**Check out the RCP Video page for highlights from the Sunday talk shows.

**President Obama
*The lead out of the Sunday shows, from AP: "President Barack Obama's treasury secretary said Sunday he cannot rule out higher taxes to help tame an exploding budget deficit, and his chief economic adviser would not dismiss raising them on middle-class Americans as part of a health care overhaul."

*This weekend, Obama warned that it will take many more months for the economy to fully recover. "Obama is putting the economy back at the forefront of his remarks to the public as polls show it remains the top concern of Americans," Bloomberg notes.

*Howard Kurtz reports that Rahm Emanuel called the heads of Disney, GE and CBS to make the case for airing Obama's recent press conference in prime time. "Whether this amounted to undue pressure or plain old Chicago arm-twisting, Emanuel got results: the fourth hour of lucrative network time for his boss in six months. But network executives have been privately complaining to White House officials that they cannot afford to keep airing these sessions in the current economic downturn." The kicker: "Had Obama not answered the last question that evening -- declaring that the Cambridge police had acted "stupidly" in arresting Henry Louis Gates at his home -- the news conference would have been almost totally devoid of news."

*The L.A. Times ran an interesting piece looking behind the scenes at the crafting of Obama's Cairo speech.

*Looking even further back, the Washington Post excerpted from the new book on the election by Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson. Many great nuggets, including David Axelrod warning in 2004 that he thought Obama couldn't take a punch. But here's how Obama describes the campaign:

"The way I would tell the story would really have to do with what this campaign said about America and where we've traveled," Obama said. "The fact that just a little over 40 years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, that I can run. That just a few decades after women were admitted to professions like law or medicine in any meaningful numbers, that Hillary could run in a credible way. The generational changes between John McCain's era and our own, and sort of the vestiges of Vietnam, the shift that's taken place in the salience of some of the culture wars that emerged in the '60s that really were the dominant force in our politics, starting with Ronald Reagan, and how that had less power."

*John McCain, on CNN Sunday: "It's very clear that the stimulus has had some effect. And I'll be glad to give him credit for that. But the question that I think we should be asking are the long term consequences of this unprecedented debts and deficits-are they beneficial to the country? And I think the answer is no."

Referring to his former running mate, McCain said he was "saddened by the fact that there are still such vicious attacks on her and her family. I've never seen anything quite like it."

**Health Care
*The Hill: "The entire Senate Democratic caucus will hold a series of meetings this week on healthcare reform to bridge divides within their ranks that could derail legislation later this year ... Senate Democrats will focus on reform during the regularly scheduled caucus lunch on Tuesday and the Democratic Policy Committee lunch on Thursday. In addition, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled a special caucus-wide healthcare meeting for Wednesday. The leader needs to bring his colleagues together over the divisive question of whether to create a government-run health insurance program."

*NYT: "With Republicans mobilizing against the proposed health care overhaul, President Obama, Congressional Democrats and leading advocacy groups are laying the groundwork for an August offensive against the insurance industry as part of a coordinated campaign to sell the public on the need for reform. The effort will feature town-hall-style meetings by lawmakers and the president, including a swing through Western states by Mr. Obama, grass-roots lobbying efforts and a blitz of expensive television advertising. It is intended to drive home the message that revamping the health care system will protect consumers by ending unpopular insurance industry practices, like refusing patients with pre-existing conditions."

*WaPo: "With the House already gone and the Senate set to clear out by Friday, the terms of the recess battle are becoming clear. Republicans will assail the government coverage plan that Democrats and President Obama are advocating as a recklessly expensive federal takeover of health care. And Democrats will counter that GOP opposition represents a de facto endorsement of insurance industry abuses."

*Some Dems, like Virginia Rep. Rick Boucher, are facing "political cross-pressures" on health care reform, L.A. Times reports. They "were evident when President Obama visited Boucher's district last week: There were demonstrators outside the event both supporting and protesting Democrats' plans to overhaul the nation's healthcare system. During the August congressional recess, Democrats from across the country expect to be buffeted by those same cross-currents. Their meetings with constituents are sure to be dominated by the far-reaching healthcare legislation emerging from House and Senate committees."

*Politico: "Sleepy, sweltering August, typically a month for congressional beach getaways and temperature-taking back in the district, is shaping up to be the critical month for health care reform, with major battles brewing in the Capitol and on the streets in front of members' hometown offices." Click through for Thrush's five things to watch during recess.

**Campaign Stuff
*Gallup: "An analysis of Gallup Poll Daily tracking data from the first six months of 2009 finds Massachusetts to be the most Democratic state in the nation, along with the District of Columbia. Utah and Wyoming are the most Republican states, as they were in 2008. Only four states show a sizeable Republican advantage in party identification, the same number as in 2008. That compares to 29 states plus the District of Columbia with sizeable Democratic advantages, also unchanged from last year." Click through to see the Top 10 Dem and GOP states.

*Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad "is actively considering a run for the office next year," the Des Moines Register reports. "The state's last Republican governor dismissed talk of a comeback last spring. But now he's discussing a 2010 run more openly, even as he says he is contentedly busy as president of a growing medical college." In an interview, he says: "I'm not ruling it out, because I care deeply about the state. And I have real concerns about the direction things are going."

*The Connecticut Senate race is on hold after the disclosure that Chris Dodd has prostate cancer. But, AP reports, "it's doubtful the pleasantries will last long, political experts said, especially with the positive prognosis for recovery for Dodd, who plans to have surgery at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center shortly after Congress recesses next week and then rest at his Connecticut home before resuming his full-time schedule at the end of the month."

*The Austin American-Statesman looks at the would-be senators waiting on incumbent Kay Bailey Hutchison to step down for a gubernatorial bid.

*In Kentucky, the Herald-Leader reports that sparring between Democratic Senate candidates Dan Mongiardo and Jack Conway "provided the most potent verbal fireworks at Saturday's 129th annual Fancy Farm picnic, which traditionally kicks off the election season." Mongiardo attacked Conway for President Barack Obama's energy policy.

*The San Francisco Chronicle sets the scene on fundraising in the California gov race. Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) has $7.3 million in the bank. Republican Meg Whitman has $4.9 million. Newsom raised $1.6 million and ended with $1.2 million cash for the period

*The Union Leader takes a shot at the Washington campaign committees who are picking horses in Congressional and Senate races next year, specifically Frank Guinta and Kelly Ayotte. "These Washington elites presume to pick our candidates for us. But they have no idea who the best possible candidates for Senate and Congress are. That's why we have primaries in which party members, not the bosses, pick who will represent them in the general election."

*VA Gov: "Virginia will be the center of political attention this fall, thanks to the first statewide election in a battleground state since the 2008 presidential election," writes Pittsburgh T-R's Zito. Also, GOP nominee Bob McDonnell is going door-to-door in Northern Virginia this morning with Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), free on a five-week Congress recess.

*NC Sen: "In North Carolina, Democrats are facing a remarkably similar situation to what they faced two years ago. The question is: Is Elaine Marshall their Kay Hagan? Following Rep. Mike McIntyre's (D-N.C.) decision this past week not to run against Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Secretary of State Marshall (D) now looks like the favorite in one of the last leading Senate races that is still without a challenger."

*The DNC made sure reporters saw this today: "For the first time in their history, Buffalo Republicans will not field a candidate for mayor this year," the Buffalo News reports.

**Covering the War: Politics Daily's David Wood, just deployed, writes: "Top 7 Hassles Getting to Afghanistan."

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad