**President Obama
*Robert Gates seemed to rebuke General Stanley McChrystal, saying the Pentagon would follow whatever strategy Obama orders. "In this process, it is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations, civilians and military alike, provide our best advice to the president candidly but privately," he said.

Later, though, Gates said that was not a message to McChrystal and called him the right man for the job.

*Bloomberg: "Obama is considering a mix of spending programs and tax cuts to respond to widening job losses that would amount to an additional economic stimulus without carrying that label."

NY Times: "Obama's economic team discussed a wide range of ideas" to boost the economy at a meeting on Monday. "But officials emphasized that a decision was still far off and that in any event the effort would not add up to a second economic stimulus package, only an extension of the first."

*AP: "Obama plans to address the nation's largest gay rights group this weekend in an effort to mollify an uneasy Democratic constituency frustrated with the White House's slow pace."

*The New York Times reports that on health care, "the Obama administration is courting support from Republicans and independents some distance from Capitol Hill, and aggressively publicizing the results."

**Congress
*"Congressional leaders from both parties will head to the White House on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the worsening situation in Afghanistan," The Hill reports. "It is the first time in six months that House Republican leaders have been invited to the White House to discuss official business; Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) are both scheduled to attend. If Obama decides to send all the troops McChrystal wants, he will probably need Republican votes to sustain the escalation. National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones will brief the full House on the Afghanistan situation in a closed meeting later this week in the Capitol Visitor Center."

*"As Democrats prepare to take up health care legislation on the floor of the Senate and the House, they are facing tough choices about two competing priorities. They want people to pay affordable prices for health insurance policies, but they want those policies to offer comprehensive health benefits. These goals collide in the bills moving through Congress," New York Times reports.

*"As the Senate Finance Committee slogged through amendments to a high-stakes health care bill last week and basked in the media spotlight, House Democrats were quietly contemplating a troubling question. When it comes to health care, does the House even matter?" Politico reports.

**Supreme Court
*USA Today: "New Justice Sonia Sotomayor, hearing cases Monday on the first day of the 2009-10 term, showed she can match the most relentless of the justices in challenging lawyers who make their cases in the well of the courtroom. During arguments on criminal law and civil procedure disputes, she jumped in with the vigor of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. These three justices act quickly when they want an answer."

*"Sotomayor, a former prosecutor, was part of an animated bench for the first case of the 2009-2010 term. That case asks whether a suspect's request for an attorney means that police cannot question him again years later if more information in the case becomes available," Washington Post reports.

**Fundraising
*Mark Kirk (R) raised $1.6 million for his IL-Senate race. Alexi Giannoulias (D) announced this morning that he raised $1.1 million, but has a slight lead in cash on hand.

*Gilbert Baker (R) has raised $500,000 in his effort to unseat Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D). Arkansas News reports that Lincoln has $3.2 million in the bank.

*Marco Rubio (R) hasn't announced his fundraising totals, but word leaked out that Karl Rove made a contribution to his primary effort against Gov. Charlie Crist (R) for Florida's Senate seat.

*Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Baker raised $540,000 for his 2010 race. The Globe also notes that independent candidate Tim Cahill raised more than $200,000 but has $3 million in the bank. Gov. Deval Patrick raised just $48,000 and has only $481,000 on hand.

**Campaign Stuff
*"It wasn't a partisan rally" when Biden joined Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Jim Himes for a stimulus-related event yesterday, "but the vice president nevertheless found a few moments to praise two of of the state's Democrats in Washington," the Hartford Courant reports.

*Former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, who lost to Rod Blagojevich in 2002, may run for governor in 2010, the Tribune reports.

*KS Sen: Moran leads Tiahrt by 16 points.

*In a hypothetical 2010 matchup, Tommy Thompson would defeat incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold, according to a University of Wisconsin poll.

*In an interview with Politico, Newt Gingrich has praise for Tim Pawlenty, but also notes he will sit down and make "a very difficult decision" of his own about the 2012 race.

*"Candidates are using the midterm elections to build their presidential campaigns under the guise of helping the Republican Party," The Hill's Wilson reports. "And they will spend the next year raising money for Republican congressional candidates -- earning favors that can be cashed in if they decide to mount a White House bid, along with the side benefit of being able to introduce themselves to voters and donors."

*GOP: "Republican campaign efforts are 'far ahead' of where they were the year before the party took back the House in 1994," NRCC Chair Pete Sessions (R-Texas) told Human Events yesterday.

*Did Michael Steele praise ACORN leader Bertha Lewis? He at least took a much softer tone in a recent speech, CNN reports. "Appearing September 21 at Philander Smith College, a historically black college in Arkansas, the RNC chairman spoke diplomatically of the group and its history of organizing in low-income communities." Steele: "I will say that current head of the organization, she has done a phenomenal job of getting out in front of it. I applaud her. I take her at her word that she wants to make sure that the bad apples are thrown out."

*The Bill Clinton payback tour continues. He visited San Francisco for Gavin Newsom's gubernatorial bid. The Chronicle: "With eight months to go until the 2010 primary, the backing of the former president presents a chance for Newsom's campaign to shrink the money gap with Brown, a two-term governor and likely rival, who has raised $7.3 million compared with Newsom's $1.2 million as of June 30."

*TX Gov: The Texas Farm Bureau endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison over Rick Perry, but "may have exposed itself to political payback."

*Politico reports that Republicans are closing in on a challenger for newly controversial Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.).

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad