Trick or treat? Herman Cain sings to press
Bringing half the room to its feet and leaving the other half stunned in their seats, Republican presidential candidate and frontrunner Herman Cain closed a press conference Monday by serenading the press.
With prompting from the National Press Club president, Cain sang a gospel hymn, which appears to be the song "He Looked Beyond My Faults," originally by Dottie Rambo.
It was an interesting interlude considering the controversy and media frenzy which has swirled around Cain today after a report last night by Politico alleging that Cain had been accused of sexual harassment by two women while he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.
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Gingrich defends wife's shopping at Tiffany's
Callista Gingrich's shopping habits are in the spotlight again after the wife of Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich was spotted recently perusing the counters of Tiffany's in Tyson's Corner, Virginia.
"Isn't that stupid?" Gingrich said in an interview with CBSNews.com on Wednesday when asked about the reports. "These are stores that have a wide range of things you can buy. She has girlfriends with birthdays."
Characterizing the issue as "totally irrelevant," Gingrich blamed President Obama for "dangerously infecting" the country with "a class warfare rhetoric that strikes at the very heart of being American."
Gingrich added: "The question in America is -- do we try to level up by giving everybody a chance to do better or do we do what Barack Obama wants and have class warfare and level everybody down so everybodys poor?"
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"Hotsheet Live" debuts on CBSNews.com
Today, we debuted the re-launch of our politics webcast, now called "Hotsheet Live." CBS News political analyst John Dickerson anchored the first edition, joined by the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny, the Washington Post's Karen Tumulty and Time Magazine's Michael Scherer.
"Hotsheet Live" will debut new original features and series from all of CBS News as the 2012 campaign continues to heat up.
Dickerson's Reporters Roundtable will continue to air live every Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET and all "Hotsheet Live" interviews and videos can be found at http://www.cbsnews.com/hotsheetlive.
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Washington Unplugged: Preview of next GOP debate
CBS News political analyst John Dickerson was joined by the Bloomberg News executive editor Al Hunt and Bloomberg View columnist Margaret Carlson for a preview of the Bloomberg-Washington Post Debate on Oct. 11.
"Mitt Romney is a clear front runner; there is no question about that. Everybody acknowledges that. To say it's over however is premature," Hunt said. "Romney's in a very good position right now, but a lot of people have been in good positions. I think he's not in quite as a good position as Hillary Clinton was in 4 years ago today. "
Watch the full discussion at left to see the roundtable's key points in the upcoming debate--including Herman Cain's recent rise to the top, Gov. Rick Perry's comeback, and what other candidates need do in order to make a strong showing.
Cheney warns against cutting Pentagon budget too deeply
Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned against cutting too deeply at the Department of Defense Thursday, urging 2012 Republican presidential candidates not to lose sight of the global war on terror.
"The economy is so dominant as a political issue at this point, that's what everybody's focused on, but I'm also very concerned that we not lose sight of how important it is that we maintain our vigilance in the global war on terror," Cheney said at the Washington Ideas Forum.
"And that we do not do damage, permanent lasting damage to our national security capabilities as we go through this budget process," Cheney said.
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Scalia: U.S. system was "designed" for gridlock
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia attributed a lighter caseload for the Supreme Court in recent years to gridlock in Washington.
Most cases taken up by the Supreme Court "get all the kinks out of a new piece of legislation" and with fewer bills passed by Congress, the Court hears about half as many cases as it did twenty or thirty years ago.
"It looks like gridlock," Scalia, who is currently the longest-serving justice on the Court, said Thursday. "It is what has saved us. It is precisely the difficultly of enacting legislation that the framers thought would be principle protection for minorities."
Continue »Boehner: Obama has "given up" on governing
Just before President Obama took to the podium on Thursday for a press conference at the White House, House Speaker John Boehner posed a question, taking a shot at the president for campaigning more than he is working with Republicans on a plan for the economy.
"Why have you given up on the country and decided to campaign full time instead of doing what the American people sent us all here to do... to find common ground and deal with the big challenges that face our economy and our country?" Boehner asked at the Washington Ideas Forum.
"Nothing has disappointed me more than to watch what's happened over the past five weeks... to watch the president of the United States give up on governing, give up on leading and spend full time campaigning," he said.
Mr. Obama has made a dozen stops in states important to his re-election, like North Carolina and Virginia, to sell his $447 billion jobs plan since unveiling it in September. He'll also embark on a bus tour in late October.
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Will Obama's foreign policy wins cancel out economy losses?
CBS News political analyst John Dickerson was joined by the New York Times' Michael Shear, Politico's Roger Simon, and USA Today's Susan Page for a discussion on whether President Obama's foreign policy victories will propel his re-election campaign or if the economy has taken too much of a toll.
Watch the full discussion at left including the roundtable's take on Florida's early primary date and the impact Gov. Chris Christie has on the Republican presidential field.
Gov. Daniels parts with GOP field on possible spending cuts deal
Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Ind.) said Monday he would be willing to consider a deal that was 10-to-one spending cuts to tax increases, if he were a Republican presidential candidate.
The current Republican field rejected the idea at a recent presidential debate.
Debate moderator posed the question: "Say you had a deal, a real spending cuts deal, 10-to-1, spending cuts to tax increases... who on this stage would walk away from that deal? Can you raise your hand if you feel so strongly about not raising taxes, you'd walk away on the 10-to-1 deal?"
All eight candidates raised their hands.
Commentators called this an "iconic" moment in the 2012 campaign thus far.
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Bachmann doesn't believe Perry's HPV defense (Video)
Rep. Michele Bachmann disputed Rick Perry's claim he was lobbied on HPV vaccine by a 31-year old woman who had cervical cancer.
"I would characterize it wholly inaccurate because Governor Perry said that he passed the law because he had a conversation with a woman who (had cervical cancer) but that didn't happen," Bachmann said in an interview with CBS' Jan Crawford.
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GOP debate takeaways (Video)
CBS News political analyst John Dickerson was joined in Orlando on Friday by CBS News political correspondent Jan Crawford and Politico national political correspondent James Hohmann for a recap of the sixth GOP presidential debate.
"Romney was confident. He looked like he owned that stage, and he was specific. He looked like he had a clear command on the issues but on other things including foreign policy, where Perry really fell short," Crawford said. "Perry did not offer any specifics, even on programs that he has attacked like Social Security."
Watch the full discussion at left to see the roundtable's key takeaways from the debate -- including the Sarah Palin factor, Michele Bachmann's poor showing and what other candidates stood out from the pack.
New movie uncovers the world of the CIA
Updated 5:40 p.m. ET
Producer and director Carl Colby always wanted to do a movie about his father, former CIA Director William Colby, but whenever the idea came about William never got onboard.
"When he would come to very personal questions, or more sensitive then whatever the flavor of the week was, he would just sort of put up a shield and say well that's your department friend I don't go into those treacherous emotional waters," Colby told CBS News Washington Bureau Chief Chris Isham. (watch the interview above at left)
Now, Carl got his chance. In his documentary film "The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father CIA Spymaster William Colby," Carl Colby uncovered his father's undisclosed private life.
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New poll may not hurt Congress; reporters say
President Obama's approval ratings on the economy fell to 33 percent on Wednesday. And a new CBS News/NY Times polls found just 12 percent of Americans are satisfied with Congress.
In today's "Washington Unplugged" reporter's roundtable discussion, CBS News analyst John Dickerson discussed lowly ratings. Dickerson asked the question "Could you make the case, the more (Obama) talks the less popular he gets?"
"Maybe the less popular he gets but the more he starts to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher, of the more people start to tune him out," Nia Malika Henderson of the Washington Post said.
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Palin: No "drop-dead date" to get in 2012 race
Sarah Palin turned down an offer to participate in Monday's debate of Republican presidential candidates sponsored by the Tea Party Express and CNN, but the possible White House hopeful teased that she has not completely taken herself out of contention.
"I'm still thinking about it," she said in an appearance on Fox News after the Florida debate when asked if she would run for president.
"I'm not going to let the media tell me, dictate when a drop-dead date should be," she added.
The former governor and Fox News contributor hammered Texas Gov. Rick Perry for "crony capitalism" on his mandate for HPV vaccinations and complimented Rep. Michele Bachmann for "calling out corruption in government."
"People are afraid, even in our own party, to call one another out on that," Palin said on "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren." "Michele Bachmann tried to make that point tonight and watch- she's, potentially, going to get crucified."
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Hot mic catches Boehner, Biden talking golf
With $447 billion and the livelihood of millions of unemployed Americans at stake, what were House Speaker John Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden talking about before the President's jobs speech Thursday night?
Golf.
A hot microphone on the podium caught the duo chatting about their golf games as they waited for the president to arrive in the House chamber.
"One day I play great, the next day I play awful," Boehner told Biden.
The two teased each other -- Boehner greeted Biden with "I'm one of those barbarians," a crack on a speech Biden gave on Labor Day in which he inferred Republicans and Tea Partiers were "barbarians at the gate."
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