Obama's Drone Program: Author of new book interviewed

The following interview of Dan Klaidman done by Jake Tapper of ABC News:

Obama Publicly States Support for Gay Marriage

While he claimed his views were "evolving" for the last several years, the president who has done much to support LGBT rights, has never gone further on the issue than saying he supported "civil unions".  But yesterday, he made public his support:

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And historian Doris Kearns Goodwin thinks history will smile on Obama for his public statements

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Video: Obama signs strategic agreement in Kabul

Video: Obama signs strategic agreement in Kabul:
During an unannounced trip to Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said the U.S. and Afghanistan are now committed to replacing war with peace. The new Strategic Partnership Agreement establishes a framework for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan from 2014 to 2024, and pledges economic and security resources from the U.S. NBC’s Chuck Todd reports. (Nightly News)

Evaluating 2011 for Obama' - and Congress

The conservative Washington Times criticizes Obama for making America weaker in 2011.

On the other hand, National Public Radio ran a story yesterday claiming After A Year of Struggles, Obama Finds His Footing.  One note in his favor after a very hard year is that his poll numbers have risen a bit since the battle with House Republicans over the bill to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for another two months.  Gallup: Obama's approval rating at 5-month high

Obama has been putting a lot of the blame on Congress - more specifically Republicans in Congress for not being willing to compromise.  As the New York Times reports this morning, running against Congress will be a part of his election year strategy.

Was Congress that bad?  Well, I might be biased, but I think the polls showing the approval rating for Congress at about 12% tell us a lot.  NPR also ran a very interesting story asking experts to evaluate the job Congress has done in the past year.  This Year In Congress: Much Drama, Little To Show

How would you evaluate the job the President and Congress have done?

Supreme Court to Hear Legal Challenge to Health Care Law

Note:  I will try to get a brief summary of the law and the controversy surrounding it posted here soon.

The signing of the law was a high moment for the Obama Administration, which promised to solve many of the problems plaguing the American health care system, including estimates that 47 million Americans don't have health care insurance.

However, many conservatives, especially "Tea Party" activists thought the law went too far and challenged the constitutionality of it in court.  Those challenges have quickly worked their way through the system and Monday, the Supreme Court, announced its decision to hear the case in March of 2012.

The NBC Evening News report:

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You can also read more detailed coverage from the New York Times:

Justices to Hear Health Care Case as Race Heats Up

Americans Coming Home from Iraq - What will be the legacy?

This question is posed by the following report from NBC news:

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Gadhafi Killed in Libya - War is Over

Now the nation of Libya must work to unify under new leadership, after the end of 42 years of authoritarian rule by Gadhafi. A look back at his reign by PBS:

Watch Looking Back at Gadhafi's Brutal, Sometimes Bizarre 42-Year Reign on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.