Sarah Palin was ridiculed as the Republican vice presidential nominee, pilloried after she quit in the middle of her term as Alaska governor, and has been tabloid fodder because of her daughter, a single teenage mom, and her former beau.

Despite all that -- or maybe because of it -- she remains a figure of endless fascination for much of the political and media world. Just witness the hyperventilating over her memoir "Going Rogue" that will be published next week already as a best-seller.

Palin was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey -- it is to air Monday, the day before publication -- and accounts of the interview are already becoming public.

"We talked about inside the campaign, what it felt like when she was first asked to be vice president. We talked about Bristol, the pregnancy. We talked about Trig, her baby. We talked about Levi Johnston. We talked about her marriage…there's nothing we didn't talk about," Winfrey boasted in a video posted on her website.

Palin, for her part, wrote on her Facebook page: " Willow, Piper, and I are in Chicago and just wanted to let you know that I had a great conversation with Oprah today. We taped the show for Monday, November 16th, and enjoyed it so much that we went way over on time. The rest will air on Oprah.com. Oprah was very hospitable and gracious, and her audience was full of warm, energized and (no doubt) curious viewers."

UPDATE: In excerpts of the interview released today by Winfrey's production company, Palin says she still cares about Levi Johnston, her almost son-in-law, who has been all over talk shows trashing Palin and threatening to do more, as well as planning to bare all in Playgirl magazine.

She said she still considers him part of the family, adding, "I think he needs to know that he is loved and he has the most beautiful child, and this can all work out for good. It really can. We don't have to keep going down this road of controversy and drama all the time. We're not really into the drama. We don't really like that. We're more productive."

Speaking of the book, Time magazine's Mark Halperin says he has some exclusive advance details.

"Based on discussions with various sources who have seen or been briefed on the book's contents, here's what you can expect from 'Going Rogue,' he writes.

"Just five chapters—but they are very, very long; some score settling with McCain aides she believes ill-served her (names will be named); a hearty bashing of the national media; an account of how her upbringing shaped her maverick sensibilities; a testimonial to the importance of faith in her life; a warm and personal tone, written in Palin's own voice, despite the involvement of a collaborator."

For the second time this week, Republicans are using the example of Senator John F. Kerry to pressure moderate Democrats on health care.

This time, it's a web video targeting Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska for reportedly considering a vote to send the health care overhaul bill to the floor, but then voting against the bill. His vote could be crucial as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tries to reach the 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster and begin debate.

The Republican National Committee is calling it a "flip-flop" reminiscent of Kerry, who during his 2004 presidential campaign said of an Iraq war funding bill, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it.” (He was inartfully saying he voted for an earlier version of an Iraq war appropriation because it would have repealed many of President George W. Bush's tax cuts, but opposing the spending because he would not have gone to war without more international support.)

A similar web video went after Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas on the same grounds.

“Ben Nelson has taken part in the classic Potomac two-step of telling his constituents one thing in Nebraska and doing another thing back in Washington, D.C.," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement. "Politicians cannot have it both ways -- just ask John Kerry. Nebraskans can spot a phony politician when they see one and they know that any vote to move the Democrats’ health care bill forward is a vote for a government-run health care experiment.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this afternoon that she will endorse Representative Mike Capuano for the US Senate seat vacated by the death of Edward M. Kennedy.

Capuano, a Somerville Democrat, is the only sitting member of Congress seeking the seat. He and Pelosi are to appear together in Boston Friday morning to formalize the endorsement.

While Pelosi is popular with Democrats, she is a target of Republicans and conservatives. So while her backing could help Capuano, particularly against Attorney General Martha Coakley, in the Dec. 8 Democratic primary, it could hurt him among Republicans and independents if he wins the nomination and moves to the Jan. 19 special election.

“Saturday the House of Representatives passed a historic health care bill that was a great victory for the American People. Mike Capuano not only cast a courageous vote for this historic legislation, but was a constructive force in improving this bill and moving it to the Senate. Whether taking on the CEOs of the financial services industry, supporting marriage equality, or voting against the Iraq War because he didn’t believe Bush Administration made the case to take military action, Mike Capuano has a proven record of standing up for progressive values and what he believes is right. I am proud to endorse Mike Capuano for U.S. Senate,” Pelosi said in a statement released by Capuano's campaign.

Pelosi has championed Capuano's political career before. In 2006, after Democrats won a majority in the House, she put Capuano in a key role in the Democrats’ transition to the majority. She later picked him to lead a task force on ethics.

With President Obama abroad, first lady Michelle Obama will take up the health care mantle on Friday with a speech focused on the difficulties older women face getting insurance.

Her office announced today that she will be joined by Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Health Reform Office, and three women who will share their stories. "The event will highlight the important need for health insurance reform to help women access the care they need as they age, and to provide aging adults with affordable, reliable, quality health care," her office said.

The first lady jumped into the fray in a big way for the first time in mid-September, giving a speech on the importance of fixing health care for women.

“If we want to achieve true equality for women, if that is our goal . . . we have to reform the system. The status quo is unacceptable. It is holding women and families back, and we know it,’’ she said at an event sponsored by the six-month-old White House Council on Women and Girls.

President Obama, who has warned against drawing conclusions about the Fort Hood shooting, wants a report by Nov. 30 on what officials might have known about the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, before the massacre.

The Army and intelligence agencies have been furiously pointing the finger at each other after revelations that a joint terrorism task force intercepted communications between Hasan and a radical imam who has been calling on Muslims to kill US soldiers and who praised Hasan as a hero after the killings.

The military announced this afternoon that Hasan will be charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the military justice system, meaning he could receive the death penalty if convicted.

The White House today released a memo from Obama to the FBI director, the secretary of defense, and the national intelligence director:

"On November 6, 2009, I directed that an immediate inventory be conducted of all intelligence in U.S. Government files that existed prior to November 6, 2009, relevant to the tragic shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, especially anything having to do with the alleged shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, U.S. Army. In addition, I directed an immediate review be initiated to determine how any such intelligence was handled, shared, and acted upon within individual departments and agencies and what intelligence was shared with others. This inventory and review shall be conducted in a manner that does not interfere with the ongoing criminal investigations of the Fort Hood shooting.

"The results of this inventory and review, as well as any recommendations for improvements to procedures and practices, shall be provided to John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, who will serve as the principal point of contact on this matter for the White House. Preliminary results of this review shall be provided by November 30, 2009."

Before embarking on a week-long tour of Asia, President Obama tried this morning to reassure Americans at home that the economy is recovering -- and that more jobs will soon come with it.

He said that his administration has taken "bold steps to break the back of this recession" and that the economy is "now growing again for the first time in a year," but that there is "not yet the job growth that we desperately need."

"This is one of the great challenges that remains in our economy," he said in a brief statement at the White House.

While there are limits to what government can do or should do, he said, his team will look at "every responsible step."

In the only new wrinkle, Obama announced a December "forum on jobs" to gather those ideas.
(His full remarks are below.)

While unemployment is at 10.2 percent nationally, a quarter-century high, there was a glimmer of hope today. The Labor Department reported that first-time jobless claims dropped to 502,000 last week, the fewest since the first week of 2009.

While foreign policy challenges such as North Korea will be on his agenda, Obama will also be talking about the global economic recovery on his stops in Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea.

He said he will be pushing for a balanced world economy that is not as dependent on US consumption and borrowing.

The Republican National Committee put it in another light: "Mr. President, meet your creditors," it said in a missive, noting that Asian countries, especially China, are buying US government bonds that enable the federal government to borrow. Obama, the RNC said, is traveling to nations "he plans to borrow billions from in order to finance his reckless big-government experiments, historic deficits."

In this morning's appearance, Obama did not address the other major item on his agenda -- sending more troops to Afghanistan.

He held another war council on Wednesday, but presented with four options, he rejected all of them until he gets more assurances of when US troops would be able to leave Afghanistan. Obama's stance came as word leaked of cables from the US ambassador in Kabul who argued that a US troop surge would only prop up a weak, corrupt central government.

A business-friendly group said this afternoon that on Thursday it will launch a $10 million nationwide TV ad blitz warning against doing too much, too fast on the health care overhaul.

The Employment Policies Institute joins the US Chamber of Commerce and others weighing in against the legislation that Democrats are trying to push through Congress and to President Obama's desk.

The ad -- to air before likely like-minded viewers on Fox News Channel as well as CNN and CNBC -- features June O’Neill, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, arguing that the bill would deepen the national debt and hurt job creation.

"Our country is facing an enormous debt crisis. Many of the plans to reform health care will make this crisis worse. As an economist and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, I’m deeply concerned about these health care reforms," she says in the ad.

"They will add hundreds of billions of dollars to the already $12 trillion national debt. We are paying $500 million a day in interest alone. This growing debt is unsustainable. It will have huge negative effects on jobs, taxes and our economy. Unfortunately, some politicians are using accounting gimmicks to hide the cost of these changes. And many seniors on Medicare will pay the price. Changes are necessary. But I fear these reforms are definitely not the answer."

Americans are divided over whether President Obama is taking too long -- "dithering" in the dismissive description of former Vice President Dick Cheney -- to decide whether to send more US troops to Afghanistan, a new poll suggests.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this morning found that 49 percent believe the president has taken too much time, while 50 percent do not say so.

A slim majority -- 52 percent -- also say that Obama should listen to his top generals, rather than take other matters into account.

If he does follow the recommendation of General Stanley McChrystal, Obama would send another 40,000 troops, on top of the 21,000 he dispatched this year.

But the poll also found that 56 percent of respondents oppose sending more troops, and 58 percent oppose the war in Afghanistan. The survey, conducted Oct. 30-Nov. 1, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

UPDATE: Another poll out today, this one from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, found that a majority, 57 percent, now says the US military effort in Afghanistan is going not too well or not at all well, up from 45 percent in January. And while most continue to support the initial decision to use force in Afghanistan, that percentage has slipped to 56 percent now from 64 percent at the beginning of the year.

The poll also found the public divided over what to do now -- 40 percent say the number of US troops in Afghanistan should be decreased, 32 percent support increasing the number, and 19 percent favor keeping troop levels as they are now.

This afternoon, hours after observing Veterans Day by laying a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama convened his eighth -- and possibly last -- war council before making his decision.'

His remarks at Arlington are below:

Republicans, boosted by winning two races for governor last week, have more reason for optimism.

A new Gallup Poll released today found the GOP inching ahead of the Democrats in a generic House race in next year's mid-term election, largely on the strength of support among independent voters.

Among registered voters, 48 percent say they would vote for the Republican candidate and 44 percent say they would back the Democratic candidate. That's a swing from July, when 50 percent supported the Democrat and 44 percent the Republican.

The generic GOP candidate leads 52 percent to 30 percent among independent voters, who went heavily for President Obama and Democrats last year. In July, Republicans led 43 percent to 42 percent.

The survey was conducted Nov. 5-8, just after the GOP won in New Jersey and Virginia, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Republicans are aiming to retake control of both the House and Senate in 2010 from Democrats, who have substantial majorities in both chambers. If Republicans succeed, Obama's agenda for the second half of his term would likely be stymied.

"Roughly a year before the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans seem well-positioned to win back some of their congressional losses in 2006 and 2008. Independents are increasingly coming to prefer the Republican candidate for Congress, and now favor the GOP by 22 points. Political conditions could still shift between now and Election Day to create a more favorable environment for Democratic candidates, but a Republican lead on the generic ballot among registered voters has been a sign of a strong Republican showing at the polls in the coming election," Gallup says in its analysis.

UPDATE: In another warning sign for Democrats, just 52 percent of registered voters said they want their own representative to be re-elected next year and only 34 percent said they wanted to see most lawmakers in general returned to office, according to poll released today by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Those figures are similar to numbers recorded in 2006 and 1994, the last two elections in which control of both houses of Congress changed political parties, according to the survey.

President Obama leaves Thursday on an extensive diplomatic tour of Asia with a busy schedule of meetings during nine days in Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea.

But not on his itinerary is a stop in either Hiroshima or Nagasaki, where the US dropped atomic bombs at the end of World War II.

The mayors of the two Japanese cities had invited him, noting that Obama has pledged to pursue a world free of nuclear weapons and was awarded the Nobel Peace Price. But such a visit -- the first by an American president in office -- would be highly controversial and would inflame Obama's critics who accuse him of apologizing too much for the sins of US foreign policy.

Obama, however, did tell Japanese TV network NHK on Tuesday that he would like to eventually go to Hiroshima and Nagasaki sometime during his presidency -- he just couldn't fit it into his schedule this time.

"The memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are etched in the minds of the world and I would be honored to have the opportunity to visit those cities at some point during my presidency," Obama said in the interview.

President Obama turned today to his role as mourner-in-chief, traveling to Fort Hood in Texas to console victims and their families and to lead a nationally televised memorial service.

The solemn duty -- honoring the 13 people killed and 29 wounded last week, allegedly by a fellow soldier -- is Obama's first such observance since taking office in January.

"We come together filled with sorrow for the 13 Americans that we have lost, with gratitude for the lives that they led, and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on. This is a time of war. And yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great state, in the heart of this great American community. It is this fact that makes the tragedy even more painful, even more incomprehensible," Obama told the assembled Army soldiers in uniform, civilians, and dignitaries, after he and first lady Michelle Obama met privately with the families of the dead, then with wounded soldiers and their families.

To honor them, he mentioned each of the dead by name and said a little about them and their stories, speaking on an outdoor stage behind the traditional display of each victim's Army boots, rifle, and helmet, with a framed photo in front.

"These men and women came from all parts of the country. Some had long careers in the military. Some had signed up to serve in the shadow of 9/11. Some had known intense combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some cared for those did. Their lives speak to the strength, the dignity, and the decency of those who serve, and that is how they will be remembered," the president said.

"It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy. But this much we do know -- no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts, no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice -- in this world, and the next," Obama added.

"These are trying times for our country. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the same extremists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans continue to endanger America, our allies, and innocent Afghans and Pakistanis. In Iraq, we are working to bring a war to a successful end, as there are still those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that Americans and Iraqis have sacrificed so much for," he said on the eve of Veterans Day on Wednesday.

"As we face these challenges, the stories of those at Fort Hood reaffirm the core values that we are fighting for, and the strength that we must draw upon. Theirs are the tales of American men and women answering an extraordinary call -- the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country. In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility. In an era of division, they call upon us to come together. In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans."

Obama used the ceremony to pay tribute to all those in the military, saying they are as valiant and performing as important a duty as the Greatest Generations and others who served before them.

"We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes," he told the soldiers.

"This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in a time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places. They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains. They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war. They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and stations – all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life.

"In today’s wars, there is not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops’ success – no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed," he added. "But the measure of their impact is no less great – in a world of threats that no know borders, it will be marked in the safety of our cities and towns, and the security and opportunity that is extended abroad. And it will serve as testimony to the character of those who serve, and the example that you set for America and for the world."

(His full remarks are below.)

The president's only similar duty was two weeks ago, paying tribute to 18 troops killed in Afghanistan, but that was far less public -- in the middle of the night at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and witnessed by only a few reporters.

Vice President Joe Biden also had memorial duty today, speaking t Fort Lewis in Washington state at a memorial service for seven soldiers killed on Oct. 27 in Afghanistan. His full remarks are below.

In a long-awaited decision, President Obama today announced he is nominating the chief scientist at the US Department of Agriculture and a former top official at the Gates Foundation as the nation's top foreign aid official.

If confirmed, Rajiv Shah will be administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

Paul Farmer, the renowned public health pioneer at Harvard, had also been believed to be under consideration.

“The mission of USAID is to advance America’s interests by strengthening our relationships abroad. Rajiv brings fresh ideas and the dedication and impressive background necessary to help guide USAID as it works to achieve this important goal," Obama said in a statement. "I am grateful for all that USAID has accomplished under the leadership of Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham, and the thousands of career men and women who fulfill USAID’s mission day in and day out – particularly their hard work in jumpstarting a landmark initiative to bring more than $20 billion for agriculture development to the world's most food-insecure countries. I look forward to working with Rajiv in the months and years ahead.”

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John F. Kerry and the committee's senior Republican, Richard Lugar, welcomed the nomination.

“I have been very concerned about the lack of political leadership at USAID, especially in the face of critical foreign policy, humanitarian and development priorities in places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan," Kerry said in a statement. "I also believe having an Administrator will bring significant momentum to foreign aid reform. I look forward to a thorough nomination process.”

“For development to play its full role in our national security structure, USAID must be a strong agency with the resources to accomplish the missions we give it,” Lugar added. “The issues that we face today – from chronic poverty and hunger to violent acts of terrorism – require that we work seamlessly toward identifiable goals. I look forward to discussing ways to improve and support the development mission that benefits our long-term security as we proceed with the confirmation process.”

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Former President Bill Clinton, who has painful personal experience with failure on health care reform, urged Senate Democrats this afternoon to get a bill passed.

"It's not important to be perfect. It's important to move. The worst is to do nothing,'' he said after a private luncheon.

The former president didn't specifically discuss his failed effort in 1993-94, senators in the lunch said afterwards. It was more of a pep talk, he said.

"He was upbeat. Positive with every chromosome in his body,'' said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat.

Senator John F. Kerry, who came to national prominence when he testified before Congress as a Vietnam war hero turned anti-war activist, is now warning against those pushing for a troop surge in Afghanistan by asserting that the same could have turned the tide in Vietnam.

"Let me be clear: more than 58,000 American troops died because they were sent into battle based on false assumptions, flawed goals, and faulty strategies. Yes, we adopted smarter tactics near the end, but by then the die was cast. History has definitively branded Vietnam for the mistake it was—no one should believe that the deaths of nearly 60,000 Americans and at least 1.5 million Vietnamese were somehow not quite enough," Kerry, who is now chairman of the same committee he addressed in 1971, writes in the Nov. 16 issue of Newsweek magazine.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is among those cautioning President Obama against sending the full allotment of 40,000 additional US troops sought by the top commander in Afghanistan, says there are some similarities with Vietnam.

"We are once again fighting an insurgency in a rural country with a weak central government," he writes. "Once again, our enemy blends in with the local population and finds sanctuary in a neighboring country. Once again, the danger of being perceived as an occupying force by a war-weary population remains perilous."

But he says it is dangerous to draw too many parallels with Afghanistan -- a "very different country -- vastly different history, culture, and geography—in a different era."

"The main lesson that Obama must absorb from Vietnam is the necessity to explain our goals in Afghanistan, and to choose clear and realistic strategies to meet them," Kerry adds.

"I pledged to myself long ago to be informed by Vietnam, not imprisoned by it," he concludes. "The easiest way to make a mistake is to tolerate a debate that sells our country short. In the case of Afghanistan, politics has reduced a difficult mission in a complex country to a simple, headline-ready 'yes or no' on troop numbers. What we need is a realistic assessment of our strategy, military and civilian combined. One of the architects of the Vietnam War, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, confessed decades later that he knew victory was no longer possible well before the American death toll had reached half its eventual total. He offers a horrific lesson that the time to voice concerns is now."

The full piece is available here.

Senator John F. Kerry is cosponsoring a bill he announced today he will introduce to give more aid to small businesses that have military reservists on their payrolls.

Authored with Representative Ron Klein of Florida, the legislation would provide tax incentives for small businesses that make up the difference in salary between military and civilian pay while reservists are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Many large businesses offer the supplements, but many small business owners, who employ 20 percent of reservists, can't afford to do the same.

“Our legislation supports the small businesses that stand by our men and women in uniform when reservists are deployed. It keeps our service members employed and small businesses open for business. In the face of a tough economy, we can do more to support the employers and reservists who make such profound contributions to our economy and national defense,” Kerry said in a statement.

The White House today announced an effort to make the federal government the "model" employer of returning military veterans.

President Obama will be joined this evening by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry to sign an executive order that tells federal agencies the importance of recruiting and training veterans, aims to increase the employment of vets within the Executive Branch, and helps recently hired veterans adjust to service in a civilian capacity.

“Honoring our sacred trust with America’s veterans means doing all we can to help them find work when they come home so they never feel as if the American Dream they fought to defend is out of reach for them and their families,” Obama said in a statement. “But this initiative is about more than repaying our debt for their courageous service and selfless sacrifice. It’s also about continuing to fill the ranks of federal employees with men and women who possess the skills, dedication, and sense of duty that Americans deserve from their public servants. And few embody those qualities like our nation’s veterans.”

Locally, Senator Paul G. Kirk, Jr.'s office announced that on Veterans Day Wednesday, he will join Retired Army General Fred Franks, Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, more than 200 volunteers walking from Massachusetts General Hospital to Fenway Park, and soldiers from Fort Devens and airmen from Hanscom Air Force Base to raise awareness for the Home Base Program.

The Home Base Program is an effort by the Boston Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital to give support and services to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. The program was started in September with the help of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, whom Kirk replaced.

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration today has more research to help make its case for allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces.

A survey of troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan has found that having gay or lesbian soldiers in fighting units has no significant impact on unit cohesion or readiness. (Read it here.)

The data raises new doubts about the underlying assumption of the congressional ban, namely that military discipline will fall apart if gays and lesbians were permitted to serve openly.

"Service members said the most important factors for unit cohesion and readiness were the quality of their officers, training, and equipment," said Laura Miller, a sociologist at the government-funded RAND Corp. that conducted the study along with the University of Florida. "Serving with another service member who was gay or lesbian was not a significant factor that affected unit cohesion or readiness to fight."

The study, which was commissioned by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara -- whose researchers have advocated lifting the ban -- is the latest high-profile assessment to question the validity of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which requires gays and lesbians to keep their sexual orientation secret or risk discharge.

RAND and the University of Florida found that "40 percent of the military members surveyed expressed support for the [current] policy, while 28 percent opposed it and 33 percent were neutral -- less support than seen in previous surveys," according to a release this morning by RAND, which also advises the Pentagon on a host of security matters.

It added: "About 20 percent of those polled said they were aware of a gay or lesbian member in their unit, and about half of those said their presence was well known. In addition, three-quarters of those surveyed said they felt comfortable or very comfortable in the presence of gays or lesbians."

The study comes a few weeks after a scholarly journal published for the Joint Chiefs of Staff included an article by an Air Force colonel calling for repeal of the 1993 law, arguing that forcing gay soldiers to live a lie actually undercut the honor and integrity that are central to military service.

President Obama has vowed to press Congress to repeal the ban on gays -- a key campaign pledge -- but has yet to begin lobbying lawmakers to take action. A bill to repeal the law in the House has been sponsored by Representative Patrick Murphy, a Pennsylvania Democrat, but no Senate sponsor has come forward.

The latest survey, which appears in the journal Armed Forces and Society, found no significant differences in the attitudes towards gays and lesbians among the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

Other findings in the RAND announcement:

-- Compared to previous studies of military members, support for "don’t ask, don’t tell" continues to decline. The earliest polls in 1993 showed 75 percent agreed with the ban, 16 percent against, and 8 percent unsure.

-- The important factors for cohesion and readiness were officer/noncommissioned officer quality, training quality, and equipment quality. Beyond these factors, knowing a gay or lesbian person in the unit was not associated significantly with ratings of unit cohesion or readiness.

-- The most frequently endorsed arguments in support of integrating gays and lesbians were those that prioritized performance and qualifications over exclusionary practices.

The long-debated Cape Wind project is a significant measure of US commitment to alternative energy, Representative Edward Markey said today, urging a federal decision before the global warming conference in Denmark early next month.

Markey wrote a letter today to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, whose department has already completed an environmental review of the proposal. Read the letter here.

“Approving the Cape Wind project as the nation’s first commercial offshore wind project before the start of the U.N. conference would send a strong message to international negotiators about the United States’ commitment to developing sources of clean energy and reducing global warming pollution,” Markey, a co-author of the climate change bill that passed the House in June, said in a statement. “I strongly support the development of clean, renewable energy, and I believe that wind projects both onshore and offshore hold tremendous promise for our nation and for New England.”

With the Senate unlikely to complete action on a climate change bill before the Copenhagen conference, supporters are trying to line up any and all actions to demonstrate the US is serious on the issue.

Vice President Joe Biden heads to Michigan today to talk up the Obama administration's efforts to boost the economy.

He will meet with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to discuss jobs, which are in short supply in a state where the recession started earlier than much of the country and where the unemployment rate is still the nation's highest.

UPDATE: According to the press pool report, Biden told a Democratic fund-raiser that the stimulus package and other economic programs are "working," but "we've got a long way to go."

But Biden said at least Democrats "get it" and want to make investments in energy and infrastructure that will grow the economy in the long term, while Republicans are "betting on us to fail."

Echoing the president, Biden also said it's easy to forget "just how horrible things were back in January," according to the pool report.

"This was an economy built on a bubble. The rules were being made by the cowboys on Wall Street."

Biden is being greeted by a radio ad from the Republican National Committee. (Listen to it here.)

“Back in February the Obama administration promised the so-called stimulus would bring much-needed jobs to Michigan. Nine months later, 178,000 more Michiganders have lost their jobs bringing unemployment to 15.3 percent – the highest in the entire country, and our nation’s employment rate now exceeds 10 percent," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement. "More than anything the people of Michigan need jobs, yet Vice President Biden and Michigan Democrats Mark Schauer and Gary Peters are spending their time fundraising. It’s time for the Democrats to make their constituents a priority and start working to bring jobs back to Michigan.”

While the 39 Democrats who voted against the health care bill have received quite a bit of notoriety, the lone Republican who supported it is getting his share of attention.

Representative Anh Cao, a freshman from New Orleans, is a Vietnamese-American who represents a largely African-American district that had been the fiefdom of Democrat William Jefferson, was under indictment when Cao ousted him last November.

Cao said he decided vote aye after a call from President Obama on Saturday, a conversation during which he sought assurances of more federal aid for Hurricane Katrina recovery. A devout Catholic, Cao also wanted the language that was added further restricting abortion services from the bill.

"I felt last night's decision was the proper decision for my district even though it was not the popular decision for my party," Cao told CNN on Sunday. "A lot of my constituents are uninsured, a lot of them are poor. It was the right decision for the people of my district."

Cao also responded to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who after last week's election threatened to "come after" lawmakers who didn't toe the party line.

"He has the right to come after those members who do not conform to party lines, but I would hope that he would work with us in order to adjust to the needs of the district and to hold a seat that the Republican party would need," Cao said.