Sensing that his health care message is being muddled amidst a deluge of conservative misinformation, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress to try and get the upper hand in the increasingly contentious debate. The Sept. 9, address will mark the second time that the president has spoken directly to the full Legislature since taking office nearly eight months ago. With indications that Obama’s momentum on the issue has begun to slow as conservative commentators have blasted away at Democratic proposals, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid invited Obama to make the address. The president is scheduled to meet with the two congressional leaders at the White House next week to discuss the speech, CNN reports. Many Democrats have pressed Obama to lay out his own detailed plan, following a series of noisy, disruptive and often unintelligible debates at town hall meetings across the nation. “The president is clearly not running away from this battle but rather confronting the challenges we’ve encountered these last few weeks head-on,” Democratic Sen. Charles Rangel of New York said in a statement Wednesday night. “He’s pulling out all the stops, and this level of involvement from the president could well be a game-changer. There is no better way to turn public opinion around than to have someone as popular as President Obama addressing the American people directly, without intermediaries interpreting – or misinterpreting – his ideas.” David Axelrod, the president’s senior adviser, said that the dynamic of the debate has changed, providing an opportunity for Obama to step in and gain control of the issue. “We’re entering a new season,” Axelrod said. “It’s time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done.”

Lawmakers have come to a final agreement on President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan. The versions of the bills that passed the Senate and the House of Representatives were both over $800 billion, but this version costs $789 billion, according to Republican Sen. Susan Collins, from Maine. The bill should create 3.5 million jobs once it takes effect, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference. The package includes money for Americans struggling in the recession, states grappling with budget deficits and tax cuts. Earlier this week, President Obama hit the primetime airwaves, making the case for the stimulus plan.

What’s one thing you would do to stimulate the economy?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Sunday that the U.S. Senate has the legal authority to block Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointment to replace Barack Obama. Blagojevich, who has been charged with trying to sell Obama’s now vacant Senate seat, defied the demands of Obama, Reid and other Democrats who asked him to forego naming a replacement because of the cloud that would hang over the selection. Speaking on “Meet The Press” Sunday, Reid said that the U.S. Constitution gives senators the power to “determine who sits in the Senate, and the House determines who sits in the House. So there’s clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do. Read more here.