Daily Democratic Wire 10-9-2009

George Wenschhof

President Barack Obama is awarded Nobel Peace Prize - after only nine months in office, he has received this award for his international work at reducing nuclear weapons and inspiring hope worldwide. The NY Times has more.

The President is expected to give remarks at the White House Rose Garden at 11:00 AM ET today.

Meanwhile, Michael Steele, chair of the Republican National Committee downplayed the award, asking what has Obama accomplished? MSNBC.com has more here.

Also today, the President will host members of the Secret Service and their families for a picnic on the grounds of the White House.

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General Stanley McChrystal requests for Afghanistan included several options - in addition to the widely reported 40,000 troop increase, he also submitted an option that included an increase of over 60,000 troops. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

President Obama is expected to meet with his national security team today for further discussions on the role of the U.S. in Afghanistan.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads overseas for one week - she will be traveling to Britain, Ireland, Belfast and Russia. You can be sure the topics of Iran and Russia will take place while in Moscow. You can read more here.

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Representative Charles Rangel still in hot seat over finances - he survived an attempt by the GOP to oust him from his chair of the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday when the House voted 246-153 to send the matter to the Ethics committee. Rangel has been under investigation for a variety of financial issues including his failure to disclose rental income from a overseas condo. The ethics committee has been slow to finish it's investigation and release a report which is why Republicans made the move they did yesterday. TheHill.com has more here.

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Gallup poll shows only 44% favor stricter gun control laws - the Supreme Court will be hearing some cases on this issue during the current session so it will interesting the see how they rule. Gallup reported a high of 78% of Americans favoring stricter gun control laws in 1990. You can read more from the poll here.

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