All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Gearing up for a long health care Senate debate...

** Stimulus tracking comes under fire...

** Republican governors focus on economic issues...

HEALTH CARE: "The Senate Thursday began what promises to be a bitter, lengthy battle over the future of health care in America, and taxes, abortion, affordability and federal deficits emerged as key flashpoints," reports McClatchy Newspapers' David Lightman.

"Senate Democratic leaders expect the first test vote on their new $848 billion, 2,074-page health care overhaul bill will come on Saturday evening. Although Democrats are likely to get the 60 votes they need to move forward with the debate, the outcome is uncertain.

"Should the measure pass that initial test, lawmakers made it clear Thursday that they're ready for weeks of political warfare.

"Democrats framed their mission in heroic terms.

"'This is about the woman with high cholesterol, or the man with heart disease, or the child with hay fever who can't get help,' said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. 'That's why we're stopping insurance companies from deciding they'd simply rather not give health care to the sick.'”

"The first test for the bill, which would extend coverage to 31 million more Americans while reducing federal deficits by $130 billion over the next decade, will come Saturday evening," write the Washington Post's Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray. "That is when Democratic leaders hope to keep together all 60 of their caucus members to turn back Republican procedural objections. Reid's efforts are focused on three moderate Democrats who oppose various provisions in the measure and have not declared whether they will support efforts to advance it.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Senate health care bill pleases most Democrats...

** President Obama gives a stern message to North Korea and Iran...

** Sarah Palin hits the road...

HEALTH CARE: "Senate majority leader Harry Reid unveiled his long-awaited version of a sweeping health care bill last night, setting the stage for a tense Senate showdown pitting Republicans against a fragile and fractured Democratic majority," report the Boston Globe's Lisa Wangsness and Susan Milligan.

"The proposal would expand coverage to most Americans and is predicted to cut the deficit by $127 billion over 10 years, a benefit Senate leaders hoped would help it attract fiscally conservative moderates who will decide the bill’s fate. It also includes a so-called public option, a government-backed insurance plan in states that want one, a concession to liberals.

"With President Obama calling for a bill to be sent to his desk by the end of the year, Reid is hoping to bring the historic health care package up for a test vote on Saturday.”

"Sixty votes are needed to begin debate on the measure, and Senate leaders said they're confident they'll get the votes to proceed after talking with three wavering moderates, Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu and Nebraska's Ben Nelson," adds McClatchy Newspapers' David Lightman.

"Nelson said that while he remained undecided, the possible Saturday vote shouldn't be seen as a judgment on the bill's substance. 'It is a motion to start debate on a bill and to try to improve it,' he said.

Other moderates were also cautious. 'We'll wait and see,' Lincoln said. Added Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., 'I'm going to reserve judgment until I've had a chance to read it, but the numbers on deficit reduction are encouraging.'

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

**Palin book tour kicks off in Michigan

**Analysis and reaction to Obama's visit to China

**Reid nears unveiling of health care bill

**Obama says Gitmo won't be closed by January

SARAH PALIN: CBS affiliate WWJ Radio reports, "Sarah Palin's book tour gets under way Wednesday at a Barnes and Noble store in Grand Rapids [Michigan].

"In her new HarperCollins book, 'Going Rogue,' the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate states that Michigan is 'where I 'went rogue' trying to reach out to during the campaign.' She and running mate John McCain made a stop there last fall.

"In fact, people were already standing outside the Barnes and Noble store early Wednesday amid the cold and wind. 'I've wanted to meet her ever since I saw her...speak at the Republican Convention,' said one woman. 'We purchased two books, one for each other,' said another couple.

"'I don't think people realize she's down to earth,' said one man."

"Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Tuesday she is not trying to reach 'the liberal elites' on her book tour, but instead is focusing on 'everyday, hard-working Americans,'" Politico's Andy Barr writes.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** McCain stays out of the Palin discussion...

** Reid’s job on health care gets harder...

** President Obama addresses a tightly controlled crowd in China...

SARAH PALIN: "Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said a White House bid in 2012 is 'not on my radar screen' as she began a public relations blitz keyed to the release of her new memoir," reports USA Today's Catalina Camia.

"'You don't need a title to make a difference,' she said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Monday.

"The former Alaska governor's autobiography, Going Rogue, hits bookstore shelves today. It is already atop online retailer Amazon.com's best-seller list because of advance orders.

"In an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters that begins airing today, Palin left open the door on her political plans. Asked whether she'll play a major role, she said, 'If people will have me, I will.' Palin also discussed media opportunities. 'There have been lots and lots of offers,' she said, including a reality show, which 'I would not ever want to put my kids through.'"

Palin weighed in on her Facebook page following her interview with Walters writing, "Had a great conversation today with Barbara Walters regarding America’s special needs community. Her compassion for those who some in our society see as ‘less than perfect’ comes from personal experience as she was so close to her sister. Barbara wrote lovingly about her sister in her #1 bestselling memoir titled, Audition. Barbara and I even attempted to interview Trig during this segment, but he was about as patient through the interview as any other one-and-a-half-year-old child! I appreciate Barbara highlighting America’s special needs community."

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

**Latest news on Sarah Palin's upcoming book tour

**President Obama talks about Internet freedom in China

**Senate health care bill could be revealed this week

SARAH PALIN: McClatchy Newspapers' Erika Bolstad, "By now, nearly everyone with a television has seen the teases for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's appearance Monday on Oprah Winfrey's show. (Will Levi come to Thanksgiving dinner? Stay tuned!)

"Thanks to a sloppy stock clerk at an undisclosed bookstore, there've been plenty of leaks from Palin's memoir, 'Going Rogue,' which officially hits bookstores Tuesday.

"The Palin publicity blitz has begun, and if it has elements of a political campaign, a Twitter feed and that of a top-tier rock band touring second-tier cites, well, that's by design."

CBS News' Randall Pinkston, "In 'Going Rogue' Palin reportedly criticizes McCain's senior staff for allegedly pushing her to be interviewed by 'CBS Evening News' anchor Katie Couric; that interview produced a series of exchanges that dogged Palin throughout the campaign.

"In an interview for the Oprah Winfrey Show, Palin accused McCain's campaign staff of misleading her about her performance with Couric.

"'The campaign said, 'Right on, good, you're showing your independence. This is what America needed to see. It was a good interview,' Palin recalled. 'And I thought if you think that was a good interview, I don't know what a bad interview was, because I knew it wasn't a good interview.'

"Steven Schmidt, McCain's chief strategist calls Palin's account 'fiction.'"

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** The president meets with world leaders...

** Afghanistan decisions to come next month...

** The story on WH counsel Greg Craig's resignation...

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "President Barack Obama arrived in Japan today to start an eight-day swing through Asia, meeting with major U.S. creditors and trading partners to assure them he intends to maintain American influence in the region," write Bloomberg News' Edwin Chen and Julianna Goldman.

"After a meeting and news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ... in Tokyo, Obama will deliver a speech tomorrow intended to articulate his vision for a Pacific alliance that focuses on geopolitical and economic issues including trade, climate change and halting the spread of nuclear weapons."

During today's news conference, Mr. Obama said the U.S. and Japan must "find ways to renew and refresh the alliance for the 21st century," reports the Associated Press.

Hatoyama noted that Japan will no longer refuel ships that supply Afghanistan, but he promised aid for Afghan civilian needs such as schools, agriculture and police. He also vowed to cooperate with the United States on combatting climate change and nuclear proliferation.

On the nuclear issue, Mr. Obama and Prime Minister Hatoyama" also "agreed to host a conference in January on nuclear security," Reuters reports.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Scrapping current options in Afghanistan...

** Obama could face a cool reception from Japan...

** Sarah Palin dishes to Oprah...

AFGHANISTAN: "President Barack Obama won't accept any of the Afghanistan war options before him without changes, a senior administration official said, as concerns soar over the ability of the Afghan government to secure its own country one day," report the Associated Press' Ben Feller and Anne Gearan.

A senior administration official tells CBS News' Mark Knoller Mr. Obama is pushing for "revisions in troop options to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government."

The official added that in the war council meeting Wednesday, the president raised questions that could "alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone."

The key sticking points appear to be "the timelines and mounting questions about the credibility of the Afghan government," the official continued, reiterating that Mr. Obama wants to make it clear that the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan is not open-ended.

The AP’s Feller and Gearan add, "Obama's stance comes as his own ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, is voicing strong dissent about a U.S. troop increase, according to a second administration official.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Choosing a strategy in Afghanistan...

** Reid guns for a health care bill on the Senate floor next week...

** Dodd unveils ambitious financial regulation proposals...

PRESIDENT OBAMA TODAY: This morning, the president and Mrs. Obama host a Veterans Day breakfast in the East Room before traveling to Arlington National Cemetery where Mr. Obama will participate in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Following the ceremony, he will deliver remarks.

This afternoon, the president meets with his national security team on Afghanistan and Pakistan and, report the New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller and David E. Sanger, the president will consider four "final options" regarding how many more troops to send to Afghanistan.

"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are coalescing around a proposal to send 30,000 or more additional American troops to Afghanistan, but President Obama remains unsatisfied with answers he has gotten about how vigorously the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan would help execute a new strategy, administration officials said Tuesday.

"Mr. Obama is to consider four final options in a meeting with his national security team on Wednesday, his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, told reporters. The options outline different troop levels, other officials said, but they also assume different goals — including how much of Afghanistan the troops would seek to control — and different time frames and expectations for the training of Afghan security forces…

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Obama sounds uncomfortable with the health care bill's abortion amendment...

** The president settles on a new Afghanistan strategy...

** Restoring American influence in Asia...

FORT HOOD: President Obama and the first lady travel to Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas today to meet with the families of those killed during last week's shootings as well as with wounded soldiers.

Mr. Obama will then address the Fort Hood community during a memorial service. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Obama will meet with wounded soldiers at Darnall Army Medical Center before flying back to Washington.

CBS News coverage of the Fort Hood tragedy

Associated Press' Ben Feller, "Obama pressed into role as national healer"

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** All eyes turn to the Senate's health care bill...

** The party tenets Democrats compromised to pass a bill...

** A closer look at those 40 renegade House members...

HEALTH CARE – THE NEXT STEP The House passed its version of health care reform late Saturday night and by early Sunday morning, there were major warning signs about the upcoming Senate battle, even after President Obama went to the Rose Garden to prod senators into moving forward.

"Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said [on CBS' 'Face the Nation'] the health care bill ... is 'dead on arrival to the Senate,'" writes CBS News' Michelle Levi. "Graham argued that the House bill was 'written for liberals, by liberals.'"

USA Today's John Fritze,"'If the public option plan is in there ... I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote,' Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman— one of two independents Democrats are counting on — warned on Fox News Sunday. 'I believe the debt can break America.'"

Boston Globe's Sasha Issenberg details Lieberman's filibuster threat.

It's not just Lieberman and Senate Republicans that threaten to slow things down. As in the House, moderate Democrats have their own set of concerns as well.

"Even before Saturday’s House vote, senators had begun to question why Reid suddenly shifted course two weeks ago and threw his weight behind a public option plan, laying bare the deep divisions in his caucus between liberals and moderates," report Politico's Carrie Budoff Brown and Manu Raju.

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