Michelle Obama's stock is on the rise as more Americans approve of how she is handling her role as first lady.

Washington (CNN) - Michelle Obama's stock is on the rise as more Americans approve of how she is handling her role as first lady now than they did 10 months ago, according to a new Marist College Poll.

The survey shows that 57 percent of registered voters approve of Obama's performance as first lady, up 7 points from a Marist poll conducted in March. Twenty-four percent said it has been fair, while 10 percent thought she is doing a poor job.

But Obama is not viewed as a transformative first lady. Only 37 percent said she has changed the role for the better, while 46 responded she has done nothing to change it. Another 10 percent said Obama has changed it for the worse, while 7 percent were unsure.

The poll of 858 registered voters was conducted on December 2, 3 and 7. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

Washington (CNN) - Health care reform is a signature issue for Democrats, but the attempt to overhaul the nation's health system has pitted liberals against centrists, exposing fissures 11 months before the 2010 midterm elections.

A year ago Democrats were united in victory after winning back the White House and picking up additional seats in Congress. But with victory comes expectations that are accentuated when a party controls both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

For Democrats, it is the party's political base - voters who turned out in 2008 to help elect Barack Obama president and boost the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate - which is demanding results.

Simply by the numbers, the health care overhaul should easily pass Congress. Democrats comfortably control the House of Representatives, and with the assistance of two Democratic-allied independents have the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

Related video: Will health care deal hold?

Except it is not about numbers on health care. It is about differences in ideology on the public option and abortion that has slowed down the bill.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley won the Democratic nomination and Sen. Scott Brown won the Republican nod Tuesday night in a special primary election to narrow the field of candidates vying to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

(CNN) – Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley won the Democratic nomination and Sen. Scott Brown won the Republican nod Tuesday night in a special primary election to narrow the field of candidates vying to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Top Republicans and Democrats congratulated the respective winners of the seat long occupied by Kennedy, a fixture in national politics who established himself as one of the most powerful lawmakers to serve in the Senate.
Coakley's Twitter account claimed victory shortly after polls closed Tuesday. "We did it! Thank you for your support!" On her Web site, Coakley released a statement to Massachusetts voters.

"You helped me convince the voters to send a different kind of leader to Washington, one who can see all the possibilities and who will get to work on those problems that have seemed impossible to change," she said.

Full story

Massachusetts voters head to the polls Tuesday to narrow the field of candidates vying to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

(CNN) - Massachusetts voters head to the polls Tuesday to narrow the field of candidates vying to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, a fixture in national politics who established himself as one of the most powerful lawmakers to serve in the Senate.

Four Democrats are battling for their party's nomination, while two Republicans are competing for the GOP nod in a special primary election. The general election to fill the remaining two years of Kennedy's six-year term will take place on January 19, 2010.

Attention in the race has focused primarily on the Democratic nomination, which features a congressman, state attorney general, professional basketball team owner and a nonprofit executive.

Full story

Sen. Joe Lieberman is coming under fire for his opposition to a public option as part of health care reform.

Washington (CNN) - Sen. Joe Lieberman is under fire from a liberal political organization, which is airing a new television commercial this week critical of the Independent's opposition to a public option as part of health care reform.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is airing a 30-second ad on stations in Connecticut and the nation's capital in an effort to "pressure" Lieberman to vote for the public option in the Senate health care bill. Lieberman has repeatedly stated he does not support the idea.

The initial ad buy is for $40,000 to air the commercial on broadcast channels in Connecticut and cable outlets in Washington, DC. A fundraising email will be sent this morning asking people to donate money to help keep it on the air. Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said previous fundraising solicitations to pay for commercials aimed at Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, and Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, "easily passed $100,000."

Follow Mark Preston: on Twitter: @prestoncnn

Clyburn said the presidential nominating process needs to be 'improved'.

Washington (CNN) - National Democrats are considering changing the presidential nominating process, by establishing a new primary calendar and deemphasizing the influence lawmakers and political insiders have on choosing the party nominee.

The battle for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination was marred by controversy as the Democratic National Committee argued with some state parties over when they could hold their primaries and caucuses and candidates were forced to take sides in this important internal party dispute.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, said that the 2008 nomination contest "yielded a great candidate," but readily acknowledged the problems that arose.

"We need to improve a little bit in spite of the fact that we got a great candidate out of the process," Clyburn said Saturday at a meeting of a DNC working group tasked with drafting a new plan. "It was not very comfortable at various points along the way."

Democrats see an opening to change the system now, because this is "a rare cycle of no apparent Democratic presidential nomination challenge" in 2012 as President Obama is expected to seek a second term, according to the "Draft Report of the Democratic Change Commission," discussed at the meeting.

Commission members, who range from lawmakers and grassroots activists to President Obama's campaign manager, are charged with putting forth recommendations to help expand the Democratic base and increase more ethnic and regional diversity in choosing the party's presidential nominee in 2016 and beyond, assuming Obama seeks a second term.

A commission suggestion would be to allow the first four states that held nominating contests in the January 2008 maintain their early, privileged calendar positions. But these states - Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina - would be directed to delay holding their caucuses and primaries before February 1. All other states would be forbidden from holding their nominating contests until at least the first Tuesday in March.

Another recommendation in the report suggested grouping states by "region or sub-region."

"This would not be a mandatory obligation upon the state parties," the commission stated. "The commission recommends that these clusters be staggered throughout the window to allow for a deliberative process that benefits all voters and caucus-goers through the country."

States parties that abided by the DNC's calendar would be rewarded by getting special perks at the national nominating convention.

The commission also discussed how to reduce the influence of unpledged delegates – lawmakers and party insiders also know as superdelegates – who played a big role in the 2008 nomination contest.

"Unpledged delegates constituted 19% of the total convention and the presidential candidates were compelled to spend a substantial amount of candidate time and other resources to seek the support of these automatic delegates," the commission stated. "We learned that in a closely contested presidential race, the nomination could be decided by this category of delegates."

No formal solution dealing with superdelegates was arrived at Saturday and the commission will draft a plan to reduce their numbers in the coming weeks.

"The DNC must address the perception that there are too many unpledged delegates and those delegates could potentially overturn the will of the people, as determined by the state contests," the commission stated.

The commission is expected to vote on its final recommendations before December 18. The recommendations will then be sent to the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee for further debate and discussion.

Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said he had no problem with reducing the number of superdelegates as long as state party chairs and vice chairs maintained their status and party leaders continued to play a role at the conventions.

But Brewer took exception to the idea of allowing four states to be granted a special exemption to hold their primaries before other states.

"From the perspective of Michigan and other states, it is unfair that any state have a permanent place at the top of the process," said Brewer, who attended the meeting but is not a commission member. "It is unfair to give any states or state a monopoly."

The Republican National Committee is also looking at how its party chooses its presidential nominee, and the DNC expressed interest Saturday in working with its political rival on a nomination calendar.

Harry Reid is up for re-election in 2010.

Washington (CNN) – A new poll indicates that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, continues to trail two potential Republican rivals, less than one year before the 2010 elections.

Former Nevada Republican Party Chair Sue Lowden holds a 10-point lead over Reid, while businessman Danny Tarkanian has a six-point advantage over the Democratic senator, according to the Mason-Dixon Polling & Research survey conducted on behalf of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The poll was published in Friday's newspaper.

The survey also indicates that Reid's favorable/unfavorable rating was upside down: 38 percent favorable, 49 percent unfavorable, with 13 percent not expressing an opinion.

This is the third Mason-Dixon poll in five months that suggests the Democratic senator in trouble of winning re-election to a fifth term. Reid, who was first elected to the Senate in 1986, has pledged to spend up to $25 million to stay in office.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal/Mason Dixon poll was conducted November 30-December 2, with 625 registered voters in Nevada questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The Tennessee Republican said his 22-year-old daughter, Julia, stopped the family's 2005 Chevy Tahoe not far from their apartment - just nine blocks from the U.S. Capitol building - to help someone she thought needed directions.

"A gentleman appeared, opened the door, grabbed her by the neck," the senator said. "She kicked to try to get away ... and he threw her on the pavement and drove away."

Corker credited the vehicle's OnStar system with helping to locate it, and the suspects were taken into custody a short time later in a parking lot in Seat Pleasant, Maryland.

"It's pretty incredible how quickly they were able to apprehend" the suspects, the senator said. The two people in the car were taken into custody by police in Seat Pleasant after OnStar determined their exact location and showed that the vehicle was not moving, Corker explained.

The Seat Pleasant authorities were notified by OnStar that the stolen car was in their jurisdiction, and were provided the description and tag number of the vehicle, Seat Pleasant Police Sgt. Leroy Patterson told CNN.

"The officers just searched and they saw a vehicle matching that description," Patterson said, adding that the two suspects were taken to a Maryland station to be interviewed by Metropolitan Police detectives. The Metropolitan department "will handle the actual charges, because the incident happened in Washington, D.C.," Patterson explained.

The senator praised the work of the Metropolitan Police the U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI and the Seat Pleasant Police.

He also admitted that he often thought about canceling the OnStar service subscription.

"I was telling the lady who handles that for me in Chattanooga, each month I was saying, 'I don't want to pay this, I don't want to pay this,'" Corker said, adding that it was a nominal fee.

But he kept the service, "thinking that maybe OnStar would be of some help" someday, Corker said.
"Certainly it paid off tremendously last night," he said.

Updated: 5:10 p.m.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestonCNN

–CNN's Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

The Republican National Committee will begin airing ads in Pennsylvania Thursday.

Washington (CNN) -- The Republican National Committee will begin running radio ads in parts of Pennsylvania Thursday, a day before President Obama heads to Allentown to make remarks on the economy.

The 60-second ads will run for two days, an RNC official tells CNN. The committee is expected to announce the radio ads soon.

"Earlier this year, President Obama and Arlen Specter passed a $787 billion stimulus package that has created more growth in government instead of creating jobs for Pennsylvanian families," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement that will accompany the news advisory announcing the buy. "Nearly 11 months after their big-government spending experiment, unemployment in Pennsylvania has only continued to rise. President Obama and Arlen Specter spent $787 billion in taxpayers' money, and have nothing to show for it. To make matters worse, they want a second stimulus. As President Obama and Washington bureaucrats roll into Allentown, they need to tell Pennsylvania families why the economy has gone from bad to worse under their watch."

The president is holding a jobs forum at the White House on Thursday, where he will meet with representatives from the business and financial industries as well as labor unions. Friday to president heads to Allentown, the first stop of what the Administration terms a "White House to Main Street" tour that will take Obama to cities and towns across the country.

See full script after the jump.

Full script:

"STIMULUS II"

MALE: Did you hear President Obama is in the Lehigh Valley…..

FEMALE: Yep. It's a Stimulus Summit.

MALE: Stimulus Summit?

FEMALE: Yep. Obama's gonna have another Stimulus Plan.

MALE: Wait a minute……

FEMALE: Uh huh?

MALE: Hold on….I'm looking it up….

FEMALE: Looking up what?

MALE: Stimulus. The definition of the word stimulus.

FEMALE: And it says?

MALE: That which stimulates. As in….

FEMALE: Stimulates the economy.

MALE: Right…..but the Obama-Pelosi stimulus plan DIDN'T stimulate the economy.

FEMALE: Nope. Unemployment has actually GONE UP twenty five percent since then.

MALE: Nearly a trillion dollars…and still we're going in the wrong direction.

FEMALE: A trillion dollars here…a trillion dollars there….

MALE: Pretty soon you're talking about real money….

FEMALE: A lot of money. But half a million people in Pennsylvania still out of work….

MALE: Half a million?

FEMALE: Yep….and yet President Obama and Arlen Specter still defend a bad idea….

MALE: Hey, if you see President Obama around town…..

FEMALE: Let's tell him one stimulus plan was too many.

Announcer: The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. Paid for by the Republican National Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee

Sen. McCain makes a plea to voters in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota in a taped phone message.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, is asking residents of Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota to pressure their senators to support a legislative move that would effectively end Senate Democrats' efforts to pass a health care reform bill this year.

McCain began making the plea Wednesday in a taped message that was sent to home telephones in each state. When a person picks up the telephone, McCain is heard asking the listener to support an amendment that would send the health care reform legislation back to the Finance Committee.

The calls specifically target five Democratic senators: Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Lincoln, Bennet and Dorgan are all facing re-election in 2010.

Lincoln and Dorgan are facing re-election in 2010. Bennet, who was appointed to his seat, is running for his own six-year term next year.

Listen: McCain's call to Arkansas voters

Amber Marchand, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the calls are specifically "targeting independent voters" and that they "will run for a few days." The NRSC is paying for this telephone campaign.

Full transcript of Arkansas call below:

Hi.

This is Sen. John McCain. On Monday, I introduced the first Republican amendment to the massive health care bill, which would send the bill back to the Finance Committee and stop the Democrats from cutting $500 billion of vital Medicare coverage for our seniors.

I need Sen. Blanche Lincoln to join me in this effort. If you want to keep Medicare from getting cut, please go to our website at: www.healthcaretaskforce.org and sign a petition to Sen. Lincoln urging her to join my effort to fight a Washington D.C. government takeover of your health care.

Thank you for your time.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

Washington (CNN) - Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, just released the 2010 schedule for the House.

The "targeted adjournment" date is Oct. 8, less than one month before the midterm elections.

See full schedule here.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

Washington (CNN) - Tennessee Democratic Rep. John Tanner, a leading centrist voice in the House, will retire at the close of the 111th Congress.

Tanner is a founding member of the so-called "Blue Dogs," a group of House Democrats who promote centrist policies.

See full statement after the jump

Statement released by Tanner's office:

"Other than wearing the military uniform of my country, I can think of no higher privilege than serving in public office with the consent of free men and women. Betty Ann and I have been honored and humbled by the support granted us through the years. The many kindnesses and friendships extended to us are something we cherish and for which we will be forever grateful.

"When we were first elected to Congress some 21 years ago, I agreed, as I do now, with our predecessor, Ed Jones, that 20 years was an appropriate amount of time to serve, with the voters' consent.

"Betty Ann and I had considered retiring in 2007 at the end of the 110th Congress, were it not for the fact that our nation had the chance to elect an American as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly at this critical moment in the war in Afghanistan. However, we believed we owed it to our country to stay and fulfill this term of office as NATO PA President. This mandate expires in November 2010, and therefore, we have made the decision not to seek re-election to Congress.

"No one could have asked for a more dedicated staff to help countless thousands of our constituents. Long hours, nights and weekends are not uncommon in our offices. We look forward to continuing this service to the 8th District next year through the end of the 111th Congress.

"Our nation faces many severe and unrelenting problems. I will stay active on these matters and continue my efforts with the Blue Dogs and others of good will to help our citizens come together for the future of our children and grandchildren.

"No road in public life is travelled alone. Betty Ann and our children have sacrificed much over these years, and for them and for me, we say a simple and heartfelt 'thank you.' It has truly been our friends and supporters who have made this journey possible."

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

The Congressional Black Caucus says the couple who allegedly crashed the White House state dinner last week also crashed an exclusive reception for the foundation in September.

Washington (CNN) – Alleged White House party crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi attended an exclusive reception for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in September, but were asked to leave when it was discovered they did not have tickets for the event, a foundation spokesman said Tuesday.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama also attended that fundraising dinner, but foundation spokesman Lance Jones emphasized that "at no time did Mr. and Mrs. Salahi have access to President Obama and Mrs. Obama."

The Salahis attended Obama's first official state dinner last week for visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but White House officials said they were not invited. Officials say they got into the event due to a breach in security.

The couple has publicly said they did not "party-crash" the state dinner and were cooperating with a Secret Service investigation into the matter.

Jones said that at the CBC foundation's fundraiser two months ago, he saw the Salahis at the pre-dinner reception, and later in the evening was informed that the couple was seated at a table without tickets. The table was in the event's "Gold Section," where tables sell for $20,000 each.

"At that time, I went to grab a few security personnel, who were not Secret Service," Jones said. "We walked with (security) to the table and just tried to sort everything out. When we realized they did not have tickets, the security personnel escorted them out."

Jones said the couple "tried to give off the image that they belonged there, but I could tell they seemed a bit out of sorts."

Jones said he told the security officers - who were employed by the foundation - to escort the couple from the dinner, but he did not personally witness the Salahis leaving the room.

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, the Salahis denied Jones' assertion that they were uninvited guests at the fundraising dinner. The couple said they were invited by a law firm to attend the event.

"Yes, we were invited," Tareq Salahi told NBC's Matt Lauer. "This is the first time I've ever heard, you know, another false accusation against my wife and I saying that we weren't invited there. We were invited there by the Gardner Law Group. We were a guest of theirs, proud guest of theirs. And no, were we escorted out? Of course not. That's another gossip rumor."

Jones said the foundation has no record of the law firm purchasing tickets to the fundraiser.

When the pre-dinner reception at the fundraiser ended, the "Secret Service began ushering people inside the hall for the dinner," Jones said.

"From what I hear, they (the Salahis) were turned away from the dining hall itself because they did not have the actual tickets," Jones said. "From there it is coming out that they had apparently gone through the kitchen area to get into the Phoenix Awards Dinner."

The spokesman added that in the weeks leading up to the September fundraising dinner, the Bravo television network had requested a table for free, which the foundation declined to provide.

"Bravo had been contacting us, trying to secure a table for free, because I think they were going to try and film the 'Real Housewives' in the dinner," Jones said.

Bravo later told the foundation that it had "secured two tickets to the chairman's reception" that takes place before the dinner, Jones said.

Bravo previously acknowledged that Michaele Salahi is being considered as a cast member for the series "The Real Housewives of D.C."

– CNN's Bob Kovach and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

Washington (CNN) - Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to leave the Republican Party in April handed President Obama a key vote in the Senate, and Specter was rewarded by quickly being endorsed by the president and Democratic leaders in his bid for re-election next year.

But not every Democrat got in line behind Obama.

In Kentucky, GOP leaders spent the first half of the year hoping that Sen. Jim Bunning would retire, thereby allowing a more popular Republican to run and giving the GOP a better chance to hold onto the seat.

For months, Bunning refused to say he was retiring, but by midsummer the Hall of Fame baseball pitcher relented and provided Republican leaders an opening to rally around the candidacy of Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson.

But not every Republican got in line behind the GOP establishment.

Primaries are complicating matters for Democratic and Republican Senate leaders, who would prefer to focus all of their attention on the 2010 general election, not internal battles for party nominations. Republicans have more primaries to sort out than Democrats next year, but Democrats have their own set of issues to address in the midterm elections.

Full story

A new $2 million  ad campaign is targeting lawmakers in nine states.

Washington (CNN) – Lawmakers in nine states will be targeted in a new $2 million television ad campaign paid for by an organization opposed to the Democratic Party's approach to health care reform.

The 60 Plus Association will begin running commercials Wednesday in Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, the organization announced Tuesday. These nine states are either represented by centrist Democrats and Republicans or have sizable senior populations.

The 30 second ad focuses on cuts to Medicare in the Democratic bill being considered in the Senate.

The organization sends a blunt political message to the lawmakers in the commercial warning them that if they vote for the legislation, "Seniors will not forget."

The Republican National Committee will announce Monday that veteran political strategist Alex Castellanos will assume a senior communications role at the committee.

Washington (CNN) - The Republican National Committee will announce Monday that veteran political strategist Alex Castellanos will assume a senior communications role at the committee, an RNC official tells CNN.

Earlier in the day, RNC Chairman Michael Steele revealed that communications director Trevor Francis was leaving his post.

Castellanos will not be filling Francis' old position but, rather, will be acting as an adviser to the RNC.

Castellanos is a CNN contributor, but the network learned independently of his new role at the RNC.

"Now the RNC has a new focus and direction - the 2010 elections," Castellanos said when reached by telephone. "And I am happy to help."

In 2008, Castellanos was a key member of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign team. He will work with the committee through the 2010 elections.

Updated: 8:16 p.m.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee will target a handful of centrist Democrats on Monday with a new Web video and series of conference calls criticizing the Democrats for voting to allow debate to begin on health care reform.

The 60-second video, which will be e-mailed to more than 5 million people, singles out Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, according to an advance copy of the video provided to CNN.

"Rolled by pressure from Barack Obama and Harry Reid, they voted to move forward a government-run health care bill our nation does not want and can't afford," an announcer says before ticking off criticism of each lawmaker.

Reid persuaded all 58 Democrats and the two independent senators who align themselves with the Democrats to vote Saturday evening in favor of allowing debate on the Democratic health care bill to move forward.

"On Saturday night, a number of moderate Senate Democrats sacrificed their principles to bring America dangerously closer to government-run health care." RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement received by CNN that will be released Monday. "Ben Nelson sold out his conscience and voted in favor of federally funded abortions. Blanche Lincoln sold out her principles by voting in favor of a government-run insurance plan, something she previously said she opposed. And Mary Landrieu simply sold her vote to the highest bidder after Harry Reid added a $300 million earmark just for Louisiana.

"Voters elected these senators to represent their best interests. Instead they voted in the dead of night for a health care experiment that will increase taxes, raise premiums, cut Medicare, and use taxpayer dollars to fund abortion. This is not the representation Americans deserve. It's time for these senators to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves who they really work for - their constituents or liberal Democrats like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi."

With senators returning home for the Thanksgiving recess, GOP officials in Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska and Pennsylvania also will hold conference calls with state and national reporters to echo Steele's criticism.

Washington (CNN) – Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kansas, will not run for re-election next year, a senior Democratic aide confirms to CNN.

Moore was first elected in 1998 and easily won a sixth term in 2008 after being targeted for defeat early in his career by the Republican Party.

The Kansas City Star was the first to report Monday the congressman's decision not to seek a seventh term.

CNN has left a message with Moore's office seeking comment.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee will target a
handful of centrist Democrats on Monday with a new Web video and series of
conference calls criticizing the Democrats for voting to allow debate to begin
on health care reform.

The 60-second video, which will be e-mailed to more than 5 million
people, singles out Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota,
Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of
Nebraska, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, according to
an advance copy of the video provided to CNN.

"Rolled by pressure from Barack Obama and Harry Reid, they voted to move
forward a government-run health care bill our nation does not want and can't
afford," an announcer says before ticking off criticism of each lawmaker.
Reid persuaded all 58 Democrats and the two independent senators who
align themselves with the Democrats to vote Saturday evening in favor of
allowing debate on the Democratic health care bill to move forward.

"On Saturday night, a number of moderate Senate Democrats sacrificed
their principles to bring America dangerously closer to government-run health
care." RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement received by CNN that
will be released Monday. "Ben Nelson sold out his conscience and voted in favor
of federally funded abortions. Blanche Lincoln sold out her principles by
voting in favor of a government-run insurance plan, something she previously
said she opposed. And Mary Landrieu simply sold her vote to the highest bidder
after Harry Reid added a $300 million earmark just for Louisiana. Voters
elected these senators to represent their best interests. Instead they voted in
the dead of night for a health care experiment that will increase taxes, raise
premiums, cut Medicare, and use taxpayer dollars to fund abortion. This is not
the representation Americans deserve. It's time for these senators to take a
long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves who they really work for –
their constituents or liberal Democrats like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi."

With senators returning home for the Thanksgiving recess, GOP officials
in Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska and Pennsylvania also will hold conference
calls with state and national reporters to echo Steele's criticism.

Barbour hopes Hutchison stays in Senate.

Cedar Creek, Texas (CNN)– Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Thursday that he hopes Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison remains in the Senate and acknowledged that he has spoken with her about challenging Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP primary.

Barbour, head of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), would not elaborate on his conversation with Hutchison, but did say he personally hopes Perry wins another term.

"I would just hate to lose Kay Bailey in the Senate," Barbour said at a news conference during the RGA's annual meeting. "She has been a great senator. I would just hate to lose a great senator like that when we have a fine governor."

Barbour did note that the RGA, which is the campaign arm for GOP governors, would not be taking a side in the primary. Still, this week's conference is being held in Perry's home state and he has played a prominent role as host of the event.

Cedar Creek, Texas (CNN) - Flanked by 14 of his fellow Republican governors, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour Thursday denounced Democratic efforts to reform health care and said that states will bear the financial burden if enacted.

Barbour took specific aim at a health bill recently passed by the House as well as the new legislation introduced in the Senate by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

"Sen. Reid's bill, like the House bill, guts Medicare and is a huge cost shift that will have to be borne by states," Barbour said at a news conference held during the Republican Governors Association annual meeting.

(CNN) – House Republicans are criticizing three Democrats for voting in favor of their party's health care reform bill in a new weeklong TV ad buy.

The 30-second spots are airing on cable television and target Reps. Vic Snyder of Arkansas, Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and John Spratt of South Carolina.

Ken Spain, communications director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said this early ad buy is an indication of what Democrats should expect to see in the lead up to the 2010 elections.

"Democrats are getting a taste of what next fall is going to feel like when they are going down to defeat thanks in part to the statements made by their liberal colleagues," Spain said.

(CNN) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will headline a conference call Wednesday with national reporters to criticize the Obama administration's decision to hold Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's trial in New York.

The call is being organized by the Republican National Committee.

Giuliani has been very vocal, including in an interview Sunday on CNN's State of the Union with John King, about his opposition to having the trial take place in New York.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

Washington (CNN) – The Democratic National Committee is targeting 32 House Republicans in a new radio ad campaign that criticizes them for voting against health care reform legislation earlier this month.

The commercials will begin running Tuesday and are aimed at Republicans in congressional districts that voted for President Obama in the 2008 election.

"Republicans have read this wrong politically," said DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan. "They think the political peril is in voting for reform. The political peril is in voting against reform and siding with big insurance companies instead of their neighbors."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to marshal a health care reform bill through her chamber, although not without controversy. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to bring the Senate bill to the floor soon, but the fate of health care reform remains up in the air as Democrats remain divided over issues such as a government-run insurance option and abortion.

A full list of Republicans targeted in the new DNC ad after the jump:

· California Rep. Mary Bono Mack
· California Rep. Dan Lungren
· California Rep. Elton Gallegly
· California Rep. Buck McKeon
· California Rep. David Dreier
· California Rep. Ken Calvert
· California Rep. John Campbell
· California Rep. Brian Bilbray
· Delaware Rep. Mike Castle
· Florida Rep. Bill Young
· Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
· Illinois Rep. Peter Roskam
· Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk
· Illinois Rep. Judy Biggert
· Illinois Rep. Don Manzullo
· Iowa Rep. Tom Latham
· Michigan Rep. Dave Camp
· Michigan Rep. Fred Upton
· Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers
· Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter
· Minnesota Rep. Erik Paulsen
· Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry
· New Jersey Rep. Frank LoBiondo
· New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance
· Ohio Rep. Pat Tiberi
· Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Gerlach
· Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent
· Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes
· Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf
· Washington Rep. Dave Reichert
· Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan
· Wisconsin Rep. Tom Petri

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

The Republican National Committee has instructed its insurance company to remove a provision from the committee's health insurance policy that covered elective abortion for employees.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican National Committee has instructed its insurance company to remove a provision from the committee's health insurance policy that covered elective abortion for employees.

"Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement released late Thursday. "I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled."

In a note accompanying the statement, the RNC said this type of coverage dated to 1991.
The Politico newspaper first reported the story Thursday.

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John King will host a new political show at 7 pm. ET starting early next year.

Washington (CNN) – Heading into the critical 2010 midterm elections, CNN will launch a new weekday political program that will be hosted by award winning correspondent John King.

"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity, at this busy and consequential time, to have a platform to discuss and explore the big issues of our time," King, chief national correspondent and anchor of the network's Sunday program "State of the Union," said in a statement released Thursday by CNN.

Early next year, King will move into the 7 p.m. ET time slot that was previously held by longtime CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, who announced Wednesday that he was leaving the network.

"The program will reflect what CNN is all about: straight facts from our anchors and the widest range of opinions from across the political spectrum," Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/U.S., said in the network's statement. "John has enthralled CNN viewers with his vast political knowledge, and he has spent the past year reporting from beyond the Beltway on pressing policy issues and the real people they impact. Every night, he'll share his passion and his insights about what is really going on in Washington and across America."

CNN did not announce the name of King's new program and in the statement said he would "continue to anchor 'State of the Union' until early next year."

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'Americans know real change in Washington will never happen until we end the era of permanent politicians,' Sen. Jim DeMint said in a statement.

Washington (CNN) - A handful of Republican senators have proposed a Constitutional amendment to limit the amount of time a person may serve in Congress.

Currently, there are no term limits for federal lawmakers, but Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, and several of his colleagues are advocating that service in the Senate be limited to 12 years, while lawmakers would only be allowed to serve 6 years in the House.

"Americans know real change in Washington will never happen until we end the era of permanent politicians," DeMint said in a statement released by his office. "As long as members have the chance to spend their lives in Washington, their interests will always skew toward spending taxpayer dollars to buyoff special interests, covering over corruption in the bureaucracy, fundraising, relationship building among lobbyists, and trading favors for pork – in short, amassing their own power."

Two-thirds of the House and Senate would need to approve the amendment - a stumbling block that short-circuited the idea 14 years ago. The new proposal echoes the Citizen Legislature Act, part of the original Contract with America proposed by Republicans before they won control of Congress in 1994. That measure, which would have allowed both senators and members of the House to serve just 12 years, won a majority in the Republican-controlled House in 1995, but failed because it did not meet the constitutionally-required two-thirds threshold.

"There is no question there are big obstacles in the way," said Philip Blumel, president of U.S. Term Limits, a non-partisan organization that advocates putting time restrictions in place. "It is difficult to pass a Constitutional amendment, however the goal is worthwhile and it is very important to the country. Also, if not now, when?"

This time around, proponents are not calling on lawmakers who believe in the idea to place a self-imposed term limit on themselves.

"If you are asking people to self limit, what might happen and what did happen, is that honorable politicians who made the pledge left office," while others did not, Blumel said. "The answer to the term limit supporter is not self limiting. It is the body as a whole."

DeMint, who is currently serving his first six-year term in the Senate, echoed Blumel's rational for dismissing self-imposed term limits.

"I want to be clear: demanding that reformers adopt self-imposed term limits is a recipe for self-defeat on this issue," DeMint said in Tuesday's statement. "We lost the battle for term limits after the 1994 Republican Contract with America because we forced our best advocates for reform to go home, while the big-spending career politicians waited them out. We must have term limits for all or term limits will never succeed. Only when we apply the same rules to all will we be able to enact vital bipartisan reforms."

One of the original co-sponsors of the amendment is Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who is serving her third term in the Senate, but is expected to resign her seat to focus attention on a gubernatorial bid.

A spokesman for Hutchison said it is easy to square the fact that the Texas Republican is advocating for a cap of two terms even though she is currently in the middle of her third term.

"Throughout her career she has fought for term limits and continues to do so and that is why she is cosponsoring this bill," said Hutchison spokesman Jeff Sadosky. "But until it is passed, it would do a disservice to Texas and the people of Texas to do away with the seniority she has gained unless all the states and all of the senators hold themselves to the same standard."

The two other original cosponsors of the amendment are Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas. Coburn, a first-term senator, is up for re-election to his second term in 2010, while Brownback is retiring next year after pledging to only serve two full terms in the Senate. As congressmen, both voted in favor of the GOP's Contract with America term limit proposal in 1995. Coburn, a longtime term limits supporter, retired from the House in 2000 after serving three terms based on that pledge.

'Americans know real change in Washington will never happen until we end the era of permanent politicians,' Sen. Jim DeMint said in a statement.

Washington (CNN) - A handful of Republican senators have proposed a Constitutional amendment to limit the amount of time a person may serve in Congress.

Currently, there are no term limits for federal lawmakers, but Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, and several of his colleagues are advocating that service in the Senate be limited to 12 years, while lawmakers would only be allowed to serve 6 years in the House.

"Americans know real change in Washington will never happen until we end the era of permanent politicians," DeMint said in a statement released by his office. "As long as members have the chance to spend their lives in Washington, their interests will always skew toward spending taxpayer dollars to buyoff special interests, covering over corruption in the bureaucracy, fundraising, relationship building among lobbyists, and trading favors for pork – in short, amassing their own power."

Two-thirds of the House and Senate would need to approve the amendment - a stumbling block that short-circuited the idea 14 years ago. The new proposal echoes the Citizen Legislature Act, part of the original Contract with America proposed by Republicans before they won control of Congress in 1994. That measure, which would have allowed both senators and members of the House to serve just 12 years, won a majority in the Republican-controlled House in 1995, but failed because it did not meet the constitutionally-required two-thirds threshold.

"There is no question there are big obstacles in the way," said Philip Blumel, president of U.S. Term Limits, a non-partisan organization that advocates putting time restrictions in place. "It is difficult to pass a Constitutional amendment, however the goal is worthwhile and it is very important to the country. Also, if not now, when?"

This time around, proponents are not calling on lawmakers who believe in the idea to place a self-imposed term limit on themselves.

"If you are asking people to self limit, what might happen and what did happen, is that honorable politicians who made the pledge left office," while others did not, Blumel said. "The answer to the term limit supporter is not self limiting. It is the body as a whole."

DeMint, who is currently serving his first six-year term in the Senate, echoed Blumel's rational for dismissing self-imposed term limits.

"I want to be clear: demanding that reformers adopt self-imposed term limits is a recipe for self-defeat on this issue," DeMint said in Tuesday's statement. "We lost the battle for term limits after the 1994 Republican Contract with America because we forced our best advocates for reform to go home, while the big-spending career politicians waited them out. We must have term limits for all or term limits will never succeed. Only when we apply the same rules to all will we be able to enact vital bipartisan reforms."

One of the original co-sponsors of the amendment is Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who is serving her third term in the Senate, but is expected to resign her seat to focus attention on a gubernatorial bid.

A spokesman for Hutchison said it is easy to square the fact that the Texas Republican is advocating for a cap of two terms even though she is currently in the middle of her third term.

"Throughout her career she has fought for term limits and continues to do so and that is why she is cosponsoring this bill," said Hutchison spokesman Jeff Sadosky. "But until it is passed, it would do a disservice to Texas and the people of Texas to do away with the seniority she has gained unless all the states and all of the senators hold themselves to the same standard."

The two other original cosponsors of the amendment are Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas. Coburn, a first-term senator, is up for re-election to his second term in 2010, while Brownback is retiring next year after pledging to only serve two full terms in the Senate. As congressmen, both voted in favor of the GOP's Contract with America term limit proposal in 1995. Coburn, a longtime term limits supporter, retired from the House in 2000 after serving three terms based on that pledge.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A coalition of unions, liberal interest groups and other organizations is providing air cover for 20 House Democrats who voted this past weekend in favor of the Democratic leadership's health care reform bill.

The umbrella group Health Care for America Now and one of its larger members, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, are spending $650,000 to run the ads for one week in each of the Democrats' congressional districts "thanking them for theirvote," said Jacki Schechner, spokeswoman for HCAN.

All but two of the Democrats were elected in 2006, 2008 or 2009 and several of them only won by slim margins. The two Democrats elected prior to 2006 included in this ad campaign are Rep. Tim Bishop of New York (2002) and Rep. Leonard Boswell of Iowa (1996). The National Republican Congressional Committee has already announced plans to target Democratic members over their vote in favor of the health care bill.

Schechner also said that another one of HCAN's members, Americans United for Change, will thank 10 more members in TV ads, bringing the total amount spent on this campaign to $1 million.

See the ad and the list of 20 Democrats.

View the ad here

List of the 20 Democrats in this campaign
· Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut
· Rep. Michael Arcuri of New York
· Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada
· Rep. Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire
· Rep. Mark Schauer of Michigan
· Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio
· Rep. Debbie Halvorson of Illinois
· Rep. Bill Owens of New York
· Rep. Gary Peters of Michigan
· Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona
· Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois
· Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon
· Rep. Harry Mitchell of Arizona
· Rep. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico
· Rep. Jerry McNerney of California
· Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin
· Rep. John Hall of New York
· Rep. Dan Maffei of New York
· Rep. Timothy Bishop of New York
· Rep. Leonard Boswell of Iowa

HCAN's Jacki Schechner on the new ad campaign, the Lieberman filibuster threat and the Senate fight ahead:

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Washington (CNN) – Opponents of President Obama’s approach to health care reform have outspent supporters by more than $7 million in the past 30 days in what has become the most expensive one year, single issue advocacy campaign on television in the nation’s history.

So far, more than $151 million has been spent in 2009 on TV ads by organizations promoting, opposing or simply weighing in on the health care debate, according to an exclusive analysis conducted for CNN by TNSMI-Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG).

Supporters of Obama’s approach to health care reform began airing TV commercials earlier in the year than opponents and account for $61 million, while opponents have spent $52.3 million and groups with an interest in the debate but not advocating a position have dedicated $38 million.

In the past 30 days, supporters of Obama's approach to health care reform spent nearly $12 million on TV ads while opponents countered with $19.1 million.

“We are starting to see a separation in the messaging,” said Evan Tracey, president of CMAG and CNN’s consultant on political television advertising. “Groups that are opposed to President Obama’s health care plan are starting to turn up the volume in key states to put pressure on lawmakers to vote against these bills.”

On Wednesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent a whopping $1.5 million alone to air an ad linking the depressed economy to the health care debate in cities stretching from Juneau, Alaska, to Roanoke, Virginia.

“This advertising is turning very gray in terms of the senior voters they are targeting and the mood of the electorate who are pessimistic about the economy,” said Tracey.

Americans for Stable Quality Care, a coalition of health care interest and liberal advocacy groups, spent more than $8.2 million over the past month on commercials to lead the spending in support of Obama’s approach to reform. The Chamber spent $9.7 million on TV ads, while America’s Health Insurance Plans, an association of insurers, dedicated $5.5 million to commercials during this same 30 day time period.

The House is meeting for a rare weekend session as the Democratic majority tries to pass a health care bill.

“The Chamber ad combined with a lot of weekend news coverage of the new unemployment numbers is going to be a potential one-two punch as House Democrats try to pass a health care reform bill,” Tracey said.

Tracey is referring to news Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent, the highest it has been since 1983.

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Were the 2009 elections really a referendum on President Obama?

Washington (CNN) – Victories in New Jersey and Virginia Tuesday provided a major shot in the arm for the Republican Party heading into the 2010 elections, but the Democratic losses of these two governorships should not be interpreted as a significant blow to President Obama.

While the economy and jobs were the chief concern for voters in both states, 26 percent of New Jersey residents said property taxes was also a major issue, while another 20 percent mentioned corruption, according to CNN exit polling. In a similar CNN survey taken in Virginia, health care was the most important issue for 24 percent of the voters, while 15 percent named taxes and transportation was mentioned by 7 percent.

Further proof that this election was not solely focused on Obama, 56 percent of Virginians said that the president was not a factor when it came down to their vote. In New Jersey, that number increased to 60 percent of the people who went to the polls on Tuesday.

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Full story

Washington (CNN) – Victories in New Jersey and Virginia Tuesday provided a major shot in the arm for the Republican Party heading into the 2010 elections, but the Democratic losses of these two governorships should not be interpreted as a significant blow to President Obama.

While the economy and jobs were the chief concern for voters in both states, 26 percent of New Jersey residents said property taxes was also a major issue, while another 20 percent mentioned corruption, according to CNN exit polling. In a similar CNN survey taken in Virginia, health care was the most important issue for 24 percent of the voters, while 15 percent named taxes and transportation was mentioned by 7 percent.

Further proof that this election was not solely focused on Obama, 56 percent of Virginians said that the president was not a factor when it came down to their vote. In New Jersey, that number increased to 60 percent of the people who went to the polls on Tuesday.

Perhaps this was the problem for Virginia Sen. Creigh Deeds and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.

Neither Democratic candidate was Obama; neither was a great spokesman for "change;" and Democratic strategists and grassroots activists said each candidate failed to give independents a reason to support them.

Still, in the coming days a storyline will develop that this was a referendum on Obama and his policies.

At the same time, another narrative will continue to evolve over the future of the Republican Party as grassroots conservative activists seek to increase their influence following the success of forcing the centrist Republican nominee in a New York congressional special election from the race.

Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman's loss to Democratic nominee Bill Owens was just a side note in a greater story about the beginning of a civil war between conservative activists and party leaders as the GOP seeks to rebuild after suffering devastating losses in 2008.

Two story lines, whether right or wrong, that will help shape the thinking, the strategy and the politics of Democrats and Republicans heading into the midterm elections.

Embrace Obama's agenda

The inclination by some Democrats seeking reelection next year might be to run away from Obama and chart an independent path believing that he was at least partially to blame for the defeats of Corzine and Deeds. But Democratic strategists and activists caution that this is the wrong decision to make. In order to win in 2010, these Democrats said candidates need to embrace the president and embrace his policy goals.

"You want to run as somebody who is supporting the Obama agenda, with an exception here or there, instead of being disdainful," said Steve Murphy, a consultant who works with conservative Democratic incumbents and challengers.

Jane Hamsher, founder of the liberal political blog firedoglake, noted that it is freshmen and sophomore Democrats who won by narrow margins in 2006 and 2008, who "are scared" of losing their seats in 2010.

"I would suggest that appealing to Republican interests is not the best way to turn out Democrats," Hamsher said. "It is just a fact of life. They have to turn out Democrats."

The problem does not just lie with House and Senate Democrats. It is an issue for the White House.

Obama's political operatives must decide how best to help their allies in Congress win next year. In 2008, African-Americans turned out for Obama, young people turned out for Obama and independent voters looking for "change" turned out for Obama.

"The political challenges for this White House will be to transfer this kind of political power to other candidates," said a veteran Democratic strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to draw fire from the Obama administration.

On Tuesday, the Obama magic did not rub off on Corzine or Deeds.

In New Jersey, while Corzine overwhelmingly won among African-Americans, only 14 percent of the vote was black; young people, age 18 to 29, made up 9 percent of the vote and 36 percent of them backed Republican Chris Christie. Meanwhile, 60 percent of independents supported Christie as well.

The numbers were worse for Deeds in Virginia. Ten percent of the electorate was age 18 to 29 and Republican Bob McDonnell captured 54 percent of this voting bloc. Deeds overwhelmingly carried the African-American vote that made up16 percent of people who turned out on Tuesday, while 66 percent of voters who identified themselves as independents backed McDonnell.

The White House has already played an active role in the 2010 mid-term elections and now the question is whether the Obama political operation try to devise a formula to catch lightning in a bottle once again to help Democratic allies on Capitol Hill.

GOP civil war

For the past year, the Republican Party has been without a national leader as it works to rebuild after losing the White House and House and Senate seats last year. At times, the likes of talk radio host Rush Limbaugh has helped drive the conversation, but it is the grassroots activists who have emerged as important players in the reconstruction of the GOP.

Hoffman's loss certainly doesn't help these conservatives, but it is not a fatal blow, either. The battle for these activists was with the GOP leadership, and they won by successfully pushing GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava out of the race.

It is just the beginning, said conservative leader Richard Viguerie. "We want to take the party back to a small government party," he said. "The train has left the station. The battle has been engaged."

And by engaged, Viguerie means by the non-traditional conservatives who have rallied around the Tea Party idea.

"There are new people," he said. "They are saying it is time to lock and load and go to war with these establishment Republicans."

But is an internal battle in the GOP good for the party?

Conservative columnist Matt Lewis said he thinks that these internal struggles help to strengthen the party in the long run.

"This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party," Lewis said. "Political parties ought to have vigorous primary campaigns, fight it out in the primaries over ideological battles."

Lewis predicts seeing more primary challengers emerge to take on GOP establishment candidates following a path blazed by Marco Rubio in Florida and Chuck DeVore in California.

"I happen to think when Republicans stay conservative, Republicans win," Lewis said.

Newt Gingrich endorsed Hoffman via Twitter Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who came under fire from some conservatives for endorsing Dede Scozzafava in next week's special Congressional election in New York, is now backing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.

Gingrich made the announcement via Twitter shortly after the Republican Party nominee Scozzafava announced she was releasing supporters from their commitment to back her.

"Scozzafava dropping out leaves hoffman as only anti-tax anti-pelosi vote in ny 23 Every voter opposed to tax increases support doug hoffman," Gingrich wrote on Twitter. (Tweet shown as it appeared)

Polling showed that Scozzafava was running third in this special election for what had been a traditionally safe Republican seat.

But a split among Republicans over who to support, Scozzafava or the more conservative Hoffman, opened the door for Democratic nominee Bill Owens to capture the seat.

National Republican Party officials, who had also endorsed Scozzafava, are now lining up behind Hoffman.

This new show of GOP unity will make it more difficult for Owens to win the election on Tuesday.

A source tells CNN the House GOP Chairman will endorse Doug Hoffman.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In a sign that the national Republican leadership is lining up behind Doug Hoffman, House GOP campaign Chairman Pete Sessions will endorse the Conservative Party candidate in the New York special congressional election, a senior Republican source tells CNN.

A political organization formed to promote Sarah Palin is trying to raise $41,000 to help pay for a potential appearance by the former Alaska governor next month.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A political organization formed to promote Sarah Palin is trying to raise $41,000 to help pay for a potential appearance by the former Alaska governor next month before an influential conservative group in Iowa.

Team Sarah, which has no formal ties to Palin, sent a fundraising appeal to supporters Tuesday afternoon asking them to contribute on behalf of Iowa Family Policy Center Action, which is trying to book Palin for a speech on Nov. 21. Bill Collier of Team Sarah said that IFPC Action has already raised $59,000 for the event.

"As you know, we at Team Sarah have supported efforts to raise money for Sarah Palin's PAC and for the Legal Defense Fund, but this effort will actually help her and her family directly and enable her to have resources she directly controls to take care of all the things she needs to do as she launches her national effort to restore the core values of our Conservative movement," Collier wrote in the fundraising pitch obtained by CNN.

If Palin agrees to attend the event, it would be her first appearance in Iowa since she traveled to the state as the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. Her visit to this critical presidential proving ground could be seen as a step towards a potential run for the White House in 2012.

Palin's book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," is due in bookstores on Nov. 17, and she is scheduled to appear on Oprah the day before it is released. It was revealed earlier Tuesday that Palin was paid at least $1.25 million for the book.

An official with Team Sarah said that they were asked by the Iowa Family Policy Center for help, and "agreed that such a request from a friend was a good fit for Team Sarah's membership."
On the IFPC Web site, the organization describes itself as a "non-profit organization dedicated to equipping, empowering and encouraging Iowans to build communities where families are valued and strengthened."
An IFPC spokesman said he was unable to comment about the organization's future scheduling plans. CNN has reached out to Palin's political advisors and has not yet heard back.

Hollywood to help Obama choose TV ad.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Supporters of health care reform have entered almost 1,000 videos - from shocking images of people in peril to cartoon shorts - in a Democratic Party contest in which a panel of celebrity judges, party officials and grassroots activists will pick a submission that will be turned into a new television ad.

The list has now been whittled down to 20 ads. A handful of President Obama's Hollywood allies including Will.I.Am, Rosario Dawson and Seth MacFarlane are some of the judges helping to choose the 30-second TV spot that will be paid for by Organizing for America, Obama's political arm at the Democratic National Committee.

Several of the ads promote the inclusion of a public option in the final health care reform bill, while other entries feature children speaking directly to the camera about the issue. The most graphic video, which promotes the public option, shows a highway car crash, a woman drowning and another sitting on a window ledge surrounded by fire.

Organizing for America will send an e-mail out this afternoon naming the 20 videos still in the competition.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

(CNN) – The White House and Congressional Democrats are feeling the heat from liberal Democrats, who are demanding that a federally-funded insurance program be a key component of health care reform.

An Obama administration official took to the official White House blog late Sunday evening to emphasize the president's preference for a public option and to silence any suggestions otherwise.

The White House Blog

The Public Option: Rumor Check

Posted by Dan Pfeiffer on October 25, 2009 at 08:56 PM EDT

A rumor is making the rounds that the White House and Senator Reid are pursuing different strategies on the public option. Those rumors are absolutely false.

In his September 9th address to Congress, President Obama made clear that he supports the public option because it has the potential to play an essential role in holding insurance companies accountable through choice and competition. That continues to be the President's position.

Senator Reid and his leadership team are now working to get the most effective bill possible approved by the Senate. President Obama completely supports their efforts and has full confidence they will succeed and continue the unprecedented progress that is being made in both the House and Senate.

Dan Pfeiffer is Deputy Communications Director

The White House blog posting did little to mollify Adam Green, cofounder of the liberal political advocacy organization Progressive Change Campaign Committee. Green's group is advocating for the public option and has targeted individual lawmakers with television ads in their home states urging them to support it.

"Expressing a preference for the public option is not the same as fighting for the public option," Green wrote on the blog openleft.com . "Telling Harry Reid 'good luck with that' is not the same as the president saying, 'I am there helping Reid fight for those final votes.'"

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Chris Van Hollen warned fellow Democrats that they are heading into a challenging midterm election.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen warned fellow Democrats Thursday that they are heading into a challenging midterm election, but assured them that everything is being done to head off major losses in 2010.

"Historically, we're facing a headwind this cycle with a record number of Frontline Members, a smaller playing field of challenger races, and a difficult fundraising environment," Van Hollen wrote in a six-page memo sent to House Democrats and obtained by CNN. "We've known about that challenge from the start and have been aggressively preparing for it, applying the lessons from the last two successful cycles."

Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, points to 20 Republican seats that he thinks can turn Democratic in 2010. Of those 20, Van Hollen singled out open seats in Delaware, Illinois and Pennsylvania, as well as the Louisiana seat held by GOP Rep. Joseph Cao, as "four strong pick up opportunities."

"As we discussed at the beginning of this year, after House Democrats' big wins over the past two cycles – 54 seats in some of the reddest districts in the country – our best defense this cycle is a strong offense," Van Hollen wrote.

Despite Democratic fundraising success and Van Hollen's analysis that the GOP is a damaged brand, he conceded that historical trends run against the party. "Since Abraham Lincoln's Presidency, 22 of 24 newly elected Presidents saw their party lose seats in Congress in the following midterm election," he said.

And because of the challenge facing Democrats in 2010, Van Hollen urged his colleagues to become involved in helping to preserve their majority in the House.

"We need every Member of our Caucus to pitch in," he said.

The DNC has created a new Web page and video that criticizes the industry for opposing Obama on this issue.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Democratic National Committee is targeting the health insurance industry in its latest public relations campaign to try and discredit critics of President Obama's efforts to reform the nation's health care system, a party official tells CNN.

The DNC will send supporters an email this afternoon informing them that America's Health Insurance Plans - the insurance lobbying arm - has been picked for its "Call 'em Out" campaign. The DNC has created a new Web page and video that criticizes the industry for opposing Obama on this issue.

"The lobby has invested millions trying to convince Congress to oppose reform,"
Jen O'Malley Dillon, executive director of the DNC, writes in the e-mail provided to CNN. "So this week, we're not simply debunking lies: The best way to Call 'em Out is to cut through the spin and tell our representatives to say 'no' to deceitful lobbyists and 'yes' to reform."

So far, the DNC has only targeted Republican elected officials in the month-old campaign: House Minority Leader John Boenher of Ohio, Arizona Sen. John Kyl, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. This is the first time the DNC is taking on a particular industry.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

Clinton said Monday she would not run for president again.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday she would not run for president again, and brushed off suggestions that she is being marginalized in the Obama White House.

Clinton, who lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama, said "No" three different times when asked by NBC's Ann Curry "Will you ever run for president again? Yes or No?"

"This is a great job," Clinton said in the interview broadcast Monday. "It is a 24-7 job. And I am looking forward to retirement at some point."

After the 2008 elections, Clinton accepted Obama's offer to serve as his top diplomat.

Unless she challenged President Obama in the 2012 Democratic presidential primary, Clinton would have to wait until 2016 to run again if she changed her mind. She turns 62 on October 26.

Clinton also denied that her voice is not being heard in the administration, and said it is not her style to try and be the center of attention.

"I find it absurd," she said. "I find it beyond any realistic assessment of what I am doing everyday."

"Maybe there is some misunderstanding which needs to be clarified. I believe in delegating power. You know, I am not one of these people who feel's like I have to have my face in the front of the newspaper or on the TV every moment of the day. I would be irresponsible and negligent were I to say 'Oh no everything must come to me,'" she said.

"Now, maybe that is a woman's thing. Maybe I am totally secure and feel absolutely no need to go running around in order for people to see what I am doing. It is just the way I am. My goal is to be a very positive force to implement the kind of changes that the president and I believe are in the best interests of our country. But that doesn't mean it all has to be me, me, me all the time. I like lifting people up."

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Bill Frist is the former Senate Majority Leader.

(CNN) - Bill Frist and Trent Lott were once close – "close" being a relative term in politics – but that bond was broken in the cold days of December 2002 when Lott was forced step aside and allow Frist to become majority leader. Remember Lott's comments at Sen. Strom Thurmond's birthday party?

In his 2005 autobiography "Herding Cats," Lott recounted the struggle to keep his leadership post and described Frist's decision to seek it as"a personal betrayal."

Four years later, it's Frist's turn.

Trent Lott, Kid Rock, and even the late liberal lion of Massachusetts all make an appearance in former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's new book, which is chock full of nuggets that political insiders will feast upon - including his hindsight view of the Terri Schiavo case, one of the defining moments of his political career.

I am not going to detail all the highs and lows of "A Heart To Serve," but if you are a fan of political intrigue – specifically Senate intrigue – then read on....

· The White House did not come to Lott's defense in the wake of the Thurmond comments; in fact, President Bush rebuked Lott during a speech in Philadelphia. We will never know if White House intervention would have saved Lott's job. But Frist paints a vivid picture of how he perceived the relationship between Lott and Bush following the incident.

"Alex (Frist aide Alex Vogel) described a poignant moment when he first walked through the empty, vacated offices. There in the middle of the floor was a large trash can, full of discarded paper and personal effects. Sitting atop the bin was a huge framed painting of the White House, the glass shattered in dozens of pieces."

· Lott was at a family member's vacation home in Key West as the story about his remarks at Thurmond's birthday party began to gain momentum. Frist writes that he considered heading down to Florida with his wife

"...to demonstrate our support for Trent, but decided against it, thinking it would draw too much media attention."

· Frist writes that he sent a not-so-subtle message to Sen. Rick Santorum: If they ran against each other for the majority leader position, Frist would be the one claiming the conservative banner.

"A number of our fellow senators had suggested that he run, since he was reputed to have the strongest conservative voting record. But as we were talking, Ginny (Frist aide Ginny Wolfe) pulled out a voting scorecard analyzing every vote since 1994. To my surprise, it clearly showed that I actually voted more conservatively than Rick. 'Wait a minute, Rick,' I interrupted him. 'According to the rankings I'm looking at, you are the fourteenth-most-conservative senator, and I am number eight.' Rick chuckled, but my comment sent a message to him that I was doing my homework in a tough situation, and that I hadn't ruled anything in or out just yet."

· Frist also writes that Lott was a "very good leader" who he "admired … for coming back after his resignation amidst all the controversy." But Frist also critiques Lott's leadership style.

"Trent Lott was not a visionary sort of leader who comes up with innovative transforming ideas, but he relished the political maneuvering required of an effective leader and was outstanding at it. He was by nature not a risk taker; he hesitated taking legislation to the Senate floor unless he had the support to pass it. He knew how to count votes."

· Frist also expresses frustration with Lott for his attention-grabbing tendencies.

"Trent playfully continued to command attention, a trait that may trace back to his cheerleading days at Ole Miss." Lott would show up late to a weekly GOP meeting "flicking various senators' ears as he passed behind his seated colleagues, and finally sitting at the far side of the room. This was all in good fun but sometimes a little distracting to his Senate colleagues when they were in the middle of a presentation."

· Frist writes that Lott demonstrated to him that he was the "ultimate team player" after the Mississippi senator cast the crucial 60th vote needed to ensure a Medicare bill passed - even though Lott personally opposed the legislation.

"[H]e proved himself the ultimate team player, even if he might not like every single player on the team."

Every member being Bill Frist.

As for the liberal lion from Massachusetts, Sen. Edward Kennedy – who died in August – is quoted on the back cover of the book.

"Bill Frist reminds us all in this compelling book that politics and public service are about far more than winning elections. They're about the commitment, compassion, and courage that good leaders bring to the noble causes they pursue. Bill Frist had those qualities in abundance, and the United States Senate was a better place because of him."

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President Obama is turning to a handful of Hollywood stars to judge a contest that asks grassroots supporters to create a television commercial promoting health care reform.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Obama is turning to a handful of Hollywood stars to judge a contest that asks grassroots supporters to create a television commercial promoting health care reform.

Musician Will.I.Am, actor John Cho, actress Rosario Dawson, actor Dulé Hill, "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, actor Brandon Routh, actress Kate Walsh and actress Olivia Wilde will join Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, DNC Executive Director Jen O'Malley Dillon, Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe and volunteers in helping to pick the 30-second commercial that will air nationally, a DNC official tells CNN.

The contest is being run by Obama's political arm – Organizing for America – which is housed at DNC headquarters in Washington, DC. It is the latest effort by the president's political team to try and enlist the grassroots to help pressure Congress to pass health care reform this year.

"We know that compelling videos can touch people in a way that words alone simply cannot," Natalie Foster, OFA's new media director, said in an e-mail announcing the contest last week. "The messages that regular people put together will make a bigger difference than any false smears or slick ads the other side can dream up. And who knows - your creative, powerful, or touching video could help tip the balance in favor of health reform."

OFA will officially announce the names of the judges late Wednesday morning. The contest ends October 18.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - A former Miss New Jersey-turned-veteran Nevada lawmaker announced her bid for Senate Thursday, joining a crowded primary field of Republicans hoping to defeat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2010.

Sue Lowden, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, didn't mention Reid in a statement posted on her newly-launched campaign Web site. Instead she took aim at both Republicans and Democrats in the nation's capital.

"In the past year alone, Nevada residents have lost their homes, their jobs and their retirement savings – all while Washington has drowned us with trillions of dollars of new debt," said Lowden. "And while our families have less, Washington craves more, unconcerned about the consequences. ...This isn't a partisan problem, it's a problem brought on by an unresponsive, out-of touch federal government."

Lowden and Danny Tarkanian stand out in the field of Republicans hoping to win their party's Senate nomination. Lowden has been pegged as the front-runner by Jon Ralston, Nevada's premier political analyst, who recently said she would "be seen as the favorite in the primary."

Recent polls show Reid vulnerable as he seeks a fifth term in the Senate. He is expected to spend upwards of $25 million to try and win re-election next year.

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National Democrats new TV ad is aimed at trying to convince senior citizens that Republicans are perpetuating falsehoods about President Obama's efforts to reform health care.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – National Democrats will begin airing a new TV ad Wednesday aimed at trying to convince senior citizens that Republicans are perpetuating falsehoods about President Obama's efforts to reform health care.

"Republicans are trying to scare seniors about health reform," a narrator says at the opening of the ad as pictures of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner flash on the screen.

"The truth is health reform will help seniors by enhancing their drug coverage, reducing the premiums they pay for drugs and medical care, and helping keep Medicare solvent," adds the narrator.

The Democratic National Committee is financing the 30-second spot, which will air on national cable and in Washington, DC. A DNC official would not say how much money was being spent on the ad, but described it as a "substantial buy."

The new push by the DNC to woo seniors comes as a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows that 54 percent of people age 65 and older oppose Obama's health care plan, while 41 percent favor it.

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Former Sen. Santorum, pictured here in a 2006 file photo, is headed to Iowa Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Sen. Rick Santorum will make a foray into 2012 campaign territory Thursday, when the Pennsylvania Republican heads to Iowa to deliver a sharp critique of President Obama's first nine months in office.

Santorum acknowledged interest in a possible presidential run in a Tuesday conference call with reporters, but he emphasized that his visit to the Midwest political proving ground of Iowa does not mean he is a certain candidate for the Republican nomination. Instead, Santorum said that he is using this opportunity to raise his national profile, and noted he will speak out on issues that he thinks the GOP has failed to effectively address, such as health care.

The former senator credited talk radio with helping the conservative movement regain its momentum, but added that at times it has been "pretty shrill." Santorum said it is now time for Republican leaders to start promoting solutions and policies to counter Obama's legislative agenda. And the former senator said he plans to step up and begin talking about his vision for the future.

While Santorum lost his re-election in 2006, he is still well regarded in Republican circles, particularly among social conservatives.

Former President Bill Clinton will headline a major fundraiser for the New Hampshire Democratic Party in December.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton will headline a major fundraiser for the New Hampshire Democratic Party in December, giving a little back to a state that has favored his family when it comes to politics.

Ray Buckley, chair of the state Democratic Party, announced Monday that Clinton would appear at the Dec. 2 Jefferson Jackson Dinner, a $100 per person fundraiser.

For Clinton, New Hampshire has played a key role in his family's political career. His second place showing in the New Hampshire Primary, at a time when he was battling allegations of infidelity, helped put Clinton on course to win the 1992 Democratic nomination and eventually the presidency. And it was a New Hampshire Primary victory in 2008 that breathed new life into then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination following a poor, third place showing in the Iowa caucuses.

While no longer an elected official, the former president continues to make news. In an interview this week on NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton said that he believes a "vast right wing conspiracy" still exists. "It's not as strong as it was, because America's changed demographically, but it's as virulrent as it was" during his time in the White House, Clinton said.

With an open Senate seat and an open House seat, New Hampshire is expected to be a major battleground in the 2010 congressional elections.

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The largest city in Maine is ground zero in the television advertising war over health care reform that nationally is about to reach $100 million.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The largest city in Maine is ground zero in the television advertising war over health care reform that nationally is about to reach $100 million.

Organizations seeking to influence the health care debate have spent $1.5 million this year to run more than 4,650 separate commercials on TV stations in the coastal city of Portland, according to a new analysis conducted for CNN by TNSMI-Campaign Media Analysis Group (TNSMI-CMAG).

While Maine's population is just over 1.3 million, this small state casts a big shadow in the debate over health care reform. The state's two centrist Republican senators - Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins - are top targets for both pro- and anti- health care reform groups. Snowe is a member of a small group of Senate Finance Committee members known as the "Gang of Six," who met regularly to try and craft a bipartisan health care bill. The bipartisan pressure is nothing new for Maine's senators: Snowe and Collins are regularly lobbied by Democrats to break GOP ranks to vote with them on other issues.

"Until Sen. Collins and Sen. Snowe say unequivocally they are going to vote or not going to vote for the legislation, the state of Maine will continue to see this heavy volume of health care advertising," said Evan Tracey, president of TNSMI-CMAG and CNN's consultant on political TV advertising.

In Maine, Health Care for American Now - the umbrella group for pro-Obama health care organizations such as unions and MoveOn.org - has aired 850 commercials, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has aired more than 600 TV ads opposing Obama's health care reform plan. In all, 15 different groups have run health care ads on Portland TV stations, said Tracey.

Since January, more than $99 million has been spent on health care TV ads that have run nationally and in local markets - the most money ever in this short period of time.

"The scale on health care is something we have never seen in dollars spent and the number of groups running commercials," Tracey said. "And it is only going to continue to grow."

Organizations that support President Obama's vision for health care reform have spent more than $39 million nationally, while opponents have dedicated $28 million on TV ads to try and stop his efforts. The remaining $32 million has been spent by groups that support health care reform, but have not taken a position against a particular plan, and organizations that don't support or oppose health care reform but have a cause or concern related to the issue.

Groups trying to influence the health care reform debate have also set their sights on Denver, Colorado and Little Rock, Arkansas, which ranked second and third on the list of cities that have faced a deluge of health care spots this cycle, the CMAG analysis showed. More than 4,300 health care ads have aired in Denver, while 4,250 have run in Little Rock. A handful of centrist Democrats - an ideological wing of the Democratic Party that has expressed some skepticism about Obama's plan - represent Colorado and Arkansas in Congress.

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ess than two weeks after the Tea Party Express wrapped up its cross-country trip with a rally in the nation's capital, organizers of the conservative campaign-style bus tour announced a second coast-to-coast caravan.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Less than two weeks after the Tea Party Express wrapped up its cross-country trip with a rally in the nation's capital, organizers of the conservative campaign-style bus tour announced a second coast-to-coast caravan next month.

The Our Country Deserves Better Committee, a conservative political action committee, announced Monday that it was organizing a second tour. It was scheduled to start on Oct. 25 in San Diego, California, and end on Nov. 11 in Orlando, Florida.

"If Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid thought that after 9/12 we'd just go away and give up, well then we have some bad news for them," organizers wrote in a blog item - singling out the president, Senate majority leader and House speaker - that was posted on the Tea Party Express Web site. "We're back, better than ever, and determined to TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!"

Specifically, organizers said they planned to use the second tour to "continue the fight against government-run health care, cap and trade, bailouts, out-of-control deficit spending and the growth in the size and intrusiveness of government." Cap and trade refers to government caps on emissions and trading for environmental credits.

Organizers said the second tour is meant to coincide with the one-year mark before the 2010 mid-term elections.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – The House Democratic and Republican campaign committees Friday each reported raising more than $3 million last month, but Democrats maintain a significant cash-on-hand advantage over the GOP one year before the midterm elections.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said it raised $3.3 million in August, and currently has just over $10.7 million in the bank. Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee reported collecting about $3.2 million last month, leaving it with a cash-on-hand balance of $4.2 million.

Even though the DCCC is carrying more than double the debt of the NRCC - $4.7 million to $2 million - Democrats ended the month with a stronger bank balance of more than $6 million, compared to the GOP's $2.2 million.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Senate Republicans raised more money last month than their Democratic counterparts and the GOP has more cash-on-hand 14 months before the midterm elections.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) raised nearly $3.1 million in August compared to the $2.2 million the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) collected during that same time period, the two political operations reported on Thursday. The NRSC said it has $5.1 million in the bank, while the DSCC noted it has about $6.7 million. But Democrats also reported carrying a $2.9 million debt, while the GOP stated it had no financial liabilities.

In 2010, Democrats and Republicans each have 18 Senate seats up for re-election. The GOP must defend six open seats – four that are expected to be competitive: Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio. Democrats have to defend two open seats and as of now one of those contests, Illinois, is considered competitive.

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