**President Obama
*AP on the Afghanistan meeting: "Obama pressed key members of his national security team Wednesday for their views during an intense, three-hour session in a packed White House Situation Room. The meeting didn't include specific discussions of troop levels, a senior administration official said."

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*Washington Post: "With much of his party largely opposed to expanding military operations in Afghanistan, President Obama could be forced into the awkward political position of turning to congressional Republicans for support if he follows the recommendations of the commanding U.S. general there."

*Vice President Biden, speaking at his son's National Guard Unit return ceremony: "These wars are not over. We have not finished the mission in Iraq, although I'm confident we will, and we have a significant, significant way to go in Afghanistan."

*The Miami Herald has the invitation to a fundraiser with Obama later this month.

**Health Care
*"The Senate Finance Committee turned back Republican-led efforts to tighten abortion restrictions in health-overhaul legislation, and the Senate's top Democrat said he wants to bring a sweeping bill to the floor in two weeks. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said Wednesday that he expected to begin Senate debate the week of Oct. 12," WSJ reports.

*"With the Democratic Party split over health care reform, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have been so focused on the politics of their own chambers that they have had little time for coordinating the overall strategy and message for moving a final plan through conference and onto the president's desk," Roll Call reports.

*Reid "moved swiftly to ensure that his home state of Nevada wouldn't be hurt by Medicaid changes included in the health care reform bill moving through the Senate Finance Committee. Now some of his Democratic colleagues are demanding the same treatment for their states," Politico reports.

**Climate Change
*Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) "unveiled ambitious legislation Wednesday to slash the nation's use of carbon-emitting fossil fuels and reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil. But the measure, which could emerge as a test of the three-term Democrat's leadership skills as she girds for a tough re-election fight next year, faces long odds to gain the 60 votes it needs to get through the Senate and on to the president's desk," San Jose Mercury News reports.

*Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) "holds the key to delivering a bloc of Midwestern senators crucial to passing climate change legislation that faces strong bipartisan opposition. The Ohio liberal has been working diligently behind the scenes on behalf of manufacturers, seeking concessions from" Boxer and Kerry, The Hill reports.

*"Unwilling to wait for Congress to act, the Obama administration announced on Wednesday that it was moving forward on new rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from hundreds of power plants and large industrial facilities," New York Times reports.

**Supreme Court
*"The Supreme Court set up a historic decision on gun control Wednesday, saying it will rule on whether restrictive state and local laws violate the Second Amendment right to gun ownership that it recognized last year. The landmark 2008 decision to strike down the District of Columbia's ban on handgun possession was the first time the court had said the amendment grants an individual right to own a gun for self-defense," Washington Post reports.

"But the 5 to 4 opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller did not address the question of whether the Second Amendment extends beyond the federal government and federal enclaves such as Washington. Most court observers say they think that the five justices who recognized the individual right will also find that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments, a move that could spark challenges of state and local laws governing gun registration, how and when the weapons can be carried, and storage requirements."

*L.A. Times adds: "After the Civil War, the Supreme Court on several occasions ruled that the 2nd Amendment applied only to national laws. In the last year, gun rights advocates in Chicago and New York went to court to challenge local or state gun restrictions but lost. Judges said they were bound by the high court's 19th century rulings."

**Campaign Stuff
*Boston Globe writes about John McCain helping Mitt Romney's political action committee raise about $80,000. His attendance at an Arizona fundraiser "consummated an 18-month rapprochement between two competitors who battled for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. Acrimony has been replaced by a professional friendship, the latest success in Romney's methodical campaign to win over past skeptics as he prepares for another presidential run in 2012."

*Jonathan Martin looks at some of the emerging Pawlenty 2012 team. So does the Wall Street Journal, which notes his PAC will launch a Web site today.

*PA Sen: Pat Toomey and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) are neck and neck in a new Quinnipiac poll released today. Specter still leads Rep. Joe Sestak in the Dem primary by a wide margin, and Toomey still leads Sestak by a few points.

*CA Gov: "Hollywood's three top political heavyweights didn't waste any time throwing their support behind Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who announced Tuesday that he was filing papers to explore a run for the Democratic nomination for California governor," L.A. Times reports. "An adviser to Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen disclosed this afternoon that the three men would be hosting a fundraiser for Brown on Nov. 18."

*Gov. David Paterson, who insists he's still running, had tough words for Rudy Giuliani. "If he thinks he could have done better, he should tell us that now," Paterson said of criticism for his handling of the budget. "Until he does, then I think that I should be running for governor and will be elected governor because he's not bringing any new ideas."

*Funny moment: Hillary as Madame President.

--Kyle Trygstad and Mike Memoli