Lauren Bacall and Shimon Peres are first cousins.

Out earlier this evening from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs ...

On Tuesday, September 22, President Obama will host a trilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The trilateral meeting will be immediately preceded by bilateral meetings between President Obama and the two leaders. These meetings will continue the efforts of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Special Envoy George Mitchell to lay the groundwork for the relaunch of negotiations, and to create a positive context for those negotiations so that they can succeed.

"It is another sign of the President's deep commitment to comprehensive peace that he wants to personally engage at this juncture, as we continue our efforts to encourage all sides to take responsibility for peace and to create a positive context for the resumption of negotiations," said Special Envoy Mitchell.

This comes after George Mitchell had reportedly been unable to secure such a meeting.

A dinner with Sarah Palin sells for $63,500 at an eBay auction. That and other political news in today's TPMDC Saturday Roundup.

After Joe Wilson's outburst on the House floor almost two weeks ago, the question of the Obama opposition and race suddenly became germane for public discussion. And the ensuing debate predictably settled down on two equally ludicrous propositions: it's all about race or none of it is. Certainly there are myriad legitimate, non-racial reasons to oppose President Obama. And one need only have lived through the 1990s to know having black skin is by no means a necessary condition for the right to go positively berserk over your presidency.

For my own part, I would say that race plays a role for a significant number of Obama's opponents on the right. That isn't to say that they wouldn't be opposing him anyway if he were white -- but the character of the opposition is tinged by race. And even those who probably were just as against Bill Clinton cannot seem to help expressing their opposition in racialized language. For many it gives their opposition a special intensity -- particularly for many anti-Obama voices from the South.

To that end, historian Doug Brinkley was on Hardball Friday afternoon. And he gave what strikes me as the best explanation I've yet heard for just what happened and why when Joe Wilson famously blew his stack during the president's speech. Watch the video here.

I told you earlier that the MSNBC reporter at the Values Voter Summit got harassed by some attendees. And while that was happening he said the crew from Fox was getting the same treatment. But we hadn't seen the video, which is even weirder than the MSNBC clip.

The guy basically overawes the Fox reporter by insisting on hovering over him and mumbling until he relents. By the end of the encounter the Fox guy looks like one of those freaked out, hollow souled guys from Heart of Darkness. The whole Fox crew was trying to do its best to push the Value Voters event. But this dude just wouldn't cut them any slack. Take a look.

The same judge who tossed one of Orly Taitz's birther lawsuits earlier this week is about to hold her in contempt and fine her $10,000 after she asked him to reconsider the dismissal. (In case you missed it, Taitz was on MSNBC earlier today where Dylan Ratigan showed about as much patience for her as this judge.)

Late Update: There's something reassuring and refreshing about seeing the birther movement subjected to the rigors of objective reason and logical argument, as the judge does in his order. You can read it here.

MSNBC's Brian Mooar was doing a live shot from the back of the auditorium at today's Values Voters Summit down in Washington when he was heckled and then accosted by a series of event planners random ill-tempered members of the audience telling him to get lost on live TV. Not quite sure what to make of it. But if your thirst for the freak show still isn't quite slaked, you'll want to see.

Late Update: A couple of readers think the Values Voters attendees, who got on the reporter's case and then were subsequently ejected by event security, were the ones in the right. There's definitely a decent argument to be made. And that's why I said, "Not quite sure what to make of it." It's an interesting tableau, several different culture clashes at once. It's pretty clear that the reporter was set up for a live shot right where the event coordinators wanted the cable net folks to be.

Later Update: Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, the sponsoring organization, just went on stage and apologized to MSNBC for the incident. It was an entertaining moment. But there's something the whole turn of events illustrates. And that is that the event planners from FRC and the cable net folks are basically the same people. Each part of the same business, the same game. They know each other, understand each others rules, etc. It's the incensed attendees who are the ones who are sort of out of the loop. I'm not sure who that puts in a better or worse light. But that's what I mean by at least one of the culture clashes.

Fox News Late Update: It turns out the Fox News crew got the same treatment at the same time. Only the guy giving the Fox News reporter a hard time was a bit creepier. By the end of the encounter the Fox guy looks like one of those freaked out, hollowed souled guys from Heart of Darkness. The whole Fox crew was trying to do its best to push the Value Voters event. But this dude just wouldn't cut them any slack. Go to the post and scroll to the bottom for the Fox vid.

The Denver man suspected of involvement in a New York terrorism plot has admitted to having ties to Al Qaeda, according to ABC News, citing an unnamed senior law enforcement official, but the man's attorney says the report is "completely unfounded."

I will not even try to explain the arguments or the data. But public opinion and polling expert Professor Charles Franklin, a Professor at the University of Wisconsin, has posted a fascinating analysis of a ton of recent polling data on health care reform. And the upshot is that contrary to what I would imagine most of our expectations would be, the decline in support for reform began slowing in August and has now basically stopped. Meanwhile, support for reform firmed up and started to grow at around the same time. In other words, the inflection point seems to have been during the heat of the townhall craziness, and in advance of the presidential speech.

If he's right, the history of August was very different from what we thought. This is a very interesting read.

It's tough being a former Bush administration official trying to practice law.

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wasn't able to find work as a lawyer until Texas Tech gave him a sinecure (disgraced high-profile types being a Red Raider specialty, see, e.g. Bobby Knight). Gonzales' former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, had to go to court to gain admission to the DC bar after he was initially rejected because the admissions committee was wary of the criminal investigations of Sampson from his time at DOJ.

And now TPMmuckraker learns that Scott Bloch, another former Bush official, was admitted to the DC bar thanks to a goof by the DC appeals court even though, like Sampson, he is under criminal investigation.

So there's a Baucus bill out of Senate Finance. And a few different, more liberal bills in the House. So what happens between here and actually having a single bill that will go to a final vote? Not the pros and cons of different bills. But what are the mechanics and order of events between here and there. Brian Beutler explains.

A touching Value Voters Summit moment, as Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California, recalled her controversial night at the Miss USA pageant: "Even though I didn't win the crown that night, I know that the Lord has so much of a bigger crown in heaven for me."

SNL explains the real story behind Joe Wilson's "You lie!" outburst (including a brief appearance by Kristen Wiig as Michele Bachmann).

Late Update: The James Carville impersonation towards the end is pretty good, too.

Israeli Defense Minister (and former PM) Ehud Barak has told one of Israel's leading dailies, Yedioth Ahronoth, that an Iran with nuclear weapons would not pose an existential threat to Israel. And PM Netanyahu, albeit cautiously and more opaquely, says he agrees with him.

The argument is pretty elementary. Whatever nuclear capacity Iran may have, Israel's deterrent capacity is so overwhelming that it can deter any nuclear attack. It's what most people already think. But having it said by the Israeli Defense Minister sounds a very different note.

Robert Reich on why Sen. Snowe should reject the Baucus plan.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME): I won't let my party dictate my vote on health care reform.

Are Boehner (R) and Cantor (R) really worried that Rep. Michele Bachmann is sullying the Republican brand with all her ridiculousness?

Gov. Sanford stands up for fellow South Carolinian Joe Wilson.

The big annual conservative conference called the "Value Voters Summit" kicks off today in Washington and runs through the weekend. We'll have photos from the event, and I hope to find time to swing by myself to sample the fare. Speakers at the event are a who's who of conservative glitterati, including Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Gary Bauer, Tony Perkins, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Ed Meese and Phyllis Schlafly. (Sarah Palin is scheduled to speak but as we've seen lately, Palin manages to miss a lot of the events she's supposed to attend.)

Republicans still operate like the old Hollywood studio star system, whereas Democrats would rather be caught dead than venerate their has-been leaders. But what jumped out to me about the VVS this year were the titles for the breakout sessions they're having:

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