A noteworthy update to President Obama's light schedule this week, considering the rumors about his religion that lingered throughout the 2008 campaign. From the White House guidance for Tuesday:

In the evening, the President will host a dinner celebrating Ramadan and highlight the contributions of American Muslims in the State Dining Room. The President's remarks will be pooled press.

George Will's next column will reportedly call for U.S. ground troops to withdraw from Afghanistan.

According to Politico, Will's column will argue later this week:

[F]orces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent special forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters …

One of the preeminent conservative public commentators, Will's column comes at a time when the war in Afghanistan is in a precarious state. August was the bloodiest month for U.S forces since the war began in 2001.

Reuters reports that President Obama's "top advisers on Afghanistan agree with military commanders that more troops are needed" in Afghanistan. About 110,000 allied soldiers are expected to be in Afghanistan by year's end, more than half of which are American. Public support for the war is also steadily eroding. Fifty-one percent of Americans now think the war was not worth fighting, according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Will's views on war generally harken back to another era of pre World War II conservative isolationism.

Will is a longtime skeptic of nation building and what he would call Wilsonian idealism abroad. In GOP circles, his column is one more vocal volley against neo-conservative thought, which dominated Washington during George W. Bush's presidency, and comes at a time when the GOP is digesting the extent to which it should champion traditional conservatism in order to recover from W's presidency.

A frank admission from Nate Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, who said during a conference call with liberal bloggers today that Democrats "have to get our messages straight" when it comes to health care reform.

One participant was venting frustration to Daschle, the son of the former Senate Majority Leader and would-be HHS Secretary, that it seemed the White House was sending mixed messages about reform. "You've got Barack Obama saying one thing and Sebelius and Rahm Emanuel saying another. I have to tell you, in people's minds here, the Democrats are not faring well," the blogger said.

She brought it up because she said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chair of a subcommittee that voted out health care legislation, was facing tough crowds. It was a shame, she said, since he and Gov. Jon Corzine (D) in her mind spot on in their views.

“You're absolutely right," Daschle said. "As Democrats, we have to get our messages straight. And Gov. Corzine deserves a lot of credit for being one of the most vocal governors on the issues."

He went on to say that Democratic governors could play a critical role in the fight. "This thing doesn't get done without governors being part of the solution. I just don't think we have a chance without governors like Corzine as a leader on the issue," he said.

Read more about the DGA's take on 2009 and 2010 gubernatorial races over at Politics Nation.

Public disapproval of the job Barack Obama is doing as President reached a new high of 42.4% in the RCP Average today:

On the flip side, Obama's approval rating of 51.2% matches his all time low in the RCP Average. Taken together, Obama's approval-disapproval spread is also at it's lowest point to date of +8.8 points. That is down from a +43.3 point spread at the beginning of Obama's term.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. today to make an announcement on the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Ted Kennedy (D).

From the Boston Globe:

Governor Deval Patrick is scheduled to make an announcement this afternoon about special election to fill the US Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Patrick is scheduled to make the announcement in the press briefing room at the State House, according to his staff. No details were released about the substance of the announcement.

Will the governor call a special session of the Legislature in an effort to change back the Senate succession law state Democrats altered in 2004? We'll have to wait and see, it seems.

UPDATE: The Globe now reports that Patrick will be announcing the date of the special election, expected to be either Jan. 19 or 26 next year.

Is 2010 shaping up to be the year of the primary?

One of the unknown outcomes of the health care debate is whether the Howard Dean wing of the Democratic Party will follow through on its promise to challenge those who don't support a public option. Sen. Arlen Specter already faces a challenge from the left in Rep. Joe Sestak. Last week a high-profile Arkansas Democrat suggested he may challenge Sen. Blanche Lincoln. And open-seat races in Illinois and Ohio have already drawn multiple Democrats.

As the CW hardens that Republicans are poised to pick up seats in the midterms, meanwhile, one can't overlook a developing intraparty schism. The DSCC happily points today to two possible battles between the party in Washington and the grass roots. Supporters of Rand Paul's campaign for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky have launched a Web site seeking to raise funds through a "money bomb" on Sept. 23, the same day fellow Republican Trey Grayson heads to Washington for a fundraiser featuring 23 incumbents. And the Denver Post reports on some push back to an apparent NRSC effort to back former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton in the Colorado Senate race.

Gov. Charlie Crist's (R) appointment of his former chief of staff to Florida's vacant U.S. Senate seat, meanwhile, may have added a Washington-esque cronyism charge to what had been primarily an ideological fight by Marco Rubio. In New Hampshire, the Union Leader already urged the national party to butt out of that state's Senate race, where Kelly Ayotte is the Washington favorite. And in the gubernatorial field, Rick Perry is tapping anti-Washington sentiment in his battle against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Some of these primary fights may fizzle. But it seems already that midterm battle will start sooner than people realize.

If freshman congressmen Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and Frank Kratovil (D-Md.) turn on their TVs at home this week, they may see their own faces alongside a headshot of Nancy Pelosi in a new ad from the National Republican Congressional Committee. The ad targets the Democrats on the issue of health care.

"Foster already votes with Pelosi 90% of the time, now what do you think he'll do?" the narrator states in the ad. "Call Foster, tell him to oppose Pelosi's cuts to Medicare."

Both Democrats succeeded Republicans in the 2008 elections. Foster took over Illinois's 14th District, formerly represented by Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, in a March 2008 special election against Jim Oberweis. Foster won a full term in November.

Kratovil won Maryland's 1st District, whose moderate Republican incumbent, Wayne Gilchrest, was defeated by a more conservative challenger in the GOP primary. Kratovil defeated Andy Harris (R) by less than 1 point in the general election.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) appointed his former chief of staff to the state's vacant Senate seat, which Sen. Mel Martinez (R) is retiring from 16 months early and Crist himself is currently running for. By choosing George LeMieux, a close friend and former adviser, Crist is assured the sitting senator will not decide to run against him. However, Crist could catch some flak among Republicans for overlooking perhaps more experienced candidates.

LeMieux is a former Broward County GOP chairman and helped run Crist's successful 2002 bid for attorney general and 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

The Florida Republican Party releeased a statement of approval from chairman Jim Greer: "Once again, Charlie Crist has demonstrated his commitment to serving Floridians, by appointing George LeMieux who is well qualified, a dedicated public servant, conservative Republican and an excellent choice.”

Democrats, meanwhile, immediately fired off statements to the press calling the move classic cronyism.

A statement from the Florida Democratic Party read: "Floridians are sick of the Republican culture of corruption and the Tallahassee back room dealings that clearly led Crist to pick LeMieux, whose only qualification is being Charlie Crist's crony."

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also unleashed a disapproving statement: "Charlie Crist came as close as he could to appointing himself to this position. At a time when so many Floridians are unemployed, and many others facing foreclosures, we have learned nothing is beyond the pale for Charlie Crist. Today marked another Charlie Crist choice that significantly impacts the state of Florida but is ultimately about promoting himself."

According to the Miami Herald, other Republicans considered for the job included: former Rep. Clay Shaw, former Secretary of State Jim Smith, former U.S. Attorney Roberto Martinez, former U.S. Reps. Mike Bilirakis and Lou Frey, state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, former state Sen. Dan Webster and University of North Florida President John Delaney.

Rasmussen's latest poll shows that the opposition to Obama's Health Bill may be peaking. The latest poll shows that 43% of voters favor Congress' health care bill, while 53% are opposed. These are the exact same figures Rasmussen recorded two weeks ago.

It remains to be seen whether the health bill's numbers have a V-shaped recovery, a U-shaped recovery, or whether this is just a brief interlude before further decline.

The second survey this month from Rasmussen of the New Jersey gubernatorial race shows that Chris Christie's (R) lead has narrowed slightly, reflecting a wave of unfavorable coverage.

General Election Matchup
Christie 50 (-2 from 8/4)
Corzine 42 (+3)
Other 2 (-2)
Not Sure 7 (+2)

This poll does not include the name of the independent candidate, Chris Daggett, who has qualified for public funding and will be part of any debates that are held.

The RCP Average of polls on the race reflects the Christie slump, with his average lead down to 9 points.

Corzine's job approval number is still weak, with 35 percent approving and 65 percent disapproving -- lower even than earlier this month. President Obama's approval is at 55 percent, with 44 percent disapproving.

Favorability Numbers
Christie 45 / 51
Corzine 36 / 61

The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted August 25, and had a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percent.