AP

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky,. followed by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

By msnbc.com's Tom Curry

Republican congressional leaders sounded dismissive Tuesday about President Obama’s $447 billion job-creation proposal, with its offsetting tax increases, a day after Obama indicated he might be willing to accept a partial version of his plan or have Congress enact it in pieces.

House Speaker John Boehner said Obama, who was in Columbus, Ohio to promote his plan, was seeking "permanent tax increases ... to pay for temporary spending," a tradeoff GOP lawmakers are not willing to accept. 

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed Obama’s proposal as “a hodge-podge of retread ideas aimed at convincing people that a temporary fix is really permanent and that it will create permanent jobs.”

The brush-off from GOP leaders wasn’t surprising: Since 2009, they’ve opposed the revenue-raising ideas that Obama’s budget chief, Jacob Lew, offered Monday to pay for the new jobs proposal.

The ideas were in the first budget blueprint that Obama introduced shortly after becoming president in 2009.

The tax impasse seems unlikely to be settled until voters have their say in the 2012 elections, as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told reporters Tuesday. "Maybe the issue of taxation, maybe some of these other issues, will have to be left for the election," Cantor said.

But that doesn’t mean some of the job-creating tax cuts won’t be put to a vote in the House. Cantor said last Friday that GOP leaders would “take the things we can agree on… the things that provide incentives to the private-sector, small business people and entrepreneurs” and vote on them.

Obama’s budget director Jacob Lew said Monday the special joint congressional committee on deficit reduction could substitute its own revenue-raising ideas for the ones that Obama is proposing. “It's a question of whether or not the joint committee comes back and essentially replaces these offsets with others,” he said.

Obama has proposed:

• A limit on itemized deductions and exemptions for individuals who earn over $200,000 and families earning over $250,000, a tax increase that would raise about $400 billion over 10 years, according to Lew.
• A provision to treat carried interest -- the interest earned by investment fund managers -- as ordinary income, rather than taxing it at the capital gains rate. That would raise $18 billion, Lew said.
• Scrapping various oil and gas tax provisions which raise $40 billion

All three ideas or versions of them were part of the budget plan Obama proposed in early 2009.

A reporter reminded Lew that a Democratic-controlled House and Senate had chosen to not pass these measures in 2009 and 2010.

 “You had a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate and it went nowhere. So how are you going to get it done now with a Republican House?” he asked.

Lew’s reply: “As the president made clear in the speech last Thursday and as he's spoken to the issue subsequently, we have choices to make. In order to invest in jobs and growth, we're going to have to pay for it.”

There’s long been a prominent debate in the autism community over vaccines and whether they cause the disorder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found no evidence to support that fear. And diseases long thought to be wiped out in the U.S., like measles, for example, have made a comeback because of parents who have refused to inoculate their children.

This morning, as reported earlier, Michele Bachmann went even further, lending credence to a notion that Gardasil -- used in vaccines to prevent HPV, which can cause cervical cancer -- can cause mental retardation.

“I had a mother last night come up to me here in Tampa, Florida, after the debate,” Bachmann said. “She told me that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter.”

Bachmann was using this in an attack on Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who had signed an executive order mandating that girls get the vaccine. And there are certainly questions over why Perry signed the order. His former chief of staff Mike Toomey, as the Washington Post points out, "was working at the time as an Austin-based lobbyist for Merck, which was in the midst of a multimillion-dollar campaign to persuade states to make the vaccine mandatory."

But there’s no evidence to suggest the vaccine causes mental retardation.

The CDC directed First Read to the side effects page for Gardasil. They include pain, redness, or swelling in the arm where the shot was given, mild-to-moderate fever, headache, or fainting.

Not surprisingly, there was nothing on mental retardation.

CDC spokeswoman Rita Chappelle said in an email, “The Institute of Medicine released a report on August 25 looking at adverse events from vaccines, including HPV. Rare cases of anaphylaxis was the only type of adverse event seen with HPV vaccine.”

That's a severe allergic reaction.

And the Food and Drug Administration and CDC also reported: “Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) has also been reported in individuals following vaccination with Gardasil.  GBS is a rare neurological disorder that causes muscle weakness.  It occurs spontaneously in unvaccinated individuals after a variety of specific infections.  FDA and CDC have reviewed the reports of GBS that have been submitted to VAERS.  To date, there is no evidence that Gardasil has increased the rate of GBS above that expected in the population.  While we continue to carefully analyze all reports of GBS submitted to VAERS, the data do not currently suggest an association between Gardasil and GBS.”

The left and right have taken shots at Bachmann for her comments.

Slate’s Weigel:

That's quite the accusation, one that Ben Smith has already gotten a rebuttal to from the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership. The CDC has recommended Gardisil, warning that the only verified side-effect has been rare cases of blood clots and an immune system disorder. I'm not doubting that a woman came up to Bachmann and said this. News flash: Vaccine luddism is rather widespread (especially so in some affluent areas where moms listen to Oprah, according to research I've seen from Seth Mnookin), and just because a mother might say something like this does not mean it reflects what actually happened. The fact that it's Bachmann embracing this -- Bachmann, who has a habit of endorsing or "just asking questions" about dark theories that she's overheard -- is totally unsurprising.

Even conservative blog Free Republic:

Huh? “Mental retardation” typically takes place in a pre- or neo-natal event. Autism becomes apparent in the first couple of years of life — and primarily affects boys. Gardasil vaccinations take place among girls between 9-12 years of age. Even assuming that this anecdote is arguably true, it wouldn’t be either “mental retardation” or autism, but brain damage. …

The “mental retardation” argument is a rehash of the thoroughly discredited notion that vaccines containing thimerasol caused a rapid increase in diagnosed autism cases. That started with a badly-botched report in Lancet that allowed one researcher to manipulate a ridiculously small sample of twelve cases in order to reach far-sweeping conclusions about thimerasol. That preservative hasn’t been included in vaccines for years, at least not in the US, and the rate of autism diagnoses remain unchanged.

The most charitable analysis that can be offered in this case for Bachmann is that she got duped into repeating a vaccine-scare urban legend on national television. It looks more like Bachmann sensed that she had won a point and wanted to go in for the kill, didn’t bother to check the facts, and didn’t care that she was stoking an anti-vaccination paranoid conspiracy theory, either. Neither shines a particularly favorable light on Bachmann.

Ironically, Rick Perry, who had been accused by Jon Huntsman of being “anti science” said this to NBC’s Carrie Dann today:

"You heard the same arguments about giving our children protections from some of the childhood diseases, and they were autism was part of that. Now we've subsequently found out that was generated and not true.” He added: “I would suggest to you that this issue about Gardasil and making it available was about saving people's lives.”

Since 1992, Democrats have carried Pennsylvania -- and its numerous electoral votes -- in presidential elections.

But Pennsylvania Republicans are now trying to change how the state awards its electoral votes -- from winner take all (like most states do it) to by congressional district (like how Maine and Nebraska do it).

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi is trying to gather support to change the state's "winner-takes-all" approach for awarding electoral votes. Instead, he's suggesting that Pennsylvania dole them out based on which candidate wins each of the 18 congressional districts, with the final two going to the contender with the most votes statewide.

So far, the idea has received support from colleagues of the Delaware County Republican in the state House and from Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. But Democrats, who have carried the state in presidential contests since 1992, said the shift would erode Pennsylvania's clout.

How would this change things? Consider that President Obama won Pennsylvania by 10 percentage points in 2008. But:

An analysis by the online news service Capitolwire noted that had the proposed distribution process been in place in Pennsylvania in 2008 before the state lost one congressional district due to a population decline in the 2010 census, Mr. Obama would have won only 11 of the state's 21 votes.

Interestingly, Nebraska Republicans had considered changing the state's system back to winner take all -- after Obama won one of Nebraska's electoral votes in 2008. But that effort stalled.

What a difference a month makes.

The House voice voted (no roll was taken) an extension of funding for the FAA for four months and federal highway funds for six months.

This was a clean extension of a previous FAA and Federal highway funding bills, the 22nd temporary extension for the FAA and 8th for the highway funds.

It means the FAA will not shutdown on Friday and states will receive highway funds past Friday assuming the Senate passes the bill also; something that House aides expect.

While today's vote was a result of a bipartisan agreement between Senate and House leaders, Chairman of the House Transportation Committee John Mica (R-FL) has said it will be the last temporary extension he will support and that a full four-year funding bill needs to be put into place after this one expires.

The longer-term bills have run into partisan issues on Capitol Hill.

TAMPA, FL -- The morning after a sometimes-rocky appearance in front of a Tea Party debate audience, Gov. Rick Perry said he was "taken aback" by cheers from some crowd members on a hypothetical question of whether a young man who decides not to buy health insurance should be refused care if he develops a life-threatening illness and be left to die.

"I was a bit taken aback by that myself," Perry told NBC News and the Miami Herald after appearing at a breakfast fundraiser in Tampa.

"We're the party of life. We ought to be coming up with ways to save lives."

Perry distinguished from that the issue of "justice," reiterating his strong support and "respect" for the death penalty on a state-by-state basis. "But the Republican party ought to be about life and protecting, particularly, innocent life," he added.

Perry also responded to the crowd's negative reaction to his support for allowing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, saying his campaign has "the right message" on opportunities for children who were brought to the United States illegally "by no fault of their own."

"This issue is about education, it's not about immigration," he said.

"These kids showed up in our state by no fault of their own, some 2-3 years of age. And they've been in our schools, they've done their work, they've prepared themselves good, they want to be contributing members of society. So it would be I think the wrong message to say somehow or another that you can't go to our colleges, or we've going to punish you because of the sound of your last name."

"When people really think about it, I think they'll understand what we did in Texas was the right thing for Texas," he said.

Last night's debate also featured shots at Perry from both Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum on the issue of Gardasil, a vaccine that Perry mandated to be given to 12-year-old girls to prevent HPV - a disease linked to cervical cancer.

Bachmann said on NBC's TODAY Show this morning that she was approached by a woman after the debate whose daughter had suffered mental retardation as a result of getting the vaccine.

Perry dismissed that idea as similar to debunked theories linking vaccinations to autism.

"You heard the same arguments about giving our children protections from some of the childhood diseases, and they were, autism was part of that. Now we've subsequently found out that was generated and not true."

"I would suggest to you that this issue about Gardasil and making it available was about saving people's lives," he added.

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) appearing on the "TODAY" Show Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

TAMPA, FL -- During an appearance on the "TODAY" Show this morning, GOP candidate Michele Bachmann told NBC's Matt Lauer that a woman approached her following the GOP debate last night to recount a story of an HPV shot gone wrong.

“I had a mother last night come up to me here in Tampa, Florida, after the debate,” Bachmann said. “She told me that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter.

“The mother was crying,” Bachmann added. “I didn’t know who she was before the debate.”

The anecdote marks another development in Bachmann’s attack on Texas Gov. Rick Perry over his 2007 order requiring HPV vaccinations for girls entering the 6th grade. Last night, Bachmann suggested Perry’s executive order was driven by political -- and undue financial -- considerations.

“We cannot forget that in the midst of this executive order, there was a big drug company that made millions of dollars because of this mandate,” Bachmann said during the CNN-Tea Party Express debate.  

Merck, the company in question, manufactures the vaccine, which is called Gardasil.

“The governor's former chief of staff was the chief lobbyist for this drug company,” Bachmann said, after the moderator pressed her to elaborate. “The drug company gave thousands of dollars in political donations to the governor.”

In a lively exchange, Perry countered: “It was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raised about $30 million, and if you're saying that I can be bought for 5,000 [dollars], I'm offended.”

Bachmann replied that she was offended “for all the little girls and the parents that didn't have a choice.” Her comment won cheers.
       
This morning on "TODAY," Bachmann added: “There is no second chance for these little girls if there’s any dangerous consequences to their bodies.”

HPV, a sexually transmitted infection, has been shown to cause cervical cancer. But mandating a vaccine against a sexually transmitted infection has proved unpopular among social conservatives.  The program has also become a focal point for criticism from Tea Party conservatives alarmed by expressions of executive power.

AP

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).

At the CNN-Tea Party Express debate last night, the Tea Party crowd that gathered in Tampa, FL booed Texas Congressman Ron Paul after describing what he believed was the motive behind al Qaeda's attacks on 9/11. Paul also was challenged by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum over a blog post written on 9/11 by his campaign blogger.

In response to a question moderator Wolf Blitzer read from Twitter -- "Do you plan to decrease defense spending to balance spending? Or do you believe high spending is essential to security?” –- Paul (only one of two military veterans on the stage) tried to explain the difference between military spending and defense spending.

“There's a lot of room to cut on the military, but not on the defense. You can slash the military spending,” Paul explained, “We don't need to be building airplanes that were used in World War II -- we're always fighting the last war.”

He went on to say, “Most of the danger comes by our lack of wisdom on how we run our foreign policy,” and he repeated a statistic he uses on the campaign trail in Iowa:

“We're under great threat, because we occupy so many countries. We're in 130 countries. We have 900 bases around the world. We're going broke. The purpose of al Qaeda was to attack us, invite us over there, where they can target us. And they have been doing it.”

Paul went on to claim that al Qaeda has committed “more attacks against us and the American interests per month than occurred in all the years before 9/11” -- because the U.S. is “occupying their land.”

This didn’t sit well with Santorum, who has attacked Paul’s foreign policy views previously, and went after him for a blog post written by the campaign’s blogger Jack Hunter -– a conservative radio host and columnist for The American Conservative Magazine.

“On your Web site on 9/11, you had a blog post that basically blamed the United States for 9/11... You said that it was our actions that brought about the actions of 9/11."
Santorum fumed, "Now, Congressman Paul, that is irresponsible... Someone who is running for the president of the United States in the Republican Party should not be parroting what Osama bin Laden said on 9/11.”

Santorum received a loud applause from the audience, which later cheered at the idea that it is time to get out of Afghanistan.

The blog post on Paul’s campaign website that Santorum questioned asked what America has learned from 9/11, and concluded it is highly questionable that the nation learned anything. Hunter pointed to a statement made by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who said if Congress cuts the defense budget, “We’re doomed to suffer another attack.” The blogger called Rumsfeld’s conclusion “beyond absurd,” and then quoted the former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden Unit, Michael Scheuer, to defend the position.

“Our growing number of Islamist enemies are motivated to attack us because of what the U.S. government does in the Muslim world and not because of how Americans live and think here at home,” Scheuer is quoted as saying.

Santorum strongly disagreed with that assertion. “We are not being attacked and we were not attacked because of our actions. We were attacked ... because we have a civilization that is antithetical to the civilization of the jihadists. And they want to kill us because of who we are and what we stand for.”

Paul didn't retreat from his position.

“This whole idea that the whole Muslim world is responsible for this, and they're attacking us because we're free and prosperous, that is just not true. Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda have been explicit... They wrote and said that we attacked America because you had bases on our holy land in Saudi Arabia, you do not give Palestinians fair treatment, and you have been bombing…”

At this point, Paul was interrupted by a chorus of boos. He tried to talk over them, pleading with the audience to understand his position.

"I didn't say that. I'm trying to get you to understand what the motive was behind the bombing, at the same time we had been bombing and killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis for 10 years. Would you be annoyed? If you're not annoyed, then there's some problem.”

Immediately following the debate and the boos from the crowd, the Paul campaign sent a Tweet highlighting that Paul has raised more money from members of the military than all the other campaigns –- including President Obama –- combined.

AP

Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

TAMPA, FL -- While Social Security was widely expected to dominate this debate in retiree-rich Florida, entitlement reform took a back seat to other issues on Monday as Republican candidates engaged in the most aggressive GOP slug fest since Rick Perry entered the race.

Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum teamed up to skewer Perry on his support of mandated vaccination of girls against HPV, a sexually transmitted disease known to cause cervical cancer. In the debate last week, Romney offered an olive branch to the Texas governor, saying that Perry's "heart was in the right place" on the issue and he should consider his poor handling of the legislation "a mulligan." But Bachmann, largely quiet for the first half of the debate, did not offer such a pass, lambasting Perry for forcing government "injections." She also shone a national spotlight on a story that has simmered in Texas for years -- that Perry's chief of staff worked for the company (Merck) that manufactured the vaccine.

Santorum chimed in to assist. "He's saying that his policy was right," he said. "He believes that what he did was right. He thinks he went about it the wrong way. I believe your policy is wrong."

Team Bachmann viewed the exchange as enough of a success to warrant an email fundraising blast highlighting it less than two hours after the debate's conclusion.

The Tea Party-heavy crowd applauded both of Perry's rivals, but it saved its harshest response of the night for Perry's explanation of Texas's policy of offering in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants who are working towards citizenship.

As Perry explained: "If you've been in the state of Texas for three years, if you're working towards your college degree, and if you are working and pursuing citizenship in the state of Texas, you pay in-state tuition there. And the bottom line is it doesn't make any difference what the sound of your last name is. That is the American way -- no matter how you got into that state, from the standpoint if your parents brought you there or what have you."

That statement drew raucous boos from the audience and a bewildered reaction from Perry, who generally thrives in encounters with national Tea Party audiences.

The boos turned into applause when Bachmann pounced on the comment: "I think that the American way is not to give taxpayer-subsidized benefits to people who have broken our laws or are here in the United States illegally. That is not the American way."

It's worth noting that these two issues have long caused some uneasiness with Tea Party conservatives in Perry's home state. (see:
Medina, Debra). The Statesman's Jason Embry points out that Kay Bailey Hutchison used the HPV/cronyism argument against Perry in 2010. Palin (of "crony capitalism" slams) campaigned for Perry in that race.

But now we're seeing them on the national stage, and -- at least here in Tampa -- it wasn't pretty for the governor.

GOP rivals pile on Perry at last night’s debate… But Perry also struggled because he seemed unprepared and his language was imprecise… The good news for the front-runner: Is there any oppo on him left?...  Breaking down the others: Romney was the clear winner (and has yet to come under fire at any of the debates)… Bachmann was MUCH stronger than she was last week… Santorum was forceful on social issues… And did Huntsman write himself out of the race?... Whose endorsement was more significant -- Pawlenty’s or Jindal’s?... Hello, Columbus: Obama sells his jobs plan in Columbus, OH at 2:15 pm ET… And it’s Special Election Day in NY-9 (where polls close at 9:00 pm ET) and NV-2 (where they close at 10:00 pm ET).

AP

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

*** Piling on Perry: As Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, and Mitt Romney discovered in the past two presidential cycles, being the primary front-runner -- especially before the contests even begin -- isn’t an enviable position. And Rick Perry found that out the hard way at last night’s CNN-Tea Party Express debate, where his GOP rivals piled on him at every opportunity. Romney, as he did at last week’s debate, hit Perry on Social Security. Michele Bachmann jabbed him on the HPV-vaccination mandate. Rick Santorum also got into the act, hammering Perry on HPV and immigration. And Ron Paul took at a shot at his fellow Texan on taxes. It was a striking performance: Perry began the debate receiving rock-star applause from the rowdy Tea Party crowd, but he ended it getting boos (for supporting in-state tuition benefits in Texas for children of illegal immigrants).

*** Unprepared and imprecise: But Perry didn’t only struggle because his rivals piled on; he struggled because he appeared unprepared and because his language was imprecise. “If you're saying that I can be bought for 5,000 [dollars], I'm offended,” Perry said regarding the assertion that a drug maker -- whose lobbyist was Perry’s former chief of staff and who gave the governor campaign contributions -- profited from the HPV vaccine. (The way Perry worded it left open the suggestion that $5,000 was simply too low of a price. And, as it turns out, Merck’s PAC gave Perry $30,000.) Even though Hillary Clinton ultimately lost the Dem nomination, she survived the pre-contest debates (save one memorable performance) because she was prepared, aggressive, and precise. The good news for Perry is that the debate essentially dumped the oppo file on Perry. Is there anything else left? Of course, perhaps nothing else is needed; the next chapter of this primary fight will hit the TV airwaves via paid spots. One other note that to us strikes us as Perry’s larger strategy in preparing to contrast with Romney: Perry made the decision to own his positions. In other words, you might not agree with him all the time, but he’s not holding his finger up in the wind.

AP

Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

*** Romney was the clear winner: Outside the Democratic Party -- which had to love the back-and-forth on Social Security, as well as the Tea Party’s prominence -- Romney was the clear winner at last night’s debate. As Politico notes, this is Romney’s route to the nomination: Bachmann, Paul, and Santorum bloody Perry from the right. Strikingly for someone who still stands a good chance of winning the GOP nomination, Romney has yet to come under fire for a sustained period of time at any of the GOP debates.

*** Breaking down the rest: As for the other Republicans, Bachmann delivered a MUCH stronger performance than she did last week, and she did so on an issue where she also was able to show empathy as a mother; Santorum was forceful on the social issues; Cain was Cain; Newt was Newt; and Paul was Paul. And that brings us to Huntsman. Is it fair to say that after a strong performance last week, he wrote himself out of the race last night? He didn’t throw punches at the debate; he threw spitballs. And his Nirvana reference might have been the oddest reference in a debate that we can ever remember -- and it certainly didn’t fit the Tea Party crowd. Huntsman seemed to get caught up in the raucous nature of the debate in a way that didn’t showcase the side of him his campaign likes to push.

AP

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

*** Whose endorsement was more significant -- Pawlenty’s or Jindal’s? While the New York Times essentially uses Pawlenty’s endorsement of Romney to suggest that the GOP establishment is beginning to side with the former Massachusetts governor, don’t lose sight of yesterday’s other big endorsement: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal backing Perry. If you could privately ask any Republican whose endorsement they’d rather have -- Pawlenty’s or Jindal’s -- we’d guess that most would pick Jindal. And it should also serve as a reminder that Perry’s campaign has plenty of back-pocket responses to Romney when they are needed. By the way, we’re scratching our head a bit at how Romney used the Pawlenty endorsement. Not with a big rally in Iowa or New Hampshire or even Florida, but South Carolina? Pawlenty’s strength was with certain establishment types in the early states, but one state where he had the least amount of traction was South Carolina. Also, why roll this out PRE-debate, why not POST-debate to show “momentum”? For a campaign that seems to make all the right moves of late, this one seemed a tad haphazard.

AP

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA).

*** On the 2012 trail: Santorum today campaigns in South Carolina… Perry delivers a keynote speech in Boston… Huntsman holds a town hall in New Hampshire… And Gingrich remains in Tampa, FL.

 *** Hello, Columbus: President Obama today continues to sell his jobs/economic plan. A day after formally submitting that plan to Congress, he delivers a speech in the battleground of Columbus, OH at 2:15 pm ET. Obama travels to North Carolina tomorrow.

*** Special Election Day in NY-9 and NV-2: As we noted yesterday, today’s the day for the special congressional elections to fill Anthony Weiner’s (D) seat in New York and Dean Heller’s (R) seat in Nevada. When these contests were scheduled, Democrats figured that one would be a blowout and the other would be a nail-biter. The problem for Dems: They didn’t realize that the blowout would be in Nevada (where Republican Mark Amodei is expected to easily beat Democrat Kate Marshall), and that the nail-biter would be in New York (where Democrat David Weprin could very well lose to Republican Bob Turner). Polls close in New York at 9:00 pm ET, and in Nevada at 10:00 pm ET.

*** Tuesday's "Daily Rundown" line-up: Debate recap with National Journal’s Ron Fournier and Politico’s Jonathan Martin… Former Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and John Sununu (R-NH) on the economy and the outlook for President Obama’s jobs bill on Capitol Hill… The Grio/MSNBC’s Jeff Johnson on the president pitching his plan… Pulitzer prize-winning historian Taylor Branch on his cover story for The Atlantic called “The Shame of College Sports”… More 2012 with the AP’s Kasie Hunt, Democratic strategist Steve McMahon and the Washington Post’s Perry Bacon.

*** Tuesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Richard Engel (on the Kabul embassy attack), Ann Curry (on whether Iran will release those U.S. hikers), Charlie Cook and Politico’s Maggie Haberman (on last night’s debate), the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg (on U.S.-Israel relations), GOP strategist Kevin Madden (on 2012), and the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza.

Countdown to Election Day 2011: 56 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 146 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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The Washington Post: “Texas Gov. Rick Perry found himself on the defensive in a Republican presidential debate here Monday night, pilloried for suggesting that states should take over Social Security, attacked for trying to mandate vaccinations for young girls and roundly criticized for immigration policies he has supported in his state.”

The AP: “Attacked from all sides by fellow Republicans, Texas Gov. Rick Perry softened his rhetoric if not his position on Social Security in a snarky presidential campaign debate Monday night.”

The Boston Globe adds, “As the eight GOP candidates in last night’s debate shifted their criticism from President Obama to each other, they put intraparty fissures on full display.”

The Wall Street Journal: “In remarkably personal exchanges, Mr. Perry and Mitt Romney, who has ceded the lead in public opinion surveys to the Texas governor, clashed repeatedly. Six other candidates at times piled on Mr. Perry or protested the focus on the front-runners.”

The New York Daily News: “Perry wakes up Tuesday morning with a few bruises.”

“The Republican presidential debate often took on the feel of a rollicking political game show, playing out before a studio audience of 1,000 Tea Party activists here at the Florida State Fairgrounds,” the New York Times says. “The debate was continually interrupted by applause, but it remained an open question whether the cheers or the jeers provided an accurate reflection of how Republican voters elsewhere were judging the evening.”

PALIN: No longer end of September for Palin. “I'm not going to let the media tell me or dictate when a drop-dead date should be. So I don't have an answer for you on that one yet,” she said on FOX, per GOP 12. She also ripped Perry for HPV.

ROMNEY: Joan Vennochi writes in the Boston Globe: “It was a good night for Mitt Romney. All he had to do was chuckle benignly as Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum kicked the swagger out of Rick Perry.”

“Mitt Romney made a rare campaign stop in South Carolina Monday, touring the Boeing facility here with his newest backer in his bid for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty,” The State writes. 

“The prospects for President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs plan grew dimmer Monday as he unveiled the fine print of how it would be paid for—primarily through tax increases that Republicans said would destroy jobs, not create them,” the Wall Street Journal writes.

The New York Times: White House officials said they nonetheless believed the proposal could pass Congress. The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said administration officials had seen “some conciliatory messaging from some members of Congress” since lawmakers returned from their summer recess after presumably getting an earful from voters fed up with the political brinkmanship that characterized the negotiations over the debt ceiling.

More: Congressional Republicans were not, however, sounding that conciliatory; they promptly fired off e-mails to let their displeasure with the idea of tax increases be known. “Beware the Tax Man,” was the subject line in an e-mail from one House Republican staff member. Brendan Buck, spokesman for Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, added his own quick reaction, criticizing the proposal as one that “doesn’t appear to have been offered in that bipartisan spirit.”

NEW YORK: “One way or the other, the spin will start in a New York minute,” Roll Call writes of today’s NY-9 race, adding, “If [Republican Bob] Turner wins today, there will be plenty of blame spun throughout the Democratic Party. But with both campaigns expecting a turnout of about 20 percent, this election, more than most, will hinge on who shows up to vote.”

The New York Post gets this headline: “Weiner limps off.” “Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner did his fellow Democrats no favors yesterday -- moving out of his district just as his panicking party struggled to hold on to his endangered congressional seat.. Weiner is ditching the neighborhood that sent him to Congress six times, and is renting a three-bedroom apartment on a high-rent Greenwich Village street, sources said.”

UTAH: Mitt Romney endorsed Orrin Hatch yesterday.

By NBC's Carrie Dann

TAMPA, Florida -- Former presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said Monday that the issue of retiring his campaign debt was not a factor in his decision to endorse former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and that his past concerns Romney's health care legislation have been put to rest.

Asked about reports that Romney had promised to help Pawlenty erase his campaign debt, the former Minnesota governor said that he did not consider the lingering financial issues of his campaign when he decided to endorse.

"That wasn't a factor in my endorsement and obviously if he's willing to help with that, we'd love to have his help," he said. "But I anticipate I'll probably end up raising more money for him than he would in terms of anything he might do to help with our campaign debt."

Pawlenty, who previously dubbed Romney the president's "co-conspirator" on Obama's heath care bill, said that Romney convinced him of his promise to repeal the federal health care legislation.

"He's assured me as he's repeatedly assured the nation that one of the most important priorities he'll have as president is to repeal Obamacare," the former Minnesota governor told NBC News in an interview in Tampa, FL.

"What he has said and what I agree with in his perspective is states should be allowed to try things and he thought health care reform the way they did it in Massachusetts was right for Massachusetts," he added. "But most importantly Mitt and I agree it's not right for the rest of the country."

One thing that has changed since Pawlenty's exit from the 2012 field is the skyrocketing poll numbers of Gov. Rick Perry, who has recently shot past Romney in national surveys. But Pawlenty today took no direct shots at Perry, focusing exclusively on Romney's economic record.

He said that Romney presented a more "thoughtful and measured" approach to fixing Social Security but did not use the harsher language Romney is widely expected to employ in tonight's CNN/ Tea Party Express debate.

When Pawlenty dropped out of the race after the Ames straw poll last month, he told ABC News that he did not intend to back another contender "anytime soon." But on Monday he said that he "accelerated" that timeline in order to make a big splash with his nod, deciding that "doing it earlier would have more impact on the race and would be more meaningful towards trying to get Mitt elected president."

But some of that impact could be muted by another big name in Republican politics - Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana -- who this afternoon endorsed Perry.

"I wasn't aware of that," Pawlenty said when NBC asked him about Jindal's endorsement of Perry. "I know Bobby and certainly respect his time as governor of Louisiana. But all the governors are going to be lining up or most of them will for endorsements in the coming weeks and months and I'm proud to be standing with Gov. Romney."

All eyes are on the GOP hopefuls who are taking the stage tonight in Florida at a debate sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express.

The NBC political team will be live-tweeting the debate, offering minute-by-minute updates and analysis.

Tweets from Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro – as well as other NBC producers and correspondents – will appear in this post as the debate begins at 8 p.m. EDT.

NBC News confirms that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will endorse Gov. Rick Perry today.

He will attend the CNN debate in Tampa and will appear in the spin room for the governor as well. CNN first reported the news of Jindal's endorsement.

Earlier today, former presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty endorsed Mitt Romney.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Appearing together for the first time as partners, not rivals, former presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty today announced he was throwing his support behind Mitt Romney for president.

Pawlenty introduced Romney today here, where Romney rolled out his plan for working with labor unions, after the pair toured Boeing’s new plant here -- the subject of a controversial lawsuit filed by the National Labor Relations Board.

Pawlenty, who will become Romney’s national co-chair and will travel with the candidate to Florida for tonight’s CNN/Tea Party debate, was effusive in his praise for his former rival.

“Mitt Romney has the most knowledge, the most capability, the most electability of any candidate in this race,” Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty did not always have such kind words for Romney. He has called Romney a “co-conspirator” on President Obama’s health-care plan, but said today that Romney’s commitment to repealing the program overrode any qualms he had about Romney’s own health-care plan in Massachusetts, often seen as a model for the president’s plan.

“He has also been very clear with me and very clear with the country that when he’s president of the United States, on Day One, he will do everything he can to repeal Obamacare,” Pawlenty told reporters.

Democrats pounced on the apparent contradiction between Pawlenty’s past criticism of Romney’s record on health care and his newfound support for the candidate, but a senior adviser to the Romney campaign told NBC News that Pawlenty's endorsement would help validate "why health care isn't the issue that everyone thinks it is in the primary."

Of course, Democrats have had plenty of former rivals endorse each other, including Hillary Clinton, who went to work as President Obama's Secretary of State.

Romney called the endorsement a “natural fit,” noting that the two have long been friends and their families had recently spent time together.

Both men downplayed the possibility of Pawlenty becoming Romney’s vice-presidential choice, with Romney calling such speculation “presumptuous” and Pawlenty saying he doesn’t want to be considered.

Besides announcing the endorsement, the primary purpose of Romney’s speech was to outline his labor policies. He framed them around the ongoing feud between the NLRB and Boeing, over its decision to locate a billion-dollar plant in non-union South Carolina.

Romney said the NLRB’s suit was an unacceptable example of the board’s interference in private enterprise, and of labor’s political clout with the Democratic Party. 

“There is without a question an egregious example of political payback where the president is able to pay back unions for the hundreds of millions of dollars they put into his campaign at the expense of American workers, of American jobs,” he said.

Romney’s plan includes several major points: Appointing “even-handed arbiters” to the NLRB more in line with Romney’s vision for the board; maintaining the secret ballot for workers voting on unionization; and prohibiting union dues from going directly to political causes. Romney would also overturn President Obama’s executive order giving preference to unionized workers for government contracts.

Romney also received a warm response when he said he would push Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit the NLRB from shutting down Boeing’s facility here. Congressman Tim Scott, a local Tea Party favorite here, has already proposed such legislation.

In a possible preview of tonight’s debate, Romney hinted that the “mulligan” he gave Texas Gov. Rick Perry over his efforts to require teen girls in Texas to receive an HPV vaccine might have expired.

Asked whether his own health-care mandate would preclude him from appealing to South Carolina conservatives, Romney defended himself by pointing to a number of less controversial Massachusetts mandates, including for drivers to own car insurance and for children to go to school. And another controversial mandate in another very specific state.

“Some states, Texas for instance, mandate that young girls, or did mandate that young girls, had to get inoculations for sexually transmitted diseases,” Romney said.

“There are a wide range of mandates, so that’s not breaking new ground. But what we did was right for our state, and simply wrong for our nation,” he added. 

A day after the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and hours before tonight's Republican debate, GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul doubled down on his non-interventionist foreign policy, arguing that occupation is the reason for suicide terrorism.

"Though it is hard for many to believe, honest studies show that the real motivation behind the September 11 attacks and the vast majority of other instances of suicide terrorism is not that our enemies are bothered by our way of life. Neither is it our religion, or our wealth," he said in a statement posted on his congressional website.

"Rather, it is primarily occupation. If you were to imagine for a moment how you would feel if another country forcibly occupied the United States, had military bases and armed soldiers present in our hometowns, you might begin to understand why foreign occupation upsets people so much."

Paul added, "Yes, the attacks of 9/11 deserved a response. But the manner in which we responded has allowed radicals in the Muslim world to advance a very threatening narrative about us and our motivation in occupying their lands."

He concluded, "The truth is that ending these misguided wars and occupations will make us safer, more prosperous and more free."

Obama’s next act: selling his jobs plan… In interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, Obama talks about that jobs plan (calling it “insurance against a double dip”) -- plus his poll numbers and the GOP presidential candidates… Another GOP debate, another food fight over Social Security?... CNN-Tea Party Express debate takes place at 8:00 pm ET from Tampa, FL… Bachmann in the debate spotlight… Pawlenty endorses Romney… Dems could lose NY-9 special… That race, as well as the NV-2 special, is either an exclamation point on a bad summer for Dems, or it’s a sign of things to come.

*** Obama’s next act: After his rough summer, his jobs speech on Thursday, and his addresses marking the 9/11 anniversary, President Obama enters a new act in his presidency: selling his jobs plan. At 10:40 am ET, he will deliver remarks from the Rose Garden on the need for Congress to pass his American Jobs Act. Then, later this week, he takes that message on the road to the battlegrounds of Ohio and North Carolina (he spoke in Virginia on Friday). And the White House today formally submits that jobs legislation to Congress. If Obama is to turn around his political fortunes, it has to begin this month. In fact, you could consider today to be the first day of the rest of the fall -- with the president selling his jobs plan and with the Republican presidential candidates going after each other (more on that below).

AP

President Obama in Richmond, VA on Friday, September 9, 2011.

*** Obama addresses his poll numbers and says his jobs plan is “insurance against a double dip”: In an exclusive interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, Obama addressed his sinking poll numbers. “One of the things that I learned very early on is not to worry about polls, because if I was worrying about polls, I wouldn't be sitting here interviewing with you,” he said. “There are still a lot of folks hurting out there. And my job as president of the United States is not to worry about my job -- my task is to worry about their job and their economic situation.” He didn’t take the bait in responding to the GOP presidential candidates. “I'm not going to start reacting to Republican rhetoric in a presidential campaign. Let them decide who it is that is going to be their standard-bearer, and we'll have more than ample time to have a debate with them.” And he said this about his jobs plan: “[T]his buys us insurance against a double dip recession. And it almost certainly helps the economy grow and will put more people back to work.”

AP

Republican presidential candidates at NBC News/Politico GOP presidential debate at the Reagan Library on September 7, 2011.

*** Another GOP debate, another food fight over Social Security? Tonight, in Tampa, FL, the Republican presidential candidates participate in their fifth debate -- and second one in five days (after Wednesday's NBC-Politico slugfest). The top issue going in, especially with it taking place in Florida -- Rick Perry's position on Social Security. Per NBC's Carrie Dann, Perry has penned a USA Today op-ed saying that he will be "honest" with Americans about the "dire financial challenges" facing the Social Security system. He adds that benefits for current recipients and those close to retirement must be protected, but "we must consider reforms to make Social Security financially viable" for younger workers. Tonight's debate, sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express, begins at 8:00 pm ET, and it features the same eight GOPers who took part in Wednesday's debate: Bachmann, Cain, Gingrich, Huntsman, Paul, Perry, Romney, and Santorum.

*** Bachmann also in the spotlight: With the Tea Party Express co-sponsoring tonight’s debate, the GOP candidate most identified by the Tea Party -- Michele Bachmann -- is in the spotlight. That’s especially true after she was unable to break through in last week’s NBC-Politico debate. The New York Times: “Her advisers acknowledged that she had a disappointing night Wednesday. She failed to seize opportunities to contrast herself with Mr. Perry, her chief rival for evangelical and Tea Party support, or with Mr. Romney, who at one point said that every candidate deserved to take ‘a mulligan’ or two on bad decisions from the past — a missed opportunity to scold him that presidents do not get.” On Friday, NBC’s Jamie Novogrod notes, Bachmann went drew a distinction between her position on Social Security and Perry’s. Bachmann told Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson that it’s wrong “for any candidate to make senior citizens believe that they should be nervous about something they have come to count on.”

AP

Former Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on April 9, 2010.

*** Pawlenty backs Romney: Earlier this morning, on FOX, former GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty endorsed Romney, NBC’s Garrett Haake reports. Pawlenty said he based his decision on Romney’s experience with the economy and his belief that Romney will repeal the federal health-care law. Haake adds that Pawlenty will travel with the Romney campaign to Florida for tonight’s debate. 

*** On the 2012 trail: In addition to tonight's debate, Romney unveils his labor policy at 9:00 am ET in North Charleston, SC (and tries to make political hay out of that Boeing-National Labor Relations Board issue)... And, in DC at noon, Thaddeus McCotter speaks at the Heritage Foundation.

*** Dems could lose NY-9 special: In further proof how quickly politics -- and the issue du jour -- can change, it was just about four months ago when Democrats captured a reliably GOP congressional seat in New York (Chris Lee's, he of that shirtless photo) largely due to Medicare. And on Tuesday, Republicans could very well win a reliably Dem congressional seat in New York (Anthony Weiner's, he of those lewd Tweets and messages). Part of the reason for the Dems' struggles is due to Obama. “That is a major factor,” said a Democratic observer of the race, noting that Obama’s approval in the district is in the 30s. Part of it is the Democratic candidate -- David Weprin -- who has made gaffe after gaffe in the race. But don’t forget this other reason: Anthony Weiner. “Anthony Weiner is why we're in this situation to begin with,” the same Dem observer tells First Read. The same could be said why Republicans lost Lee’s seat back in May.

*** Well, isn’t THAT special? Yet keep this in mind about tomorrow’s NY-9 special, as well as NV-2 race (which Republicans are favored to win): Special elections sometimes foretell what will happen in American politics -- like they did during the ’08 cycle. And sometimes they don’t -- like when Democrats won in NY-20, NY-23, and PA-12, but later got clobbered in the midterms. It’s a lesson that almost every political journalist learns the hard way after covering and writing about a special election: Special elections matter, unless they don’t. That said, tomorrow’s races should still worry Obama’s Chicago headquarters. The contests are either an exclamation point on a disastrous summer for Team Obama, or they’re a sign of things to come (like an enthusiasm gap that still exists for Dems).  

*** Monday's "Daily Rundown" line-up: More from President Obama’s interview with NBC’s Brian Williams… Former Gov. Doug Wilder (D-VA) on the president’s jobs plan… NBC’s Kristen Welker previews the president’s Rose Garden remarks today… Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman and Rothenberg Report’s Nathan Gonzales on Tuesday’s special elections in New York and Nevada… NBC’s Atia Abawi with the latest on this weekend’s attack against a coalition base in Afghanistan… more 2012 news with Newsweek/Daily Beast’s Lois Romano, Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin and Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons.

*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews NBC’s Brian Williams (on his interview with Obama), former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson (on the economy and the deficit), and Sen. Jim Webb (on the 9/11 anniversary and the terror threat).

Countdown to NV-2 and NY-9 special elections: 1 day
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 57 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 147 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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AP

President Barack Obama observes a moment of silence alongside first lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush at the National September 11 Memorial in New York on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011.

On Sunday, for the first time, President Obama and former President George W. Bush stood together at the site of the Sept. 11 attacks, listening as family members read the names of lost love ones and bowing their heads in silence to mark the moments the planes hit,” the New York Times says. “In May, Mr. Bush declined Mr. Obama’s invitation to join him at ground zero after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. But on this morning, they stood shoulder to shoulder — commanders in chief whose terms in office are bookends for exploring how the United States has changed since Sept. 11, 2001, particularly in its response to terrorism.”

The Washington Post: “President Obama joined about 2,000 attendees Sunday night at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for a concert that wrapped up three days of events to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.”

The “Concert for Hope” was sponsored by the Washington National Cathedral. It was to have been held at the cathedral in Northwest D.C., but after the building suffered damage from the recent earthquake and the collapse of a crane on the grounds, the event was moved late last week to the Kennedy Center.

“As House Republicans embark on their fall agenda, they face a steep challenge: working out how a party that doesn’t believe the government should create jobs can best present a job-creation platform,” The Hill writes.

Roll Call looks day-by-day at what’s happening this week, including the super committee meeting tomorrow.

“As one of the 12 members of a congressional ‘supercommittee’ charged with developing a plan by Thanksgiving for cutting $1.5 trillion from the federal budget deficit, Senator John Kerry has the potential to influence huge decisions about the future of social and military spending,” the Boston Globe writes. “For that reason, he and the other committee members are certain targets for lobbying by all manner of individuals and organizations. Kerry says he will have none of it.”

Members are flocking to Israel with sponsored trips on which they even bring family members because of what’s become known as the “AIPAC loophole.”

“Retirees’ concerns will be on the agenda at 8 o’clock tonight as GOP presidential candidates gather in Tampa for a debate, and again in Orlando on Sept. 22,” the Boston Globe reports. “The Florida focus will continue into next year, when the state hosts the Republican National Convention. Florida is crucial territory - it awards the third-most Electoral College votes - and senior citizens are undisputedly the pivotal voting bloc.”

In advance of tonight’s debate, CNN released a poll showing Perry leading Romney in the GOP presidential race, 30%-18%. “More than 4 in 10 GOP voters also say Perry is the most electable candidate, compared with 26% who say Romney can beat Obama.”

BACHMANN: “Keep Conservatives United, a Super PAC backing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), on Tuesday will start hitting Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on his stance on illegal immigration in a radio ad that will air during conservative talk radio shows in South Carolina,” The Hill reports. “The ad portrays Bachmann as hawkish on illegal immigration while claiming Perry has failed to clamp down during his tenure as governor of a border state. “

And it’s not just immigration. She’s also hitting him on Social Security. Here’s what an adviser tells Byron York in the Washington Examiner, via GOP 12: "Bernie Madoff deals with Ponzi schemes, not the grandparents of America... Clearly she feels differently about the value of Social Security than Gov. Perry does. She believes Social Security needs to be saved, that it's an important safety net for Americans who have paid into it all their lives."

PERRY: He pens this USA Today op-ed: “The first step to fixing a problem is honestly admitting there is a problem. America's goal must be to fix Social Security by making it more financially sound and sustainable for the long term. But Americans deserve a frank and honest discussion of the dire financial challenges facing the nearly 80-year-old program.”

More: “I am going to be honest with the American people. Our elected leaders must have the strength to speak frankly about entitlement reform if we are to right our nation's financial course and get the USA working again.”

The Boston Globe looks at Perry’s record on immigration: “[N]ow that Perry is running for the Republican presidential nomination, his long record on the issue, amassed over 11 years as governor, is offering fodder for critics on the right as well as political rivals, who see immigration as one way to drive a wedge between the Texas governor and the conservative voters who hold considerable sway in the primary. His record may also broaden the view of voters just now coming to know Perry and who may have thought of him as an unalloyed conservative on this as on other issues. But the contrast between his record, and those of his rivals, remains stark.”

“Rick Perry unexpectedly skipped a visit to a damaged area of Texas on Saturday, as criticism of his handling and occasional tone deafness surrounding the dangerous blaze continues to grow,” the New York Daily News writes, adding, that Perry “was widely criticized after a member of his fundraising team commented that fundraising was ‘going like wildfire’ – a term many considered tone deaf in wake of recent events.”

ROMNEY: And Romney hits Perry also with a flier in Florida that calls him “reckless and wrong” on Social Security (via GOP 12).

NEW YORK: The New York Daily News notes that whoever wins the Weiner seat could wind up not even being around next fall: “It began with a lewd online photo - and could end with a campaign winner spending a short stint in Congress. The race to replace disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner in the Queens-Brooklyn district ends tomorrow when Democrat David Weprin and Republican Bob Turner square off to fill a seat that may not exist in 13 months.”

“A Siena College poll released last Friday showed Turner ahead 50-44,” the New York Post reports.

SOUTH CAROLINA: “Calling a female reporter a ‘little girl’ is causing big problems for South Carolina’s first woman governor,” the New York Daily News writes. “Republican Gov. Nikki Haley said Friday that she regrets making the lowbrow comment about reporter Renee Dudley, who had written a story about the lawmaker. But Haley managed to still take a dig at the 25 year old. ‘The story painted a grossly inaccurate picture and was unprofessionally done, but my 'little girl' comment was inappropriate and I regret that,’ Haley said in a statement. ‘Everyone can have a bad day. I'll forgive her bad story, if she'll forgive my poor choice of words.’”

Alex Moe, NBC News

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann serves burgers outside Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa Saturday morning.

AMES, Iowa –- Shortly before kickoff at the annual Iowa vs. Iowa State football game, Michele Bachmann mingled with tailgaters outside Jack Trice Stadium. Sporting a combo Hawkeye and Cyclone jersey with ‘Bachmann’ on the back, the congresswoman would not say who she was rooting for.

“I love everybody,” she said with a small Bachmann blimp floating overhead.

This was her second appearance in the Hawkeye State since her straw poll win and she pointed that out to reporters after flipping hamburgers for supporters who stopped by her tent.

“What we’re seeing on the ground is there’s only one candidate whose won anything in this race and it’s me and I was fortunate enough to win that straw poll here in Iowa,” Bachmann said when asked about fallout from the debate this week.

Also during the short press avail this morning that Bachmann addressed recent criticisms that she has not been spending enough time with voters.

“We love Iowa,” she said. “We’ve been in Iowa 70 days and I think what we’ve been known for is our time with people and talking with people so that’s why we’re here today with people again.”

The congresswoman was the only presidential candidate to attend the annual rivalry game that had just over 56,000 in attendance. She did participate in one tailgate game, cornhole. Bachmann tossed her second beanbag straight through the hole for 3 points. In addition to serving burgers and playing cornhole, she mingled with the crowd, signing autographs, taking pictures, and hugging lots of babies for roughly an hour before heading to the airport. (Iowa State would go on to beat Iowa 44 to 41 in triple OT)

South Carolina retirees and Social Security recipients who support the Tea Party seem to agree with Texas Gov. Rick Perry that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme.

A number of participants at a Tea Party Rally today in Bluffton, South Carolina – a town near Hilton Head – moved to the Palmetto State from the northeast to escape the cold winters.

And while most of them might be several years into their Social Security checks, many said they agreed with Perry’s assertion at the NBC/Politico debate on Wednesday that the program is a “Ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today, you’re paying into a program that’s going to be there.”  

“I think he’s probably right,” said Larry Vazzana, a Maryland native who retired in Bluffton. Vazzana, who said he thinks former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the more electable candidate, said he fears Perry’s strong language may handicap the Texas governor but that his assertion is accurate.

“That’s an example of what I’m saying – he’s a bit outspoken and he shoots from the hip,” Vazzana added. “But I think if you look at it, he’s probably right. It’s a Ponzi scheme.”

Northern migrants like Vazzana make up a growing portion of South Carolina’s electorate. Beaufort County, home to Bluffton and Hilton Head, had one of the state’s biggest population surges, growing 34 percent according to the 2010 census. The area is also rich in primary voters, with 24.75 percent voter turnout in the 2008 Republican presidential primary, above the state’s 19.52 percent average.

This afternoon in Bluffton’s old town square, Vazzana was in good company. Nancy Roe, a Social Security recipient who moved to Bluffton from Atlanta in 1972, said that she agreed with Perry, although she thought his answer on Social Security at Wednesday’s debate was incomplete. 

“I was sorry the other night that he didn’t explain that he would have wanted to fix Social Security,” she said. “I’m on it too.”

“But it is a Ponzi scheme!” Referring to the CNN/Tea Party debate next week, she said, “I hope Rick Perry can explain himself better in Tampa. I’m glad he didn’t backtrack. Yes, it is a Ponzi scheme. 

Ann Ubelis, a (non-retired) talk radio host and member of the Beaufort Tea Party who is originally from New York, said that although she was wary of his record on immigration, she thought Perry’s comments on the entitlement program were “spot on.” And of his other controversial comments (such as saying Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke would be treated “pretty ugly” in Texas), Ubelis said his comments are in line with those coming from Democrats.  

“I don’t see anything inflammatory about it. We’ve had a lot worse,” Ubelis said, noting Rep. Maxine Waters’ comment two weeks ago that “the Tea Party can go straight to hell” as an example of heated rhetoric from the Tea Party’s ideological opposites.

“We’ve been called terrorists, racists, barbarians at the border. We’re not doing nasty talk but we’re stating facts and principles and Social Security is a Ponzi scheme,” Ubelis said.

After today’s event in Bluffton, the Tea Party Express bus headed to Florida, where it will stop in Jacksonville and Deltona before arriving in Tampa for the debate on Sept. 12^th.  

The president went to Congress last night. Today, he went to the people.  

President Obama spoke in front of a crowd of almost 8,000 at the University of Richmond. His goal was to take the American Jobs Act to the outside-of-the-Beltway crowd and get the public on board and active.

The chosen venue was conspicuously in the district of the Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, which allowed the president to give a bit of praise to some on the other side of the aisle for their reaction to last night’s speech.
“To their credit," Obama said, "I was glad to hear some Republicans, including your congressman, say that … they see room for us to work together. They said that they're open to some of the proposals to create American jobs."

Parts of the speech sounded a lot like last night. He outlined the main points of the plan: an extension of payroll tax cuts for employees, addition of payroll tax cuts for employers, infrastructure spending, tax credits for businesses that hire veterans, extension of unemployment insurance and other programs. 

And the president insisted that everything in the bill could and has had bipartisan support.

“Now, everything in the American Jobs Act, everything in there is the kind of proposal that's been supported in the past by both Democrats and Republicans. Nothing radical in this bill.  Everything in it will put more people back to work and more money back in the pockets of those who are working. Everything in it will be paid for."

This elicited cheers from the audience. More cheers came though, when Obama slid into campaign mode near the end of the speech. He didn’t quite call for his army to rise up, but he asked the audience in the room and watching on television and the Internet to “lift up” their voices. 

"The time for action is now," he said. "The time to create jobs is now. Pass this bill. If you want construction workers on the right, work site, pass this bill. If you want teachers in the class room, pass this bill. You want small business owners to hire new people -- pass this bill. You want veterans to get their fair share opportunity that they helped create -- pass this bill. You want a tax break -- pass this bill.  Prove you will fight as hard for tax cuts for workers and middle-class people, as you do for oil companies and rich folks -- pass this bill. Let's get something done."

Obama is expected to deliver his ideas for deficit reduction  in 10 days.