from NBC's Ali Weinberg
Two days ago, NBC's Betsy Cline followed House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel, asking him repeatedly whether the ongoing investigation into his financial disclsoure forms would affect his performance as committee chairman. The normally polite, calm Rangel snapped at Cline, calling her questions "rude." This encounter underscores the pressure Rangel's been under lately, not just because of the probe itself, but also its political fallout.

When the House tabled a resolution against Rangel last week, two Mississippi Democrats voted against Rangel, suggesting that his support within his party is gradually fragmenting. Last week, Rangel's former campaign manager Vince Morgan announced he is challenging his former boss for the seat Rangel has held for almost 40 years. And donations to Rangel's re-election campaign already seem to be slowing down, as the nonpartisan website OpenSecrets.org reports he has raised "a paltry $685,050," in the first half of 2009, compared with his $6 million haul in 2008.

One of the many Democratic congressmen Rangel has donated money to over the years has reported returning those contributions: Peter Welch (D-VT), who has returned $15,000 of the $19,000 he's raked in through his candidate committees from Rangel.

****UPDATE **** Rep. Welch has returned all $19,000 from Rep. Rangel upon being asked to join the House Ethics Committee, according to Welch's communications director Paul Heintz. The link above goes to the corrected OpenSecrets.org story.

from NBC's Luke Russert and Ali Weinberg
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back on, but did not outright deny, the idea that Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has more influence in the health care debate than the Speaker does. Snowe's vote in favor of the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill is thought by some to have opened the door to the future votes of Democrats from conservative voting districts.

When asked by a reporter today whether Sen. Snowe had more sway than herself, Speaker Pelosi said, "If I may say, a strange question. It is not about who has what kind of influence, it's a question of what is the best approach for America's middle class."

Pelosi also seemed to try to assuage the concerns of labor unions today, saying that all efforts to enact health care reform have the middle class's best interest at heart.
 
Labor unions like the AFL-CIO and AFSCME have criticized the Senate Finance Committee's health reform bill for its tax on high-end insurance plans which, the unions argue, would also end up affecting middle class union workers with generous health benefits.
 
Pelosi said, "I want to send our company to the table with the most muscle for America's middle class. It is about going into that room and coming out with the best coverage and lowest cost for America's families."
 
Addressing another concern of labor unions, many of which advocate a public insurance option, Pelosi said, "a need for a public option is very clear and as I have said, our House bill will have a public option."

from NBC's Kelly Paice
The House Financial Services Committee passed a bill today putting stricter regulations on financial derivatives–a multitrillion-dollar market–in an effort to bring transparency to the system. Derivatives are the complex financial securities that are widely blamed as a major contributor to the recent economic crisis.

"The bill is the first in a series of measures the Obama administration and congressional allies are pushing to remake the financial system," The Hill writes. The committee passed the bill on a vote of 43-26, with lone Republican Rep. Walter Jon (R-N.C.) voting in favor alongside all Democrats. Leaders in the House are hoping for votes in November, however it will likely take the Senate longer to take up the legislation.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the Financial Services Committee, will now turn his focus to the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which Frank said he hoped to complete the markup of the legislation by Wednesday. However, this measure has been "much more contentious," The Hill writes. Republicans and those in the financial sector have shown strong opposition to the creation of a new agency.

from NBC's Betsy Cline
House Republican Leader John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined forces today to repeat their criticism of the Democrats' health care proposal. Boehner said it will create more government bureaucracy at the expense of doctors and patients; McConnell echoed the sentiment, saying the plan calls for higher premiums, higher taxes, and a reduction in Medicare benefits.

McConnell called for a "real" Senate debate "on an effort to restructure one-sixth of our economy." He said Senate Republicans would insist the bill be online for at least 72 hours with a complete CBO score.

Boehner also encouraged President Obama to live up to his campaign promise to conduct the writing of health care legislation in the open. "The president during the campaign last year said that when we got to this part of the process, that it'd be a big open room, that he'd invite in the CSPAN cameras," but instead, Boehner said, "the bill is being written in the dark of night."

After much partisanship on health care, however, Boehner seemingly agreed with President Obama's call for an emergency $250 Social Security check for seniors and disabled Americans. He said he supported the President's call as long as the checks are funded by the stimulus.

from NBC's Chuck Todd
Not to be outdone by GQ's "50 Most Powerful People in DC" list, Congressional Quarterly's Craig Crawford lists CQ's "Top 50 of All Time" on his blog "Trail Mix." 

Who made the list? Well, where would Washington be today without the four construction workers who pried President William Howard Taft out of his bathtub? They rank at #43.

 

from NBC's Pete Williams
The Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was taken to the Washington Hospital Center at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday evening after an apparent adverse reaction to a sleeping aid combined with cold medication she took immediately after boarding an overnight flight bound for London.

Before the plane took off, the court says, she "experienced extreme drowsiness causing her to fall from her seat. Paramedics were called and she was taken to the Washington Hospital Center as a precaution."

Justice Ginsburg was evaluated at the hospital and she was found to be in stable health. Doctors attributed her symptoms to a reaction caused by the combination of a prescription sleeping aid and an over-the-counter cold medication. She was admitted overnight for observation and was released this morning.

 

from NBC's Tanisha Best
In his latest tribute to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, President Obama spoke last night at an event held at the Ritz Carlton for the planned Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. He spoke in front of a group that included Rep. Patrick Kennedy (R-RI) and Kara Kennedy. The Institute will be located at the University of Massachusetts next to the JFK Library and Museum in Boston.

The President spoke of Kennedy's legacy as a man, senator, and mentor. Noting how there were many who entered public service because of Teddy and there were some who refused to leave. He said there could be no greater tribute than to make the institute a reality.

"It will be a living institute where students and teachers and the public can come together and learn about the role and the importance of the Senate that he loved so much. It will be a place where the most significant moments of progress and peril from our history come alive in recreations and seminars and lectures. It will be a place for new Senators and their staff will get a little training."

Also in attendence were Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. 

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, Ali Weinberg and Kelly Paice
*** Nothing's a Big Easy For Obama These Days: Isn't it amazing how LITTLE attention the president's first trip to New Orleans is receiving? Remember when it was the symbol of everything that was wrong with the GOP and everything that was supposed to be right about the Dem Party? BTW, the president may be different but the song remains the same from local officials: the president isn't doing enough. In this case, actually, he's getting decent praise for what his administration has done, and the criticism he's receiving is symbolic. Here's how the Times-Picayune is playing the visit today: "From wheels-down to wheels-up, the stopover will clock in at three hours and 45 minutes, enough time to visit the only school to reopen in the Lower 9th Ward since Katrina, conduct a town hall at the University of New Orleans, and grab a to-go lunch order from Dooky Chase." Both the New York Times and Washington Post pick up on the theme of Gulf Coast leaders criticizing the president on two fronts: staying less than four hours and not visiting Mississippi. Is the criticism fair? No. But remember, image is everything... he's benefitted more from image in the past; this is a rare occasion where he's taking a little heat. Most interesting PICTURE of the day: GOP Governor Bobby Jindal with President Obama. Jindal will greet the president at the airport and appear at the town hall the president will be holding. The president will also tour a school in the 9th Ward. BTW, the optics issue doesn't get better as the president jets off from New Orleans to San Francisco for a fundraiser, overnighting there before flying to Texas and the Bush 41 library.

*** Senior Anger to Grow? There might not be a BIGGER problem for the Obama administration and the Congressional Democrats to deal with going into an election year than the fact that Social Security recipients are NOT receiving a COLA increase. Will the one-time $250 payment be enough? Seniors are as important of a voting bloc as there is, and even more so in lower-turnout midterm election years. That's why this issue of no COLA increase in Social Security payments for the first time since 1975 is potentially so politically explosive. If the president's plan to give a one-time $250 bonus to seniors goes through, it's the equivalent of a 2% COLA increase. It's hard to imagine this idea NOT passing this Congress given the precarious nature of politics in 2010. A drop in senior support has been as problematic for the Democrats and Obama as their erosion in indie support. This news does not help at all.

*** A Healthy Debate: Last night, MSNBC provided as good of a look at the balance the president and Senate Democrats are trying to strike when it comes to passing a health care bill. A few players in the health care debate that represent key groups from both sides of the aisle spoke up. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) told Chris Matthews on "Hardball" that while the Finance Committee bill is the "best effort yet" out of any committees, she was concerned with the proposed Medicare cuts and the lack of choice in plans (there are only four). But she added that a public option would be a "non-starter among many of us on both sides of the aisle." For some unions, however, the public option is exactly the opposite: a "make or break" component of health care reform, as AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said last night on "Rachel Maddow." The labor organization released a newspaper ad with several affiliates yesterday, warning that the unions will "oppose" any bill that does not "address the concerns of working men and women." The challenge now for Democrats is how to court both sides and the groups that come with them. Get Collins to go along with her fellow Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and open the door to a bloc of moderate and conservative Democrats. Get the labor unions and secure some of the progressive House Democrats who are demanding a public option of some sort. BTW, don't let today's New York Times story on the public option go unnoticed because there are blind Obama administration quotes talking up the Snowe-trigger idea.

*** Cable Catnip Alert: Hillary more popular than Obama! So says a new Gallup poll. Actually, this isn't surprising. Consider, Secretary of State Clinton has the benefit of NOT owning a single piece of the domestic agenda. Going inside Gallup's numbers, the main difference is that Clinton is holding her own among indies and ONLY has 65% of GOPers viewing her unfavorably. Had Clinton still been in the Senate playing point, let's say, on health care, would her numbers be this good? The best thing, politically, she may have done is taken herself off the political stage by going international.

*** The Daggett in Christie's Heart?  Not surprisingly, we got a lot of response to our conparisons of NJ Gubernatorial independent candidate Chris Daggett and ex-MN independent Governor Jesse Ventura. Just to clarify, we weren't "predicting" a Daggett win. We simply were pointing out how similar the political environments are-were in NJ and MN. Are there a lot of key differences? Of course. The biggest being how difficult, for instance, New Jersey's ballot rules are (the order of independent candiates is picked out of a hat in each district), let alone the financial hurdle the New York City media market provides. Both major parties, not just in Jersey, but nationally should be concerned about Daggett's ease in being taken seriously by voters. As the approval ratings of both parties plummet, the yearn for many voters to look for third party alternatives is going to grow. Daggett's success, whether it's because he nabs 15 or 30 percent, should be a red flag that a competent anti-party establishment, pro-reform message resonates. BTW, the Republican Governor's Association is up with both radio and TV ads trying to tie Daggett to Corzine which, according to Politico's Jonathan Martin, is causing some heartburn on the Christie campaign as there is nervousness about elevating Daggett's name too much. What to watch for with Daggett: if ANY big name politician offers up support for him; the guy is in desperate need of well-known verifiers if he wants to become more than just a Christie spoiler.

Despite concerns about the whirlwind nature of the visit, Senator Mary Landrieu, (D-LA), set the generally upbeat and expectant tone on the eve of the historic occasion that will, at least for the better part of a day, train the eyes of the nation once again upon New Orleans and the aftermath of the most devastating disaster in American history."

Interestingly, the president will have GOP Governor Bobby Jindal join him at the NOLA town hall he's holding. Jindal was hoping for a private meeting, but he'll greet the president at the airport and the two may have private time to chat in between events. Jindal plans to press hardest for more federal subsidies for Medicaid.

A classic example of a visual overshadowing work behind the scenes: The Obama administration has gotten mostly universal praise for its work on Gulf Coast recovery but because his first visit to New Orleans is less than four hours and the visit doesn't include other parts of the Gulf Coast, in particular, Mississippi, he's getting some heat. Fair? No. But remember, image is everything... he's benefitted more from image in the past; this is a rare occasion where he's taking a little heat.

The Washington Post on what the administration has done behind the scenes.

"Obama has repeatedly sent Cabinet secretaries into New Orleans, often with money to jump-start stalled projects. White House officials say they have cut red tape and loosened $1.5 billion in assistance that was stuck in the federal pipeline. They say more than 3,500 people have been moved to permanent housing.

But civic leaders are grumbling that the president's scheduled five-hour visit to the hurricane- and flood-damaged area -- his first since taking office -- is not sufficient to communicate his concern.

"A town hall event and a mystery stop? That's it?" the Times-Picayune newspaper editorialized last week before the trip was finalized and a school tour was added. "The White House plan for President Barack Obama's first post-election visit to New Orleans seems to be lacking in substance and fun."

On the P.R. front, has anything been more of a problem for this administration than the fact that the private insurance alternative to Medicare is called "Medicare Advantage"? And so it sounds like they are cutting all Medicare?

The New York Times has blind administration quotes speaking favorably about the Snowe-trigger public option idea.

As banks and other industries continue to make huge profits using financial derivatives, the House Financial Services Committee will vote today to rein in the use of such products. Next on the committee's agenda is the creation of a new federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a central part of President Obama's efforts to overhaul the regulatory system.

Another insurance-sponsored study warns of a weak individual health care mandate that will, the study finds, increase premiums by 50 percent after five years of health care reform. This one is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield and released by Oliver Wyman Inc.

The leader of the House Progressive Caucus, Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) said yesterday that attracting moderate Republicans to a health care proposal would be a "waste of time," and that removing controversial provisions like the public option from the bill would result in a lack of support in the House.

The political difficulty for Democratic leader Harry Reid: garnering 60 votes by balancing the needs of 60 yea-voters, and also thinking about what legislation will help him (and Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut) get re-elected in 2010.

Karl Rove pens an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal warning that the Baucus health care bill would dangerously increase the deficit despite some fancy magic work to make it appear to the contrary. "Democrats who support any final bill are at risk. They'll be held responsible for the mess that quickly emerges as premiums rise, taxes balloon, deficits soar, mandates expand, and government power grows. Mr. Obama's problem is that his Magic Kingdom Health Care World is colliding with reality. There is a big cost to any large government expansion—and the ways to cover the cost of Mr. Obama's plan are limited, unpopular, and sure to anger Americans once they are fully understood."

The Wall Street Journal looks at the frustration amongst union leaders over the healthcare plan and has them running ads opposing a bill that doesn't include a public option. "Gerald McEntee, president of the AFSCME, another co-sponsor of the ads, said he is counting on the House, but voiced more frustration. 'We worked like hell in 2006 to have the House go Democrat. We worked in all the other years for Democrats. Now we've got a Democrat in the White House and we expect some positive things. It looks like we catered to Sen. [Olympia] Snowe. My God, she's a Republican, I thought we won,' he said."

But senior Democrats won't take the union attacks lying down.

"Speaker Nancy Pelosi is seeking to modify the House healthcare legislation to bring centrists around to the more liberal government-run insurance option, hoping that will give her the strongest negotiating position with the Senate," writes the Hill. "She said that if House Democrats pass the public option liberals support, they could ultimately have the more centrist version of the provision when the final bill is hashed out in conference with senators, according to some of those in attendance. But many centrists doubt that, and many would prefer no public option at all... The strategy of pushing the bill to the left in order to improve the House's bargaining position in conference is supported by liberals. But centrists, like the leaders of the Blue Dog Democrats, call it a politically dangerous strategy that will cost Democrats seats in the 2010 elections."

Tasked with coming up with the final health care bill, the Reid-Baucus-Dodd trifecta met with White House officials for the first time yesterday to hash out details -- the biggest one being whether or not to include that pesky public option.

There might not be a BIGGER problem for the Obama administration and the Congressional Democrats to deal with going into an election year than the fact that Social Security recipients are NOT receiving a COLA increase. Will the one-time $250 payment be enough?

"How quickly the $250 proposal could be enacted is uncertain. Partisan wrangling in Congress has been intense, holding up even relatively uncontroversial bills, such as the proposal to extend jobless benefits for three more months.

The stopgap measure passed the House more than three weeks ago, and Senate Democrats last week offered a version that would extend benefits another 14 weeks for the long-term unemployed in every state, plus six more weeks for those in the hardest-hit states. But legislative aides said Senate Republicans, concerned about adding to the deficit with short-term borrowing to fund the measure, were still working on amendments to the bill."

BTW, the AP notes the $250 comes up to about a 2% increase for Social Security recipients.

Administration officials said Obama wants to "generally" pay for the bill, but did not specify how he will fund it.

Some details of how the $800 billion stimulus was spent will be released today. Vice President Biden is going to Missouri to highlight the auditing process.

"Recipients of stimulus grants, loans and contracts -- which make up about a third of the total package -- were required to file at the start of the month their first reports on how they spent the money and how many jobs were created. On Thursday, the government's http://www.recovery.gov Web site is slated to post the reports for all federal contracts awarded so far, and at month's end, it will post reports for all grants and loans awarded."

More: "Both stimulus supporters and skeptics will be poring over the reports for evidence of the impact of the spending, one of the most charged questions hanging over President Obama's agenda. The White House estimated when the bill was enacted in February that it would create or save 3.5 million jobs, and administration economists estimate that it has saved or created 1 million positions so far. Skeptics note the rise in unemployment to nearly 10 percent; the White House says things would be much worse without the stimulus."

And here is what will be near impossible to prove: the overall job creation number... here's why:

"Others say the reports being released this month will underscore the challenge of trying to quantify the jobs being created. Initial recipients of the stimulus money, and any government or company that they pass it on to, must report how they use the funds and how many jobs they create. But the reporting requirements do not apply to additional levels of contractors who receive the money."

Anyone else see this story and go, "seriously"?

The Washington Times reports, "Almost nine months after the Obama administration took power, more than half of the 33 highest-level Treasury Department posts are still vacant.

Among those nominated by the White House but still awaiting Senate confirmation are the undersecretaries for international and domestic finance and the assistant secretaries who oversee international development, financial markets and tax policy.

The delays are in line with those under other administrations, but with the economy struggling to recover from the deepest downturn since the Great Depression, the demands for sound policy decisions from the Treasury are anything but ordinary."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 for the first time in a year yesterday, finishing at its highest level since October 3, 2008. "On the floor of the venerable NYSE, the push above 10000 was met with a round of applause in a more subdued reaction to the first move above that level in March 1999. Traders took out their old paperweights and hats from the late 1990s."

In honor of the Dow closing above the 10,000 mark, the Boston Globe has a look at where the country was when the industrial average first hit that mark in 1999. 

The public will get its first report card on how the stimulus package is doing.

MIDEAST PEACE: Palestinians are as pessimistic as ever about the peace process. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas' domestic political standing is in BIG trouble.

AFGHANISTAN: The Washington Post reports that President Obama is not only focusing on the military aspect of the Afghanistan war but the civilian one in part because of concerns over the legitimacy of recent presidential elections there. "Although the discussions also include making a decision on whether to deploy tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops, an administration official said the president was 'very focused on the complexity of the situation' Wednesday -- looking past the military aspect of the equation and toward the civilian effort. Another official said the focus on the civilian effort grew out of a sense that the United States needs to better cultivate Afghan leaders and institutions."

IRAN: Khamenei in a coma? Blogs are rampant with speculation that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is in a coma or dead:

The UK's Telegraph newspaper on the rumors.

And The Jerusalem Post.

The stress of hearings into his spotty financial disclosures is starting to show on normally cool-as-a-cucumber House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel. Yesterday, he snapped at NBC's Betsy Cline as she hounded him about whether the ethics investigation into his financial disclosures would affect his performance. "I wish you wouldn't do that," Rangel told Cline, brandishing a rolled up piece of paper at her face. "I know it's your job and I don't blame you, but it's so rude."

And responding to news that his former campaign director Vincent Morgan is planning a bid to take over the seat the representative has held for almost 40 years, Rangel called the challenge "serious," adding: "If he's been preparing, he's done a great job at keeping it undercover, even when he was working for me."

Rangel's indisputably had a tough run the past few weeks, which got some wondering yesterday why he was meeting with the House chaplain off the chamber floor. Rangel insists the chaplain had come to him with a problem. The embattled representative also denied the stress from the ethics scandal has caused him to lose wait, attributing his svelte appearance to a new healthier diet.

The Republican National Committee's new website, GOP.com, got quite a "drubbing" from both the left and right-leaning blogs and pundits that by the end of the day, RNC Chairman Michael Steele changed his blog name from "What Up?" to "Change the Game." The site has also spawned some new applications like HammerandSteele.com, which allows a user to type a URL into a box labeled "Show me Steele!" to behold a walking, talking mini-Michael Steele from an introductory video on the RNC website.

NEW JERSEY: Governor Jon Corzine's approach to independent candidate Chris Daggett, who has lately been picking up a bit of steam, seems to be: keep your friends close and your kind-of enemies closer. Writes Politico's Jonathan Martin: "Among Corzine advisers, there's no question about what to do about Daggett—leave him alone. "Daggett makes our point for us in a lot of ways," said a Corzine adviser, citing the independent's attacks on Christie for not offering more specific tax and spending proposals.

Still, Corzine's senior officials don't want to see Daggett's numbers rise much further. The more serious a candidate he becomes, the more the pro-abortion rights and Sierra Club-endorsed Daggett may eat into the kind of center-left voters Corzine needs to eke out a win.

In his analysis of whether the New Jersey gubernatorial race is a toss-up, Roll Call's Stuart Rothenberg writes that as Democratic candidate Gov. Jon Corzine is not "gaining" on Republican nominee Chris Christie, Christie is slipping in the polls and independent candidate Chris Daggett is "the single best thing to happen to Corzine politically." Rothenberg writes, "In a two-man contest against Christie, the governor would have little chance to win. But a three-way race presents a very different dynamic." Recent polls have shown Daggett gaining support; however Rothenberg points out that Daggett has two disadvantages playing against him: the fact that independent candidates often lose support toward the end of a race because supporters don't want to "throw away" their votes and the issue of where his name will be placed on the ballot in each county. Rothenberg says, "Unlike Corzine and Christie, who are guaranteed one of the top two positions on the ballot in each county, Daggett's ballot position in each county was decided by random drawing." Daggett will be placed third on the ballot in two major counties, Gloucester and Bergen -- a good thing for him; however, in the others, his name will be mixed in with the nine other Independent and third-party candidates.

With the race for the New Jersey governor's seat in a dead heat, things got a little heated up on the campaign trail yesterday. Democratic nominee Gov. Jon Corzine went on the defensive saying that his staff is not "playing politics with job-creation claims" after a memo was released showing "a top aide instructing cabinet officers to orchestrate events showcasing job creation -- even if it is 'a stretch,'" The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports. His Republican challenger Chris Christie responded that the situation should be investigated and it is an example of how the governor is playing with numbers for political purposes. All while Democrats again hit Christie with his exorbitant travel expenses that repeatedly exceeded federal guidelines while Christie was U.S. attorney. Independent candidate Chris Daggett criticized the two mayor-party candidates for their back and forth attacks, as Daggett tried to keep his eye on the prize yesterday and focused on key issues.

It was announced yesterday that the president will make a second visit to New Jersey to campaign for Democratic candidate Gov. Jon Corzine. He will appear at a rally at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Hackensack, N.J., CQ Politics reports.

VIRGINIA: The Washington Post reports that President Obama made a stop in Virginia yesterday, but NOT to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds. The president was in Fairfax County, Virginia, to visit a parkway extension and to talk about stimulus spending. This comes after recent speculation about "whether the president is trying to limit his exposure in the swing state in anticipation of a possible loss by Deeds," the Post writes. However, the Deeds campaign responded that it's not unusual for the president to make quick hops over to neighboring Virginia -- and former vice president Al Gore will be doing an event for Deeds on Friday, the Post reports.

The Hill writes that "perhaps nowhere else will the strategy of tying incumbents to Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama be more front-and-center" in the re-election race of Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss). "In other words, a year and a half after Childers's special-election win symbolized Democrats' continued momentum leading up to the 2008 campaign, his fate going forward could symbolize their decline."

NYC MAYOR: Less than 10 hours after they appeared in a debate together, Mayor Mike Bloomberg's campaign had already released an ad attacking challenger Bill Thompson for "running away from his record." The ad uses clips pulled right from the faceoff Tuesday night, and features Thompson saying seemingly contradictory things about his records including about the school system: "I led a reform effort," of the school system, he said, of which he was president from 1996 to 2001. A minute later, he says of the board: "No one was in charge."

Bloomberg might be giving his own opponent a leg up, as the mayor's multimillion-dollar ad campaign against city comptroller Bill Thompson is giving him more exposure than he would ever have been able to buy with his $3.8 million spent so far.

TEXAS GOV: Governor Rick Perry's recent rehashing of the controversial 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham has given his leading challenger Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison a way to criticize Perry while reaffirming her own support for the death penalty. Studies have found that the investigation of arson at Willingham's home had major flaws, but Rick Perry has received national attention by calling Willingham a "monster" and defending the execution. Hutchison told the AP yesterday that she thinks "everyone of the people who believe in the death penalty would want to know we are using DNA evidence and the best technology." Her campaign added this week that Perry's statements are "giving liberals an argument to discredit the death penalty."

NEVADA SEN: The RNC announced it is running a new radio ad in the Reno media market criticizing Vice President Biden and Senator Harry Reid for their "failed economic experiment" and mocking the $4,800-a-couple fundraiser the two will appear at in Reno this evening. Reid is already facing a tough re-election bid with several major contenders entering the race and national approval numbers falling.

CA-10: Uhh… oops? A mailer sent out by John Garamendi, (D) the California lieutenant governor who is bidding for the 10th district special election, targets the wrong guy. He's not David Harmer the candidate, but David Harmer the director of the California Department of Community and Economic Development. The icing on the cake? Not-David-Harmer got slammed for something he said in 2004.

The Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus is accusing the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) of planting CAIR interns in key Congressional national security panels. Representative Paul Broun (R-GA) said he was very concerned about "an organization connected to or supporting terrorists running influence operations or planting spies."

Many folks on the right are crying foul about how Rush Limbaugh was treated during his short-lived bid to buy the St. Louis Rams. Just askin' though, is this a case of what goes around, comes around. Guilt by association, being a victim of twisted facts and name-calling? Doesn't make it right what happened to Rush but...

from NBC's Luke Russert
Today the House of Representatives passed the Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009, 409 to 11.

The bill requires that commercial airline pilots have an FAA airline transport license, which is given to pilots who have mastered flight training and have 1500 hours of in flight time. The bill also requires that the FAA teach pilots safety maneuvers in the event of a stalling. Also, airlines will now have to disclose on a passenger's ticket whether they will be traveling on a separate commuter jet company that is contracted by the larger commercial airline company.

Passed with huge bipartisan support, the bill was brought on by the terrible crash of Continental Connections Flight 3407 that occurred in February over Clarence Center, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. The crash of Flight 3407 is now believed to have been a case of pilot error, specifically brought on by the inexperience of pilots hired by Colgan Air, an airline that was contracted by Continental for the short flight from Newark, NJ to Buffalo, NY.

Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) and Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY), who represent the Congressional districts that cover Western New York, passionately pushed for the bill's passage on the floor of the House. Both representatives will hold a press conference today with family members of some of the fifty people lost in the crash.

from NBC's Luke Russert
At his weekly off camera pen and pad session with Capitol Hill reporters, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) would not guarantee that a healthcare reform bill would be passed by Christmas. When asked by NBC News if reform would pass by the holiday, Hoyer said, "Can I guarantee that? No. Do I think it will? Yes."

Responding to another question about healthcare reform timing and the Christmas holiday, Hoyer said, "Healthcare, we want to get that done, although I don't guarantee it, certainly we are going to get it done in the House. And I'm hopeful that during this next month and half we will be working with the Senate…once they decide what they are going to do and what we are going to do, we'll talk about how we are going to resolve differences that we have."

Hoyer also predicted that financial regulatory reform would start to take shape in the next month, "Barney Frank's committee is working and focused on regulatory reform. It's going to start marking up this week and it's going to be focusing on the administration's proposal in addition to other issues related to derivatives and credit default swap."

Hoyer went on to say Frank's Financial Services Committee would work towards "the establishment of a consumer financial protection agency. That agency is designed to focus from a consumer perspective as opposed to a financial institutions operational standpoint."

According to Hoyer, the regulatory reform bill should be on the House floor "within the next three to four weeks."

from NBC's Andrea Mitchell
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today expressed skepticism about sanctioning Iran over its nuclear program. Putin made his comments in Beijing, in what will be widely viewed as a diplomatic rebuke to the U.S. and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton just wrapped up a two day trip to Russia and is now flying back to DC.

"There is no need to frighten the Iranians," Putin told reporters in Beijing after a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organizatin, the AP writes. "And if now, before making any steps [towards holding talks] we start announcing some sanctions, then we won't be creating favorable conditions for them to end positively. This is why it is premature to talk about this now," he said.

Clinton had her own difficulties over Iran on the trip, as Russia's hardline Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov restated his opposition to sanctions yesterday. Later yesterday, she met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who did not publically disagree with his Foreign Minister.

Privately, according to State Department officials traveling with the Secretary, Medvedev repeated assurances that he'd given President Obama at the UN: that sanctions would be unavoidable if Iran did not disclose its nuclear program.

Following up on commitments made in Geneva two weeks ago, Iran is supposed to meet next week in Vienna with International Atomic Energy Agency experts to discuss turning over its declared low-grade enriched uranium to Russia for reprocessing--eliminating that  part of the stockpile from any potential future weapons fuel use.

Iran has also commited to invite IAEA inspectors into its Qom facility by October 24th, and to meet again with Western diplomats before the end of the month.

from NBC's Luke Russert and Ali Weinberg
House Armed Services Committee Ike Skelton (D-MO) reaffirmed his support for General Stanley McChrystal's recommendation for a 40,000 troop increase in Afghanistan today, as President Obama meets today for a fifth time with his military advisers on devising a new strategy.

Speaking at a hearing on Afghanistan, Skelton said, "General McChrystal's recent assessment presents a sober, serious view of the situation in Afghanistan and the challenges we face," Skelton said. "He also presents one possible way forward, a fully resourced, population-centric counter-insurgency campaign that would protect the population, build the Afghan security forces, and work to improve the government. As my colleagues know, I am a strong supporter of this approach."

Video: Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright explains with President Obama has yet to make a decision on troop deployment to Afghanistan

Skelton's support for McChrystal's plan puts him at odds with his counterpart, Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI), who favors a focus on strengthening Afghan troops by sending in 2,000 to 3,000 American trainers. Skelton acknowledged suggestions by Levin and others that go against the McChrystal plan.

"Others disagree however," Skelton said. "We can find sober and serious people who advise that we risk getting bogged down in an unwinnable war and that focusing on capturing and killing al Qaeda leadership is the right approach. Others suggest that our primary mission should be to train and equip more Afghan security forces and that we should not add U.S. troops to the 68,000 already there or on the way."

Skelton referenced the approval in key House and Senate committees, including his own, that any new Afghanistan plan will need: "I believe [President Obama] feels the same sense of urgency we all feel, and I hope we can all support his desire to make sure we get Afghanistan right. Congress, however, will also ultimately be involved in this decision," Skelton said.

from NBC's Luke Russert
After their weekly caucus meeting on Capitol Hill, the GOP leadership attacked President Obama and Congressional Democrats for not doing enough to bolster the floundering U.S. economy.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) said, "The American people want to see this Congress begin to focus on policies that will create economic growth and opportunities for working families small businesses and family farms."

Pence continued, "The American people are tired of runaway federal spending, borrowing, bailouts and take-overs and Republican solutions will be built on the fundamental strength of a free market economy."

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) decried the emphasis on healthcare reform saying, "While Washington continues to focus in on this big government plan and healthcare debate, the American people are wondering, where are the jobs?"

When asked by a reporter if recent stock market gains amounted to a rebounding economy, Boehner responded,

"Anybody who thinks the stock market is an indicator of where the economy is today, they are totally not talking to the American people. The American people understand that unemployment is almost at 10%, they understand that they might be next. So this concern about the economy is real. So while the stock market is reacting, I think it is a reaction to the dramatic decline we saw late last year…The American people are not looking at the stock market in terms of putting food on the table, they want jobs and they want them now."

On a day where the GOP sought to focus on the economy, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) delivered the party line on the recently passed Baucus bill regarding healthcare reform in the Senate.

"The Baucus Bill has passed we got groups, members of both sides of the aisle and the other body, groups such as the unions running full page ads against the bill, warning Americans that this bill will add to their healthcare cost. The 84% Americans that have insurance will experience a significant increase to their health insurance if this Baucus Bill were to pass and be signed into law," Cantor said.

Look for the GOP to continue to refer to the U.S. economy as unemployment hovers around 10%.

From NBC's Whitney Bright
At a medical technology conference this morning, Former President Bill Clinton commended yesterday's Senate Finance Committee vote on its version of the health care bill. He said, "We have to say thanks to Senator Baucus and Senator Snowe for getting this done." Clinton said he is sure that a bill will pass this time: "Republicans can't filibuster in the Senate. If there were 45 Republicans in the Senate, Senator Snowe's vote wouldn't matter."

Clinton stressed that passing health care reform is an economic necessity and that yesterday's vote is the beginning of a long process to passing a final bill. He referred to the defeat of his efforts to pass health care reform in 1994 -- a defeat due to partisan opposition: "This time the numbers are different. We have Snowe and if we don't lose any Democrats...then katy bar the door!"

From NBC's Kelly Paice
As the Senate continues its debate on health care reform, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) released a statement today saying that she supports the efforts of Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) to pass the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill yesterday; however, she expressed concern over the bill in general.
 
Sen. Collins said that the Senate Finance Committee's bill "represents a substantial improvement over the costly and flawed alternative approved by the Senate Health Committee as well as the House bills." However, she continued, "Nevertheless, the Senate Finance Committee's bill falls short of the goal of providing access to more affordable health care for all Americans. The goal of health care reform must be to rein in costs and provide consumers with more affordable choices. Yet, many individuals and families would be forced to pay more for their health care under the Finance Committee bill, and they would have fewer choices."
 
The senator also expressed her concern that the Finance Committee's bill could hurt small businesses and could discourage them from adding more jobs. Also, Sen. Collins said she is concerned about how the legislation would affect Medicare: "I am troubled that the legislation would cut nearly $500 billion from Medicare, which provides care for our oldest Americans and our most vulnerable citizens. ... It should not be the piggy bank for new spending programs when revenues are needed to shore up the current program."
 
Senator Collins expressed her disappointment that the Finance Committee did not do more to contain costs, which she suggests "should have been one of the most important goals of this bill." The senator remains "hopeful" for a health care reform bill to be passed that "protects affordable health care choices, safeguards Medicare, and reduces costs to the consumer and the taxpayer especially at a time when we simply cannot afford to pay more."