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A White House official says China has assured the U.S. there will be no media censorship of President Barack Obama's remarks during a three-day visit that will take him to Shanghai and Beijing.

The official told CBS News the administration secured a Chinese government promise to carry the President's remarks "as spoken." The official also said the White House would be ready to "make it a big story" if China blocks out any of the President's words.

Government censors removed references to communism and dissent from the official Chinese language translation of President Obama's January inaugural speech. The main Chinese television network also wiped out certain passages from the inaugural speech.

John Delury, Associate Director of Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations, says Chinese people are very aware of government efforts to control information flow.

"There's a cat and mouse game that goes on, but the reality on the ground in China is there is pretty good access to most of the information," Delury said. "China is a pretty wired place, especially the cities and the younger generation."

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The indecorous town hall exchanges over health care did not end in August, it seems: Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) was prompted to tell a senior citizen at a recent Fremont, Calif. meeting, "I wouldn't dignify you by peeing on your leg."

"It wouldn't be worth wasting the urine," he added, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and captured on YouTube.

The comment came after a man laid out his objections to President Obama's health care plan, saying that the president's claim he could pay for most of his plan through cutting waste from Medicare is "all smoke and mirrors." He capped off his question by telling the congressman, "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining."

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Updated 4:54 p.m. ET

President Obama told a town hall audience in Montana on Friday that health care reform is essential to fix a system in which people are denied coverage because of preexisting conditions or dropped from insurance policies because they have become sick.

"This is not about politics," he told an audience of approximately 1,300 people at a hanger in the town of Belgrade. "This is about helping the American people."

Ticking off examples of people who saw their coverage canceled as they faced life-threatening issues, Mr. Obama asked his audience to "remember one thing: There, but for the grace of God, go I."

He targeted insurance companies for such practices throughout and said special interests "use their influence, they run their ads and their political allies try to scare the heck out of everybody."

Mr. Obama remarks repeatedly drew applause from a largely supportive audience Friday afternoon, and most of the questions came from Americans who appeared to back his efforts.

But he was eager for critical questions, at one point directly requesting such a question. Two were asked, including one from a self-professed member of the National Rifle Association, who told Mr. Obama he "can't tell us how you're going to pay for this."

"The only way that you're going to get that money is to raise our taxes," said Randy Rathie. "You said you wouldn't." (watch at left)

"We keep getting the bull," he added. "That's all we get is bull."

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President Obama is holding a town hall meeting in Montana this afternoon, and last night two Democratic lawmakers got a taste of the sort of questions he might face.

In rural east-central Iowa, Democratic Representative Leonard Boswell was surprised that more than 100 "animated" people showed up at his town hall Thursday evening, according to the Des Moines Register.

The 75-year-old Boswell, one of the fiscally conservative so-called "Blue Dogs" in the House, reportedly relied on his "courtly manner and folksy style" to deal with those angry about the Democrats' health care reform efforts. Supporters of the reform event were also present at the event, though they were outnumbered.

"How will you protect, or how will this bill protect against abuse of power by this Congress?" one woman asked.

Boswell repeatedly noted that there is not yet a bill, and said he thus can't yet know how he will vote. He also encouraged attendees to "be respectful" after some laughed at the notion of life being cut short during discussion of the end of life counseling proposal that has been labeled a "death panel" by critics (a claim media outlets have repeatedly noted is a myth).

In Kokomo, Indiana, meanwhile, another blue dog, Representative Joe Donnelly, got an earful from those skeptical that the government, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, should be playing a greater role in health care, the Wall Street Journal reports. The newspaper notes that 500 people showed up for an event at which only 72 chairs had been set up.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in Politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

Editor's Note: Politics Today will take a short hiatus next week. We will return on August 24.

**President Obama is 'westward, ho' with health care town meetings in Montana and Colorado...

**Even as "end of life counseling" provision is removed, Palin continues criticism of health care reform...

**Bill Clinton says GOP wants Democrats "to fail" on health care...

PRESIDENT OBAMA HEADS WEST: The president will be making one last push to boost support for health care reform this weekend before he goes on vacation. Today, he holds his second of three health care town meetings this afternoon in an airplane hangar at the Belgrade, Montana airport; tomorrow, he's in Grand Junction, Colo.

"During a multi-state trip to national parks with his wife and daughters, Obama will speak and take questions in Montana and Colorado to try to convince Americans that the massive reform plan -- his top domestic policy priority -- is necessary to fix a broken system and push back against conservatives who say he wants a government takeover," reports Reuters' Patricia Zengerle. "The two 'town hall' meetings on Friday and Saturday will be Obama's second and third such events within less than a week, after a meeting in New Hampshire on Tuesday. They come as poll numbers reflect concern about the U.S. budget deficit and Republicans contend that the plan would be an expensive mistake, especially as the country tries to emerge from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."

Protestors have promised to "greet" Mr. Obama in Montana, however, given that today's event is adjacent to a tarmac, it's safe to say he'll be nowhere near the protestors. In order to be heard, however, opponents are trying to score some tickets to the actual event, reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle's Daniel Person.

"Tea party protesters have reserved a spot off of Frontage Road to hold a rally, said organizer Henry Kriegel, but he said those sharing their anti-big-government views plan to attend the meeting. 'People who are not supporters of health care reform will definitely try to obtain a ticket and definitely try to ask a question,' he said.

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Updated 5:27 p.m. ET

The past 24 hours have brought more town hall anger, the arrest of a protester calling for "Death to Obama," and an attempt by one congressman to keep cameras out of a raucous meeting. Here's your fix of the latest town hall activity around the country:

In New York, Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner's staffers tried to bar WCBS cameras from covering his town hall Wednesday night. Later, the congressman himself insisted that "this isn't for channel 2. This is for my constituents," even as the station noted that the event was a public forum.

Weiner eventually relented and let cameras into what turned out to be raucous affair. "Let's look at the whole picture. You guys are stealing from us," one attendee said, while others charged that they were being threatened. Things eventually calmed down and Weiner told attendees that he favored a single-payer system. He said "this is not going to be free" and said funding could come from the health insurance company profits and overhead.

At a Thursday event in White Plains, meanwhile, Democratic Congresswoman Nita Lowey went after insurance companies, as WCBS reports. People spoke of being denied coverage at the event; Lowey said, "Families are struggling to make ends meet, [while] profits at the largest publicly traded health insurance companies increased by 428 percent."

In Pennsylvania, Representative Joe Sestak, who is challenging Arlen Specter for the Democratic 2010 Pennsylvania Senate nomination, hosted 650 "overwhelmingly civil" people at his town hall Wednesday night, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Many of those who showed up were supporters of health care reform. "We just haven't been getting our story told" at the town halls, one said. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, mention of a public health care option at the meeting prompted "wild applause."

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As crowds riled up over health care reform continue to pack town hall meetings, a new poll suggests protests against President Obama's plans may be making people more sympathetic to those with concerns. At the very least, there does not appear to be any backlash against the protesters.

According to a new USA Today/ Gallup poll, 34 percent of Americans say the protesters' actions have made them more sympathetic to their concerns, while 21 percent say the protests make them less sympathetic. More than one third -- 36 percent -- say the protests have made no difference in their views, while 10 percent say they have no opinion.

USA Today notes the White House's criticism of the poll. White House adviser David Axelrod reportedly questioned its methodology, saying that respondents who claim to be more sympathetic now were likely sympathetic to protesters' views from the start.

Gallup points out that, "Reaction to the protests is highly partisan, with a little more than half of Republicans saying the protests have made them more sympathetic to the protesters' views, compared to 35 percent of independents and 17 percent of Democrats."

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There were another batch of town hall forums Wednesday, and that meant another batch of protests from people on both sides of health care reform debate. Here's a roundup of what happened:

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter "was greeted with skepticism and jeers" – though there were no tense confrontations like the ones Specter has faced at other town halls, according to the Philadelphia Enquirer. The Democratic senator, who until recently was a Republican, was occasionally drowned out by protesters at his latest meeting, the newspaper reported. He told the skeptical audience that a public option would not lead to "socialism," despite their concerns, and vowed not to support a final bill that would increase the deficit.

Specter stressed Wednesday on CBS News' "The Early Show" and elsewhere that the most vocal town hall critics don't "represent all of America," though he said they deserve to be heard. "I don't criticize anybody who comes to these meetings, even if they give me hell," he said today. A CBS News/New York Times poll taken at the end of last month found that most Americans believe the nation's health care system needs major change support a government-sponsored health care option.

In Maryland, the Hill reports, Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin'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."

"Cardin remained nonplussed throughout the forum, even as constituents sometimes yelled and screamed at him, drowning out his explanations," according to the Hill. Yelled one woman: "This government has lost faith and trust. You all are not getting it." Outside the forum, protesters held signs with slogans like "No Socialized Medicine," while inside Cardin said he was open to torn reform and said he disagreed with the protesters over the responsibility of government when it comes to health care.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in Politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

**As President Obama held a calm town meeting, members of Congress felt the heat at theirs...

**Karl Rove involved in U.S. Attorney firings, Democrats allege...

HEALTH CARE: As President Obama wakes up to headlines like this today...

"Obama on Health Care: A Civil Town Hall in New Hampshire", Politics Daily

"Obama Offers Reassurance on Plan to Overhaul Health Care", New York Times

"Obama Faces 'Scare Tactics' Head-On", Washington Post

"Obama Touts Health Plan", Portsmouth Herald

...Congressional Democrats are recovering from the shouting matches that erupted at their events yesterday:

"Specter gets 'an earful' at Pa. town halls", Philadelphia Inquirer

"Hundreds of protesters, supporters show up to Schiff's health care meeting," Pasadena Star-News

"Crowds shout back at McCaskill's town hall meeting" KRCG-TV

Democrats and supporters of health reform are blaming "organized" opposition for stirring up trouble at these congressional town halls. Opponents are saying their concerns and, in some cases, fears are legitimate.

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Fiercely vocal opponents to President Obama's health care reform agenda have a right to speak their mind, but don't "represent all of America," Sen. Arlen Specter said Wednesday.

The former longtime Republican, who switched party allegiances in April, was one of several Democrats to face heated criticism from constituents in town hall meetings across the country over proposed health care reform. (See video below.)

Opponents have railed against the Democratic proposals, characterizing them in general as government-run health care that will overburden taxpayers. Critics have taken specific issue with so-called "death panels," which will supposedly force elderly Medicare patients to seek end of life treatments. (Though those rumors have been proven false.)

"These people have a right to be organized," Specter said on CBS' "The Early Show" Wednesday. "I'm not going to complain about the fact that they are organized. They have a right to do that and they have a right to speak. But I think we ought to understand that they're not necessarily representative of America."

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