Washington in 60 Seconds: Mark Sanford Fights for His Job; Patrick Kennedy Fights the Catholic Church

Good morning, Capitolists! Welcome to your 60-second speed-read on everything making news in your nation's capital, complete with a Harry Reid-approved opt-out provision that you can trigger after you've scanned this.

Here's what's happening in Washington today:

* The president starts the day in Florida and then heads to Virginia to headline a rally for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds.

* The House and Senate are both in session, and a Senate committee will don waders to go knee deep into energy reform. Good luck in there, senators.

* After Harry Reid announced yesterday that he has decided on a public option that states can opt-out of, without saying how exactly that would work, he'll meet for lunch with all 59 of his fellow Democrats to tell them what he's talking about. We'll tell you how that goes.

* It's getting ugly between Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and the Catholic Church. After the congressman called the church's abortion position a "red herring" that fans "the flames of dissent and discord," a Rhode Island bishop said Kennedy is "irresponsible and ignorant of the facts" and "continues to be a disappointment to the Catholic Church and to the citizens of the State of Rhode Island." The Washington Post chronicles the very unsaintly war of words.

* Despite the fact the President Obama declared the H1N1 contagion a "national emergency" over the weekend, health officials say there's absolutely, positively no cause for alarm. "This is not a reaction to any new developments; it's a proactive step, a useful tool going forward," a White House spokesman told USA Today. Good to know.

* And finally, the South Carolina state legislature starts a special session today, at which a Republican lawmaker will introduce articles of impeachment against Gov. Mark Sanford. But another Republican tells The Washington Times that the governor will weather the storm unless "really bad stuff" comes out against him during the impeachment process. To recap, Sanford is safe unless something really bad comes out about him.