From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
NEW YORK -- Before Clinton headed to Washington for the Petraeus-Crocker Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this afternoon, she spent her morning at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony near Ground Zero in New York. She released a statement that focused, in part, on rescue workers who became sick after 9/11.

"Countless New Yorkers and others continue to experience health problems as a result of the toxic cloud of chemicals and debris that blanketed streets and poisoned lungs," Clinton said in the statement. "Many are sick. Some have died. We must never forget the sacrifice of those who served at Ground Zero and Fresh Kills in the rescue and recovery -- and we must honor their sacrifice by helping all those who need it."

She did not make any public remarks, though a series of present and former city and state officials -- including Giuliani -- did address the crowd of about 1,000, which included family and friends of victims, who stood under gray skies, intermittent showers and driving winds. Some in the audience wore yellow-and-white ribbons and carried bouquets of flowers. About two-dozen people held signs and pictures of loved ones throughout much of the nearly four-hour ceremony.

From NBC's Andrew Merten
GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul touted his non-interventionist prescription for US foreign policy at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies in DC. There, he reiterated his opposition to the Iraq war -- which often makes him sound more like a Democrat than one of his GOP rivals. 
 
Paul distinguished his policy of non-intervention from isolationism, explaining that he still sees a benefit in doing business with foreign countries -- provided currency manipulation does not create an unfair relationship. He added, "Non-intervention is better than assuming this moral superiority." He went on to talk about today's anniversary. "We don't understand 9/11," he said, adding that he believes American intervention in the Middle East over the past 50 years was a "major participant" in fueling the attacks of six years ago.
 
Also, the Texas congressman downplayed the threat of Iran, saying that current concern is "way overblown," because Tehran does not have the delivery technology to threaten America and that "Israel is quite capable of taking care of themselves," given their own nuclear arsenal. But Paul did not delve into the possibility of a nuclear hand-off between Iran and terrorist groups.
 
Although Paul's strong internet following has not translated into stellar fundraising numbers for his campaign (although he did have more cash on hand than McCain at the end of June) or a more impressive showing at the Ames straw poll, the auditorium was packed with audience members, with some even standing in the aisles. But he was not able to meet and greet his supporters after his discussion, as he had to catch a plane to California, where he will be campaigning tomorrow. 

From NBC/NJ's Erin McPike
BOSTON -- Romney commemorated the sixth anniversary of 9/11 by laying a wreath on the memorial located within the Boston Public Garden that honors the state residents who were killed in the attacks. Romney laid low for the day -- including at the 8:30 am ET wreath-laying. He was staffed by just one campaign hand, and about a third of the other dozen or so attendees were photographers. An official campaign photo from the morning now tops his Web site. While the campaign did notify the press about the former governor's morning whereabouts, representatives explained that Romney wanted to keep interest in the event at a minimum and didn't want much of an audience.
 
Later in the morning, the campaign issued this statement from Romney: "In the years since 9/11, the spreading evil of radical Jihad has been visited on other cities around the world. Yet our resolve remains strong."

From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
NEW YORK -- Giuliani's much anticipated appearance today at the Sept. 11 memorial came and went with little political intrigue. Giuliani, who had been criticized by some for speaking at the event while campaigning for president, spoke briefly of the city's strength and resilience after the attacks. "It was a day with no answers, but with an unending line of people who came forward to help one another," he said before reading a passage from Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.
 
Giuliani spoke at 9:59 am ET, moments after three bells were rung, signifying the collapse of the World Trade Center's South tower. Current New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine also spoke. In a break from tradition, the ceremony was held adjacent to the footprint of the Twin Towers and people involved in the rescue efforts read the names of the victims.
 
Giuliani was one of few to speak without the assistance of a uniformed official, who held umbrellas for Spitzer and many of those reading names. Giuliani received a smattering of applause as he exited the stage.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Giuliani's support is tenuous and declining, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll out this morning. While the former New York City mayor still leads in the poll, 27% to 22% over Fred Thompson, it marks the first time his support has dipped below 30% in the poll -- a trend which has been seen in other surveys in the past month. Giuliani's support has declined as Thompson has taken up some of the political oxygen, but it also appears Giuliani's experience as mayor of a large city is not necessarily "the right kind of experience for becoming president of the United States." Only about half of those surveyed say it is compared with about 80% who believe being a senator or governor is the right experience.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Does anyone else think that Fred Thompson's statement in South Carolina yesterday -- that "we've got due process to go through" in dealing with Osama bin Laden -- sounds a lot like what Howard Dean said back in 2003 about the Al Qaeda leader?

In December 2003, Dean told the Concord Monitor: "I still have this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama, who is very likely to be found guilty, we should do our best not to, in positions of executive power, not to prejudge jury trials." 

Dean later said he supported the death penalty for bin Laden, but his Democratic rivals pounced on his comment. "If Howard Dean is unsure about Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the American people are going to be very unsure they have the confidence they need to make Howard Dean their president," Joe Lieberman said back then. 

Once the Petraeus and 9/11 anniversary news subsides, will we see Thompson's GOP rivals go after him the way the Dems went after Dean?

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro 
*** 9/11 Remembrances Take Back Seat To 9/11 Politics: Since that tragic day exactly six years ago, 9/11 and the run-up to the anniversary have served as a time for politics to take -- sometimes ever so slightly -- a backseat to remembrances. But this 9/11 is a bit different, thanks to the Petraeus report and the fact that the GOP front-runner is the front-runner because of 9/11. Politics takes a break today -- but only for a few hours. That's what happens when the anniversary takes place in the heat of a campaign and a major policy debate. Today, President Bush has already attended a service of prayer and remembrance and has participated in a moment of silence on the White House's South Lawn. Hillary Clinton also took part in a commemoration ceremony in New York, and Romney attended a wreath-laying ceremony in Boston.

*** Rudy In The Spotlight: Yet perhaps no one will be in the spotlight more than the man who earned the nickname "America's Mayor" after the 9/11 attacks -- but who also has come under plenty of criticism for his actions before and after that day: Rudy Giuliani. This morning, he speaks at a 9/11 memorial event at Ground Zero. Despite receiving some negative comments for mixing the remembrance of the attacks while running for president, a new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that a whopping 92% of respondents believe that it's appropriate for Giuliani to attend these memorial services. (Similarly, 85% say it's appropriate for Clinton to attend them as well.) In addition, the poll shows that 60% think that Giuliani should be able to refer to his role in the 9/11 attacks to demonstrate his qualifications for president. Yet a smaller percentage -- 51% -- say that his experience makes him more qualified to handle terrorism as president; 48% say it doesn't make him more qualified.

*** Mission Accomplished? Today's 9/11 anniversary is also Day Two of Petraeus' and Crocker's testimony on Capitol Hill. Yesterday, as liberal columnist EJ Dionne writes this morning, the pair's assessment of the surge seemed to provide the White House with what it wanted all along: more time. Today, Petraeus and Crocker go before the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, where they might face more hostile questioning than they received yesterday -- due in large part to the Democratic presidential candidates who sit on those panels. Biden chairs Foreign Relations, which also includes Dodd and Obama. And Clinton and McCain serve on Armed Services. 

*** MoveOn, MoveOn -- These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For: So who was testifying yesterday on Capitol Hill? Petraeus and Crocker? Or MoveOn's Eli Pariser? The GOP lawmakers found their talking points, as it seemed two minutes didn't go by without a Republican lawmaker mentioning the print MoveOn ad attacking Petraeus. While congressional Democrats were clearly uncomfortable defending MoveOn, one can't help but wonder if the GOP doth protest too much. The party's message machine was so focused on MoveOn that they didn't actually talk much about what Petraeus said. The attacks on MoveOn's very low-key newspaper ad begs the question: Did they not want to debate the surge on its merits?

*** Hsu-ing Away A Problem? You've heard of dumping bad news on a Friday evening? Well, the Clinton campaign found an even better time to dump the bad news that it was returning $850,000 raised by Norman Hsu -- the evening before 9/11, which just also happens to coincide with the busiest news day in the Iraq war (at least in terms of Washington coverage) in six months. The campaign may have found as good of a day as they could to bury this story, but they ought to realize this will come back. The next time we'll hear Hsu's name? In about 20 days when the campaign reports its 3rd quarter fundraising. Docking themselves nearly a $1 million is not good for the bottom line. By the way, did the campaign overlook Hsu's questionable tactics a few months ago because they were so desperate to keep up with Obama's fundraising?

*** Tennessee, We Have A Problem: Yesterday, we said Thompson hadn't yet made a flub like Wes Clark did in 2003 (when he couldn't answer reporters' questions whether or not he would have voted for the 2002 Iraq war resolution -- a big no-no for someone campaigning as the anti-war general). But now, we're not so sure: Can a Republican presidential candidate really flub what they'd do with Osama, not once (symbolism) but twice (due process)?

*** On The Trail: Elsewhere today, Gravel holds a press briefing in New York on foreign policy; McCain begins his "No Surrender" tour in Iowa; and Paul speaks at a foreign policy forum at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies in DC.

Countdown to LA GOV election: 39 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 56 days
Countdown to LA GOV run-off (if necessary): 67 days
Countdown to Iowa: 125 days
Countdown to SC GOP primary: 130 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 147 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 420 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 497 days

The Washington Post: "Army Gen. David H. Petraeus told Congress yesterday that the deployment of 30,000 more troops to Iraq has made enough progress that the additional combat forces can be pulled out by next summer, but he cautioned against 'rushing to failure' with a larger and speedier withdrawal… [T]he general's report and troop proposal opened a new phase in the fractious Washington debate over the future of the U.S. venture in Iraq nearly 4 1/2 years after Bush ordered an invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. From this point on, the argument will no longer be about whether to withdraw U.S. troops but about how many to pull out and how quickly."

EJ Dionne writes, that before Petraeus "began his account of the 'substantial' progress brought about by the troop increase in Iraq, congressional critics of President Bush's policy had come to the depressing conclusion that the surge has done what the administration needed it to do. It has not won the war. It has not achieved reconciliation at the national level in Iraq. But it has bought more political time in Washington, bringing Bush closer than ever to reaching one of his main objectives: keeping large numbers of troops in Iraq beyond Election Day 2008."

The New York Times adds that Petraeus' testimony "drove home the continuing inability of the Democrats to force a change in strategy in Iraq… The hearings had been expected to provoke an epic confrontation between opponents of the war and its front-line leaders. But that conflict did not fully materialize Monday, in part because only a few Democrats on two House committees seemed inclined to dispute with much vigor the assessments provided by a commander with medals on his chest and four stars on his shoulders."

The Boston Globe's front-page story: "Petraeus told a deeply divided joint House committee that achieving the goal of a self-sustaining Iraq would be 'neither quick nor easy.'"
 
In his analysis, the Boston Globe's Canellos writes that Petraeus and Crocker delivered "a straight, sober, and nuanced presentation," but "the general's suggestion that US troops will be needed well into the future represents a clear challenge to antiwar forces and sets the terms for what is sure to be a contentious congressional debate throughout the fall."

The New York Daily News' headline: "Petraeus puts anti-war Democrats in tight spot."

Regarding MoveOn's "Betray Us" ad, the Boston Globe writes, "Republicans, including several running for president, condemned the full-page ad, which ran in yesterday's New York Times. Democratic presidential hopefuls distanced themselves, but did not directly rebuke the group."

RNC chairman Mike Duncan sent out this fundraising solicitation yesterday: "MoveOn.org is openly attacking our generals and troops. This week they ran full-page newspaper ads attacking the integrity of our top military commander in Iraq, General Petraeus, as he was testifying before Congress. And, the Democrat leaders have said nothing. Nothing!  Are they complicit in these attacks by their silence? This kind of malicious and despicable attack cannot stand -- and we must fight back."

Politics and 9/11, of course, became intertwined not long after the terrorist attacks occurred; in fact, Republicans effectively used their image in their victories in 2002 (think the Georgia Senate race) and 2004 (the GOP convention in New York). But after the bad news in Iraq and the deterioration of the GOP brand in the last two years, Republicans no longer have the advantage when it comes to terrorism. In the October 2002 NBC/WSJ poll -- just before that year's midterm elections -- Republicans held a 36-point advantage over Democrats on the question of which party would do a better job of dealing with terrorism. In the 2004 December NBC/WSJ survey -- taken after that year's presidential election -- the GOP had an 18-point advantage. In the most recent NBC/WSJ poll -- conducted in late July -- the Republicans and Democrats had an equal score on that question. 
 
The Concord Monitor reports on the Firefighters union criticism of Giuliani and his role during 9/11. The header: "Firefighters challenge Giuliani image."

The New York Daily News writes up that new USA Today/Gallup poll, which finds that half of Americans "believe 9/11 doesn't make Giuliani any better qualified to lead the war on terror."

BIDEN: On Iraq: "There is zero evidence of any political accommodation between sectarian forces, and the surge has had no impact on reconciliation."

CLINTON: The Los Angeles Times reports -- before the announcement by the campaign to dump all of the Hsu-related money (some $850K) -- that "new evidence surfaced that the Clinton camp had dismissed allegations about Hsu made by a Southern California businessman. In an e-mail obtained by The Times, a Clinton campaign staffer told a California Democratic Party official in June that the businessman's concerns were unwarranted. "'I can tell you with 100 certainty that Norman Hsu is NOT involved in a ponzi scheme,' wrote Samantha Wolf, who was a campaign finance director for the Western states." He is COMPLETELY legit."

Did the Clinton campaign go too far? One prominent DC attorney thinks so. "Stanley Brand, a former House counsel who often represents legislators in ethics matters, called the Clinton campaign's decision 'a ground-shifting event,' though not a step he would have recommended. 'I understand it's politically driven. They don't want to be tainted,' he said. 'But they're going to give back a lot of money if they do this every time there's an allegation against a fundraiser.'"

The Washington Post: "The refunds, among the largest in political history, come after weeks of reports about Hsu's controversial history and murky business practices. Clinton officials said that the senator, acting out of 'an abundance of caution,' had directed the campaign to return donations from about 260 contributors tied to Hsu because of his apparent involvement in an illegal investment scheme… Aides also said the campaign will begin conducting criminal background checks on big fundraisers to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future."

By the way, once the Clinton campaign returns the money this month, the donors are welcome to give again, according to spokesperson Howard Wolfson. "We will accept their contributions and ask them to confirm for our records that they are from their own personal funds," he said in an e-mail.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported that California businessman Jack Cassidy said he tried to warn the Clinton campaign about Hsu. But NBC's Andrea Mitchell talked to Cassidy, and he acknowledged that he only emailed Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor's Web site twice and never made any other effort to notify the Clinton campaign. Cassidy described himself as an Orange County Republican and Clinton critic.

In other campaign fundraising news, Bill Clinton was in Chicago Monday night, where he raised at least $125,000, according to the Baltimore Sun. About 600 people attended the sold-out event at a sushi restaurant. Ticket prices ranged from $100 o $1,000.

After Clinton signed a pledge to not campaign in Florida, she said she would meet with a group of Florida senior citizens and do five fundraisers. But it apparently depends on what the meaning of campaigning is. The Politico's Smith writes: "This isn't violation of the letter of the agreement with Iowa and the other early states about not campaigning in Florida; that apparently doesn't kick in until the DNC's deadline runs out at the end of this month." But the Des Moines Register's Yepsen writes," One thing we learned during Bill Clinton's presidency was to study and parse his words carefully. Apparently we'll need to do that with his wife should she become president."

EDWARDS: The Dallas Morning News decided that the Texas Dem internet straw poll was legit enough to write about it. Edwards won it.

The campaign announced a new initiative inviting supporters to help Edwards rebuild New Orleans. From a release: "Between today and the end of September, Edwards supporters will be able to enter their names in a drawing by visiting the John Edwards campaign website. No contribution is necessary to enter the drawing. In the beginning of October, five names will be selected at random for the opportunity to go with Edwards to help rebuild New Orleans."

Of course, when he heads to New Orleans, will this invite questions as to what, personally, Edwards is doing to help the New Orleans homeowners who were foreclosed on by the mortgage company with ties to the hedge fund Edwards worked for? Edwards told the Wall Street Journal last month -- when this issue was first discovered -- that he would personally help hurting homeowners.

GIULIANI: A new New York Times/CBS poll finds that some of Giuliani's social positions are still not known by Republicans. "While the poll found that Mr. Giuliani faced some big challenges in winning his party's nomination, with 31 percent of self-identified Republican primary voters saying he does not share the values of most members of his party, it also suggested that he might be able to win over wary or unconvinced Republicans if he could make the case that he would be the candidate with the best chance of winning the general election."

MCCAIN: Not only does John McCain hope that his journey for his party's nomination mirrors John Kerry's in 2004 -- in which the onetime front-runner gets overshadowed by other candidates before winning the nod -- McCain today embarks on his "No Surrender" tour, which just happens to be the name of the Springsteen song Kerry used as his campaign anthem. Over the next week, the tour takes him to Iowa, New Hampshire, and then South Carolina.

It looks like the first of the McCain comeback stories has been written. This one by his hometown paper, the Arizona Republic, which previews the tour. "McCain's resurgence comes as he kicks off his 'No Surrender Tour' in Sioux City, Iowa. The tour, timed to this week's report on progress in Iraq, will take him to the three influential early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina."

ROMNEY: The campaign headquarters was robbed, but the campaign believes it was simply a routine burglary.

The Washington Post reports on an anti-Thompson Web site, phonyfred.org, that appears to be the work of Warren Tompkins, Romney's chief South Carolina supporter. Said Thompson spokesperson Todd Harris: "There is no room in our party for this kind of smut. As the top executive of his own campaign, Governor Romney should take full responsibility for this type of high-tech gutter politics and issue an immediate apology." More: "If this is true, Governor Romney should exercise some of his much-touted executive acumen and immediately terminate anyone related to this outrage."

THOMPSON: The Columbia State writes that Thompson made a positive impression at a stop in South Carolina.

Has Thompson once again changed his view on Bin Laden? The Los Angeles Times: "After three days of saying that Osama bin Laden should be captured and killed, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson added the caveat Monday that the Al Qaeda leader should also get 'due process.' Thompson's comment on Bin Laden came as he attempted to quell the flap set off by a remark he made last week as he launched his candidacy in Iowa," when he said that Osama was nothing more than a symbol.

More: "The ensuing criticism led Thompson to toughen his language: Bin Laden, he said, 'ought to be captured and killed.' But Monday in South Carolina, Thompson told reporters on his campaign bus that he wasn't suggesting Bin Laden should be killed as soon as he was caught. 'No, no, no, we've got due process to go through,' the Associated Press quoted him as saying. 'I'm not suggesting those things happen simultaneously.'"

"Todd Harris, his communications director, offered a clarification of Thompson's view of Bin Laden on Monday afternoon. 'Before he's killed, we need to pump him for every ounce of information about Al Qaeda that we can possibly get,' Harris said. Anyone who does not understand the need to interrogate Bin Laden, he said, 'doesn't understand the long-term fight against terror.'"

The American Spectator's Rubin calls Thompson's "due process" line the first significant "woops" of the campaign.

In an interview with a handful of reporters yesterday in South Carolina, Thompson acknowledged that he's not a member of any church. He says he attends church when he's in Tennessee; he usually goes with his mother. He does not attend church regularly in the DC area.

Also during that Q&A session, NBC/NJ campaign reporter Adam Aigner-Treworgy asked Thompson about the role he played with the Pam Am 103 bombers: "As often happened, at the firm there I was affiliated for a couple of years, one of the senior partners came in and asked me for some legal technical advice. I believe it was a venue question, about where a trial would probably be held and whether or not there would be a change of venue, things like that. It was several years ago. I gave them my opinion, and that was the long and short of it. That's all I know about it."

The GOP's swift reaction to Larry Craig "revealed the delicate balance the GOP strikes in dealing with homosexuality," the Boston Globe writes. "Opposition to gay marriage … is a key point of connection between Republicans and voters who might otherwise oppose the GOP agenda." An aide to Craig said, "If his conviction is thrown out," Craig "will reconsider his decision to resign."

From NBC's Andrew Merten
Throughout the day, we've seen commentary on Gen. Petraeus' report proceedings from several presidential candidates, Democrat and Republican. But Hillary Clinton, campaigning in Florida, decided not to comment the ongoing testimony until after seeing the general speak in person tomorrow. 

"He'll be before the Armed Services Committee tomorrow afternoon, and I'm going to wait to hear him in person," she said to a reporter this afternoon while signing autographs and taking photos with adoring senior citizens. Petraeus will report to the Armed Services Committee tomorrow afternoon (of which Clinton and McCain are members), after addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (which includes Biden, Dodd, and Obama) in the morning.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum and NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
On his first trip to South Carolina as a presidential candidate, Fred Thompson altered his stump speech a bit, playing to the audience members' hawkish views and getting a very favorable response. Pushing an America-versus-the-world theme, he was more forceful with his Iraq and terrorism language. "I'm reminded of the fact that our people have shed more blood for other people's liberties than any other combination of nations in the history of the world." he said to a standing ovation. "While you're on your feet, let me add that I'm getting a little bit tired of people feeling the necessity for apologizing for the United States of America."
 
Thompson added that the whole world is watching America, waiting to see if she falters. "We must show the world that we are determined to do whatever is necessary to protect this country and to win in Iraq and the global war," he said. "General Petraeus, of course, is testifying today. He was confirmed unanimously and everybody says he's the greatest thing that has ever happened and he very well may be... Now he's coming back with a report, and it's just like the Democratic leaders can't wait for a report, because it's almost as if they feared good news. And they are competing with one another who can pull up the white flag the first."
 
"I think we got good news coming out of there," Thompson continued. "I don't think that anybody's got blinders on. We know that this is a tough proposition. But this worldwide conflict that we are in, where the forces of civilization are pitted against the forces of evil and anarchy is not going to go away. It's time we faced up to that. And if we run out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, it's going to be that much more difficult."
 
Thompson attracted his biggest crowd yet, and was rewarded with a hugely positive response. About 350 people crowded into the Greenville Marriott banquet hall. They waved American flags to the beat of country music, and one person chanted "Run, Fred, Run" as he entered the room. "We running, we running," Thompson replied to escalating applause and cheers. "We get a lot of folks already in this race who keep saying, well when's Fred going to run... Well, Fred is running and I hope they like what they are asking for."
 
He connected to the southerners, telling them he is happy to be in in South Carolina because it's close to Tennessee in many ways. The audience members loved the fact that Thompson refers to the campaign as "our campaign" and not "my campaign." One man told Thompson he had come to the town hall out of curiosity, but is now "completely behind him." Thompson reached off stage to give the man a hearty handshake and thank you. Another fan yelled out "You need to kick ass, Fred."
 
During the middle of the speech, Thompson called his wife Jeri up on the stage. She is traveling with him throughout South Carolina after skipping two days in Iowa and one in New Hampshire. While she looked uncomfortable on stage, the audience loved her. Thompson, praising his wife, told the audience, "I don't know if it's true or not, but I'm the liberal in the family."
 
And during the Q&A, a stay at home mom told Thompson she completely backs him but asked him to speak more about his religious beliefs everywhere without being afraid or ashamed. After a pause, Thompson carefully answered, "I guess I am one of those people who feel a little bit uncomfortable getting too inside your person and personality and so forth, but I understand it's necessary, and I'm doing the best I can with it. I don't hold myself out to be a perfect person. I have not always met the standard that I've set for myself. But I know that I'm right with God, and I'm right with the people I love, and the people I love I think are right with me. That's all I need to go forward."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Since the hearing on Gen. Petraeus' report began this afternoon, some of the Democratic presidential candidates have issued statements arguing that the so-called surge has failed. By comparison, the GOP candidates (with the exception of Giuliani) have released statements that criticize MoveOn's full-page ad in the New York Times -- but that don't explicitly touch on Petraeus' testimony.

See below for a sampling of the comments...

THE DEMOCRATS.
Obama: "Changing the definition of success to stay the course with the wrong policy is the wrong course for our troops and our national security. The time to end the surge and to start bringing our troops home is now - not six months from now. The Iraqi government is not achieving the political progress that was the stated purpose of the surge, and in key areas has gone backwards. Our military cannot sustain its current deployments without crippling our ability to respond to contingencies around the world. It's time for a change of direction that brings our troops home, applies real pressure on the Iraqis to act, surges our diplomacy, and addresses Iraq's urgent humanitarian crisis."

Richardson: "I am saddened, but not surprised, by the recommendations of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker on Iraq. I do not question the integrity or competence of these gentlemen, but the strategy George Bush and Dick Cheney have asked them to execute has failed. The course General Petraeus has recommended we take-- more of the same-- is unacceptable, irresponsible, and dangerous.

A Dodd spokeswoman: "The fact that there are questions about General Petraeus' report is not surprising given that it was brought to you by this White House. In contrast, independent report after report indicates that the whack-a-mole strategy has made this the bloodiest summer of the war. And by the General's admission, the so-called surge has not achieved its goal of political progress. But even more fundamentally, debating the merits of a tactic when the strategy that underlies it is failed is nothing more than a distraction from the work that needs to be done to bring this war to a close."

THE REPUBLICANS.
McCain: "In today's New York Times, the anti-war group MoveOn.org launched a McCarthyite attack on an American patriot and our commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus. This is a man who has devoted his life in service to our nation and has defended America in many battles over many years. Now he is the target of a despicable attack in one our nation's most visible newspapers. No matter where you stand on the war, we should all agree on the character and decency of this exceptional American. I would hope that the Democratic Congressional leadership and Democratic presidential candidates would also join me in publicly condemning this kind of political attack ad and the organization responsible for it in the strongest terms possible."

Romney: "As many have noted this morning, MoveOn.org's latest outrageous act is an attempt to call into question the reputation and character of General Petraeus even before he testifies in front of Congress. As the Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon writes today, "General Petraeus is a straight shooter." Like the men he commands, he is risking his life to protect our freedoms here at home. We should not prejudge him or his testimony, or give him anything less than the full respect he deserves."

Thompson: "MoveOn.org has today, in effect, said that the General leading our brave troops in Iraq is betraying his country. This is the group that funds the Democratic Party. I call upon the Democratic Party and all of the Democratic candidates for President to repudiate the libel of this patriotic American."

GIULIANI.
"Today, General Petraeus provided the first look at a strategy that is getting results and an Iraq that is making progress. This is only the beginning, which is why we need to continue to listen to the assessment of General Petraeus and others on the ground so we can decide the best course of action going forward." 

Giuliani continued, "The Democrats and MoveOn.org are doing a disservice to Iraq's long-term future by jumping to political conclusions in advance of the General's report.  These times call for statesmen, not political rhetoric."

From NBC's Andy Merten
What was billed as a conference call to discuss John Edwards' new counterterrorism-policy proposal quickly shifted toward the political consequences of today's Petraeus testimony on Capitol Hill. "For over a year, Sen. Edwards has proposed a plan that would withdraw 40- 50- thousand troops immediately," said Michael Signer, the campaign's deputy policy adviser for foreign affairs and national security. He added the familiar line, "There's no military solution; there's only a political solution." Signer went on to prescribe three questions in assessing Petraeus' report today and tomorrow:  1) Has the surge produced progress? 2) If not, when will it? And 3) What is the plan for American soldiers?

Several other of the campaign's security advisers joined Signer on the call. When asked about the specific numbers of remaining forces Edwards would leave in the region if elected, Signer said that exact numbers had not yet been formulated. Gordon Adams, a professor of international affairs at American University and a former member of the Clinton Administration, chimed in: "What we really talked about was how important it was to have quick reaction capability -- to have the ability to be concerned about all the issues that Iraq brings with its location between Turkey, Syria, and Iran." But he added, "We did not get down then to capabilities, talking about numbers of soldiers."

The advisers were also asked about MoveOn's full-page ad in today's New York Times, which has the headline: "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" and which suggests that he is "cooking the books for the White House." But all five participants on the call said that they had not yet seen the ad and declined to comment.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
Earlier this morning, First Read briefly recapped last night's Univision debate, the first presidential debate ever broadcast in Spanish. Here are some additional thoughts...
 
IRAQ.

On Iraq, all of the candidates called for a troop withdrawal -- with Kucinich being the first, and he received a large applause from the audience. Obama, who spoke next, said he (like Kucinich) as against the war from the beginning. Although Kucinich asked for some time to respond, the moderators did not oblige. In fact, the moderators did not allow any time for the candidates to engage one another and debate. Instead, each candidate had time to simply answer his or her question and move on.
 

Richardson restated that his plan differs from those of Clinton, Obama, and Edwards -- since he says no residual troops should be left in Iraq following a withdrawal. "I would bring them all home, everyone of them," the New Mexico governor said. "There is a fundamental difference that I raised in the last debate with Senator Obama, Senator Clinton, Senator Edwards. Under their plans, under their Web sites, they leave either 25- or 50-, or 75-thousand troops behind. I would bring them all home within a period of time of six to eight months because our troops have become targets."

Clinton responded called for a withdrawal after stating that Petraeus' report will not bring about a political solution to Iraq. "I believe we should start bringing our troops home," she said to applause. "We need to quit refereeing their civil war and bring our troops home as soon as possible."
 
Edwards called the Petraeus report a "sales job from the White House," and said since he believes there is no political progress, the troops should be brought home.
 
Gravel and Dodd had the opportunity to respond to a question on capturing Osama Bin Laden. After saying "terrorism is not a war" and "our war on terrorism makes no sense," Gravel called for American organizations to work with international ones such as Interpol and prosecute terrorists as criminals. Dodd said he would focus on rebuilding "coalitions necessary to deal with terrorism."
 
SPANISH.
Some of the candidates were asked about the role of the Spanish language in America. Kucinich called for Spanish to be a second national language. Dodd, a fluent Spanish speaker, took a different approach, saying Americans need to learn more languages and not expect other people around the world to know English. He called Americans' lack of foreign language skills "a source of collective embarrassment" and touted his fluency in Spanish.
 
Richardson, the only Latino in the field, did not directly address the issue. "Latinos are the heart of the American mainstream," he said. "I am very proud to be the first Latino Democratic candidate to run for president. I think any way this country can promote diversity is important. Latinos care about all issues, including health care and the war in Iraq. We are mainstream."
 
But Richardson did show his displeasure in being forced to speak English. "I've always supported Univision all my career, but I'm disappointed today for the 43 million Latinos in country for them not to hear one of their own speak Spanish is unfortunate," he said. "In other words, Univision has promoted English-only in this debate."
 
IMMIGRATION.
A large percentage of the questions were devoted to immigration. All of the candidates promised to work on comprehensive immigration reform within their first year of their presidency. Clinton, Obama, and Dodd -- who all voted for the fence on the border with Mexico -- were asked why there is no discussion about a border fence with Canada. Slightly caught off guard, they answered indirectly and instead touted their work toward comprehensive immigration reform, calling for more border security, employer verification systems, and a pathway to citizenship.
 
"I do favor more security on the border," Clinton said, "and in some cases a physical border because that has to be part of securing our borders." Dodd said that instead of focusing on a wall, it is important to understand why people immigrate and to help the Mexican government provide for their own citizens so they do not have to come to American for employment. 
 
Richardson, an opponent of any wall, repeated a line that audiences often receive well. "If you're going to build a 12 foot wall, you know what's going to happen? A lot of 13-foot ladders."
 
OTHER THOUGHTS.
All of the Democratic candidates except Biden attended. Biden, who recently returned from a trip to Iraq, said he needed the time to prepare for a Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Petraeus report tomorrow.
 
Richardson and Dodd, as the two fluent Spanish speakers of the group, had an opportunity to benefit from the debate. Dodd's campaign was the first one out with a press release, stating he displayed a "depth of understanding and experience." Less than ten minutes later, the Richardson campaign sent out a release declaring Richardson the winner. They were the only two candidates to send out press releases -- unlike after other debates, when all of the campaigns often send out multiple releases touting their successes.
 
Clinton and Obama each received nine questions while Edwards, Dodd, and Richardson got eight. Gravel and Kucinich were each asked seven questions.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum

The Omaha Press Club room Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) used to announce his retirement was decorated with caricatures of prominent figures, including one of fellow famous Nebraskan Johnny Carson and one of himself. As expected, he formally announced his plans. "I'm here with my family this morning to announce I will not seek a third term in the United States Senate nor do I intend to be a candidate for any office in 2008," he said.
 
But Hagel was not expecting a particular ominous sign to occur during his announcement. While speaking about his work in the Senate, one of the caricatures came tumbling down, missing Hagel but landing with a thump on the ground. 
 
Hagel noticed the caricature that fell was of him and said, "It's not a good sign." After some laughter, Hagel admitted, "I would have preferred to have someone else tumble down ... [but] I think we made the point rather emphatically."
 
Hagel said he will "leave the Senate with the same enthusiasm and sense of purpose and love of country" as when he started and promised to finish out his term with the same hard work he has done for the past 11 years.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) has filed papers to withdraw his guilty plea following a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.

"[A] spokesman for the agency that operates the airport says Craig's plea has been entered and accepted," the AP reports. But he says, "From our standpoint, this is already a done deal."

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Julia Steers 
*** So Now It's Wait Until March? While it might not have the national buzz of Britney at the VMAs (or the altercation there between Tommy Lee and Kid Rock), Washington finally gets the moment it has been waiting for: General Petreaus' report on Iraq. While Petraeus will recommend withdrawing about 4,000 troops by December and getting down to the pre-surge troop level by next August, he will also say -- per today's New York Times -- what to do after that shouldn't be decided for another six months (in March). Who does the public trust more with resolving the Iraq war? Sixty-eight percent say military commanders. Twenty-one percent say Congress. Five percent say the Bush Administration. Any wonder why the Administration is happy that Petraeus is getting all of the attention? And any wonder why some Democrats are trying to tie Petraeus to Bush? Will the public ultimately view Petraeus as a Bush surrogate or a military surrogate?

VIDEO: NBC's Political Director Chuck Todd offers his first read on the Petraeus Iraq report and the 6th anniversry of 9/11.

*** The Risk For The Left: Other than drowning our email inboxes with releases, the thing to watch with the presidentials this week is what they latch on to from the Petraeus report. All are likely to find something to back up their own assessment of Iraq. The risk, politically, is on left because the anti-war wing of the party seems ready to simply explode; they are not happy with the compromise chatter coming from congressional Democrats (see today's MoveOn full-page ad in the New York Times). Edwards has tried to give voice to these folks. But what about Clinton and Obama? Will the two sit back and let Edwards snag the angry anti-war voters? Obama's camp is billing a Wednesday address in Iowa on Iraq as a major speech. As for President Bush, this is the week he proves that he's NOT a lame duck. He's anything but in a time of war.

*** Losing One Chuck (Hagel) Makes Another Chuck (Schumer) Happy: At a press conference in Omaha today, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) will announce that he will not seek another term next year, nor will he -- as expected -- run for the White House. Believe it or not, Democrats have two decent recruits for this seat, including former Sen. Bob Kerrey (the other is the Omaha mayor). Obviously, Kerrey's potential candidacy gives the race a bit of a celebrity feel (is he REALLY read to move back to Nebraska?). Counting Nebraska, Democrats will have at least SIX excellent pick-up opportunities next year (in Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia are the others), compared with just ONE for the Republicans (Louisiana). Could Democrats expand their current narrow 51-49 majority to a 54-46 or 55-45 one after next year?

"Party Like It's 1993…": Over the weekend, Edwards blasted Clinton on health care. It's worth noting that both Obama and Edwards have been attempting to single out Clinton's health-care reform failure from 1993. Clearly, both camps believe this issue undermines the "experience" card that Clinton, to date, has so effectively played. With Clinton expected to unveil the rest of her health-care plan shortly, this '93 line of attack should get more attention in the weeks to come.

*** A Smooth Launch? Fred Thompson takes his announcement tour to South Carolina today, after already visiting Iowa and New Hampshire. Frankly, no state may be more important to Thompson than South Carolina, so extra scrutiny of the enthusiasm quotient is deserved. So how did his last few days go? Well, on Friday, he made this un-Reagan-like statement about the Bin Laden videotape: "Bin Laden is more symbolism than anything else." After GOP rivals McCain and Romney issued statements saying, respectively, that "My presidency will be Al Qaeda's worst nightmare" and "Osama Bin Laden is the face of evil," Thompson released a statement later that night calling for Bin Laden "to be caught and killed." Uh, oh. And on Sunday, a report came out that Thompson, in 1992, billed about three hours for his law firm's client who was representing two Libyan intelligence officials charged in the Pan Am 103 bombing. The good news? There was no Wesley Clark flub. The bad news? It still wasn't a smooth launch.

*** On The Trail: Elsewhere today, Clinton is in Boca Raton, FL, where she will discuss her agenda for seniors; Dodd appears on both CNN's Situation Room and MSNBC's Hardball; McCain raises money in Virginia; and Richardson raises money in Colorado and California.

Countdown to LA GOV election: 40 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 57 days
Countdown to LA GOV run-off (if necessary): 68 days
Countdown to Iowa: 126 days
Countdown to SC GOP primary: 131 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 148 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 421 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 498 days

Per NBC's Mike Viqueira, Petraeus and Crocker will testify before the joint House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees at a hearing beginning at 12:30 pm. There will be a total of 107 members (!) combined at this hearing, including GOP presidential candidates Hunter, Paul, and Tancredo. The chairs and ranking members (Democrats Skelton and Lantos and Republicans Hunter and Ros-Lehtinen) will give five-minute opening statements, followed by opening statements from Petraeus and Crocker. Then all the members will be allowed five minutes to question the pair.

The New York Times: "General Petraeus … has informed President Bush that troop cuts may begin in mid-December, with the withdrawal of one of the 20 American combat brigades in Iraq, about 4,000 troops. By August, the American force in Iraq would be down to 15 combat brigades, the force level before Mr. Bush's troop reinforcement plan. The precise timing of such reductions, which would leave about 130,000 troops in Iraq, could vary, depending on conditions in the country. But the general has also said that it is too soon to present recommendations on reducing American forces below that level because the situation in Iraq is in flux. He has suggested that he wait until March to outline proposals on that question."

Pegged to the Petraeus report, a New York Times/CBS poll finds that 62% believe the Iraq war was a mistake; 59% say it's not worth the cost or loss in lives; and nearly two-thirds say the US should reduce its troops there now or withdraw them. That said, "Americans trust military commanders far more than the Bush administration or Congress to bring the war in Iraq to a successful end, and while most favor a withdrawal of American troops beginning next year, they suggested they were open to doing so at a measured pace." 
 
Also, "33 percent of all Americans, including 40 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of Democrats, say Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001."

The Boston Globe: "Two national polls released yesterday indicated that a majority of Americans believe the increased US troop presence has failed to deliver significant improvements in the war-torn country."

Petraeus has been getting all of the attention, but the Washington Post profiles the man who will be testifying at his side: Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. In fact, the Post notes that Crocker's testimony "may carry far more import for the long-term future of Iraq and the U.S. presence there. With little progress to recount in how the Iraqis have used the political 'breathing space' that Bush promised his war strategy would create, Crocker's inevitably more nuanced appeal for time and patience is likely to be the tougher sell."

Not only will Petraeus and Crocker introduce their war assessment today, but TV viewers in four states will be introduced to one of MoveOn's anti-war ads, which features children, "training to be soldiers in an 'endless war,'" reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The ad, part of MoveOn.org's $12 million ongoing anti-war campaign is rivaled by a pro-war $15 million TV ad campaign, featuring the burning World Trade Center and produced by former Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer's group, Freedom's Watch. 

On Sunday, the New York Times wrote that seven months after Bush's troop surge began, "Baghdad has experienced modest security gains that have neither reversed the city's underlying sectarian dynamic nor created a unified and trusted national government… To study the full effects of the troop increase at ground level, reporters for The New York Times repeatedly visited at least 20 neighborhoods in Baghdad and its surrounding belts, interviewing more than 150 residents, in addition to members of sectarian militias, Americans patrolling the city and Iraqi officials. They found that the additional troops had slowed, but far from stopped, Iraq's still-burning civil war."

In a Saturday op-ed in the Washington Post, Richardson wrote, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have suggested that there is little difference among us on Iraq. This is not true: I am the only leading Democratic candidate committed to getting all our troops out and doing so quickly… Let's stop pretending that all Democratic plans are similar. The American people deserve precise answers from anyone who would be commander in chief. How many troops would you leave in Iraq? For how long? To do what, exactly?"

Per NBC's Lauren Appelbaum, in the first presidential debate ever broadcast in Spanish, the issues were not solely focused on Hispanic areas -- as candidates also answered questions on troop withdrawal in Iraq, health care, and education, in addition to questions on immigration and relations with Latin America.
 

The debate was broadcast on Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language network. Anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas asked candidates questions in Spanish, which were then translated into English. Each candidate spoke in English -- regardless whether the presidential hopeful speaks Spanish, although Dodd and Richardson (both who are fluent in the language) got in a few lines in Spanish before the moderator reprimanded them. All of the answers were simultaneously translated into Spanish for the Univision audience. English closed captioning enabled English viewers to understand the debate.

Some of the reviews… The New York Times: "The three leading candidates, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois and former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, had especially sharp criticism for leaders of the Republican Party. They expressed concerns that Republicans were enabling anti-immigrant feelings and even racist attitudes, or at least not taking a tougher stand against them."

The AP: "In the first presidential debate ever broadcast in Spanish, the protracted war in Iraq competed for attention with the swirling argument over immigration."

The format itself didn't get great reviews. The Miami Herald: "No major gaffes occurred, but the on-air translation of the candidates' answers into Spanish was spotty at times. 'It detracted tremendously from the quality of the debate,' said Eduardo Gamarra, director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean studies at Florida International University. Gamarra, who led a focus group of 19 young Hispanic Democrats who watched the debate, also criticized the candidates for giving vague responses."

By the way, don't forget to check the ratings on this forum. Univision gets big numbers in certain markets (including Miami and L.A.). Don't be surprised if Univision nabs more viewers for this debate than some that have appeared on cable.

CLINTON: She "rallied with rescue workers yesterday in support of a bipartisan bill to expand medical monitoring and treatment for New Yorkers exposed to the filthy Ground Zero air after the 9/11 attacks," the New York Post reports.

On Saturday, the Washington Post took an extensive look at the Clintons' ties to the Indian-American community, and how the issue of outsourcing has helped Clinton politically with Indian-Americans -- but has caused her some problems in her courtship of labor.

Also over the weekend, the New York Times did its version of the "who is Norman Hsu" story. Reading it, one gets the sense that many Democratic campaigns are going to find more tainted money. The big question: How many donations did others make to candidates that Hsu repaid? And campaign finance investigations linger for months, if not years, though voters usually don't seem to care as much as the media.

DODD: The Connecticut senator was the subject of the weekly Q&A in the New York Times Magazine. 
 

EDWARDS: Per the AP, here's Edwards hitting Clinton over the weekend on health care: "For more than 20 years, Democrats have talked about universal health care. In 1993, Democrats controlled both chambers in Congress" and voters had elected "a president who actually had the courage to propose a plan for universal health care. It was completely killed" by lobbyists for insurance companies and the health care industry, Edwards said. "You don't have to take my word for it," he said. "You can ask the person who was in charge." That, of course, would be Clinton, her party's presidential front-runner.

Clinton's campaign fired back. "Voters aren't looking for which Democrat can launch the angriest attacks on other Democrats," spokesman Howard Wolfson said via e-mail. "They are looking for the candidate with the strength and experience to bring real change to Washington on day one, and that's Hillary Clinton."

Here's an "ouch" story if we ever saw one. The Columbia State looks at Edwards' ties to a subprime lender who may foreclose on at least 130 South Carolina homeowners. The lender in question was a subsidiary of Fortress (the hedge fund Edwards worked at part-time a few years ago). This is the same lender that the Wall Street Journal reported on last month and noted the foreclosures taking place in New Orleans. Here's the Edwards response in THIS article: "Edwards' campaign spokeswoman Teresa Wells told The State last week any lender that uses deceptive practices, hidden fees and abusive terms 'are predatory, and (Edwards) opposes these shameful lending practices that compromise our economic security as a nation and hurt working families.'"

She said Edwards never "invested a dime with Green Tree, never worked for Green Tree and had nothing to do with its operation." Unlike the earlier Wall Street Journal piece, there's no promise in here of Edwards personally dipping into his pocket to bail out folks.

An interesting nugget from the AP's Ron Fournier, who learned that Edwards keeps a list of possible cabinet appointments with him, and it includes "more than one" Republican. Edwards: "I want to be ready for when I get sworn in."

RICHARDSON: He tried some awkward one-liners in Las Vegas. The AP notes there were "groans" and "tepid chuckles." 
 
The Columbia State looks at Richardson wooing union leaders in South Carolina. The paper describes him as "a large man with an intense gaze," who "had made a positive impression."

OBAMA: The Los Angeles Times does a profile-type story about Obama's political past and concludes, "From Chicago to Springfield, his past is filled with decidedly old-school political tactics -- a history of befriending powerful local elders, assisting benefactors and special interests, and neutralizing rivals. Obama may be packaged as something new among presidential contenders, but in this town where politics is played like a blood sport he fit right in." That's music to Clinton and Edwards' ears.

On Sunday, the New York Times wrote about Obama's 2000 congressional primary loss to Rep. Bobby Rush (D). "The episode revealed a lot about Senator Obama -- now running for president, against the odds again and with a relatively slim résumé. It showed his impatience with the frustrations of his state Senate job; his outsize confidence; his fund-raising powers; his broad appeal; and his willingness to be what Abner J. Mikva, a former congressman and supporter, calls 'a very apt student of his own mistakes.'" It also showed his difficulty wooing working-class African Americans. 

By the way, this piece sparks a thought we've noted before: Candidates who have experienced a loss at the ballot box usually handle the bumps in the presidential road a bit easier. Check out the last 12 presidential nominees, all of them experienced a ballot box loss before their successful nomination.
Bush 43 ('00 and '04) House race in '78
Kerry ('04): House race in '72
Gore ('00): presidential race in '88
Clinton ('92, '96): gov. race in '80)
Dole ('96): VP in '76 AND '88 presidential)
Bush 41 ('88 and '92): Senate race in '70
Dukakis ('88): gov race in '78
Mondale ('84): VP nominee in '80 loss
Reagan ('80 and '84): presidential in '76

The Oprah fundraiser in Santa Barbara was a who's who in attendance.

"When you have been called, no one can stand in the way of destiny," Oprah said at the fundraiser, per the Chicago Tribune.

On Saturday, in addition to his fundraiser with Oprah, Obama spoke to a crowd of more than 5,000 people in Santa Barbara, CA, NBC's Samantha Mehrotra notes. He focused his speech on change and called for an end to the Bush Administration's policies. "[Americans] are sick and tired of being sick and tired… They are tired of an Administration that seems to be riddled with incompetence." Obama further advocated for change by talking extensively about political reform and the need to "put an end to a certain brand of politics that has come to dominate the scene in Washington." And he addressed talk about his experience (or lack thereof) by saying that "time does not guarantee good judgment."

The Chicago Tribune notes that some of Obama's contributors benefited from one Iowa town's labor woes (due to Whirlpool's acquisition of Maytag). 

GIULIANI: Over the weekend, Gail Collins gave the Giuliani camp a taste of the negative type of coverage it could get this 9/11 anniversary week.

NBC's Chuck Todd took a look at the implications for Giuliani on the potential Bush appointment of Ted Olsen as attorney general.

Giuliani's comment that illegal immigration is not a crime -- but a misdemeanor -- got lots of Drudge play. Will it hurt with the GOP grass roots? Romney and Thompson hope so.

Giuliani told a Florida public affairs program that he opposed efforts to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998. "I didn't think ultimately Bill Clinton should have been impeached," Giuliani told Political Connections, a Bay News 9 program taped Friday. But Giuliani did criticize the Clinton administration for "gutting our military," saying it was the former president's "biggest mistake."

A huge Yankees fan, Giuliani threw out the first pitch at a Rangers-A's game on Saturday. "Wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt and tie," he "took about 25 swings in the batting cage with Rangers first baseman Brad Wilkerson's bat." But note that he also took an implicit shot at Thompson in this quote to the AP: "It should be an important objective. It is not just symbolic," Giuliani said of catching bin Laden. "The mere fact that he's still there inspires some of our enemies."

MCCAIN: McCain will be in New Hampshire on Thursday and Friday at a slew of VFW halls.  Interesting timing -- before and after Bush is planning to speak primetime on Iraq.

ROMNEY: The New York Times examined Romney's change of heart on gay rights -- from his days as Massachusetts politician to conservative presidential candidate.

THOMPSON: NBC/NJ campaign reporter Adam Aigner-Treworgy reports that Thompson will bring his campaign kickoff tour today to South Carolina. He will begin by addressing a group of voters at the Greenville Marriott before traveling to a meet and greet at Doc's Barbeque & Southern Buffet in Columbia. Monday's events come on the heels of the most recent USA Today / Gallup Poll in which Thompson received a modest bump after officially entering the race last Thursday. Giuliani led the field of Republican candidates as he has all year with 34% but Thompson gained three points to come in second with 22%.

The Sunday New York Times: "A little over three years after Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, Fred D. Thompson provided advice to a colleague about one of his law firm's new clients: The man representing the two Libyan intelligence officials charged in the terrorist bombing." 

More from the article: "Karen Hanretty, a spokeswoman for his presidential campaign, said that Mr. Thompson had no authority to decide which clients the firm represented. Mr. Thompson has faced questions about his work for two other Arent Fox clients. He initially denied working on behalf of a family planning group seeking to overturn an abortion counseling ban at federally financed clinics, but billing records showed that he spent nearly 20 hours on the matter. His work on behalf of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the deposed Haitian leader -- a phone call to John Sununu, then the White House Chief of Staff -- has also become fodder for his rivals because of human-rights abuses during Mr. Aristide's presidency."

Thompson seemed to get a decent reception in New Hampshire. He "spoke to party activists at a chili fest in Stratham on Saturday, shook hands at sports bars in Manchester during the Patriots game yesterday, and touted his background as a U.S. attorney and senator at an afternoon rally at Nashua City Hall, where President John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy in 1960.

The Union Leader: "He even signed a magazine that featured Thompson on its cover with the headline, 'Lazy Like a Fox.' 'I'm going to lose more weight on this thing. I'll never get close enough to food to eat it,' he joked with the throng of reporters and photographers chasing him."

Thompson got the MoDo treatment, and it's not pretty. "Fred is not Ronnie; he's warmed-over W. President Reagan always knew who the foe was."

Is the Thompson campaign writing off Iowa and New Hampshire? " 'We're starting out with relatively low expectations' in the early caucus and primary battlegrounds of Iowa and New Hampshire," campaign manager Bill Lacy told the New York Daily News on Sunday. "His team is banking on the later primaries and a sweep of southern and heartland states to overcome the strength of Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Romney in big-city and rust-belt states."

And is Thompson's support already beginning to erode? "Prominent evangelical leaders who spent the summer hoping Fred Thompson would emerge as their favored Republican presidential contender are having doubts as he begins his long-teased campaign," the AP reports.

The Washington Post checks in on the campaign to woo to Gore. "Al Gore's pronouncement that he is likely to endorse one of the Democratic candidates for president before the primary season is over has set off a slew of speculation about who his choice might be. Truth is, the courting of the 'Goreacle' began many months ago. Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Gore huddled in Nashville in December, and Gore has also met with former senator John Edwards (N.C.). Gore and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) conferred as recently as last week. Not surprisingly, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has not met with Gore. Neither has Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) nor New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. The falling out between Gore and the Clintons has become the stuff of political legend."

Keep an eye on the indies and Republicans who will vote in the Democratic primary. Here's an ex-Reagan voter explains why she's casting a Dem ballot in the primary.

NBC/NJ campaign reporter Carrie Dann notes: A slow day in Iowa today, but things heat up starting tomorrow. Tuesday, John McCain launches his "No Surrender" tour in Sioux City; Barack Obama is in the eastern part of the state starting Wednesday; Huckabee has a Thursday meet-and-greet near Davenport; and Biden is in town starting on Thursday (schedule TBD.) The weekend, of course, brings two huge events: the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry clash on Saturday, and the 30th Annual Tom Harkin Steak Fry on Sunday.