The Providence Journal ran a recent piece suggesting, rightly, that pro-life Congressman Jim Langevin will play a more central role in the Congressional tussle over health care reform and abortion than Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

Langevin was among a small group of representatives who tried to work out a compromise that would prevent abortion from scuttling health care reform, only to watch that compromise fall apart on the eve of the House vote.

Republican victories in gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia yesterday were striped across the nation's newspapers this morning. The GOP and some in the press were quick to label the results a rebuke to Obama.

Late-breaking results of a special Congressional election in upstate New York that went to the Dems has clouded the picture, though.

We don't like to flog too many events here at N4N. But for all you political junkies, this is one worth knowing about.

Rhode Island College's "Congress to Campus" series convenes October 25-27 with a series of panel discussions. Former Congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr. (R-CA) and former Congresswoman Beverly Byron (D-MD) will participate in a couple of talks making a plea for bipartisanship (good luck with that).

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who favors a public option in the push to reform health care, tells D.C. publication The Hill that Senator Max Baucus' relatively moderate health care proposal, which includes no public option, appears ascendant.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and his centrist allies received a major boost Wednesday when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) delivered an analysis of his legislation, which does not include the public option.

State Representative Elizabeth Dennigan's announcement, last night, that she is resigning her seat to focus on her primary challenge to Congressman Jim Langevin came with an interesting bit of icing - an endorsement from Gordon Fox, majority leader in the state's House of Representatives.

The endorsement is not terribly surprising.

The New York Times has a piece today on doubts, within the Democratic Party, about the wisdom of a possible troop buildup in Afghanistan. Senator Carl Levin, influential chairman of the Armed Services Committee, is most prominently featured, arguing that the US must do more to train and equip Afghan forces before committing additional troops to the troubled war effort.

U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin, D-RI, is the co-author of a scary op-ed in the Washington Times today on our susceptability to a cyber-attack and our need for "cyberresilience," an almost-impossible-to-imagine level of public-private cooperation to protect the country against a digital demolition.

The reasons for doing so are manifest.

The Washington Post has a strong profile of US Rep. Patrick Kennedy, focusing on his push to turn his own struggles with mental illness and addiction into legislation requiring that insurance companies provide equal coverage for physical and mental illness.

The irony of Kennedy's situation wasn't lost on him. He'd long considered himself "damaged goods politically" because of his struggles.

UPDATE: Release from Langevin's office:

“I am proud to be a part of this energetic group of lawmakers who are dedicated to building a robust green economy in our nation,” said Langevin. “The time has long come and gone for Congress to take a strong leadership role on issues relating to the environment and energy.

Kudos + Congrats to Paul Tencher, formerly chief of staff to LG Elizabeth Roberts, whose future is taking him to the nation's capital:

I've been offered a job (and accepted) with Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio's 15th Congressional District. She is an outstanding freshman member of the 111th Congress and I have already visited her district in Columbus (Go Buckeyes!).

Word of the Congressional delegation's expression of concern yesterday to Governor Carcieri -- first reported here -- blew up on TV and in today's ProJo.

Meanwhile, gov spokeswoman Amy Kempe got back to me late yesterday. Here's part of what she wrote in response to the delegation's concerns:

The Governor has offered to brief the delegation, here in RI or to fly to DC, on the waiver and has extended the offer for his staff to brief their staff.

According to a note on this letter to Governor Carcieri, from Senators Reed and Whitehouse and Representatives Langevin and Kennedy, it was electronically transmitted today to the governor's office.

As noted in my previous post, the delegation's first such letter on this topic seems to have been sent in August.

We write in regard to the Medicaid Global Waiver.

Rhode Island's Congressional delegation has expressed its "deep concern" to Governor Carcieri about the possibly adverse impact of the federal Medicaid wavier, says US Representative Jim Langevin.

Speaking with me earlier today, Langevin says he "has been concerned with the lack of transparency and specifics about the whole plan."

Even before Obama's inauguration, a view is emerging among a number of progressives that the president-elect goes too far in trying to be all things to all people. US Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, never one to mince words, airs this belief as part of an excellent Jeffrey Toobin profile in last week's New Yorker:

US Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, the son of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and a nephew of JFK -- a figure to whom Obama has been likened -- last night told me he was gratified that his father and his cousin Caroline were among the president-elect's earliest high-profile supporters.

The Clintons really worked this hard in Rhode Island and New England, but I think what my dad did .