.

"Realistically, we still have several weeks of deliberations and action here in the Senate before we will have completed action," Bingaman told reporters today. "You're not likely to see this issue completed until well into November, if that early."

Having watched Congress work for almost a decade now, I think Bingaman's prediction of a possible November finish is optimistic at best.

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