All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

She was the polarizing First Lady who spoke of vast right wing conspiracies, the carpetbagger who came to New York with a Yankees cap and a Senate campaign, and the presidential contender in a pants suit.

No matter what the role, Hillary Clinton's critics have delighted in eviscerating her.

But now, as Secretary of State, her approval rating of 65 is higher than Michelle and President Barack Obama's. Even some conservatives have done a 180. Glenn Beck told me he would have voted for her in the 2008 election.

Talk about whether she's being "marginalized" has grown tiresome even among Washington wags.

She's gotten some serious frequent flyer miles – 140,000 of them - traveling to 36 countries, and improving relationships with Russia, Cuba and even Iran.

And she's helped oppressed women facing horrific abuse in places like Afghanistan and Congo.

Just what you'd expect from a woman who broke so many barriers here. Nice to see she's getting the respect she deserves…simply by doing her job.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

Picture it: with the summer recess behind him, a young President prepares to deliver the most important speech of his first term in office. The topic - health care reform. Amid controversy and confusion, his task is to explain exactly what he hopes to achieve and how he plans to do it.

I'm talking about former President Bill Clinton. It was September, 1993.

Tonight, another young President will deliver his September song to a tough crowd on a really tough topic.

Before President Clinton's speech, just 13 percent of the nation understood his health care plan. And by mid-October of that year, the number was just 18 percent.

For President Obama to be successful in his effort, he's going to need a much bigger return than that.

The commander-in-chief needs to play educator-in-chief and explain simply and specifically what he hopes to achieve and how he plans to do it before history repeats itself.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

Sometimes a picture is worth a few thousand words - and several inches of column space.

Former President Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea secured the release of American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee - held there since their arrest last March. It also sealed the deal for Clinton, who has successfully assumed the mantle of elder statesman.

In other words, he got his mojo back.

Most of the op-eds began with some variation on "this is great...but…" as foreign policy experts warn against rewarding a rogue regime for bad behavior.

But a serious and business-like photo op with a gaunt Kim Jong Il is no match for the pictures of joyful tears and loving embraces on the tarmac in Burbank.

We don't know what, if anything, the U.S. might have lost in any negotiations. We just know what was gained - the safe return of two American journalists, and one sometimes polarizing former president who today can be appreciated by everyone.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.

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Memo to the next tenants at the White House: The current tenants have gotten rid of the jogging track.

The quarter-mile loop around the South Lawn has been paved over. It is now an indistinguishable part of the asphalt driveway on which presidential motorcades begin and end.

The White House decided that the four-foot wide rubberized path had deteriorated over the years – and wasn’t worth the cost of replacing it.

It was first installed in 1993 at the behest of the new President Bill Clinton. His morning jogging forays in Washington routinely caused traffic problems and subjected him to shouted questions ...

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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.

She sure won't be the only speaker, but we'll all be listening closely when Hillary Clinton addresses the crowd in Denver tonight. She will surely express strong support for Barack Obama, in the name of party unity.

She has to. That's because he needs her supporters - and she needs to ensure she's seen as magnanamous, and not a spoiler. A lot of Clinton's backers are anxious to hear about her plans for the future, but they'll have to wait: This is Obama's show ...

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

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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.

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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.

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