TPMDC Morning Roundup

Palin Blasts Climate Change Science, Copenhagen Conference
Sarah Palin has a new op-ed piece in the Washington Post, attacking climate-change science as fraudulent and blasting President Obama for his plans to attend the Copenhagen conference: "In his inaugural address, President Obama declared his intention to 'restore science to its rightful place.' But instead of staying home from Copenhagen and sending a message that the United States will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices, the president has upped the ante. He plans to fly in at the climax of the conference in hopes of sealing a 'deal.' Whatever deal he gets, it will be no deal for the American people."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:35 a.m. ET, and meet with a bipartisan group of members of Congress at 10:50 a.m. ET. Obama will make a statement to the press at 11:50 a.m. ET, and at 12:20 p.m. ET will make a Recovery Act announcement on community health centers. Obama will meet with business and environmental leaders at 2 p.m. ET. The President and First Lady will depart from the White House at 7:15 p.m. ET, en rote to Oslo, Norway.

Jobs Bill May Wait Until Early Next Year
The Washington Post reports that a busy Congress could delay the jobs bill until early next year. "We need to do the jobs bill right," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). "We need to do it soon, but doing it in the next 10 days is not necessarily essential if we do it ... within the next 30 to 40 days."

Climate Deal Likely To Bear Big Price Tag
The New York Times reports that the price tag from potential reform agreements at the Copenhagen climate conference would simultaneously be huge in absolute terms, but relatively small for the world economy: "The short answer is trillions of dollars over the next few decades. It is a significant sum but a relatively small fraction of the world's total economic output. In energy infrastructure alone, the transformational ambitions that delegates to the United Nations climate change conference are expected to set in the coming days will cost more than $10 trillion in additional investment from 2010 to 2030, according to a new estimate from the International Energy Agency."

House To Vote On Raising Taxes On Investment Mangers, To Finance Middle Class Tax Breaks
The House of Representatives is set to vote today to increase taxes on investment managers, in order to finance a renewal of $31 billion in popular tax breaks, including an income tax deduction for sales taxes and property taxes. The bill would tax income from profit-sharing fees as regular income, with a top rate of 35 percent, instead of the 15 percent capital gains rate.

Mark Penn's Firm Gets Almost $6 Million In Stimulus Money
Former Hillary Clinton campaign strategist Mark Penn's firm Burston-Marsteller has received $5.97 million in stimulus funds, having won the contract for a public-relations campaign to advertise the switch analog TV to digital. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) criticized the three jobs preserved at the company: "It illustrates a very poor way to create jobs."

McCain's Advice To Presidential Contenders: 'Don't Do What I Did. I Lost'
In a Roll Call profile of Sen. John Thune (R-SD), a potential presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was asked what advice he would give Thune if he ran for president. "Don't do what I did," McCain quipped. "I lost."