From NBC's Doug Adams
The White House today released a letter from eight former Democratic and Republican U.S. solicitors general in support of Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court. The letter, sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, includes all the solicitor generals from the past 25 years, including Republicans Ken Starr and Ted Olson.

In the letter, the former solicitors general argue that even though Kagan has never served as a judge, her experience as solicitor general gives her "a deep understanding of and appreciation of the Court." They note that the job allows her to "grapple with almost the full gamut of issues that become before the Supreme Court, and requires an understanding of the Court's approach."

In conjunction with release of the letter, the White House held a telephone conference call with Paul Clement, who served as George W. Bush's solicitor general, and Seth Waxman, who served the same position in the President Clinton's second term.

Both Clement and Waxman made the point that the solicitor general is often called the "10th justice," and that "it's hard to imagine a position that would lead to an easier transition" to SCOTUS justice. Indeed, there have been four justices who served as solicitor general -- William Taft, Stanley Reed, Robert Jackson, and Thurgood Marshall.

The AP with the breaking news:

Judge blocks offshore drilling moratorium imposed by Obama administration after Gulf spill.

Developing....

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Pete Williams has more on this story: Obama administration officials say they will move immediately to block the effect of a federal judge's order today on the offshore drilling moratorium.

Judge Martin Feldman of New Orleans, acting on a request from a group of oil drilling and related service companies, today enjoined the federal government from enforcing the six-month ban on new and existing offshore drilling operations that was imposed by the Interior Department on May 28. He said the moratorium went too far and would have a permanent and harmful effect on the economy of the Gulf states. "It is only a matter of time before more business and jobs and livelihoods will be lost," as a result of the moratorium, he said.

"The blanket moratorium, with no parameters, seems to assume that because one rig failed and although no one yet fully knows why, all companies and rigs drilling new wells over 500 feet also universally present an imminent danger" -- an assertion, Judge Feldman said, that is not supported by the evidence submitted by the government.

The judge said the government's legal brief trivialized the potential harm to the region's economy by saying that only a small portion of drilling rigs are affected by the moratorium. "The effect on employment, jobs, loss of domestic energy supplies caused by the moratorium as the plaintiffs (and other suppliers, and the rigs themselves) lose business, and the movement of the rigs to other sides around the world will clearly ripple throughout the economy in this region," he wrote.

As a practical matter, no company is going to resume drilling on the strength of this ruling, because the legal landscape could easily shift again. The Obama administration will now seek to get the judge's order put on hold while it prepares to take the issue to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

In non-McChrystal news, the Democratic National Committee says it is airing its second TV ad highlighting GOP Rep. Joe Barton's apology to BP -- as well as other Republican voices criticizing the Obama administration's tough talk and action directed at BP.

The ad, per the DNC, will run on national cable.

From NBC's Mark Murray
In today's White House press briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs declined to say if Gen. Stanley McChrystal's job is safe after incendiary comments by him and his anonymous aides in a Rolling Stone profile of the general.

"The president will speak with Gen. McChrystal about his comments, and we'll have more to say after that meeting [tomorrow]," Gibbs said.

When Gibbs was read the passage in the profile -- in which McChrystal is described by an aide as not believing Obama was "engaged" on Afghanistan -- he responded: "The president looks forward to speaking with him about that article."

Gibbs later described Obama as being very angry about the article.

From msnbc.com's Tom Curry
As commander in chief, the president has the right to remove a general from command “any time he sees fit,” said World War II general Omar Bradley. Dismissing an insubordinate, indiscreet, or incompetent general can sometimes provoke controversy.

Some notable cases:

Gen. George McClellan, 1862
President Lincoln repeatedly urged McClellan to pursue and attack Confederate forces. After the battle of Antietam, McClellan allowed the Confederate army to slip back into Virginia. “Are you not over-cautious when you assume that you cannot do what the enemy is constantly doing?” Lincoln asked McClellan in a letter a month before firing him in 1862. McClellan ran as the Democratic presidential candidate on a peace platform in the 1864 election, winning 45 percent of the popular vote, but only three states.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Louis E. Denfeld, 1949
Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson fired Denfeld, the Chief of Naval Operations and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after he told a House committee that the Navy was being dangerously weakened by decisions by Johnson and President Harry Truman that were uninformed and "arbitrary." Johnson had cancelled the building of a new aircraft carrier and wanted to emphasize strategic bombing instead of naval operations.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur, 1951
Commander of United Nation forces in Korea fighting the North Korea and Chinese armies, Gen. MacArthur defied Truman in 1951 by issuing a statement which scuttled cease-fire negotiations with the Chinese and criticizing Truman’s policies saying, “There is no substitute for victory.” Truman dismissed MacArthur, who returned to the United States to a hero’s welcome.

Maj. Gen. Robert L. Schweitzer, 1981
Schweitzer was fired from his White House job on President Ronald Reagan's National Security Council staff because he failed to get advance approval of a speech declaring that ''the Soviets are on the move, they are going to strike.'' Schweitzer also said the Soviets had gained nuclear superiority and the United States is ''in the greatest danger that the republic has ever faced since its founding days.''

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Dugan, 1990
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney dismissed Dugan after he openly said that in the event of war with Iraq, the Air Force would bomb Baghdad and target Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, his family and his palace guard. Dugan’s comments came five weeks after Saddam’s armies invaded Kuwait. Cheney told reporters that Dugan's statements were "inappropriate" and showed "poor judgment at a sensitive time." Dugan was the first member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be dismissed since Denfeld in 1949.

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski and Richard Engel
A senior military official tells NBC News that Duncan Boothby, a civilian on Gen. McChrystal's public relations staff who was apparently responsible for setting up the Rolling Stone interview, has resigned.

The official adds, however, that it appears Boothby was "asked to resign."

In addition, NBC spoke to Michael Hastings, the author of the Rolling Stone profile on McChrystal. He's in Afghanistan on an embed with the U.S. military now, and he's just learning the details about the impact his article is having.

Hastings says he stumbled onto unprecedented access with McChrystal. After McChrystal's press advisers accepted a request for the profile, Hastings joined McChrystal and his team in Paris. It was supposed to be a two-day visit, followed up with more time in Afghanistan.

The volcano in Iceland, however, changed those plans. As the ash disrupted air travel, Hastings ended up being "stuck" with McChrystal and his team for 10 days in Paris and Berlin. McChrystal had to get to Berlin by bus. Hastings says McChrystal and his aides were drinking on the road trip "the whole way."

"They let loose," he said. "I don't blame them; they have a hard job."

Hastings then traveled with McChrystal in Afghanistan for more time. What was supposed to be a two-day visit, turned into a month, in part due to disruptions of the volcano.

Hastings says McChrystal was very "candid" with him and knew their conversations were for reporting purposes. "Most of the time I had a tape recorder in his face or a notebook in my hand," he said.

Hastings says most of the critical comments, which are now causing a stir, were said in the first 24 hours or so. "It wasn't a case of charming him into anything," Hastings said.

Below are some of the more revealing -- and newsworthy -- passages in Michael Hastings' Rolling Stone profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

On ticking off others:

The general prides himself on being sharper and ballsier than anyone else, but his brashness comes with a price: Although McChrystal has been in charge of the war for only a year, in that short time he has managed to piss off almost everyone with a stake in the conflict.

On Vice President Biden, a critic of the surge in Afghanistan:

Now, flipping through printout cards of his speech in Paris, McChrystal wonders aloud what Biden question he might get today, and how he should respond. “I never know what’s going to pop out until I’m up there, that’s the problem,” he says. Then, unable to help themselves, he and his staff imagine the general dismissing the vice president with a good one-liner.
“Are you asking about Vice President Biden?” McChrystal says with a laugh. “Who’s that?” “Biden?” suggests a top adviser. “Did you say: Bite Me?”

On President Obama:

Even though he had voted for Obama, McChrystal and his new commander in chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked “uncomfortable and intimidated” by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn’t go much better. “It was a 10-minute photo op,” says an adviser to McChrystal. “Obama clearly didn’t know anything about him, who he was. Here’s the guy who’s going to run his f&%$-ing war, but he didn’t seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed.”

On other politicians and advisers:

But part of the problem is personal: In private, Team McChrystal likes to talk sh&% about many of Obama’s top people on the diplomatic side. One aide calls Jim Jones, a retired four-star general and veteran of the Cold War, a “clown” who remains “stuck in 1985.” Politicians like McCain and Kerry, says another aide, “turn up, have a meeting with Karzai, criticize him at the airport press conference, then get back for the Sunday talk shows. Frankly, it’s not very helpful.” Only Hillary Clinton receives good reviews from McChrystal’s inner circle. “Hillary had Stan’s back during the strategic review,” says an adviser. “She said, ‘If Stan wants it, give him what he needs.’”

On Af-Pak envoy Richard Holbrooke:

McChrystal reserves special skepticism for Holbrooke, the official in charge of reintegrating the Taliban. “The Boss says he’s like a wounded animal,” says a member of the general’s team. “Holbrooke keeps hearing rumors that he’s going to get fired, so that makes him dangerous.

In conclusion, on the war:

So far, counterinsurgency has succeeded only in creating a never-ending demand for the primary product supplied by the military: perpetual war. There is a reason that President Obama studiously avoids using the word “victory” when he talks about Afghanistan. Winning, it would seem, is not really possible. Not even with Stanley McChrystal in charge.

McChrystal profile in Rolling Stone is likely to spark another Washington crisis for the White House – over Afghanistan… McChrystal apologizes… Four questions to ponder about the profile… Breaking down today's Super Runoff Tuesday contests… Polls close in South Carolina at 7:00 pm ET, in North Carolina at 7:30 pm ET, and in Utah at 10:00 pm ET… Orszag to step down as OMB director in July… Team McCain's hit on J.D. Hayworth… And Mark Kirk and Sharron Angle run away from the press.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Here comes the Afghanistan debate: Just as the Obama White House was getting the tiniest bit of breathing room on the Gulf spill -- the criticisms it has received have died down since last week -- it's now facing another potential Washington crisis: the war in Afghanistan. A Rolling Stone profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal could very well ignite a debate that was bound to explode, sooner or later. In this Rolling Stone profile, an anonymous McChrystal aide describes Obama as not being engaged; an aide calls national security adviser James Jones "a clown": an aide refers to Af-Pak envoy Richard Holbrooke as a "wounded animal" who is "dangerous"; and McChrystal criticizes U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry ("Here's one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, 'I told you so'"). What's more, McChrystal also takes a swipe at Vice President Biden in the profile. ("Are you asking about Vice President Biden? Who's that?").

*** McChrystal's apology and return home: The irony here is that McChrystal has received almost everything he has wanted from the Obama White House. And this is the repayment? Especially over a war that's not viewed all that favorably by the president's base? McChrystal has offered this apology: "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened… I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war, and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome." A senior administration official tells NBC's Savannah Guthrie that McChrystal has been ordered to appear at tomorrow's monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan in person in the situation room -- rather via teleconference -- where he will have to explain to the Pentagon and the commander-in-chief his quotes in the piece about his colleagues.

*** Some questions to ponder: Here are additional questions we have. Does President Obama fire McChrystal, or does the general end up resigning? (Remember that Obama already dismissed the original top commander in Afghanistan.) Does this turn Afghanistan into a political football? (Who will be the first to use the criticisms aired in the Rolling Stone profile against the White House or the president personally?) Does this incident re-open other past McChrystal controversies (like his handling of the Pat Tillman investigation)? And finally -- and perhaps most importantly -- does it give us additional evidence of how the war in Afghanistan is going? (It's doubtful this kind of story would surface if the war was going well.)

*** Super Runoff Tuesday -- five stories to watch: Today, there are runoff contests in Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Utah (Utah's races are technically primaries, but because they feature the top-two finishers from last month's party conventions, they're essentially run-offs). Here are five storylines to watch. One, will Nikki Haley win South Carolina's gubernatorial runoff? (If she becomes the next governor, she could play an important king-/queeen-making role in this important presidential-nominating state.) Two, is the GOP going to add some diversity? (Wins by Haley, an Indian American, and Tim Scott, an African American, in the congressional runoff would give the GOP some diversity in a state not known for it, especially on the Republican side; Scott is running against Strom Thurmond's son, Paul.) Three, who will likely be Sen. Bob Bennett's successor in Utah? (Tim Bridgewater and Mike Lee are competing for that honor.) Four, who will face GOP Sen. Richard Burr in the fall? (Elaine Marshall and Cal Cunningham are facing off here; remember, no senator holding THIS particular NC SEN seat has successfully won re-election since 1974!) And five, are we going to see another incumbent go down to defeat? (South Carolina GOP Rep. Bob Inglis is the underdog in the runoff for his congressional seat.)

*** 'Who Knows?' Tuesday: The Cook Political Report's Jennifer Duffy is dubbing today's run-offs as "Who Knows?" Tuesday. The reason: While Haley, Bridgewater, and Marshall are considered either strong favorites (in Haley's case) or slight favorites (for Bridgewater and Marshall), run-offs are very unpredictable -- as we found out in Arkansas earlier this month when Blanche Lincoln beat Bill Halter. Duffy makes another point: "If Bridgewater does win the primary, it does say that Bennett's endorsement [of Bridgewater] was hardly the kiss of death, and just reinforces that Bennett's defeat at the convention was at the hands of Tea Party types who don't represent a majority of Republican voters." Polls close in South Carolina at 7:00 pm ET, in North Carolina at 7:30 pm ET, and in Utah at 10:00 pm ET.

*** Dangerously close to a trend: Here's one question to consider on this runoff day: If both Inglis and Gresham Barrett (who is running against Nikki Haley) lose, how much would their pro-TARP votes and their status as members of Congress be to blame. Remember, not only have we seen incumbents already lose their primaries (Bennett in UT, Mollohan in WV, Specter in PA, and Griffith in AL), we've also seen senators and members of Congress running for higher office lose (Kay Bailey Hutchison in TX and Artur Davis in AL). So memo to John Kasich, Pete Hoekstra and Nathan Deal: It's not a great environment to be a congressman or ex-congressman running for governor in this political climate.

*** Orszag's departure: Last night, NBC confirmed the news that OMB Director Peter Oszag will step down from his post next month. This would make Orszag the first cabinet-level appointee to depart. He leaves with a good reputation for his actual work in office, but a mixed reputation for how he allowed his personal life to become tabloid fodder.

*** Obama today: At 11:15 am ET, President Obama attends a meeting with health insurers and state insurance commissioners. The New York Times says Obama "plans to sternly warn industry executives at a White House meeting on Tuesday against imposing hefty rate increases in anticipation of tightening regulation under the new law." At 3:15 pm, he meets with Defense Secretary Gates (closed to the press), and then delivers remarks at an LGBT event at the White House at 6:00 pm.

*** Team McCain hits Hayworth: In Arizona's GOP Senate primary, John McCain's campaign delivered a blow to J.D. Hayworth, distributing a 2007 video of Hayworth as an infomercial pitchman. Per Talking Points Memo, "In 2007, shortly after Hayworth lost his re-election battle in 2006, Hayworth appeared in a half-hour infomercial for the National Grants Conferences, a program set up by a company called Proven Methods Seminars, which advertises itself as running seminars in which people can find out how to get grant money from the federal government -- which the infomercial's on-screen text pitched as being 'FREE MONEY' in quotes." Ouch.

*** I ran, I ran so far away…: Here's another trend we're spotting: High-profile Senate candidates who are facing questions about their records are running away from the press -- literally. Here's how Crain's Chicago Business covered GOP Illinois Senate nominee Mark Kirk yesterday: "Mr. Kirk literally ran out the hotel door rather than answer questions about a host of recent reports that he repeatedly has exaggerated his experience and credentials." And in Nevada, a local NBC affiliate essentially begged -- on air -- for GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle to answer its questions in an interview. "We publicl nowy ask Sharron Angle for an interview to discuss the issues that she is running on and why she believes that she would be make the best senator for Nevada," the news anchor said.

*** Haven't gotten enough of political TV ads? Be sure to check out msnbc.com's new application to view the hottest TV ads this midterm season -- PoliticalAds.msnbc.com

Countdown to AL run-off: 21 days
Countdown to GA primary: 28 days
Countdown to OK primary: 35 days
Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 42 days
Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 49 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 133 days

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"It seemed the most unremarkable of votes. By a tally of 90 to 0, the US Senate recently approved President Obama’s nomination of a Missouri magistrate judge, Audrey Fleissig, to the federal district bench," The Boston Globe reports. "To win approval, however, Fleissig had to overcome months of delays secretly engineered by Republicans. Even Senator Claire McCaskill, the Missouri Democrat who recommended Fleissig, says she has no idea which of her GOP colleagues held up the vote. Now the fallout over the four-month wait for Fleissig’s approval -- and other nominees’ similar long waits, all of which create extended vacancies -- has spawned action. McCaskill has persuaded at least 65 senators to sign a petition calling for the end of a practice that allows any single senator to hold up bills or nominations anonymously."

The New York Times: “President Obama’s nominee to run Medicare and Medicaid, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, is a man with a mission, a preacher and a teacher who has been showing hospitals how they can save lives and money by zealously adhering to clinical protocols for the treatment of patients. Hospital executives who have worked with Dr. Berwick describe him as a visionary, inspiring leader. But a battle has erupted over his nomination, suggesting that Dr. Berwick faces a long uphill struggle to win Senate confirmation.”

From NBC's Ellie Hall and Mark Murray
Republican J.D. Hayworth, who is challenging Sen. John McCain in Arizona's GOP Senate primary, encouraged viewers to attend seminars that would teach them how to apply for "free money" federal grants in a 2007 infomercial.

Per Talking Points Memo, "In 2007, shortly after Hayworth lost his re-election battle in 2006, Hayworth appeared in a half-hour infomercial for the National Grants Conferences, a program set up by a company called Proven Methods Seminars, which advertises itself as running seminars in which people can find out how to get grant money from the federal government -- which the infomercial's on-screen text pitched as being 'FREE MONEY' in quotes."

Hayworth campaign spokesman Mark Sanders told the Arizona Republic that the former Congressman "did a couple of commercials" for the company and "hasn't had any relationship with them that has continued since then." Sanders also pointed out that John McCain accepted $9,400 from National Grants Conference's boss during his presidential campaign.

Per the Arizona Republic, National Grants Conferences was criticized in 2007 for "deceptive advertising" by 32 state attorney generals.
*** UPDATE *** McCain spokesman Brian Rogers responds to the Hayworth spokesman: "We actually donated the money to charity as soon as we found out about it. Sen. McCain had more than 1.5 million donors and raised $400 million in 2008. Let's be clear: JD Hayworth lent his name and the his credibility as a former Member of the U.S. Congress to help an obvious rip-off scam. Sen. McCain never did. There's no comparison to be made here."

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
On the Senate floor this afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell hit White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel over his recent comments that Rep. Joe Barton's (R) controversial apology to BP highlights the GOP's "governing philosophy."

Said McConnell:

Now, I noticed that the President's chief of staff had some ideas over the weekend about how to frame up the November elections. I can't think of a better example of how detached Democrats seem at the moment from the concerns of the American people. Americans want to know what's being done to fix a broken pipe at the bottom of the Gulf - not what's being done to fix the elections. The White House might view the upcoming election as its biggest crisis at the moment. But the American people are focused on fixing this pipe and cleaning up this mess.

Two months of delays and bureaucratic red tape have done nothing to solve this crisis - but they've done a lot to discredit the kind of big-government solutions that Democrats continue to promote. And every day the oil continues to flow is a day Americans' faith in government ebbs.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) office announced today that he filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit granting an injunction to stop President Obama's moratorium on deepwater drilling.

The brief argues that states are entitled to participate in the policy and decision-making process by the federal government on issues relating to the exploration and development of Outer Continental Shelf minerals and requires the Secretary of Interior to cooperate with affected states. The brief states, "Inasmuch as the State of Louisiana was completely ignored by defendants in the establishment of this moratorium for alleged safety reasons, the question arises whether that failure renders Defendants' action invalid."

Per the New Orleans Times-Picayune: "U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman said today that he will decide on whether to issue a preliminary injunction against the six-month deepwater drilling moratorium by noon Wednesday."

From NBC's Ken Strickland and Mark Murray
You are forgiven if the BP spill -- as well other pressing issues -- made you forget that we have a Supreme Court confirmation fight this summer.

Indeed, SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan's Senate confirmation hearings start one week from today -- on Monday the 28th.

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that Monday's start time will be 12:30 pm ET.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Like it or not, the 2012 presidential campaign season is already underway. Right now, we're in the nascent stage of the cycle where folks are asking: Will he/she run?

A new 8,300-word New Yorker profile asks that question of Mike Huckabee. Among the nuggets in the piece (some of which we had already heard):
-- Huckabee is now registered to vote in Florida, not his native Arkansas
-- He has gained weight since his '08 campaign days, though he doesn't weigh the 300-odd pounds he once weighed
-- Former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt says some VERY nice things about Huckabee.

In some ways, Huckabee seems like a promising candidate for 2012: a squeaky-clean family man and bona-fide Christian who loves to talk. His communication is folksy but fluid; he never seems flummoxed, like George W. Bush, or befuddled, like John McCain, or unprepared, like Sarah Palin. “If we’re running a race against their most articulate guy,” Steve Schmidt, John McCain’s former campaign manager, told me, referring to President Obama, “we should put our most articulate guy. Huckabee’s that guy.” Schmidt, who has traded barbs with Palin since the election, said, “There’s no one who really provides a better contrast to Sarah Palin, showing her as an entertainer instead of a serious thinker—and there’s not enough oxygen for both of them.”

But the piece also quotes Huck's old gubernatorial chief of staff, Brenda Turner, who doesn't think he'll run in 2012.

Turner suspects that Huckabee will not run for President in 2012. “He’s actually living the dream that he’s always had, starting on radio at fourteen and loving TV like he does,” she said. “If he runs, it would have to be a calling, and it couldn’t just come from supporters; he’d have to feel the Lord was calling him. I don’t feel like he has that urgency.”

From this reporter's impression after covering Huckabee in '08: He was a tremendous performer, and the best and most natural speaker/debater among the '08 GOP hopefuls. But Huckabee also didn't do the little things that help you win the White House: raise money and build a strong campaign team. If he still is disinclined to do those little things, you've got to wonder if he really wants to make a second bid for the White House in 2012.

Rahm uses BP and Barton to paint midterm contrast with GOP… The choice vs. the referendum… Dem candidate airs TV ad against Bachmann over BP comment… When leisure becomes a political issue… Previewing Run-off Tuesday… Mark Kirk’s latest exaggeration/misstatement… And another poll has Charlie Crist in the lead.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Rahm’s contrast: Over the weekend, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel made it clear that Democrats would use GOP Rep. Joe Barton’s apology to BP, as well as his criticism of the oil company’s $20 billion escrow account, against the Republicans in the fall. “There is a choice that Joe Barton has offered the American people, a philosophy for the Republican Party, which is that BP is the aggrieved party,” Emanuel said on ABC. “That's a governing philosophy. In the coming weeks you'll see the president speak to the country about these competing different philosophies. That is, do you have only the energy executives in the room, or do you have energy executives, environmentalists, and other people from the venture capital community to come to a consensus on energy policy? Do you think that BP is the aggrieved party here? Do you think that Wall Street should be left alone and not have any reforms? Elections are about choices.”

*** A choice vs. a referendum: Then again, the incumbent party -- especially facing tough political headwinds -- usually tries to cast elections as a choice. And the opposition typically casts them as a referendum, because referendums are usually losers for the party in power. In fact, Emanuel, when he was head of the DCCC during the ’06 cycle said this: "At the end of the day, this is a referendum on whether you think the next two years should be like the last six years.” In ’06 and ’08, the referendum argument won the day. In ’02 and ’04, the Bush White House was able to win on the “choice” argument.

*** The Dem ad against Bachmann: Some Democrats aren’t waiting until the fall to hit Republicans on BP. Politico reports that Tarryl Clark (D), who’s running a somewhat uphill campaign against GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann, has a new TV ad highlighting the congresswoman’s Barton-esque defense of BP. “It’s BP’s fault and they should pay,” the ad says of the Gulf spill. “But Michele Bachmann calls making BP pay for the cleanup ‘extortion.’” The ad concludes, “Michele Bachmann -- standing up for BP, not us.” Keep in mind: Challengers like Clark need to find a way to stand out, and this is clearly one of those attempts. The question is whether it catches on; we just don’t know yet if attacks on Joe Barton and the GOP re: BP are working.

*** When leisure becomes a political issue: All the criticism that BP CEO Tony Hayward has received for his Yacht outing in the U.K. has given Republicans an opening to whack President Obama for his various leisure activities, including playing golf during the spill -- as he did on Saturday. Indeed, RNC Chairman Michael Steele issued this release yesterday: “While it is fitting and appropriate to look at the yachting activities of the BP CEO, with incredulity, it is equally incredible that President Obama finds himself on yet another golf course as oil continues to spew into the Gulf.” And Democrats made similar attacks from 2001-2008 against George W. Bush (for playing golf, for going on extended trips to Crawford and Kennebunkport). But let’s also get real here: Obama has gone on fewer getaways than Bush ever did , and we assume that critics who are playing the golf/getaway card aren’t going to take any vacations or hit the links and ballparks, right? Still, it's a different media climate now, and it is amazing to see conservatives essentially cut-and-paste some Bush attacks (that they use to pooh-pooh) and re-apply to Obama. While optics matter, does anyone really think either the previous president or this one isn't constantly aware of the problems they are facing?

*** Run-off Tuesday: Tomorrow brings us another round of primary contests, and they have this in common: They’re run-offs in some form or fashion. In North Carolina, Elaine Marshall (D) and Cal Cunningham (D) compete for the right to challenge Sen. Richard Burr (R) in the fall (in the May primary, Marshall got 36%, and Cunningham got 27%). In South Carolina, Nikki Haley takes on Gresham Barrett in the run-off for the GOP gubernatorial nomination (Haley got 49% in the June 8 primary, and Barrett got 22%). And in Utah, Republican Senate candidates Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater face off in what’s technically a primary, but it’s essentially a run-off between the top-two finishers from the May GOP convention, in which incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett finished third. A new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll shows Bridgewater with a nine-point lead over Lee, 42%-33%, with 25% undecided.

*** The latest hit on Kirk: The exaggeration/misstatement hits keep coming for Illinois GOP Senate nominee Mark Kirk. On Saturday, the New York Times reported that the leader of an upstate New York church where Kirk claimed he worked as a nursery school teacher said he didn’t serve as a teacher there. “He was never, ever considered a teacher,” the leader told the Times. “He was just an additional pair of hands to help a primary teaching person.” The paper added, “Mr. Kirk’s background has come under fresh examination after his apology this month for errors and discrepancies about his military record. A review of public comments by Mr. Kirk over the last decade shows that he has often referred to himself in speeches, campaign commercials and interviews as a former nursery, middle and high school teacher. He taught for a year in London at a private school, after getting his master’s degree at the London School of Economics." When is this going to end for Kirk? Giannoulias may be a flawed candidate, but his campaign's ability to cut Kirk as many times as it has shows the Democrat has a first-rate campaign. By the way, Vice President Biden stumps for Giannoulias at 3:00 pm ET in Chicago.

*** More midterm news: In Florida, yet another poll shows Charlie Crist leading the three-way Senate contest: The Florida Chamber of Commerce survey has Crist at 42%, Marco Rubio at 31%, and Kendrick Meek at 14%... In Nevada, Sharron Angle has a new Web ad that punches back at Harry Reid (although the fact that she’s hitting back via the Web and not paid advertising highlights her financial disadvantage against Reid).

Countdown to UT primary and NC and SC run-offs: 1 day
Countdown to AL run-off: 22 days
Countdown to GA primary: 29 days
Countdown to OK primary: 36 days
Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 43 days
Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 50 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 134 days

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Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
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On Sunday, the New York Times profiled Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. “Now, for the second time in five years, Mr. Barbour finds himself in a highly visible role during a Gulf Coast catastrophe. As he nears the end of his eight-year stint as governor, Mr. Barbour’s performance could help shift his political image from that of an insider party boss to an out-front crisis manager — and possible presidential candidate in 2012.”

“The phone in Sen. John Thune’s office is about to start ringing -- a lot,” Roll Call reports. “The South Dakota Republican -- who also leads the Senate GOP Policy Committee and is widely viewed as a 2012 presidential contender -- is up for re-election this year. But no Democrat or Independent filed to run against him, leaving him with plenty of time and money to help Republicans win seats this November as the party seeks to regain a true sense of relevancy on Capitol Hill.”