President Obama announced plans for a surge in Afghanistan on Dec. 1, saying he would add 30,000 troops to the country within six months to fight the Taliban and threats from Al Qaeda in Pakistan. But, he said, the United States would start bringing American troops home by the middle of 2011. You can read Obama's remarks here.

The New York Times has a must-read, lengthy explanation of how the Obama administration decided on the strategy. It's daunting, but definitely worth a read.

Obama's announcement left many conservatives concerned that by advocating both a surge and a withdrawal date, Obama was not giving the troops enough time to do its job. Liberals, on the other hand, said the surge was not a good use of American resources, both in money and personnel.

So what can 30,000 additional troops do in just 18 months? Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he believes the time can be used to disrupt the Taliban enough that it will be easier for Afghan security forces to contain them when the Americans leave.

Related reading:

• War in Afghanistan
• Tracking the Surge in Iraq
• Taliban Never Left Afghanistan

Photo copyright: The White House

It's not even 2010 yet, but you might want to already scratch a name off the list of Republicans running for president in 2012. Mike Huckabee may be the front runner in early polls, but he faced what is likely to be a catastrophic blow to his reputation. And it happened clear across the country.

Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of killing four off-duty police officers in a coffee shop in Washington state - who was killed by police Tuesday morning after a two-day manhunt - had been serving a life term in an Arkansas prison when his sentence was commuted by Huckabee, then the state's governor.

Huckabee, who surprised many by winning the Iowa caucuses and outlasting most of his rivals in the 2008 GOP presidential primary, had been accused on the campaign trail of issuing too many pardons and clemencies. He was specifically criticized for releasing Wayne DuMond, a convicted rapist who raped and killed a woman less than a year after he was paroled.

But the Clemmons case has gripped the nation, and will likely haunt Huckabee if he runs in 2012. It could be his own Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who received a weekend pass while in the Massachusetts prison system and then raped a woman in Maryland and killed her husband. The case, and an ad by supporters of George H.W. Bush, helped sink then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign in 1988.

In a statement on his political website, Huckabee said Clemmons' release was "the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State."

Huckabee had been suggesting in recent days that he was less interested in another run for president, especially with the success of his show on Fox News Channel. Clemmons may have made the decision much easier for him.

You can learn more about the death penalty here, as well as statistics on the number of executions by state and method.

So what happens when you enter the White House without an invitation? That's the question many people are asking these days, after Tareq and Michaele Salahi showed up at last week's White House state dinner.

The Salahis highlighted a major lapse in Secret Service security by making it into the exclusive dinner, honoring the prime minister of India, without an invitation. Once inside, they posed for pictures with Vice President Joe Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. And they met the Obamas in the official receiving line, White House officials admit.

The big question now is whether the Salahis can be prosecuted. While they clearly were not on the list of invited guests the White House sent to the media, representatives of the Salahis contend they did not crash the party. But if they did enter the White House without authorization, they could be charged with trespassing.

And the incident is definitely going to spark a congressional review of the Secret Service and the White House Social Office, which coordinated the state dinner. Already, the House Homeland Security Committee has announced a hearing on the security breach, and they have asked the Salahis to testify.

If you're looking to check out the White House yourself someday, I'd recommend signing up for an official White House tour instead.

Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, announced on Oct. 26 that he is moving forward with a plan for healthcare reform that includes a public option, and allows for states to opt-out of the public program if they choose.

The announcement means Reid is confident he would be able to garner the 60 votes necessary to block a filibuster against the healthcare bill. There are currently 60 Democrats in the Senate, and Reid would need every one of them to vote with him to pass the legislation.

The healthcare debate has been the main issue on Congress' agenda throughout the past year. And now that several proposals have passed the House and Senate committees, it will likely move to the floors of the House and Senate in the weeks ahead.

Photo (c) Office of Sen. Harry Reid

President Obama declared the H1N1 flu pandemic a national emergency in October 2009. The order means hospitals can now set up triage facilities and provides additional resources to handle the potential surge of patients.

The announcement came as many community facilities are being inundated with people seeking the H1N1 vaccine. There are fewer vaccine doses available around the country than originally anticipated. That means more people need to take other precautions against the swine flu, rather than assuming they will be vaccinated in time.

There's a lot of questions and a lot to learn about the flu pandemic, how to prevent it and what to do if you or a family member contracts it. These answers to frequently asked questions is a great place to start. You can also look at the federal government's flu headquarters, flu.gov.

The Washington, D.C. City Council will begin hearings on Oct. 26 to consider a bill that would legalize same-sex marriages. If it passes, D.C. would join Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Iowa and Vermont in legalizing marriages between two men or two women. It is expected to pass the council, which is overwhelmingly Democratic.

Large groups of churchgoers have protested against the gay marriage bill. They are urging the Washington, D.C. Board of Election and Ethics to put the issue up for a public vote in November.

Because of Washington, D.C.'s unique standing, the issue could eventually be decided by the U.S. Congress. All D.C. legislation is reviewed by Congress, which can overturn the law within 30 days of its passage. But Congress did not intervene when the D.C. City Council voted earlier this year to recognize gay marriages performed in other states.

Same-sex marriage is one of several gay rights issues being discussed this year. Another up for debate is the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

The first Monday in October is the traditional opening of the new Supreme Court term. And Oct. 5, 2009 marked the start of Sonia Sotomayor's tenure on the court.

Sotomayor could be the first in a wave of new justices to join the court in the near future. Justice John Paul Stevens, age 89, has hired fewer law clerks than the other justices for next year, increasing speculation that he will retire after this year's session. And Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is battling pancreatic cancer, was hospitalized in late September for an iron deficiency.

If one or both justices retire, it will give President Obama a larger role in shaping the future of the court. But don't expect major rulings to be overturned. Ginsburg and Stevens are both reliable liberal votes, which means their replacements will not change the conservative majority rule. The five conservative justices are seen as less likely to retire in the near future.

This year's Supreme Court docket includes a case on gun rights and corporate spending of political campaigns, among others.

One of the more closely watched cases is Salazar v. Buono. The case challenges the constitutionality of a large wooden cross that was placed in the Mojave National Preserve in California as a memorial for Americans killed in World War I. An employee of the Preserve claims the memorial violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, which says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."

President Obama took a risk, traveling to Copenhagen Oct. 2 and making the pitch for Chicago to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was the first American president to appeal directly to the International Olympic Committee for an American city to host the games. And just hours after Obama boarded Air Force One back to Washington, the IOC eliminated Chicago in the first round of voting.

Because the Olympic bid was for Obama's hometown, and because so many members of his inner circle were backing the effort, the selection of Rio de Janeiro over Chicago and the other two finalists - Madrid and Tokyo - is a  personal blow for the president. It immediately raises questions about his standing in the international community. Rio was considered the front runner heading into the final meeting, which only increased the pressure on Obama. If Chicago overtook Rio, it would have been Obama's victory.

But now Republicans and other Obama critics are likely to suggest he does not have the international cache that his administration has been credited with since taking office. Perhaps Obama was in a no-win situation. If he had not traveled to Denmark, his lack of involvement would likely have been partially blamed for Chicago's failure. After all, the three other finalists sent their heads of state to Copenhagen. Obama tried to limit his personal involvement,  sending his wife instead to the Denmark meetings. But at the last minute, administration officials believed Obama could be the kingmaker the bid needed, and changed plans so he could make a personal appeal.

Losing the Olympic bid may wind up being a good thing for Obama, especially since a large number of Chicagoans did not support hosting the games.

The incident shows the complex nature of the presidency. Presidents are often at the whim of a variety of external factors beyond their control - from natural disasters and economic developments to the choices of an international body. Commentators are likely to make assumptions about what the IOC was saying about Obama and the status of the United States. But in the end, they may have just preferred to give South America its first Olympic games.

What do you think? Did Obama help or hurt Chicago's chances? Should he have gone or stayed home?

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is moving forward with a presidential campaign, announcing major supporters and donors in a run for the 2012 Republican nomination. Pawlenty has said he will not seek a third term and he was one of the finalists to be John McCain's running mate last year.

Certainly Pawlenty does not have the name recognition of Mitt Romney, who came close to winning the 2008 Republican nomination, or Sarah Palin. But he will be an intriguing candidate. I watched Pawlenty speak in Washington, D.C. last summer, and came away impressed with his ability to deliver a new message to the GOP. He showed a real interest in moving the Republican Party beyond its natural base and out to a broader constituency. He speaks often of reaching out to what he calls "Sam's Club Republicans," working class moderates more in line with the Republican Party on fiscal issues but turned off by the party's conservative agenda.

Right now, he's trailing badly in the polls. Pawlenty is starting early, and securing support from some GOP heavyweights. But he will need to work hard to increase his name identification in the coming months to enter the Republican primaries on equal footing with Romney, Palin and Mike Huckabee.

It's not a surprise to hear Republicans criticize President Obama's proposed budget. However, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) writes this in today's Wall Street Journal:

The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 is a sprawling, $410 billion compilation of nine spending measures that lacks the slightest hint of austerity from the federal government or the recipients of its largess...

Congress should vote "no" on this omnibus and show working families across the country that we are as committed to living within our means as they are.

Last year, rather than pass a budget for fiscal 2009 (October 2008 - September 2009), Congress approved money to continue operations until after the inauguration. The bill that Sen. Bayh references is designed to fund the federal government through September of this year.

Learn more about the budget process.