**President Obama
*"Obama's decision to drop plans to deploy a ballistic-missile defense shield in Central Europe -- drawing immediate cheers in Moscow and criticism elsewhere -- is a gamble by the U.S. that scaling back its defense ambitions will improve security in the long run," reports the Wall Street Journal.

AP's analysis: "The Obama administration is not abandoning missile defense in Europe, but it is junking the previous administration's view of the missile threat posed by Iran and what that means for Europe. The old idea was that Iran was focused on building long-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting Europe and the U.S. ... The new view is that Iran has made slower progress on long-range missiles than previously estimated and is going faster on missiles of shorter range -- the types that mainly threaten Europe and parts of Asia."

*Obama recognized Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti with the nation's highest decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action," the L.A. Times reports. "Monti -- whose parents, Paul and Janet, received the award on his behalf -- is only the second service member to receive the medal for combat in Afghanistan."

*"Even by the norms of his ubiquity, Mr. Obama has been on an especially prodigious media binge lately, pitching his health care plan seemingly everywhere but the Food Channel and Fox News," Mark Leibovich writes. "White House aides maintain that the president is the single best advocate for his message, and they tend to treat questions of whether he is being overexposed with the annoyance one might direct at a fly." Dan Pfeiffer, deputy communications director: "The idea of overexposure is based on an old-world view of the media." Because the media are now so fragmented, "you would have to do all the Sunday shows, a lot of network news shows and late-night shows" to reach the number of viewers a president could address with one network interview 20 years ago."

**Health Care
*Obama turned to a solidly young, liberal audience on Thursday morning, rallying students at the University of Maryland to help him face the "defining struggle of this generation," the Post reports.

*Bill Clinton weighs in on the Baucus bill during an interview with Bloomberg. "It would be good if he could get some Republican support," he said. "I believe he'll get Snowe and he could get Collins and he might get three or four others." More, on Republican support: "If they believe a bill is going to pass, some of them will vote for it. And if they believe they have a chance to keep any bill from passing, they will be put under excruciating pressure to vote against whatever is there for reasons that have nothing to do with health care and have everything to do with politics. I've been through this. I've seen it."

*The Times on how Sen. Jay Rockefeller is standing up for liberals: "He heads the health subcommittee of Mr. Baucus's panel, and yet he was relegated to the sidelines as the so-called Gang of Six talked and talked. Senate liberals are now pushing for an overhaul fully on Democratic terms -- legislation more like that in the House, where liberal Democrats dominate." Rockefeller: "I represent a state that really needs health care reform, and I want it to be good," he said.

**Congress
*Gallup: "New USA Today/Gallup approval ratings of the two major parties in Congress show the Democrats faring slightly better than the Republicans, in line with the pattern in recent years. Thirty-six percent of Americans interviewed Sept. 11-13 approve of how the Democrats in Congress are doing their job; 27% approve of the Republicans. However, both parties' ratings are down significantly from earlier this year, returning them to the record-low levels seen in 2007 and 2008."

*ACORN: "Trying to dodge a growing conservative firestorm, the House and Senate made clear Thursday that the community-based nonprofit organization ACORN was persona non grata on Capitol Hill," L.A. Times reports. The House bill barred ACORN from receiving any federal funds, while the Senate prohibited the group from receiving funds from an Interior Dept. spending bill.

*Student Loans: "Despite opposition from private banks and conservative lawmakers, the House passed the Student Loan and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) today in a 253-171 vote," National Journal reports. "The legislation would shift federal student lending entirely into the hands of the government -- a momentous change from the current system, where private banks disburse about 75 percent of such loans."

**Campaign Stuff
*National Journal's Insider Poll finds 65% of Dem political operatives think the Democrats will be hurt a lot in the midterm elections if they don't pass major health care reform legislation. As for GOP operatives, 43% said the Dems would be hurt a lot and 31% said a little.

*The NRSC ($3.08M) outraised the DSCC ($2.2M) for the second month in a row, Politico reports.

*Since 2004, "Democrats have steadily gained ground in both state and federal elections" in the Mountain West, National Journal reports. "Now, however, amid a fierce conservative backlash against President Obama's agenda, Democrats face an escalating challenge to defend those advances in 2010. All signs show the momentum shifting toward Republicans in a region that has traditionally resisted the sort of assertive federal initiatives that Obama has offered on issues from the economic stimulus to health care."

*Rob Miller, the Democratic challenger to Rep. Joe Wilson, will raise money at a pair of fundraisers in Washington, CNN reports.

*The Globe notes the Kennedy pitch in Rep. Mike Capuano's (D) new TV ad. "Only one candidate stood with Ted Kennedy against Bush's iraq war and mirrors his progressive record," the announcer declares.

*Celtics co-owner Bill Pagliuca, as he announced his candidacy for Senate yesterday, "addressed concerns he's a dilettante trying to buy the seat vacated by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and vowed to be true to the liberal lion's legacy," the Herald reports. Pagliuca: "It's a fallacy you can buy an election. The people are smart."

*Obama is sticking with another incumbent, Colorado's Mike Bennet, who has a tough primary challenge ahead of him, Politico reports.

*NJ Gov: Independent candidate Chris Daggett "plans to file a lawsuit arguing that New Jersey's balloting system is unconstitutional because it gives the two major parties top billing," the Star-Ledger reports. "Daggett says the practice creates a two-tiered political system, and he is requesting an injunction to prevent the challenged ballots from being disseminated."

*Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio won yet another straw poll.

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad