NewsweekopediaRuss FeingoldRSS

OK. Granted, the GQ list of the 50 most powerful people D.C. is no more definitive, or less arbitrary, than any other such list. And, granted, President Obama is not the boss of many of the people on the list. But it's rather striking to see that the list is about as white and male as ever. There is no woman above No. 8 (Nancy Pelosi) and no one who isn't white above No. 13 (Attorney General Eric Holder). Wasn't 2008 supposed to be the election that changed all that? Remember Hillary Clinton's 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling? (Coincidentally, Secretary Clinton only ranks 18th on the list.)

Photo by Pete Souza/WH When President Obama received his copy of Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s Afghanistan assessment last month, one of the first questions posed to the White House was how long it would take Obama to decide whether he’d send additional troops into the region. “Weeks,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters. The decision, he said, was “not immediate and not imminent.” It’s a talking point that the White House has repeated over and over since then: Obama wanted time to digest McChrystal’s report and to weigh his options. A month later, Obama is still deliberating. Tomorrow he’ll convene the third of five planned Afghan strategy sessions in the White House’s Situation Room with top advisers, including Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. McChrystal, as he did last week, will participate via videoconference. A fourth meeting is planned for Friday. According to the White House, Obama’s decision is still “weeks” away, but how much time does the president really have?