GOP headache: The birther issue  —  When lawmakers return home for recess in August, they can expect to hear tough questions from constituents on the economy, health care and government spending.  —  But Republicans are preparing for something else: the birthers.

The Henry Louis Gates “Teaching Moment”  —  The arrest of Harvard African-American Studies Professor Henry Louis Gates has certainly got everyone talking.  Unfortunately, everyone's talking about the wrong issue.  —  Responding to a 911 call from a woman who observed Gates prying open …

GOP headache: The birther issue  —  So far, Hoekstra hasn't faced any such questions.  —  “When you're in a state with 15.2 percent unemployment,” he said, “most people have other things on their mind than this.”  —  But as if to illustrate the touchiness of the subject, Hoekstra quickly added: “Not that this isn't important.”

House Dem Putting GOPers On The Spot By Introducing Measure Describing Hawaii As Obama's Birthplace  —  Okay, this is getting really good.  Dem Rep. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii is going to introduce a resolution on the House floor today that seems designed to put House GOPers who are flirting with birtherism in a jam.

Governor Palin, You're No Hillary Clinton  —  Over at Pollster.com, Brendan Nyhan (whom you should be reading) espouses a fairly common sentiment: that Sarah Palin's favorability numbers, while poor, are not a whole heck of a lot worse than Hillary Clinton's were at the same point in the electoral cycle.

Bunning's not running  —  Cantankerous Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning has officially dropped out of next year's reelection campaign — citing his paltry fundraising efforts.  —  Bunning's office just put out the following statement:  —  I have the same conservative principles in 2009 …

Amid New Scrutiny, John Yoo Rebuts Critics of Detainee Memos  —  Quietly but Forcefully, Author of Detainee Memos Rebuts Critics  —  Some public figures, if their judgment and ethics come under fire, retreat into solitude.  Then there is John C. Yoo.  —  The former Justice Department official …

Voinovich slams DeMint and Coburn for GOP downfall; blames ‘the southerners’  —  Too many conservative senators like Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) are to blame for the GOP's downfall, one of their retiring Republican colleagues complained Monday.

New home sales: ‘Really good news’  —  Sales of newly constructed single family homes rose 11% over May, but median price fell 3%.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Sales of newly constructed single-family homes spiked 11% in June to an annualized rate of 384,000 homes, according to a report released Monday.

An Incoherent Truth  —  Right now the fate of health care reform seems to rest in the hands of relatively conservative Democrats — mainly members of the Blue Dog Coalition, created in 1995.  And you might be tempted to say that President Obama needs to give those Democrats what they want.

Pelosi unpopular?  'I don't care'  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is one of the most despised political figures in the country.  —  And, frankly, she doesn't give a damn.  —  “No, I don't care,” Pelosi told POLITICO last Thursday, laughing heartily as she walked beneath the Capitol dome and plunged into a crowd of tourists.

Grassley to vote against Sotomayor confirmation  —  Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said today he planned to oppose the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court when the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on her nomination Tuesday.  —  The vote, which Grassley announced …

Finally, Action on Gay Soldiers  —  Blogs and Stories  —  The Daily Beast has learned that the Senate, prompted by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, will hold hearings on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”—a first since 1993, despite Obama's campaign promises.  —  After determining she didn't have enough votes …

The hidden hand  —  The wave of publicity for the Birther movement hasn't yet crested, with the dentist who's the movement's leading legal light, Orly Taitz, saying she's taping the Colbert Report tomorrow, and popping up elsewhere in the mainstream media.  —  This isn't necessarily a bad thing …

Palin's “Mad as Hell” Speech  —  Outgoing Alaska Governor Lashes Out at Media in Resignation Address, But Will It Work in the Long Term?  —  (CBS) This story was written by CBS News digital journalist Scott Conroy and director of political coverage Steve Chaggaris.

Birther leader: GOP is with me  —  Orly Taitz, the California attorney-dentist leading the charge of the so-called birthers movement, is boasting on her blog that she's made some high-profile “friends” on Facebook: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor …

The War We'd Like to Forget  —  It was the kind of symbolic moment that George W. Bush must have yearned for during the Iraq war's darkest days.  Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the prime minister of a sovereign (sort of), stable (up to a point) and democratic (within limits) Republic of Iraq came …