**Health Care
*Gone quiet? The New York Times reports that Obama is entering a "quiet period" on health care. "The idea, aides said, is for the president to take a breather while Democrats resolve their internal conflicts, so he can come back strong with a fresh sales pitch when the legislation moves closer to floor votes." But, the Times asks, "Did the president stop talking because the public had stopped listening?"

*"House leaders have cut the cost of their health-care overhaul to around $871 billion over the next decade, Democratic sources said Tuesday night, and were working to line up votes for the package with the aim of bringing it before the full House early next month," Washington Post reports.

*"Senate health care talks entered a crucial stage Tuesday as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) was drawn deeper into the negotiations, Democratic moderates jockeyed to position themselves, and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) prepared to make some tough decisions," Roll Call reports.

*Gallup reports that 39% of Americans say their support for the final health care bill to come out of Congress will depend on the details, while "25% say they have already decided to support the final bill while a slightly larger number, 33%, say they will oppose it."

*President Obama
*In New York yesterday, Obama pushed for financial regulatory reform, Politico reports. Obama: "This is important for our country and in the long run it will be good for the financial industry to have a level playing field in which everybody knows the rules and everybody knows the rules will be enforced," he said. On health care, Obama urged Democrats "to quit quibbling with each other and settle on a health care reform proposal."

He also continued the "mop" line of attack on Republicans, saying he didn't have sympathy for those "sitting on the sidelines and rooting for failure," The Hill adds. Obama: "I don't mind cleaning up the mess that some other folks made, that's what I signed up to do. But while I'm there mopping the floor I don't want someone saying 'You're not mopping fast enough or you're not holding the mop the right way.' Grab a mop! Why don't you help clean up?"

*A Washington Post/ABC poll finds the American people "deeply" split on Afghanistan. On McChrystal's recommendations, "47 percent of those polled favor the buildup, while 49 percent oppose it. Most on both sides hold their views 'strongly.' The survey also found that a large majority of Americans say the administration lacks a clear plan for dealing with the problems in Afghanistan."

*John Kerry is getting some measure of credit for his role in brokering the settlement in Afghanistan leading to a runoff election.

*AP: "A government watchdog said the $700 billion bailout for the financial industry played a major role in rescuing the economy over the last year but also engendered anger and distrust among Americans because of secrecy and confusion about the way the program was handled."

*USA Today obtains a report that "cites failures on biosecurity policy by the White House, which the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction says has left the country vulnerable."

**Campaign Stuff
*FL Sen: Marco Rubio has cut Gov. Charlie Crist's Senate GOP primary lead in half, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

*Perhaps that's why Crist's gubernatorial chief of staff is stepping down to become his campaign manager.

*Sarah Palin will appear on Oprah's show on November 16.

*In a CNN interview, RNC chair Michael Steele "brushed off a new poll that indicates just 20 percent of the American public are willing to call themselves Republicans." Steele: "What I'm concerned about is how they vote. ... At end of the day you can call yourself whatever you want."

*Gov. David Paterson, during an interview yesterday on Sirius radio, "claimed that lots of state and national Democratic party leaders still want him to run" for re-election. Asked if he would meet with Obama while the president was in New York, "Paterson gave a polite deferral." "I don't know if I'm going to be able to because right now I'm really almost unilaterally focused on this budget issue," he said, per Newsweek.

*Josh Kraushaar is on top of this strange story in NY-23, where the GOP candidate's campaign is in a war of words with a reporter after someone called the cops on him.

*OH Sen: Jennifer Brunner (D) raised only $147,204 in the third quarter but spent $200,759, the Columbus Dispatch reports. She has $112,000 on hand as of Sept. 30, while Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) had $1.6 million on hand. Rob Portman (R) raised $1.3 million and has $5.14 million.

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad