By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• THE PRESIDENT'S PLAN: In an address to the nation last night, President Obama laid out his most detailed plan yet to "lead a broad coalition" to confront the vexing problem of ISIS, the militant group that executed American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria and terrorized civilians in Syria and neighboring Iraq, ABC's ERIN DOOLEY and MARY BRUCE report. "I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are," the president said from the White House. "This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven." Here's Obama's four-point plan to destroy ISIS: http://abcn.ws/Yy73nq

• AMPING UP AIRSTRIKES: The president vowed to expand the air campaign beyond its original two missions: protecting Americans and providing humanitarian aid. Now, airstrikes will be used a part of a broader effort to "roll back" ISIS in Iraq. The military will not be constrained by the Syrian border, Obama said. The U.S. plans to "hunt down terrorists who threaten our country wherever they are" - including in Syria.

• STRENGTHENING TROOPS: The president plans to send an additional 475 U.S. service members to Iraq to assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS there. Troops will build on the work of assessment teams already in place in Baghdad and Erbil, teams embedded with Iraqi security forces, and existing surveillance assets, but will not be introduced into combat.

• PREVENTING TERROR: The U.S. will draw on a range of counterterrorism tactics to prevent attacks on the homeland, including cutting off ISIS's funding and improving American intelligence. It will also take steps to counter ISIS' "warped" ideology, Obama vowed.

• PROTECTING CIVILIANS: In the interest of protecting ancient communities, such as Iraqi Christians, the United States' humanitarian efforts will continue, Obama said.

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's JEFF ZELENY: If Congress wasn't trying to rush back to the campaign trail a week from now, effectively ending their work until November, would there be a more robust debate about President Obama's decision to escalate the fight against ISIS? For all the talk from some lawmakers about the president needing to seek Congressional approval to expand the mission into Syria, the reality is that Congress is distracted by the fall elections and determined to hit the road by the end of next week. The White House is hoping to seize upon this compressed schedule and avoid a prolonged debate that could bog down the request to allow the U.S. military to train and equip the Syrian rebels. It comes with a price tag of about $500 million, but all the administration is asking for now is the authority. The administration hopes the measure will be rolled into a larger spending bill, the stopgap measure to keep the government running that will pass before Congress leaves town. But years from now, will we be asking if there was sufficient debate for the next phase of this war?

ABC's RICK KLEIN: President Obama on Wednesday night entered a new phase of his presidency - and he did it in a most Obama of ways. First, to what's changed: He's announcing a war, not ending one. He's preparing to act without Congress, almost exactly a year after deferring to the legislative branch on a question of whether to use American military force. The president is rushing to catch up with and soothe an anxious, even frightened, public. He's doing it while looking to reverse perceptions that he's been slow to respond to metastasizing crises in the Middle East and beyond. "I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat," the president declared. "Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy." That last word - "strategy" - appeared four times in the president's prime-time address. The repetition was an implicit follow-up to an already infamous quote from two weeks ago, when the president said "We don't have a strategy yet" to confront ISIS in Syria. MORE: http://abcn.ws/1snYKp4

BUZZ

with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON

Dick Cheney's Foreign Policy Advice Is 'Terrifying,' Harry Reid Says. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid criticized former Vice President Dick Cheney's views on foreign policy, describing his advice to House Republicans as "terrifying," reports ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ. "Taking advice from Dick Cheney on foreign policy? That's a terrifying prospect. We should be learning from our past mistakes, not repeating them," Reid said yesterday on the Senate floor. "They've got to be really careful with advice they take from Dick Cheney. Dick Cheney is more responsible than anyone else for the worst foreign policy decision in the history of the country - the invasion of Iraq." Cheney, one of the architects of the Iraq war, met privately with House Republicans and discussed the threat that the Islamic militant group ISIS poses to the international community. http://abcn.ws/1ulPG4J

Does Condoleezza Rice want to run the NFL? Prominent voices have called for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's head in the wake of player Ray Rice's suspension, with some people suggesting a rather unconventional replacement: former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, ABC's NOAH WEILAND reports. Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona left that decision up to NFL owners, but advised Goodell to seek the advice of the former secretary. Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart went further, arguing that Secretary Rice is "the one person who could save the NFL" from its moral quandary and public relations nightmare. Others, including actor Rob Lowe, have gone on the record to say the NFL should give the job to Rice immediately. Citing a 2002 New York Times article in which Secretary Rice, 59, said she would "absolutely" like to be commissioner, Capehart said he believes her love of football would pair perfectly with the kind of strategic expertise she honed in the White House and at the State Department. http://abcn.ws/1pQ82Vp

Ted Cruz Is Senate's Master of Impressions - From Churchill to Dr. Seuss. Sen. Ted Cruz puts the theater in political theater. Well-known for impersonating Darth Vader and reading "Green Eggs and Ham" during a 21-hour filibuster last year, the Texas Republican revealed his latest impression on the Senate floor on Tuesday, according to ABC'S BEN SIEGEL and KIRSTEN APPLETON. While arguing against a Democrat-backed campaign finance amendment, Cruz brought up his love for "Saturday Night Live" and the variety show's political impressions - particularly Dana Carvey's impression of President George H.W. Bush. http://abcn.ws/1wg7yjN

Justices to Meet Behind Closed Doors to Discuss Gay Marriage Cases. Before the Supreme Court justices even take the bench for the new court term on Oct. 6, they will meet behind closed doors and discuss petitions from five states concerning bans on gay marriage, ABC's ARIANE DE VOGUE reports. The so-called "long conference" occurs on Sept. 29, when the nine justices will discuss cert petitions that have gathered over the summer. Although they are scheduled to discuss the marriage cases, the justices don't necessarily have to act immediately. Indeed, they could wait until other appeals courts across the country have ruled. The behind-doors conversations at conferences are kept secret. No one else is allowed in the room - no secretaries, assistants or clerks. Should there be a knock on the door, Justice Elena Kagan, as the most junior justice on the court, must get up and respond http://abcn.ws/WKmGq1

88-Year-Old Rep. John Dingell's Hospital Tweets Are Hilarious. When 88-year-old Rep. John Dingell was hospitalized earlier this week, some feared the worst for the longest-serving member of Congress. But according to ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON his tweets from the hospital are proving that the Democrat from Michigan is very much alive. Some highlights include, "@john_dingell: Yelling at hospital TV as House debates YET ANOTHER bill to gut the Clean Water Act. Nice of the nurses to check in on me though. I'm fine." http://abcn.ws/1qLG7K9

WHO'S TWEETING?

@ItsDavidFord: Nod to 2016? @SenRandPaul turns down @GroverNorquist's Burning Man invite, says 'I might be pretty busy next summer' http://fus.in/1umMRR9

@ByronYork: New: Five things that could go horribly wrong with Obama's action in Iraq. http://ow.ly/BmuJO

@NancyPelosi: Tonight, we heard our President present a concrete & forceful strategy to degrade & destroy ISIS. My full statement: http://goo.gl/TpN444

@gregmcrc: Obama speech missed opportunity for him, Dems. Lacked passion, resolve and faked determination. Dems just don't do #nationalsecurity well.

@bartongellman: On 9/11 it's the horrific *sound* of 2 billion lbs of falling concrete that comes back to me. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2001/09/12/AR2005033108356.html …