**Health Care
*Gallup: "More than two-thirds of Americans (69%) are closely following news accounts of town hall meetings on healthcare reform, and while 34% say the protests make them more sympathetic to the protesters' viewpoints and 21% say the protests make them less sympathetic, almost half either say the protests haven't affected their views either way or have no opinion."

*L.A. Times: "As debate over his healthcare overhaul heats up, President Obama is taking off for a family vacation this week that combines classic American sightseeing with the challenge of trying to sell his ideas to audiences out West. He will be visiting Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon with his wife and daughters starting Friday, but the president also plans to hold town halls in Montana and Colorado to address problems facing the healthcare system and pitch Democratic plans to fix them."

*ABC reports that the White House "is launching its own 'viral e-mail' for supporters to spread." The e-mail from David Axelrod has the subject line, "Something worth forwarding," and seeks to combat "the viral e-mails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions" and invites Americans to "start a chain e-mail of our own."

*Sarah Palin has written another note on Facebook, again on "Death Panels." She writes, "President Obama can try to gloss over the effects of government authorized end-of-life consultations, but the views of one of his top health care advisors are clear enough. It's all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing, and more evidence that the top-down plans of government bureaucrats will never result in real health care reform."

*Sen. Chuck Grassley throws fuel on the fire. The Register reports that the Iowa senator "said that he understands the fear that health care reform proposals before Congress could turn into a form of elderly genocide."

*WSJ: "Ezekiel Emanuel, a top health-care adviser to President Barack Obama and older brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, is emerging as a target of conservatives critical of Democrats' health-care effort."

*The Hill: "Four hundred fifty Maryland residents and a lot of anger filled the Hagerstown Community College theater Wednesday afternoon for Sen. Ben Cardin's third town hall on health reform. The Maryland Democrat's 75-minute town hall, held in a conservative stronghold in the state, was peppered with boos, jeers and catcalls, though a minority of attendees who support health reform efforts made it a bit calmer than past events in Laurel and Towson."

*Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Rules Committee, "reminded reporters Wednesday that angry town hall meetings aren't a recent phenomenon," Politico reports. "Slaughter's recollection is the latest attempt by Democratic leaders to reframe coverage of the health care debate after record crowds deluged town halls across the country to express their dissatisfaction with the plans. Democrats have made the case that these crowds are driven, at least in part, by shadow groups established by the insurance industry and other large health care companies."

**President Obama
*The Post looks at presidential vacations and has more details of Obama's. "The luxuriousness of the getaway poses a political challenge for Obama at a time when many Americans are struggling with economic distress. Obama said in a recent interview that he thinks about the hardships facing Americans 'every single day,' but he also defended his vacation plans."

*The New York Times reports that despite attempts to portray Obama as above the fray on health care, he and his advisers "have been quite active, sometimes negotiating deals with a degree of cold-eyed political realism potentially at odds with the president's rhetoric." And it's all focused on what the Senate Finance Committee is doing, which lobbyists and moderate Democrats say is "a recognition that the finance panel's anticipated compromise is the most likely template for any final legislation."

*Karl Rove says the Obama is suffering by staying in campaign mode. "In an election, campaign staffers are often just trying to survive until the next week or the next primary. They cut corners because they are fatigued or under pressure. They can be purposely combative and even portray critics as enemies. Carrying this mindset into the White House can get you into trouble, a lesson the Obama administration is now learning the hard way."

*It speaks for itself. Washington Times: "President Obama's nominee for surgeon general, whose job it is to help encourage Americans to get thinner and healthier, has been working part time as a scientific adviser to the fast-food giant that sells sandwiches like the Whopper and BK Triple Stacker."

*Ted Kennedy was one of the honorees yesterday as President Obama handed out the Medal of Freedom. In an interview with the AP, his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, says "there's been an unexpected bright side to his father's grim battle with terminal brain cancer because the family has been able to spend more time with the stricken senator in recent months." He also said he "considers it a great gift his father has survived longer than his doctors have expected."

**Bush v. Cheney?: The Washington Post reports on former Vice President Cheney's forthcoming book, in which he'll likely outline a rift with President George W. Bush. According to someone whose spoken with him, "He said Bush was shackled by the public reaction and the criticism he took. ... The implication was that Bush had gone soft on him, or rather Bush had hardened against Cheney's advice. He'd showed an independence that Cheney didn't see coming."

**Campaign Stuff
*NV Sen: Politics Daily spent time with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada this week. "That morning, a new Republican poll of the 2010 Senate contest here showed state GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden, a potential rival, six points ahead of him. But Reid also had good news -- GOP Rep. Dean Heller said he would stay in the House rather than challenge Reid. Biggest threat? 'Yup,' Reid said. Now gone? 'Gone,' he said happily."

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that "many Nevada Republicans nurtured a long-shot hope that Heller would be at the top of the ticket in 2010. But with that hope put to rest, Republicans now are scrambling to figure out the best way to settle on a candidate. And some said the emerging crowded field isn't necessarily a hindrance to rehabilitating both the party's image and its organizational strength."

*More to come on Ensign? "Heller has become the first high-ranking Nevada Republican to call on Sen. John Ensign to break his silence and answer remaining questions about his affair with a member of his staff," the Las Vegas Sun reports. "I don't want to speculate, but until John talks, we haven't seen the end of it," Heller told Sun columnist Jon Ralston.

Heller also explains why the Ensign scandal led him not to run for Senate. "I had anticipated in a good campaign like this Sen. Ensign being there with me. Sen. Ensign had to be there when I announced. Sen. Ensign had to deflect some of the attacks that would have occurred in a very rough and tumble campaign like that. All of a sudden that variable was out."

*NRSC: Roll Call reports that "15 months from the midterm elections, several big holes still remain when it comes to Senate Republican recruiting efforts. Whether the NRSC can plug those holes after Congress returns in September could be the difference between Republicans fighting to hold onto the territory they already have in 2010 and the NRSC actually mounting a serious offense against incumbent Democrats next year." Heller's decision to pass on challenging Reid in Nevada "underscores the work that Republicans have left to do when they get back from recess."

*Charlie Crist survived a censure vote from the Palm Beach Post GOP, but did take some tough shots. The St. Pete Times: "Though the censure failed, the man who pushed it, Steve Ledewitz said he earned the best applause of the night with this one-liner: 'Charlie Crist is nothing more than Arlen Specter with a tan.'"

*Crist was asked how conservative his Senate appointment would be. "Everything's important," Crist said, but: "I think the most important considerations are integrity, honor, somebody who is of sober judgment, will take the job very seriously and understand that they're representing the fourth largest state in America in the U.S. Senate." Pressed, he simply said, "I don't believe in labels."

*FL Sen: "Over the next 14 months, as Rubio introduces himself to the state, this race is likely to evolve from David and Goliath into a struggle for the party's soul, with a moderate populist who celebrated the stimulus with Obama at a Fort Myers rally and a conservative stalwart who opposes almost everything Obama has done," Time reports.

*PA Sen: Ex-Rep. Pat Toomey (R) leads Sen. Arlen Specter (D) 48%-36%, according to a new Rasmussen poll. The polling firm released a primary survey yesterday, finding Specter's lead over Rep. Joe Sestak (D) down to 13 points.

*Kentucky Finance Secretary Jonathan Miller is breaking with the governor and endorsing Jack Conway for U.S. Senate, over Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo, the AP reports.

*SurveyUSA puts Lt. Gov. John Garamendi ahead in the CA-10 special election.

*MD Gov: "No big-name challengers to Martin O'Malley (D) have emerged, but the governor seems to be taking little for granted as he heads toward a 2010 election year in which the sour economy is expected to play a defining role. The latest sign of that was last week's confirmation that O'Malley has hired Thomas Russell, a veteran political operative, as manager of his reelection campaign," Washington Post reports.

The Sun reports, though, that Del. Patrick L. McDonough announced on conservative talk radio yesterday that he plans to begin "testing the waters."

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad