All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

The Northern Viriginia couple that "crashed" the White House's recent state dinner is now accused of sneaking into another event that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended.

Michaele and Tareq Salahi first came under scrutiny last week for gaining access to portions of the state dinner on Tuesday without proper White House or Secret Service clearance. Now, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is reportedly saying the couple attended a September CBC Foundation awards dinner without an invitation.

"I don't want to say it's like a kid getting his hand caught in the cookie jar, but in essence, that's pretty much what it was," Lance Jones, a communications official with the CBC foundation, told WTTG-TV, the Fox affiliate in Washington. "I had a sheet in front of me that said who was sitting at what table, and they weren't on that list."

Jones said he asked the couple for their identification and tickets, but they could not produce any tickets. He escorted the couple outside and told security guards they were not to be allowed back in. WTTG-TV reports the couple gained access to the party through an entrance for bus boys and caterers. The television network Bravo, which has been filming the Salahis, requested access to the CBC dinner but were denied entry.

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Former Vice President Dick Cheney delivered some more harsh commentary on President Obama's leadership, just as the president prepares to address the nation regarding his new Afghanistan policy.

"I begin to get nervous when I see the commander in chief making decisions apparently for what I would describe as small 'p' political reasons, where he's trying to balance off different competing groups in society," Cheney said in an interview with Politico. "Every time he delays, defers, debates, changes his position, it begins to raise questions: Is the commander in chief really behind what they've been asked to do?"

After a 92-day review of the war in Afghanistan, Mr. Obama tonight will lay out to the American public, in a nationally broadcast address, his new battle strategy for the war in Afghanistan. The new plan is expected to include sending more than 30,000 additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan, as well as an increased emphasis on training for Afghan forces in order to allow the U.S. to leave down the line.

Although the president is facing criticism for some on the left for increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan, Cheney told Politico that average Afghan citizen "sees talk about exit strategies and how soon we can get out, instead of talk about how we win."

When asked whether the Bush administration's focus on Iraq was responsible for the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Cheney reportedly said, "I basically don't," without elaborating.

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The White House and congressional Democrats today trumpeted the results of a new analysis (PDF) of the Senate health care bill's impact on premiums, released just hours before the Senate kicked off debate on the legislation.

Without taking into account subsidies, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's reform package would raise premiums on non-group insurance policies by an average of 10 percent to 13 percent by 2016, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. About 57 percent of consumers in the non-group market are expected to receive subsidies, however, and for those people, average premiums would drop by as much as 59 percent. The bill would have a much smaller impact on the cost of small group and large group insurance, which account for 83 percent of the market.

Incoming White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog that the CBO report "contains more good news about what reform will mean for families struggling to keep up with skyrocketing premiums under the broken status quo."

Pfeiffer highlighted the CBO's conclusion that consumers in the nongroup market will see lower premiums, as well as the expected decrease in premiums for those who have employer-based coverage. Also, Pfeiffer wrote, "Americans who currently struggle to find coverage would see lower premiums because more people will be covered."

Pfeiffer emphasized that the CBO concludes that average premiums will rise in some cases because people will have more options and therefore choose to buy better insurance.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has a formidable task ahead of him this month as he tries to get 60 senators to allow for a vote in favor of his comprehensive health care reform package. The White House doesn't intend to let him go at it alone, however.

The Obama administration has been coordinating its health care messaging with Democratic leaders in the Senate according to various reports. Reid will "get backing from war rooms on Capitol Hill and in the White House, where operatives with a coordinated strategy stand ready to amplify the floor debate," Politico reports.

Meanwhile, the White House released today a video featuring Vice President Joe Biden, who asks, "Who do you trust?" when it comes to explaining what health insurance reform means. The video features physicians and nurses advocating for reform.

Reports last week said President Obama assigned a blog post from the Atlantic's Ron Brownstein, which praises the Senate health care bill, as required reading for all White House staff working on health care.

The White House has been working furiously on the issue behind the scenes all year, and the Associated Press reported last week exactly with whom. Administration officials have met with hundreds of lobbyists and others involved in the debate this year, the AP after obtaining 575 visitor records from the White House.

For more on the status of the current health care debate, check out CBSNews.com's latest Health Care Progress Report.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to hear some harsh criticism this week when members of a congressional panel consider whether to support President Obama's nomination of Bernanke for a second term. To defend himself, the Fed chief can at least point to a new list from Foreign Policy magazine naming Bernanke the top "global thinker" of 2009.

In its first annual list of 100 thinkers who formed "the big ideas that shaped our world in 2009," Foreign Policy honors Bernanke with the top spot "for staving off a new Great Depression."

"The Zen-like chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve might not have topped the list solely for turning his superb academic career into a blueprint for action, for single-handedly reinventing the role of a central bank, or for preventing the collapse of the U.S. economy," according to the special report. "But to have done all of these within the span of a few months is certainly one of the greatest intellectual feats of recent years."

The magazine lists President Obama as the no. 2 "global thinker," "for reimagining America's role in the world."

"He is an unapologetic wonk with a professorial bearing, a 'radical incrementalist' (in the useful term of his detractors) who assesses, seeks advice, considers, seeks counsel again, and then tinkers. He is also a president with big ideas, particularly in his foreign policy," according to Foreign Policy.

The third "thinker" listed behind Bernanke and Mr. Obama is Iranian political scientist and reformer Zahra Rahnavard, "for being the brains behind Iran's Green Revolution and the campaign of her husband, opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi." The rest of the top 25 on the list include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, U.S. Central Command commander Army General David Petraeus, former Vice President Dick Cheney, journalist Malcolm Gladwell and Pope Benedict XVI.

Congressional lawmakers are expecting to hear this week directly from the head of the Secret Service, as well as from the Northern Virginia couple who "crashed" the White House State Dinner last week, as to how exactly the couple gained access to the White House uninvited.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) announced this morning that the House Committee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the matter this Thursday. The committee plans to invite testimony from Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the couple who managed to attend portions of the State Dinner on Tuesday without proper White House and Secret Service clearance. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, who is responsible for the safety of Secret Service protectees, will also be invited to testify.

"This is a time for answers, recognition of security deficiencies past and present, and remedies to ensure the strength of the Secret Service and the safety of those under its protection," Thompson said in a statement. "The intent of this Administration may be openness and transparency, but a security breakdown that allowed anyone who looked the part to walk off the street into a State Dinner is a slap in the face to the Secret Service employees who put their lives on the line to protect our form of government and its leaders."

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Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, is engaged to her boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky, CBS News confirms.

Clinton and Mezvinsky announced the engagement to friends via e-mail on Friday, the Associated Press reports, and said they will possibly marry next summer. President Clinton's spokesman Matt McKenna confirmed the engagement to CBS News.

The 29-year-old former White House resident met Mezvinsky as a teenager in Washington, and they both attended Stanford University. Mezvinsky, the son of former Pennsylvania Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and former Iowa Rep. Ed Mezvinsky, now works as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Clinton is currently attending graduate school at Columbia University's School of Public Health.

Speculation swirled last summer that the couple would marry in August, but those rumors turned out to be false. Click here to view photos of Clinton and other high profile figures recently engaged or married.

Below is a picture of Clinton and Mezvinsky together on the beach at Hilton Head Island, S.C. in 1996:

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The White House has released the guest list for tonight's state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This is the first state dinner of Mr. Obama's presidency, and the guest list includes politicians, entertainers and journalists, among others. The list also includes the Indian Prime Minister's daughter, Amrit Singh, who works for the American Civil Liberties Union in New York.

Below is the full list of expected attendees, as provided by the White House:

The President & First Lady Michelle Obama

Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, India & Ms. Gursharan Kaur

The Honorable (Rep) Gary Ackerman, United States Representative
Mr. Sant Singh Chatwal (Guest)

His Excellency Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of the Republic of India, Indian Delegation

Mr. Mukesh D Ambani

Mr. Tim Dutta (Spouse of Ms. Pia Awal)

The Honorable (Mr.) David Axelrod, White House Communications
Mrs. Susan Axelrod

Ms. Preeta Bansal, OMB - General Counsel

The Honorable (Ms.) Melody Barnes, Domestic Policy Council
Mr. Marland E. Buckner

The Honorable (Rep.) Howard Berman, United States Representative (D/California)
Mrs. Jane Berman, Spouse of United States Representative (D/California)

Mr. Om Prakash Bhatt

Mr. Hunter Biden
Mrs. Kathleen Biden

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Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate who up-ended the special election for New York's 23rd congressional district earlier this month, finally conceded for the second time to Democrat Bill Owens, according to reports. He reportedly said he will not challenge the results.

"Yesterday, the remaining ballots were counted in the 23rd Congressional District special election," Hoffman said in a statement, according to Politico. "The results re-affirm the fact that Bill Owens won."

Hoffman continued: "Since, the morning of November 4th, many of my supporters have asked me to challenge the outcome of this race. Their concerns centered on the veracity of the new voting machines used, for the first time, in the majority of the 11 counties that make up the congressional district. Over the past three weeks, we nearly cut Bill Owens' lead in half. Sadly, that is not enough."

After Hoffman jumped into the race to represent New York's 23rd district, he began siphoning votes away from Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava, leaving the largely Republican district up for grabs for Owens, the Democrat. Scozzafava dropped out of the race days before election day and endorsed Owens.

On Election Night, Hoffman conceded to Owens when he was down by 5,335 votes. Some days later, however, Hoffman "unconceded" after learning that there were still a significant number of absentee ballots to count. Hoffman blamed the community organizing group ACORN for Owens' victory, though he gave no specific evidence to back up those claims.

Last week, it was reported there were not enough remaining ballots left to turn the victory over to Hoffman.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is insisting he will keep up his opposition to adding a government-run health insurance plan, or "public option," to health care reform, refusing to even accept a compromise proposed by Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Lieberman has said he will join a Republican filibuster of any health care bill that includes a public option. He is one of a handful of senators who Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will have to placate in order to get all 60 members of the Democratic caucus to support his health care overhaul.

Given that Lieberman and a few other Democrats are wary of the public option plan Reid included in his bill, it is possible the Senate could try to replace the provision with a type of "compromise," such as the so-called "trigger" plan put forward by Snowe. Under that plan, a public option would only be enacted after certain number of years if the private industry failed to meet certain goals.

Lieberman told the Wall Street Journal, however, that he would not support a trigger plan, or any other "compromise" version of the public option.

"I'm going to be stubborn on this," he said.

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