Last night former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura made a secret visit to the devastated military families at Fort Hood.

The Bushes instructed the commander of the mourning military base that they wanted no publicity. With their Secret Service detail, Bush and his wife made the 30 mile trip unannounced from their ranch near Crawford, Texas Friday evening.

Fox News broke news of the visit this afternoon. Other sources said the former first couple spent about two hours meeting with the wounded, family and soldiers, talking quietly and at times hugging them as they did in private at other times of crisis such as post-9/11.

Most presidents come to feel a genuine respect and affection for the people they lead as commander-in-chief and sometimes the affection is reciprocated.

Many base workers and residents on Fort Hood are still reeling from the shooting this week by Major Nidal Malik Hasan that killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others. (See video below.)

The White House announced today the Obamas plan to attend a memorial service there on Tuesday. Some foreign news reporters have begun to write unflattering comparisons of the emotional Bush vs the ever-cool, possibly cold Obama.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press, 2003.

George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who some may remember as previous presidents who disagree on many things, today agreed and abruptly pulled out of a joint public appearance scheduled for this winter in Los Angeles.

The money was no doubt good but it seems the 42nd and 43rd presidents grew unhappy with the confrontational way the event was being promoted.

The politically dissimilar pair have also dropped out of a similar, later appearance in New York City.

"We canceled the event because of a violation of contract and a promoter who insisted on billing it as something it wasn't," said Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Democrat Clinton. David Sherzer, a spokesman for Bush, also confirmed the event was off.

McKenna said the forum was never intended to be a clash between the men -- "the hottest ticket in political history," a news release called it. It was instead supposed to be a moderated panel discussion. Unlike, say, what usually goes on in Washington.

"It's unfortunate that an overeager promoter ruined the opportunity to hear a serious discussion of the issues between two former presidents who have a great deal of respect for each other," McKenna said.

Officials of the promotion company, hired by New York's Madison Square Garden, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Clinton, who defeated Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, in 1992 to win the presidency, and Republican Bush, who defeated Clinton's VP, Al Gore, in 2000, appeared together at an hourlong forum in Toronto last May. No riots ensued, but that was in Canada.

The two were set to appear Feb. 22 at University City's Gibson Amphitheatre as part of the American Jewish University's public lecture series. The appearance was announced back in August, with tickets set to go on sale this week at prices ranging from $75 to $125.

A second appearance was scheduled for Feb. 25 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, with tickets ranging from $60 to $160.

McKenna would not discuss the fees forfeited by the two former presidents, who aren't exactly on welfare anyway. But they reportedly received $150,000 apiece for their Toronto evening together. McKenna said money was not a consideration in their decision in to cancel the events.

-- Mark Z. Barabak

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ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos": Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee; along with Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee; and a roundtable with Democrat Donna Brazile, Republican pollster Frank Luntz and ABC's Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts and George Will.

Bloomberg's "Political Capital With Al Hunt": House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

CBS' "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer: Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Reps. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Republican consultant Ed Rollins.

CNN's "GPS With Fareed Zakaria": Aspen Institute's Walter Isaacson, "The Years of Lyndon Johnson" author Robert Caro, columnist Peggy Noonan, "Creating Black Americans" author Nell Irvin Painter and former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

CNN's "State of the Union" with John King: GOP Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Republican pollster Bill McInturff, Democratic pollster Peter Hart, James Carville, Mary Matalin and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev.

"Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace: McDonnell, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Reps. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). With roundtable of Brit Hume, NPR's Mara Liasson, the Weekly Standard's Willliam Kristol and the New York Post's Kirsten Powers.

UPDATE: NBC's "Meet the Press" with David Gregory: Govs. Haley Barbour of Mississippi (Republican) and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania (Democrat), David Brooks, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, Republican strategist Ed Gillespie and NBC's Tom Brokaw. Meet the Press has added Gen. George Casey, Army Chief of Staff, to its guest lineup.

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-- Andrew Malcolm

I’d like to speak with you for a few minutes today about the tragedy that took place at Fort Hood. This past Thursday, on a clear Texas afternoon, an Army psychiatrist walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center and began shooting his fellow soldiers.

It is an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America. It is a crime that would have horrified us had its victims been Americans of any background. But it’s all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims.

The SRP is where our men and women in uniform go before getting deployed. It’s where they get their teeth checked and their medical records updated and make sure everything is in order before getting shipped out. It was in this place, on a base where our soldiers ought to feel most safe, where those brave Americans who are preparing to risk their lives in defense of our nation, lost their lives in a crime against our nation.

Soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world called and e-mailed loved ones at Fort Hood, all expressing the same stunned reaction: I’m supposed to be the one in harm’s way, not you.

Thursday’s shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base. And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the....

...best of America. We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades; tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured; using blouses as tourniquets; taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.

We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad; skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America.

We saw the valor, selflessness, and unity of purpose that make our servicemen and women the finest fighting force on Earth; that make the United States military the best the world has ever known; and that make all of us proud to be Americans.

On Friday, I met with FBI Director Mueller, Defense Secretary Gates, and representatives of the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what led to this terrible crime. And I’ll continue to be in close contact with them as new information comes in.

We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing. But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every single one of the men and women who were injured at Fort Hood. Our thoughts are with all the families who’ve lost a loved one in this national tragedy.

And our thoughts are with all the Americans who wear – or who’ve worn – the proud uniform of the United States of America; our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guardsmen, and the military families who love and support them.

In tribute to those who fell at Fort Hood, I’ve ordered flags flying over the White House, and other federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff from now until Veterans Day next Wednesday. Veterans Day is our chance to honor those Americans who’ve served on battlefields from Lexington to Antietam, Normandy to Manila, Inchon to Khe Sanh, Ramadi to Kandahar.

They are Americans of every race, faith, and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers. They are descendents of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other.

What they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. What they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion, and uncommon camaraderie that the soldiers and civilians of Ft. Hood showed America and showed the world.

These are the men and women we honor today. These are the men and women we’ll honor on Veterans Day. And these are the men and women we shall honor every day, in times of war and times of peace, so long as our nation endures.   ###

Independents, most of whom voted for President Obama only a year ago, are concerned where his policies are taking our country. Don’t take my word for it.  

Rep. Jim Cooper, senior Democrat in Tennessee’s congressional delegation, called the election result "a wake-up call for Congress." "A tidal wave could be coming," he said.

Photo: Ron Edmonds / Associated Press; Associated Press (Barbour).

A new poll confirms that the Obama administration and federal health officials have failed to convince Americans -- at least those in the most populous state of California -- of the seriousness of a H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

A majority of those registered voters polled by a new survey team involving The Times and the University of Southern California said they believed the new, delayed vaccine was safe.

But a majority also said they had no intention of getting it.

The findings come from a new Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts & Sciences Poll. The survey, which interviewed 1,500 registered voters from Oct. 27 through Nov. 3, was conducted for The Times and USC by two nationally prominent polling firms, the Democratic firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies.

Today's results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Only 5% of those polled said they had already been vaccinated. Of the rest, 52% said they didn't plan to get vaccinated. Of the 40% who said they wanted the vaccine, 12% said they already had attempted to find it but couldn't. 

Of those polled, 70% said they think the H1N1 vaccine is safe for most people, and only 17% said there was a strong chance the vaccine is unsafe.

Last month the Obama administration declared a national emergency over the H1N1 pandemic, as The Ticket reported here. But the government program has come under fire for long delays in deliveries of the vaccine.

Rep. Ron Paul has even called the federal program a "total failure." Obama officials, who are overseeing the vaccine distribution, have blamed the delays on manufacturers.

A previous national poll, as The Ticket reported here, found a large majority of Americans also intended to skip the recommended medical action.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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But first a little history. Earlier this year Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, labeled Limbaugh’s talk show “incendiary” and “ugly.” After Limbaugh and his many listeners expressed their displeasure, Steele apologized--and pretty quickly, too.

Which makes today’s comments by Cantor all the more interesting. In a segment on “Political Capital with Al Hunt” being aired today, he touches on Limbaugh comments that have been, shall we say, less than inclusionary.

He also suggested that harsh rhetoric from party members might harm the GOP in the long run:

"The Republican Party in its root is a party of inclusion and we ought to be promoting that and making sure that voices are heard."

This bit of news comes from Bloomberg, in an article about Cantor's comments on the show, which airs on Bloomberg Television. As the article states:

"His comments about Limbaugh and other members of his party put him at odds with some party leaders. Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, also took issue with Limbaugh’s comments, then relented.

"Cantor was critical of Republicans such as Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who called the Democratic health plan a greater threat to America than terrorists and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who took fellow Republican Olympia Snowe to task for voting with Democrats. Pawlenty later said the Maine senator is 'absolutely welcome' in the party."

Follow this link for Bloomberg's full report.

-- Steve Padilla

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Photo: Eric Cantor. Credit: Associated Press

A majority of California voters opposes putting the issue of gay marriage back on the ballot for another referendum.

According to a just-released survey by the new polling team of The Times and the University of Southern California, a small majority of Californians favors the right of gay couples to marry.

But a far larger proportion of the 1,500 registered voters in the new poll opposes putting the issue back on another statewide ballot next year. This week Maine became the 31st state where voters, in effect, defeated the idea of gay marriage in a statewide vote.

Not surprisingly, same-sex-marriage views were sharply polarized by political party; 66% of Democrats thought it should be legal and 71% of Republicans opposed it. Nonpartisan voters were less enthusiastic than Democrats but still backed it, 59% to 34%.

Overall, the smallest majority of 51% of California voters favored marriage rights for same-sex couples and 43% opposed them, according to the survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

However, a surprisingly large number of Californians -- almost 60% -- were certain that they did not want the issue revisited in 2010, just one election cycle after it last hit the ballot.

-- Andrew Malcolm

No margin of error here. One-hundred percent of those clicking here get Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us  @latimestot  And we're also available over on Facebook regardless of gender.

And this morning on NBC's "Today" show, Lester Holt aired tape of the father of a soldier who said that his daughter told him the same thing.

No one knows for sure yet. Lots of investigations are underway. This morning, after obtaining a search warrant, federal authorities seized the suspect's computer. Maybe it will turn out that anger is just anger, that motive is less important than fury.

But there are other reasons to suspect that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a military psychiatrist who treated combat veterans and who was described as a devout Muslim, was motivated by political animus against the United States.

Reports say he had received unsatisfactory reviews while he was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, in part because he reportedly got into arguments with soldiers about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"He said maybe Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor," retired Col. Terry Lee told Fox News. "At first we thought he meant help the armed forces, but apparently that wasn't the case. Other times he would make comments [that] we shouldn't be in the war in the first place."

And then there are the Web postings, which authorities are now investigating. As the Los Angeles Times reported this morning, in a post on the website scribd.com that appears to be from May, a writer named "NidalHasan" likened a suicide bomber to a soldier who jumps on a grenade to save the lives of his fellow officers in that both were sacrificing their lives "for a more noble cause."

That cause, the post read, "is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers. If one suicide bomber can kill 100 enemy soldiers because they were caught off guard that would be considered a strategic victory. Their intention is not to die because of some despair. The same can be said for the Kamikazees in Japan."

The massacre will no doubt weigh on President Obama as he decides whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. This afternoon he visits soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital, a trip planned before the shooting.

-- Johanna Neuman

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In a district that had been in Republican hands since the 19th century, Scozzafava's support helped Owens beat back a conservative maverick, Doug Hoffman, whose surging candidacy was fueled by Tea Party activists angry about her moderate views on abortion, gay marriage and President Obama's $787-billion stimulus package.

Now, Republicans in the New York Assembly are threatening to retaliate by stripping Scozzafava of her party roles.

Minority Leader Brian Kolb is openly talking about removing her as the GOP floor leader. The two have held several meetings, with Kolb expressing his disappointment in her action.

For her part, Scozzafava is talking about whether she even wants to stay in politics, or seek a seventh term in the Assembly next year. She told Kolb that she was sorry if she put him in an awkward position, but she doesn't sound sorry to have robbed conservatives of a voice in Congress.

"If this is my end, so be it," she told the Watertown Daily Times. "At least I know we have a congressional representative who is going to put the interests of the district above the interests of the Club for Growth and Rush Limbaughs of the world."

The move to punish Scozzafava is reminiscent of what Democrats wanted to do after Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman, who had been the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000, went out and campaigned all through the 2008 presidential campaign for Republican John McCain.

As Ticket reported earlier, the Democrats were also pretty ticked off last month when Lieberman threatened to filibuster a healthcare bill if it contained a public option.

Lieberman gets to chair the Government Reform Committee because he caucuses with the Dems, and many of them wanted to strip him of his chairmanship after the presidential defection.

The man who persuaded them not to: Barack Obama.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo credit: Associated Press

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You can read the entire bill here.

Or just watch Comedy Central's Jon Stewart making fun of critics of the bill's gargantuan size here.

-- Johanna Neuman

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Considering the story broke about the same time as South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s admission of infidelity -- which was a little more Harlequin romance and therefore more interesting -- Ensign seemed destined to fade from the headlines. Instead, the saga has dragged on so long that we suspect we’ll be talking about Johnny Casino come Christmas.

This week, Las Vegas TV reporter and columnist George Knapp reported that ABC’s “Nightline” is slated to air an interview with the most aggrieved of political spouses: Doug Hampton. The Ticket’s calls to ABC News were not immediately returned.

Hampton was essentially Ensign’s co-chief of staff until his wife, Cynthia Hampton, also an Ensign aide, became the senator’s mistress. (For a taste of Hampton’s substantial vitriol, take a look at this interview with local commentator Jon Ralston.) “This is extra bad news for Ensign since ‘Nightline’ has the freedom to devote much more airtime to a story than, say, an evening newscast,” Knapp wrote.

In other Ensign news, Twitter has silenced an ongoing salty parody of him by local scribe Andrew Kiraly. He’s vowed to find a way to revive it, which would likely not bode well for the senator. So much for this affair -- and mockery of it -- quietly dying.

-- Ashley Powers

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Photo: John Ensign. Credit: Associated Press

Could we even call it election day without a completely absurd poll story?

Here's the best one the Ticket has found so far: A Houston man named Rad Rich shows up at his neighborhood polling place, expresses discontent with the philosophy of electronic voting and is told he can't log his votes without using a computer, according to the Houston Press.

Naturally, Rich's distaste for voting on computers led him to lodge a public complaint -- using a computer.

"I was told I cant vote because I refuse to use the computers so I was denied the right to vote," Rich wrote on the Hands Up Houston message board, according to the Houston Press. "I have filed a complaint."

In a follow-up with the Press, Rich said his protest wasn't due to a computer allergy but instead because he is skeptical of computer voting.

An absentee ballot would have eased his worries, but voters must swear they will be out of town on election day in order to receive a paper ballot.

We realize this story is a little ridiculous, but it raises an interesting question. With polls increasingly going digital, should election officials be required to offer a dead-tree version for the computer-phobic? Tell us what you think.

-- Mark Milian

Photo credit: Associated Press