Obama's revealing Afghanistan war speech: 4,582 words and not one of them was 'victory'

President Obama spoke 4,582 words in his prime-time Afghanistan war speech at West Point last night.

He said "Al Qaeda" 22 times.

He mentioned the "Taliban" 12 times.

And here's how many times the Democratic chief executive used the word "victory" -- 0.

That telling omission says more than anything about Obama's 322nd day in office, when he gave his first major address as the United States' commander in chief.

Through a clever, timely use of leaks late Monday and suggestive advance excerpts Tuesday afternoon, the Obama White House communications team used the public's and the news media's intense curiosity about his war decisions to steer public attention toward the number of additional American troops he'll dispatch into that war-torn land in the first half of 2010.

That number is 30,000, significantly less than some reported numbers requested by the ground commander. But added to the existing 68,000 there and taken out of context, that would appear ...

Obama's Afghanistan speech: CliffsNotes version

President Obama's speech on Afghanistan at West Point tonight covered much ground. Here are some key excerpts to digest before bed (U.S. time):

Over the last several years, the Taliban has maintained common cause with Al Qaeda, as they both seek an overthrow of the Afghan government. Gradually, the Taliban has begun to take control over swaths of Afghanistan, while engaging in increasingly brazen and devastating acts of terrorism against the Pakistani people.

Throughout this period, our troop levels in Afghanistan remained a fraction of what they were in Iraq. When I took office, we had just over 32,000 Americans serving in Afghanistan, compared to 160,000 in Iraq at the peak of the war....

Afghanistan is not lost, but for several years it has moved backwards. There is no imminent threat of....

Full President Obama speech text on Afghanistan

Text of President Obama's speech on Afghanistan, Dec. 1, 2009, as provided by the White House

Good evening. To the United States Corps of Cadets, to the men and women of our armed services, and to my fellow Americans: I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan – the nature of our commitment there, the scope of our interests, and the strategy that my Administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion. It is an honor for me to do so here – at West Point – where so many men and women have prepared to stand up for our security, and to represent what is finest about our country.

To address these issues, it is important to recall why America and our allies were compelled to fight a war in Afghanistan in the first place. We did not ask for this fight. On September 11, 2001, nineteen men hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3,000 people.

They struck at our military and economic nerve centers. They took the lives of innocent men, women, and children without regard to their faith or race or station. Were it not for the heroic actions of the passengers on board one of those flights, they could have also struck at one of the great symbols of our democracy in Washington, and killed many more.

As we know, these men belonged to al Qaeda – a group of extremists who have distorted and defiled Islam, one of the world’s great religions, to justify the slaughter of innocents. Al Qaeda’s base of operations was in Afghanistan, where they were harbored by the Taliban – a ruthless, repressive and radical movement that seized control of that country after it was ravaged by years of Soviet occupation and civil war, and after the attention of America and our friends had turned elsewhere.

Just days after 9/11, Congress authorized the use of force against al Qaeda and those who harbored them – an authorization that continues to this day. The vote in the Senate was 98 to 0. The vote in the House was 420 to 1. For the first time in its history, the ....

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Michelle Obama sells healthcare to the ladies

Lest anyone forget, while Michelle Obama's husband talks diplomatic niceties all over Asia for nine days and Todd Palin's wife pushes her book from Barnes & Nobles to Sam's Clubs all across this country, the first lady, stuffy nose and all, stays back home to continue the desperate political business of selling healthcare reform. Especially to seniors.

We said, ESPECIALLY TO US SENIORS. Because polls now show support for the president's plan the weakest and waning among older Americans, who as we saw in recent interim elections are unlike younger Americans in that they actually show up to vote two years in a row.

Obama tells seniors, NOT A DIME OF MEDICARE MONEY WILL BE USED TO PAY FOR THE $1.3-TRILLION HEALTHCARE REFORM PLAN. As you can see in the transcript below, she calls Medicare "a sacred part of America's social safety net."

However, the Democrats' recently-passed House healthcare version would cut $400 billion -- possibly up to $500 billion -- from Medicare and Medicaid.

Women are a crucial audience for the Obamas and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to convince or re-convince about the Democratic healthcare plans because, as in many matters of the typical family, they play a disproportionate role in finding, arranging and obtaining medical care for everyone else, often at the expense of themselves.

So Obama was before a friendly, receptive audience today when she gave her pitch and, revealingly in the ongoing PR struggle, felt the need to correct what healthcare reformers call misinformation or false information "out there."

(BTW, although she's still doing way better than her husband deep down in the 40s now in favorability ratings among Americans, new Gallup numbers indicate the first lady's popularity has started to slide too, from a high of 72% last spring to a still-impressive 61% now.)

Keep scrolling for the entire Michelle Obama transcript, along with a news video down there, courtesy of Politico.

-- Andrew Malcolm

For your own health's sake, click here to get Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. And we're also over here on Facebook.

First Lady Michelle Obama's Remarks on Healthcare Reform and Older Women, as provided by the White House

MRS. OBAMA: Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. First of all, forgive me -- I’ve got children, and now I have a cold. (Laughter.) It goes along with the territory.

Let me begin by first thanking Tina Tchen, who’s doing an outstanding job as Director of the Office of Public Engagement by opening up this White House to the American people and....

Sarah Palin's roguish book tour: The details seep out

It starts in Michigan.

Our good buddy Josh Painter over at the Texas for Salin Palin blog, a must-bookmark for SP fans, has assembled the schedule for the ex-gov's upcoming book sales/autographing tour and we have some of it below.

You'll note that the tour starts in Michigan. Get it? Oh, c'mon, sure you do!

Longtime Ticket readers will recall it was the stumbling McCain campaign's decision to, in effect, forfeit Michigan to the Obama Democrats a year ago and stop campaigning there.

Which caused McCain's Republican pitbull partner to grumble about giving up anywhere so easily.

Which caused those brave McCain staffers to anonymously leak their own grumblings that Palin was "going rogue."

Which provided the rebounding political celebrity with her best-selling book title -- "Going Rogue: An American Life" -- which so far has 1.5 million copies in print.

And that's before the Oprah show on Nov. 16. There'll be a five-part interview with....

Bipartisanship erupts between George W. Bush and Bill Clinton; they cancel joint LA, NY appearances

George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who some may remember as previous presidents who disagree on many things, today agreed and abruptly pulled out of a joint public appearance scheduled for this winter in Los Angeles.

The money was no doubt good but it seems the 42nd and 43rd presidents grew unhappy with the confrontational way the event was being promoted.

The politically dissimilar pair have also dropped out of a similar, later appearance in New York City.

"We canceled the event because of a violation of contract and a promoter who insisted on billing it as something it wasn't," said Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Democrat Clinton. David Sherzer, a spokesman for Bush, also confirmed the event was off.

McKenna said the forum was never intended to be a clash between the men -- "the hottest ticket in political history," a news release called it. It was instead supposed to be a moderated panel discussion. Unlike, say, what usually goes on in Washington.

"It's unfortunate that an overeager promoter ruined the opportunity to hear a serious discussion of the issues between two former presidents who have a great deal of respect for each other," McKenna said.

Officials of the promotion company, hired by New York's Madison Square Garden, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Clinton, who defeated Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, in 1992 to win the presidency, and Republican Bush, who defeated Clinton's VP, Al Gore, in 2000, appeared together at an hourlong forum in Toronto last May. No riots ensued, but that was in Canada.

The two were set to appear Feb. 22 at University City's Gibson Amphitheatre as part of the American Jewish University's public lecture series. The appearance was announced back in August, with tickets set to go on sale this week at prices ranging from $75 to $125.

A second appearance was scheduled for Feb. 25 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, with tickets ranging from $60 to $160.

McKenna would not discuss the fees forfeited by the two former presidents, who aren't exactly on welfare anyway. But they reportedly received $150,000 apiece for their Toronto evening together. McKenna said money was not a consideration in their decision in to cancel the events.

-- Mark Z. Barabak

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Photo: Associated Press (Bush at Clinton library dedication 2004).

You betcha! The Sarah Palin speech(es) we never heard one year ago tonight

This is Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin one year ago right now during the concession speech of her Republican running mate, Sen. John McCain, outside the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.

Turns out Palin would have liked to give a little speech too, thanking some folks, graciously wishing the best to the Barack Obama winning ticket of Democrats and introducing with effusive praise the man who plucked her from the political obscurity of Anchorage and thrust her, unprepared but eager, onto the national stage.

Turns out now, we may be hearing more about her in coming years than the military hero who picked her.

Anyway, in their new book, "Sarah from Alaska," two journalists - Shushannah Walshe and Scott Conroy --  publish among other interesting information the two speeches the first female on a Republican national ticket was prepared to give, one a victory speech and one a concession. The Beast has published a story about the book over here.

The Ticket has independently confirmed that the speeches from the book are, indeed, the....

Joe Biden update: Investing in a N.Y. congressman

As he has on many recent days, Vice President Joe Biden was talking at another Democratic fundraiser last night, this one at a private home in New York City.

It was to benefit Democratic Rep. Steve Israel, who doesn't represent New York City. Israel's 2nd District seat (once held by Republican Rick Lazio) covers much of Long Island. About 100 donors attended.

Some people might think the presence of the vice president of the United States at a Steve Israel fundraiser could have something to do with payback for Israel bowing to the White House suggestion five months ago that he probably really shouldn't pursue a political challenge to New York's appointed Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a party primary next year.

That kind of bargain would be silly, of course. And political.

Biden spoke for about 30 minutes. The usual stuff about taking care of the middle class and what an awfully deep hole he and Barack Obama found the country in last January after their successful $750- million campaign. It's a terrible hole that will take a long time to exit, he said. Maybe two terms. Who knows?

Biden, who was already a senator learning to gaffe way back when Obama was a sixth-grader, also praised Israel, saying the five-term congressman didn't really need Biden's help.

Then, the vice president made a rather pointed and candid admission, even for modern America's moneyed politics. He told the crowd of insiders, each of whom had paid $2,400 to access the event:

I just want you to know that supporting him is a smart investment.

-- Andrew Malcolm

It costs exactly $2,400 less than the Biden fundraiser to click here and get Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us  @latimestot  Also on Facebook here.

Photo credit: Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg News

John Kerry's Afghan war speech; Foreshadowing Obama's decision?

It's been about two months now since Gen. Stanley McChrystal submitted his Afghan war report to the Pentagon and White House, reportedly asking for something like 40,000 more U.S. troops. Monday Obama and his advisors had yet another meeting.

And the diligent Jake Tapper reports on his Political Punch blog that the current target is to announce his decision between the Nov. 7 Afghan runoff presidential vote and Obama's Nov. 11 departure on a long Asian trip.

Oh, look! Those dates also come after the U.S. elections, especially the crucial governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey so widely seen as 10-month referenda on Obama.

However, Tapper also reports the Afghan announcement could be delayed until after the Asian trip, which puts it close to Thanksgiving. And nearly three months after the report's delivery.

The long policy pondering has now even made the late-night comedy shows. Last night NBC's Jay Leno noted that former VP Dick Cheney had chastised Obama for "dithering" on his war decisions. And, Leno claimed, the White House response was that it was pondering a reply and would have one within six to eight weeks.

Obama wasn't backing off his war of necessity argument in a Florida speech to sailors and Marines earlier Monday (full text here), the necessity being to deny Afghanistan as Al Qaeda's safe haven to repeat the 9/11 attacks.

A major new troop surge (adding to the 68,000 U.S. troops already there) would anger the Democratic left, which Obama needs for the healthcare vote, especially if he gives up on the public option. And the left is already impatient about other issues, including the promised but continually delayed abolition of don't ask-don't tell.

The need for unifying distractions could help explain all these gratuitous....

Michelle Obama Hula-Hooping our way to health

First, the buff first arms. Then the First Lady's White House playground. Then the First Lady's White House victory garden. Then the First Lady's patronage of farmer's markets for things that grow in the filthy ground or hang on trees where birds perch and do things.

It's a given that too many Americans are obese. They don't exercise enough. The good news is their flabby thighs are hidden by their drooping stomachs.

Now, today First Lady Michelle Obama had a Healthy Kids Fair on the sunny White House South Lawn. Will this healthy stuff ever stop with these people?

Yes, of course, it's a political show. Playing with kids at a scheduled time that allows TV studio editors to process the video in time for the afternoon/evening newscasts is part of American public life now, regardless of party. (Think the Bushes' adorable T-ball games at the White House.)

But M.O.'s enthusiasm is almost contagious, making some American adults at least contemplate getting up out of their La-Z-Boys to move their enlarged bodies slightly. And not just toward the fridge.

Yes, it might be a shock to the old ticker to work a little. So try walking early in the morning before your brain figures out what's going on.

Never mind sitting on your enlarged keister reading books, this first lady seems determined to drive Americans, including her burger-loving, cigarette-smoking husband, to at least feel guilty about all those fries and other gunk they swallow into their bodies.

As she often does in her public remarks (think Copenhagen), the president's wife falls back on her own life for story material. We learn today that in her childhood they got pizza once each year or semester, one or the other -- and then only if the children had received good grades.

We also learn Mrs. Obama loves french fries. Very much. Extremely much. But that she knows she can't eat them every day. She doesn't explain why not. Apparently, she thinks it's bad somehow.

Mrs. Obama also says that her two daughters have no TV time on school days, which forces them to find activities other than sitting. Actually moving around, the way neighborhood youngsters did back in the neolithic pre-TV times of the 1940s and before.

And Sasha and Malia Obama only get a few hours of TV on the weekend -- presumably not Fox News either because, according to other White House denizens, watching that channel can cause bad things to happen to the human brain.

Today's Kids Fair is actually a rather charming event. (See news video below.) So put your Whopper down for a sec and scan what the First Mother had to say.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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First Lady Michelle Obama's remarks at the Healthy Kids Fair, as provided by the White House
MRS. OBAMA:  Well, hello!

CHILDREN:  Hello!

MRS. OBAMA:  It's good to see everybody.  Perfect weather, right?

CHILDREN:  Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you so much. I am thrilled to have you all here today at the White House. And I....