IN FOCUS: STATS

• Obama Weekly Approval Average Now 52%, a New Low Approval among seniors, upper-income Americans has fallen below 50%: President Barack Obama's most recent weekly job approval rating is 52% for the seven-day period ending on Sunday, similar to the 54% reading from the previous week but down significantly from 59% a month ago. His average disapproval rating during the past week is 41%.... - Gallop, 8-24-09
• Public confidence in Obama drops, poll shows: Fifty-five percent see the nation heading on the wrong track, up from 48% in April. Opposition against a public healthcare option is also up.... The president's overall approval rating stands at 57%, 12 points lower than its April peak, as disapproval has ticked up to 40%, its highest yet. On specific issues, Obama received more mixed marks. A majority, 53%, disapprove of his handling of the federal budget deficit, and his ratings on healthcare continue to deteriorate. On the economy, 52% approve of his actions, unchanged from June.... - LAT, 8-21-09
• FACT CHECK: Health overhaul myths taking root: The judgment is harsh in a new poll that finds Americans worried about the government taking over health insurance, cutting off treatment to the elderly and giving coverage to illegal immigrants. Harsh, but not based on facts.... - AP, 8-21-09

THE HEADLINES....

• Gov't extends deadline for clunkers paperwork: Car dealers will have a bit more time to get reimbursed for their Cash for Clunkers deals after the government extended the deadline for filing applications for the $3 billion government incentives into Tuesday.... - AP, 8-24-09
• Health-Bill's Pace Prompts Calls for Delay: President Barack Obama should re-evaluate his push to overhaul the nation's health-care system and move more slowly, key senators in the debate said Sunday.... - WSJ, 8-23-09
• Obama's partisan reasons for 'bipartisan' healthcare: Obama needs to woo doubting conservatives in his own party even more than he needs to win over Republicans.... - CS Monitor, 8-23-09
• The Obamas Arrive at the Vineyard: President Obama and his family arrived here Sunday afternoon, stepping off a helicopter under a clear, blue sky as they opened an eight-day vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. NYT, 8-23-09
• Obama Team Lacking Most of Top Players: As President Obama tries to turn around a summer of setbacks, he finds himself still without most of his own team. Seven months into his presidency, fewer than half of his top appointees are in place advancing his agenda.
  Of more than 500 senior policymaking positions requiring Senate confirmation, just 43 percent have been filled — a reflection of a White House that grew more cautious after several nominations blew up last spring, a Senate that is intensively investigating nominees and a legislative agenda that has consumed both.... - NYT, 8-23-09
• SCENARIOS-Passing healthcare reform in Congress: Democrats in the U.S. Congress hope to pass President Barack Obama's overhaul of the country's $2.5 trillion healthcare system amid mounting public skepticism and unified opposition from Republicans.... - Reuters, 8-21-09
• The Reshaping of the GOP: The Most Fertile Ground for the GOP Is Independents and Young People - ABC News, 8-22-09
• Ever the optimist, President Obama still hopeful for health care reform: By every obvious measure, health care reform is in deep trouble. But don't tell that to the optimist in chief.
  In private, President Obama is even more bullish than his public posture - constantly rallying battle-fatigued aides with assurances that victory is inevitable.
  "Don't get down," he often tells them, repeating his admonition at a recent White House staff meeting where the frustration bubbled over. NY Daily News, 8-22-09
• With Smiles, Obama Leaves Capital Behind: President Obama strode across the South Lawn of the White House shortly after lunchtime on Friday, climbed the steps to Marine One and officially opened his nine-day August vacation.... - NYT, 8-21-09
• US to hike 10-year deficit forecast to nine trillion dollars: US President Barack Obama's administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit forecast to about nine trillion dollars, up about two trillion from the previous forecast, a US official said Friday... - AFP, 8-21-09
• Obama's healthcare messages are backfiring, strategists say: The president's range of abstract arguments for reform are leaving people confused, some Democrats contend. LAT, 8-21-09
• Obama May Abandon Effort to Reach Health Deal With Republicans: President Barack Obama is likely in September to end Democratic efforts to work with Republicans on health-care legislation and press for a party-line vote if the stalemate on the issue in the U.S. Senate persists, a person close to the White House said.... - Bloomberg, 8-21-09
• So what's up with Obama's talk about Washington being 'wee-weed up'? - LAT, 8-20-09
• Analysis: Health care endgame near but uncertain: With hopes growing ever dimmer for a bipartisan accord, White House and Democratic leaders are considering a wide range of strategies for getting a health care bill passed when Congress returns from its summer recess. Some are blunt. Some are complex and technical. All are problematic.... - AP, 8-20-09
• Ex-DHS chief links politics to terror alerts: Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge claims in a new book that he was pressured by other members of President George W. Bush's Cabinet to raise the nation's terror alert level just before the 2004 presidential election.... AP, 8-20-09
• Bush Official, in Book, Tells of Pressure on '04 Vote: Tom Ridge, the first secretary of homeland security, asserts in a new book that he was pressured by top advisers to President George W. Bush to raise the national threat level just before the 2004 election in what he suspected was an effort to influence the vote.... - NYT, 8-20-09
• Kennedy asks Massachusetts to change successor rules: His letter to Gov. Deval Patrick and state lawmakers appears aimed at ensuring another Senate vote for healthcare reform if his cancer keeps him from being there. State Republicans are not impressed.... - LAT, 8-20-09
• Warning: out of control summer for Obama and Hill Democrats: The 2010 Congressional elections are more than a year away, and much can change between now and then. But here is a troubling straw in the wind for President Obama and his supporters on Capitol Hill. Charlie Cook, one of the most respected political analysts in town (and no relation), has just fired off a memo to readers of The Cook Political Report, commenting that,"the situation this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and Congressional Democrats."... - CS Monitor, 8-20-09
• Why Obama Is a Lame Duck Obama has made himself already irrelevant on many of the issues he ran on in 2008: Just seven months into his term -- and 14 months before the 2010 midterm election -- and could it be, is President Obama already a lame duck? With his passive management style -- which inevitably led to overreaching and heavy-handedness by Congressional Democrats Obama has made himself largely irrelevant on many of the issues he ran on, from health care"reform" to"resetting" our foreign relations. Here are seven signs that Obama's political suasion is waning.... - Fox News, 8-20-09
• David Sirota: The Obama Double Standard - Huff Post 8-20-09
• A Basis Is Seen for Some Health Plan Fears Among the Elderly: White House officials and Democrats in Congress say the fears of older Americans about possible rationing of health care are based on myths and falsehoods. But Medicare beneficiaries and insurance counselors say the concerns are not entirely irrational.
  Bills now in Congress would squeeze savings out of Medicare, a lifeline for the elderly, on the assumption that doctors and hospitals can be more efficient.... - NYT, 8-20-09
• Latest myth on health reform: HAVING SUCCESSFULLY dispatched the fictional"death panels" from the health reform legislation making its way through Congress, conservative critics are aiming at another mythical target in the bill:"abortion mandates."... - Boston Globe, 8-20-09
• Obama team planning to wind down 'clunkers' program: The Obama administration is developing plans to wind down the popular cash for clunkers program and could announce by Friday when the incentives will no longer be available.... - AP, USA Today, 8-19-09
• New Rx for Health Plan: Split Bill: The White House and Senate Democratic leaders, seeing little chance of bipartisan support for their health-care overhaul, are considering a strategy shift that would break the legislation into two parts and pass the most expensive provisions solely with Democratic votes.
  The idea is the latest effort by Democrats to escape the morass caused by delays in Congress, as well as voter discontent crystallized in angry town-hall meetings. Polls suggest the overhaul plans are losing public support, giving Republicans less incentive to go along.
  Democrats hope a split-the-bill plan would speed up a vote and help President Barack Obama meet his goal of getting a final measure by year's end.... - WSJ, 8-19-09
• Biden: I Know Bush, and He's No Obama: Vice president jokes about former administration during a fundraising dinner when he responded to a suggestion that President Bush leaned heavily on Vice President Cheney for guidance.
  "He's the president, I'm the vice president. We've got the pecking order in this administration right," Biden said."I know George Bush, and he's no Barack Obama."... - Fox News, 8-19-09
• Obama to preach his healthcare message to religious leaders: The president will address more than 1,000 leaders of different faiths in two conference calls, hoping they will pass on his ideas about the overhaul to their parishioners. LAT, 8-18-09
• Democrats Seem Set to Go Alone on a Health Bill: Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.... - NYT, 8-18-09
• Debate's Path Caught Obama by Surprise Public Option Wasn't Intended as Major Focus: President Obama's advisers acknowledged Tuesday that they were unprepared for the intraparty rift that occurred over the fate of a proposed public health insurance program, a firestorm that has left the White House searching for a way to reclaim the initiative on the president's top legislative priority.... - WaPo, 8-18-09
• More Fake Letters to Congress on Energy Bill: Congressional investigators have uncovered five more letters sent to members of Congress that falsely claimed to be from charities expressing opposition to climate change legislation.... - NYT, 8-18-09

ELECTIONS 2010, 2012....

• Survey: One in five would vote for Paterson: Fewer than one in five voters plan to support Gov. David A. Paterson in next year's elections, according to a poll released Monday.... - Newsday, 8-24-09
• Poll: Harry Reid faces formidable foes in 2010: A newspaper poll says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faces formidable opposition next year when he seeks a fifth term. The poll, taken last week by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., shows Reid lagging by as many as 11 percentage points against Danny Tarkanian. He had 49 percent to Reid's 38 percent.... - AP, 8-23-09

POLITICAL QUOTES

• McCain: Obama must drop health care public option: Sen. John McCain says President Barack Obama will have to drop proposals for a government-run health insurance option if he hopes to reach congressional agreement on health-care reform.... - AP, 8-23-09
• Sunday shows: McCain, Duncan, Mullen, Wen Jiabao - LAT, 8-23-09
• WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Debunks"Phony Claims" about Health Reform; Emphasizes Consumer Protections: "This is our chance to march forward. I cannot promise you that the reforms we seek will be perfect or make a difference overnight. But I can promise you this: if we pass health insurance reform, we will look back many years from now and say, this was the moment we summoned what’s best in each of us to make life better for all of us. This was the moment we built a health care system worthy of the nation and the people we love. This was the moment we earned our place alongside the greatest generations. And that is what our generation of Americans is called to do right now." - WH, 8-22-09
• Obama stands by belief a public option is viable: In an interview Thursday with Philadelphia-based radio talk show host Michael Smerconish, Obama said that"the press got excited and some folks on the left got a little excited" when the administration last weekend made statements indicating that a publicly-run health insurance option was just one of several alternatives.
  Obama said,"What we've said is that there are a number of components to health care." The president also said that"the key is cost control" and that there are any number of ways to reach that objective.... - AP, 8-21-09
• On defense, Obama woos right, left on healthcare: With control of the healthcare debate slipping from his grasp, President Barack Obama pitched his ambitious plan to conservative talk radio and his own liberal supporters Thursday — and denied a challenge from one backer that he is"bucklin' a little bit" under Republican criticism.....
  "I guarantee you . . . we are going to get healthcare reform done. And I know that there are a lot of people out there who have been hand-wringing, and folks in the press are following every little twist and turn of the legislative process," Obama told a caller to Philadelphia-based radio talk show host Michael Smerconish during a broadcast from the White House Diplomatic Reception Room."You know, passing a big bill like this is always messy."... - AP, 8-20-09
• Pelosi: I Can't Pass Bill Without Public Option: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will be unable to pass health-care legislation in her chamber if it doesn't include a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers."There's no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option," Pelosi said during a press conference in San Francisco.... - Bloomberg, 8-20-09
• Biden: US closer than ever to health care reform: Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday the nation has never been closer to substantial health care overhaul despite"all the shouting and all the political turmoil" of recent weeks.... - AP, 8-20-09
• GOP Chief Steele Dares Democrats to Pass Health Overhaul On Their Own: Michael Steele told reporters that he thinks if Democratic senators think they have the votes, they should try a tactic that would allow them to get around a bill-killing filibuster without the 60 votes usually needed."Get it to the floor. Up or down, baby," Steele said at a news conference at the state GOP headquarters."Put it on the table. And if you don't think you've got enough votes to get to 60, you've got the nuclear option. You've got 51."
  "You want it done? Pass the bill," Steele said."But they know it's poisonous and they know the American people will not tolerate it. They're scrambling now and they're beginning to turn on each other because they've got a big problem, a political one, and they can't solve it." Fox News, 8-20-09
• Mitt Romney: Liberals given too much say in health care: Romney said that"if the president wants to get something done, he needs to put aside the extreme liberal wing of his party." Romney, who ran for the Republican presidential nod last year, said Medicare and Medicaid already account for virtually half of health care and there shouldn't be any greater federal role.... - AP, 8-20-09
• Obama Calls Health Plan a 'Moral Obligation': President Obama sought Wednesday to reframe the health care debate as"a core ethical and moral obligation," imploring a coalition of religious leaders to help promote the plan to lower costs and expand insurance coverage for all Americans.
  "I know there's been a lot of misinformation in this debate, and there are some folks out there who are frankly bearing false witness," Mr. Obama told a multidenominational group of pastors, rabbis and other religious leaders who support his goal to remake the nation’s health care system....- NYT, 8-19-09

HISTORIANS' COMMENTS

• Steve M. Gillon"Saving the Obama Presidency": In his book"The Pact," historian Steven M. Gillon puts it this way:"Ironically, Gingrich's revolution may have saved the Clinton presidency by freeing him from the control of his party's more liberal base in Congress, giving him the opportunity to return to the moderate message that helped him win election in the first place."It was Gingrich who changed the language of American politics and forced Clinton to play the game on his turf," he writes."But it was Clinton who ultimately got the credit and emerged as the decade's most popular leader." - WSJ, 8-24-09

IN FOCUS: STATS

• President Barack Obama's approval rating down to 50 percent: poll: Exactly half of registered voters surveyed by Quinnipiac University said they approve of the job Obama is doing, compared with 42 percent who disapprove.
  That's down from 57 percent approval and 33 percent disapproval in a poll taken in late June, according to results released Thursday.... - Ny Daily News, 8-7-09
• A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday found 52 percent of voters disapprove of Obama's handling of healthcare while 39 percent approve. That was a shift from 46 percent approval against 42 percent disapproval in a July 1 survey.... - Reuter, 8-5-09
• Obama's approval rating back above 50 percent: President Barack Obama's job approval has bounced back above 50 percent, in the latest Zogby International national poll. In a telephone poll of 1,005 likely voters, from July 31 to Aug. 4, 53 percent said they approve of Obama's job performance, and 38 percent disapprove, with a 3.2 percent margin of error.... - Daytona Business Journal, 8-5-09

THE HEADLINES....

• Obama takes the stand on healthcare: Reform won't mean 'death panels' or rationed care, he tells a town hall in New Hampshire. The audience is polite, but Democrats elsewhere face hecklers.... - AP, 8-11-09
• Lawmakers face angry crowds on health care: Jeers and taunts drowned out Democrats calling for a health care overhaul at town halls Tuesday, and one lawmaker said a swastika was spray-painted at his office as debate turned to noisy confrontation over President Barack Obama's plan. The president himself was treated more respectfully."You'll be gone, by God the bureaucrats will still be here," one man told Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., at a town hall in Lebanon, Pa.... - AP, 8-11-09
• Senator Goes Face to Face With Dissent: More than 1,000 people showed up here Tuesday morning in this largely Republican town in central Pennsylvania for a town-hall-style meeting with Senator Arlen Specter, though the auditorium could seat only 250. Like many of the dozens of such meetings held by members of Congress over the last few weeks, this one was punctuated with rowdy moments, and interviews with many of those who showed up made it clear just how much underlying dissent motivated them.... - NYT, 8-11-09
• Rove involvement in US attorney firing detailed: Former White House political adviser Karl Rove played a central role in the ouster of a U.S. attorney in New Mexico, one of nine prosecutors fired in a scandal in 2006 over political interference with the Justice Department, according to transcripts of closed-door testimony released Tuesday.... - AP, 8-11-09
• In healthcare debate, 'reality' is in dispute: The White House launches an online 'reality check' to fight 'myths' about Democrats' legislation. Republicans say the site is full of errors and worse... - LAT, 8-10-09
• Obama pitching health care plan to the insured: President Barack Obama is switching his message on his overhaul of the nation's health care system, readying a fresh pitch designed for those who already have insurance.... - AP, 8-11-09
• Democrat Takes Heat During August Recess: Washington Post: Blue Dog Leader Baron P. Hill Feels the Pressure After Voting for House Health.... - WaPo, CBS News, 8-10-09
• Alaska lawmakers override Palin veto: In a final spat with former Gov. Sarah Palin, the Alaska Legislature voted Monday to override her veto of $28.6 million in federal stimulus funds intended for energy efficiency projects.... - AP, 8-10-09
• White House Adapts to New Playbook in Health Care Debate: The White House on Monday started a new Web site to fight questionable but potentially damaging charges that President Obama's proposed overhaul of the nation's health care system would inevitably lead to"socialized medicine,""rationed care" and even forced euthanasia for the elderly.... - NYT, 8-10-09
• It's the Hillary & Bill show. Deal with it: The U.S. power couple is gloriously equal. Yet, when we're not pitting Hill against Bill, we're accusing them of planning a 'shadow presidency'... - Globe and Mail, 8-9-09
• Obama attending first US-Canada-Mexico summit - AP, 8-9-09
• Obama Arrives in Mexico for Start of Summit: President Barack Obama began a summit meeting here Sunday night with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts that touched on a broad range of issues including climate change, the economic crisis, the swine flu pandemic and the battle against illegal drugs. NYT, 8-9-09
• After July's Turmoil, Obama Needs 'a New Chapter' in August: President Obama once looked to the August congressional recess as the moment to gain a decisive advantage in the fight to overhaul the nation's health-care system. Instead, he needs to use the month to rebalance his presidency.... - WaPo, 8-8-09
• A Jobs Bottom Another sign that a rebound is coming: Yesterday’s jobs report for July is undeniably good news, even if the economy did shed another quarter-million jobs for the month. The pace of job loss is slowing, confirming the view we expressed after last week's GDP report that the economy is now poised for a rebound from its fall and winter depths.... - WSJ, 8-7-09
• Health Care Debate Shifting Into Free Speech Battle: Both sides of the aisle are playing hardball. Though Democrats first accused Republicans of leading"mob rule" at health care meetings, health care reform supporters are responding in kind.... - Fox News, 8-7-09
• 'Cash-for-clunkers' program gets $2B refill: Car shoppers caught up in the frenzy of the" cash-for-clunkers" program now have more time and a $2 billion reason to trade in their old gas guzzlers. President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a measure tripling the budget of the $1 billion incentive program that has drawn big crowds to formerly deserted showrooms. The Senate on Thursday passed the legislation extending the two-week-old program into Labor Day and preventing it from running out of money.... - AP, 8-7-09
• Mitt Romney's Big-Government Health Care Plan: The governor's program is hardly a model for the nation--it's a mess.... - Forbes, 8-6-09
• White House Vows to Defend Democrats on Health Reform - WSJ, 8-6-09
• Obama's counter-terrorism advisor denounces Bush-era policies: John Brennan accuses the previous administration of promoting a 'global war' mind-set that served only to 'validate Al Qaeda's twisted worldview.'... - LAT, 8-6-09
• Doubt Raised on Gitmo Closing Date: The Obama administration's counterterrorism chief appeared to provide the first indication the administration may not make its January deadline for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay in remarks Thursday that aimed to outline a new path for combating terrorism.... - WSJ, 8-6-09
• Mitt Romney picks publisher, title, date for new book: St. Martin's Press will publish,"No Apology: The Case for American Greatness." It's due out next March, just as mid-term election campaigns are heating up.... - Boston Herald, 8-6-09
• Obama promises health overhaul with or without GOP: President Barack Obama said Wednesday he's determined to get an overhaul of the health care system before the end of the year and, if necessary, without bipartisan support.... - AP, 8-5-09
• GOP Gaining Traction Against Obama: The Republican Party seems to be gaining some traction in attacking President Obama's agenda and pulling him down a peg or two in public esteem.... - AP, 8-5-09
• GOP Sen. Gregg to vote for Sotomayor: Republican Sen. Judd Gregg says he'll vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, breaking with most of his fellow Republicans.... - AP, 8-5-09
• Funds Flow to Electric Cars: White House Unveils $2.4 Billion in Grants to Jump-Start an Electric-Vehicle Industry in Midwest - WSJ, 8-5-09
• What are two Russian subs doing off the US coast?: The Pentagon doesn't know. But it's the first such incident in nearly 10 years, suggesting that the Russian military is flexing its muscle.... - CS Monitor, 8-5-09
• Obama Setting Out to Put Brighter Face on Economy: The White House is making a major push this week to persuade Americans that President Obama’s policies are helping bring the nation out of recession. But a four-letter word — jobs — may well get in the way.... - NYT, 8-4-09
• Dealers in neutral as Senate debates 'clunkers': As dealerships and car shoppers alike wait for the Senate to decide the fate of" cash for clunkers," one question reigns: Deal or no deal? Many dealerships have stopped selling cars and trucks through the program while Washington decides whether to approve more money for it. In some cases, salesmen are only taking deposits and not letting customers drive new vehicles off the lot.... - AP, 8-4-09
• Seniors defend Medicare plan Obama calls 'wasteful': One of the largest spending cuts Congress could rely on to pay for an overhaul of the nation's health care system comes from a Medicare program President Obama has called a"wasteful" subsidy for the health insurance industry....
  A Gallup Poll last week found 20% of Americans over 65 say an overhaul will improve their health care — the lowest showing of three age groups.... - USA Today, 8-4-09
• Does House Healthcare Bill Fund Abortion? Depends on Whom You Ask... - US News, 8-4-09
• No middle-class tax increases, White House insists: 'The president's clear commitment is not to raise taxes on those making less than $250,000 a year,' a spokesman says after Geithner and Summers suggested increases had not been ruled out.... - LAT, 8-3-09
• Different US locations weighed for Gitmo trials: Staring at a January deadline, the Obama administration is debating between two dramatically different schemes for putting Guantanamo Bay detainees on trial: big-city courtrooms in the nation's capital, New York and Virginia — or a one-of-a-kind superjail in the Midwest.... - AP, 8-3-09
• Senate Democrats impatient with healthcare pace: With President Barack Obama's political fortunes on the line, Democrats in Congress vowed on Monday to push healthcare reform through the Senate with or without Republican support.... - Reuters, 8-3-09
• McCain to oppose Sotomayor (though she has the votes to prevail) - USA Today, 8-3-09
• Proposed Tax Tests Obama on Campaign Vow: A proposed tax on generous health-insurance packages presents a challenge to President Barack Obama, who promised during his campaign not to raise taxes on the middle class. A plan under debate in Congress would impose a new tax on insurers or employers who provide so-called gold-plated health-care plans.... - WSJ, 8-2-09
• Greenspan says no need yet to raise interest rates: Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says he doesn't think the Fed should be considering raising interest rates to ward off inflation — at least not yet.... - AP, 8-2-09
• Franken relishes policy role in new position: Just weeks into his Senate term, Al Franken's portfolio compares favorably to any of the Senate's freshman members. He loves policy. He has signed on as co-sponsor to a half dozen bills, asked thoughtful questions of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and immersed himself in a thorny debate over health care reform.... - AP, 8-2-09
• FACT CHECK: Distortions rife in health care debate: Confusing claims and outright distortions have animated the national debate over changes in the health care system. Opponents of proposals by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats falsely claim that government agents will force elderly people to discuss end-of-life wishes. Obama has played down the possibility that a health care overhaul would cause large numbers of people to change doctors and insurers. To complicate matters, there is no clear-cut"Obama plan" or"Democratic plan." Obama has listed several goals, but he has drawn few lines in the sand.... - AP, 8-2-09
• GOP: Dem healthcare plans 'fall short': Democratic healthcare reform proposals"fall short" in bringing down costs for U.S. families and small businesses, a Republican Party leader said Saturday.
  "Republicans want healthcare reform that works," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. said."Reform that brings down costs for families and small businesses, and refor m that provides better care to more people. On all these points, the current proposals by the president and the … Democrat leadership in Congress fall short." Thune claimed the Democratic plan would"spend more than $2 trillion and further increase our exploding deficit."... - UPI, 8-1-09
• Seniors uneasy over Medicare cuts in overhaul: Democrats are pushing for Medicare cuts on a scale not seen in years to underwrite health care for all. Many seniors now covered under the program don't like that one bit....
  "Nobody is talking about reducing Medicare benefits," Obama said."Medicare benefits are there because people contributed into a system. It works. We don't want to change it. What we do want is to eliminate some of the waste that is being paid for out of the Medicare trust fund that could be used more effectively to cover more people and to strengthen the system."... - AP, 8-1-09
• Obama, Cabinet meet for mid-year assessment: President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, senior officials and Cabinet members were gathering away from the White House this weekend to discuss administration progress at the six-month mark and plot a course ahead.... - AP, 7-31-09

ELECTIONS 2010, 2012....

• GOP officials: Heller won't take on Reid: The GOP's top choice to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid next year has told party officials he's decided against a run for the Senate.... - AP, 8-11-09
• Maloney won't challenge Gillibrand for NY Senate: U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, whose appointment to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton angered some New York Democrats, cleared a major hurdle Friday when a potential primary opponent abandoned a promised challenge.... - AP, 8-7-09
• Fla. GOP Sen. Martinez says he's resigning early: Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida said Friday he will step down from the Senate as soon as possible — more than a year before his term ends — adding fresh intrigue over who will fill the seat.... - AP, 8-7-09
• Results of State Elections May Show How Obama Is Doing: President Obama has returned to the campaign trail. He is appearing in television advertisements in New Jersey this week on behalf of Gov. Jon S. Corzine, the embattled Democrat struggling to win a second term. And he campaigned on Thursday evening alongside R. Creigh Deeds, the candidate for governor fighting to keep Virginia in the Democratic column.... - NYT, 8-6-09
• Rep. Sestak will try to unseat Sen. Specter of Pa.: Three years after he knocked off a veteran House incumbent, Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak will seek a bigger prize and challenge Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter for his long-held U.S. Senate seat.... - AP, 8-4-09
• Conn. Senate race pauses for Dodd, who has cancer: The state's senior U.S. senator, Christopher Dodd, has been heavily criticized for months, suffering from poor poll numbers and questions about discount mortgages he received. The criticisms stopped Friday, when the 65-year-old Democrat announced he's been diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer and will have surgery soon.... - AP, 8-1-09

POLITICAL QUOTES

• To friendly crowd, Obama assails health care foes: Braced for a fight he never got, President Barack Obama went on the offensive in support of his health care plan Tuesday, urging a town hall audience not to listen to those who seek to"scare and mislead the American people.""For all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary is if we do nothing," Obama told a friendly crowd of about 1,800 in a high school auditorium and a nationwide audience watching on cable television.... - AP, 8-11-09
• REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM TOWN HALL Portsmouth High School Portsmouth, New Hampshire - WH, 8-11-09
• In a Tight Spot, Pelosi Calls Health Care Critics 'Un-American': It's hardly the first time House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who earlier this year accused the CIA of lying to Congress and repeatedly has called Republicans unpatriotic, has employed some serious name-calling to characterize her opponents' views....
  "Let the facts be heard," they wrote."These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views -- but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades."... - Fox News, 8-10-09
• Obama: Health overhaul key to economic recovery: "We've begun to put the brakes on this recession and ... the worst may be behind us," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday. He cited Friday's Labor Department report that showed a dip in unemployment, but said,"We must do more than rescue our economy from this immediate crisis. We must rebuild it stronger than before." He added:"We must lay a new foundation for future growth and prosperity, and a key pillar of a new foundation is health insurance reform."... - AP, 8-8-09
• Text: Obama calls health reform key to improving economy: In his weekly radio and Internet address, President Obama said healthcare reform could bolster an economy on the rebound. In the Republican response, Bob McDonnell, the GOP nominee for Virginia governor, noted that unemployment remains too high and criticized efforts to expand the federal government's role in healthcare.... - LAT, 8-8-09
• Palin says Obama's health care plan is 'evil': Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says in the America she knows, people won't have to"stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care." She says such a system is"downright evil."... - AP, 8-8-09
• WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Calls Health Insurance Reform Key to Stronger Economy and Improvement on Status Quo - WH, 8-8-09
• Obama vows to pass healthcare reform: "I promise you, we will pass reform by the end of this year because the American people need it," Obama said in Wakarusa, Indiana, where he traveled to tout his economic initiatives."We're going to have to make it happen."... - Reuter, 8-5-09
• Hillary of Africa A welcome focus on failed governance: "The absence of strong, effective democratic institutions has permitted ongoing corruption, impunity, politically motivated violence, human-rights abuses and a lack of respect for the rule of law," Mrs. Clinton said at a press conference."These conditions helped fuel the post-election violence and they are continuing to hold Kenya back."... Secretary Clinton was critical of the government decision not to appoint a tribunal that could hold those responsible for the election-related violence accountable. She acknowledged that prosecuting the perpetrators without igniting more unrest is" complicated" but said it's no excuse for inaction."There needs to be a beginning," said Mrs. Clinton."That's what we're looking for."... - WSJ, 8-5-09
• McCain saddened by Palin attacks but predicts resurrection: Regardless, McCain — appearing on CNN's State of the Union said he was"...saddened by the fact that there are still such vicious attacks on her and her family.""I’ve never seen anything quite like it," he added...."Sarah, I think, made, clearly, the best decision," he added."I think she will continue to contribute. I think she will continue to be a force."... - CS Monitor, 8-2-09
• Transcript: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Alan Greenspan: "This Week" Transcript with Treasury Secretary Tim Geither and former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan - ABC News, 8-2-09
• WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Says GDP Numbers Show Recovery Act Working; Long-Term Investments Still Needed: ...But history shows that you need to have economic growth before you have job growth. And the report yesterday on our economy is an important sign that we’re headed in the right direction. Business investment, which had been plummeting in the past few months, is showing signs of stabilizing. This means that eventually, businesses will start growing and hiring again. And that’s when it will really feel like a recovery to the American people.... - WH, 8-1-09

HISTORIANS' COMMENTS

• Julian Zelizer"Commentary: When interest groups go too far": Last week, Americans saw some disturbing images. During town hall meetings about health care reform, legislators and citizens were loudly interrupted and intimidated by members of the audience who refused to let them speak. We don't yet have solid evidence as to whether the protesters were local citizens simply expressing their genuine concerns about the cost of the health care proposals -- concerns that have been showing up in recent polls -- or whether they were people primarily recruited and sent into these meetings by such groups as FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, and Conservatives for Patients' Rights.... - CNN, 8-11-09
• Julian Zelizer"Another Clinton in the fold": "When she became Secretary of State, the question was: 'What is Obama going to do with Bill Clinton?'" said Julian Zelizer, a historian at Princeton University."Now the answer seems to be that he is going to use Bill Clinton." Some observers now wonder whether Bill Clinton, who heads a global charitable foundation, may get future sensitive diplomatic missions. He"got the Administration out of a difficult jam, and Obama will be happy to use him again," Zelizer said. - Sydney Morning Herald, 8-11-09
• Drug War, H1N1 Virus Top Mexico Summit Agenda: From drug violence to H1N1 flu, President Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper tackled a long list of issues at a summit Monday.... - PBS Newshour, 8-10-09
• Lawrence Powell"Katrina anniversary visit by President Barack Obama appears unlikely": "Nationally, Katrina is old news," said Tulane University historian Lawrence Powell."I think right now the president is more focused on the economy and health care."... - Times-Piscayne 8-10-09
• Julian Zelizer"Obama cautious despite unemployment cheer": "The economy has stabilized, the markets have risen and we now have improved unemployment figures, but his best bet is to let voters connect the dots themselves," said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University history professor."If he and the administration boast too much, claiming credit for the good times, the danger is that bad numbers can appear in the coming months and he will hand Republicans the very argument they are looking for."... - Reuters, 8-7-09
• Stanley Karnow: US looks to Vietnam for Afghan tips: Top U.S. officials have reached out to a leading Vietnam war scholar to discuss the similarities of that conflict 40 years ago with American involvement in Afghanistan, where the U.S. is seeking ways to isolate an elusive guerrilla force and win over a skeptical local population. The overture to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Stanley Karnow, who opposes the Afghan war, comes as the U.S. is evaluating its strategy there.... - AP, 8-6-09
• Victor Davis Hanson:"Obama's great race to change America": Why does President Barack Obama want to implement all at once radical changes in American foreign policy, environmental policy, education, health care and the tax code? The answer is easy: If he does not achieve these initiatives soon, he never will. Almost none of Obama's proposed policies any longer enjoy majority support among voters.... - Mercury News, 8-5-09
• Richard Norton Smith"Happy Birthday, Mr. President: Obama Turns 48 In Country's Most Stressful Job, Presidents Rarely Age Gracefully": "All the presidents age in office. All you have to do is look at the photos at the beginning of their terms and the end," said presidential historian and ABC News consultant Richard Norton Smith."And they all age for pretty much the same reason. It's the nature of the job. It's the demands of the job. It's a 24-hour job. I can't think of another job that carries the same degree of responsibility; and if that's true in peace time, it is exponentially greater in times of war." ABC News, 8-4-09
• Julian Zelizer: Commentary: Why Obama's plans are stalled: The second hundred days of Barack Obama's presidency have in many ways been more revealing than the first hundred days.
  We have learned a lot, not so much about Obama's governing style or his policy agenda, but about the political environment in which he will have to operate -- at least until the 2010 midterm elections.... - CNN, 8-4-09
• DANIEL HENNINGER Why Obama May Fail If Obama can't sell more government, no one can: A very long time ago, it was January. Barack Obama stood at the mountain top, bathed in the new light of a historic presidency and gazing down on a congressional lake afloat with contented Democrats. Those who spoke against him were vilified for not wanting this smart, vibrant president to"succeed." How could he fail? Eight months into his presidency, Mr. Obama may do just that—fail.... - WSJ, 8-6-09
• E.J. Dionne Jr.: Can Republicans escape their extremists?: Things are looking up for the Republicans, relatively speaking. President Obama's poll numbers have dipped, GOP recruitment for the 2010 elections is going better than expected, and the heath care battle has been rough on the Democrats. On top of that, the surveys show Republicans now leading in this year's two major governor's races, in Virginia and New Jersey. There's just one problem: The country still doesn't like Republicans. SF Gate, 8-1-09

• Sonia Sotomayor sworn in as Supreme Court justice: Chief Justice Roberts administers the oath on a quiet morning so she can begin work 'without delay,' he says. Her mother and family members are there to witness her becoming the court's first Latino.... - LAT, 8-8-09
• Now that she's sworn in, Sotomayor a rookie again: Sonia Sotomayor has gained admission to the Marble Palace. Now she has to figure out how the Supreme Court works.... After 17 years as a federal judge, Sotomayor knows her way around a courthouse. But her new workplace, filled with quirky customs and rituals, isn't any old court building and new justices, like new colleagues everywhere, want to fit in.... - AP, 8-8-09
• Sotomayor Sworn In as Supreme Court Justice: Sonia Sotomayor took the judicial oath on Saturday, becoming the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court. At just past 11 a.m., Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. administered a pair of oaths to her in two private ceremonies at the Supreme Court building, completing her ascent to a life-tenured position as the nation's 111th justice — the first to be nominated by a Democratic president since 1994.... - NYT, 8-8-09
• Sotomayor vote could impact Fla. Senate race: If there is one place where any bad feelings from the hearings on Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination could have lasting consequences, it's Florida, the pesky swing state that the second-largest Puerto Rican community outside the island calls home. Although Sen. Mel Martinez, who announced Friday that he would leave his seat a year early, broke ranks to vote in favor of Sotomayor and urged fellow Republicans to do likewise, both major GOP candidates to replace him came out against her.... - AP, 8-7-09
• Sotomayor's Confirmation Isn't a Win for the White House Sonia Sotomayor is the Supreme Court's newest justice. And now the fallout begins: But Thursday's vote was not a win for the White House. The latest Zogby poll showed that Americans were tied 49% to 49% on whether Sotomayor should be confirmed. That's worse than any Supreme Court nominee in recent history except for Harriet Miers.... Fox News, 8-7-09
• Sotomayor OK'd for Supreme Court in historic vote: Sonia Sotomayor won confirmation Thursday as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, a history-making Senate vote that capped a summer-long debate heavy with ethnic politics and hints of high court fights to come. The third woman in court history, she'll be sworn in Saturday as the 111th justice and the first nominated by a Democrat in 15 years.... - AP, 8-6-09
• Senate Confirms Sotomayor in Largely Partisan 68-31 Vote: The Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court by a 68-31 vote, handing President Barack Obama a victory right before lawmakers leave town for their August recess.... - WSJ, 8-7-09
• Sotomayor Faces Heavy Workload of Complex Cases: With the Senate's approval of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court on Thursday, the new justice will soon take on one of the most demanding jobs in the land.... - NYT, 8-7-09
• REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE CONFIRMATION OF JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR Diplomatic Reception Room: ...And with this historic vote, the Senate has affirmed that Judge Sotomayor has the intellect, the temperament, the history, the integrity and the independence of mind to ably serve on our nation's highest court....
  These core American ideals -- justice, equality, and opportunity -- are the very ideals that have made Judge Sotomayor's own uniquely American journey possible. They're ideals she's fought for throughout her career, and the ideals the Senate has upheld today in breaking yet another barrier and moving us yet another step closer to a more perfect union.
  Like so many other aspects of this nation, I'm filled with pride in this achievement and great confidence that Judge Sotomayor will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice. This is a wonderful day for Judge Sotomayor and her family, but I also think it's a wonderful day for America. WH, 8-6-09
• Julian Zelizer"Senate Votes Sonia Sotomayor As First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice Obama's Supreme Court Nominee Confirmed by Senate in 68-31 Vote": Julian Zelizer, history professor at Princeton University, says it's"too early to tell" what backlash Republicans will feel, suggesting that Sotomayor's confirmation"might actually diminish some of the backlash that would have developed if Senate Republicans had been able to stifle this nomination." Zelizer sees more disturbing implications where the nomination process is concerned."The question is: does this harm the kind of nominees we get. Does it scare certain people out of the mix or does it cause presidents to not nominate someone who might be very good simply because they are nervous about whether they can survive the politics of this," the professor said.... - ABC News, 8-6-09

IN FOCUS: STATS

• New Obama poll: Honeymoon over?: According to a new CNN Poll of Polls, 54 percent of Americans approve of how Obama is handling his duties in the White House. That's down 7 points from late June, when the president's approval rating stood at 61 percent. The latest approval rating is the lowest for Obama in his young presidency. The CNN Poll of Polls, compiled and released Thursday, is an average of seven national surveys conducted over the past nine days.... - CNN, 7-30-09
• Poll: Obama mishandled comments on race - AP, 7-30-09
• Obama's Handling of Gates Flap Seems To Have Hurt Public Image, Poll Finds: The intriguing possibility comes from a Pew Research Center analysis released Thursday: The poll finds that Obama's overall approval rating among whites tumbled seven percentage points from just after his July 22 news conference through last weekend, as the focus turned increasingly to his handling of the situation. The percentage of whites who"like" the kind of person he is fell by six points. In a callback survey Monday evening, more than twice as many whites disapproved than approved of how Obama was dealing with the matter (45 percent disapproved, 22 approved and 33 percent said they did not know).... - WaPo, 7-30-09
• Poll: Obama's Disapproval Rises To 50 Percent: Yesterday's Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll has the president's approval rating among likely voters at 49 percent and his disapproval rating at 50 percent. A reported 72 percent of Republicans"strongly disapprove" of Mr. Obama's job performance while a relatively low 56 percent of Democrats"strongly approve" of it.... - Philadelphia Bulletin, 7-27-09
• Poll: President's popularity suffers in health reform push: The survey showed 49 percent of likely voters approved of Mr. Obama's job performance and 51 percent disapproved. It reflects a steady decline from a high job-approval rating of 60 percent immediately following his inauguration Jan. 20.... - Washington Times, 7-26-09
• FACT CHECK: Obama's health care claims adrift? President Barack Obama's assertion Wednesday that government will stay out of health care decisions in an overhauled system is hard to square with the proposals coming out of Congress and with his own rhetoric. Even now, nearly half the costs of health care in the U.S. are paid for by government at all levels. Federal authority would only grow under any proposal in play.... - AP, 7-22-09
• AP-GfK Poll: Great hopes for Obama fade to reality: An Associated Press-GfK Poll shows that a majority of Americans are back to thinking that the country is headed in the wrong direction after a fleeting period in which more thought it was on the right track. Obama still has a solid 55 percent approval rating — better than Bill Clinton and about even with George W. Bush six months into their presidencies — but there are growing doubts about whether he can succeed at some of the biggest items on his to-do list. And there is a growing sense that he is trying to tackle too much too soon.... - AP, 7-22-09
• Obama's Sinking Approval Ratings Are Even Worse Than They Look: Having come into office with an ambitious agenda to remake America, Barack Obama is discovering that time is not his friend. According to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, Obama's approval rating has dropped by nine points, down to 55 percent from where it was when he first entered the White House six months ago....
  The decline in Obama's job approval number is matched, overmatched really, by a significant increase in the number of people who disapprove of the job he is doing as president. That number is up 16 points—to 41 percent—from the first time the survey was taken during the Obama presidency. - US News, 7-21-09
• Minorities, youth showed some gains in 2008 vote: The bureau's survey found that about 131 million people reported voting in the 2008 presidential election - a turnout of 64 percent, the same percentage as 2004. Of the 5 million additional voters in 2008, 2 million were black, 2 million Hispanic and 600,000 Asian.... - Newsday, 7-20-09
• The Ultimate Obama Insider - NYT Magazine, 7-26-09

THE HEADLINES....

• Obama, Cabinet meet for mid-year assessment: President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, senior officials and Cabinet members were gathering away from the White House this weekend to discuss administration progress at the six-month mark and plot a course ahead.... - AP, 7-31-09
• Final House Panel Approves Health Reform Bill: The vote was made possible by a deal brokered earlier this week between Democratic leaders and conservative"Blue Dog" Democrats, though health reform legislation still is being held up in one Senate committee.... - Fox News, 7-31-09
• House votes to clamp limits on Wall Street bonuses: Bowing to populist anger, the House voted Friday to prohibit pay and bonus packages that encourage bankers and traders to take risks so big they could bring down the entire economy. Passage of the bill on a 237-185 vote followed the disclosure a day earlier that nine of the nation's biggest banks, which are receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout aid, paid individual bonuses of $1 million or more to nearly 5,000 employees.... - AP, 7-31-09
• Liberal Democrats threaten to reject House healthcare deal: Dozens say they'll vote against a plan that includes concessions to Blue Dogs. The dispute could jeopardize a long-held goal of progressives.... - LAT, 7-30-09
• Health bill inches forward in House: House Democrats methodically pushed ahead with a compromise health overhaul Thursday over liberals' complaints, intent on achieving tangible — if modest — success on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority ahead of a monthlong summer recess...."We've got to pass the bill. Not only do we have to, but we're going to," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the last of three House committees to act on the sweeping legislation.... - AP, 7-30-09
• Obama to award Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16: President Barack Obama is awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16 people, including political ally Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, tennis legend Billie Jean King and retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa....
  Other names on the list are: Race for the Cure founder Nancy Brinker, physicist Stephen Hawking, civil rights activist Rev. Joseph Lowery, and entertainers Sidney Poitier and Chita Rivera. Former Rep. Jack Kemp, who died in May, and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978, will receive posthumous awards.... - AP, 7-30-09
• A look at the deal worked out on health care: The White House, Democratic leaders and four fiscally conservative House lawmakers worked out a deal Wednesday to move ahead on sweeping health care legislation. The agreement would allow a committee vote, preserving momentum on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. The deal calls for exempting more small businesses from a requirement to offer coverage, trimming subsidies to help people buy health insurance, and making any government-sponsored insurance plan negotiate payment rates with medical providers — instead of dictating them.... - AP, 7-29-09
• House Democrats make a healthcare deal: An agreement that saves $100 billion and addresses 'Blue Dog' and business concerns could lead to a vote in September. But now some angry liberal Democrats will have to be mollified.... - LAT, 7-29-09
• Judiciary Committee OKs Sotomayor for high court: Pushing toward a historic Supreme Court confirmation vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice, over nearly solid Republican opposition. The panel's 13-6 vote for Sotomayor masked deep political divisions within GOP ranks about confirming President Barack Obama's first high court nominee.... - AP, 7-29-09
• House Republicans unveil $700B health care plan: House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a $700 billion health care plan that would offer tax credits to help people buy insurance, yet unlike Democratic proposals, wouldn't require either individuals or employers to get coverage.... - AP, 7-29-09
• Karl Rove: Obama's Great Health Scare The president resorts to the politics of fear:
  On the campaign trail last year, Barack Obama promised to end the"politics of fear and cynicism." Yet he is now trying to sell his health-care proposals on fear.... - WSJ, 7-29-09
• Food safety bill defeated in House: The House defeated a far-reaching food safety bill Wednesday after farm-state lawmakers complained it would be too invasive and others said it was pushed to the floor too quickly.... - AP, 7-29-09
• Analysis: Obama facing tough choice on health care: After months of talk, decision time is nearing for President Barack Obama on health care. Bipartisan Senate negotiators are weakening some of his top priorities, leaving the president with a difficult choice: He can give ground, and implore disappointed liberals to go along with him. Or he can try to ram through a Democratic bill with his wishes intact, infuriating Republicans. His eventual decision could be a pivotal moment in his presidency. Remaking health care is Obama's top domestic priority. He wants to expand coverage, contain costs, make insurance more competitive and change the way doctors and hospitals are compensated.... - AP, 7-28-09
• Obama Works to Reassure Seniors: Cutting Medicare Spending Won't Hurt Retirees' Benefits, He Tells AARP Forum WSJ, 7-28-09
• US, China pledge closer cooperation: The United States and China on Tuesday pledged closer cooperation to deal with global hot spots such as Iran and the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.... - AP, 7-28-09
• Schwarzenegger signs budget with more welfare cuts: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a revised $85 billion budget Tuesday that he said contained"the good, the bad and the ugly," including additional cuts to child welfare programs, health care for the poor and AIDS prevention efforts.... - AP, 7-28-09
• Senators Progress as House Delays Again on Health Bill: Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that the House would vote on health care after learning more about the Senate version."We're on schedule either to do it now or to do it whenever," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had hoped to win approval in the full House by the end of this week.... - NYT, 7-27-09
• Obama admin looks to many small cost-cutting tactics - Reuters, 7-27-09
• Sotomayor roundup: How Republicans will vote: Five GOP senators have announced their intentions ahead of Tuesday's Judiciary Committee vote on the Supreme Court nominee.... - CS Monitor, 7-27-09
• Clinton plans to visit 7 nations in Africa: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to travel to Africa next week on a seven-nation tour aimed at highlighting the Obama administration's commitment to the continent. Clinton is to begin her trip on Aug. 5 in Kenya, the State Department said Monday.... - AP, 7-27-09
• Sarah Palin steps down as Alaska governor: At times, it seemed like a flashback to the 2008 presidential campaign. Sarah Palin stepped down as Alaska governor on Sunday with a fiery speech reminiscent of her days as running mate to Republican John McCain — when she frequently revved up crowds while attacking Democrats and the news media.... - AP, 7-27-09
• Palin's Formal Farewell Includes Parting Shots: Sarah Palin stepped down Sunday as Alaska governor to write a book and build a right-of-center coalition, but she left her long-term political plans unclear and refused to address speculation she would seek a 2012 presidential bid.... - AP, 7-26-09
• Obama Tries to Move Past Gates Furor: The White House expressed hope that it has put behind it a controversy surrounding President Barack Obama's remarks on the arrest of African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. But the incident highlights the challenge facing Mr. Obama in addressing the issue of race and in keeping the debate focused on his broader agenda.
  David Axelrod, a senior adviser to President Obama, said Sunday that he believed the president's expression of regret for his initial statement that the police"acted stupidly" was having"the desired effect."
  "People are talking more constructively now," Mr. Axelrod said on CBS's"Face The Nation.""The steam has gone out of this. Instead of heat being generated, more light is being generated."
  The incident highlighted social divisions that Mr. Obama hoped had been eased by his election as the nation's first African-American president. The emotions triggered by his comments on the Gates arrest suggest that the issue of race continues to hang over his presidency..... - WSJ, 7-26-09
• Democrats: We will move forward on health overhaul: Sen. Kent Conrad, a key Democratic senator says his party doesn't have enough votes to pass an overhaul of the nation's health care system without Republican backing, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she has the votes in her chamber.... - AP, 7-26-09
• U.S. tries to spur Middle East peace talks: Settlement issue obstacle to renewing peace talks... Washington seeking comprehensive peace, envoy says... Netanyahu says U.S.-Israeli relations still strong.... - Reuters, 7-26-09
• Obama, Gates and the American Black Man: NYT, 7-25-09
• US-POLITICS Summary: Obama touts healthcare plan for small businesses.... U.S. defense chief heads to Israel, Jordan.... Obama unveils $4 billion school improvement plan.... Alaska Gov. Palin to leave office with cloudy future... WaPo, 7-25-09
• GOP, in Attack Mode, Tries to Avoid Obstructionist Label - WSJ, 7-25-09
• Are lobbyists silver lining in health care storm?: A strong force, perhaps as powerful in Congress as President Barack Obama, is keeping the drive for health care going even as lawmakers seem hopelessly at odds. Lobbyists.... - AP, 7-25-09
• Obama pressures states to embrace schools overhaul: Dangling the promise of $5 billion in grants, President Barack Obama pressured states to embrace his ideas for overhauling the nation's schools, ideas that include performance pay for teachers and charter schools....
  "Not every state will win, and not every school district will be happy with the results," the president said Friday."But America's children, America's economy, America itself will be better for it." - AP, 7-24-09
• Palin picnic in Alaska hometown draws big crowd: More than a thousand people showed up Friday for Gov. Sarah Palin's annual picnic held in her hometown of Wasilla. Palin, who is resigning and leaves office on Sunday, used the occasion to sign autographs and hand out hot dogs.... - AP, 7-24-09
• Grassley, Ross Say Passage of Health-Care Bill Likely This Year: The top Senate Republican drafting health-care legislation and a leader of House Democrats balking at the plan said they don't expect committee and floor-vote delays to keep a bill from passing this year. Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said"it's going to be difficult" for his panel to approve legislation in the next two weeks. Beyond that, the odds of Congress enacting an overhaul later this year are"very, very good," the Iowa senator said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s"Political Capital with Al Hunt," airing this weekend.... - Bloomberg, 7-24-09
• Obama's 'rock star' persona boosts U.S.: President Obama's soaring popularity has significantly boosted attitudes toward the United States in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia, surveys in 24 countries by the Pew Research Center finds. But animosity toward the U.S. in some predominantly Muslim nations remains deep and strong.... - USA Today, 7-23-09
• Obama: 'Victory' not right word for Afghanistan: He says the U.S. fight there is against broader terrorism and not a nation.... - AP, 7-23-09
• Analysis: Obama putting more emphasis on restraint: At a critical moment in his presidency, Barack Obama finds increasing need to talk about taming federal deficits as he struggles with a dour economy.... - AP, 7-23-09
• Obama Complains About the News Cycle but Manipulates It: It has become his common lament. Challenged about difficulties with his economic or legislative programs, President Obama complains about the tyranny of"the news cycle," pronouncing the words with an air of above-it-all disdain for the impatience and fecklessness of today's media culture.... - AP, 7-23-09
• Health Reform's Hidden Victims: He insisted he"won't reduce Medicare benefits" but instead would"make delivery more efficient." The most Mr. Obama would concede is that some people will have to"give up paying for things that don't make you healthier." That is simply not credible.... - WSJ, 7-23-09
• Obama Moves to Reclaim the Debate on Health Care: President Obama tried on Wednesday to rally public support for overhauling the nation’s health care system and said for the first time that he would be willing to help pay for the plan by raising income taxes on families earning more than $1 million a year.... - NYT, 7-22-09
• Live Blogging Obama's News Conference - NYT, 7-22-09
• Obama rallies support for struggling health revamp: Six months in office, President Barack Obama sought Wednesday night to rally support for sweeping health care legislation he's struggling to push through Congress, expressing support for a surtax on families making more than $1 million a year to help pay for it. Under pressure from Democrats to weigh in personally on the details of legislation, Obama also vowed at a prime-time news conference to reject any measure"primarily funded through taxing middle-class families."... - AP, 7-22-09
• Conservative Democrat says US health bill not ready: A stalled healthcare overhaul bill in the House of Representative should not move forward without firm numbers on cost savings, and it is unlikely to win enough votes to pass in current form, the leader of a group of conservative Democrats said on Wednesday. - Reuters, 7-22-09
• Pelosi: House Dems have the votes on health care: Democrats command the votes needed to pass a sweeping health care bill through the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday, an unexpected statement that quickly drew a biting response from conservative members of the party's rank-and-file demanding changes in President Barack Obama's trademark legislation.... - AP, 7-22-09
• Obama presses Iraqi leader on reconciliation: Vowing to hold to agreements to pull all U.S. forces out of Iraq by the end of 2011, Obama said he and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki realized violence had not ended and there"will be some tough days ahead." - AP, 7-22-09
• GOP Sen. Graham says he will vote for Sotomayor - AP, 7-22-09
• Clinton offers North Korea the carrot or the stick: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to tell North Korea that it can avoid"unrelenting" sanctions and win normalized relations with the U.S. by completely scrapping its nuclear program.... - AP, 7-22-09
• Bernanke resists plan for consumer-products agency: Ben Bernanke put himself at odds with the Obama administration Wednesday by resisting its plan to create a consumer protection agency for risky financial products. The Federal Reserve chief said those responsibilities should stay with the central bank. - AP, 7-22-09
• Concealed guns law rejected in close Senate vote - AP, 7-22-09
• Obama: No time for delay on health care: President Barack Obama remained on the offensive Tuesday on the pace and shape of legislation reinventing health care, against stiffening opposition from Republicans and growing wariness among rank-and-file congressional Democrats.... - AP, 7-21-09
• Obama wins fight to limit fighter jets: The 58-40 vote to cut the money from a $680 billion defense bill was a hard-fought victory for Obama, who had threatened to veto defense spending legislation if it included funds for more F-22s. - AP, 7-21-09
• Investigator rules against Palin in ethics probe: An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by trading on her position in seeking money for legal fees, in the latest legal distraction for the former vice presidential candidate as she prepares to leave office this week.... - AP, 7-21-09
• Democrats irked by Obama signing statement: President Barack Obama has irked close allies in Congress by declaring he has the right to ignore legislation on constitutional grounds after having criticized George W. Bush for doing the same. Four senior House Democrats on Tuesday said they were"surprised" and" chagrined" by Obama's declaration in June that he doesn't have to comply with provisions in a war spending bill that puts conditions on aid provided to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.... - AP, 7-21-09
• Abortion Compromise Considered For US House Health-Care Bill: An anti-abortion Democrat on Monday said he is negotiating a compromise aimed at resolving concerns that House health-care legislation would allow federal funding of abortions.... - WSJ, 7-20-09

ELECTIONS 2010, 2012....

• Va. Race Acquires Washington Backdrop: McDonnell Taps Anxiety Over National Issues to Woo Moderates Away From Deeds.... - WaPo, 7-26-09
• Some incumbent senators seem to get no respect: When it comes to next year's primaries, three senators probably are feeling a lot like Rodney Dangerfield: They can't get any respect. As veteran lawmakers, Sens. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Jim Bunning, R-Ky., should be coasting, under normal circumstances, to the general election. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., appointed in January as Hillary Rodham Clinton's successor, has the White House's backing.... - AP, 7-26-09
• Obama raises millions for Democrats: President Barack Obama raised millions of dollars Thursday for Democratic candidates in next year's elections, making a side trip to his hometown of Chicago after pushing for health care changes in Cleveland.... - AP, 7-23-09

POLITICAL QUOTES

• Obama: Stimulus Helping 'Put The Brakes On Recession': "This and other difficult but important steps that we have taken over the last six months have helped us put the brakes on the recession."..."This means that eventually, businesses will start growing and they will start hiring again. And that is when it will truly feel like a recovery to the American people."..."It is working so well that there are legitimate concerns that the funds in this program might soon be exhausted. So we are now working with Congress on a bipartisan solution to ensure that the program can continue for everyone out there who is still looking to make a trade." - VOA, 7-31-09
• Minn. Gov: GOP must welcome others, broaden base: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Thursday urged fellow Republicans to welcome outsiders into the party ranks, not scorn them, as the GOP rebuilds from defeats that left the White House and Congress in Democratic hands.... To move forward at a time when Republican numbers are shrinking in many states, the party should show"respect of those who don't agree with us," Pawlenty said."Let's make sure that we welcome others who are not yet Republicans."... - AP, 7-30-09
• Gov. Pawlenty: Current Health Care Plan Not Reform, Builds Upon Broken System - Fox News, 7-29-09
• REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT THE U.S./CHINA STRATEGIC AND ECONOMIC DIALOGUE Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center Washington, D.C. - WH, 7-28-09
• Hawaii: Obama birth certificate is real: "I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawai'i State Department of Health verifying Barrack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago...." - USA Today, 7-27-09
• Palin steps down as Alaska governor: "Now people who know me, they know how much I love this state ... I feel it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical, politics-as-usual, lame-duck session in one's last year in office," Palin said, just moments before Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell was sworn in as governor."With this decision, now I will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right and for the truth," Palin continued."And I have never felt you need a title to do that.""What I promised, we accomplished," she told the mostly supportive crowd.... - CNN, 7-26-09
• CQ Transcript: White House Adviser Axelrod on CBS's 'Face the Nation' - CQ, 7-26-09
• Pelosi Says She Will Pass U.S. Health-Care Overhaul: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will pass legislation to overhaul the U.S. health-care system through her chamber even as members of her own Democratic Party expressed skepticism after days of discord and delays.
  "When I take this bill to the floor, it will win," Pelosi said in an interview on CNN's"State of the Union" program that aired today."This will happen."... - Bloomberg, 7-26-09
• Clinton hopes for female president in her lifetime: "It will take the right woman who can make the case and win the votes and get elected. I am certainly hoping it will happen in my lifetime," she told NBC's"Meet the Press" program...."I do want to see a woman elected. I hope it is a Democratic woman who represents the type of approach that I happen to favor."... - Reuters, 7-26-09
• WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama: Health Insurance Reform Will Strengthen Small Businesses: It has taken months to reach this point, and once this legislation passes, we’ll need to move thoughtfully and deliberately to implement these reforms over a period of several years. That is why I feel such a sense of urgency about moving this process forward.
  Now I know there are those who are urging us to delay reform. And some of them have actually admitted that this is a tactic designed to stop any reform at all. Some have even suggested that, regardless of its merits, health care reform should be stopped as a way to inflict political damage on my Administration. I'll leave it to them to explain that to the American people....
  This debate is not a political game for these Americans, and they cannot afford to keep waiting for reform. We owe it to them to finally get it done – and to get it done this year. - WH, 7-25-09
• Text: Obama's Remarks on Health Care: Following is a text of President Obama's remarks on health care, delivered on Thursday in Shaker Heights, Ohio, as released by the White House. The president answered questions from the public immediately following his remarks.
  "...What we're talking about is not completely scrapping the existing health care system. All we're saying is if you've got health insurance, you can keep it. If you don't have health insurance, you can now afford to buy it with some help. If you have health insurance, we're going to reform the insurance industry so that it can still make a profit, it can still offer good services to its patients -- or to its customers; it just can't engage in some of these rules that basically have them collecting a lot of premiums but not wanting to pay out when people really need it and when people get sick...." - NYT, 7-23-09
• The President's Press Conference - Full Video - White House, 7-22-09
• Obama Makes Fresh Appeal on Health Care at Prime-time News Conference: This debate is not a game for these Americans, and they cannot afford to wait for reform any longer. They are counting on us to get this done. They are looking to us for leadership. And we must not let them down. We will pass reform that lowers cost, promotes choice, and provides coverage that every American can count on. And we will do it this year. And with that, I'll take your questions.... - PBS Newshour, 7-22-09
• Excerpts of Obama's Remarks Released - NYT, 7-22-09
• Obama says healthcare overhaul needed to curb deficits: "If we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit," he said after another day when leaders in Congress struggled to find common ground on the cost and scope of a healthcare plan, Obama's top legislative priority.
  "We are now seeing broad agreement thanks to the work that was done over the last few days. So even though we still have a few issues to work out, what's remarkable at this point is not how far we have left to go -- it's how far we have already come," he said. - Reuters, 7-22-09
• "If they try to fix our healthcare system like they've tried to rescue our economy, I think we're in really, really big trouble," said House Republican Leader John Boehner. - Reuters, 7-22-09
• Inside Blue Dogs' W.H. meeting: Following their meeting with POTUS Tuesday afternoon, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee ... ... and Blue Dog Coalition spoke with reporters at the White House."We had a very constructive meeting," Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said."Members of our Energy and Commerce Committee who are also members of the Blue Dogs had great concern on cost of the legislation ... it's not just theirs but ours as well." - Politico, 7-21-09
• REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON HEALTH CARE AND THE SENATE VOTE ON F-22 FUNDING Rose Garden: But I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars on outdated and unnecessary defense projects to keep this nation secure. That's why I've taken steps to greatly reduce no-bid defense contracts. That's why I've signed overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation to limit cost overruns on weapons systems before they spiral out of control. And that's why I'm grateful that the Senate just voted against an additional $1.75 billion to buy F-22 fighter jets that military experts and members of both parties say we do not need....
  We've agreed that our health reform bill will extend coverage and include unprecedented insurance protections for the American people. Under each of these bills, you won't be denied coverage if you've got a preexisting medical condition. You won't lose your health care if you change jobs, if you lose your job, or if you start a business. And you won't lose your insurance if you get sick.... - White House, 7-21-09
• REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON HEALTH CARE Children's Hospital Washington, D.C.: ...And we can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care. Not this time. Not now. There are too many lives and livelihoods at stake. There are too many families who will be crushed if insurance premiums continue to rise three times as fast as wages. There are too many businesses that will be forced to shed workers, scale back benefits, or drop coverage unless we get spiraling health care costs under control. - White House, 7-20-09

HISTORIANS' COMMENTS

• Julian Zelizer Commentary: Why be afraid of government?: Health care reform has gotten off track. The president's news conference fell flat. Polls show growing unease with the proposals currently in play. And Congress will not meet the deadline that President Obama imposed.
  The status quo, as the president correctly explained to reporters, is not sustainable. Our health care system is not working. Millions of people lack insurance, costs are out of control, businesses and workers are struggling to keep up with premiums, and there are tremendous inefficiencies plaguing many parts of the system.
  Conditions will only become worse in coming years. Our health care system brings to mind the economist Herbert Stein's famous maxim:"When something can't go on forever, it will stop."... - CNN, 7-27-09
• JAMES MORONE, Brown University"As Deadline Nears, Obama Steps Up Health Care Push": With the days ticking down until President Obama's target date for a deal on health care reform, the White House is pushing to convince the public and Congress that swift action is necessary
  We've been doing this since 1935. Harry Truman ran on this in 1948, that great come-from-behind victory, and he encountered the exact same thing. We always have these enormous problems. And what's so striking is how similar the kinds of debates are. Just one quick example: In every scene in this movie, we've had the same idea of people coming in and saying,"Look, we just cannot afford this." So that's a very old story. Lyndon Johnson, when he passed Medicare, we just found some newly released tapes of him complaining to newly elected Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts that those fools in the budget office went and projected the costs of Medicare six years down the line."I'm losing votes." Bottom line: If we had had good cost projections for Medicare, we believe it would never have won.... Accurate projections. Actually, accurate projections for the costs down the line. LBJ might have known, but he managed to hide them....
  It's hard for a number of different reasons. For the profession itself, what we're doing is taking -- every year, we're spending a little bit more of our economy to health care. Anything that threatens to stop that is going to gore an awful lot of sacred cows. Secondly, this is a major battle for control of the high ground in American politics, and everybody in Washington knows that. If Obama gets this through, Roosevelt fails, Truman failed, Carter, Clinton, they all failed. If Obama wins, he's on an extraordinary roll. If he's defeated, this is a major defeat for him and a victory for the Republicans. Combine the sheer difficulty and the politics, and you've got a recipe for trouble....
  Yes, there are many lessons, and one goes directly to what Amy just said, and that's the lesson of speed. Lyndon Johnson gathered all of his advisers in a room after his huge 1964 landslide victory -- second largest in Democratic Party history -- and he said,"Look, every day I lose power. Every day I lose votes. You've got to get Medicare fast." In that sense, Obama has learned an important lesson from history when he says,"Do it by August." ...Eevery day, he loses a little bit of the luster. And six months from now, you know what"Nightline's" going to be covering: the midterm elections. That's going to make it almost impossible. One lesson: speed....
  What he needs, what he has to find a way to get is a movement going. Look, this is very scary for Congress... for a lot of congresspeople, particularly in swing districts. If they don't get a whole lot of Tweets, a whole lot of e-mails, a whole lot of phone calls, this isn't going to go anywhere. So what Obama needs to do more than getting into the weeds or answering critics is generating excitement that translates into stuff in congressional in-boxes. Without that, it's never going to win. - PBS Newshour, 7-22-09
• Julian Zelizer"LBJ Arm-Twisting? Not Really Obama's Style": Obama, says Julian Zelizer, a political historian who teaches at Princeton University,"does need a little LBJ in him."...
  Roosevelt was masterful, Zelizer says, at"living with what was possible instead of what was perfect. For many liberals, this was frustrating." By using that strategy of relentlessness and occasional compromise, Zelizer says, Roosevelt was able to push through social safety-net legislation."It paled in compared to Europe's social security plan," he says. But it was pretty progressive for the American system at the time.
  Zelizer does say that Obama needs to avoid the pitfalls of Johnson. And of Jimmy Carter."President Carter had more trouble working with Congress," Zelizer says."He had no relationship with Capitol Hill."
  In the end, Zelizer says, Carter was"too esoteric." He had great vision when it came to a national energy policy or the SALT II nuclear arms talks."But he just couldn't put it together for legislation or the treaty," Zelizer says."He just couldn't articulate his vision."
  Using his own methods, relying on his own political personality, will Obama be able to sway enough people to get the necessary votes to achieve 1965-style results with 2009 technology?"The jury," Zelizer says,"is still out." - NPR, 7-21-09
• Ted Widmer"LBJ Arm-Twisting? Not Really Obama's Style": Plus, the two men"are pretty far apart in most people's minds, and certainly in [Obama's]," says Ted Widmer, a fellow at the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. Between 1997 and 2001, Widmer served in the Clinton White House as a foreign policy speechwriter and senior adviser to the president.
  "There have never been stories of personal intimidation from Obama," Widmer says,"and most of the persuasion arts that are used at the moment deploy indirect forms — texting, e-mail, phone messages — rather than in-your-face, LBJ-style orders from on high." - NPR, 7-21-09
• Allan Lichtman"LBJ Arm-Twisting? Not Really Obama's Style": Johnson as role model for Obama poses other problems, as well. Presidential historian Allan Lichtman, who teaches at American University, points out that"despite his mastery of the legislative process and enormous harvest of domestic legislation," Johnson is"a tainted example because of Vietnam."
  Lichtman and others also suggest alternative role models for Obama — former presidents who knew how to negotiate the shoals of Congress yet didn't get mired in bad choices.
  Perhaps the best beacon would be Woodrow Wilson, Lichtman says."Wilson was a major legislative craftsman, with deep knowledge of how Congress worked from his studies as a political scientist. He revived the tradition, dormant since Jefferson, of giving the State of the Union speech in person to Congress as another means of outlining and pushing his agenda."
  During this first two years, Lichtman says,"Wilson succeeded in reforming the protective tariff, establishing the Federal Reserve System. He gained passing major antitrust legislation, a graduated income tax, and limitations on the use of court injunctions against labor unions." - NPR, 7-21-09
• Julian Zelizer"Commentary: Let's keep an eye on the spies": In response to the growing pressure for an investigation into potential abuses by the CIA and former Bush administration officials, Republican Sen. John Cornyn warned:"This is high-risk stuff. Because if we chill the ability or the willingness of our intelligence operatives and others to get information that's necessary to protect America, there could be disastrous consequences."
  But Cornyn has it wrong. What chills our national security operations is not the discovery of wrongdoing. Rather, what chills our national security operations is tolerating programs that undermine the credibility of our institutions. When Americans are asked to go to war or are warned of dangerous threats, they must be able to believe the people they are hearing from.
  Following the most recent revelations about the CIA, we have reached a tipping point where it is becoming impossible to continue dismissing these allegations as part of the past....
  President Obama has thus far tried to avoid an investigation on the grounds that he wants to focus on the future, not the past.
  But Obama's formulation, just like Cornyn's, is wrong. The president must support these investigations. This is not just about investigating the past. If our national security institutions are unaccountable, they will not be able to command the kind of public credibility they need in coming years. - CNN, 7-22-09