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President Obama's foreclosure prevention plan, announced on Wednesday in Phoenix, will help some homeowners, but will not stop property prices falling.

The main parts of the plan are cutting interest rates on delinquent loans and loans where the borrowers owe more than than their house is worth, and using federal housing agencies to keep mortgage rates low so new buyers enter the market.

But this cannot change the basic facts of a stalling economy - houses returning to more reasonable prices and home owners who are out of work and cannot afford to pay back their loans.

Early discussions among stakeholders in the new administration's health care policy have revealed a basic consensus - everybody should have medical insurance, and those who can afford insurance but don't get it should be penalized, perhaps by taxes.

The discussions, held under the leadership of Senator Edward Kennedy, have involved the AARP, American Cancer Society, American Medical Association, and other medical, consumer, insurer and business interest groups.

These talks have not been open to the public, but they are very likely to shape Obama's healthcare policy.

President Obama has been travelling a lot lately to build up support for his economic stimulus plan, and he has concentrated on traditionally republican states that voted democrat in November.

Aides of the president say this is just a coincidence - he is not eyeing reelection by building up his base. The places were rather chosen to highlight the problems or the opportunities they represent: Fort Meyers (Florida) for their high foreclosure rate, Elkhart (Indiana) for the high unemployment (15%), and Bedford Heights (Ohio) to showcase investment in alternative energy.

But Obama knows that his political life will depend on how well he can maintain the goodwill he enjoys now, as well as how soon his stimulus plan starts showing results.

President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton have all promised a break from the past in American foreign policy, which, from their talk, is apparently to blame for recent anti-Americanism around the world. But their promise of a kinder, gentler United States more open to the views of others is already being put to test.

Take two examples: North Korea announced plans to launch a Taepodong-2 missile capable of reaching the United States; Iran President Ahmadinejad said Iran will soon go nuclear, and plans to partner with Russia in strategic defence.

Talk of a gentler United States will sound good now, but we need to provide firm leadership too, or we may live to regret our words.

President Barack Obama promised to end the nation's dependence on oil for power in our time, and the $2 billion in the stimulus bill for a newer power grid which harnesses wind and solar energy is part of what will be needed to make that happen. But not everyone is happy.

The plan is already running into opposition from environmentalists, who say the power lines will spoil a lot of pristine lanscape.

There is also the question of steering the plan through multiple layers of permission from local and state authorities, and the question of raising money - because the $2 billion promised it can be no more than seed money, and about 50 times that much will be needed for clean fuel to become an affordable alternative to oil.

Obama will live or die, politically, on how well his stimulus package works. A fact he recognized when he spoke at Florida last week. "If it turns out that a few years from now people don't feel like the economy's turned around, that we're still having problems... then, you know, you guys won't applaud me the next time I come down here."

This is especially because the fight over the program has been sharply divided along party lines.

Republicans are hoping that by the time the 2010 elections come along, the program would be proved to be a failure. For the Democrats, the hope is that the bill will succeed, and it will build a legacy as enduring as Franklin Roosevelt's, after whom Democrats dominated politics for nearly three decades.

President Barack Obama criticized Bush for supporting deficit spending, but his stimulus package, which was supposed to cost $300 million in November, has grown more than double, and costs about $800 million now. And there is no telling where it will end.

Obama is spending money the government does not have.

Obama does not want the GOP to preach about fiscal responsibility after presiding over the doubling of the national debt, but doesn't this sound like more of the same?

As part of the stimulus bill on healthcare, Obama plans to create a nationwide databank of the health records of every individual over the coming five years. Some right-wingers have criticized this as a gross violation of privacy.

The fact is, medical records are vitally important for your health. The point about health records is not to track abortions or mental health or sexual problems, though this may become possible.

But for most people, comprehensive nationwide health records will mean a doctor can track previous treatments and medications that may affect their health today.

Former lobbyist for the Raytheon Co., William Lynn, was confirmed on Wednesday by the senate as the deputy defence secretary.

President Obama had waived his ethics regulations, which banned lobbyists from working in federal government, for this appointment. Lynn instead promised to remove himself from decisions concerning the programs he had lobbied for. He also promised in a letter to senator McCain to seek written permission from Pentagon lawyers when circumstances may call his impartiality to question.

John McCain voted for Lynn, inspite of the reservations he publicly expressed. The senate voted 93 in favour of Lynn, with 4 opposing, 2 abstentions, and one seat vacant.

Joe Biden has come in for some correction from his boss. Obama made it clear he disagreed with Biden's '30% chance that we are going to get it wrong' comment.

Obama gave his own explanation about the mathematics, "I think what Joe may have been suggesting, although I wouldn't ascribe any numerical percentage to any of this, is that given the magnitude of the challenges that we have, any single thing that we do is going to be part of the solution, not all of the solution."

Biden did not seem to be saying anything like that to us. But this is not the first time Biden has been 'explained' by the President, and maybe we should get used to it.