Look out Washington, Sarah Palin is coming.

Palin will be the Republican speaker at the annual winter dinner of the Gridiron Club of journalists in Washington on Dec. 5.

“The governor is very excited and was honored to accept the invitation,” said her spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton.

The former Alaska governor, who rose to fame as John McCain’s vice presidential nominee last year, is about to go on a book tour to promote her memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life.”

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Photo credit: Reuters/Nathaniel Wilder (Palin talks to well-wishers in Fairbanks in July)

The October employment report is in and it’s a shocker.

The unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent, the highest since April 1983 when it was also 10.2 pct. If you don’t want to do the math, that was 26 years ago. It was worse than expectations for 9.9 percent.

This is not good news for President Barack Obama who is struggling to pull the economy out of the worst recession since the Depression.

The employment numbers were also worse than expected with October payrolls falling 190,000, a bigger drop than the 175,000 decline expected.

It’s a day of mourning at Fort Hood in Texas after an Army psychiatrist went on a shooting rampage that killed 12 soldiers and one civilian and wounded 30.

“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,” President Barack Obama said yesterday.

“I was saddened to learn of the tragic incident at Fort Hood. Laura and I are keeping the victims and their families in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” former President George W. Bush, who lives in Texas, said in a statement.

Suspected gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan was in stable condition but investigators had not yet been able to interrogate him, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, Fort Hood commanding officer, said on NBC’s “Today” show.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Obama makes remarks about shooting at Fort Hood on Nov. 5)

Absolutely they are on good terms…

Richard Holbrooke, special U.S. representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, once again declared his respect for Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

In fact, he feels so strongly about reports that the two don’t get along he wrote a letter to The Washington Post.

“I did not, and never have, spoken harshly to Mr. Karzai, ” said Holbrooke in the letter to the editor, which was published on Thursday. He was responding to a story earlier this week in the newspaper which said he had spoken harshly to the re-elected Afghan leader.

“As for my relations with President Karzai, whom I have known for more than five years, they remain cordial, correct and respectful,” added Holbrooke, who is known for his combative style. He said the same last month when he was pressed about his relations with Karzai.

Holbrooke wrote in the letter that he had been in direct contact with Karzai since he was declared the winner of the fraud-plagued Afghan election this week.

Holbrooke is expected to travel to Afghanistan soon. No date yet. Stay tuned.

Holbrooke was last in Afghanistan in August for the election when diplomats said he delivered a strong message to Karzai about corruption, telling him the United States wanted more from the Afghan leader if he won.

But in his letter, Holbrooke said he had also made very clear to Karzai that he “looked forward to continuing our close cooperation” with him and his government.

Look for lots of public smiles and handshakes when Karzai and Holbrooke meet in Kabul. What happens behind closed doors, we’ll tell you later.

Photo credit: Reuters/Omar Sobhani (Karzai and Holbrooke shake hands in Kabul in February)

The Congressional Budget Office, Congress’ non-partisan score keeper on the cost of legislation, has some good news for Republicans and the alternative healthcare proposal they plan to offer in the House of Representatives. Their plan would save the federal budget deficit $68 billion over 10 years and on average reduce insurance premiums compared to what they would be under current law.

“Under Republican health care reforms, premiums will go down, making coverage more affordable for families and employers, which is the first step to reducing the number of uninsured Americans,” said Republican Representative Dave Camp.

The proposal is far more limited in scope than the sweeping healthcare overhaul written by Democrats that the House is expected to debate on Saturday. The Republican proposal would provide for the sale of insurance coverage across state lines and calls for medical malpractice lawsuit reforms.

The proposal would also provide incentives to states to encourage them to review their insurance rules and mandates to find ways to reduce costs and expand medical coverage.

Now the bad news. The proposal would reduce the rolls of the uninsured by about 3 million in 2019, leaving about 52 million people without medical coverage, the CBO said. Also, the CBO said that premiums for some people, mostly the less healthy, would go up, feeding into Democratic criticisms that the Republican plan would allow insurers to “cherry pick” and enroll healthier, less costly people.

“The Republican approach is certainly not healthcare reform,” said House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer. “It’s a large amount of talk, with very little walk.”

CBO stressed that its estimates were preliminary.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts ( U.S. Capitol police watch protesters opposed to Democratic healthcare refrom

It’s the day before the all-important employment report for October. (Expectation is for a 175,000 drop in payrolls and an uptick in the unemployment rate to 9.9 percent, which would be a 26-year high).

It’s the day after the New York Yankees won the World Series. (Condolences Phillies fans).

It’s the day before the House of Representatives might send healthcare overhaul legislation to the floor for debate with the goal of a Saturday vote. (Have learned never to bet on the timing of legislation on the Hill).

It’s the day after President Barack Obama didn’t comment on the previous night’s elections. (We’re still on POTUS election comment watch).

It’s the day before FRIDAY!!!! (Although some of us are working on the weekend).

It’s the day after both parties spun Tuesday’s election results every which way to suit them. (Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says it was a win, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says it was the sign of a ‘Republican Renaissance’).

As for today, Obama hosts a White House Tribal Nations Conference, meets with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, meets with President Ian Khama of Botswana, meets with representatives of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (probably to get a fill on her recent trip to Pakistan and the Middle East).

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Photo credit: Reuters/Ray Stubblebine (New York Yankees players after winning World Series)

The East Room of the White House was turned into a chamber ringing with classical music from celebrities such as violinist Joshua Bell on Wednesday as part of the fourth installment in First Lady Michelle Obama’s ongoing performance series.

President Barack Obama welcomed the hushed crowd, which included a handful of high school musicians and members of Congress, by telling those unsure of when to applaud during classical performances they were not alone.

Former President John F. Kennedy had the same problem, he said, until he enlisted his social secretary to discreetly signal him to clap.

“Fortunately, I have Michelle to tell me when to applaud,” he kidded. “The rest of you are on your own.”

The performance, which also featured Sharon Isbin teasing the themes of “Asturias” by Isaac Albeniz from her classical guitar and pianist Awadagin Pratt sneaking the melody of Hail to the Chief at the end of a piece, capped a day of master classes and workshops hosted by the First Lady for more than 100 student musicians at the White House.

During the evening performance 8-year-old Sujari Britt, from New York, played alongside renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein, eliciting cheers from the audience and a standing ovation from Obama.

The concert airs on SIRIUS XM Radio’s Symphony Hall Channel over the weekend. The White House concert series kicked off in June focusing on Jazz.  Other concerts featured country and Latin music.

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Photo credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (The Obamas at White House classical music concert)

There are certain upsides to life as a first daughter — travel on Air Force One, White House sleepovers, your new dog Bo — but there are definitely downsides, like when you are 11 years old and your dad tells the world about how you got a C on your science test.

Parents could imagine the groans when President Barack Obama veered away from his prepared remarks during a speech at a Wisconsin middle school on Wednesday to talk about his own sixth-grade daughter and her 73.

“So Malia came home the other day.  She had gotten a 73 on her science test,” Obama said.  “Now, she’s a 6th grader.  There was a time a couple years ago when she came home with like an 80-something and she said, ‘I did pretty well.’  And I said, ‘No, no, no.  That’s’ — I said, ‘Our goal is — Our goal is 90 percent and up.’” 

For our international readers, in most U.S. school systems, 90 percent and above is an A, the highest mark; 80 to 89 percent is a B, considered “good;” 70 to 79 percent is a C, for work deemed merely average; 60 to 69 is a D, for “just passing,” and below 60 is an F, for failure.

Malia, the elder of Obama’s two daughters and a student at an elite Washington private school, came home with the 73 more recently, Obama recalled.

“So she came and she was depressed,” he said, and then recounted a conversation in which he asked his daughter what happened and she explained that the study guide the teacher had handed out had not conformed to the material on the test.

“So what’s your idea here?” the president asked.

Obama told the story of how Malia had taken her setback to heart, by deciding on her own not to rely on teacher’s study guides, but to study the entire chapter. “I’m going to change how I study, how I approach it,” she said, according to her father, who added, “So she came home yesterday, she was — ‘I got a 95′ - right? - so she’s high-fiving,” Obama said.

“But here’s the point,” the proud parent added, using the conversation to make his point that children must succeed on their own, but need their parents’ support.  “She said — she said, ‘I just like having knowledge.’  That’s what she said.  And what was happening was she had started wanting it more than us.”

The crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, cheered, but maybe somewhere a certain middle-schooler was wishing dad had stuck to his text.

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PHOTO CREDIT: U.S. President Barack Obama is welcomed by his daughters Sasha (L) and Malia, who is holding their dog Bo, on his return to Washington after a day trip to Ohio and Pennsylvania, where he participated in labor and economic rallies, September 15, 2009. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

Republican victories in the Virginia and New Jersey governors’ races may send shivers through Democratic circles, but what does it mean for President Barack Obama’s ambitious proposal to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare system?

Not much, say Democrats. They are looking beyond the state issues that dominated the governor’s races and instead are focusing on two congressional races won by Democrats where national issues like healthcare reform were in play. 

“From my perspective we won last night,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters when asked about Tuesday’s elections. “This was a victory for healthcare reform. From my standpoint we picked up votes last night — one in California and one in New York.”

The two victories–one in New York district 23 where Bill Owens became the first Democrat to win the seat in over a century and in California district 10 where John Garamendi kept the seat vacated by Ellen Tauscher in Democratic hands — brings the number of Democrats in the House to 258.

 That gives Pelosi a little more breathing room as she tries to muster the votes needed to pass the sweeping health reform legislation.  She could lose as many as 40 Democrats when the House votes, possibly later this week, and still pass the measure.

The two new members are expected to be sworn into office on Thursday.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveils Democratic healthcare legislation)

The First spokesman has spoken: Tuesday’s elections were not about the president after all.

In the New Jersey and Virginia governor races, which Republicans won, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says voters were working through “very local issues that didn’t involve the president.”

For his part, President Barack Obama, who campaigned for both Democrats who lost, received updates on the races but didn’t watch the election returns last night.

Gibbs warns not to make too much of that: “I wouldn’t read a ton into that since he didn’t actually watch election returns when he was running.”

And then he plugged the HBO documentary about Obama that ran last night (a sure sign they liked what they saw). “If you did watch the movie on HBO, we called him and told him he won Iowa. He did not watch election returns.”

That was of course a year ago, and Reuters White House Correspondent Caren Bohan describes Gibbs this morning as somewhat wistful about the anniversary of Grant Park and Obama’s election night celebration.

So what were Tuesday’s election results all about then?

The White House is emphasizing that local issues were the main concern for voters, such as property taxes in New Jersey. Gibbs also acknowledged the economy is very much on people’s minds.

“I think voters are concerned about the economy. I don’t think the president needed an election or an exit poll to come to that conclusion,” he said.

“If the president had been asked by an exit poller yesterday ‘are you concerned about the economy?’ He would have answered ‘yes’,” Gibbs said.

What do you think was the message from voters in Tuesday’s elections?

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Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (Gibbs speaks to reporters on Air Force One in March)

Day-after chatter focused on how independent voters were pivotal in helping drive Republicans to victory in the New Jersey and Virginia governor races.

“The independent voter today is the keystone,” a very happy chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, said on CNN.

“And if you don’t have a message for them, if you don’t have something to say, they’ll let you know by going with the other team or staying out of it altogether. Last night they came home to the GOP,” he said. After repeated TV appearances since last night’s results, Steele is holding a press conference at 10 a.m.

Tim Kaine, the outgoing governor of Virginia and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, made the TV rounds on behalf of his party — his main message was that Creigh Deeds, the Democrat who lost  the race to replace him in the Virginia statehouse, had been an “underdog” all along.

Kaine also focused on (surprise, surprise) the Democrat win for a House of Representatives seat in New York over the Conservative Party candidate that Sarah Palin had endorsed.

Palin had something to say about that on her Facebook page in a note titled “A Victory for Common Sense and Fiscal Sanity.”

“I commend Doug Hoffman and all the other under-dog candidates who have the courage to put themselves out there and run against the odds,” the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate wrote.

(Notice both Kaine and Palin describe their losing candidates as underdogs).

Palin, whose book “Going Rogue” is due out mid-month, ended her note by saying: “The cause goes on.”

President Barack Obama is off to Wisconsin today, a year after he won the presidential election. We’ll be on the lookout for any comment on this week’s election outcome.

What impact do you think the Republican wins in New Jersey and Virginia will have going forward?

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Photo credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson (Leo who plays title role in film “Underdog” held by actor Jason Lee)