Politics Audio/Video - NPR

At President's Obama's first state dinner Tuesday night, the menu was largely vegetarian in homage to India's Prime Minister Singh. Guests feasted on red lentil soup and roasted potato dumplings or green curry prawns. Plus an arugula salad from the White House garden and pumpkin pie to top it off.

South Carolina lawmakers began impeachment hearings Tuesday against Gov. Mark Sanford. The legislators began a hearing on the governor's five-day absence in June when he went to Argentina to meet his lover and left no one in charge of the state. Cindi Scoppe, associate editor of The Slate newspaper, says Sanford and the legislature had been at odds even before the scandal.

The bill remains a patient in precarious condition, beset by all manner of ailments and infections. But it also remains alive, and at this point you could argue that whatever doesn't kill it outright makes it stronger.

It will be another week before senators begin floor debate on the Democrats' health care overhaul bill, but many in Washington are already predicting the demise of its current provision for a modest government-run insurance program.

President Obama and his top military and national security advisers gathered once again at the White House Monday night. The subject was troop levels and strategies for the war in Afghanistan, and there was also the question of how to deal with neighboring Pakistan. Sources say plans are underway for a possible announcement in a prime-time speech by the president next week.

The Obamas host Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday night at the most formal of all dinners. First lady Michelle Obama said she and the president will be like swans, gliding with poise and serenity — while paddling furiously to get things right.

The debate in Washington over how much the health care overhaul bills will cost has largely centered on the bottom line for the federal government. But polls repeatedly show Americans are much more concerned about how a reshaped health care system will affect their own family's financial situation.

The president is likely to address the nation Dec. 1 to outline strategy for the way ahead in Afghanistan, sources tell NPR. The announcement of a troop increase would be followed by testimony on Capitol Hill by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

These three photos of President Obama were among images shown to college students as part of a study that suggests political attitudes can impact the way people perceive skin tone. The photos on the left and right have been altered. Self-described liberals were most likely to rate lightened photos as most representative of Obama. Conservative students tended to pick darkened photos.

Mark Sanford is accused of breaking state laws more than three dozen times by violating rules on airplane travel and campaign money, according to details of the allegations. The state attorney general will decide whether to file criminal charges.

In the New York Times, columnist Ross Douthat argues Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin embraced celebrity after losses in 2008, and thus can never become president. Douthat believes republicans need a leader who prefers "leadership to the pleasures of celebrity."

Only three states — Illinois, New Mexico and Washington — allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. Other states have recently implemented practices aimed at banning immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally from operating motor vehicles.

In a rare Saturday session, the Senate cleared the way to take up debate on sweeping changes to overhaul the nation's Health Care system. Guest host Jennifer Ludden talks with NPR's Congressional Correspondent David Welna about what obstacles lay ahead with the health care bill.

The University of Akron said it could ask new workers for a DNA sample to run background checks. But an anti-discrimination law that went into full effect Nov. 21 prevents employers from requiring workers to share genetic information.

Democrats united on Saturday to advance health care legislation in the Senate. Several Democratic senators have made it clear that they will not vote for a final health care proposal without big changes to the bill.

President Obama has recruited former Sen. Tom Daschle to help persuade reluctant Democrats to approve health care legislation. Daschle discusses his role and how he hopes to make lawmakers understand "the consequences of failure."

Some moderates threatened Sunday to scuttle legislation if their demands aren't met, while more liberal members warned their party leaders not to bend.

The Obama administration has launched the Financial Fraud Task Force to investigate issues related to the economic crisis. The Department of Justice will lead the task force's efforts to combat fraud in such areas as mortgage lending, stimulus spending and the government's bailout of the financial sector. Host Liane Hansen talks with Department of Justice Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, who will be one of the leaders of the task force.

Barack Obama's presidential campaign was one of several successful, modern-day political campaigns to break through racial barriers. Is this an indication that America is experiencing a shift toward political colorblindness?

Nine people were killed in a Metro train crash in Washington, D.C., this summer. The growing number of commuter rail collisions is one of the reasons the Obama administration proposed this week that the federal government take over safety regulation of the country's subway and light rail systems. Host Liane Hansen speaks with Deborah Hersman, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin of Rhode Island has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving the central sacrament of the church because of the congressman's support for abortion rights, Kennedy said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs 60 votes — that's every Democrat and both Independents — to clear the way for a vote on historic heath care legislation Saturday. The final two Democrats fell in line Saturday afternoon — Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. But the holdouts still expressed strong reluctance about the "public option" in Reid's bill.

The Senate spends the day tackling health care, President Obama returns from China, and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin goes "rogue." Guy Raz reviews this week's news with James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine.

Senate Democrats pushed through a procedural wall Saturday night and formally opened the floor debate on their effort to overhaul the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system.

The administration has made $45 billion available for doctors and hospital across the country to digitize medical records. This money, part of the government's stimulus plan, promises what amounts to a gold rush for major technology firms, who have begun competing to win those accounts. But Fred Schulte, senior reporter for the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, says some health care professionals wonder if the promise of electronic medical records has been exaggerated. Host Scott Simon talks to Schulte about the potential pitfalls.

The historic health care overhaul plan proposed by Congressional Democrats makes its way to the Senate for a test vote tonight. The sweeping legislation sets the stage for a showdown between Republicans and a fragmented Democratic majority. Sixty votes are required to advance the bill toward full debate. Host Scott Simon speaks with Sen. Dick Durbin, the majority whip of the Senate.

Sen. Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said there may be additional e-mails that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the alleged Fort Hood shooter before the deadly rampage.

Meddling in medical recommendations is nothing new for politicians

Patients often find it difficult to base medical decisions on study results.

Senate Democrats hoped to have enough votes this week to pass a health care bill, Obama Cabinet officials faced hostile lawmakers on Capitol Hill and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's much-awaited book hit bookstores. Political analysts E.J. Dionne, of The Washington Post, and David Brooks, of The New York Times, offer their insight.

The public option looms large in the minds of voters and certain lawmakers, but not so much in the Senate health care bill. There it limits eligibility, kicks in late, includes an opt-out provision for states, and is expected to cost more than private plans. Leaders say they had to weaken it to round up the 60 votes they need to move the bill forward. Still, its inclusion continues to jeopardize needed support for passage, because several members of the Democratic caucus adamantly oppose any public option.

The Senate Ethics Committee on Friday admonished Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., for making "inconsistent, misleading or incomplete" statements about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the seat once held by Barack Obama. The committee didn't recommend any punishment.

Democrats will need to vote in lockstep to overcome GOP opposition in a key procedural vote to move the $848 billion measure to full debate. But it's not yet clear whether Majority Leader Harry Reid can round up enough support.

Cultural and political phenomenon Sarah Palin returned to the national spotlight this week to promote her memoir "Going Rogue" and fielded questions about a possible run for the White House in 2012. Host Michel Martin talks with Mary Kate Cary, a columnist with U.S. News and World Report, and Matt Continetti, author of "The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star" about what might be next for the former Alaska governor.

Squawking aside, closed-door legislative engineering is business as usual for the Senate.

Rep. Ron Paul, the Texas Republican and lifelong critic of the Federal Reserve, scored a big win on Capitol Hill by getting a House panel to pass a bill requiring new reviews of the Fed's interest-rate decisions.

The fight over health care has moved to the Senate, and that means the fight over abortion is there as well. Earlier this month, the House passed legislation that would ban federal funding of abortion, but most Democrats say it went too far. Can the Senate's version find a compromise?

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says she believes a health-care bill will pass, despite fierce debate over language about abortion. She tells Renee Montagne that when it comes to Afghanistan, she doesn't sense wide support among House members for a significant troop increase. Pelosi says she's asked members to give President Obama room to decide his Afghan strategy.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was able to get the bill passed while the Senate couldn't by appending it to a more popular bill. Republicans complained that the cost of the measure was not offset and also charged that it was repayment to the AMA for endorsing the Democrats' health care bill.