Pissed at China

Well, I'm back from my international tour of Chicago and ready to keep tabs on the President again. Hope you didn't miss me too much. Although I haven't been writing about Barack Obama, he certainly has been on mind. There's a LOT going on lately, and he's had a HUGE travel schedule, going to Copenhagen for a climate summit. Mega! This is a new opportunity for Barack to show progressives that he means business, and I think we're all looking forward to it. From the NY Times:

"Mr. Obama’s announcement came late in a day that began with his 11-minute address to world leaders shortly after noon, and that was filled with brinksmanship and 11th-hour negotiations. Mr. Obama, whose speech included remarks that appeared pointed at China’s resistance to mechanisms for monitoring emissions reductions, met privately with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao afterward. But Mr. Wen did not attend two smaller, impromptu meetings during the day that Mr. Obama and United States officials conducted with the leaders of other world powers, an apparent snub that infuriated administration officials and their European counterparts.

The deal eventually came together after a dramatic moment in which Mr. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton burst into a meeting of the Chinese, Indian and Brazilian leaders, according to senior administration officials. Mr. Obama said he did not want them negotiating in secret.

The intrusion led to new talks that cemented central terms of the deal, American officials said."

Trouble Tracking Barack...

It's 10 a.m. and I don't know where Obama is. Congress is holding hearings today on the Afghan strategy outlined last night. Kicking off the discussion is the Senate Armed Services Committee, a panel comprised of Snooty Patootie, Thoughtful McGee and Sir Nerdlington. I think Obama won't be there; he's said his piece.

Some Splaining To Do

Right now, Barack Obama is doing aLOT of splaining. He is giving a speech announcing the addition of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. This blog practically writes itself! I personally agree with the surge strategy in Afghanistan. Like a lot of Americans, I disagree with the notion that any kind of timeframe should be made public. I can only assume the decision is strategic. Obama is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Republicans, confused by Obama instituting their own policies, have retreated.