**President Obama
*NYT: "Will it be Budweiser? Or Pabst Blue Ribbon? Whatever the beer, a senior White House official said Monday night that the Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department will be sharing that promised brewski at the White House with President Obama on Thursday at 6 p.m."

*SurveyUSA: 38 percent of voters approve of how Obama has handled the Gates controversy, while 50 percent disapprove. Another 60 percent say he was wrong to take a side.

*The state of Hawaii has again declared that Obama is in fact a native-born U.S. citizen after reviewing his birth certificate.

*More VP fallout: "The Obama White House's vaunted message machine has been thrown off-track with increasing regularity by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., whose five verbal missteps in the past three months have created obstacles at home and abroad," the Washington Times reports.

*AP: "The Obama administration will dole out $1 billion in aid to help cities and states keep police officers on the beat during the economic downturn -- but most of those who sought the help will be disappointed." Through the COPS program,, only $1 will be awarded for every $7 in requests. "Four major U.S. cities are finding this out the hard way: New York, Houston, Seattle and Pittsburgh are among those that will not get money because the Justice Department decided other parts of the country simply needed it more."

*The Star-Ledger reports that today's Recovery Act announcement in Philadelphia was originally scheduled for New Jersey, moved perhaps because of last week's corruption bust in the Garden State.

**Health Care
*Gallup: "Americans view themselves as more knowledgeable than members of Congress regarding the current debate over healthcare reform. Nearly half (48%) say they personally have a good understanding of the issues involved, while only 27% say so about members of Congress."

*AP: "After weeks of secretive talks, three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee were edging closer to a compromise that excludes a requirement many congressional Democrats seek for large businesses to offer coverage to their workers. Nor would there be a provision for a government insurance option, despite Obama's support for such a plan, officials said."

*WaPo: "With lawmakers just days away from a five-week break, members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee huddled on opposite ends of the Capitol, trying to come to terms with the scope of the legislation and how to pay for revamping the health-care industry. Democratic leaders have lowered their ambitions to getting those two panels to reach agreements before departing for the summer break, backing away from President Obama's goal of passing comprehensive legislation by Aug. 7."

*WSJ: "Top Democrats had hoped to bring the legislation to the House floor before lawmakers leave town Friday for a monthlong recess. But House Democrats are sharply divided over core issues, including how to finance the bill costing $1 trillion or more over 10 years and how to contain the rapid growth in health-care costs."

*CNN reported that the RNC is planning a $1 million ad campaign against the Democrats' health care effort, targeting 60 Democrats on the issue.

*Washington Times: "President Obama and his Democratic allies, scrambling to broker a health care deal Monday, finally got an upbeat assessment from Congress' official scorekeeper when it said the plan for government-run coverage would not force out private insurers."

*L.A. Times: "With House leaders struggling to reach agreement on healthcare legislation, aiming toward a possible vote this week, a new hurdle has emerged: abortion. Some conservative Democrats are threatening to pull their support from the massive healthcare bill unless their concerns over potential federal funding of abortion procedures are met. They fear that the Obama administration will take advantage of an expanded government role in healthcare to increase the availability of abortions nationwide."

**Congress
*Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), the last outstanding Republican vote on the Judiciary Committee, tells the Oklahoman he'll vote no today. Coburn "said he was dissatisfied with Sotomayor's responses to questions about the right to bear arms and whether she would consider foreign law in developing her positions on legal issues." Only Lindsay Graham will vote yea from the Republican side.

*AP: "Republicans are divided on the politically perplexing question of how to vote on Sotomayor. Many are eager to please their core supporters by opposing her but fear a backlash by Hispanic voters, a fast-growing part of the electorate, if they do so."

*AP also reports on testimony coming today from Rob Feinberg. The headline: "Two influential Senate committee chairmen were told they were getting special VIP deals when they applied for mortgages, an official who handled their loans told Congress in closed-door testimony. Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad had denied knowing they were getting discounts when they negotiated their loan terms."

**Campaign Stuff
*KY Sen: "Sen. Jim Bunning's decision to bow out of his tough Senate race gives the GOP new life in Kentucky, as the irascible senator succumbed to a quiet pressure campaign by top Republicans to push him out of the 2010 midterm elections.

*Former North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall sat down with DSCC officials to talk about possibly challenging Sen. Richard Burr (R), Cillizza reports. She had told the Hotline recently that money was the biggest factor in her decision.

*VA Gov: "President Obama will be addressing Virginians about health care at a town-hall style meeting on Wednesday, but he should not look for the state's Democratic nominee for governor at the event," NYT reports.

*MN Gov: Former Sen. Norm Coleman (R) won't announce whether he's running for governor in 2010 until next March or April, the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports.