(CNN) – President Obama turned straight to camera for his closing remarks.

"And the message that we send in the midst of these storms must be clear: that our cause is just, our resolve unwavering."

Men and women embarking on military careers are all around him now. They are so….young.

(CNN) - President Obama on the difference between Afghanistan and Vietnam:

" … (U)nlike Vietnam, the American people were viciously attacked from Afghanistan, and remain a target for those same extremists who are plotting along its border."

(CNN) – President Obama refutes Vietnam comparisons and warns that to leave now would put the U.S. in danger of another attack on the homeland. He rejects idea of not sending any troops as an unacceptable "status quo."

The president notes that without a timetable there would be no sense of urgency on the Afghan government.

Great line: "The nation I'm most interested in building is our own."

(CNN) - The U.S. wants to be your partner not your patron.

(CNN) – Big question on "deadline." What happens if the border on the Pakistani side is not under control in 18 months? Does the U.S. still begin to leave Afghanistan?

(CNN) – President Obama doesn't have to say a word about the price of war. He can just let the cameras pan along the rows of faces in the audience.

(CNN) - Speech Goal #1: Remind people why the U.S. is in Afghanistan. Check.

McCain asks staffers to hold their fire on Palin.

Washington (CNN) – John McCain asked former campaign staffers Friday to avoid engaging in a back-and-forth over claims made by former running mate Sarah Palin in her new book, CNN has confirmed.

On a conference call with senior campaign advisers, the former Republican presidential candidate asked them to hold back from responding – telling them, in effect, that "this too shall pass," according to sources familiar with the call.

Palin's book, 'Going Rogue', slams the McCain team – particularly campaign manager Steve Schmidt and senior adviser Nicole Wallace – over the rollout plan and overall media strategy for the former vice presidential candidate. He also told staffers on the call he was sorry they were coming under fire.

On Friday, McCain conceded to the reality of the media firestorm surrounding Palin's charges against his team, and told them he understood if they felt the need to defend themselves. But the Arizona senator called for a minimalist approach, suggesting that his former aides avoid television appearances.

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

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

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

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

Related video: Palin book blitz begins

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

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

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

Palin and Wallace do agree that the Couric interview didn't go well.

"I knew it wasn't a good interview," Palin tells Oprah Winfrey, in excerpts of an interview that is scheduled to run Monday, one day before Palin's book is officially released.

In excerpts of the book, Palin also writes that she thought there was something peculiar about the way Wallace would talk about her days as White House communications director for President George W. Bush.

"I had to trust her experience, as she had dealt with national politics more than I had. But something always struck me as peculiar about the way she recalled her days in the White House, when she was speaking on behalf of President George W. Bush. She didn't have much to say that was positive about her former boss or the job in general. Whenever I wanted to give a shout-out to the White House's homeland security efforts after 9/11, we were told we couldn't do it. I didn't know if that was Nicolle's call," writes Palin, according to the excerpts.

Wallace said Palin's account is completely false.

"It's not even like it's slightly wrong. It's like I feel totally the opposite. I would never disparage the president. I adored him then and I adore him now."

Wallace seemed mystified by Palin's accounts, conceding that there were enough strategy miscalculations during the campaign that Palin "didn't have to make stuff up."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering a provision to raise payroll taxes for the wealthy as part of a health care bill, a Democratic source told CNN.

Washington (CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering a provision to raise payroll taxes for the wealthy as part of a health care bill, a Democratic source told CNN.

The Democratic source said Reid is considering an increase in the Medicare tax for individuals with income exceeding $250,000. The current Medicare deduction is 1.4 percent of income.

The idea is an alternative to the Senate Finance Committee's proposal to tax so-called "Cadillac" health insurance plans that offer broad coverage at a much higher-than-average price.

Reid is using the Finance Committee bill and another from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to forge a Senate bill expected to come before the full chamber before Thanksgiving.

However, Democrats in the Senate have been under intense pressure from unions to drop the tax on Cadillac coverage. Organized labor is a key Democratic party constituency, and many rank-and-file union workers have high-cost plans they received by scaling back pay demands at the bargaining table.

It was unclear if the Medicare payroll tax hike being considered by Reid, D-Nevada, would replace the tax on Cadillac plans in the Senate bill. Reid is expected to introduce the Senate bill in coming days.

The House has passed its own health care bill, which includes a tax surcharge on individuals making more than $500,000 a year and couples earning more than $1 million a year.

Such a tax surcharge on the wealthy is opposed by most Senators, while the Cadillac health coverage is considered unacceptable to the Democratic majority in the House.

Reid's idea would be an attempt at compromise by tying the tax increase to more revenue for the popular Medicare program.

If the Senate passes a health care bill, the two chambers would have to merge their respective measures in a conference committee and approve the final version before it could go to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

Washington (CNN) – On that unusually balmy Chicago night a year ago, the candidate who campaigned on what he called the "fierce urgency of now" became the president-elect who needed time.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term," Barack Obama told the crowd in Grant Park. And he still needs time to turn a myriad of campaign promises into policy.

The list of the undones is long, varied and mostly difficult - immigration reform, new financial market regulations and a game-changing energy bill.

Full Story

Sanford has brushed aside calls for his resignation.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford remains "defiant" in the face of calls for him to resign in the wake of his admission last week that he engaged in an extramarital affair, a close Sanford ally tells CNN.

The source, a South Carolina Republican, said Sanford showed no signs Wednesday of stepping down even as support for from longtime backers begins to slip. The GOP source, who has known the governor for decades and spoke freely about the situation on the condition of anonymity, said there are concerns among Sanford allies about his ability to lead the state, given the recent public comments about his wife and mistress.

The source said he hopes that Sanford will leave office on his own, but suggested the governor could go down fighting.

"Honestly, I think he could go down in the ugliest, messiest way," said the source, who added that he would be "shocked if [the governor] quit, because it doesn't fit his profile."

The source pointed to the governor's history of going it alone against his own party in Washington as a congressman and during his time as governor, most recently over the federal stimulus money fight.

"He has always been a guy who has stuck with what he believes in, even if everyone else is against him," the source said.

Sestak has informed supporters he plans to run for Senate.

(CNN) -- Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak has informed supporters he plans to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary, a spokesman for the congressman tells CNN.

Jonathon Dworkin, Sestak's communications director, confirmed the authenticity of a handwritten letter from Sestak - first posted on the Web site Talking Points Memo - to a supporter in which the congressman states, "I intend to run for the U.S. Senate."

Dworkin also confirms quotes from Sestak's sister to TPM stating, "He intends to get in the race,..."In the not too distant future, he will sit down with his wife and daughter to make the final decision."

Sestak’s decision to challenge Specter, who recently switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, puts the congressman at odds with Democratic congressional leaders and President Obama. The president and the congressional leaders have endorsed Specter for re-election in 2010.

Sestak will appear on CNN's The Situation Room to discuss the race at 6:45 p.m. EST.

Text of the letter:

"I am writing you as especially dear supporters to let you know I intend to run for the U.S. Senate...my candidacy's credibility will have much to do with my fundraising success by the 30 June FEC filing deadline at the end of this quarter. Would you help me bring the change for the future we Pennsylvanians need[?]"

President Obama should expect more dissention from Democratic lawmakers, says CNN's Candy Crowley.

(CNN) - As President Obama approaches the 100-day mark, he can look back on a short legislative history with near-unanimous support from fellow Democrats.

Mathematically, he is sitting pretty with overwhelming majorities in the Senate and House. But in politics, things don't always add up.

Two incidents in early January may hold big hints about the post-honeymoon period (when it happens) for the president. In early January, more than two weeks before the Obama inauguration, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid told the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill, "I do not work for Barack Obama, I work with him."

Reid also let it be known early on that unlike former Vice President Dick Cheney, Vice President Joe Biden would not be allowed to attend Senate Democratic policy lunches. Two days before the inauguration, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she wanted immediate repeal of Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and an investigation into whether the Bush Justice Department illegally fired federal prosecutors.

Obama had already said he wanted to move forward rather than look back and signaled he would not repeal Bush tax cuts on the wealthy but rather let them expire in 2010.

So far, Pelosi has lost on both counts. And she and Reid have been formidable activists for the White House agenda. Still, there is a clear political message: no rubber stamps.

It is also a message about the Constitution and the co-equal branches of government.

Full story

When President Obama said we have to do something about the deficit so we don’t pass it on to our children, the Republicans responded with their heartiest cheer yet.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Theater: when President Obama said we have to do something about the deficit so we don’t pass it on to our children, the Republicans responded with their heartiest cheer yet - so much so it made the president laugh. Next sentence, he talked about the debt “we inherited,” and all the Democrats lept to their feet to cheer with gusto.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Interesting line, sounds like major aid for the auto industry is on the way: “…I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The speech is clearly aimed well beyond the House chamber. He is going step by step through why the banks need to be bailed out, and how it will help middle class families. Seems to me some of this is pushback against Americans grown weary of bailing out “big banks” or “Wall Street.” Thus the tough talk - “those days are over,” a likely reference to excessive spending of companies taking federal help - and the reassurances of his mission: “It’s not about helping banks - it’s about helping people.”

A GOP source estimates that the post-election RNC staff is down to about 100 people from more than 400 in pre-election days.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A GOP source says the assumption is incoming Republican National Committee Chief Michael Steele will ”at least for an interim period” retain some staffers, especially those in divisions that are at a skeletal stage now, despite his recent request for mass resignations.

The source estimates that the post-election RNC staff is down to about 100 people from more than 400 in pre-election days.

This week, Steele asked for the resignations of the entire RNC headquarters staff. A number of those staffers have been told they will not have a job as of February 15.

That request by Steele is a standard one. The Obama team made a similar request at the Democratic National Committee after the president's pick, Tim Kaine, took control.

A source said the development had been very difficult for Daschle.

(CNN) – A Daschle ally familiar with his thinking was not aware Tuesday of any White House pressure on the former Senate Majority Leader to withdraw his nomination.

Was Daschle pushed? “Things don’t work that cleanly,” said the source, who could not say for sure whether any senators may have made appealed to Daschle to end the confirmation process.

The issue was not whether Daschle could “survive” - it was what that process “would do to Obama” and his health care reform and economic agenda. It’s a question of the “price of that confirmation.”

The source confirms that Daschle read the Tuesday New York Times editorial urging him to withdraw from consideration, but would not say whether that might have played a part in his decision. “Tom has been a politician for a very long time,” says the Democratic source. “He understands this town. He made a mistake, he apologized, but timing matters. There was a critical mass building” - questions about meaning of Obama’s ethics standards.

Watch: Ken Rubin from NPR's instant analysis

A messy Daschle confirmation would have put the president on the defensive, and generated unfortunate headlines - and the Times editorial “re-inforced that this might be a difficult, and certainly a distracting, confirmation process for a White House that doesn’t have that kind of time.”

The source said the development had been very difficult for Daschle. “He wanted to do this. He wanted to move health care,” said the source. “He has spent a good deal of his life [on this], wrote a book on the issue. He wanted to help Obama. They’ve been together since the beginning. This is tough, tough, tough on him.”

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have made it clear that they don't agree with President Obama on everything.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Democrats hold a strong majority in Congress, but with power comes a power struggle, and a potential headache for President Obama.

Just two days into his term, the president is already facing pushback from leaders of his own party.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have made it clear - it's not their job to answer to Obama.

To a certain degree, the president-Congress tension is simply politics at play - something that happens every time a new president comes in.

But this time, the Democrats have even more power than they did before the election, meaning Pelosi and Reid both have huge majorities in their respective Houses.

Pelosi's biggest problem with the president's agenda is the silence she's hearing when President Obama is asked about former President Bush's tax cuts.

Full story

Michelle Obama's birthday was Saturday. She celebrated it aboard the Amtrak train that brought the President-elect and his entourage from Philadelphia to Washington

ABOARD THE OBAMA EXPRESS, JUST OUTSIDE WASHINGTON (CNN) - It is pitch black as the Obama train heads to Union Station in his new hometown of Washington, D.C. Still, you can see the outlines of people standing near the rails, waving as we whiz by.

Walking through the train, I spotted Michelle Obama dancing with her girls and friends in one of the cars decorated for her 45th birthday.

We are pulling into Union Station. The day is done.

Passengers detrained from the Obama Express after it arrived in Baltimore for its last stop before proceeding to Washington Saturday evening.

ABOARD THE OBAMA EXPRESS (CNN) - The train is rolling into Baltimore, past some of the most economically distressed areas in the country.

Six little kids jumping up and down and waving greeted the Obama Express as it approached the city.

Much of this trip we have seen the people with the highest hopes and greatest need for a successful Obama administration.

The President-elect will speak from the steps of city hall. We're detraining and heading there now.

Candy Crowley is aboard the Obama Express.

ABOARD THE OBAMA EXPRESS (CNN) - Rolling into Maryland now with Joe Biden aboard through mostly rural- and lower-income areas. There are clusters of people here and there.

The most striking are the lone people, standing precariously on a hillside just feet from the tracks, waving as the train comes and after it passes: a single woman outside her mobile home waving a giant flag almost bigger than she is; two men standing on top of an 18-wheeler's trailer, hardly dressed for the weather, hands in pockets as we pass; and the man who came out on his back porch, hundreds of yards away from the track, to wave.

President-elect Obama shakes hands after speaking in Wilmington, Delaware.

WILMINGTON, Delaware (CNN) - The President-elect and Vice President-elect worked the ropeline at the Wilmington train station after speaking to the crowd at this stop on the train ride from Philadelphia to Washington.

Click here to read more dispatches from the Obama Express

Watch: Obama's Wilmington departure

Secret Service surrounds Obama as he makes his way through the crowds.

WILMINGTON, Delaware (CNN) — Our first minor glitch happens as we detrain in Wilmington. Seems we - the media - broke free without "handlers." This tends to upset the Obama people.

As Obama talks, a line of Secret Service walks by me really quickly. I, of course, follow. Turns out people whose line of sight to Obama is blocked by other people have climbed into the leafless trees. That's a secret service no-no.

These bystanders are now back on the ground.

President-elect Obama looked out the back of the train as it left Philadelphia Saturday morning.

ABOARD THE OBAMA EXPRESS (CNN) - The Amtrak train carrying President-elect Barack Obama and his entourage has left Philadelphia's 30th Street Station.

The 10-car, two-diesel-engine train is carrying 90 members of the media in addition to the President-elect, his family, his entourage and staff, and the Secret Service.

This is not a trip for the claustrophobic or anyone in a hurry. We will be covering 135 miles in approximately eight hours.

Upon boarding the train, most of the media headed for the café car.

As we pulled out of Philadelphia, about two dozen people lined a bridge to wave at the President-elect train as it departed Philadelphia.

President-elect Obama greeted supporters during an event in Philadelphia before boarding the train to Washington.

ABOARD THE OBAMA EXPRESS (CNN) - This is not just a march through history and the Obama team certainly wants the Lincolnesque sort of symbolism to catch on.

But this is also a way to roll into Washington and try to keep that enthusiasm that Barack Obama saw on the campaign trail because there are so many tough times ahead.

The themes he wants to fit here are not just, "We need to get that spirit of patriotism, and we need to go back to what our forefathers believed in." He also said at the end of his speech let's make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but the beginning.

So it's the sort of commonality - I'm going to need you - and certainly he is, even though out there if they are not people who vote on Capitol Hill, they are certainly people who can pressure Capitol Hill.

And as he looked ahead and talked about the frustrations and the setbacks that are coming, he wants this train ride to begin that role and say, "I know the election is over, but you [have] got to stick with me because I need it."

So it's a dual trip, a little history and certainly pushing very far into the future

Obama is set to announce his choice of Daschle Thursday.

(CNN) - Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will be announced as President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary Thursday, according to a Democratic source.

CNN had previously reported Daschle was the likely choice for the post.

Shinseki is a former Army chief of staff.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President-elect Barack Obama will nominate retired Gen. Eric Shinseki to be secretary of Veterans Affairs, two Democratic sources told CNN Saturday.

For years, Shinseki has been the patron saint of Pentagon critics who say the former Army chief's sage advice was ignored in 2003, resulting in too few U.S. troops being sent to Iraq after the invasion.

Shinseki testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February 2003 that "something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers would be required" to pacify the country. The comment infuriated some Bush administration officials, and he retired just a few months later.

Shinseki has never spoken publicly about his testimony, which has often been cited by critics as evidence that then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ignored the advice of one of his key generals.

But as Army chief of staff, Shinseki was not in the chain of command, and played no direct role in drawing up the war plans.

Pentagon sources say that, in fact, Shinseki never advocated higher troop levels for Iraq, in part because it was not his job to do so. And sources say that just before the invasion, when asked by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Richard Myers if he agreed with the war plans, Shinseki voiced no objections.

Full story

(updated with additional information 7:25 p.m. ET)

(CNN) – A source in the Obama transition reveals President-elect Barack Obama will announce his choice for Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sunday at a news conference scheduled on Pearl Harbor Day and intended to highlight the service of veterans and current service members.

Obama and his advisers are studying options to help the struggling automotive industry.

(CNN) – President-elect Barack Obama has kept a relatively low profile as automakers plead for billions from Congress, but behind the scenes, the incoming administration is working hard on finding ways to ease the crisis.

Obama and his advisers are studying options for helping the automobile industry beyond what Congress does or doesn't do before he steps into office.

Talks in Congress have included mention of a possible short-term loan for the auto giants to act as a Band-Aid until lawmakers can hammer out a long-term plan when the new Congress begins next year. Other lawmakers have suggested that bankruptcy could be a good thing for the automakers.

CEOs for the Big Three are trying to make their case for a $34 billion loan.

Despite what may happen in the coming weeks, there's no indication that the problem will be solved before Obama steps into office. While the president-elect has largely stayed silent on the issue, he has signaled that one option is off the table.

"We can't allow the auto industry simply to vanish," he said last week.

Full Story

(CNN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton touched down in Chicago Monday and started working the phones – even before the official announcement she'd been nominated as Secretary of State - to inform key figures of the pending announcement, and tell them she looks forward to confirmation and working with them in the future, according to a source in Clinton’s Senate office. In the call to Governor Paterson, she officially informed him of her nomination, and that she was leaving the Senate.

Gov. David Paterson
Sen. Chuck Schumer
Congressman Rangel
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Sen. John Kerry, Incoming Chair SFRC
Sen. Dick Lugar, Ranking SFRC
Rep. Howard Berman, Chair House Foreign Relations
Rep. IIleana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking
Sen. Mitch McConnell
Rep. John Boehner

Sen. Obama is giving up his seat in the Senate.

(CNN) - President-elect Barack Obama has announced that he will officially resign his Senate seat as of this Sunday.

“It has been one of the highest honors and privileges of my life to have served the people of Illinois in the United States Senate,” he said in a statement released by his campaign Thursday.

“In a state that represents the crossroads of a nation, I have met so many men and women who’ve taken different journeys, but hold common hopes for their children’s future. It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation’s next President.”

Obama’s Senate office will close sometime within the next two months. His Senate staff will spend that time coordinating with his replacement, advising constituents with open requests, and archiving documents for Obama’s presidential library.

Several Illinois Democrats - including Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, a former congressional candidate who now serves in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration – have been mentioned as possible Senate replacements for Obama.

Blagojevich, who will appoint Obama’s successor, announced last week that he was assembling a panel to vet likely candidates. Obama’s replacement would be up for re-election in 2010.

Vice president-elect Joe Biden – who was also re-elected to his Delaware Senate seat on November 4 - told an interviewer several weeks ago that he would resign when he's sworn in as vice president in January.

Crowley: Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama finally begin to engage each other.(AP PHOTO)

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - This is by far the most interesting debate of the three. They are engaging each other. They both brought their game.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - Took him longer than expected, but McCain did go the William Ayers route, but then segued into one of Obama's campaign trail lines. People don't care about William Ayers, they care about the economy.

Crowley: McCain missed an opportunity to talk about Ayers.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (NY) - John McCain just passed up the chance to pick up on the mention of William Ayers.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - This does not strike me as much of a town hall. It's more like last week's debate, only the backdrop is voters. Brokaw just seems to have to officially given up on enforcing the rules...

Watch: McCain, Obama outline priorities

Obama and McCain went head to head Tuesday night.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - Obama was waiting for McCain to say - as he did many times in the last debate - that Obama "didn't understand" an issue, or needed "on the job training." McCain obliged on the first foreign policy question - and this time Obama was ready, saying that McCain is right; he doesn't understand why we invaded a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - Hello? Let a voter ask something.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - One thing we have learned for sure: Neither one of these candidates has a concept of how long a minute is.

It may be the time limit they agreed to for follow up, but at this point Tom Brokaw should probably just give it up trying to enforce it.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - McCain and Obama are walking a sort of invisible line. How much criticism is too much criticism? If you say it softly, can you get by with it. What's harsh?

McCain seemed to answer first question better. But Obama did a good job explaining why the "bailout/rescue" package for Wall Street will help average Americans.

Palin does not directly answer the question.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) - Palin veers off course - the question is about helping consumers with crushing debt, and she's responding with energy policy. Politicians frequently change the subject, but this was a pretty obvious 180.

Plain has been the on the trail for five weeks.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) - "How long have I been at this? Five Weeks?"
I'm not sure that's the greatest line for Palin to be using.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) - Palin trying to get people to remember why they liked her when she burst onto the scene; she pushes back at Biden's statement that she didn't answer Gwen Ifill's question. "I may not answer the question the way he wants.... but I'm going to talk straight to the American people," she said.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) – A trifecta for Joe Biden, who hits all his talking points right off the bat on the bailout mess in D.C.:

1) It's a problem sprung from the last eight years
2) Barack Obama has a plan to fix the economy
3) McCain-Palin = more of the same

Palin follows in kind, pointing to the fear one might hear from a soccer mom on the state of the economy, and noting John McCain's "maverick" record.

OXFORD, Mississippi (CNN) - Poor Jim Lehrer: he can't get either of these candidates to say which of their promises they will have to postpone because of the $700 billion bailout and general bad condition of the economy. Candidates rarely promise to cut programs...

(CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama will campaign together in Florida later this month.

The Clintons and Sen. Obama sat next to one another last week at the funeral of an Ohio Congresswoman.

(CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton will share a private lunch together on Thursday, September 11, CNN has confirmed.

Clinton issued the invite to Obama after learning he would be in Manhattan for a joint appearance with Sen. John McCain on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to Clinton Foundation spokesman Matt McKenna.

The luncheon is another sign that the Clinton and Obama camps are moving forward in the spirit of unity. Major steps toward healing the party came during the Democratic National Convention where Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton, individually addressed convention-goers, appealing to them to support Obama come November. Sen. Clinton made the motion for Obama to be formally nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Hillary Clinton is set to campaign for Obama in Florida Monday, and the former president has said he will campaign on Obama’s behalf but does not have any campaign events scheduled yet.

The Clintons and Sen. Obama sat next to one another last week at the funeral of an Ohio Congresswoman.

(CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton will share a private lunch together on Thursday, September 11, CNN has confirmed.

Clinton issued the invite to Obama after learning he would be in Manhattan for a joint appearance with Sen. John McCain on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to Clinton Foundation spokesman Matt McKenna.

The luncheon is another sign that the Clinton and Obama camps are moving forward in the spirit of unity. Major steps toward healing the party came during the Democratic National Convention where Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton, individually addressed convention-goers, appealing to them to support Obama come November. Sen. Clinton made the motion for Obama to be formally nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Hillary Clinton is set to campaign for Obama in Florida Monday, and the former president has said he will campaign on Obama’s behalf but does not have any campaign events scheduled yet.

The crowd cheered for Cindy McCain and her family Thursday night.

ST. PAUL (CNN) - The people closest to John McCain are beginning to appear on the podium as we approach prime time and the Arizona senator's acceptance speech. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has been there since the beginning, turns the subject to Iraq and the surge. The Iraq war overwhelmingly unpopular in the country - but largely supported in this room of GOP activists.