All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

The traveling press of the White House press corps is pretty used to our White House, the big white building at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. It’s an old building, full of quirks, chipped paint and history. What used to be a swimming pool, used by past presidents, is now a tile-lined pit full of electronics and miles of cables for television. Above it is the White House briefing room.

So it was a rare treat yesterday for the press to see the Japanese White House. It’s not called that of course, it's called the Kantei and it is a complex that hosts the prime minister’s residence and an official office building. The U.S. White House itself holds the residence of the First Family, the press operations, and of course, the Oval Office itself. Other offices of the so-called Executive Office of the President are housed in various buildings around the residence.

The office building at the Kantei is an ultra-modern fete of architecture. A beautiful glass building that looks like a miniature Kennedy Center, instead of the stately, federal style White House that we know.

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Republicans may be able to use the current health care debate to their advantage in upcoming elections, some polls suggest.

Two Quinnipiac polls released Thursday show Republican Senate candidates in Connecticut and Ohio gaining ground as voters in those states show increasing dissatisfaction with Democrats' health care reform effort.

Former Connecticut Congressman Rob Simmons, the leading contender for the 2010 Republican Senate nomination, is leading Democratic incumbent Chris Dodd 49 percent to 38 percent, according to the poll. Simmons increased his lead over Dodd by six percent since September.

Meanwhile, 48 percent of voters in Connecticut said they disapprove of the way President Obama is handling health care, compared with 45 percent who approve. In September, more people approved by a two-point margin.

In Ohio, former GOP Rep. Rob Portman inches ahead of his two Democratic opponents for the first time. Ohio voters oppose Mr. Obama's health care plan 55 percent to 36 percent after being nearly split on the issue in September.

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CBS News National Security Analyst Juan Zarate said on "Washington Unplugged" Friday that trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees in U.S. civilian courts was "an important decision, and appropriate."

"I think these are defendants that can be prosecuted, will be prosecuted," he said, adding: "This is a good set of defendants to put into the criminal legal system."

Host Bob Schieffer noted that the decision is already drawing strong criticism from people like New York Republican Rep. Peter King, who says the decision to hold the trial in New York City makes it a terrorist target.

"Well, I think security is always an issue with these cases," said Zarate. "But I think New York has handled big time cases before, dating back to the '93 World Trade Center case, and I think they know how to handle it."

"New York's at the top of the list for Al-Qaeda anyway, so I'm not sure that this necessarily ups the ante that much," he added.

Watch the entire conversation above. Also on Friday's show are interviews with Maggie Mahar, author of "Money Driven Medicine," and Claire Danes, Zac Efron and Richard Linklater of the film "Me and Orson Wells."

"Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.

Former Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will visit Fort Hood Army post next month as a part of her book tour, her publisher told the Wall Street Journal.

Palin is going on the road to promote her memoir "Going Rogue," which goes on sale next week. She had reportedly been planning to visit Fort Hood on her tour before the shootings at the military outpost, which left 13 dead.

Special Section: Tragedy at Fort Hood

According to the Journal, an official at Fort Hood contacted Palin's publisher at some point after the attack to indicate that she should go ahead with the planned appearance, scheduled for December 4th.

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Even Attorney General Eric Holder says he was surprised at this morning's announcement that White House Counsel Greg Craig (second from left) is stepping down.

Neither the White House statement nor Craig's letter of resignation said a word about why he was leaving.

He has faced criticism in recent months over his efforts to carry out President Obama's order to close the terror suspect detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. It's clear the facility will not be shut down by president's one year deadline on Jan. 22nd.

Privately, White House officials say Gitmo had nothing to do with the resignation. They say Craig remains highly regarded by the president and other top aides and he was not asked to step down less than a year on the job.

"Absolutely not," said a senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, on whether his performance on Guantanamo Bay prompted Craig's resignation. Right from the start, the official said, Craig agreed to serve as White House Counsel with the caveat that he would leave after one year.

But that agreement was closely held – and Craig repeatedly denied any such intention to reporters.

"I have no plans to leave whatsoever," he said last month. "The reports that I'm about to leave are wrong. I have no plans to leave."

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Angered over a number of leaks about President Obama's deliberations over the war in Afghanistan and the investigation into the Fort Hood shootings, the administration is reportedly planning to find those responsible for the leaked information and punish them.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday called leaks pertaining to the Fort Hood massacre "unconscionable" and said, "Everybody ought to just shut up," the New York Times reports.

With respect to the Afghanistan deliberations, Gates reportedly said, "I have been appalled by the amount of leaking that has been going on in this process."

He added that he believes "a lot of different places are leaking," saying he is "confident that the Department of Defense is one of them."

"And frankly if I found out with high confidence anybody who was leaking in the Department of Defense, who that was, that would probably be a career ender," Gates said.

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Updated 2:28 p.m. ET

Congressional Republicans – along with independent Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman – are not happy with the Obama administration's decision to try alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (left) and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees in civilian federal court in New York.

"The Obama Administration's irresponsible decision to prosecute the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in New York City puts the interests of liberal special interest groups before the safety and security of the American people," said House Republican leader John Boehner in a statement. "The possibility that Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his co-conspirators could be found 'not guilty' due to some legal technicality just blocks from Ground Zero should give every American pause."

"This decision is further evidence that the White House is reverting to a dangerous pre-9/11 mentality – treating terrorism as a law enforcement issue and hoping for the best," he added.

Sen. Republican Whip Jon Kyl, meanwhile, said "It is a constant amazement to me that there are some who seem more concerned about extending legal protections to terrorists than security protection to Americans."

Added Sen. John Cornyn: "These terrorists planned and executed the mass murder of thousands of innocent Americans. Treating them like common criminals is unconscionable."

"Our court system was never designed for this purpose," said Sen. Jeff Sessions. "These trials will turn lawyers, juries, and judges into targets, and will needlessly endanger Americans living nearby. They will give men like 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed an international stage to mock America and advance his own celebrity and jihad."

New York Republican Rep. Peter King suggested the decision makes New York City more of a target for terrorists.

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Marco Rubio, whose battle with Charlie Crist for the Republican Senate nomination in Florida is doubling as a fight for the soul of the Republican Party, will headline the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference. CPAC, as it's known, is the much-discussed annual confab for the conservative wing of the GOP.

CPAC Director Lisa De Pasquale announced the choice on the CPAC Twitter feed yesterday, adding: "CPAC keynote/opening speaker is usually an up-and-comer. Past: Rep. Paul Ryan, Sen. Jim DeMint and Rep. Mike Pence. Rubio fits that mold."

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, argues that President Obama's spending policies "will rob my children and their generation of their prosperity, and some of their freedoms." In an interview with CBSNews.com earlier this week, he said he largely supports the tea party protesters. He also said he couldn't think of an area of disagreement with former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

Alex Burgos, Rubio's Communications Director, said that the candidate is "honored by the invitation and opportunity."

"He looks forward to sharing his vision of why mainstream conservative Republicans are needed in Washington more than ever," Burgos said.

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If President Obama has one of those wall maps where he sticks a flag pin in every state he's visited, he planted the 50th yesterday.

"I have to tell you I'm also really excited because I had up until today visited 49 states. So this is officially my 50th state," he told military personnel at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, a refueling stop on his way to Japan.

His self-proclaimed tally is clearly the result of a lifetime geographic accomplishment that includes his two years of extensive travel as a presidential candidate. But as president, he still has a ways to go before he can put a flag pin in every state.

Our CBS News scorecard shows that since taking office, Mr. Obama has been to 28 states (see list below). That reflects the 39 domestic trips he's taken since his Inauguration. It's a lot, but it's not a record.

During George W. Bush's first year as president, he visited 39 states. It took him the remaining seven years to bring his count to 49. But he never planted a flag pin in Vermont, perhaps understandably. It was a state in which 40 towns and the State Senate voted to impeach him and Vice President Cheney.

Pres. Bill Clinton was impeached, though not convicted, and he managed to visit all 50 states during his eight years in office. But he only hit #50 a month and a couple weeks before the end of his two terms by visiting Nebraska in December 2000.

George H. W. Bush hit all 50 statements in his one term as president.

List of 28 States Visited By President Obama
(in chronological order):

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It may be daytime in America but it's night in Japan, and, as such, President Obama will be overnight at Hotel Okura in Tokyo for the remainer of the day.

On Saturday morning in Japan – Friday evening in America – the president will deliver a speech on the future of U.S. leadership in the Asia Pacific region at Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Later, Mr. Obama will visit with United States Embassy employees and their families.

Later the president will have lunch with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. After that, Mr. Obama departs Tokyo en route Singapore.

Here's the full schedule from the White House (all times Eastern):

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