ABC News | Mark Trumbull

The economic stimulus package approved in February is the biggest recession-fighting effort in U.S. history, but the question after nine months is whether it is big enough to bring back lost jobs.

*Christian Science Monitor | Does US need a second stimulus to create jobs?

*Boston Globe | Senate hopefuls hesitant to embrace stimulus

*Red State (blog) | The Second Stimulus

The Hill | Jeffrey Young

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has secured the vital 60th vote he needs to advance healthcare reform legislation with the announcement by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) that she will vote with her party Saturday evening.

*Politico | Lincoln on board, 60 in hand

*The Hill | Sen. Reid: Opposition to health procedural vote is ‘Orwellian’

*Washington Post | David Broder: Fears of health-reform cost are justifiable

Salt Lake Tribune | Thomas Burr

Sen. Orrin Hatch and fellow Republican senators criticized Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday for her recent remarks that putting undocumented immigrants on a path to citizenship would boost the economy.

Napolitano, in remarks last week to the Center for American Progress, said that a “tough and fair pathway” to legal status for millions of immigrants would bring them out of the “shadows” and allow them to pay taxes as legal Americans do.

Bloomberg | By Jonathan Salant and Henry Goldman

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who lost a bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, is considering running for the U.S. Senate next year against freshman Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, current and former Republican officials said.

Giuliani, 63, doesn’t intend to run for governor of New York in the 2010 campaign, the two people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Chicago Sun Times | Lynn Sweet

Democratic Party leaders in Washington — and the Obama White House — failed to recruit a candidate strong enough to scare Rep. Mark Kirk — the Republicans’ best bet — from the race. The only luck they had was the decision by Sen. Roland Burris — appointed by now-indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill Obama’s remaining term — not to run to keep the seat.

*News Max | Dems Could Lose Obama Senate Seat

*Newser | Dems May Lose Obama’s Old Senate Seat

Fits News

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s public support is collapsing in South Carolina – driven by a wholesale revolt among the GOP electorate and a steady erosion of his support amongst independents.

Already consistently loathed by a solid third of GOP voters, Graham’s recent leftward bent – including his co-authoring of a controversial “Cap & Tax” proposal supported by President Barack Obama and liberal Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) – has him locked in a “terminal free fall,” according one prominent Republican consultant.

Commentary | Jennifer Rubin

Graham won’t face the voters until 2014, so he has time to recover. But his example may serve as a warning to other Republicans: mimicking Obamaism is a losing proposition.

Romney Speech at Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch Center

What has he been doing that is more important than protecting the lives of the troops of which he is Commander-in-Chief? He has been campaigning – rallying at phony town meetings and making over 30 campaign stops for fellow Democrats.

CNN| Romney accuses Obama of not protecting troops

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney delivered a scathing criticism of President Obama’s Afghanistan strategy Friday night, accusing the president of delivering rhetoric and not action in the war-torn country.

Wall Street Journal | Scott Rasmussen and Douglas E. Schoen

Mr. Obama’s approval among likely voters has dropped to the low-50s in most polls, and the most recent Rasmussen Reports poll of likely voters shows him slightly below the 50% mark. This is a relatively low rating for new presidents. Mr. Obama’s approval rating began to slide in a serious way in early July, triggered by a bad unemployment report.

A look at more detailed data shows why Mr. Obama’s ratings are likely to drop even further.

Washington Post | Paul Kane and Perry Bacon Jr.

Senate Republicans have lined up in staunch opposition to the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, rejecting concerns about alienating the growing Hispanic vote.

Even before debate began Tuesday night, almost three-fourths of the Senate Republican Conference had already announced opposition to the first Latina ever nominated to the nation’s highest court. The party’s 2008 standard bearer, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), joined the chorus of opposition this week, and no likely contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination has spoken in support of confirmation.

The Politico | MIKE ALLEN

The White House on Tuesday posted a three-minute video punching back at an old clip of President Barack Obama that was featured on the Drudge Report with the headline “Uncovered Video: Obama Explains How His Health Care Plan Will ‘Eliminate’ Private Insurance.”

The White House response features Linda Douglass, formerly an ABC News correspondent and now a White House official, showing Drudge’s homepage on the screen of her office computer.

Dan Pfeiffer, the White House deputy communications director, said: “We intend to use a lot of the grassroots viral Internet techniques from the campaign to beat back the campaign of misstatements and outright falsehoods about the president’s efforts to reform health insurance.”