All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

On "Washington Unplugged" Thursday, Politico's Mike Allen spoke with CBS News' Bob Schieffer about the Obama administration's efforts to marginalize its opponents, especially the Chamber of Commerce, big business executives and Fox News.

The interview, which you can watch at the left, began with Allen talking about White House officials' reactions upon encountering resistance from the Chamber of Commerce. He said the president and his administration have been circumventing the organization on key issues being discussed in Washington.

"In the case of the Chamber of Commerce…. [White House officials] are saying to them, 'We don't have to deal with you. You're the voice of business, you spend more on lobbying than anyone else, but we have our own relationships with CEO's and companies. We can just talk to them. We don't have to go through you when you're opposing up on climate change, bank reform, and health care.'" Allen said.

He also discussed the surprisingly public recent feud between the White House and Fox News, saying that the Obama administration was making a conscious effort to undermine media outlets it sees as conservative in order to protect itself from potential criticism. (Read more on the fued here)

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Ashraf Ghani, an independent candidate in August's presidential election in Afghanistan, told CBS News' Bob Schieffer on "Washington Unplugged" Thursday that "corruption is a cancer that is eating through the fabric of Afghan society" - and the reason he decided to run against President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah.

He noted that Afghanistan has dropped significantly in international rankings for transparency in the last several years. "The scale of deterioration," he said, "has been unprecedented."

Ghani argued that international corruption is partly responsible for the sorry shape of the Afghan legislature, adding that narcotics also play a role. He said the skyrocketing price of land in Afghanistan has bred greed.

"Believe it or not, housing prices in Kabul' in 2009 are "higher than the Washington area or Virginia and Maryland," he said.

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In tonight's Web-only Inauguration wrap-up, Katie Couric mentioned a question she asked President Barack Obama in an interview shown in tonight's prime-time special, "Change and Challenge: The Inauguration of Barack Obama." It was about a subject that’s still a little touchy to him: smoking.

(CBS)

COURIC: You don't really think of this job as working at home, do you, necessarily (laughter). But speaking of stress, what's going on with the smoking thing?

PRES. OBAMA: You know, we're doing fine with it. I know everybody likes to poke, you know. I haven't had an interview yet where this one doesn't get raised.

COURIC: Well, I think people just wanna know how it's going. And I think – they feel for you.

PRES. OBAMA: Yeah, we're doing fine. I'll do better if people don't keep on bringing it up (laughter).

Later in the evening, during the Webcast, Couric asked Politico.com's Mike Allen if he could read anything between the lines of Mr. Obama's answer, such as, that he still is wrestling with the habit.

Allen concurred that it's possible, but suggested that perhaps we might all go a bit easier on the president. After all, he spent an altogether frantic day looking completely cool, poised and collected.

"If you look at the way President Obama has handled himself and the way he's been portrayed, I'm happy he has a few faults, weaknesses," Allen laughed ...

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In tonight's Web-only Inauguration wrap-up, Katie Couric mentioned a question she asked President Barack Obama in an interview shown in tonight's prime-time special, "Change and Challenge: The Inauguration of Barack Obama." It was about a subject that’s still a little touchy to him: smoking.

(CBS)

COURIC: You don't really think of this job as working at home, do you, necessarily (laughter). But speaking of stress, what's going on with the smoking thing?

PRES. OBAMA: You know, we're doing fine with it. I know everybody likes to poke, you know. I haven't had an interview yet where this one doesn't get raised.

COURIC: Well, I think people just wanna know how it's going. And I think – they feel for you.

PRES. OBAMA: Yeah, we're doing fine. I'll do better if people don't keep on bringing it up (laughter).

So Couric asked Politico.com's Mike Allen if he could read anything between the lines of Mr. Obama's answer, such as, that he still is wrestling with the habit.

Allen concurred that it's possible, but suggested that perhaps we might all go a bit easier on the new president. After all, he spent an altogether frantic day looking completely cool, poised and collected.

"If you look at the way President Obama has handled himself and the way he's been portrayed, I'm happy he has a few faults, weaknesses," Allen laughed ...

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