From NBC's John Yang
CHICAGO -- The jury in the Rod Blagojevich trial had two questions of the judge:

One was to be provided a copy of the oath they were administered. In federal court, jurors swear to decided the case "upon the law and the evidence." The judge agreed to provide it.

Perhaps more signifcantly, the jury asked how they should fill out the verdict form in case they are unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The judge told them to write a note to that effect on the form and have each juror sign it. They were specificially told NOT to indicate the numerical division of the jury on those deadlocked counts.

The judge said it appears the jury could return a verdict this week and so asked that Blagojevich be within 30 mionutes of the courtroom.

Body language: The defense team was smiling broadly, the proscution looked very grim.

msnbc.com's Tom Curry previews President Obama's fundraising trip to Seattle today and dives into what is likely to be a competitive Senate race:

SEATTLE — When President Barack Obama touches down here in Seattle on Tuesday, he will come face-to-face with yet one more reminder of the electoral threats facing his Democratic Party in the runup to this fall's midterm elections.

Starring at two Seattle fundraisers Tuesday for Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Obama is coming to the aid of a Democrat who in an ordinary year would likely be cruising toward election to a fourth term in the Senate.

But with a sickly economy and a somewhat dispirited Democratic base, Murray's re-election no longer appears to be assured.

As in other traditionally Democratic states such as Wisconsin and California, Murray is a three-term Democrat in a perilous race. The latest public poll shows her with just a three percentage point edge over her likely Republican opponent, Dino Rossi. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Murray's race a tossup.

What may also be making this a race is Rossi's style. "One of the things about him is that his manner is easy-going and moderate," said Seattle-based pollster Stuart Elway, who has conducted voter surveys in the state since 1975.

For more, click here.

From NBC's Mark Murray
The Karl Rove-backed group, American Crossroads, is spending nearly $1 million on two new TV ads in Colorado's and Ohio's Senate contests.

The ad in Colorado, at a buy of $425,000 in the Denver and Colorado Springs markets, hits incumbent (and appointed) Sen. Michael Bennet (D).

The ad in Ohio, at a $500,000 buy in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati, is a positive profile of GOP nominee Rob Portman.

From NBC's John Yang
CHICAGO -- Rod Blagojevich could soon ask for U.S. taxpayers to pick up his legal fees.

He had been using money from his campaign fund to pay his legal team, but a $73,693 payment on Friday cleaned out that account, which had started out at about $2 million in cash. That means the former governor, who is reportedly about $200,000 in debt, may ask the court for public money to pay for his defense at the same $110-an-hour rate that public defenders are paid. The court could order Blagojevich to first sell personal assets.

From NBC's John Yang
CHICAGO -- The greatest threat to Republican Senate candidates in Illinois could well be ex-wives.

In 2004, GOP nominee Jack Ryan dropped out after divorce records surfaced in which his ex-wife alleged he took her to sex clubs and pressured her to have sex in public. That election made a U.S. Senator out of a little-known state lawmaker named Barack Obama.

Some wondered if Illinois voters were in for another episode when the divorced wife of this year's Republican nominee, Mark Kirk, gave a scathing interview to Chicago magazine saying she'd never support her ex-husband as long as consultant Dodie McCracken was part of the campaign.

Kimberly Vertolli called McCracken a "Svengali" who pushed Kirk to the far right and suggested she was responsible for the 2009 divorce that ended Vertolli and Kirk's eight-year marriage.

But, perhaps following Lyndon B. Johnson's advice that it was better to have J. Edgar Hoover "inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in," the Kirk campaign has brought aboard Vertolli as an unpaid adviser.

As an Annapolis graduate, former Navy officer and former CIA lawyer, Vertolli could help Kirk defend himself against charges that he embellished his own military record.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post referred to Vertolli as a paid adviser. The Kirk campaign tells First Read that the congressman's ex-wife will not be paid.

NRCC makes it move, reserving time in 40 congressional districts… The move copies what Dems did in ’06, but it also means that the GOP will be banking on a wave to take back the House… It’s Primary Day in Washington state (where polls close at 11:00 pm ET) and Wyoming (9:00 pm ET)… Obama is in Washington state, where he raises money for Patty Murray at 3:45 pm ET and 5:35 pm ET… NBC/WSJ poll results on reducing the deficit… Emily’s List vs. Palin… And profiling IA-3.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** The NRCC makes it move: Earlier this summer, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it was reserving $49 million in TV airtime in 60 congressional districts across the country, 54 of which are currently held by Democrats. Now, Politico writes, the National Republican Congressional Committee is responding by reserving $22 million in TV airtime in 40 districts, 39 of which are Dem-held seats. Facing a 2-to-1 cash-on-hand disadvantage to its Dem counterpart, the NRCC is concentrating its finite resources on what it considers its top pick-up opportunities, rather than spreading it out among a larger universe of Dem-held districts. In fact, this is exactly what Rahm Emanuel’s DCCC did in 2006 -- focus on a narrow number of districts and hope that outside groups and a wave help elsewhere.

*** 'It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, man! Let me go out there and let me get one wave, just one wave before you take me in': But this also underscores the GOP’s challenge in picking up the net 39 House seats it needs to take back the House in November: Because Republicans likely aren’t going to win in all of these 40 districts, they’re banking on outside groups -- and, more importantly, a wave -- to win control of the House. That said, Republicans tell us this $22 million is only the down payment for its fall advertising blitz. By the way, per Politico, here’s the full list of the 40 districts where the NRCC plans to run its TV ads: AL-2, AR-1, CA-11, CO-4, FL-2, FL-8, FL-24, GA-8, IL-10, IL-11, IN-2, IN-8, IN-9, K-3, KY-6, MD-1, MI-1, MI-7, MS-1, NH-1, NV-3, NM-2, NY-20, NY-24, ND-AL, OH-1, OH-15, OH-16, PA-3, PA-7, PA-11, SC-5, SD-AL, TN-8, TX-17, TX-23, VA-2, VA-5, WV-1, and WI-7.

*** Another Primary Day: President Obama today takes his midsummer campaign tour to Washington state, where he hits two fundraisers for vulnerable Sen. Patty Murray (D) at 3:45 pm ET and 5:35 pm ET. And it just happens to be Primary Day in the state. (A Murray aide tells First Read that the president’s visit on Primary Day is a coincidence.) Interestingly, Washington is a Top-2 primary state, which means that the two candidates who get the most votes -- regardless of party -- advance to the general election. Because of that system, we’ll get an early gauge of Murray’s support (does she get above or below 45%?), as well as the support for the GOP field (which consists of front-runner Dino Rossi, Palin-backed Clint Didier, and Paul Akers). Polls in Washington close at 11:00 pm ET. It’s also Primary Day in Wyoming, where a crowded field of Democrats and Republicans are running to succeed term-limited Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D). The real action is on the GOP side, with state Auditor Rita Meyer (who’s backed by Palin), former U.S. Attorney Matt Mead, state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Micheli, and state House Speaker Colin Simpson (son of former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson). Polls close there at 9:00 pm ET.

*** Two more comments on the mosque story: One, Harry Reid did Democrats (and the White House) no favor when he said yesterday that the mosque shouldn’t be built near Ground Zero; by responding to his opponent, Reid now makes it harder for other Dems to avoid the topic. Two, as former Bush adviser Mark McKinnon said yesterday, how can conservatives claim being protectors of the Constitution if they are going to willingly question aspects of it, like freedom of religion or birthright citizenship?

*** Is the public unwilling to make the tough choices on the deficit? By now, most Americans know that the U.S. budget deficit has ballooned in size. Unfortunately, according to our recent NBC/WSJ poll, Americans aren’t in agreement about the tough choices to reduce it. Just 36% said the general Democratic course of action -- raising taxes on families making over $250,000, raising taxes on multinational corporations, cutting some military spending, and reducing Medicare and Medicaid payments to doctors -- is acceptable. And only 25% said the Republican course -- avoiding tax increases, relying primarily on cutting spending, and slashing Medicare, Medicaid, education, and transportation spending -- is acceptable. What’s more, 71% said they would vote against a ballot measure cutting defense, education, border-control, and environmental spending.

*** Some fixes are more popular than others: Now some individual ways to reduce the deficit are more popular than others. For instance, 74% support making Medicare a more needs-based program; 72% back increasing taxes for multinational corporations; 64% agree to slow the growth of health-provider payments; 58% want to raise the cap on taxable income for Social Security; and 55% support increasing taxes on families who make more than $250,000. On the other hand, 41% want to cut defense weapons systems; 40% support raising Medicare payroll taxes; 36% back raising the Social Security retirement age to 70; 33% want to raise the age for Medicare eligibility; 32% support enacting a new national sales tax (VAT) on consumer goods and services; only 22% support reducing spending on public education; and just 20% back increasing taxes on all Americans.

*** But when you focus on it…: Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal commissioned a focus group in Richmond, VA on ways to reduce the deficit, and its conclusion was that the public IS willing to take drastic steps to fix it. Perhaps this means that the more voters hear about this, the more willing they are to make the tough decisions. “Leonard Anderson, 56 years old, a Richmond, Va., drug-maker engineer and a Republican, said he would be willing to accept a national sales tax to raise revenues. Kimberly Moore, 46, a Richmond Democrat and bank information-technology analyst, said everyone will have to accept budget cuts. And at 67, Paul DesJardins, a Henrico, Va., Republican, said he would accept higher Medicare co-payments and deductibles.”

*** Emily’s List vs. Palin: At 10:30 am ET at the National Press Club in DC, pro-choice Emily’s List is announcing a new campaign called “Sarah Doesn’t Speak For Me,” blasting Sarah Palin and the candidates she’s endorsed this campaign cycle.

*** 75 House races to watch: IA-3: The Democratic nominee is seven-term incumbent Leonard Boswell, and the GOP nominee is state Sen. Brad Zaun. Obama got 54% of the vote in this district in ’08, and Bush beat Kerry here by just 267 votes in ’04. As of June 30, Boswell had $734,000 in the bank, while Zaun had $100,000. Bowell voted yes for the stimulus, cap-and-trade, and health care. Both Cook and Rothenberg rate it Lean Democrat.

*** More midterm news: In Illinois, “Kimberly Vertolli, the ex-wife of Illinois Senate nominee Mark Kirk -- who recently called a top Kirk consultant, Dodie McCracken, a "kind of Svengali figure in his life" -- will begin advising his campaign,” the Chicago Sun-Times writes… And in Iowa, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will endorse 11 new candidates for office in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, Politico reports.

Countdown to WA and WY primaries
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Countdown to Election Day 2010: 77 days

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At the fundraiser in California last night for the DCCC, Obama touted that "he and congressional Democrats have passed the most progressive legislation in decades. 'We have been able to deliver the most progressive legislative agenda -- one that helps working families -- not just in one generation, maybe two, maybe three,' Obama said."

(By the way, the president in California raised $1 million for the DCCC. "The cost to attend the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee event, hosted at the Los Angeles home of 'West Wing' and 'ER' producer John Wells, was $2,500 per person. But co-hosts including J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, Kate Capshaw, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Barbra Streisand paid $30,400 per couple.")

"The immigration judge who granted President Obama’s aunt asylum three months ago based his decision on the fact that an anonymous federal official had disclosed information about her immigration status to the media, a 'reckless' act that exposed her to heightened threats of persecution in her native Kenya, according to the ruling, obtained yesterday by the Globe," the Boston Globe reports.

"Same-sex weddings are on hold indefinitely in California after a federal appeals court blocked them yesterday while it considers the constitutionality of the state’s gay marriage ban," AP writes.

The Hill floats Hillary Clinton as the next Secretary of Defense.

Tom DeLay may not face federal charges, but he still has a case in Texas to go through. The New York Daily News: "He and two associates face money laundering and conspiracy charges in Texas connected to 2002 state legislative elections. A court hearing in that case is set for next week… Prosecutors say DeLay and his co-defendants funneled $190,000 in corporate money through the Republican National Committee in Washington then back to state legislative candidates in violation of state law." DeLay said, "I know this is the price of leadership, but it doesn't have to happen this way. I hope people will look at my case and decide the criminalization of politics and the politics of personal destruction is not beneficial to our country and hopefully it will stop… I still have a trial to go through," DeLay said, referring to the Texas case. "I'm hoping to win that. I know I will."

And of Charlie Rangel, he said, it is "unfair it's taken two years to come to this and right before an election."

"A leader of the generally ridiculed movement which believes President Obama was not born in the United States must pay a $20,000 fine she was slapped with in 2009, the nation’s highest court ruled Monday," the New York Daily News writes. "Orly Taitz, a dentist and lawyer in California, received the fine for a lawsuit she filed in Georgia on behalf of Army Capt. Connie Rhodes, who refused to be deployed to Iraq, arguing that the orders weren't legitimate since Obama is not eligible to be President. The judge in that case called the lawsuit 'frivolous,' and accused Taitz of wasting the court's time."

"Congressional districts held by Democrats are taking a harder hit from the housing crisis than those represented by Republicans," The Hill reports. "According to a new report from Deutsche Bank, districts held by Democrats have an average serious delinquency rate of 9.9 percent. Districts held by Republicans, in contrast, have an average serious delinquency rate of 8.7 percent, the report said."

"Democrats complain they were blindsided when President Obama weighed in on the Ground Zero mosque and handed the GOP a new club to beat them with. Capitol Hill Democrats, including those facing tough races, were not told in advance before Obama's Friday night speech defending Muslims' rights to build a mosque in lower Manhattan," the New York Daily News reports. "While Mayor Bloomberg knew ahead of time what Obama intended to say at the Ramadan dinner at the White House, New York Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand were kept in the dark, sources said."

The AP writes that President Obama’s comments about the rights of Muslims to build a mosque at Ground Zero are “giving Republicans a campaign-year cudgel and forcing Democrats to address a divisive issue within weeks of midterm contests that will decide the balance of power in Washington.”

Yet the New York Times calls Republican candidates’ comments on the mosque issue “a rare instance in this campaign season when Republicans have strayed from a focus on economic issues in their push for substantial gains in the House and Senate in November.”

ARIZONA: Blame the media... "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday blamed the 'Eastern press' for planting the idea he has changed his positions on key issues in recent months," The Hill writes. "McCain dismissed the notion that he has tacked to the right on matters such as immigration and climate change in order to beat back a primary challenge from former Rep. J.D. Hayworth."

McCain made these comments to Politics Daily's Jill Lawrence.

FLORIDA: “Former President Bill Clinton has already helped Rep. Kendrick Meek raise money he needs to run a Senate campaign. Now, a week before the primary, he's rallying Florida voters to pull the congressmen back ahead of billionaire Jeff Greene,” the AP writes of Clinton’s appearance with Meek yesterday.

ILLINOIS: Mark Kirk's ex-wife is going to begin advising his campaign.

IOWA: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will endorse 11 new candidates for office in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, Politico reports. http://politi.co/aS2Q6Z

LOUISIANA: "Louisiana GOP Sen. David Vitter raised just more than half a million dollars in just more than five weeks since July 1, according to pre-primary fundraising reports released Monday," Roll Call reports. "Vitter’s total was enough to more than double the total raised by his top Democratic opponent, Rep. Charlie Melancon, who pulled in just $233,000 over the same time period."

MASSACHUSETTS: "Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker came out swinging at Governor Deval Patrick yesterday afternoon in a debate on clean energy, calling the proposed Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound 'a sweetheart deal' among the state, Cape Wind, and the utility National Grid that is purchasing half of its power," the Boston Globe reports.

MISSISSIPPI: Travis Childers goes negative. In his second ad in a week, "the Democrat calls [Republican opponent state Sen. Alan] Nunnelee a 'typical politician' who has no problem breaking campaign promises. After signing a pledge against raising taxes sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform, Nunnelee 'raised taxes on sick people in hospitals and voted to raise our gas and property taxes' the ad’s narrator says."

NEVADA: "Locked in a tight race, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid became the highest profile Democrat to respond to Obama [on the mosque], who last week backed the right for the developers to build a mosque near ground zero," AP writes.

"Reid's statement came just hours after his Republican challenger, Sharron Angle, called on him to take a stand, charging that Obama had 'ignored the wishes of the American people,'" the New York Post writes.

WASHINGTON: NPR writes that the ‘top-two’ primary system, “in which all candidates run in one big pack, regardless of party, and the top two finishers advance to the general election," seems to favor more moderate candidates and may thwart Tea Party-endorsed Clint Didier from defeating front-runner Republican Dino Rossi in a primary bid against Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.

Democrats are lowering their expectations for Murray’s margin of victory today, CQ writes. “The thinking goes that with Murray a shoo-in to make the general, a portion of her base will either not participate or perhaps vote for one of Rossi’s top GOP competitors.”

"Democrats are fighting to hold two seats in Washington state this year -- the open 3rd district and Patty Murray’s Senate seat -- and Tuesday’s primaries could offer the clearest evidence yet of where things stand in the Democratic-leaning state," Roll Call writes. "The dramatics of the Senate race are all in the vote totals registered in the fairly new 'top two' primary, which the state is using in federal elections for just the second time."

The Washington Secretary of State’s office explains why the state changed its primary from mid-September to mid-August: it was too late to allow party officials to fully organize for the general election. The 2004 gubernatorial election “when Democrat Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi finished so closely to each other (Rossi was ahead in the first two counts; Gregoire won the third) that they ended up fighting a protracted legal battle over who actually won,” the Oregonian writes.

WYOMING: Despite Wyoming’s recent history of Democratic governors, “common opinion has it that the winner of Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial primary might as well start measuring for drapes in the governor’s mansion,” the Casper Star-Tribune writes.

As we mentioned earlier today, Meg Whitman (R) has now spent $104 million of her own money in her bid for California governor -- and we still have 11 weeks to go.

Although opponent Jerry Brown (D) has millions in the bank, organized labor is pitching in to help Brown compete with Whitman's money.

Here's a new TV ad from the AFL-CIO's independent expenditure unit blasting Whitman. *** CORRECTION *** The group running the ad, California Working Families, isn't the AFL's i.e. unit; rather, it's a coalition of organizations including the AFL, SEIU, etc.

*** UPDATE *** The Whitman campaign responds: “Meg took a company from 30 employees to 15,000 and helped hundreds of thousands of small businesses grow through her leadership at eBay. That’s exactly the type of management and track record that Sacramento sorely needs and why Harvard Business Review ranked Meg as the 8th most successful CEO over the past decade. On the other hand, Jerry Brown has spent the last 30 years waging a war on jobs by raising taxes and mismanaging government.”

From NBC's Mark Murray
That didn't take long.

Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott (R) -- who, according to polls, is losing ground in his primary race against Bill McCollum (R) -- is up with a TV ad criticizing President Obama's remarks on the mosque near Ground Zero.
But he isn't the only Republican trying to score political points off of what Obama said Friday night. Here's a release from Sharron Angle's (R) Senate campaign in Nevada: "As the Majority Leader, Harry Reid is usually President Obama's mouthpiece in the U.S. Senate, and yet he remains silent on this issue. Reid has a responsibility to stand up and say no to the mosque at Ground Zero or once again side with President Obama---this time against the families of 9/11 victims. America is waiting.”

And now Reid's Senate spokesman, Jim Manley, replies that the mosque should be built somewhere else. "The First Amendment protects freedom of religion," Manley said, per the Washington Post. "Sen. Reid respects that, but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else." Manley added, "If the Republicans are being sincere, they would help us pass this long overdue bill to help the first responders whose health and livelihoods have been devastated because of their bravery on 9/11, rather than continuing to block this much-needed legislation."

But the response from Reid's office precisely hits at why fellow Democrats were upset with Obama wading into the mosque issue with little back up -- it has put them on the defensive.

*** UPDATE *** We wrote that McCollum had been gaining ground on Scott in the polls. But a new St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 shows Scott with a 10-point lead over McCollum.

Earlier this morning, we wrote that President Obama on Saturday appeared to walk back his Friday-night comments on that mosque near Ground Zero. "I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there," he said. "I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding."

Greg Sargent argues that Obama's remarks weren't a walk-back.

Was [Friday's] speech an "endorsement" of the project? In one sense it certainly was. He voiced strong support for the group's right to build it, and he went beyond that: He asserted that the group not only has the legal right to proceed, but that we should also welcome those with different faiths, not merely tolerate them because the law mandates it. And he declared that to do any less is un-American.

That last aspect of his speech, as I said below, is what made it powerful. Simply vouching for the group's legal rights is a no-brainer. The crux of Obama's message is that we should do more: We should welcome and respect people of all religious faiths.

Is that message diminished by what Obama has now said about the center? The "clarification" [Saturday] would be a walkback if he had previously "endorsed" the project in the sense of declaring it a good idea. But he never "endorsed" it in that sense. Nor is it his place to do that.

Rather, Obama's "endorsement" of the project consisted entirely of a declaration that now that the group has decided to proceed, American ideals demand that we welcome and respect such people in situations like these. He hasn't backed off that core assertion. Nor is it contradicted by a refusal to comment directly on the "wisdom" of the project itself.

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski
The only member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet to have also served under President George W. Bush continues to eye retirement next year.

In an interview with Foreign Policy magazine, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that he hopes to retire next year. He aims to step down before January 2012, he told the magazine, pointing out that “this is not the kind of job you want to fill in the spring of an election year.”

It’s no secret that Gates has been planning to leave the job. He and his staff have repeatedly said Gates would likely retire in 2011 assuming that two conditions are met: the Afghanistan “surge” strategy must be set and underway, and the stage must be set to control Pentagon spending.

Gates also wants to be directly involved in the selection of senior military officers who will replace a number of 3-and-4 star generals and admirals in key positions over much of the next year.

By next year, Gates said in the interview, “we'll have completed the surge. We'll have done the assessment in December. And it seems like somewhere there in 2011 is a logical opportunity to hand off."

Gates, who has served in the post for almost four years, will turn 67 in September.

One Pentagon official predicts that if Gates actually does retire in 2011, it may be later rather than earlier. "His sense of responsibility for the job may trump his desire to retire," said the official.

Obama weighing in on mosque controversy -- and then walking it back -- shows the White House cares more about the cable/DC chatter than it lets on… GOP tries to politicize Obama’s mosque remarks, but is that risky?... Obama begins a three-day, five-state campaign tour… Today’s agenda: raising money for WI GOV hopeful Tom Barrett (in Milwaukee) and the DCCC (in Los Angeles)… Obama also talks about the economy from Wisconsin at 12:10 pm ET… Profiling CO-3… And Bill Clinton stumps for Meek in Florida.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Team Obama and DC drama: In the 2008 presidential campaign, Team Obama -- headquartered in the friendly confines of Chicago -- famously paid little attention to the cable chatter or the chattering class in DC. As they liked to say back then, if the pundits in DC are saying one thing, then do the exact opposite. But a funny thing has happened during Team Obama’s first two years in the White House. They now care about the Beltway chatter. A lot. That was evident when White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs complained about the “professional left,” i.e., the left-of-center pundits you can find on cable, on Huffington Post, or various other blogs. It was evident when the White House sent emails to political reporters to take credit for Michael Bennet’s primary win in Colorado. And it was evident on Friday night, when President Obama and the White House got roped into a story that was being driven primarily by cable and the conservative political elite (like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin): the building of a mosque near Ground Zero.

*** Weighing in and then walking it back: Previously, the White House had declared the issue a local matter (and the mosque was approved locally in New York). But then President Obama weighed in personally, saying: “As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country.” For those of us who have followed Obama since 2004, it was an unsurprising stance, and we guess that George W. Bush would have said something similar if he were still president. But what was surprising to many -- including Democrats -- was: 1) that Obama decided to get involved in a matter that was already resolved; 2) that he did so without the White House having any surrogates and validators ready to back him up as he departed for a weekend getaway; and 3) that he appeared to walk back his comments on the mosque just a day later. “I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there,” he said. “I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding.”

*** A risk for the GOP? The apparent walk-back turned the mosque story into a second-day story; it made president look indecisive; and it ended up putting him in the position where he pleases no one. But above all, it made the White House seem reactive to the Drudge/FOX/Politico chatter and criticism -- the same kind of chatter and criticism the White House says it loathes. As for Republicans, they reportedly want to make political hay out of President Obama’s mosque comments. But such a move for the GOP -- especially after its embrace of Arizona’s controversial immigration law -- carries some real risks. Our observation: There is now more anti-Muslim rhetoric in legitimate political circles than there was immediately after 9/11. As Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman write, “Republican leaders have largely abandoned former President George W. Bush's post-Sept. 11 rhetorical embrace of American Muslims and his insistence — always controversial inside the party — that Islam is a religion of peace.”

*** Travelin’ Man: Obama hopefully tries to change the subject -- the mosque story has now turned into a four-day story -- as he departs on a three-day, five-state campaign trip. Today, the president speaks at an event in Milwaukee at 2:25 pm ET for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D), who’s running for governor. Then he heads to Los Angeles, where he’ll hit a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at 10:05 pm ET. On Tuesday, Obama goes to Washington state to raise money for Sen. Patty Murray (D), who’s facing a tough challenge for re-election. And on Wednesday, the president travels to Columbus, OH (to raise money for Gov. Ted Strickland) and then to Miami, FL (to raise money for Florida Democrats). On Thursday, the Obama family goes to Martha’s Vineyard for a 10-day vacation.

*** Where Obama is an asset and where he’s not: In the last couple of weeks, the chattering class chattered quite a bit about Bill White (in Texas) or Roy Barnes (in Georgia) avoiding the president when he traveled to fundraisers in those two states -- which, it must be pointed out, Obama didn’t win in his decisive presidential victory in 2008. However, the president is most definitely an asset in three of the states he’s visiting this week: Wisconsin, California, and Washington state. And even in Ohio and Florida, two battleground states he won in ’08, the candidates want to be with Obama, not away from him.

*** Talking ‘bout the economy: Before Obama raises money for Barrett today, he will hold a couple of economic-themed events in Milwaukee. In the morning, the president "will tour ZBB Energy Corp., which makes batteries and fuel cells that get used in renewable-energy products,” the AP writes. And then, at 12:10 pm ET, he delivers remarks on the economy.

*** 75 House races to watch: CO-3: The Democratic nominee is three-term incumbent John Salazar (brother to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar), and the GOP nominee is state Rep. Scott Tipton. McCain won 50% in this district in ’08, and Bush got 55% in ’04. Salazar, as of July 21, had nearly $1.3 million cash on hand, versus $167,000 for Tipton. Salazar voted for the stimulus and health care, but against cap-and-trade. Cook rates the race as Lean Democrat, while Rothenberg has it as Democrat Favored.

*** More midterm news: In California, Meg Whitman has now spent $104 million of her own money… In Colorado, Tom Tancredo is getting pressure from some conservatives to drop his third-party gubernatorial bid… And in Florida, Bill Clinton hits three different rallies for Kendrick Meek today.

Countdown to WA and WY primaries: 1 day
Countdown to AK, AZ, FL, and VT primaries: 8 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 78 days

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Obama’s day, per the AP: “Back from his whirlwind Florida getaway, President Barack Obama returns to the road for a trip to the Milwaukee area -- and Los Angeles.”

One of us previewed his campaign travels this week -- hitting five states in three days -- here.

The Hill: “Obama will make stops in three states where Democratic incumbent senators are in tight races.” More: “The White House appears eager to place Obama in the role of campaigner in chief after Sen. Michael Bennet’s win in Colorado’s Democratic primary on Tuesday night.”

With stops for gubernatorial campaigns in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin planned, “President Barack Obama will do more in two days this week for his party’s candidates for governor than he has done all year, wrapping his arm around several of the most highly touted gubernatorial hopefuls on the ballot in 2010,” Politico adds.

From the campaign trail to Afghanistan… “Progress in Afghanistan only began this spring and needs time to take root, [Gen. David] Petraeus said in comments broadcast Sunday that were aimed at shoring up American support for the war,” the AP writes, adding, “The goal, he said on NBC's ‘Meet the Press,’ is to keep al-Qaida and other extremist groups at bay while the Afghan government has a chance to take control and earn the trust of the local population. ‘We're here so that Afghanistan does not once again become a sanctuary for transnational extremists the way it was when al-Qaida planned the 9/11 attacks in the Kandahar area,’ Petraeus said in an interview taped in Kabul, the Afghan capital.”

Petraeus also spoke with the New York Times. “In an hourlong interview with The New York Times, the general argued against any precipitous withdrawal of forces in July 2011, the date set by President Obama to begin at least a gradual reduction of the 100,000 troops on the ground. General Petraeus said that it was only in the last few weeks that the war plan had been fine-tuned and given the resources that it required. ‘For the first time,’ he said, ‘we will have what we have been working to put in place for the last year and a half.’”

And with the Washington Post: “With public support for the war slipping and a White House review of the conflict due in December, Petraeus said he is pushing the forces under his command to proceed with alacrity. He remains supportive of President Obama's decision to begin withdrawing troops next July, but he said it is far too soon to determine the size of the drawdown.”

“Republicans will probably use President Obama’s support for the right of a Muslim group to build an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site to force Democrats to defend an unpopular position in the November election campaign,” the Boston Globe reports. Said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University in New Jersey, “‘There is no win for Obama here.’ With the public focused on unemployment and the economy, the mosque ‘will not be a turning-point issue,’ though it might play into fears about ‘Democrats not being tough enough on terrorism.’”

President Obama said Friday night, “As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan in accordance with local laws and ordinances.”

John Cornyn, who by the way is the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said on Fox: Obama’s position on the mosque “does speak to the lack of connection between the administration and Washington and folks inside the Beltway and mainstream America. And I think this is what aggravates people so much.” He also said, per Roll Call: “The American people will render their verdict.” And he claimed, per The Hill: "This is not about freedom of religion. I do think it's unwise to build a mosque in the site where 3,000 Americans lost their lives as the result of a terrorist attack."

“Tea party groups converged on a remote section of the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday to show support for Arizona's controversial new immigration law. The group was gathered about 70 miles west of Nogales on a private ranch where 15-foot steel posts are set closely together to prevent people from crossing the border. Demonstrators attached hundreds of U.S. flags with messages about curbing illegal immigration to the posts and chanted, ‘U-S-A,’ after a handful of spectators gathered on the Mexico side of the border.”

ARIZONA: At a Tea Party along the state’s border, Republican Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth “used the event to question Mr. McCain’s commitment to fighting illegal immigration,” the New York Times wrote. “Trying to outflank Mr. Hayworth, Mr. McCain has made several stops in the border region recently.”

Roll Call previews the AZ-8 GOP primary which takes place next Tuesday. The winner of the primary takes on vulnerable Democrats Gabrielle Giffords.

CALIFORNIA: That’s a lot of money… “California billionaire Meg Whitman (R) has dropped another $13 million into her campaign for governor,” The Hill reports. “The contribution brings the former eBay CEO's investment in her bid to $104 million, the Sacramento Bee reported. Her personal spending is approaching the record set by fellow billionaire Michael Bloomberg in 2009. The New York City mayor spent some $108 million running winning a third term last year.”

COLORADO: “Third-party candidate for Colorado governor Tom Tancredo faced a somewhat hostile crowd at the Eagle County Building on Saturday as local conservatives accused him of ruining the chance for Republican candidate Dan Maes to win the November election,” the Vail Daily News writes. “‘You will split the vote and (John) Hickenlooper will become the governor,’ [local 9.12 leader Michael] Schneider said. “Be a hero, be a champion of the conservative causes that you've always been -- drop out of the race and come back to the conservative party.’”

CONNECTICUT: “Former WWE wrestler Lance Cade was found dead in his father's home in San Antonio Thursday," The Hill writes. "Cade, who's real name is Lance McNaught, was 29 and ‘passed away of apparent heart failure,’ according to a statement on the WWE website. Cabe's ‘death could affect’ former WWE CEO Linda McMahon's (R) run for Senate in Connecticut, J.B. Porsche, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, tweeted Saturday. McMahon, who clinched the GOP Senate nod last Tuesday, has been dogged by questions about how the WWE treats its wrestlers. Five performers have died while under contract with the company and several more, including McNaught, died shortly after they left the WWE's employ.”

FLORIDA: A new Mason-Dixon poll shows Republican Marco Rubio now leading Independent Gov. Charlie Crist, 38%-33%, for Senate, with Democrat Kendrick Meek with just 18%. But if Jeff Greene becomes the Democratic nominee, Rubio and Crist are deadlocked with Crist leading 39%-38%. Meek leads the Democratic primary 40%-26% in the poll.

MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe analyzes the attempts by the state’s Republican Senate candidates to mimic Scott Brown’s campaign, down to the coat, truck, and even his “American Idol”-star daughter. “All four major Republican contenders are doing what they can to invoke the sensibility, style, and sheer name power of the Massachusetts Republican who defied predictions early this year and catapulted himself into office with an everyman campaign that won hearts across the state.”

NEVADA: Politico profiles Nevada political reporter/columnist/TV show host Jon Ralston.

WISCONSIN: “GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker runs over his Democratic foe, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, and President Obama in a new statewide television ad today,” Politico writes.

FULL WEEK AHEAD VIDEO HERE.

President Obama hits six states in five days, Washington and Wyoming hold their primaries, Bubba's back on the trail, and Rick Santorum tests the waters in Iowa.

FULL WEEK AHEAD VIDEO HERE.

The latest twist and turn in the story about the Democratic Senate nominee in South Carolina.

The State newspaper:

Longshot U.S. Senate candidate Alvin Greene has been indicted on a felony charge of showing pornography to a South Carolina college student.

Court records show a grand jury in Richland County handed down the indictment Friday for disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity. The Democratic nominee was also indicted on a misdemeanor charge of communicating obscene materials to a person without consent.

Greene was arrested in November after authorities say he approached a student in a University of South Carolina computer lab, showed her obscene photos online, then talked about going to her dorm room.

*** UPDATE *** NBC News' Atlanta Bureau called Alvin Greene's home number and asked for Alvin. The man on the phone said, "This is Alvin."

When asked about the indictment, Greene replied, "My lawyer is dealing with that."

When asked if that was Suzanne Cao, there was silence and the phone call dropped or he hung up.

From NBC's Pete Williams
Opponents of same-sex marriage are asking a federal appeals court to act before next Wednesday at 5:00 pm, when a legal hold will expire that -- for the moment -- is the only thing standing in the way of allowing those marriages to resume.

Allowing Judge Vaughan Walker's stay to expire, say lawyers for the proponents of Prop 8, would create "general chaos, confusion, and uncertainty." It's not at all clear, they argue, that any same-sex marriages permitted now would remain legally valid if Judge Walker's ruling is later overturned on appeal.

On the other hand, keeping a stay in place would -- at most -- require same-sex couples to wait a while longer for a final determination of whether they can legally get married, they say.

In a written brief filed last night, the lawyers for the Prop. 8 proponents say Judge Walker's ruling that the ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional was based on a one-sided view of the evidence and the law. The judge "simply ignored virtually everything -- judicial authority, the works of eminent scholars past and present in all academic fields, extensive documentary and historical evidence, and even simple common sense" that was opposed to his conclusions, their briefs say.

And it was "especially cruel," the lawyers add, for Judge Walker to conclude that support for Prop. 8 was based largely on moral disapproval of same-sex couples. The people of California "have enacted into law some of the nation's most sweeping and progressive protections of gays and lesbians."

"The truth is that a majority of Californians have simply decided not to experiment, at least for now, with the fundamental meaning of an age-old and still vital social institution," they say.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of Social Security, and Democrats today are using it -- like with this Web video -- to highlight Republicans and GOP Senate candidates who have advocated to phase out the entitlement program or partially privatize it.

As the saying goes, Social Security remains the third rail of American politics. Indeed, in our June NBC/WSJ poll, a candidate who advocates phasing out the program and privatizing it was the WORST of a list of 17 attributes (66% said they had reservations or were very concerned about that attribute; 24% said they were comfortable or enthusiastic about it).

And that's why we've seen a candidate like Sharron Angle (R) in Nevada recently air a TV ad saying that she wants to "save" Social Security -- which is a reversal from what she's said in the past.

While Democrats see this as a winning issue for the fall, it's worth noting that they are losing their edge on Social Security. In our brand-new NBC/WSJ poll, Democrats held just a four-point advantage (30%-26%) on which party is better trusted to handle the issue -- down considerably from past polls.

***UPDATE*** The DNC continued its full-court press on Social Security this afternoon as chairman Tim Kaine held a conference call with James Roosevelt, whose grandfather President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the entitlement program into law 75 years ago tomorrow.

Calling it "the most successful government program that this country has ever seen," Roosevelt said that Social Security was fiscally "safe and sound" and warned of "scare talk" from Republicans, citing Rep. Paul Ryan and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as two leaders who have voiced concerns about Social Security going bankrupt.

Kaine added that the large number of Republicans running for office this year who have advocated phasing out or privatizing Social Security was an indication of its popularity within the Republican party.

"I don't think it's a coincidence so many candidates are using the same language," about overhauling the program, Kaine said, calling such a platform part of the "Republican campaign playbook."

Note: On Fridays during this month of August, we’re scaling back our morning note. But we’re still providing something to read as you head to the beach or take advantage (hopefully) of a long weekend.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** First Read’s Field of 64: This is a slight change to our normal Friday Top 10 list, but today we’re listing what we consider the 64 House seats most likely to switch parties in the fall. (No. 1, for instance, is the seat we consider most likely to flip.) For Republicans to take back the House, they need to pick up a NET of 39 seats. (So if Democrats are able to win three or four GOP seats, as they’re hoping to do, then Republicans must win 42 or 43 Democratic seats.) Political journalists and junkies -- clip and save this list, because it gives you a good idea of where the House battlefield is and whether or not Republicans can reach a net of 39 seats on Election Night. There are 55 Democratic-held seats on this list, and nine GOP-held ones.

1. TN-6 (D-Open-Gordon retiring)
2. LA-3 (D-Open-Melancon running for Senate)
3. LA-2 (R-Cao)
4. DE-AL (R-Open-Castle running for Senate)
5. AR-2 (D-Open-Snyder retiring)
6. NY-29 (D-Open-Massa retired)
7. NM-2 (D-Teague)
8. OH-1 (D-Driehaus)
9. IN-8 (D-Open-Ellsworth running for Senate)
10. MD-1 (D-Kratovil)
11. KS-3 (D-Open-Moore retiring)
12. IL-10 (R-Open-Kirk running for Senate)
13. OH-15 (D-Kilroy)
14. HI-1 (R-Djou)
15. VA-2 (D-Nye)
16. VA-5 (D-Perriello)
17. MS-1 (D-Childers)
18. CO-4 (D-Markey)
19. PA-7 (D-Open-Sestak running for Senate)
20. PA-11 (D-Kanjorski)
21. FL-8 (D-Grayson)
22. NY-24 (D-Arcuri)
23. MI-1 (D-Open-Stupak retiring)
24. NH-1 (D-Shea-Porter)
25. SD-AL (D-Herseth-Sandlin)
26. NV-3 (D-Titus)
27. ND-AL (D-Pomeroy)
28. PA-3 (D-Dahlkemper)
29. FL-24 (D-Kosmas)
30. NH-2 (D-Open-Hodes running for Senate)
31. MI-7 (D-Schauer freshman)
32. TN-8 (D-Open-Tanner retiring)
33. TX-17 (D-Edwards)
34. AL-2 (D-Bright)
35. CA-3 (R-Lungren)
36. AZ-8 (D-Giffords)
37. OH-16 (D-Boccieri)
38. AR-1 (D-Berry)
39. SC-5 (D-Spratt)
40. WI-7 (D-Open-Obey retiring)
41. TX-23 (D-Rodriguez)
42. NY-19 (D-Hall)
43. FL-2 (D-Boyd)
44. WA-3 (D-Open-Baird retiring)
45. KY-6 (D-Chandler)
46. FL-25 (R-Diaz-Balart)
47. CA-11 (D-McNerney)
48. IN-9 (D-Hill)
49. IN-2 (D-Donnelly)
50. NC-8 (D-Kissell)
51. IL-11 (D-Halvorson)
52. IL-14 (D-Foster)
53. PA-15 (R-Dent)
54. WA-8 (R-Reichert)
55. WV-1 (D-Open-Mollohan lost in primary)
56. AL-5 (R-Open-Griffith lost in a primary)
57. VA-11 (D-Connolly)
58. IA-3 (D-Boswell)
59. AZ-5 (D-Mitchell)
60. AZ-1 (D-Kirkpatrick)
61. MO-4 (D-Skelton)
62. MI-9 (D-Peters)
63. OH-13 (D-Sutton)
64. NY-20 (D-Murphy)

Missouri Senate candidate Robin Carnahan (D) is up with her first TV ad in her race against Roy Blunt (R), and she uses it to tie her opponent to Wall Street and his 2008 TARP vote.

The campaign says the TV ad is running statewide.
*** UPDATE *** National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Walsh responds, “This is a truly shameless attack by Robin Carnahan. She’s not only attacking Roy Blunt on an issue which she is on record for supporting herself, but which her own brother also voted for in Congress. I can only hope that folks will ask Congressman Russ Carnahan what he thinks about this hypocritical ad.”

In a new campaign ad, an Arizona congressional candidate accuses President Barack Obama of being “the worst president in history.”

He might know a thing or two about how men in the White House are judged by the public; he’s the son of a vice president perhaps best known for enduring ridicule after he flubbed the spelling of the word “potato.”

Ben Quayle, the son of George H.W. Bush’s running mate, is one of 10 candidates in the GOP primary race in Arizona’s conservative 3^rddistrict (It went for McCain by 15 points in 2008 and for Bush by almost 20 in 2004.) In a new ad, he says that “Barack Obama is the worst president in history” and promises to “knock the hell” out of Washington if elected.

Quayle, 33, is well-funded in the race – thanks in part to donations from Republicans who worked in father's administration – but his campaign has been pockmarked by controversy.

On Tuesday, he admitted that he had contributed to nightlife website DirtyScotsdale.com just hours after he denied to a POLITICO reporter that he had used a pseudonym to post sex-themed comments on the site.

An opponent also recently took him to task for “renting a family” when a mailer underscoring his family values pictured him with two children. Quayle and his wife don’t have children; the pink-clad young girls turned out to be his nieces.