All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

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.

At an unannounced meeting with his war council yesterday, President Obama conveyed his decision on a new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan and gave the order that the new strategy be implemented, according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

"The commander in chief delivered the orders," Gibbs told reporters this morning, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

Among those present at the late afternoon meeting were Vice President Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, Joint Chiefs Vice Chair General James E. Cartwright, U.S. Central Command commander Army General David Petraeus., National Security Adviser General James Jones and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Following the meeting, Gibbs said, the president spoke via video conference in the Situation Room with General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, and Karl Eikenberry, ambassador to Afghanistan, to convey his decision to them.

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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:

** The president takes it all on, from Afghanistan to jobs...

** A message on Afghanistan for Americans and for Pakistan...

** The Senate health care debate gets started...

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "The White House says Afghanistan and climate change will top President Barack Obama's agenda when he meets with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd [at 11:10am ET today]," reports the Associated Press.

"[Today's] meeting comes a day before Obama delivers a national address from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he's expected to announce an increase of up to 35,000 U.S. troops as part of a revised strategy for the war in Afghanistan. Australia has about 1,550 troops there, the largest contribution of any country outside of NATO.

"The meeting also comes ahead of global climate talks in Denmark. Rudd's government wants to slash Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25 percent below 2000 levels by 2020 if tough global targets can be agreed upon at the Copenhagen summit."

Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Weisman, "Critical Decisions This Week on Batch of Obama Initiatives": "A cascade of events this week, involving high-profile topics from Afghanistan to health care to jobs, is challenging the Obama White House's strategy of launching so many initiatives so fast in its first year."

New York Times' Jeff Zeleny, "Vital Tests for Obama on Mandate of Change": "In a narrow sense, President Obama’s handling of the critical issues of health care and Afghanistan in the weeks ahead will test the depth of his support among Democrats and determine whether he can draw Republicans to his foreign policy.

"But more broadly, how he manages those two challenges will provide the biggest trial yet of his ability to use the mandate he claimed more than a year ago to bring about substantial change in a political system that often conspires against it.

"He is heading into this pivotal moment with his job-approval ratings down and much of his initial shine tarnished by months of political combat."

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In the morning, President Obama will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing. He will then meet with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia in the Oval Office to discuss a range of issues including Afghanistan and climate change in the run-up to Copenhagen.

In the afternoon, the president will receive the Economic Daily Briefing and meet with senior advisers in the Oval Office.

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

9:30AM: President Obama receives the Presidential Daily Briefing.

11:10AM: President Obama meets with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

4:00PM: President Obama receives the Economic Daily Briefing.

4:45PM: President Obama meets with senior advisers.

Oprah Winfrey will interview President Obama for a holiday special on ABC called "Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special," the Live Feed reports.

The talk show host, who recently announced that she would end her show in two years, is fresh off a high-profile sit down with former GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The special with the president will reportedly include the interview with Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as well as a White House tour.

The special is scheduled to air on Sunday, December 13th.

Winfrey backed Mr. Obama during the presidential campaign, breaking with her longtime practice of remaining neutral in elections.

A leading human rights organization today harshly criticized President Obama for failing to sign on to the Mine Ban Treaty. The treaty, which has been signed by 156 countries, bans the use, stockpiling, production or transfer of land mines.

"President Obama's decision to cling to antipersonnel mines keeps the U.S. on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of humanity," Steve Goose, Arms Division director at Human Rights Watch, said in a released statement.

The international campaign against land mine use drew attention in part thanks to the efforts of Princess Diana of Wales, who died in 1997. Since its introduction in December of that year, 158 countries have signed on to the Mine Ban Treaty, including all but two Western Hemisphere countries and all but one NATO member.

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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.

Before President Barack Obama addresses the nation Tuesday night from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on his decision regarding the Afghanistan war, he will have to face a possibly tougher audience.

Top congressional leaders, Chairmen and ranking members of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Appropriations committees have been invited to the White House late Tuesday afternoon to meet with the president for an advanced briefing on the new policy. And it could be tense.

It is expected that Mr. Obama will announce that he will deploy 30,000 to 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan. That's in addition to 68,000 U.S. troops already in that country, bringing the total number of soldiers to around 100,000. Both the White House Office of Management and Budget and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen have estimated that it would cost $1 billion for each thousand additional troops to pay for logistical support, salaries, equipment, transportation and additional training.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan

That cost issue has become a real target for at least two Democrats invited to Tuesday's meeting. The first is the powerful Chairman of the House Appropriations committee, David Obey (D-WI). It's often said that the Appropriations Committees hold the purse strings in Congress. Any additional war spending would have to go through Chairman Obey, and he's threatening to tie those strings tight.

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"You know, there are certain days that remind me of why I ran for this office," President Obama exclaimed today. "And then there are moments like this, where I pardon a turkey and send it to Disneyland."

With a light tone and his daughters in tow, Mr. Obama participated in a relatively recent tradition on the day before Thanksgiving: The presidential turkey pardon. Though he eventually raised his hand over "Courage," the bird in question, to offer a pardon, the president suggested he was somewhat reticent to do so.

"That's a good looking bird," Mr. Obama said, later stating that his daughters convinced him to go through with the pardon. "Thanks to the intervention of Malia and Sasha, because I was planning to eat this sucker, Courage will also be spared this terrible and delicious fate."

While turkeys have been coming to the White House for more than 50 years, they have only been pardoned for the last couple decades. Mr. Obama noted that both Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson ate the turkeys presented to them, while President Kennedy's turkey came with a sign that said, "Good Eatin', Mr. President" around its neck.

(Check out CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller's history of the presidential turkey pardon here.)

Courage, this year's lucky bird, will be the grand marshal of a parade at Disneyland tomorrow; he will then live out the rest of his days at the theme park. A backup turkey, "Carolina," was also spared, in case Courage cannot fulfill his duties.

Sasha and Malia Obama took the opportunity to pet the turkey, which was donated by the National Turkey Federation, following the pardon. One of the girls could be heard saying, "he is like a large chicken."

As Knoller points out, the turkey pardon today was moved from the White House Rose Garden to the North Portico today – because, ahem, of "fowl weather."

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