We're going to get the bottom line on this week's top stories from some of CNN's smartest - and toughest - correspondents.

We'll get into the alarming news out today about the H1N1 flu.

Also, the mounting pressure on President Obama as he consults with the top brass on how to get a handle on Afghanistan.

Plus: what's real story when it comes to jobs saved by the President's economic rescue plan? Is the White House using fuzzy math?

What are your thoughts?
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2) Use your real name (first name only is fine)
3) No links
4) No comments in uppercase. We don’t shout in the office.

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By Roland S. Martin
CNN Political Contributor

Editor's note: A nationally syndicated columnist, Roland S. Martin is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith" and "Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America." Visit his Web site for more information.

Former governors Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are taking some heat for not endorsing anyone in the race for the New York congressional seat that features conservative Doug Hoffman against GOP nominee DeDe Scozzafava and Democrat Bill Owens.

Hoffman is all the rage because he has been deemed right on the issues social conservatives hold near and dear and Scozzafava has been portrayed as a flaming liberal in Republican clothes.

But I find the conservatives’ backing of Hoffman to be scandalous. Not because of his ideology, but because the idiot knows NOTHING about the issues in that congressional district!

CNN correspondent Mary Snow did a story on the race Thursday, and she asked Hoffman what was the top local issue in the district. He stumbled and bumbled through the answer, muttering something about “it’s who we vote for for Congress this year.” Huh?

But don’t take my word. Check out the Watertown Daily Times, which has been all over this race.

When Hoffman appeared before their editorial board, he was asked his position on the three top local issues in the district: Dredging the St. Lawrence Seaway; allowing winter navigation on the Seaway; and a four-lane highway to connect Watertown to Plattsburgh.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comedian Wanda Sykes is getting ready to break late- night barriers. And if you think she's going to play it safe on her new show, think again.

C. BROWN: Tonight's intriguing person, Wanda Sykes. The sassy comic with a very sharp tongue stole the show with her hard-hitting monologue at this year's White House correspondence dinner and Sykes is about to become the first gay African-American woman to host her own late-night TV show. Check out her impression of President Obama from her latest HBO special called "I'ma Be Me."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: I love seeing him take that stroll across the White House lawn, boy. It's just beautiful. You see him, he's just walking across the lawn.

(LAUGHTER)

He didn't do that (bleep) during the campaign, did he? He was like, OK, one, two, wave, smile, one, two, wave, smile. Whatever you do, do not touch your penis, do not –

(END VIDEO CLIP)

C. BROWN: And Wanda Sykes is here with us now. Hi, welcome.

SYKES: Thank you. Thank you. It's good to be here.

C. BROWN: So, is it about more than the walk? What do you think? Is President Obama really all that different from candidate Obama?

Read the rest of this entry »

Michelle Obama can make just about any event look glamorous, even harvesting sweet potatoes in the White House garden. But, some observers say that the first lady is squandering an opportunity to make a real difference in this country.

C. BROWN: Today, Michelle Obama hosted one of those White House events that's guaranteed to attract the cameras. She was in the White House kitchen garden, harvesting sweet potatoes, surrounded by enthusiastic fifth graders. Take a look at this.

There they are. It's all pretty cute. Of course, we're all in favor of healthy eating. But is this really the best way for the first lady to use her considerable influence? And here to talk about that question is Tina Brown, who is founder, of course, of The Daily Beast. And Allison Samuels, who wrote the "Newsweek" column, "How Will Michelle Obama Make Her Mark."

Welcome to both of you. Allison, let me start with you on this because you write in the new edition of "Newsweek" about the first lady. You say, you "selfishly yearn for more from her, sounding almost disappointed in Michelle Obama so far. Is she letting you down? Why?

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On Capitol Hill: strong pushback against the Obama administration's plan to rein in giant corporations. One of the nation's top business reporters, Andrew Ross Sorkin, who has a new book out, tells us why this is a problem in need of a solution and fast.

C. BROWN: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Capitol Hill today pushing Congress to give the government power to step in when big Wall Street firms, the ones called too big to fail, are in trouble. But Republicans and even some Democrats worry it would give Washington too much power and cost taxpayers too much money.

Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEITHNER: The government has to have stronger supervisory and regulatory authority over these major firms. They need to be empowered with explicit authority to force major institutions to reduce their size or restrict the scope of their activities where that is necessary to reduce risk to the system. And this is a critically important tool we don't now have at present.

REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: This version still keeps the government in the bailout business.

REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ (D), ILLINOIS: No more American taxpayer money should be set aside, in case we have the kind of tragedy and economic failure that we saw in the last couple of years.

REP. ED ROYCE (R), CALIFORNIA: Apparently, the too big to fail model is too hard to kill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

C. BROWN: So, we just heard a lot of skepticism...

SORKIN: Right.

C. BROWN: ... about White House plans right now. But - but something has to happen here, right?

We're not going to let these guys police themselves, are we?

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President Obama sits down for an all-important meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And this will be one of the last meetings before the president decides whether to commit thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

With so much on the line right now, another part of the war effort is also getting a lot of attention tonight. The President has signed a bill that would essentially put Taliban fighters on the U.S. payroll, literally buying the loyalty of local Taliban members.

It has worked before. Some 90,000 Iraqis switched sides and were paid $300 each per month. So, could this same idea work in Afghanistan?

BROWN: Michael, let me just get your take on this, generally. How much will it help, paying Taliban?

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, a program like this can't be taken as a given.

Iraq is Iraq, and Afghanistan is Afghanistan. You can't just pick the model up and dump it down. That being said, the principle - there is room and indeed tradition in Afghanistan for doing just these things. It's about putting it in the interests of tribes or commanders or individuals who have drifted over to the Taliban, simply to drift back.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello and happy Thursday. We have a wide variety of topics tonight including comedian Wanda Sykes and New York Times reporter, Andrew Ross Sorkin. But we will also be talking about Afghanistan and how much will paying off the Taliban help American forces regain momentum?
Plus, the First Lady has many causes and has been out in the public a lot lately, but is she using her influence for the right causes?

What are your thoughts?
1) Keep your comment short.
2) Use your real name (first name only is fine)
3) No links
4) No comments in uppercase. We don’t shout in the office.

Become a fan of Campbell on Facebook right now and follow Campbell on twitter.

By Roland S. Martin
CNN Political Contributor

Editor's note: A nationally syndicated columnist, Roland S. Martin is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith" and "Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America." Visit his Web site for more information.

If you spend some time talking to anyone residing in the Beltway, all you will hear is what moves need to be made by the Republicans and Democrats now because "the mid-terms are around the corner." Uh, it's a year from now!

And as usual, voters are already wondering what is going to happen, even though there won’t be a single ballot cast for a year.

I read a story this week that stated that President Barack Obama's campaign team, Organizing for America, is already putting people in place and taking ideas for their game plan in 2012. In politics this is called shrewd and prudent thinking. Frankly, it's nonsense.

A year ago at this time there was tremendous excitement about the presidential election. Folks were geeked for the battle between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain. That's always the case for a national election. But truth be told, our concerns should really be about what's happening on the local and state level.

On Tuesday, we will see important races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, and mayoral elections in Houston, Atlanta, New York and other places. Races to fill city council, state legislature and all kinds of other positions will be held and we all should be focused on these races.

Let's just be honest: The national races are the sexiest campaigns of them all. But when it comes to how your life will be most impacted, it's what happens on the local level.

When it comes to raising fees, property, sales and income taxes, you'll see more of that on the local and state level, rather the national level.

Read the rest of this entry »

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats today unveiled their version of Health Care reform.

Republicans like Congressman Joe Barton of Texas are ridiculing the 1,990 page bill.

President Obama is sounding cautiously optimistic about new numbers that indicate the U.S. economy is finally turning around.

Before dawn, the President went to Dover Air Force base in Delaware to meet the plane carrying the bodies of 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is campiagning for fellow Republican Governor Rick Perry of Texas today. Perry's being challenged by Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, whose supporters include former Vice President Dick Cheney. The Primary's in March.

A lot of talk these days about White House officials lobbing verbal grenades at Fox News.
They say Fox is biased, not a real news organization. They don't seem to have a problem with left-leaning MSNBC, though. Is the Obama administration just trying to squash dissenting voices?