The Note: The Pop-pop and Mom-mom Parties

— -- WASHINGTON, Sep. 20

Pending: a (likely) torture/interrogation deal; a(n unlikely) immigration deal; and savvy reconciliation of the spirit and substance of the New York Times/CBS and Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times polls.

While we work on those, you read this:

President Bush hits the Sunshine State campaign trail. The Commander/Campaigner-in-Chief attends fundraising events for congressional candidate Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) in Tampa, FL (where he seeks to replace his father in Congress) at 1:10 pm ET and for gubernatorial Charlie Crist (R-FL) at a Republican Party reception in Orlando, FL at 5:35 pm ET.

Both fundraisers are open press, and alert reporters will be listening closely to see if there are hints of a new presidential election stump speech.

First Lady Laura Bush and Sebba Musharraf, wife of President Pervez Musharraf , start their morning at 10:15 am ET launching a website on Pakistani culture at the Kennedy Center. At 7:00 pm ET the First Lady accepts the IRI Freedom Award at the J.W. Marriot Hotel in Washington, DC.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with NATO foreign ministers in New York while her friend, former President Bill Clinton, continues to host the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City.

Clinton holds a 9:30 am ET press conference with Sir Richard Branson -- part of the process by which the CGI commitments head towards the billions-with-a-"b" level . LINK

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace hold a Senators-only briefing on Iraq at 4:00 pm ET in the Capitol.

Speaker Hastert, Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), and other allies highlight border security accomplishments at 2:30 pm ET in the Capitol.

Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Jim Ramstad (R-MN), and representatives from the Betty Ford Center discuss the treatment of mental health disorders at 10:00 am ET in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC.

At 12:30 pm ET Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), explain the "Compromiso Demócrata con el Pueblo Latino (The Democractic Agenda: A New Direction for Latino Families) at the Capitol in Washington, DC.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) join the Campaign for America's Future at a 11:00 am ET conference call to release a new report on the gap in Medicare's prescription drug coverage.

Democrats on the Ways & Means Committee plan to release their own report today that analyzes coverage and premiums in stand-along private drug plans.

As far as policy prescription goes, the "Democratic Prescription for Change" calls for requiring Medicare to "use its bargaining power to negotiate lower drug prices" and using the savings to "fill the doughnut hole." The Democratic plan would also "waive the late enrollment penalty" and create a Medicare-sponsored option for the sake of simplicity.

The AP has Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) saying: "As this report shows, the opportunity to purchase plans that fill the hole is a mirage. Beneficiaries are no more able to afford expensive, full-coverage plans than minimum wage Americans are able to afford a Mercedes."LINK

Sens. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Barack Obama (D-IL) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) talk up the Darfur Peace Act at 11:00 am ET.

The American Enterprise Institute hosts a panel discussion entitled "Beyond November: Who Will Prevail in American Politics?" with authors Thomas Edsall, Tom Hamburger, Doug Sosnik, and Peter Wallsten at the AEI building in Washington, DC, so close to ABC News' Washington bureau that we could crawl there.

Stan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and Page Garnder, President and Founder of "Women's Voices. Women Vote. Action Fund" host a briefing and research update at 10:00 am ET on the "fastest growing demographic group in the electorate" at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, DC.

RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman was slated to do some early morning (8:30 am ET) campaigning in Iowa for GOP congressional candidate Mike Whalen in Cedar Falls. Mehlman also makes a stop on behalf of congressional candidate Jeff Lamberti in Urbandale, IA.

Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) begins a two-day trip to Iowa today while his possible '08 GOP rival former Speaker Newt Gingrich gives his plan for national health care to the Georgia Healthcare Transformation Senate Study Committee in Atlanta, GA.

Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) was scheduled to discuss "Health Care Reform: The Massachusetts Model" at 8:45 am ET at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who had his prostate removed in 2003, attends a luncheon reception on legislative initiatives for the African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit at noon ET in the Rayburn House Office Building in DC.

Former Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) hosts and speaks at 6:30 pm ET at a fundraiser for Senate candidate Jim Webb (D-VA) at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA.

The New America Foundation holds a 12:00 pm ET discussion on "How Bush Rules: The Transformation of the American Political Landscape" with sidny Blumenthal and Michael Lind. At 2:00 pm ET, NAF holds a discussion, "Can the Employer Role in Health Insurance be Preserved" with Sens. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).

The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne discusses "Seamless Criticism: Why the Church Should Make Everyone in Politics Feel Guilty" at 4:00 pm ET at the Catholic University of America.

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and others hold a 10:30 am ET press conference and nonviolent civil disobedience action in the street directly in front of the White House to protest the US "occupation" of Iraq. The DC event is intended to kick-off a national Declaration of Peace initiative with more than 350 events across the country from Sep. 21-28.

The Way to Win:
USA Today's discerning Bob Minzesheimer touts the forthcoming book The Way to Win -- along with fall tomes by Noted authors Bob Woodward, Ed Gillespie, and Barack Obama. LINK

If you missed yesterday's world premiere of The Way to Win videos -- semi-pegged to the October 3 release of the Halperin/Harris-penned Random House book of the same name -- do not despair.

Today, another world premiere, this time of the extended versions (featuring a television legend) that illustrate the Jacquification of John Kerry and the before-to-after transformation of Hillary Clinton.

Go to The Way to Win website LINK

As for our daily trivia battle, the correct answer to yesterday's question (Which American president was caught on tape saying of John Kerry, "Well, he is sort of a phony, isn't he?") is Richard M. Nixon. Our winner, Anat Maytal, is a Boston U law student who will be getting an autographed copy of the book in the mail.

Want a chance to win one too? Then correctly answer today's question:

To whom did Bill Clinton say in an interview in 1992 , "I'm all right. I'm disappointed you didn't call me 'Bubba'"?

To enter, go to thewaytowin2008.com and enter now. LINK

Of course, on the site, you can also pre-order the book, to make sure you get one as soon as possible. LINK

There's also a preview excerpt of the book which you can read here. LINK

2006: landscape:
Adam Nagourney and Janet Elder write up the latest New York Times/CBS News poll showing "Americans have an overwhelmingly negative view of the Republican-controlled Congress. . ." LINK

"The disdain for Congress is as intense as it has been since 1994, when Republicans captured 52 seats to end 40 years of Democratic control of the House and retook the Senate as well. It underlines the challenge the Republican Party faces in trying to hold on to power in the face of a surge in anti-incumbent sentiment," writes the duo.

The poll also finds the generic congressional ballot at 50% for the Democrats and 35% for the Republicans. Nagourney and Elder are sure to include the important caveats that the playing field is much narrower than it was in 1994 and Americans feel a lot better about their own representative than they do about Congress as a whole.

With a different emphasis, Ron Brownstein writes up the latest Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg News poll results which, like the New York Times poll, shows continued Republican vulnerabilities, but unlike the New York Times poll, also shows the President (another 44% to test drive) and Republicans with some momentum. LINK