BREAKING FROM NBC: White House official calls gays part of “Internet left fringe”  —  UPDATE FROM PAM: … And let me just add that if we're all insignificant children who don't understand politics, and who the White House doesn't worry about, then why did a White House official feel the need …

Insurance Group Says Health Bill Will Mean Higher Premiums  —  Report Issued Before Key Committee Vote  —  After months of collaboration on President Obama's attempt to overhaul the nation's health-care system, the insurance industry plans to strike out against the effort on Monday …

Heckuva Job, Barack  —  This was Barack Obama's chance.  —  Here was an opportunity to cut himself free, in a stroke, from the baggage that's weighed his presidency down — the implausible expectations, the utopian dreams, the messianic hoo-ha.  —  Here was a place to draw …

CREATING A MONSTER.... The right-wing “Tea Party” activists are, obviously, deeply opposed to the Obama White House's policies and the Democratic agenda in general.  But Alex Isenstadt reports that they're not especially pleased with the state of the Republican Party, either.

Pelosi Key to GOP 2010 Playbook  —  Republicans Hope Linking House Speaker to Democrats Can Turn Centrist Districts  —  WASHINGTON — Republicans are stepping up attacks on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, deciding that a major part of their 2010 electoral strategy will be linking Democratic candidates to her.

Cable News Irony Alert: CNN, Fox and The Disappearing General Audience  —  White House Communications Director Anita Dunn appeared Sunday morning on Howard Kurtz's CNN show Reliable Sources to discuss her comments in my TIME magazine story this week.  She continued her criticism of Fox News:

Two Prominent Men in Sex Scandals, but Only One Feeding Frenzy  —  David Letterman must have been in denial.  —  Here he was, the savvy satirist, the court jester for the post-irony generation, apologizing again for “having had sex with women who had worked on this show”— a phrase guaranteed to give journalists heart palpitations.

What if Tom Campbell had money?  —  (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press / September 16)  —  The Republican is not far from the California mainstream, but his race for governor needs dollars.  —  Capitol Journal  —  From Sacramento  —  Tom Campbell is one of those “what if?” political candidates with intriguing potential scenarios.

Civilian Goals Largely Unmet in Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — Even as President Obama leads an intense debate over whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, administration officials say the United States is falling far short of his goals to fight the country's endemic corruption …