All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

A signature lyric from the one-hit-wonder Five Man Electrical Band really sums up much of the view from the floor of the Pepsi Center: "signs, signs, everywhere there's signs."

And in last night's live Convention Cast, the plentiful signage became a bit of a hot topic. For example:

(CBS)

CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts: One thing I want to show you, there are no, or very few, spontaneous moments at these conventions. All the signs they put up, volunteers go around at different points and hand them out. For instance, when Biden came out, volunteers ran around and they handed out these signs … and when Obama came out and joined Biden on stage made his surprise appearance, they handed out there, "Obama – For The Change We Need."

Katie Couric: You should save some of those, Byron! They'll be collector's items.

Pitts: Now is that stealing?

Couric: No, no, no, they're on the floor! I think they're everybody's.

And…

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Sharyl Attkisson is investigative correspondent for CBS News.

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Back in 1972, a Republican convention corporate contributions scandal shook things up. Executives from the International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. had allegedly met secretly with Nixon administration officials – and offered to underwrite the Republican convention. In return, the Justice Department was allegedly urged to "go easy" on ITT in a pending anti-trust lawsuit. ITT ended up with what was widely regarded as a favorable out-of-court settlement.

To eliminate the appearance of tainted funding, election law was changed. The idea was to provide public funds for the conventions and limit corporate contributions. But things haven't really worked out that way. Here's why.

Corporations are still allowed to donate money through convention "host committees" (committees that presumably help promote the locality that's holding the convention). But the "host committee" exemption has become a giant loophole exploited by corporations seeking influence – and politicians eager to provide it. Corporate contributions have soared from just $1 million in 1980 to an estimated $112 million for 2008.

Tonight on the CBS Evening News our Follow the Money story will talk about what some corporate donors "get" in exchange for their generous contributions ...

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We've been busy preparing for the Democratic and Republican National conventions in Denver and St. Paul (don't call it Minneapolis!). And as we at CBSNews.com and CNET.com are partnering to bring you live, exclusive Web coverage of the conventions, we'd like to enlist your help.

Of course, there's something in it for you, too. This is your opportunity to ask Katie and the CBS News Political Team the questions you want answered about the conventions, the candidates ... or anything about the politics of the moment you can dream up.

After the live Webcast of the special on-air coverage from 10 to 11 p.m. EDT, Katie will host a Web-only show where she host a roundtable - armed with your questions.

Want to be part of the action? Head over to the DNC and RNC Convention Cast pages to submit your questions. You can also watch Katie explain this all a bit more below:

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."

If you caught last night's debate, you might not have heard what you thought you heard.

A canny observer has crafted a "tag cloud" of what was said, by whom, and how often. What words are the Democratic candidates using the most? You have to see it to believe it.

Take a peek.

White House Correspondent Mark Knoller addresses the "ic" controversy.

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Is it really an insult to refer to those now in charge of Congress as the “Democrat majority?”

Apparently so. Some Democrats took umbrage when Pres. Bush began his State of the Union Address last week by trying to be gracious.

“Some in this chamber are new to the House and the Senate – and I congratulate the Democrat majority,” he said to a smattering of applause.

But to some Democrats, dems fightin’ words. They say Mr. Bush should have spoken of the “Democratic” majority.

By using the word “Democrat,” they say it’s an effort to slight their party by not referring to its proper name. They say it’s a slight that can be traced back to demagogic attacks half-a-century ago by then-Sen. Joe McCarthy, the Wisconsin Republican.

So I raised the issue this morning at the early briefing known as “the gaggle” by White House spokesman Tony Snow.

“When we asked the President about it he said "what - aw no – I didn't mean anything by it."

Snow went on to say it looks to him like “an exercise in looking for offense, rather than a way to work together.”

He asserts “there was no intentional slight of anyone” and the President’s speech was designed to say “let’s stop committing petty politics...let’s stop looking for silly fights.”

Mr. Bush isn’t the only one getting complaints on this issue.

I got an e-mail the other day from Robert Weiner, a Democratic party activist and a one-time official in the Clinton Administration.

He said he heard a radio report of mine in which I referred to the Democrat Party.

He told me “it’s a big thing to Democratic folks” not to be referred to in that way.

He wrote that “Republicans like to make it ‘Democrat’ Party so it sounds harsher – but it’s no more accurate than “Republic” Party.

C’mon, Bob. That’s a stretch. But to hear Weiner tell it, it’s okay to report that Congress is controlled by Democrats, but its a swipe to call it a Democrat Congress.

I assured Weiner that I, too, intended no slight.

And there’s no question it’s better to be the Democrat majority rather than the Democratic minority.

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