Obama White House issues comments on Russian train wreck

It's not unprecedented, of course, for the White House to issue messages of condolence on the death of prominent individuals or major disasters, at home or abroad. Most are boiler-plate hearts-going-out condolence stuff. So was today's, about the Russian train wreck.

Perhaps it's just to show the world that, even on a slow-news U.S. post-holiday day, the Obama crowd is on the job. We'll have to watch and see what criteria the 10-month-old Obama administration uses to issue such regular comments -- what type disaster merits comment, how many dead to warrant a White House message, and in what country.

If it's every multiple-death incident in every country, they're going to be pretty busy in the press office. But at least they have jobs. Today's train wreck in Russia occurred between Moscow and St. Petersburg, killing 25 at latest count

The comment, though not presidential, could play well if widely dispersed in Russian media. If the incident turns out to be terrorist-related, it could also help underline the international commonality of such threats. And Obama has gone out of his way to make friends with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Here's what the White House press office said:

Statement by the White House Press Secretary on the Train Derailment in Russia

We are deeply saddened by the terrible loss of life and injuries resulting from the reported derailment of a train between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

As authorities investigate the circumstances of this tragedy, our hearts go out to the families of those who lost loved ones, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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What's next with healthcare? A handy legislative guide explains the steps

The arguments for and against the healthcare legislation pending in the House and Senate are well known. But what about the process that is sure to captivate Washington for many weeks to come?

It may sound wonky, but understanding the process is key to following the events about to unfold in the Capitol. We were reminded of this basic fact recently when Noam Levey, one of our colleagues in Washington, produced a handy guide to what was headlined “The long road ahead.” Long, indeed.

Now that the Senate has voted (60 to 39) to begin debate on its version of healthcare legislation, here are the likely next steps in the Senate. Levey's guide is more readable and useful than your old text from Civics 101. You might want to bookmark this one:

AMENDMENTS

Once debate begins on Senate bill, lawmakers from both parties will be allowed to offer amendments

When expected: Starting Nov. 30 through Christmas or beyond

Votes required: Subject to negotiation, with 60 likely for more contentious amendments

CLOTURE TO END DEBATE ON THE BILL

Required to end a Republican filibuster and move to a vote on the bill

When expected: Just before Christmas, though possibly later

Votes required: 60

ADOPTION OF THE BILL

Would send the Senate bill to a conference committee, where it would be reconciled with the House healthcare bill that passed Nov. 7.

When expected: Just before Christmas, though possibly later

Votes required: 51

CLOTURE TO END DEBATE ON CONFERENCE REPORT

Would end GOP filibuster of the conference report that combines the House and Senate healthcare bills

When expected: Sometime in January

Votes required: 60

FINAL PASSAGE

Assuming House approval, would send the legislation to President Obama for his signature

When expected: Sometime in January

Votes required: 51

-- Steve Padilla

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Top photo credit: AFP/Getty Images. Bottom photo credit: Reuters.

Before the Salahis crashed White House, this crasher made Oscar history -- and naked too

The hubbub about Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who crashed the first state dinner hosted by President Obama, got us thinking about other unauthorized appearances at notable events.

Perhaps the most famous party crasher is Scott Weiss, who successfully found his way into the Grammys and — in his most audacious moment — the Oscars. His antics were described in detail earlier this year in a highly readable and entertaining Column One by our colleague Chris Lee.

And speaking of the Oscars, who can forget the time a man crashed the live television broadcast while the inimitable David Niven was preparing to give out an award? Unlike the Salahis, the uninvited man was easy to detect, mostly because he wasn’t wearing clothes.

The video below shows not only the streaker (with naughty bits chastely blurred) but that the suave Niven didn’t need a script to deliver, with perfect timing, the perfect punch line. The Niven snippet comes about two minutes into the video (it's worth the wait). You also get to see some very funny Oscar moments from Whoopie Goldberg, Doris Day and others.

-- Steve Padilla

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Karl Rove talks about Sarah Palin -- and Top of the Ticket

The other night Karl Rove was talking with Greta Van Susteren about the Sarah Palin phenomenon and her record-breaking book sales of "Going Rogue." He says he's started the book, finds it a very good read, is impressed by her crowds (4,000 at Ft. Bragg) and its sales nearly exceeding an ex-president's book, Bill Clinton's, written post-presidency.

The political strategist, with his own book coming out in March, "Courage and Consequence," says Palin has got to learn to pivot off of the misbehaving son-in-law and other soap opera questions because the media want to keep her on the cover of People magazine, not talking about serious issues.

But, Rove notes, there's a big difference between running to sell a book and running to win the White House.

Greta seemed done with her interview when Rove wanted to say something else.

That's another part that caught our ear since, to speak candidly, he wanted to talk about a recent Top of the Ticket item, which you can read right here after watching the video.

The Fox News Channel video is here below, courtesy of, not too surprisingly, the Fox News Channel.

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He won't be skinny much longer: What President Obama had for Thanksgiving dinner

Of course, it's easier if you're not doing any of the cooking yourself. Or turkey carving. Or serving.

So President Obama only had about 50 folks over to the White House for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. During the day the president called 10 military members around the world to wish them a happy holiday.

If you've just consumed your own feast, though, maybe save and read this later. If you're still on the appetizers, go ahead and peruse what's coming in the next two paragraphs.

Here, according to the White House, is what the president had for Thanksgiving dinner:

Turkey and honey-baked ham and cornbread stuffing and oyster stuffing and greens and macaroni and cheese and sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and banana cream pie and pumpkin pie and apple pie and sweet potato pie and huckleberry pie and cherry pie.

We are told, Washington style for background, that the president's favorite items are the turkey and pumpkin pie.

Hopefully, Obama has some presidential Pepcid on hand and the commander in chief will be out of the gastronomic coma in time for his 40-minute Tuesday evening speech on Afghanistan from West Point.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Related items:

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Obama's Thanksgiving eve special hajj message to the world's Muslims

Photo: Associated Press

Weekly remarks: GOP warns of new Obama taxes; Obama says reforms needed to help all

Remarks by Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, as provided by the Republican National Committee

This week, like most Americans, my family came together to break bread, give thanks and celebrate our blessings.

Even in these times of struggle and trial, we have much to be thankful for, beginning with our men and women in uniform, many of whom will spend this holiday season away from hearth and home. The tragic events at Fort Hood remind us that whether they serve at home or abroad, we owe our soldiers and their families a debt of gratitude we will never be able to repay.

This past Thursday, while empty chairs for America’s defenders were placed at Thanksgiving dinner tables in many homes, many other seats were filled with anxious Americans who are facing their own personal battles and struggles.  Millions of families have seen jobs and careers vanish in the midst of this recession.

Many are asking, ‘when will things get better?’ Many more are asking, ‘where are the jobs?’

President Obama told the American people that his last $787 billion ‘jobs bill,’ the so-called ‘stimulus’ package, would ensure that unemployment would not go above 8 percent.  And the Administration continues to insist their stimulus plan is working. But unemployment is now at a heartbreaking 10.2 percent.

In the city and on the farm, as millions of American families struggle to balance their checkbooks this holiday season, they watch in astonishment as Washington spends billions of dollars it doesn’t have.

And what is the White House’s answer to our struggles? Another meeting next week. A ‘jobs summit,’ and ...

Thanksgiving wishes from Lincoln, Truman, Reagan and -- now -- Obama

On Thanksgiving, our most home-grown of holidays, we at The Ticket would like to offer you a helping of history along with that turkey.

We call it the Ghost of Thanksgiving Past. It's a collection of some of the more interesting presidential proclamations relating to the holiday.

Most schoolchildren in this country know that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621, when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians feasted together to celebrate the burgeoning colony's first successful harvest.  

But it wasn't a national holiday until 1863, when, in the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November 1863:

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that...

Obama issues special Hajj message to world's Muslims

(UPDATE: A news video update on the Hajj has been added below.)

Statement by the President on Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha, as provided by the White House
Michelle and I would like to send our best wishes to all those performing Hajj this year, and to Muslims in America and around the world who are celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world’s major religions.

During Hajj, the world’s largest and most diverse gathering, three million Muslims from all walks of life – including thousands of American Muslims – will stand in prayer on Mount Arafat. The following day, Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha and distribute food to the less fortunate to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son out of obedience to God.

This year, I am pleased that the Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with the Saudi Health Ministry to prevent and limit the spread of H1N1 during Hajj. Cooperating on combating H1N1 is one of the ways we are implementing my administration's commitment to partnership in areas of mutual interest.

On behalf of the American people, we would like to extend our greetings during this Hajj season – Eid Mubarak.   ###

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Photo: Associated Press (Mecca)

What Sarah Palin is confiding to her 1,071,583 closest friends (Updated)

If you thought "Going Rogue" would be the end of Sarah Palin's written rants, you probably don't follow the former Alaskan governor's fan page on Facebook.

The Republican has been blogging like crazy recently with her 1.07 million Facebook fans. (See new video below of the campaign-like scenes.) And getting thousands of comments back.

In addition to pictures from her "Going Rogue" book tour -- of happy children, grinning U.S. troops and flags of the American variety -- Palin gives a more personal look behind her many interviews and individual visits with fans and customers.

According to a new industry sales report, her book is coming up on half a million copies sold in its first five days on the market, a sales rate of about 4,000 per hour around the clock. Which ought to keep her in moose chili a while.

Her Facebook page also has some touching photos of memorabilia that fans give her when buying the book. Plus, of course, the long lines of eager book-buyers at stores and malls along the way on her strategically planned 25-state tour.

Also behind-the-scenes looks at her unscheduled visit with the Rev. Billy Graham.

Her legions of Facebook fans are growing by a couple of dozen every few minutes. They grow each time you refresh the page.

In one recent post, the Republican calls Fox News' Sean Hannity "a great American." Oh, and an apology for leaving 100 fans at a book signing in Indiana.

But the main focus of her blog posts lately has been about Congress -- things like war spending and "Obamacare," her pet name for the healthcare bill.

Palin blasts the healthcare "scheme" for taxing everyone starting next year. The actual legislation, however, plans to ramp up taxes in 2011 and on a sliding scale, where richer residents are taxed more and the modestly wealthy get a 0.5% hike.

On Tuesday night, Palin was bothered over "liberal Congressional proposals" that would institute a tax to fund the war in Afghanistan. Palin supports the war and the troops but not the idea of paying for it with new taxes.

"With Congress and President Obama spending money on everything at breakneck speed, it’s interesting that they are only now getting nervous about ...

... spending," Palin writes, "but only when it comes to providing the necessary funds to complete our mission in Afghanistan."

This qualm about the government proposing taxes on war and nothing else comes less than a week after she complained about the government proposing taxes on healthcare.

The early-stage war tax proposal called the "Share the Sacrifice Act," which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she may support, would fund a U.S. troop escalation in Afghanistan that Rep. David Obey estimates will cost $1 trillion over 10 years. [Note: An earlier version of this post called Obey a senator.]

That would buy a lot of books.

(Update: Palin, whose father was her high school track coach, has now Twittered to followers that she's leaving the book promotion trail over the Thanksgiving holiday to travel to Kennewick, Wash., for a 5K Red Cross charity run with numerous relatives before a book appearance Sunday in nearby Richland.)

Related:

Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama: Their various poll numbers near each other

-- Mark Milian

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Photo credit: Top, Sara Davis / Getty Images

Obama pardons turkeys Courage and Carolina -- who started this silly White House tradition anyway? [Updated]

Last night they stayed at the posh Willard hotel in Washington.

This afternoon they fly first class to California, where they will be honorary grand marshals for Disneyland's Thanksgiving Day parade. 

But today, a turkey named Courage -- and an alternate named Carolina, in case Courage is unable to complete his duties -- received President Obama's first presidential pardons. 

Flanked by his daughters, Malia and Sasha -- who he said lobbied for the pardon -- Obama said the two turkeys had been spared the "terrible and delicious fate" of being served for dinner. You could tell he was tempted to eat Courage. As for his daughters, Malia observed astutely that Courage looked like a big chicken.

"There are certain days when I'm reminded why I ran for this office," Obama quipped. "And then there are days like this." On a more serious note, he called Thanksgiving a quintessentially American holiday, and an occasion to give thanks to soldiers separated from their families by war. You can read his remarks below.

But if the president thought the event a little light, the young aides in his White House were so tickled by its role in this odd tradition that they posted this preview on whitehouse.gov.

The silly tradition is often attributed to President Truman, but the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum says it can find no documentation of that. In fact, says the presidential library, "Truman sometimes indicated to reporters that the turkeys he received were destined for the family dinner table." In fact, what probably accounts for this rumor is that the National Turkey Federation started giving a turkey to presidents in a White House ceremony beginning in 1947.

In November 2001, George W. Bush said some believe President Lincoln started the tradition by pardoning his son Tad's pet turkey. But that may be more Lincoln myth than fact.

President Kennedy never issued a presidential pardon to a turkey, but on Nov. 19, 1963, just three days before his assassination, he observed, "Let's just keep him."

In fact, most historians believe the tradition of a formal pardon began with Bush's father, 41, the first President Bush.

Presidential pardons for turkeys are rare. According to the folks at the National Turkey Federation, an estimated 273 million turkeys were raised this year for consumption on American tables.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo credit: The White House

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Global warming, the next partisan divide [Updated]

It's true that we have not yet seen the finale on healthcare reform.

Nor have we heard the last about President Obama's Afghanistan policy. Or about financial regulatory reform that could pit Main Street against Wall Street.

But you can tell that the next issue on the horizon, after the smoke has cleared from the current debates, is global warming.

Already, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has mustered its considerable heft against a cap-and-trade bill moving through Congress. And Republicans have been unstinting in their criticism of what one congressman, Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise, called "the global warming Gestapo."

A new poll will probably give fodder to partisans on both sides. The Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that fewer and fewer Americans -- though still a majority -- believe that global warming is a real threat. According to the poll, 72% of the public now thinks climate change is caused by people, down from 80% last year. 

Since its peak nearly four years ago, belief that people are causing climate change is down sharply among Republicans -- 76% to 54% -- and independents -- 86% to 71%. Even Democrats are growing more skeptical; their number is down from 92% to 86%. Maybe Al Gore needs to bring his movie back for reruns.

Still, whether climate change is man-made or cyclical, a majority of poll respondents (53%) support legislation to control emissions. And one analyst thinks the slippage may be due less to skepticism over global warming than concerns about the economy.

"The majority of people view it as an economic issue," said David Winston, who has polled for the House and Senate Republican leadership on the issue.

[Updated at 8:41 a.m.: As if anticipating the coming debate, the White House plans to announce today that the United States will commit to reduce its gas emissions "in the range of" 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 -- the target set out in the climate bill the House passed in June.]

-- Johanna Neuman

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Lou Dobbs was against alien amnesty before he was for it

In the surest sign yet that the newly former CNN talker seriously plans to enter politics, Lou Dobbs has already flip-flopped on the question of amnesty for people illegally living in this country.

Having created much of his fame and infamy out of controversial statements on the unacceptable presence of an estimated 12 million undocumented workers in this country and the federal government's ineptitude in addressing the problem, here's what Dobbs now says:

We need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants under certain conditions.

His surprising switcheroo barely two weeks after departing his network of nearly 30 years came during an interview with the Spanish-language network Telemundo, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Dobbs, a Texas native and graduate of Harvard, lives on a 300-acre farm in northwest New Jersey, where he could run for a U.S. Senate seat. 

Or possibly launch a presidential bid for 2012, trying to tap into the kinds of conservative populist anger that has confounded the Republican party and fueled so-called "tea parties" across the country this year, protesting taxes, spending and deficits.

"Whatever you have thought of me in the past," Dobbs told Telemundo's Maria Celeste the other day, "I can tell you right now that I am one of your greatest friends and I mean for us to work together. I hope that will begin with Maria and me and Telemundo and other media organizations and others in this national debate that we should turn into a solution rather than a continuing debate and factional contest."

The Garden State usually votes firmly Democratic. But earlier this month voters there rejected the reelection  Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine -- who had ample money and the frequent campaign support of President Obama -- and elected a Republican on a "taxes-are-too-high" platform.

The next U.S. Senate election in New Jersey comes in 2012, when incumbent Democrat Robert Menendez is up for reelection for the first time.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Screen shot of Lou Dobbs on CNN. Credit: Tony Pierce / Los Angeles Times