All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's health care bill was "very bipartisan," but ultimately just a "baby step" in the effort to overhaul the nation's health care system, GOP Chairman Michael Steele said Thursday on CBS' "The Early Show".

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Some excerpts from obituaries of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy posted in U.S. newspapers. From The New York Times:

"Born to one of the wealthiest American families, Mr. Kennedy spoke for the downtrodden in his public life while living the heedless private life of a playboy and a rake for many of his years."

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"For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts," President Barack Obama said of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

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A powerful House Democrat who has rebuffed attempts to subpoena records of troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. himself received two loans from the company, the Wall Street Journal reports Friday.

Information in documents for the mortgage of Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, suggest he may have received favorable loans via Countrywide's "VIP" program — the same program in which Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad obtained loans, along with some Republican lawmakers, reports the Journal.

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As speculation over Sarah Palin's presidential aspirations heat up now that she has stepped down as Alaska's governor, a former member of George W. Bush's staff said Palin had no chance of winning the White House.

"Impossible," is how Bush's former speechwriter David Frum described the likelihood Palin would become president.

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A day after Michael Steele fired sharp criticisms at President Obama's health care reform plans, the chairman of the Republican Party had a new message for the president: slow down.

In an interview with "The Early Show" Tuesday, Steele repeatedly criticized what he termed as the president's "excessive push" to get his reform plans in place by the time Congress takes its August recess.

"How do you do that in two weeks?" Steele asked.

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Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales deflected questions Tuesday regarding whether he knew anything about former Vice President Dick Cheney's alleged orders to the CIA to keep its counterterrorism program secret from Congress.

"It's very difficult to talk about classified activities in an unclassified setting," Gonzales told CBS' "The Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith.

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If appointed to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor's "liberal activist" judicial philosophy will flourish, according to the Senate's ranking Republican on the Judicial Committee.

Just hours before confirmation hearings commence, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions reiterated his wariness of the judge on CBS' "The Early Show," referring to speeches Sotomayor has made in the past.

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Mitt Romney has some advice for President Obama: Don't get into the insurance business.

The former Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor offered his insight on the president's health care reform plan in an exclusive interview with The Early Show Wednesday.

As governor, Romney helped the state achieve a form of near-universal health care, though he emphasized that his plan did not involve the government becoming the source of insurance for state residents. "That's a mistake," Romney said, alluding to Mr. Obama's plan, who is trying to extend health benefits for more than 50 million uninsured Americans.

A recent CBS/New York Times poll reports 50 percent think the government would be better than insurance companies at providing medical coverage.

Romney, vehemently disagreed. "It's the wrong way to go," he said.

The former GOP presidential hopeful also applauded Mr. Obama's latest comments on Iran in which he said he was appalled at the regime's treatment of protesters. Romney said he was glad he finally did "rise to the occasion."

You can watch the full video of Romney below, which follows a report on yesterday's press conference:

President Obama defended his recent decision to give the Federal Reserve expanded oversight powers over the nation's biggest financial institutions, during an exclusive interview with CBS' The Early Show.

While his critics argue the Fed was partly responsible for letting reckless practices on Wall Street get out of control, the president disagreed.

"It wasn't the Fed," Mr. Obama said.

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