Clinton will address Senate Democrats Tuesday.

Washington (CNN) - Two senior Democratic sources that former president Bill Clinton will attend the Senate Democrats' weekly luncheon Tuesday to address the caucus on health care.

"All Senators should be aware that former President Clinton will be making a presentation on Health Care at tomorrow's caucus lunch," said a notice sent to all Senate Democrats. "Senator Reid has requested that all Democratic Senators attend."

Democratic leaders have consistently cited what they call a lesson of the Clinton administration: fail to pass health care, and congressional Democrats will suffer on Election Day.

Full story

Democratic sources say Baucus will likely make that decision before the president's speech tomorrow night.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A copy of the 18-page health care proposal from Sen. Max Baucus, obtained by CNN from both a Democratic and Republican source, reveals more detail about the Finance Committee chairman's proposal.

Read the plan full here (pdf)

A source close to Republican Sen. Grassley tells CNN that in addition to the problem he has with the fee on insurance companies, a concern he expressed on CNN this morning, he also does not like the overall price tag, which he thinks will be about $880 billion. The Iowa senator had been hoping for something in the $750-$780 billion ballpark.

Democratic sources tell us that Baucus will use today's 2:30 pm ET meeting to gauge whether he can get a deal with the Republicans in the so-called "Gang of Six," especially Grassley and Sen. Mike Enzi, or whether he will have to move on and schedule a Finance Committee markup without a bipartisan agreement.

Democratic sources say Baucus will likely make that decision before the president's speech tomorrow night.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that she is considering a major adjustment to House Democrats' health care bill.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - An aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirms to CNN that, in attempt to quell a revolt among conservative Democrats, she is considering changing House Democrats' health care bill so that it only taxes families making $1 million or more.

"The Speaker has said several times she would like to squeeze more savings out of the system, and if we can do that we can reduce the number of people affected by the surcharge," said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for the Speaker.

To raise revenue to pay for reform, the House Democrats health care bill would impose a surcharge on individuals making $280,000 or more and families making $350,000 or more.

Pelosi is now suggesting starting that surtax at individuals making $500,000 and families making $1 million.

The Speaker first raised the idea in an interview with Politico.

Last week, 22 Democratic House freshmen sent a letter to the Speaker saying they were "extremely concerned" about what the taxes in their party's health care bill would do to small businesses.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democratic freshman from a conservative swing district in Virginia, told CNN he believes a surcharge could hurt his constituents.

“It’s important to remember that with the expiration of the tax cuts on the highest income level, folks over a certain income level are going to see their tax rate go from 35 percent back to 39.6 percent,“ Connolly told CNN.

"To add to that a 5.4 percent tax to finance health care, on top of other fees and so forth that are being discussed, I think is wrong."

But he said Pelosi's idea to eliminate the tax on any individuals making below $500,000 helps.

"It narrows the number of people who would be affected. I think it probably goes a long way in protecting the small businesses we were concerned about and it puts more pressure on our House colleagues who are writing the bill to identify more in savings." Connolly told CNN.

As for Republicans: House GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence, R-Indiana, slammed the surtax in any form. "It almost boggles the mind that the majority in Congress would continue headlong down a pathway toward increasing the tax burden on anyone at a time when our economy is shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs per month," said Pence.

Washington (CNN) – Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy says he plans to put a confirmation vote for Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the committee calendar this coming Tuesday.

However, committee rules allow any one senator to delay consideration of any nomination for one week, and the committee's ranking Republican, Jeff Sessions, suggested to CNN that a week's delay is likely.

"That would be only four days after the end of the hearings, that would be really fast," Sessions told CNN, noting that this is the "U.S. Supreme Court."

Sessions emphasized that he has no interest in delaying the process, but suggested holding a vote next week would be too soon.

Leahy told CNN the ultimate Democratic goal is to hold a full Senate vote before the August recess, and said he is confident that will happen.

Sessions said he has no plans for a filibuster.

"A nominee is entitled to an up-or-down vote," he said.

Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over health care reform have stalled.

Washington (CNN) - Negotiations between key Democrats and Republicans in the Senate over health insurance co-ops as an alternative to a government-run health plan were at an impasse Monday over how much federal government involvement there should be in the creation and running of the co-ops, according to senators and aides involved in the talks.

The negotiations could hold the key to bipartisan compromise.

Most Democrats want a heavy federal presence to ensure the co-ops can adequately compete with the big insurers and help drive down costs, but Republicans say they will back co-ops only if the touch from Washington is very light. Republicans say anything more that that is akin to the government-run proposal they uniformly reject.

"It's clear they are not talking about anything close to a national plan with enough clout to keep the insurance companies honest," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY.

Schumer, an influential member of the Democratic leadership, has been working behind the scenes on a co-op plan that Democrats can live with.

A Democratic aide familiar with Schumer's discussions tells CNN that he presented Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA and other Senate GOP negotiators four proposals crucial for Democratic support: Ensuring co-op insurance plans would be available nationwide; infusing the co-op option with at least $10 billion federal dollars to get started; making sure they have collective bargaining power to keep costs down; creating a federally chartered board to administer the co-op.

Grassley rejected Schumer's proposals, telling CNN that would put the federal government at too much risk - reminiscent of the troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "We don't want to make that mistake again," Grassley said.

Despite the division over exactly how to create them, the broad co-op proposal is not dead, several sources said.

In fact, several Senate sources involved in the talks tell CNN that the co-op proposal is likely to be part of a Finance Committee bill when it emerges – possibly later this week - from intense, behind-the-scenes, bipartisan talks in the Capitol.

That is the reason Schumer is now going public with his private push for a more robust federal role in any co-op proposal – to "plant the flag," according to source, on what most Democrats are willing to accept in any bipartisan compromise that involves health care cooperatives instead of a government run insurance option.

But Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee and the man Democrats call the key to any bipartisan compromise, says he won't accept the concept of health insurance co-ops if it has too much government interference.

"I would ask Sen. Schumer if he would just forget about the federal government assuming some risk and putting a massive amount of money into it - except for maybe loans that have to be paid back - and go along with the cooperative movement as we've known it for 150 years in America, I think we'd have a compromise," Grassley told CNN.

CNN has learned that Senate Democrats will vote against funding the closing of the Guantanamo Bay military prison.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - CNN has learned Senate Democrats will pull money to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison from a war funding bill instead of face an onslaught of criticism from Republicans, who argue it would be reckless to shutter the prison before the Obama administration has decided where to transfer the terrorism suspects who are detained there.

Democratic leaders made the decision this morning, according to two Senate Democratic leadership sources. It is a blow to President Obama who - in one of his first official acts as president - announced that he would close the base by next January 22.

The Senate war supplemental bill, which is scheduled to be voted on this week, included $80 million for the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice to begin the process of shutting down the prison.

Now, that money will be stripped out and replaced with language saying no funds can be used to transfer Guantanamo detainees to the United States, and no additional money will be approved, until 60 days after the president submits to Congress his plan to close the facility. That language is similar to a provision in the House bill.

Republicans launched a high-profile campaign against closing the base prematurely, just this morning releasing a statement headlined: "Meet your new neighbor, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad?"

"Republicans see this as a wedge issue against Democrats and we're not going to let them do it," explained one of the sources.

Privately, some Democrats have complained the president put them in an awkward position of having to defend funding the closure before a plan was developed, one of the sources said.

One of Pelosi's closest allies in the House, Connecticut Democrat John Larson, acknowledged to CNN that the Speaker's news conference last week could have been better, but insisted there hasn't been any fallout among Democrats.

"Perhaps it wasn't one of her best press conferences. But certainly everyone in this caucus stands behind her to be the lead in our caucus. I don't know if it could have been done better or not, but our caucus is entirely behind her, " Larson said.

Several Democratic sources tell CNN that privately, some congressional Democrats are baffled by Pelosi's decision to escalate the controversy last week by going after the CIA.

But Larson, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, also said he's spoken to members over the weekend and that they are "solidly behind the Speaker."

Another Connecticut Democrat, Chris Murphy, said there's a "total disconnect" between what pundits and talk show hosts are talking about and what he hears from his constituents. Murphy said there might be some impact on the Speaker's ability to continue leading if the issue was something people were talking about in his district - but it's not.

At "another political moment this issue might dominate the space inside members of Congress' minds," said Murphy, but lawmakers are so focused on pushing through major policy changes on healthcare and energy that "there's not a lot of tolerance for distractions."

Conservative Indiana Democrat Baron Hill argued that people who are zeroing in on the Speaker are trying to move away from the broader issue of who authorized the harsh interrogation methods. "I think a lot of people have lost focus on the people who put those torture policies in place in the first place," said Hill. "Nancy didn't do anything wrong, in terms of the legalities that I'm aware of. I don't know what she was told. I'm not here to cast judgment on her at all."

Hill said he made a half a dozen visits in his Indiana district over the weekend, and no one raised the issue of Speaker Pelosi with him.

Democratic Rep. Gene Green of Texas also downplayed any impact the story is having on the getting major legislation passed in the House. "Healthcare, and now climate change, is now overriding any personal or political issue," said Green.

But Pelosi's office is reaching out to Democrats to lay out the Speaker's record on the issue. CNN has obtained a copy of "talking points" that her staff distributed last week. The document points to news accounts - saying that "Multiple Members Who Were Briefed Take Issue With the CIA Accounts" - and lists the timeline as laid out by the Speaker. It also includes the point that Pelosi repeatedly made at her press conference last week: "The only mention of waterboarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed."

Pelosi's "talking points":

From: Speaker Pelosi
Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:07 PM
Subject: Talking Points: Speaker Pelosi & Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

Throughout her entire career, Speaker Pelosi is proud to have worked for human rights, and against the use of torture, around the world.

As Ranking Member of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee in the 1990s, she helped secure the first funding for the Torture Victims Relief Act to assist those suffering from the physical and psychological effects of torture.

Speaker Pelosi unequivocally opposes the use of torture by our government because it is contrary to our national values.

Rules

· Like all Members of Congress who are briefed on classified information, Speaker Pelosi has signed oaths pledging not to disclose any of that information.

· This is an oath she has taken very seriously, and has always abided by it.

Briefing

· In September 2002, the CIA briefed Pelosi only once on some enhanced interrogation techniques, in her capacity as Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee.

· She was informed then that Department of Justice opinions had concluded that the use of enhanced interrogation techniques was legal. The only mention of waterboarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed.

· Those conducting the briefing promised to inform the appropriate Members of Congress if that technique were to be used in the future.

· Congress and the American people now know that contrary opinions within the Executive Branch concluded that these interrogation techniques were not legal. However, those opinions were not provided to Congress.

· We also now know that techniques, including waterboarding, had already been employed, and that those briefing Pelosi in September 2002 gave her inaccurate and incomplete information.

· At the same time, the Bush Administration was misleading the American people about the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

· Five months later, in February 2003, a member of Pelosi's staff informed her that the Republican chairman and new Democratic Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee had been briefed about the use of certain techniques which had been the subject of earlier legal opinions.

· Following that briefing, a letter raising concerns was sent to CIA General Counsel Scott Muller by the new Democratic Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, the appropriate person to register a protest.

· But no letter could change the policy. It was clear we had to change the leadership of the Congress and the White House. That was her job.

Actions Taken
· When Democrats assumed control of Congress in 2007, Congress passed legislation banning torture and requiring all government agencies to abide by the Army Field Manual. President Bush vetoed this bill barring the use of torture. An effort to overturn his veto failed because of the votes of Republican Members.

· We needed to elect a new President. We did; and he has banned torture.

Where Do We Go From Here?

· Congress and the Administration must review the National Security Act of 1947 to determine if a larger number of Members of Congress should receive classified briefings so that information can be utilized for proper oversight and legislative activity without violating oaths of secrecy.

· Pelosi has long supported creation of an independent Truth Commission to determine how intelligence was misused, and how controversial and possibly illegal activities like torture were authorized within the Executive Branch.

· Until a Truth Commission is implemented, Pelosi encourages the appropriate committees of the House to conduct vigorous oversight of these issues.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - At 8:30 a.m., Kirsten Gillibrand looks like any other working mom in a minivan dropping off her baby boy at day care and her other son at school.

But one hour later, she is gaveling the United States Senate into session.

Sen. Gillibrand, D-New York, is part of a different kind of "change" in Washington - a baby boom among female lawmakers.

She had her son Henry 11 months ago, when she was serving in the House of Representatives.

"I think it makes me and the other women better legislators, because we really understand some of the struggles that other moms and other families have," Gillibrand said.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-South Dakota, had her first baby, Zachary, 5 months ago.

Even though she's a member of Congress, she has to wait her turn on a waiting list with other Capitol Hill employees at the congressional day care center, which is at capacity. Until he can get in, Henry usually spends his days with a nanny or family.

Full story

Stimulus talks lasted almost until midnight.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– Top lawmakers and White House officials ended more than nine hours of closed-door negotiations on the economic stimulus bill shortly before midnight Tuesday indicating a final deal on the roughly $800 billion bill is possible as early as Wednesday.

“People are making progress. Drafting is taking place tonight. We’re not there yet but we made a significant amount of progress,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said as he left House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office for the last time of the day.

“Everybody is doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” said White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. “Everyone knows the seriousness of the economic crisis.”

Pelosi, Reid, and Emanuel shuttled between meetings on the either side of the Capitol. The meetings included key House and Senate committee chairmen as well as the three Senate Republican moderates who voted for the bill Tuesday, giving it a slim margin of victory.

They were trying to execute a broad framework that Democratic sources tell CNN was hatched in an unpublicized White House meeting early Tuesday morning with President Obama, Reid and Pelosi.

Details began to emerge on the merging of the bills. Two senior Democratic sources said negotiators had agreed on a top line number of $800 billion but later one of those sources said the number could be even less. That would be less than either the Senate’s $838 billion bill or the House’s $819 billion.

Several sources involved tell CNN that the number is lower to satisfy the three moderate Republican senators who wanted a lower final number.

Also, Sen. Max Baucus, D-MT, who chairs the Finance Committee, said that negotiators have kept a one year patch of the alternative minimum tax in the bill – something House negotiators had argued should be handled outside of the stimulus package.

A Democratic source also said a plan to give tax credits to home buyers which is in the Senate bill will likeky be scaled back to make room for House priorities and a Senate proposal to give tax incentives to people who buy American built cars is also likely to be nixed.

Asked if a deal is possible Wednesday, Sen. Max Baucus, D-MT, the chairman of the finance committee said, “It’s very possible.”

Sources say Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican from Ohio, will retire from the Senate.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sources close to Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, tell CNN he will announce Monday he is retiring from the Senate.

The 72-year-old senator and former Ohio governor has been contemplating retirement for a while but made his final decision this weekend in Florida, where he was joined by his wife, children and grandchildren, according to one of the sources.

Voinovich plans to serve out his term, which expires in 2010.

He plans to make the announcement at 4 p.m. ET Monday in Washington, the source said.

Voinovich will be the fourth Republican senator to announce he will not run for re-election in 2010. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, said late last week that we would retire, joining Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida, and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, who had already announced they would leave Capitol Hill when their terms end at the close of the 111th Congress.

Republicans must defend 15 incumbents and four open seats in 2010. (Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, whose term is not up until 2012, is seriously considering a 2010 gubernatorial bid and could also be vacating her seat early).

Meanwhile, Democrats have to defend 15 incumbents and two seats where special elections are expected to be held. In Delaware, a special election will be scheduled for Vice President-elect Joe Biden's seat as well as a special election in New York should Hillary Clinton be confirmed as the next Secretary of State.

Dodd has been asked to spend the weekend working on auto bailout ideas.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A senior Democratic leadership aide tells CNN that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has asked Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd and his staff to work this weekend to prepare several options on how to help auto companies, plans Democratic will consider first thing Monday morning.

The aide gave a highly optimistic timetable, given the deep divide among lawmakers about how, and whether, to help Detroit.

“Ideally, we would reach consensus on process and substance with our caucus and Senate Minority Mitch McConnell mid-day Monday,” said the aide, who said their goal would be to schedule any necessary votes no later than mid-week.

Democratic leaders were hoping to confer with Republicans about various ideas most lawmakers are reluctant to discuss publicly.

One option that several leading Democrats are talking about is having giving the government big role in restructuring the auto companies, either with an oversight board or an individual. Some Democrats have suggested a “car czar,” and others suggest the president putting the treasury secretary in charge.

Dodd and Reid are scheduled to hold a conference call this afternoon with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank.

Duncan torn on whether to run for another term as head of RNC.

(CNN) – Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan told CNN he will spend the coming weekend deciding whether to run for another term at the helm of the GOP, and could announce his decision Monday.

Duncan said he is torn about what to do - he said he likes his job very much, but also feels it may time for him to return home to Kentucky after being at the RNC for eight years.

Duncan's deliberations come as several other Republicans are publicly eying his post, following two straight election cycles during which the GOP suffered stinging defeats.

Duncan has steadily risen through the ranks of the RNC over the last decade. In 2001 he was elected the committee's treasurer and was named general counsel in 2002.  In 2007, President Bush tapped him to replace outgoing RNC chairman Ken Mehlman.

If he enters the race, Duncan will face a long list of challengers: former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson, former Mike Huckabee campaign manager and ex-Tennessee Republican party Chairman Chip Saltsman, and Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis have already declared they are seeking Duncan's job.

An RNC source close to Duncan later called to say the announcement may not come until later next week.

McCain signaled he is interested in running for reelection in 2010.

(CNN) - CNN has learned that John McCain met Tuesday night with top advisers to start the process of setting up a political action committee.

A senior McCain aide says that was done to send the signal he intends to run for another term as senator from Arizona.

He is up for re-election in 2010.

Palin's pres conference was changed at the last minute.

MIAMI (CNN) – Two hours before Thursday morning’s press conference at the Republican Governors Association — her first since the Republican presidential ticket lost last week — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was still scheduled to appear alone. Instead, she spoke with a row of fellow governors standing silently behind her.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told CNN producer Evan Glass that they all met at 9 a.m. - an hour-and-a-half before the press conference’s scheduled start time - and by then it had been "decided" that they'd all go out together.

An RGA official told CNN the reason for the change is a "long story."

He said that when the governors were all at their private morning meeting, someone brought up the desire to get beyond what happened in the McCain campaign and look towards 2009 and 2010.

Then, this source said, Palin piped up and said she agreed that she didn't want to talk about the past.

This source insists that it was then decided that the other governors in the meeting would go with her to her press conference as a "show of unity."

The source admitted that it may not have been easy for some "big egos" to go in and stand behind her, but they knew they'd be doing so.

Not present: the conference host, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. A Florida GOP source tells CNN "he didn't know about it,” because he wasn't at the morning meeting.

In another shift, Palin — who had been slated to take questions for 20 minutes or so - took just four press queries.

Why did Texas Gov. Rick Perry cut it off so fast?

"We were running behind schedule," insisted the GOP official.

Palin may not have wanted to talk about the past, but her speech was almost entirely about the McCain campaign; she included little in the way of detailed ideas about the way forward for Republicans, the theme of the panel.

Palin blasted the media for focusing on the $150,000 wardrobe story.

TAMPA, Florida (CNN) – Ensuring that news of the Republican National Committee's sartorial spending spree will remain in the headlines for at least one more news cycle, Sarah Palin on Sunday sounded off on the $150,000 wardrobe that was purchased for her in September, denouncing the report as "ridiculous" and declaring emphatically: "Those clothes, they are not my property."

A senior adviser to John McCain told CNN's Dana Bash that the comments about her wardrobe "were not the remarks we sent to her plane this morning." Palin did not discuss the wardrobe story at her rally in Kissimmee later in the day.

But in Tampa, Palin happily broached the clothing issue after being introduced by "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who accused Palin's opponents of being "fixated on her wardrobe" and "deliberately sexist."

That opened the door for Palin to weigh in on a topic that has frustrated the candidate and her advisers since the story first broke five days ago.

"This whole thing with the wardrobe, you know I have tried to just ignore it because it is so ridiculous, but I am glad now that Elisabeth brought it up, cause it gives me an opportunity without the filter of the media to get to tell you the whole clothes thing," she said.

"Those clothes, they are not my property. Just like the lighting and the staging and everything else that the RNC purchased, I'm not taking them with me. I am back to wearing my own clothes from my favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska. You'd think - not that I would even have to address the issue because, as Elisabeth is suggesting, the double standard here it's - gosh, we don't even want to waste our time."

Palin, however, forged on.

"I am glad, though, that she brought up accessories also. Let me tell you a little bit about a couple of accessories, didn't think that we would be talking about it, but my earrings - I see a Native Americans for Palin poster," she said. "These are beaded earrings from Todd's mom who is a Yupik Eskimo up in Alaska, Native American, Native Alaskan.

"And my wedding ring, it's in Todd's pocket, 'cause it hurts sometimes when I shake hands and it gets squished," she continued. "A $35 wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself and 'cause I always thought with my ring it's not what it's made of, it's what it represents, and 20 years later, happy to wear it. And then finally the other accessory, you bet I'm a gold - I'm a blue star mom. I'm wearing this in honor of my son who is fighting over in Iraq right now defending all of you."

After spending four minutes on the shopping escapade, Palin switched gears and trained her sights on Barack Obama, who, she said, is prematurely measuring the White House drapes.

"Barack Obama and I, we both have spent quite some time on the basketball court," she said. "But where I come from, you have to win the game before you start cutting down the nets."

Palin accused the Democrat of renting a stadium for a victory party on November 4.

That's actually not the case - Obama's rally on election night will be held outdoors in Grant Park in downtown Chicago.

"They've overlooked though the minor detail of earning your confidence and your trust and winning your votes," she said.

Palin blasted the media for focusing on the $150,000 wardrobe story.

TAMPA, Florida (CNN) – Ensuring that news of the Republican National Committee's sartorial spending spree will remain in the headlines for at least one more news cycle, Sarah Palin on Sunday sounded off on the $150,000 wardrobe that was purchased for her in September, denouncing the report as "ridiculous" and declaring emphatically: "Those clothes, they are not my property."

A senior adviser to John McCain told CNN's Dana Bash that the comments about her wardrobe "were not the remarks we sent to her plane this morning." Palin did not discuss the wardrobe story at her rally in Kissimmee later in the day.

But in Tampa, Palin happily broached the clothing issue after being introduced by "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who accused Palin's opponents of being "fixated on her wardrobe" and "deliberately sexist."

That opened the door for Palin to weigh in on a topic that has frustrated the candidate and her advisers since the story first broke five days ago.

"This whole thing with the wardrobe, you know I have tried to just ignore it because it is so ridiculous, but I am glad now that Elisabeth brought it up, cause it gives me an opportunity without the filter of the media to get to tell you the whole clothes thing," she said.

"Those clothes, they are not my property. Just like the lighting and the staging and everything else that the RNC purchased, I'm not taking them with me. I am back to wearing my own clothes from my favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska. You'd think - not that I would even have to address the issue because, as Elisabeth is suggesting, the double standard here it's - gosh, we don't even want to waste our time."

Palin, however, forged on.

"I am glad, though, that she brought up accessories also. Let me tell you a little bit about a couple of accessories, didn't think that we would be talking about it, but my earrings - I see a Native Americans for Palin poster," she said. "These are beaded earrings from Todd's mom who is a Yupik Eskimo up in Alaska, Native American, Native Alaskan.

"And my wedding ring, it's in Todd's pocket, 'cause it hurts sometimes when I shake hands and it gets squished," she continued. "A $35 wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself and 'cause I always thought with my ring it's not what it's made of, it's what it represents, and 20 years later, happy to wear it. And then finally the other accessory, you bet I'm a gold - I'm a blue star mom. I'm wearing this in honor of my son who is fighting over in Iraq right now defending all of you."

After spending four minutes on the shopping escapade, Palin switched gears and trained her sights on Barack Obama, who, she said, is prematurely measuring the White House drapes.

"Barack Obama and I, we both have spent quite some time on the basketball court," she said. "But where I come from, you have to win the game before you start cutting down the nets."

Palin accused the Democrat of renting a stadium for a victory party on November 4.

That's actually not the case - Obama's rally on election night will be held outdoors in Grant Park in downtown Chicago.

"They've overlooked though the minor detail of earning your confidence and your trust and winning your votes," she said.

Tensions within the McCain-Palin campaign are spilling into the public. A McCain aide told CNN that Gov. Palin is a 'diva.'

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (CNN) – With 10 days to go until election day, long brewing tension between Sarah Palin and key aides to John McCain has become so intense, it is spilling out into the public.

Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin “going rogue” recently, while a Palin associate says she is simply trying to “bust free” of what she believes was a mishandled roll-out that damaged her.

McCain sources point to several incidents where Palin has gone off message, and privately wonder if they were deliberate. For example: labeling robo calls “irritating,” even as the campaign was defending the use of them and telling reporters she disagreed with the campaigns controversial decision to pull out of Michigan.

A second McCain source tells CNN she appears to now be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.

Full story

McCain worked to calm the crowd after protestors interupted Thursday night.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) – In response to early rumors that demonstrators might try to interrupt Republican presidential nominee John McCain's acceptance speech Thursday night, a number of delegations agreed to chant "U.S.A." in order to quell the sound of protesters.

"There's word of a possible demonstration coming. If it does, the chant is 'USA, USA'," a floor whip was overheard telling members in the New York delegation.

Similar whispers were heard from the Alaska delegation clear across to the Louisiana delegation on the other side of the hall only moments before McCain began speaking.

On at least three occasions during the early part of his speech, members of the audience began chanting "U.S.A." in response to protesters, who were then escorted out of the hall.

In one such case, McCain weighed in telling the crowd not to be distracted “by the static…Americans want us to stop yelling at each other.”

Warren and McCain camp insist the presumptive Republican nominee had no edge over Obama by going second.

(CNN) – Sometimes you just have to take it on faith.

Pastor Rick Warren said John McCain didn’t hear any of the questions in advance at Saturday night’s Civil Forum, even if the candidate was a little late arriving to the pre-arranged quiet room or “cone of silence.”

At the beginning of the forum at California megachurch, Warren told the crowd and TV audience, “I'm going to ask identical questions to each of these candidates, so you can compare apples to apples. Now, Senator Obama is going to go first. We flipped a coin, and we have safely placed Senator McCain in a cone of silence.”

But at 8 p.m. ET, as Warren said that, McCain was actually not in the building. He was just leaving his hotel, with his motorcade arriving at the church nearly a half hour into the event. A. Larry Ross, a spokesman for Warren, says McCain then went directly into the holding room they dubbed the “cone of silence” (in reality, a room with no TV or audio).

Some questioned whether that late arrival might have allowed McCain to hear some of the questions being first posed to Obama.

Warren told CNN Sunday evening, “we flat out asked him” if he heard any of the questions. The McCain campaign “confirmed that McCain did not hear or see any of the broadcast” in the motorcade or after he arrived, Ross said.

When asked if McCain overheard anything, Charlie Black, a McCain adviser who was with him at the time, told CNN: "We were in motorcade until 5:30 p.m. ET; then a holding room in another building with no TV."

Warren said, “I trust the integrity of both” candidates, and said he “knew they would abide by the rules.” He joked McCain may not have been in the cone of silence, but “he was in the cone of a Secret Service motorcade”.

Ross says the whole event only came about because of the relationship Warren has with both men. He said they all agreed to assure a “level field, “McCain would not hear the questions or Senator Obama’s answers.” The pastor spoke to each candidate this week, giving the general themes. Warren decided to tell them each the first two questions in advance, about the three wisest people you know, and the biggest moral failings.

For their part, an Obama spokesperson told CNN’s Mike Roselli they are not pursuing whether McCain heard any of the other questions. They say they assuming McCain had the same information they did.

Warren and McCain camp insist the presumptive Republican nominee had no edge over Obama by going second.

(CNN) – Sometimes you just have to take it on faith.

Pastor Rick Warren said John McCain didn’t hear any of the questions in advance at Saturday night’s Civil Forum, even if the candidate was a little late arriving to the pre-arranged quiet room or “cone of silence.”

At the beginning of the forum at California megachurch, Warren told the crowd and TV audience, “I'm going to ask identical questions to each of these candidates, so you can compare apples to apples. Now, Senator Obama is going to go first. We flipped a coin, and we have safely placed Senator McCain in a cone of silence.”

But at 8 p.m. ET, as Warren said that, McCain was actually not in the building. He was just leaving his hotel, with his motorcade arriving at the church nearly a half hour into the event. A. Larry Ross, a spokesman for Warren, says McCain then went directly into the holding room they dubbed the “cone of silence” (in reality, a room with no TV or audio).

Some questioned whether that late arrival might have allowed McCain to hear some of the questions being first posed to Obama.

Warren told CNN Sunday evening, “we flat out asked him” if he heard any of the questions. The McCain campaign “confirmed that McCain did not hear or see any of the broadcast” in the motorcade or after he arrived, Ross said.

When asked if McCain overheard anything, Charlie Black, a McCain adviser who was with him at the time, told CNN: "We were in motorcade until 5:30 p.m. ET; then a holding room in another building with no TV."

Warren said, “I trust the integrity of both” candidates, and said he “knew they would abide by the rules.” He joked McCain may not have been in the cone of silence, but “he was in the cone of a Secret Service motorcade”.

Ross says the whole event only came about because of the relationship Warren has with both men. He said they all agreed to assure a “level field, “McCain would not hear the questions or Senator Obama’s answers.” The pastor spoke to each candidate this week, giving the general themes. Warren decided to tell them each the first two questions in advance, about the three wisest people you know, and the biggest moral failings.

For their part, an Obama spokesperson told CNN’s Mike Roselli they are not pursuing whether McCain heard any of the other questions. They say they assuming McCain had the same information they did.

The McCain campaign says Obama is 'playing the race card.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) – John McCain’s campaign manager charged Thursday that Barack Obama falsely accused the McCain campaign of injecting race into the presidential contest.

"Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It's divisive, negative, shameful and wrong," McCain campaign manger Rick Davis said in a prepared statement sent to reporters one day after Obama alluded to his own race during several stops in Missouri.

An Obama spokesman immediately denied the assertion, but noted that the presumptive Democratic nominee believes that the McCain campaign was “using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues.”

“This is a race about big challenges - a slumping economy, a broken foreign policy, and an energy crisis for everyone but the oil companies,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said. “Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue, but he does believe they’re using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign, and those are the issues he’ll continue to talk about.”

At three stops in the battleground state of Missouri, Obama told audiences that his opponent is trying to make voters “scared” of him because he doesn’t look like past presidents – an apparent reference to being black - and has a “funny name.”

“Nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face,” Obama said at an appearance Wednesday in Springfield, Missouri. “So what they're going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he's not patriotic enough. He's got a funny name. You know, he doesn't look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He's risky.”

This is not the first time Obama has delivered this line. He made similar comments dating back to the Democratic presidential primary. But a senior McCain advisor told CNN Thursday that Davis reacted strongly because Obama was directly responding to a new McCain campaign ad.

“It is a disgusting accusation and we are compelled to respond,” said advisor Steve Schmidt. “This campaign will not allow John McCain to be smeared in this way.”

Schmidt added: “We sat here during the Democratic Primary, waiting with dread for this day to arrive, that Obama would be criticized on national security or some other issue, and he would play the race card.”

The political ad, which the McCain campaign released Wednesday, features Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The McCain campaign is ceding the point that Obama has reached celebrity status, but argues that does not qualify him to be the next president.

Obama once compared himself to Paris Hilton.

(CNN) - John McCain is facing criticism from many Democrats for likening Barack Obama to Paris Hilton, but the Illinois senator made the same comparison himself at a dinner in 2004.

"Andy Warhol said we all get our 15 minutes of fame," then Senator-elect Obama said at a Gridiron dinner in December, 2004. "I've already had an hour and a half. I mean, I'm so overexposed, I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse."

That attempt at self deprecating humor was delivered little more than a month after he was elected to the US senate, and just weeks before he was sworn in.

The same comparison was also made in September 2006, when speculation swirled about whether the still-very coy Obama would mount a presidential bid.

Upon speaking at Tom Harkin’s annual Iowa steak fry - a must-attend event for any presidential hopeful - CNN asked Obama about the Paris Hilton comparisons.

“Yeah, exactly,” Obama started to reply before Harkin jumped in and said, “Remember that movie with Robert Redford that was called 'The Natural, about a baseball player? This is the natural of politics.”

McCain not ready to announce running mate.

(CNN) – John McCain has not settled on a running mate and the timing of any announcement has not been determined, a senior McCain source told CNN.

That appears to differ from a Washington Post report Friday that the Arizona senator plans to announce his VP choice at some point before the Olympic Games in China that kick off August 8.

But the McCain source tells CNN all discussions about a running mate are still underway and McCain has given no indication he has made a decision. Moreover, McCain is just as likely to announce his choice at the end of August as he is in the first part of the month.

But top McCain adviser Charlie Black told CNN earlier this week that the campaign has done enough vetting of VP prospects so that the Republican candidate would have enough information to make a decision, and an announcement, whenever he wants.

Read more on possible VP choices:  Vice President buzz swirls around McCain

Watch a volunteer tell McCain he needs to get a new staff.

(CNN) - It was a statement that a McCain town-hall participant said would land her on the campaign's "s**t list."

Addressing the Republican presidential candidate during his town-hall forum in New Hampshire Tuesday, a woman identified herself as a volunteer for his campaign, and said she had come to believe it was time McCain hires a new staff in the state.

"You've got to make some changes," the woman told McCain. "I've had problems with a lot of your paid staff."

Watch: a volunteer tells McCain to make some staff changes

The volunteers had put up all the signs ahead of the town hall event, she complained. "You've got two people sitting right here next to me…They have done more work for you volunteering than a lot of your paid staff have. All your signs that are up outside today, they were put up by us, not by your staff people.”

McCain, whose campaign has battled charges of incompetence - even from some within his own party - joked, "A lot of our paid staff, a lot of them are on work release programs as you know."

McCain later said the staff problems would be fixed.

"We'll have our folks sit down and chat with you about what needs to be fixed in your mind and in your view,” he said. “And let me just say again: I'm very aware, I'm very aware that the only way that campaigns succeed - and certainly the only way every one of mine have - is through volunteers, and I'm extremely grateful and I thank you."

Mike DuHaime ran Giuliani's presidential campaign.

(CNN) – In one of his first moves to centralize control of McCain's political organization, Steve Schmidt has tapped Rudy Giuliani's former campaign manager, Mike DuHaime, to be McCain's new political director, a top campaign adviser tells CNN.

Until last week, McCain had no political director at headquarters - highly unusual for a general election campaign. Mccain's campaign instead relied on 11 regional campaign managers - a structure many Republicans in and outside of the McCain campaign, including Schmidt, considered unworkable.

After formally taking control of the political operation last week, Schmidt decided to put a political director in place to oversee the state and regional operations.

Duhaime went to work as an adviser to McCain at headquarters not long after Giuliani dropped his primary bid.

Schmidt is taking over day-to-day operations in the McCain campaign.

(CNN) – John McCain’s campaign announced a shakeup at the top Wednesday, in the wake of growing Republican concern about its ability to compete against Barack Obama.

Campaign Manager Rick Davis said Tuesday morning that senior adviser Steve Schmidt would take over day-to-day operations of the campaign. The Bush campaign veteran will report to Davis, but the rest of the campaign will report to Schmidt, who will be in charge of everything from message and communications, to the political structure and organization to scheduling.

Full story

An independent expenditure arm of the RNC is set to take aim at Obama.

(CNN) – The RNC has created an independent expenditure campaign that will go up with its first TV ads in crucial battleground states this weekend.

CNN is told the first buy is in the ballpark of $3 million, and the subject of the ad will be “energy security.”

Parties are allowed by law to set up an independent expenditure campaign as long as it operates independently and does not coordinate on content or strategy with the party.

“Following Barack Obama's decision to become the only major party presidential candidate in history to not adhere to campaign spending caps, the Republican National Committee has begun an independent expenditure campaign in accordance with FEC regulations," Brad Todd, a consultant to the RNC's independent expenditure unit said in a statement. "The RNC will first advertise this weekend in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, highlighting the issue of energy security, which is emerging as a defining difference in the race for president."

McCain regularly called for a gas tax holiday in April and May.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – With gas prices reaching a national average of four dollars a gallon - a record high - John McCain is planning to resurrect his call for a national gas tax holiday, which became a staple of his stump speech in late April and early May.

A McCain aide told CNN's Dana Bash on Monday that the Arizona senator planned to plug the gas tax holiday in public statements throughout the day as a message to voters that he understands the plight of working families in a tough economy.

Before a fundraiser in Richmond, Virginia on Monday, McCain mentioned the gas tax holiday in remarks to a smaller event for about 40 high-dollar donors. "That was derided by Sen. Obama and others as a gimmick," McCain said, but added that working people and truckers would appreciate it.

"I don't pretend that it's an answer to our energy problems," he said.

Gas prices have risen more than 10 percent from $3.671 a month ago and are nearly 29 percent higher than the $3.105 average a year ago, according to AAA figures.

McCain's original gas tax holiday proposal called for suspending the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Hillary Clinton supported a similar proposal during her Democratic primary bid.

Along with Barack Obama, many economists largely dismissed the notion of a gas tax holiday as a political ruse that would do little to lower prices, but McCain has repeatedly said he does not believe the proposal would be a panacea for America’s energy woes.

Instead, McCain argued, low-income families could save some extra cash to pay for their children’s school supplies this fall, or perhaps treat themselves to a nice dinner.

UPDATE: Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan blasted McCain for continuing to push the plan.

"By touting a gas tax holiday as part of his proposal for economic recovery in Virginia today, Senator McCain proved he was right when he said he doesn't understand the economy as well as he needs to," he said in a statement emailed to reporters.

A voter said a “Swift Boat”-style group should come to McCain’s aid.

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) – A voter at a John McCain campaign event told the presumptive Republican nominee that he needed a “Swift Boats for McCain” group to aid his campaign this fall.

Air Force veteran Clif Sams told McCain that he had done a “damn good job” surviving his imprisonment during the Vietnam War. He then told the senator: “I hope that we have somebody called Swift Boats for McCain come out and help you. You’re damn good.”

“Thank you sir, and thank you for your service,” McCain responded.

In 2004, McCain vigorously defended John Kerry against attacks from “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” a group which sought to undermine Kerry’s Vietnam war record. At the time, the Arizona senator called the ads “dishonest and dishonorable.”

Asked why McCain had not had a similar reaction to Friday’s "Swift Boats for McCain" comment, campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said the senator had repeatedly staked out a “clear position” against third-party groups, and "the only 527 activity is against us."

Sams, the Air Force veteran who now sells life insurance, re-iterated to CNN after the town hall that he would like to see a group similar to “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” to help McCain defend himself from Democratic attacks in the general election.

He predicted “there will be a lot of veterans like us who come out of the woodwork this fall” to assist McCain.

John McCain said it's up to the Democrats to decide their nominee.

(CNN) – Campaigning across the border in Ohio, John McCain insists he’s neutral about what happens in Pennsylvania’s primary and Democratic contests beyond.

“I have never stated whether I wanted this election to stretch out or not. That is up to the Democratic Party voters and I have nothing to do with that,” said McCain.

The Republican nominee in waiting said he doesn’t know whether the Democratic race helps or hurts him, saying he’s heard arguments for both.

But privately some of McCain’s advisers tell CNN they do have an opinion. They’re secretly rooting for a big Pennsylvania win for Hillary Clinton, because they’ve concluded the longer Democrats bruise each other in battle, the better it is for McCain.

They point to polls among Democratic voters showing the longer the bitter race goes on, the more each candidate’s supporters say they won’t vote for the other.

But while those McCain aides say they want Clinton to stay in the race for a while, they increasingly say they would rather not run against her.

Those in the McCain camp who say they think Clinton could be tougher to beat than Obama point to both the map, and the makeup of Clinton and Obama’s supporters.

When it comes to the map, some McCain advisers say they would likely lose the traditionally red state of Arkansas to Hillary Clinton, where she was first lady and polls well against McCain. If Obama is his opponent, McCain aides think their candidate would likely win Arkansas.

In terms of voters, McCain aides say if Obama is his opponent, it would be much easier to woo Clinton’s primary voters like conservative white working class Democrats.

They also argue that if McCain ran against Obama, he would have a leg up on the Democrat with many Hispanic voters, who have flocked to Clinton in many Democratic contests. McCain often notes how well he has done with Hispanic voters over the years in his home state of Arizona.

Regardless, McCain aides are devising two general election strategies, one against each Democratic candidate.

After all, if there is anyone who knows how quickly a candidate’s political fortunes can change, it’s John McCain

McCain aids describe their general election strategy

(CNN) - As the Democratic primary battle stretches long into spring, John McCain’s campaign said Friday it has already set up its general election structure.

The staff has grown from 100 to 150, the polling team has been set up, and a new speechwriter has been hired, campaign manager Rick Davis told reporters in a briefing that included top McCain advisers. The size of the campaign’s media operation has also tripled.

The presumptive nominee now also has a "Victory Chair" in every state in charge of local fundraising. The goal: to convince supporters to contribute as much as $70,000 to his White House run through donations to his campaign, to the national party and to special committees set up to help get out the vote efforts in a handful of key swing states.

McCain’s campaign, which has been outpaced in the fundraising race by both his Democratic opponents, raised $15 million in March and has $10 million in the bank. This week, it reached the 200,000-donor mark.

Davis said new regional campaign managers had joined the staff, and that different plans had been crafted to deal with Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton candidacies.

“We have no preference” between the two, said senior strategist Charlie Black. “I'm not sure that one is easier than the other.”

Cindy McCain's worth is estimated to be over $100 million. The fortune is not in Sen. John McCain's name.

(CNN) - John McCain and wife Cindy do not file joint tax returns, and the campaign said Friday they will not release her 2006 and 2007 tax returns along with the candidate's.

The campaign argues that the two keep their finances separate, and that she has privacy concerns for her kids.

The Obamas and the Clintons both file taxes jointly.

Some of Cindy McCain's financial statements have been released as part of regular Senate disclosures.

The McCain campaign notes John Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz, did not release her complete tax returns during the 2004 campaign.

An heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain's worth has been estimated to be around $100 million.

Related: Wife's beer fortune gives McCain access to millions

The McCain campaign takes aim at Obama.

(CNN) - John McCain's campaign is seizing on Barack Obama’s comments Tuesday night deriding the public financing system for presidential campaigns. A senior McCain adviser calls it the latest signal that the Democratic candidate may abandon a promise to participate in the system, should he become the Democratic nominee.

“It seems he is taking another step down the path of breaking his promise to the American people,” said McCain adviser Steve Schmidt. “Obama is running an increasingly negative campaign built on a foundation of untruthful attacks and broken promises. That is the type of politics Americans are sick of and John McCain is going to change.”

At a fundraiser Tuesday night, Obama told donors that “we have created a parallel public financing system where the American people decide if they want to support a campaign they can get on the Internet and finance it, and they will have as much access and influence over the course and direction of our campaign that has traditionally reserved for the wealthy and the powerful."

Participating in the public financing system limits a candidate’s ability to spend campaign cash. McCain has promised to accept public funding only if his opponent does the same.

For the McCain campaign, criticizing Obama on this issue serves two purposes.

First, it serves to undermine Obama’s reformer message, which is the same theme McCain is running on, and gives them a means of painting the Illinois senator as a typical, untrustworthy politician.

“Barack Obama publicly promised the American people that he would accept public financing if he is the nominee of his Party," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. "Launching his campaign by going back on a promise to voters would be dishonest, and exposes his ‘politics of hope’ as empty rhetoric out of a typical politician.”

On a more practical level, it’s in McCain’s interest to push Obama to take public financing because the presumptive GOP nominee raises nowhere near as much money as Obama. Last month was one of McCain’s best in terms of fundraising - he pulled in $15 million. But over the course of the year to date, he has raised less than the $40 million that Obama did in the last month alone.

Last week, McCain's campaign returned $3 million in funds received from major donors towards general election expenses, and encouraged them to send the money to the Republican National Committee's Victory Fund instead - one of the strongest signals to date he intends to participate in the public financing system, which prohibits him from receiving those donations from individuals who have already contributed the $2,300 primary season maximum.

McCain first went after Obama on this issue in February, after Obama wrote an op-ed in USA Today proposing a "meaningful agreement in good faith that results in real spending limits.”

Then, McCain called that “Washington double-speak” and challenged the Democrat to keep what he calls a promise to participate in the public financing system. The Obama campaign responded by accusing McCain of abandoning new efforts at campaign finance reform, a McCain signature issue.