President Obama landed in Kabul yesterday for a surprise visit to Afghanistan and meetings with President Hamid Karzai. He also spoke in front of American troops at Bagram Air Force Base. I do find it somewhat interesting that he opened his remarks with his familiar "How's it going [city name]," as if he were at a campaign rally. Then again, few presidents have ever been the campaigner he is and his public events are always about stirring excitement, rarely about being serious. Obviously his last military speech, when he announced the deployment of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan notwithstanding.

The visit, however, capped off a huge week for the president as he takes advantage of renewed momentum, while at the same time making his first visit to a place that is drawing more U.S. attention than anywhere else.



In a move many have been waiting month for, President Obama announced 15 "recess appointments" over the weekend. For those who don't know, this is an executive appointment made while the Senate is not in session, meaning there is no confirmation. Eventually there will be, but this way these people can actually get to work instead of constantly being blocked by Senate Republicans.

One of the key appointments, Craig Becker, who was actually already rejected by the Senate once, was again appointed to the National Labor Relations Board. Just last week, Chief Justice John Roberts, in hearing a case involving the NLRB, said these nominees needed to be appointed during the recess. Right now, only two of the five positions on the NLRB are filled.

The president has more than 200 pending nominations, with 77 awaiting floor action.

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- An interesting column that shouldn't be judged by its headline. It has a good wrap-up of the protesting of health care, along with analysis about who is protesting and why. The best point: how can you not call it racist when a black member who wasn't even close to a major player was spit on by a protesters and slurs were throw at both another black member and a gay one? You can't.

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- Which brings me to another thing that actually peaked anger in me, a Glenn Beck clip, where he takes a shot at Nancy Pelosi for the Democrats locking arms to, "compare themselves to Civil Rights activists. "How dare you," he said. Well, ignore Pelosi for a minute and look at who is standing next to her. That is Rep. John Lewis, the member who was called the "n" world by a protester.

Glenn, John Lewis sat at those lunch counters. At 23 years old he was the chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC - pronounced "snick"). He was a Freedom Rider beaten bloody in Montgomery. And he spoke in front of the same crowd that heard Martin Luther King, Jr. say that he had a dream.

John Lewis led that group Glenn, arm-in-arm with Pelosi. So how dare you, Glenn. That's a real American hero you're talking about.

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- And speaking of the Tea Party, one of the questions I often find myself asking during Tea Party rallies is: "don't these people have jobs." That is a reaction to their middle-of-the-week, middle-of-the-day protesting. Well, the short answer is no. Many of them actually rely on government assistance - a head-scratching irony. The real question, however, is what happens when the economy picks up and these people get jobs. Are they no longer such a force?

This also reminds me of something that frustrated me while watching Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio debate today. Some said Rubio was impressive. Maybe. But I noticed that when the question of the health care bill arose, their answers were different. Obviously, they both called for its repeal. Rubio said, "we can't afford it." Crist said, "we can do better and here is how we already are in Florida."

While I disagree with the "repeal" part, Crist seems like the one actually prepared to govern. I am so sick of the "we can't afford argument." Fine, you think we can't afford. So give me a better idea, because I know you think something needs to be done. But all I hear is, "we can't afford it." Well, watch us.

Note: Rubio is up 11 in a recent poll for that seat.

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Chinese company to buy Volvo from Ford Motor Company.

It appears Iran will begin work on two new nuclear sites, both in the mountains, a clear defiance of the United Nations.

Finally, an interesting tradition from the White House. Love these little anecdotes, though.

Let's have a great week!