From this morning's Earlybird:

• "If there were any question where lobbying ranks in popularity these days, the attacks on former senator Dan Coats of Indiana over the past week provide a pretty clear answer," the Washington Post reports. "Coats, a Republican who served in Congress for nearly 20 years, is preparing a run to win back the seat occupied by Sen. Evan Bayh (D).... The problem for Coats is that he spent a good part of the past decade as a well-connected Washington lobbyist."

• "Labor groups are furious with the Democrats they helped put in office -- and are threatening to stay home this fall when Democratic incumbents will need their help fending off Republican challengers," Politico reports. "The Senate's failure to confirm labor lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board was just the latest blow, but the frustrations have been building for months."