**President Obama
*The Detroit Free Press on today's big announcement: "Backed by its unions, large bondholders, and the governments of the United States, Canada and Ontario, GM will file in New York a painful plan to cleave itself into a lean, government-owned automaker pared down to compete in a sputtering U.S. market. As part of the bankruptcy, GM will spell out 14 plant closings expected to affect 21,000 jobs, and additional cuts among salaried workers."

*AP: "Obama couldn't let General Motors fail, but he won't concede he's taking over the company. With a 60 percent equity stake in the carmaker and $50 billion in taxpayer money riding on GM's success, the federal government isn't exactly a hands-off investor. ... The sheer size of GM's bankruptcy protection filing, the magnitude of the government's role and the company's status as a fallen symbol of American industrial might make this intervention perhaps the most remarkable."

*The Obamas went to dinner and a show Saturday. The president golfed on Sunday. NYT: "The RNC has sought to use the president's weekend extracurricular activities - and the impending bankruptcy of G.M. - to portray him as out-of-touch with struggling Americans. But a White House aide pointed out that by this time in his presidency, George W. Bush had visited his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for weekends of relaxation several times.

*On the Sunday shows, Republican senators avoided the strong rhetoric coming from others on race, the Washington Times reports. "Sen. Lindsey Graham called on Judge Sotomayor to apologize for her remark, though he and other Republicans did not go so far as to call her a racist." Sen. Jon Kyl "also declined to call Judge Sotomayor a racist, saying he's 'not going to get drawn into characterizations before I have even met her.'"

*As the confirmation gears up, Jake Tapper points out that Obama is the first president ever to vote to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee. And the Washington Examiner noted this weekend that Jeff Sessions, the new ranking member on Judiciary, saw his nomination to the federal bench derailed by some of his current colleagues. "I don't have any problem putting that aside," Sessions says. "You can't dwell on those things. If I had been confirmed as a judge, I'd be reading briefs today. How can you complain about that?"

*Ahead of Obama's trip to Egypt, Wall Street Journal previews his message to the Arab world, saying he's likely to highlight his personal story. "Polling in the Arab world shows that Mr. Obama at this time is better liked than former President George W. Bush and that many are hopeful about his administration. But the U.S. is still seen in a mostly unfavorable light in the region, and those attitudes have only marginally improved since Mr. Obama took office."

**Capitol Hill
*Sonia Sotomayor: "Scheduled on Sotomayor's itinerary this week are reportedly visits with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and possibly his counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Also included are stops with Sessions and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman," The Hill reports.

*"Notwithstanding fierce criticism from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich, there is scant evidence of solid opposition from Republican senators. Indeed, strategists on both sides say that one-third or more of the 40 Senate Republicans may vote to confirm her," New York Times' Harwood reports.

*Broder: "When he was elected president, Barack Obama inherited Harry Reid as the Senate majority leader; the choice was not in his hands. When the Illinois Democrat was elevated to the White House, Reid inherited Roland Burris as the Senate successor to Obama. Reid almost certainly would have preferred someone else. But now all three -- Obama, Reid and Burris -- are linked in a way that poses a challenge for the Democrats in the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections."

*AP reports that this week is "go time" for health care on the Hill. "First up as Congress returns from a weeklong recess: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, partially sidelined by cancer, is convening his health committee's Democrats on Tuesday to begin weighing his proposals to extend health care to all. Later in the week, the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee meets behind closed doors to work on legislation to achieve the same goal."

*An interesting read from this weekend from the WSJ: "As British politicians come under widening scorn for spending public money on everything from candy bars to moat-dredging, an examination of U.S. lawmakers' expense claims shows Washington's elected officials have also used public funds for eye-catching purchases."

*"Early after his election victory, Obama did not expend political capital on congressional races, but in recent weeks he has sought to lengthen his coattails by protecting vulnerable Democratic lawmakers facing tough election races in 2010," The Hill reports.

**Republicans
*Mitt Romney continues his media blitz -- stopped by the Virginia GOP convention (where he said the Va. and N.J. gov elections this year are bellwethers for the GOP), appeared on Fox News Sunday, and today will give a speech titled "The Care of Freedom" at a Heritage Foundation-sponsored event at the U.S. Navy Memorial.

*"Republican Senate leaders won't call Sonia Sotomayor a racist. But they're fine with Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich playing the race card to rile up an out-of-power GOP," AP reports.

*Gallup: "The results show clearly that the Republican Party today is first and foremost a political entity dominated by white Americans. Eighty-nine percent of rank-and-file Republicans are non-Hispanic whites, leaving just 5% who are Hispanic (of any race), 2% who are black, and 4% of other races."

**Campaign Stuff
*Minnesota Senate watch: "Almost seven months after a U.S. Senate election that was too close to call, five justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether problems with absentee ballots justify reversing a lower-court ruling that declared DFLer Al Franken a 312-vote winner over Republican Norm Coleman."

*The New Jersey gubernatorial primaries are tomorrow, with the focus on Chris Christie vs. Steve Lonegan on the Republican side. The AP notes that turnout is expected to be low. "The latest polls show most likely voters had made up their mind, and supporting Christie by a wide margin over Lonegan, with Merkt running a distant third. If Lonegan has any advantage, it's die-hard supporters."

The Star-Ledger notes that Gov. Jon Corzine (D) does face some primary challengers, though all are long shots.

*Miami Herald reports that the Florida J-J Dinner Saturday "amounted to a coming-out party for Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who Democrats view as their best hope for wresting the governor's mansion from the Republican Party. It's a tall order for a politician who has served only 17 months in public office. Democrats hope her rural upbringing, business background and home base in competitive Tampa Bay make her an ideal candidate."

St. Pete Times adds, however: "So confident are so many Democrats about Sink's ability to win the governor's race, it's easy to forget that the vast majority of Floridians have little clue who Sink is. Citizens' letters to her office come addressed to 'Mr. Sink.'"

*Meanwhile, Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) may have lost one opponent, but is he gaining another? State Sen. Dan Gelber announced he's now considering an Attorney General bid. But Rep. Corinne Brown (D) plans to file an exploratory committee.

*Gov. Ed Rendell told MSNBC Friday night that Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) "would get killed" if he ran for the Senate. "I'm a great admirer of Joe Sestak and worked hard to get him elected and reelected, and I'm going to work hard to get him reelected when he runs for Congress next year, not for the Senate," Rendell said. "Joe should not run for the senate in the Democratic primary--he'd get killed."

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad