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(CNN) — President Barack Obama is rushing to roll out a new economic plan this week, but his fellow Democrats are confronting a difficult question: Is it too little, too late?

On one hand, Obama used a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to suggest he wasn’t rattled about the economic crisis that might wipe out Democratic majorities in the House and Senate in less than two months.

“Now, the plain truth is, there’s no silver bullet or quick fix to the problem,” he said.

But on the other hand, Obama certainly sounded like a president trying to use the roll-out of his new plan to convince voters he’s all over the problem.

“I’m going to keep fighting, every single day, to turn this economy around; to put our people back to work; to renew the American dream for your families and for future generations,” Obama said.

Video: ‘They talk about me like a dog’

Video: Reaction to Obama’s speech

There’s certainly urgency to the situation because panic is starting to set in privately among some Democratic strategists if the American people don’t see economic improvement by November.

So in Milwaukee, Obama unveiled a $50 billion infrastructure plan to try and create jobs over the long-term by rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of rail, and 150 miles of airport runways.

Then on Wednesday in Cleveland, according to an administration official, the president will announce a $100 billion plan to permanently extend the tax credit for research and development, hoping to spur companies to invest in their businesses by buying more equipment and hiring more workers.

But the fact is it’s unlikely that Congress will pass either proposal in the narrow window of a few weeks that lawmakers will be working this fall. And even if Congress miraculously came together to pass these initiatives, they would not have much of any impact this year anyway.

On a conference call with reporters on Monday, a senior administration official acknowledged that the infrastructure package will not add any new jobs until at least 2011.

“This is not a stimulus, immediate-jobs plan,” one senior official said. “This is a six-year reauthorization (of transportation projects) that is front-loaded” with money to try and spark the economy once Congress passes it.

But the president seemed to be promising the opposite in Milwaukee in terms of impact, perhaps raising expectations too high.

“All of this will not only create jobs now, but will make our economy run better over the long haul,” Obama said, according to his prepared remarks. “It’s a plan that history tells us can and should attract bipartisan support. It’s a plan that says even in the still-smoldering aftermath of the worst recession in our lifetimes, America can act to shape our own destiny, to move this country forward, to leave our children something better — something lasting.”

The sudden flurry of activity has led Republicans like Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, to charge the president is “just flailing around” and trying to show a lot of activity on the eve of the midterm elections to try and bail out Democrats.

“We always like to see deathbed conversions,” McCain said on “Fox News Sunday” about Obama’s latest economic plan. “The fact is, if we’d have done this kind of thing nearly a couple of years ago, we’d be in better shape.”

White House officials completely reject the notion that they’ve had any sort of conversion or are “flailing around” for answers, pointing out there has been a heavy focus on turning around the economy with passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan within the first 100 days of the new administration.

“I would say within a month of President Obama coming into office, he signed the largest increase in infrastructure since President Eisenhower established the interstate highway system,” said a senior administration official. “The Secretary of Transportation and the Vice President have all been working tirelessly to make sure we are investing that money quickly and wisely.”

And in fairness to the White House, there have been reports conducted by nonpartisan officials like the Congressional Budget Office, as well as private economists outside the administration, suggesting the Recovery Act has saved or created 3.3 million jobs over the last year and a half.

The problem for the president is due in part to the high expectations set by the White House itself, which originally billed the stimulus as something that would jolt the economy, which didn’t quite pan out. Then they talked about giving the stimulus more time because it was always intended to be paid out over two years, and they decided to bill July and August as “Recovery Summer” to suggest the impact was finally starting to reach real people.

But the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll suggests the American people are still just not feeling any sort of recovery. When asked about economic conditions today, 81 percent said the conditions are “poor” while only 18 percent said they’re “good” at this point.

Just as problematic is the fact that when asked how the current economic conditions compare to two years ago — before the stimulus package was passed — 49 percent said it’s “as bad or worse,” while 18 percent said it’s “better now but will get worse” in the future. Only 32 percent of respondents said that when compared to two years ago, the economy is “better now and will stay that way.”

That’s why when the president talks this week about the targeted tax cut as well as infrastructure spending — two key ingredients of the recovery plan last year — some Americans may feel like they’ve heard the same sales pitch before and the original didn’t quite work out as advertised.

The other challenge for the president is the fact that Americans have also heard him say many times before that he’s “focusing on the economy” — only to see him spend months and months on health care reform earlier in his presidency. And then after health care passed, the promises of a “hard pivot” back to jobs have only been eclipsed time and again by big issues like last week’s big Iraq speech from the Oval Office and the push for Mideast peace.

To be sure, some of the criticism of the president’s focus on foreign policy has been ridiculous. After all, he’s the commander-in-chief, not the economist-in-chief, so it’s sort of absurd to suggest that he should not have spent time thanking U.S. troops last week and talking directly to the American people about an important turning point to the mission in Iraq.

Likewise, Obama would have been derelict in his duty if he had ignored an historic opportunity to try and forge Mideast peace by saying he wanted to spend more time on the domestic economy. For the first time in nearly two years, Israeli and Palestinian leaders were willing to sit down for direct talks, so this was a rare opportunity for the American president to try and push it along. The peace initiative may ultimately fail, but he at least has to try.

But there have also been times when the president has waded into controversies, like the mosque issue in New York City, that have only pulled him off his message on jobs. And despite the bad news for Obama in CNN’s latest poll, there’s also a surprising revelation that suggests there’s still a chance the President could turn this election year narrative around.

The poll shows that more Americans hold the Republicans responsible for the economic mess than the Democrats, with 44 percent blaming the GOP and 35 percent picking the Democrats. And when the name of former President George W. Bush is added to the conversation, the number who blame the Republicans rises to 53 percent, with just a third of respondents saying Obama and his party are at fault.

Those numbers explain why Democrats will be mentioning the “Bush” name every chance they can get in the final two months leading up to the election. But the numbers also raise a question: Why haven’t the Democrats been able to do a better job of making the case for their own policies to save the economy?

On the morning after the election, Democratic insiders at the White House and on Capitol Hill may be wondering to themselves about an historic missed opportunity.

Obama’s economic push: Too little, too late?

Washington (CNN) — President Obama went on the offensive Friday on the politically critical issue of job creation, promising to lay out a broad package of ideas next week and slamming Senate Republicans for blocking passage of his administration’s small business aid legislation.

Obama renewed his call for the languishing bill in the wake of Friday’s release of new unemployment figures. The jobless rate, according to the Labor Department, rose from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent in August.

The economy lost a total of 54,000 jobs last month. Most of the losses, however, came from the public sector as the government cut 114,000 temporary census workers. Private businesses added 67,000 jobs to their payrolls.

August was the eighth straight month that businesses added jobs, following nearly two straight years of job losses. So far this year businesses have added 763,000 workers to payrolls.

“That’s positive news,” Obama said at the White House, flanked by his top economic advisers. It “reflects steps we’ve already taken to break the back of this recession.”

Video: Bernanke on ‘too big to fail’ problem

Video: Good time to buy a house?

But he warned, “There’s no quick fix to the worst recession we’ve experienced since the Great Depression.”

Senate Republicans, he said, were responsible for a “needless delay” in the passage of legislation designed to increase bank loans to small businesses. Specifically, the measure would set up a $30 billion lending fund to help community banks offer small businesses credit. It also would provide tax breaks to small businesses that invest in new equipment and hire unemployed workers.

The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in June. Republican opposition has focused, among other things, on the cost of the measure.

Republicans lashed back at the president, blaming him for what most observers still characterize as a weak recovery.

“Today’s jobs report is a clear demonstration that the American economy still has a long way to go,” said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House minority whip.

“The policies being pursued by the White House and Democrat leaders in Washington continue to create uncertainty and fear that is inhibiting productivity, innovation and job creation.”

In a statement, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said, “With 54,000 more Americans finding themselves out of work this month and unemployment rising to 9.6 percent, President Obama’s ‘Recovery Summer’ has ended right where it began, with Americans continuing to lose their jobs and unable to find new ones.”

Obama defended his decision to push the “Recovery Summer” theme.

“I don’t regret the notion that we are moving forward … because of the steps that we’ve taken,” he told reporters. “The key point I’m making right now is that the economy is moving in a positive direction. … We just have to speed it up.”

Christina Romer, head of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said the “Recovery Summer” theme was chosen to reflect that a large number of projects funded by the $862 billion stimulus act came to fruition — a fact reflected in an uptick in the number of construction jobs.

Republicans have criticized the stimulus package for adding to the national debt while failing to boost economic growth sufficiently.

CNN’s Paul Steinhauser and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

Obama promises new jobs initiatives

(CNN) — Primary voters are set to head to the polls this weekend, this time in Louisiana and West Virginia.

In Louisiana, GOP Sen. David Vitter is expected to easily overcome a primary challenge Saturday in his first appearance on the ballot since a 2007 prostitution scandal.

In West Virginia, voters are choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for a November special election to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd, a Democrat.

Vitter is being opposed in the Republican primary by former state Supreme Court Justice Chet Traylor and Nick Accardo. Tulane University political science professor Brian Box said after Traylor’s last-minute entry into the race, “it seemed like it could be an interesting primary.”

When he announced his challenge, Traylor said that “we wouldn’t be in this position if we had a senator who could get results.” He ran a radio ad targeting Vitter over “family values,” and cited a Vitter aide’s arrest on domestic abuse charges.

But with little money and questions raised about Traylor’s past, Box said that, in the end, Traylor’s campaign “never became anything.”

With polls showing him holding a large lead, Vitter has spent most of his time in the primary focusing on the general election, not his Republican opposition.

Vitter’s advertising “is almost entirely against [likely Democratic nominee Charlie] Melancon,” Box said. “There was nothing against Republicans.”

Melancon, the congressman from Louisiana’s 3rd District outside New Orleans, is the favorite in the Democratic Senate primary against Cary Deaton and Neeson Chauvin.

The nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report rates the general election as “favored Republican.”

Several U.S. House primaries are also on the Louisiana ballot, including the race for candidates seeking Melancon’s seat. Republicans believe they have a chance to pick up the seat, the only one in the state currently in Democratic hands. Box said three major Republican candidates have been competing, “trying to out-tea party each other.”

Meanwhile, four Democrats are competing to challenge vulnerable GOP Rep. Joseph Cao in his New Orleans district. The race has been targeted by national Democrats as a seat considered vulnerable in November. The seat was held by Democrats until Cao was elected to replace former Rep. William Jefferson, who is serving a 13-year prison term after his conviction on corruption charges.

Cao initially voted with House Democrats on health care reform, but voted against the final version of the bill.

“Cao is in a lot of trouble,” Box said. Democrats have focused “so much on defending turf, [but] this is a chance for a pickup.”

In West Virginia, both parties will select nominees for the general election race for the seat of Byrd, who was serving his ninth term in the Senate when he died in June at age 92.

Gov. Joe Manchin is expected to win the Democratic nomination over two opponents, including 95-year-old Ken Hechler. Hechler was a four-term secretary of state and represented West Virginia in the U.S. House from 1959 to 1977.

On the GOP side, 10 candidates are competing for the nomination, including businessman John Raese, who was defeated by Byrd in 2006.

Primary votes in Louisiana, West Virginia

(CNN) — Strategists on both sides of the political aisle weighed in this week on what President Obama and Republicans must do before the November midterms to give their parties a boost.

The 10-week to-do lists resulted in thousands of comments and suggestions from CNN readers, ranging from constructive to highly critical.

Readers suggested Obama look for a new job and put a muzzle on Vice President Joe Biden, while commenters providing advice for the GOP recommended a muzzle for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Mouth guards aside, readers also offered up practical guidance for Obama and the GOP. Here are some of the suggestions:

1. For Obama: Govern from the center

CNN readers say they want to see Obama get behind a more bipartisan agenda. The No. 1 thing they want to see is job creation, and they don’t want partisan games to get in the way.

Commenters advised Obama to not be influenced by those on the far left and instead focus on what the American public wants.

2. Tout the administration’s accomplishments

Supporters of the health care legislation passed this year say they’re proud of it — and they want Obama to talk about it more. “Talk up Healthcare, because so many supported the bill!” one commenter suggested.

Obama signed the health care bill in March after a long, emotional debate in Congress. Now that the dust has settled, backers of the bill want to hear all about it.

“Talk about what you have done, and what you would like to do, and why,” another reader wrote.

3. Rise above the partisan bickering

“Quit politicking which further divides our nation,” one commenter posted.

Readers say they are sick of partisan games getting in the way of action on Capitol Hill — and they want the administration to stay out of the mudslinging.

4. Shake up the staff

Commenters are ready for some fresh faces. Even those supportive of Obama say they are ready for him to reload the strategy and bring in some new staffers.

5. Stay out of local issues

Readers say the want to see more presidential leadership from Obama. They want him to avoid getting involved with local issues and distractions and focus on the job at hand.

“Be a leader, be positive, plan for success, stay focused,” one reader said.

1. For Republicans: Steer clear of the far right commentators

Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter are doing more harm than good for the GOP, some commenters warned.

Readers say they want Republicans to avoid accepting what’s meant to be shock-jock entertainment as sound advice for the party.

2. Keep religion out of politics

“I’m a conservative person, and I’m all for people believing what they want to, but please keep it out of your politics,” one commenter posted.

Readers say they want Republicans to focus on issues such as jobs and the economy instead of trying to prove who is the better Christian.

3. Be conservative, but be bipartisan

Some commenters say that while they like conservatives, not all Republicans fit the bill. Readers say they want lawmakers to stick to their conservative ideas, with an understanding that working with Democrats instead of against them will be more productive.

4. Represent your constituents, not your party’s agenda

“The only thing I want to see from either party is a return to REPRESENTING THEIR CONSTITUENTS, not their party,” a reader said. “When your constituents in large numbers oppose a bill, your obligation is to them.”

“I’m tired of politicians being elected and then ignoring what their constituents want or don’t want. Suddenly the only thing they care about is party support,” the reader continued.

Commenters want their elected officials to listen to them instead of being afraid of breaking with the party.

“Show the American people that you’re capable of putting them ahead of your party,” one person said.

5. Tell the voters what will be different if Republicans take power

“Republicans are going to take back the House and Senate, and it will change absolutely nothing,” one reader said, arguing that both parties are controlled by special interests.

Voters want to know how things would change if Republicans had the majority.

Do you have more suggestions for President Obama or lawmakers? Weigh in below.

To-do list: Your ideas for Obama, GOP

Building your own home seems like a great idea if you can’t find exactly what you want on the open market. There are enough TV shows on that make it look easy enough. However, when it comes down to actually doing it, the majority of us think twice and decide to make compromises on the home we want instead. Others such as Nick and Katie Clarke just go ahead and do it anyway.

“The plans and having the house designed used to be the hard bit. Architects can be expensive and take up the lion’s share of the development budget. Using country house plans is a much better idea. While there are small compromises to be made, the plans are easily modified and any competent contractor can integrate your ideas into the build, as long as you tell them in the beginning,” says Nick, 27, an IT Support Consultant. “We bought the land a couple of years ago when we got frustrated with there being nothing around that we really wanted. It took us a while to raise the money, then find an architect when a friend suggested buying ready-made plans.”

For most people, building their own home will always remain an unrealized dream. Too much work, too many headaches and too many unknowns. Indeed, the list of potential complications, such as planning, finance and finishing touches is endless. But it took Nick and Katie a little over two years from when the ground was first broken to moving into their new Gulf Coast home – a four bedroom, three bath villa-style house. Although the bulk of the work was carried out by contractors, they did all the internal work and decorating themselves, including insulation, a bit of plumbing, flooring, kitchen and bathroom.

“We were working until midnight almost every night and every weekend for almost two years,” Katie says. “We would go to work during the day and have to function normally even though we were exhausted and getting very little sleep. It’s like having a child, the first couple of years are exhausting, sleep deprived and such hard work. But once that’s over you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of those years. You look at other people’s children and think they’re adorable or pretty or clever, but never as much as your own. This house is the same. It took everything we had, wore us out for two whole years, but now we look at it and have the satisfaction of thinking, we built that. It’s better than anything else.”

Using country house plans cuts much of the work out of building your own home. The range is extensive and each plan can be modified within reason. In total, the couple spent $200,000 on their home, which is now valued in excess of $300,000, even in the current climate. Despite that, Nick says, “we like it so much, we’re not planning on moving, ever.”

(CNN) — Vice President Joe Biden had a strong message for fellow Democrats on Friday: After Election Day, expect to keep a majority in Congress.

“I’m here to tell you that on November 3, the day after this coming election, there will be in Washington, D.C., a Democratic majority in the House and a Democratic majority in the Senate,” Biden said at the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. He joked, “and were it not illegal, I’d make book on it!”

Paraphrasing Mark Twain, the vice president said that reports of the death of the Democratic Party have been greatly exaggerated.

Polls have shown that congressional Democrats are facing an uphill challenge this year. Biden said that a large part of that has to do with Americans blaming their problems on the people at the top.

“Many [Americans] are stripped of their dignity. And they look out there, and they focus on the only person who’s there, the only one they see — and that’s the president of the United States and the Democratic Congress.”

But come Labor Day, he said, Americans are going to begin to compare the two parties and see major differences.

“When they start to look at the alternative, they’re going to see, and I’m going to get in trouble for saying this … this ain’t your father’s Republican Party. This is the Republican Tea Party,” he said to loud applause.

“The Republican Party of 2010 is the party of repeal and repeat,” he added. “Repeat the old practices of the past. I believe it’s out of step where the American people are. It’s our job between now and the election to draw those distinctions.”

Republicans have consistently hit back at Democrats, saying they are pursuing policies of big government and wasteful spending. GOP leaders argue that the American public, as witnessed in the polls and at Tea Party rallies across the country, are angry at the Democrats and want a change.

Biden: Democrats will keep the House and Senate

Washington (CNN) — There’s really only one big question hanging over President Obama’s weekend vacation to Panama City, Florida: Will he or won’t he dive into the water to send a message that the Gulf Coast is back?

“Absolutely, I want him to take his shirt off and get in the water and show it’s clean and safe,” said Stephen Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University in Miami who puts together an annual list of America’s best beaches.

Leatherman rates the beach there as one of the top 10 in the country, and he said Obama has a unique opportunity to showcase the fact that the Gulf Coast is still open for business despite the worst oil spill in American history.

“It’s got lily-white sand, and frankly the oil didn’t really make it there — it was pretty well spared,” said Leatherman, who noted that the water is 87 or 88 degrees because of the steamy Florida weather, making it conducive to at least a quick presidential plunge.

“There is no better symbol than the president of the United States showing us the way,” Leatherman said.

But White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was cagey Friday when reporters asked whether the president will take a swim during the first family’s 27-hour mini-vacation.

“Stay tuned,” said Gibbs, who grew slightly impatient and a bit bemused about getting so many queries about something as seemingly minor as a presidential swim.

“Look, he’s going to have some fun,” Gibbs said. “Whether or not he gets in the water is up for clearly some debate. But, look, he will have an opportunity to enjoy … the physical beauty of the Gulf and do some work at the same time.”

Mindful that Obama caused a bit of a tabloid stir when he took off his shirt to reveal a muscular physique during trips to Hawaii during the 2008 presidential campaign and subsequent presidential transition, Gibbs turned it around on reporters and wondered whether they would bare their midriffs this weekend.

“Are you bringing your suits?” Gibbs said with a smile.

But Leatherman suggested it’s no joking matter because the president’s decision to swim or not to swim will carry tremendous symbolic weight.

“I think it’s very important that he gets into the water because I think there’s this feeling that if you get in, you’re going to get contaminated or get all kinds of diseases,” he said.

This will be the president’s fifth trip to the Gulf region since the April 20 explosion that sparked the horrific oil disaster. The trip is already generating criticism over whether Obama is giving the region short shrift by spending only parts of Saturday and Sunday in Panama City.

White House officials announced the trip earlier this summer after critics wondered why the president and first lady had urged Americans to vacation in the Gulf but originally chose Bar Harbor, Maine, and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, as the only locations for their own sojourns.

Now, the criticism has shifted to whether 27 hours in Panama City is too quick of a jaunt, and the Republican National Committee released a statement Friday that also said Obama has included Florida in only a couple of his trips to the region in recent months.

“It’s nice to see the president take the time out of his busy schedule of golf games and campaign fundraisers to clear his conscience and visit Florida for only the second time since the oil crisis began,” RNC spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said. “As he meets with business owners in the Panhandle, it seems like the perfect opportunity for him to explain how his reckless spending, tax increases, and government takeover of health care are supposed to help the Gulf’s devastated economy. Not even the Sunshine State can put a positive light on the president’s failed liberal policies that have sunk his approval ratings to an all-time low.”

The president will be accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama and their younger daughter Sasha — big sister Malia is still away at camp and will not be in Florida. Obama will also be joined by his Gulf Coast recovery chief, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, to try to show the administration is committed to a long-term turnaround.

Gibbs largely deflected questions about whether the trip was too short, saying the president is focused on promoting the “health of the region” with the vacation.

“Tourism in Florida and along the Gulf Coast is the economy,” Gibbs told reporters Friday. “This is an opportunity to highlight the notion that this important region of the country is still doing well and open for business.”

While Leatherman said he does think the trip seems too short, Obama should be applauded for carving out some time to help the region.

“I think it’s basically a photo-op, isn’t it?” said Leatherman. “But I still think it’s a good thing for the president to come down and show the world that it’s clean and safe. That will go a long way to helping the Gulf Coast.”

Leatherman added: “The best thing that could happen is the president saying, ‘I’m going in!’ And I don’t mean damn the torpedoes. I mean him saying, ‘It’s clean and safe, and I’m going in the water!’ “

He concluded that it’s a good thing the president is visiting one of the nation’s best beaches in the summer instead of earlier in the year.

“It’s also one of the best spring break beaches, but I don’t recommend going then,” Leatherman said. “I went once, and there were 500,000 people there. I don’t know if it was actually 500,000 all at once, but it felt like it.”

Will Obama take the plunge in Florida?

(CNN) — Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California, who is under investigation by the House ethics committee, will personally plead her case to reporters in a 10 a.m. news conference on Capitol Hill Friday.

The 10-term congresswoman is alleged to have helped steer federal bailout money to a bank in which her husband had a financial stake.

In an appearance on the Tom Joyner Morning Show on Tuesday, Water said she has not been given due process and that she “will not be a sacrificial lamb for anyone.”

She also said she was not guilty of any violations and wants to go on trial.

Video: Waters denies allegations

Video: Rangel: ‘Not asking for leniency’

On Friday, Waters is expected to read a prepared statement and also answer questions.

The House ethics committee released a report Monday detailing three counts against Waters and rejected her request for the charges to be dismissed.

The 71-year-old Waters has been pushing the ethics panel to set a trial date before the midterm elections in November.

But she said Tuesday in the radio interview she doesn’t expect that request to be granted.

“That’s one of the issues of not having due process. When in the heck are you going to set up this hearing? We are on break and we don’t think it’s going to be before the November election,” she said.

Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, helped arrange a meeting in September, 2008, between Massachusetts-based OneUnited Bank and Treasury Department officials, according to ethics investigators.

OneUnited Bank ultimately received $12 million in bailout funds.

According to the report, Waters’ husband owned almost 4,000 shares of OneUnited stock at the time of the meeting. The shares had declined in value from more than $350,000 in June to $175,000 at the end of September — the height of the Wall Street financial crisis.

Waters, according to a separate preliminary report, called then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson “and requested that Treasury Department officials meet with representatives from the National Bankers Association,” an organization representing more than 100 minority-owned banks.

“A meeting was in fact granted, however, the discussion at the meeting focused on a single bank — OneUnited. Rep. Waters’ husband had been a board member of the bank from 2004 to 2008 and, at the time of the meeting, was a stock holder of the bank,” the report said.

But Waters reiterated Tuesday that “the meeting was set up for NBA — for all the minority bankers. Just like you have a representative for the chamber of commerce or for the Realtors, etc., that’s what the meeting was for.”

The report also states that Waters approached Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, to say that she was “in a predicament because her husband had been involved in the bank, but ‘OneUnited people’ were coming to her for help.”

Waters, “according to [Frank] … knew she should say no, but it bothered her. It was clear to [Frank] that this was a ‘conflict of interest problem.’”

Frank’s advice to Waters, the report states, was to ‘stay out of it.’”

In the Tom Joyner Show interview Tuesday, Waters admitted she had spoken to Frank, but described the circumstances much differently than the report.

“I didn’t go to him for advice. I went to him and told him, ‘These are your constituents. They are headquartered in your district and they are now trying to find TARP. We’re representing the National Bankers Association,’” Waters said.

“So then I said, ‘Perhaps you need to take a look at this’ and he said, ‘Fine. Don’t worry. You don’t have anything to do with this. I will take care of it.’ And, as a result of that, he started to work on it.” she said.

The report released Monday stated that Waters “agreed to refrain from advocating on behalf of OneUnited,” but failed to instruct her chief of staff, Mikael Moore, from doing so.

Following the September 9 meeting between Treasury and National Bankers Association officials, Moore “was actively involved in assisting OneUnited representatives with their request for capital from Treasury and crafting legislation to authorize Treasury to grant the request” for financial assistance, the report said.

“Reasonable” people could construe Moore’s “continued involvement in assisting OneUnited as the dispensing of special favors or privileges to OneUnited,” the report concluded.

Waters refuted that allegation as well Tuesday.

“If you’re going to wrap this all around creating these violations because I failed to supervise my staff, it doesn’t hold water, they don’t have any proof of that and I maintain that I want to go to trial or whatever they want to call it — adjudicatory hearing — because I think I don’t deserve this,” she said.

Waters is the second high-ranking Democrat now facing a public ethics trial this fall. New York Rep. Charlie Rangel, the former chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, has been accused of 13 violations of House rules involving alleged financial wrongdoing and harming the credibility of Congress.

The prospect of inquiries into the two high-profile Democrats has compounded the fears of congressional Democrats nervous about their prospects in mid-term elections in November.

The growing likelihood of trials for Waters and Rangel also adds the explosive element of race to the political equation. Both representatives are leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, and OneUnited Bank is one of the largest minority-owned banks in America.

Waters alluded to race Tuesday on Joyner’s show, which is broadcast over the Internet on BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“The OCE [Office of Congressional Ethics] is poorly constructed. You don’t know who is charging you with what or brought a claim against you or who brought the information to the OCE… of all the information claimed or accusations brought to them, they think that African-Americans are the only ones who they move further with investigation on,” she said.

CNN’s Alan Silverleib contributed to this report

Waters to address ethics charges

(CNN) — Bill Haslam, the mayor of Knoxville and considered a moderate Republican, easily won the Tennessee GOP primary for governor Thursday, the Tennessee Department of State’s website reported.

With all of the state’s precincts reporting, Haslam had 47.5 percent of the vote as he defeated Congressman Zach Wamp and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.

Haslam, who helped fund some of his own campaign, will now face Mike McWherter, a Democratic businessman and son of a former governor. The race is to succeed Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, who is prevented by term limits from running for a third term. Political handicappers think Republicans have a good shot at winning back the governor’s office.

Republican Governors Association spokesman Tim Murtaugh in a statement: “Bill Haslam emerges as a strong candidate headed toward November, having beaten a pair of qualified office holders in a spirited primary. As Tennessee faces great economic challenges, Bill Haslam will be a strong voice for job creation, fiscal restraint and individual freedom.

“A successful mayor and businessman, he has the leadership experience necessary to create jobs and grow the economy. We look forward to seeing him elected the next governor of Tennessee.”

Democratic Governors Association executive director Nathan Daschle said, “Mike McWherter has spent his career growing jobs and strengthening the economy. The only thing Bill Haslam has increased in his career is Knoxville’s taxes and unemployment rate.”

“Voters are looking for someone with the know-how to move the state in the right direction, and that candidate is Mike McWherter,” Daschle added.

The race grabbed national attention last month because of controversial comments by two of the challengers.

Wamp appeared to suggest that Tennessee should consider secession in light of mandates forced on the states by the Obama administration’s health care bill. The eight-term congressman later stepped back from those comments.

Ramsey also drew attention to himself last month after he was seen in a YouTube video questioning whether Islam is a religion. He was expressing his opposition to the expansion of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which has become a hot-button issue in the city about 35 miles southeast of Nashville.

Ramsey, who has been endorsed by 20 Tea Party organizations, said he is a supporter of religious freedoms, but such protections may not extend to bringing “Shariah [Islamic] law into the state of Tennessee … into the United States.”

“Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, a cult, whatever you want to call it,” he continued. “But certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time, this is something we are going to have to face.”

Following criticism, Ramsey defended his comments, saying, “My concern is that far too much of Islam has come to resemble a violent political philosophy more than peace-loving religion.”

In a high-profile Congressional primary, two-term Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen overwhelmingly defeated former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton. The campaign in the 9th District, which covers Memphis and has a large African-American population, was dominated by race.

With all precincts reporting, Cohen had 78.7 percent of the vote to Herenton’s 21.3 percent.

Herenton has been urging voters to elect him as the only African-American member of the state’s congressional delegation, saying, “It is as if only white people live in the great state of Tennessee. No African-Americans. I believe that it is very clear to the majority of the citizens of this community that we lack representation.”

Cohen, who served as a state lawmaker in the area before being elected to Congress, has campaigned on what he’s done for education and health care in the area. “I represent everybody and I work hard for people to get them opportunities. And I just think that race should not be an issue in 2010,” he said.

President Obama and the Congressional Black Caucus backed Cohen.

Stephen Fincher won the 8th District Republican primary. Fincher collected 48.5 percent of the vote over Ron Kirkland at 24.4 percent and George Flinn at 24 percent. The race, for Rep. John Tanner’s seat, is noteworthy because the Center for Responsible Politics has called it the most expensive House primary in the country,

Fincher will face Roy Herron, who easily won the Democratic primary.

Haslam wins Tennessee GOP primary for governor

(CNN) — Voters from the Great Lakes to the Plains head to the polls Tuesday with primaries in Kansas, Michigan, and Missouri. In the spotlight are a competitive Republican Senate contest and gubernatorial primaries, as well as a key provision in the new federal health care reform law.

The GOP Senate battle is the marquee race in Kansas, as two congressmen fight to replace fellow Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, who is running for governor rather than for re-election.

According to the most recent polls, Rep. Jerry Moran heads into primary day with a lead over Rep. Todd Tiahrt.

“It’s been a classic GOP primary, with each congressman claiming to be the true conservative. Moran has tried to be the more fiscal hawk and Tiahrt is probably closest to conservatives on social issues,” says Nathan Gonzales, political editor for the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report.

Two other Republicans are also on the ballot. While five candidates are on the ballot in the Democratic primary, whoever captures the GOP contest will be considered the overwhelming favorite in the general election.

“The winner of the Republican primary essentially becomes the winner in November because Kansas is a state where Republicans dominate in federal races,” adds Gonzales.

Expect competitive GOP primary contests to replace Moran in the state’s 1st Congressional District and to replace Tiahrt in the 4th Congressional District. Nine Republicans and two Democrats are on the ballot in the 3rd Congressional District, hoping to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore. One of the two Democrats is Moore’s wife Stephene.

Brownback, who made a bid for the White House in 2008, is favored to win the GOP gubernatorial nomination, as well as the general election in November.

In Michigan, the state with the second highest unemployment level in the country, the contest for the GOP gubernatorial nomination is the headliner. The winner will start the general election with an advantage.

Recent state surveys indicate that businessman and former Gateway CEO Rick Snyder, Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, and Attorney General Mike Cox are in a three-way battle, with Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard in fourth place in a five-candidate field.

State Rep. Andy Dillon and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero are facing off for the Democratic nomination. Two-term Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm is term-limited.

Michigan’s economy continues to sputter and with a sitting Democratic president and an outgoing Democratic governor, “it looks like Michiganders might be willing to let Republicans have a shot at governing,” says Gonzales.

There are also competitive Republican primaries for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts. The GOP is hoping to score a pickup in November in the 1st Congressional District, where longtime Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak announced in April that he would not run for re-election.

Democratic Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick faces five opponents in her party’s primary for the 13th Congressional District. The drama involving her son, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is serving time for a parole violation, will not help her case.

There shouldn’t be as much drama in Missouri, where the fight is to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Kit Bond.

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, who hails from one of the state’s leading political dynasties, is expected to easily win the Democratic primary. Rep. Roy Blunt, the former House Majority Whip, is expected to win in a nine-candidate Republican field. His only competition appears to be coming from Chuck Purgason, who enjoys the backing of many Tea Party activists.

One ballot initiative getting attention Tuesday is Missouri’s Proposition C. It’s a test of support for part of the new federal health care law, as voters decide if Missouri residents should be allowed to opt out of mandatory health insurance.

A recent Mason-Dixon poll conducted for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KMOV-TV indicated extremely strong Republican support for the proposition, with Democrats opposing the idea by a 48-27 percent margin.

Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker told the Post-Dispatch that the proposition is likely to pass, because there will be heavier Republican turnout for the primary. But if voters say yes, a court challenge is expected. Some states have already passed similar legislation, but this will be the first test at the ballot box.

CNN’s Steve Brusk contributed to this report.

Governorships, Senate seats and health care test on ballots Tuesday