All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. – It's enough to make President Obama long for questions from the White House press corps. Well, almost.

At the end of a speech about the economy and today's drop in the national unemployment rate, the president invited members of his audience at Lehigh Carbon Community College to tell him what's on their mind.

Have you considered legalizing prostitution, gambling and drugs as a way of stimulating the economy, asked a college sophomore?

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," said the president as laughter filled the hall. But he made it clear the suggestion "will not be my jobs strategy."

He commended the college kid for questioning conventional wisdom. "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing - which is thinking in new ways about things."

There are studies that show legalizing certain vices – and taxing them – would provide economic stimulus and reduce, if not eliminate, government deficits. But don't expect many politicians to get behind the idea.

Another questioner had a request, not a suggestion.

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WEST POINT, NY (CBS) – Ending two-and-a-half months of sometimes anguishing deliberations, President Obama concluded the only responsible way out of Afghanistan is to first send in more troops. Thirty-thousand more troops.

The word "victory" did not appear in the president's address to the nation. Instead, he said his objective is to bring the war in Afghanistan "to a successful conclusion."

Making his first appearance as Commander-in-Chief before an audience of cadets here at the U.S. Military Academy, the president sought to explain what he portrayed as an unavoidable decision to escalate the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

"If I did not think that the security of the United States and the safety of the American people were at stake in Afghanistan, I would gladly order every single one of our troops home tomorrow," he said.

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Of the 366 statements, remarks and comments President Obama has delivered since taking office, tonight's speech at West Point is his first one billed as an address to the nation.

He'll use it to unveil his new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan. He'll announce deployments of upwards of 30,000 additional troops; explain how the government will provide the $30-billion a year in funding for them, and also make it clear the U.S. military commitment there is not open-ended.

It's unusual but not unprecedented for Mr. Obama to deliver an address to the nation from a venue other than the White House.

His immediate predecessor, President George W. Bush, delivered 23 addresses to the nation during his 8 years in office of which 7 originated from sites other than the White House:

• August 9, 2001: Stem Cell Research – Bush Ranch
• November 8, 2001: War on Terrorism – World Congress Center, Atlanta
• September 11, 2001: First Anniversary of 9/11 – Ellis Island, N.Y. Harbor
• October 7, 2002: Threat Posed by Iraq – Cincinnati Museum Center
• May 1, 2003: End of Major Combat Operations in Iraq – USS Abraham Lincoln, 30 miles off coast of San Diego
• June 23, 2005: War in Iraq – Fort Bragg, N.C.
• September 15, 2005: Response to Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans

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Former U.S. Chief of Protocol Donald Ensenat, who served in that post for most of President Bush's 8 years in office, says "the Secret Service is being made the scapegoat" in the party crasher incident.

Ensenat is seen at left with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2004.

In an e-mail to CBS News, Ensenat blames the Office of the White House Social Secretary for not having staffers with the invitation list at each of the access checkpoints for guests. Ensenat thinks it's the Social Secretary's job to have refused entry to anyone not on the guest list.

"The Secret Service are not bouncers," writes Ensenat. "Their job is security which they perform superbly putting their life on the line everyday."

In prior administrations, it has been standard practice for staffers from the Social Office to be physically present at access checkpoints to provide guidance to the Secret Service.

But ultimately, it's the responsibility of the Secret Service to ensure that individuals not on the guest list are not permitted entry to the White House. And Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan acknowledged this in his public statement last Friday.

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Here's the latest from the Obama Pardon Scoreboard:

People: 0
Turkeys: 1

President Obama has yet to grant any pardons or commutations to people since taking office. Over 1,000 pardon requests are pending for Mr. Obama, who has received 232 since he took office.

He pardoned his first turkey today.

President George W. Bush granted no pardons until Christmas of his second year in office.

At one point, his pardon scoreboard was Turkeys: 4, People: 0.

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Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.

Nothing a president does lends itself more easily to a punch line – deliberate or inadvertent - than the annual pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey.

"I think it's kind of funny, and it's an annual ritual," said President Clinton at his first turkey pardon ceremony in 1993.

He said the pardon was easy for him "because I've been around turkeys all my life." Upon realizing the double meaning of his statement, Mr. Clinton was quick to add: "I didn't mean it like that."

At the turkey pardon in 2001, President George W. Bush observed that "our guest of honor looks a little nervous. Nobody's told him yet that I'm going to give him a pardon."

In 1990, then-President George H. W. Bush sought to allay the fears of his audience that a "terrible fate" awaited the turkey presented him.
"We've decided to spare him. He will not be subjected to questions from the Washington press corps after this ceremony."

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Officials say President Obama will put forward a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 during the Copenhagen Climate Talks in December.

They say this reflects Mr. Obama's broader commitment to reduce emissions by 83 percent by 2050 in interim steps as follows:

• 30 percent below 2005 levels in 2025
• 42 percent below 2005 levels in 2030

These numbers are similar to the bills pending in both House and Senate.

White House climate change adviser Carol Browner says the Congressional Budget Office has scored the economic impact of these reductions at $173 a year per family of four in 2020.

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Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.

Crave dressing up in a tuxedo or evening gown? Long to mingle with world leaders and high-ranking officials? Aspire to dine on haute cuisine prepared by world class chefs?

Then you'll want to be at tonight's first State Dinner of the Obama presidency. Just show up at the East Wing Entrance of the White House by 7:00 p.m. ET.

Oh. Did I mention you'll need an invitation?

What? You didn't get one of the engraved, gold-embossed notes from the president requesting the pleasure of your company and addressed to you by top tier calligraphers? Well, then you won't have to change plans for meat loaf night.

Since taking office, President Obama has met with 70 foreign leaders. Tonight he honors Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India with a State Dinner. (at left, Mr. Obama welcomes Singh at a ceremony this morning)

"This is a very important relationship with a very important country," says White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. "That's why India was chosen to be the first (State)Visit."

Some 320 guests will gather in a heated tent on the South Lawn this evening for the black tie event that includes an exchange of toasts by two leaders, a very fancy dinner and after-dinner entertainment.

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Updated 5:07 p.m. ET

Credit tail winds or a pilot with a heavy hand on the throttle, but President Obama returned home two hours early from this 8-day, 4-nation Asia trip.

Worth noting: The trip home was one of those time warp events: Thanks to the International Date Line, Mr. Obama left Seoul at 4:11p.m. local time Thursday and arrived at Andrews Air Force Base 21 minutes earlier at 350 p.m. Washington time.

He traveled 20,898 miles to Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea.

It brings to 20, the number of foreign nations he has visited since taking office a day short of ten months ago.

He has done more foreign travel in his first year than any other U.S. president. And his overseas journeys are not yet at an end for the year.

He'll be going to Oslo next month to receive his Nobel Peace Prize. And may return to Scandinavia a week later to attend the U.N. Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen.

Remember when the first lady did some hula hooping last month during Healthy Kids Fair at the White House? (See more photos here)

Today, Mrs. Obama said she "got a little too much attention from the hula hooping."

She was discussing healthy lifestyle and living curriculum with teachers at Hollin Meadows School in Alexandria.

But Mrs. Obama said the goal of the hula hooping was to engage "families and kids in the whole area of fitness."

One of the teachers told her that her hula hooping inspired the kids and even him to follow suit.

Mrs. Obama visited the school cafeteria and with the principal, handed bananas and oranges to kids as they emerged from the chow line.

She says government can do better in the school lunches provided to kids.

"The low rates of vegetables and fruits in those meals and the high rates of foods that have high calories probably plays a role in some of the statistics the we hear, that one in three kids in this country are obese," said the first lady.

She described childhood obesity as a problem "we have to really combat."

"If we don't do something about it now it's only going to get worse."

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