DES MOINES, Iowa -- Tim Pawlenty helped kick off the start of the "Values Voter Bus Tour" outside the state capital here this morning. But the most notable presence in the crowd were not Pawlenty supporters, rather supporters of Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

About 20 Perry supporters -- dressed in Texas Longhorn burnt orange shirts -- were at the event handing out Perry literature and talking to media about why Perry should be the GOP nominee. (There's a bit of irony here, however, considering that Perry went to Texas A&M, not the University of Texas. There's no love lost between the two schools.)

They are part of the group "Americans for Rick Perry," a 527 group that has no official affiliation with the governor.

After the event, Nate Crain, national finance chairman for the organization, said the goal for the Ames straw poll is 150 to 200 write-in votes. Regarding the Texas governor's schedule this weekend, Crain said, "He's not trying to mess with the straw poll, because if he was trying to mess with the straw poll he would just come out and say, 'I'm running for president.'"

Americans for Rick Perry is a six-week old organization, which has been a presence at campaign events throughout Iowa. They will be following the Values Voter bus tour.

Video shot by NBC campaign embeds Garrett Haake, Jamie Novogrod, and Alex Moe.

Edited by Domenico Montanaro.

After his stops on Saturday in New Hampshire and South Carolina (where he's expected to announce his presidential intentions), Rick Perry heads to Iowa the next day, the Des Moines Register reports.

And it's the day after the Ames Straw Poll.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will speak Sunday at a fundraiser hosted by the Black Hawk County Republicans, his campaign has confirmed. The Lincoln Day Dinner event in Waterloo will mark Perry’s first visit to Iowa as a potential 2012 presidential candidate.

According to Politico, Perry also will make another trip back to New Hampshire next Wednesday, speaking at its Politics and Eggs event.

The Michele Bachmann campaign tells NBC News that the candidate is not interested in getting into a conversation over the controversial Newsweek cover photo of its candidate.

The campaign says Bachmann is focused on the Ames Straw Poll, and with meeting the voters of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

That said, a source points out that the photo that was featured on the cover of Newsweek came from a lighting test conducted during the photo shoot -- which took place in Washington, DC during the time when the congresswoman was home voting on the debt-ceiling bill.

The source tells NBC News that Newsweek shared photos from the shoot with the campaign. The campaign indicated its preference. But the photo that Newsweek ultimately used on the cover was NOT among those preferred choices.

President Obama has arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to pay respect to the U.S. soldiers who died when Taliban forces shot down a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan.

Per the pool report:

President Obama has arrived at Dover Air Force Base on an unannounced trip. He is here to pay respects to the American troops who were killed in the Chinook helicopter crash in Afghanistan over the weekend. 30 Americans died, many of them Navy SEALS, in the deadliest single incident for American forces since the Afghan war began a decade ago. The motorcade left the White House in secret at 11:34 AM. After a short drive with stops at traffic lights, we arrived at Fort McNair for a helo flight through muggy gray haze over the Chesapeake Bay and into Delaware.

Mitt Romney's campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, has responded to the Politico report noting that Team Obama plans to portray Romney as inauthentic and will use his Bain Capital days against him -- if Romney is the GOP nominee.

"Unless things change and Obama can run on accomplishments, he will have to kill Romney," a prominent Democratic strategist aligned with the White House told Politico.

Said Rhoades in a statement:

"It is disgraceful that President Obama's campaign has launched his re-election with the stated goal to 'kill' his opponent with an onslaught of negative and personal attacks. President Obama will say and do desperate things to hold onto power because he knows he has failed. Neither despicable threats, nor President Obama's billion dollar negative campaign, will put Americans back to work, save their homes, or restore their hopes. On November 6, 2012, this will change."

SULLY, Iowa -- Tim Pawlenty (R) continued to cite yesterday's economic news as proof President Obama is not capable of fixing the economy.

To a crowd of about 20 people gathered here in the Coffee Cup Cafe, the former Minnesota governor likened the president to "a manure spreader in a wind storm, throwing things in every direction with out focus."

It was his first of six stops throughout Iowa today. 

"The president of the United States addressed the country yesterday afternoon," Pawlenty said. "And we saw in his remarks - both in content and tone - that his call to the nation that he used in 2008 of hope and change became hope and blame. And he began to act like a manure spreader in a wind storm, throwing things in every direction without any real focus."

Pros and cons of Obama bringing Congress back… Tonight’s referendum on Big Labor (and Scott Walker) in Wisconsin… Dems need to gain a net three state Senate seats to win back control of the chamber after Walker’s anti-collective-bargaining law… Polls in Wisconsin close at 9:00 pm ET… Team Obama to take a page out of the Bush ’04 playbook on Romney?... Saturday’s split screen: Most Republicans will be in Iowa for the Ames Straw Poll, while Rick Perry will be in South Carolina and New Hampshire… Longtime Lamar Alexander aide Tom Ingram joins the Huntsman campaign… How Bachmann has become the anti-Palin… Romney’s Drudge connection… And most of the 2012 candidates are in Iowa today.

*** Does Obama bring Congress back? We heard the message from Terry McAuliffe yesterday, former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine today, and we know there are other friends of the administration giving similar advice: President Obama needs to bring Congress back from its August vacation to deal with jobs and debt. On the one hand, the White House doesn’t want to look like it’s panicking (a la John McCain’s call to suspend his campaign after Lehman’s crash in the fall of ‘08). And Team Obama’s first instinct is to always under-react; in fact, you saw that in his speech yesterday afternoon. On the other hand, the Obama White House needs to look like it’s in charge of the situation, even if world markets are reacting more to the debt crisis in Europe rather than the political situation in Washington.

*** Or does it tune out the Washington chatter? The Obama White House’s pattern in the past has been to tune out the Washington chatter and then react to it on its own timetable. Perhaps they'll be proven right in the long run, but it looks riskier today than it has before when they've chosen caution over a high-profile political/policy gamble. By the way, was any thought given to the president deciding against showing up at the two DNC events last night? Again, we know they don't want to be trapped by events and the campaign must go on (it's not as if Republicans decided to stop fundraising yesterday). But with the White House appearing unsure of what to say or do next, it's not going to read well in the history books that on the day the market fell over 600 points, an hour after the closing bell, the president headed to a DNC donor-maintenance event.

*** Tonight’s referendum on Big Labor: These have hardly been glory years for organized labor, even the first two-plus years of the Obama administration. Right out of the gate in ’09, they lost the political battle over card check. In the past few months, they’ve largely lost the P.R. battle over the National Labor Relations Board’s complaint that Boeing illegally moved a plant from union Washington State to non-union South Carolina. And at the beginning of this year -- starting first in Wisconsin -- conservative governors and state legislatures punched Big Labor in the face, passing laws curbing collective-bargaining rights. Today, we find out if labor can punch back, as Wisconsin holds six recall elections against GOP state senators who voted for Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) anti-collective-bargaining law. Yes, the recalls are a referendum on Walker. They’re also a referendum on whether Democrats have regained some political juice in the Midwest. But make no mistake: No one has more to win or lose tonight than organized labor.

*** Total Recall: Badger State Showdown: If Democrats gain a net THREE state Senate seats, they will take back control of that chamber. As mentioned above, six GOP state senators who voted for Walker’s anti-collective-bargaining law -- Robert Cowles, Alberta Darling, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Randy Hopper, and Dan Kapanke -- are receiving challenges from Democrats today. Dems feel good about two of the GOP seats (Hopper’s and Kapanke’s), while two others are toss-ups (Darling’s and Olsen’s). But given the likely low turnout, no one knows how the races will play out. “We don’t have a precedent for this,” Dem pollster Mark Mellman, who’s doing the polling for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, told Greg Sargent last week. “The nature of the turnout is so uncertain that it really will make a huge difference. We’re dealing with big uncertainties.” And the recall story doesn’t end today: If Dems win three or more races today, then they must defend two Democratic state senators facing recalls next week. Polls close in Wisconsin at 9:00 pm ET. 

*** This is a fascinating stat: Via the Recall Elections blog, “Since 1908 (when Oregon became the first state to adopt the recall for state level officials), there have been 20 state legislative recall elections in the entire country. In this term, Wisconsin will have nine recalls in a little over a month.”

*** Taking a page out of the Bush ’04 playbook: Turning to the 2012 race, don’t miss Politico’s look at the Obama playbook against Mitt Romney if he becomes the GOP nominee. “In a move that will make some Democrats shudder, Obama’s high command has even studied President Bush’s 2004 takedown of Sen. John F. Kerry... The onslaught would have two aspects. The first is personal: Obama’s re-elect will portray the public Romney as inauthentic, unprincipled and, in a word used repeatedly by Obama’s advisers in about a dozen interviews, 'weird.'... The second aspect of the campaign to define Romney is his record as CEO of Bain Capital, a venture capital firm which was responsible for both creating and eliminating jobs. Obama officials intend to frame Romney as the very picture of greed in the great recession – a sort of political Gordon Gekko.”

*** Saturday’s split screen: But what if Romney isn’t the nominee? Indeed, the biggest 2012 news yesterday was the reporting that Rick Perry will make his presidential intentions clear on Saturday at the RedState conference in South Carolina (he’ll also be in New Hampshire that day). As a result, Iowa -- with its Ames Straw Poll -- will no longer be the center of the political universe on Saturday. And Perry’s likely entry diminishes the importance of second place in Ames. Bachmann, for instance, can’t afford to look weak in Iowa with Perry about to get in. Ditto Pawlenty, who needs to look like the real deal in the Hawkeye State.

*** Tom Ingram joins the Huntsman campaign: Team Huntsman is announcing that Tom Ingram -- a longtime aide to Lamar Alexander -- is formally joining the campaign as a senior adviser. (Ingram, who has also worked for Bob Corker, Bill Haslam, and Fred Thompson, had been informally advising the campaign until this elevation.) This is pretty big news for the Huntsman camp: Ingram is a manager, and he’s been brought in to fix campaigns before. His bottom-line reputation: He's the type of guy who brings order and does so without making himself the story. Clearly, a response to the news last week that John Weaver had lost some confidence with some important campaign supporters.

*** How Bachmann has become the anti-Palin: To us, the biggest news from the controversial Newsweek cover of Michele Bachmann is how she has stayed clear of the controversy and moved on. When a man asked her about the cover yesterday, Bachmann dismissed it, per NBC's Matt Loffman. "Power behind our campaign is hope and a future. That's all I believe in. I told you that I'm an Iowan and I was born here," she said. Despite all the earlier Palin-Bachmann comparisons, Bachmann has become the anti-Palin in this campaign: While Palin would have gone to war with Newsweek over the photo and headline, Bachmann just brushes it off her shoulder.

*** Romney’s Drudge connection: Speaking of Bachmann, we did enjoy this line from Ryan Lizza’s New Yorker profile of her: “Why would Drudge, an ardent conservative, publicize that gaffe [of Bachmann confusing John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy]? O’Donnell thought he knew the answer. ‘Matt Rhoades and Drudge are best friends,’ he said, speaking of Mitt Romney’s campaign manager. Bachmann concurred. ‘You never see anything about Romney on Drudge—ever,’ she said.” True or not, Rhoades’ ties to Drudge have become accepted legend in presidential politics…

*** On the 2012 trail: The campaigning is all in Iowa: Bachmann, Cain, Paul, Pawlenty, and Santorum are in the Hawkeye State.

*** Tuesday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin & Becky Quick on the market turmoil… WisPolitics.com’s J.R. Ross on today’s Wisconsin recall votes… Iowa GOP Straw Poll look-ahead with the AP’s Liz Sidoti, Comcast’s Robert Traynham and former Clinton White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers… NBC News campaign reporter Carrie Dann in Austin with the latest on Gov. Rick Perry’s plans… Americans Elect’s Eliot Ackerman on their push for another presidential ticket option for 2012… Rothenberg Report’s Nate Gonzales on finding political lessons in children’s books.

Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 4 days
Countdown to Wisconsin recall general for Dem senators: 7 days
Countdown to NV-2 and NY-9 special elections: 35 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 91 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 181 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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The New York Times: “‘It’s not a lack of plans or policies that is the problem here,’ Mr. Obama said Monday in his first public comments on the economy since Standard & Poor’s downgraded the country’s credit rating last Friday. ‘It’s a lack of political will in Washington. It’s the insistence on drawing lines in the sand, a refusal to put what’s best for the country ahead of self-interest or party or ideology. And that’s what we need to change.’”

Mr. Obama then offered, with no modification or expansion, that he would be presenting recommendations to a Congressional committee charged with creating a deficit reduction plan, but hewed to the same central points that he had made during the debt ceiling negotiations, principally that spending cuts must be accompanied by tax increases.

The Boston Globe’s front page headline, with a photo of a stock broker’s head in his hand: “An avalanche of worry.”

The New York Daily News’ cover: “Panic!” over a broker’s shocked-looking face and a zig-zagging down arrow.

The conservative New York Post plays politics and tries to put it on Obama: “Tanks a lot!” reads the cover headline over a grim-faced Obama.

But memo to conservatives and Republicans: If you’re going to pin the stock market’s drop on Obama, then you have to admit his presidency has been widely successful -- just judging from the Dow. When he took office, the Dow was around 8,000. Now it’s 10,800-plus, even after the past two weeks.

DNC Chairwoman Tweeted that members of the Tea Party were “‘tyrants’ who blocked a more comprehensive bargain on the debt ceiling,” The Hill writes.

“President Obama will unveil the first-ever federal fuel efficiency standards Tuesday for a range of heavy-duty trucks, a move the White House is casting as a key part of its plan to cut foreign oil imports and slash harmful air pollution,” The Hill writes.

The Hill handicaps who could be on the “Supercommittee”: “Speculation about who will be selected to serve on the debt ‘supercommittee’ is rampant on Capitol Hill, K Street and Wall Street. The four congressional leaders of the House and Senate have until Aug. 16 to make their appointments. While it is unclear which members will be tapped, Capitol Hill leaders are widely expected to pick party loyalists.”

Five former directors of the Congressional Budget Office tell Bloomberg the trigger fallback is “a flawed device with a history of failure.”

“Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced Monday that the House will do away with its page program, a storied tradition that has brought young people to work in the Capitol for nearly as long as Congress itself has been an institution,” Roll Call reports. “Citing high costs and advances in technology that have reduced the need for the program, the Ohio Republican and the California Democrat said in a joint statement that the program — which costs the House more than $5 million, or about $69,000 to $80,000 per page — is outdated.”

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) urges the GOP to hold the line on any tax increases despite the downgrade. “Over the next several months, there will be tremendous pressure on Congress to prove that S&P’s analysis of the inability of the political parties to bridge our differences is wrong,” Cantor wrote Monday in a memo to House Republicans, per The Hill. “In short, there will be pressure to compromise on tax increases. We will be told that there is no other way forward. I respectfully disagree.”

BACHMANN: The Des Moines Register: “Critics said that day of campaigning represents her political style in a nutshell: She fires up the masses by playing the outsider, issuing a savvy and fine-tuned rallying cry that bashes the establishment and slams hot-button topics, while offering few credible solutions that might dilute her rhetoric. Supporters contend her outsider role is precisely her strength.”

Bachmann last night on FOX, per The Hill: "If I were president today, I would call all the members of Congress back into Washington, D.C., and I'd say this, 'Look, we are going to get this AAA credit rating back, and this is what we're going to do.” She said she “would direct lawmakers to develop a plan to prevent default on U.S. debt, guarantee payments to members of the military, and guarantee seniors' current payments from Social Security and Medicare while reshaping those entitlement programs for future retirees.”

Just asking, but where was that sense of urgency when the Tea Party was no compromise all the time during the debt ceiling debate and default and downgrade was threatened.

CAIN: “Herman Cain's upstart presidential campaign might be based out of Atlanta, but the team guiding him has closer geographical ties to Atlanta, Wis., than the capital of Georgia,” Roll Call’s Drucker writes. “The Cain campaign was reluctant to discuss staff and consultant hires last week, on the eve of Iowa's Ames straw poll. But a review of the Georgia businessman's second-quarter Federal Election Commission report — along with some cooperation from his campaign — has revealed a cadre of senior aides heavy on Wisconsin roots and light on presidential experience. Cain, in a nod to his business background, has given all campaign staff corporate job titles.”

HUNTSMAN: Tom Ingram, a former longtime aide to Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, will be formally joining the Huntsman campaign as a senior advisor, a campaign official tells First Read. He had been an informal adviser for a while, but now is being brought on officially. Previously, he consulted on the Bob Corker and Alexander campaigns for the Senate, as well as Bill Haslam for governor of Tennessee.

PERRY: “Leaning toward a full-fledged presidential run, Governor Rick Perry of Texas will visit at least two early-primary states - South Carolina and New Hampshire - on Saturday, at the same time most of his would-be opponents are competing in an important test vote in Iowa,” the AP writes.

The Austin-American Statesman on Perry's Saturday announcement: "Though a formal campaign announcement is not expected until next week at the earliest, Perry's Saturday speech at the RedState Gathering of conservative leaders will set the stage for his White House bid, said sources close to Perry who were not authorized to speak for the campaign. "There's not going to be much nuance," one source said."

“Texas Gov. Rick Perry is lining up campaign advisers in key GOP presidential primary states, including Katon Dawson and Walter Whetsell, who previously advised Newt Gingrich in South Carolina,” Roll Call reports.

The Texas Tribune writes that a tax law signed by Perry in 2006 is facing a constitutional challenge in the Texas Supreme Court. "If the allegations aren't quickly tossed out by the all-Republican court, Perry could be forced to deal with a thorny tax issue just as he’s trying to win a presidential nominating contest. And the Legislature would be faced with a big new revenue shortfall if it's declared unconstitutional."

There's yet another new Super PAC led by Perry backers. Speaking of fundraising, Perry has a big-dollar event planned tonight for his STATE campaign account. That money isn't transferrable to a presidential account.

A Star Ledger (Newark, NJ) opinion piece wonders if Perry has alienated Catholics and what that could mean for a presidential run.

National Review looks at the unlikely "bromance" of Perry and New York's Rudy Giuliani.

ROMNEY: Was this a minor shot at Rick Perry? “You know there was a poll, I guess it was about a month ago, that was a little surprising,” Romney said, per the New York Times. “It had me as the only Republican candidate who in Texas could beat President Obama. I think I was ahead by eight points.”

Peter Stone looks at Romney bundler John Paulson: “A big bundler for Romney’s campaign, Paulson—who made billions betting on the decline of the housing bubble—is emblematic of how wealthy individuals often wear two fundraising hats in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling last year. That decision gave the green light for donors (including corporations and unions) to give unlimited sums to independent groups that advocate expressly for candidates. Paulson’s fundraising is one of a few instances where the fundraising operations of the campaign and the Super PAC appear to overlap and may benefit each other.”

Romney delved into how he would change Social Security at a stop in New Hampshire. The Boston Globe: “To protect benefits of younger workers, Romney cited three options to cut Social Security costs. First, raising the retirement age, currently 67 for those born after 1960. Second, creating a ‘means test,’ which would add need as a factor into the money retirees receive. Third, calculating payments using the consumer price index, rather than the wage index.  Raising taxes was not an option, he said. In what would be a major change in the national health reform law of 2010, Romney said he would return funding and control of Medicaid, the government’s healthcare plan for the poor, to the states.”

FLORIDA: “Former Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.), running to get his old job back in 2012, picked up the endorsement of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R),” Roll Call reports.

MASSACHUSETTS: “US Senator Scott Brown today warned seniors worried about Medicare and Social Security cuts that their benefits could be slashed because ‘we’re in a financial emergency right now,’” the Boston Globe reports. “‘We have some very, very real challenges,’ the Massachusetts Republican told about 100 Russian and Chinese seniors gathered in an auditorium at Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly in Brighton. ‘If anybody’s telling you that ‘Everything’s OK, and don’t worry about it, and you’re going to get all your benefits, and everything’s fine,’ then they’re not really telling you the truth.’”

NEW HAMPSHIRE: “Businessman Andrew Hosmer announced Monday he’s running for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1st district,” Roll Call writes. “He faces former Rep. Carol Shea-Porter and former financial executive Joanne Dowdell in the Democratic primary to take on freshman Rep. Frank Guinta (R).”

OHIO: “In case there was any doubt that Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel is the frontrunner to become the GOP Senate nominee, Sen. Rob Portman said Monday that he is backing Mandel in the race to take on Sen. Sherrod Brown (D),” Roll Call writes.

Given the two events currently dominating the news cycle –- the tragic loss of 30 service-members in Afghanistan and the historic downgrade of the nation’s credit rating –- you may have missed another important news story. 

On Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced a plan that will allow states to bypass the “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) law. Duncan appeared with Domestic Policy Director Melody Barnes at the daily White House Press briefing to explain the policy.

Duncan told reporters the plan will grant waivers to states allowing them to override the requirement that 100% of students be proficient in math and reading by 2014. “At a time when we have to get better, faster education than we ever have, we can’t afford to have the law of the land be one that has so many perverse incentives or disincentives to the kind of progress we want to see," Duncan said.

No Child Left Behind is the Bush-era education law that grades schools on a pass-fail scale, based on students’ performance on standardized tests. Those who support NCLB say it adds accountability to schools and teachers. But critics argue the law encourages instructors to teach to the standardized tests instead of teaching students to think critically. What's more, critics say, NCLB sets unrealistic achievement goals -- and even forces some poorly performing schools to close. 

Duncan also lashed out at Congress for not taking action to reform the education law. “Right now, Congress is pretty dysfunctional. They’re not getting stuff done. And this is something that’s long overdue.” Still, the move was not without its critics. 

According to a recent article in The New York Times, “Conservatives said it could inflame relations with Republicans in the House who want to reduce not expand, the federal footprint in education.” But Duncan insisted the waiver program has bipartisan support pointing to his conversations with nearly 30 governors of different parties who, he says, think the administration is on the right track. 

MANCHESTER, NH -- On the heels of S&P's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, and with the financial markets in a free-fall, Mitt Romney let his background as a turnaround expert guide his lunchtime campaign speech to a Rotary Club here today.

"We used to joke that there are three rules to doing a turnaround," Romney explained. "Rule one is focus. Number two is focus, and three is focus."

And focus he did -- on what he called President Obama's failed economic leadership, accusing the president of taking his eye off of the nation's primary economic problem.

"When President Obama came into office, the most important thing -- job he had immediately in front of him was to get the economy turned around." Romney said. "We still have unemployment above 8%. In fact, it's above 9%, and we're three years into his four year term. Focusing on the economy was job one."

He told his audience of more than 50 Rotarians that the president's inability to create jobs and re-energize the sagging economy led to the S&P decision that the nation's balance sheet was out of order.

Speaking to reporters beforehand, Romney promised that if elected he would use his experience helping Massachusetts upgrade its credit rating last decade to do the same for the United States -- a feat one Democratic group pointed out was helped by raising revenues, a prescription which is not part of Romney's overall plan now.

"As Mitt Romney is out on the stump taking credit for Massachusetts ratings upgrade, he is conspicuously leaving out that he was able to achieve this by raising revenue," said Ty Matsdorf of American Bridge in a memo released this morning. "Perhaps it is because just last week he was decrying the president for trying to take the same balanced approach to solving the debt ceiling crisis."

While economic policy dominated his appearance here, Romney did take time to address other issues both in his speech, and in a Q&A session with the audience.

He opened  his remarks to the press, as well as his stump speech, by lamenting the loss of the U.S. military personnel who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Saturday, calling them "among the very best of our nation," and saying that his wife Ann struggled to watch the weekend news coverage because it was so troubling.

Romney also defended his Massachusetts health-care law, saying he remained proud of the plan, but that it is "not a model for federal imposition."

And often critiqued for what some describe as a somewhat awkward campaign style, Romney did land one highly effective laugh line. Romney, who has a summer home on New Hampshire's Lake Winnepesaukee, was asked how to improve New Hampshire's reputation as a summer tourist destination. He first started speaking about Massachusetts, then paused for a moment, and finally replied:

"Perhaps the most powerful way to have more people see New Hampshire as a wonderful summer resort would be to have a president who summered here in New Hampshire."

Continuing over laughter and applause from the crowd, he added: "Although I think my friends in Wolfeboro would say, 'Way too much traffic.'"

In a statement he delivered at the White House, President Obama tried to downplay the credit downgrade by arguing that S&P's bombshell announcement says more about Washington's political dysfunction than its ability to pay its debts.

In his first public remarks since credit downgrade, Obama argued, "We didn't need a rating agency to tell us that the gridlock in Washington over the last several months has not been constructive, to say the least."

The president acknowledged the U.S. has a debt problem, but said those problems are "imminently solvable." On the heels of last week's deal to raise the debt-ceiling, he repeated his calls for a “balanced long-term approach” including additional spending cuts and tax hikes for the wealthiest Americans.

And he said he's hopeful this latest economic news will spur a sense of Congress to act. "Making these reforms," he argued "doesn't require any radical steps. What it does require is common sense and compromise."

Addressing jittery investors and market, Obama urged calm. "Markets will rise and fall, but this is the United States of America. No matter what some agency may say, we've always been and always will be a AAA country," he said.

This past weekend also brought tragic news with the deaths of 30 Americans -- including 22 Navy SEALs -- killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

Obama praised their bravery and all those serving in combat. "Day after day, night after night," he said, "they carry out missions like this in the face of enemy fire and grave danger."

He vowed the U.S. will "press on and we will succeed," but he asked Americans to pause and reflect on the sacrifices of troops of their families. 

"These men and women put their lives on the line for the values that bind us together as a nation," he said.

Freshman Republican Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC) held the first of a series of presidential town hall meetings yesterday -- this one featuring former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Before the event, he talked with NBC News about why he decided to host the series.
 
“This will give us an opportunity to have our eyes on the candidate for an hour,” Scott said. “Hopefully, people will walk away with more information about where the person stands on the issues, and more importantly get a sense of how the person responds to the issues.”
 
When asked why candidates should come to South Carolina now while so much attention is trained on Iowa and New Hampshire, Scott pointed to the Palmetto State’s history of choosing the eventual Republican presidential nominee.
 
“Fortunately, [candidates] understand that if you win the South Carolina primary, you typically -- since 1980 -- become the presidential nominee of the Republican Party. That said, everyone should want to come here,” he said.
 
Despite that track record, the rise of the Tea Party in the state, spearheaded by Sen. Jim DeMint, has prompted some observers to speculate whether voters might chose someone other than the Republican front-runner. Last Sunday, The State newspaper asked, “Is South Carolina GOP set to go rogue?”
 
Scott said that while the Tea Party finds “a natural home” in South Carolina, the state “isn’t simply a Tea Party state; it is a cross-section of all of America,” pointing to the increasing number of retirees from northern states who move to South Carolina’s warm-weather coast as an example of a constituency that might not vote for a Tea Party-affiliated candidate. 
 
Scott also touched on the closeness between himself and the other three freshmen members of South Carolina’s Republican House delegation –- a dynamic which Politico recently referred to as “South Carolina vs. the world.” 
 
Scott said that the similar voting pattern of constituents in each of their Republican districts means that they “typically vote in a very consistent manner.”
 
“It’s not because we get together and collaborate and leave with one monolithic view of the world. It’s that based on the process that we use to understand the issues, we typically come to the same conclusion.”

Rep. Scott’s town hall series will continue this month, with Rep. Michele Bachmann appearing on Aug. 25.

AMES, IA -- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has spoken at more than 100 events across Iowa in the past several weeks, but the staff here at the charming Cafe Diem this morning still wasn't exactly sure who the jovial, hand-shaking man in the cowboy boots was.

"I think his name is Santor...um?" a barista told an inquiring customer this morning in Ames.

This lack of name recognition and low poll numbers haven't stopped Santorum from barnstorming the Hawkeye State aggressively. In fact, the challenge seems to fuel his fire (with five events scheduled today alone in Iowa). Santorum proudly acknowledged that he is operating a grassroots campaign ahead of the Ames Straw Poll on Saturday.

"It's a straw poll. You don't need a million votes," he told reporters this morning. "You need a few thousand votes, so we'll see how that works. We're not spending any money here. We don't have the ads. We've got a little staff -- my kids, me and that's what we're doing."

Although NBC News has covered Santorum's events for the past ten days straight, the former senator complained that he has only today begun receiving national attention.

"The press is like Wall Street. They only look at what happened last," Santorum told a reporter, citing his Senate defeat in 2006. "You gotta look at the track record of the company, you can't just look at the last earnings report... Some companies have bad earnings reports for lots of reasons that have nothing to do with the internal makeup of the company."

Santorum also slammed President Obama for the current economic climate and last Friday's downgrade. "We are on the brink of a second recession," he exclaimed to voters.

"The person who is responsible for this downgrade is in the White House," said Santorum to applause. "The impact of this could be really epic."

NBC confirms that Rick Perry is headed to New Hampshire on Saturday. The New Hampshire Union Leader, which broke the news, writes:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will attend a house party at the home of Rep. Pamela Tucker, R-Greenland, this Saturday, Aug. 13, and 5 p.m., I confirmed this morning.

Tucker was part of a group of Granite Staters who went to Texas on Aug. 4th to encourage Gov. Perry to run for President. During the visit, they invited him to come to New Hampshire. Tucker received word today that he will come on Saturday, and she is hosting the house party for him.

"We will be hosting a gathering of Republicans he can meet," she said. "It will be at 5:30 Saturday evening."

Of course, Saturday also brings us the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa.

*** UPDATE *** And Perry will also be in South Carolina on Saturday -- and he could make some news there, Politico reports.

Rick Perry intends to use a speech in South Carolina Saturday to make clear that he's running for president, POLITICO has learned.

According to two sources familiar with the plan, the Texas governor will remove any doubt about his White House intentions during his appearance at a RedState conference in Charleston.

It's uncertain whether Saturday will mark a formal declaration, but Perry's decision to disclose his intentions the same day as the Ames straw poll—and then hours later make his first trip to New Hampshire— will send shockwaves through the race and upend whatever results come out of the straw poll.

AMES, IA -- In a media avail after a campaign stop here this morning, the former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said President Obama needs to come out with a specific plan to fix the economy during his remarks this afternoon.

Pawlenty said, "Unfortunately, he spent the first two and a half years of his presidency trying to pass an unconstitutional health-care bill and doing things like trying to shut down the Guantanamo Bay to bring suspected terrorists to the United States. And he should have been working on growing jobs and getting the economy moving and doing the types of things that Standard and Poor's was wanting him to address."

(In fact, what S&P suggested it wanted -- $4 trillion in deficit reduction and a balance of increased revenues and entitlement reform -- was precisely the "grand bargain" Obama wanted to achieve and what congressional Republicans walked away from.)

During his comments to media, Pawlenty also said he does not need to win Saturday's Ames Straw Poll. "Our goal is to move from back of the pack towards the front of the pack. I don't think we need to win it, but I think we need to show some good progress, and I'm confident we will."

One of the common misperceptions of American politics is that a great speech or a rhetorical call to arms can shape domestic policy.

In fact, the Founding Fathers established a system of governance -- with separation of powers, and checks and balances -- that makes it very difficult to get things done. The exceptions often have come after national tragedies (see: the Great Society after JFK's assassination) or when one party holds the White House and a supermajority in Congress (see: the New Deal under FDR, when Democrats once held a 75-17 majority in the Senate).

As presidential scholar Richard Neustadt once observed, the White House is actually a weak office when it comes to domestic affairs, and that successful presidents -- in terms of getting things done -- use their powers to persuade and bargain. Neustadt wrote:

A President, these days, is an invaluable clerk. His services are in demand all over Washington. His influence, however, is a very different matter.

But Drew Westen's harsh critique -- from the left -- of Barack Obama's presidency so far misses this understanding of separation of powers, checks and balances, and the difficulty of achieving major reform.  

Westen's chief complaint of Obama in his much-discussed New York Times opinion piece: The president has failed to deliver a morality tale about who and what had caused the nation's economic woes, and who was going to fix them. "That story would have made clear that the president understood that the American people had given Democrats the presidency and majorities in both houses of Congress to fix the mess the Republicans and Wall Street had made of the country, and that this would not be a power-sharing arrangement."

In his article, Westen goes on to criticize Obama's economic stimulus ("he backed away from his advisers who proposed a big stimulus, and then diluted it with tax cuts that had already been shown to be inert") and the health-care law (Obama, Westen argues, failed to state what it would accomplish other than it would "'bend the cost curve'").

But would a morality tale -- in which Obama cast the Republicans as the bad guys -- have helped convince the three Republican senators Obama needed to break the GOP filibuster (Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Specter) to vote for the legislation? In fact, those GOP senators demanded the extra tax cuts as a concession for their votes.

Would an us-vs.-them narrative have persuaded the Republicans it took to pass financial reform, repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and ratification of New START? (Remember: Democrats enjoyed a filibuster-proof Senate majority for only six months, from July '09 to Jan. '10.)

And would it have galvanized the conservative Dem senators from GOP-leaning states (like Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, and Max Baucus) to pass the health-care law. 

It's cliché, but it's also true: Politics is the art of the possible. And in a political system that favors inaction over action, it's extraordinary when major legislation is passed by Congress and signed into law, no matter the legislation's merits or the compromises therein. As presidential historian Robert Dallek -- who taught this reporter -- wrote in Dec. 2009 after the Senate passed health-care (before Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts):

FDR had an economic crisis of unprecedented proportions in 1933 when he drove 15 major bills through the Congress, and super majorities in the House and the Senate in 1935 when he won passage of Social Security.

Johnson's mastery of the Congress in getting a revolutionary civil rights bill passed in 1964 partly rested on his use of President Kennedy's martyrdom...

Mr. Obama had a much higher mountain to climb in passing national health insurance. True, he won a convincing majority in 2008, and his party has a solid majority in the House and the 60 Senate votes needed to defeat any Republican filibuster. But these are pseudo-advantages: The conservative House Democrats and his dependence on unreliable Senate allies like Connecticut's Joe Lieberman and Nebraska's Ben Nelson forced compromises on the public option and abortion that made his liberal backers grudging supporters.

CONCORD, NH -- At a Chamber of Commerce roundtable and brief press conference beforehand, Mitt Romney wasted no time in hammering President Obama's handling of the economy.

"I'm afraid the president is just out of his depth at understanding how the private economy works." Romney told reporters here.

He also said Obama turned Harry Truman's axiom on its head by placing blame for the S&P downgrade on Congress, saying that the new motto for this White House should be: "The buck stops somewhere else."

In a Q&A session with local business leaders, Romney explained his usual seven-point economic plan, and also maintained his support for New Hampshire becoming a right-to-work state. A bill was passed by the New Hampshire legislature earlier this summer, but vetoed by the state's Democratic governor.

In his remarks today, Romney also landed what also might have been a faint jab at Texas Gov. Rick Perry in discussing his Massachusetts health-care law, which he said would never have worked in some other states -- naming only Texas specifically -- where the rate of uninsured is so much higher.

Romney may also have coined a new phrase for future stump speeches. In criticizing the vitriol that has been a mainstay of Washington debate lately, he encouraged President Obama to reach across the aisle and stop what Romney called the "blame presidency."

And answering a question from reporters, Romney shrugged off criticism that he had been absent during the debt debate in Washington.

"I didn’t react day-to-day to every negotiation, because my position was clear. 'Cut, Cap, and Balance' was the right way for America to deal with this financial distress," he said. "You just can’t keep on planning to spend massively more money than you take in and expect that down the road America’s balance sheet is going to sustain a viable economy."

Earlier this morning, we asked when we'd hear from President Obama -- after Friday night's S&P downgrade and after Saturday morning's sad news out of Afghanistan.

Well, the White House has announced that the president will deliver a statement at 1:00 pm ET.

WAUKEE, IA –- Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann yesterday attended a church here in Iowa, where the pastor called homosexuality "immoral" and "unnatural," and later showed a testimonial video from a man who claimed to have been gay before having a conversation with God.

Before the sermon at Point of Grace Church -- a non-denominational congregation near Des Moines -- Bachmann stood with her husband, Marcus Bachmann, before a crowd of about 100 people, clutching her personal copy of the Bible.
 
“This is a time that we need to be encouraged this week, not discouraged,” she said, referencing Friday night’s credit downgrade and Saturday’s news about the Navy SEALs killed in Afghanistan.
 
“Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,” Bachmann said, reading from the book of Philippians, “think well on these things.” 
 
The reading drew cheers. Pastor Jeff Mullen, standing next to Bachmann, took her Bible his hand. “There are some candidates who start running, and have this come-to-Jesus moment,” he said. "What I love about this Bible,” he said, “is how well it's used.” 
 
Mullen offered a prayer honoring democracy. “We have a nation where people can still rise up and speak their voice, and say, ‘This is what I believe.’”
 
When Bachmann and her husband returned to their seats, Mullen began a half-hour presentation on his church's beliefs. Reading verses from the Bible to support his case, Mullen said, "We inherently know that homosexual behavior is immoral and unnatural."
 
“God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Mullen said, reading from the book of Romans.
 
Mullen’s sermon concluded with video testimonial from a man named Adam Hood, who claims to have been gay before experiencing a conversation with God. "I am so happy God has given me natural affection for a woman," Hood said in the video, adding that his wife is nine months pregnant.
 
"We need to have compassion for people that are bound by that sin," Hood added. "And it is a sin. Call a spade a spade."
 
The Bachmanns remained in the church for the duration of the service, and afterward posed for a picture with Pastor Mullen and his family.
 
In an interview with NBC News, Mullen called his sermon on homosexuality “a bedrock, just a Biblical truth we’ve taught over the years.”
 
“It just so happens they were here today,” Mullen said of the Bachmanns. “And we were teaching on both marriage and homosexuality.”  
 
The Bachmann campaign released this statement on Mullen's sermon: "Michele was an invited guest, she always welcomes the opportunity to meet with parishioners."

The Point of Grace Church service was the second church event Michele Bachmann attended on Sunday. Earlier, they visited the Des Moines First Church of the Nazarene, where the presidential candidate discussed the origins of her faith and political life.

Obama in need of a Second Act… But so far, especially after a weekend of bad news, the president has been silent… Any regrets for the Republicans who decided against running for president?... First Read no longer sleeps… Huntsman -- who’s been a presidential candidate for just 48 days -- talks about the “grueling, never-ending” campaign… Romney returns to the trail… And Total Recall: Breaking down tomorrow’s recall races in Wisconsin.

*** In need of a Second Act: There have been many ups and downs in President Obama’s first two and half years in the White House. But last week was arguably the worst of his presidency. It began with a debt deal that pleased few and represented retreat after retreat by the administration. Then came the Dow’s 500-point plunge on Thursday (and 800-point loss for the week). Next was S&P’s controversial downgrade of U.S. debt. And finally, on Saturday morning, the nation learned that Taliban forces shot down a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan, killing more than 30 American soldiers. Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative -- it was a trying week for the country, as well as for Obama’s re-election chances. The question is whether the president uses this moment to reassure Democrats (who are worried about his political standing), the U.S. markets (that are reacting to the S&P news), and Americans (who are watching these negative stories unfold). This is a leadership moment. Will Obama seize it?

*** So far, presidential silence: But over the weekend, he was silent, although he released a paper statement about the losses in Afghanistan and his chief spokesman and Treasury secretary reacted to the S&P news. And today, his public schedule is mostly empty except for two fundraisers he attends tonight. He has to say something at some point, right? The S&P story, in particular, is an opportunity if he takes it. Partisans are using it for their own gain -- conservatives say it’s proof that the debt was too large, liberals are calling it the “Tea Party downgrade,” and GOP presidential candidates are happy to make the point that it happened under Obama’s watch. Yet as the president with the bully pulpit, Obama has the ability to call Congress to end its recess; tackle the mix of revenue increases and entitlement reforms that S&P says it wants (and which the White House itself proposed!); and explain what happened. Does he try to revive the “grand bargain”? Does he push the "Tea Party downgrade" talking point? Or does he hunker down for the month under the "We have the long view; you guys in Washington and in the pundit class always over-react to August news"? Bottom line: This feels different than a typical August distraction.

*** Any regrets? With this cascade of bad news, we’ve got to ask: How many Republicans are now regretting not getting into the presidential contest? Haley Barbour? Mitch Daniels? John Thune? Mike Huckabee? Even Mike Pence? If Obama looked formidable three months ago, he looks equally vulnerable now. Then again, those ups and downs are proof that so much can happen in the next 15 months…

*** First Read no longer sleeps: With five days until the Ames Straw Poll, and with NBC embed reporters covering the GOP presidential candidates and early nominating states, First Read no longer sleeps. Over the weekend, we covered Rick Perry’s day of prayer and fasting in Houston, the mystery donor to that pro-Romney PAC coming forward, and even long-shots Gary Johnson and Buddy Roemer campaigning in New Hampshire. And later this morning, per NBC’s Jamie Novogrod, we’ll run a dispatch of Michele Bachmann attending an Iowa church yesterday, where the pastor preached against homosexuality and showed a video testimonial from a man named Adam Hood, who claims to have been gay before experiencing a conversation with God. "I am so happy God has given me natural affection for a woman," Hood said in the video, adding that his wife is nine months pregnant.

*** The grueling, never-ending part of the campaign has yet to really begin: Don’t miss this quote from Jon Huntsman, via Huffington Post: “‘He's never run before,’ he said of [Rick] Perry. ‘So I think he'll find that running for president is a grueling, never ending exercise.’” But get this: Huntsman has only been an official presidential candidate for 48 days now (he announced his bid on June 21). So the grueling, never-ending part of the campaign has yet to really begin… The quote may have SUPPOSED to have been about Perry, but it may have said a lot more about Huntsman. It only feeds the storyline that he's not happy on the trail or with the campaign.

*** Profiling Bachmann: In the latest issue of the New Yorker, Ryan Lizza profiles Bachmann. We’ll have more on the piece later, but our early takeaway is this: It provides the road map -- for both a primary and general election -- how her opponents will try and take her on.

*** Romney returns: After his vacation -- and after Politico coined the phrase “Mittness Protection Program -- Romney is back on the campaign trail today, in New Hampshire. WMUR reports: “The former Massachusetts governor will be in Concord Monday morning before heading to Manchester to address the Rotary Club at noon.  Monday night, he's scheduled to hold a town hall meeting at a VFW hall in Nashua.” Per NBC’s Garrett Haake, campaign officials have indicated that Romney will focus almost completely on economic issues, including criticism of the president for Friday's S&P downgrade. In fact, Romney will talk up how Massachusetts' credit rating went UP in his term as governor.

*** On the 2012 trail: Bachmann, Cain, Pawlenty, and Santorum are in Iowa… Romney’s in New Hampshire… And Huntsman’s in South Carolina.

*** Total Recall: Tomorrow brings us the most consequential races in Wisconsin’s recall story. On Tuesday, six GOP state senators who voted for Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) anti-collective-bargaining law -- Robert Cowles, Alberta Darling, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Randy Hopper, and Dan Kapanke -- are receiving challenges from Democrats. To win back control of the state Senate, Democrats have to gain a net of THREE seats, and they believe two of them (Hopper’s and Kapanke’s) are already in the bag, while two others are toss-ups (Darling’s and Olsen’s). If Democrats win three or more races tomorrow, then they must defend two state Senate seats currently held by Democrats facing recalls next week. While some could argue that the recalls are a referendum on Walker or on Democrats’ standing in the Midwest, perhaps the biggest referendum is on organized labor. They’re the ones who are waging the recall battle, and they have more to gain and lose than anybody else.

*** Monday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: CNBC’s John Harwood on S&P’s downgrade and NBC’s Richard Engel from Kabul on the deaths of 30 Americans in Afghanistan… Former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe on the economy, jobs and 2012… Newark Mayor Cory Booker on education as part of MSNBC’s “Making the Grade” focus this week… 2012 politics with NBC News campaign reporters on the trail and our panel of USA Today’s Susan Page, former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, and former Dem Rep. Robert Wexler.

Countdown to Wisconsin recall general for GOP senators: 1 day
Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 5 days
Countdown to Wisconsin recall general for Dem senators: 8 days
Countdown to NV-2 and NY-9 special elections: 36 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 92 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 182 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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“The Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, has told President Obama that he will remain in his position for the time being, the department announced on Sunday, ending speculation that he might step down soon,” the New York Times says.

"Secretary Geithner has let the president know that he plans to stay on in his position at Treasury. He looks forward to the important work ahead on the challenges facing our great country," Geithner’s top spokeswoman said in a release yesterday.