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It's an idea that's long past due and it will probably never happen...

A group of Republican senators is proposing a Constitutional amendment to set congressional term limits – 12 years for the Senate and six years for the House.

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina says real change will never happen in Washington until there's an end to the era of permanent politicians. DeMint says lawmakers have been re-elected about 90 percent of the time over the last 20 years – because the system favors incumbents.

We all know the drill: Some spend decades in Washington, get into bed with the special interest groups that feed their campaign coffers and forget all about the people they're supposed to represent.

And we've heard this before... Republicans who gained control of the House in 1994 promised to pass congressional term limits, but once they were in power, they failed to deliver. The Supreme Court later ruled term limits were unconstitutional – which is why this group of senators is trying to change the Constitution.

In order to pass, two-thirds of the House and Senate would have to approve the amendment – along with three-fourths of the 50 states.

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Call it CBS News versus the White House.

CBS reports that President Obama intends to give General Stanley McChrystal most – if not all – of the 40,000 troops he's asking for in Afghanistan. They say the president has tentatively decided to send four combat brigades plus thousands of more support troops.

According to CBS, the troop buildup would last for about four years – until the Afghan military doubles in size. This surge would mean the number of U.S. troops would grow from the current 68,000 to about 100,000 by the end of the president's first term.

But the White House insists the CBS story is false. They call reports that the president has made a decision about Afghanistan "absolutely false." They say Mr. Obama still hasn't received or reviewed "final options" with his national security team.

So – who's telling the truth here? It comes down to the word of the Obama White House against the network of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.

Of course... CBS News also saw Dan Rather step down in 2005 after apologizing for a report that questioned President George W. Bush's National Guard service. Rather said the report was based on false documents.

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It's been one year since President Obama defeated John McCain and rode into office promising "change we can believe in."

So – what has he done in the first year?

Some say Mr. Obama's biggest accomplishments have been keeping the financial crisis from becoming worse... and improving America's image abroad.

Democrats credit the $787 billion economic stimulus package with rescuing the economy... although Republicans call it a big waste... and with nearly 10 percent unemployment, the country is still waiting for the jobs to come back.

The president and Congress have spent most of the first year wrestling with health care reform and if we get anything at all – it's probably going to fall far short of meaningful reform.

Meanwhile President Obama has done nothing to regulate Wall Street or close the nation's borders. The deficits are beyond absurd. The wars continue – as does most of the government secrecy left over from the Bush administration.

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With Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats unveiling their 1,990 page health care reform bill – it made us wonder about other landmark pieces of legislation in U.S. history and how long they were.

• The original draft of the 1935 Economic Security Act, which established the Social Security Administration was 64 pages

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 – forbidding discrimination based on race and sex: 8 pages

• The 19th amendment to the Constitution, giving Women the right to vote in 1920: 1 page

• The Emancipation Proclamation, with which Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in 1863: 5 pages

• Or, if you really want to get back to basics: The Declaration of independence came in at 1 page in 1776

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As Sarah Palin prepares to release her memoir next month, it seems like so much of her life is already an open book. Palin - who quit as Governor of Alaska in the middle of her first term - has been having a nasty public battle with the father of her grandson.

Levi Johnston - the former boyfriend of Palin's daughter, Bristol - says Sarah Palin describes her son Trig, who has Down syndrome, as "retarded." Johnston also claims to know a lot more about what went on in the Palin household - so presumably, there is more tabloid trash to come.

Sarah Palin is pushing back - calling Johnston's claim "inflammatory," and saying Trig is their "blessed little angel" who knows it and is lovingly called that every day of his life.

Palin also suggests that Johnston - who is preparing for a photo shoot with Playgirl Magazine - is desperate for publicity. Sort of like Sarah Palin is.

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Some Democrats are calling it the "Obama hangover."

Even with President Obama on the campaign trail, at fund-raising events and taping TV ads for many state and local candidates – it seems like the electricity of the 2008 campaign is a distant memory.

The Los Angeles Times reports how much tougher it is to get people fired up to volunteer and vote Democrat this time around. And, as President Obama tries to address health care, the economy and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – some of his decisions may not sit well with voters at the local level.

A lot of eyes are on the races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia; and a congressional race in upstate New York's 23rd district.

With election day a week away – things aren't looking so hot for Democrat Creigh Deeds in Virginia... One new poll shows him trailing Republican Bob McConnell by 11 points. Meanwhile – White House officials have been complaining about the quality of Deeds' campaign... gee, think they're trying to distance themselves from him?

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A majority of gun owners think President Obama wants to ban gun sales.

A new Gallup poll shows 55 percent of those who own a gun, 53 percent who have a gun in the household, and 41 percent of all Americans believe he will attempt to ban the sale of guns while he is president.

This concern is greater among Republicans and people living in the South and Midwest than among Democrats or those living on either coast.

It also helps explain the sharp increases in sales of guns and ammunition. There are reports that U.S. bullet-makers are working around the clock and still can't keep up with the demand for ammunition. Shooting ranges and gun dealers say they've never seen such shortages.

However, President Obama has never said - as a candidate or as president - that he intends to push for a ban of gun sales. The president has said that he believes in the Second Amendment and that "lawful gun owners have nothing to fear." In May, he signed a law allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks.

Nonetheless, gun rights advocates point to Mr. Obama's record as a state legislator and U.S. senator where he "voted for the most stringent forms of gun control."

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When it comes to Afghanistan, the Obama White House keeps pointing fingers at President Bush. Although the war is in its ninth year - they make it sound like things are back to square one.

Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel says President Obama is asking the questions that have never been asked on the civilian side, the political side, the military side and the strategic side - a not-so-thinly-veiled reference to Obama's predecessor.

As President Obama continues to delay his decision whether to send as many as 40,000 more troops into battle - the latest excuse is the runoff election in Afghanistan - the tide is turning against the war here at home.

A new CNN-Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows 59 percent of Americans are opposed to sending more troops into Afghanistan...only 39 percent support sending troops – and 28 percent say we should withdraw all U.S. forces.

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The Obama White House may have started another war it can't win.

On yesterday's Sunday talk shows - Senior Adviser David Axelrod said of Fox News, "It's not really news. It's pushing a point of view.” And he asked that other news organizations not treat Fox like it's news.

The president's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, also said Fox is "not a news organization so much as it has a perspective."

This all started when White House communications director Anita Dunn called Fox an arm of the Republican Party and said the Obama administration would treat the cable news network as they would an "opponent."

Dunn is now in a dust-up with Fox News' Glenn Beck, concerning a speech where she quoted Communist leader Mao Tse Tung. Beck calls that "insanity."

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Americans are mad as hell… and they're keeping both big business and government in the crosshairs. The Wall Street Journal reports that historically the public focuses its anger on either one institution or the other — but not this time.

On the one hand, people are frustrated with the Wall Street failures that led to this financial mess; and they’re outraged at ongoing situations like bonus payouts at AIG. But Americans also see too much involvement by Congress and the federal government — accusing the administration of "socialism" and a "takeover" of the economy.

What's interesting here is some don't see government and business as opposing forces, rather they see "a unified elite pursuing one big swindle." For example — the government using hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayers' money to bail out banks and automakers.

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In an attempt to make sure health care reform doesn't get rammed through Congress with little debate - a group of Senate Republicans has introduced a resolution requiring all bills be made public for at least 72 hours before a vote.

Not a bad idea. Since many in Congress don't read the bills before voting, maybe somebody should.

Over in the House, a group of more than 180 - mostly Republicans - is circulating a petition also requiring all bills to be posted online for three days. They're demanding the Democratic leadership schedule a vote on this. No vote so far, although Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged to post the final health care bill online 72 hours before the last vote.

But it's not just Republicans pushing for more transparency. A group of centrist Senate Democrats sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid this week saying "every step of the process needs to be transparent" - they also asked for three days for the public to look at this stuff on the internet.

There's also an online campaign called Read the Bill along with a group called Read to Vote that's collected more than 80,000 signatures asking lawmakers to promise to read every page of every bill before voting. That'll happen…

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Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada is just another example of what's wrong with Congress.

Ensign tells CNN he didn't break Senate ethics rules when he helped get a lobbying job for the husband of his mistress. Ensign claims he was very careful and merely "recommended" this man for a job like he's recommended a lot of other people.

But the New York Times recently reported that the senator played an active role in getting the lobbying position for Doug Hampton — whose wife he was sleeping with. And — that Hampton went on to lobby Ensign on behalf of his clients — which he's not supposed to do. Ethics rules bar him from lobbying his old boss for a year after leaving his job on Capitol Hill.

But this slime ball senator insists he did nothing wrong here. Senator, it's ALL wrong. When asked if he has any plans to resign, Ensign says: "I am focused on doing my work."

Now the Senate Ethics Committee (which is an oxymoron) has started a preliminary investigation… which, if history is any judge, is meaningless. They won't do anything - they never do when judging one of their own. The whole thing is a joke and shows the impunity with which these arrogant elected scumbags operate.

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It was supposed to be a "feel good" event for the White House and a break from all the fighting and name-calling over health care, but instead President Obama's back-to-school speech next Tuesday has created a firestorm of its own.

Some school districts around the country are refusing to carry it. Some Republicans say they're appalled at spending tax money to spread the president's "socialist ideology." They're comparing it to something you would see in North Korea or Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

On the surface, it seems like a good idea — a pep talk for the nation's schoolchildren from the president, calling on them to take responsibility for their education and do their best.

Instead it's starting to look like another political miscalculation by the White House with some Republicans and parents characterizing the ideas as developing a "cult of personality."

The White House is asking students to write letters about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals. They will also release the text of the speech on Monday so parents know what to expect. Seems harmless enough.

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President Obama will try to re-gain the upper hand in the debate over health care reform by addressing a joint session of Congress next Wednesday.

The White House and the Democrats endured a brutal month of August — with rowdy town hall meetings and lots of Republican criticism. Anti-reform forces spent millions trying to defeat the legislation.

President Obama will reportedly use his speech to lay out more specifics for his plan. Specifics have been sorely missing from the president on this from the beginning, and he's come under a lot of fire for only outlining broad principles for what he wants… and leaving most of the details to Congress. Big mistake.

Republicans are already saying the president's speech will be too little, too late… they say the real problem is the substance… and that the American people aren't buying what he's trying to sell. But Democrats are hoping that a more forceful pitch from the president will help move this thing along.

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President Obama is getting ready to shift his strategy when it comes to health care reform — after a brutal month of August that wounded and divided his party.

Mr. Obama is considering a major speech that lays out his health care demands as soon as next week, when Congress returns from its recess.

And despite pressure from his base, the president reportedly has no plans to insist on a public insurance option. This would likely anger many liberals, but could show the president is willing to take on members of his own party to get things done. Nancy Pelosi said no bill would pass the House without a public option.

One top Republican, Senator Lamar Alexander is warning that there will be a "minor revolution" if Democrats reform health care without GOP backing. He says the town hall meetings show Americans are "scared to death" of reform; and going it alone would "wreck our health care system and wreck the Democratic Party."

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The American flag flies at half staff Tuesday following the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy. (PHOTO CREDIT: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES)

When it comes to filling Sen. Ted Kennedy's leadership shoes, it doesn't seem at first glance that there is anyone who can.

As Politico puts it, no other senator possesses the combination of "celebrity, seniority, personal charm, legislative savvy and ideological zeal that made Kennedy the most effective liberal in a generation.”

Those who worked with him call Kennedy "irreplaceable.” Many have said the senator's presence was sorely missed in the health care debate. Because of his failing health, he was unable to spend much time on Capitol Hill the last few months. Although Kennedy was a staunch liberal, he was known for compromising with Republicans – a skill pretty much lacking in both parties these days.

Perhaps the only senator who had similar star power was Hillary Clinton. And, before she became Pres. Obama's secretary of state, some aides had hoped she would assume a Kennedy-like role in the Senate.

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President Obama and the Democrats may end up going it alone when it comes to health care reform. Democrats say they now see little chance of getting Republican support - and point to lawmakers like Senator Charles Grassley, who they say aren’t serious about striking a deal.

The administration says it had hoped to get bipartisan backing - but it's looking less likely. Instead, they would have to get moderate and conservative Democrats on board.

Party leaders in the Senate may wind up using a tactic where they only need 51-votes to pass a health care bill… instead of 60. One Republican warns if the Democrats go this route - it would be "like a declaration of war."

Going it alone has pros and cons for the Democrats… It could mean crafting the bill they really want. For example, the public option, which the White House appeared to be abandoning this week, would likely be back on the table.

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There are growing signs that President Obama may be willing to drop one of the key parts of his health care reform plan. If it happens, chalk up a big victory for the Republicans and the insurance companies.

After weeks of criticism against a proposed government-run insurance plan — and the increasingly rowdy town hall meetings — the president now says the public option for coverage is just a sliver of the overall proposal. But it's a big sliver — especially politically.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has gone further — saying a direct government role in the reformed system is "not the essential element." Sebelius says "what’s important is choice and competition." One option that may replace the idea of the government running health care is nonprofit health cooperatives that would compete with the private sector.

If the president decides to drop the "public option" it has the potential to both help and hurt him in the ongoing debate. Mr. Obama would take away some of the steam from the Republicans' cries of "a government takeover" of health care. It also leaves room for compromise and potentially getting some Republicans on board.

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When it comes to stimulus and bailout money, has Pres. Obama kept his promise of transparency?

(CNN) – Pres. Obama has been promising the American people transparency ever since he was on the campaign trail.

And, when it comes to the $700 billion dollar bank and auto bailouts, known as TARP, and the $787 billion economic stimulus package, the president vowed an unprecedented level of openness.

A lot of information has been made public through websites like recovery.gov and financialstability.gov. The administration calls these sites “pioneering” compared to how government worked in the past.

But we’re talking about almost $1.5 trillion dollars here – and there is key information that the public doesn’t know about how and where this money is being spent.

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President Obama has nominated a paid consultant for Burger King to be the nation's top doctor.

In the midst of perhaps the most contentious national debate since the Vietnam War, President Obama has nominated a paid consultant for Burger King to be the nation's top doctor.

Can you spell tone-deaf?

Dr. Regina Benjamin has been paid 10-thousand dollars since last year to serve on a scientific advisory board for the company that brings us the Whopper and the B-K Triple Stacker.

According to the Washington Times, Burger King says the doctor was on the company's nutritional advisory panel... which is meant to "promote balanced diets and active lifestyle choices."

The Department of Health and Human Services says Benjamin was advocating for food that was lower in salt and recommending that nutritional information appear on packaging. They add that she will resign from Burger King once she's confirmed by the Senate as surgeon general and will "continue to promote healthy eating and exercise." You want fries with that?

But, many aren't buying it and see a conflict of interest. After all, Burger King is still a fast food joint. And, in a nation where one-third of adults are obese, fast food restaurants aren't helping any.

Since her nomination, Dr. Benjamin has won support from both sides of the aisle, particularly for running a health clinic for the poor after Hurricane Katrina – but there's also been criticism. As we reported in the Cafferty File last month, some believe that the president's selection of an overweight candidate for the nation's top doctor sent the wrong message. Now we find out she works for Burger King.

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