A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released today shows 75 percent of Americans polled “said gay people who are open about their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military” — a dramatic rise from the 61 percent who supported the notion in 2001. Support has increased across party and ideological lines:

Support from Republicans has doubled over the past 15 years, from 32 to 64 percent. More than eight in 10 Democrats and more than three-quarters of independents now support the idea, as did nearly two-thirds of self-described conservatives.

Today is the 15th anniversary of the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy. At that time, a majority of all Americans — including 75 percent of conservatives — supported a ban on gays in the military.

“Former Vice President Al Gore is scheduled to speak this morning to more than 2,000 bloggers and others meeting at the Netroots Nation convention. His appearance here has been kept hush hush, with word only that a mystery guest would be coming on stage after a question-and-answer session with Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House.” Watch a live stream of the conference here.

11:08 AM ET: Moderator Gina Cooper asks Pelosi a question about Gore’s goal to shift America from fossil fuel to renewable energy in 10 years. Pelosi then pretends to check her Blackberry and says that she had recently received an e-mail from the vice president. As a recording of his voice comes on — “In relationship to this question on energy, Dear Nancy, Thursday I issued a challenge to reset our energy commitment…” — Gore walks onstage to a standing ovation and long, sustained applause.

11:18 ET: Gore comments on the absurdity of increased drilling to address global warming. He compares it to an old remedy for a hangover: “the hair of the dog that bit you.” “They’d recommend just going in and having another drink in the morning. That’s sort of what that reminds me of,” said Gore. “When you’re in a hole, stop digging.”

11:25 ET: Dave Roberts at Grist is live-blogging too. He notes Gore argues that “defenders of status quo are the ones who got us in this mess. Ridiculous to open a few more areas for drilling to produce oil in 10 years that will be sold to China. Makes about as much sense as responding to an attack from Afghanistan by invading some other country.”

11:27 ET: Gore praises Netroots Nation, commenting on the excitement of the event: “You will tell them that this was the beginning of an effort that was the start to reclaim the integrity of American democracy.”

11:31 ET: Gore responds to a question about whether he would be willing to serve in the next administration:

I am really honored by the suggestion that some have made that I consider taking a position of some kind in the next administration, and I want to convey my respect for the idea, even as I explain to you why that’s not the best thing for me. … I feel the highest and best use of the talents and experiences I’ve gained in my life is to enlarge the political space for elected officials and cabinet members to address this climate crisis. I’ve seen first hand how important it is to have a base of support for these bold changes. … I’m devoting my life to bringing about a sea change of public opinion across party lines that supports the truly massive policy change that we have to have.

11:35 ET: Gore puts it bluntly: “The idea of turning coal into liquid fuels for our cars is insane.”

11:37 ET: Responding to a question on technology, Pelosi thanks Gore for his work on the issue, stating, “Without him, there would be no Netroots Nation. We would not have the technology. You know that.” Gore jokingly responds, “I think I’ll refrain from saying that.”

11:43 ET: Ari Melber and the Northwest Progressive Institute are also live blogging.

11:56 ET: Gore talks about the economics of renewables: “When demand for oil and gas goes up, the price goes up. When the demand for solar and wind goes up, the price goes down.”

12:03 ET: Pelosi responds to a question about Maliki’s comments this morning endorsing Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) plan for withdrawal from Iraq:

On the one hand, the administration is saying that everything is great, security has been achieved in Iraq. On the other hand, we can’t bring our troops home. How does that makes sense? [...]

So with the prime minister saying it’s time for you to go, I think it’s time for our country to sit down with the Iraqis and work that plan out. [We need to be] respectful of what the prime minister says, and respectful of the will of the American people, who have been against this war for a long time. … And we owe it to our troops who are there, and we owe them so much more as we discussed early. … [We should] have a high-level meeting with the Iraqis to work out the terms of our deployment out of iraq. … So, the end could be in sight.

It seems that the rising number of people who don’t own landlines is having only a very tiny impact on political polling. But this looks like something that may be a real problem in 2012 or 2016.

Today, Der Spiegel reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has endorsed a 16-month timetable for the United States to withdraw from Iraq:

In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible.

“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.” [...]

Asked if he supported Obama’s ideas more than those of John McCain, Republican presidential hopeful, Maliki said he did not want to recommend who people should vote for.

Whoever is thinking about the shorter term is closer to reality. Artificially extending the stay of U.S. troops would cause problems. [...]

“The Americans have found it difficult to agree on a concrete timetable for the exit because it seems like an admission of defeat to them. But it isn’t,” Maliki told Der Spiegel.

Not only is the plan now accepted by Iraqis, but as a Center for American Progress report explains, it is also logistically workable — despite what reporters such as ABC’s Martha Raddatz have suggested. Maliki’s comments come as Obama begins his trip in the Middle East, which will include Iraq. Full interview with Maliki here. (HT: Democracy Arsenal)

I’m up outrageously early on a Saturday because I’m about to head off to see Nancy Pelosi talk to the Netroots Nation. I don’t attend 8:30 AM events on a Saturday lightly, so I think it’s time to once again remind people that whatever disappointments they may have with the new Democratic congress and its leadership that, at the end of the day, among real liberals in Washington, DC Pelosi is by far the most powerful. And among powerful elected officials in Washington, Pelosi is the real liberal. There’s a reason she’s the one who shows up to an event like this even when she’s not courting the base in a primary.