Mr. President, your move. *** UPDATE 3 *** Obama agreed to move the speech to Thursday.

After President Obama requested in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday, Sept. 7 -- the same night as an NBC/Politico Republican presidential debate -- Boehner suggested he do it a day later.

Citing that the House is back in session Wednesday and has scheduled votes, Boehner wrote in his own letter, "I respectfully invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Thursday, September 8, 2011 in the House Chamber, at a time that works best for your schedule."

A GOP aide tells NBC's Luke Russert that the White House alerted Boehner only 15 minutes prior to alerting the press that the president wanted to have a speech on the economy before a Joint Session of Congress.

The aide hinted that only giving the speaker's office 15 minutes of a head up is a tad disrespectful.

*** UPDATE *** A White House official tells First Read, "Boehner’s office was consulted about the 9/7 date before the letter was released. No objection/concern was raised," so the letter went out.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Boehner's office did not raise objection on the White House call, Boehner's office confirms, but in the letter released "after we had time to examine what they were proposing."

Boehner's office insists this was about logistics, not personal.

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for your letter requesting time to address a Joint Session of Congress next week.  I agree that creating a better environment for job creation must be our most urgent priority.  For months, the House has been implementing an agenda designed to reduce economic uncertainty, remove unnecessary government barriers to private-sector job creation, and help small businesses, and we welcome the opportunity to hear your latest proposals.

As your spokesperson today said, there are considerations about the Congressional calendar that must be made prior to scheduling such an extraordinary event.  As you know, the House of Representatives and Senate are each required to adopt a Concurrent Resolution to allow for a Joint Session of Congress to receive the President.  And as the Majority Leader announced more than a month ago, the House will not be in session until Wednesday, September 7, with votes at 6:30 that evening.  With the significant amount of time - typically more than three hours - that is required to allow for a security sweep of the House Chamber before receiving a President, it is my recommendation that your address be held on the following evening, when we can ensure there will be no parliamentary or logistical impediments that might detract from your remarks.  As such, on behalf of the bipartisan leadership and membership of both the House and Senate, I respectfully invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Thursday, September 8, 2011 in the House Chamber, at a time that works best for your schedule. 

We look forward to hearing your ideas and working together to solve America's jobs crisis.

Sincerely,
John Boehner

Here was Obama's earlier letter requesting to speak:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release August 31, 2011

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE MAJORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE

August 31, 2011

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. Leader:)

Our Nation faces unprecedented economic challenges, and millions of hardworking Americans continue to look for jobs. As I have traveled across our country this summer and spoken with our fellow Americans, I have heard a consistent message: Washington needs to put aside politics and start making decisions based on what is best for our country and not what is best for each of our parties in order to grow the economy and create jobs. We must answer this call.

Therefore, I respectfully request the opportunity to address a Joint Session of Congress on September 7, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. It is my intention to lay out a series of bipartisan proposals that the Congress can take immediately to continue to rebuild the American economy by strengthening small businesses, helping Americans get back to work, and putting more money in the paychecks of the Middle Class and working Americans, while still reducing our deficit and getting our fiscal house in order. It is our responsibility to find bipartisan solutions to help grow our economy, and if we are willing to put country before party, I am confident we can do just that.

Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
BARACK OBAMA

Much of Paterson, N.J., has been under water in the aftermath of Irene.

President Obama will travel there Saturday to survey the damage, the White House announced.

Here's the White House's release:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2011

President Obama to Travel to Paterson, New Jersey

WASHINGTON - On Sunday, September 4, the President will travel to Paterson, New Jersey, to view damage from Hurricane Irene. 

Today, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate traveled to New York and New Jersey to survey response and recovery efforts on the ground following Hurricane Irene and to reaffirm the federal government's ongoing commitment to supporting our state and local partners as those important efforts continue. Yesterday, Administration officials made similar trips to Connecticut, North Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.

More details on the President's travel to Paterson will be released as they become available

DES MOINES -- Tea Party of America President Ken Crow told NBC News, "I had to cancel Ms. O'Donnell" after a conversation with Sarah Palin aides -- and is now hopeful Palin will attend the Saturday rally in Indianola.

He was told by Palin's team that he'd have a final answer shortly.

This comes after failed Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell was in, then out, then back in, and now indefinitely out. And Palin was in, then "on hold."

The group has spent about $100,000 on the event for Palin and are thus waiting "with baited breath" for an answer. An official press release will come out after Palin people give Crow final word.

NBC News has not received comment from Palin's team so far.

Nowadays, Eric Cantor, channeling an insurance actuary, says disaster-relief funding needs to be offset by cuts elsewhere -- be it for tornado cleanup in devastated Joplin, MO, or damage from Hurricane Irene and the recent earthquake centered in his own district. He told constituents as much the day after the earthquake.

This morning, we clipped a piece in The Hill, which quotes a statement from the Virginia Republican in 2004 requesting federal funds following Tropical Storm Gaston -- without calling for cuts elsewhere.

Now, Sam Stein at Huffington Post points out that, in 2004, Cantor actually voted against a bill that would have done exactly what he's now calling for:

"[A] bemused Democratic source notes that in October 2004, Cantor voted against an amendment to an emergency supplemental bill for disaster aid that would have "fully offset" the cost of that supplemental with "a proportional reduction of FY05 discretionary funding" elsewhere. Funding for defense, homeland security, and veterans was exempted from the proposed cuts. But the amendment, introduced by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), would do precisely what Republican leadership is proposing to do now."

Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring chalks it up to the ballooning national debt for the apparent change of heart. Dayspring tells Stein:

"[T]he national debt at the time was under $8 trillion and was $8.67 trillion when Nancy Pelosi became Speaker, Today the debt stands at $14.625, meaning that while Democrats controlled the purse string, the national debt literally exploded. We are living in different times."

Different times, indeed.

Gov. Rick Perry may face an old political ghost from his tenure as Texas Agriculture Commisioner -- a complimentary letter he wrote in 1993 to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton to urge her to consider the needs of rural residents as she drafted what would later be derided as "Hillarycare."

In the letter, dated April 6, 1993, Perry wrote to Clinton, “I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation’s health care system are most commendable."

He went on to request that the health-care task force consider the unique needs of "farmers, ranchers, and agriculture workers, and other members of rural communities."

Perry campaign strategist Dave Carney told The Daily Caller, which first reported on the letter yesterday, that Perry would not have known the specifics of the policy at the time. "The letter was at the onset of her efforts before she proposed anything," he said. "No one could have imagined the horrible monstrosity she cooked up, in fact, not to be outdone until 'ObamaCare' years later."

It is true that the precise details of the plan were unclear at the time and the process of hashing out the policy was (now infamously) opaque. But some of the broad goals of the legislation were being reported at the same time Perry was penning praise to Clinton.

According to a Los Angles Times report from April 5, 1993, the plan was designed to, in part:

* Guarantee that a uniform package of basic benefits will be available to everyone, although not all the uninsured will get this coverage right away. Among the basic benefits would be hospital and doctor services, including mental health care, and some prescription drug coverage.
* Create a standardized insurance form and bar insurers from refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions, in order to enable people to change jobs-and insurers-without fear of losing coverage.
* Enact tort reforms to reduce medical malpractice litigation.
* Impose a price freeze on private-sector medical providers while the system of cooperatives is phased in, a process that could take three to five years.
* Phase in a requirement for employers to provide workers with health insurance, with government subsidies to help the smaller businesses.

Several of those objectives, including the mandate that employers provide health care for workers and the guarantee of universal benefits to everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions, are now objectionable to conservatives like Perry, who has said he wants to use an executive order to dismantle "Obamacare."

Asked if Perry would have considered "commendable" those goals, which were public at the time that Perry praised Clinton, Carney told NBC News that while "insiders" were speculating about the details, Perry was simply raising concerns about an important constituency.

"The letter is very clear," Carney wrote via email. "They were trying to reform health care and no one knew how awful the final product would become. Insiders may have speculated on what might come out of the process. Rural voices and concerns deserved to be included."

NBC's Marcie Rickun contributed to this report.

After a brief hiatus, we're going to run a new installment of "Inside the Boiler Room." Send us your questions for Mark and Domenico!

Romney shifts course (and hopes that Perry stumbles)… Three reasons why Perry’s 1993 embrace of the Clinton health plan probably won’t hurt him… Huntsman to unveil his jobs plan in New Hampshire today at 4:30 pm ET… Obama gives additional hints about his upcoming jobs/economic plan… Obama vs. Romney on foreign policy yesterday… And two factors why House Republicans might back down in their FEMA fight.

AP

*** Romney shifts course: As yet another national poll -- Quinnipiac -- shows Rick Perry leading the GOP field (and this one finding him running neck and neck with President Obama in a general election), Mitt Romney has begun to shift course. Yesterday, we learned that he’s changed his mind and is attending next week’s DeMint forum in South Carolina. And also yesterday, he unveiled a new line that appears to hit Perry more than Obama. “Career politicians got us into this mess, and they simply don’t know how to get us out!” he told the VFW National Convention in San Antonio. Make no mistake: This isn’t a full-blown 180-degree turn by Team Romney. Rather, like in sailing, it’s a slight shift in course that -- over time -- will look a bigger shift. And Romney was always going to have to do this; he couldn’t run a primary race against Obama forever. But Perry’s rapid ascension has expedited this change in course.

AP

*** Hope and change? Politico’s Martin writes the Romney campaign is hoping for three things -- 1) that Perry will stumble in the upcoming debates, 2) that Palin gets in the race (and thus takes a chunk of the conservative vote away from Perry), and 3) that pro-Romney states like Michigan move up the calendar. But Martin also makes this smart point: “Hoping Palin gets in and Bachmann stays strong to take a chunk of Palin’s conservative votes, hoping the calendar shuffle works in your favor, and hoping Perry falters badly under the hot lights of the debate stage could ultimately be just that – a hope.” What we still don’t know about Perry: Does he have staying power? This year, we’ve seen Trump, Bachmann, and even Cain enjoy poll boomlets. And they’ve all fizzled. Perry has a resume and political base that seems to suggest he can withstand a stumble a lot better than those other less-experienced politicians. What we’ll know by October or November is whether Perry is going to be the frontrunner with Romney chasing him, a la Bush v. McCain in 2000, or whether he’s more like Romney, circa 2007, a short-lived front-runner who melts when the heat gets turned up.

*** Perry embraces Hillarycare? Per NBC’s Carrie Dann, Perry may face an old political ghost from his tenure as Texas Agriculture commissioner -- a complimentary letter he wrote in 1993 to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton to urge her to consider the needs rural residents as she drafted what would later be derided as "Hillarycare." In the April 6, 1993 letter, Perry told Mrs. Clinton, “I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation’s health care system are most commendable." Perry campaign strategist Dave Carney told the Daily Caller, which published the letter yesterday, that Perry would not have known the specifics of the policy at the time. That said, Dann adds, some of its broad goals were being reported.

*** But three reasons why it probably won’t hurt him: Nevertheless, it’s doubtful this letter damages Perry. Why? Because if you’re Romney -- and it only makes sense that this oppo hit came from his campaign -- you are going to have a difficult time seeming more conservative than Perry. What’s more, who will win the battle of moderate-to-conservative conversion? Someone who backed Al Gore in the 80s and praised the Clinton health plan in the early 90s? Or someone who signed into law an individual mandate in Massachusetts in 2006 and who supported abortion rights until 2005? Lastly, this letter could actually serve as a wink and a nod to establishment Republicans – that Perry could be more practical that his campaign persona. And it’s the last point that’s the real danger for Romney: If Perry seems pragmatic enough for the skeptical Chamber-of-Commerce types who are quietly nervous about Perry now, then it could hurt Romney’s attempt to eventually play the “I’m the only guy who can beat Obama” card when he’ll need it at the end of this primary process.

AP

*** Huntsman unveils his jobs plan: In New Hampshire at 4:30 pm ET, Jon Huntsman will unveil his jobs/economy plan. According to excerpts his campaign has released, Huntsman will say, “The president believes that we can tax and spend and regulate our way to prosperity. We cannot. We must compete our way to prosperity. When I was born, manufacturing comprised 25% of our GDP; today, it’s down to 10%.” Huntsman continues, “This does not reflect a decline in American ingenuity or work ethic; it reflects our government’s failure to adapt to the realities of the 21st century economy. We need American entrepreneurs not only thinking of products like the IPhone or Segway; we need American workers building those products.  It’s time for Made in America to mean something again."

*** On the 2012 trail: Elsewhere on the trail today, Bachmann addresses a Tea Party rally in Des Moines… Cain addresses the Georgia State Senate… And Santorum remains in Pennsylvania.

AP

*** More hints about Obama’s upcoming jobs plan: Turning from the 2012 campaign trail to the activity on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Obama yesterday gave more hints about his upcoming economic speech in an interview on Tom Joyner’s radio program. One was an emphasis on boosting the construction industry. “There are schools all across the country that right now you could put people to work fixing up. There are roads and bridges right now that need to be improved,” he said. Two was tax provisions to help small businesses and a payroll tax cut. “That not only helps them keep their head above water, but it also circulates that money in the economy and makes sure that businesses have customers.” And today at 10:35 am ET, Obama will call for Congress to extend FAA and surface-transportation extensions.

*** Obama stresses drawing down troops: Yesterday, Obama and Romney delivered foreign-policy speeches to veterans' groups, and they couldn't have more different. Obama highlighted the successes of the past two and a half years -- bin Laden’s killing, Khaddafy’s ouster, the end of combat operations in Iraq, and the beginning of the drawdown in Afghanistan. In particular, he stressed how U.S. troops are coming home. “For our troops and military families who've sacrificed so much, this means relief from an unrelenting decade of operations. Today, fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm’s way. For so many troops who’ve already done their duty, we’ve put an end to the stop loss.”

*** Romney stresses adding more troops: By comparison, Romney's speech was more pessimistic. “On the one hand is wishful thinking that the world is becoming a safer place,” he said. “The opposite is true. Consider simply the Jihadists, a near-nuclear Iran, a turbulent Middle East, an unstable Pakistan, a delusional North Korea, an assertive Russia, and an emerging global power called China. No, the world is not becoming safer.” And Romney suggested that the U.S. should be adding to its military might -- and spending for it -- rather than drawing down. "Across the globe, China is becoming not only an economic powerhouse, but also a military super-power… Its military build-up should give us pause... I will slice billions of dollars in waste and inefficiency and bureaucracy from the defense budget.  I will use the money we save for modern ships and planes, and for more troops.”  

AP

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.

*** FEMA fight: While Republicans appear to be drawing their line in the sand on disaster relief -- any federal funds have to be offset by other budget cuts -- there are two points to keep in mind. One, the epicenter of last week’s earthquake was in Eric Cantor’s district. And two, much of the damage from Hurricane Irene took place in Chris Christie’s New Jersey. Those are two reasons why Republicans might ultimately back down from their demand. Do House Republicans really want to make Christie an enemy here?

*** Wednesday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Latest on Northeast flooding and the federal response (and the festering FEMA funding fight)… NBC’s Ken Strickland and the Washington Post’s Felicia Sonmez on what we learned from the meeting of the super debt committee’s GOP members…  Sasha Issenberg on his new e-book “Rick Perry and His Eggheads”… Las Vegas Sun’s Jon Ralston breaks down the 9/13 special election to fill Nevada’s 2^nd district U.S House seat… And more 2012 headlines with USA Today’s Susan Page, syndicated columnist Cynthia Tucker, and TIME’s Michael Scherer.

*** Wednesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up (guest-hosted by NBC’s Chuck Todd): On tap will be interviews with 9/11 Commission Co-Chair Tom Kean, Congressional Black Caucus head Emanuel Cleaver, budget expert Maya MacGuiness, and NBC embed Jo Ling Kent.

Countdown to NBC-Politico debate at Reagan Library: 7 days
Countdown to NV-2 and NY-9 special elections: 13 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 69 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 159 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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“President Obama on Wednesday will push Congress to pass a new surface transportation bill when it returns from recess next week, the White House announced Tuesday night,” The Hill writes. “The current version of the federal highway bill, which among other things allows Congress to collect the tax on gasoline sales, expires Sept. 30. With recent fights in the transportation sector such as the funding for the Federal Aviation Administration devolving into partisan fights this summer, there has been speculation the highway bill could be the next impasse that causes a shutdown in Washington. But in a Rose Garden speech, Obama will argue this issue is too important to the fragile U.S. economy to not resolve quickly after lawmakers return from their traditional August recess.”

The New York Times: “President Obama vowed on Tuesday that he would not allow cuts in programs for veterans as Congress and the administration look for ways to balance the budget.”

The front page of the Boston Globe has this headline: “Obama’s uncle is called a fugitive.”

Yet another national poll -- Quinnipiac -- shows Rick Perry leading the GOP field. Without Palin in the race, Perry is ahead of Mitt Romney by six points, 26%-20%, with Bachmann in third at 12%. (With Palin in the race, Perry’s lead remains at six points, 24%-18%.)

In general election match ups, Romney ties Obama, 45%-45%, while Perry trails him by three points, 45%-42%. 

BACHMANN: “Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann may not be Jewish -- despite a misperception among some political donors -- but that didn't stop her from making a campaign stop in the Big Apple yesterday to talk up her pro-Israel positions,” the New York Post reports.

Per NBC’s Jamie Novogrod, The Palm Beach Post runs a piece quoting Florida Rep. Allen West pushing back against Bachmann’s position on oil and gas drilling in the Everglades. According to the newspaper, West calls Bachmann's statement "an incredible faux pas." (Bachmann told reporters Saturday she’d consider exploration in the Everglades if it could be done without harm to the environment.) As the Palm Beach Post notes, West is a Tea Party Caucus member. But this isn't the first time West has voiced dissatisfaction with colleagues -- during the debt debate he spoke out against Tea Party groups who criticized him for supporting Boehner.

The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier writes about Iowa Rep. Steve King and his likely endorsement of Bachmann, calling it “only a matter of time.”

CHRISTIE: He tells The Daily Beast that when people try to recruit him to run for president, he hears: “The thing I hear most is ‘authenticity.’ They feel that I say what I think and I do what I say I'm going to do.” But he still says he’s not running. Why? “Cause I just don't feel it. In the end this is an extraordinarily personal decision … If I felt it, I'd think about doing it. If I don't feel it, then I can't do it. It's really not a lot more complicated than that.” Asked if he’s 100% certain he won’t run, he said, “Yes.”

And in the kicker to the story, Christie expresses doubt about his own gubernatorial re-election possibilities: “I don't worry about reelection. I feel like I'm playing with house money anyway. Nobody expected me to win this race. The more I start thinking about reelection and trying to calculate either my actions or my decisions based upon that, I'm probably moving closer and closer to not getting reelected. Be myself, be who I am, let the chips fall where they may.”

PALIN: She’s going to New Hampshire now after speaking in Iowa…

PAUL: Ron Paul on what the U.S. has learned since 9/11: “I don’t think we’ve learned a whole lot because our foreign policy hasn’t changed,” he said on Lou Dobbs’ radio show, per The Hill.

PERRY: Perry signed the National Organization for Marriage’s anti-gay marriage pledge. “The pledge confirms Perry’s reversal of an earlier statement he made that he would leave the definition of marriage up to the states,” the Boston Globe points out.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Texas cannot force women to view a sonogram 24 hours before undergoing an abortion. In a statement, Perry said, "Every life lost to abortion is a tragedy, and today's ruling is a great disappointment to all Texans who stand in defense of life. This important sonogram legislation ensures that every Texas woman seeking an abortion has all the facts about the life she is carrying and understands the devastating impact of such a life-changing decision."

The Texas Tribune’s lead story this morning: "Perry's Anti-Abortion Stance Has Grown More Insistent"

The Dallas Morning News reports on the bundlers that Perry's lined up so far.

ROMNEY: AP: “As Texas Governor Rick Perry gains popularity among Tea Party members - and threatens to give former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney a run for his money - Romney is trying to court Tea Party support of his own. The Romney campaign confirmed yesterday that Romney will attend a Tea Party Express event on Labor Day weekend in New Hampshire, a must-win state for him.”

Although he had originally declined to participate in Sen. Jim DeMint’s Palmetto Freedom Forum on Monday because of a scheduling conflict, Mitt Romney announced that he would in fact be attending the event. According to The State, forum organizer Luke Byars said, “He was able to move his event to Sunday night, which allowed him to fly out of New Hampshire in the morning and as such he could be here.” 

Romney impressed Foster's Daily Democratic editorial board. "The Mitt Romney that visited Foster's last week has come a long way since he dashed in and out our doors in 2008. This time there was no entourage, no hurried pace and no doubt that the former Massachusetts governor had done his homework." More: "Romney seems to have come of age, thus the phrase 'comfortable in his own skin.' This initial perception of him was reinforced as the editorial board meeting went on."

On the other hand, the Boston Globe’s Johnson points out of the irony of Romney attacking Harvard -- like he did yesterday -- even though he has a J.D./M.B.A from there. “Not only is Harvard a major player in Massachusetts, the state Romney led for four years as governor,” Johnson writes, “but it also is the school from which he received the business and law degrees that helped propel him toward his highly lucrative venture capital career. It is success in that arena, he says now, that makes him best equipped to replace President Obama as the country’s leader.”

Plus, his sons all went to Harvard Business School and “a large number of the advisers who help Romney speak about foreign policy - the subject of his speech yesterday - are also Harvard alums or teachers.”

SANTORUM: Here’s your Rick Perry attack dog: “[L]look at Governor Perry, and he talks about his unemployment rate, but a lot of those jobs were dead-end jobs that that were not resulting in a growing economy in the middle. And that's where manufacturing comes in, and we need to make things in America."

The Hill calls out House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on disaster relief: “Cantor's insistence that federal disaster aid be offset elsewhere in the budget runs directly counter to his position in the past when the money went to help his Virginia district. In the summer of 2004, after Tropical Storm Gaston slammed into Richmond, Cantor was on the front lines of efforts to secure millions of dollars in federal assistance to clean the wreckage and repair damaged infrastructure. Although the funding was not offset, Cantor cheered its arrival.

“‘The magnitude of the damage suffered by the Richmond area is beyond what the Commonwealth can handle,’ Cantor said in a press release at the time, ‘and that is why I asked the President to make federal funds available for the citizens affected by Gaston.’”

The White House piled on: “Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Carney said the federal government’s priority should be to respond to the disaster. He also noted that Cantor (R-Va.) hadn’t demanded offsets when the Bush administration rang up ‘unprecedented bills.’”

MASSACHUSETTS: The Boston Globe sits down with Elizabeth Warren: “Warren is the would-be Senate candidate who has yet to declare her intentions, but has made enough moves in the race that nearly everyone who is watching closely sees her as the biggest name in a Democratic field attempting to defeat Republican Scott Brown next year,” the paper writes. “In an interview yesterday, the Harvard Law School professor did nothing to dispel the assumption that she plans to run, answering detailed questions about the economic issues she would emphasize in her campaign and the patchwork details of her personal story.”

Globe columnist Brian McGrory says forget the comparisons to Martha Coakley: “Think of Martha Coakley, all tailored and scripted, and now think of the exact opposite. Think of Brown, cautiously circling every critical issue before tiptoeing ahead with a last-minute stand, and think of the opposite of that as well. Think of our governor, preaching the virtues of togetherness in that pleasantly wispy voice of his, and think of the opposite. She talks from her gut as well as her sizable brain. She bothers not with polls and focus groups. She far prefers to fight for what she believes in rather than compromise it all away. As I said, it may take a little while to get used to this.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE: “Embattled New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Jack Kimball promised to increase fund-raising, retire debt, and hire new staff in a last-ditch effort to save his job,” the Boston Globe reports. “The action plan was outlined in a memorandum sent last night to the party’s Executive Committee, which plans to vote Thursday on whether to oust the chairman. Despite calls to step down by New Hampshire’s top Republican elected officials, Kimball has refused to do so and showed the same defiance in his strategy plan.”

More: The delegation called on the 36-member Executive Committee to defer any action on Kimball to the entire Republican State Committee. It includes nearly 500 members and chose Kimball last January in a 222-199 vote. Last week, US Representatives Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta, US Senator Kelly Ayotte, Senate President Peter Bragdon, and House Speaker William O’Brien called on Kimball to step down. O’Brien was formerly a staunch supporter of Kimball, delivering the speech nominating Kimball for chairman.

TULSA, Okla. -- Sen. Jim Inhofe knew Gov. Rick Perry was running for president before Rick Perry did.

"I said to him, 'Rick, I know you'll deny it now, and you're supposed to, but you're going to end up running," Inhofe recalls from a conversation with 14 months ago. "And when you are, just call me up and give me a little advance notice and I will do whatever you think I can do to be of some help to you.'"

Inhofe, who yesterday became the first United States senator to formally endorse a candidate the 2012 GOP primary, told NBC News during an interview in his Tulsa office that Perry's gubernatorial experience, personal profile, and good looks made him a shoo-in to run even when the Texas governor seemed certain to turn down supporters begging him to jump in.

Naming his criteria for a Republican nominee -- electability and consistent conservative values -- Inhofe said the choice among the contenders was easy. "He was the one," Inhofe said. 

The Oklahoma Republican, who is one of the leading skeptics of human beings contributing to climate change, is also supporting Perry because of the governor's pledge to dismantle EPA regulations that both believe stifle job creation.

"He was willing to take on the sacred cows," Inhofe said, "and that is the overregulation" by the Environmental Protection Agency. "He wasn't afraid of it. Everyone else was afraid of it."

He added that the nation is turning away from the belief that climate change is man-made and must be regulated. "I think there's been a wakeup call to the American people," he said. "I think they realize that a lot of the science has been drummed up by people who have a financial dog in the fight."

That's a belief both men share. Inhofe said in the interview that "the vast majority" of scientists dependent on government grants "go along with the whole idea" of global warming to keep money flowing to their research projects. Perry, at a campaign stop in New Hampshire earlier this month, claimed there are "a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects."

Perry's skepticism about global warming would lead him to gut federal regulations geared towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which Inhofe says should be a pleasing proposition to deficit hawks.

"He'll attack [the debt] from the regulatory end as much as he will from the spending end," Inhofe said. "I haven't heard anybody else talking about that because they're afraid of the issue."

Perry would also support oil and natural-gas production in areas of the United States that are currently closed to drillers, Inhofe said.

"The fact that 83 percent of our public land is off limits is ludicrous," Inhofe said. "We can't sit around and talk about how we want to do something about our dependency on the Middle East and not go ahead and get our own stuff. That's what he wants to do."

Inhofe, who endorsed early-conservative-darling-turned-flameout Fred Thompson during the last presidential cycle, sees one key difference between Thompson and Perry.

"Fred's lazy," Inhofe said. "And this guy's not lazy; he works all the time."

Republican presidential candidates Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann talk about Hurricane Irene and President Obama's response to the storm.

Video edited by NBC's Matt Loffman

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- In a speech before the American Legion, President Obama laid the framework for his message on foreign policy as he runs for reelection. While praising the military, he touted accomplishments during his administration, including killing Osama bin Laden, ousting Moammar Khaddafy, ending the war in Iraq, and drawing down in Afghanistan.

He said current U.S. forces “have earned their place among the greatest of generations.” And he praised its accomplishments under the Bush administration, including “toppling the Taliban in just weeks,” “driving al Qaeda from the training camps where they plotted 9/11,” “giving the Afghan people the opportunity to live free from terror,” as well as ousting Saddam Hussein “in less than a month.”

But he also noted, “When a resurgent Taliban threatened to give al Qaeda more space to plot against us, the additional forces I ordered to Afghanistan went on the offensive—taking the fight to the Taliban, pushing them out of their safe havens, allowing Afghans to reclaim their communities and training Afghan forces.  And a few months ago, our troops achieved our greatest victory yet in the fight against those who attacked us on 9/11—delivering justice to Osama bin Laden in one of the greatest intelligence and military operations in American history.”

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney also spoke on foreign policy at the VFW convention in San Antonio and criticized the president, whom he charged addresses “the world with an apology on his lips and doubt in his heart.”

Obama instead said the U.S. is “moving forward from a position of strength,” thanks to U.S. soldiers. And “America’s military is the best that it’s ever been.”

Romney said of Obama’s leadership on Libya: "Our involvement in Libya was marked by inadequate clarity of purpose before we began the mission, mission muddle during the operation, and ongoing confusion as to our role in the future.”

But Obama praised the role of the U.S. military there: “We saw that most recently in the skill and precision of our brave forces who helped the Libyan people finally break free from the grip of Moammar Khaddafy.”

Obama also promised again that he will “remove the rest of our troops [from Iraq] by the end of this year and end that war.” And on Afghanistan, he promised that “we’ll bring home 33,000 troops by next summer and bring home more troops in the coming years. “ He added that the mission there is transitioning “from combat to support” and that “Afghans will take responsibility for their own security.”

He also assured the assembled group of veterans that even with “hard fiscal choices” ahead, he would strive to make sure the U.S. military continues to be “the best-trained, the best-led, the best-equipped fighting force in history.”

He called upholding “trust” with veterans a “moral obligation” for his administration. “That’s why my very first budget included the largest percentage increase to the VA budget in the past 30 years,” he said. 

During the speech he, once again, called for an end to “gridlock in Washington “so as to speed up job creation and repeated that he would speak to the nation about a jobs plan sometime next week.

The president’s remarks moved beyond economic generalities when he called upon Congress to pass two initiatives that the White House has designed to help returning veterans find jobs.  The “Returning Heroes Tax Credit” would benefit companies that hire unemployed veterans and another tax credit would aide companies that hire disabled veterans. 

“When Congress returns from recess, this needs to be at the top of their agenda,” he said. “For the sake of our veterans, for the sake of our economy, we need these veterans working and contributing and creating the new jobs and industries that will keep America competitive in the 21st Century.”

When acknowledging the upcoming 10^th anniversary of Sept. 11^th, he asked for those who’ve served in Afghanistan and Iraq to stand and promised to end the Iraq war by the close of 2011.

And the president received his largest reaction, from a fairly calm crowd, when he spoke of sending condolence letters to the families of service members who’ve committed suicide.

“The days when depression and PTSD were stigmatized, those days must end,” Obama said. “That's why I made the decision to start sending condolence letters to the families of service members who take their lives while deployed in a combat zone. These Americans did not die because they were weak. They were warriors.”

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Just minutes before President Obama was to address the American Legion convention in Minnesota, and one day after Texas Gov. Rick Perry addressed the same room here at the national VFW convention, Mitt Romney took the podium this morning to assail the president on foreign policy.

"Have we ever had a president who was so eager to address the world with an apology on his lips and doubt in his heart?" Romney asked the crowd rhetorically. "He seems truly confused not only about America’s past but our future."

The speech was darker in tone than when he talks of foreign policy at his smaller campaign stops. The former governor spared no ammunition in criticizing the president Obama for his foreign-policy approach.

On two of America's three ongoing military engagements, Romney was even more direct.

"First, President Obama acted as if it were a great surprise that a rebellion erupted, even though The Arab Spring was already in full swing in Tunisia and Egypt," Romney said of the president's leadership on Libya. "Our involvement in Libya was marked by inadequate clarity of purpose before we began the mission, mission muddle during the operation, and ongoing confusion as to our role in the future."

On President Obama’s withdrawal plans from Afghanistan, Romney said, “[T]he President has chosen to disregard the counsel of the generals on the ground. I don’t know of a single military advisor to President Obama who recommended the withdrawal plan the president chose, and that puts the success of our soldiers and our mission at greater risk."

Further, Romney called the U.S. response to the Iranian elections of 2009 and the subsequent protests that were crushed by the Iranian government "a disgrace."

Though, he didn’t say exactly what his response would have been.

This came within the context of a larger critique of the administration's views on foreign policy, and efforts to cut defense spending, which Romney said must be founded upon either one of two mistaken beliefs: that the world was becoming a safer place or that America was becoming a lesser power. 

The former governor said that any belief in America as a lesser power "flows from the conviction that if we are weak, tyrants will choose to be weak as well; that if we could just talk more, engage more, pass more U.N. resolutions, that peace will break out." He continued, "That may be what they think in that Harvard faculty lounge, but it’s not what they know on the battlefield!"

Romney graduated from Harvard in 1975 with a combined J.D./M.B.A.

Romney also looked to present himself not as yet another government official, but as a private-sector outsider.

"I am a conservative businessman," Romney told several hundred veterans assembled in a cavernous ballroom. "I have spent most of my life outside of politics, dealing with real problems in the real economy.  Career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don't know how to get us out!"

Highlighting his private-sector experience has long been a hallmark of Romney's stump speech, but some observers see a renewed focus on the former CEO's time in the private sector as an effort to draw contrast with the surging Perry, who has served continuously in public office since 1985.

But Romney has run for public office four times, including this year, since 1994. And while he has highlighted his private-sector experience to differentiate himself from Perry, he has also highlighted his government experience to separate himself from Herman Cain, for example, the only other candidate to have served as a CEO.

“I respect Herman Cain,” Romney said two weeks ago, “but I also think it’s helpful to have had that government experience that I’ve had.”

Romney also referenced his managerial experience in the private sector when it came to defense policy, telling the crowd he could not wait for a chance to turn wasted defense dollars into newer ships and planes.

"Let me tell you, as a conservative businessman who has spent most of his life in the private sector,” he said, “I look at that kind of inefficiency and bloat and say, ‘Let me at it.’”

Romney mentioned his background in business explicitly twice, and made mention of his governorship three times. 

Video edited by NBC's Natalie Cucchiara.

Does Obama go big or small in his upcoming jobs plan?... Another contrast day for Romney: Obama addresses American Legion at 11:55 am ET, while Romney speaks to VFW at 11:20 am ET… Perry decries “military adventurism”… McCarthy: Romney needs to be more in touch with everyday people… Bachmann says her Hurricane Irene comment was just humor… Cheney on Iraq, Libby, and why he’s polarizing… And GOP Super Committee members meet today.

AP

*** Does Obama go big or small? The Washington Post sums up the current debate in the West Wing regarding President Obama’s upcoming economic plan: Does he go big and pick a fight with Congress? Or does he try to craft some smaller measures that could pass a divided Congress? “[B]ehind the scenes Obama and top aides had yet to reach agreement on the major tenets of that plan, and it remained unclear whether the president was looking for narrower ideas with a realistic chance of passing the Republican-led House or more sweeping stimulus proposals that would excite his liberal base and draw contrasts with the GOP.” The downside to going big: The American public (especially independents) is no longer in favor of stimulating the economy by spending more money, but they do want some REAL solution to this wheezing economy. The downside to going small: Obama has racked up plenty of tactical legislative accomplishments, but he hasn’t gotten credit for them.

*** The White House’s dilemma: Hence the dilemma for the White House -- which is leading to real disagreements in the West Wing over where to go next. One gets the sense Team Obama is surprised by how much damage the president suffered during the debt ceiling debate. Many folks in the president's circle thought he'd get more credit with the public for looking like the reasonable guy in the room. A miscalculation?

AP

*** Obama speaks to American Legion, Romney addresses VFW: Today, at 11:55 am ET in Minneapolis, Obama delivers remarks to the American Legion’s annual conference. Meanwhile, about 30 minutes earlier, Romney addresses the VFW convention in San Antonio. So while Romney might no longer be the GOP front-runner if the Perry poll surge is sustainable, he gets another contrast opportunity with Obama -- and will get another next week with his dueling jobs/economic plan. By the way, the VFW folks say they are disappointed that Obama or another high-ranking White House official won’t be addressing their group. "It is an insult of the highest magnitude that for the first time in the history of the VFW, the White House has apparently decided that this great and iconic organization of combat veterans and all of its members are not worthy of its notice by not at least offering a first-tier speaker from the administration," wrote its national commander. An administration official tells First Read that in addition to Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs W. Scott Gould (who will be addressing the group), the White House offered UN Ambassador Susan Rice, the Air Force secretary, and the director of the National Guard. The VFW declined those offers, though a spokesperson for the VFW disputes this claim. Obama spoke to the VFW in 2009, and Vice President Biden did the same in 2010.

*** Perry decries “military adventurism”: Perry spoke yesterday at the VFW confab in San Antonio, where he outlined some of his foreign-policy beliefs, per NBC’s Carrie Dann. "We must renew our commitment to taking the fight to the enemy wherever they are, before they strike at home. I do not believe that America should fall subject to a foreign policy of military adventurism.” More: "We should only risk shedding American blood and spending American treasure when our vital interests are threatened." Question: Does that mean he believes the Iraq war was a mistake? What about Libya? And do note this other snippet from Perry’s speech. “We must be willing to act when it is time to act. We cannot concede the moral authority of our nation to multi-lateral debating societies" -- that line makes him sound like more of an interventionist, more closely aligned with the Bill Kristol foreign policy wing of the party.

AP

House Majority Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

*** McCarthy: Romney needs to be more in touch with everyday people: Don’t miss this dig at Romney from House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy. At a local chamber of commerce forum in California late last week, “McCarthy said he wonders who told wealthy former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney now was a good time to nearly quadruple the size of his family's beach house in La Jolla,” the Bakersfield Californian writes. “Romney would benefit from being more in touch with everyday people, McCarthy said. ‘He needs to stop staying in hotels and start staying with volunteers at every campaign stop,’ the House majority whip said. ‘His job should be to take out the trash every day, and if that bag breaks, he needs to clean it up.’” On Perry, McCarthy said the Texas governor “ought to pay a little more attention to avoiding political gaffes. ‘What plays in Texas doesn't always play well nationally,’ he said.”

*** On the 2012 trail: In the only other activity today, Santorum holds a media avail in Harrisburg, PA and then he visits Centre Hall, PA.

*** Bachmann says it was simply a joke: Asked yesterday in Miami if she truly believes that Hurricane Irene was a political message from God, Bachmann said she was only making a joke. "It would be absurd to think that that was the intention of my comment," she said, per NBC's Jamie Novogrod. "If you know me, you know that I am a person who loves humor. And I think it’s important to exhibit that humor sometimes when you're talking to people as well." She continued, "So, of course I was being humorous when I said that. Because the American people have tried very hard to get the president's attention. He is not listening. And that is the message that I was trying to put out."    

*** Cheney on Iraq, Libby, and why he’s so polarizing: In his exclusive interview on “TODAY” with former Vice President Dick Cheney, NBC’s Matt Lauer asked Cheney to explain why he’s considered so polarizing. “I was a big advocate of pursuing controversial policies to keep the country safe,” he said. Cheney defended the administration’s practice of waterboarding high-level terrorist suspects, saying the U.S. can’t get caught up in having popular methods of interrogation. On Iraq: “The president [George W. Bush] made the right decision… I don’t think it damaged our reputation around the world.” And Cheney maintained that Scooter Libby deserved a pardon from former President Bush. “I don’t think the indictment was appropriate… I really think he was badly treated… The president disagreed.”

AP

Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.)

*** GOP Super Committee members meet: NBC’s Libby Leist reports that Republicans on the Joint Select Committee for Deficit Reduction -- a.k.a. "Super Committee"-- will hold their first meeting today in DC. Sens. Jon Kyl, Rob Portman and Pat Toomey, and Reps. Jeb Hensarling, Dave Camp, and Fred Upton will return from their August recess to attend the meeting. Until now, members have been in touch over the phone. According to one GOP aide, "Everybody is ready to go and wants to get to work. The clock is ticking." The Republicans are expected to discuss the mechanics of the committee, as well as review some of the more recent deficit reduction proposals circulating in Washington (like Bowles-Simpson). So far, Leist adds, Democrats have not met in person but have been in touch on the phone.

*** It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s the Super Committee! By the way, Camp told his constituents in Michigan that the Super Committee could end up being the model for Congress addressing tough issues, Bloomberg reports. “After the speech, he was asked by a voter whether Congress should get an overhaul to become more responsive. Camp said he is optimistic that the supercommittee might emerge as a model for tackling big issues. ‘The question is really how can we reform the process,” Camp said. “The creation of this joint committee might be a path forward.’ In a series of interviews over the course of the day, Camp said his optimism about the panel stems in part from the power given it to write legislation and that its work is guaranteed a vote on the House and Senate floors, bypassing committee hurdles and procedural maneuvers that can hobble most legislation.”  So in other words, does Camp believe Congress is so incapable of tackling tough decisions that it has to be outsourced to a 12-person committee?

*** Tuesday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Gov. Peter Shumlin (D-VT) on Vermont’s flooding and the federal/state/local response… Former Clinton White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, on President Obama’s upcoming jobs speech and the economy… Previewing the Sept. 7^th NBC News/Politico Reagan Library GOP presidential debate with Politico’s Editor-in-Chief (and debate co-moderator!) John Harris… Former Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and John Sununu (R-NH) on the fight over the economy and what to expect from Congress’ deficit super committee… CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin with a market preview… Plus more 2012 with Politico’s Jonathan Martin, the Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus and Democratic strategist/MSNBC analyst Karen Finney.

*** Tuesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up (guest-hosted by NBC’s Chuck Todd): The program will interview AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka, R. David Paulison on the hurricane clean-up, and the New York Times’ Mark Mazzetti on Libya.

Countdown to NBC-Politico debate at Reagan Library: 8 days
Countdown to NV-2 and NY-9 special elections: 14 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 70 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 160 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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Per the Washington Post, President Obama gave some hints about his upcoming economic proposal. "'I will be laying out a series of steps that Congress can take immediately to put more money in the pockets of working families and middle-class families, to make it easier for small businesses to hire people, to put construction crews to work rebuilding our nation’s roads and railways and airports, and all the other measures that can help to grow this economy,' he said."

"Obama said the plan would consist of 'bipartisan ideas that ought to be the kind of proposals that everybody can get behind, no matter what your political affiliation might be.'"

“The White House has issued detailed guidelines to government officials on how to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, with instructions to honor the memory of those who died on American soil but also to recall that Al Qaeda and other extremist groups have since carried out attacks elsewhere in the world, from Mumbai to Manila,” the New York Times says.

“The full measure of Hurricane Irene’s fury came into focus yesterday as the death toll climbed to 40, communities battled huge floods, and millions faced the dispiriting prospect of several days without electricity,” AP writes.

The outgoing chair of the National Labor Relations Board responded to the independent agency’s critics, according to the New York Times. “‘The criticism is grossly out of proportion to what has happened and what has been done,’ said [Wilma] Liebman, who was first appointed to the board by President Bill Clinton in 1997. ‘We knew we were going to have a boxing match, but we didn’t expect our opponents to come in with a baseball bat.’”

More: “Ms. Liebman said that under the Obama administration, the Democratic-controlled board had reversed only a handful of rulings made by the Republican-controlled board appointed by President Bush. ‘The perception of this agency as doing radical things is mystifying to me,” she said. “The rhetoric is so overheated.’” 

Yesterday we wrote about those monogrammed fleeces we kept seeing on TV, well, the Boston Globe’s Johnson today notes Gov. Deval Patrick’s (D-MA) style: “Celebrity magazines have made the “fashion disaster” an everyday term. Governor Deval Patrick is working to make disaster fashion his personal trademark.”

“Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are developing a rivalry for the White House, but their bitter personal feud dates back much further - to a spat over the role of Boy Scouts as volunteers in the 2002 Winter Olympics,” the Boston Globe says. “Perry, who proudly wears an Eagle Scout pin on his lapel, has harshly criticized Romney for a decision made while he ran the Olympics not to allow Boy Scouts to be official volunteers during the games.”

CNN is the latest national poll to show Rick Perry in the lead. He’s at 32% -- followed by Romney at 18%, Bachmann at 12%, Gingrich at 7%, and Paul at 6%.

BACHMANN: “As most Republican candidates barnstorm the Granite State seeking votes in the first-in-the-nation primary, Bachmann has been campaigning in Iowa, South Carolina, and Florida,” the Boston Globe writes. “On Memorial Day, Bachmann told reporters in New Hampshire that she considered the state very important. But her last visit was June 28, the day after she formally announced her candidacy. She canceled a visit in August. While her campaign insists Bachmann will visit next month, her early absence could cost her votes.”

Bachmann has a memoir coming out in November.

HUNTSMAN: “Huntsman's ad man, Fred Davis, has joined a new Super PAC backing Huntsman,” GOP 12 writes via RealClearPolitics.

PALIN: NBC’s Alex Moe confirmed that Christine O'Donnell will speak at the Tea Party of America’s “Restoring America” event this Saturday before Palin does, according to organizer Charlie Gruschow. O'Donnell is currently on a book signing tour. Gruschow said that O'Donnell's addition "fell out of the sky" when another Tea Party group contacted them about adding her as a speaker. He said Palin's people were contacted before the addition was finalized, and they had the room in the lineup. Palin did endorse O'Donnell in her unsuccessful 2010 Senate run.

Palin, Moe adds, will speak roughly around 2:30pm ET on Saturday for about 30 minutes. Gruschow said they are hoping for large crowds, but he doesn’t have an exact estimate and doesn’t know what Palin's message will be. 

PERRY: The Houston Chronicle looks into allegations of inappropriate donations to Perry during his 2006 re-election campaign.

“Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry said that if elected he would not rely on new stimulus programs to boost the economy reports the Associated Press,” The Hill writes. "You won't have stimulus programs under a Perry presidency. You won't spend all the money," said Perry Monday at the Tulsa Press Club.

Kinky Friedman on why he’s supporting Perry over Obama, per GOP 12: "It comes down to this: do you prefer a president who doesn't believe in evolution, or do you prefer a president that doesn't believe in Israel? That counts for something." (A reality check: Obama has affirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel.)

ROMNEY: The Boston Globe notes how Romney has tweaked his language on global warming since Perry has gotten in the race.

Mitt Romney says he’s not quadrupling the size of his beach house, he’s only doubling it. Well, he’s doubling the “living space.” The square footage is almost quadruple if you only include the new garage and basement. “It's not accurate, Romney said, simply,” per the conservative publisher of the New Hampshire Union Leader Joe McQuaid. “The application he made, two years ago, was to double the living space by turning one story into two. The “quadrupling'' was a measurement of added nonliving space, including a basement and garage.”

How ‘bout this headline from the New York Post: “'Jewish' Bachmann is costing Romney.” “Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is facing a new challenge: He's having trouble raising money from some Jewish donors who mistakenly believe one of his opponents, Michele Bachmann, is Jewish. Some Jewish donors are telling fund-raisers for Romney, a Mormon, that while they like him, they'd rather open their wallets for the ‘Jewish candidate,’ who they don't realize is actually a Lutheran, The Post has learned. ‘It's a real problem,’ one Romney fund-raiser said. ‘We're working very hard in the Jewish community because of Obama's Israel problem. This was surprising.’” She didn’t even know how to pronounce “chutzpah!”

Headlining a long list of state leaders at the Orangeburg, South Carolina GOP picnic, Sen. Jim DeMint said 2012 might be Republicans’ “last chance” to fill Congress and the White House with conservatives that meet DeMint’s standards, NBC’s Ali Weinberg reports. “I think 2012 could be our last chance to turn this thing around and SC is going to play a pivotal role, not just our local and state offices but sending back our Congressional delegation and also being a major player in selecting the president of the United States,” DeMint said, speaking to a crowd of about 100 people at Cox Farms, owned by the family behind the major wood producer Cox Industries.

The AP: “The House Republican agenda this fall will focus on repealing environmental and labor regulations that GOP lawmakers say are driving up the cost of doing business and discouraging employers from hiring workers.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) outlined the House GOP's upcoming agenda today in a memo to members of the conference.  In it he explains a two pronged legislative approach for the fall and winter: 1) repealing "job destroying regulations", and 2) "tax relief" for small businesses and federal, state and local governments, NBC’s Frank Thorp reports. Cantor's memo is a telling sign that this fall and winter will be busy on Capitol Hill.  This legislative agenda is all in addition to whatever the super committee decides to send to Congress as part of the debt limit deal.  In addition, we should expect a fight over a long-term FAA reauthorization bill, a patent reform bill, votes on trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia and Panama, AND a renewed fight over government appropriations as the Continuing Resolution is set to expire on September 30th.

Cantor lists 10 regulations that were pinpointed by GOP committee chairmen, and which he says "are reflective of the types of costly bureaucratic handcuffs that Washington has imposed upon business people who want to create jobs."  The list includes regulations on such things as Coal Ash, Farm Dust, and a regulation requiring hospitals, factories and colleges to have new EPA-standard boilers equipped in their buildings (there's a full list of the 10 regulations below in the memo). We should expect legislation this fall and winter to repeal each of these 10 regulations. In addition, Cantor cites two specific tax cuts that he says republicans will eventually introduce in the House after the August recess is over.  The first is a repeal of a tax scheduled to go into effect in 2013 that would require federal, state, and local governments to withhold three percent of all government payments made to contractors in excess of $100 million.  The second will be to allow small business people to take a tax deduction equal to 20% of their income.

NEW YORK: “State Assemblyman David Weprin (D) dropped out of a scheduled debate with Republican Bob Turner on Monday, just over two weeks before a special election in New York’s 9th district that will send one of the men to Congress,” Roll Call writes. “Weprin was tripped up in a recent interview with the New York Daily News editorial board when asked the size of the national debt. The Daily News reported that he had a ‘deer in the headlights look’ and then said ‘[a]bout 4 trillion.’ According to the most recent Department of Treasury statistics, the country’s total debt stands at about $14.7 trillion.”

WISCONSIN: “Former Rep. Mark Neumann announced Monday that he is running for Wisconsin’s open Senate seat, setting up a likely GOP primary battle with former Gov. Tommy Thompson,” Roll Call writes.

TULSA, Okla. -- Sen. Jim Inhofe, a strident conservative voice in the Senate and a vocal skeptic of global warming, formally endorsed Gov. Rick Perry on Monday, calling him "the only guy who can really win this thing."

"The one thing that he has that nobody else has is this background of experience, not just him being an administrator but doing the right thing, cutting down the deficit, increasing jobs. And he's done everything right," Inhofe said, adding, "No one out there running is as aware as to the cost of all the overregulation that we're experiencing right now."

Answering questions after brief remarks, Perry told reporters that the national debt should be addressed by the elimination of federal regulations on the energy industry, which would create jobs and wealth previously unseen in the American economy.

"Just in the energy industry alone, if you remove the boot of regulation that this administration has taken to a new level in this country, the job creation that will occur will be phenomenal. It, singularly, by freeing up these entrepreneurs will create wealth like we have never seen in this country before. And that wealth will pay off that debt."

He repeated his goals of tort reform, spending cuts, and low taxes, saying, "You won't have stimulus programs under President Perry. You won't spend all the money."

Perry also reiterated his critique of the federal government's enforcement of border security, saying that debate over individual immigration laws neglects the massive problem of a porous border.

"You can talk immigration til you're blue in the face, this reform or that reform, passing this law," he said. "But none of it matters, none of it, until we secure our border with Mexico."

Perry's comments on immigration came in response to a question about his previous statements that a hardline Arizona-style immigration law -- as written in the legislation signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in 2010, would not be right for Texas.

"I supported an Arizona-type law, but all of that law I did not support," he said. "For instance, turning our law enforcement officers in Texas into immigration [officers]. And I'm on the record pretty good with that. I understand combing through my record and trying to see an inconsistency here and there. That's fine, I know y'all have to have something to do."

Rick Perry has shot to the top of yet another national poll.

The Texas governor now leads in a new CNN/Opinion Research poll 32%-18% over Mitt Romney.

Rep. Michele Bachmann is third with 12%. No one else cracks double digits. Newt Gingrich pulls in 7%, Rep. Ron Paul 6%, Herman Cain 3%, Gary Johnson 2%, Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Thaddeus McCotter all at 1%. Neither Huntsman nor Santorum has been able to break through despite full-fledged, on-the-ground campaigning.

With Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani factored in, Perry still leads by 13 percentage points, 27%-14% over Romney. Palin gets 10%, jumping ahead of Bachmann at 9%. Giuliani also gets 9%.

The poll is a marked shift from earlier this month, just before Perry got in, when Romney led Perry 23%-18%.

Perry's base, according to the poll, appears to be men and voters age 50-64. He also leads by a wide margin among those who identify as Tea Party.

For all the talk of President Obama's slippage with his base, the number of Democrats saying he deserves reelection actually ticked up from earlier this month from 70% to 72%. That is, however, down from a high of 83% back in April.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- An earthquake, a hurricane within just days of each other hit the East Coast and Washington, D.C. What accounts for this? According to Rep. Michele Bachmann -- it's God's reaction to politics.

“I don’t know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians," Bachmann said. "We’ve had an earthquake, we’ve had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here. Listen to the American people.'"

That was met with scattered laughs inside a crowded auditorium here Sunday. Bachmann added that God is demanding that politicians “listen to the American people.”

During a press conference following the event, NBC News asked Bachmann to clarify.

"Our hearts and prayers and thoughts go out to the families of the victims," Bachmann said, adding that the national debt poses a threat to relief efforts.

She contended she was joking about God's intention, but then doubled down.

“What I was saying in humorous vein is that there are things that are happening which politicians have to pay attention to," she told NBC. "It isn’t every day that we have an earthquake in the United States.

"I think that what we’re seeing is that in this country, we have to have a margin -- financially. And when we are so out over the cliff, financially, we don’t have the margin that we need anymore.”

According to the latest reports, as many as 25 people there is a growing number of those who died in Hurricane Irene; 15 people had been counted dead at the time of Bachmann's appearance in Sarasota. FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said he had seen "open source" that there were 21 dead.

The event was the second of two campaign stops Sunday. It followed a morning trip to the sprawling Idelwild Baptist Church in Lutz, outside Tampa. Before the Sarasota event began, a line of several hundred supporters awaiting entry to the building -- a local Shriners Temple -- were greeted by about 40 college-age gay-rights protestors.

Inside, more than 130 people packed the stage directly behind Bachmann's podium. The crowd on the main floor spilled out into the building's entrance area. Sarasota GOP Chairman Joe Gruters tells NBC the event drew more than a 1,000 people.

From NBC's Carrie Dann:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry offered the broad outlines of his foreign policy philosophy at an annual gathering of veterans Monday, telling attendees that he opposes "military adventurism" while also advocating for "taking the fight to the enemy" and decrying indecision by "multi-lateral debating societies" at times of international crisis.

"We must renew our commitment to taking the fight to the enemy wherever they are, before they strike at home. I do not believe that America should fall subject to a foreign policy of military adventurism," he said at the annual convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars in San Antonio.  "We should only risk shedding American blood and spending American treasure when our vital interests are threatened."

But Perry -- who did not specifically critique American involvement in the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, or Libya -- added that while American military leaders should honor and coordinate with allies around the world, too much collaboration with other nations could put U.S. soldiers at risk.

"We must be willing to act when it is time to act," he said to a crescendo of applause during his remarks. "We cannot concede the moral authority of our nation to multi-lateral debating societies. And when our interests are threatened, American soldiers should be led by American commanders."

"I say this because we owe to them and to their loved ones the commitment that any war is led by the country with the most advanced technology and the best training," he added.

The Texas governor, who served in the Air Force and whose father is a World War II veteran, made a special point to laud veterans of the Vietnam War, saying that soliders at that time faced the uncertainty of "not knowing at times when the enemy lurked among them in the civilian population" as well as the dithering of leaders in Washington were "not prepared to win" the conflict.

Perry was invited to speak at the convention in his role as the governor of the state of its host city, San Antonio. He is scheduled to campaign in Oklahoma this afternoon.

From NBC's Ali Weinberg:
Endorsing Jon Huntsman for president today, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson stressed what he said would be the former Utah governor’s ability to connect with voters in a general election.

While he said “there are a lot of wonderful people running for president,” Wilson, the son of Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., said that Huntsman can “take that conservative message to the folks in the general election to your independent voters, to your moderate, formerly known as Reagan Democrats.”

“It’s no good to be a conservative if you can’t sell a conservative message in a general election. I believe Governor Huntsman has the ability to do that,” he said, speaking at the South Carolina statehouse.

Huntsman said that Wilson’s endorsement made him the state’s first constitutional officer to endorse a candidate, which gave him reason for optimism in the nation’s first-in-the-south primary.

“This puts us in a position in South Carolina I begin to like our odds, I begin to like our chances in this state,” he said, adding that he would be seeing more of the South Carolina press corps as he continues to come through the state for “retail politics.”

He said that he believed the South Carolina primary would come down to “who has what it takes, the old shoe leather, walking the streets, the person-to-person interaction capability to go the distance.” 

Huntsman was also joined by state Sen. John Courson, who has endorsed every eventual Republican nominee since Ronald Reagan in 1980 and endorsed Huntsman back in April.

Courson said with this endorsement he was going “six for six.”

“We’re not going to let you down, buddy” Huntsman responded.

Before the announcement at the statehouse, Gov. Huntsman met with the editorial board of The State newspaper, according to a tweet from State reporter Adam Beam.