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(CNN) –A former top adviser and spokeswoman to John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign is pushing back against comments reportedly made by Sarah Palin in her new book.

Nicolle Wallace tells CNN that Palin's account of an ill-fated interview with CBS's Katie Couric during the 2008 presidential campaign is not true.

In excerpts of her new book "Going Rogue: An American Life" that were obtained by other organizations, including the conservative Web site Drudge Report, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate discusses her interview with Couric.

"From the beginning, Nicolle [Wallace] pushed for Katie Couric and the CBS Evening News. The campaign's general strategy involved coming out with a network anchor, someone they felt had treated John well on the trail thus far," writes Palin, according to excerpts obtained before Tuesday's release date for the highly-anticipated book. "My suggestion was that we be consistent with that strategy and start talking to outlets like FOX and the Wall Street Journal. I really didn't have a say in which press I was going to talk to, but for some reason Nicolle seemed compelled to get me on the Katie bandwagon."

Related video: Palin book blitz begins

The Drudge Report says it obtained a portion of the book in which Palin claims McCain campaign adviser Nicolle Wallace pushed for the now-famous Katie Couric interview because the CBS anchor needed a self-esteem "boost."

"'She just has such low self-esteem,' Nicolle said," continues Palin in the excerpt. "She added that Katie was going through a tough time, 'She just feels she can't trust anybody.' Nicolle had left her gig at CBS just a few months earlier to hook up with the McCain campaign."

Contacted by CNN, Wallace denied the gist and specifics of Palin's account of the Couric interview, which aired at the end of September 2008.

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Schmidt told CNN Palin's claims in her book are 'total fiction'.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - John McCain's former presidential campaign manager Steve Schmidt is the latest McCain adviser to cry foul over accusations Sarah Palin has penned in her yet to be released memoir "Going Rogue."

Excerpts obtained by The Huffington Post characterize Schmidt in an unfavorable light, particularly in reference to the prank phone call Palin received from someone pretending to be French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "Right away, the phones started ringing," Palin writes. "One of the first calls was Schmidt, and the force of his screaming blew my hair back. 'How can anyone be so stupid?! Why would the president of France call a vice presidential candidate a few days out?!'"

In a telephone conversation with CNN's John King, Schmidt said how he is described and portrayed in the book is "fanciful. [And] total fiction."

In the excerpts, Palin also claims Schmidt tried to put her on a strict eating regimen, and in a conversation with Randy Scheunemann, a McCain foreign policy adviser, he had blamed the campaigns problems on Palin's "postpartum depression."

"Schmidt started in again, telling Randy what an awful pick I was - the "postpartum" problems, the wardrobe "scandal," "legal exposure" for Todd on Troopergate, whatever he meant by that," Palin writes according to the published excerpts.

In October, during The Atlantic magazine's First Draft of History Conference, Schmidt predicted to CNN's John King that he would be portrayed as "anti-rogue in the running of the campaign."

Romney delivered a speech in California on Friday night.'

WASHINGTON (CNN)– Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney delivered a scathing criticism of President Obama's Afghanistan strategy Friday night, accusing the president of delivering rhetoric and not action in the war-torn country.

Quoting from a speech Obama delivered in March, Romney agreed with the president "that 'we are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and allies."' Romney continued on seconding the president: "I believe 'that to succeed, we and our friends and allies must reverse the Taliban's gains, and promote a more capable and accountable Afghan government.'"

But Romney went on to criticize Obama for not holding enough meetings with top generals, and inadequately preparing for the elections in Afghanistan.

"The President has held his job for 10 months but does not yet have a strategy," Romney said during his speech before the Young America's Foundation in Santa Barbara, California. "What has he been doing that is more important than protecting the lives of the troops of which he is Commander-in-Chief? He has been campaigning- rallying at phony town meetings and making over 30 campaign stops for fellow Democrats. This President's inattention and dereliction remind me of those Northwest Airlines pilots who were so distracted from their jobs that they lost their way. But in this case, the consequences are far more severe."

Romney has been a constant critic of the Obama administration. In March, Romney accused the president of neglecting the country's needs, while posing for magazine covers, and making appearances on late night television during an interview with CNN's Larry King.

"This is a president who is learning on the fly," Romney said. "He's never turned anything around before. He hasn't had the experience of leading a nation or a business or a state in trouble. And the first rule I can tell him is focus, focus, focus. "

Since February, Romney has attended nine events for senatorial candidates, appeared at more than a dozen rallies or fundraisers for those running for governor this year or next, and spoken at almost two dozen meetings of Republican Party groups or conservative organizations. And he has finished a new book.

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Pelosi will be burned in effigy at a Tea Party rally in Virginia next week, the event's organizer told CNN.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The organizer of a "Tea Party" protest in Virginia says he intends to move forward with plans to burn House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Tom Perriello in effigy next weekend at a rally to protest Democratic health care legislation.

The event is scheduled for next Saturday in Danville, which borders North Carolina and sits at the southern end of Perriello's congressional district. Perriello, a Democrat, narrowly won his House seat in 2008 and is considered a top target of Congressional Republicans in next year's midterm elections.

When news of the rally surfaced Friday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen condemned the plans as "shocking and despicable."

But Nigel Coleman, the organizer of the Tea Party, told CNN he doesn't see what all the fuss is about. The attention, he said, should be on the Democratic plans to overhaul the health care system.

"We're not going to actually set Perriello on fire or Mrs. Pelosi on fire," Coleman said. "But we have been trying to months to get our point across just how vehemently we are opposed to this health care legislation. For the House vote to come so close and to know that Mr. Perriello is on the other side, it's a kick in the stomach that a lot of people couldn't take."

Coleman said none of Perriello's potential Republican challengers have been invited to the event, which he expects will draw about 100 people.

"Something shocking and despicable is how they've handled this health care legislation," Coleman said, responding to Van Hollen's statement. "Going behind closed doors, writing a bill that is going to fundamentally change what America is. More people are going to be killed by this health care legislation than this bonfire."

Palin's book 'Going Rogue' releases on Tuesday.

Wasilla, Alaska (CNN) – At Pandemonium Booksellers, the Sarah Palin 2010 calendars are hot sellers, and since the election, the traffic in political books has been decidedly to the right.

"Glenn Beck outsells President Obama at the moment?" is our question as owner Shannon Cullip leads us on a tour of the bookstore.

"Oh yeah," she responds with a laugh. "Big time."

In the window, there is a small Wasilla Chamber of Commerce sticker and an image of the town's famous mayor-turned-governor-turned-GOP vice presidential nominee.

"Going Rogue" is shattering the presale record at Pandemonium Booksellers and reigniting the Palin political divide, even here in her hometown.

"It's either one extreme or the other, I would say," Cullip says of the bookstore's Palin conversations. "I would say people either completely, completely have her on a pedestal or don't like her. Not too much in the middle.

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In addition to the meetings with the APEC heads of state, Obama plans to hold three bilateral meetings - with the leaders of Russia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Earlier, he told a packed house at Tokyo's Suntory Hall that all Americans should know that what happens in Asia "has a direct effect on our lives at home."

The president leaves Sunday for Shanghai, China.

In Saturday's weekly Republican radio and internet address, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) said the bill Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through the House of Representatives last weekend will lead to a government takeover of health care, raise taxes and cut Medicare benefits for seniors, and explode the country's debt.

"In the teeth of the Great Recession, the Pelosi bill would impose ten new taxes on the American economy. The top combined tax rate for my state of Illinois would be four percentage points higher than France. The Democrat bill levies new taxes on health insurance, income and even pacemakers," says Kirk. "The bill also cuts health care for seniors – my parents and many of yours.”

In the address, Kirk also outlines some GOP prescriptions to reform health care.

"First, we could start lowering costs by reining in lawsuits in America. We are the most litigious country on earth. Lawsuit reforms can save billions in health care costs alone. In New Jersey, without lawsuit reform, it costs over $5,500 per patient to provide insurance. In California, with some of the strongest lawsuit reforms, insurance costs half as much as it does in New Jersey. Congress should enhance the effective reforms of many states by enacting lawsuit reforms for our entire country," says Kirk.

"Second, Congress should grant the right to each American to buy coverage from any state in the union – especially if you find a plan that has a lower cost or is more flexible for your family or your small business."

Kirk is a five-term representative from Illinois' tenth congressional district. He's running for President Barack Obama's old senate seat. Roland Burris, who was named as an interim replacement for Obama, is not making a bid next year for a full term in office. Kirk faces less well-known but more conservative Republican challengers in the February primary and Democrats accuse the congressman, who was considered a moderate, of moving to the right on key issues.

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn

"I know there will also be inquiries by Congress, and there should," Obama said in his weekly radio and Web address. "But all of us should resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into the political theater that sometimes dominates the discussion here in Washington. The stakes are far too high."

Obama has already ordered leaders of the military and intelligence community to complete a full review of the incident, and offer recommendations on ways military security might be improved.

"If there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability," Obama said Saturday. "Beyond that – and most importantly – we must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system, so that we can prevent a similar breach from happening again."

Next Thursday, the Senate's Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing to assess the events leading up to Major Nidal Malik Hasan's shooting rampage that killed 13 people.

Sen. John McCain spoke to reporters in Arizona on Friday.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain has already received a signed copy of Sarah Palin's new memoir "Going Rogue," but the former Republican presidential nominee hasn't read it yet.

"I've just received a signed copy from her yesterday, so I will read it with interest," the senator told reporters Friday in his home state of Arizona.

While the book contains a healthy dose of score-settling aimed at former McCain campaign aides, the senator stressed that he was "proud and honored" to have had Palin as his running mate.

"One of the things about campaigns that lose, there's always mistakes made and the campaign that wins is always the perfect campaign," he said. "I'm proud of the campaign we ran. I'm proud of Sarah Palin and we continue to have a great and wonderful relationship. So, I'm very proud of the campaign we ran and I have moved forward."

When asked if the book has become "a nuisance," McCain responded no. "It is the usual background noise," he said.

He also responded to a question he has heard over and over again since the campaign ended: Can Palin be a viable presidential candidate herself in 2012?

"Sure," he said. "I think there are a number of viable candidates out there. I think that Sarah Palin is obviously one of them and we'll start through the process in about a year or so of selecting our nominee, but I think she's a very strong force in the Republican Party. I can't predict who's gonna get the nomination but I certainly think she would be competitive."

Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is running for governor in Texas.

Story updated below with Hutchison's remarks as prepared for delivery on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who previously said she would resign her seat to run for governor, will announce Saturday she will remain in the Senate as she seeks the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination, a Hutchison aide tells CNN.

"She will announce tomorrow at the Texas Federation of Republican Women’s Convention in Galveston that she will not be resigning her seat before the primary,” said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “She is running for governor because she feels it is important to fight on two fronts, for the race for governor and against the Democratic health care proposal and cap and trade.”

In July, Hutchison told Dallas radio station WBAP that she planned to leave the Senate in the fall.

"Then the actual leaving of the Senate will be sometime — October, November — that, in that time frame," she said.

The aide said that Hutchison “plans to resign” her Senate seat “after the primary,” which the aide noted she will win. The aide brushed off the question of whether she would quit if she ends up losing the primary to Gov. Rick Perry.

A Perry spokesman quickly responded to the latest news in what has been a contentious primary battle.

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Liberal groups have targeted Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska over his views on health care reform.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sixty. It's the magic number of votes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs to move his health care reform bill to the Senate floor and tamp down filibuster threats by Republicans.

And the 60th vote could well be Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska.

Nelson and other Democrats have spoken out against the costs of plans being discussed, and most recently the $1.1 trillion House bill, which passed last weekend.

Reid doesn't expect Republican support for the bill, so he'll need all of the 58 Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them.

Nelson, 68, recently said he would decide how to vote on whether to send the bill to the Senate floor once he sees the final version.

"I'm not going to make any kind of commitment until I see the bill," Nelson said, adding that he has not given Reid any assurance or "secret" acknowledgment of support.

"I can't decide about the procedural vote until I see the underlying bill," he told CNN.

Nelson told ABC News on Tuesday that faced with a decision on whether to "move a bill that is bad, I won't vote to move it."

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Former Louisiana congressmen gets 13-year sentence for corruption.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) – Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction last summer on 11 counts of corruption.

There is no punitive fine but he will have to pay $1,100 in special assessments.

Jefferson did not speak in court on advice of his counsel.

The case against the former nine-term Louisiana congressman included allegations of influence-peddling and the discovery of $90,000 in cash in his freezer.

Jefferson's family was in the courtroom when District Judge T.S. Ellis handed down the sentence.

He had faced up to 150 years in prison.

(CNN) - The House squeaked out its version of health care reform and now President Obama is putting pressure on the Senate to do the same so he can sign a bill before the end of the year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he hopes to start debate next week on whether to send his bill to the floor. The Congressional Budget Office is appraising components of Reid's legislation.

But a handful of moderate Democrats might determine whether Reid's bill is debated.

Republicans are basically united in opposition to Reid's plan. With 60 votes needed to start debate on the legislation, Reid needs all 58 of the Democrats in the Senate and the two independents who caucus with them to vote his way.

Time is ticking away on reaching Obama's goal. Democrats are already doubtful that they'll be able to reach it.

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Palin will visit the Army base in early December.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sarah Palin will travel to the Fort Hood Army post in early December as part of her national book tour, Palin's publisher confirmed to CNN Friday.

The December 4 visit will come roughly one month after a mass shooting on the base that left 13 people dead and 38 wounded.

The stop, which had not been previously announced, is scheduled for the same day Palin signs books at a store in in the Dallas area.

The former Alaska governor is also making an appearance at Fort Bragg in North Carolina during her tour.

The visit was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) - Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court Friday for his conviction last summer on 11 counts of corruption.

He faces a sentence of up to 150 years in prison, but the judge may accept sentencing guidelines that range from 27 to 33 years. Prosecutors and Jefferson's defense attorney have filed arguments they hope will influence the judge's decision.

The case has included allegations of influence-peddling and the discovery of $90,000 in cash in Jefferson's freezer.

Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat who served 18 years in Congress representing the New Orleans area, already faces the forfeiture of nearly half a million dollars - money a jury said is linked to criminal activity for which he stands convicted.

The jury August 5 found Jefferson guilty on four bribery counts, three counts of money laundering, three counts of wire fraud and one count of racketeering. He was acquitted on five other counts including wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Growing partisan tensions over national security issues exploded Friday as several top Republicans ripped Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try five suspected 9/11 terrorists in civilian court.

The attorney general was accused of risking Americans' security by treating the suspects like "common criminals" with a right to greater
constitutional protections than they would otherwise receive in a military trial.

Five Guantanamo Bay detainees with alleged ties to the September 11, 2001, attacks - including confessed mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - will be tried in civilian court in New York, Holder announced Friday.

"These terrorists planned and executed the mass murder of thousands of innocent Americans. Treating them like common criminals is unconscionable," Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said in a written statement.

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McCain wants suspected terrorists tried in military tribunals.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. John McCain hammered the Obama administration Friday for its decision to try accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in a civilian court in New York.

Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi will all be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - a short distance from the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

McCain said in a statement that he is "extremely disappointed" by the decision and argued that the suspects "should be treated as war criminals and tried for their crimes through military tribunals."

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TOKYO, Japan (CNN) – President Barack Obama, who is weighing whether or how much to boost U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan, said his decision will come "soon."

"It's a matter of making certain that when I send young men and women into war, and I devote billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer money, that it's making us safer," Obama said at a joint news conference in Tokyo with recently elected Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

A primary goal, he said, is to be sure that the United States and its allies are not subject to terror attacks.

"The decision will be made soon. It will be one that is fully transparent so that the American people understand exactly what we're doing and why we're doing it and what it will entail," Obama said in response to a question.

"It will also, I think, send a clear message that our goal here ultimately has to be for the Afghan people to be able to be in a position to
provide their own security and that the United States cannot be engaged in an open-ended commitment," he added.

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