The AP reports that "after weeks of secretive talks, a bipartisan group in the Senate edged closer Monday to a health care compromise that omits two key Democratic priorities but incorporates provisions to slow the explosive rise in medical costs." The deal was likely to "exclude a requirement many congressional Democrats seek for large businesses to offer coverage to their workers" and a "provision for a government insurance option." The Wall Street Journal says that "individuals familiar with the negotiations suggested" Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus "would like to unveil a deal later this week. But unclear Monday was whether" ranking Republican Sen. Charles Grassley "would sign onto the deal and pave the way for committee action next week."
The New York Times, in a front-page article titled, "Health Policy Now Carved Out At Table Of Six Moderates," says that if the six senators "can pull off a grand bargain, it will have to be more conservative than the measures proposed by the House or the left-leaning Senate health committee. And that could force Mr. Obama to choose between backing the bipartisan deal or rank-and-file Democrats who want a bill that more closely reflects their liberal ideals."
The New York Times notes that GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe, one of the six Finance Committee negotiators, said the deal "would affect not just 'gold-plated Cadillac' plans costing $40,000 a year. Instead, Ms. Snowe said, senators might draw the line 'in the vicinity of $25,000." The Hill says the US Chamber of Commerce's endorsement of the Senate negotiations "is as much a swipe at House Democrats as it is an offer of support for Baucus and Grassley's months-long effort to hammer out an agreement on legislation that can attract more than 60 votes in the Senate."
Fox News' Special Report reported, "Democrats are trying to figure out what to do over the impasse on healthcare reform. ... The problem is Democrats." Republicans "railed against rushing, and now cite Democratic division and delay to highlight problems and objections to various proposals."
Ed Schultz, on MSNBC's The Ed Show, said that in his opinion, the Republicans "are winning" the healthcare reform debate. Schultz added, "We've got 40 Republicans who are going to screw this thing up for 48 million Americans. ... I want to know if progressives in the Senate are going to stand their ground and fight for real reform."
Pelosi May Delay House Vote The New York Times reports House Speaker Pelosi "suggested that any House vote on a health plan would be delayed until more was known of the Senate approach." The Hill notes that Pelosi said, "A lot depends on when the Energy and Commerce Committee finishes its work. ... Then we can make a decision on when we can take it to the floor." However, The Hill reports House minority leader John Boehner "seemed confident Monday that very few, if any, Republicans would cross the aisle to vote for a Democratic healthcare reform bill." The Politico notes that while House Republicans "blast away at the Democratic health care reform legislation, the GOP has yet to reveal its own alternative legislation."
The release of the 911 tapes of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates' arrest received ample coverage on all three network newscasts, and actually led the CBS Evening News. The major media outlets excerpt the 911 tapes extensively, with most reports cautioning that the recordings leave questions unanswered and are unlikely to end the controversy. Generally, however, the stories tend to offer a positive portrayal of Sergeant James Crowley's actions. On that same topic, the New York Times reports that "a White House official said on Monday that...Gates and...Crowley had accepted Mr. Obama's invitation" to meet at the White House for a beer.
The Los Angeles Times says on its front page that "White House aides are downplaying expectations that the beer summit...will produce a resolution." The encounter is "set for Thursday, an administration official confirmed Monday night." Edward Luce, in an analysis in Financial Times, says, "The best thing Mr Obama could do is focus on achieving grand objectives such as healthcare reform, and empower his officials and allies to do the blunt speaking on racism in his stead."
Reporting on the 911 tapes, the Wall Street Journal says that "the woman who called police" to Gates' house "told a dispatcher she was unsure whether a break-in was in progress and couldn't specify the race of the men trying to force open the front door."
USA Today reports Whalen's attorney, Wendy Murphy "said her client wanted to set the record straight because she has been accused in Internet postings and phone calls to her house of being a racist for making a call that mentioned two black suspects and 'nothing could be farther from the truth.'"
A number of analyses, meanwhile, say the tapes by no means end the controversy. The New York Times headlines its story "911 Tape Raises Questions In Gates Case," and says the recordings "shed no light on...Gates's behavior that day; a male voice could be heard in the background in parts of...Crowley's radio transmissions, but whether it belongs to the professor was unclear."
ABC World News reported there are "still a lot of questions because there are no tapes of what exactly transpired between Gates and Crowley. The sergeant is back on the beat tonight and the city of Cambridge is ready to move on." The Washington Post similarly reports that "the role of race in the controversial arrest...became more difficult to untangle Monday with the release of the tape."
The Detroit Free Press reports that GOP Rep. Thaddeus McCotter "will move forward with plans for a resolution calling on Obama to apologize to...Crowley." In his resolution, "McCotter says he will call on Obama to retract his earlier remarks and apologize to Crowley 'for having unfairly impugned and prejudged his professional conduct.'"
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The Honolulu Advertiser reports, "In an attempt to quash persistent rumors that President Obama was not born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961, Hawaii's health director reiterated this afternoon that she has personally seen Obama's birth certificate in the Health Department's archives." The AP notes that "state law bars release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible interest."
Fox News' Special Report, meanwhile, referred to the story as "another nagging issue that won't go away for the President," and went on to note "the belief by some that he was not born in the US and therefore is not eligible to be commander in chief. It is becoming an Internet movement of people who believe the certification of live birth document posted on the internet by the Obama campaign is either a fraud or not a valid confirmation that...Obama was born in Hawaii."
Fox News' Special Report also reported that "the issue came up again today in the daily briefing." White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was shown saying: "If I had some DNA it wouldn't assuage those that don't believe he was born here."
Issue Seen As Potential "Nightmare" For GOP On MSNBC's Hardball, Newsweek's Howard Fineman said Republicans' "nightmare is to go back home for the August recess where they would like to spend the time attacking Barack Obama's healthcare plan and...have to spend all their time at the meetings talking about whether Barack Obama has a legitimate birth certificate or not."
The Politico reports that "Republicans are preparing for something else: the birthers. As GOP Rep. Mike Castle learned the hard way back home in Delaware this month, there's no easy way to deal with the small but vocal crowd of right-wing activists."
Birther Leader's Facebook Friends Include Steele, Cantor, Other GOP Lawmakers The Politico reports that "Orly Taitz, the California attorney-dentist leading the charge of the so-called birthers movement," who "is boasting on her blog that she's made some high-profile 'friends' on Facebook: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor and GOP Reps. Mary Bono Mack and Cynthia Lummis."
The Hill, in an article titled, "Lobbyists Gain Upper Hand In Obama Battle," reports that "lobbying interests that President Obama campaigned against last year have gained the upper hand on the White House in recent weeks. ... They have succeeded in slowing legislation to revamp the nation's healthcare system, won an essential change to climate change legislation and put off efforts to set up a consumer agency in the financial sector."
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NBC Nightly News reports that Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning, "considered the single most vulnerable Republican in the Senate," announced yesterday he would not seek reelection. The AP notes Bunning cited "a lack of campaign money and interference from Senate Republicans who were pushing for him to exit the race. In a statement issued by his office, Bunning said his GOP colleagues had done 'everything in their power to dry up my fundraising.'" The New York Times adds that Bunning has "long had strained relationships with party colleagues, including his fellow Kentucky senator, Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, who had declined to endorse him." The Washington Post says that Republicans "feared his seat would fall to Democrats next November if he remained on the ballot." And "led by fellow Kentuckian...McConnell, GOP leaders mounted an unsubtle campaign in recent months to persuade Bunning to hang up his spikes." The Politico says McConnell now "has the competitive race he wanted instead of a campaign heavily favoring the Democrats."
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) said yesterday that he will enter the contest now that Bunning is out. Grayson has "raised more than $600,000 for his exploratory committee, making him the top contender in the Republican primary so far."
Fox News' Special Report reported that the latest Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows Mitt Romney leading the 2012 GOP field with 22%, followed by Mike Huckabee with 21% and Sarah Palin with 17%. Rudy Giuliani comes in 4th with 13%, followed by Newt Gingrich with 9% and a number of candidates at 3% or less. Fox adds, "Palin's numbers among registered voters are sinking, however. Her favorable rating is just 38%, while 51% see her as unfavorable now."
The Washington Post reports, "The Senate ethics committee has interviewed a former Countrywide Financial executive who testified under oath that" Sens. Chris Dodd (D) and Kent Conrad (D) "were aware that they were accessing a special program to give below-market-rate mortgages to the powerful and famous when he arranged their loans, according to the executive's attorneys." The AP adds, "Both senators were VIP borrowers in the program known as 'friends of Angelo.' Angelo Mozilo was chief executive of Countrywide, which played a big part in the foreclosure crisis triggered by defaults on subprime loans." However, The Politico says Conrad and Dodd "are fiercely denying a report that they knew they were getting sweetheart mortgage deals - accusing a Countrywide Financial loan officer of distorting their relationships with the former mortgage giant."
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David Letterman: "You know what they're saying, that President Obama is trying to do too much too soon. You have heard that criticism? They criticized him for trying to do too much too soon and the fact that he wears baggie jeans. No wonder his poll numbers are going down."
Craig Ferguson: "The US Senate is considering a bill that would tax Botox. ... When Botox users heard this, they were horrified. Well, I think they were horrified. It's difficult to tell."
Jimmy Fallon: "The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said that Twitter is now blocked on every White House computer. Gibbs said, 'Sorry, I will not give a specific reason on why we are blocking Twitter. This concerns international White House okay, it was Biden. He was playing around again.'"
Conan O'Brien: "Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin resigned yesterday, and during her speech, she was heckled. ... Apparently, it was just someone in Russia yelling, 'Keep it down over there!'"
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