Obama's Road To Refocus

By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

  • PRESIDENT OBAMA IS BACK ON THE ROAD TODAY, trying to refocus attention on his economic record and agenda ahead of the midterms. In a speech at Northwestern University, the president will tout American economic leadership, much as he addressed the role of American leadership abroad during his United Nations speech last week, notes ABC's MARY BRUCE.
  • WHAT THE PRESIDENT WILL SAY: White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest previews Obama's afternoon speech in Illinois: "Six years after the Great Recession, thanks to the hard work of the American people and the policies the President has pursued, our economy has come back further and faster than any other nation on Earth. You'll hear the President talk about this progress, while acknowledging that too many Americans still don't feel enough of the benefits of our recovery in their everyday lives. To make sure these gains are felt more broadly, he'll lay out the commonsense steps our country should take to raise wages for hardworking Americans, continue to create jobs and grow our economy. The location of the President's speech is fitting - he will be speaking to an audience of Kellogg business school students who will have a hand in shaping America's economic future and leadership both at home and abroad."
  • HAPPENING TODAY: This morning RNC Chairman Reince Priebus delivers remarks on the GOP's "Principles for American Renewal," outlining the core ideas driving the Republican Party and policy makers. According to an RNC official: "This speech will highlight the principles that unite Republicans and what we support-not just what we oppose-in this election and for the future." http://www.gopprinciples.com/

THE BUZZ with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON

OBAMA'S SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY AGAINST ISIS FALLING SHORT, EXPERTS SAY. The Obama administration's new drive to battle the ideology of ISIS using social media is falling short of expectations and its potential because the White House was late to the game, disregarded the work of the previous administration and hasn't properly funded the effort, some experts and government officials say. ABC's ALI WEINBERG notes that a major part of the new anti-ISIS tactics, run by the State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, is an English-language social media campaign called "Think Again, Turn Away," which features rapid responses to pro-ISIS rhetoric and sarcastically toned YouTube videos intended to mock ISIS' fundamentalist intentions. Some of the videos have been criticized as amateurish and ill-suited to their intended targets. One recent "Think Again, Turn Away" video facetiously urged would-be jihadists to "run, don't walk" to join ISIS and kill fellow Muslims. Tweets from the campaign's Twitter handle, clearly branded a U.S. government effort, frequently include images, like an old picture, tweeted on Sept. 11 of this year, of the late Osama bin Laden hiding in his compound with the words "Would you throw away your life for those who hide far away?" Such a tactic may have been effective with core al-Qaeda operatives, but less so with the more diffuse groups of today, critics say. http://abcn.ws/1rNjVRL

WHITE HOUSE FENCE JUMPER ENTERS NOT GUILTY PLEA. Omar Gonzalez, the man accused of jumping a perimeter fence and running through the first floor of the White House armed with a knife, appeared in federal court Wednesday as his lawyer entered a plea of "not guilty" to the charges against him, ABC's ARIANE DE VOGUE reports. Gonzalez, wearing an orange jumpsuit, was led into the courtroom with his hands behind his back and said nothing during the hearing. He listened intently and at one point whispered with his lawyer, public defender David Bos. Gonzalez had a beard, bald head and tiny pony tail. After his arrest, Gonzalez was charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building while carrying a dangerous weapon. On Monday, a federal grand jury indicted him for that federal offense as well as violations of DC law: carrying a dangerous weapon outside a home or place of business, and unlawful possession of ammunition. http://abcn.ws/YU2weh

SENATORS WANT PENTAGON PROBE OF SEX ABUSE INTIMIDATION CLAIMS. ABC's LUIS MARTINEZ and ARLETTE SAENZ report Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are asking the Pentagon to investigate claims made by female soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, that senior commanders discouraged them from reporting additional sexual assaults. The allegations emerged during the trial of Staff Sergeant Angel M. Sanchez, who was convicted of sexually assaulting eight female trainees under his command. The Senators cited media reports of the testimony of two female witnesses. One of the witnesses alleged that a lieutenant colonel at the base told "trainees several months ago not to report allegations of sexual assault," adding that she now has "issues of trusting those who are in charge of me." Another witness testified that her unit's Command Sergeant Major told her company of Military Policemen several months ago that "if any more sexual assault cases come forward" the whole company of soldiers would not graduate from advanced individual training. Last week, a military judge found Sanchez guilty and recommended a twenty year prison sentence, which must be approved by the post's commander. http://abcn.ws/YOUcwG

MITT ROMNEY AND 2016: COULD IT BE TRUE? A presidential defeat isn't an easy thing to bounce back from. And Mitt Romney did it twice. So it was understandable that after he lost the presidential race in 2012, he was adamant about closing the door to the possibility of a third campaign. But recently, speculation is whirling that Romney may not be so adamant anymore, ABC's ALANA ABRAMSON reports. When asked if he was running in a New York Times interview published earlier this week, Romney said: "I have nothing to add to the story. We've got a lot of people looking at the race," he said. "We'll see what happens." That response, which set off the firestorm of speculation about a possible candidacy, is vastly different from the one he issued just nine months ago: "Oh, no, no, no," he told The New York Times last January at the premiere of "Mitt," the documentary about his 2012 candidacy. "People are always gracious and say, 'Oh, you should run again.' I'm not running again." The discrepancy between the two responses has been fueled by Romney's recent presence on the political scene. http://abcn.ws/1nN4bi5

MEET THE PIZZA GUY WHO'S SHAKING UP THE NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE. By day, Sean Haugh delivers pizzas and resells old books on Amazon. But moonlighting as North Carolina's Libertarian Senate candidate, he could serve up the state's hotly contested Senate seat to Democrats in November. "I'm very much a factor in the race," Haugh told ABC's BEN SIEGEL. If the contest between Sen. Kay Hagan and Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis remains narrowly divided in the final weeks of the race, political strategists believe Haugh could siphon votes away from Tillis and help hand the incumbent Democrat a victory. Democrats believe North Carolina is increasingly becoming their best firewall to stop Republicans from picking up the six seats needed to win control of the Senate. "If it's really close - people might say even at two percent - Haugh would be playing a role in the outcome," said North Carolina State University political scientist Andrew Taylor. Haugh, 53, is no stranger to state politics. He ran for Senate as a Libertarian in 2002, and has also worked with the state's Libertarian Party in various capacities. He said he entered the race in February as an "act of conscience." http://abcn.ws/1qX3c9i

WHAT'S BEHIND CONGRESS' 'ATTACK' ON NFL BREAKS. A raft of damaging headlines have sparked new efforts on Capitol Hill to hit the NFL where it hurts: in the pocketbook. New bills were introduced in recent weeks to strip the National Football League of its not-for-profit status, which it holds despite the billions in revenue it helps deliver for teams, and the $44 million annual compensation package enjoyed by the league's commissioner, Roger Goodell. According to ABC's RICK KLEIN, in the latest episode of the ESPN/ABC podcast "Capital Games," Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton - cosponsor of the House bill that would end that tax break - said the push is yet another way she hopes the NFL will force the Washington football team to change its nickname. "The NFL greed is so widespread that they've chosen to operate as a tax-exempt organization. So we want to take that choice away from them unless, and until, they decide not to profit from a name that has now officially been declared a racial slur," said Norton, the Democratic non-voting House member who represents the District of Columbia." http://abcn.ws/1vysHE9

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

HILLARY CLINTON COMFORTS MILITARY FAMILIES WHO'VE LOST LOVED ONES. In her first public appearance since the weekend birth of granddaughter Charlotte, Hillary Clinton spoke at an event last night in New York for an organization that cares for the families of fallen military members, who greeted her with moving stories of their loved ones, ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE notes. "This a great privilege, but it is also for me emotional as we celebrate the birth of our granddaughter and as I look out and see all of you who are thinking of your loved ones and the life that he or she lived," Clinton said at the event for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors or TAPS, a group that supports, connects and provides grief resources to military families who have lost loved ones. http://abcn.ws/1tiPtva

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

SENATE CANDIDATE STANDS BY WEB VIDEO SHOWING JAMES FOLEY'S KILLER. New Mexico Republican Senate candidate Allen Weh says he didn't intend to make national headlines with the release of a provocative Web video that used a frame of video of American journalist James Foley's killer - a move his critics called "offensive." But now that he is in the spotlight, Weh told ABC's RICK KLEIN and SHUSHANNAH WALSHE he has absolutely no regrets over his controversial entrance onto the national stage. "I'm not a politically correct guy in a lot of ways, that's one thing," Weh said. "This town may not be ready for me. I will call a spade a spade." Standing by the campaign video, Weh writes off the blowback he's received as isolated "far left" critics, and points out that the Web video only showed an image of Foley's killer and not some of the more graphic scenes. WATCH: http://yhoo.it/Zrvu6F

WHO'S TWEETING?

@seanspicer: Smart move: DNC press sec @MikeCzin shows up to @GOP speech to see how a party shld lead - take notes #GOPPrinciples #gopatgw

@MikeCzin: @seanspicer @GOP thanks for haven me! Really interesting to see a party in decay up close.

@bethreinhard: Jeb Bush Wins Key Backer: George P. @laurameckler reports http://on.wsj.com/1r1bvRx "

@rollcall: Secret Service hearing helped Chaffetz raise profile as he aims for Oversight gavel. @MEPFuller explains: http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/jason-chaffetz-secret-service-oversight-chairmanship/ …

@TheFix: Don't let old people decide the election, says a new ad campaign. http://wapo.st/10mkMyu