The New York Times looks at the decline of congressional town halls over the August recess: "Though Republicans in recent years have harnessed the political power of these open mic, face-the-music sessions, people from both parties say they are noticing a decline in the number of meetings. They also say they are seeing Congressional offices go to greater lengths to conceal when and where the meetings take place."

Are seniors souring on the GOP? The Atlantic's Molly Ball takes a look: "Just 28 percent of voters 65 and older had a favorable view of the Republican Party in a national survey conducted last month by the Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg, versus 40 percent who had a positive view of the Democrats. That's a reversal from a poll Greenberg conducted in early 2011, when 43 percent of seniors saw Republicans favorably and 37 percent saw Democrats that way."

Ex-Sen. Mo Cowan (D-MA) is one of six fall fellows selected at the Harvard Institute of Politics. The others: Google’s Ginny Hunt, journalist Sasha Issenberg, former Small Business Administration head Karen Mills, Romney 2012 adviser Beth Myers, and GOP political strategist Ana Navarro.