Politics Today: A New Emphasis on Pakistan?

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:

** Shooting some hoops with the president...

** Assessing where to target Al Qaeda...

** The budget office looks at the cost of the latest health care plan...

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Before his Geithner and Clinton meetings, basketball is the theme when Mr. Obama watches the National Naval Medical Center's Marine Wounded Warrior basketball team play on the White House basketball court.

And following his meetings, Mr. Obama joins some of his cabinet secretaries and members of Congress for a game. Expected to play with the president include: Geithner, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar as well as 11 U.S. House members (9 Democrats and 2 Republicans).

(CBS)

"President Obama's national security team is moving to reframe its war strategy by emphasizing the campaign against Al Qaeda in Pakistan while arguing that the Taliban in Afghanistan do not pose a direct threat to the United States, officials said Wednesday," report the New York Times' Peter Baker and Eric Schmitt. "As Mr. Obama met with advisers for three hours to discuss Pakistan, the White House said he had not decided whether to approve a proposed troop buildup in Afghanistan. But the shift in thinking, outlined by senior administration officials on Wednesday, suggests that the president has been presented with an approach that would not require all of the additional troops that his commanding general in the region has requested.

"It remains unclear whether everyone in Mr. Obama's war cabinet fully accepts this view. While Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has argued for months against increasing troops in Afghanistan because Pakistan was the greater priority, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have both warned that the Taliban remain linked to Al Qaeda and would give their fighters havens again if the Taliban regained control of all or large parts of Afghanistan, making it a mistake to think of them as separate problems.

"Moreover, Mr. Obama's commander there, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, has argued that success demands a substantial expansion of the American presence, up to 40,000 more troops. Any decision that provides less will expose the president to criticism, especially from Republicans, that his policy is a prescription for failure."

Meantime, "Defense Secretary Robert Gates has forwarded a request for more troops in Afghanistan to President Barack Obama, the Pentagon said Wednesday, as divisions within the administration and Congress continued despite Mr. Obama's high-profile meeting with congressional leaders the day before," write the Wall Street Journal's Yochi J. Dreazen and Naftali Bendavid. "Mr. Gates -- who made no recommendation of his own about the troop request, defense officials said -- had planned to hold back the document until the administration finished a broad re-evaluation of its Afghan war strategy. That decision came amid increasing public and congressional skepticism over the war, and amid internal questions over the strategy backed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

"But in the end, the defense chief feared that the document -- already widely reported on -- would leak to the press before Mr. Obama had a chance to read it, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell. The request outlines several options ranging up to 40,000 troops added to the 68,000 now stationed or headed there.

"Congressional Democrats remained split over their views; lack of their strong support has left President Obama relying on Republicans at least as much as his own party to back his commander's request."

Politico's Glenn Thrush and Manu Raju, "Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid at odds over war"

Washington Post's Rajiv Chandrasekaran, "Civilian, Military Officials at Odds Over Resources Needed for Afghan Mission"

5339587HEALTH CARE: "The latest Senate health bill will cost $829 billion over a decade and slightly reduce the federal budget deficit, congressional budget crunchers said Wednesday, marking a major step forward for Democrats' plans to overhaul American health care," report the Wall Street Journal's Janet Adamy and Jonathan Weisman. "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found the sweeping measure will cover 94% of nonelderly legal U.S. residents, up from about 83% currently. The bill will cut the deficit by $81 billion over the 10-year period, owing to trims in Medicare spending and new taxes...

"Most of the bill's funding comes from $404 billion in cuts to Medicare and other government insurance programs that Democrats say will reduce waste but won't hurt recipients' benefits. An additional $201 billion comes from a 40% excise tax on particularly generous health-insurance plans levied on insurers. The rest comes from annual fees on insurers, medical-device makers and pharmaceutical companies, as well as a series of other changes to the tax treatment of health expenses."

"The Finance Committee could vote as soon as Friday on the bill. Passage by the Democrat-dominated panel is virtually assured, but Democrats are eager to win the vote of Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (Maine), the only Republican on the committee who has expressed any support for the measure," add the Washington Post's Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray.

"Snowe said Wednesday that she was relieved to see that the cost of expanding coverage remained below Obama's limit of $900 billion over the next decade. 'But we have a lot to review,' she said. She urged Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to wait until next week for a final vote. 'It's a critical vote. ... I would rather have the comfort level of having had sufficient time to analyze it.'

"Other Republicans pored over the 27-page report in a late-afternoon huddle, then emerged with the warning that the finance panel's measure would impose a stiff price on people who already have health insurance. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), the ranking Republican on the committee, said he is worried that insurers and other health-care companies would pass on the cost of new fees and taxes to consumers. And he said the bill's expansion of Medicaid would leave a new set of 'unfunded mandates' for states already struggling with record budget deficits. 'There's a lot of things in there to be concerned about,' Grassley said."

5339106"As Democratic leaders prepare to bring healthcare legislation before the full House and Senate for votes this month, they soon must decide who will be taxed to pay for expanding coverage -- the wealthy or the insurance companies," writes the Los Angeles Times' Janet Hook. "Legislation emerging from the House would slap a surtax on upper-income people. But many Democrats, especially in the Senate, fear the political fallout over voting to raise anyone's income taxes.

"The most prominent Senate bill would impose a tax on insurance companies that provide expensive policies, sometimes dubbed 'Cadillac' plans. But labor unions -- a powerful force within the Democratic Party -- bitterly oppose the idea, saying the tax would be passed on to workers in the form of higher premiums or shrunken benefits.

"For months, much of the healthcare debate has been focused on whether there should be a government-run plan to compete with private insurers. About 10 million people would be expected to buy insurance through a public option, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated. But even more people could be affected by the outcome of the tax debate. The levy on insurers with high-cost plans could affect nearly 15 million households, according to the nonpartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. The question of how to pay for expanding Americans' healthcare coverage is paramount, because President Obama has insisted that any plan not add to the federal deficit."

Bloomberg News' Ryan J. Donmoyer adds, " About 3 out of 5 House Democrats say they oppose a Senate proposal to tax so-called Cadillac insurance plans, setting the stage for a clash over a provision that would fund about one-quarter of health-care legislation.

"One-hundred fifty-seven of the chamber's 256 Democrats signed a letter written by Representative Joe Courtney of Connecticut urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to reject the 40 percent excise tax that's likely to anchor the tax provisions in Senate legislation. The Senate proposal 'is a non-starter for the supermajority of the House Democratic caucus,' Courtney said at a press conference today. He called the letter 'a big warning flag' for congressional negotiators.

"The letter puts additional pressure on Pelosi as she searches for votes on the House legislation, which already differs from the Senate approach on such issues as including a government-run insurance option."

USA Today's Richard Wolf, "Division fizzes up within GOP over resistance to health plan"

Washington Post's Shailagh Murray, "GOP Points to Democrats' Concerns on Medicaid"

Washington Post's Krissah Thompson, "Minority Groups Raise Voices on Reform"

(AP)

"The figure remains the largest budget deficit, measured as a percentage of gross domestic product, since World War II. That so far isn't stopping Democratic leaders discussing further stimulus measures.
Worried that the economy isn't creating jobs, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) went to the White House for a hastily planned meeting. White House economists had already embraced extending enhanced unemployment-insurance benefits and subsidies for the purchase of health insurance under Cobra. Both of those measures are currently set to expire Dec. 31.

"After the meeting, Mr. Reid made it clear he also wants an extension of a generous tax credit for first-time homebuyers, something the White House was leaning against as too expensive for the number of jobs it might create."

(AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Politics Daily's Jill Lawrence, "McDonnell, Deeds Face Off in Virginia Battle of Styles, Ideology": " After punishing elections in 2006 and 2008, the national Republican Party's best hope for a comeback rests with McDonnell, a former state legislator who stepped down as attorney general to make the race. In their primary last June, Democrats nominated Deeds over a field that included former national party chairman Terry McAuliffe, the flamboyant veteran of countless state and national campaigns. With Deeds trailing in all published polls, they're hoping they didn't place the wrong bet."

Wall Street Journal's Corey Dade, "Virginia's Race Now a Page Turner"

New Jersey: Gannett's Michael Symons, "Corzine has spent almost $19 million on re-election": "Gov. Jon S. Corzine has spent nearly $19 million of his own money financing his re-election effort, campaign finance records show, far outpacing his opponents but also millions below his spending from four years ago."

NY Times' David M. Halbfinger, "Corzine Points a Spotlight at His Rival's Waistline": "It is about as subtle as a playground taunt: a television ad for Gov. Jon S. Corzine shows his challenger, Christopher J. Christie, stepping out of an S.U.V. in extreme slow motion, his extra girth moving, just as slowly, in several different directions at once. In case viewers missed the point, a narrator snidely intones that Mr. Christie 'threw his weight around' to avoid getting traffic tickets. In the ugly New Jersey contest for governor, Mr. Corzine and Mr. Christie have traded all sorts of shots, over mothers and mammograms, loans and lying. But now, Mr. Corzine's campaign is calling attention to his rival's corpulence in increasingly overt ways. Mr. Corzine's television commercials and Web videos feature unattractive images of Mr. Christie, sometimes shot from the side or backside, highlighting his heft, jowls and double chin."

NY-23 Special Election: Watertown Daily Times' Jude Seymour, "Obama to stump for Owens at NYC fundraiser": "President Barack Obama will travel to New York City Oct. 20 to raise funds for William L. Owens, the Democratic candidate for the 23rd Congressional District race, a White House official said Wednesday."

Politico's Alex Isenstadt and Josh Kraushaar, "GOP pick sparks revolt on right": "The nominee in a looming House special election is at the heart of an angry dispute between conservatives and Republican House leadership, a rift so serious that it threatens the party's chances of keeping control of the upstate New York seat."

6087812010 RACES: Wall Street Journal's Gerald F. Seib, "GOP Faces Multiple Hurdles as It Aims for a 1994 Replay": "The election is still a year away and pressing issues such as the health overhaul, the lagging economy and the future of the Afghan war could tip the balance. Yet, there are some little-understood forces that suggest a full repeat of 1994 is unlikely. For the moment, all but nine House Democrats have said they are defending their seats, far more than in the 1994 cycle, when 29 incumbent House members in the party vacated their seats -- and Democrats lost 22 of those spots. ... Perhaps as important, Democratic leaders have warned lawmakers earlier this time to start preparing for a tough fight; in 1994, by contrast, even some prominent Democrats didn't realize until late in the game that they were in trouble."

Associated Press' Liz Sidoti, "Joe Biden the political workhorse for Obama": "Vice President Joe Biden successfully pressed former Senate colleague Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to abandon the GOP and become a Democrat. The vice president also helped ensure that newly appointed New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand won't face a Democratic primary. And this fall, Biden's schedule is packed with fundraisers for two Democrats in upcoming governors' races, and for a slew of House freshmen and other vulnerable members of Congress as well as longtime friends and troubled incumbents in the Senate — a full year before 2010 midterm congressional elections."

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