New details of her book tour and leaks of the nature of the contents of “Going Rogue” itself are blowing up the anticipation of Sarah Palin’s political memoir before its public release on November 17. You would expect nothing less than a soap opera atmosphere  leading up to the release of the first of what could be many Palin books.

The most important new details are leaks of what is in “Rogue.” While specifics are lacking, it is known that the book will contain only five “very long” chapters  and will not include the kind of policy commentary Palin has done regularly on her Facebook page and occasional op-eds in major newspapers.

Mark Halperin of Time’s “The Page” has unearthed key nuggets from folks in the “Rogue” know.

* 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.

‘Maverick sensibilities”?

While Palin’s book is not the campaign literature some expected from a a likely presidential aspirant, details of the book tour hint at a future other than literature for the former GOP vice presidential candidate.

Besides the already detailed tour stops - a stop in Iowa, heavy doses of the GOP base and Republican hotspots in battleground states like Michigan and Florida - the overwhelming campaign style of the cross-country journey leads one to believe that it may be a precursor to something bigger in 2012. After all, how many authors travel in a massive bus slapped with a massive picture of their book’s cover?

The feisty former governor of Alaska is set to embark on a whirlwind campaign-style “Going Rogue” book tour that in its first week will take her to nearly a dozen battleground states.

Palin will make 2 to 3 stops a day traveling in a bus emblazoned with the cover of her book. The imagery and pace of her travel is almost certain to evoke images of an early presidential campaign foray, especially as she plans a December 6 visit to Iowa, site of the first in the nation presidential caucuses.

Palin has also weighed in on health care again via her incredibly active Facebook page. The former governor’s latest post says the House health care legislation  “should be dead on arrival” in the Senate and calls for “investigating the ramifications of the Pelosi Health Care Bill.”

We need to be vigilant in investigating the ramifications of the Pelosi Health Care Bill. Some provisions sound so outrageous as to be considered impossible to fathom, but they’re right there in the bill in black and white. For instance, page 297 of the bill explains the punishment for not purchasing government mandated health insurance. If you don’t buy what the government considers “acceptable health care coverage,” you’re going to be hit with a tax of at least 2.5% of your income. And if you don’t pay that new tax, you could be fined as much as $250,000 and sentenced to up to five years in prison.

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Please let your Senators know that the Pelosi Bill should be dead on arrival. Once we go down this big government path, it will be virtually impossible to reverse course. Let’s fight for the reform that makes sense for Americans before it’s too late.

The latest weekly unemployment data released on Thursday showed that claims dropped more than expected to their lowest level since January, when the nation was in the teeth of the recently ended recession.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 502,000 from an upwardly revised 514,000 the previous week. That’s the fewest claims since the week ending Jan. 3, and below economists’ estimates.

The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 519,750, also the lowest in almost a year. It has fallen by more than 20 percent since its peak in the spring.

“The weekly claims figures are showing steady progress,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities. “Firing activity is starting to taper off. It’s not clear whether hiring has picked up.”

Economists now believe that the pace of firing will slow and hiring will increase to a point that jobs will begin to be added again by early 2010, a remarkable feat given the depths of the last recession but likely slow enough to hamper the Obama administration and Democrats facing constant criticism from Republicans and skepticism from the public over the pace of economic recovery.

To bolster his standing on the economy and fire back at critics alleging that the White House is focusing too much effort on the fight for health care reform, the president unveiled on Thursday a plan to hold a “jobs forum” at the White Hiuse in December. It’s the most dramatic step taken in the White House effort to pull off an economic image makeover for the administration and President Obama at a time of heightened public worries over the sluggish jobs market and paranoia over media reports of a “jobless recovery.”

The president said various business leaders will be convened “to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again.”

As I’ve said from the start of this crisis, hiring often takes time to catch up to economic growth.  And given the magnitude of the economic turmoil that we’ve experienced, employers are reluctant to hire.

Small businesses and large firms are demanding more of their employees, their increasing their hours, and adding temporary workers — but these companies have not yet been willing to take the steps necessary to hire again.  Meanwhile, millions of Americans — our friends, our neighbors, our family members — are desperately searching for jobs.  This is one of the great challenges that remains in our economy — a challenge that my administration is absolutely determined to meet.

We all know that there are limits to what government can and should do, even during such difficult times.  But we have an obligation to consider every additional, responsible step that we can [take] to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country.  And that’s why, in December, we’ll be holding a forum at the White House on jobs and economic growth.  We’ll gather CEOs and small business owners, economists and financial experts, as well as representatives from labor unions and nonprofit groups, to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again.

It’s important that we don’t make any ill-considered decisions — even with the best intentions — particularly at a time when our resources are so limited.  But it’s just as important that we are open to any demonstrably good idea to supplement the steps we’ve already taken to put America back to work.  That’s what this forum is about.

Good news for the White House is that the president’s approval number has remained virtually unchanged for the past month, holding at 54 percent in the latest poll. It’s a figure that is down from the highs experienced after Obama’s inauguration, but it does not indicate the president’ summer slide is finding new life as the fight over health care, a topic where American remain divided on the president’s agenda, nears a conclusion and Republican opposition stiffens.

Hiccups for the president include a country most American see as going in the wrong direction and lagging numbers for his handling of the economy.

Obama’s approval rating stands at 54 percent, roughly the same as in October but very different from the enthusiastic 74 percent in January just before he took office. And some 56 percent of people say the country is heading in the wrong direction, an uptick from 51 percent last month and 49 percent in Obama’s first month as president.

The economy is by far the most important issue on Americans’ minds. Unemployment hit 10.2 percent last month even though the administration has promoted glimmers of improvement and many economists say the recession is over.

Those jobless figures help explain why as many people said the economy got worse in the past month as said it got better — and it’s not many people who thought it got better, just 22 percent. Most say the economy stayed the same, and just 46 percent approve of how Obama is handling the economy, compared with 50 percent last month.

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On health care, about half of the country approves of how Obama is doing on his signature domestic issue — virtually unchanged from October. In a major victory for Obama, the House passed a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. medical system over the weekend. But the fate of the measure is uncertain in the Senate, where moderate Democrats who are necessary for passage are balking at the cost and various provisions.

The high hurdles that remain before President Obama can sign health care reform legislation are illustrated in the strong language used by Nebraska Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson in describing his apparent steadfast opposition to most parts of the House reform bill being adopted by the Senate.

Nelson told ABC News that he will “for sure” vote against Senate reform legislation that includes a lengthy list of objectionable provisions included in the House bill passed over the weekend. Nelson’s no-no’s include a “more than…robust” public option and the $1.1 trillion price tag, over the arbitrary limit imposed by Senate Democratic leaders and President Obama but offset by considerably greater deficit reduction over 10 years.

“Well, first of all, it has more than a robust public option, it’s got a totally government-run plan, the costs are extraordinary associated with it, it increases taxes in a way that will not pass in the Senate and I could go on and on and on,” Nelson said in an interview that is part of ABC News’ Subway Series with Jonathan Karl.

“Faced with a decision about whether or not to move a bill that is bad, I won’t vote to move it,” he added. “For sure.”

Also troubling for the White House and Senate leadership is Nelson’s rebuttal to Bill Clinton’s high profile visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to rally the Democratic troops behind the current direction of reform legislation and to prod moderates to support a bill even if it’s not “perfect.”

Nelson countered the former President’s argument by implying that the House legislation is a “bad bill” and cannot fall under Clinton’s “perfect” logic.

“What I heard him say is that you don’t have to let the desire for perfection get in the way of the good,” Nelson said. “And that makes a great deal of sense. But I would add the caveat that we have to be sure it is not a bad bill, that it doesn’t add to the deficit, that it doesn’t increase taxes, and that does, in fact, control the growth in costs.”

Nelson is a key centrist player in the battle for reform and could potentially take people like Olympia Snowe or one or two moderate Dems with him if he decided to ultimately oppose reform legislation.

But the changes suggested by Nelson are already likely to take place before the Senate bill gets to floor and certainly in conference before final votes. Ben Nelson does not control the health care debate.

(AP Photo)

Senate Democrats received a pep talk from Bill Clinton on Tuesday with the 42nd President echoing the current administration’s call to get moving on health care legislation or face severe political consequences.

Former President Clinton made the trek to Capitol Hill as a favor to the Obama White House in order to share his personal and political experiences from his unsuccessful push in 1994 for substantive health care reform.

With real and potential bills in the House and Senate bogged down by internal Democratic squabbles and facing pressure to get a bill to President Obama’s desk by 201, Clinton told Democrats that the “worst thing to do is nothing” and to understand that “it’s not important to be perfect” concerning reform legislation.

“It’s not important to be perfect here, it’s important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling,” Clinton told reporters after speaking to Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill yesterday. “The worst thing to do is nothing.”

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“If you don’t get it done, people will claim that it is what it is not,” Cardin said of Clinton’s remarks. “If you get it done, it will prove that what they said was wrong.”

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“The point I want to make is: Just pass the bill, even if it’s not exactly what you want,” Clinton told Democrats. “When you try and fail, the other guys write history.”

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 ”So it’s not important to be perfect here, it’s important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling, to claim the evident advantages that all these plans agree with, and whatever they can get the votes for, I’m gonna support,” Clinton told the senators. “I think it is good politics to pass this and to pass this as soon as they can. But I think the most important thing is it is the right thing for America. The worst thing to do is nothing.”

Early impressions are that Clinton’s visit did have an impact on some skeptical Democrats and could spark an opportunity to rally the caucus to at least get a Senate bill done by Thanksgiving.

Is there anything left of the old Clinton magic?

The president delivered a lengthy speech eulogizing those killed and seeking to reassure the military and a nation after the brutal stateside attack that could potentially be categorized as a terrorist attack.

Obama mainly stayed away from commenting on the nature or motives behind the killings and did not seize an opportunity to put the event in a terror perspective. The president did hint at the perpetrator’s Muslim faith in noting that “no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts” and promised that “the killer will be met with justice — in this world, and the next.”

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.  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 and the heart of this great American community.  This is the fact that makes the tragedy even more painful, even more incomprehensible.

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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.  For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice — in this world, and the next.

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’re 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.

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.

A week before Sarah Palin’s breathlessly anticipated book “Going Rogue” hits bookstore shelves and internet warehouses the book tour schedule for her new tome has been released.

Palin’s “Going Rogue” tour (where attendees will be urged to “Go Rogue With Sarah!”) will visit 13 cities from November 18 until November 24  for what could be described as the start of the 2012 presidential campaign. Not surprisingly the tour will unabashedly focus on key electoral spots on the map and Republican strongholds, starting in Michigan and ending in Florida with a swing by the GOP mega-development of The Villages.

Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia are also marked for a visit from the conservative superstar.

I’m starting in Michigan, and you’ll understand why when you read the book. Last year, I made a promise to the good people of Michigan that I would be back, and now I’m keeping that promise. (Michigan is near and dear to my family’s heart! Our eldest son, Track, lived with a great host family there during his hockey days.)

From Michigan, the “Going Rogue” tour will cover as much of the country as possible. I’ve decided to stop in cities that are not usually included in a typical book tour. For instance, I’m looking forward to meeting our honorable men and women in uniform and their families at a Fort Bragg book signing, and to reconnecting with friends my family made last year on the campaign trail in different book signing venues.

We have a tight schedule, but I’m working with the publisher to allow possibilities of stopping at a few unannounced places, too.

Palin also noted on her always busy Facebook page that the tour will reconvene for a post-Thanksgiving schedule as well, which has yet to be released.

Updates and commentary from the tour is supposed to be posted to Palin’s currently empty “SarahPalinUSA” Twitter account. Will that be the new home of “death panels” while Palin goes “rogue” across the country?

With congressional Democrats poised to enact historic health care reform legislation but currently embroiled in squabbles and bitter negotiations that threaten to delay what is seen as a politically vital achievement for the party, Bill Clinton is being called in to address Senate Democrats on Tuesday in a ‘rally the troops” appearance for reform.

The former president is expected to reaffirm to his party colleagues the importance of closing ranks and passing the current reform legislation on the table despite misgivings from moderates and liberals alike. There is little question that Clinton will echo the Obama White House in using his failure to get comprehensive reform accomplished in the ’90’sas an example to Senate Democrats highlighting the need for them to “finish the job.”

The appearance by Clinton was first proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid but set up with permission and direct involvement by the White House and chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

On Capitol Hill, a senior Democratic leadership aide confirms to CNN that Reid invited the former president after discussing the idea with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who worked in the Clinton White House. The leadership aide says Clinton is expected to discuss “what’s at stake - the historic moment” and to call on Democrats to “finish the job.”

Bill Clinton is the one wild card for Democrats and the Obama administration for most any issue, especially when it concerns health care. The White House has been consistently seeking to remind squabbling Democrats in Congress of the 1994 failure and the dramatic electoral consequences in the mid-terms that year.

Clinton may be meeting with Senate Dems on reform because he remains engaged and passionate about the issue, but he is clearly doing a favor to the White House in lending his weight and support - and historical analysis of ‘94 - to the president’s signature issue at a crucial period.

The euphoria of Saturday’s House vote on health care reform has morphed into a reality check for the White House as President Obama touched extensively on the burgeoning controversy over a pro-life amendment to the recently passed House version of health care reform legislation as well as the continuing hurdles faced in his overall push for reform in a Monday interview with ABC News.

The president stressed that compromise must be found on the issue of whether a provision added to the House reform bill intended to gain support of pro-life Democrats goes too far in restricting access to abortions for women.

“I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill,” Obama said. “And we’re not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions.”

Saying the bill cannot change the status quo regarding the ban on federally funded abortions, the president said, “There are strong feelings on both sides” about an amendment passed Saturday and added to the legislation, “and what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we’re not changing the status quo.”

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“I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test — that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that we’re not restricting women’s insurance choices,” he said.

Obama also hinted at further dealmaking before the two version of health care reform emerging in Congress - one already passed in the House, the other working its way to a Senate vote - are reconciled for the final piece to what would be a historic achievement and impressive political victory.

“I think everybody understands that there’s going to be work to be done on the Senate side,” he said. “It’s not going to match up perfectly with the House side.”

Sarah Palin has given new life to her original claims of “death panels” being mandated in President Obama’s push for health care reform long after the claims were proven false and the white hot controversy that enveloped both sides in the debate after Palin’s Facebook tirade had seemingly abated.

Palin’s latest resurrection of the claim that “death panels” are somehow included in House health care legislation came in a new Facebook communique posted on Saturday, just after the House passed its version of reform.

In a post that sharply criticized several aspects of the legislation that she says will “put America on a path toward an unrecognizable country,” Palin also repeated her assertion that a provision in the reform bill would mandate “bureaucratic panels that will be calling the shots regarding who will receive government health care.”

We had been told there were no “death panels” in the bill either. But look closely at the provision mandating bureaucratic panels that will be calling the shots regarding who will receive government health care.

Palin returns to her “death panel” accusations as health care reform appears to be on the cusp of becoming legislative reality and Republicans have lost significant ground after their summer surge on the issue of reform and the success with which Palin and other conservatives pushed the issue of “death panels” and other exaggerated claims about the president and reform. Will Palin’s last-ditch attempt to stir passions against reform have the same explosive effect it had earlier in the year?

What also remains identical to Palin’s earlier claims is that they are pure fiction, proven by FactCheck.org, PolitiFact and others to be a twisted take on decidedly innocuous language included in House reform legislation.

The fact remains that the bill wouldn’t require patients to receive counseling sessions, nor would it require a doctor to offer one. Rather, it modifies Section 1861(s)2 of the Social Security Act, defining what services Medicare will pay for. So if a patient receives a counseling session from a doctor or health care practitioner, he or she doesn’t have to pay for it – Medicare will. As we pointed out in our earlier story, Medicare will also pay for prosthetic limbs, but that doesn’t mean that every recipient gets those, too.

(Remember that PolitiFact gives Palin’s arguments a “pants on fire” designation; the worst level of political misrepresentation they dole out.)