Bipartisan Buddies: Sarah Palin and Barack Obama

While most everyone was watching the attempted bipartisanship on Capitol Hill this week, some of it broke out successfully in an unlikely place elsewhere.

It seems that Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, the unsuccessful GOP VP nominee, was worried that the Army was going to cut off pensions to the state's old-timers long-retired from the Alaska Territorial Guard. So she sat down and wrote a letter to the new big guy himself, DemocraticPresident Barack Obama,who's vowed to take extra special care of veterans.

And the largest state's small congressional delegation got involved too.

And, what do you know? According to the ever-vigilant Sarah Palin for President blog, the Army suddenly decided it didn't really need to cut off those payments after all

It found a special fund to pay them, while Sens. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, and Mark Begich, a Democrat, together shepherd the proper authorizing legislation through Congress.

Amazing when it works.

And speaking of Sarah and Barack, this weekend they're both attending the off-the-record black tie dinner of the Alfalfa Club, one of those fraternity-like get-togethers that Washingtonians schedule throughout the year to convince themselves of their eliteness. Palin, who as The Ticket reported, formed her own SarahPAC this week, says she's attending to pitch the interests of Alaska.

And?

According to Paul Bedard over at Washington Whispers, Palin's presence in D.C. has sparked an interview bidding war between CNN's Larry King, who's had seven wives and almost as many heart attacks, and ABC's George Stephanopoulos, who hasn't.

--Andrew Malcolm

Photo credit: Vogue

Feds to pay for birth control but want us to ok illegals

Why are we being asked to pay for birth control to cut 

state and federal costs? 

Yet… we are expected to pay these same costs used by 

illegal immigrants???

 

During my exclusive interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, I asked her about some of the more controversial spending in the stimulus package, including hundreds of millions to expand family planning services, and $600 million in coupons to help people to convert to digital television.

 

"The family planning services reduce cost," Pelosi said, "One of the elements of this package is assistance to the states. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

 

"So no apologies for that?" I asked her.

 

"No apologies. No," Pelosi said. "And this is a, to stimulate the economy,  is an economic recovery package and as we put it forth we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy. Food stamps, unemployment insurance, some of the initiatives you just mentioned. Believe it or not, they're the right thing to do but they also stimulate the economy."

On the $600 million to assist with the conversion to digital television, Pelosi argued for the spending -- but also said it might be taken out of the bill.

 

"Well, it's important for these people," Pelosi said, "This is a change in our country. If there - if it doesn't meet that test it will not end up in the bill at the end of the day. We are just beginning the process. It is timely. The senator talked about timeliness of this. And it helps meet the needs of the American people. But again, we have begun the process. We believe that what is in there, again, meets the test of growing the economy, creating jobs. Sort of a time release. Immediately creating jobs and then sustaining the job growth over time."

 

--George Stephanopoulos