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(CNN) - Rev. Jim Wallis, a progressive evangelical leader who sits on President Obama's advisory council on faith-based partnerships, and Tony Perkins, the president of conservative group the Family Research Council, expressed rare agreement Thursday about the role of abortion in the health care reform debate while appearing together on CNN's American Morning.

Perkins pointed out that Republicans had submitted a number of amendments to health care reform legislation that would prohibit federal funding of abortion.

"Tony, I will support your effort to make sure that abortion is taken off the table in this debate," Wallis told his conservative counterpart, "I'm for that. I'll work hard for that. Let's work together on that. And then you support our moral principle that all Americans should be covered by health care – secure, affordable, accessible health care. Let's work together and make sure that both of those things, in fact, are a part of comprehensive health care reform because the system is broken and we have to fix it. And, don't let abortion derail that effort, please."

"Well, ask the president, then, to take it off the table and accept these amendments," responded Perkins, "and then we can have a discussion on how we fix health care in this country, and I'll be glad to work with you on that because we agree - we need to fix health care in this country."

"We do, then let's do it together," Wallis said.

(CNN) - Former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul told CNN what he thinks about "Ron Paul Singles" - the recently-launched dating site where fans of the Texas congressman can connect over life, love and the merits of the gold standard.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A day after former Vice President Dick Cheney repeated his support for the idea of same-sex marriage, Republican party chairman Michael Steele re-stated his opposition to the idea.

"My personal view is that marriage is between a man and a woman," Steele said Tuesday on CNN's American Morning, "very much in line with what the president [Barack Obama] has said."

"...The vice president brings a very personal perspective to this issue," he also said. "I think his comments are an appropriate reflection of his family and his situation with his daughter."

At an appearance at the National Press Club Monday, Cheney reiterated his long-standing position that individuals should be able to choose the type of relationship they wish to enter into. Citing his own family's experience with the issue, he said the question of same-sex marriage was best left to the states, not the federal government.

"I think freedom means freedom for everyone," Cheney said Monday, when asked whether some form of legalized same-sex marriage is inevitable in the United States. "As many of you know," told the audience, "one of my daughters is gay – something that we've lived for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish."
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(CNN) – A driving force behind the new effort to renew the GOP's image denied Monday that the group is looking to avoid addressing social issues that excite the conservative base but can be off-putting for moderate and independent voters.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia was joined at the group's town hall style kick off event Saturday by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

"During your meeting over the weekend, you didn't talk at all about abortion, gay marriage or immigration," American Morning's John Roberts said to Cantor Monday. "Those are three big Republican social issues. . . . Why were those issues left off the table?"

"The National Council for a New America is meant to be a wide-open policy debate," the Virginia Republican responded. "There is no exclusion about what we'll talk about, who can be involved.

"...The traditional family values are a part of everything we do. The value system that we hold raising our children, educating our children, delivering health care –these issues permeate everything, so there is absolutely no intention to veer away from discussion of any of that."
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(CNN) – A former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush is slamming the decision by an Obama White House official to use lower Manhattan as the location for a low-flying presidential plane photo-op.

Francis Townsend, a CNN security contributor, called the fly-over "crass insensitivity" Tuesday on CNN's American Morning. "And, frankly, as I would say as a former prosecutor, I would call this felony stupidity," the lawyer and former Bush homeland security adviser added.

Townsend also suggested that Louis Caldera, the Director of the White House Military Office, may not be fit to continue serving in the Obama administration.

"What makes this almost more disturbing is the fact that that's the office responsible for the movement of the president and his staff in a time of emergency," Townsend told Kiran Chetry. "So, of course, the most important thing is that the person leading it has good judgment. . . . at its best this is bad judgment. This is probably not the right job for Mr. Caldera to be in if he didn't understand the likely reaction of New Yorkers."

"This was not necessary," Townsend added. "If you needed pictures of Air Force One over a national icon, fly it over the Grand Canyon. But flying it over lower Manhattan, which to many of us is a sacred ground now where we lost thousands of Americans, I just think it wrong."

Caldera issued a statement Monday evening regarding the fly-over. "[I]t's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption," he said. "I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

President Obama was reportedly furious after learning that a plane in his fleet was flown over the same vicinity as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

At a press conference Monday afternoon, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also criticized the flight and said had he known of the White House's plan, he would have asked that the flight not take place.

UPDATED 11:33 a.m.: President Obama said Tuesday the fly-over incident "was a mistake." "It will not happen again," the president also said.

Full story

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Count former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson among the growing chorus of prominent Republicans who want President Obama's policies to fail.

Tuesday evening Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called pressure to support Obama's policies "political correctness run amok."

Related: Jindal defends those who want Obama to fail

Thompson told CNN's John Roberts Wednesday that he agreed with some of his fellow Republicans who have said publicly they do not want the president's policies to be successful.

Watch: Thompson on American Morning

"I want his policies that I believe take us in the wrong direction to fail," Thompson told Roberts on CNN's American Morning.

"If he takes us down the road of tripling our national debt in ten years and making us vulnerable to higher interest rates and higher inflation, and things of that nature, I want all those policies not to succeed," he said.

Thompson, who made the rising cost of entitlement spending a focus of his 2008 presidential run, said he'd be happy to help Obama overhaul those programs.

"If he wants to do that, I will join with him. I'll do everything I can to make him succeed with regard to that because that's the whole ball game in terms of our fiscal future in this country," said the former Tennessee senator.

Thompson criticized Obama's ambitious health care agenda, telling Roberts the president's plans would cost the government more than they would save.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– One of the three moderate Republican senators who voted in favor of the stimulus package says he's aware of the political danger he's putting himself in.

"I understand the peril, but I didn't run for the United States Senate to further my own political interests," Sen. Arlen Specter said on CNN's American Morning. "I think when you have a decision like the one that we're facing now, there's only one way to respond, and that's to respond with action."

Specter and Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine were the only Republicans to back the $838 billion bill that passed the Senate yesterday. All three senators were involved in cutting spending proposals from the original plan crafted by Democrats, and all three have said they may not vote for the final version of the bill if more spending projects are added to the legislation by House Democrats.

"If somebody else in the Republican Party had stepped up to do the negotiations, to handle it, I would have been glad to step aside," Specter told American Morning anchor John Roberts.

The five-term senator from Pennsylvania said that with the economy facing a possible catastrophe, "the only responsible thing to do is to support the package. And bear in mind, the Republican moderates' program got $110 billion cut. We got the backing of the United States Chamber of Commerce, which is a very conservative Republican organization. They know the economy better than perhaps anybody, because they're in touch with so many thousands of businesses and they say the economy requires it."

Neither Collins or Snowe face re-election in 2010, but Specter does. He faced a bruising primary battle in 2004 against then-Republican Rep. Pat Toomey, a fiscal conservative.

The National Republican Trust PAC, an influential conservative political action committee, is pledging to support primary challengers to any Republican senator who supports stimulus package backed by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats - the latest public show of dissatisfaction from the right over the massive measure before Congress.

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(CNN) – Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said the so-called Bradley effect could cost Barack Obama several battleground states— and possibly the presidency.

Watch: Willie Brown on the Bradley effect

The political phenomenon that has afflicted some African-American politicians is mostly closely associated with the failed gubernatorial hopes of Tom Bradley, who was mayor of Los Angeles in 1982 when he ran for California’s highest political office. In the 1980s and early 1990s, polls in statewide or other high-profile races in which a white candidate was running against a black candidate typically overestimated the share of the vote that the black candidate ultimately received.

Because this affected black candidates like Tom Bradley in California, Douglas Wilder in Virginia, and David Dinkins in New York City, this has variously been known as the "Bradley effect," the "Wilder effect," or the "Dinkins effect." In the past 15 years or so, there is no indication that this phenomenon has been a factor in statewide races — but no national test, since Obama is the first African-American candidate with a legitimate chance at the White House.

Race “is still a problem in this country,” Brown told American Morning’s John Roberts. “It goes away when there are other troubles that are more challenging and right now, whether or not we survive in the economy is more challenging. But race could rear its ugly head. I just hope it doesn’t before November 4.”

Brown also said there’s “absolutely” a possibility that support for Obama is being overestimated in polls - and that race may cost Obama 4 or 5 percentage points in key states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia.

(CNN) – Lynn Forester de Rothschild, once a prominent supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s bid for president who has switched her allegiance to Sen. John McCain, is pushing back on attempts by some Democrats to “play the class card” against her.

Watch: Rothschild makes McCain's case

De Rothschild, the wife of a scion of the British Rothschild family that made its fortune in private banking, is standing by her charge that it is Sen. Barack Obama who is the elitist. “An elitist is someone whose state of mind is that they’re better than the rest of us,” Rothschild told CNN’s John Roberts on American Morning Thursday. “As president, he will be very full of himself. That is elitist, ok. To be privileged is not elitist.”

Rothschild pointed to her middle-class origins in response to Democratic charges that she is an elitist. “I am a girl from New Jersey. A middle-class family. My father worked two jobs. Four kids went to college, law school. I earned a good part of the fortune that we have,” she said.

De Rothschild, a lawyer and entrepreneur who made a reported $100 million in telecommunications before she met Sir Evelyn Rothschild, was a prolific fundraiser for Sen. Clinton. On American Morning, she defended McCain’s record on equal pay for women, an issue the Obama campaign highlighted on the same day de Rothschild announced her endorsement of McCain.

“Trying to tag John McCain as ‘not good for women’ is just insane,” de Rothschild said Wednesday. She also told Roberts that McCain has “a record” of taking on special interests, bipartisanship, leadership, and making tough decisions while Obama only has “rhetoric” on all of those points.

(CNN) – Sure, the national polls are fun to look at - but as any political junkie will tell you, they’re only a broad-brush snapshot of voter sentiment. We don’t choose a president based on a national vote (much to Al Gore’s chagrin). It’s all about the state-by-state battle for the Electoral College. There are 50 states in the union, but at present CNN Politics lists only 8 as tossups: Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, New Hampshire, Colorado and Nevada. Those are the states that will decide the election, and within those states, a small slice of voters will likely turn the tide.

New CNN/Opinion Research Corporation polls just out give us a snapshot of four of those states. In Michigan, polls suggest Obama has a 4 point edge with 49 percent of voter preference. In New Hampshire, he has a 6 point advantage at 51 percent, while McCain has a 4 point edge in Virginia and 5 point advantage in Missouri, with 50 percent of the vote in both states. So if the election were held today, Obama would claim 21 electoral votes, McCain 24 and put the national count at 264 – 213 in favor of Obama, with four states still up for grabs.

There are some commonalities between the states in terms of issues, but each also has its own signature concerns. And here’s where you come in. Every day for the next 8 days on American Morning, we’re going to take a state-specific look at the issues affecting voters in the battlegrounds. We’ll be joined by radio talk show hosts from each swing state – people with their fingers on the pulse of the electorate – and let them field questions of importance to our viewers.

So here’s where you come in. If you live in the battlegrounds, e-mail us about the issue that affects you most. Go to www.cnn.com/AM and follow the links to submit your question. To help us sift through them all, please put your state at the beginning in the “message” box.

So – calling all voters in the battlegrounds! This is your latest chance to be heard on CNN — part of our continuing commitment to bring you the information you need to make an informed choice on November 4.

(CNN) – Even though the high turnout among young voters may be getting a lot of attention this primary season, senior citizens also have strong feelings about the long, tight nomination race between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

In this clip from American Morning, watch Jean Weiss, an Obama supporter made famous by Obama’s offer to make her his No. 2 on the Democratic ticket, as she faces off against Clinton supporter Margaret O’Brien.

(CNN) - The Internet has been abuzz since Sen. Barack Obama gave his concession speech Tuesday after losing the Pennsylvania Democratic primary to rival Sen. Hillary Clinton.  But, all  the talk hasn't been about anything said by Obama.  Instead, the attention has been focused on the three young men who were behind Obama wearing Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts.

Watch John Roberts and Kyra Phillips interview "the Abercrombie guys" in this clip from American Morning.

Related video: Watch Jeanne Moos's Aber-Obama and Fitch

(CNN) - Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson touted his own foreign policy experience Thursday morning while diminishing that of his democratic rivals.

“I’m the one that is the most consistent,” says Richardson. The Iraq war “is the fundamental issue here in Iowa and so all of these candidates are now shifting to my position.”

Watch the entire interview with American Morning’s John Roberts.

–CNN's Emily Sherman

Watch Mark Halperin discuss the presidential candidates with American Morning's John Roberts.

(CNN) - As we head into the holiday season, Time Magazine political analyst Mark Halperin has a few suggested additions for the wish lists of the top presidential contenders.

With Republicans, fellow Democrats and certain segments of the media all coming after New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Halperin thinks she should wish for a “suit of armor.”

“She’s the most likely next president of the United States, but she needs a hard shell for the next few weeks,” said Halperin in an interview with CNN’s John Roberts.

Halperin went on to say that Sen. Barack Obama needs “magic fairy dust” for a victory in one of the next Democratic debates in order to show voters that he is a better candidate than Sen. Clinton. As for John Edwards, he needs to hope that Sens. Clinton and Obama “knock each other out” in order for him to sneak up and win the nomination.

Halperin recommended a puppy for Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. “When the times get tough….he wants people to think of him as a soft and cuddly guy,” said Halperin. Lastly, Halperin suggested that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee should wish for “hard cash” in order to maintain a competitive edge against “guys with tens of millions dollars.”

– CNN’s Emily Sherman

Watch former Ambassador Wilson's interview with John Roberts.

(CNN) - The revelation by a former White House spokesman that President Bush and Vice President Cheney were "involved" in the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson's identity shows how the White House "closed ranks" to protect themselves, her husband, Joe Wilson, said Wednesday.

The information - from an upcoming book by Scott McClellan - also shows how important it was to the administration to commute the sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Wilson said on CNN's "American Morning."

"I think it now makes it very clear the extent to which the vice president was involved, which, of course, then makes it very clear how important to the vice president the commutation of Mr. Libby's sentence was," the former U.S. ambassador said.

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Fran Townsend spoke with John Roberts Tuesday on CNN's American Morning.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend warned Tuesday that terrorists could launch an attack against the U.S. in 2008, and noted that the Bush administration is already putting in place a plan to ensure there is a smooth transfer of power following the elections.

Townsend told CNN’s John Roberts that there is no “specific threat” the U.S. has picked up, but noted there were attacks in Spain and England around elections in those countries.

“We know that Al Qaeda views these periods as being a particularly vulnerable period,” she said on CNN’s ‘American Morning.’ “We don't have any specific information, but given our experience and what we know, I believe we've got a real obligation to prepare for that transition between the election and the inauguration in a special way.”

Townsend offered this warning as she prepares to leave her job counseling President Bush on homeland security matters.

Related video: Watch Townsend in The Situation Room Monday

– CNN’s Emily Sherman