Politics: Afternoon Edition

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Editor's Note: Please note with the holiday week, your Afternoon Update will be on hiatus. We will return on Monday 30th. Most Viewed Articles in Politics 1) In his slow decision-making, Obama goes with head, not gut President George W. Bush once boasted, "I'm not a textbook player, I'm a gut player." The new tenant of the Oval Office takes a strikingly different approach. President Obama is almost defiantly deliberative, methodical and measured, even when critics accuse him of dithering. When describing his... 2) Key coordinator of detainee policy quits A key official in the Obama administration's effort to remake detention policy and close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay has resigned. 3) War speech to outline escalation and exit When he talks to the nation next week about his Afghanistan strategy, President Obama will face the central challenge of explaining why he is escalating an eight-year-old war that is increasingly unpopular with the American public, while he also outlines plans for ending it. 4) Ky. census worker committed suicide, authorities say A Census Bureau worker in Kentucky who was found dead in September with "FED" written on his chest killed himself and staged his death to look like a homicide, state and federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday. 5) Bad Karzai, good Karzai One of President Obama's problems, as he wrestles with choosing a new strategy for Afghanistan, is which Hamid Karzai he is dealing with: the leader who set out specific, promising goals in his inaugural address last week, or the apparently bitter and defensive politician seen in a PBS interview ... 6) Justice probing lawmaker with oversight over department For three years, Rep. Alan Mollohan has chaired the important Appropriations subcommittee that controls the Justice Department's $65 billion budget. At the same time, he has been under a Justice Department investigation, according to documents and two sources briefed on the probe. 7) Public option at center of debate Democrats had little time to savor their weekend Senate health-care victory, as two of the lawmakers who voted to move the debate forward Saturday night indicated Sunday that they will not vote to pass the package if it includes a government-run insurance program. 8) McChrystal and U.S. ambassador to testify on Afghanistan war The top U.S. general and the U.S ambassador in Afghanistan have been told to prepare to testify before Congress as early as next week, according to White House and other U.S. officials, giving an indication of how and when President Obama plans to announce his war strategy. 9) Policy, portfolios and the investor lawmaker When Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) this summer proposed a $4 billion tax on medical-device firms to help offset the cost of health-care reforms, an unusual mix of lawmakers joined in a chorus of protest. 10) Obama Remarks on Math, Science and Technology Education PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. I am extraordinarily excited to have you all here today. UNSUBSCRIBE | Additional Newsletter Services | Advertising | Subscribe to the Paper | Privacy Policy

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