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t. Charles, Missouri (CNN) — President Obama took his increasingly populist health care overhaul pitch to the political battleground state of Missouri Wednesday, turning up the heat on private health insurers in a speech.

“What we’re proposing is a common-sense approach to protecting you from insurance company abuses, and saving you money,” said Obama, his shirtsleeves rolled up in the 75-degree heat. “That’s the proposal and it’s paid for. I believe Congress owes the American people a final up-or-down vote on health care reform.”

He added, “The time for talk is over. It’s time to vote.”

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Most people would probably find it flattering to be called the brains behind the president of the United States. But not Karl Rove, the former senior adviser to President George W. Bush who has been called “Bush’s brain.”

The nickname, bestowed on Rove by Bush critics, isn’t a compliment to him but rather an insult to his former boss, Rove told TODAY’s Matt Lauer during an extensive interview he granted in conjunction with the publication of his book, “Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight.”

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(CNN) — President Obama recently encouraged Americans to “take about 10 minutes to answer 10 questions” and fill out their 2010 census form.

This year’s questionnaire is one of the shortest in history, but the results of the survey have long-term effects.

The census, taken every 10 years, is used to determine how to allocate more than $400 billion in federal funds and seats House of Representatives and determine the boundaries of representatives’ districts.

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Oslo, Norway (CNN) — President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize Thursday by talking about war and the limits of non-violence.

But he also praised the peacemakers of the past, and said the world can and should still strive for peace.

“Let us reach for the world that ought to be,” he told the 1,000-member audience at Oslo City Hall. “Clear-eyed, we can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace.”

The Nobel committee’s choice of Obama as this year’s laureate sparked controversy, in part because he is a president waging two wars abroad. Obama said force is sometimes necessary, but said that is simply “a recognition of history, the imperfections of man, and the limits of reason.”

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ASHINGTON – Former President Bill Clinton told anxious Senate Democrats on Tuesday to pass a health care bill soon because the U.S. economy can’t resist the toxic combination of exorbitant medical costs and nearly 50 million uninsured for much longer.

“My argument was that this is an economic imperative,” Clinton said after the closed-door meeting.

Addressing Democrats’ insecurities about the complex legislation, Clinton said he told the senators “there is no perfect bill — you’ll always have unintended consequences. There will be amendments to this next year. But the worst thing to do is nothing.”

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(CNN) – With one day to go until Election day, a new poll suggests New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s in a statistical tie with his Republican challenger, Chris Christie.

According to a Quinnipiac University survey released Monday morning, 42 percent of likely New Jersey voters back Christie, the former federal prosecutor in the Garden State, with 40 percent supporting Corzine, the Democratic incumbent fighting for a second term, and 12 percent backing Independent candidate Chris Daggett. Six percent remain undecided.

Christie’s two point advantage is well within the poll’s sampling error.

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The expanded federal hate crimes law now goes to President Obama’s desk. Obama has pledged to sign the measure, which was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill.

President George W. Bush had threatened to veto a similar measure.

The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., an African-American man dragged to death in Texas the same year.

“Knowing that the president will sign it, unlike his predecessor, has made all the hard work this year to pass it worthwhile,” said Judy Shepard, board president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation named for her son.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Conservatives will descend upon the nation’s capital Friday for the 2009 “Values Voter Summit,” the fourth annual gathering of like-minded political activists who will plot 2010 strategy and hear several potential presidential prospects discuss the GOP’s future.

In-between speeches, attendees will also participate in forums with titles ranging from “Thugocracy: Fighting The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy” to “Global Warming Hysteria.”

Perhaps the most anticipated event of the weekend will be “2012 Presidential Straw Poll,” the results of which are scheduled to be announced Saturday.

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Clinton also strongly defended the Obama administration’s decision to scrap Bush-era plans for a missile defense shield in Europe, calling it a move that ultimately will leave the United States and its allies better positioned to defend against a potential threat from Iran.

“Our agenda is ambitious,” she told an audience at the Brookings Institution about the highly anticipated U.N. session, saying it stems from President Obama’s belief the United Nations is “a critical, central institution.”

The United Nations “does not have to be just a diplomatic talk shop,” she said. “At its best, it can be an institution that brings the world’s nations together to solve global problems.”

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WASHINGTON – Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in Saturday as the Supreme Court’s first Hispanic justice and only third female member in the top U.S. court’s 220-year history.

She is President Barack Obama’s first appointment to the influential court, which has shaped many of the country’s laws on polarizing issues like abortion and the death penalty. As a successor to liberal Justice David Souter, who retired, she is not expected to alter the nine-member court’s ideological balance.