Sarah Palin: 'Fighter... next fish run'

Video: Washington Unplugged 7-7-09
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Senator Franken's sweaing in.
Splitting Seconds -- Lance Armstrong at the Tour de France
ABC's Christophe Schpoliansky reports from London: U.S. cycling legend and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is tonight in 2nd position overall of the 96th Tour de France, just a few thousandths of a second behind the still leader...
Sarah Palin: 'Fighter... next fish run'

by Mark Silva and updated with ABC and FOX talks

'I knew that everything changed on Aug. the 29th,'' says Sarah Palin, the resigning governor of Alaska who was chosen as the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee last year. "That was the day I was tapped.''

Reporters caught up with Palin at "a remote fishing village'' in Alaska where husband Todd Palin's family has run a commercial fishing operation for years, a favorite Fourth of July weekend resort for Alaska's first family -- which became a lame-duck first family on the eve of the Fourth, when Palin abruptly announced her resignation..

Allowing that she may not have political staying power after her surprise resignation Friday, Palin told Kate Snow on ABC's Good Morning America: "I said before ... 'You know, politically speaking, if I die, I die. So be it.''

NBC's Andrea Mitchell offered this account this morning, asking Palin, wearing overall waders and jumping out of a boat on a beach 300 miles from Wasilla, if, now that she is stepping down as chief executive 18 months before the end of her first term as governor, she can envision herself running for president in 2012:

"I don't know what the future holds,'' said Palin, smiling on the shore of the remote waters of her home state. "Can't predict what the next fish run is going to look like, much less what's going to happen in the next few years....''

So why he she resigning on July 26?

"I knew that I wasn't going to run for election,'' Palin said. "The choice I had to make was how I was going to react.''

She cited "the political game that's being played right now,'' all of the ethics complaints that her administration has had to defend against since she returned to Alaska as the failed GOP vice presidential nominee. ""I think that some people may not be fully aware of all the conditions. We have sat down with many reporters and we have shown them how it has cost thousands of hours in time and thousands of dollars.''

She personally has "a legal bill of about a half million dollars, but that's not the consideration,'' said Palin, who also has a book deal that should be worth a few million dollars to her next year. "The consideration is how it affects the state....''

pretty darn independent, and not get wrapped up into a strong political machine that hasn't been extremely successful in some ways."

In the media swarm around Palin out there in the salmon-fishing grounds, the outgoing governor told Dan Springer of the FOX News Channel: ""I do not know what the future holds...

""I want to work, right now, for people who are going to work in office or out of office for the right things,'' Palin said. "Those principles that built up America, those who are inspired by the values of America, and will not deride or apologize for the values we hold as Americans. I'm gonna work for those people."

"Knowing I was not going to run for reelection... I knew I wasn't going to run again, so I was going to be honest with Alaskans,'' she said, pressed about quitting in the middle of the stream. "You're not listening to me...''

Was it difficult to readjust to 'the nitty gritty'' of government in Alaska following the brief national run that she enjoyed last year? "You mean like the fish slime and the dirt under the finger nails?'' she replied. "No... I am a fighter, I thrive on challenge.''

The family "vote'' cast for the resignation was unanimous, Palin has said.

And Todd Palin, who now has become a lame-duck "first dude,'' told Mitchell the family has "no doubts at all.''

New Funding Rules Issued On Stem Cell Research

The National Institutes of Health says it deems stem cell lines eligible for government research dollars if scientists can prove they meet the spirit of the new ethics standards. An NIH registry will list all that qualify. The rules settle the question of whether new ethics requirements would disqualify many of the stem cells created over the past decade.

Divides in How We View Michael Jackson Coverage?

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Divides in How We View Michael Jackson Coverage?
Pew Research took a look at how Americans are viewing the coverage of Michael Jackson's passing. On July 1st the organization put out some numbers. Here is a highlight: "Eight-in-ten African Americans say they followed news about Jackson’s death very...
Eyeing Senate bid, Mark Kirk raises $580,000

By Mike Dorning

WASHINGTON--North Shore Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, who has been contemplating a costly run for the U.S. Senate or governor, reported Monday that he has built up a campaign warchest of more than $1 million.

Kirk raised more than $580,000 during the second quarter of the year, according to a statement his campaign released. Such a fundraising performance is robust by the standards of U.S. House members but lags slightly behind the amount of money Kirk raised during the same period in the last election cycle.

A statement released by spokesman Eric Elk described the results as "on pace" with Kirk's fundraising during the second quarter of last election cycle. Kirk raised $606,000 during the second quarter of 2007 and had accumulated a balance of $1.1 million at the end of the period.

During the last election cycle, Kirk was among the most prodigious fundraisers in the U.S. House outside of the party leadership, drawing on a support base in a wealthy region to defend a swing congressional district fiercely contested by the opposition Democrats.

The statement from Kirk's campaign described this year's fundraising as "strong" given the economic recession.

"I am humbled that during these difficult economic times, our support is stronger than ever," Kirk said in a written statement.

With Republicans no longer in control of either the White House or Congress, GOP candidates generally also are having a more difficult time raising money than when their party wielded power in Washington.

Kirk is being encouraged by Republican party leaders to make a bid for either the U.S. Senate or governor in the 2010 election.

The campaign treasury Kirk has accumulated is particularly important should he choose to make a bid for the U.S. Senate because the money can be used in any federal campaign.

Federal campaign funds must comply with restrictive rules which limit contributions to $2,400 per person. Illinois state law does not impose limits on campaign contributions, making it easier to quickly amass funds for a run at a state office.

In a mid-April speech to the City Club of Chicago, Kirk had promised to make a decision on seeking one of the offices by the end of the month but then let the deadline slip and has yet to make an announcement of his intentions.

Kirk's campaign released the fundraising totals in advance of July 15 legal deadline for disclosing fundraising activity through July 15. The campaign did not provide data on individual contributors and expenses, which must be released by the deadline.

Some Docs Resist Repeal Of Bush-Era Abortion Regs

Some doctors who oppose abortion say that if President Obama repeals controversial Bush administration regulations that allow doctors to refuse to provide care that conflicts with their beliefs, they would rather quit their practice than provide care that violates their conscience.

Progress Seen in U.S.-Russia Arms Control
Framework for Negotiations on New Nuke Treaty Expected to be Announced as Obama Treks to Moscow
Biden, Obama: 'Misread the economy'

by Mark Silva

A few months into the federal government's attempt to stimulate the economy, with unemployment at a 26-year-high of 9.5 percent in June, Vice President Joe Biden, the Obama administration's point-man on the stimulus program, allows that they "misread'' the severity of the problem.

"The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy," Biden told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired today on This Week.

Biden acknowledged that officials were too optimistic earlier this year when they predicted that joblessness would peak at 8 percent.

"The truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited," said Biden. "Now, that doesn't -- I'm not -- it's now our responsibility. So the second question becomes, did the economic package we put in place, including the Recovery Act, is it the right package given the circumstances we're in? And we believe it is the right package given the circumstances we're in.''

Here courtesy of ABC News is a transcriptL

STEPHANOPOULOS: Major milestone this week here in Iraq with the American troops pulling out of the cities. And I wonder if you can put the broader American mission in context. Are we in the process of securing victory or cutting our losses to come home?

BIDEN: Securing victory. Look, the president and I laid out a plan in the campaign which was twofold. One, withdraw our troops from Iraq in a rational timetable consistent with what the Iraqis want. And the same time, leave behind a stable and secure country.

And one of the reasons I'm here, George, is to push the last end of that, which is the need for political settlement on some important issues between Arabs and Kurds and among the confessional groups. And I think we're well on our way.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, your predecessor doesn't seem convinced.

(LAUGHTER)

STEPHANOPOULOS: John Hannah, Vice President Cheney's national security adviser, wrote this week that under Obama, Bush's commitment to winning in Iraq has all been vanished. The vice president warned against a premature withdrawal.

He said: "I would not want to see the U.S. waste all of the tremendous sacrifice that has gotten us to this point."

BIDEN: You know, it's kind of ironic. It's their timetable we are implementing. Cheney and Bush agreed with the Iraqis before we were elected that we'd have combat troops out of the cities by June 30th.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So he's wrong to be worried?

BIDEN: Well, I mean, it's -- I mean, for this he can't have it both ways. He negotiated that timetable. We have met the commitment the timetable the last administration negotiated with Iraqis. And we're totally confident that is the right thing to do.

So I find it kind of ironic that he's criticizing his own agreement that he negotiated.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You're also facing a little bit of criticism from the Iraqis. You know yesterday you stood up there with Prime Minister Maliki and talked about your commitment to solve these political problems, yet his spokesman came out after the meeting and said: "This is purely an Iraqi issue, we don't want the Americans to get involved."

What do you say to that?

BIDEN: Well, that's that not what -- that's not what the prime minister said. The prime minister said that we may need you to get involved.

What we offered the prime minister, as well as the speaker, as well as the two vice presidents, was that to the extent -- let me give you an example. The United Nations has started a process to deal with what they called the "disputed internal borders." And that is the debate between the Kurds and the Arabs as to where the line is.

Kirkuk is probably the biggest flashpoint. And we were asked that we would -- would we be helpful to the United Nations in doing this? I was further asked that would I communicate to the Kurdish leadership, who I have a close relationship with, that their passing a constitution through their parliament in Kurdistan was not helpful to the process that was under way.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So what's going on here? Maliki says one thing and his spokesman says another.

BIDEN: Well, look, I think that it's very important that Prime Minister Maliki and all of the Iraqi leaders are able to in fact communicate, which is true, to the people of Iraq, that they're now a sovereign nation.

They take directions from no one. That they are able to handle their own internal affairs. And the fact -- my guess is, if the spokesman said that -- which surprises me, if the spokesman said that, I'd imagine they're worried about an upcoming election, making it look like the United States is going to continue to try to direct things here.

We are not. That is not why I'm here.

STEPHANOPOULOS: We're not going to direct things, but what if the Iraqi people -- they've been dealing with these political disputes for an awful long time, what if they can't solve them, the violence flares up again?

BIDEN: Well, that's going to be a tragic outcome for the Iraqi people. We made a commitment.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But are we going to put our lives on the line again?

BIDEN: No. We made a commitment to withdraw our troops from the cities by the 30th, to withdraw our combat brigades from Iraq by next summer -- the end of next summer, and withdraw all troops according to the SOFA, that agreement we negotiated with them, by the end of 2011. That is our intention.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But no matter what, 2011, American troops all gone?

BIDEN: That is the intention. We believe the Iraqis will be fully capable of maintaining their own security. And we believe that with the time frame, with their upcoming election -- you know they're having an election in January, I know you know that, they'll form a new government early -- in late winter as a consequence of that election.

And it is our expectation that that election will come off peacefully and that their democracy is gradually maturing, so.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me turn to Iran. We're three weeks out from their election.

BIDEN: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you have any doubt it was stolen?

BIDEN: Well, look, what I don't want to do is play into the hands of the supreme leader and Ahmadinejad like they're blaming the British now. You know, there -- that the reason why there was unrest is outside influence.

STEPHANOPOULOS: They're saying they have confessions from reformers saying that.

BIDEN: Well, you know, they say a lot of things. That's simply not true. The -- I think the dust hasn't settled yet in terms of?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Still, three weeks ago.

BIDEN: Well, no, now here's what I think. I mean, I think it's clear that the consequences of the way the election was conducted and the way that the election was declared -- who was declared the winner and how, is going to have a rippling effect.

What that effect will be, I don't know. I think we have to wait to see how this settles out and -- before we can make a judgment.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But there's no doubt now that they responded violently to the election.

BIDEN: Oh, there is no doubt about that. There is none. The whole world saw it. And it is -- we have to acknowledge as a free and sovereign nation that we abhor the violence that took place. We think it was inappropriate, the way in which they treated those protesters.

And so there is no question, we and the rest of the world looked at them and said, my lord, this is not the way to conduct?

STEPHANOPOULOS: But how do you respond to critics who say the United States should have come out forcefully right away, right away and said, this is wrong, stop it, and they say that would have made a difference?

BIDEN: Well, I don't -- I think the president was absolutely pitch-perfect. I think what the president did is exactly the right way. I think the president did not allow us to be used to as the scapegoat, us to be used as?

STEPHANOPOULOS: There were some reports that you were arguing for a more forceful response earlier.

BIDEN: Well, I think the president did it exactly right. I think he was correct.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And going forward, what next? What should the strategy be right now?

BIDEN: Well, look, the Iranian government has a choice. They either choose greater isolation, and from the whole world, or they decide to take a rightful place in the -- in civilized, big, great nations. They can -- that's the path they have to choose.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Haven't they already shown evidence in the last week of what their choice is?

BIDEN: Well, they have in terms of the way they conducted their election, but they haven't in terms of whether -- the real key issues to now, are they going to continue the nuclear program? Are they going to be braced by what happened? Is this going to alter their behavior internally or externally?

Look, responses that they saw on the street in any country have consequences. It's hard to predict what those consequences will be.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But what are the consequences for the U.S. relationship? I mean, the president had said he wants to meet with the Iranians over the nuclear program through the P-5. But how does he engage with the Iranians now without breaking faith with those reformers?

BIDEN: Well, the way you do it is if they choose to meet with the P5, under the conditions the P5 was laid out, it means they begin to change course. And it means that the protesters probably had some impact on the behavior of an administration that they don't like at all. And it believes and I believe that means there's consequences to that.

Now, if they in fact decide to shut out the rest of the world, clamp down, further isolation, I think that takes them down a very different path.

STEPHANOPOULOS: How do you respond to those who say that it's the United States now that should hit the pause button, there should be a cause correction, and we shouldn't rush to sit down...

BIDEN: Well, we're not. We're not rushing to sit down.

As I said to you, we have to wait to see how this sort of settles out. And there's already an offer laid out there by the permanent five plus one to say we're prepared to sit down and negotiate with you relative to your nuclear program. And so the ball's in their court.

STEPHANOPOULOS: When I saw President Ahmadinejad back in April, his response to that was that we need to see more from the United States first.

Is it fair to say now that there will be absolutely no more concessions to the Iranians in advance of those discussions?

BIDEN: It's fair to say the position the president has laid out will not change.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But there will be engagement -- if the Iranians want to...

(CROSSTALK)

BIDEN: If the Iranians seek to engage, we will engage.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And meanwhile, the clock is ticking...

BIDEN: If the Iranians respond to the offer of engagement, we will engage.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But the offer is on the table?

BIDEN: The offer's on the table.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it pretty clear that he agreed with President Obama to give until the end of the year for this whole process of engagement to work. After that, he's prepared to make matters into his own hands.

Is that the right approach?

BIDEN: Look, Israel can determine for itself -- it's a sovereign nation -- what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Whether we agree or not?

BIDEN: Whether we agree or not. They're entitled to do that. Any sovereign nation is entitled to do that. But there is no pressure from any nation that's going to alter our behavior as to how to proceed.

What we believe is in the national interest of the United States, which we, coincidentally, believe is also in the interest of Israel and the whole world. And so there are separate issues.

If the Netanyahu government decides to take a course of action different than the one being pursued now, that is their sovereign right to do that. That is not our choice.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But just to be clear here, if the Israelis decide Iran is an existential threat, they have to take out the nuclear program, militarily the United States will not stand in the way?

BIDEN: Look, we cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do when they make a determination, if they make a determination that they're existentially threatened and their survival is threatened by another country.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You say we can't dictate, but we can, if we choose to, deny over-flight rights here in Iraq. We can stand in the way of a military strike.

BIDEN: I'm not going to speculate, George, on those issues, other than to say Israel has a right to determine what's in its interests, and we have a right and we will determine what's in our interests.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Meanwhile, North Korea...

BIDEN: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... seven missile launches in the last 24 hours, 11 this week. Anything the United States can do about it?

BIDEN: The question is, is there anything that we should do about it?

Look, this has almost become predictable behavior. Some of it seems like almost attention-seeking behavior.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And you don't want to give the attention?

BIDEN: And -- no, I don't want to give the attention, because, look, I think our policy has been absolutely correct so far. We have succeeded in uniting the most important and critical countries to North Korea on a common path of further isolating North Korea. They're going to be faced with a pretty difficult choice, it seems to me.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But not a task that includes very forceful enforcement of the sanctions. The Russians and the Chinese blocked any boarding of the ships, didn't they?

BIDEN: No, no. Well, what they did was, if you noticed, the ship had to turn around and come back. Why? Because no port would allow them into their port.

There was no place they could go with certitude that they would not be, in fact, at that point, boarded and searched. And so I would argue that it, in fact, worked.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Is our policy now though basically waiting for the Kim Jong-il regime to collapse?

BIDEN: Our policy is to continue to put united pressure from the very countries that North Korea was able to look to before with impunity. They could take almost any action and got no reaction, no negative reaction.

That's changed. And it is -- there is a significant turning of the pressure. And there are going to be some very difficult decisions that that regime's going to have make.

There's a real debate going on right now, George, about succession in North Korea.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Reports that he's tapped his youngest son.

BIDEN: That is the report.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you believe it?

BIDEN: Well, if I had to bet, that would be my guess. But I don't think anyone knows for certain.

STEPHANOPOULOS: The clock is also ticking on Afghanistan. Key members of Congress made it pretty clear during the war supplemental debate that they're going to give until early next year to see progress in Afghanistan or they're going to cut off the funding, move to cut off the funding.

Is that the right approach?

BIDEN: Look, I think the right approach is one we have chosen, the Obama/Biden administration.

We did a thorough review of what our objectives and policies were and should be in Afghanistan.

BIDEN: We set in motion a policy which is now only beginning to unfold. All the troops we agreed to increase are not even all in place at this point. And we also believe, as General Jones accurately said, that, ultimately, the success or failure in Iraq will not rest not on a military outcome, but on a both economic and political outcome internally, getting better governance in place and economic development in that country.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But do Americans have a right to expect that if we don't see continued progress in the next six to nine months, six to 12 months, then we should think about cutting back and pulling out?

BIDEN: Look, I think the Americans have a right to expect success. And I think the success is measured by how we defined it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: At any cost?

BIDEN: No. Success. And if they conclude that, whatever the policy that's being undertaken by any administration as not succeeding, they have a right to say, look, cease and desist. But I don't think that's where we're going, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: There were some reports this week that the president has already made the judgment sending General Jones over to Afghanistan with a clear message -- no more troops. This is it, this is all you can get.

And Bob Woodward wrote about it. He talked about the general meeting with various military figures in Afghanistan, and this is what he said -- this is what he reports that General Jones said: "If there were new requests for force now, the president would quite likely have a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment. Everyone in the room caught phonetic reference to WTF -- which in the military now sort of means, what the (blank)."

Are you concerned that this is sending some kind of a chilling message?

BIDEN: No, not at all. Look, here's...

STEPHANOPOULOS: You don't want to hear the advice?

BIDEN: Look, no, no. We got the advice.

We spent five months with the entire national security team, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the national security adviser down in that tank, down in that Situation Room, laboriously banging out the plans. The military came in with explicit requests. The president gave them what they asked for. It hasn't even been implemented yet.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You were on the other side, it was reported, that you didn't want an expansion of troops.

BIDEN: No, no. I did want an expansion of troops. There was a slight difference about how to layer them, how to proceed.

The president -- we all ended up in -- you know, this was an open discussion. And the thing I like about the president, he seeks everyone's opinion.

Well, we reached a consensus opinion, and the consensus opinion of the national security team, of which I'm a part, was to do exactly what's under way.

The point is -- I suspect the point that Jim Jones is making is, hey, it hasn't even been implemented yet. Troops are still on the way. Slow up, guys.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But to be clear, you're saying if the military believes there should be more troops, they shouldn't be afraid to give that advice. They should give that advice?

BIDEN: They should not be afraid to give whatever advice from the field or from the Pentagon to the president and the secretary of defense that they think they need.

STEPHANOPOULOS: While we've been here, some pretty grim job numbers back at home -- 9.5 percent unemployment in June, the worst numbers in 26 years.

How do you explain that? Because when the president and you all were selling the stimulus package, you predicted at the beginning that, to get this package in place, unemployment will peak at about 8 percent. So, either you misread the economy, or the stimulus package is too slow and to small.

BIDEN: The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy. The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures and most of the blue chip indexes out there.

Everyone thought at that stage -- everyone -- the bulk of...

STEPHANOPOULOS: CBO would say a little bit higher.

BIDEN: A little bit, but they're all in the same range. No one was talking about that we would be moving towards -- we're worried about 10.5 percent, it will be 9.5 percent at this point.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But we're looking at 10 now, aren't we?

BIDEN: No. Well, look, we're much too high. We're at 9 -- what, 9.5 right now?

STEPHANOPOULOS: 9.5.

BIDEN: And so the truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited. Now, that doesn't -- I'm not -- it's now our responsibility. So the second question becomes, did the economic package we put in place, including the Recovery Act, is it the right package given the circumstances we're in? And we believe it is the right package given the circumstances we're in.

We misread how bad the economy was, but we are now only about 120 days into the recovery package. The truth of the matter was, no one anticipated, no one expected that that recovery package would in fact be in a position at this point of having to distribute the bulk of money.

STEPHANOPOULOS: No, but a lot of people were saying that you needed to do something bigger and bolder then, including the economist Paul Krugman. He's saying -- right now he's saying the same thing again -- don't wait. You need a second stimulus, you need it now.

BIDEN: Look, what we have to do now is we have to properly, adequately, transparently and effectively spend out the $787 billion.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That's your job. You're in charge of that now.

BIDEN: That is my job, and I think we're doing it well. If you noticed, George, I mean, there were other predictions. This was going to be wasteful and all these terrible projects were going to be out there, and we're wasting money. Well, that dog hasn't barked yet.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, Senator Coburn has identified some.

BIDEN: Yes -- no, he hasn't, but he did, he identified one hundred ? forty-eight of which we had already killed. And so -- and the rest I dispute. So the bottom line though is, I think anybody would say this has been pretty well managed so far.

The question is, how do you now -- do we -- what we have to do, George, is we have to, as this rolls out, put more pace on the ball. The second hundred days you're going to see a lot more jobs created.

And the reason you are is now all of these contracts for the over several thousand highway projects that have approved.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you're also seeing states across the country cutting back on their programs. Many of the people on unemployment?

BIDEN: Sure.

STEPHANOPOULOS: ? today are going to run out of unemployment in September. That means for a lot of those people, if there is not a second stimulus, they're going to be out in the cold.

BIDEN: Well, look, we have increased the amount of money unemployed -- those on unemployment rolls have gotten, 12 million are getting more money because of the stimulus package.

We've increased the number of people eligible by 2 million people. We've given a tax cut to 95 percent of the people who get a pay stub. They have somewhere -- $60 bucks a month out there that's going into the economy.

There is a lot going on, George. And I think it's premature to make the judgment?

STEPHANOPOULOS: So no second stimulus?

BIDEN: No, I didn't say that. I think it's premature to make that judgment. This was set up to spend out over 18 months. There are going to be major programs that are going to take effect in September, $7.5 billion for broadband, new money for high-speed rail, the implementation of the grid -- the new electric grid.

And so this is just starting, the pace of the ball is now going to increase.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're in charge of the stimulus. You're the president's envoy here in Iraq. You're supposed to settle this dispute between the director of national intelligence and the CIA over who is going to appoint the station chiefs. By the way, have you solved that one yet?

BIDEN: I think we've solved that one.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You have?

BIDEN: Well, let me put it this way. I think we're well on the way to that being solved.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Who won?

BIDEN: They both won.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So they're going to share the responsibility to appoint to station chiefs?

BIDEN: Not done yet. Let me comment on that next week to you.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Well, let me get to the broader point then. You've fixed -- you say you've fixed a problem that will?

BIDEN: Well they fixed the problem.

STEPHANOPOULOS: ? to find out that they fixed the problem -- look to find out the details on all of that. But you've got all of these discrete projects now. And when you came in you talked a lot about how you didn't want to get bogged down in individual projects because you wanted to be, you know, the president's primary adviser.

Are you're worried you're going to far in the other direction?

BIDEN: No. Because all of these projects have end dates on them. You know, they all have sell-by dates, because -- and that's I think that -- I hope I've brought some real expertise to this job, available to the president.

The things he has asked me to do. I hope I'm relatively good at. And -- but all of them have specific objectives.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally, Sarah Palin.

BIDEN: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You were the last person to run against her.

(LAUGHTER)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Were you surprised by her decision to step down?

BIDEN: Well, look, you and I know -- and I shouldn't say that because that implicates you in my answer, so. But those who have been deeply involved in politics know at the end of the day it is really and truly a personal deal.

And personal family decisions have real impact on people's decisions. I love reading these history books and biographies of people, the reason they made the choice to run or not run was because the state of the economy.

It maybe had a lot to do with what the state of their life was, and the state of their family, et cetera. So I'm not going to second guess her.

STEPHANOPOULOS: She cast herself as the victim of political blood sport in that press conference. Is that how you see it?

BIDEN: No. I respect her decision. I don't -- I don't know what prompted her decision to not only not run again and also to step down as a consequence of the decision not to run in 2010. And I take her at her word that had a personal ingredient in it. And you have to respect that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. Vice President, thank you very much.

BIDEN: Thank you.

Some Stimulus Money Preventing Homelessness

Homeless programs are about to get a big push in a new direction. They used to focus on providing food and shelter. Now, the economic stimulus package is providing $1.5 billion to prevent people from becoming homeless and to quickly re-house those who do.

Sarah Palin: 'Time-out or flame-out?'

Palin A "Shooting Star Crashing To Earth"?
GOP Strategist Ed Rollins Says Her Resignation Hurts Any 2012 White House Run She Might Be Mulling
Clem's Chronicles: SARAH PALIN/MICHAEL JACKSON/BIDEN IN IRAQ
HPY 4TH FOLKS-DON'T HAVE THE VIDEO LINKS TONIGHT. SORRY ABOUT THAT. HAVE A NICE WEEKEND. SARAH PALIN-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said this afternoon that she is stepping down from her office July 26. She didn’t give a reason why she...
Sarah Palin: 'Time-out or flame-out?'

by Mark Silva

Sarah Palin's stunning declaration of independence from "politics as usual,'' standing up for her "beloved state of Alaska'' while standing down as governor 18 months before the end of her first term, has been interpreted variously as a bold venture into a new realm of political leadership or as an irreversible, destructive act of political self-immolation.

"Being right is better than being popular,'' Palin declared with characteristic defiance, standing by the dock of her lakeside home in the tiny town where she got her start as mayor and announcing that she will hand over the governor's office to Alaska's lieutenant governor by month's end.

Ed Rollins, a Republican consultant who traces his work to Ronald Reagan's heyday, has offered a blunt assessment of what Palin has done to herself: "It makes her look flaky, which is one of the dilemmas she's had to face all the way through this.'' He raises the question, too, of what's the "next shoe to drop'' in the Palin story.

Palin's supporters say the former mayor of Wasilla who represented her party on a presidential ticket, a self-styled political pitbull, has simply reinforced her credentials as a maverick.

"Time out or flame out?'' one of our newspapers is asking today. Our own Mark Z. Barabak writes of the governor's "disjointed and cryptic remarks'' explaining how, by quitting the office that she won in 2006 after failing at a campaign for the vice presidency in 2008 and being held out by many in her party as a prospect for 2012, she hopes to "effect positive change outside government.''

"Many took that to mean a full-fledged run for the Republican nomination, without the encumbrance of her office and the difficulty of navigating a national campaign while running a state thousands of miles from the action,'' Barabak writes. "But the fact that Palin, 45, will vacate her elected post without finishing the four-year term -- which would have bolstered a political resume already thin enough that it hampered her 2008 bid for vice president -- led some analysts to suggest that she had badly damaged herself, perhaps irretrievably.''

The Washington Post, still recovering from its own embarrassing misstep with "salons" for high-level officials which the newspaper hoped to make money on, notes today that Palin offered "few clues about her ambitions but said she arrived at her decision in part to protect her family, which has faced withering criticism and occasional mockery, and to escape ethics probes that have drained her family's finances and hampered her ability to govern. She said leaving office is in the best interest of the state and will allow her to more effectively advocate for issues of importance to her, including energy independence and national security.''

The New York Times' Adam Nagourney notes that Palin's "tone and some of her words in an often-rambling announcement... sounded like someone who was making a permanent exit from politics after what her friends have called a rough and dispiriting year. But her remarks, delivered in a voice that often seemed rushed and jittery, sounded at times like those of a candidate with continued national aspirations, as when she suggested she could "fight for all our children's future from outside the governor's office."

He offers some understatement here:

"Ms. Palin's announcement was another unusual marker in what has been a tumultuous year for this first-term governor since Mr. McCain turned her into a national figure overnight by surprising his own party and naming her his running mate. It also underscored the instability in the Republican Party as it tries to find a strategy and voice in the wake of losses in 2008.''

Mitt Romney, a Republican who sought his party's presidential nomination last year and is expected to seek it again in 2012 -- and who is looking more and more like the survivor of a party reality show after two weeks of sex-scandals that sidelined a couple of prospects, Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, and now Palin's withdrawal from public office -- offered only a terse statement from his "Free and Strong America PAC:''

""I wish Sarah Palin and her family well, and I know that she will continue to be a strong voice in the Republican Party."

The leader of that party still struggling to find its voice after 2008, Republican National Chairman Michael Steele, said this:

"I plan on talking to Gov. Palin very soon. She is an important and galvanizing voice in the Republican Party. I believe she will be very helpful to the party this year as we wage critical campaigns in Virginia and New Jersey. I am certain this has been a difficult decision for her to step down as Alaska's governor. She has been a good governor for her state and I wish her and the Palin family the best during this transition."

Ed Rollins, who reached the peak of his party's political machinery in the management of Ronald Reagan's reelection campaign, but who also knows the lows, as a leader of Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's failed bid for the GOP nomination last year, has offered some particularly blunt comments about that "transition'' period in which Palin now finds herself.

On the satellite radio station, SIRIUS XM's POTUS Channel, Rollins, who now hosts a weekly show there, had this to say about Palin's party-rattling announcement:

"It wasn't smart under any circumstances. It wasn't set up properly. I don't know what her reasons are. But if her reasons were, 'I'm gonna run for president and I need two years, three years to do that,' it was very foolish...

"You don't call a press conference and raise questions. You call a press conference to answer questions. She has basically left out there everyone asking, why is she doing this? There must be another reason. There must be another shoe that's gonna drop. There's something else.

"This is something you set up, you don't drop on Friday of a holiday weekend, unless it's terrible news or something like that. In this particular case she's left more questions unanswered. It makes her look flaky, which is one of the dilemmas she's had to face all the way through this.

"So if this was an effort to get out of a very difficult time in the state's history with the financial crisis the state has, to go run for president, she hasn't helped herself one iota, and has probably damaged herself severely.''

Redefining Citizenship In The Digital Age

What does it mean these days when when the government makes something public? Just print it and put it on a shelf somewhere until somebody slips it to Bob Woodward? Host Scott Simon speaks to Andrew Rasiej, founder of the Personal Democracy Forum, about redefining citizenship in the digital age. Rasiej also talks about what social media and technology experts have learned in the aftermath of Iran's disputed elections.

Quotes Of The Day

Sarah Palin To Resign As Alaska Governor
At Hastily Convened Press Conference Says She Will Not Run for 2nd Term, Mum On Future Plans
Quotes Of The Day
"I can't pay bills with IOUs. I can't pay salaries with IOUs."Thomas Bent, medical director, Laguna Beach Community Clinic, telling the Los Angeles Times he expects to receive more than $10,000 in IOUs as payment for services. "U.S....
Sarah Palin finished in Alaska, but DC?

by Mark Silva and updated

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is announcing today that she will leave office and not seek a second term as governor, fueling speculation about her intentions for another bid for national office.

Palin will step down before her term is finished, the Associated Press is reporting, citing a spokesman for the governor who says she will resign as of July 26 -- while not offering a reason for the governor's withdrawal.

The Republican former mayor of Wasilla and self-styled "hockey mom'' and political "pitbull" remains popular among the most conservative base of the party that nominated her for vice president in 2008. She carries high negative ratings among the general public, however, according to the latest polls, questioning the role she might play in another party ticket for 2012.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who had been considered another possibility for Arizona Sen. John McCain's running mate when McCain sought the presidency last year, also has announced he will not seek another term -- setting up the more moderate Midwestern Republican as another prospect for his party to consider in 2012.

Both CNN and ABC News reported today that Palin is announing her withdrawal from the next governor's race in Alaska at her home in Wasilla. The newspaper in Fairbanks, Ala., also reported at its Website that Palin is stepping down, citing a radio station report.

In Defense Of The Flag (Sewn For History Class)

Bob Heft, who sewed the 50-state flag as a high schooler, received a B- for his project. Heft's history teacher accused him of not knowing how many states were in the union at the time. The teacher changed the grade when the design was accepted by Congress.

Biden in Iraq: Withdrawal on track

"Angry" S.C. 1st Lady: I May Forgive Him
Jenny Sanford Says It's Up to Her Unfaithful Husband to Save Their 20-year Marriage
Obama Now Owns Bush's Broken Economy
America lost 467,000 jobs in the month of June. The sharp job loss that began during George Bush's presidency continues on Obama's watch. The new administration pushed through a stimulus plan aimed at jump starting hiring. But after fighting for...
Biden in Iraq: Withdrawal on track

by Mark Silva and updated

Vice President Joe Biden made an unannounced landing in Iraq today for a two-day series of meetings with Iraqi leaders and U.S. troops.

The traveling pool report from the ground says that Biden "will try to reestablish contact with Iraqi leaders and try to help foster efforts at political reconciliation.''

More to come from that front.

The White House sayys Biden will meet with President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Speaker of the Council of Representatives Ayad al-Samarrai.

"The vice president will reiterate the United States' commitment to fully implement the Security Agreement and the Strategic Framework Agreement and to carry out President Obama's plan to draw down U.S. forces,'' the vice president's office said in a statement issued today. "He will discuss with Iraq's leaders the importance of achieving the political progress that is necessary to ensure the nation's long-term stability.''

This is Biden's second trip to Iraq this year but his first as vice president. It comes as the U.S. has withdrawn its forces from Iraq's cities, leaving defenses there to Iraqi forces.

Biden was greeted at Baghdad International Airport by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Deputy Foreign Minister Labid Abbawi and Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of American forces there.

Friday morning, the vice president will meet and have coffee with Odierno and Ambassador Chris Hill, and get a private briefing.

Biden will meet with the United Nations assistance mission to Iraq and some representatives of non-governmental organizations as well, before meeting with the two vice presidents, Tariq al-Hashimi and Adil Mehdi, Shiite presidents, and then the speaker, Dr. Samaraie.

Then Biden will meet with prime minister al Maliki .

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough Michael Jackson

It's been a week since Michael Jackson's death at 50 stunned the world. But seven days after the King of Pop stepped off stage and left us behind, it's clear we just can't seem to get enough of him.

Did Justice Department Lawyers Violate Ethics?

Legal Group Reveals Little On Sotomayor
Records Reveal No Direct Role for Supreme Court Nominee in Civil Rights Group; Critics Have Argued Affiliation Suggests Bias
Expenses: The Most Frustrating Thing at Work
Checkout John Berman's highly entertaining webcast piece today about expense reports and his old Atari:
Healthcare reform: 'Defining moment'

by Mark Silva

Calling this "a defining moment'' in the nation's history, President Barack Obama today framed the debate over healthcare reform as a matter of rebuilding a strong, competitive economy.

"If we don't act,'' Obama says, "if we let this moment passwe could see this economy sputter along for years, if not decades.''

His plans can be accomplished, he argued at a "town-hall'' styled appearance outside of Washington this afternoon, largely with savings stemming from cost-cutting in health care, and they can be accomplished without increasing the federal deficit.

The president faces a tough sales-job for a plan that nearly half of all Americans surveyed say they don't fully understandwith a bare majority voicing support for the president's plans as they understand them. A far greater number, however, say something must be done about healthcare.

"We are living through extraordinary times,'' the president planned to say in opening remarks. "This generation of Americansour generationhas been called to confront challenges of a magnitude unmatched in recent historychallenges that few generations of Americans have ever been asked to confront.

"In addition to the immediate threats we facetwo wars and a deep recessionour economy has also been weakened by the failure to solve problems that have plagued us for decades: the crushing cost of health care, the state of our schools, and our dependence on foreign oil,'' the president said.

"Now, I know there are some who say that in tackling all these problems, my administration is taking on too much at oncethat we're moving too fast, too soon,'' he said. "Well I say that America has waited long enough.

"It's not too soon to fix our schools when we're already behind other nations in graduation rates and achievement,'' he said. "It's not too soon to wean ourselves off dirty sources of energy when we've been talking about our oil dependence since Richard Nixon was president. It's not too soon to reform our health care system when we've been talking about fixing it since Teddy Roosevelt was president.

"We are at a defining moment for this nation,'' he was saying at the start of a "town-hall'' styled appearance at the campus of North Virginia Community College in suburban Annandale. . If we act now, we can rebuild an economy that is strong, and competitive, and prosperous once more.

"e can lead this century as we lead the last. But if we don't actif we let this moment passwe could see this economy sputter along for years, if not decades,'' he said. "We could see our children inherit a world that is poorer and more dangerous than the one we found. I know that people say the cost of fixing our problems is great, but I can assure youwe have reached a point where the cost of doing nothing is far greater.''

The president suggests that the urgency of action on healthcare is unrivalled:

"In the last nine years, premiums have risen three times faster than wages. If we do nothing, they will rise even higher.

" In recent years, over one third of small businesses have reduced benefits and many have dropped coverage altogether since the early 90s. If we do not act, more will lose coverage and more will lose their jobs. Unless we act, within a decade, one out of every five dollars we earn will be spent on health care. And for those who rightly worry about deficits, the amount our government spends on Medicare and Medicaid will eventually grow larger than what our government spends today on everything else combined.

"The stories behind these numbers are real and they are heartbreaking. For over two years, I've heard them in town halls just like this one. I read them in letters every day. And so many of you have asked questions and talked about your struggles on our website, healthreform.gov.

"I still remember the story of the young mother I met in Wisconsin a few weeks back. She has bone cancer and two young children. She's thirty-five years old. She had a job, her husband has a job, and even though they've got insurance, their medical bills have still landed them in deeply in debt. And now, instead of worrying about how she'll get well, all this mother can think about is whether she's going to be leaving that debt to her husband and her children if she doesn't survive.

"This is not a problem we can wait to fix. This is not something we can keep putting off indefinitely. This is about who we are as a country. And that's why we're not going to pass health care reform ten years from now, or five years from now, or even one year from now. The United States of America will have health care reform in 2009. We will get it done.

"We have already made great progress in Washington. In the last few weeks, the pharmaceutical industry to agreed to $80 billion in spending reductions that will make prescription drugs more affordable for our seniors. Last month, doctors and hospitals, labor and business, insurers and drug companies all came together and agreed to decrease the annual rate of health care growth by 1.5 percentage points -- saving $2 trillion or more over the next decade. That will mean lower costs for all of us.

"And in the past two weeks, a committee in the Senate led by Senator Kennedy and Senator Dodd has been making tremendous progress on a plan that would hold down costs, improve patient care and ensure that you will not lose your coverage if you lose your job, change your job, or have a pre-existing medical condition.

"But now we need to finish the job. There is no doubt that we must preserve what is best about our health care system, and that means allowing Americans who like their doctors and their health care plans to keep them. But we also have to fix what's broken about health care in Americaand that means permanently bringing down costs for everyone.

"To do this, we have to build on the investments in electronic medical records that we've already made in the Recovery Actrecords that will reduce medical errors, save lives, save money, and still ensure privacy. We need to invest in prevention and wellness programs that help Americans live longer, healthier lives. And the biggest thing we can do to bring down costs is to change the incentives of a health care system that automatically equates expensive care with better care.

"We have to ask why places like the Geisinger Health system in rural Pennsylvania or Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City can offer high-quality care at costs well below average, but other places in America can't. We need to identify the best practices across the country, learn from the success, and replicate that success elsewhere. And we should change the warped incentives that reward doctors and hospitals based on how many tests or procedures they prescribe, even if those tests or procedures aren't necessary or result in medical mistakes.

"Doctors across this country did not get into the medical profession to be bean counters or paper pushers. They became doctors to heal people. And that's what we must free them to do. This has to be about the best care, not just the most expensive care. It has to be about treatments that work, not just more treatments.

"It's also time to finally provide Americans who can't afford health insurance with more affordable options. This is a moral and economic imperative, because we know that when someone without health insurance is forced to get treatment at the ER, all of us end up paying for itto the tune of about $1,000 per person.

"So what we're working on is the creation of something called a Health Insurance Exchangea marketplace which would allow you to one-stop shop for a health care plan, compare benefits and prices, and choose the plan that's best for you. None of these plans would be able to deny coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition, and all should include an affordable, basic benefit package. And if you can't afford one of the plans, we should provide a little help to make sure you can. I also strongly believe that one of the options in the Exchange should be a public insurance optionan option funded by premiums, not the government. This public option is important because if the private insurance companies have to compete, it will keep them honest and help keep prices down.

"Now, I know one of the biggest questions on everyone's mind is how to finance reform. And that's why we've committed to paying for this without adding to our deficit over the next decade.

"About two-thirds of the cost will be covered by reallocating money already in our current health care system. Much of this money adds nothing to quality of care for patientsit fattens the bottom lines of insurers and other health care providers. As an example, we're on track to spend $177 billion over the next decade in unwarranted subsidies to insurance companies that add nothing to the quality of care. $177 billion. Those are your tax dollars, and you deserve better in return. That's why we'll redirect those resources toward lowering costs, expanding coverage, and improving quality for all Americans.

"In fact, between slashing wasteful spending, cost savings, and identifying new sources of revenue, we've already put almost $950 billion on the table to help pay for reform without adding to our deficit. And that doesn't even include the savings that these reforms could achievesavings that will reduce our deficit over the long-term.

"So we are making progress on health care reform and we are identifying ways to pay for it. But the hardest part is yet to comebecause that's the part when the naysayers and cynics use every excuse and scare tactic in the book to stop reform from happening. And it's already happening as we speak.

"If you hear this criticism, ask the same question that I always ask: "What's your alternative? What do you say to all those families whose medical bills have driven them into bankruptcy? What do we tell those businesses that are choosing between closing their doors and letting their workers go? What do we say to every taxpayer in America whose dollars are propping up a system that is driving us further and further into debt?"

"This isn't just about those Americans without health care. This is about every Americanbecause if we do not act to bring down costs, every American's health care will be in jeopardy. All of us are in this together.

"When it comes to health care, or energy, or education, the naysayers seem to think that we can somehow just keep doing what we've been doing. But everywhere I go, I meet Americans who know that we can't. They know that change isn't easy. They know that there will be setbacks and false starts. But they also know this:

:We are at a rare moment when we have been given the opportunity to remake our world; a chance to seize our future.

"nd as difficult as that sometimes is, what is inherent about the American spirit is the fact that we do not cling to the past in this country. We always move forward. And that movement doesn't begin in Washingtonit begins with Americans from every corner of this country who stand up and face that future unafraid. And if we do that nowwith health care, with energy, with educationthen someday we will look back at this moment as the time when we did what's necessary to leave our children an America that is as bold, ascendant, and imaginative as the America we inherited from our parents.''

Did Justice Department Lawyers Violate Ethics?

A watchdog is investigating whether lawyers who authorized harsh interrogations breached legal ethics, and Attorney General Eric Holder says it's nearly done. Sources confirm the watchdog wrote a play-by-play of how the memos were created to see if the lawyers were intentionally sloppy.