All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

There'll be no effort by Barack Obama to disguise or obscure the fact that he's a war president when he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Thursday.

The ceremony takes place ten days after he announced plans to escalate the U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan by deploying another 30,000 American troops there.

Even the White House regards it as an odd "juxtaposition" and spokesman Robert Gibbs says the president will use his acceptance speech to address that irony.

It raises the question of whether the Nobel judges would have wanted to bestow one of the most highly-coveted awards on the planet on an American president newly-engaged in an expansion of military might in a conflict now in its eighth year.

The judges said they selected Mr. Obama to honor "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

But asked specifically if Mr. Obama will be accepting the Nobel Peace Prize as a war president, spokesman Gibbs was unambiguous. "Exactly," he stated bluntly. And he will mention Afghanistan in his acceptance speech.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Another public option compromise surfaces...

** Making a profit on TARP...

** World leaders look at the economic side of combating climate change...

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The New York Times' John Harwood ponders, "As Obama's Poll Numbers Fall, Criticism of Multitasking Rises": "President Obama began his week lobbying Democratic senators to unite on an overhaul of the health care system.

"On Tuesday, he will lay out his agenda for creating jobs for the 15 million Americans out of work. Then he travels to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, even as he seeks support for sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

"And next week he heads to Copenhagen in search of a worldwide deal to curb climate change by reducing carbon emissions, with sweeping implications for the American economy.

"Ever since Mr. Obama took office, critics of his leadership style have accused him of tackling too many initiatives at once. That blurs the focus of the White House and Congress, they say, and prevents the president from communicating a clear theme about his agenda to ordinary Americans.

"Now, as Mr. Obama’s approval rating in polls has dwindled to 50 percent or below, that criticism has grown louder."

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In the morning, President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing and the Economic Daily Briefing in the Oval Office. The president will then meet with senior advisers in the Oval Office.

Later, the president and vice president will meet with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in the Oval Office, which is to be followed with a working lunch in the Cabinet Room.

In the afternoon, Mr. Obama and Biden will meet with General Stanley McChrystal, Commander, International Security Assistance Force, and United States Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry in the Oval Office.

In the evening, Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will host a holiday reception for Members of Congress on the State Floor.

Here's the Full Schedule from the White House (all times Eastern):

9:45AM: President Obama and Vice President Biden receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

10:15AM: President Obama and Vice President Biden receive the Economic Daily Briefing

10:45AM: President Obama meets with senior advisors

11:30AM: President Obama and Vice President Biden meet with Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey

12:15PM: President Obama and Vice President Biden attend working lunch with Prime Minister Erdogan

3:30PM: President Obama and Vice President Biden meet with General McChrystal and Ambassador Eikenberry

7:30PM: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host holiday reception for Members of Congress

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Russell Wiseman, the mayor of Arlington, Tennessee, wrote a post on his Facebook page suggesting President Obama purposely preempted "The Charlie Brown Christmas Special" with his speech on the war in Afghanistan Tuesday evening.

Wiseman suggested the president is Muslim. Many Christians have embraced "The Charlie Brown Christmas Special" for what they percieve as a Christian message.

Here's what Wiseman wrote, as reported by the Commercial Appeal: "Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it....w...hen the answer should simply be 'yes'...."

"...you obama people need to move to a muslim country...oh wait, that's America....pitiful," he wrote.

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After meeting with leaders from India, China and elsewhere, President Obama has decided to change the timing of his appearance at the United Nations climate conference to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark later this month.

The president was scheduled to appear at the climate change summit on Dec. 9, ahead of his trip to Oslo, Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. The summit takes place from Dec. 7 through Dec. 18. Mr. Obama will now attend the end of the conference.

"Based on his conversations with other leaders and the progress that has already been made to give momentum to negotiations, the President believes that continued U.S. leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference on December 18th rather than on December 9th," the White House said in a statement. "There are still outstanding issues that must be negotiated for an agreement to be reached, but this decision reflects the President's commitment to doing all that he can to pursue a positive outcome."

The United States will have representation in Copenhagen throughout the negotiating process by State Department negotiators and Cabinet officials, the White House said. The officials will highlight ways the U.S. has moved toward a clean energy economy. The House of Representatives passed a climate bill in the summer, but the legislation has stalled in the Senate.

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White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today that President Obama will likely back using some portion of the $700 billion in TARP bailout funds during a speech on the economy next Tuesday.

That idea isn't sitting well with House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), who released a statement this afternoon arguing that such a move would be against the law.

"The President and Speaker Pelosi need to recognize that TARP money was borrowed from the taxpayer to deal with a dire emergency, and now it must be returned," he said. "In fact, current law states that returned TARP funds are to be used to reduce the debt – not more spending preferred by the President. This country is in debt, and the only responsible action is to pay it down, not preserve and expand it."

"TARP funds borrowed from the taxpayer should not become a slush fund for the political whims of Washington," he added.

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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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SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. - President Obama traveled to the economically hard hit Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania to say, "I know times are tough."

To illustrate his message of commiseration, he suggested that joblessness hits close to home. He told a community college audience in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, "Michelle and I were talking the other day. There are members of our families that are out of work."

Mr. Obama added, "We're not that far removed from struggling to pay bills."

A White House official declined to identify any unemployed relatives of the Obamas except to say, "I don't think they are close close" family members.

Mr. Obama's stop in came as part of his economic tour across the country to discuss job creation.

Obama Takes Jobs Message to Allentown
Obama Deflects Question on Legalizing Pot, Prostitution
Photo: President Obama in Allentown

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Peter Maer is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET.

When President Obama told attendees at his economic town hall today that he only had time to take three questions, he probably did not expect the first question to be about legalizing drugs and prostitution.

He ultimately responded to four questions from the crowd at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, Penn. but took his time to steer the initial inquiry from a discussion about drugs to the future of the U.S. economy, emphasizing that manufacturing will play a less significant role in the nation. The town hall was part of Mr. Obama's tour of cities around the country in which he will discuss the economy.

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," Mr. Obama said to laughter after a young man asked him if he would consider legalizing drugs, prostitution, gambling or nonviolent crimes. "That will not be my job strategy."

"First of all, part of what you're supposed to do in college is question conventional wisdom," the president continued. "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing."

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation

The rest of the nation, Mr. Obama went on to say, will have to rethink the shape of the nation's economy.

"Manufacturing will never be as high of a percentage [of the economy] as it was in the 1950s," he said, but the capacity for states to cash in on new sectors is "enormous."

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President Obama is currently touring Allentown Metal Works in Pennsylvania, and CBS News White House Correspondent Peter Maer sent in a photo of the president, accompanied by an unidentified official, waving to plant workers from a catwalk. Check it out: