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President Obama is expected to focus on the issue of illegal drug trade and violence during his trip to Mexico starting today.

Yesterday, he designated three Mexican drug cartels (Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas and La Familia Michoacana) as kingpins under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act of 1999. This allows the treasury department to freeze the assets of these organizations in the United States and prosecute Americans who help the cartels handle their money.

Recently there has also been a rise of drug violence in Mexico, fuelled in part by cross-border drug and weapons smuggling. Some experts have warned that the violence is a sign that Mexico is in danger of becoming a failed state - something that its president Felipe Calderon vehemently denied.

Watch out for BY THE PEOPLE: The Election of Barack Obama, a documentary about the historic election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the United States.

The film follows the trail from Obama's announcement of his candidacy to his inauguration as the president. It includes interviews with Obama campaign staff and aides besides biographical and campaign footage, and it will give you a behind-the-scenes look at how a presidential campaign actually works.

The film has been produced by Edward Norton's Class 5 Films and directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams. Sony Pictures has acquired the global distribution rights and HBO will be releasing it within the US.

President Obama has 'the most polarised early job approval' of any president since tracking began 40 years ago, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. This means the gap between the percentage of Democrats who support him (88%) and the percentage of Republicans who support him (27%) is larger than for any other president.

Political scientist John Petrocik points out that this is part of a trend - every president since 1980 has had more polarised ratings than his predecessor, except for George HW Bush for a short time in 1989.

But this also means the president's campaign promise to end the partisan nature of Washington politics has not only not been achieved - but politics has in fact become more divisive than ever before.

Notre Dame University, the Catholic educational bastion in South Bends, Indiana, is still riven by - sometimes shrill - debate about whether President Obama should deliver the commencement address on May 17 here.

The debate revolves mainly around Obama's support for abortion, which is against Catholic teaching. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago called the invitation “an extreme embarrassment.” But other pro-life people want the University to be open to people with different opinions, even if it opposes those opinions. Brett Ensor, a senior student who opposes abortion, said “What college wouldn’t want Obama to come? This is a tremendous honor for us.”

The university president Rev. John Jenkins said the university would not withdraw its invitation, and the White House has sent word that the President is eager to address the students.

Seventy nations are participating in the talks about reconstruction in Afghanistan in the Hague. The new American strategic initiative unveiled by President Obama last week will be the focus of the discussions: a modest increase in troops, more civilian participation, and wider world involvement in Afghanistan.

One important issue is the need to pay for security in Afghanistan: international support now raises $25 million a year, when the need is estimated to be around $2 billion.

Another is the unhappiness of Afghanistan's neighbors (Iran, China, Central Asian republics, India) with the American strategy of engaging the 'good' Taliban.

Kai Eide, head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, said international coordination is essential to progress in the area, but peace is not going to come easily.

President Obama will head to Europe later this week to meet with the G-20 leaders of industrial and emerging markets. Their focus will the economic crisis, and they will also be talking about a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

The President will have to face the skepticism of many foreign leaders who blame the crisis on the greed and excesses of Wall Street. He will have to persuade them to cooperate to help stimulate the global economy. In an international economy, it will be disaster if nations begin to turn protectionist.

He will also need to convince them that America accepts the responsibility, and is doing its share to keep the economy up and its door open.

Aides of President Obama tried to cover for him on Thursday on both the veterans healthcare and AIG bonuses issue.

The administration's proposal to make veterans to use their private health insurance to pay for treatment was opposed by lawmakers of both parties and veterans' organizations, and the White House was forced to withdraw it. Vice President Biden suggested the president did not know about this till the plan was floated past the veterans' leaders.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner took the blame up on himself for letting the AIG bonuses proceed after it was revealed that the White House knew about the bonuses before they were given out.

Australian counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen argues in his new book 'The Accidental Guerrilla' that neither further escalation in Afghanistan (beyond the 17,000 Obama has already authorised), nor a scaling back to concentrate on counterterrorism, is a good option for the US in Afghanistan.

He points out that most of the local population had no major grievance against the US - till the war started. It is vital to separate the them from the Al Qaeda, and to avoid heavy-handed military actions that can lead to public backlash.

But pulling out will not be in US interests. Obama needs to walk a thin line between escalation and the use of minimal force.

President Obama's high-flown rhetoric during his campaign meets the reality of Washington politics, and Obama - like presidents before him - finds it's all easier said than done.

Obama attacked John McCain for saying the economy is fundamentally sound (when the Dow was at 11,000 and unemployment 6.2%). Now with the Dow at 7,486 and unemployment at 8.1%, he says the same thing.

He criticised the $2.9 trillion deficit during the Bush years, now he may end up doubling the national debt.

And the 'partisanship, pettiness, and immaturity' he promised to end are alive and doing well as usual.

President Barack Obama's plan for Afghanistan calls for some kind of reconciliation with the vast majority of insurgents. The plan reflects the view articulated by Joe Biden: that 70% of the foot soldiers of the insurgency are involved because they are paid, and only about 5% are ideologically-motivated.

But it is still not clear what form the proposed reconciliation will take.

So far, the military offensive in Afghanistan has only succeeded in driving the Taliban and Al-Qaeda into hideouts in Pakistan. A second part of the 'Af-Pak' is aid to Pakistan to make its military focus on counterinsurgency rather than on the long-standing political fued with India.