Mark Souder Does Local Media

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) talks about what he learned from a recent trip to Afghanistan and in response to viewer questions, he discusses the politics of health care reform and his push for another VA hospital.

(If player fails to load, click post title)

Rev. Jesse Jackson: Preacher/Politician

Rev. Jesse Jackson made a scheduled appearance at an Ontario (CA) church Sunday morning as part of his "Save-Our-Homes" tour, where he addressed worshipers with criticism of some Obama Administration policies and the California political culture at three morning services.

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin paints a good portrait of a preacher in the pulpit with their coverage, which is how the Reverend's appearance was billed and because he also visited a home at risk of foreclosure, clearly he's still an experienced politician.

Citizen Government?

The Associated Press is reporting that reaction to the President's plan for Afghanistan isn't flooding Congressional offices with opinions.

"I think people are distracted, rightfully so, with economic issues," said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and the only lawmaker to vote against the original Afghanistan war authorization in 2001. "It's a very desperate situation. People are losing their health care and their jobs."

The public's muted reaction is being mirrored by Congress. There's an air of resignation among lawmakers and little talk of trying to block or make significant changes to Obama's plan. Even liberals who disagree with the president have measured their criticisms, while conservatives who support a troop buildup were left with little choice but to go along.

Why would Rep. Lee and the AP think the public are any different?

PullQuote: Soldiers in Afghanistan

Though it's not a representative sample, Stars & Stripes interviewed several American soldiers at Kandahar Airfield and Baraki Barak about President Obama's announcement concerning Afghanistan and their opinion seems overwhelmingly positive.

We're so spread out now that it's hard to keep control over the areas we have," Strickland said. "I think it's right to send more guys over here, so that we can regain positive control and then turn it over to the Afghans, like we did with the Iraqis in Iraq. I'm all for whatever we need to do to end this.

Quicklink: Sen. Arlen Specter

Pat Ciarrocchi of Philadelphis'a KYW-TV sat down with Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) for a wide-ranging interview on the topics of the day. It's an interesting thirteen minutes of unembeddable video and perhaps a good measure of how far Sen. Specter has grown.

KYW - CBS3 - Philadelphia (Video)