The Obama administration has conducted a vigorous internal debate over its new strategy for Afghanistan, expected to be unveiled by the president in a speech Friday.

According to two U.S. government sources close to the issue, senior policymakers were divided over how comprehensive to make the strategy, involving an initial boost of 17,000 U.S. troops.

On the one side were Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg, who argued in closed-door meetings for a minimal strategy of stabilizing Afghanistan that one source described as a "lowest common denominator" approach.

The officials said that al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, were believed to be in an unknown location in Pakistan plotting fresh attacks on the United States and its allies. U.S.-led forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to topple the Taliban for harboring al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The officials said the new strategy had a narrowly focused goal — to disrupt, dismantle and eventually destroy al Qaeda's sanctuaries in Pakistan and its support network and prevent it from establishing safe havens in Afghanistan.

Anyone know of an apology to Fox News yet? I did a quick search of the show's transcripts from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and didn't see one.

Also of note, I actually was following Keith Olbermann on Twitter for a day or so, until I realized he wasn't using it. Whoever is in charge of the feed now has blocked it from public view. But, from what I remember, the posts were in the first person. Maybe NBC should admit that it was ghost-posting for one of its anchors?

To the American People:
Many of our fellow citizens are hurting. Our economy
continues to weather the worst storm since the 1970s. Far too
many spend their work days worried that the next phone call will
bring an end to a job only to go home and check the mail for
further evidence that years of retirement savings or a children’s
college savings has dissipated. Such a financial strain threatens to
split many families and communities and force even more to
postpone the American dream.
The President calls for “A New Era of Responsibility,” as the
title of his budget states. But a closer look at the Democrat budget
reveals something far different—it spends too much, taxes too
much, and borrows too much.

Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives today unveiled “The Republican Road to Recovery,” a document that outlines Republican solutions on the budget and other major issues facing the American people. The GOP Road to Recovery plan was unveiled this morning on Capitol Hill just hours after Democrats rammed President Obama’s bloated FY 2010 budget through the House Budget Committee, building on the six budget principles that were outlined for President Obama last week by House Republican leaders.

For further information, go to http://gopleader.gov.

After the 2000 election, recount and Supreme Court decision, Democrats nationwide were furious with President George W. Bush, convinced the presidential election had been stolen. They were several years away from trying to defeat his reelection bid, but the 2002 cycle provided them with the next-best target: The reelection bid of his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

If this online townhall looks like another permanent campaign registration tool to you, you’re not alone.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said despite recent polls showing him far ahead of Governor David Paterson in a gubernatorial primary, he wants to stay on as the state's chief legal officer.

"I hope the people think that I've been delivering for them as attorney general," he said Tuesday night at Schenectady County Community College. "I've been trying my best and my only plan is to run for re-election as attorney general."

Cuomo would beat Paterson 67 percent to 17 percent in a Democratic primary, according to voters who took part in a Siena College Research Institute poll released earlier this week.

California’s likely voters are divided on five of six propositions related to the state’s budget crisis that will appear on the May special election ballot, according to a survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) with funding from The James Irvine Foundation. Levels of support for Propositions 1A through 1E vary widely, but none has the approval of a majority of likely voters. However, in a signal of the mood of the electorate this year, an overwhelming 81 percent favor Proposition 1F, which would limit salary increases for state elected officials when the state faces a budget deficit.

House Republicans have begun unveiling detailed alternatives to President Barack Obama’s policies — a concerted effort to push back against Democratic efforts to label them “the Party of No.”

On Wednesday, it was a housing plan. Thursday, it will be a big, TV-friendly stack of budget blueprints, “The Republican Road to Recovery.” That’s to match the president’s own platitudinous budget title, “A New Era of Responsibility.”

The House Republicans’ budget document, provided to POLITICO ahead of its release, makes sure no one can miss the point: Each chapter begins “The Republican Plan,” and each section is divided into “The President’s Budget” and “Republicans’ Solution.”

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the housing proposal that he rolled out with eight other House Republicans on Tuesday was “in response to the administration — and the president himself, who continues to say that Republicans don’t have any ideas.”

Something powerful is stirring in the land, and it may not be good news for President Barack Obama, his agenda or the Democratic Party. Mr. Obama said Tuesday night his budget moves America "from an era of borrow and spend" to "save and invest." But people are realizing he would add $9.3 trillion to the national debt, doubling it in six years and nearly tripling it in 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). How can that be "save and invest"?

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas says he will veto a bill to legalize gay marriage if it passes the Legislature.

The Republican had said even before Wednesday's announcement that he was against same-sex marriage.

He also has said lawmakers shouldn't have spent their time on the bill this session because of the economy and the state's budget deficit.

A bill passed the Senate this week that would replace the state's first-in-the-nation civil unions law with one that allows gay and lesbian couples to marry. The House is now considering similar legislation.