**RealClearPolitics Video: Check out all the Sunday talk show highlights you missed, including VP Biden saying the administration "misread the economy," as well as Karl Rove and others on Sarah Palin's resignation.

**President Obama
*USA Today lead says it: "As a freshman senator in August 2005, Barack Obama walked through Moscow's Red Square virtually unnoticed during a congressional trip to inspect former nuclear weapons sites. Today, Obama's face adorns Russian nesting dolls, which can be pulled apart to reveal smaller dolls with the portraits of previous American presidents.

*The Tribune quotes Russian Pres. Dmitry Medvedev saying, "I believe that at present these relations have begun to revive. At the moment I think we are all moderately optimistic."

*Is the White House happy about these words? VP Biden on "This Week": "The truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited. Now, that doesn't -- I'm not -- it's now our responsibility. So the second question becomes, did the economic package we put in place, including the Recovery Act, is it the right package given the circumstances we're in? And we believe it is the right package given the circumstances we're in."

*He also said the Iraqis are on their own if violence flares up now that U.S. troops have begun withdrawing from the cities. "That's going to be a tragic outcome for the Iraqi people. We made a commitment."

*AP: "Politically and economically, the next three months are critical for Barack Obama's presidency. The pace of the economic recovery heading into the fall -- electric smooth or diesel rough -- will determine whether Obama can prod Congress on the key features of his agenda with momentum or from a defensive crouch."

*The New York Times reports that while the location of Obama's summer vacation is not official, "it is hardly a secret to the people on Martha's Vineyard, several business owners and others said, where reservations have been made and preparations are under way for the Obama family's August arrival." A number of locations were considered, but "since the Obamas have previously visited Martha's Vineyard, and the Secret Service is accustomed to protecting presidents there, it became a top choice."

**Congress
*Roll Call: "After waiting eight long months for final confirmation that he defeated former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Sen.-elect Al Franken (D) will have no time to spare as he seeks to get up to speed this week on two of the biggest debates facing the chamber. ... Franken, who last week declined most media requests besides home-state press, will likely be sworn in as the 100th Senator midday Tuesday, one senior Senate Democratic aide confirmed."

*"But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) isn't feeling especially giddy -- and he's trying to bridge the gap between his herd-the-cats daily reality and rising expectations that he's just been appointed overlord of a filibuster-proof Democratic kingdom," Politico reports.

*The Hill: "The House, in its first week back from the Fourth of July break, may vote on as many as three spending measures for next year: one to fund the Department of Agriculture, another for the State Department and foreign operations and a third that funds military construction and the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The House has already passed four appropriations measures, putting Democratic lawmakers in position to move the dozen spending bills out of the chamber by August, a goal of House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.)."

*L.A. Times: "President Obama's landmark energy and global warming bill squeaked through the House only after the White House made dozens of concessions to coal, manufacturing and other interests. Now, as the battle moves to the Senate, Obama faces demands for even more concessions -- including pressure to open the nation's coastlines to offshore oil and gas drilling."

**Palin Resigning
*Anchorage Daily News: "The FBI is taking the unusual step of declaring that Gov. Sarah Palin is not under investigation. ... Palin's personal attorney, Thomas Von Flein, on Saturday denounced rumors that Palin resigned because she is under criminal investigation, and threatened legal action against anyone publishing such 'defamatory' material about the governor."

*The AP says: "To many Alaskans, Palin has been off the job for awhile already, acting as a disengaged presence around the state Capitol since she returned from the presidential campaign trail last year." State Rep. Les Gara, a Democrat: "She had a surprising amount of disinterest in state government after November. This state has a lot of problems, and she showed a complete lack of interest in solving them."

*Politico: "Former Bush adviser Karl Rove and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee both seemed to be scratching their heads over Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to resign her office in an appearance along with Alaska Lt. Gov Sean Parnell on 'Fox News Sunday.' "

*WaPo's Anne Applebaum takes on Palin's Saturday Facebook message in which she attacked the "main stream [sic] media." WaPo's Dionne called it "one of the zaniest moments in American political history."

*The AP reports that Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell is Palin's "polar opposite."

**Campaign Stuff
*South Dakota: "U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin still hasn't announced whether she will run for re-election to the House or seek the governor's chair in 2010. A third possibility, challenging Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune, is still mentioned in Democratic circles, but not with much conviction. The time frame for Herseth Sandlin's announcement is almost as much a topic of conversation as her ultimate decision. Most insiders suspect it will be another House run, but they also say she is clearly considering the governor's race," Rapid City Journal reports.

*NV Sen: "A Reno attorney with a 'commitment to injustice' is the latest to float his name as a possible Republican opponent to Sen. Harry Reid. Chuck Kozak has formed an exploratory committee and hired consultants to feel out his possible candidacy. A campaign flier he's circulating describes him as 'a lifelong Republican, a distinguished attorney, an accomplished athlete, a proud veteran and a patriotic American,' " Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

*Las Vegas Sun reports that Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) appears unlikely to challenge Sen. Harry Reid. And "Senate Republicans have told the Sun they cannot wait forever, and seem resigned that Heller is staying put."

*Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) talked about his potential run for Senate in Northampton County. "This isn't something I wanted to do four months ago, but it has to be done. Someone has to be in this race that's credible."

*In the Florida Senate race, Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to report he raised close to $3 million in just six weeks; Marco Rubio likely will report less than one-third of that, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

*The Washington Post reports that Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Md.) is again focusing on energy rates as he gears up for re-election. But successes in some fronts has "seemed relatively small to some in the face of still-rising bills."

*TN Gov: "In the race to assemble a campaign fundraising team for next year's Republican gubernatorial primary, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam's apparent strategy is to recruit the same people behind the successes of others' recent statewide runs," Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

*Ovide Lamontagne talked to the Union Leader about his potential run for Senate. "We've given full control of Congress and the executive branch to Democrats. I don't think the people of the United States realize the real, true direction the administration is taking us." Lamontagne said.

*The Daily Advertiser catches up with Stormy Daniels, the porn star running for U.S. Senate in Louisiana. "Am I qualified to do this? No. Then, I thought, 'Maybe I've been handed an opportunity and it's my higher calling that I should bring attention to the problems in the Senate race here in Louisiana."

**Gallup: "Despite the results of the 2008 presidential election, Americans, by a 2-to-1 margin, say their political views in recent years have become more conservative rather than more liberal, 39% to 18%, with 42% saying they have not changed. While independents and Democrats most often say their views haven't changed, more members of all three major partisan groups indicate that their views have shifted to the right rather than to the left."

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad