Several media outlets are reporting that Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut will disclose this afternoon that he has early-stage prostate cancer.

Dodd is expected to hold a news conference at 2 p.m. in Hartford.

Dodd plans to be back at work when the Senate reconvenes in September, according to an e-mail his office circulated to fellow senators and that the Associated Press obtained. Aides also told the AP the diagnosis would not affect Dodd's plans to seek a sixth term in 2010.

Dodd, 65, is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and in the absence of Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who is battling brain cancer, has been leading the Senate health committee's efforts on a healthcare overhaul bill.

He already faced what could be a tough re-election battle next year for a sixth term, with a Democratic primary challenger.

Connecticut businessman Merrick Alpert, who served in the Air Force in Bosnia, said in a video to voters on his website, "You deserve a senator who tells you the truth....Like many of you, I've lost faith in Senator Dodd. He's become part of a culture of corruption in Washington." .

Dodd is trying to rebuild his popularity, which slipped during the financial meltdown and his failed 2008 presidential bid. As chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, he drew particular criticism for his role in allowing $165 million in AIG bonuses.

After first denying any involvement, Dodd acknowledged that during the drafting of the final version of the $787 economic billion stimulus bill, he led the charge on including "strong language" to limit executive compensation, but went along with Treasury Department officials who wanted to change the language to protect some already-contracted bonuses to avoid legal issues.

He said if he had known it would allow the payments, "I would have rejected it out of hand."

President Obama said new, better-than-expected gross domestic product numbers show that the country is headed in the right direction, and that "the recession we faced when I took office was even deeper than anyone thought at the time."

The president also said the massive, $700 billion economic stimulus package "helped pull the nation back from the brink."

The economy "has done measurably better that we had thought -- better than expected. And as many economists will tell you, that part of the progress is directly attributable to the Recovery Act," Obama said this afternoon. "This and other difficult but important steps that we've taken over the last six months have helped us put the brakes on the recession."

But the president added that the good economic news is cold comfort for those withouth jobs and families struggling to make ends meet.

"When we receive our monthly jobs report next week, it's likely to show that we're still continuing to lose far too many jobs. As far as I'm concerned, we won't have a recovery as long as we keep losing jobs," Obama said. "And I will not rest until every American who wants a job can find one."

Nevertheless, "history does show that you need to have economic growth before you have job growth," Obama said. "And today's GDP is an important sign that the economy is headed in the right direction and that business investment, which had been plummeting in the last several months, is showing signs of stabilizing. This means that eventually, businesses will start growing and they'll start hiring again. And that's when it will truly feel like a recovery to the American people."

The Commerce Department reported that the economy shrank by 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, giving hope that the longest recession since World War II is easing.

"Obviously that's the right direction," Christina Romer, one of the president's top economic advisers, said on MSNBC. "We've got a long way to go."

The revised number in the first quarter was down 6.4 percent, the biggest decline in nearly three decades -- showing that the recession was even worse than believed at the time and proving that the $787 billion stimulus plan and other government spending was necessary, said Romer, chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

"We absolutely had to rescue this economy," she said.

For the economy to truly rebound, she said, there needs to be 2 percent to 3 percent real growth.

Obama and Romer also tried to reassure Americans that one initiative won't be a victim of its own success.

The "cash for clunkers" program has been so popular that consumers have already emptied the $1 billion fund.

"Not more than a few weeks ago, there were skeptics who weren't sure that this "Cash for Clunkers" program would work," Obama said. "But I'm happy to report that it has succeeded well beyond our expectations and all expectations, and we're already seeing a dramatic increase in showroom traffic at local car dealers."

"And I'm encouraged that Republicans and Democrats in the House are working to pass legislation today that would use some Recovery Act funding to keep this program going -- funding that we would work to replace down the road," the president said. "Thanks to quick bipartisan responses, we're doing everything possible to continue this program and to continue helping consumers and the auto industry contribute to our recovery."

"If you wanted to buy a car this weekend, go do it," Romer told Reuters Television. "The program is still there. It has not been suspended, and I can tell you there is a real flurry of activity working with the agencies, the Congress, to ensure we can continue this and get the funds there."

The Associated Press is reporting that Democrats in both the House and Senate are exploring votes as early as today to add $2 billion into the rebate program.

Representative Sander Levin of Michigan revealed the bill after he and other lawmakers were assured by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that the program would continue at least through today while the Obama administration looked for more money, the AP says.

President Obama doesn't have any public events on his schedule today, but his wing man and his better half will be out and about.

Vice President Joe Biden -- who ended up sitting in on the "beer summit" Thursday evening with Obama, Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley -- is speaking today at the National Urban League's annual conference in Chicago.

Biden, as the point man for the $787 billion economic stimulus package, has made the health of cities a priority.

First Lady Michelle Obama, meanwhile, will be in Norfolk, Va., for the welcome home ceremonies for the USS Eisenhower carrier strike group and the USNS Comfort hospital ship from their recent deployments. She will also meet with Navy leaders and families.

She has made support for military families one of her signature issues. Last week, the Coast Guard invited her to serve as the sponsor for the new Cutter Stratton.

By Foon Rhee and Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

After sharing beers on the Rose Garden patio this evening , there was no final resolution to the confrontation between Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley that turned into a national racial issue.

But President Obama, Crowley, and Gates's lawyer, while declining to divulge details of the private talks, said there had been progress through a cordial, frank discussion.

“I am thankful to Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley for joining me at the White House this evening for a friendly, thoughtful conversation," the president said in a statement. "Even before we sat down for the beer, I learned that the two gentlemen spent some time together listening to one another, which is a testament to them. I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart.I am confident that has happened here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode.”

Crowley said afterwards that all agreed to look forward, not dwell on the incident July 16 in which he arrested Gates while investigating a break-in at the professor's Cambridge home. The disorderly conduct charge was later dropped.

"Two gentlemen agreed to disagree," Crowley told reporters at AFL-CIO headquarters. "This was a positive step in moving forward," not only for Cambridge, but the nation.

He said that he and Gates have different perspectives, and "both perspectives should be addressed" in meaningful future discussions. Crowley said he and Gates will talk by phone to set up another face-to-face meeting.

Asked whether the meeting would be another beer at a bar, Crowley said that would send the wrong message, so perhaps they could have soft drinks instead.

Charles Ogletree, Gates’s friend and attorney, said, “They’ll be getting together to break some bread in a private session and talk about some community outreach efforts to improve relations between police and communities,” said Ogletree, who will be issuing a statement on behalf of Gates later this evening on how the nation should move forward. “There are important lessons to be learned from the July 16 incident.”

“The president should be applauded for his usual role in bringing together people with different points of view and recognizing their commonalities,” Ogletree said. “It was a very healthy discussion. All of the participants left with the sense that they respect each other and they are going to use it as an important step forward on a number of matters.”

At the appointed time for the "beer summit," there was a brief photo opportunity. The three, plus Vice President Joe Biden, sat around a white patio table near the Rose Garden. Biden and Gates sat on one side, with Crowley and Obama opposite. Obama and Biden seemed far more relaxed, with the suit jackets off and their shirtsleeves rolled up, while Gates and Crowley were dressed in suits. A White House staffer served their beers in mugs.

They could be seen talking, but reporters could not hear what they were saying.

According to the press pool report, Obama drank Bud Light, Biden quaffed Buckler (a nonalcoholic beer), Gates had Sam Adams Light, and Crowley Blue Moon. The men munched on peanuts and pretzels served in small silver bowls. Biden wasn't scheduled to attend, but Obama invited him this afternoon.

Gates brought to the White House his 96-year-old father, his older brother, and two grown daughters. Crowley bought his wife, three children, and some police union members. The two families toured the East Wing together before the meeting.

Crowley said he and Gates introduced each other's families to one another. The two men were friendly to each other, and chatted about everything from police work to the Red Sox and the Celtics, Ogletree said. “It was a wonderful, warm gathering before the meeting,” Ogletree said. “Everybody learned from it. They learned a lot about each other’s families.”

The men met Obama in the Oval Office before moving out into the Rose Garden, while family members were given a tour of the West Wing during the beers.

As the White House had warned, there was no organized news conference afterwards with all three participants.

Obama issued the invite after helping turn the confrontation between Crowley and Gates in his home into a national debate on race relations by initially saying that Cambridge police "acted stupidly."

But earlier today, Obama downplayed the much-publicized beer, saying it was just "three guys having a drink at the end of the day."

The event is "an opportunity to listen to each other," the president told reporters. "That's all it is. "This is not a university seminar. It is not a summit. It's an attempt to have some personal interaction when an issue has become so hyped and so symbolic."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama is under no illusion that "one cold beer at one table here is going to change massively the course of human history."

While Obama has said the case could be a "teachable moment" for the country on race relations, he did not plan to use the occasion to announce any new initiatives.

President Obama this evening lauded the House for passing a sweeping food safety bill designed to prevent repeats of the wide outbreak of salmonella in peanuts that killed at least nine Americans.

The legislation approved today over objections from some farm-state lawmakers would require more government inspections of manufacturers, give the Food and Drug Administration new powers to order recalls, and require the FDA to develop a system for better tracing food-borne illnesses.

"This action represents a major step forward in modernizing our food safety system and protecting Americans from foodborne illness," Obama said in a statement. "Those are the goals of the Food Safety Working Group I convened in March and charged with making recommendations to improve our food safety system. And that is why we announced a new rule to control Salmonella contamination in eggs and are working to reduce the presence of harmful pathogens such as E. coli in meat and produce; strengthen our capacity to trace the source of outbreaks; and update our emergency operations procedures.

"I commend the House of Representatives for its action today and look forward to working with the Senate to enact critical food safety legislation.”

By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- The House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, which previously conducted investigations into the use of steroids by baseball players, has no plans to look into the report that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were on a list of players who tested positive in 2003 for performance-enhancing drugs, a spokeswoman said today.

"We just don't have any interest in looking at this," committee spokeswoman Jenny Rosenberg said in an interview after she consulted with the committee's chairman, Representative Eldophus Towns of New York. "The priorities of the committee do not include looking into this matter. We are doing stimulus oversight and an investigation into the financial bailout."

In February, when New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez acknowledged past use of performing-enhancing drugs, Towns also said he intends to focus the committee on economic issues instead of "yet another person who cheated both himself and the game of baseball."

Towns, who became chairman earlier this year, did not lead the committee when it held hearings, most recently last year, on steroid use in Major League Baseball. The panel summoned Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro to Capitol Hill in March 2005.

The panel's former chairman, Henry Waxman of California, was known for his interest in steroids use but he is now deeply involved in climate change and healthcare legislation as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Waxman spokeswoman Karen Lightfoot said "he's got his hands full" with healthcare.

Nonetheless, it is possible that other members of the committee or any member of Congress could ask for an investigation, particularly if new information emerges.

"As a Red Sox fan it is a disappointment to learn of these allegations," Representative John Tierney, one of two Massachusetts members of the committee, said in a statement this afternoon. "As a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee I suspect there will be an assessment of whether or not the League is carrying out its earlier indication to effectively resolve such issues, and if it seems not, then whether or not this warrants intervention in terms of where this fits in with the Committee’s priorities which range from overseeing two wars to investigating financial industry improprieties.”

The other committee member from Massachusetts, Stephen Lynch, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Earlier this year, Miguel Tejada of the Houston Astros pleaded guilty to lying to the committee during 2005 testimony about his knowledge about a former teammate's use of steroids.

The FBI also is investigating whether former Yankee and Red Sox star Roger Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young winner, lied to the committee last year when he denied using steroids or human growth hormone.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy received another high honor today, courtesy of President Obama.

The longtime Massachusetts senator is one of 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. It is awarded to individuals who "make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public, or private endeavors," the White House said, and "this year’s awardees were chosen for their work as agents of change."

Kennedy issued a statement of thanks:

Kennedy -- who is battling brain cancer as Obama and Democrats in Congress try to push through the capstone of his 46-year Senate career, a healthcare overhaul -- said he was "profoundly grateful" to Obama.

“My life has been committed to the ideal of public service which President Kennedy wanted the Medal of Freedom to represent. To receive it from another President who prizes that same ideal of service and inspires so many to serve is a great privilege that moves me deeply,” Kennedy said in a statement.

UPDATE: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi congratulated Kennedy. "On behalf of all Members of Congress, I congratulate our friend and colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy," she said in a statement. "Few have accomplished more in a lifetime than Senator Kennedy has; this award -- the highest a civilian can receive - honors his steadfast commitment to the American ideal of justice."

Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts also paid tribute to Kennedy. “The Presidential Medal of Freedom is a fitting tribute to Senator Kennedy," he said in a statement. "A man of enormous courage, Senator Kennedy is never afraid to ‘sail against the wind’ in the name of justice, equality and opportunity for all Americans. And that is why he is the greatest Senator in our country’s history."

Fellow Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts added his congrats. “As a legislator Ted Kennedy has surpassed even Daniel Webster, and now the Medal of Freedom rightly recognizes that he forever belongs in the company of recipients like his brother President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. You can’t think of the march of freedom in our time without recognizing and honoring what Ted has done for workers’ rights, women’s rights, gay rights, and human rights. He picked up his brothers’ burning commitment to civil rights and made it a cause of his life, and he is continuing that mission today in giving meaning to President Roosevelt’s faith in a freedom from fear so that no American family without health insurance will fear losing their home or lifesavings when illness strikes,” Kerry said in a statement.

Kennedy's award citation reads: "Senator Edward M. Kennedy has served in the United States Senate for forty-six years, and has been one of the greatest lawmakers – and leaders – of our time. From reforming our public schools to strengthening civil rights laws and supporting working Americans, Senator Kennedy has dedicated his career to fighting for equal opportunity, fairness and justice for all Americans. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that every American has access to quality and affordable health care, and has succeeded in doing so for countless children, seniors, and Americans with disabilities. He has called health care reform the “cause of his life,” and has championed nearly every health care bill enacted by Congress over the course of the last five decades. Known as the “Lion of the Senate,” Senator Kennedy is widely respected on both sides of the aisle for his commitment to progress and his ability to legislate."

Obama will present the medals, the first of his presidency, on Aug. 12. Other recipients include physicist Stephen Hawking, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the late congressman and housing secretary Jack Kemp, anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu, tennis legend and activist Billie Jean King, civil rights leaders Joseph Lowery, gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk, and actors Sidney Poitier and Chita Rivera.

“These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds. Their tremendous accomplishments span fields from science to sports, from fine arts to foreign affairs. Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way," he said in a statement.

“Their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive. It is my great honor to award them the Medal of Freedom.”

The other citations are below:

Correction: This story has been revised because of a reporting error that misstated physicist Stephen Hawking's resume. He has not been awarded the Nobel Prize.

The House today confirmed a key victory for President Obama's bid to get a handle on Pentagon spending, joining the Senate to kill additional funding for F-22 fighters.

The 269-165 vote against building more of the top-line Air Force combat jets, on top of the 187 in the pipeline, followed a similar Senate vote last week on the $600-plus billion defense funding bill.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates put the hard sell to persuade lawmakers to reject expanding the F-22 program, over objections from members of Congress who wanted to protect jobs supported by the program. Obama has threatened to veto a defense bill that include the money.

The White House and Pentagon say the F-22 -- designed for aerial dogfights with Soviet jets during the Cold War -- is not suited to the military's current needs, pointing out that it has never been deployed over Iraq or Afghanistan.

But despite veto threats, the $636 billion Pentagon spending bill passed by a 400-30 vote includes money for other programs Obama didn't want, including a much-criticized new presidential helicopter fleet, cargo jets, and an alternative engine for the next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Associated Press reports.

The beer summit is much anticipated, but the White House is lowering expectations for this evening's gathering of President Obama and the two principals in the local dispute that the president helped turn into a national debate on race relations.

Obama invited Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley and their families after he raised the stakes by saying that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" by arresting Gates while responding to a break-in report at his own home.

The get-together, scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT and to be at a picnic area outside the Oval Office, will be private.

UPDATE: Obama, himself, told reporters today that the event is "an opportunity to listen to each other."

"That's all it is," he said. "This is not a university seminar. It is not a summit. It's an attempt to have some personal interaction when an issue has become so hyped and so symbolic."

"I notice this has been called a beer summit," he told reporters after meeting in the Oval Office with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, according to the Associated Press. "It's a clever term, but this is not a summit, guys. This is three guys having a drink at the end of the day."

Obama said everyone involved -- "including myself" -- is imperfect and he hoped that "instead of ginning up anger and hyperbole, everybody can just spend a little time with some self-reflection and recognize that other people have different points of view."

Earlier, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today that the president isn't expecting to solve all the problems.

"I don't think the president has outsized expectations that one cold beer at one table here is going to change massively the course of human history by any sense of the imagination, but that he and the two individuals, Sergeant Crowley and Professor Gates, can hopefully provide a far different picture than what we've seen to date of this situation, in hopes again, as I've said both today and before, that this is a conversation and a dialogue that happens not just because it's sponsored by or at the invitation of a participant or the president, but happens in communities large and small all over the country in order to make progress through better understanding. I think that's what the president wants to do today," Gibbs said.

The White House is also saying that Obama, who has said the case could be a "teachable moment" for the country on race relations, does not plan to use the occasion to announce any new initiatives.

Asked about how the event might be a teachable moment, Gibbs said at his daily briefing, "I think many people would have hardly imagined something like this happening this time last week. I think having them get together to talk. The president talked to both of these men last week. They're decent, honorable, good men.

"I think that kind of dialogue is what has to happen at every level of our society if we're going to make progress on issues that we've been dealing with for quite some time," Gibbs added.

"I think all of us are participants in a moment that we hope can teach all in this country that dialogue and communication will always improve a situation. I don't think today is -- I don't think the president looks at himself as, and I don't think today the president believes or the situation will be that one will be the teacher and others will be the students."

UPDATE: Charles Ogletree, who is representing Gates, told the Globe this afternoon that the get-together is expected to go about an hour.

“He’s received a lot of unsolicited advice about what to say tonight,” Ogletree said of Gates. “It’s a private meeting between three people, and they will know among themselves what will be said.”

As Obama tries to smooth over the situation, a poll released today found Americans critical of how he handled the controversy.

In the survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 29 percent approved of the president's handling of the situation, while 41 percent disapproved.

And his low marks on the Gates case helped drive down his overall approval numbers, Pew reported, to 54 percent, down from 61 percent in mid-June.

Nearly 80 percent of respondents knew about the controversy, and while in interviews conducted Wednesday and Thursday of last week found 53 percent of whites approving of Obama’s job performance, that number dropped to 46 percent interviewed Friday through Sunday, during intense coverage of Obama's remarks, criticism by police, and his mea culpa.

Asked about the poll findings, Gibbs rejected the idea that the Gates incident is pulling down Obama's approval. "I neither believe the premise, nor am I worried about it," he told reporters.

President Obama's special envoy to Sudan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today that US sanctions on the country as a state sponsor of terror is hurting efforts to bring peace and ease suffering in the war-torn nation.

Scott Gration called the sanctions a "political decision" and said that the United States was going to have to "unwind" them.

Advocacy groups for the people of Darfur, where hundreds of thousands have been made refugees or killed, were cautious in their reaction.

"We were encouraged to hear unequivocally from Gen. Gration that he and the Obama administration are pursuing a balanced approach which includes both carrots and sticks as levers to change Khartoum's behavior," Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, said in a statement. "We are, however, seriously doubtful of Khartoum's true intention and ability to make good on their promises, and urge Senators to follow up swiftly with Gen. Gration on the classified details of this plan to ensure that it's sufficiently robust to get the job done."

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the committee's chairman, also called for a comprehensive approach.

"Many discussions of US-Sudan policy here in Washington continue to center on the question of whether we should use carrots versus sticks -- i.e. rewards or punishments -- to influence Sudan’s leaders in Khartoum.
When I visited Sudan in April of this year, I came away convinced that we need to build a strategic framework that moves beyond simple oppositions like carrots versus sticks or the South versus Darfur. Instead, we need a nuanced, comprehensive strategy for Sudan as a whole," Kerry said in remarks opening the hearing.

His full prepared remarks are below:

By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- It's highly unusual for a president to become personally involved in a local racial matter such as the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., presidential historian Julian E. Zelizer said today.

Zelizer said he couldn't remember a recent president inserting himself in a local issue this way, and certainly not inviting the principal parties to the White House.

On a much bigger scale, Zelizer noted that President John F. Kennedy, then a candidate, did personally intervene when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in 1960 during an Atlanta sit-in. The future president became friends with King's widow, Coretta Scott King.

However, "that was a much more explosive issue than this," said Zelizer, a Princeton University professor. By getting involved, he said, Kennedy tacitly showed support for the civil rights movement and followed up with White House policies that helped bring about racial equality.

While Obama may be sincere about using the "teachable moment" of the Gates case to launch a positive discussion about race, "part of it was about him, rather than the situation," Zelizer said. "This is a way for him to quasi-apologize for what he said."

"I think that some part of him genuinely believes that dialogue can be helpful," he added. "It's also clearly partially a political response to stop a story that's getting out of control."

Obama, whose initial remark that Cambridge police had "acted stupidly" when they arrested Gates for disorderly conduct in his own home, helped elevate an essentially local case into a national controversy, has said he regretted that his comments had fueled the furor.

"I'm not a big fan of this beer at the White House," Zelizer said. "It turns this into a media moment, rather than a serious moment."

"It can kind of trivialize the matter," he said, instead of tackling the deep-seated racial problem underlying the confrontation between Gates, who is black, and police Sergeant James Crowley. The officer, who is white, was called to Gates' home when a neighbor reported a burglary, but Gates had forced open the jammed front door.

"If this is all we see from the president, there will be some people that will be disappointed" Zelizer said. "The danger of a hearts-and-minds approach is it never gets to the underlying problem If there's no policy on the table -- no serious proposal on the table -- it's hard to see how these discussions can really result in long-term change."

The new polls published today are a case of good news-bad news for President Obama.

In the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, his job approval rating dropped to 53 percent -- which the pollsters note is precisely the percentage of the popular vote he won in November. That drop is largely because the thrill is gone for Obama among independents and Republicans -- his approval among those groups is 49 percent and 16 percent, respectively, which is close to what exit polls suggested he received in the election.

But Obama's favorable-unfavorable split -- 55 percent to 34 percent -- is still head and shoulders above most other national politicians.

In the NBC/Journal poll, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton does about as well as the president at 53 percent-31 percent. Vice President Joe Biden is barely breaking even at 38 percent-36 percent, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is underwater at 25 percent-44 percent.

Among possible Republican opponents in 2012, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is at 28 percent favorable-20 percent unfavorable, much better than former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at 32 percent-43 percent.

But 50 percent of all respondents and 33 percent of Republicans said they didn't want Romney to become president and 67 percent of Americans and 43 percent of Republicans said they didn't want Palin in the Oval Office.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal survey, along with a New York Times/CBS News poll, also were the latest to show eroding support for Obama's healthcare overhaul plan as more details emerge and as critics assail it.

In the NBC survey, 42 percent opposed the plan, up 10 percentage points from last month, while only 36 percent support it.

President Obama will huddle Friday and Saturday with his inner circle to look back at the first six months of his administration and look forward at the next six months.

His Republicans foes are taking stock of the first six months as well, and as you might expect, they don't like what they see.

Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-ranking Republican in the House, is accusing the president of reneging on a promise to dial back George W. Bush's expansion of executive power and to work with Congress.

"To say President Obama failed to follow through on this promise is an understatement. By appointing a virtual army of 'czars' -- each wholly unaccountable to Congress yet tasked with spearheading major policy efforts for the White House -- in his first six months, the president has embarked on an end-run around the legislative branch of historic proportions," Cantor writes in an opinion piece published in today's Washington Post.

"To be sure, the appointment of a few special officers to play a constructive role in a given administration is nothing new. What is new is the elevation of so many czars, with so much authority on endless policy fronts. Vesting such broad authority in the hands of people not subjected to Senate confirmation and congressional oversight poses a grave threat to our system of checks and balances," Canton continues.

"At last count, there were at least 32 active czars that we knew of, meaning the current administration has more czars than Imperial Russia."

Meanwhile, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele invited loyalists today to grade Obama.

"It's now been six months in office for our learn-on-the-job Chief Executive," Steele wrote supporters in an email. "And this is your opportunity to give Barack Obama a six-month report card. How is he doing on the economy? How about national security, health care, and the other crucial issues that America faces?"

The opportunity is also a fund-raising solicitation: "P.S. Friend, you and the Republican Party are all that stand between the Obama Democrats and further erosion of our liberty and security."

President Obama takes his healthcare road show today to two Southern states that proved pivotal to his election in November.

And with healthcare overhaul bills mired in legislative muck and public support dropping, he's retooling his message to speak directly to consumers.

The president held a town hall at Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C., then another Q&A with employees at the Kroger supermarket in Bristol, Va. Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win both states in more than a generation, contributing to his electoral landslide.

In his primetime news conference last week and in appearances since, Obama has reached out to Americans who already have insurance or Medicare, trying to reassure them that they won't be hurt by the overhaul, either by losing care or getting smacked by higher costs.

Today, in both stops, he stressed the protections for consumers that he will insist be in any overhaul bill.

"First of all, nobody is talking about some government takeover of healthcare," Obama told the crowd in Raleigh. "I'm tired of hearing that.... Under the reform I’ve proposed, if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor. If you like your healthcare plan, you keep your healthcare plan. These folks need to stop scaring everybody."

"But what a lot of the chatter out there hasn’t focused on is the fact that if you’ve got health insurance, the reform we’re proposing will also help you because it will provide more stability and security," he added. "Because the truth is, we have a system today that works well for the insurance industry, but it doesn’t always work well for you. What we need, and what we will have when we pass these reforms, are health insurance consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and insurance companies are held accountable."

(His full remarks and answers to questions are are below.)

The consumer protections include:

-- Banning insurance companies for refusing to offer coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions.

-- Capping how much insurers can charge annually for out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, or co-pays.

-- Requiring insurers to fully cover regular check-ups and tests, including mammograms and eye and foot exams for diabetics.

-- Prohibiting insurers from dropping or reducing coverage for those who become seriously ill.

-- Banning insurers from charging people based on gender.

-- Stopping insurance companies from placing annual or lifetime caps on benefits.

-- Making sure that young adults as old as 26 can be covered under family insurance policies.

-- Requiring insurers to renew policies as long as premiums are paid in full, even if the policyholder becomes ill.

Obama, en route to Virginia, issued a statement noting the progress in Congress today.

In the Senate, key negotiators said they had pared the costs of a plan to cover 95 percent of Americans by 2015 to about $900 billion over 10 years, putting the price tag under the unofficial $1 trillion target the White House has set. In the House, the leadership, the White House, and fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats worked out a deal that will allow a bill to move forward in committee, but will delay a floor vote until September.

“I want to thank the members of both the Senate and House of Representatives for continuing their work on health reform to provide more stability and security for Americans who have insurance, and quality, affordable coverage for those who don’t," Obama said. "I’m especially grateful that so many members, including some Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee, are working so hard to find common ground. Those efforts are extraordinarily constructive in strengthening this legislation and bringing down its cost.”

Another poll out this afternoon says that Americans are divided about Obama's healthcare plan.

In the Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey, 46 percent said they disapprove of Obama’s handling of healthcare, while 41 percent approved and 13 percent weren’t sure.

The Journal says those numbers are similar to former President Bill Clinton's of 52 percent disapproval and 40 percent approval in July 1994 before his healthcare overhaul plan crashed and burned in Congress.

UPDATE: Republicans, however, are still opposed to the Democratic bills, and House Republicans introduced a plan today that relies on tax credits to help people buy insurance and that also addresses medical malpractice reform.

The top House Republican, John Boehner of Ohio, said on CNN this afternoon that the legislation would create "a giant government bureaucracy that's going to drive up the cost of health care, drive up the cost of health insurance, deny millions of Americans their choice of doctor, and eventually lead to rationing of health care in America. This is not the kind of plan that Americans want."

"I believe that it's time to hit the reset button," Boehner added. "Let's scrap this plan. Let's sit down in a bipartisan way. And let's build on the current system, which is the envy of the world.

"You know, 93 percent of the American people have access to high quality, affordable health insurance. Let's help them be able to hold on to that, reduce the cost of it, and expand access to those Americans who don't have good access."

By Scott Helman, Globe Staff

When the last Republican governor in Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, left the State House to run for president, many Massachusetts Republicans celebrated his ambition and wished him well. Some Republicans, though, had a different message: Good riddance.

Their beef with Romney was that he was selfish, that he was furthering his own political career at the expense of Republican Party in his home state. They felt Romney's growing focus on social issues -- namely his outspoken opposition to gay marriage, abortion rights, and stem cell research -- damaged the GOP brand in the Bay State, which had historically emphasized fiscal conservatism and moderate social positions.

"One thing that hasn't worked well for Republicans all across New England is the tilt toward social issues that the national party has taken," state Senator Richard Tisei, then the incoming Senate minority leader, said as Romney was preparing to leave the State House in 2006. "I think the governor, in his attempts to position himself in the Republican primary, has highlighted a lot of social issues, and I think, quite frankly, that hurt [Lieutenant Governor] Kerry Healey and it also ... blurred the differences that we've had with the national party."

It is no coincidence that Tisei will serve as campaign chairman of the GOP's newest hope: Charles D. Baker, the former health care executive and Weld administration official who today formally joined next year's gubernatorial race.
Baker, judging from his early steps in the campaign, will try to thread the Republican needle of old, expressing socially moderate views but positioning himself as a fiscal conservative. Look for him to embrace the Romney messages of competent management and fiscal responsibility, while deliberately eschewing his socially conservative rhetoric, which was always designed to appeal to the Republican base nationwide.

In filing his campaign papers today, Baker offered some hints of what tack he will take. He immediately pledged not to raise taxes, even saying he would try to lower the state's newly increased sales tax – which will go from 5 percent to 6.25 percent on Saturday – if elected. “Read my lips: No new taxes," Baker said, never mind that the pledge was made famous when George H.W. Bush broke it. Baker also called for "a complete overhaul of the way the state builds the budget and manages its affairs.”

"I’m going to make that my primary priority," he said.

What's not going to be a priority? Pushing a socially conservative agenda. Baker went to great lengths to cite his bonafides as a social moderate, if not a social liberal. Not only does Baker support abortion rights, he believes in gay marriage, for personal reasons.

"My brother’s gay, and he’s married, and he lives in Massachusetts, so I’m for it," he said. "Is that straight enough?"

He added, “I’m not going to participate in national discussions and national politics; I’m interested in what happens here in Massachusetts. I’m very comfortable with my party in Massachusetts."

A few more details are dribbling out about the beer at the White House Thursday among President Obama and the two protagonists in the Cambridge drama -- Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., and police Sergeant James Crowely.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed this afternoon that the president will drink Bud Light at the get-together, planned for 6 p.m. at a picnic table outside the Oval Office, if the weather cooperates.

Asked for more details, Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One that he believes the travel arrangements for Gates and Crowley are being made privately, that Crowley is bringing some family members, and that he wasn't sure about Gates bringing guests.

The meeting itself will be private, but there will be a press availability either at the beginning or the end, the spokesman said.

Lucia Whalen, the woman who called 911 to report the possible break-in at Gates's home that led to his arrest, gave her account in a news conference today.

Her attorney, Wendy Murphy, said Gates and Crowley, then Obama, all overreacted, while Whalen was the only one who remained cool.

"The three highly trained guys who reacted badly are getting together for a beer," Murphy told reporters. "The one person whose actions have been exemplary will be at work tomorrow in Cambridge. I don't know -- maybe it's a guy thing. She doesn't like beer anyway."

A new national poll released this afternoon says that more Americans believe Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is at fault for the face-off in his home that led to his arrest than Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley, the white officer who handcuffed him.

According to the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 27 percent of respondents named Gates when asked who they felt was more at fault, while 11 percent named Crowley.

The highest number, 29 percent, said both men were equally at fault for the arrest, while 31 percent said they didn’t know enough about the incident to say.

Though the disorderly conduct charges against Gates was dropped, the incident has become the latest case to become a hot-button racial issue. President Obama, who added fuel to that fire by initially saying that Cambridge police "acted stupidly," has invited the two men to have a beer at the White House on Thursday, perhaps an opportunity to work through their differences.

On Friday, as he said he did not mean to malign Crowley or the Cambridge police, Obama said he hoped the controversy "ends up being what's called a 'teachable moment,' where all of us instead of pumping up the volume spend a little more time listening to each other and try to focus on how we can generally improve relations between police officers and minority communities, and that instead of flinging accusations we can all be a little more reflective in terms of what we can do to contribute to more unity."

But the poll suggests there is a wide racial divide on the incident.

Among African-Americans, only 4 percent said Gates was more at fault versus 30 percent who blamed Crowley. Among whites, in contrast, 32 percent blamed Gates more, while only 7 percent blamed Crowley.

With Republicans citing the continuing economic distress to bash the economic stimulus plan pushed through by President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress, the Democratic National Committee is hitting back with a media campaign blaming Republicans for creating the mess to begin with.

In a new TV ad announced today, the DNC goes after the top four congressional Republicans -- Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Jon Kyl of Arizona, and Representatives John Boehner of Ohio and Eric Cantor of Virginia -- by saying they "supported the Bush policies that sank our economy into recession. They broke it - now they refuse to fix it."

"Tell Republicans to stop playing politics with our economy," the announcer urges viewers.

Besides the media campaign, the DNC is organizing news conferences or conference calls with reporters in their home states this week with local elected officials and others to testify to the impact of the $787 billion stimulus plan. Not a single House Republican voted for it, and only a handful of Senate Republicans did.

"Republicans supported the policies that sank our economy into the worst recession in nearly a century and have refused to work with President Obama to turn things around," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. "They followed Rush Limbaugh and played politics with the Recovery Act - and now that it is showing signs of progress - they are distorting the truth about its success so no one will notice that they were the ones who got it wrong before and who are getting it wrong now. In each of these states there are real projects, providing and saving real jobs and laying a foundation for long-term economic growth. The Republican leadership may not want to admit the truth because it will expose their own mistakes and hypocrisy, but we're not going to hesitate setting the record straight."

UPDATE: Obama, himself, addressed what he called "a lot of misinformation out there" about the stimulus bill, which he said has helped stem job losses though "the tough times aren't over."

"Let me just lay out the facts," he said in a town hall in Raleigh, N.C., today, saying he had passed protestors on the way to the event: "Roughly a quarter of the Recovery Act’s funding has been committed, over 30,000 projects have been approved, and thousands have been posted online."

One-third of the money is going to tax cuts for families and small businesses, another third is for emergency relief including unemployment benefits, and the final third is for investments such as infrastructure projects, he said.

"Now, I know that some critics in Washington ... they are saying we’ve been slow to get these projects started. They are saying we should have broken ground on all our highway projects on the first day. That’s impossible, especially because I wanted to be sure we did our homework and invested tax dollars only in those projects that actually created jobs and jump-started our economy. We knew it would take a few months for these projects to get online," he said.

"So it will take time to achieve a complete recovery, we're not going to rest until anyone who’s looking for work can find a job. But there should be little debate that the steps we took, taken together, have helped stop our economic freefall."

The Obama administration is just past the six-month mark, so it's time to take stock and plan ahead.

The president has summoned 22 top officials with Cabinet rank and White House senior staff for a two-day working retreat Friday and Saturday at Blair House, the government's official guest house. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden plan to visit the group on Friday. Biden will return on Saturday.

The White House said the retreat, first reported today on the Washington Post's website, will feature dinner on Friday night and several policy presentations on Saturday.

"Every administration since President Eisenhower's has held a similar meeting and the Obama administration will use this weekend's meeting as an opportunity to collaborate to continue to move forward the agenda of building a new foundation for growth and prosperity in this country," spokeswoman Katherine Bedingfield said.

General Colin Powell, one of the nation's most prominent African-American leaders, put some of the blame on Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. for the confrontation that has become a raging controversy.

Asked in an interview airing on CNN's "Larry King Live" tonight whether Gates was wrong to confront Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley before being arrested in his own home, Powell replied, "I'm saying that Skip, perhaps in this instance, might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer, and that might have been the end of it.

"I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal. But, he's just home from China, just home from New York. All he wanted to do was get to bed," added Powell.

The former secretary of state was then asked about whether the incident is part of a long history of blacks being unfairly targeted by police, as President Obama suggested last week.

"That may well be the case," Powell said, according to excerpts released by CNN. "But I still think that it might well have been resolved in a different manner if we didn't have this verbal altercation between the two of them.

"So, my first teaching point for young people, especially, not for Dr. Gates, that the young people, especially, is, when the police are looking into something, and if you're involved in it in one way or another, cooperate. Don't make the situation more difficult. And I think in this case, the situation was made more difficult,".

"And you could part on the part of the Cambridge Police Department. Once they felt they had to bring Dr. Gates out of the house and to handcuff him, I would have thought at that point some adult supervision would have stepped in and said, 'OK, look, it is his house. Come on, let's not take this any further. Take the handcuffs off. Goodnight, Dr. Gates.' "

In the interview, Powell also said he has been the victim of racial profiling -- and that sometimes angered him.

In one instance, Powell said, he went to meet someone at Reagan National Airport "and nobody thought I could possibly be the national security adviser to the president. I was just a black guy. And it was only when I went up to the counter and said, 'Is my guest here who's waiting for me?' did somebody say, 'Oh, you're General Powell.' It was inconceivable to him that a black guy could be the national security adviser."

Asked how he dealt with it, Powell answered, "You just suck it up. What are you going to do? It was a teaching point for him. Yes, I'm the national security adviser, I'm black. And watch, I can do the job.

"Do you get angry? Yes. Do you manifest that anger? You protest, you try to get things fixed, but it's kind of a better course of action to take it easy and don't let your anger make the current situation worse," he added.

President Obama reached out this afternoon to a key constituency on his healthcare overhaul plan, seeking support from the 55-plus set.

"We've got to get a better bang for our healthcare dollar," he told a town hall hosted by the AARP.

There needs to more preventive care, and unnecessary subsidies need to be taken away from Medicare providers, the president said.

But, he pledged, "We certainly won't cut corners to cut costs. That doesn't work."

(His full remarks and answers are below.)

The town hall was Obama's latest event in an aggressive push to get a healthcare bill signed this year.

UPDATE: Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, dismissed Obama's pitch.

"I heard what the President was saying, and frankly, he hasn't said anything different today than what he said at last week's press conference," he said on CNN. "The fact is that most Americans are very concerned about what they are learning of the Obama health care reform bill. I don't think that the people of this country feel it is appropriate for us to hear the President say, you know, ‘It's my way or the highway.’ There are plenty of other approaches and I think we can gain a comfort level if we take the time to get it right and not say that we must have full-on this government takeover of our health care system.”

Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department will award $1 billion in grants to help local law enforcement agencies hire about 4,700 officers.

Boston is the biggest beneficiary in Massachusetts, with $11.8 million, enough for 50 officers. Other recipients include New Bedford, 13 officers; Lowell, 12; and Fall River, 10 officers.

UPDATE: Boston officials welcomed the money, which they said made the city one of only 24 in the nation to receive its full request and said would allow the police department to expand community-oriented policing.

“Today is a great day for public safety in Boston,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement. “I am grateful for all of the work done by President Nee of the Boston Police Patrolman's Association and our partners in Washington for helping us secure this competitive grant money. This award is a terrific example of Boston's strong commitment to public safety. This funding will keep officers on the streets of our neighborhoods and continue our progress in community policing. I am proud of the work done by the Boston Police Department in reducing crime across our city, and this funding will allow us to continue these effective strategies.”

“We are thrilled to receive this important funding from the Department of Justice,” Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis added in a statement. “It is precisely what we need during this difficult fiscal time to stave off workplace reduction. This initiative will assist us in maintaining the level of public safety service that Boston residents and visitors have become accustomed to."

In all, 13 Massachusetts agencies will get $29 million for 131 officers, while 212 agencies asked for $203 million for 931 officers, according to the Justice Department. To see the Massachusetts summary, click here.

But New York, Houston, Seattle, and Pittsburgh are among those not receiving any money because the Justice Department decided other cities were more needy. To see the full list of grants by state, click here.

The Justice Department received more than 7,200 applications for more than 39,000 officer positions, representing a total of $8.3 billion in funding, the White House said.

The money will come from the $787 billion economic stimulus package and will go to 1,046 law enforcement agencies from all 50 states, providing the salaries and benefits for three years.

Agencies will be required to foot the bill for the officers for a fourth year -- a mandate that could cause problems for cash-strapped cities and towns. It was also the biggest criticism of a similar program during the 1990s under the Clinton administration.

“A big part of the Recovery Act is about building communities – making them as strong as they can be, allowing every American family to live a better life than the one they are leading now,” Biden said in Philadelphia. “And we can’t achieve the goal of stronger communities without supporting those who keep our streets safe.”

“These Recovery Act funds will pump much needed resources into communities through a program with a proven track record,” said Holder. “The tremendous demand for these grants is indicative of both the tough times our states, cities and tribes are facing, and the unyielding commitment by law enforcement to making our communities safer.”

The release from Massachusetts Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy is below:

Liberal and labor groups who favor the healthcare overhaul plans of President Obama and congressional Democrats don't have the airwaves to themselves.

Groups opposed to healthcare "reform" are also airing ads on cable TV, trying to win the hearts and minds of the public as negotiations continue in Congress.

Here's one from the conservative Patients United Now that questions the rush to action in Congress.

And here's one from Conservatives for Patients' Rights, which asserts that Americans could be squeezed by the healthcare bill four different ways: higher taxes, a bigger federal deficit, increased insurance premiums, and more government control of healthcare.

By coincidence, Republicans managed to stiff Hispanics on two fronts today.

All but one Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Latina on the Supreme Court. And several prominent Republicans, including GOP chairman Michael Steele, skipped the annual meeting of National Council of La Raza, the country's top Latino civil rights group.

Republicans risk their political future since Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the US.

“With today’s vote, the country is one step closer to having a new Supreme Court Justice and our community is one step closer to seeing history made by having the first Hispanic ever on the U.S. Supreme Court. We commend the Judiciary Committee for its support and we urge Senate leadership to bring her nomination to the floor of the Senate as quickly as possible,” Janet Murguía, the council's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Democrats, who benefited mightily from the Latino vote last November in making inroads in the West, are taking full advantage.

Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine made sure to note the historic nature of Sotomayor's expected rise to the Supreme Court. “Throughout her hearings, Judge Sotomayor demonstrated why she is one of the most qualified candidates ever nominated to the Court. With experience as a prosecutor, a corporate litigator and a judge, she will bring more federal judicial experience than any justice in the 100 years. And her incredible life story is something all Americans can draw inspiration from. Every American should be proud today that the country is one step closer to having our first-ever Latina Supreme Court Justice," he said in a statement.

Kaine was also the featured speaker today at the National Council of La Raza conclave, and he was effusive in his praise and outreach -- in both English and Spanish.

"I think it’s safe to say that President Obama wouldn’t have won Virginia (for the first time since 1964), and wouldn’t have the White House so overwhelmingly without the support of the Latino Community, so I thank you for that," Kaine said in prepared remarks.

"Your stop the hate campaign has also been incredibly influential. Your work is pivotal in fighting for the things that matter to us as Americans, and that make our country great."
(His full prepared remarks are below.)

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a pro-immigration overhaul group, questioned the Republican tactics.

“Clearly, the GOP has not learned the lessons of the 2006 and 2008 elections when it comes to courting Latino voters," he said in a statement. "In one of the most remarkable falls from political grace in recent electoral history, the efforts by President Bush and Karl Rove to win over Latino voters, especially Latino immigrant voters, was torn asunder from 2005 on by the rightwing revolt against comprehensive immigration reform and the demonization of hardworking immigrant families.

"So, what does the GOP do to recover? Oppose Judge Sotomayor, ignore the largest Latino organization in the country, and distort the health care debate by scapegoating immigrants. What is the definition of ‘insanity’ again? It’s time for common-sense conservatives and moderate Republicans who understand that antagonizing the fastest growing group of new voters in the country amounts to political suicide to stand up and take on the radical right and their know-nothing tendencies.”

Sonia Sotomayor took a big step this morning toward becoming the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court, winning the endorsement of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The panel's 13-6 vote was almost entirely along party lines. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who said during her confirmation hearings that she would join the court barring a meltdown, was the lone Republican to break ranks and vote for Sotomayor.

Sotomayor is expected to easily win confirmation next week from the full Senate, where Democrats and two allied independents control 60 votes, and replace retiring Justice David Souter, who is returning to his New Hampshire farm.

While senators of both parties praised her up-from-the-Bronx life story, Republicans said they were concerned about some past statements and rulings and feared she would bring personal biases to the high court and emerge as an liberal activist judge.

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the senior Republican on the committee, said he believes that Sotomayor's approach to jurisprudence conflicts with the time-honored tradition for "blind justice and fidelity to the law."

Anti-abortion and gun rights groups also opposed Sotomayor and pushed senators to vote against her.

Democrats and her supporters, however, said she was squarely in the judicial mainstream and pointed out that her 17 years as a federal judge surpassed other recent nominees.

Liberal groups applauded the committee vote.

“Today’s vote moves this historic nominee one step closer to the Supreme Court. During her hearing, Judge Sotomayor demonstrated over and over again her intelligence, her open-mindedness, and her deep respect for the Constitution and the rule of law," People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker said in a statement. "I’m glad that already a significant number of Republicans have spoken out in favor of Judge Sotomayor and that she received bipartisan support today. It’s unfortunate that not everyone has been able to put aside political concerns, but that does nothing to undermine the importance of confirming the first Hispanic and third woman to our nation’s highest Court."

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence cast the vote as a "clear loss" for the National Rifle Association.

The "NRA obviously failed to intimidate the Senate Judiciary Committee today," spokesman Doug Pennington said in a statement. "The full Senate is likely to brush aside NRA opposition once again when Judge Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court is finally decided."

Alliance for Justice president Nan Aron added in a statement: “Judge Sotomayor, through her record and throughout the confirmation hearings, has proven herself to be an outstanding and fair-minded jurist who understands the role courts play in American society. She will ably serve the nation as a justice on the Supreme Court.

“Since her nomination was announced, Judge Sotomayor has earned support and respect from across the political spectrum. Alliance for Justice urges the Senate to set aside partisan posturing and recognize that Judge Sotomayor possesses the qualifications, the experience and the intellect required for a seat on the Supreme Court. The full Senate should follow the example of their colleagues on the Judiciary Committee who supported this historic nomination and swiftly vote to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court justice.”

It's a date.

The White House said today that the police sergeant, the professor, and the president will toss back a beer around 6 p.m. Thursday.

President Obama invited Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to share a cold one with him in hopes that it would help settle the dispute that has become a roiling national debate about race and police procedure.

Obama, himself, added fuel to the fire by saying that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates in his own home. The president called both men on Friday to lower the temperature of the controversy, and that's when the idea for the beer popped up.

The disorderly conduct charge against Gates was dropped, but it's still unclear exactly what happened. And the two principals are still talking about suing each other.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today that the get-together is "about having a beer and de-escalation."

"The president wants to continue to take down the temperature a bit," said Gibbs, adding that weather permitting, the three men will meet at a picnic table outside the Oval Office.

Who knew President Obama was such a soccer fan?

His attachment to basketball is well known -- he greeted the WNBA champion Detroit Shock in the usual White House ceremony today.

But he also spent time with Joseph Blatter, head of soccer's worldwide supervising body, to lobby for the World Cup to return to the United States and to express hope again that he could attend the blockbuster event next year in South Africa.

In White House-speak, this is what happened: "The President welcomed FIFA President Blatter to the White House and urged Mr. Blatter to give strong consideration to the US bid to host the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022. During the half-hour meeting in the Oval Office, President Obama complimented FIFA on their efforts to incorporate community service, education and public health projects into their plans for staging the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. President Obama thanked Mr. Blatter for inviting him to attend next year’s event and said he hoped his schedule would allow him to do so. The President also thanked Mr. Blatter for the soccer balls that he brought with him as gift for the President’s soccer-playing daughters."

On the eve of the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the panel's senior Republican let it be known today he will vote against her.

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, one of Sotomayor's most skeptical questioners during her confirmation hearings earlier this month, said in an op-ed published online in USA Today that he believes her record shows her to be a judicial activist.

He is the latest conservative Republican to come out against Sotomayor, who is almost certain to be confirmed with the backing of some moderate Republicans and expected unanimous support from Democrats.

"I don't believe that Judge Sotomayor has the deep-rooted convictions necessary to resist the siren call of judicial activism," he wrote. "She has evoked its mantra too often. As someone who cares deeply about our great heritage of law, I must withhold my consent."

Click here to read the full piece.

UPDATE: The No. 2 Republican on the committee, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, also said today that he'll vote against Sotomayor.

Grassley says Sotomayor didn't convince him she'd be able to set aside personal biases and prejudices to decide cases impartially, and also says he still feels burned by his support for Justice David Souter, whom Sotomayor would replace if confirmed and who turned out to be more liberal than former President George H.W. Bush expected, according to the Associated Press.

President Obama -- having quelled the controversy over his remarks on the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and still pushing a healthcare overhaul in Congress -- moved on this morning to another major priority, namely US-China relations.

He addressed the first "Strategic and Economic Dialogue" between the two economic and military behemoths, which he called an "essential step" in creating a positive and comprehensive relationship.

"It's important to get our relationship off to a good start," Obama said, citing no less an authority than Yao Ming, the NBA star who is a huge presence in his home country that new or old team members need to time to adjust.

From "Boston to Beijing," the 20th century brought great progress to both countries, but at a "great price," Obama said, sharing the stage with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Jon Huntsman, the former Republican governor of Utah who Obama nominated as ambassador to China.

In the 21st century, the relationship between the US and China will be the most important bilateral one and largely determine the world's future -- a burden both nations bear, he said.

He urged the two countries -- who have become rivals economically and militarily though China is helping finance US government borrowing -- to find common ground on the economic recovery, climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, and other issues. (His full remarks are below.)

Senator John F. Kerry, who has made global warming a priority issue as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, weighed in as well on the importance of the US-China partnership on that front.

"Today, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter and history’s biggest emitter, China and America, must change the world again – and nothing less than a transformation of the energy economy will suffice," he wrote in an op-ed today in the Financial Times. (Read the full op-ed here.)

"The question is, can we forge a partnership bold enough to prevent a climate catastrophe? With December’s make-or-break climate talks in Copenhagen looming, the US-China negotiations are an important test. Because other countries will take their cues from us, a successful global climate deal will depend on America and China signalling our seriousness now."

UPDATE: The Foreign Relations Committee also released a report today urging the Obama administration to pursue a significant climate change agreement with China this week. The report (read it here) outlines the latest science, the latest actions in China, the current areas of US-China energy collaboration, and ways to push the relationship forward.

The most scrutinized raising of beer mugs in recent history could happen this week.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters this morning that plans are in the works for Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to join President Obama for that drink this week.

UPDATE: Charles Ogletree, one of Gates's lawyers, tells the Globe that the meeting will be on Thursday and that both Crowley and Gates can bring family members. The White House would not immediately confirm those details.

Asked what Obama hoped to accomplish in the get-together, Gibbs replied that "a big part of this is an increased dialogue between both of the individuals here and -- and their representation of both law enforcement and the minority community.

"I don't have any specific guidance as to when that will happen. It's our hope to try to get something done this week," Gibbs added.

As for choice of libation, Crowley is partial to Blue Moon, Gates favors Red Stripe or Becks, and Gibbs suggested that Obama will quaff a plain old Budweiser.

"The president had a Budweiser at the All-Star Game, so -- why are you looking at me like that? That's what he drank," Gibbs said, teasing reporters.

"What's wrong with Budweiser? Why do you hate Budweiser?"

Crowley and Gates accepted Obama's invitation last Friday as Obama tried to quell the furor over his initial remarks that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates in his own home.

Obama said that he should have calibrated his remarks and meant no disrespect to Crowley or Cambridge police.

The disorderly conduct charges against Gates were dropped, but he and Crowley still disagree over what happened.

UPDATE: Obama, in his mea culpa on Friday, all but apologized for his initial statement, saying he regretted that it fueled the controversy.

But that isn't enough for one Republican congressman.

Representative Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan says he will introduce a resolution (read it here) calling on Obama to formally apologize to the Cambridge police.

"Whereas, President Obama’s refusal to retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Sergeant Crowley and, instead, reiterate his accusation impugning Sergeant Crowley’s professional conduct in the performance of his duties," the draft resolution reads in part.
 
"Now therefore be it resolved that the House of Representatives calls upon President Obama to retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Sergeant James M. Crowley for having unfairly impugned and prejudged his professional conduct in this local police response incident."

A pro-Democratic labor coalition has a reply to Republicans who say the healthcare overhaul push in too much, too fast.

The new cable TV spot released this morning by Americans United for Change says that by calling for delay, Republicans are really trying to kill reform, again.

"The Republicans claim the health insurance reform debate has been moving at lightning speed," the announcer says over an animated snail inching past sign posts starting with the year 1993. "In fact for 15 years, it’s hardly moved at all. Meanwhile premiums have gone up 3 times faster than wages, health insurance profits have soared and 14,000 Americans lose their health insurance everyday."

"Now the Republicans say Congress should slow down? That’s because when something goes slow enough it’s easy to kill it dead in its tracks," the announcer says as a dress shoe squashes the snail.

"Tell Congress you want health insurance reform now," the announcer concludes.

Another liberal group, MoveOn.org, also has a new healthcare ad up.

This one goes after Republicans, quoting them as saying they want to defeat President Obama on the issue, including Senator Jim DeMint's much-cited remark that healthcare could be Obama's "Waterloo."

While Obama is pushing reform, Republicans are "doing nothing -- actually worse than nothing" by turning the issue into a political football, the announcer says as a football is shown spiraling through the air -- then shattering a window.

"Tell Congress this isn't a game," the narrator concludes.

The Democratic National Committee piled on this afternoon with a web video of its own, hammering Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell for claiming that every GOP senators favors a healthcare bill. Titled "Are you serious?" the ad argues that Republicans have showed they don't want change.

“The Republican playbook on health insurance reform is now plainly clear and it’s well past time for Mitch McConnell to acknowledge that his Party’s strategy is to try and use the health insurance reform debate to score a political win on the backs of struggling American families and small businesses. Now that members of his own caucus are stating publicly their desire to see the President ‘fail’, McConnell’s attempts to profess bipartisanship are falling more than a little flat,” DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.

“The status quo that the Republican Party is championing is breaking American families, small businesses and state budgets across the nation and only stands to get far worse in the years ahead if nothing is done - as they propose. By standing in the way of health insurance reform, Republicans are protecting their special interest friends and ignoring their duty to serve the interests of their constituents.”

Americans United for Change also launched a radio spot on nine Maine stations today aiming at persuading Senator Olympia Snowe, a key moderate Republican, to support the healthcare bill.

“Americans have been waiting for meaningful health care reform since Truman was president and. Sen. Snowe is a critical voice on the Senate Finance Committee,” Frank Gallagher, the Maine state director of Americans United for Change, said in a statement. “Health care is not going to reform itself. The insurance industry will not suddenly stop lobbying to kill reform or quit raising our premiums, and the Republican leadership has stated repeatedly that they are actively trying to kill it. Sen. Snowe has a long record of going against her party’s leadership to do what’s right for Maine. It’s time for her to do that again.”

The investigative arm of Congress warned today that several vulnerabilities remain in how first responders across the nation communicate, despite attention focused on it after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, released the report he requested from the Government Accountability Office

“The 9/11 Commission recommendation was crystal clear: we need a nationwide interoperable public safety network,” Kerry said in a statement. “In times of crisis, cops, firefighters, and other heroes on the ground need every tool to keep them and us safe, and we owe it to the American people to get them every bit of available information to help protect them and their families.”

According to Kerry's office, the report cites the inability to stay connected during and after disasters, limited capacities of communications systems, and problems communicating across different agencies s serious obstacles to first responders across the country.

The GAO recommends that the Department of Homeland Security complete efforts to help implement the National Emergency Communications Plan; the department and the Federal Communications Commission establish a forum to collaborate on emergency communications efforts; the department help other federal agencies develop emergency communications plans; and the department seek innovative ways to improve emergency communications systems.

Senator John F. Kerry's office announced today that he’s joining forces with the Discovery Channel to help end the illegal practice of shark finning.

Throughout the channel's 22nd annual "Shark Week" of programming, it will run public service announcements and push an online petition to support a bill Kerry introduced in April that would close a loophole for shark fin transport and strengthen enforcement to ensure sharks are transported with their fins attached.

In shark finning, fisherman slice off a shark’s fin primarily for use in shark fin soup. But critics say the practice has led to a seventy-five percent decrease in certain shark populations over the last fifteen years.

“Huge demands on the foreign fin trade have fueled massive population declines and a serious disruption of our waters,” Kerry said in a statement. “We need much stronger solutions to finally end this illicit trade, and current protections haven’t gotten the job done. We need to get serious, and I’m thrilled to see Discovery Channel’s willingness to roll up its sleeves and help get the job done.”

The letter from Discovery Channel to Kerry is below:

President Obama said today that he was "surprised by the controversy surrounding" his criticism that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" when they arrested Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.

"I think it was a pretty straight forward commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane, who is in his own home."

In an interview to air on ABC's "Nightline" tonight, Obama said it doesn't make sense to him that Gates was arrested.

"I think that I have extraordinary respect for the difficulties of the job that police officers do," the president said in the interview. "And my suspicion is that words were exchanged between the police officer and Mr. Gates and that everybody should have just settled down and cooler heads should have prevailed. That's my suspicion."

Obama also said he understands the sergeant who arrested Gates an "outstanding police officer" and repeated that, "I don't know all the details to the case." But he said that "it doesn't make sense to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance."

Pressed on the "acted stupidly" remark, Obama called it "a classic example" of a distraction when the country is fighting two wars and the economy is in recession. "Issues like this get elevated in ways that probably don't make much sense."

UPDATE: Asked about Obama's comment, Cambridge police commissioner Robert Haas said this afternoon that "this department is deeply pained."

"It deeply hurts the pride of this agency," he told a news conference, where he defended Sergeant James Crowley as acting properly.

Earlier, the White House walked back somewhat Obama's remark.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters traveling on Air Force One that Obama did not regret the remark during his primetime news conference Wednesday night, but wanted to clarify that he was not calling the arresting officer stupid.

"Let me be clear, he was not calling the officer stupid," Gibbs told reporters as Obama landed in Cleveland for two healthcare events this afternoon. He said Obama believes that "at a certain point the situation got far out of hand" at Gates' home.

Obama felt "cooler heads on all sides should have prevailed" once the officer realized Gates was in his own home, Gibbs said.

Gibbs also said that Obama has not spoken with Gates since the incident last Thursday.

(The full transcript of the questions and Gibbs's answers on the issue is below.)

Republicans are jumping on Obama's remark, and trying to use it to target Representative Michael Capuano, the Somerville Democrat who represents Cambridge.

"President Obama laid a bold accusation at Massachusetts law enforcement officers from the bully pulpit yesterday, saying they “acted stupidly” while admitting that he didn’t “know all the facts.” Now that Cambridge police have been hit with this allegation by the White House, will Michael Capuano follow suit?" the National Republican Congressional Committee asked today in a release.

"Does Michael Capuano believe President Obama’s comments were becoming of someone who holds the highest office in the land?” asked NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain in the statement.

“The president was slow to point out any wrongdoing in the wake of the Iranian election and his administration was quick to force through a failed stimulus plan even though they ‘misread’ the economy. This is certainly a questionable rush to judgment coming from a president who hasn’t exactly been quick to call out unconscionable behavior by a merciless foreign dictator or gotten his facts straight before advocating a trillion-dollar mistake to address our ailing economy. Is it really presidential for him to cast harsh judgment of a law enforcement official without all the facts? These questions warrant an answer from Michael Capuano.”

And the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the vehicle for GOP senators' campaigns, is aiming at Senator John F. Kerry of Massachuetts.

“Given the President’s strong feelings on this matter, Massachusetts constituents must wonder: what does their Senator and former Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry think about President Obama’s statement that the Cambridge Police ‘acted stupidly?’ Does John Kerry think it’s appropriate for our nation’s Commander in Chief to stand before a national audience and criticize the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day, when by his own admission, he doesn’t even know all the facts?” asked NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh.

Democrats kept up their assault on Republicans on healthcare, announcing a new national TV ad today calling them out for trying to stop healthcare overhaul.

The ad asserts that without sweeping change, insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses will continue rising and more people will be denied coverage at all.

"Tell Republicans the cost of doing nothing is just too high," the spot concludes.

“For eight years the Republican Party ignored skyrocketing health insurance costs and American families and small businesses paid a devastating price for their negligence. Now, the ‘Party of NO’ admits their true intention is to ‘kill’ health insurance reform, putting their special interest friends over the people they were elected to serve. Already, families across the country are faced with insurmountable burdens: premiums that are rising at a rate three times faster than wages, insurance companies who are free to deny coverage to those who need health care the most, and rapidly rising co-pays that are forcing families to choose between paying their mortgage and paying their health care bills,” Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.

“The status quo that the Republican Party is championing is breaking American families, small businesses and state budgets across the nation and only stands to get far worse in the years ahead if nothing is done - as they propose. And still, the GOP continues to see health insurance reform as an opportunity to score a political win for their ailing party. This time, however, the stakes are too high, the cost of doing nothing too great, for the Republican Party to engage in the same partisan political games we’ve come to expect from them.”

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley declined today to criticize President Obama for saying Wednesday night that police "acted stupidly" in the arrest last week of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., but did say it was "regrettable" that anyone would speak without knowing the "whole story" of the confrontation a week ago at Gate's home near Harvard Square

Speaking at length this morning on the Dennis & Callahan show on WEEI radio in Boston, Crowley maintained that "I know what I did was right." When the hosts asserted, however, that "Professor Gates and the President of the United States owe you an apology," Crowley refused to bite.

"The president has a lot of other daunting tasks ahead of him," Crowley said. "I wish for the good of the whole country that he is successful in efforts to do the many things that he has to."

The radio show hosts persisted: "Well, hopefully on those other tasks he actually gets his facts straight, because clearly he didn't know what he was talking about when he addressed your little issue."

Crowley said: "I think it is regrettable that anybody on either side of this issue would make comments - and you know I saw some of them of them, but I think its regrettable that anybody either somebody who supports me or somebody who thinks I acted inappropriately -- without knowing the whole story, without talking to those who were there who have first hand knowledge of the events and who saw themselves the way in which Professor Gates acted and what led to his arrest."

UPDATE: In an interview later today with WBZ radio, Crowley said that while he "didn't vote for" Obama, he supports "the president of the United States 110 percent."

"I think he is way off base wading into a local issue before knowing all the facts," Crowley said.

The lawyer for the police union that represents Crowley today predicted that Obama will regret his remark.

"He conceded that he didn't have all the facts, and indeed he didn't," said Alan J. McDonald, the lawyer for the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association. "I suspect that when the full picture comes out, he will regret the remarks he made."

McDonald, the lawyer for the 50-member police union, said he and members of the union "were disappointed" in Obama's remarks. "I think perhaps the president might have second thoughts about shooting from the hip."

Obama was asked about the incident in the last question of his hour-long nationally televised press conference Wednesday night. After acknowledging that he was "a little biased" because he is friends with Gates and that he didn't "know all the facts," the president nonetheless said police "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates after he showed identification.

"Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that," Obama said. "But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge Police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact."

And that fact, Obama added, is an example and a sign that "race remains a factor in this society. That doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made. I am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made.

"And yet the fact of the matter is, is that this still haunts us."

President Obama hit the road again today in his healthcare push, going to Cleveland to tour a clinic he calls a model for the nation and meet the public in a campaign-style appearance at a high school.

UPDATE: In his opening remarks before taking questions from the audience at Shaker Heights High, Obama reprised his campaign mantra of change.

"I know there are those who like to focus on the political back-and-forth in Washington," he said. "But my only concern is the people who sent us there: the families feeling the pain of this recession; the folks I’ve met across this country who have lost jobs and savings and health insurance, but haven’t lost hope; the citizens who defied the cynics and the skeptics -- who went to the polls to demand real and lasting change. This change was the cause of my campaign, and it is the cause of my presidency."

He continued trying to reassure Americans who like their current insurance, while promising improvements.

"I want to be clear: reform isn’t just about the nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance.... If you already have health insurance, the reform we're proposing will give you more security. It will keep the government out of your health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your coverage if you’re happy with it....And it will keep the insurance companies out of your health care decisions, too, by stopping insurers from cherry-picking who they cover, and holding insurers to higher standards for what they cover," he said.

"You won’t have to worry about receiving a surprise bill in the mail, because we’ll limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay out of your own pocket. You won’t have to worry about pre-existing conditions, because never again will anyone in America be denied coverage because of a previous illness or injury. And you won’t have to worry about losing coverage if you lose or leave your job, because every American who needs insurance will have access to affordable plans through a health insurance exchange, a marketplace where insurance companies will compete to cover you, not to deny you coverage."

Obama also took on his Republican critics, including GOP chairman Michael Steele for saying that the healthcare overhaul was happening too soon.

"I think that's a little odd. We’ve been talking about health reform since the days of Harry Truman. How can it be too soon?" Obama asked, increduously.

"I don’t think it’s too soon for the families who’ve seen their premiums rise faster than wages year after year. It’s not too soon for the businesses forced to drop coverage or shed workers because of mounting healthcare expenses. It’s not too soon for taxpayers asked to close widening deficits that stem from rising healthcare costs, costs that threaten to leave our children with a mountain of debt," the president added.

"Reform may be coming too soon for some in Washington, but it’s not soon enough for the American people."

(His full remarks are below, along with the question-and-answer session.)

But it doesn't appear the overhaul will happen as fast as Obama wants.

The top Democrat in the Senate said today that his chamber won't vote until after the August recess -- and beyond Obama's hoped-for timetable.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that the Senate Finance Committee will act on its portion of the bill before the monthlong break, but the bill won't be combined with separate legislation passed by the Senate health committee and sent to the full Senate until September, after the recess.

Reid said the decision to delay a vote was made Wednesday night in the hopes of getting a final bipartisan bill, the Associated Press reports.

Obama downplayed the Senate delay. "That's OK, I just want people to keep working," he said, departing from his prepared remarks and saying he still wants a bill on his desk this year.

"I don't want a delay just because of politics," he told the town hall crowd.

Earlier, Obama toured the Cleveland Clinic, which in his prime-time news conference on Wednesday he said has "set up a system where patient care is the number-one concern, not bureaucracy, what forms have to be filled out, what do we get reimbursed for.

"Those are changes that I think the American people want to see," he added. "....Cleveland Clinic is simply a role model for some of the kind of changes that we want to see.

He said he wasn't expecting an endorsement from the clinic for his healthcare overhaul plan.

But he also probably doesn't want a slap, either, as Democrats received on Monday from the Mayo Clinic, another

The famous nonprofit clinic in Minnesota said Monday that the House Democratic plan "misses the opportunity to help create higher quality, more affordable health care for patients."
"In fact, it will do the opposite," clinic officials said, because the proposals aren't focused enough on patients and results. "The real losers will be the citizens of the United States."
Republicans eagerly jumped on the statement to bash Democrats, but the clinic signed on Wednesday to a more measured letter to Congress. (Read it here.)

"I think it's important to note that the Mayo Clinic was initially critical and concerned about whether there were enough changes in the delivery system and cost-saving measures in the original House bill," Obama said Wednesday night.

"After they found out that we had put forward very specific mechanisms for this MedPAC idea, this idea of experts getting the politics out of health care and making decisions based on the best evidence out there, they wrote in their blog the very next day that we actually think this would make a difference. Okay?"

President Obama's poll ratings may be slipping at home, but his popularity abroad is already repairing the image of the United States, which took a beating during the Bush administration.

The nonpartisan Pew Research Center reported today that favorability ratings for the US among people around the globe have improved markedly, recovering in many countries to the point before George W. Bush took office and began the highly unpopular war in Iraq.

"Improvements in the U.S. image have been most pronounced in Western Europe, where favorable ratings for both the nation and the American people have soared. But opinions of America have also become more positive in key countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well," says the Pew Global Attitudes Project, which surveyed nearly 27,000 people in 25 nations this spring.

The Pew report found that in 21 of the countries surveyed, an average of 71 percent of respondents had at least some confidence in Obama's handling of world affairs. In 2008, when Bush was in the White House, the figure in those same countries was only 17 percent.

Obama has drawn adoring crowds on most of his stops on foreign trips since becoming president.

"Signs of improvement in views of America are seen even in some predominantly Muslim countries that held overwhelmingly negative views of the United States in the Bush years. The most notable increase occurred in Indonesia, where people are well aware of Obama's family ties to the country and where favorable ratings of the U.S. nearly doubled this year."

But Muslims in the Middle East still hold negative views about the United States.

And there was one notable exception: Israel, where Bush's policies were popular, and where there is concern over Obama's push to stop settlements on the West Bank.

The White House this morning released the full transcript of President Obama's fourth prime-time news conference, which focused on healthcare, touched on the economy, and veered into race relations.

While Obama's goal was to sell the public -- particularly the middle class -- on his healthcare overhaul, he created the biggest buzz by asserting that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" by arrest Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his home even after his friend showed his ID.

For posterity, the transcript is below:

President Obama addressed the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his Cambridge home during his news conference tonight, saying that "anyone would be angry" and "the Cambridge police acted stupidly."

Obama prefaced his reply by saying that "I might be a little biased here" because "Skip Gates" is a friend, and by acknowledging that "I don't know all the facts."

He then recited what has been reported, and joked that if he tried to jimmy the lock at his current residence -- the White House -- "I'd get shot."

But then he went on to say that there's a long history of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by police disproportionately.

"Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact," Obama said.

"That doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made," he added. "I am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made. And yet the fact of the matter is, is that, you know, this still haunts us. And even when there are honest misunderstandings, the fact that blacks and Hispanics are picked up more frequently and often time for no cause casts suspicion even when there is good cause. And that's why I think the more that we're working with local law enforcement to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias, the safer everybody is going to be."

Authorities dropped a disorderly conduct charge against Gates on Tuesday in connection with the incident last Thursday, but Gates and the police officer involved have different accounts of what happened, and Gates is demanding an apology and is considering legal action.

The president's full answer is below:

President Obama, seeking public support for his healthcare plan, is trying tonight to answer a key question on the minds of Americans: What's in it for me?

"I realize that with all the charges and criticisms being thrown around in Washington, a lot of Americans may be wondering, “What’s in this for me? How does my family stand to benefit from health insurance reform?' ” he said, opening his fourth primetime news conference at a pivotal moment early in his presidency.

"Tonight I want to answer those questions. Because even though Congress is still working through a few key issues, we already have rough agreement on the following areas: If you already have health insurance, the reform we’re proposing will provide you with more security and more stability. It will keep government out of healthcare decisions, giving you the option to keep your insurance if you’re happy with it. It will prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get too sick. It will give you the security of knowing that if you lose your job, if you move, or if you change your job, you will still be able to have coverage. It will limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay for your medical costs out of your own pocket. And it will cover preventive care like check-ups and mammograms that save lives and money.

"Now, if you don’t have health insurance, or are a small business looking to cover your employees, you’ll be able to choose a quality, affordable health plan through a health insurance exchange -- a marketplace that promotes choice and competition. Finally, no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition," Obama said to a nationwide television audience.

"I have also pledged that health insurance reform will not add to our deficit over the next decade -- and I mean it."

The president also asserted that health reform is "central" to rebuilding the US economy "stronger than before."

"This is not just about the 47 million Americans who don't have any health insurance at all. Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job, or change their job. It’s about every small business that has been forced to lay off employees or cut back on their coverage because it became too expensive. And it’s about the fact that the biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.

"So let me be clear: If we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit. If we do not reform healthcare, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. If we don't act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day. These are the consequences of inaction. These are the stakes of the debate that we’re having right now.

He also took on his critics directly, accusing them of putting political games ahead of the country.

"I understand how easy it is for this town to become consumed in the game of politics -- to turn every issue into a running tally of who’s up and who’s down. I’ve heard that one Republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise, it’s better politics to 'go for the kill.' Another Republican senator said that defeating health reform is about 'breaking' me," he said.

"So let me be clear: This isn’t about me. I have great health insurance, and so does every member of Congress. This debate is about the letters I read when I sit in the Oval Office every day, and the stories I hear at town hall meetings….This debate is not a game for these Americans, and they can't afford to wait any longer for reform. They are counting on us to get this done. They are looking to us for leadership. And we can't let them down. We will pass reform that lowers cost, promotes choice, and provides coverage that every American can count on. And we will do it this year."

(His full prepared remarks are below.)

Asked first which specific proposals being talked about in Congress he would support, especially on financing, Obama declined, instead outlining broad principles.

After finding as much savings as possible, he said he proposed what he believed would work best -- limiting income tax deductions for higher-earning families -- but Congress has not accepted that idea. He said he was not foreclosing other options, as long as they don't burden middle-class families. "I want to wait to see what emerges from these committees," he said.

Obama said he understands public skepticism, given the recent history of what Washington has produced.

But if the country just reduced healthcare costs by $2,000 or $3,000 a year -- not the $6,000 difference between the United States and other Western countries -- the help for most families would be significant, he said.

Asked why he was pressing so hard for Congress to act before the August recess, he said he is "rushed" because he gets letters from families every day who say they are being "clobbered by healthcare costs."

"In a country like ours, that's not right," he said.

He also said that without deadlines, nothing happens in Washington. "Inertia is the default position," he added, because change always upsets one special interest or another.

But he also said he won't sign a bill that isn't ready, just to meet a deadline.

"I do think it's important to get this right," he said.

Asked whether the health overhaul will cover all 47 million uninsured, he replied, "I want to cover everybody."

But he acknowledged that without a single-payer system where all Americans are automatically enrolled, some will choose not to get insurance even if they are required to do so and even if there are subsidies, so some will go uncovered.

A good plan should cover 97 or 98 percent of the population, he said.

Asked about infighting among Democrats and whether they would be to blame if a bill isn't passed, Obama said there are legitimate regional differences and concerns. "This is part of the normal give and take of the legislative process," he said.

He also said that Republicans have good ideas that should be incorporated and named in particular Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Olympia Snowe of Maine for their contributions to the bill drafting.

Asked about what sacrifices Americans would have to make to cut healthcare spending, Obama said they would have to give up care that doesn't make them healthier, such as unnecessary tests. "You're wasting money," he said. "We just can't afford what we're doing right now."

He did not touch the controversial issue of healthcare rationing, such as limiting the amount of care for the terminally ill.

He hit back at those who say the healthcare proposals would worsen the record federal deficits. Directly addressing those in the public who he said had been "ginned up" by the accusations, he said that he inherited the vast majority of the deficit and that healthcare reform "is designed to lower it."

Asked about whether he is violating a pledge on openness on the healthcare deliberations and other issues, Obama rejected the charge. He said that the identities of health executives visiting the White House have been public and that the kickoff healthcare event was televised on C-SPAN.

Asked by a reporter for a newspaper in Cleveland, where Obama plans a town hall on Thursday, about the public insurance option, the president said it would be similar to what members of Congress get.

He repeated that the public plan is needed to keep private insurers honest, saying that several firms recently reported record profits even as families pay more for their care.

Asked by the same reporter whether he would accept the public plan, Obama said he would, but pointed out that as president, a White House doctor follows him everywhere.

The political skirmishes and name-calling over healthcare show no signs of ending.

Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican -- who raised President Obama's hackles by saying that a defeat on healthcare could be the "Waterloo" for his presidency -- didn't back down today. He might have upped the ante, saying it's time to "put the brakes" on Obama because he is on a dangerous spending spree.

"It's not personal," DeMint said this morning on NBC's "Today" show. "We've got to stop his politics."

UPDATE: Going after DeMint, the Democratic National Committee unveiled a hard-hitting TV ad this afternoon that will run in Washington and his home state.

"Jim DeMint will break families & small businesses," the ad says. "Putting special interests first, putting South Carolina last."

"The only health care plan Jim DeMint supports is no plan at all," the ad concludes.

“The politicization of health care reform by Senator Jim DeMint and Republicans is a desperate and shameful ploy by the ‘Party of NO’ to score a political win on the backs of struggling American families and small businesses," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. "What’s worse is that this strategy originates from the same Republican Party who ignored health care reform for the past eight years, letting costs spiral out of control while protecting their special interest friends."

Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, continued his assault with a web video that accuses Obama and congressional Democrats of jeopardizing the healthcare system.

Democrats "are in a hurry, a reckless rush and still can't answer some fundamental questions," the announcer says, including how much the overhaul would cost. The video also accuses Obama of opening the door to reneging on his pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year, though Democratic plans don't propose that.

“We won't be lectured by Eric Cantor and Republicans on being reckless," responded Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan. "While the President is offering a constructive way forward to get something done after we've been trying to reform health care for decades, Eric Cantor and Republicans are offering nothing more than partisan obstruction, the status quo and more cries of ‘NO.’

“What's reckless is saying you want to ‘kill’ health care reform when American families have seen 80 percent hikes in premiums this decade alone. What's reckless is saying you want to ‘break’ the President on health care when small business are going broke paying for insurance. What Eric Cantor and the Republican Party don't understand is that the most reckless thing we can do, as they propose, is nothing.”

The Republican National Committee is up with a web video of its own, a take-off on those TV ads for all kinds of prescription drugs.

With idyllic images of couples frolicking in fields of flowers, the video says that Obama and Democrats are trying to sell "Reforma" on healthcare.

But it warns of dangerous side effects, including government control of healthcare, higher medical costs, and bureaucratic gridlock.

"Not recommended for people who may need actual medical care," it says.

President Obama has been battered in recent weeks by Republicans over the ballooning federal deficit, which this year is already well past the previous record.

So this afternoon he quickly lauded the House vote for so-called pay-as-you-go legislation that would require Congress and the president to offset new tax cuts or new benefit programs with tax increases or spending cuts elsewhere in the budget. If the law is broken, automatic spending cuts would kick in to make up the difference.

“With this vote, the House of Representatives demonstrated strong support for fiscal discipline. I appreciate the House’s quick response to my call for pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) legislation, a central budget-reform priority," Obama said in a statement.

“Let me be clear: all new mandatory initiatives and all new tax cuts must be paid for. It is time to stop the practice of passing today’s costs onto future generations. PAYGO was a driving principle behind the move from deficit to surplus in the 1990s, and must be so again today.

“For several years, the federal government was stalled in a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility. No more. We are making tough decisions on funding priorities. We are tackling the biggest threats to our long-term fiscal stability. And we are restoring greater discipline to how we spend taxpayers’ dollars.

“I thank Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer, Chairman Spratt and Chairman Miller, Representatives Hill, Cooper, Boyd, and Welch, the Blue Dog coalition, and all of the 167 cosponsors of the PAYGO legislation. We will continue to work together to strengthen fiscal discipline. I urge the Senate to approve PAYGO so I can sign this bill into law this year.”

In another sign of the change in Washington, the US Senate this afternoon rebuffed the gun rights lobby and rejected a measure that would have allowed carrying concealed weapons across state lines.

The 58-39 vote fell two shy of the 60 needed to approve the provision, which was offered as an amendment to a defense spending bill, the Associated Press reports.

UPDATE: New England senators split on the measure.

Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Republican Judd Gregg of New Hampshire voted to allow the cross-state concealed weapons,

Independent Joe Lieberman and Democrat Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Democrat John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Democrats Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and Democrat Patrick Leahy and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont voted against the measure.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts missed the vote.

Overall, 20 Democrats and 38 Republicans voted for the measure, and 35 Democrats, two Republicans, and the two New England independents voted against it.

While gun rights backers, who have held sway in Congress in recent years, pushed hard for the measure, gun control groups argued that the proposal would force states with tough gun laws -- like Massachusetts -- to welcome gun-toting residents from states with weaker laws.

"Well, common sense won over -- won over extremism today in the United States Senate," Senator Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, told reporters after the vote. "The vote indicated that some change at least has come to the Senate, has come to the government. And we at least were able to put the NRA-designed program to rest for the moment. And it was a very -- very important thing."

"The special interests were defeated," he added. "Communities are safer. And the amendment was, in my view, one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation on the Senate floor in recent memory. All of us here worked very hard, others as well. It took everybody's effort, and it was, in the final analysis, a really close call. But the fact is that we were able to defeat this measure."

Added Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat: "Had this amendment passed, safety in America would have decreased, plain and simple. Lives were saved were the defeat of this amendment. The legislation went much further than the previous attempts by the gun lobby to do things. It would have done nothing less than take our state's gun laws and rip them up. That's what it would have done. We know the gun lobby is strong. We know they will be back. We know we have to be vigilant. But this shows that the Senate can rise to the occasion when the law just so overreaches that it puts police officers and sheriffs and citizens in dire difficulty."

National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, pointing out that a majority voted for the measure, called the vote an "important step forward" in its campaign to bring "right to carry" across the nation. It is in 40 states, he said.

"We're going to keep coming back. The American public wants the law," he said on MSNBC.

The vote follows Tuesday's Senate vote to back President Obama and the Pentagon -- and buck the defense industry and its congressional allies -- by cutting money for additional F-22 fighters.

It's like most national elections -- when Massachusetts is a slam dunk for Democrats, so activists instead go to more competitive states to make a difference.

With both Democratic Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry of Massachusetts firmly on board with the healthcare overhaul, President Obama's grassroots supporters in the Bay State are being urged to help sway Maine's two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who are key moderates in the debate.

Organizing for America sent an email this afternoon with a link and encouragement to call voters in Maine and get them to call Collins and Snowe.

"With the health care debate coming down to the wire in Congress, we need every vote we can get. Both of your Massachusetts senators are fighting hard for reform, but the two senators from nearby Maine -- Senator Olympia Snowe and Senator Susan Collins -- are under tremendous pressure to cave to special interests. They need to hear from constituents who want them to stand with the President -- and you can help," wrote Jeremy Bird, deputy director of Organizing for America.

"There are voters in Maine who want to fix our health care system as much as you do, and they may not know how much power they have to make it happen. Let them know, and help bring our country one big step closer to the reform we need."

Representative William Delahunt of Massachusetts is among members of Congress lodging a complaint over a Fox News Channel analyst's suggestion that a captured US soldier may have deserted.

Over the weekend, Ralph Peters was talking about Private Bowe R. Bergdahl, who was taken by the Taliban in early July outside a US base in Afghanistan and who appeared in a video over the weekend.

"If, when the facts are in, we find out that through some convoluted chain of events, he really was captured by the Taliban, I’m with him," Peters said. "But, if he walked away from his post and his buddies in wartime, I don’t care how hard it sounds, as far as I’m concerned, the Taliban can save us a lot of legal hassles and legal bills."

Two dozen members of Congress -- mostly Democrats but also a few Republicans -- wrote a letter to Fox News CEO Roger Ailes demanding an apology.

"Mr. Peters' comments are so far beyond the pale that they don't even approach the decorum and respect deserved by a member of the United States Armed Forces," they wrote. "Mr. Peters' indefensible comments call into question, without any supporting evidence whatsoever, PFC Bergdahl's patriotism and commitment to his country, and suggest in a non-subtle way that he deserved to be captured. The events surrounding the capture of PFC Bergdahl are irrelevant at this point. The only priority should be his safe and immediate release to U.S. forces.

The liberal media watchdog group Media Matters has also taken up the issue. The full letter is below:

Iraq's prime minister comes calling on President Obama today at another turning point for the war-torn country and the US mission there.

Nuri al-Maliki and Obama met for more than an hour this afternoon at the White House, then held a joint news conference in the Rose Garden.

UPDATE: Obama said he and al-Maliki had a "very productive discussion" and praised substantial progress in recent months. "Iraqis are taking responsibility for their future," the president said.

The Iraq-US relationship is in the midst of "full transition" to a partnership that includes broader ties on trade, cultural exchange, and other ties, and the US will keep its commitment to restore full sovereignty to Iraq, Obama said.

He also announced that al-Maliki will visit Arlington National Cemetery to pay his respects to US troops killed in Iraq.

The prime minister said he also wants to deepen Iraq's relationship with the United States into a "strategic friendship."

He paid tribute to the "sons and daughters" of both countries who were casualties of the sectarian violence.

(Their full remarks are below.)

Their huddle comes a day after the worst violence in Baghdad since American combat troops pulled out of the capital and other Iraqi cities on June 30. A series of bombings killed at least 15 civilians and injured more than 100, and there were also attacks on US convoys that killed at least three people.

The withdrawal from the cities is the first major step toward a general US pullout, more than six years after the start of the war. And it is the first major test of the Iraqi government's ability to defend the population against assorted insurgents and to keep a lid on the fractious ethnic rivalries.

In February, Obama announced that combat operations will end by Aug. 31, 2010, though most of the 142,000 US troops on the ground at the beginning of this year will stay through the end of this year to safeguard Iraq's national elections in December.

WASHINGTON -- Normal people who are spending more time this summer schlepping their kids to the pool than reading Congressional Quarterly may be mystified as to why everyone in Washington seems obsessed with whether Congress can pass a healthcare bill before the August recess.

What could be so wrong with a few weeks' delay? Everybody gets a little lazy in the summer, no?

The problem is that Congress is a vast, unwieldy body trying to shape a vast, unwieldy piece of legislation that affects countless interest groups with clashing interests.

Most proponents of health reform think that the best chance of passing a good bill is to get legislation done as quickly as possible. The quicker the better, they say, so that those interest groups won't have a chance to pick away at it, and so the new president can capitalize on what's left of the popular good will he had when he took office.

The other reason -- perhaps the most important one -- is the 2010 midterms. Believe it or not, they're just around the corner; next January, the conventional wisdom goes, members will start focusing on those races. If the healthcare bill emerges sometime next year, members facing tough reelection fights will have to cast votes in a heated and volatile political environment, which is not ideal for getting anything accomplished -- certainly not something that could require political courage.

So, the thinking goes, the law needs to be voted on and signed before the end of the year.

The most bone-crunchingly difficult negotiations -- the ones where the bill will really get written -- will happen in the conference committee discussions between House and Senate leaders, with the White House weighing in. Those talks will take some time.

But first the House and Senate have to pass legislation to send to those conference committees. If they don't do it before the month-long August recess, members of Congress will go back to their districts, where they're likely to hear from a chorus of nervous constituents and angry interest groups on the healthcare proposals floating around. Proponents worry that will deflate their will to act.

At the moment, however, Congress looks increasingly likely to miss its deadline. That does not mean the healthcare overhaul is going to die -- but it does mean that the going could get tougher for proponents of reform.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, trying to rally her troops and help President Obama on his healthcare push, is holding a news conference this morning to brag on the House Democratic bill.

She brought with her "real Americans," including a cancer patient from Norwood, Mass., who would benefit from the legislation and are telling their personal stories.

House Democrats' bill would pay for extending insurance coverage with a surtax on Americans with annual incomes of $280,000 or more. But fiscal conservatives, known as the Blue Dog coalition, have objected to the financing and have stalled the legislation after it passed two committees last week.

In response, Pelosi is floating the prospect of imposing the surtax starting with those making $1 million or more a year.

UPDATE: House Republicans said this afternoon that by their count, at least 42 House Democrats have expressed qualms or outright opposition to the bill. (Click here to see the list.)

But Representative Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat in the party's leadership, said today that he's "very hopeful" that the House will pass the bill next week.

“Very frankly, every member of the Caucus, every member, from Blue Dog to Progressive and everybody in-between says ‘they want to vote for healthcare reform bill’ and the American public wants to see one,” he said on Fox News Channel.

“We want to get it right, but, we don’t think simply considering it for another next 16 years will necessarily be the solution to getting it right. We need to get it done.”

During Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings last week, Senator Lindsey Graham predicted that she would join the high court unless she had a meltdown.

She didn't, and today the South Carolina Republican announced that he will break with his party's leadership and vote for Sotomayor. Graham's support wasn't unqualified, though. While he praised her Horatio Alger story, he told her that some of her remarks on race and other issues "bugged the hell out of me."

UPDATE: "Her life story ... is something that every American should be proud of, and if her selection to the Supreme Court will inspire young women, particularly Latino women, to seek a career in the law, then that is a good thing -- and I hope it will," Graham said on the Senate floor.

He is the first Republican on the Judiciary Committee that held the hearings to announce his support. Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, also on the panel, said today he will vote against her.

The committee is to vote next Tuesday, then the full Senate, where she is expected to win confirmation.

Nan Aron, head of the pro-Sotomayor Alliance for Justice, said Graham's support was important.

"Though Senator Graham was one of Judge Sotomayor’s most aggressive questioners, he has risen above partisanship to recognize that this highly qualified and historic nominee deserves swift confirmation," Aron said in a statement. "He has joined other fair-minded Republican colleagues, including Senators Lugar, Snowe, Collins and Martinez, in setting aside politically-motivated opposition in favor of integrity and bipartisanship. Well-deserved support for Judge Sotomayor's nomination continues to grow on both sides of the aisle."

Can President Obama, using his finely-honed rhetorical skills, pull it off again?

He holds a primetime news conference tonight -- the fourth of his presidency -- to try to rebuild public support for his healthcare overhaul. (Come back to this blog for live updates on the event, at 8 p.m. EST.)

Obama's first primetime press conference came on Feb. 9 during the tortured congressional negotiations over his economic stimulus plan.

He made the case for the necessity for such a huge spending bill to deal with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The logjam broke, and four days later, Congress passed the $787 billion recovery bill. Obama signed it on Feb. 17.

While Ronald Reagan became known as the "Great Communicator" during his presidency, Obama might be the "Great Explainer" -- able to distill policy debates into their essentials, to translate issues into the broader American narrative, and to put himself on the right side of the politics of an issue.

But even with all those skills, Obama still might not be able to get Congress to meet his original goal of both the House and Senate passing healthcare bills before the August recess (the House is scheduled to leave Aug. 1, and the Senate Aug. 8).

Even fellow Democrats are expressing doubts about that timetable. The best Obama might get is a vote in the House and a tentative deal, but no actual vote, in the Senate.

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Massive crop devastation, melting glaciers, water shortages, millions of displaced people -- all of these will drag the US military into conflict if global climate change goes unchecked, a Senate panel was warned today.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, convened by Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, focused on what so far has received only modest attention in the climate change debate: the effect it is bound to have on national defense.

"Addressing the consequences of changes in the Earth's climate is not simply about saving polar bears or preserving the beauty of mountain glaciers," retired Navy Vice Adm. Lee F. Gunn, president of the American Security Project, told the panel. "Climate change is a threat to our national security."

Gunn and other military specialists said that climate change could have broad effects on how the US military operates. It will likely expand the number of humanitarian missions the Pentagon will have to undertake, they said, and even change how it deploys its fighting forces.

For example, they warned that rising sea levels could swamp critical US military bases in the Indian Ocean and even the headquarters of the Atlantic Fleet in Norfolk, Va., which could be under water after just a one-meter rise in the ocean level.

From Africa to the Middle East and South Asia, dramatic changes in the weather will stress already unstable nations, creating what Gunn called "climate conflicts."

"International conflicts over resources, due to migrants, and/or as a means of distraction are not only likely," he added, "but likely to exacerbate the underlying climate change problem."

Kerry, since he took the helm of the committee earlier this year, has made addressing climate change a top priority. Several specialists said today that elevating the security aspect will help garner the kind of support necessary to make the difficult changes in energy and other global policies to stabilize the climate.

Sharon E. Burke, vice president for natural security at the Center for a New American Security, testified that the hearing was "an important demonstration of the fact that global climate change is now taken seriously as a strategic challenge."

Kerry, for his part, pledged to keep the shining the light on the issue.

"If we fail to connect the dots -- if we fail to take action -- the simple, indisputable reality is that we will find ourselves living not only in a ravaged environment, but also in a much more dangerous world," he said.

Correction: This item has been revised because of a reporting error that misstated the title for Sharon E. Burke, vice president for natural security at the Center for a New American Security.

Kerry's full opening statement is below:

By Rachel D'Oro, Associated Press Writer

The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin is securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, set up by supporters.

An investigator for the state Personnel Board says in his July 14 report that there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of the trust as the "official" legal defense fund.

The practical effect of the ruling on Palin will be more financial than anything else. The report recommends that Palin refuse to accept payment from the defense fund, and that the complaint be resolved without a formal hearing before the Alaska Personnel Board.

The fund aims to help Palin pay off debts stemming from multiple ethics complaints against her, most of which have been dismissed. Palin says she owes more than $500,000 in legal fees, and she cited the mounting toll of the ethics probes as one of the reasons she is leaving office.

A call seeking comment from her lawyer and an e-mail to her spokeswoman were not immediately returned.

Palin's friends and supporters created the Alaska Fund Trust in April, limiting donations to $150 per person. Organizers declined to say how much it has raised, and had hoped to raise about $500,000. A Webathon last month brought in about $130,000 in pledges.
In his report, attorney Thomas Daniel said his interpretation of the ethics act is consistent with common sense.

An ordinary citizen facing legal charges is not likely to be able to generate donations to a legal defense fund, he wrote. "In contrast, Governor Palin is able to generate donations because of the fact that she is a public official and a public figure. Were it not for the fact that she is governor and a national political figure, it is unlikely that many citizens would donate money to her legal defense fund."

The ethics complaint was filed by Eagle River resident Kim Chatman shortly after the fund was created, alleging Palin was misusing her official position and accepting improper gifts.
Palin was given a copy of the investigator's report a week ago, Chatman said Tuesday.

"It's an absolute shame that she would continue to keep the Alaska Fund Trust Web site up and running," Chatman told the AP.

At least 19 ethics complaints have been filed against Palin, most of them after she was named the running mate for GOP presidential candidate John McCain. Most of those have been dismissed, and Palin's office usually sends a news release with the announcement.

"She's not acknowledging the fact that the ethics complaint was credible," Chatman said. "When ethics complaints are dismissed, she's quick to publicly respond but this one, she's sitting on."

President Obama is firmly, stubbornly staying wih his persistent push on healthcare.

But for good reason: While the fate of the sweeping legislation might not be the "Waterloo" turning point of his presidency -- as some Republicans hope from defeating him -- Obama has staked a huge pile of his political poker chips on victory.

This afternoon, in his almost daily remarks healthcare, Obama took on his opponents, saying that they would rather "score political points" than help families struggling with healthcare and that some will try to delay health reform until the special interests kill it.

While acknowledging that there is work to do for a final deal, he went on to tick off the areas of agreement in the working Senate and House versions and the broader consensus with health industry groups.

"We have traveled long and hard to reach this point," Obama said, through decades of Washington failing to fix healthcare. (His full remarks are below.)

UPDATE: Backing up Obama, the Democratic National Committee released a new web video today bashing Republican critics of the president's healthcare plan. It juxtaposes Republicans saying they want Obama to fail, with Obama's response.

“Over the last few days we've learned the true intentions of the Republican party when it comes to health care, and those intentions, while not surprising, are disturbing. Let's be clear - the same Republican party that let health care costs spiral out of control over the last eight years while protecting their special interest friends, is now expressly saying that they want to ‘kill’ health care reform and that their interest is to ‘break’ the President politically," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.

“The Republican approach of working to kill health care reform when so many American families are struggling is not only broken, it's also irresponsible. Republicans would be better served if they focused on killing off this callous attitude within their party that puts fixing their own political problems ahead of fixing problems for American families.”

Republicans countered by saying that Obama is trying to move too fast with a plan that could derail the economic recovery. "Healthcare reform is too important to rush through and get wrong," Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky argued in a floor speech today.

They also asserted that House Democrats have been told not to cooperate with Republicans on healthcare legislation and that Democrats are making a mountain out of the molehill of Senator Jim DeMint's quotation that a healthcare defeat could be Obama's Waterloo.

"The White House and Democrats are jumping on one quote to set up Republicans as a straw man to mask over their internal party divisions which are delaying their drive for government-run healthcare," Joe Pounder, spokesman for the No. 2 House Republican Eric Cantor, said in a statement.

"However, we recall one remarkable quote from a key House Democrat, Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), who wrote that House Democrats are being 'explicitly told not to work with Republicans.' Just to be clear: the White House and Democrats are using a fake straw man argument. Democrats don’t want to work with Republicans but at the same time, want to blame Republicans for their failures."

Obama plans to return to the subject in a primetime news conference Wednesday and a town hall in Cleveland Thursday.

Obama also plans to meet this afternoon with Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which hasn't passed the healthcare bill. Two other House panels approved their portions of the bill last week, but fiscally conservative Democrats on the Energy committee are balking at the bill's financing, among other issues.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted last week to pay for healthcare by imposing an income surtax on couples making as little as $350,000 a year and individuals earning as little as $280,000. To try to get conservative Democrats on board, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is proposing to limit the income tax increases to couples making more than $1 million a year and individuals making more than $500,000.

In an interview aired this morning on NBC's "Today" show, Obama defended his insistence on Congress passing healthcare overhaul legislation before its August summer recess. "If you don't set a deadline in this town, nothing happens," the president said, adding, "And the deadline isn't being set by me. It's being set by the American people."

There are more worrisome poll findings for President Obama.

An Associated Press-GfK Poll released this afternoon found that a majority of Americans are back to believing the country is headed in the wrong direction after his inauguration initially boosted hope and optimism. Those thinking the country is going in the wrong direction hit 54 percent, up from 46 percent in June.

Obama's 55 percent approval rating is still better than Bill Clinton and about the same as George W. Bush six months into their presidencies, but those who think Obama can improve the economy is down 19 percentage points since he took office in January, and those who think he can reduce the deficit, withdraw troops from Iraq, and improve respect for the US around the world are all down 15 percentage points. On overhauling healthcare, hopes for success have dropped by 6 percentage points.

The president's other numbers are also down. About two-thirds now believe he understands the problems of ordinary Americans, down from 81 percent in January, while 69 percent think he's a strong leader, down from 78 percent before his inauguration.

The survey, conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media on July 16-20, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- In a key victory for President Obama's effort to reform the Pentagon budget, the Senate this afternoon approved an amendment to halt production of the next-generation F-22 fighter jet .

The 58-40 vote in the full Senate reversed a vote in the Armed Services Committee last month that would have added $1.75 billion to the defense budget next fiscal year to force the Air Force buy seven more of the air-to-air fighters. The Pentagon maintains it needs the money for higher priorities.

A full court press by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates in recent days and a threat of a presidential veto clearly paid off, persuading some long-time supporters of the program, including Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, to switch their position and back the president.

Kerry issued a statement this afternoon to explain his change of heart.

“Months ago, the Massachusetts Air National Guard conveyed to me their concerns that their aging aircraft will compromise their ability to complete their mission in the future and I've also had a longstanding concern about our industrial capacity in Massachusetts in the event that funding for important technologies is interrupted," Kerry said.

“I called Secretary Gates last week and yesterday we had a productive discussion in which he assured me of three key and persuasive facts: that the Pentagon’s shift in resources and priorities will have no adverse affects on Massachusetts workers whose skills are transferable from the F-22 to the F-35, that there will be no shortage of planes or equipment for the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s mission, and in fact that production of the F-35 could generate additional jobs for our experienced workforce," he added.

"I understand the Pentagon’s need to reorganize its resources and I take Secretary Gates at his word that our state will not be harmed in the process. I was also persuaded by the arguments made by the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the former Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that additional F-22 aircraft are unnecessary. For those reasons, I decided to support the Levin Amendment, and will remain vigilant in ensuring the needs of the Massachusetts Air National Guard are always met in policy planning.”

In remarks in the Rose Garden, Obama said he was grateful for the Senate vote, saying the F-22 expansion would have been "an inexcusable waste of money."

The budget is a "zero-sum game," he said, so money for the F-22 would have meant less money for the troops. He said he rejects the notion that the nation has to waste billions of dollars on outdated defense programs to protect the country. (His full remarks are below.)

Senators from New England, however, were decidedly split. Those who voted against the amendment -- proposed by Obama's former GOP presidential rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona -- represent states that would potentially lose the most jobs if the next-generation stealth fighter is halted at 187 planes.

For example, in Maine, where the F-22 engines are manufactured by Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick, both Republican Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, voted for the money. So did both senators from Connecticut -- Independent Joseph I. Lieberman and Democrat Christopher Dodd -- where Pratt & Whitney is headquartered.

Dodd spoke in defense of the program, saying that thousands of jobs are at risk. Contractors estimate that at least 25,000 jobs nationwide, including some in Massachusetts, are directly tied to the F-22 project.

UPDATE: Also voting for the amendment to slash funding were Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. Overall, 42 Democrats, 15 Republicans, and 1 independent voted for the amendment.

Also opposing the amendment was Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Overall, 14 Democrats, 25 Republicans, and 1 independent voted to preserve the funding.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, absent while undergoing treatment for brain cancer, did not vote.

During the floor debate, McCain pointed out that the fighter has never flown over Iraq or Afghanistan because it is not suited for the mission. The F-22 was originally designed for aerial dogfights with Soviet fighters during the Cold War.

The Pentagon was buoyed by the passage of the amendment, which many observers predicted just days ago was headed for defeat.

Spokesman Geoff Morrell said in an email that Gates "understands that for many members this was a very difficult vote, but he believes that the Pentagon cannot continue with business as usual when it comes to the F-22 or any other program in excess to our needs."

Morrell added: "Today's vote is an important step in that direction and the Secretary looks forward to working closely with lawmakers as President Obama's budget is debated in the coming months."

The issue is not completely settled, though. The House has voted to authorize nearly $400 million for next year to fund components for an additional 12 planes, and now the House and Senate must come up with a common version.

Meanwhile, appropriations panels in both chambers will also have their say when crafting final appropriations bills for the Defense Department. A House appropriations panel has already added money for the program.

President Obama is taking a hit from fellow Democrats on another issue -- the use of signing statements on bills passed by Congress.

In a letter today to Obama, four senior House Democrats scolded him, saying he is being too much like former President George W. Bush in using the statements to ignore legislation he thinks oversteps the Constitution, the Associated Press reports.

The House members said they were "surprised" and "chagrined" by Obama's statement in June accompanying a war spending bill that he would ignore restrictions placed on aid provided to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The letter was signed by Representatives David Obey of Wisconsin; chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee; and Nita Lowey and Gregory Meeks of New York, who chair subcommittees on those panels.

Congressional Democrats were harshly critical of Bush's signing statements, which they argued violated the constitutional separation of powers. Critics contended Bush used such statements to expand his power, particularly on national security, by ignoring the intent or certain provisions of bills properly passed by Congress. (Charlie Savage, then with the Globe, won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for documenting Bush's actions."

Obama also assailed Bush on the issue during the presidential campaign.

In March, he vowed not to use signing statements to disregard parts of laws because he disagrees on policy grounds, but only when he strongly believes provisions are unconstitutional. "There is no doubt that the practice of issuing such statements can be abused. Constitutional signing statements should not be used to suggest that the president will disregard statutory requirements on the basis of policy disagreements," wrote Obama.

But he has issued a series of signing statements since, though not nearly as many as Bush.

The next step in Sonia Sotomayor's expected elevation to the nation's highest court will come a week from today, on July 28.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, announced today that the panel will vote July 28 instead of today after Republicans requested a delay.

Sotomayor is still on track to get a vote in the full Senate in time to join the Supreme Court in time for its next term. And today, Senator Susan Collins of Maine became the fourth Republican senator to announce support for Sotomayor, joining her fellow Mainer Olympia Snowe, Richard Lugar of Indiana, and Mel Martinez of Florida.

"I know that I will not agree with every decision Justice Sotomayor reaches on the Court, just as I disagree with some of her previous decisions. However, upon reading these decisions, talking personally with her, and hearing her responses to probing questions, I have concluded that Judge Sotomayor understands the proper rule of a judge and is committed to applying the law impartially without bias or favoritism," Collins said in a statement. (Read her full statement here.)

“My expectation is that Justice Sotomayor will adhere to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s admonition that 'a wise old woman and a wise old man would eventually reach the same conclusion in a case.' Based on her responses to the Judiciary Committee, she will avoid the temptation to usurp the legislative authority of the Congress and the executive authority of the President. As Chief Justice John Marshall famously wrote in Marbury v. Madison, the Court must 'say what the law is.' That, after all, is the appropriate role for the federal judiciary. For a judge to do more would undermine the Constitutional foundations of the separate branches.

“I will vote to confirm Judge Sotomayor as I believe she will serve our country honorably and well on the Supreme Court.”

President Obama continued his full-court press today for sweeping healthcare legislation, holding a roundtable discussion with providers at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington.

Trying to get healthcare overhaul back on track, Obama took a populist bent, asserting that big insurers and pharmaceutical firms and other special interests are reaping huge benefits from the existing healthcare system, while American families struggle.

Unless healthcare is reformed, he said, families will pay more and more of their income for less and less care.

Obama also took on his Republican opponents, incredulously citing South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint's remark last week that a defeat on healthcare would be Obama's "Waterloo" -- undermining his presidency.

"This isn't about me, this isn't about politics, this about a healthcare system that is breaking," the president said

He said the "politics of delay and defeat" should not be allowed to succeed -- and the nation needs a healthcare overhaul this year.

"Let's fight our way through the politics of the moment," he said.

"We've talked this problem to death," he added. (His full remarks are below.)

UPDATE: Senator Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, added his criticism of Obama, saying that the healthcare push looks a lot like the push for the $787 billion stimulus package, which he asserted has been a failure.

“By any standard upon which it was sold to us, not that it would do some good two or three years from now, but now, by that standard it has been a failure,” McConnell said this afternoon on Fox News Channel. “People feel like they got burned on the Stimulus vote, there were a few people that voted for it who feel like they got burned. A lot of the rest of us are saying, you know, we told you this might not have been the right thing to do.”

“The American people are now looking at this healthcare proposal and are saying this sounds a lot like what we were just told a few months ago on the stimulus, 'You got to get it done tomorrow or bad things are going to happen,' ” he added. “There is suspicion that this is a do over from the stimulus that we had just a few months ago, being sold to us as something we have to do immediately, that may not work.”

But as various versions of the bill wend their way through Congress, Obama is spending most of his time on the defensive against critics of the reform proposals even as he stakes the early success of his presidency on passing healthcare this year.

Perhaps for good reason -- a new Washington Post/ABC News poll published today showed that the public's approval of Obama's handling of the issue has dropped below the 50 percent threshold for the first time.

In the poll, 49 percent approve of his healthcare proposals and 44 percent disapprove. The approval number is down 8 percentage points from April and the disapproval number is up 15 percentage points as more attention -- and more criticism -- has focused on the proposals.

The poll also found that the president's approval ratings on other major issues, such as the economy and the federal budget deficit, have also slipped in recent months. His overall approval rating is higher than his marks on specific issues -- 59 percent positive and 37 negative -- but it's still the first time since he took office that his overall rating dropped below 60 percent in the Post-ABC poll, and is down six percentage points from just last month. The survey, conducted July 15-18, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

UPDATE: A second poll out today also found public skepticism about Obama's healthcare plan.

In the USA Today/Gallup survey, conducted Friday through Sunday, Americans by 50 percent to 44 percent disapprove of his handling of healthcare, and by 49 percent to 47 percent disapprove of his handling of the economy.

Sensing some vulnerability, Republicans are on the attack.

GOP Chairman Michael Steele, in a speech this morning at the National Press Club, accused Obama of "risky experimentation" with his healthcare proposals and asserted that Democrats want to impose government-run healthcare.

Asked whether the plans amounted to socialism, Steele said yes.

"Many Democrats outside of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid-Waxman cabal know that voters won't stand for these kinds of foolish prescriptions for our health care. We do too. That's why Republicans will stop at nothing to remind voters about the risky experimentation going on in Washington," Steele said, according to the Associated Press.

Obama wants a public insurance option to compete with private insurers and, he says, keep them honest, but has repeatedly said he does not favor a government-run health care system.

Republicans are backing up Steele's criticisms with a new TV ad that derides Obama's economic stimulus plan as a "massive spending experiment" that has failed to produce jobs. Featuring an ominous voiceover and images of children, the 30-second spot warns that his healthcare plan would "risk everything."

UPDATE: Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine this afternoon issued a lengthy response to Steele, accusing Republicans of being far more interested in scoring political points than helping Americans with their healthcare.

“This morning, Chairman Steele delivered a speech announcing a ‘new’ Republican campaign against the President’s efforts to reform America’s broken health care system. Republican opposition to health care reform, however, is anything but new. In his speech, Chairman Steele spoke at length about the potential risks to reforming our failed health care system. It's sad, but not surprising, that the Republican Party, which for so long has supported the very policies and vested interests that helped get us to this crisis point, are unable to recognize the that the real risk is to do nothing at all, as they propose," Kaine said.

“Despite the crisis that confronts American families, the GOP continues to argue for the status quo on behalf of the special interests. If we do nothing as the Republican ‘Party of NO’ would have us do, we not only will ensure more of the same, but guarantee a growing crisis that will put a burden on our children that they will never overcome," Kaine added.

“It was also stunning - and sad - to hear that Chairman Steele agreed with Senator DeMint's comments that stopping health care reform would ‘break’ the President politically. What's ‘broken’ is a health care system where costs continue to explode, working families can't afford their premiums, small business can't compete, and where the Republican Party is interested in ensuring that we do nothing about these problems purely for their own political gain."

While Republican attacks are to expected, even some of Obama's allies are not happy with the direction the healthcare legislation is going.

Some Democrats, notably Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, want to tax the most generous employer-provided health benefits -- an idea Obama hasn't endorsed. But in an op-ed piece in Sunday's Washington Post, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney rails against the proposal.

Unions oppose the idea, arguing that employees have given up salary increases over the years and accepted better health benefits in return.

"Persistent misconceptions about the 'tax-favored treatment' of employer-sponsored coverage are that it (1) leads to overconsumption of health services and (2) favors the wealthy," Sweeney's piece says.

"With rising health costs burdening businesses and families alike, does anyone really believe that employers or workers lack incentive to hold down costs? The tax treatment of health benefits no more contributes to high health-care costs than the deduction for mortgage interest is responsible for housing costs. Clearly, both are affected by far more complex factors."

President Obama paid tribute today to the astronauts of Apollo 11, the first to set foot on the moon.

After meeting with the three crew members, Obama praised their heroism, calm under pressure, and grace, and that of the "entire NASA family" to lift the sights of the human race.

He said he is confident that NASA will do everything it can in the decade to come to continue its "inspirational mission," but he did not specify what that mission might be. The Apollo 11 astronauts are pushing for a manned mission to Mars.

Obama reminisced about watching the moon shots on TV as a boy growing up in Hawaii, and said that the astronauts had inspired a generation to get involved in science. With his education initiatives, he said, he wants to "make math and science cool again."

His full remarks are below:

The numbers tell the story of President Obama's success -- get your voters out to the polls, and keep the other guy's away.

New Census Bureau data out today shows that while overall voter turnout in percentage terms was the same last November as four years earlier, participation increased substantially among groups most enthused about Obama and most excited about the prospect of the nation's first black president.

About 131 million people reported voting in last year's presidential election, an increase of about 5 million from 2004 -- including 2 million more black voters, 2 million more Hispanic voters, and about 600,000 more Asian voters.

Also, voters 18 to 24 years old were the only age group to show a statistically significant increase in turnout, reaching 49 percent in 2008 compared with 47 percent in 2004. Blacks had the highest turnout rate among young voters -- 55 percent, an 8 percentage point increase from 2004.

On the other side, the number of non-Hispanic white voters remained statistically unchanged, and older white voters were less likely to vote last November.

That caused the overall 2008 voter turnout to remain statistically unchanged -- at 64 percent -- from 2004.
"The 2008 presidential election saw a significant increase in voter turnout among young people, blacks and Hispanics," Thom File, a voting analyst with the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, said in a statement. "But as turnout among some other demographic groups either decreased or remained unchanged, the overall 2008 voter turnout rate was not statistically different from 2004."

To see the detailed figures, click here.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy -- absent in person during the healthcare debate in Congress, but there "in spirit," as President Obama says -- says in a new first-person magazine article that the push for reform is the "cause of my life."

"Last year, I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Surgeons at Duke University Medical Center removed part of the tumor, and I had proton-beam radiation at Massachusetts General Hospital. I've undergone many rounds of chemotherapy and continue to receive treatment. Again, I have enjoyed the best medical care money (and a good insurance policy) can buy," Kennedy writes in the new edition of Newsweek.

"But quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources, or the type of job you have, or the medical condition you face. Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to."

The Massachusetts Democrat says the time is now for a comprehensive bill that offers universal coverage. Incremental measures won't suffice anymore. We need to succeed where Teddy Roosevelt and all others since have failed. The conditions now are better than ever. In Barack Obama, we have a president who's announced that he's determined to sign a bill into law this fall. And much of the business community, which has suffered the economic cost of inaction, is helping to shape change, not lobbying against it."

Kennedy takes on the skeptics of the cost of reform: "I've heard the critics complain about the costs of change. I'm confident that at the end of the process, the change will be paid for—fairly, responsibly, and without adding to the federal deficit. It doesn't make sense to negotiate in the pages of NEWSWEEK, but I will say that I'm open to many options, including a surtax on the wealthy, as long as it meets the principle laid down by President Obama: that there will be no tax increases on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. What I haven't heard the critics discuss is the cost of inaction. If we don't reform the system, if we leave things as they are, health-care inflation will cost far more over the next decade than health-care reform. We will pay far more for far less—with millions more Americans uninsured or underinsured," he writes.

And he argues, the perfect should not be the enemy of the good: "Everyone won't be satisfied—and no one will get everything they want. But we need to come together, just as we've done in other great struggles—in World War II and the Cold War, in passing the great civil-rights laws of the 1960s, and in daring to send a man to the moon. If we don't get every provision right, we can adjust and improve the program next year or in the years to come. What we can't afford is to wait another generation."

The high-stakes battle over healthcare takes today to dueling Internet and radio addresses.

In his weekly address, President Obama tells Americans that the status quo is unacceptable and the chance for fixing healthcare might not come again for years.

"This is an issue that affects the health and financial well-being of every single American and the stability of our entire economy," he says, after a week during which doubts grew in Congress about how to pay for the overhaul, the official budget keeper warned that the legislation would not control public spending on healthcare, and calls became louder for slowing down the process.

"It’s about every family unable to keep up with soaring out of pocket costs and premiums rising three times faster than wages. Every worker afraid of losing health insurance if they lose their job, or change jobs. Everyone who’s worried that they may not be able to get insurance or change insurance if someone in their family has a pre-existing condition.

"This is the system we have today. This is what the debate in Congress is all about: Whether we’ll keep talking and tinkering and letting this problem fester as more families and businesses go under, and more Americans lose their coverage. Or whether we’ll seize this opportunity – one we might not have again for generations – and finally pass health insurance reform this year, in 2009."

Obama also directly takes on his critics, asserting that it's "simply not true" that the overhaul will lead to record government deficits and saying that it's not true that the plan calls for government bureaucrats instead of families picking doctors.

"Finally, opponents of health reform warn that this is all some big plot for socialized medicine or government-run health care with long lines and rationed care. That’s not true either. I don’t believe that government can or should run health care," the president says. "But I also don’t think insurance companies should have free reign to do as they please."

In the Republican response, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona warned about "a government takeover of the healthcare system," new "job-killing taxes" on small businesses, and "rationing" of care.

He also accused Democrats of trying to rush through legislation "because the more Americans know about it, the more they oppose it. Something this important needs to be done right, rather than done quickly."

"Republicans have put forward common-sense ideas, including rooting out Medicare and Medicaid fraud, reforming medical liability laws to discourage frivolous lawsuits, strengthening wellness and prevention programs that encourage healthy living, and allowing small businesses to band together and purchase health insurance like large corporations do," said Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate leadership.

“We know Americans would prefer us to work together to ensure access to affordable quality healthcare for all. But Americans do not want a government takeover of health care that will jeopardize their current coverage, ration care, and create mountains of new debt and higher taxes.

Obama's address can be viewed here, Kyl's can be seen here, and both their remarks are below:

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- President Obama and his family will vacation at Martha's Vineyard during the last week of August, a White House spokesperson told the Globe this afternoon.

"They’ve spent vacation time there before and are looking forward to relaxing together as a family at the end of a very busy summer. We’ll have more details about the exact dates and location at a later date," the spokesperson said.

In the schedule for the weekend and next week issued tonight, the White House confirmed the plans that have been rumored and talked about for weeks.

Folks on the vacation destination off Cape Cod have already been preparing for the Obamas. The Clintons also spent holidays there when they were in the White House.

The White House this afternoon announced three events on President Obama's schedule -- two in the usual ways for Washington, and one via a new web tool.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement that Obama will go to Mexico next month: "The President will travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, August 9-10 to attend the North American Leaders Summit with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The summit meeting will provide an opportunity for the United States, Mexico, and Canada to engage on a broad range of issues, including economic recovery and competitiveness in North America, our shared interest in energy and the environment, and cooperation among our governments to promote the safety and welfare of our citizens, including continued close cooperation to counter the A/H1N1 influenza pandemic."

The White House leaked to the Associated Press that Obama will host the Apollo 11 crew on Monday, the 40th anniversary of man's first landing on the moon. "A senior administration official confirmed the plans to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they had not yet been announced," it reported.

And, for the first time ever, the White House used the social networking site Twitter to announce a primetime news conference -- 9 p.m. on Wednesday. "Primetime presidential news conference at the White House, Wed. 7/22 @ 9PM EDT,” the tweet said.

A Wall Street executive who graduated both from Tufts University and the university's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is President Obama's pick for under secretary of state for economic, energy, and agricultural affairs.

The White House announced this afternoon that Obama is nominating Robert D. Hormats, a vice chairman of Goldman Sachs, to the post.

Obama is also nominating Gary S. Guzy, an environmental professor and businessman, as deputy director of the Office of Environmental Quality; and Lee A. Feinstein, a senior adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, as ambassador to Poland.

“Each of these individuals brings talent, expertise and dedication that will be invaluable for our administration, and I am confident that they will serve the American people well. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead,” the president said in a statement.

The White House-provided mini-biographies are below:

Despite a series of setbacks this week, President Obama declared this afternoon that there has been "unprecedented progress" toward a healthcare overhaul.

In a hastily scheduled, then delayed appearance at the White House designed to reseize momentum on his top domestic priority, Obama urged everyone to "step back" from the "24-hour news cycle."

He spoke a day after the official, nonpartisan bean counter in Congress warned that House Democrats' healthcare bill would increase public spending on healthcare and worsen the federal deficit, adding to the sense that the legislation might be in trouble.

But Obama noted that hospitals and drug companies have pledged givebacks to help pay for the bill, and that the American Medical Association and American Nurses Association endorsed legislation this week. He also asserted that there is broad agreement on major elements of health reform.

"Now we've got to get over the finish line," he said, largely by figuring out how to pay the full cost of health overhaul without adding to the federal deficit.

"The last few miles of any race are the hardest to run," he added, but that doesn't mean slowing down or giving up and he remains "absolutely convinced" that legislation will be passed this year.

It must be passed because if healthcare overhaul isn't done, everyone's health coverage is at risk, the president said.

Obama, who met in recent days with key Senate moderates and Republicans, argued that savings in Medicare and Medicaid, and other efficiencies in the healthcare system would pay for about two-thirds of the cost, estimated at $1 trillion over 10 years.

Obama's chief economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, also made the argument in a speech today defending the administration's economic policies. Summers said the savings projected by the administration are based on wellness and prevention programs that are difficult to figure into the Congressional Budget Office's estimates.

While Obama wants a health overhaul that both extends coverage to the nearly 50 million Americans without insurance and cuts healthcare spending, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the CBO, told a Senate committee Thursday that the legislation drafted so far would fall far short on the second goal.

"We do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for healthcare costs," he said.

Despite that warning, two House committees advanced the Democratic bill early today on party-line votes.

The Ways and Means Committee voted to help pay for the measure by imposing a surtax on higher-income taxpayers to raise $544 billion over 10 years. The vote was 23 to 18, with three Democrats joining all Republicans in opposition, the Associated Press reports. The Education and Labor Committee approved its portion of the bill on a vote of 26-22.

In the Senate, however, a group of six Democrats and Republicans urged the White House to pull back from its schedule to get a bill through Congress before its August recess. "We believe that taking additional time to achieve a bipartisan result is critical," the group wrote in a letter obtained by the AP.

The letter was signed by Democratic Senators Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who usually caucuses with Democrats.

The Massachusetts delegation is now double-teaming Sarah Palin on global warming.

After Senator John F. Kerry lambasted the soon-to-be ex-Alaska governor for ripping Democrats' sweeping climate change bill as a job killer, Representative Edward Markey joined in today.

“I do agree with Palin that there is no shortage of threats to the American economy—and I believe that her strategy of inaction on clean energy and global warming is one of them,” wrote Markey, one of the bill's main authors, on the Daily Beast website.

Markey goes on to write that Palin is ignoring the impact of global warming in her own state -- and blindly proposing more oil drilling and domestic energy production.

"Hailing from Alaska, one would assume the Governor might have noticed the water around her is indeed rising," Markey says.

"No matter how hard she looks, Gov. Palin is not going to find enough oil in Alaska to feed our country’s insatiable appetite for energy," he adds.

"Our plan can only be compared with Palin’s proposals by omission, not commission. Here are the words she chose to omit from her op-ed: wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, efficiency, smart grid, and fuel economy. These are true America solutions to our energy problems. Solutions that will create over 1.7 million new clean energy jobs alone, solutions that will save consumers and businesses millions on electricity bills year after year."

Read the full piece here.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy lauded the Senate for endorsing a bill that he has championed for more than a decade to expand federal hate-crimes laws to protect people attacked because of their sexual orientation or gender.

The bill, named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student who was murdered in 1998, was attached to a defense spending measure expected to pass next week. The House approved a similar hate crimes bill in April and President Obama supports it.

The "action by the Senate finally closes the flagrant loopholes that for too long have prevented effective prosecution of these shocking crimes that terrorize entire groups of communities across America," Kennedy said in a statement. "The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act gives federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities the power they need to combat these brutal acts of domestic terrorism.

"This legislation would not have been possible without the tireless advocacy of Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard, and I commend her for her achievement. The rule of law is stronger in America today because of her."

President Obama's chief economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, is the latest top administration official to defend its efforts to revive the economy, even as unemployment inches toward double digits.

"Though only a half a year ago, the distance we have traveled these past six months is remarkable," Summers said at the Peterson Institute, according to advance excerpts released by the White House. "The economy was in free-fall at the start of the year with no apparent limit on how much worse things could get. Fear was widespread and confidence was scarce.

"We were at the brink of catastrophe at the beginning of the year but we have walked some substantial distance back from the abyss… Substantial progress has been made in rescuing the economy from the risk of economic collapse that looked all too real 6 months ago."

According to federal data released this morning, the jobless rate has already topped 10 percent in 15 states and the District of Columbia, and surpassed 15 percent in Michigan, the first time any state reached that mark since 1984.

Summers argued that rising unemployment does not mean that the $787 billion stimulus package championed by Obama is not working, since the jobless rate lags other indicators of recovery.

Summers, the former Harvard president and treasury secretary, also reiterated Obama's assertions that his policies are not only lifting the country out of recession, but building the foundation for long-term growth.

"To address the deep and severe crisis he inherited, President Obama started from two main premises," he plans to say. "First, the most immediate priority was to rescue the economy by restoring confidence and breaking the vicious cycle of economic contraction and financial failure. Second, the recovery from this crisis would be built not on the flimsy foundation of asset bubbles but on the firm foundation of productive investment and long-term growth.

"The President was clear from the beginning that these two tasks needed to be dovetailed—that confidence in our ability to rescue the economy depended on a sense of our commitment to reform and a vision for rebuilding."

"The rebuilt American economy must be more export-oriented and less consumption-oriented, more environmentally oriented and less fossil-energy-oriented, more bio- and software-engineering-oriented and less financial-engineering-oriented, more middle-class-oriented and less oriented to income growth that disproportionately favors a very small share of the population."

His full remarks are below:

President Obama this morning condemned the hotel bombings in Jakarta that have killed at least six and wounded more than 50, with at least eight Americans among the casualties.

The State Department says none of the Americans suffered life-threatening injuries, according to news reports that also say that suicide bombers who checked in as guests smuggled explosives into the Western luxury hotels to set off the explosions. Two of the suicide bombers were killed, the reports say.

"I strongly condemn the attacks that occurred this morning in Jakarta, and extend my deepest condolences to all of the victims and their loved ones," Obama said in a statement.

"The American people stand by the Indonesian people in this difficult time, and the U.S. government stands ready to help the Indonesian government respond to and recover from these outrageous attacks as a friend and partner.

"Indonesia has been steadfast in combating violent extremism, and has successfully curbed terrorist activity within its borders. However, these attacks make it clear that extremists remain committed to murdering innocent men, women and children of any faith in all countries. We will continue to partner with Indonesia to eliminate the threat from these violent extremists, and we will be unwavering in supporting a future of security and opportunity for the Indonesian people."

Tina Fey's dead-on impersonation of Sarah Palin won her legions of new fans and brought buzz back to "Saturday Night Live."

Now, it could win Fey an Emmy.

Thursday, Fey was nominated for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" for her appearances as the Alaska governor during last year's presidential campaign. (Fey's main gig on "30 Rock" earned a record 22 nominations.)

Fey's turns as Palin not only provided loads of laughs, especially for political junkies. They also helped fix in the minds of voters the image of Palin as "Caribou Barbie," -- personable but not quite ready to be one heartbeat from the presidency.

While Palin initially prompted a burst of enthusiasm for Republican nominee John McCain, polls showed that she ended up being a drag on the ticket.

Still, Palin was a good sport, making a couple of cameo appearances on "SNL."

The nation's first black president told the nation's oldest civil rights organization Thursday night that government and families must work hand-in-hand to improve neighborhoods and that African-Americans must focus more on education to get ahead.

Preaching personal responsibility in an at times fiery sermon, President Obama spoke in New York City to the 100th annual convention of the NAACP, his first speech to a mostly black audience since taking office.

"Government programs alone won't get our children to the Promised Land. We need a new mind set, a new set of attitudes -- because one of the most durable and destructive legacies of discrimination is the way we've internalized a sense of limitation; how so many in our community have come to expect so little from the world and from themselves," the president said.

"We've got to say to our children, yes, if you're African American, the odds of growing up amid crime and gangs are higher. Yes, if you live in a poor neighborhood, you will face challenges that somebody in a wealthy suburb does not have to face. But that's not a reason to get bad grades, that's not a reason to cut class, that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school. No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands -- you cannot forget that. That's what we have to teach all of our children. No excuses. No excuses."

Obama also had a message for parents: "We can't tell our kids to do well in school and then fail to support them when they get home. You can't just contract out parenting. For our kids to excel, we have to accept our responsibility to help them learn. That means putting away the Xbox, putting our kids to bed at a reasonable hour. It means attending those parent-teacher conferences and reading to our children and helping them with their homework."

He added, "It also means pushing our children to set their sights a little bit higher. They might think they've got a pretty good jump shot or a pretty good flow, but our kids can't all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be the president of the United States of America."

But he also said that in 2009, racial prejudice and discrimination is not fully eradicated.

"I understand there may be a temptation among some to think that discrimination is no longer a problem in 2009. And I believe that overall, there probably has never been less discrimination in America than there is today. I think we can say that," he said.

"But make no mistake: The pain of discrimination is still felt in America. By African American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their God. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights."

Obama also paid tribute to the sacrifices and courage of civil rights activists from the NAACP and other groups. "Because of them I stand here tonight, on the shoulders of giants. And I'm here to say thank you to those pioneers and thank you to the NAACP," he said.

Could it be a reprise of the stimulus on healthcare?

There are certainly hints that moderate US senators of both parties could determine the fate of President Obama's agenda yet again.

Obama is holding separate private meetings this morning to discuss healthcare overhaul with Senators Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, and Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat. They are among the senators being targeted by new TV ads, launched by Obama's grassroots organization, that say "it's time" for healthcare reform.

Nelson and Snowe's fellow moderate senator from Maine, Susan Collins, played a key role in negotiations to win Senate approval in February for the $787 billion economic recovery package championed by Obama. The stimulus bill passed the House without a single Republican vote, and the administration's horse-trading focused on satisfying Nelson and Collins, who pushed for a smaller package.

After meeting with Obama, Snowe said the president repeated his wish for Congress to pass a bill before its August recess. "He's determined to have that happen," she said on MSNBC.

But Snowe said it's more important to get bipartisan consensus in the Senate Finance Committee, especially on how to pay for the bill. Supporting a Senate vote in September, she also said she wants to give ample time for all senators and the public to review the bill.

"This deserves a thoughtful process," she said.

Asked about Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus saying today that Obama had hindered his efforts to reach a bipartisan deal by opposing a tax on some employer-provided health insurance benefits to help pay for the deal, Snowe said it would be helpful if Obama endorsed a financing approach.

The panel is "working mightily" to find "offsets" and other savings to reduce the cost of the bill. "It's all part of building a consensus," she said.

Asked to respond to Baucus, deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton told reporters on Air Force One today, "Nobody said it was going to be easy. And there are obviously bumps along the way to getting to final passage of legislation in both the House and the Senate. But we think that we've been able to make a lot of progress. And those comments notwithstanding, this week has been a very great week, if you consider that the House bill and the bill that passed through the HELP Committee are very, very similar. They're about 80 percent exactly the same."

Burton refused to say which version of the healthcare bills the president favors, and said Obama remains hopeful for a bipartisan compromise.

"We're only about midway through this. But he feels very positive about the progress we've been able to make," Burton said. " And once we get something through the House and through the Senate, we'll be able to go to conference and really put the rubber to the road and get something done."

With the power equation in the Senate so tenuous -- just last week Al Franken became the 60th Democratic vote, potentially enough to overcome Republican filibuster -- Snowe and Collins play an outsized role.

Obama and Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts are still holding out hope for a bipartisan deal this year on healthcare.

But those prospects appear to be dimming. The Senate health committee passed its $615 billion plan on a strictly party-line vote on Wednesday.

In the House, little, if any Republican support, is expected in votes planned today in the Education and Labor and the Ways and Means committees on a $1.5 trillion plan that House Democrats presented this week. It would be financed in large measure through a tax surcharge on the highest-income Americans.

"It is extraordinary, the breadth of the bill that is being pushed through and the cost associated with it," Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, told reporters this morning. "And ultimately, really, the cost is going to be borne by the people of this country -- the middle class, the wealthy, those who can least afford it, all of us are going to be paying an astronomical cost at a time that we just cannot afford this ambitious grab."

Obama, who during the campaign proposed paying for healthcare by limiting tax deduction for high earners, has not endorsed a specific financing plan. But on CBS's "Early Show" this morning, he said, "Personally, I think the best way to fund it is for people like myself, who've been very lucky, to pay a little bit more."

UPDATE: Today, the American Medical Association endorsed House Democrat's bill, saying it "includes a broad range of provisions that are key to effective, comprehensive health system reform."

“I am grateful that the doctors of the AMA have chosen to support health insurance reform that will lower costs, expand coverage, and assure choice and quality health care for all Americans. Along with the nation’s nurses, these doctors are joining the chorus of Americans who know that the time to reform what is broken about our health care system is now,” Obama said in a statement.

The insurance industry, however, said it opposes key elements of the bill, saying a government plan "will cause millions of patients to lose their current coverage."

Republicans' star witness against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told the Senate Judiciary Committee this afternoon that an appeals court panel that included Sotomayor treated him unfairly by summarily dismissing his case.

Frank Ricci was the lead plaintiff among white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., who sued the city for reverse discrimination after it threw out results of a promotion exam when not enough minorities scored high enough.

"We sought basic fairness," Ricci said, calling the courts the "last resort" for Americans seeking justice.

He said Americans have the right to have cases decided based on the Constitution and laws, and not what he called "politics and personal feelings."

Sotomayor and two other judges on the Second Circuit issued a brief ruling upholding a lower court's extensive decision that threw out the lawsuit. The Supreme Court last month, on a 5-4 vote, reversed Sotomayor's panel.

Asked repeatedly about the case, Sotomayor said that she followed precedent and that the high court was making new law on employment discrimination.

Liberal groups have pointed out -- to accuse him of hypocrisy -- that Ricci originally was hired after suing under the Americans with Disabilities Act because of his dyslexia.

Testifying this afternoon in uniform, Ricci read his statement, using his right index finger to follow the words. He said that he studied for the promotion exam for hours.

The Harvard Law clique continues to grow in the Obama administration.

The president announced this afternoon that he is nominating Jacqueline A. Berrien as chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"Jacqueline Berrien has spent her entire career fighting to give voice to underrepresented communities and protect our most basic rights. Each of us deserves a fair chance to succeed in our workplace and make a contribution to this nation, and I’m confident that Jacqueline’s passion and leadership will ensure that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is living up to that mission. I look forward to undertaking this important work with Jacqueline in the months and years ahead,” Obama said in a statement.

Like Obama, she is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, according to the biography provided by the White House.

She went on to teach in trial advocacy programs at Harvard and Fordham law schools and as an adjunct professor at New York Law School. She was a program officer in the Ford Foundation’s Peace and Social Justice Program, and since 2004 has been associate director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

With President Obama's goal of a sweeping healthcare bill hanging in the balance, his grassroots group plans a weeklong series of events across the country designed to turn up the heat on Congress.

Organizing for America, Obama's campaign organization now part of the Democratic National Committee, announced this afternoon that it plans door-to-door canvasses, phone banks, roundtable discussions, and community gatherings from Monday through next Sunday, all "designed to build grassroots support for President Obama’s plan and amplify the his call for the House and Senate to pass health care reform bill before the August congressional recess."

The events include door knocks and a phone bank led by State Representative Chris Hamm in Hopkinton, N.H., next Saturday, and signature collecting in Exeter, N.H., next Sunday.

“Presidents since the time of Teddy Roosevelt have called for reform of our health care system - now comprehensive reform is finally within our reach,” Mitch Stewart, the group's director, said in a statement. “The number of Americans who have declared their support for the President’s three principles of reform has been overwhelming and continues to grow each day. During this Week of Action, we’ll continue to build support - person-by-person and block-by-block - for passing a plan this year that lowers costs, guarantees choice – including the choice of a public option and ensures all Americans have access to quality, affordable care.”

The war of words over the economic stimulus is getting louder today in Virginia.

Vice President Joe Biden is in Richmond, the home district of Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House and one of President Obama's harshest, most persistent critics.

Biden plans to blast Cantor, according to the Washington Post. "To those who say that our economic decisions 'have not produced jobs, have not produced prosperity, and simply have not worked, I say, 'Take a look around,' " Biden will say, according to prepared remarks obtained by Post. "I ask those critics, 'Would they not help the states prevent lay off thousands of teachers, firefighters, cops? Would they not give a tax cut to 95 percent of the American people? Would they sit back and do nothing as our economy collapsed?' "

Cantor's office, for its part, is on the case of Tim Kaine, Virginia's governor and Obama's hand-picked chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Kaine sent out a statement today saying that Obama's $787 billion stimulus package -- which not a single House Republican supported -- is sparking a recovery and creating jobs.

"For Governor Kaine's DNC to flatly state that there is an economic recovery misses the current and increasing double-digit unemployment in Richmond and the 8.1% unemployment in Central Virginia. To declare an 'economic recovery' when so many Virginian families are being negatively impacted by this Administrations economic policy is a truly shocking statement that should be retracted," Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said in a statement.

"A stimulus bill should have an immediate economic impact and create real, long term jobs, and this stimulus has not created jobs or fixed our economy."

In this image made from a television broadcast on Tuesday, former Liberian President Charles Taylor addressed the United Nations backed court. (AP Photo/ICC)

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Breaking two and a half decades of silence, former Liberian president and accused war criminal Charles G. Taylor said today that his infamous prison break from the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in 1985 was aided by the US government, addressing for the first time widely circulated conspiracy theories about his return to Liberia.

In the second day of his testimony in his war crimes trial that could settle the long-standing mystery, Taylor said that on the night of Sept. 15, 1985, his maximum-security prison cell was unlocked by a guard and he was escorted to the minimum-security part of the facility.

According to news reports from The Hague, he said he then escaped by tying sheets together and climbing out a window and over a prison fence where he said a car with two men he assumed were agents of the US government drove him to New York, where his wife was waiting with money to get him out of the country.

"I am calling it my release because I didn't break out," Taylor, 61, told the Special Court for Sierra Leone of the episode that has long been alleged to have been orchestrated by the US government. "I did not pay any money, I did not know the guys who picked me up. I was not hiding (afterwards)," Taylor testified in The Hague.

The FBI and other government agencies could not be immediately reached to respond to Taylor's claims, which could not be independently verified. Many observers have suggested that the claims could be designed to change the subject from his alleged war crimes by trying to falsely implicate the United States in his path to power.

Charles E. Waterman, a former CIA officer who briefly worked for Taylor in the 1990s as an international business consultant, said he didn't know whether Taylor's claims about the prison saga are true or not.

"I asked him the question," Waterman said in an interview today. "He didn't want to talk about it at all."

After the prison break, Taylor said he traveled freely in the United States and Mexico before returning to Africa. "My name was on my passport. No-one asked me any questions."

Four other inmates who escaped along with Taylor were soon recaptured.

The escape occurred just days before a Taylor ally, Thomas Quiwonkpa, launched an unsuccessful military coup against the Liberian leader Samuel Doe.

Taylor said in his testimony that he was "100 percent positive" that the Central Intelligence Agency was arming Quiwonkpa.

Doe's government accused Taylor of embezzling money and Taylor was being held in Plymouth pending extradition to face charges in his home country.

Taylor first arrived in the Boston area as a college student in 1972, but returned to Liberia in the early 1980s. He briefly held an economics post in Doe's government but fled back to Massachusetts in 1983 in the face of the embezzlement charges.

After his breakout in Plymouth, Taylor told the court, he recruited 168 men and women for the National Patriotic Front for Liberia and trained them at a former US military base in Libya. His forces eventually attacked Liberia in 1989, sparking a revolution and a bloody reign in which he is accused of arming child soldiers, ordering the killing of civilians and aiding rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in the death of hundreds of thousands of people.

Mitt Romney's political action committee reported today that it raised $1.6 million in the first six months this year, and it handed out $74,274 to state and federal candidates, leaving it with more than $840,000 in the till.

Romney's Free and Strong America PAC, which helps Republican candidates, is the former Massachusetts governor's vehicle to collect chits as he contemplates a possible second presidential bid in 2012.

Among the beneficiaries: $5,000 each from the PAC went to Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, Representative Roy Blunt who is running for US Senate in Missouri, and Jim Tedisco, who lost a close race in a special election in an upstate New York congressional district. It also contributed $1,000 each to the “Undaunted Dozen,” a group of House Republicans targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for their votes against the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

Romney's PAC contributed the maximum $6,800 to Republican Chris Christie’s New Jersey gubernatorial campaign. Today, President Obama is headed to New Jersey to raise money for Democratic Governor Jon Corzine.

And even though it's very early, Romney leads the Republican field for 2012 in a new Gallup Poll out today.

Among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents surveyed July 10-12, Romney gets the support of 26 percent, compared to 21 percent for Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee last year who is resigning as Alaska governor at month's end. Palin's PAC brought in about $733,000 during the first six months of 2009.

Mike Huckabee, who like Romney lost to Senator John McCain for the nomination last year, comes in third at 19 percent, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 14 percent.

But thanks to high name recognition, Palin leads in favorable ratings with 72 percent, compared to 59 percent for Huckabee and 56 percent for Romney.

"Though it is little over a year since the 2008 GOP primaries, Americans' opinions of Romney and Huckabee have changed significantly. Notably, each seems to have lost a significant share of the public familiarity he built up during the campaign. There has been a double-digit increase in the percentage of Americans who do not express either a positive or a negative opinion of both Romney and Huckabee," Gallup says.

It must be a bittersweet time for Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

His most cherished legislative goal -- a healthcare bill that offers universal coverage -- is perhaps closer than ever before.

But his own health -- he is more than a year into treatment for aggressive brain cancer -- is keeping him from being in the thick of the action. He was not present when the Senate health committee became the first congressional panel Wednesday to pass a healthcare overhaul bill.

President Obama, who benefited immensely from Kennedy's endorsement during the Democratic primaries, said on ABC's "Good Morning America" this morning that he had talked to Kennedy last week.

But the president noted that is a difficult time for Kennedy, whom he lauded at a White House healthcare summit in March.

"Obviously, it's painful for Senator Kennedy, who's fought all his life for this moment, not to be there in the heat of battle. But he's there in spirit," Obama said. "Obviously, right now, we just want to make sure that he's taking care of himself and he's healing. But his spirit looms large over this entire process."

Senator John F. Kerry is taking it upon himself to be Democrats' truth-squad leader against Sarah Palin.

After the soon-to-be-ex Alaska governor assailed President Obama's climate change plan as a job killer in an op-ed piece in Tuesday's Washington Post, Kerry hit back with a missive on the Huffington Post website.

Today, Kerry followed up with another piece on Daily Kos, a liberal website. "Coming up in the fall, the US Senate is going to be debating what I think is the most important legislation we’ve considered in a long, long time to tackle global climate change which imperils everything from our economy to our national security," he writes.

"But Governor Sarah Palin and a whole host of others are now leading the effort to ignore the costs of doing nothing and distort the costs of doing something. It’s long overdue for the truth to fight back."

He then proceeds to try to debunk the points Palin made, one by one.

"Palin’s column ignored the entire problem and didn’t even get right the things it did cover," he says. "For example, she said, 'Job losses are so certain under this new cap-and-tax plan that it includes a provision accommodating newly unemployed workers from the resulting dried-up energy sector, to the tune of $4.2 billion over eight years. So much for creating jobs.' "

"This is wrong," Kerry scolds. "The pieces of energy reform legislation are job-creation machines. A joint report by PERI Center for American Progress Report calculated that $150 billion in clean-energy investments would create upwards of 1.7 million jobs.

"I’ll be back throughout the fall with specific things you can do to help, but for now -- keep your eyes and ears open. When you see something in your local paper that’s wrong, let them know you notice. When your friends or family members say something that’s wrong, let them know the truth," implores the Massachusetts Democrat who has made global warming a key issue as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (The full piece is below, and can also be read here.)

Some Kerry backers might wistfully wish he had been as feisty sticking up for himself when the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" attacked his Vietnam War record when he was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee is pointing to an answer that Palin gave during the vice presidential debate last October to accuse her of completely flip-flopping on a key climate change issue.

Asked whether she supports capping carbon emissions, Palin replied, "I do. I do."

"Sarah Palin, with all her new found free time, penned an op-ed in the Washington Post yesterday on capping greenhouse gas emissions where she called cap-and-trade 'an enormous threat,' the DNC said this evening. "Perhaps a better use of her free time would have been to review her own position on cap-and-trade....Palin’s stark reversal on a key position she held as Governor makes one wonder: is Sarah Palin taking a page from Mitt Romney’s playbook?"

Even without him there in person, it was a big day on Capitol Hill for Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

His bill to extend federal hate crimes protections to gays and the disabled made it to the Senate floor with its best prospects since Kennedy, who is fighting brain cancer, first introduced the bill in 1997.

Democrats control both the Senate and House, which passed a version in April, and President Obama supports the legislation as well. The bill, named for Matthew Shepard, the gay Wyoming college student who was beaten to death, would add gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability to current hate crimes law, which applies to acts of violence motivated by prejudice against a person's race, color, national origin, or religion.

Earlier in the day, the Senate health committee became the first congressional panel to pass a healthcare bill this year -- a measure designed to expand insurance coverage, rein in costs, and stop private insurers from discriminating against people based on their medical history.

“This is an historic day for the cause of health care reform that is the cause of Senator Kennedy’s life," Senator John F. Kerry, Kennedy's fellow Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement.

"Each day I work beside Ted Kennedy is an honor, a privilege, and an education in what it means to be a legislator, and of those thousands of days, none have been sweeter or longer in coming than today’s giant step forward in providing affordable healthcare to all Americans. The HELP Committee under Ted and Chris Dodd’s extraordinary guidance passed a plan that will help all those struggling under the weight of mounting costs by encouraging competition and offering a robust public choice that empowers consumers and keeps the big interests honest. The Senate under Ted Kennedy’s leadership is committed to a healthcare plan that drives down costs, strengthens coverage, and preserves personal choice. This is Teddy’s mission, and we’re committed to making his dream a reality.”

The last to question Judge Sonia Sotomayor today was the newest senator and member of the Judiciary Committee, Al Franken.

He started with a soliloquy on how, like Sotomayor, he loved watching "Perry Mason" on TV, though he wondered aloud why she decided to become a prosecutor when the DA always lost.

Sotomayor laughed.

"It was a great show," he said.

The only other time Franken asked questions at a Supreme Court confirmation hearing was not for real, on another TV show actually.

He played the role of Senator Paul Simon during a "Saturday Night Live" skit about the Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991. Anita Hill accused Thomas of sexual harassment, and in the parody, the male senators quizzed him about the best ways to pick up women.

The exchange between Franken as the nerdy Simon and Tim Meadows as Thomas:

Simon: "Well, you know when you walk in the main entrance of the Criminal Justice Building ... there's this receptionist with short brown hair?"

Thomas: "The, uh ... one at the third desk on the left?"

Simon: "No, no. The one at the big, circular desk, uh ... right there in the center there."

Thomas: "Oh, yes -- Sandy."

Simon: "Yes. Sandy. Um ... do you think that she'd go out with me?"

Thomas: "Well, Senator Simon, not knowing your technique, I feel that it would be unfair for me to prejudge your chances with her."

With Congress getting back on track on a healthcare overhaul, President Obama declared this afternoon that "we are now closer to the goal of health reform than we have ever been."

During his foreign trip last week, leaders of the healthcare push ran into a series of roadblocks. But on Tuesday, the House Democratic leadership unveiled a comprehensive bill. And this morning, the Senate health committee passed its version.

"Both proposals will take what’s best about our system today and make it the basis for our system tomorrow -- reducing costs, raising quality, and ensuring fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry," the president said in the Rose Garden.

"Both include a health insurance exchange, a marketplace that will allow families and small businesses to compare prices, services, and quality so they can choose the plan that best suits their needs; and among the choices available would be a public health insurance option that would make healthcare more affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices, and keeping insurance companies honest. Both proposals will offer stability and security to Americans who have coverage today, and affordable options for Americans who don’t," Obama added.

"This progress should make us hopeful -- but it can’t make us complacent. It should instead provide the urgency for both the House and the Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess."

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who is seeking a landmark healthcare bill as the capstone of his legislative career while fighting brain cancer, missed the health committee vote.

Still, Obama praised the "unyielding passion and inspiration" provided by "our friend Ted Kennedy," as well as the "bold leadership" of Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, who has been shepherding the bill in Kennedy's absence.

Taking on critics he described as the "naysayers and the cynics," Obama repeated his argument that the country can't wait to fix the healthcare system, and renewed his vow to sign a comprehensive healthcare bill this year.

"We are going to get this done," said Obama, who was joined by Dodd and leaders of the 2.9-million-member American Nurses Association, saying that "few understand why we have to pass reform as intimately as our nation’s nurses." "It's time for us to buck up.... It’s up to us now. We can do what we’ve done for so long and defer tough decisions for another day -- or we can step up and meet our responsibilities. In other words, we can lead. We can look beyond the next news cycle and the next election to the next generation, and come together to build a system that works not just for these nurses, but for the patients they care for; for doctors and hospitals; for families and businesses -- and for our very future as a nation."

His full prepared remarks are below:

The White House this morning issued its official position on a Pentagon funding bill that is its first showdown with Congress on fixing what it calls a broken Defense Department procurement system.

President Obama categorically threatens to veto the bill only because of one provision -- more money for the F-22 stealth fighter, which was designed for dogfights during the Cold War, but which the Pentagon says is ill-suited to current defense needs.

"The Administration strongly objects to the provisions in the bill authorizing $1.75 billion for seven F-22s in FY 2010. The collective judgment of the Service Chiefs and Secretaries of the military departments determined that a final program of record of 187 F-22s is sufficient to meet operational requirements. As the President wrote in his letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 13, if the final bill presented to him contains this provision, the President will veto it," the White House statement says.

He also objects to the addition of $438.9 million for development of the alternative engine program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and provisions of the bill that mandate an alternative engine program for the JSF. "If the final bill presented to the President would seriously disrupt the F-35 program, the President’s senior advisors would recommend a veto," the White House statement says.

As the Globe reported today, Ashton Carter, a former Harvard professor who is the chief weapons buyer for the Pentagon, is spearheading the procurement reform efforts.

UPDATE: A vote by the full Senate on the amendment to cut the additional F-22 money has been put off, the Associated Press reports.

Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator John McCain, the committee's top Republican, offered the amendent to delete money for seven more planes and avert a veto threat issued by the White House. Levin withdrew the amendment so the Senate can first take up a hate crimes bill, likely pushing the defense bill to next week, the AP says.

The full White House statement is below:

As Congress races to try to get a healthcare overhaul bill to President Obama's desk before the August recess, both political parties are trying to shape public opinion.

Organizing for America, Obama's grassroots group now housed within the Democratic National Committee, released a new 30 second TV ad today in which five people hurt by the healthcare system all say "it's time" for the sweeping change. The five (their stories are below) are among hundreds of thousands of people who responded to the group's call for personal stories.

“Millions of Americans lose their health insurance when they lose their job, are denied care because of a pre-existing condition, and delay care or skip medication because they can’t afford it,” the group's executive director, Mitch Stewart, said in a statement. “Skyrocketing health care costs are hurting American families and straining already-strapped budgets for businesses and governments. It’s time to reform our health care system to lower costs, preserve patient choice and ensure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable care.”

The ad will run on national cable, on cable in Washington, and on local stations in Arkansas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Ohio, calling on moderate senators -- both Republicans and Democrats -- in those states to support the bill.

While Democrats are urging Congress to act, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele asked "why the rush?" in an email today to supporters urging them to get involved.

"The Democrats have learned from their missteps last time they tried to force Americans into a socialized health care system -- the abysmal failure of the Clinton Administration's 'HillaryCare,' " he says. "So now, they are rushing 'Obamacare' through Congress, hoping it avoids the same fate."

Like Clinton's ill-fated plan, Obama and the Democrats -- with a public insurance option -- are seeking government-run healthcare, Steele argues.

"President Obama and Congressional Democrats think government is the solution to every problem. They're wrong," he says. "The government already runs car companies, banks and mortgage companies. Republicans believe that the last thing the American people want is government telling them when and where -- or even whether -- they can get medical treatment for their families.

"You and the RNC are all that stand between our sensible Republican plan for real healthcare reform and the Democrats' scheme to take more of your hard-earned income to pay for other people's health care while limiting yours."

The Senate health committee this morning passed its version of healthcare overhaul on a 13-10 party line vote, the first congressional panel to pass a healthcare bill this session.

Related

Senate health panel
passes overhaul bill

• Healthcare bill offers workers incentive for healthy lifestyle

"We have done the hard work that the American people sent us here to do," Kennedy said in a statement. "We know, however, that our work is not over -- far from it. As we move from our committee room to the Senate floor, we must continue the search for solutions that unite us, so that the great promise of quality affordable health care for all can be fulfilled."

“For the past months, Rhode Islanders have told me that we need to fix health care in this country. I’ve heard from people struggling under skyrocketing costs and fearful that their coverage will disappear; people living with illness or injury because they can’t afford to see a doctor; people suffering from needless, preventable medical errors. All they’re asking for is health care they can rely on, and afford. As of today, we’re one step closer," Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat on the committee, said in a statement.

“The reform bill we passed today will let you keep the health insurance you have, if you like it – and if you can’t afford your coverage or you’re uninsured, you’ll have new choices. Its emphasis on quality improvement, disease prevention, and a public insurance option will mean high-quality, efficient health care that invests not only in treating you when you’re sick, but in keeping you well. And never again will an insurance company be able to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition."

But Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, told reporters that Democrats on the committee had "struck out" on healthcare by passing a bill that leaves millions of Americans uncovered and that could cost workers their jobs by burdening businesses.

He and other Republicans complained that the Democratic majority ignored their proposals and amendments.

On Tuesday, House leaders unveiled a $1.5 trillion healthcare bill that would raise taxes on the highest-income Americans and penalize businesses that don't offer coverage and individuals who don't get insurance.

The House bill calls for federal income surtax starting with individuals making more than $280,000 a year and rising to 5.4 percent on those making more than $1 million a year. Employers who don't provide coverage would be hit with a penalty equal to 8 percent of workers' wages, though small businesses would be exempt. Individuals who skip coverage would pay 2.5 percent of their incomes as a penalty, up to the average cost of a health insurance plan.

President Obama, who is ramping up his push to get a healthcare overhaul bill on his desk before the August congressional recess, has scheduled another speech on healthcare this afternoon in the Rose Garden.

Obama responded to the panel's passage with a statement praising elements that he supports, but as he did when House leaders unveiled their bill without fully endorsing it.

“Today, thanks to the unyielding passion and inspiration provided by Senator Edward Kennedy, the HELP committee he chairs has produced a proposal that will finally lower health care costs, provide better care for patients, and ensure fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry," the president said.

"Like the legislation produced by the House of Representatives, this proposal would offer Americans quality, affordable health care that is there when they need it. No longer will insurance companies be able to deny coverage based on a pre-existing medical condition. No longer will Americans have to worry about their health insurance if they lose their job, change their job, or open a new business.

"This proposal will bring down costs, expand coverage, and increase choice. Through a health insurance exchange, families and small businesses will be able to compare prices and quality so that they can choose the health care plan that best suits their needs. Among the choices that would be available in the exchange would be a public health insurance option that would make health care affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices, and keeping the insurance companies honest.

"This proposal would also control rising costs by investing in preventive care and wellness programs, rooting out waste and fraud in the system, and changing the incentives that automatically equate the most expensive care with the best care.

"When this proposal is combined with other proposals that the Senate Finance Committee is working on, it’s estimated that health reform will cover 97% of all Americans.

"The HELP committee’s success should give us hope, but it should not give us pause. It should instead provide the urgency for both the House and Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess. I want to commend Senator Kennedy, Senator Dodd, as well as Senators Harkin, Mikulski, Bingaman, and Murray on the leadership they’ve shown and the foundation they’ve laid to reform our health care system.”

It's day three of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, and day two of questions and answers, and if Republicans want to derail her nomination to the Supreme Court, they'll have to do better today in knocking her off stride.

In the first day of questioning on Tuesday, Sotomayor bobbed and weaved and ducked to avoid controversy, though she did back away from her controversial 2001 remark that a "wise Latina" could more often reach better judgments than a white male.

The first inquisitor this morning, Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, tried to trip up Sotomayor by citing a 1996 Suffolk University Law review article that conservatives have asserted shows that she is a judicial activist who wants to legislate from the bench.

The article, adapted from a lecture she gave to Suffolk law students in Boston, is entitled “Returning Majesty to the Law and Politics: A Modern Approach.” (Read it here.)

In it, Sotomayor, then a federal district judge, says that, "The law that lawyers practice and judges declare is not a definitive, capital 'L' law that many would like to think exists."

She goes on to say to that confidence in the legal system is hurt because the public "expects the law to be static and predictable."

"The law, however, is uncertain and responds to changing circumstances," she adds. "Our society would be straitjacketed were not the courts with the able assistance of the lawyers, constantly overhauling the law.... Much of the uncertainty of the law is not an unfortunate accident: it is of immense social value."

Sotomayor, not surprisingly, had a different explanation for her remarks than her conservative critics.

She told Cornyn that her speech was given in the context of telling young lawyers to avoid cynicism about the legal system and to be engaged in explaining the law to public. Her point, she said, is that there is social change and Congress is passing laws all the time, and judges have to aware of that.

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Ashton B. Carter, under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, is the Pentagon's top acquisition official -- with oversight of hundreds of billions of dollars in weapons spending and technology research, management of the Pentagon's massive logistics chain, and the development and maintenance of the nation's nuclear arsenal.

The former professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government is currently presiding over the Quadrennial Defense Review, a reassessment of military strategy and hardware priorities, and has management responsibility for the drawdown of military forces in Iraq and the provision of equipment and supplies to US troops flowing into Afghanistan.

Carter sat down with the Globe today for his first interview since being nominated for his post by President Obama in February and on the eve of a key early test of the procurement reform effort -- an amendment offered by Republican Senator John McCain to strip $1.7 billion for seven more F-22 Raptor fighter jets that was added to a defense spending bill despite the fierce objections of the Pentagon and the threat of a presidential veto.

The transcript of the interview is below:

President Obama this afternoon praised the healthcare overhaul bill unveiled by Democratic leaders in the House.

Patterned in significant measure after the 2006 Massachusetts law, it would penalize employers who fail to provide health insurance for their workers and individuals who refuse to obtain coverage.

The legislation would be paid for by a federal income surtax -- up to 5.4 percent on the income of taxpayers making more than $1 million a year -- plus hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts in projected Medicare and Medicaid spending.

Obama urged Congress on Monday to get back on track to send him a bill before its August recess, after healthcare legislation went off the rails over disagreements on financing during the week he was abroad.

But in his statement, he did not endorse the surtax as a way to pay for healthcare.

"For decades, Washington failed to act as healthcare costs continued to rise, crushing businesses and families and placing an unsustainable burden on governments. But today, key committees in the House of Representatives have engaged in unprecedented cooperation to produce a health care reform proposal that will lower costs, provide better care for patients, and ensure fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House this afternoon.

"This proposal controls the skyrocketing cost of health care by rooting out waste and fraud and promoting quality and accountability. Its savings of more than $500 billion over 10 years will strengthen Medicare and contribute to our goal of reforming health care in a fiscally responsible way. It will change the incentives in our health care system so that Americans can receive the best care, not the most expensive care. And it will offer families and businesses more choices and more affordable health care," he added.

"This proposal will also prevent insurance companies from denying people coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition. It will ensure that workers can still have health insurance if they lose their job, change their job or start a new business. And it includes a health insurance exchange that will allow families and small businesses to compare prices and quality so they can choose the health care plan that best suits their needs. Among the choices that would be available in the exchange would be a public health insurance option that would make health care affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices, and keeping the insurance companies honest.

"The House proposal will begin the process of fixing what’s broken about our health care system, reducing costs for all, building on what works, and covering an estimated 97% of all Americans. And by emphasizing prevention and wellness, it will also help improve the quality of health care for every American.

"I thank Chairmen Rangel, Waxman, and Miller for their hard work on this bill that fundamentally reforms the health care system. As this process moves forward, I look forward to continuing to work with all House members in ensuring this legislation helps all Americans and plays an essential role in reducing deficits and bringing fiscal sustainability to our nation.”

UPDATE: Critics say the well-off are being unfairly targeted and would be discouraged from making more money and creating jobs.

The Tax Foundation calculates if the House plan became law, taxpayers in 39 states would face a combined top tax rate of more than 50 percent. Residents of Rhode Island (56.2 percent) and Vermont (55.8 percent) would be among the hardest hit.

"That means government would be taking more than half of every additional dollar from high-income taxpayers," Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge said in a statement.

The House proposal would impose a surtax of 1 percent on married couples with adjusted gross incomes of between $350,000 and $500,000 a year and singles who earn between $280,000 and $400,000; 1.5 percent on couples with incomes between $500,000 and $1 million and singles earning between $400,000 and $800,000; and 5.4 percent on couples earning more than $1 million and singles more than $800,000.

In her post-governor life, Sarah Palin apparently wants to be a serious policy analyst, as well as GOP heavyweight, mother, etc.

In an op-ed piece in today's Washington Post, she critiques the energy plan that President Obama and Democratic allies in Congress are pushing through.

Complaining that "many in the national media would rather focus on the personality-driven political gossip of the day than on the gravity" of the recession and job losses, she declares that "at risk of disappointing the chattering class, let me make clear what is foremost on my mind and where my focus will be:

"I am deeply concerned about President Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan, and I believe it is an enormous threat to our economy. It would undermine our recovery over the short term and would inflict permanent damage," writes Palin, who stunned the chattering class by announcing July Fourth weekend that she is resigning at the end of the month with 18 months left in her term.

In late June, the House -- on a narrow 219-212 vote -- approved a sweeping energy bill that is designed to curb global warming pollution and encourage clean energy. It includes the so-called cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions and create pollution permits that could be bought and sold.

"American prosperity has always been driven by the steady supply of abundant, affordable energy. Particularly in Alaska, we understand the inherent link between energy and prosperity, energy and opportunity, and energy and security. Consequently, many of us in this huge, energy-rich state recognize that the president's cap-and-trade energy tax would adversely affect every aspect of the US economy.

"There is no denying that as the world becomes more industrialized, we need to reform our energy policy and become less dependent on foreign energy sources. But the answer doesn't lie in making energy scarcer and more expensive! Those who understand the issue know we can meet our energy needs and environmental challenges without destroying America's economy."

As the Republican vice presidential candidate last year, one of her biggest applause lines was "Drill, baby drill" -- a clarion call to increase domestic energy production in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"We must move in a new direction," Palin argues in the op-ed. "We are ripe for economic growth and energy independence if we responsibly tap the resources that God created right underfoot on American soil. Just as important, we have more desire and ability to protect the environment than any foreign nation from which we purchase energy today.

"For so many reasons, we can't afford to kill responsible domestic energy production or clobber every American consumer with higher prices," she concludes. "Can America produce more of its own energy through strategic investments that protect the environment, revive our economy and secure our nation? Yes, we can. Just not with Barack Obama's energy cap-and-tax plan."

While she is very circumspect in talking about her political ambitions -- she is in the conversation for the 2012 presidential race -- a new CBS News poll found that most Americans believe she is resigning to boost her political career, not to help her state, which she said was distracted by her battles against the Democratic legislature and ethics investigations.

According to the survey, 24 percent accepted Palin's explanation that she resigned because it was the right thing to do for Alaska, while 52 percent cited her political ambition.

UPDATE: Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, who has made climate change a key issue as the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, penned an acidly worded response to Palin.

Published on the Huffington Post website, Kerry's response accuses Palin of ignoring the threat of global warming.

"Unfortunately, her promise to roll up her sleeves and tackle serious issues is followed by a column that focuses on everything but the single grave challenge that forms the basis of all of our actions: the crisis of global climate change," he writes.

"Yes, she manages to write about the climate change action in Congress without ever mentioning the reason we are doing this in the first place. It's like complaining about the cost of repairing a roof without factoring in the leaks destroying your home."

Kerry goes on to cite a May 2007 New York Times story about the impact of global warming on Alaska. “The earth beneath much of Alaska is not what it used to be. The permanently frozen subsoil, known as permafrost, upon which Newtok and so many other Native Alaskan villages rest, is melting, yielding to warming air temperatures and a warming ocean," it says.

Kerry also says that by focusing on the economic impact of the energy bill, Palin ignores the military and national security issues involved in climate change.

"We can't afford to ignore this reality - in an op-ed column or in our public debate over an entire piece on legislation designed to meet these challenges. An op-ed on Guantanamo policy that fails to acknowledge the existence of terrorists would not be taken seriously. Neither should an op-ed on energy reform that fails to mention the irrefutable reality of climate change," he writes.

"To get this right, we need an honest debate that focuses on the real issues. Both Democrats and Republicans will be better off if Governor Palin joins the debate we need to have--one about climate change as well as energy security--rather than leaving so many important details on the editing room floor."

President Obama landed this afternoon in Michigan -- the state with the nation's highest unemployment rate at 14 percent -- to reassure Americans that better days are ahead, and to talk about the importance of education to grow the economy.

He spoke at Macomb Community College -- a common stop for politicians ever since Ronald Reagan embraced white, blue-collar Democrats to create "Reagan Democrats" -- and declared that "the hard truth is that some of the jobs that have been lost in the auto industry and elsewhere won’t be coming back. They are casualties of a changing economy.

"And that only underscores the importance of generating new businesses and industries to replace the ones we’ve lost, and of preparing our workers to fill the jobs they create. For even before this recession hit, we were faced with an economy that was simply not creating or sustaining enough new, well-paying jobs," he said, according to prepared remarks released by the White House.

Obama announced a new initiative to strengthen community colleges in their role of training workers for new jobs.

"Time and again, when we have placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result – by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce.

"That is why, at the start of my administration I set a goal for America: by 2020, this nation will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world…Today, I am announcing the most significant down payment yet on reaching this goal in the next ten years. It’s called the American Graduation Initiative. It will reform and strengthen community colleges from coast to coast so that they get the resources students and schools need – and the results workers and businesses demand. Through this plan, we seek to help an additional five million Americans earn degrees and certificates in the next decade."

(The full prepared remarks and White House release are below.)

UPDATE: Senator Edward M. Kennedy, chairman of the Senate education committee, praised Obama's community college push.

“I commend President Obama for this major initiative to enable many more Americans to obtain the education and training they need to succeed in our modern economy," Kennedy said in a statement. "Community colleges in Massachusetts and across the country are putting millions of students on the path to a college degree. They are also offering millions of other Americans the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge they need for family-sustaining jobs. Congress should include this important initiative in the higher education legislation we pass this year.”

Earlier today, Obama told reporters that he doesn't have a "crystal ball" on the jobs picture, but does expect the unemployment rate to rise before topping out. Many economists expect the national rate, now 9.5 percent, will reach double digits.

"Even after you start moving into a recovery, positive growth, hiring typically lags for some time after that. That's been the historic norm," he added. "Now, this has been a more severe recession than we've seen since the Great Depression, so how employment numbers are going to respond is not yet clear. My expectation is, is that we will probably continue to see unemployment tick up for several months. And the challenge for this administration is to make sure that even as we are stabilizing the financial system, we understand that the most important thing in the economy is, are people able to find good jobs that pay good wages."

(His full comments on the economy are below.)

All eyes -- well at least those of baseball fans -- will be on President Obama tonight.

Will he throw a strike with the ceremonial first pitch at the All-Star game in St. Louis?

Obama told reporters this morning that he has been practicing, in hopes of avoiding the embarrassment of bouncing it up there well short of the plate.

He didn't have to say that that image would hand his critics a gift -- an image of failure that they could recycle into ads asserting that his healthcare plan, energy plan, you name it, was falling short, a wild pitch, just a little outside, or whatever sports cliche they could think of.

"I think it's fair to say I wanted to loosen up my arm," the president -- a lefty who is more of a hoops player -- said at an availability after meeting with the prime minister of the Netherlands.

According to the press pool report, Obama said he has been thinking back to when he threw out the first pitch at a 2005 Chicago White Sox game.

"I just wanted to keep it high," he said. "Now, there was no clock on it, I don't know how fast it went. If it exceeded 30 miles per hour, I'd be surprised. But it did clear the plate."

If they were in a courtroom, not a congressional hearing room, the senators would get slapped for asking leading questions -- the kind with lengthy preambles crafted to produce a particular answer that they want.

But in this case, the judge -- Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor -- is their captive witness, and the Senate Judiciary Committee members can ask basically anything they want, in whatever way strikes their fancy.

As day two of Sotomayor's confirmation hearing begins this morning, Republican opponents will fire pointed questions accusing her of allowing her ethnicity to color her judgment and seeking to trip her up -- perhaps even prompt one of those "Perry Mason" moments where she admits fault.

Democratic supporters, on the other hand, will lob softballs designed to let her portray herself as a moderate jurist devoted to the law and deeply respectful of precedent.

Exhibit A of how the questioning will play out: After saying that Sotomayor's opening statement on Monday -- in which she pledged "fidelity" to the law -- went "a long way to answering your critics and the naysayers," Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy made the first query: What qualities should a judge should have?

Sotomayor replied that above all, a judge should respect the Constitution, should understand the limited powers of the courts, and interpret the law as it exists.

Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, then asked about her work as a New York prosecutor, quoting glowing praise from colleagues.

Sotomayor said her early work shaped her career by introducing her to the impact of the law on real life and real people -- not the hypotheticals in law school.

Leahy then gave Sotomayor to address, in her own words, two of the biggest controversies surrounding her nomination.

First, he gave Sotomayor an opportunity to talk about her ruling as part of an federal appeals court panel rejecting a lawsuit by white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., claiming reverse discrimination when the city threw out a promotion test because two few minorities scored high enough to advance.

Sotomayor asserted that she was following precedent and established law, while the Supreme Court, in reversing her decision, applied a new standard.

Leahy also let Sotomayor address her controversial 2001 remark that a "wise Latina" could often reach a better decision than a white male judge. Conservative commentators have unfairly accused her of racism and she has not had a chance to respond, he said: "Here's your chance."

Sotomayor said the context of her remarks was a series of speeches in which she was trying to inspire women and Latinos considering legal careers that they would enrich the legal system. "I don't think there's a quarrel with that in our society," she said.

She said there has been a "misunderstanding" of her remarks, and to clear it up she wanted to state unequivocally that no ethnic group has an advantage in sound judgment, and every ethnic group has an equal opportunity to be good judge.

Senator Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican on the committee and the first of his party to get to pose questions, prefaced his first query by saying that Sotomayor's judicial philosophy -- which he described as a judge's background influencing decisions -- goes against the "American ideal" about treating everyone equally and putting aside personal prejudices.

Sessions said he was troubled by not just one sentence, but her "body of thought," and asked directly whether personal experiences should play a role in decisions.

"Never their prejudices," Sotomayor answered, also saying that her remarks had been taken out of context.

Each judge has their own life experience and it influences who they are, she said -- "We're not robots" -- but judges have to recognize their potential biases, set them aside, and be impartial.

Sessions argued that her answer directly contradicted what she had said in the past.

"No sir," Sotomayor replied, adding that she has never let her personal sympathies get in the way of impartiality.

In his first major appearance as US senator, Al Franken was humble and solicitous in his opening statement at Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

He praised the leadership of committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and pledged to Jeff Sessions, the top Republican, to follow the example of the late Paul Wellstone in working across the aisle

Franken, who was sworn in last week as Minnesota's junior senator after a protracted legal battle over the November election, said he watched nomination hearings over the years as a private citizen, and like many Americans, learned about the Constitution and the role of the courts.

"I may not be a lawyer, but neither are the vast majority of Americans," but all Americans are affected by the high court's decisions, he said.

Franken, a former comedian, said he opposes judicial activism as well, but it's the conservatives on the Supreme Court who are guilty of it these days.

He also noted that Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who stepped aside from the judiciary panel to focus on a healthcare overhaul as he battles brain cancer, was not at a confirmation hearing for the first time since 1965.

"We do miss his presence," Franken said.

UPDATE: Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said he missed Kennedy as well, along with Joe Biden, now the vice president.

"I miss the bombast," Hatch told the Globe's Susan Milligan. "They added a lot of spirit to the Supreme Court nomination hearings. I'll tell you, I miss them both.

"Ted is such an institution...the leading liberal member in the history of the Senate, a person who can spew out bombast, but also someone who has a great sense of humor -- he can defuse problems" Hatch added.

The man whose name became a verb -- for how to trash and defeat a Supreme Court nominee -- has some simple advice for Sonia Sotomayor.

"Don't lose your temper," Robert Bork says in an interview airing tonight on CNN.

"If she just maintains an even emotional temper, she'll be confirmed easily," he adds.

Bork didn't do as well following that advice before the Senate rejected his nomination in 1987 by the widest margin ever -- 58 to 42 -- after combative confirmation hearings. To be "borked" entered the political lexicon.

"I think I could have been more intelligent in my approach and more aware of what was taking place," Bork says in the interview with Campbell Brown, according to advance excerpts released by CNN . "I kept responding to questions as if it was a rational discussion, which it wasn't. And I think I would have taken that into account more if I were to do it over again."

Bork also says that Sotomayor's 2001 comment that a "wise Latina" judge could reach better decisions than white male jurist should not be enough to disqualify her "unless we're enforcing stricter standards than we have been enforcing."

"I don't think what she said is consistent with the job of a judge," he adds. "On the other hand, the woods are full of people out there who are making remarks which are not consistent with their role as judges."

He also agrees with the conventional wisdom that Sotomayor would not tip the ideological balance of the court, since if confirmed she would replace David Souter, who turned out to be more liberal than Republican President George H.W. Bush expected.

"I've heard it said by one colleague of hers that she would prove to be slightly to the left of David Souter. But there's not much room to the left of David Souter," Bork says. "So I don't think her replacement of Souter does anything except ensure a liberal vote...that won't change the court today, but it will entrench a liberal bloc on the court."

One of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's biggest advantages in her path to the Supreme Court could be US senators' predilection for speechifying, their love of hearing themselves talk.

The hearing is starting this morning with opening statements from each of the 19 Senate Judiciary Committee members -- 12 Democrats and seven Republicans -- if they want to make them.

And even when they start questioning Sotomayor on Tuesday, their queries will be prefaced by the recitation of talking points, even some grandstanding.

But the more the senators talk, the fewer opportunities she'll have to slip up or say something controversial that could provide an opening to her opponents.

Without a major mistake, most observers agree that she will be confirmed, noting that Democrats are in firm control of the judiciary panel and the full Senate, that Sotomayor boasts the American Bar Association's highest rating and the backing of the several law enforcement groups, and that she has been easily confirmed twice before to the federal bench.

And Democrats are already warning their Republican colleagues to lay off what they describe as personal attacks.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, besides extolling Sotoamyor's "truly American story," urged committee members to avoid the kinds of questions and to resist the entreaties of outside advocacy groups who are trying to create a "caricature" of her.

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican and the second to speak, pledged a respectful tone and serious discussion of the issues. But then he embarked on a cautionary litany of federal judges pushing their personal and political agendas and corrupting the legal system.

Sessions specifically cited President Obama's statements that he wanted a high court justice with "empathy," asserting that that will lead to a liberal, activist judge.

And he cited Sotomayor's ruling against white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., who accused the city of reverse discrimination, arguing that empathy for one group of firefighters meant prejudice toward another.

UPDATE: After the day's proceedings, the liberal Alliance for Justice praised Sotomayor and blasted her Republican critics.

"Judge Sotomayor’s moving and thoughtful opening statement promises more insight to come from the judge as the meat of the hearing, the questioning, gets under way. Like her record, Judge Sotomayor’s statement reflects a commitment to the rule of law and core constitutional values," the group's president, Nan Aron, said in a statement.

“There were few surprises today. As predicted, Republicans used the hearing not to explore and discuss Judge Sotomayor’s impressive 17-year record, but instead attempted to score political points by dwelling on hot button political issues. “Tomorrow, Judge Sotomayor finally gets the opportunity not just to respond to her critics, but, more importantly, to share with the American people her story, her qualifications and her understanding of the law.”

President Obama, seeking to regain the upper hand on the economy, issued a new report this morning on the "jobs of tomorrow" -- even as the jobs of today keep disappearing.

His Council of Economic Advisers released the report, titled "Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow," that is an overview of how the US labor market is expected to develop over the next few years. The report (read it here) discusses the skills and training that will likely be needed for the growing occupation categories, and the education and training system needed to prepare people for those jobs.

As the unemployment rate heads north of 10 percent nationally, Obama is defending the $787 billion economic stimulus plan he championed, asking Americans for patience. He made that case in his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday and in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post on Sunday, and is expected to make it again during a public event in Warren, Mich., on Tuesday.

In an unusual move, the White House today sent out an official release citing news reports challenging the facts used by Republican critics of the stimulus.

Such counterattacks are typically left to Democratic Party groups or friendly advocacy organizations. (The full release is below.)

UPDATE: Obama also huddled this afternoon with labor leaders, some of his most loyal and important allies.

"Today's meeting with President Obama and leaders in the union movement was a critical opportunity to share and discuss issues impacting working people, including jobs, health care, and the Employee Free Choice Act," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said in a statement afterwards. "President Obama has always been a friend to the union movement, and the meeting emphasized his continued support on issues important to working people. We look forward to continuing to work with the president to build an economy that works for everyone.

By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- There were broad smiles and an overall feeling of goodwill when Sonia Sotomayor entered a filled-to-capacity Senate hearing room today.

As news cameras clicked, several senators approached the table where she sat, offering good wishes and good luck.

Everyone, it seems, was mindful -- and respectful -- of the fact that history was about to unfold, with the opening of confirmation hearings for the first Hispanic nominee ever selected for the nation's highest court, and President Obama's first chance to shape perhaps the most country's most powerful institution.

Several Democrats, and some Republicans, said that her up-from-poverty life story epitomizes the American dream, others called her a prime candidate to smash a Supreme Court color barrier, and several spectators in the gallery wore "Confirm her!" stickers issued by the local National Organization for Women chapter.

But it took less than half an hour for Republicans, led by Senator Jeff Sessions, to make opening statements pummelling her record and quoting "troubling" remarks she has made about race and the law. Democrats countered with sharp defenses, pointing to what they called her "even-handed" record and impressive credentials.

Both sides raised old grievances, including warrantless wiretapping under the Bush administration's war on terror and Democrats' filibuster of President Bush's judicial nominees.

Minutes later, an anti-abortion protester shot from his seat in the gallery: "What about abortion? Stop the genocide! Stop the murder!" he yelled before being removed from the hearing room. The hearing was interrupted two other times by anti-abortion protestors.

Through it all, Sotomayor -- seated alone at a table, appearing attentive and impassive through both praise and criticism -- patiently waited for her turn to speak.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor declared this afternoon that while her professional and personal experience -- what she described as her "uniquely American" life -- help her "listen and understand" those who appear before her, the law decides how she rules.

"In the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make law -- it is to apply the law," she told senators weighing her nomination to the nation's highest court in remarks aimed to counter critics who say she would be an activist judge who believes a "wise Latina" can issue better rulings than a white man.

"And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms; interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress’s intent; and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and my Circuit Court," she added. "In each case I have heard, I have applied the law to the facts at hand."

Sotomayor's opening statement was brief -- just 13 paragraphs focused on her life history -- and was apparently designed to avoid any controversy and to deprive any ammunition to her opponents, who will have to wait to question her on Tuesday.

Her full prepared remarks are below:

In the aftermath of the November election, President Obama and Republican foe John McCain pledged to work together for the good of the country.

At the moment, the issue that is bringing them together is the F-22 fighter -- more specifically, how to cut the program.
As the Globe reported on Sunday, Democrats, including some from New England, are fighting the president, trying to preserve the F-22 program to save local jobs.

Today, McCain sought to eliminate $1.75 billion in the proposed 2010 defense budget for more of the fighter jets, the Associated Press reports.

The Arizona Republican, along with Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, filed an amendment to cut the extra money for seven more F-22s. The full Senate may vote on the defense spending bill this week, the AP says, after the House last month voted to include a $369 million installment for 12 more.

The White House is threatening to veto a Pentagon budget bill that includes additional fighters. "We do not need these planes," Obama wrote McCain and Levin today. "To continue to procure additional F-22s would be to waste valuable resources that should be more usefully employed to provide our troops with weapons that they actually do need."

President Obama didn't page Dr. Gupta to be his surgeon general, instead tapping a family doctor from rural Alabama.

He announced this morning he will ask the Senate to confirm Dr. Regina Benjamin for the post, a bully pulpit for public health that has become less visible since C. Everett Koop, who served from 1982 to 1989.

Obama said she Benjamin has ample credentials to be the chief spokesperson for public health -- and more importantly the commitment and empathy that she has shown by staying in her rural health clinic that serves shrimpers who can't afford healthcare.

Benjamin, he said, has seen first hand and up close many of the flaws of the current healthcare system and represents what is best about doctors who will do anything to heal the sick.

Benjamin, 51, said she has personal experience, listing family members who have died from chronic conditions and preventable diseases including diabetes, AIDS, and lung cancer caused by smoking.

She said while she can't change her family's health, she can be a voice for improved public health.

Sanjay Gupta, the high-profile chief medical correspondent for CNN, was under consideration for the post, but withdrew his name in March, citing family and career concerns.

While Benjamin isn't as well-known in the wider public, she did earn notice for rebuilding her nonprofit medical clinic after Hurricane Katrina, won a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" last year, and became the first black woman and the youngest doctor elected to the American Medical Association's board.

(The full remarks of Benjamin and Obama are below, followed by the White House release.)

Obama also used the Rose Garden ceremony to put in another plug for his healthcare overhaul plan, which has run into a series of roadblocks in Congress in recent weeks.

He insisted, however, that reform is closer than ever, but said he has "no illusions" that it will be difficult to get across the finish line. But he said that an overhaul is needed, and accused his critics of "small thinking."

"This is no longer a problem we can wait to fix," he said.

Citing what he called "chatter" from "naysayers" that emerged during his trip to Europe and Africa last week, he said he wanted to put everyone on notice: "We are going to get this done."

The Democratic Party is doing its darndest to support a Democratic president's first Supreme Court nominee since Bill Clinton put Stephen Breyer on the high court in 1994.

This morning, just before Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing begins before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine issued videos in English and Spanish lauding her credentials.

“Judge Sotomayor is one of the most qualified candidates ever nominated to the Court. She would bring more federal judicial experience than any justice in 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed in the past seventy,” Kaine says in the videos. “She will replace retiring Justice David Souter as the only member of the court with experience as a trial judge.”

“Judge Sotomayor has been a big-city prosecutor and a corporate litigator, a federal trial judge and an appellate judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals,” he adds. “She’s worked at almost every level of our judicial system – yielding a depth of experience and a breadth of perspectives that will be invaluable on our highest court.

The DNC has mobilized its grassroots machine on Sotomayor's behalf, urging supporters to call their senators and write their local newspapers. Some have submitted snapshots of themselves holding "I Stand with Sotomayor" posters in places including Fenway Park.

Kaine, who is governor of Virginia, calls the confirmation hearings a "big and important event" for the Senate and nation.

“She’s been hailed as one of the most able judges of her generation - cited for her intellectual prowess, her discipline, commitment, and integrity," he says of Sotomayor. "People around the country are enthusiastically behind her nomination – Democrats and Republicans, law enforcement officials, the legal community and academia – there's no doubt President Obama picked the right person for the job.”

But not all Republicans are enamored of Sotomayor, who has 17 years on the federal bench and would become the first Hispanic on the high court.

"I think philosophically her statements indicate an approach to judging that is outside the mainstream," Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the judiciary panel, said this morning on CBS's "Early Show."

Breyer, along with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, nominated by Clinton in 1993, are the only members of the nine-justice court appointed by a Democrat.

To Democrats' defense the Sotomayor is a moderate, Sessions asserted this morning that Ginsburg has been far more activist on the court than her record suggested.

Hispanic advocacy groups are also heavily involved, noting the history that could be made if Sotomayor joins the court.

The National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, released a letter this morning it sent to Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and to Sessions urging a swift confirmation.

“Given her extraordinary life story, her experience, her reputation for excellence, and her continuing connection to the Latino community, we urge her prompt confirmation by the Senate,” writes the group's president and CEO, Janet Murguía.

The full letter is below:

Facing growing public unease about his handling of the economy, President Obama takes his weekly Internet and radio address to defend the $787 billion stimulus package he championed.

It is doing exactly what it was designed to -- stop the bleeding by slowing job losses, start reviving the economy, deliver tax relief to the middle class, and lay the groundwork for badly needed reform, he asserts.

"The Recovery Act wasn’t designed to restore the economy to full health on its own, but to provide the boost necessary to stop the free fall," he says. "It was designed to spur demand and get people spending again and cushion those who had borne the brunt of the crisis. And it was designed to save jobs and create new ones."

He counsels patience, cautioning against those already calling for a second stimulus package.

"I realize that when we passed this Recovery Act, there were those who felt that doing nothing was somehow an answer," he says. "Today, some of those same critics are already judging the effort a failure although they have yet to offer a plausible alternative. Others believed that the recovery plan should have been even larger, and are already calling for a second recovery plan.

"But, as I made clear at the time it was passed, the Recovery Act was not designed to work in four months – it was designed to work over two years. We also knew that it would take some time for the money to get out the door, because we are committed to spending it in a way that is effective and transparent. Crucially, this is a plan that will also accelerate greatly throughout the summer and the fall. We must let it work the way it’s supposed to, with the understanding that in any recession, unemployment tends to recover more slowly than other measures of economic activity," he adds.

During his weeklong trip to Europe and Africa that wraps up today, attacks grew louder on the stimulus, polls showed declining confidence in his job performance on the economy, and numbers showed continuing steep job losses.

In his address, Obama claims accomplishments abroad, but seeks to reassure Americans that he's focused on the homefront, that he will get federal budget deficits under control even as he tries to pass landmark legislation on healthcare and clean energy, and to remind the public of the depth of the economic crisis he inherited in January.

"We came into office facing the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression," he says. "At the time, we were losing, on average 700,000 jobs a month. And many feared that our financial system was on the verge of collapse. As a result of the swift and aggressive action we took in the first few months of this year, we’ve been able to pull our financial system and our economy back from the brink."

"I said when I took office that it would take many months to move our economy from recession to recovery and ultimately to prosperity," he adds. "We are not there yet, and I continue to believe that even one American out of work is one too many. But we are moving in the right direction. We are cleaning up the wreckage of this storm. And we are laying a firmer, stronger foundation so that we may better weather whatever future storms may come. This year has been and will continue to be a year of rescuing our economy from disaster."

The full text is below, and the video of the address can be viewed here.

President Obama said today he still hopes that Congress can vote on a healthcare overhaul bill before its August recess, despite a series of setbacks this week for his top domestic priority.

House leaders hoped to unveil their bill today, but have put that off until at least Monday while they try to bring conservative Democrats, known as the Blue Dog Coalition, back into the fold. Democrats in both the House and Senate are scrambling to come up with a way to pay the estimated $1 trillion cost over the next decade.

UPDATE: In the latest approach to financing the overhaul, House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel told reporters this afternoon that the House bill to be unveiled on Monday would raise $540 billion over the next decade by imposing a 1 percent surtax on Americans with an annual income of more than $350,000. A higher surtax is proposed for people earning $500,000 and $1 million, he said.

Combined with savings promised by hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, including cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, the tax revenue is designed to be enough to pay for a bill costing about $1 trillion.

"Our team is working with members of Congress every day on this issue, and it is my highest legislative priority over the next month," Obama told reporters at the close of the G-8 summit in Italy.

He insisted that Washington is closer "at any time in recent history" to "achieving serious health care reform that cuts costs, provides coverage to American families, allows them to keep their doctors and plans that are working for them."

As both parties and both chambers work through the legislation, the president said, his job is to set "clear parameters" -- cutting costs, emphasizing prevention, covering the nearly 50 million uninsured, and doing it in a way that does not add to the federal deficit.

"There are going to be some tough negotiations in the days and weeks to come, but I'm confident that we're going to get it done," Obama added. "What I'm trying to keep focused on are the people out in states all across the country that are getting hammered by rising premiums. They're losing their jobs and suddenly losing their healthcare."

His full answer at the news conference is below:

In his meeting with Pope Benedict XVI today, President Obama asked him to pray for Senator Edward M. Kennedy and delivered a personal letter from the ailing senator.

White House national security aide Denis McDonough told reporters traveling with Obama that the president's discussion with the pope concluded with a talk about Kennedy, who is battling brain cancer.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that as Air Force One lifted off , Obama phoned Kennedy and they spoke for about 10 minutes.

Asked about the letter, Gibbs replied, "The contents of the letter were not known to anybody that I know of except Senator Kennedy."

UPDATE: Kennedy's office declined to release the letter, saying it is private.

The first African-American president will arrive later today for his first visit to Africa. So understandably, there is quite a bit of buzz.

In Ghana, his public schedule on Saturday includes meeting Ghana's president at Christianborg Castle in Accra, then attending an event on maternal health at La General Hospital, and speaking to the Ghanaian parliament. Obama and Michelle Obama will travel to Cape Coast, where they will meet with Head Chief Osabarima Kwesi Atta II at his residence.

Obama's father was Kenyan, though he was raised by his Kansas-born mother. At the G-8 summit in Italy, Obama related his own family history as he pushed for more aid so that African countries can combat hunger and become self-sufficient in food.

"My father traveled to the United States a mere 50 years ago and yet now I have family members who live in villages -- they themselves are not going hungry, but live in villages where hunger is real," he said at the closing news conference today. "And so this is something that I understand in very personal terms, and if you talk to people on the ground in Africa, certainly in Kenya, they will say that part of the issue here is the institutions aren't working for ordinary people. And so governance is a vital concern that has to be addressed.

"Now keep in mind -- I want to be very careful -- Africa is a continent, not a country, and so you can't extrapolate from the experience of one country. And there are a lot of good things happening," he added. "Part of the reason that we're traveling to Ghana is because you've got there a functioning democracy, a President who's serious about reducing corruption, and you've seen significant economic growth.

"So I don't want to overly generalize it, but I do want to make the broader point that a government that is stable, that is not engaging in tribal conflicts, that can give people confidence and security that their work will be rewarded, that is investing in its people and their skills and talents, those countries can succeed, regardless of their history."

The White House put out a list of events being held in conjunction with Obama's speech by US embassies across Africa, below:

New poll results out today suggest that public support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor may have dipped, just before her confirmation hearings begin Monday.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found that 47 percent of Americans want the Senate to confirm Sotomayor, while 40 percent do not and the remaining 13 percent have no opinion.

Those numbers are far more divided than the most recent justices to join the court -- Samuel Alito (54 percent in favor, 30 against) and John Roberts (60 percent versus 26 percent) -- just before their confirmation hearings. But they're better than for Harriet Miers (42 percent for, 43 percent against), whose nomination was withdrawn before hearings began.

While President Obama, Democrats, and other supporters have extolled Sotomayor's experience as a judge and her up-from-the-Bronx life story, Republicans and other critics have lambasted some of her rulings -- particularly one against white firefighters that was overturned by the Supreme Court last week -- and questioned whether she would be able to get beyond her own background in judging cases.

Anti-abortion and gun rights groups are also trying to build opposition to Sotomayor, who would be the first Hispanic on the high court.

Respondents in the poll were also divided whether the Senate -- if the confirmation hearings show she is qualified and has no ethical problems -- would be justified in voting against her if they disagree with her on issues such as gun control and abortion: 47 percent said senators would be justified, while 49 percent said they would not.

The poll also found that Americans expect a big fight over her nomination, though most observers expect she will be confirmed. Sixty percent said they expect a major battle between Democrats and Republicans, while only 38 percent anticipate a relatively easy process.

UPDATE: To combat the critics, Vice President Joe Biden sent an email today -- in both English and Spanish -- to the supporter lists of the Democratic National Committee and Organizing for America, Obama's grassroots organization.

Biden urges them to call their senator, write a letter to their local newspaper, or otherwise show their support for Sotomayor.

"Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings begin Monday, and that means we're one step closer to getting her on the Supreme Court," Biden says.

"Since President Obama nominated her back in May, Judge Sotomayor's brilliance and unique legal qualifications have stood strong against fierce scrutiny. Law enforcement officials have praised her tough-mindedness and experience as a prosecutor and trial judge, and just this week she earned the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association. There's no doubt -- the President picked the right person for the job.

"Next week, the Senate hearings will once again focus the press on this historic nomination, and those who are desperate to play politics with the President's nominee will see this as their last, best chance. Your support for Judge Sotomayor at this critical step will make a big difference."

Representative Ron Paul of Texas, who waged a surprisingly successful grassroots campaign for the Republican presidential nomination last year, makes an unwelcome cameo appearance in "Bruno," the latest Sacha Baron Cohen mockumentary that opens today.

Paul is lured into a bedroom by Bruno, a gay Austrian fashionista, who apparently has designs on the uptight congressman for a sex tape.

In the movie trailer, Cohen is shown dropping his pants -- and Paul is shown storming out, saying, "This is ended."

Well, let Paul, himself, describe what happened, as he did in an April interview with ABC Radio's Curtis Sliwa.

"Without you realizing who he was, Bruno tried and failed to seduce you in a Washington hotel room, even pulling down his pants in front of you. Now, is that true or untrue?" Sliwa asked.

"Well, it is. But, the way it's said — it sounds a little bit different. We were in a studio situation. I wasn't invited to a hotel room. A studio situation where they had a lot of lights burn and blaze and all kinds of commotion. They said — better get in this back room here. And all of a sudden, I was in this room...which they had it all fixed up as a bedroom. So, getting me there was sort of dishonesty. Getting me into the interview. I was expecting an interview on Austrian economics. So, that didn't turn out that way. But, by the time he started pulling his pants down, I ran out of the room. This interview has ended. When this all gets out, I'm probably going to have to apologize to my supporters because I think most of them are going to figure out why in the world didn't I sock this guy in the nose?

Sliwa asks Paul if he had seen "Borat," and thus would have been forewarned about Cohen's stunts.

"No, no," Paul answers. "Movies I used to see are 'Sound of Music.' Tonight, I was sitting here watching 'Gone with the Wind.' So, I don't watch that kind of stuff. And I understand he makes a lot of money. But, if he makes a lot of money — I have to permit the market to do this. I don't like the idea that he lies his way into an interview. That to me, is fraud. But, the fact that he has raunchy material and people buy into it — it's sort of sad that that is a reflection of our culture. To me, it's a real shame that people are going to reward him with millions and millions of dollars for being so crass."

At this point, it could be construed as piling on.

But the Democratic National Committee is continuing its assault on Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee last year, soon-to-be-former governor of Alaska, and potential 2012 contender.

It posted a web video today that takes advantage of the hipster Urban Dictionary adding an entry called "pullin' a Palin" -- basically quitting midstream when times get tough.

It is today's word or phrase of the day. The definition:
"1. Quitting when the going gets tough; abandoning the responsibility entrusted to you by your neighbors for book advances and to make money on the lecture circuit.

"2. Bizarre move that will damn ambitions for higher office."

Palin shocked her state and much of the political universe a week ago when she announced her resignation as governor, 18 months before her term ends.

The DNC video is not very creative -- it just lifts a segment from Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" show on MSNBC that also wraps in sex scandal-plagued South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Senators Larry Craig and John Ensign.

Massachusetts Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy announced today that the Bay State's Department of Housing and Community Development will get nearly $51 million in stimulus cash to help revive the moribund housing market.

Nationally, housing starts have fallen almost 80 percent since the beginning of 2006, and Massachusetts is no exception. The drop in housing construction has led to severe job losses in building and related jobs, more than 1 million nationwide.

“We’ve got more than 750 Massachusetts families and 1,000 children hanging on by their fingernails living in motels at a cost to state taxpayers of nearly $2 million each month. This affordable housing investment will help these families and thousands more who are out of work or struggling with reduced incomes from fewer hours at work by creating good jobs and delivering affordable housing now. It will help keep these working families off the streets and out of shelters for good,” Kerry said in a statement.

“These funds are vital to Massachusetts families who are out of work and reeling from the soaring cost of housing,” added Kennedy. “I commend the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development for its extraordinary commitment to our citizens struggling with housing costs, and I commend President Obama for emphasizing the need to make these important investments that protect families and also create jobs in our Commonwealth.”

Is President Obama's honeymoon with the American public nearing an end?

A second poll out this week shows a noticeable drop in public confidence in the president, six months into his term. The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released today put his overall job approval rating at 61 percent -- and on a steady decline from 76 percent in February.

As telling, 70 percent of respondents believe Obama is "a strong and decisive leader," down from 80 percent in February; 56 percent think he generally agrees with them on issues they care about, down from 63 percent five months ago; and only 53 percent said he has a "clear plan" for solving the nation's problems, down from 64 percent.

While 79 percent approve of Obama personally, a smaller subset -- 58 percent -- approve both him personally and his job performance, and 19 percent like him personally but not his job performance.

The poll, conducted June 26-28, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. A poll in the bellwether state of Ohio also found decreasing confidence in Obama and his economic proposals.

Obama's decline largely tracks the economy, which remains mired in recession. New numbers out today showed that laid-off workers are having trouble finding jobs -- continuing claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 159,000 last week, reaching 6.88 million, the highest in records dating from 1967.

As dissatisfaction grows with the $787 billion economic stimulus plan and Obama is on his foreign trip, the White House is dispatching Vice President Joe Biden today to Cincinnati, Ohio, and Saratoga County, New York, to cheerlead for the stimulus.

Biden spoke in front of the American Can Building, an abandoned factory being turned into a mixed-use development with stimulus money, and announced approval of Cincinnati's plan to use a $3.5 million federal grant to revive neighborhoods and fix up affordable housing and public facilities.

Overall, $4.4 billion in stimulus money has been targeted for Ohio, including $2 billion for education, $1 billion for health care, and $445 million for transportation.

“Roads plus teachers plus cops plus jobs equals a community — and that equals paychecks and prosperity,” Biden said. “In other words, it equals a better future right here in Southwest Ohio.”

Later, at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, N.Y., Biden announced that the Labor Department has authorized $275 million in additional jobless benefits for New York, making it easier for unemployed workers seeking part-time work and those unemployed for family reasons to be eligible for benefits

So far, New York is in line to get $16 billion, including $2 billion for education and $700 million for transportation.

“I see it everywhere we go: communities being rebuilt, factories being reopened, workers rehired — teachers in their classrooms, cops on the streets, families better able to live a quality life,” Biden said. “With the Recovery Act, Saratoga County and America are reclaiming our proud past — and, while we’re at it, creating a better future.”

Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 Republican in the House, kept up the critique of the stimulus and adamantly opposed the idea of a second stimulus package.

"Clearly, we’re at the point now about five months after the passage of the spending bill that the administration is realizing that it’s not working," he said on Fox News Channel, one of a series of TV interviews he did today. "That frankly the stimulative effects that were intended have not come to fruition. And in fact, promises were made that we wouldn’t go over 8.5% unemployment. We know millions of people are losing their jobs. We’re inching toward 10% unemployment. So now’s not the time to start saying, ‘Hey, we need more of the same,’ because we know it didn’t work."

UPDATE: Late today, the Republican National Committee posted a hard-hitting web video called the stimulus "failed" and repeatedly slamming Obama.

The video shows Obama putting his feet up on the desk as the narrator talks about rising unemployment and deficits, and continually loops excerpts from an interview where Obama says he would have done nothing differently on the stimulus.

President Obama announced this evening he is nominating Richard Serino, Boston's EMS chief, as deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Here's the White House mini-biography:

Richard Serino has had an impressive career in emergency management and emergency medical services. Currently, he is the Chief of Emergency Medical Services and the Assistant Director for the Boston Public Health Commission. Previously, he has served as the Superintendent-in-Chief and a Superintendent for Field Operations for Boston Emergency Medical Services having rose through the ranks over 35 years. He has also served as a guest lecturer at Harvard and Boston University on homeland security and emergency preparedness issues and as a national faculty member for the Domestic Preparedness Program at the U.S. Department of Defense. He has also participated in Senior Leadership programs in national preparedness and homeland defense at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and at the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

On the eve of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings that begin Monday, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island delivered a steadfast defense of the Supreme Court nominee on the Senate floor today.

Whitehouse, a member of the Judiciary Committee that will hold the hearings, said he's impressed as a former prosecutor with her experience as a practicing attorney and prosecutor.

"Like millions of Americans, I have been inspired by her personal story. Frankly, it gives me goose bumps to think of that little girl growing up in the projects in the Bronx and growing into the woman we see before us now at the top of the legal profession, with a career of exemplary conduct, exemplary academic achievement, exemplary judicial experience already behind her. It is really a great story of American discipline and achievement," he told his colleagues.

"Unfortunately, critics of Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation have unleashed an avalanche of innuendo meant to weaken the case for her confirmation. These criticisms began among the right-wing talking heads, but unfortunately some of them are now voiced by my Republican colleagues here on the floor. Indeed, rather than waiting for the hearing to ask her about her record and her judicial philosophy, a number of my colleagues have come to the floor to attack her and her nomination."

To criticism of her judicial philosophy as outside the mainstream, Whitehouse argued that Sotomayor has stuck to precedent during her career on the bench. He also tried to turn the tables, arguing that Chief Justice John Roberts has not been a neutral "umpire" on the court, but has been a judicial activist.

And to criticism that her life experience -- she would be the first Hispanic on the high court -- would damage her ability to be fair and impartial, Whitehouse asserted that judicial discretion -- based partly on personal experience -- is part and parcel of American legal tradition.

"It is harsh, narrow-minded, and ahistoric to contend that a rich life experience and natural empathy are at odds with that judicial tradition," he said.

Meanwhile, both Democrats and Republicans today submitted their witness lists for the confirmation hearings.

Republicans plan to call Frank Ricci, the white firefighter in New Haven, Conn., whose reverse discrimination claim was rejected by Sotomayor. He was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging his city's decision to scrap the results of a promotion test because too few minorities scored highly enough to qualify. Sotomayor was part of an appellate court panel that rejected Ricci's claim. The Supreme Court reversed the ruling last week.

Republicans also plan to call Sandy Froman, a former president of the National Rifle Association, which has criticized Sotomayor on gun ownership rights, and Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, a Washington-based group that opposes abortion.

Democrats' witnesses include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, and former Major League Baseball pitcher David Cone. As a federal district court judge, Sotomayor ended a long baseball strike in 1995, ruling in favor of the players and against the owners.

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- It has been a mystery for more than two decades how former Liberian president Charles G. Taylor broke out of the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in 1985, beginning a journey that ultimately made him one of Africa's most notorious strongmen.

The world may finally get its answer as early as next week when Taylor takes the stand for the first time in his war crimes trial in The Hague, where he is accused of ordering atrocities during neighboring Sierra Leone's civil war.

Stephen J. Rapp, the prosecutor in the trial, told the Globe today that Taylor -- who has been indicted on 17 counts of crimes against humanity -- is expected to give testimony for as many as six weeks, during which he is predicted to detail extensively various periods of his life, including his time in the Boston area.

Rapp said that Taylor has provided the prosecution with just a five-page summary of what he is going to talk about. "I think he has a lot more to say," he said.

One incident that many observers are particularly curious to hear about is his Plymouth prison break, which has long been fodder for conspiracy theorists who believe Taylor may have been aided by elements within the US government who later used him as an informant.

Taylor was a student at Bentley College (now University) in Waltham after he fled Liberia in 1983 in the face of charges that he embezzled money from the Liberian government, then headed by Samuel Doe, whom Taylor supported in a bloody 1980 coup.

Taylor was arrested in 1984 in Somerville pending extradition. While fighting the extradition charges -- his lawyer was former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark -- Taylor escaped from the Plymouth prison on Sept. 15, 1985, along with four other inmates.

Taylor's wife and sister-in-law reportedly met him at nearby Jordan Hospital and drove him in a getaway car to Staten Island in New York, where he disappeared. All the other escaped inmates were eventually caught.

Taylor reportedly showed up in Muammar Qaddafi's Libya, where he underwent guerilla training before leading a bloody revolution in his native country at the head of an army known as the Revolutionary United Front.

After a 15-year reign of terror as Liberia's president -- including claims by the United Nations that he aided members of the Al Qaeda network raising money from the trade of gemstones -- Taylor was indicted by the special court for Sierra Leone in 2003.

Under pressure from the Bush administration he was handed over to the court in 2005 by the government of by Nigeria, where he was in hiding.

Since his trial began last year more than 90 witnesses have testified to his role in Sierra Leone's bloody civil war, in which hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed.

President Obama today honored three Massachusetts teachers and organizations among more than 100 nationwide receiving awards for excellence.

The Maria Mitchell Association in Nantucket is among those receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, which goes to individuals or organizations who mentor minority students studying science or engineering.

Erin Flynn of Roslindale and Deborah Seaver of Milford are among those getting the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is given to the best pre-college-level science and math teachers from across the country.

The awards will be presented this fall at a White House ceremony

“There is no higher calling than furthering the educational advancement of our nation’s young people and encouraging and inspiring our next generation of leaders,” Obama said in a statement. “These awards represent a heartfelt salute of appreciation to a remarkable group of individuals who have devoted their lives and careers to helping others and in doing so have helped us all.”

The full White House release is below:

Many Americans are still grieving the death of Michael Jackson, but don't expect Congress to pass a resolution honoring him.

At the star-studded public memorial service on Tuesday in Los Angeles, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, effusively praised the King of Pop and held up a copy of House Resolution 600, (read it here) which would honor Jackson's life and charitable works.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today that she has no plans to bring that resolution to the floor for a vote, suggesting that at least in part she wants to avoid the embarrassment of other House members criticizing Jackson.

"Michael Jackson was a great, great performer, and lots of sadness there for many reasons," she said at a wide-ranging news conference. "What I have said to my colleagues over the years, and certainly as leader and as speaker, is that there's an opportunity on the floor of the House to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish. I don't think it's necessary for us to have a resolution."

"A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views to -- that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite different," she added.

One of the most vocal "contrary views" came from Representative Peter King, a New York Republican who in a widely viewed video blasted Jackson and the intensive media coverage his death prompted.

King called Jackson a lowlife, pervert, and child molester, and said that media attention should go instead to police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other unsung heroes.

The congressman has come under some criticism himself for the vehemence of his remarks. But on Fox News Channel Wednesday night, King stood behind what he said and lashed out at those who saw racism in his remarks.

“That is absolute nonsense. I stand by everything I said and there's absolutely nothing racist or racial in any of the words I used," he said. "I just think that people are raising this issue are absolutely phony.”

UPDATE: Asked about Pelosi's comments, Jackson Lee told the Associated Press that she isn't giving up. Honorary resolutions don't often pass right away, she said this afternoon.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought today to avoid diving back into the controversy over what she knew about harsh interrogations of terrorist detainees and when she knew it, despited being armed with more ammunition on her side.

In May, she acknowledged for the first time that she knew by early 2003 that the Central Intelligence Agency had subjected terror detainees to waterboarding, but saw little recourse to challenge the practice except by achieving Democratic control of Congress and the White House.

In defending herself, she also accused CIA officials of misleading Congress about the extent of the use of waterboarding, which she, President Obama, and others say is torture and have harshly criticized. CIA Director Leon Panetta, a former congressional colleague, denied the accusation, and some Republicans called for Pelosi to resign as speaker.

But in a letter disclosed Wednesday, seven Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee asserted that Panetta told Congress last month that senior CIA officials have concealed significant actions and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001.

Pelosi told reporters today that Panetta has not told her that, and said she only knew of the letter from media reports.

Asked if the letter ends the debate over the "propriety" of her accusations about the CIA, she replied, "I didn't know there was any question about propriety. I'm very proud of my work in human rights over the years. And people know where I am on the issues on which we've agreed."

It's not clear what Panetta privately told the committee on June 24, but committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, a Texas Democrat, said the CIA clearly lied in one case.

The CIA did not directly comment on what Panetta told the panel, instead issuing its stock response. "It is not the policy or practice of the CIA to mislead Congress. This agency and this director believe it is vital to keep the Congress fully and currently informed. Director Panetta's actions back that up," spokesman George Little told reporters.

Republicans say the letter is part of a campaign to protect Pelosi.

The top Republican on the committee, Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, called the letter "one of the most bizarre episodes in politics that I've seen in my time here in Washington." "It looks like they're working on the political equation," Hoekstra said on CBS' "The Early Show." "They're not trying to foster a bipartisan consensus on national security."

The back-and-forth comes as the House debates a bill that would let more lawmakers attending top-secret intelligence briefings -- legislation that President Obama vows to veto.

Top Obama administration officials are holding a swine flu preparedness summit today, trying to make sure that the fall flu season does not bring a more severe outbreak.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius -- who is hosting the meeting with top state officials along with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Education Secretary Arne Duncan -- said that the government is planning a vaccination campaign to stem any spread in schools and daycare centers.

"Over the course of coming weeks and months, we will move aggressively to prepare the nation for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of the H1N1 virus," Sebelius said in a statement. "We ask the American people to become actively engaged with their own preparation and prevention. It's a responsibility we all share."

Health and Human Services will offer grants totaling $350 million to help state and local public health offices and healthcare systems step up efforts, has launched a new informational website, and is holding a contest for a new public service announcement (prize for the winning submission is $2,500) to help educate Americans about how to prevent the spread of H1N1 influenza.

Governors Jim Douglas of Vermont, John Baldacci of Maine, and Jodi Rell of Connecticut joined in a videoconference as part of the summit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

While H1N1 did not lead to as many deaths as many feared earlier this year, it did cause the first pandemic of the 21st century and specialists fear more cases later. It killed at least 429 people around the world, and at least 1 million infections in the United State, mostly mild cases.

"I think it's clear that although we were fortunate not to see a more serious situation in the spring when we first got news of this outbreak, that the potential for a significant outbreak in the fall is looming," President Obama told the gathering by phone from the G-8 summit in Italy.

"We want to make sure that we are not promoting panic, but we are promoting vigilance and preparation. And the most important thing for us to do in this process is to make sure that state and local officials prepare now to implement a vaccination program in the fall, but also that they are working on an overall public communications campaign with the White House and the possibilities that we may need to be dealing with schools that are seeing significant outbreaks of H1N1."

Obama's full remarks are below:

Immigration took a back seat during last year's presidential campaign, when Barack Obama and John McCain generally agreed for the need for sweeping change, including a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants -- once the borders are secure.

It isn't on the front burner now, as the Obama administration focuses on healthcare and energy.

But a bipartisan panel put together by the respected Council on Foreign Relations tried today to put the issue back on the national agenda, issuing a report that argues that comprehensive immigration reform is needed now and failure to pass it "threatens to weaken America's economy, to jeopardize its diplomacy, and to imperil its national security."

The report (read it here) was issued by a task force that included former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Thomas "Mack" McLarty.

Immigration overhaul advocates praised the report.
"That fact that the Council on Foreign Relations is examining U.S. immigration policy is a clear signal that immigration is now regarded as a matter of national security and international diplomacy, not only a domestic policy concern with broad economic implications," Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center, said in a statement.

"The Council on Foreign Relations' report states unequivocally that comprehensive immigration reform is not only good for America, but vital to our national interests. The report places the debate over comprehensive reform in a broader context, challenging Congress and the White House to move forward now on a sensible and thoughtful reform of our broken immigration system. The fact that a diverse group of leaders representing a range of political perspectives can reach consensus on immigration reform is not only a good sign, but an indication of just how critical immigration has become in efforts to maintain America's political, economic, and moral leadership in the world."

“The recommendations of this high-powered, diverse and bipartisan panel clearly underscore the urgent need for fundamental immigration reform if we are to make our nation stronger, more competitive and more secure," added Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice. “The political middle ground is rapidly forming for all parties to come together and fix a problem that has festered too long. The American people are demanding a political solution to this vexing problem and they want it done now. This report reinforces the growing acceptance that through immigration reform we can advance our national security, help our economy and restore the rule of law in a way that is fair and just.”

The issue did rise up during the Republican primaries, where McCain found himself under attack from competitors for his sponsorship of a comprehensive bill that he championed with Senator Edward M. Kennedy, but that floundered in 2007 despite President George W. Bush's backing in the face of vehement opposition.

Today, the Senate voted to require real fencing along 700 miles of the border with Mexico rather than vehicle barriers and high-tech equipment, the Associated Press reports.

The plan won approval by a 54-44 vote during consideration of the Department of Homeland Security's budget.

Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican who pushed the proposal, said that the US-Mexico border "has become a battleground" as drug and weapons traffickers, along with illegal immigrants, move too freely and that "virtual" fencing such as motion detectors doesn't work as well as a real fence, the AP says.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, the lead Democrat working on immigration in the Senate told the AP today that he expects to have a bill ready by Labor Day that is more generous to higher-skilled immigrant workers and that cracks down on future illegal immigration.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said an immigration deal can be done by early next year. "I think we'll have a good bill by Labor Day," he told the AP. "I think the fundamental building blocks are in place to do comprehensive immigration reform."

President Obama pledged during the campaign to push for overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, but has focused on the economy, healthcare, other issues since taking office.

But more pressure could come from Massachusetts, which today became the first state to sue over the 1996 law, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman and which allows states to ignore gay marriages performed in other states.

That unfairly excludes more than 16,000 Massachusetts same-sex couples, who have married since the Bay State in 2004 became the first to legalize gay marriage, from "critically important rights and protections based on marital status," Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

The lawsuit (read it here) asserts that DOMA is unconstitutional because it interferes with the commonwealth’s "sovereign authority to define and regulate the marital status of its residents" and also alleges that DOMA exceeds Congress’s authority because Congress does not have a valid reason for requiring Massachusetts to treat married same-sex couples differently from all other married couples.

“Today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts takes an important step toward ensuring equality and fairness for its citizens and maintaining our authority as a sovereign state,” Coakley said in a statement. “DOMA affects residents of Massachusetts in very real and very negative ways by depriving access to important economic safety nets and other protections that couples count on when they marry and that help them to take care of one another and their families. DOMA also directly and fundamentally interferes with Massachusetts’s right as a state sovereign to determine the marital status of its residents.”

Besides Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire allow or will soon permit same-sex marriages. California recognizes the marriage licenses of 18,000 same-sex couples prior to the passage of Proposition 8 last November. Two other states, New York and Rhode Island, as well as the District of Columbia honor gay marriages from Massachusetts.

Charles Miller, a spokesman for the US Justice Department, said: "The president supports legislative repeal of the defense of marriage act because it prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. We will review this case.’’

While gay rights groups applauded the lawsuit, conservatives criticized Coakley, who harbors higher political ambitions, perhaps the US Senate.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins president accused her of "expanding the fight against traditional marriage by demanding that federal taxpayers from all 50 states subsidize same-sex 'marriage' benefits in Massachusetts.

"American taxpayers should hold onto their wallets," he said in a statement. "Should this lawsuit succeed and President Obama's healthcare reform pass without an explicit ban on tax-funded abortions, taxpayers face the very real possibility of being forced to subsidize both same-sex 'marriages' and abortion coverage within a universal healthcare plan.

"Recognizing the ongoing threat to marriage, voters in the last election continued to define marriage in their state constitutions as the union of one man and one woman. We advise the US Justice Department to fulfill its constitutional duties and continue its defense of DOMA against such frivolous lawsuits. We also urge any federal courts that hear this case to dismiss it and preserve the right of the people to decide such important public policy decisions."

By Stephanie Vallejo, Globe correspondent

WASHINGTON -- In the three months since Sirdeaner Walker’s 11-year-old son, Carl Walker-Hoover, committed suicide, the Springfield mother has channeled her grief into action. Walker appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to speak out on the dangers of bullying.

But that was just a warm-up.

Walker, once a self-described “ordinary working mom,” has become a persistent advocate for safer schools, and she’ll stop at nothing less than federal legislation. Appearing today before the House subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education and Healthy Families and Communities, Walker related Carl’s story once again.

“What could make a child his age despair so much that he would take his own life?” Walker asked during a panel on “Strengthening School Safety Through Prevention of Bullying.” “I will probably never know the answer. What we do know is that Carl was being bullied relentlessly at school.”

Walker had known for months of her son’s situation, and, so did the staff at the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield.

She was unhappy with their course of action, and attributes it to a lack of training. The last week of Carl’s life, he had been assigned to sit with his tormentors at lunch as part of a mediation process. “Obviously there needs to be some professional development and instruction, because that’s not a solution,” she said.

While school officials acknowledge they knew of the bullying, they say they handled the situation appropriately.

Walker supports a bill that would require states that receive grants for safe and drug-free schools to invest in bullying prevention programs. She plans to speak with staff in the offices of Massachusetts Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy while in Washington.

“Everyone at the hearing listened to Carl’s story,” Walker said afterwards. “I really feel like now is the time that we look to the federal government for guidelines and leadership. Our children are suffering every day, in school.”

President Obama this afternoon announced he plans to nominate Francis S. Collins, who uncovered the human genetic code, as director of the National Institutes of Health.

“The National Institutes of Health stands as a model when it comes to science and research," Obama said in a statement. "My administration is committed to promoting scientific integrity and pioneering scientific research and I am confident that Dr. Francis Collins will lead the NIH to achieve these goals. Dr. Collins is one of the top scientists in the world, and his groundbreaking work has changed the very ways we consider our health and examine disease. I look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead.”

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate's health committee, praised Obama's pick.

“President Obama has made an inspired choice in selecting Dr. Francis Collins to lead NIH in this era of extraordinary progress in health research," Kennedy said in a statement. "He combines exceptional scientific skill with a deep commitment to the role of science in serving the American people. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to see that his nomination is approved without delay.”

The mini-biography provided by the White House is below:

In case you missed it, there was a little more fallout from Sarah Palin's surprise resignation as Alaska governor.

She feuded last month with late-night talk show host David Letterman after he joked that one of Palin's daughters had been "knocked up" by Alex Rodriguez at a New York Yankees game. He apologized, but insisted that he was talking about 18-year-old Bristol, an unwed mother.

But Palin emphasized that it was 14-year-old Willow who was in the stands and accused Letterman of making light of statutory rape and of older men victimizing young women.

So on his show Monday night, Letterman did a bit on Palin's resignation and asked sheepishly, "Something I said?"

In fact, the Washington Post reported, a Palin representative said the Letterman joke did play a role in her decision, along with all the other media scrutiny and brickbats thrown her way.

Letterman didn't let up, joking that Palin (a former Miss Alaska beauty pageant contestant) would be replaced by Miss Congeniality and playing a spliced-together clip of Palin saying, "The world needs more insane governors."

At the end of his bit, he did make a peace offering of sorts, joking that her next job could be as his co-host on the "Sarah & Dave" show.

You betcha -- not.

While President Obama discusses the global economy in Italy with other world leaders, the volume is getting dialed up on job losses at home.

The unemployment rate is at 9.5 percent -- the highest in 26 years -- and headed into double digits. Employers laid off another 467,000 workers last month, bringing to 6.5 million the net job losses since the recession began in December 2007. And criticism is growing of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan that Obama championed -- and why it isn't creating jobs quicker.

The epicenter of the debate this week is Ohio, the traditional presidential bellwether state where Obama spent quite a bit of time campaigning and where a new poll this week had worrisome numbers for Obama.

Respondents in the Quinnipiac University survey were evenly divided over Obama's handling of the economy -- 48 percent approved, 46 percent disapproved -- and his approval rating had dropped to 49 percent from 62 percent in May while his disapproval number rose to 44 percent from 31 percent.

Quinnipiac called Obama's numbers "lackluster," and said they were the lowest in any national or state poll it had conducted since his inauguration.

Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the top Republican in the House, caused a ruckus over the weekend by claiming that none of the contracts had been let for infrastructure projects funded by the stimulus.

The Democratic National Committee released a web video and is holding a news conference today in Ohio to rebut Boehner, who it says is being hypocritical since the House GOP stimulus plan had no infrastructure projects.

“Given that he championed and continues to advocate the very same economic policies that got us into this mess to begin with, perhaps John Boehner just doesn't know what creating new jobs looks like. Or perhaps he was willfully misleading the public about the effect of the President's economic recovery package to score political points,” DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement. “Either way, considering that the Republican 'alternative' included ZERO funding for construction projects, it's the height of hypocrisy for Boehner to criticize the status of these projects at all.”

Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman, responded: "Ohio was very nearly the last state to get the first 50 percent of its stimulus construction money obligated for construction projects, which is ridiculous. As of late May, approximately, no
contracts had been signed.

"Since that time, some contracts have been belatedly set in motion, but the entire process has been absurdly slow-moving -- just as Republicans warned it would be last winter when we called for an economic recovery bill based on fast-acting tax relief for small businesses and working families rather than spending on slow-moving government programs. It's embarrassing that the DNC can't defend its own indefensible trillion-dollar stimulus that isn't working
and resorts to desperate tactics like this."

The Obama administration concedes that the continuing job losses are unacceptable, but says that the stimulus package was always going to take some time to have measurable impact.

Vice President Joe Biden said over the weekend that the White House might have "misread" the depth of the recession; he plans to visit the state on Thursday to trumpet the stimulus.

But Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said on Fox Business Network that all the stimulus needs to be spent before serious consideration of a second stimulus package.

Solis said she can't predict when the unemployment rate will begin declining.

"We're not looking at just a quick fix here, we're looking at something that is going to take us out of this bad economy for the next decade," she said. "And we have to make these investments that were neglected in the last eight years."

Subbing for President Obama, who is at the G-8 economic summit in Italy, Vice President Joe Biden this morning formally announced the latest deal with the industry on a healthcare overhaul.

The nation's hospitals have tentatively agreed to forego about $155 billion in government payments for Medicaid and Medicare over the next decade -- about 20 percent of the $1 trillion projected to be needed to extend health coverage to about 47 million uninsured Americans.

Hospitals are cracking under the weight of uninsured patients getting treated in emergency rooms, Biden said, flanked by several hospital CEOs.

The deal follows some concessions by pharmaceutical firms, retail giant Wal-Mart's announcement last week that it would support an employer requirement to help pay for healthcare. The Obama team hopes such agreements build momentum for sweeping healthcare changes; the president wants to sign a bill this year.

"Reform is coming. It is on track. It is coming," Biden said.

Drug companies, doctors, and others are interested in healthcare overhaul. "We have the American public behind us," Biden added. (His full remarks are below.)

But even fellow Democrats in Congress are having qualms about the complexities of how to pay for a healthcare overhaul -- including whether to tax health benefits provided by employers -- and whether to create a new government insurance plan.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has gone fishing -- literally -- since her shocking announcement that she is resigning.

But the polarizing Palin resurfaced today on the morning news shows, wearing her waders but not taking the bait to make her political future clear.

Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee last year and in the conversation for 2012, told CNN that "all options are on the table" for her future and said she wants to stay involved in national public life.

“We have so many people who offer advice, but I’m going to continue to be, whether some of ‘em like it or not, pretty darn independent, and not get wrapped up into a strong political machine that hasn’t been extremely successful in some ways,” she said on Fox News Channel. "I want to work, right now, for people who are going to work in office or out of office for the right things. Those principles that built up America, those who are inspired by the values of America, and will not deride or apologize for the values we hold as Americans. I’m gonna work for those people.”

But she also told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she recognizes that her resignation -- disclosed in a rambling speech in the news dead zone of the Friday of July Fourth weekend -- might have damaged her prospects. "You know, politically speaking, if I die, I die. So be it," she said.

She tried to portray her unusual decision as befitting her political character. "That caught people off guard," she said. "It's out of the box and unconventional. That's what we are as Alaskans and certainly how I am as a public servant."

While Palin's critics have suggested that she is stepping aside to avoid some scandal, her lawyer has said she has no legal problems and just wants to end legal bills from ethics investigations and other distractions. The FBI took the unusual step on Monday of saying publicly that she is not under investigation.

In the Fox interview, Palin also continued her complaints against the media, whose critical coverage she suggests helped drive her from office.

“Most candidates, most public officials get to look into a camera and say, 'You know you better leave your hands off my kids." Well I haven’t been able to say that. And that double standard that’s been applied, that’s been a little bit frustrating,” she said.

“These are political shots. Other people take a heck of a lot tougher shots than I do, our kids over there in the war zone. People losing their jobs or their homes right now, they have it a heck of a lot tougher than I do taking political shots, or hearing bull crap that’s broadcast out there on the airwaves. I can handle that.”

But Democrats are having a field day. The Democratic National Committee compiled a web video of fellow Republicans criticizing Palin for quitting, calling her behavior "bizarre," among other things.

Her core supporters, however, remain behind her. Team Sarah, a political networking site, claims 70,000 members.

"Team Sarah members anxiously await Palin’s next decision on how she believes she can best serve our nation. Since the 2008 election, the continual presence of personal attacks on both Governor Palin and her family indicate that she remains a threat to the liberal feminist political establishment,” the group's co-founder, Jane Abraham, said in a statement. “Despite criticism, Governor Palin’s success will endure. Team Sarah’s thousands of members remain as engaged as ever on TeamSarah.org. The Governor has inspired millions, and her audience of enthusiastic support will only grow in the future.”

UPDATE: Palin's abrupt resignation doesn't seem to have changed many minds about her one way or the other, and she remains a polarizing figure.

In a USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted Monday and released late today, 70 percent of voters said their opinion of Palin hadn't changed/

Her core support of 19 percent of voters said they would be "very likely" to support her if she ran for president in 2012, while another 24 percent said they would be somewhat likely do so.

But 41 percent said they were not at all likely to back Palin.

Not surprisingly, there is a huge partisan divide. While 35 percent of Republicans said they were very likely to supporter Palin, only 19 percent of independents and 6 percent of Democrats said so.

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- As Washington ponders Al Franken's role as comedian or statesman, the Senate's newest member revealed another side of his persona today: He's a hugger.

Moments after Franken was sworn in as Minnesota's Democratic junior senator, he gave a big bear hug to Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry (himself not much of a public hugger), followed by hearty embraces of Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer of California, Tom Harkin of Iowa, and Amy Klobuchar, who has been carrying the load for Minnesota alone during the months of fighting over the seat.

Franken was declared the winner by the Minnesota Supreme Court last week, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman conceded, and Franken formally took the oath of office this afternoon.

As fans in the visitors' gallery cheered, Franken pumped his fist in victory, still holding the Bible he used for his swearing-in.

"There are people who see Al Franken in a very narrow concept, and it's understandable,'' since Franken gained fame as a comedian and radio talk-show host, said Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois. "But there's a lot more to this person. He's a very bright person. He's very well-informed.''

"Many expect that every time Al opens his mouth, it's going to be a comedy routine -- it's not,'' Durbin added.

Franken won plum assignments on the Senate Judiciary, Aging, and Health committees. Franken will not officially join the latter panel, however, until after it finishes work writing the healthcare overhaul bill.

Durbin noted that the committee is considering hundreds of amendments Franken had not participated in debating; a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, added that it would be unfair to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat who has been working on the panel temporarily, to replace him with Franken during a time of such intense legislative activity.

Franken brings the Democratic caucus's count to 60 -- the number needed to stop filibusters. But since senators rarely vote in party lockstep -- especially on non-procedural votes -- the Democratic leadership's agenda is not assured passage.

"Most senators aren't sheep. They didn't come here to be told what to do by someone else,'' said Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana.

UPDATE: Franken, himself, has played down the 60th vote, saying he'll represent practical Minnesotans and not automatically back the Democratic leadership.

But the National Republican Senatorial Committee wasted no time posting a web video warning of unfettered Democratic power.

"With 60 senators, Democrats have total control. No checks, no balances," it says on screen, over images of a fist-pumping Franken.

"They own everything, and have no one to blame now," it says on screen at the end.

Vice President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this afternoon announced tougher steps to limit salmonella and E.coli contamination at food processing plants and to better track the origin of food illnesses.

The Obama administration, after a salmonella outbreak in peanut products that sickened more than 700 people in 46 states this year and forced the largest recall in US history, also created a new post of deputy food commissioner for safety. The proposals were recommended by working group created by Obama in March and that included Biden and Sebelius.

“There are few responsibilities more basic or more important for the government than making sure the food our families eat is safe,” Biden said. “Our food safety system must be updated – 1 in 4 people get sick every year due to food-borne illness, and children and the elderly are more at risk. I applaud the Secretaries of HHS and the USDA for tackling this problem head-on and coming up with key recommendations to ensure the health and safety of our food supply and, with it, the American people.”

Consumers Union’s food safety campaign welcomed the White House plan.

“These new measures represent real progress towards improving the safety of food in the U.S. The creation of this new position means that, for the first time, there is a ‘go to’ person at FDA whose sole responsibility is keeping food safe. We are also pleased to see the issuance of the FDA egg safety rule, which languished for years during the previous administration without becoming final," Jean Halloran, the campaign's director, said in a statement.

“We agree that new standards for salmonella in poultry are needed to address persistent problems with contamination. We also need action on development of a standard for campylobacter, another bacteria that is prevalent in poultry and which makes many Americans sick every year. Guidance for controlling E. coli in produce will also help prevent problems like the contamination of bagged spinach that occurred several years ago that caused several deaths and many illnesses. We hope FDA will also consider issuing regulations on this topic, since compliance with guidance is optional.

“We urge lawmakers to move promptly to pass the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. This is a good piece of legislation that will require FDA to develop regulations to improve produce safety, which can also be contaminated by salmonella. We also support the Administration's plan to develop of traceability systems, so FDA can more quickly find the source of contaminated products.”

The full White House release is below:

President Obama found himself today revising and extending remarks made by his number two on a hair-trigger topic -- Iran's apparent pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that the administration wants to negotiate with Iran, but also seemed to suggest that the United States would not stop an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"Look, Israel can determine for itself -- it's a sovereign nation -- what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else," Biden said. "Whether we agree or not," added the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has developed quite the reputation for misspeaking and straying off message.

Obama was asked on CNN this morning, "Are you giving Israel a green light?"

"Absolutely not," the president replied. "And I think it’s very important that I’m as clear as I can be, and our administration is as consistent as we can be on this issue."

"I think Vice President Biden stated a categorical fact which is we can't dictate to other countries what their security interests are," Obama added. "What is also true is that it is the policy of the United States to try to resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear capabilities in a peaceful way through diplomatic channels. That is our policy, I have been talking about this for the last two years, we are going to continue to pursue this, and you know we have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and solve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major conflict in the Middle East.

"Now this is a tough job and nobody is under any illusions that it will be easy, and I've always said that we, the United States, preserve the right, and I as the commander in chief preserve the right to take whatever actions are necessary to protect the United States. But we are committed to a peaceful resolution to this conflict and I think it is still possible, but ultimately if we present an opportunity to the Iranians at some point, they've got to seize that opportunity."

The White House just issued a statement this morning reacting to word of a deal with hospitals to help finance a healthcare overhaul.

"I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest. I look forward to a final product that achieves these very important goals," said the statement from President Obama, who is in Moscow for day two of his first Russian summit.

Administration and industry officials told several news organizations late Monday that after talks involving the White House and key Senate Democrats, the nation's hospitals were on the verge of signing off on a deal to reduce their anticipated payments from Medicare and Medicaid by about $155 billion over the next decade.

The government could use that money to help provide health coverage to millions who now lack it. The cost of healthcare overhaul is projected at $1 trillion or more over the next decade.

Representative Peter King might have spoken for some of his constituents sick and tired of wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Jackson's death.

But the New York congressman, who is thinking about running for the US Senate, certainly didn't mince any words -- and that is drawing quite a bit of attention itself.

In a video shot Sunday outside an American Legion hall in his district and then posted on YouTube, King railed against all the attention given to Jackson -- a "lowlife," he called him -- in contrast to the real heroes: members of the military, police officers, firefighters, and teachers.

"This guy was a pervert," King says. "He was a child molester. He was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country?"

Jackson was acquitted in 2005 of charges that he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor, but paid a settlement to another accuser's family and in a 2003 documentary admitted letting children sleep with him in his bed at Neverland , though said it wasn't sexual.

King goes on to say that the media has "disgraced" itself with its Jackson obsession. It will ramp up again Tuesday for his public memorial service in Los Angeles, which will be broadcast live by all the major cable news and broadcast networks.

"He died, he had some talent, fine," the congressman said.

"The bottom line is: Would you let your child or grandchild be in the same room with Michael Jackson?"

Robert McNamara in 1992 and Globe reporter Bryan Bender

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- To a reporter fresh out of college hired to cover the Pentagon for a little-known newsletter, Robert S. McNamara was nearly a mythical figure.

He was the vilified architect of the Vietnam War that had so shaped my parents' generation. The symbol of all the promise -- and hubris -- of the "whiz kids" of the Kennedy years, with his wire-rimmed glasses and slicked-backed hair peering out from those black-and-white photos. Also the man who helped bring us back from the brink during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when my mother was kept home from school fearing a nuclear holocaust.

But to my surprise after I arrived in Washington 15 years ago with virtually no experience, I found him a willing, if sometimes blunt, tutor in international affairs -- one who was generous with his time even for someone like me.

In a number of face-to-face discussions and many more lengthy phone conversations that grew warmer and more jocular over the years, his appetite for analyzing some of the nation's most pressing national security challenges was never satisfied. He also never lost his desire for information, often pumping me on what I was hearing from officials still on the inside.

At first he requested that nothing he said be quoted -- he was already too much of a lightning rod, he would say -- but after a while he agreed that I could use his name if I thought his perspective on a particular issue such as nuclear weapons or the pitfalls of managing the Pentagon bureaucracy were relevant to a story I was writing.

Of course, he didn't look anything like the buttoned-down former businessman that I had first expected. That was partly due to his age -- he was already near 80 when I first called him -- but also because of the disheveled, absent-minded professor look about him, his shirt untucked, his thinning hair unkempt.

A few times I ran into him near his office -- a stack of papers tucked under his arm -- as he was shuffling past the White House. Moving at a pretty good clip, his stooped, rumpled frame would wind through the throngs of tourists who paid him no mind. I would think: If only these people knew the imprint this little old man had on their national identity?

We had lengthy conversations about nuclear arms and what he saw as the folly of the continued reliance by the United States and Russia after the Cold War on a similar defense structure -- with thousands of missiles pointed at each other -- that he said was a recipe for an accidental nuclear war and only emboldened other countries to seek nuclear arms.

He was less forthcoming about Vietnam, which he knew was his undoing in the public eye, so I rarely pressed him on it. I soon learned that Vietnam was only the best-known chapter of his career anyway.

But he did sometimes open up -- like when I called him for a story during the 2004 presidential race about John F. Kerry's claims that atrocities were committed by US forces in Southeast Asia.

On that score, he was the direct ex-Ford Motor Co. chief who I had read about in high school, expressing surprise that people were actually still debating the issue.

"There were atrocities, without any question," he told me. "We had photographs of officers shooting innocent Vietnamese."

He was also animated when talking about the challenges facing the United States immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He voiced deep concerns about sending large numbers of conventional military forces to Afghanistan for any extended duration, citing the rout of the mighty Soviet army there during the 1980s. Like on other topics, he spoke from experience on that, too, having spent time in Afghanistan as head of the World Bank.

Sometimes he just relished the opportunity to tell old stories, such as how he became secretary of defense in the first place. President John F. Kennedy, he recalled, first offered the job of secretary of the treasury, but McNamara said he didn't think he had enough experience.

So then the president-elect asked him about the Pentagon job. When McNamara again demurred based on his lack of qualifications, Kennedy got frustrated. "Come on, Bob, there's no school for presidents, either." That's how it began, he would chuckle.

He also loved to tell the yarn about when he had to close either the Boston or Brooklyn Navy Yard in a Pentagon downsizing effort in the mid-1960s. So he called in the senators from those states, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Robert F. Kennedy of New York, and told the brothers to work it out.

The younger Kennedy, who had been in the Senate two years longer, pulled rank and the Brooklyn Navy Yard was no more.

The self-interest was certainly detectable when McNamara's unmistakably gruff voice would be on the other end of the phone. After all I was a reporter and McNamara was selling books, seeking consulting fees, and looking to burnish his statesmanship credentials to help balance out his villainous reputation.

But I saw another side: a man whose lifelong obsession was searching for the right solutions.

When I heard he passed away this morning at the age of 93 I couldn't help but think it was fitting that at the moment he died a US president was in Moscow seeking historic cuts in nuclear arms. Mac would have had a lot to say about that.

Senator John F. Kerry this afternoon praised the signing by President Obama and Russia's leader of a follow-up nuclear arms reduction treaty to START.

“I applaud President Obama and Russian President Medvedev for agreeing to negotiate an arms control treaty that will reduce the size of our two countries’ arsenals of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and strategic delivery vehicles to the lowest levels in decades. This is a very important early step toward the nonproliferation and long-term disarmament goals that President Obama set out in his April speech in Prague," Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

"With the START Treaty due to expire in December, it is vital that negotiations on the new treaty proceed urgently. The Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate will closely examine the new treaty once it is finalized, but I am confident that the treaty envisioned by this Joint Understanding will ultimately win Senate approval and enter into force.

“I also welcome and endorse President Medvedev’s comments on the state of our bilateral relationship. Russia is a essential partner in meeting the global challenges of the twenty-first century. Nuclear nonproliferation, climate change, international terrorism, and pandemic public health threats can only be addressed with our comprehensive cooperation.”

Deep into the first US-Russia summit in seven years, President Obama and Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev today are issuing a series of joint statements to "reset" the soured relationship between the two superpowers.

They have agreed to pursue a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, to cooperate in Afghanistan, and to work together on public health, among other areas.

Their joint press conference is below, along with their joint statements on Afghanistan and nuclear nonproliferation, and the White House release on the joint agreements:

As Congress returned from its July Fourth recess, Al Franken held his first news conference as senator-elect -- and again warned fellow Democrats that he won't be an automatic 60th vote.

Introduced by Senator Harry Reid, the top Democrat, Franken said, "I look forward to working under your leadership.

Still, Franken said while there has been much discussion of the number 60 -- the potentially filibuster-proof numbers of votes Democrats would have if all are present and accounted for -- he is focusing on the "number two" -- as in being the second senator from Minnesota.

"Minnesotans are a very practical people," he said, and want to make sure the work that is done in the Senate makes sense and that any spending brings a "strong return on investment."

Franken, who won the seat last week after Republican incumbent Norm Coleman conceded following a state Supreme Court ruling, said he will focus on healthcare, jobs, and clean energy.

"I'm ready to get to work," said the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian, who will be officially sworn into office on Tuesday.

Before he heads off for the July Fourth holiday, then a major foreign trip headlined by his first Russia summit, President Obama sat down today with the Associated Press and with religious news reporters for wide-ranging interviews.

Among highlights of the AP interview:

He laid down the law to former Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he said needs to "understand that the old Cold War approaches to US-Russian relations" are outdated. "Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new," Obama said.

Obama acknowledged severe misgivings about his own proposal to indefinitely hold some Guantanamo detainees -- a plan assailed by human rights groups. He said he would not be comfortable ordering the indefinite detentions -- which he wants for detainees who are dangerous but who don't have criminal cases facing them -- without congressional action.

He said the Supreme Court, which ruled this week in favor of white firefighters in a job promotion case in New Haven, Conn., was "moving the ball" away from affirmative action. But he said the high court had not completely ruled out the use of racial preferences in hiring and college admissions, which he said he supports in some circumstances.

He said he's not "reconciled" to Iran obtaining a usable nuclear weapon some time during his presidency.

He said he didn't see anything controversial in that he didn't issue a public statement about Michael Jackson's death: "I know a lot of people in the black community and I haven't heard that," he said, calling Jackson a brilliant performer whose music he has on his iPod.

The president said the White House pastry chef makes "the best pie I have ever tasted."

Asked to choose between basketball greats Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, Obama didn't pause for even a second before picking "Michael. I haven't seen anybody match up with Jordan yet."

The transcript of the AP interview is below.

The Globe's Michael Paulson has a report on his blog about Obama's session with the Catholic and other religious news outlets.

In that interview, the president said he is waiting to pick a church in Washington, in part because of the political firestorm last year over his former Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whom he repudiated over inflammatory sermons criticizing the US government and on other subjects.

The new and improved version of the Senate health committee's healthcare overhaul would be cheaper and cover more Americans, its leaders claim.

The plan is estimated to cost $611 billion over 10 years, and offer coverage to 97 percent of Americans. It includes a $750-a-year fee on companies with more than 25 employees for each full-time worker they don't offer coverage, and $375 per part-time worker. It also includes an option for government insurance to compete with private insurers.

"Like the president and a strong majority of Americans, we believe that a strong public option is an important component of any health reform bill that keeps costs down, expands coverage and offers American families a wide variety of affordable options," Senators Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts wrote in a letter to committee members that was obtained by the Associated Press.

Dodd, who is taking the lead as Kennedy undergoes treatment for brain cancer, briefed reporters this morning on the new proposal, joined by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

(The committee's release is below.)

The committee's original draft bill was essentially dead on arrival after the Congressional Budget Office -- the official scorekeeper on the costs and benefits of legislation -- concluded last month that it would cost $1 trillion over the next decade, but would leave millions still uninsured.

While the proposal would extend coverage to 39 million people, the CBO estimated, 15 million who had coverage through their employer would lose it, as would 8 million others.

Dodd and Kennedy say in the letter that the revised proposal "virtually eliminates" the likelihood that many companies would drop coverage for their workers.

UPDATE: President Obama praised the new bill, saying it "reflects many of the principles I’ve laid out," and said that when combined with a Senate Finance Committee version, will enable the Senate to vote on "health reform legislation that does not add to the deficit, reduces health care costs and covers 97% of Americans."

His full statement this morning: "For decades, Washington has failed to act as health care costs continued to rise, crushing businesses, families and placing an unsustainable burden on governments. Today the Senate HELP committee has produced legislation that lowers costs, protects choice of doctors and plans and assures quality and affordable health care for Americans. The Congressional Budget Office has now issued a more complete review of this bill, concluding that it will cost less and cover more Americans than originally estimated. It also contains provisions that will protect the coverage Americans get at work.When merged with the Senate Finance Committee’s companion pieces, the Senate will be prepared to vote for health reform legislation that does not add to the deficit, reduces health care costs and covers 97% of Americans.

"The HELP Committee legislation reflects many of the principles I’ve laid out, such as reforms that will prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and the concept of insurance exchanges where individuals can find affordable coverage if theylose their jobs, move or get sick. Such a marketplace would allow families and some small businesses the benefit of one-stop-shopping for their healthcare coverage and enable them to compare price and quality and pick theplan that best suits their needs.

"Among the choices that would be available in the exchange would be a public health insurance option. The public option would make health care affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices and keeping the insurance companies honest.

"The legislation also improves the quality of patient care, improves safety for patients and strengthens the commitment to preventive health care – preventing people from getting sick in the first place.

"I thank chairman Kennedy, Senator Dodd, and all the members of the HELP Committee for their hard work on health reform."

President Obama this afternoon nominated another batch of ambassadors.

And par for the course so far, career diplomats are getting, shall we say, the less high-profile posts -- while campaign donors are getting the plum spots.

As envoy to the Netherlands, Obama nominated Fay Hartog-Levin, a Chicago public relations executive who gave $2,100 directly to Obama's presidential campaign and another $28,500 to the Democratic Obama Victory Fund, according to campaignmoney.com .

The president picked longtime Foreign Service officers for the ambassadorships in Mongolia, Burkina Faso, and Swaziland, and a longtime academic for the one in Malta.

"I am confident that these fine individuals will represent our nation abroad with distinction, and strengthen our diplomatic efforts to meet 21st century challenges. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead,” Obama said in a statement.

The president has also tapped major fund-raisers or politicians for sought-after postings in European capitals including London, Paris, and Rome, as well as the high-profile embassies in Beijing and Tokyo. As part of his pledge to change Washington, he had suggested he would reduce the number of political appointees as ambassadors, and increase the ranks of career diplomats.

The full list is below:

President Obama has been urging the public to speak out on healthcare, warning that if they don't, their voices will be drowned out by special interests.

A watchdog group today put some numbers behind that admonition, reporting that health industry groups are vastly outspending consumer groups in lobbying Washington.

The Center for Responsive Politics says that consumer groups that favor Obama's proposals, including a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers, are being "decidedly outspent and out-lobbied by drug manufacturers, insurers, HMOs, and doctors' associations."

In the first three months of 2009, the US Chamber of Commerce, which has spent more money on lobbying since 1998 than any other group, and the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America paid lobbyists a combined $22.5 million to promote their interests.

In contrast, Families USA, a consumer group on healthcare has spent $10,000 on lobbying this year after spending only $32,000 total in 2008, the center says.

Wednesday, rural Pennsylvania. Today, Baghdad.

Vice President Joe Biden is making an unannounced stop in Iraq's capital, his first as President Obama's wingman.

The White House statement on his visit:

"Vice President Biden has arrived in Iraq to visit U.S. troops and to meet with Iraqi leaders, including President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Speaker of the Council of Representatives Ayad al-Samarrai. The Vice President will reiterate the United States’ commitment to fully implement the Security Agreement and the Strategic Framework Agreement and to carry out President Obama’s plan to draw down U.S. forces. He will discuss with Iraq’s leaders the importance of achieving the political progress that is necessary to ensure the nation’s long-term stability. This is Vice President Biden’s second trip to Iraq this year and his first as Vice President."

President Obama plans today to highlight the importance of innovation in creating jobs, but at this rate the White House would be happy with any kind of jobs at all.

The Labor Department reported this morning that employers slashed 467,000 jobs last month, bringing the net loss since the recession began in December 2007 to about 6.5 million.

While the job cuts were less than many economists expected, the unemployment rate still rose to 9.5 percent, the highest in 26 years, and most expect the jobless rate will reach 10 percent this year. About 14.7 million people were unemployed in June.

Besides the devastating impact on families and their towns, the growing unemployment rolls are a political problem for Obama, who championed the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, but wants to be able to show more impact to reassure Americans.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released today, 40 percent of respondents said they believe the economy is still getting worse, while 48 percent said it has stabilized, and only 12 percent believe a recovery has begun.

In his last scheduled public event before decamping for Camp David for the Fourth of July holiday, the president plans to meet with the CEOs of large and small companies that are using innovation to add jobs.

His full remarks are below, followed by the White House release, including the list of attendees:

During the lazy summer doldrums, this would certainly be must-watch TV: a Superstars-style athletics competition between President Obama and former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

The Alaska governor started the verbal jousting this week, bragging that she could beat the commander-in-chief in a running race, especially on her home turf.

"I betcha I'd have more endurance," the avid runner said in an interview that Runner's World magazine posted on its website Tuesday. "My one claim to fame in my own little internal running circle is a sub-four marathon. It wasn't necessarily a good running time, but it proves I have the endurance within me to at least gut it out and that is something. If you ever talk to my old coaches, they'd tell you, too. What I lacked in physical strength or skill I made up for in determination and endurance. So if it were a long race that required a lot of endurance, I'd win."

Asked whether Obama would lace up his sneakers and take on that challenge, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs replied today, "That's an interesting question....I guess it depends on where they were going to run. Maybe there's a terrain advantage in a place like Alaska. But I will certainly ask him if he's got any free time in his summer to do that."

Alas, Gibbs was apparently speaking in jest. Or was he?

He also threw in a bit of a challenge, himself, with the president's favorite sport -- basketball. "How's her jump shot?" he asked.

Palin, a high school point guard who got the nickname "Barracuda" for her aggressive play, anticipated that in her interview.

"People have asked if I'd ever challenge him to one-on-one because we both love basketball," she said. "But look, he towers over me and I wouldn't be complaining about an unfair advantage there, but maybe I'd do better playing H-O-R-S-E with him than one-on-one."

President Obama is seeking to build more public support for his healthcare agenda, holding an online town hall meeting this afternoon at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale.

But newly released poll results show he has some work to do.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found that 51 percent of Americans support Obama's health reform plans, while 45 percent oppose them. Those numbers, however, lag well below his overall job approval standards.

And the vast majority of Americans believe Obama's plans would cause their own medical costs to rise -- 54 percent in the poll said their costs would go up, while 17 percent said their bills would decrease, and 26 percent said costs would stay the same. More worrisome perhaps, only 20 percent of Americans said they would be better off with the healthcare overhaul, while 35 percent said they would worse off, and 44 percent said they would come out about the same.

Also, the number who believe that the healthcare system needs a "great deal" of reform has dipped slightly, to 55 percent now from 62 percent just before the November election.

Still, Americans trust Obama on healthcare more than congressional Republicans or Democrats. When Congress returns next week from its July Fourth recess, key Senate committees plan to resume detailed work on their proposals.

And so far, the poll suggests, Americans aren't buying the arguments of healthcare overhaul critics -- that the proposals would force patients to leave their doctors and that the plans would force private insurers out of business. Only 31 percent believe the former, and 42 percent the latter.

The poll, conducted June 26-28, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

At the town hall, Obama is answering questions from a live audience, as well as and online communities including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Kicking off the event, Obama called healthcare one of the most important issues facing American families -- and one of the keys to long-term economic prosperity.

"We are at a defining moment for this nation," he said, reprising a reform theme from his campaign and confronting critics who say he is taking on too many ambitious proposals.

"America has waited too long," he said, to seriously deal with healthcare, as well as education and clean energy.

The president also addressed the concern that a healthcare overhaul designed to extend coverage to every American will cost too much -- more than $1 trillion over the next decade, according to most estimates.

"The costs of inaction, of doing nothing, are even greater and are unacceptable," Obama said, with healthcare inflation rising dramatically and increasing the federal deficit.

Beyond macroeconomics, healthcare problems are hurting real families every day, he said.

Obama vowed to get an overhaul plan through Congress this session.

"We are going to pass it this year," he said to applause. "That is my commitment. We are going to get it done."

But he cautioned that the most difficult work to passing a plan lies ahead. Naysayers are coming up with "every excuse and scare tactic in the book" to stall reform, he said.

To critics, he said he asks, what's their alternative and what they say to Americans who are without insurance or at risk of losing it.

"All of us are in this together," he said.

He urged the public to join the fight, saying that if Congress doesn't believe that Americans want real change, the lobbyists and special interests will carry the day.

(His full remarks, and the question-and-answer session, are below.)

Obama has mobilized his grassroots army to get the word out on healthcare. The post-election vehicle for Obama's campaign, Organizing for America, held a series of service-related healthcare events last week. And today, it sent supporters an email bragging about the turnout, including a video of highlights and a reference to a Boston Globe report about it.

"Last weekend, you were part of something big," wrote Jeremy Bird, the group's deputy director. "Americans like you came together across the country -- in community health centers, outside of supermarkets, in local schools -- to serve together and improve health care in your community. While serving your neighborhoods, you raised your voice and built momentum to finally fix this broken health care system. Thank you for your work."

A pro-Obama, Democratic grassroots group unveiled a new TV ad today, lauding the House for passing a landmark climate change bill and urging supporters to call their senators to do the same.

The spot, from Americans United for Change, is to air in Washington this week and asserts that the legislation will create millions of clean energy jobs. "It’s a foundation for America’s long-term economic success, making us world leader in clean energy," the announcer says. "The challenge is global. And the solution uniquely American."

After lots of arm-twisting by President Obama and his aides, and quite a bit of horse-trading, the House on Friday narrowly passed the bill on a 219-212 vote. It is designed to lower how much carbon is pumped into the atmosphere through a "cap-and-trade" system in which carbon emissions are capped and permits to pollute are given away or sold by the government.

But the bill faces tough sledding in the Senate, and some observers don't believe it will pass this year, though Obama wants final passage before he attends an international global warming conference in Copenhagen.

Obama and his allies are ramping up their grassroots efforts to put pressure on senators.

“Thanks to the extraordinary leadership in Congress, America has taken a giant leap towards becoming the global standard for clean energy while creating millions of new jobs in the process," Tom McMahon, acting executive director of Americans United for Change, said in a statement. "This historic legislation will help build a solid foundation for long-term economic prosperity by meeting President Obama’s challenge to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and curbing pollution that causes global warming. This ad is designed to encourage Congress to continue standing up to the forces of ‘status quo’ and move this historic clean energy jobs bill to the President’s desk as quickly as possible.”

UPDATE: Organizing for America, the current iteration of Obama's grassroots campaign organization, is sending an email today to thousands of members in Representative Ed Markey's district, urging them to call the Massachusetts congressman with thanks for his leadership on the energy bill.

"We know that historic change is always tough, and enacting clean energy legislation is no exception," wrote Addisu Demissie, the group's political director. "But, with your help, on Friday the House passed a historic energy bill -- a critical first step toward rebuilding our economy with good green jobs, reducing harmful pollution, and breaking our dependence on foreign oil."

Maybe Mitt Romney should look warily over his shoulder, lest a political calamity befall him, too.

Continuing President Obama's political good fortune, a growing list of possible Republican opponents in 2012 is falling by the wayside, often due to self-inflicted wounds.

Two weeks ago, Senator John Ensign of Nevada admitted a messy extramarital affair with a former campaign staffer, likely taking himself out of the running.

This week, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took more hits in a scathing piece in Vanity Fair magazine in which unnamed aides to Senator John McCain, who picked her as the GOP vice presidential nominee last year, basically said she was not ready for prime time.

And, of course, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford keeps digging his political grave deeper and deeper, confessing on Tuesday to indiscretions with women other than his Argentinian mistress, whom he called his soul mate.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who ran last year for the Republican nomination, has kept himself largely unscathed since Obama took office, even as he has kept himself omnipresent on cable TV. He has continued raising money for fellow Republicans, collecting chits along the way. He has burnished his foreign policy credentials, his weak area last year. In an attention-grabbing speech last month, he assailed Obama's national security strategy, asserting that the president is endangering America and unnecessarily apologizing on the country's behalf.

As the Republican field opens up before him, Romney's continuing strength could help explain why Democratic groups criticize him at every opportunity, often reviving the accusation that he will flip-flop on issues when to his political advantage.

On the first stop of the Obama administration's summer tour of rural America, Vice President Biden announced today that $4 billion in economic stimulus cash will be available in loans and grants to help bring broadband Internet service to unserved and underserved communities.

Of that amount, the Agriculture Department will invest $2.5 billion for broadband -- needed for quick downloading of videos and other web material -- in rural communities.

“Today’s announcement is a first step toward realizing President Obama’s vision of a nationwide 21st-century communications infrastructure – one that encourages economic growth, enhances America’s global competitiveness and helps address many of America’s most pressing challenges,” Biden said in Wattsburg, Pa.