All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

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.

Sharyl Attkisson is an investigative correspondent for CBS News.

---

It took a full month for many in Congress and the American public to realize that billions in bailout funds were not going to be used the way they thought.

Instead of purchasing failed mortgage assets, the Treasury Department used the taxpayer money to buy preferred shares of stock in select banks. It was not only weak banks in need of assistance, but also banks supposedly deemed to be "strong" by federal regulators; the idea apparently to help shore up the economy by ensuring strong banks take over weaker ones (although nobody from the Treasury Department has responded to our repeated requests for information).

Sources tell CBS News the bank strategy was not discussed in advance with important members of Congress who were "sold" on the bailout. Sources also say the strategy was not mentioned to top members who spoke directly with Treasury Secretary Paulson. But in the first weeks of the bailout, select banks become in-the-know quickly. Several of them have said it was "federal regulators" who approached them and urged them to apply for bailout money ... even before the public or Congress were aware this would be its use ...

Read full post…

Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.

---

To hear the White House tell it, one factor in the House vote yesterday against the administration’s bailout plan – was the word "bailout."

"It’s really unfortunate shorthand for a very complicated issue." says White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto.

He says the administration plan to rescue the financial markets is "not a bailout for Wall Street" and "certainly not a bailout for Wall Street CEOs."

Okay then – what should we call it?

Read full post…

We are in a gloomy mood. A new Gallup poll shows one third of us now think our economy is in a depression – almost three times the number who thought that 10 months ago. It's important to point out economists don't call it a depression. They're still debating whether this is a recession. But it shows just how worried people are.

Banks simply aren't lending. So, if home buyers can't get mortgages, the already beaten down housing industry stalls further. If drivers can't get auto loans, carmakers sell fewer cars. If small businesses can't get the credit they need, they can't expand or may not be able to pay their bills. The ripple effects are enormous.

As Congress grapples with how to salvage a bailout deal, its clear lawmakers must do something. This isn't a depression, but as Americans grow more concerned, we run the risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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

---

It's not easy to figure out whom or what, exactly, is to blame for the current financial crisis. But the latest hit this week when the Federal Reserve bailed out AIG, the largest insurance company in the world, got members of the House ready to point fingers. It was the final straw in a series of economic rescues and interventions by the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve that put tax payers on the line for possibly hundreds of billions of dollars. In an election year, lawmakers do not want taxpayers – otherwise known as voters – to think they put them there.

Last night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi started pointing her finger directly toward the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. "The most recent bailout initiated by the Bush Administration is just another example that George Bush is a failed manager," Pelosi said after announcing hearings to investigate fraud and look at what new regulations will be needed in the future. And today, the speaker threw numerous punches at Sen. John McCain calling the presidential candidate the "greatest deregulator."

House minority leader John Boehner was confident that he could identify the source. "The root of the problem started with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Boehner said referring to the giant mortgage finance companies taken over by the Treasury Department last week. Then Boehner blamed the Democratic Chairmen in charge of market oversight in the House and Senate, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. "Everyone in this town knew the regulator for Fannie and Freddie were weak," Boehner said. "But Barney Frank and Chris Dodd stood in the way of anything moving."

Fiscal conservatives in the House backed up Boehner's assertion that Fannie and Freddie are responsible. And they also blamed Democrats. But they're clearly not trusting the Bush Administration these days either. Members sent a letter to both Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson asking for assurances that there would be no more government bailouts. Rep. Michelle Bachman of Minnesota ticked off the major companies that the financial world insists are too big to fail. "What's next?" Bachman asked. "Starbucks?" ...

Read full post…

Sharyl Attkisson is investigative correspondent for CBS News.

---

What's worse than an earmark that wastes tax dollars and abuses the system by allowing Congress to funnel money outside the normal process to favored businesses or entities?

Plenty, you might say. But how about a secret, classified earmark that costs American lives?

That's the allegation from a military intelligence officer Maj. Eric Egland. In an exclusive interview, Egland told me the amazing story of being on the ground in Iraq at the height of IED (Improvised Explosive Device) deaths and injuries. It was his job to evaluate a large contract that was supposed to send resources and trained people to attack the IED networks. It wasn't working. Egland says it didn't take long for him to discover the contractor was, in his words, completely unqualified for the task at hand. The workers, he said, lacked the experience, resources and know-how to do this important job. He wondered ...

Read full post…

Sharyl Attkisson is an investigative correspondent for CBS News.

---

They're definitely having salmon troubles in California, Oregon and Washington State. No doubt about that.

The question many are asking, though, has to do with the massive relief plan that aims to help ... and the way it was snuck into the Farm Bill without congressional debate. The $170 million salmon bail-out was added to the Farm Bill by California's own congresswoman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That's on top of $60 million provided by Congress to the Pacific salmon industry last year. Consider that the "lost catch" for the $60 million in relief was $16 million.

This year, the "lost catch" is estimated at $22 million, but they'll be getting a whopping $170 million in relief. Some digging around revealed there aren't all that many folks who fish for salmon, even in a good year. So where is all that money going? It turns out it does a lot more than just put emergency food in the mouths of fishermen who are living on the edge.

There is no means test to receive the salmon relief. In other words, somebody could own a charter boat, be making a ton of money on other catches, yet still qualify for a check from the federal government. In some cases, a very big check ... for six figures.

Read full post…

Today marks the beginning of two days of Congressional testimony on Iraq.

You might not know it, but there are actually two men speaking today> Next to top military man General Petraeus is Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Political progress is his job — and that's just as important as military progress.

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

---

The Senate successfully put its stamp on the House economic stimulus package by adding seniors living on Social Security and 250,000 disabled veterans to the rebate-recipient list.

After the Senate and House agreed to the modified package yesterday, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader John Boehner and even Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson gave a last-minute press conference. They touted their great accomplishment and praised themselves for showing they can put political differences aside and put the American people first.

The group of unlikely cohorts standing side by side in front of American flags made a pretty picture. Reid said it was "an example of how government is supposed to work."

The lesson of the last two weeks, though, is that the road to bipartisan agreement can be smooth, but it can also be treacherous.

Read full post…

Congress began the year by making a lot of promises. Did they actually keep any of them?

Click the monitor to find out.