McCain to Aides on Palin Book: This Will Pass

ABC News' Kate Snow reports:

So what does John McCain really think of Palin's book?

Sources tell ABC that there was a conference call on Friday between McCain and many of his top former aides.

On the call, McCain essentially told them that he would prefer that they stay out of the Palin book coverage and not engage in a public debate with Palin. But he told also them he understood if they needed to refute factual errors or protect their own reputations.

Says one aide in the know: “He apologized to everyone on the call for people having to go through this. Said something like ‘You are all my dear friends. This will pass. It’ll pass faster if everyone will just stay out of it.’”

He talked about being proud of the campaign they ran and said he’s moved on, they’ve moved on and he was sorry that the aides were having to go through this.

McCain himself received a signed copy of Palin’s book on Friday. Aides say the Senator hasn’t actually spoken with Palin in months.

‘Top Line’ — Palin’s Book Behavior May Hold Clues to Future Plans

ABC News’ Kim Berryman reports: November 17th, just over a year since the former Alaska governor and current Facebook account holder wasn't elected vice president, Sarah Palin will release her book “Going Rogue: An American Life”. Politico’s Jonathan Martin told ABC’s Top Line today that he will be watching Palin’s book tour closely for clues about her future aspirations.

“If it’s a book that’s defined by score settling, by getting even, that’s not what somebody who wants to start a serious national campaign would do. And we’ll also see exactly what she does on this book tour. Is she collecting names and email addresses?” Martin speculated.

Palin has been the source of national attention since Senator John McCain introduced her as his running mate in 2008. Despite popular Saturday Night Live skits and countless late night jokes aimed at the former candidate’s credibility, Martin maintains “she’s not just a politician, she’s a phenomenon, there are not half-mile lines out there for (Minnesota Governor) Tim Pawlenty.”

ABC News’ David Chalian and Rick Klein also asked Jonathan Martin about this morning’s announcement of a White House job summit as well as the President’s decision to travel to Asia in the midst of the healthcare debate.

ClickHERE to catch all of Jonathan Martin’s comments today.

Also on today’s Top Line, ABC welcomed USA Today’s Joan Biskupic author of American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

The abortion issue raised by the Stupak amendment last week continues to fuel debates on Capitol Hill. When asked about Scalia’s possible views on the issue, Biskupic felt confident that the justice would respond with “I told you so.”

CLICK HERE to watch the entire interview with Joan Biskupic.

‘Top Line’ Book Corner: Frank Luntz’s “What Americans Really Want … Really”

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: Republican pollster and message guru Frank Luntz is out with a new book that makes use of extensive of survey results of ordinary Americans.

“What Americans Really Want…Really: The Truth About Our Hopes, Dreams, and Fears”isn’t just about politics — though, as one might expect from Luntz, it contains sharp analysis with broad application in the political arena.

As for what Americans want out of their politics — Luntz said there are lessons in the fervor displayed at town-hall meetings across the country.

“They’re angry with the partisanship, they’re angry with the politics and that’s why they go to these town-hall meetings. It’s their only opportunity to be heard,” Luntz told us onABCNews.com’s “Top Line”today. “And I say this to those members who’ve started to cancel these town hall meetings: Boy, you’re making a big mistake. Let people vent now, or they will absolutely vent on election day.”

As for President Obama, Luntz said: “First off, they still like him as an individual. They like him as a person. But they are really turning against him in terms of his policies and where he’s moving forward. And so you’ve got this great dissonance. They don’t want to criticize him because they want him to succeed, but they don’t want to support him because they don’t want the policies to succeed. So they’re in this kind of quandary. And it’s one of the reasons why you see this anxiety and this frustration, this fear.”

Republicans, he said, should be asking the question “why?”: “The American people don’t expect them to have the answers, because they’re the party on the out, and let’s face it, there’s nothing they can do in the House because the speaker’s never going to listen to them. So they have to frame the right questions.”

Luntz’s book features some intriguing poll results, some of which you can view HERE.

One highlight: 72 percent of respondents said they agree with the statement, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

Watch the interview with Frank Luntz (where he also asks Gov. Martin O’Malley, D-Md., to intervene on behalf of his beloved Baltimore Orioles) HERE.

Blago Inks Six-Figure Book Deal

ABC News’ David Chalian reports: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has signed a lucrative six figure book deal to tell his side of the story concerning the alleged selling of the vacant U.S. Senate seat from Illinois.

“He does not intend to pull any punches and will reveal information and provide insights that will at times be embarrassing to himself as well as to others,” said Blagojevich spokesman Glenn Selig.

The former governor signed the deal with independent publisher Phoenix Books, but the exact amount he will be paid was not disclosed.

“The governor chose to go with a large independent company because he wanted to tell his story without any restrictions over content that might’ve come with a major publishing house,” said Selig.

The book, which has a working title of “The Governor,” is set to be released in October.

The announcement from the Blagojevich camp comes on a day when Illinois Democrats are still dealing with the ramifications of Blagojevich’s handling of the U.S. Senate appointment.

Of course, there are likely to be few days between now and November 2010 when Illinois Democrats won’t be dealing with the Blago/Burris fallout.

Blago Inks Six-Figure Book Deal

ABC News’ David Chalian reports: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has signed a lucrative six figure book deal to tell his side of the story concerning the alleged selling of the vacant U.S. Senate seat from Illinois.

“He does not intend to pull any punches and will reveal information and provide insights that will at times be embarrassing to himself as well as to others,” said Blagojevich spokesman Glenn Selig.

The former governor signed the deal with independent publisher Phoenix Books, but the exact amount he will be paid was not disclosed.

“The governor chose to go with a large independent company because he wanted to tell his story without any restrictions over content that might’ve come with a major publishing house,” said Selig.

The book, which has a working title of “The Governor,” is set to be released in October.

The announcement from the Blagojevich camp comes on a day when Illinois Democrats are still dealing with the ramifications of Blagojevich’s handling of the U.S. Senate appointment.

Of course, there are likely to be few days between now and November 2010 when Illinois Democrats won’t be dealing with the Blago/Burris fallout.