WASHINGTON--You betcha, she's coming. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin--on book tour to promote her memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life" will headline the Gridiron Club winter dinner here--along with Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).
Palin, the outspoken 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, will be the Republican speaker at the Dec. 5 gathering; the equally outspoken Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is the Democratic speaker. A just published biography of Frank is titled, Barney Frank: The Story of America's Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman
The Gridiron Club is an invitation-only association of Washington journalists whose active membership is limited to 65. The winter dinner is a small affair; each spring the club sponsors a white-tie dinner attended by the who's who of Washington.
WASHINGTON--President Obama, reacting Thursday afternoon to the murders at Ft. Hood, said the shootings were "horrific."
"As some of you might have heard, there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. We don't yet know all the details at this moment; we will share them as we get them. What we do know is that a number of American soldiers have been killed, and even more have been wounded in a horrific outburst of violence.
"My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and with the families of the fallen, and with those who live and serve at Fort Hood. These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis. It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Mark Kirk, who casts himself as a moderate, on Monday dodged questions about whether he wanted help from conservative former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in his race for Senate -- only to have the truth surface Wednesday. He is indeed soliciting her support -- when she hits Chicago later this month to appear on the "Oprah Winfrey Show."
WASHINGTON--Gov. Quinn raised campaign cash, huddled with members of the Illinois congressional delegation, pitched a plan to help military families and visited President Obama and Chicago pals at the White House on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON--Chris Cillizza scoops in the Washington Post that Illinois Senate hopeful Rep. Mark Kirk--who bills himself as a "moderate" Republican--is seeking the endorsement of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, according to a memo Cillizza obtained.
Cillizza writes in his column, "The Fix" about the Kirk memo, where Kirk is concerned whether Palin will endorse a rival in the February Illinois GOP primary. Palin's endorsement of a third party conservative in a New York race for a vacant House seat--drove the moderate from the contest and Tuesday resulted in the election of a Democrat.
Cillizza: "After noting that Palin will be in Chicago later this month to appear on "Oprah", Kirk writes that "the Chicago media will focus on one key issue: Does Gov[ernor] Palin oppose Congressman Mark Kirk's bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?"
"Kirk goes on to write that he is hoping for something "quick and decisive" from Palin about the race, perhaps to the effect of: "Voters in Illinois have a key opportunity to take Barack Obama's Senate seat. Congressman Kirk is the lead candidate to do that."
"Malek confirmed the authenticity of the memo in an e-mail exchange with the Fix."
The economic meltdown impacting almost all of us highlights the need for individual financial literacy. While the U.S. regulatory system failed, people also got themselves into jams by agreeing to mortgage terms that set them up for financial failure.
First Lady Michelle Obama, in launching her mentoring program on Monday, said one goal is to coach young women on financial literacy.
Studies show students especially lack basic financial skills.
Noteworthy: The President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy is only getting around to having it's first meeting under the Obama administration today. The last meeting was under former President Bush, on Jan. 6, 2009. The council was created on Jan. 22, 2008.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn hits Washington on Wednesday to meet with the Illinois congressional delegation on high-speed rail, highway and other Illinois transportation funding. He'll have a media availability after a lunch with the delegation with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Later, Quinn heads to the Charlie Palmer restaurant for a fund-raiser hosted by former Illinois Dem chief Gary LaPaille; tickets between $1,000 and $10,000.
A new Vanity Fair/ 60 Minutes poll finds that former Secretary of State Condi Rice's memoir is more anticipated than Sarah Palin's upcoming book.
From VF/60: "Several noted Republicans will publish memoirs within the year, and the most anticipated turns out to be neither that of the two-term president nor the media magnet John McCain chose as his running mate last year. Rice, the first black, female secretary of state, beat out both Bush and Palin. Asked which memoir--Rice's, Bush's, Palin's, Laura Bush's, or Dick Cheney's--they would most likely read, 22 percent of respondents picked Rice's, followed by 11 percent for Bush's, 9 percent for Palin's, 7 percent for Laura Bush's, and just 4 percent for Cheney's."
Chicago Sun-Times writer Mary Houlihan profiles Chicago fifth grader Lorenzo Rivera, a break out star in HBO's "By the People" documentary on the Obama presidential campaign, where he is featured making canvassing calls. Read Houlihan's Sun-Times article here.
Houlihan: "Lorenzo Rivera may be only 11 years old, but he knows more about politics than many adults.
The Chicago fifth-grader proves just how much in the new documentary "By the People: The Election of Barack Obama," where he is filmed making campaign calls on Obama's behalf in 2008.
In the movie, debuting at 8 p.m. Tuesday on HBO, filmmakers Amy Rice and Alicia Sams capture Lorenzo, only 9 at the time, handling a call to a confused voter with a calm and grace belying his young age.
First Lady Michelle Obama launches a White House mentoring program on Monday, starting with a session of girls from Washington area schools paired with women from the White House East and West Wings. On Wednesday, Mrs. Obama hosts classical music stars for a White House Music Series event, to include a workshop with music students. My story on Mrs. Obama's week ahead is here.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released on Thursday the 1,990-page House Democrats' health reform legislation, which includes the controversial government sponsored health plan that has come to be called a public option. It would mandate everyone to buy health insurance and ban insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Read the bill here.
The bill is expected to go to the House floor next week and is not expected to get any Republican votes.
If the House approves the bill, it will have to be melded with the Senate version--where everything can change--and return to the chamber for a final vote.
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Lynn Sweet is a columnist and the Washington Bureau Chief for the 
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