All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

On this week's edition of CBSNews.com's @katiecouric, military historian Kimberly Kagan told Katie Couric that while "al-Qaeda has a global focus," the Taliban "has a slightly more narrow focus in Afghanistan."

That isn't to say that the groups don't share goals and know each other, however.

"What we have in Afghanistan is a network of enemy groups who are tied by close personal relationships between their leaders," said Kagan.

She noted that "the first few steps that these groups need to undertake are actually shared in common."

"They need safe havens," Kagan said. "They need to establish a state in which they can produce their vision of law, order and justice. And from which they can project power."

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On this week's edition of CBSNews.com's @katiecouric, journalist George Packer said the United States basically "turned our backs on" Afghanistan following the American-led invasion of the country.

"We never had anywhere close to the number of troops that we needed there," the New Yorker staff writer told Katie Couric. "The money we did spend was largely wasted on big contracts for private contractors who sent 90 percent of the money back to the United States. We took our eye off Afghanistan."

"We forgot that there was a Taliban," Packer added. "Turned out the Taliban had not been defeated. They had really withdrawn across the border to Pakistan and reconstituted themselves and a lot of the old figures are now back in play."

Packer blamed both a corrupt Afghan government and the U.S. for giving the Taliban a "second chance."

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On this week's edition of CBSNews.com's @katiecouric, journalist George Packer said President Obama "does not want his presidency to be broken by the Afghanistan war."

"This war is losing popularity really, really fast," Packer, a New Yorker staff writer, told Katie Couric. "Almost since he's been president the air has gone out of it."

Packer said he believes Mr. Obama will likely "find a middle way" in crafting a strategy going forward in Afghanistan.

"It's obviously gonna be partly a political decision," he said. "He's a political leader. He can't afford to be totally out in front of the American public on this war or else - the support for it would disappear immediately."

"On the other hand, I think he's doing something that George W. Bush never did and it's very important," continued Packer. "He is showing civilian leadership. George W. Bush allowed - in the last years of his presidency, allowed military advisers to make his policy for him."

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At a speech about his presidential center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas this afternoon, George W. Bush told a supportive crowd that he has had time to reflect in office over the past nine months.

Mr. Bush said there were ups and downs, but through it all he "always did what I believed was in the best interests of our country."

And, he told the crowd to raucous applause, "I came home to Texas with my values intact."

Mr. Bush was speaking to launch the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which includes a public policy institute with the mission of promoting the goals and values of his presidency.

There are three components to the center, he said: An archive, museum, and the policy institute.

The archive will include the documents and records of Mr. Bush's time in office, and will house "four million photos; thousands of boxes of documents; and hundreds of millions of e-mails," according to the former president, who said he is using the materials to be housed there for his forthcoming memoir.

The museum, he said, will tell the story of the Bush presidency "through my most consequential decisions." (His memoir, which is planned to come out next fall, will have a similar format.) "Visitors will see the bullhorn I used in my first visit to Ground Zero, a replica of my Oval Office, and our very own 'Texas Rose Garden,'" he said.

The policy institute, which will be called the George W. Bush Institute, will be "a vibrant hub of principled thought and practical action," the former president said.

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Updated 4:38 p.m. ET

NOTE: This Event Has Been Called Off. See the Bottom of This Post.

It is, according to organizers, "the hottest ticket in political history": On February 25th, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will share a stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Interested spectators can pay $60 for the cheap seats or up to $160 to be closer to the action. They can also shell out $1,250 to attend a cocktail reception with the former presidents in addition to the discussion.

As Newsday reports, the two men have been teaming up a lot: They appeared together in Toronto in May (reports speculated that they earned $150,000 each for the hour-long appearance) and will be together at a TD Ameritrade conference in Florida in February.

A spokesperson for Madison Square Garden Entertainment, which is hosting the event, declined to discuss what, if anything, the former presidents are being paid. Organizers at these sorts of events generally do not disclose compensation.

A press release from the group said the two men will discuss "topics ranging from the economy to foreign policy."

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Former president George W. Bush lobbed the opening pitch of Game Three in the Japan Series - the country's version of the World Series - last night in Tokyo.

The game took place at Tokyo Stadium, and was played between the Yomiuri Giants and the Nippon Ham Fighters. Mr. Bush, who once co-owned the Texas Rangers, attended the game with former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is also a professed baseball fan. The two have held a close relationship since Mr. Bush's presidency. U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos and record-setting home run hitter Sadaharu Oh were also present at the game with Mr. Bush, reports the Associated Press.

Not everyone, however, was glad to see the former president, AP reports. Outside the stadium, dozens of demonstrators marched and carried signs, which bore messages such as "Bush, Go to Jail" and "Arrest War Criminal Bush," to protest the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq initiated by the Bush administration. One protester even hurled his shoes at the former president in an apparent imitation of Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who got prison time for throwing his own shoes at Mr. Bush during a 2008 press conference in Baghdad.

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Updated 1:39 p.m. ET on Oct. 22nd

On Monday, former President George W. Bush will be the "special guest speaker" at the "Get Motivated! Business Seminar" in Fort Worth, Texas, according to the event's Web site.

"Attend This Dynamic Seminar to INCREASE Your Productivity and Income!" the Web site says.

Other listed speakers include Gen. Colin Powell, who will discuss leadership, former football player Terry Bradshaw (speaking on competitiveness), former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (perseverance), and a trio of motivational speakers – Zig Ziglar, Dr. Robert Schuller, and Tamara Lowe.

Lowe, the Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Get Motivated! Seminars, told Hotsheet that Mr. Bush is the sixth former president to speak at one of the organization's seminars. Former presidents Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan, Ford, and Carter spoke as well, she said, and other speakers have included Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev.

Speakers are "generally compensated" for their remarks, Lowe said, though some wave their honorarium or donate it to charity. She said she is contractually forbidden from discussing Mr. Bush's compensation or that of the other speakers.

There is a write-up accompanying each speaker on the Get Motivated! Web site, with the exception of Mr. Bush; Bradshaw, for example, will tackle how to "Turn Workplace Stress into Gridiron Success," while Ziglar will discuss "How to Happily Live Life on Life's Terms."

A representative for Mr. Bush confirmed that the former president is planning to speak at the conference.

"He's proud to appear before the thousands of small businessmen and women who will be attending the get motivated conference in Fort Worth," said David Sherzer.

"He'll offer reflections from his presidency, including some of the lessons he's learned," Sherzer continued. He said the former president is looking forward to discussing "decision-making and managing complex organizations, which he had the opportunity to do at the highest level."

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Former President George H.W. Bush told CBS News that President Obama "is entitled to civil treatment and intellectual honesty when it comes to critics."

(at left – Former President George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush and Peter Maer)

Referring to the tone of national discourse he said, "I don't like it. The cables (TV) have a lot to do with it."

In the radio interview, Mr. Bush said the volume of criticism aimed at him when he was president was not as "day in and day out."

The Republican elder statesman said, "It's not just the right." He complained, "there are plenty of people on the left."

While he said he does not believe in personal name-calling, he singled out MSNBC personalities Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow calling them "sick puppies."

"The way they treat my son and anyone who's opposed to their point of view is just horrible," Mr. Bush said.

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On Friday, President Obama will join former President George H.W. Bush for a presidential forum on community service at the George Bush Presidential Library Center on the campus of Texas A&M University.

In advance of the event, Mr. Bush has penned an open letter to the "Texas A&M Family" that seems to be a subtle call for the community to be on its best behavior. (He opens it with a friendly "Howdy!")

"This will be an important national moment, and a moment for Texas A&M to shine in the global spotlight as it always does," he writes. "I sincerely hope and believe it will serve as a point of Aggie pride for many years to come."

As Mr. Bush notes in his letter, which was posted by KBTX, the event is meant to be a non-partisan celebration of "the importance of service to our communities and our country."

Yet the university community is clearly conflicted about the visit. In comments on the KBTX site, one person writes that while he appreciates what Mr. Bush is saying, "at some point [our] population has got to step up and say enough is enough."

"It is my opinion that our community would be hyprocrical [sic] if we just sit back and welcome President Obama as if we do not have any concerns with his current policy," writes the commenter. "I hope to see a very large turn out of the Aggie family in respectful opposition to President Obama. Lets all remember the Aggie code of honor."

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A Tweet from Twitter founder Biz Stone has people wondering if Former President George W. Bush will be the next political celebrity to join the popular microblogging service.

Stone met up with the former president at the World Knowledge Forum, an annual conference sponsored by a South Korean business newspaper, in Seoul. He then posted a picture of him with Mr. Bush along with the following tweet: "President Bush told me he just got a new BlackBerry, will tweets be next?"

As the Los Angeles Times notes, Twitter could be an effective medium for Mr. Bush to continue to cultivate a following and to promote his upcoming book or other appearances.

As the Times' Mark Milian reports, Mr. Bush already seems to have a Twitter username ready, @GeorgeWBush, though it's currently protected and not in active use.

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