All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

On November 9, 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt set off on the very first presidential trip abroad to Panama - where he inspected the construction of the famous canal that connects the East to the West.

Today, President Obama departed for Asia on his eighth trip abroad this year. His first stop is Tokyo, where he's hoping to repair strained ties with a longtime ally.

The new Japanese leaders will greet him with konichiwas and bows and a few raised eyebrows. A feud over a military base in Okinawa is a symptom of a much larger problem - that Japan and the United States may be drifting apart on some significant policy matters.

A new political party controls Japan for the first time in 50 years, and along with that change will come some growing pains - but Japan's friendship is critical to U.S. strategy in Asia.

Rather than a canal, perhaps President Obama can repair a bridge that has joined the two nations since the end of World War Two.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

She was the polarizing First Lady who spoke of vast right wing conspiracies, the carpetbagger who came to New York with a Yankees cap and a Senate campaign, and the presidential contender in a pants suit.

No matter what the role, Hillary Clinton's critics have delighted in eviscerating her.

But now, as Secretary of State, her approval rating of 65 is higher than Michelle and President Barack Obama's. Even some conservatives have done a 180. Glenn Beck told me he would have voted for her in the 2008 election.

Talk about whether she's being "marginalized" has grown tiresome even among Washington wags.

She's gotten some serious frequent flyer miles – 140,000 of them - traveling to 36 countries, and improving relationships with Russia, Cuba and even Iran.

And she's helped oppressed women facing horrific abuse in places like Afghanistan and Congo.

Just what you'd expect from a woman who broke so many barriers here. Nice to see she's getting the respect she deserves…simply by doing her job.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

The White House sent a powerful message this morning to the Afghan President Hamid Karzai: He'll get no extra U.S. troops, until he proves his government is credible.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says President Barack Obama must be convinced he's got a legitimate partner in Kabul.

"It would be reckless to make a decision on U.S. troop level," Emanuel said on CNN's "State of the Union," "if, in fact, you haven't done a thorough analysis of whether, in fact, there's an Afghan partner ready to fill that space that the U.S troops would create and become a true partner in governing the Afghan country."

That's a message that will reverberate in Kabul, where U.S. diplomats have been urging incumbent President Karzai to somehow legitimize an election widely believed to be fraudulent, by choosing one of two options – a runoff election between the two top candidates Karzai, and his nearest challenger Abdullah Abdullah, or a negotiation between those candidates, Emanuel said.

That Sunday morning politicking won praise from Brooking Institution's Michael O'Hanlon.

"I think a little Chicago politics could be just what this situation needs," he said, to pressure President Karzai to prove to the Americans – and more importantly to Afghan citizens – that his government is credible.

Otherwise, O'Hanlon says, the U.S. faces repeating the mistakes of Vietnam, where it poured in more troops, but had no credible partner in the South Vietnamese government to back it up.

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It's a prestige pantheon that includes the world's most accomplished political and moral leaders: the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mother Teresa won it in 1979 for her tireless work with the poor and the sick. Nelson Mandela won in 1993 for transforming a racially segregated South Africa. And Al Gore won in 2007 for a lifelong commitment to protecting planet Earth.

Today it was announced that the 2009 Peace Prize will go to President Barack Obama.

It was a startling piece of news, considering he had been in office for just 12 days before the nominations were due.

The award clearly signals hope from the international community - that a new day has dawned in America - and that President Obama's global approach has been welcomed.

But just nine months into his first term, it seems more like an investment - a futures trade from the Nobel committee - on the promise of what they might see one day - from the man who now literally has the world on his shoulders.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

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This morning I Googled the phrase "civilian control of the military." You know, a little light reading.

It means the U.S. military answers to elected officials - not the other way around. The Constitution says that Congress has the power to raise and support armies, and the President is the commander-in-chief.

From time to time, the concept pops up in the political debate. For example, in 1951 President Harry Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur for defying and criticizing his policy in Korea.

This week, General Stanley McChrystal is taking some heat for expressing his view that the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating and that more troops are needed.

He didn't exactly pull a MacArthur, but the administration would probably prefer a more discreet consultation.

That said, the situation in Afghanistan is very serious - and the White House should remain open to all informed opinions - especially from those fighting on the ground.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

Some of the nation's biggest banks are back in the black, and as President Obama stated today they have you to thank.

It was, after all, billions of dollars in taxpayer money that kept them afloat.

Today, as the financial community marks the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the President delivered a stern message about learning from mistakes.

While it's good for the economy to have those banks making money again - it can't happen in the same risky ways that got them into trouble in the first place. Consumers, Mr. Obama said, need protection and he's advocating a new agency to regulate financial products so you don't get burned next time.

Experts say it'll face a tough road in Congress, but didn't lax regulations get us into this mess in the first place?

For now, those financial institutions can express their gratitude to the American people by not letting history repeat itself.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson is in the penalty box today for his outburst last night during President Obama's speech to Congress.

When the President denied that health care reforms will extend insurance to illegal immigrants, Wilson went all WWE, shouting out "you lie," much to the chagrin of his colleagues, especially Nancy Pelosi.

Section 246 of the House bill does specifically forbid federal credits for illegal immigrants. But, like everything in this behemoth issue, it's complicated.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimated that 59 percent of illegal adult residents have no insurance, and many head to emergency rooms for care, which we all end up paying for. Back in July, President Obama told me the plan won't give them benefits, but he added exceptions may have to be made for their children.

So it's confusing and many details still have to be sorted out. But that does not excuse a Congressman's boorish behavior. Hopefully it can all be sorted out without resorting to name calling.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

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Picture it: with the summer recess behind him, a young President prepares to deliver the most important speech of his first term in office. The topic - health care reform. Amid controversy and confusion, his task is to explain exactly what he hopes to achieve and how he plans to do it.

I'm talking about former President Bill Clinton. It was September, 1993.

Tonight, another young President will deliver his September song to a tough crowd on a really tough topic.

Before President Clinton's speech, just 13 percent of the nation understood his health care plan. And by mid-October of that year, the number was just 18 percent.

For President Obama to be successful in his effort, he's going to need a much bigger return than that.

The commander-in-chief needs to play educator-in-chief and explain simply and specifically what he hopes to achieve and how he plans to do it before history repeats itself.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

It's the first day of school for millions of kids around the country, and the fall semester began with a lesson in politics.

Last week the White House took some heat for a proposed speech to children, and an accompanying lesson plan for teachers. The plan called for kids to write a letter stating how they could help President Obama.

Critics said that sounded a bit too "Chairman Mao," so the Department of Education changed it to a letter about personal goals.

But the controversy spread like the H1N1 virus, and lots of parents and pundits washed their hands of the speech and dismissed the entire effort.

In the end, the President's message today was uplifting and completely nonpartisan. He told kids to stay in school, work hard and to keep a positive attitude.

To paraphrase Freud, sometimes a speech is just a speech and with a 30 percent dropout rate in this country education should be on everyone's political agenda.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

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CBS News has learned that thousands of people are cancelling their AARP memberships, angry over the organization’s support of health care reform. In the face of membership opposition, the AARP has offered somewhat confusing positions - so much so that even President Obama is apparently confused about exactly where they stand.

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