All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

More Americans than ever believe the war in Afghanistan is going badly for the United States, a new CBS News poll finds.

Sixty-nine percent now say things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan, a sharp increase from the 53 percent who said so in September. Just 23 percent say things are going well, down 12 points from September.

The findings reflect the most negative assessment of the war ever measured in CBS News polls.

Special Report: Afghanistan

Assessments have declined in particular among Republicans and independents. In September, 47 percent of Republicans thought the war was going well for the U.S.; that figure has now fallen to 27 percent. Among independents, positive assessments of the war have fallen from 34 percent in September to 21 percent.

The new poll also suggests that Americans have become increasingly skeptical about President Obama's handling of Afghanistan. Just 38 percent now approve of the president's performance on Afghanistan, down from 43 percent in October and 58 percent in April. Forty-three percent disapprove, an increase of nine points from last month.

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The Obama administration appears to be going against public opinion with its decision to try five terrorist suspects – including self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – in a civilian trial in New York City.

A new CBS News poll finds that only 40 percent of Americans believe suspected terrorists should be tried in an open criminal court. Fifty-four percent say such suspects should be tried in a closed military court.

There is a correlation between where people stand on the trials and their political beliefs. Roughly six in ten Republicans and independents favor closed military trials, while 54 percent of Democrats prefer open civilian trials.

Read the Complete Poll

The suspects have been held at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, which the Obama administration has promised to close. Americans have become increasingly resistant to doing so, according to the poll: fifty percent now say the facility should be kept open, while 39 percent back the administration's plan to close it.

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A slim majority of Americans believe the U.S. military had information that could have prevented the shootings at Fort Hood Army post, a new CBS News poll finds.

Fifty-one percent of Americans say the military had sufficient information to prevent the shootings, while 29 percent say it did not. Another 20 percent are not sure.

Republicans and independents were slightly more likely than Democrats to say the military had sufficient information, though the percentages were relatively stable across the political spectrum.

Forty-eight percent of Americans – including 65 percent of Republicans – deem the shootings an act of terrorism, while 38 percent say it was not terrorism. Fourteen percent say they don't know if the attack, allegedly carried out by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was terrorism.

Read the Complete Poll

President Obama spoke at a memorial service for those killed in the attack, and he gets relatively high marks for his performance in the wake of the incident. Fifty-seven percent say they approve of how Mr. Obama dealt with the shootings, while just 18 percent disapprove. One in four aren't sure how they feel.

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Tension is palpable among Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee that is (sort of) investigating Countrywide Mortgage's sweetheart loans to VIPs.

The Democrat in charge of the Committee, Edolphus Towns of New York (left), has himself received loans from Countrywide and has for months refused Republican requests to subpoena records in the case. Today, as Committee Republicans — led by Rep. Darrell Issa — were poised to force an open vote on the subpoenas at a Committee business meeting, the meeting was abruptly cancelled. Only Republicans showed up and Democratic chairs remained empty.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) During The Committee Meeting

Republicans voiced suspicion that Chairman Towns cancelled the meeting to avoid the subpoena vote. Democrats countered by saying the meeting was cancelled due to "disagreement among Democratic members (on) whether to subpoena records on the mortgage industries' political contributions to Republicans."

A Republican staffer captured video of Democrats leaving their own separate meeting during the time the Committee business meeting was supposed to be convened.

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More than one in three Americans now believe President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package has had a positive impact, a new CBS News/New York Times survey finds. But nearly half say it has not yet had an impact.

Thirty-six percent say the stimulus has made things better, up from 25 percent in July. The percentage who says it has had no impact has fallen from 57 percent to 46 percent. Thirteen percent say the stimulus has made things worse.

Nearly half of Americans – 47 percent – expect the stimulus to have a positive impact in the long run. Roughly one in four expect it to have no impact, while another 21 percent say it will ultimately have a negative impact.

Read the Complete Poll

Fifty-two percent say the stimulus package will eventually create jobs, though just seven percent say it has already done so. Thirty-eight percent say the package will never create jobs.

Americans continue to have an overwhelmingly negative perception of the economy. Just 22 percent say it is in good shape, while 77 percent say it is in bad shape. Perceptions did improve slightly over the summer.

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President Obama gave an impassioned speech to turn the tide of dissent over health care reform, but was it enough?

According to Steve Chaggaris, CBS News Director of Political Coverage, "It will take a few days to shake out whether Americans were swayed by what he said tonight."

Chaggaris also notes that his decision to keep a public option plan isn't going over well with some moderate Republicans he hopes to court, namely Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who expressed her wish that the President took a public option off the table.

Watch Steve Chaggaris' analysis of President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress above.

CBS News' Kaylee Hartung profiles Washington Post's economic and domestic policy blogger Ezra Klein, who has recently launched his new column, "Gut Check."

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MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. -- On Sunday, Martha's Vineyard added yet another famous name to its roster of celebrities and politicians who come to the island for vacation. Actually, there are five names to add: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, first daughters Sasha and Malia, and the world's most famous Portuguese water dog, Bo.

The first family arrived here for a week or rest and relaxation. The island, off the coast of Massachusetts was already the vacation home of former President Bill Clinton, is home to actor Ted Danson, songwriter Carly Simon and was home to CBS’s late great Walter Cronkite.

As a candidate, Mr. Obama was here for a fundraiser in 2007, but this is his first visit as president to Massachusetts. The president has no public schedule and had an aide deliver a message to the White House press corps here: relax and have a good time. The first family is saying “up-island” which is actually south on the island, at a private home. The house comes complete with private beach and water access so he may not been seen too much while here. He is expected to play golf though and the island's many ice cream shops are hoping he stops by with the kids.

Other than that, the vineyard will be a welcome respite for him. There are many signs welcoming him here and both his likeness and his campaign symbol can be found in many store windows. As the video shows, there's also a wide selection of Obama-related t-shirts and paraphernalia to buy. The island appears to be quite excited for his visit.

You can watch video below of the scene in Martha's Vineyard:






Robert Hendin is a CBS News White House producer. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

Mary Jane Clark, an author and former CBS News producer, dishes about her new book "Dying For Mercy" with "The Early Show's" White House Producer BJ D'Elia on Wednesday's "Washington Unplugged."

After working in television for nearly three decades, Clark decided to write about what she knows best. Her novels' characters are always employees of KEY News, a fictional television network. D'Elia, who used to work with Clark, is now a featured character in many of her novels -- recurring protagonist Eliza Blake's savvy cameraman is based on him.

"One of the things about working at CBS for all those years is that it is never boring," Clark said in the interrview. "I think that television news world is great for suspense writing because the characters can go out and cover their stories and get involved in all sorts of situations."

In "Dying For Mercy," Clark's 12th novel, Eliza Blake's seven year-old daughter is kidnapped. Eliza and her trusted news team are in a race against the clock to solve this latest mystery.

So why is there interest in the world of TV journalism?

"I think people are fascinated with television, in general and television news brings you to where something's happening; it brings the event into your living room. There's emotion involved," she said.

Watch Mary Jane Clark's full interview above. "Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes .

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It's 4 a.m. in Arizona, dawn has yet to break and even though this week's Face The Nation is still a few hours away the CBS crew traveling with President Obama are hard at work preparing for the morning interview with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Check out CBS News White House Producer Rob Hendin's "behind the scenes" look.

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