Saturday's shooting in Tucson has led gun control advocates to begin drafting bills to strenghten gun control laws. Meanwhile, gun sales have been up since the shooting. While the issue of gun control tends to come to the fore following tragedies of this sort, few actually think that any real legislative change will come in the wake of the shooting.

Yesterday, Indiana's Democratic Senator Evan Bayh announced that he will not be seeking re-election later this year. The news came as both a shock and a painful blow to national Democrats still reeling from last month's upset in the Massachusetts special election that saw the loss of their supermajority status.

The late Senator Ted Kennedy completed his memoir, "True Compass," before he died last month. The hefty tome was due to hit stores on September 14th, but copies have already leaked out. New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney began reading a leaked copy of the 532-page book yesterday. He talks to us about the book's revelations on Kennedy's feelings on the infamous incident at Chappaquiddick, and his relationships with his brothers Robert and John F. Kennedy. 

Click through for a transcript of our conversation with Adam Nagourney.

Last night in his second primetime takeover, President Obama took on a familiar tone in addressing the nation. The same "we mean business" tone we heard from him on the campaign trail last fall came back last night and it was a far cry from the lighthearted Obama the nation saw last week with Jay Leno. He hit hard on the economy going over his budget, the state of race in this country and the cost of war. Joining The Takeaway with an assessment of the appearance is Adam Nagourney, from our partner the New York Times, and Glenn Thrush of Politico.


For more, read Adam Nagourney's article, In a Volatile Time, Obama Strikes a New Tone for Crisis in today's New York Times.

Have your own thoughts on the President's speech? Add them here!

As Americans go to the polls today, The Takeaway marks the end of what many have called the most exciting presidential campaign in recent memory. Or at least the longest. Adam Nagourney, political reporter for the New York Times, has been there from the very beginning.