TOP STORIES:
Pork-barrel spending increases in 2009; Alarkon THE HILL
Deficit Plays Into Health Reform; Montgomery WASHINGTON POST
Supporters of Health-Care Change Prepare Counterattack; Maher, Bendavid WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Great ‘Prevention’ Myth; Krauthammer WASHINGTON POST
Obama’s Senior Moment; Editorial WALL STREET JOURNAL
HOUSE:
At Indiana Forum, Skepticism of Overhaul Reigns; Belkin WALL STREET JOURNAL
Suspension lifted for contractor tied to Murtha; Yost ASSOCIATED PRESS
E-mails from public overload House Web site; Flaherty ASSOCIATED PRESS
Town halls too heated for some; Kiely USA TODAY
Members March Through Dozens of Town-Hall Meetings; Geier ROLL CALL
Hoekstra Says Michigan Officials Should Tour Gitmo; Bendery ROLL CALL
Boehner Pits Pelosi Against Obama in Health Care Debate; Bendery ROLL CALL
GOP Launches Site to Track Federal Spending; Kucinich ROLL CALL
Michigan GOP lawmakers don’t want Gitmo prisoners; McCaffrey THE HILL
GOP lawmaker criticizes Nazi talk; Hooper THE HILL
Congress moves to extend unemployment benefits; McCaffrey THE HILL
Estate Tax, Expiring Tax Breaks Await Congress; CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY
HOUSE ELECTIONS:
GOP Unlikely to Land Top Recruit Against Space in Ohio; Whittington ROLL CALL
Bachmann Compares Herself to Palin in New Fundraising Appeal; Kurtz ROLL CALL
New Independent Poll Shows California Special Is Wide Open; Kurtz ROLL CALL
Biden and lobbyist don’t mix at Grayson fundraiser; Blake THE HILL
Rice Campaign Builds Momentum in South Carolina 3; Cadei CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY
SENATE:
U.S. Senator to Meet Myanmar Leader; Stolberg, Otterman NEW YORK TIMES
Senators Investigate Hospital Purchasing; Walsh NEW YORK TIMES
Sen. Webb to Visit Burma in Wake of American’s Arrest; Lynch WASHINGTON POST
Are Dems losing August?; Lerer POLITICO
Senate committee scraps healthcare provision that gave rise to ‘death panel’ claims; Parsons, Zajac LOS ANGELES TIMES
Specter Faces Heat at Latest Town Hall; Toeplitz ROLL CALL
Gillibrand Urges Kansas Senators to Lift Hold on McHugh Nomination; Stanton ROLL CALL
Finance Committee to drop end-of-life provision; O’Brien THE HILL
McConnell Wants To ‘Kill’ Warming Bill; CONGRESS DAILY
SENATE ELECTIONS:
Simmons, Foley Dueling Early For GOP Nod; McPike CONGRESS DAILY
POLITICS/CAMPAIGNS:
Host Loses Some Sponsors After an Obama Remark; Stelter NEW YORK TIMES
Allen Tries to Shake Off the ‘Macaca’ Shadow; Somashekhar WASHINGTON POST
Overlooking a Revolution; Ravindran WASHINGTON POST
Newt’s advice for Palin comeback; Cummings POLITICO
Bill: ‘New era of progressive politics’; Mahtesian POLITICO
Giuliani: Obama failing to lead; Barr POLITICO
California: Whitman, Brown Lead for Governor; CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY
Corzine targets rival over talks with Rove; Santi ASSOCIATED PRESS
ADMINISTRATION:
Clinton Supports President of Liberia; Gettleman NEW YORK TIMES
Clinton Dismisses Flap, Calls Africa Trip ‘Great’; Sheridan WASHINGTON POST
Hagel Climbing the Ladder in Obama White House; Kamen WASHINGTON POST
In Africa, Clinton Balances Criticism, Praise; Childress, Solomon WALL STREET JOURNAL
From ‘Yes, We Can,’ to ‘No! Don’t!’; Noonan WALL STREET JOURNAL
Sharpton, Gingrich push Obama’s school reforms; Quaid ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hamas looks at Obama plan ‘positively,’ with condition; Johnson THE HILL
SCOTUS:
No Coverage
BAILOUT/ECONOMY:
Invigorated by Clunker Cash, Ford Moves to Increase Output; Vlasic NEW YORK TIMES
France, Germany Fend Off Recession; Faiola WASHINGTON POST
Obama Wants Big Banks To Pay More for Oversight; Cho WASHINGTON POST
Optimism Bypasses Consumers; Shin, Mui WASHINGTON POST
Rethinking the Fed Chairmanship and Weighing Who’s Right for the Job; Pearlstein WASHINGTON POST
‘Clunkers’ Plan Needs a Tuneup; Mitchell, Linebaugh WALL STREET JOURNAL
Europe Recovers as U.S. Lags; Walker, Gauthier-Villars WALL STREET JOURNAL
Geithner Sees Good Vital Signs; Solomon WALL STREET JOURNAL
Retail Sales Fell in July Despite Clunkers Program; Murray, Alini WALL STREET JOURNAL
Bernanke in the Cross-Hairs; Strassel WALL STREET JOURNAL
Dealers Can Reserve Vehicles to Cover Clunker Trade-Ins; ASSOCIATED PRESS
HEALTHCARE:
False ‘Death Panel’ Rumor Has Some Familiar Roots; Rutenberg, Calmes NEW YORK TIMES
Obama Proposal to Create Medicare Panel Meets With Resistance; Pear NEW YORK TIMES
How an Agency Affected Policy; NEW YORK TIMES
Ad Campaign Counterattacks Against Overhaul’s Critics; Seelye NEW YORK TIMES
Republican Death Trip; Krugman NEW YORK TIMES
Obama to Take On Health-Care Critics; Kornblut WASHINGTON POST
‘Death Panel’ Sideshow; Editorial WASHINGTON POST
At the Town Halls, Trivializing Evil; Gerson WASHINGTON POST
Can Obama keep town halls cool?; Lee POLITICO
Massive campaign for Obama hits air; Allen POLITICO
Palin doubles down on ‘death panels’; Barr POLITICO
Dean responds to ‘outlandish’ claims; Heitz POLITICO
Obama visits mountain West, knowing vulnerability; Sidoti, Wyatt ASSOCIATED PRESS
White House uses e-mail to counter health critics; Werner ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bill Clinton: GOP promotes fear over health care; Nephin ASSOCIATED PRESS
Palin stands by ‘death panel’ claim; Daly ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gordon Brown ‘tweets’ in defense of health care; ASSOCIATED PRESS
Health care showdown shifts to TV ads; Fritze, Jackson USA TODAY
Healthy debate; Editorial USA TODAY
Grand Junction a microcosm of efficient healthcare; Riccardi LOS ANGELES TIMES
White House deal with drug firms draws flak; Hamburger LOS ANGELES TIMES
Democrats Orchestrate Town-Hall Counterpunch; Stanton ROLL CALL
Obamacare’s backroom deal; Editorial WASHINGTON TIMES
Palin target renounces care rationing; Ward WASHINGTON TIMES
STIMULUS:
Major Carriers Shun Broadband Stimulus; Kang WASHINGTON POST
Analysts Give Stimulus Mixed Reviews; CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY
Pace of stimulus spending plummets; Dinan WASHINGTON TIMES
LABOR/EFCA:
No Coverage
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT:
Coal Industry Group Responds to Markey but Offers Few Public Details; Palmer ROLL CALL
DEFENSE/WAR ON TERROR:
A Technocrat Shakes Up the Afghan Campaign; Gall NEW YORK TIMES
Afghan Election Race Narrows; Gall NEW YORK TIMES
U.S. to Resume Training Georgian Troops; Shanker NEW YORK TIMES
Iran Seeks Ban on Striking Atomic Sites; Worth NEW YORK TIMES
Blasts Kill 21 at a Cafe in North Iraq; Santora NEW YORK TIMES
Iraq’s Sunnis; Editorial NEW YORK TIMES
High-Stakes Opening and Closing Roles for a U.S. General in Iraq; Londoño WASHINGTON POST
With Karzai Favored to Win, U.S. Walks a Fine Line; Partlow, DeYoung WASHINGTON POST
U.S. Detains Journalist Fleeing Pakistan Threats; Aizenman WASHINGTON POST
Double Suicide Bombing Kills at Least 21 in Northern Iraq; Londoño, Brwari WASHINGTON POST
Gates: No Troop Request In Afghanistan Review; DeYoung WASHINGTON POST
U.S. Boots On Congo Ground; Michael O’Hanlon WASHINGTON POST
U.S. Seeds New Crops to Supplant Afghan Poppies; Dreazen WALL STREET JOURNAL
Killing of Militant Shows Cementing U.S.-Pakistan Ties; Seib WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Afghans Have a Referendum on Democracy; Marlowe WALL STREET JOURNAL
W.H. asks for $1B to add to Army; Rogers POLITICO
Poll shows Afghan vote headed for second round; Graff REUTERS
Gates: ‘A few years’ of combat in Afghanistan; Jakes, Gearan ASSOCIATED PRESS
EXCLUSIVE: General considers more Afghanistan fighters; Scarborough WASHINGTON TIMES
U.S. LOCAL:
Budget Deal Ending Need for I.O.U.’s in California; McKinley NEW YORK TIMES
California to Redeem IOUs Early; Woo WALL STREET JOURNAL
Michigan Prison Assessed for Possible Gitmo Transfers; ASSOCIATED PRESS
OF NOTE:
Former Aide to Bill Clinton Charged With Prison Breach; Barnes NEW YORK TIMES
World Trade Victory; Editorial WALL STREET JOURNAL
Analysis: Gov’t dallies, airline passengers suffer; Lowy ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOP BLOGS:
Montana stop could be rowdy; Lee POLITICO’S 44 BLOG
Matching e-mails with e-mails; Martin POLITICO’S SMITH BLOG
ACLU v. single-payer?; Gerstein POLITICO’S UNDER THE RADAR BLOG
Democrats highlight kinder, gentler town halls; Kady POLITICO’S THRUSH BLOG
U.S. attorney docs ding Christie; Mahtesian POLITICO’S SCORECARD BLOG
McHenry: I really do believe Obama was born in USA; Kady POLITICO’S THRUSH BLOG
New poll shows preference for raising taxes to preserve Soc Security; Martin POLITICO’S SMITH BLOG
W.H. waives ethics rules for 2 Obama lawyers; Gerstein POLITICO’S UNDER THE RADAR BLOG
Specter’s week; Mahtesian POLITICO’S SCORECARD BLOG