The Iraqi government takes control of its armed forces today, "a milestone American officials have hailed as crucial to the country's difficult road to independence and eventual withdrawal of foreign troops," says the AP.  "Turning over control of the country's security is vital to any eventual drawdown of

Gas prices are currently down, but oil company executives are still being summoned to testify before Congress -- this time from oil giant BP, whose execs are scheduled to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee this morning about the recent pipeline leak in

Democrats hold a couple of events today on the two big domestic issues President Bush has touted but on which he has failed to achieve legislative success during his second term, although Democrats' intent probably wasn't to highlight that fact.  Instead, they seem to be looking to rally key constituencies -- seniors and Latinos -- to their side by hyping these issues even though neither is on the congressional agenda for the month.  Hill leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will lead a rally with other Democratic members and "hundreds" of seniors to talk up "a new effort to protect Americans' Social Security from the relentless attempts by President Bush and the Republican Congress to privatize Social Security," the release says -- even though the GOP effort has hardly been "relentless."  Also today, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) leads a rally in support of the Senate immigration bill.

 

Senior House Republican aides tell the Washington Times that "House Republicans will make a final push to get border-security legislation on President Bush's desk before November's elections...  Republicans now worry that many voters will blame them for not doing more because they control the White House and both chambers of Congress."

"House Democrats are planning to host their top challenger candidates on Capitol Hill next Wednesday for an event designed to quicken the drumbeat for Democratic chances of taking back the House this fall." – Roll Call

 

The Wall Street Journal, writing from a GOP-held swing district in

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan (R), who gained fame for his moratorium on death penalty cases, "was sentenced Wednesday to 6 1/2 years in prison," the Chicago Tribune writes.  "Ryan was snared in an eight-year federal probe that exposed rampant bribery in state driver's license facilities while he was secretary of state."

The Houston Chronicle reports that the FBI recently conducted interviews "to find out whether former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's wife received pay from a lobbying firm without doing any work...  The interviews could signal that [DeLay] is still under investigation related to the dealings of ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Meeting with about 30 Washington political reporters earlier this morning, antiwar Democratic Senate nominee Ned Lamont of Connecticut said he believes his general-election race against pro-war incumbent Joe Lieberman (I) will be a referendum on Iraq. If Lieberman wins in November, Lamont argued, that will be a sign that voters in even the bluest of states want to stay the course in Iraq. But if he wins, that will mean there are "going to be a lot of other people around the country wanting to change course." Lamont also said he opposes impeaching President Bush (although he believes in holding Bush accountable) and opposes cutting off funding for the troops in Iraq (even though he supports their withdrawal).

In addition, when asked if he would support Lieberman for Defense Secretary -- if Lieberman loses in November and if Bush nominates him to replace Donald Rumsfeld -- Lamont first tried to duck the question, saying he doesn't answer hypotheticals. But when pressed, he said he wouldn't vote for Lieberman. "He has been so wrong on one of the biggest issues of the day."

Lamont was also asked whether Lieberman's independent candidacy hurts the three Democratic challengers running in competitive House races Connecticut. He replied that it could be "tough," because their GOP opponents have all endorsed Lieberman. "But we're going to win and they're going to win... We have energized a whole group of people, and I don't think they're just Democrats." And asked about trailing in the polls to Lieberman -- and a new Lieberman campaign poll has the incumbent leading Lamont, 51%-35% -- Lamont said he trailed Lieberman back in the spring and early summer. His strategy, he said, is to "do what I've been doing."

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
More White House build-up to President Bush's third speech on the war on terror at 1:30 pm: Senior Bush advisors say the speech and the accompanying proposal to correct the military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees, which the US Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional back in June, will generate an "enormous amount of news." When asked by the press corps if they're raising expectations, White House spokesperson Tony Snow responded, "We're gonna deliver today," and, "Trust me, it's better than you think." However, he would not provide any further guidance on the "enormous amount of news" of the speech. Hill lawmakers will be briefed before the speech today.

President Bush's speech will be available live at 1:45 p.m. ET today from http://video.msnbc.com.  

62 days until Election Day...  President Bush meets with his Cabinet this morning, then delivers his third speech in less than a week on the war on terror.  NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports that the 1:45 pm speech, a late add to the schedule, will coincide with the White House's submission to Congress of proposed legislation to correct the military trials for Guantanamo detainees, which the US Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional back in June.  A fourth speech in

The Administration closed ranks around Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday.  The Pentagon declined to comment on calls to remove him from office; NBC's Courtney Kube reports that spokesperson Bryan Whitman said the Pentagon is "not going to get involved in politics in the Defense Department."  White House spokesperson Tony Snow told reporters, "The President strongly supports the Defense Secretary...  Creating Don Rumsfeld as a bogeyman may make for good politics but would make for very lousy strategy at this time."

White House chief of staff Josh Bolten undertook the official response to the Democratic leadership's Monday letter calling for a "new direction" in

Roll Call points out some lawmakers' potentially awkward need to campaign on September 11 because of the spate of primaries the next day.

President Bush said in his Labor Day remarks yesterday that the nation's dependence on foreign oil "jeopardizes our capacity to grow."  Roll Call reports that some Democratic congressional candidates are holding events where they sell cheap gas to draw attention to high prices at the pump; Republicans charge that this amounts to vote-buying.

Security politics

Two more presidential speeches and another glossy White House booklet.  A series of congressional floor debates planned to benefit Republicans.  The prospect of Democrat-sponsored rebukes of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.  A trickle of GOP candidates distancing themselves from Rumsfeld and the President's policies.  Sen. Joe Lieberman's first day back at work since he lost his primary.  The underlying theme of all the schedule highlights this week is the war in

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune looked at how the cruising has come to a halt for congressional lawmakers who are now a little leery of taking advantage of yacht companies' largesse.

Listen to the president's conversation with Brian Williams, then reply on our message board.