All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

Most of this week, Barack Obama's offhand comment about "lipstick on a pig" was the talk-of-the-town on cable and radio shows, if not the real towns.

It may not have been the best choice of words, but it wasn't sexism, it was a sideshow –and the distraction was an insult to the voters.

It was also evidence of how much Sarah Palin has scrambled the political world – and made everyone's words fair game. Before John McCain put Palin on the ticket, I never thought I'd see liberals argue that a working mom can't handle five kids and this job at the same time. And I never thought I'd see social conservatives argue that even questioning her ability to do both – is sexist.

More than any of the pundits predicted, Palin has reenergized the McCain campaign and awakened Democrats to the reality that Hillary Clinton isn't every woman's idea of the perfect candidate. Turns out feminism comes in many shades of blue – and red.

Jill Jackson is a Capitol Hill field producer for CBS News.

---

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton paid House Democrats a visit this morning on her second day back at work after suspending her long-fought presidential campaign. The meeting, held in the basement of the Capitol, was closed to the press. But reporters could hear round after round of applause erupt from the room and ran from entrance to entrance trying to catch Clinton on her way back to the Senate side.

After a long goodbye with members, Clinton, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and House leadership headed straight for the cameras staked out around the corner. A very enthusiastic Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed Clinton back and said that "because of her campaign, the Democratic Party is more energized, is much more prepared to win in November and, more important than that, is much more prepared to govern come January."

As House Speaker, and chair of the Democratic Convention in August, Pelosi refused to endorse Clinton or Obama through the entire race for the Democratic nomination. But Pelosi had nothing but praise for Clinton today, saying that Democrats are unified behind Clinton's message. Pelosi said she told members at the meeting that "Sen. Clinton has emerged from this election the most repected American figure for now and a long time."

Like her or not, one of the great lessons of Hillary Clinton's campaign is the continued—and accepted—sexism in American life...particularly in the media.

For my Notebook on sexism and the Clinton campaign, just click the monitor.

Tonight, Barack Obama will probably announce he's collected enough delegates to become the Democratic nominee.

At that point, the epic campaign he fought against Hillary Clinton will come to an end. Clinton will soon face harsh criticism about the race she ran. But let's give the senator her due.

For the rest of my Notebook, simply click on the monitor.

Jill Jackson is a Capitol Hill field producer for CBS News.

---

General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker returned to Capitol Hill this morning to make the case that despite recent violence in Iraq, political progress and economic progress are on the rise as a result of the troop surge.

But all eyes - and camera lenses - in the packed Armed Services Committee room were on Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Read full post…

This post is written by guest blogger Francois Bringer, a former CBS News producer and current documentary filmmaker. You can read Attkisson's report on Hillary Clinton's 1996 Bosnia trip here.

---

Yes this is me, in the middle of this picture, listening intently to two very famous American women chatting politely aboard a U.S. military plane. We were on our way to Bosnia to visit the troops, almost twelve years ago to this day. The shot was taken on the fourth leg of a grueling First-Lady-does-Europe-in-five-days trip.

I was a CBS News pool producer then. With my CBS colleagues, we were responsible for providing everything that a U.S. TV correspondent would need to cover such a journey. That means we handled all the video, interviews, natural sound and edits from the trip you may have seen in the news on CNN, ABC, NBC or of course CBS.

I got to meet and work alongside then-First Lady Hillary Clinton for this whole crazy week. In a typical day, she would meet the highest ranking official in the country, visit ruins and museums, admire the work of charities, kiss babies, have lunch with dignitaries … and then dinner with leaders of the opposition. At every stop she’d answer the band of reporters' questions. Mrs. Clinton was simply astonishing. Her unfailing (and effortless) politeness with everyone, her interest in the historic or the mundane, her well-briefed self and steely composure after days of this schedule, her ability to keep smiling (and stay chic!) were simply outstanding. Only very gifted beings can project such strength over such long hours – and she did it. She had it. She did not make a faux-pas the whole week.

Which brings us back to the landing in Tuzla.

[Editor's note: Read on for more photos from the trip, as well as Francois's story of a CBS News editor's sharp eye that may have saved lives - including that of the former First Lady.]

Read full post…

Sharyl Attkisson is an investigative correspondent for CBS News.

---

That's me talking to the first lady on a military cargo plane on our trip to war-torn Bosnia in 1996.

Back in 1996 I was assigned to travel with the First Lady on her trip to Bosnia, Greece, Turkey and Italy.

Bosnia was the first stop. We spent nine hours there, arriving on a military cargo plane and moving around within the country on giant Chinook helicopters.

Sen. Hillary Clinton gave an account of our arrival in Bosnia during a speech last Monday at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., saying she remembers "landing under sniper fire" and that conditions on the ground were too dangerous for a planned arrival ceremony.

"There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport," Clinton said. "But instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

Watch Clinton's remarks

Read full post…

Yesterday, I interviewed former Sen. George Mitchell, a man who has particular expertice in some of the most talked-about political issues of the day.

I asked him about Hillary Clinton's claims to have had a central role in the Northern Ireland peace process, his role as a superdelegate, and whether he would broker an agreement to include Michigan and Florida in the Democratic presidential nomination process.

If you're a politics junkie like I am, you won't want to miss what he had to say. Just click the monitor.

With the writers strike settled, Saturday Night Live is back on the air – with sharp political commentary. And it's inspired more than 100,000 blog entries.

But some of this is serious business – and no matter who is the Democratic nominee, it will make history.

Just click on the monitor for the rest of my Notebook.

Admit it, you know exactly who you think of when you hear the name "Hillary." But before the Clintons went to Washington, Sir Edmund Hillary went to the top of the world. His now-famous ascent to the summit of Mt. Everest serves as an inspiration to anyone looking to conquer the unknown.

Just click the monitor at left for more from my Notebook.