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!

A good Tuesday morning, a day in which Democrats are once again scrambling to replace a Senator in a state in which they aren't so popular. And it's snowing in DC.

So basically, not a whole lot has changed.

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, one of the most moderate Dems in Congress (you'd have to be from the Hoosier state), has announced that he will not seek re-election to a third term. In his press conference yesterday he said something about it being impossible to get anything done in the Senate, but that he still loves working for the people. It was startlingly similar to a speech given by a particular Alaskan politician. Can't remember her name...

Anyway, Bayh makes this announcement the day before signatures were due to put your name on the Indiana primary ballot. He also does it with $13 million in the bank, which is what caught many by surprise. The Hotline explains a little more about the process, basically saying that Dems will just choose a candidate and avoid a primary - probably a good thing.

This has already stirred up the talk about whether Democrats will lose the majority in the Senate - as if that majority has meant something up to this point - and Politico led off with that story today. Entitled "Five Ways to Lose the Senate Majority," some (hopefully all) of you Washingtonians might recognize one of the faces.

That is the crux of most major headlines this morning, detailing that by giving the speech last night and calling for increased troops totals, president Barack Obama has made the Afghanistan war part of his legacy. There is no evidence in recent history that such things are exactly good for a legacy. At the most basic level, the president as ordered 30,000 new troops be sent to Afghanistan, many rushed there in the next six months. He is also requesting the help of NATO, with something between 6-8,000 troops. He then set a timetable, 18 months, that seems somewhat based on the situation on the ground. His rational on the timetable, which is sure to anger Republicans - although House minority leader Mitch McConnell seemed to think it is flexible - is that Afghanistan must take its security into its own hands. At one point he pointedly said the U.S. does not want to occupy Afghanistan. It is there to protect its own security. I don't pretend to be an expert on any of this stuff, but I can talk about the politics: they are bad. There is nothing that is going to make this a political win for Obama, except may a quick win. Mr. Bush ruined that whole "mission accomplished" thing for everybody. The U.S. has to capture and/or kill all of their targets, and be out of there in 18 months. Otherwise, guess what kicks into high gear in a year and half? You guessed it, the 2010 elections. Some coverage on the speech/troop increase: Politico seems to have a less-than rosy outlook. New York Times. Thomas Freidman says: "People do not change when you tell them they should. They change we context tells them they must." The New York Post is an awful paper, but this column against the plan was so over the top... Vice President Joe Biden went on the offensive this morning. The Senate will have panel hearings today. And in case you didn't see it: