Health Care Delayed; 'Breathtakingly Stupid' In N.J.

Good morning.

Health care, and the news that it looks like efforts to overhaul the system won't be getting through Congress before lawmakers go on vacation early next month, leads many newspapers and news reports this morning.

As Frank wrote yesterday, talk of a delay is not what President Barack Obama wants to hear. But there are plenty of folks discussing just that:

— The Washington Post: "Health Reform Deadline In Doubt."

— Politico: "Blown Deadline, Blown Chance?"

— The Page: "Huddling Over Health Care; Obama Will Sit Down With Sens. Reid, Baucus At The White House Friday."

Obama's chief of staff, by the way, tells Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep that Obama's effort to push for approval before summer's end did serve an important purpose. It forced lawmakers to spend much of this summer ironing out their differences, Rahm Emanuel says:

And the president himself talked about all this with ABC News, telling Nightline's Terry Moran that opponents' "scare tactics" are misleading Americans about his health care proposals.

Other stories making headlines this morning include:

— Star-Ledger columnist Bob Braun — " 'Breathtakingly Stupid' Defines 44 Caught In N.J. Corruption Sting": "If what the prosecutors are charging holds up in court, this case will go down in the crowded annals of New Jersey prosecutions as the moment when our politicians — and others — were proven, not just to be corrupt, but breathtakingly stupid."

— Boston Herald — "911, Police Tapes Key In Gates Case": "Mounting pressure to get to the bottom of the controversial arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. is centering on recorded police tapes that may offer a dose of reality amid all the media and political noise. Cambridge police brass and lawyers are weighing making the tapes public, which could include the 911 call reporting a break-in at Gates' home and radio transmissions by the cop who busted him July 16 for disorderly conduct."

— The Washington Post — "Obama Uses Funding To Pressure Education Establishment For Change": "President Obama is leaning hard on the nation's schools, using the promise of more than $4 billion in federal aid — and the threat of withholding it — to strong-arm the education establishment to accept more charter schools and performance pay for teachers."

Related story on Morning Edition: In the Bronx, an "alternative fix for failing schools":

— Morning Edition — There's Talk Of A Recovery, But Economy's Still Giving Off Mixed Signals: "Between company reports and economic data, we're getting some mixed signals about whether we're in a recovery. Wall Street seems to be pleased with the earnings reports that are coming out; many have been accompanied by optimistic forecasts about sales and profits. But there is still lingering doubt about whether the good news will stick":

— ABC News — Palin's Popularity Slips, Poll Says: "As she packs up the Alaska governor's mansion and pushes back against the latest ethics brouhaha, Sarah Palin's got other problems: A more negative public image than she held during the 2008 campaign and broader questions about her grasp of complex issues. Just 40% of Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll hold a favorable opinion of Palin overall, down from a high of 58 percent shortly after she joined the GOP presidential ticket. More than half, 53%, now view her unfavorably." Palin's resignation takes effect Sunday.

Contributing: China Anderson of Morning Edition.