The Hill News

President George W. Bush deserves some credit for the transition away from a combat mission in Iraq, Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) said Tuesday.

Baird, a centrist who supported the surge when Bush first made the proposal, told MSNBC the change in mission to be marked Tuesday by President Obama was "worthy of giving President Bush credit," along with Gen. David Petraeus and former U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. 

Baird, fresh off a trip to Iraq, also said the troop surge was "absolutely worth it."

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House Republican Leader John Boehner marked the 92nd American Legion National Convention with today's speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Thank you for that introduction, Commander Hill. The American Legion made a great choice by electing an Ohioan to serve as national commander.

Thank you for having me - it is always an honor to be among those who wear and have worn our nation’s uniform.

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The war in Iraq does not end with a victory march. There will be no sailors kissing nurses at Times Square. It ends with discord and dissent at the exact place where it started, Ground Zero. It did not even end. It just stopped.

In some ways we are worse off than when we started. Today when liberals oppose conservatives, they will do so in support of Islamic opinion instead of Marxist opinion, as in the debate today over the mosque near Ground Zero. Islam now has faces of dissent in opposition to the West worldwide with varied degrees of hostility, opposition and territoriality.

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Over on The Hill’s Congress Blog, House Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) staff has posted the text of his speech today before the American Legion National Convention in Milwaukee. I noted in an earlier post Boehner’s lack of ideas when it comes to solutions to address our economic situation. Little did I know he would prove me right, again, and so quickly.

Here is the verbatim transcript of his speech’s section on “Jobs and the Economy.”

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Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, along with five previous drug czars (including former 'high roller' William Bennett), recently penned an op/ed in the Los Angeles Times condemning California’s Proposition 19 , The Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Initiative of 2010. It is no surprise that America's present and former drug czars oppose the passage of Prop. 19. After all, the drug czar is required by law "to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance that is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act." In other words, ! it would actually be illegal for President Obama's drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, to voice an opinion that didn't publicly condemn the measure.

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An executive order signed by President Obama on Monday will strengthen general sanctions against North Korea and freeze the U.S. assets of several entities that distribute arms and luxury goods to leaders in Pyongyang. 

Reuters reports that the move comes in partial response to the North Koreans' sinking of a South Korean warship in March, and that luxury goods are often used by the regime to ensure loyalty among its officials. 

Stuart Levey, who is Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the sanctions were aimed at North Korean leadership and businesses that "enrich the highest echelons of the North Korean government while the North Korean people suffer." 

Officials have not commented on how the p! enalty may affect the likelihood of resuming talks on the country's nuclear program.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) referenced George Orwell Tuesday in a tweet slamming President Obama ahead of his upcoming speech on Iraq.

"Obama speech tonite may make u dig out ur old Orwell books so rewritten history can be deciphered, depending on who gets credit 4 Iraq surge," she said.

In Orwell's landmark novel 1984, the protagonist rewrites historical documents to suit the changing political circumstances of a dystopian post-war society.

Republicans like House Minority Leader John Boehner, House GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.), and now Palin have already taken the opportunity to push back ahead of Obama's speech, scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Boehner and Pence have both criticized the president for opposing the troop surge in 2007, a move many say turned t! he tide for the Iraq effort as a whole.

They, along with Palin, accuse him and other Democrats of taking credit for its success.

Obama will deliver the address from the Oval Office, and is expected to praise political progress in the war-torn country and thank troops for their service.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will travel to Iowa in September for a key GOP fundraiser.

Palin will be the keynote speaker at the Iowa GOP's annual Ronald Reagan Dinner, according to local reports, a visible stop for any Republican candidate who might be considering a run for the White House.

The Sept. 17 visit might be seen as an attempt to test the waters by Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate whose name is frequently among the crowd of other potential Republican candidates to challenge President Obama in two years.

Palin said Monday night on Fox News that she's not focused on her own political future, but rather is focused on helping elect conservative Republicans during this! fall's midterm elections.

Other potential Republican candidates have already begun to make their presence known in Iowa, the state that plays home to the first-in-the-country nominating contest.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) has traveled there several times, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) plans to travel there this fall. Other candidates, like House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) have also visited the Hawkeye State.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) made a last-minute appeal for House Republicans' campaign committee, hours before a fundraising deadline. 

Romney, a 2008 Republican presidential candidate who's seen as a probable candidate in 2012, asked supporters to help raise $50,000 for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

"I can tell you firsthand that Americans cannot afford another 2 years of a Nancy Pelosi-led Congress," Romney wrote. "In the last 20 months, unemployment has skyrocketed, taxes have soared, and the government takeover of healthcare threatens to crush small businesses."

The appeal is ostensibly a move to help build favor with House Republicans as they look to win back the majority in this fall's elections. Polls show the GOP poised to pick up a number of House seats currently held by Democrats, though it's not clear whether Republicans will win the 39 districts necessary to take back the House. 

A number of Repu! blicans have helped raise money for the NRCC and the party's other committees, including other potential 2012 candidates. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) sent out a fundraising e-mail similar to Romney's at the end of June on behalf of House Republicans. 

"The NRCC is leading THE ONLY national campaign to STOP the Democrats and create a new Republican majority in the House," Romney wrote Tuesday.

Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller expressed confidence Tuesday that the final vote tally in his primary against Sen. Lisa Murskowski (R-Alaska) will be "accurate."

The Sarah Palin-backed candidate spoke just as Alaska officials began counting the remaining 24,000 ballots in the tight contest. Miller last week voiced concern that the incumbent Murkowski would try "to skew the results."

{mosads}"What we have responded to are improper actions that have occurred by the other campaign within certain vote-tallying areas," he said in an interview on Fox News. "The lieutenant governor has addressed that; he's responded to our concerns. He has certainly made several comments that verified some of the concern! s we raised. But we are confident at the end of the day, we're gonna have an accurate vote tally and it's going to reflect the will of the Alaskan people."

The Alaska race is one of the most-watched primary contests in the country. Miller, a relatively unknown Iraq war veteran and lawyer who picked up Tea Party support, emerged with a lead over Murkowski after voters went to the polls last Tuesday.

After counting the first batch of leftover ballots this Tuesday, Murkowski was able to chip away at Miller's 1,668-vote lead, narrowing it to 1,325.

Amid reports last week that Murkowski had summoned a top lawyer from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to help her campaign, Miller accused the group of "meddling" in the primary contest. 

He also invoked the 2008 Minnesota Senate race that involved an eight-month legal battle, saying he feared Murkowski would try to "pull an Al Franken."

Miller softened his stance Monday after the NRSC pledged to stay neutral as the final votes were counted, but still said there were efforts to "skew" the results. 

Murkowski called Miller's comments "blatantly false accusations" and added that "for someone who wants to be Alaska's Republican nominee for Senate, Mr. Miller is certainly afraid of Republicans."

Miller said that, as of now, his campaign does not have the evidence to challenge the final results of the vote tally.

"The only way that we'd ever challenge anything is if there was evidence of some sort of vote-tampering," he said. "Right now we don't have that. We certainly have evidence of improper actions within certain areas," he said, adding that efforts by his opponent's campaign are not "casting a pall" on the overall results.

An Ohio county elections board said Monday that former Rep. Jim Traficant has the signatures to run for his old seat. 

The Associated Press reported that the director of the Mahoning County board, Tom McCabe, said that the panel approved over 30 signatures necessary for Traficant to run for Congress in the Youngstown area. 

Traficant, a Democrat, was removed from Congress in 2002 after being convicted on corruption charges, is seeking to take back his position as an independent. 

The colorful ex-congressman's bid hit a speed bump after several petition signatures in support of his bid were ruled invalid in July. But Traficant was granted an extension to gather additional signatures. 

Officials in nearby Trumbull County are expected to certify the total on Wednesday.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), currently r! epresents the Democratic-leaning 17th congressional district.

Ryan, a former Traficant staffer, told WKBN on Monday that he is not concerned about his former boss' campaign. 

"I mean, it doesn't really matter to me, honestly, like who's on the ballot," he said. "We run hard. We've got a good record of accomplishments with V&M, General Motors and Technology, and we actually have young people moving back here. So, I'm happy to go out and have a nice, aggressive campaign, and I'm excited about it."

Gen. David Petraeus said Tuesday that the concerns recently voiced by Afghan leaders about threats from Pakistan are legitimate.

He was quick, however, to credit Pakistani leaders for their "impressive counterinsurgency campaign" over the last 18 months. 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his government have increasingly criticized the U.S. for a lack of focus on Pakistan, where several Taliban and al Qaeda groups are known to thrive, and have urged coalition forces to shift their attention across the border and away from rooting out fighters in Afghan villages.

Karzai's national security adviser, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, recently called Pakistan the extremists' "main mentor," and said that Afghans are no longer willing to "pay the pric! e for the international community's miscalculation and naivete."

Petraeus told The Associated Press that he understood Afghans' unease. 

"Given the very clear linkage between attacks on Afghan soil by individuals who have come from Pakistan and are commanded and controlled from Pakistan, I think President Karzai and Dr. Spanta have very legitimate concerns," Petraeus said.

He went on to defend Pakistan's push to "squeeze the locations in which these individuals have safe-haven sanctuary," and said that leaders recognize "more work needs to be done."

In another interview Tuesday with NATO TV in Brussels, Petraeus was careful to admit that in spite of U.S. progress, Taliban fighters still retain energy in some areas of Afghanistan.

"I would not say we have reversed the momentum in all areas by any means," he said. "In some we have reverse! d it, in some we have blunted it, in some perhaps the Taliban ! are stil l trying to expand."

Prominent Republican Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah) has voiced his support for the proposed mosque in lower Manhattan.

Hatch, who is a Mormon, recently told a Fox News affiliate in Salt Lake City that "if the the Muslims own that property, a private property, and they want to build a mosque there, they should have a right to do so."

Hatch said that Mormons have also faced opposition in trying to build houses of worship, and that public opinion has no role in deciding the future of the proposed mosque, known as Park51. 

"The only question is are they being insensitive to those who suffered the loss of loved ones? We know there were Muslims killed on 9-11 and we know it's a great religion," he said.

"That [public opinion] should not make a difference if they decide to do it, and I'd be the first to stand up for their rights." 

Recent polls -- including a Quinnipiac survey released Tuesday -- show that both New Yorkers and the broader public tend to question the sensitivity of building the mosque in lower Manhattan, near Ground Zero. 

The issue has gained national prominence and forced embattled 2010 incumbents to take sides.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), also a Mormon, notably broke with President Obama on the issue, saying the mosque should be "built someplace else."

Hatch noted this weekend that he has sponsored legislation like the Religious Land Use and Zoning Bill, which passed in 2000 and aims to protect religious buildings from discrimination by local regulators.

"There are a lot of Muslim people that I have a high regard for," he added.

Democrats' focus on healthcare reform might have seemed like a distraction to voters whose top concern was the economy, the leader of first-term House Democrats suggested Tuesday.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the president of this Congress's first-term Democrats, said that his party's months-long battle to pass healthcare reform might have come off as a distraction considering the tough economic climate in the U.S.

"I think that the focus of the public, with stubborn unemployment remaining so high, was on the growing the economy and creating jobs," Connolly said Tuesday during an appearance on TBD TV in metropolitan Washington. "And anything else seemed like a distraction."
The northern Virginia lawmaker was among the 219 House Democrats to support the legislation on final passage in late March, a vote which capped off months of intense debate over the reform legislation.

That legislation has since developed into a central part of the midterm election battle this fall, in which Republicans have vowed to repeal the healthcare reform package, and have condemned Democrats for not having done enough to stimulate the economy.

Recent polling suggests that the public's fluctuating opinion on the health reforms might have ticked downward, too, adding to Democrats' woes heading into this fall.

A new tracking poll commissioned by the Kaiser! Health Foundation found that 43 percent of the public! now sup port the healthcare bill -- down seven points from July -- while opposition ticked upward by 10 points to 45 percent.

Still, Connolly said he thought that he would win reelection, and that enough of his colleagues in the House would win reelection to ensure Democrats would remain in the majority come next year, when a new Congress is sworn in.

President George W. Bush deserves some credit for the transition away from a combat mission in Iraq, Democrats said Tuesday.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) praised the former Republican president for the "courageous decision" to increase troop levels in Iraq in 2007, while Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), fresh off a trip to Iraq, said the troop surge was "absolutely worth it."

"The remarkable turnaround in Iraq is due to many factors, but it would not have been possible without the courageous decision of President Bush to launch the surge in 2007 -- initiating a set of policies that President Obama, to his great credit, has sustained and built upon to bring us to this day," Lieberman said Tuesday in a statement.

Baird, a centrist who supported the surge when Bush first made the proposal, said the change in mission marked Tuesday by President Obama was "worthy of giving President Bush credit," along with Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C! rocker, two figures also singled out for praise by Lieberman.

The Democratic praise for Bush comes as Obama prepares an Oval Office address this evening, his second, to mark the change in strategy that resulted in the withdrawal of 90,000 troops from Iraq.

Obama is set to call Bush on Tuesday before delivering the address this evening, but the White House this morning was coy about whether or not the president would offer praise to his immediate predecessor in tonight's speech.

"I think the president will talk about the situation in Iraq, thank the president for his service, for his love of country. And I think they'll have a nice private, quiet conversation about what's going on in the world," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said of that call during an appearance on Fox news. But Gibbs was much more coy as to whether Bush would receive public recognition.

Obama, as a senator and presidential candidate, had opposed th! e surge and argued for the need of an increased diplomatic pre! sence al ongside any ramped-up military action in order to wind down the war in Iraq.

Obama's opposition to the surge at the time is a focal point of Republican criticism of the administration, in a series of concerted "pre-buttals" to Obama's address.

"Some leaders who opposed, criticized, and fought tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim credit for the results," House GOP leader John Boehner (Ohio) will say during a speech to the American Legion in Milwaukee. "[T]oday we mark not the defeat those voices anticipated â€" but progress."

Three top Republican lawmakers pushed back against President Obama's Iraq war message ahead his address on the end of combat operations Tuesday night, hitting at the president's previous opposition to the 2007 troop surge.

Republicans have brushed aside the White House's narrative that the withdrawal of combat troops in Iraq fulfills one of Obama's chief campaign promises, and instead have credited President George W. Bush's deployment of over 20,000 additional soldiers to Iraq with helping bring the seven-and-a-half year old conflict to an end.

House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) is scheduled to speak at the American Legion national convention Tuesday afternoon, where he will express gratitude to the troops and take a jab at Obama and other Democratic leaders in Congress for expressing skepticism over the surge in 2007.

{mosads}"When General Petraeus embarked on the surge strategy in January 2007, it was widely viewed as our last ch! ance to save Iraq from spiraling into an irreversible descent toward chaos," Boehner will say, according to excerpts released by his office. "The consequences of failure then, as now, were severe. Some leaders who opposed, criticized, and fought tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim credit for the results ... today we mark not the defeat those voices anticipated â€" but progress."

Republican efforts illustrate the length to which both sides are going to capitalize on the messaging surrounding the end of the conflict, which helped define the Bush's presidency and much of the 2008 campaign.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs made the rounds on television and radio news shows Tuesday morning, previewing the president's address and pressuring Republicans to say whether or not they support the withdrawal of 90,000 troops from Iraq this month. 

"I think what the American people would like to know with Congressman Boehner is: Do you support the withdrawing of 90,000 troops that the president is marking today?" Gibbs said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Obama is expected to thank the troops for their service and speak about the Iraq war's place in the broader U.S. national security strategy during his Oval Office address in prime time. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is also expected to speak in his home state today and will address the war.

“Thankfully we can say today that our troops, the Surge, and the Petraeus Plan all succeeded where many in Washington thought they would fail," he will say.

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.) also penned an op-ed in the Washington Times, in wh! ich he wrote that he is "grateful for the support the Obama administration has shown our troops in Iraq, but its long-standing opposition to our military's successful surge strategy must not be forgotten in the midst of this widening American success."

Gibbs Tuesday morning acknowledged the president opposed the surge and said that it was political progress in Iraq that hastened the U.S.'s ability to withdraw.

"The president did oppose the surge," he said. "But while the surge did provide some increased security in Iraq, what happened was a political transformation a long time after the troops were sent to Iraq."

The Senate's second-ranking Democrat expressed his loyalty to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) as elections approach in which Reid's fate will be decided.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) refused to comment on whether or not he'd seek to lead Democrats in the Senate if Reid were to lose his tough reelection battle this fall.

"I’m not even speculating on that," Durbin said during an appearance at the City Club of Chicago, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. "My choice is Harry Reid."

Durbin is seen as one of two potential candidates to succeed Reid next year if he should go down to defeat to Republican candidate Sharron Angle in November. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Senate Rules! and Administration Committee who also previously headed Senate Democrats' campaign efforts, is seen as the other potential contender for Reid's job.

The maneuvering by Durbin and Schumer were driven by polls earlier this year showing Reid in a difficult position for reelection, facing large margins against potential Republican challengers.

But the two senators' jockeying for the majority leader position has grown less frenzied in recent months as Reid has made up ground against Angle in Nevada.

The most recent Las Vegas Review-Journal/Mason Dixon poll of the race, which has consistently tracked the contest, showed Reid leading Angle 45-44 percent. 

Durbin made the City Club speech just a few weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a t! umor from his stomach. His doctors say the Illinois Democrat, ! who's ma de other appearances since the surgery, is cancer-free.

The White House sought on Tuesday to put the pressure on top Republicans to say whether they support the withdrawal of 90,000 troops this month from Iraq.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs questioned GOP leaders -- in particular, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) -- to say where they stand on the change in mission in Iraq that resulted in the withdrawal of tens of thousands of U.S. troops from the country.

"I think what the American people would like to know with Congressman Boehner is: do you support the withdrawing of 90,000 troops that the president is marking today?" Gibbs said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

The pressure on the GOP comes as President Obama is set to deliver his second Oval Office address this evening to mark the change in mission, pivoting from a combat mission to a training and peacekeeping posture.

Boehner and other Republicans have jabbed at Obama for not having supported the ! surge supported by his predecessor, President George W. Bush, while Obama was still a senator and presidential candidate. To that end, Boehner will deliver a speech at the American Legion this afternoon criticizing Obama and other Democrats over their previous handling of the war in Iraq.

“Some leaders who opposed, criticized, and fought tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim credit for the results,” Boehner will say, according to the excerpts published by the New York Times.

Gibbs said this morning during the talk show circuit that the president had been a supporter of pursuing troop increases to help secure Iraq, but not without pairing it with a type of diplomatic surge, a strategy which Gibbs said ! would prove ultimately successful.

"The president ! did oppo se the surge," he said. "But while the surge did provide some increased security in Iraq, what happened was a political transformation a long time after the troops were sent to Iraq."

Gibbs did again say that Obama is likely to call Bush, likely later this morning, though the press secretary was more coy over whether the former GOP president, whose record on other issues has been under attack by Obama and Democrats during these elections, would receive credit in the president's address.

Instead, Gibbs turned the pressure to congressional GOP leaders.

"I think it's going to be interesting to hear from Republican leaders on where they stand on the decision to bring 90.000 troops home from Iraq," the press secretary said on MSNBC.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will have kind words for the winding-down of the Iraq war during a speech in Lexington on Tuesday, but will credit the Bush administration for those successes.

“By adopting the Bush administration's plan for winding down the war and transitioning security responsibilities to the Iraqi military over time the president has enabled us and the Iraqis to build on the gains our troops have made," McConnell will tell the Commerce Lexington Public Policy Luncheon. "Thankfully we can say today that our troops, the Surge, and the Petraeus Plan all succeeded where many in Washington thought they would fail.”   

Updated 7:56 a.m.

The headlines from the hottest year-to-date on record paint a dangerous climate picture, consistent with the overwhelming scientific evidence.

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Five years ago today, Nevadans and all Americans watched with sadness and heartache as Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city of New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast region. We will never forget that storm and its aftermath. Nor will we forget the resilience of those living on the Gulf Coast, or the generosity of their fellow Americans.

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After the death of Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and when it was finally decided to call a special election this fall to fill that seat, Rasmussen Reports put Gov. Joe Manchin (D) at 51 percent over Republican John Raese, who came in at 35 percent. That was late July, and conventional wisdom was that the seat was Manchin's in a walk.

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It will be interesting to see the gloss put on the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq by President Obama in his Oval Office address tomorrow night.

Let’s face it, the Democrats are in an election cycle and the president will repeat that he has kept his election promise to end the combat mission in Iraq by the end of August 2010 and to pull out U.S. soldiers by the end of next year.

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When President Obama meets with his economic advisors today his message will be ‘I care’ â€" but it should be ‘you’re fired.’ The White House economic team, led by Treasury Secretary Geithner and National Economic Council Director Summers, promised that if we spent more than a trillion dollars on their government ‘stimulus’ plan, it would create jobs ‘immediately’ and keep unemployment below eight percent. Instead, millions of Americans lost their jobs and unemployment is near double-digits. By the standards that President Obama himself set, the ‘stimulus’ spending spree has failed.

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“There comes a moment, said Edward Edinger, New York’s pioneering psychoanalyst, when something comes unfettered and free as if from nowhere and brings an end to all the systems and their agents and arts that we take for granted as part of who we are and what we always expect to be. This, said Edinger, is the apocalypse and it could just as easily be bloodless as not.” â€" from “Sarah and the Apocalypse,” pt. 1, The Hill 10/2/08 â€" day of the VP debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

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Curious to see what it was all about, I attended Glenn Beck’s big rally Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial. And I’m glad I did.

First, because it gave me a good, close-up look at Tea Partiers: old, white and angry. From their T-shirts and their flags, it’s clear they all hate government. From their white hair, it’s also clear they’re all on Medicare and Social Security.

Second, because it gave me a good, close-up look at Glenn Beck. No doubt why he scheduled this rally on the Washington Mall: It’s the only place big enough to contain his ego. Barely.

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Throughout the world, people view America as the place to find a better life, still feeling that we are "the shining city on the hill." People aspire to be part of our vital and large middle class.

That was true of my family two generations ago and is still true for much of the world. You work hard, you play by the rules, you move ahead. It works.

Sure, in past years politicians and tax policy have been fairly successful transferring wealth from the middle class to a small upper class. That's the point of tax breaks for the rich. However, I see a lot of vitality in the American middle class.

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It gets tiresome hearing the conventional wisdom say that the Democrats will likely keep control of the Senate. Far from it.

To gain control, Republicans must win 10 new seats. An analysis of the latest polling data suggests Republicans currently hold the lead in eight pick-up states: Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin, Washington state, Arkansas, Delaware, North Dakota and Indiana. In a ninth, Illinois, the candidates are tied and, in the 10th â€" Nevada â€" Reid is ahead by only one point. And, for insurance, Boxer in California and Gillibrand in New York are both below 50 percent of the vote. In Connecticut, Blumenthal is only at 50 percent. That’s a potential pickup of 13 seats and a likely gain of at least 10 (enough for a majority).

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President Obama's idea to call President George W. Bush on Tuesday before he speaks from the Oval Office about the end of combat operations in Iraq is a good one. And Obama has rightly concluded that the words "mission accomplished" won't be appropriate for tomorrow night's address. In what will be his second Oval Office address, Obama will thank our men and women in uniform â€" and their families â€" for their service and sacrifice in that more than seven-year-old war and acknowledge the challenges that remain. And he admits he will be taking credit as well for a promise kept. In his radio address this weekend Obama said he promised as a candidate to end the Iraq war. "As president this is what I am doing. We have brought home more ! than 90,000 troops since I toook office," Obama said.

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The newly-installed director of intelligence is pressing members of the intelligence community to stop leaking confidential information to the press.

According to the Associated Press, James Clapper distributed a memo to spy personnel in the 16 agencies under his jurisdiction.

He said he was troubled by the string of recent leaks that revealed, for example, a strong tie between Afghan president Hamid Karzai and the CIA's station chief in Kabul.

Clapper, formerly the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, said spies and other staff should be like his grandchildren: "seen but not heard." 

The intelliegence memo comes as the Pentagon continues its own battle with transparency group WikiLeaks over a pending document release.

The organization's most recent post -- a CIA memo released Aug. 25 -- has been called benign and uninformative.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said his plans for leaving the Senate include "no lobbying," according to an interview published Monday.

Dodd, the chairman of the influential Senate Banking Committee, said he wouldn't be moving to K Street to join the ranks of former lawmakers-turned lobbyists, who cash in after leaving office.

"No lobbying, no lobbying," Dodd told The Connecticut Mirror of his plans for work after he retires from the Senate when his term ends in early January.

Dodd will have served in the Senate for 36 years by then, making him one of the most veteran and well-connected alumni of the upper chamber. With a lobbying frenzy under way to shape the implementation of Wall Street reform legislation, Dodd, who authored the bill, could be a valuable asset to any organi! zation looking to shape the law.

The Connecticut Democrat has said he wishes to spend more time with his young children, though he would have almost certainly faced a tough reelection challenge. His name has also been included among the candidates for other top positions in President Obama's Cabinet, should some of the current Cabinet officers abandon their positions at some point.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) used Twitter Monday to describe the November midterms as a choice between those who would "build" and those who would "kick ... down."

He said:

It takes a great man to build a barn. Any jackass can kick it down. Campaign '10: You with the builders or the asses?

The charge of GOP obstructionism is familiar from Democrats this election cycle, especially as Senate Republicans choose to filibuster legislation like a recent small-business aid bill.

President Obama urged the bill's passage on Monday, and said he hoped Congress would take action when it returns from August recess.

"Holding this bill hostage is dire! ctly detrimental to our economic growth," he said in a short Rose Garden speech.

Republicans have said that their opposition to the bill stems from the Democrats' refusal to allow votes on individual amendments.

Anthony Weiner, who has 1,870 followers, has represented parts of Brooklyn and Queens since 1999.

Republicans will document their election-year promises shortly after returning from the summer congressional recess, House GOP leader John Boehner (Ohio) said Monday.

Boehner said the long-awaited Republican manifesto, detailing the policies the GOP would pursue if they win back control of the House or Senate (if not both), would be released shortly after lawmakers return to Washington.

"We don't get back to Washington until Sept. 14, and I would think that not too long after that, you're likely to see it," he told conservative radio host Sean Hannity during an appearance on Hannity's show.

Republicans have been under pressure from some within their own party as well as some Democrats to lay out how they would govern if they were to win back a majority in one or both houses of Congress. In particular, observers have wondered whether or not such a platform would resemble the 1994 "Contract with America" spearheaded by Newt Gingrich, the ! GOP leader who would become Speaker after Republicans won control of the House after landslide victories that year.

Boehner said there "certainly will be" a document off of which Republican incumbents and candidates would work, but did not let loose any advance details about what the platform would contain.

The GOP leader did say, though, that with whatever Republicans pledge, they plan to follow through.

"I'm not Barack Obama and I'm not Nancy Pelosi; I say what I mean and I mean what I say," he asserted. "We're not going to put anything in a document that we're not going to do."

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that Republicans still face an "uphill climb" to win back the House as his party took its widest-ever lead in a key poll.

Boehner sought on Monday to manage expectations that his party would win the 39 seats necessary in November's midterm elections to win back the House, victories that would likely make him speaker.

"We've got real opportunity," Boehner said of Republicans' chances this fall during an appearance on the conservative Sean Hannity radio show.

The top House Republican cautioned, though, that winning back the House is "still an uphill climb," though he noted that such strong victories were still Republicans' goal.

Boehner's tempered optimism comes against a backdrop in which indicators are increasingly pointing toward the prospect of landslide GOP victories this fall.

On Monday, the Gallup poll showed Republicans with an "unprecedented" 10 percent advantage in its latest survey testing a generic GOP and Democratic candidates against each other.

51 percent of registered voters said they would vote for a Republican if the election were held today, versus 41 percent who would elect a Democratic candidate. The strongest advantage Republicans enjoyed in similar polls, Gallup said, were five point margins ahead of the 2002 and 1994 elections -- both cycles in which the GOP made strides, in 1994, winning back the majority from Democrats.

Boehner was a bit more cautious about the polls, though he noted the! enthusiasm gap in favor of Republican voters.

"No! , all th e polls don't win elections," he said. "Only voters who vote live elections."

Gallup found that Republicans maintain a 25 point gap over Democrats in terms of voter enthusiasm, and a 22 point gap over independents.

"I can tell you that the American people want change, and they want it now," Boehner said.

The latest Gallup poll, conducted August 23-29, has a four percent margin of error.

President Obama will spend Labor Day alongside AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, the union announced Monday.

Obama, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Trumka will all participate in a Labor Day "celebration and rally" in Milwaukee on Monday, an appearance confirmed by the White House this afternoon, which separately announced the president would travel to Wisconsin for the Laborfest.

The appearance is another recent sign of unity between Obama and Trumka, though the pair had sometimes had an adversarial relationship over the past year on issues like stimulating the economy and healthcare reform. (Trumka had pushed for a heftier stimulus and the inclusion of a public option in the healthcare bill.)

But the Milwaukee appearance would be the second in about a month for Obama and Trumka. The president spoke in early August at a meeting of the union's executive committee, where he promised to keep on pushing for the Employee Free Choice Act (! EFCA, or "card check") and other legislative priorities favored by the labor group.

The Labor Day appearance is part of a small barnstorm by top AFL-CIO officials on behalf of Democratic candidates during the holiday weekend. Trumka will appear with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) in Ohio on Sunday. Additionally, Seretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler will campaign Monday with Jerry Brown, the Democratic candidate for governor of California, while Executive Vice President Arlene Holt-Baker will campaign over the weekend in Florida, a state featuring a series of key congressional and statewide elections for Democrats this fall.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele plans to travel to Guam for political activities two months before the November midterm elections.

According to the Pacific News Center, Steele will headline a Sept. 7 fundraiser and speak Sept. 8 at a fundraising luncheon for candidates on the island.

"As part of Chairman Steele's mission to reinvigorate the Republican Party as well as attracting new voters, his visit to our island demonstrates that the Guamanian voters in the continental U.S. are an important part of this mission," Gov. Felix C! amacho said in a statement.

Steele's trip comes during a month when primary seasons wraps up and candidates on the mainland enter crucial phases of their campaigns.

Some observers have predicted the GOP could take control of the House of Representatives, but critics point to lower fundraising totals from Republican committees this cycle as one obstacle that could block their goal.

Territories such as Guam send representatives to Congress, but they are not permitted to vote. But territories have as many voters on the RNC as states do, and Steele counted on island committees for support during his chairmanship campaign in 2008 and 2009.

Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker needs to get some sleep.

The popular Democratic lawmaker pulled an all-nighter at the office on Sunday night to work on the city's strategic plan for the coming month. A prolific Tweeter, Booker shared the long night, hour-by-hour, with his million-plus Twitter followers. He even wrote a ditty about not going to bed.

The 41 year-old mayor loaded up on caffeine and he had some good music to see him through: Booker wrote that he had discovered the free internet radio site Pandora, so he jammed to the sounds of Sly and the Family Stone and Aretha Franklin.

No word on how his 9 a.m. meeting went, but here are a few choice @CoryBooker tweets:

12 a.m.
"I'm fully caffeinated (sleep take a number) & working on strategic plan 4 the month ahead. I discovered Pandora so I am jamming as I work."

1 a.m.
"Right now, switched over to STAND! by Sly and the Family ! Stone"

"Amazing Grace is Aretha's best record ... The Very Best of Aretha Franklin keeps me moving"

"There've been times I've felt like standing on my desk in my office 2 sing: R-E-S-P-E-C-T, but 4 some reason my staff hates it when I sing."

2 a.m.
"Thank you" (in response to a compliment from a follower on Booker's recent profile in "O" Magazine.)

4 a.m.
"I have a 9Am meeting."

"I didn't lay me down 2 sleep/ I pray lord my health u keep/ God help me remain a strong fighter/ Even though I pulled this all nighter."

8 a.m.
"Say no to drugs! (except caffeine & Advil)"

"Never drank in my life but there r some days I've been tempted 2 grab an Odul's [sic]"

"I'll resist though Odul's is a gateway drug. Been dwn that slippery slope w/ Caffeine: 1st: cup of joe then chocolate covered expresso beans"

Republican Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.) on Monday brushed aside recent questions surrounding his conservative credentials, saying he has always worked in a bipartisan fashion.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), a heroine in the conservative Tea Party movement, said last week that Massachusetts could "put up with" Brown, but he would not likely be tolerated by Alaska voters.

“I'm a Massachusetts Republican. When I go down to Washington, people say, what are you doing? They say, well you are working with the Democrats," he told Worcester's Telegram & Gazette! . "I say, so what's the big deal? I do that all the time. I've been doing it for 15 years."

Palin's criticism came after a candidate she endorsed, Joe Miller, emerged from a primary election poised to unseat incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The 2008 vice presidential candidate has endorsed several candidates in primary contests around the country who have challenged establishment GOP candidates.

Brown received the support of Tea Party activists during his campaign, which ended in a surprising victory to assume the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D) former seat. But Brown told the Telegram & Gazette that he campaigned on a record of political independence.

“I don't know what the surprise is,” he said about criticism from his right. “I said I was going to go down there and be an independent voice, an independent thinker and vote accordingly."

h/t GOP 12

Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Baghdad on Monday to lead a ceremony marking the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq. 

The Associated Press reported that Biden will also meet with political leaders to pressure them to end a deadlock that has prevented the formation of a new government.

Biden's visit comes one day before President Obama is scheduled to deliver an Oval Office address about the end of the combat mission. 

The speech comes on the heels of a major withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from the country, about seven-a! nd-a-half years after President Bush began the war. Less than 50,000 troops are now in Iraq and will remain through next summer to assist with training and support operations. 

The president had set an Aug. 31 deadline to draw-down troop levels and end combat operations.

Obama is expected to state that the draw-down of combat forces there fulfills one of his major campaign promises, but that the U.S. still has much work to do to tamp down Islamic extremism across the globe.

President Obama delivered the following remarks Sunday at Xavier Univeristy in New Orleans to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

When I came here four years ago, one thing I found striking was all the greenery that had begun to come back.  And I was reminded of a passage from the book of Job.  “There is hope for a tree if it be cut down that it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease.”  The work ahead will not be easy, and there will be setbacks.  There will be challenges along the way.  But thanks to you, thanks to the great people of this great city, New Orleans is blossoming again.

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Comprehensive immigration reform isn't going to happen this year, a Democratic senator said over the weekend.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said he didn't expect a comprehensive bill to make its way through Congress, which returns in September for several weeks of work before breaking again for midterm elections.

The freshman senator said he was working with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on a bill, but didn't expect it to come up during 2010.

"Sen. Schumer and I are working to bring a package to Congress," Merkley told constituents at a town hall meeting, according to the Salem Statesman Journal. "But reform isn't going to happen this year."

Merkley's acknowledgment reflects a growing pessimism among congressional Democrats that they would be able to ! tackle immigration reform in any meaningful way this year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had said back in April, fresh off Democrats' healthcare victory, that the issue must be handled this year, but has since backed off a pledge to take it up. But by the time the August recess rolled around, Reid had backed off plans to pursue a robust bill, and signaled instead that he might seek a scaled-back bill, like the Dream Act.

The backtracking on immigration comes before an election cycle in which some Republicans might look to use the issue against Democrats, even though Democrats are not entirely united on the issue.

The party did move in recent weeks, though, to make itself seem tougher on immigration, with the Senate coming back to convene a special session to adva! nce a $600 million bill to boost border security that the Hous! e had pa ssed in a special session of its own.

Almost three out of five Americans believe former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) would not be an effective president, a new poll found Monday.

59 percent of U.S. adults said they don't think Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate and potential 2012 candidate, would be an effective president of the United States.

26 percent of adults, by contrast, said they believe Palin would be effective, according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll conducted earlier this August.

The poll comes as a midterm election cycle nears in which Palin has made her impact, keeping her political profile high through a successful book, a commentator gig on Fox News, and a series of endorsements and donations to conservative Republican candidates ! for office.

Palin enjoyed a particularly successful past week after Joe Miller, her endorsed Republican candidate for Senate in her native Alaska, appeared to have defeated incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), a Palin foe, in the state's GOP primary. Palin also drew headlines this past Saturday for her speech during a rally on the National Mall organized by Fox host Glenn Beck.

But even Republicans -- and conservatives within the GOP -- appear split over whether Palin would be well-suited to occupy the nation's top political office.

Republicans on balance believe, 47-40 percent, that Palin would be an effective president. 41 percent of conservatives said they thought Palin would do well in the White House, while 40 percent said she would not -- a close margin among those within the GOP who are seen as Palin's base of support.

If Palin were to run for president in 2012, she might also face difficulty in winning over independents, 6! 3 percent of whom told the poll that Palin would not have the ! ability to be effective in the Oval Office. 21 percent of independents said Palin would have those skills.

The poll, conducted by CBS News between August 3-5, randomly surveyed 847 U.S. adults.

President Obama said he didn't pay much attention to the rally of hundreds of thousands led by Fox News host Glenn Beck on the National Mall this past weekend.

The president, who was on vacation through Sunday morning, said that he respected the rally headlined by Beck and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, but that he did not watch it.

"I have to say: I did not watch the rally," Obama said during an interview aired Sunday evening with NBC News. "I think that one of the wonderful things about this country is that at any given moment, any group of people can decide we want our voices heard."

The rally on Saturday was ostensibly a call for renewed religiosity and an invocation toward patriotism and support for troops. But the rally had heavy political undertones, if nothing else than for the presence of Beck and Palin, two longstanding critics of Obama with close ties to the Tea Party movement, a group of ! activists often opposed to the Democratic president's agenda.

Obama said that he was happy that Beck, who led the rally, was able to get so many citizens to exercise their constitutional rights, but said it was unsurprising that so many activists would experience anxiety, giving the multitude of problems facing the country.

"I think that Mr. Beck and the rest of those folks were exercising their rights under out Constitution exactly as they should," he said. "I do think that it's important for us to recognize that right now the country's going through a very difficult time as a consequence of years of neglect in a whole range of areas."

Official uses blog post to question the Republican Party's push to extend tax cuts for all Americans, including high earners.

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Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) had to cut short a radio interview Friday morning after a Virginia police officer stopped him. 

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Reps. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) sparred Sunday over their respective parties’ chances in the 2010 midterm elections.

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"He has tried to deal with this problem politically by ... moving it off the front page," the senator said.

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That contradicts a report that Clinton and former President Jimmy Carter were expected to travel to the Gaza Strip to negotiate.

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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) was the only potential GOP challenger that President Obama solidly beat in the survey.

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Nearly a quarter of the House’s Democrats wrote their leadership on Wednesday, urging them to pay more attention to the deficit.

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A key Democrat said Wednesday that 200 of his colleagues support his immigration reform measure, putting them short of the majority needed.

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The attorney general admitted that “no decision has been made yet as to exactly where the trial is going to occur.”

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Iran unveiled an unmanned "ambassador of death" drone Sunday as a senior official warned against any "illogical move" by America.

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President Obama said Sunday that he does not spend much time thinking about recent polls showing that a growing number of citizens question his Christian faith and believe he is Muslim.

When asked about the polls and citizens who continue to question whether he was born in the United States, Obama said on NBC: “I can’t spend all my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead."

“I don’t think the American people want me to spend all my time on it," he said.

Obama, who was born in Hawaii and says he is Christian, said the questions that persist are part of a "misinformation" campaign.

"The facts are the facts, right? So, we went through some of this during the campaign. You know, there is -- a mechanism-- a network of misinformation that in a new media era can get churned out there constantly," Obama said.

A recent poll from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center showed a growing number of citizens believe Obama is Muslim, not Christian. The same poll showed a declining percentage of the public who say the president is Christian.

According to the August poll, 34 percent of Americans said Obama is Christian, down from 47 percent in March 2008. The poll showed that during the same time, the percentage of Americans who believe Obama is Muslim rose from 12 percent to 18 percent.

Obama also told NBC that he did not watch the Saturday rally that brought scores of conservative activists to Washington and the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The "Restoring Honor" rally was hosted by Fox News commentator Glenn Beck and also featured Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate.

“I’m making decisions that are not necessarily good for the nightly news and not good for the next election, but for the next generations,” he said.

It's been a tough week for Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene, who lost the Democratic primary to represent Florida in the Senate on Tuesday to Congressman Kendrick Meek. The Palm Beach Post reports vote totals posted online show Greene lost his home precinct to Meek by a count of two-to-one.

That's two votes for Kendrick, one vote for Greene (presumably his own). Greene's wife is not registered in Palm Beach County. Only three of the precinct's  26 registered Democrats voted in the primary. In contrast, 84 Republicans are registered in the precinct.

If the precinct is any indication Republicans have the advantage heading into this fall's three-way race between Meek, the Republican nominee former Florida House Speak! er Marco Rubio and incumbent Governor Charlie Crist, who dropped out of the GOP primary to run as an independent. Rubio carried Greene's home precinct 26-0.

Meek won the statewide race with 57.6 percent of the vote.

h/t: Ben Smith

People who wrongly believe President Obama is Muslim are "psychopaths", according to a sermon from Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Sunday in Little Rock, Ark.

The president's controversial former pastor told the congregation at New Millenium Church that Obama is being ostracized for opposing the "military mindset". During his sermon Wright also criticized supporters of the war in Iraq and defended former state Court of Appeals Judge Wendell Griffen for speaking out against it.

"Go after the military mindset ... and the enemy will come after you with everything," Wright told the packed church, according to the AP.

"He will surround you with psychopaths who will criticize you and ostracize you and put you beyond the pale of hope and say 'you ain't really a Baptist' and say 'the president ain't! really a Christian, he's a Muslim. There ain't no American Christian with a name like Barack Hussein,'" he added.

A recent poll shows 18 percent of the public thinks President Obama is Muslim, an increase of seven percent over March 2009. The proportion of people who believe he is Christian has shrunk to 34 percent from 48 percent last year.

Obama cut ties with Wright and left his Chicago church after some of the Revend's more controversial statements became a source of criticism during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) used his visit to Portneuf Valley Brewing Company in Pocatello, Idaho on Saturday to stump for his bill to give a tax break to small breweries.

Crapo introduced the bill on May 11 with Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The legislation now has 24 co-sponsors, increasing the odds it will be considered and passed by the Senate.

Crapo told a local ABC news reporter on Saturday that the small brewer industry is growing in Idaho and a tax break could help boost the economy.

“This is one of those win-win proposals for Idaho,” Crapo said. “It helps facilitate and give a hand to the small brewers so they can be competitive in the global market place and get beyond Idaho markets to national and maybe even international markets."

As a Mormon, Crapo is an! unlikely advocate for the craft beer industry. He said in May he sees the issue as a business, not a moral decision.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg declined to comment on whether she thinks arguments in front of the Supreme Court should be televised, but said TV has made confirmation hearings much longer because Senators spend so much time performing for the cameras.

"The people on the Senate Judiciary Committee have all that free time" to stump for the audience, Ginsburg said according to the AP.

Speaking at a conference of judges of the 10th Circuit Court on Friday, Ginsburg demurred on the question of televising arguments but pointed to former colleagues who opposed cameras.

When you're sitting on a collegial bench, if there is any of you who would be extremely discomforted ... you would defer to that colleague," she said without naming anyone currently on t! he court.

Ginsburg's late husband Martin Ginsburg, a prominent lawyer in his own right, was scheduled to address the conference before his death from cancer in June. The Justice read her husband's prepared remarks before taking part in a question-and-answer session with Beverly McLachlin, the chief jurist of Canada's Supreme Court.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor was in the crowd but did not participate in the session. She was scheduled to address the judges in a closed-door session on Saturday.

The Department of Justice's decision Friday to approve the merger of Continental and United Airlines shows Congress needs more authority over airlines to prevent further consolidation at the expense of consumers, according to House Transportation Committee chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.).

Oberstar has been a harsh critic of the proposed merger; at a June hearing he accused the companies' executives of hating competition and attempting to dominate the market. In a statement issued Saturday he indicated he will follow through on his promise to seek re-regulation of the airline industry in response to the deal.

"When Congress deregulated the airlines in 1978, we were promised better service, added competition, and more choices for consumers. With the United-Continental merger, our domestic carrier fleet will have shrunk to four network carriers," Oberstar said. "Can a US Airways-American Airlines merger be far behind?"

Oberstar said consolidation in the airline industry usually leads to fewer choices, reduced levels of service and increased prices. He also said lawmakers in 1978 did not foresee a global airline market dominated by three international alliances.

"That runs directly counter to the promise of deregulation. I believe it may be time for Congress to rethink its vote in 1978," Oberstar said.

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Blagojevich said that he will seek "full vindication" against corruption charges and insisted he will not accept a plea deal.

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Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said challenger Joe Miller's upset of incumbent Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in last week's primary is a sign voters are sick of Republicans who focus on securing funding for state projects instead of sticking to their conservative principles.

"It's encouraging to me what happened in Alaska with Miller," Mr. DeMint told the Wall Street Journal. "It should be a wake-up call to Republicans that politicians who go to Washington to bring home the bacon aren't wantedâ€"even in a state like Alaska that has gotten so much pork under senators like Ted Stevens. Voters are saying 'We're not willing to bankrupt the country to benefit ourselves.'"

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Lawmakers on Sunday debated President Obama's support for the building of an Islamic center near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan

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When asked if Saturday's rally would prompt him to consider seeking election, Beck said there was no chance that he will run.

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Lawmakers on Sunday debated President Obama's support for the building of an Islamic center near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan

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Obama said that his statement on Friday didn't express support for the “wisdom” of building a mosque blocks from the 9/11 site.

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Obama said that his statement on Friday didn't express support for the “wisdom” of building a mosque blocks from the 9/11 site.

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Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) accused the Senate of concentrating on "mostly with renaming post offices" and not taking up key bills.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said her members have a series of legislative victories to take home to constituents this month.

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Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin acknowledged that American casualties have risen, with July being the deadliest month yet.

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Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative at the African Union Summit in Uganda.

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The decision to fill the front-row seat formerly held by UPI's Helen Thomas will be made Sunday by the White House Correspondents Association.

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A crowd estimated in the tens of thousands stretched from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at Saturday's Glenn Beck rally.

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A crowd estimated in the tens of thousands stretched from the steps of the memorial, surrounding the reflecting pool on the National Mall.

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One year ago today, our country lost a dear friend, a true patriot, and an irreplaceable public servant. Today, more than ever, we miss Senator Ted Kennedy.

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What did we learn from primary elections Tuesday in Arizona, Florida and Alaska? Not much.

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The shrinking number of livestock producers is a source of concern for Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who said increasing concentration in the meat industry may be to blame.

Vilsack and Attorney General Eric Holder spoke to more than 1,000 meat producers at a public event in Fort Collins, Colo. Friday to discuss how to address the decline of small cattle, hog, and dairy farmers over the past 30 years. According to a report from Reuters, many in the audience favored increased government intervention to help smaller producers stay in business.

"We have lost hundreds of thousands of (cattle) producers, We see the same thing in hogs, we see the same thing in dairy," Vilsack said during a Friday press conference.

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Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate said Hurricane Katrina taught his agency the necessity of speed and public cooperation when responding to a natural disaster.

During a CNN interview on Saturday Fugate said his agency has learned valuable lessons from its errors responding to Hurricane Katrina, most notably that it can't afford to wait for an assessment of the damage before mobilizing its resources for recovery. Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city of New Orleans and portions of the Gulf coast.

"Speed is going to be critical. We cannot wait for a full assessment. We have to respond as if it's bad, bring the things together, and focus on the most immediate of keeping it safe, getting to the injured trapped, and recovering the lost lives, getting supplies in here," he said.

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The vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee said Friday night that Democrats would be meeting Saturday's Glenn Beck rally with a door-knocking effort across the country.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) said on MSNBC's "Hardball" that as conservative activists rallied on the National Mall, Democrats would be trying to stress to voters that theirs are the policies taking America forward.

"You mentioned the 200,000 that may or may not be on the Mall tomorrow," the congresswoman told host Christ Matthews. "The 200,000 people that matter tomorrow are the 200,000 activists who are going to be knocking on doors tomorrow for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's National Day of Action.

"We will do 200,000 door knocks tomorrow all across America, Chris, because our grass roots engine is second to none."

Wasserman-Schultz predicated "a successful election day, or at least, certainly, better than most people in Washington are thinking we're going to have on November 2nd."

A Philadelphia man is in federal custody after allegedly threatening to shoot members of Rep. Allyson Schwartz's staff, according to reports on Saturday.

The FBI said Jesse L. Keel, 44, called Schwartz's office Wednesday regarding his lost dentures and complained the Congresswoman has never done anything for him despite always getting his vote. When he didn't get the response he wanted, Keel told the staff member on the phone that he was a former marine with access to a rifle.

He then threatened to get on a bus, stand on the roof across the street, and shoot staff members in Schwartz's Philade! lphia office. Keel later called back and spoke with a second staff member and told them he was a patient at Aria Hospital in Philadelphia.

When an FBI agent went to interview Keel at the hospital he had already been discharged. Hospital officials had expressed concern about his mental state but were unable to commit him for a psychiatric evaluation without his consent. Later that night FBI agents visited Keel's apartment accompanied by his girlfriend and arrested him.

The U.S. Attorney's office said Keel will be detained pending a psychiatric evaluation and a hearing to see if he is competent to stand trial. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.

The candidates seeking to become Georgia's next governor sparred over tort reform, embryonic stem cell research and healthcare reform during their first debate since the primaries earlier this month, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Former Democratic Congressman Nathan Deal, Republican nominee Roy Barnes and Libertarian candidate John Monds appeared together for the first time Saturday in Atlanta, where the discussion centered heavily around healthcare issues. Barnes previously served as the state's governor from 1999 to 2003 before losing his re-election bid to Republican Sonny Perdue. Perdue, a two-term incumbent, is term-limited.

Barnes and Deal agreed on the need to create incentives to attract physicians to the rural portion of the state, but differed over a March state Supreme Court ruling that struck down a limits on jury awards in medical malpractice cases. Deal said he favors amending the Constitution to re-institute the limits. Barnes, an attorney who has tried medical malpractice cases in the past, said he is strongly opposed to such a measure.

"Generally, the jury does the right thing," Barnes said. "Occasionally, they get cranked up and don't. And in those cases we give judges the right to correct that."

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St. Louis Cardinals star first baseman Albert Pujols said he was honored and humbled to receive an award for his charitable work during the Restore Honor rally organized by Glenn Beck in Washington on Saturday.

Pujols and his wife Deidre are active in numerous charitable causes in the St. Louis area, most notably the Pujols Family Foundation which helps children and adults with Down Syndrome. The couple have a daughter, Isabella, who was born with the condition.

The family also organizes mission trips to Pujols' native Dominican Republic. Pujols credited his faith for driving him to help others.

"As long as I'm alive, I'm going to continue to do the best that I can to represent Jesus Christ," Pujols said. "Twelve years ago I made the best decision of my life and that was following Jesus Christ."

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa introduced Pujols, who is the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, calling him a hero both on and off the field. He said Pujols' first ten years in the game have been historic, but not as impressive as his commitments off the field.

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Law enforcement officials in Michigan are investigating whether Tea Party candidates there were involved in election fraud in an attempt to siphon votes from Republican candidates.

According to a report from the Detroit Free Press Jason Bauer, former director of operations for the Oakland County Democratic Party, notarized a dozen affadavits for Tea Party candidates including one for a candidate who had no idea he was on the ballot. Two of the candidates were also later found to be under-aged and one was a resident of Phoenix, Arizona. 

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department has been investigating the matter and on Friday Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson filed a petition in court asking for a one-person grand jury to investigate possible election fraud.

Bauer resigned Sunday night and was condemened by the Oakland County Democratic Party as reports of his actions surfaced. He faces potential criminal charges over misusing his notary license. The head of the Oakland County Democrats resigned on Sunday as well.

Author and Fox News host Glenn Beck told the crowd on the Mall Saturday that Americans must look to God and find the strength within themselves to confront the problems facing the nation rather than relying on others to address them.

"This day is the day that we can start the heart of America again. And it has nothing to do with politics, it has everything to do with God," Beck said.

Speaking at the conclusion of the "Restoring Honor" at the Lincoln Memorial Beck framed the current political climate as a turning point in American history and urged the crowd to remain focused on the nation's future rather than lingering over its faults. He cited media estimates of the crowd ranging from tens of thousands to more than a half million attendees.

"Let's be honest. If you look at history, America has been both terribly good and terribly bad. It has been both," Beck said. "But we concentrate on the bad instead of learning from the bad and repairing the bad and then looking to the good that is still out in front of us within our reach."

Beck said God has been sending the American people many wakeup calls, including the terrorists attacks on 9/11. But he said fear only wakes people up for a very short period of time.

"I know that many in this country think that I'm a fear monger. It is not a label that I think applies," he said, comparing himself to the watchman on the Titanic who first spotted the iceberg. He asked for Americans of all political parties to come together to confront the nation's problems.

Beck said in spite of media reports, the rally was not "only a bunch of Tea Partiers" but included an unidentified Democratic speaker who took a great personal risk to appear.

"That person stood on this stage because of honor. There's a lot we can disagree on, but our values and our principles can unite us. We must discover them again," Beck said.

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Former Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) defended his third-party run for Colorado governor at a recent campaign stop in Denver, denying his bid is driven by personal ambition or ego.

“I did not do this in order to create confusion or in order to advance a personal agenda,” Tancredo said regarding his run as the American Constitution Party candidate. “If it was all an ego-driven thing, I would have done this a long time ago.”

Tancredo proposed last week that both he and Republican nominee Dan Maes withdraw from the the race for the good of the state's conservative movement. Maes, a first-time candidate who has been under scrutiny for possible campaign finance violations, rejected Tancredo's offer outright.

Some Republicans have suggested Maes step aside and allow a more experienced candidate to take his place. They point to his anemic fundraising as evidence of his long odds of defeating well-funded Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, the Democratic! nominee. The possibility of Tancredo splitting the conservative vote is also a cause for concern.

But Tancredo pushed back against charges he is hurting conservatives, arguing he has better odds of winning the three-way race than Maes has of defeating Hickenlooper one-on-one. Tancredo said Maes cannot and should not win the general election.

“I don’t believe he is the person he says he is,” Tancredo said of Maes.

Maes, a favorite of the Tea Party movement, narrowly defeated former Congressman Scott McInnis in the primary. Maes' upset was aided by allegations of plagiarism that dogged McInnis' campaign.

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin said the U.S. is at a crossroads and Americans must be resilient in the face of increasing adversity during a speech to the "Restore Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday.

Rally organizer Glenn Beck has said the event is not political but meant to honor America's military service members and veterans. Beck said he asked Palin to speak as the mother of a U.S. soldier. Palin's son Track is a soldier in U.S Army and has served in Iraq. 

"I've been asked to speak today not as a politician, no something more, much more. I've been asked to speak as the mother of a soldier, and I'm proud of that distinction. You know, say what you want to say about me but I raised a combat vet, and you can't take that away from me," Palin said.

"No woman gives birth thinking she will hand over her child to her country, but that's what mothers have done from ancient days."

Palin called the setting "the symbolic crossroads of our nation's history" and invoked Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. during a patriotic speech littered with biblical language.

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