“President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner will tee up for a round of golf on June 18, the House Republican's office confirmed Friday,” Roll Call writes.

The Sunday New York Times: “Saddled with a faltering economic recovery, President Obama is rebuilding the campaign machinery that vaulted him into office, hoping it can overcome the challenges of persistently high unemployment and a fractured coalition of supporters.”

“The federal government has moved from economic ‘recovery mode’ to focusing on ‘standing up’ the private sector to fuel a turnaround, a top White House adviser said Sunday,” The Hill writes.

Today's top story from the New York Times: "President Obama’s national security team is contemplating troop reductions in Afghanistan that would be steeper than those discussed even a few weeks ago, with some officials arguing that such a change is justified by the rising cost of the war and the death of Osama bin Laden, which they called new 'strategic considerations.'"

That said, Politico writes: "A whirlwind tour of three crucial bases shows no signs of the war winding down, or of Americans getting ready to leave following last year’s successful surge."

“President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner will tee up for a round of golf on June 18, the House Republican's office confirmed Friday,” Roll Call writes.

The Sunday New York Times: “Saddled with a faltering economic recovery, President Obama is rebuilding the campaign machinery that vaulted him into office, hoping it can overcome the challenges of persistently high unemployment and a fractured coalition of supporters.”

“The federal government has moved from economic ‘recovery mode’ to focusing on ‘standing up’ the private sector to fuel a turnaround, a top White House adviser said Sunday,” The Hill writes.

Today's top story from the New York Times: "President Obama’s national security team is contemplating troop reductions in Afghanistan that would be steeper than those discussed even a few weeks ago, with some officials arguing that such a change is justified by the rising cost of the war and the death of Osama bin Laden, which they called new 'strategic considerations.'"

That said, Politico writes: "A whirlwind tour of three crucial bases shows no signs of the war winding down, or of Americans getting ready to leave following last year’s successful surge."

FLORIDA: “If Floridians want welfare, they better make sure they are drug-free,” the New York Daily News reports. “Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill on Tuesday that requires benefit recipients to undergo drug testing.”

“Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos was in full damage control mode Wednesday, the day after a St. Augustine radio host hung up on the U.S. Senate hopeful for refusing to answer whether he would support Rep. Paul Ryan’s controversial budget,” Roll Call reports.

VIRGINIA: “As a Senator, George Allen (R) co-sponsored a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and worked a pledge to keep marriage "traditional" into just about every re-election stump speech,” Roll Call reports. “But these days, as Allen tries to get his job back, he doesn't talk about gay marriage. A top campaign aide said the Senator keeps social issues on the back burner and instead talks with Virginians about the issues they raise: gas prices, jobs and the economy, and the need to rein in federal government spending.”

A bill that would have “cut billions in tax breaks for the largest oil companies” failed 52-48 in the Senate, The Hill notes. It needed 60 votes to advance.

Here’s this from Roll Call: “‘Gang of Six’ Collapses on Itself.” “Hopes for a grand bipartisan debt limit deal took a big hit Tuesday after Sen. Tom Coburn pulled out of the ‘gang of six’ talks. … One source close to the talks said the break occurred after Coburn demanded an additional $130 billion in Medicare cuts over the next decade from current beneficiaries. That proposal goes beyond what was included in the president’s fiscal commission plan, on which the group was basing its talks. ‘He is asking for deep Medicare cuts beyond what the fiscal commission proposed and beyond even Paul Ryan’s [R-Wis.] proposal,’ the source said. ‘That is just not going to happen.’”

“House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, who as the House GOP’s lead watchdog has questioned the legitimacy of some Obama administration travel, jetted to Puerto Rico during the recess on a taxpayer-funded trip that included work and down time with a pal, POLITICO has learned.

Issa’s friend and former colleague from the House, Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno, invited him to stay at the historic governor’s mansion in San Juan, a committee spokesman said Tuesday.”

The Washington Post’s fact checker gave Darrell Issa “two Pinocchios” for saying that the Mexican government said the Obama administration had committed an “act of war.” Issa’s office denied that he said “act of war” but “active war.” “We find it interesting that Issa’s office denied he said “act of war” but then defended his right to do so when shown a second quote,” the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler writes.

“Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln is planning to set up shop on K Street. Alston & Bird will announce this week that the Arkansas Democrat will join its operation, according to a source close to the firm,” Roll Call reports.

The Hill: “Republicans on Capitol Hill may be in the process of learning a hard lesson: Meddling with Medicare, whatever the nation’s fiscal circumstances, just isn’t popular.”

On that note, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it’s running automated phone calls attacking House Republicans for voting to overhaul the program for those under 55. An example of one of the calls in 20 congressional districts across the country:

“Hi, I’m calling from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee calling about Congressman Lou Barletta’s vote to end Medicare. You’ve paid into Medicare for more than 25 years and deserve the Medicare benefits you’ve earned. Under the Barletta plan, Medicare ends and you’ll have to save about $182,000 more to pay for your health care. Where will you get $182,000? Everyone agrees we must cut spending and tighten our belt, but Barletta has made the wrong choice. Ending Medicare to pay for subsidies for Big Oil making huge profits or tax breaks for the ultra rich! That’s not right.”

John Harwood on the fight over raising the debt-ceiling: "'No one wants to vote to increase the debt limit,' said Donald Marron, a former economic adviser to President George W. Bush who now runs the Tax Policy Center. But neither does any leader in Congress dispute that 'the cap has to go up.' That history explains why financial markets have shrugged off the drama now building around the debt limit. When Mr. Boehner warned last week that 'there will be no debt-limit increase' without deep spending cuts, his audience at the New York Economic Club responded with polite applause and no apparent alarm. As politicians with governing responsibility, Mr. Obama, Mr. Boehner and Mr. Reid must amass legislative majorities for an increase by August to preclude government default, according to the Treasury Department. That effort also includes, Mr. Marron noted, 'jockeying to see who wins the right to vote "no."'"

“The United States has reached a ‘critical moment’ in its relationship with Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden, Senator John F. Kerry said yesterday before flying to Pakistan to address what he called ‘very disturbing’ evidence of the Pakistani government’s knowledge of insurgent sanctuaries,” the Washington Post reports, adding, “The Massachusetts Democrat is the most senior US official to travel to Pakistan since the raid on the Al Qaeda leader’s compound.”

“House Republicans are working to prevent Medicare reform from becoming the politically defining issue of their party for the 2012 election season,” Roll Call reports. “But as Members return home for a weeklong Congressional recess Friday, it remains an open question whether media attention and a strong constituent response will turn the issue of entitlements into the GOP's version of cap-and-trade, a Democratic proposal from 2009 that was met with strong opposition and damaged scores of incumbents in swing districts.”

“Three days before House Speaker John A. Boehner is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Catholic University, dozens of faculty at Catholic colleges — including many from the university — have written to the Catholic speaker, criticizing him for having a record ‘among the worst in Congress’ on protecting the poor,” The Washington Post reports.

“Among the 13 Senators sworn in last January, Sen. Marco Rubio is the only one who has yet to speak on the floor,” Roll Call writes.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune is not sure he’ll endorse a candidate in the Republican presidential primary, the Argus Leader writes.

BACHMANN: After a March head fake brought on by Bachmann adviser Ed Brookover, some Iowa Republicans say they expect Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann to announce her campaign for the White House at a May 26 Polk County GOP fundraiser in Des Moines. The Tea Party favorite is headlining the fundraiser and co-chair of the Polk County GOP in Iowa, Dave Funk, told the Daily Caller his "sense is she's going to run." Funk said the Minnesota congresswoman will go on a five day tour of the Hawkeye state after the May 26 fundraiser. 

DANIELS: After House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said Tuesday on the "Today" show he would like to see Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels bring the same reforms he made in Indiana to Washington, D.C., the Republican said his "chances would actually be quite good" if he were pitted against President Obama in the 2012 presidential election, Reuters reports.

GINGRICH: Newt Gingrich, whose personal wealth may not match some of his other likely opponents, plans to play in every single primary state, Politico writes. “Gingrich isn’t pinning his hopes on any single state, believing instead that, for those who can’t fund their own campaigns, the drawn-out contest will require a prudent use of resources spread across the board.”

Newt Gingrich’s past experience – and problems – may both help and hurt his campaign, the AP writes. “Viewed by many as a masterful grass-roots strategist and message manipulator, he led Republicans to control of the House for the first time in four decades. Still, he's remembered as much for his stormy fall — he faced ethics complaints and later resigned — as for his triumphant rise. And questions about his temperament still surface.”

HUNTSMAN: Politico reports former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador to China Jon Huntsman is adding on to his previously scheduled trip to New Hampshire to give a speech at the University of Southern New Hampshire on May 21. His now five-day Granite State trip will now begin on May 19^th with a stop in Lebanon near the Vermont border, and continues with a meeting with the state GOP chairman, Jack Kimball, in Concord the next day.

The Washington Post’s Cilizza reports that Huntsman’s political action committee has hired two more communications operatives: James Richardson, who first signed on with Haley Barbour and will oversee online communications, and Matt Connelly, who has worked on California gubernatorial campaigns and will be in charge of rapid response.

PAUL: Ron Paul is planning a rally in Exeter, NH on Friday, during a two-day swing through the state, WMUR reports.

ROMNEY: "Mitt Romney, whose emerging candidacy for president has been clouded by GOP doubts over his health care plan in Massachusetts, is planning a bit of political jujitsu tomorrow: taking the biggest perceived negative of his campaign and attempting to turn it into a positive," the Boston Globe writes. The former Massachusetts governor will seek to redefine his candidacy by delivering a major speech outlining his vision for dismantling President Obama’s overhaul and creating a new national model. Romney is expected to propose tax breaks for consumers buying coverage on the open market; a requirement that insurers cover patients with preexisting conditions; and provisions giving states more power in the health coverage arena."

By the way, Romney will deliver his speech in Michigan, and MSNBC.com’s Carrie Dann notes that a new poll from Lansing-based EPIC-MRA shows Obama’s job approval underwater in the state, with 61% giving the president a negative rating. But it’s worth noting that the poll was in the field before Osama bin Laden’s death, which -- per NBC’s latest survey -- is worth at least a modest bump for the commander-in-chief.

According to IowaPolitcs.com, Mitt Romney will make his first appearance in Iowa when he gives a speech and participates in a question and answer session in Des Moines on May 27 as part of a series of presidential lectures held in partnership with the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

TRUMP: An indication Trump might not actually run? He said on FOX, per GOP 12: "I have heard over a lifetime that if you have really accomplished a lot and done a lot, you cannot run for high political office. And I can see why. I can see now why Ross Perot dropped out… I heard from people that were involved that he was just getting hammered because he did a lot. He did a lot of deals, a lot of everything."

Trump spoke at length about his hair in a Rolling Stone interview, per the New York Daily News: "Okay, what I do is wash it with Head and Shoulders," Trump said. "I don't dry it, though. I let it dry by itself. It takes about an hour… I mean, I get a lot of credit for comb-overs. But it's not really a comb-over… Yes, I do use a comb. Do I comb it forward? No, I don't comb it forward. It's sort of a little bit forward and back. I've combed it the same way for years. Same thing, every time… I actually don't have a bad hairline. When you think about it, it's not bad."

NEBRASKA: "The Tea Party Express announced Wednesday morning that they are backing Attorney General Jon Bruning in the GOP primary for the candidates aiming to unseat Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), marking the group’s first endorsement of the 2012 cycle," per Roll Call.

NEW YORK: "It is a special election that was never supposed to be this close. But outside groups have begun pouring money into New York’s 26th district, a conservative region near the Empire State’s western border that has become an unlikely battlefield in a new age of political influence," Roll Call reports. The election takes place May 24.

TEXAS: "Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (D) will announce Wednesday morning that he is filing to run for the open Senate seat in Texas, according to a Democratic source close to the campaign," Roll Call writes.

The New York Post’s lead: “Five Republicans slammed President Obama -- but went easy on one another -- in South Carolina last night for the first presidential debate of the 2012 elections, while many big-name potential candidates stayed on the sidelines.”

“Republican presidential hopefuls on Thursday night didn't allow President Obama's widely-praised operation that killed Usama bin Laden this week to deter them from attacking his foreign policy or blaming his domestic policies for high gas prices and the fragile economy recovery,” Fox News writes of its South Carolina debate last night. “Pawlenty and Santorum were among the five participants seeking to prove themselves to be more than the party's B-team as they try to catapult their White House bids into the national spotlight.”  

This may be the most important point of the night: “The candidates offered few specific solutions for adding jobs and improving the economy, a key voter issue according to an April poll by Winthrop University,” The (South Carolina) State newspaper’s O’Connor writes. (There was only about six minutes out of 90 devoted to the economy, by our rough count last night.)

The New York Times’ take: “While candidates in presidential debates often need no introduction, the participants who filed onto the stage at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts offered an exception to that rule. There were two former governors, a member of Congress, a former senator and the former chief executive of a chain of pizza restaurants — all of whom round out the lower rung of an unsettled Republican field.”

More: “The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, sought to allay the worries of party activists who believe Republicans are missing an opportunity to start defining Mr. Obama in their quest to win back the White House. ‘As we all know, there are numerous other candidates that are looking at it — and thank God,’ Mr. Priebus said before the proceedings began. “Quite frankly, I think Americans are sick and tired of two-year, knock-out drag-out contests with a zillion debates and forums.”

The Washington Post calls the debate an “awkward moment” for the GOP. “With many of the party’s potentially strongest candidates either choosing not to participate — or still making up their minds about whether to run — the 90-minute debate offered a platform for second-tier candidates to make their case. They took full advantage of the spotlight, but in the process they offered dissonance in the GOP message along with moments of comedic relief to the audience. That made for a sometimes-entertaining evening for the audience in the hall and those watching on television. But it probably did little to help Republican voters figure out who has the stature and the strength to take on the president in 2012.”

The Wall Street Journal: “Just days after Mr. Obama scored one of the biggest triumphs of his presidency with the killing of Osama bin Laden, several of the candidates laid into Mr. Obama for actions taken elsewhere in the world. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty congratulated Mr. Obama on the bin Laden killing but complained that the president had deferred to allies in the intervention in Libya. ‘If he said [Libyan leader] Moammar Gadhafi must go, he needs to maintain the options to make Gadhafi go. And he didn't do that,’ Mr. Pawlenty said.”

Ouch. Pawlenty’s comments on climate change are dubbed, “The ‘I’m sorry’ moment” by The State. It did note, however, that it thought Pawlenty (and Paul) got the “loudest support.” It also labels Santorum as “dodging the question,” for his answer on Pakistan and what he’d do about it.

HUNTSMAN: Some members of Congress – including some in key primary state South Carolina – reject the notion that Jon Huntsman’s campaign is a nonstarter because of his work as an ambassador in the Obama administration, The Hill writes. “I think that enhances his credentials — he was sent to represent the people of the United States,” said Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).

Jon Huntsman is scheduled to meet with Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina today, the Salt Lake Tribune writes.

PAUL: An online money bomb for Rep. Ron Paul raised nearly $590,000 in advance of Paul’s appearance in the Fox News debate last night, The Hill reports.

Paul has opened a campaign office in Ankeny, IA, the Des Moines Register writes.

PAWLENTY: Tim Pawlenty “found himself on the defense several times during the debate,” Minnesota Public Radio recounts. “He defended his fiscal record as Minnesota governor, claiming he did not leave Minnesota's finances in poor shape. And he, once again, apologized for his early interest in cap and trade, a market-based system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Erick Erickson says Pawlenty and Cain won the debate. “Tonight, he proved he is Presidential material. Maybe it was because of the people surrounding him — the one eyed man is king among the blind. But I think it was more than that. He came across polished in his own right and not just in comparison to the others. His answers were solid. His admission of error on cap and trade was solid. His jobs answer was golden. His attacks on the President were spot on.”

Roll Call’s Bellantoni: “Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty used the first Republican presidential debate — and the absence of major contenders — to showcase his credentials, deflect criticism of unpopular positions and introduce himself to voters.” But: “The most newsworthy element of the Fox News-hosted forum held Thursday night in Greenville, S.C., might have been the number of likely candidates missing from the stage.”

ROMNEY: In two recent New Hampshire polls from Suffolk University and the University of New Hampshire, Mitt Romney has a “commanding” lead, taking 35 percent of the vote in the Suffolk poll and 36 percent in UNH’s, U.S. News reports. The only other candidate to clock in with double digits is Donald Trump who had 11 percent in the UNH survey.

Romney told Politico that he agrees with President Obama’s decision not to show photos of Osama bin Laden, writing in a statement, “"It's best not to release the photo because it has the potential to incite retaliatory violence against Americans.”  

Well, that didn’t last long: “The GOP plan to replace Medicare with vouchers will have to wait, party leaders acknowledged yesterday as lawmakers bowed to political realities in pursuing a deal to allow more government borrowing in exchange for big spending cuts,” the Boston Globe reports.

The Boston Globe makes this good point: “[T]he most recent fury and flurry of votes are not likely to produce many new laws this year, and both sides know it. In the short era of divided government since the Republicans took control of the House in January, Congress has produced plenty of high-profile symbolic votes and a paltry amount of substantial laws. The reason, political specialists say: Both parties are using debates and votes to telegraph messages to their most fervent supporters, put the opposing party on record on key issues, and jockey for position for the 2012 elections.”