Continue reading Kim's opinion of President Obama's decision-making at HuffingtonPost.com.

President Barack Obama had an online town-hall meeting today, during which a wealth of causes and dilemmas alike were discussed, namely many of the issues that had been discussed during Tuesday’s televised press conference. However, what made the event unique was that anyone was welcome to ask a question — a liberty that prompted over 100,000 submissions. It was an accomplishment that didn't go unnoticed by the commander in chief, as he stated, "When I was running for president, I promised to open the White House for the American people. This is an important step toward achieving that goal."

We tuned in and, honestly, it seems like a good amount of our fellow Americans would rather, uh, tune out. Regarding people's suggestions to bolster our terrible economy, Obama explained:

"We took votes about which questions were gonna be asked, and I think 3.5 million people voted. I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation ... and I don't know what this says about the online audience, but ... this was a fairly popular question. We wanted to make sure it was answered. The answer is no, I don't think that's a good strategy to grow our economy."

Sorry, guys. Guess you'll have to wait around for President Snoop Dogg for that sort of economic improvement and job-creation strategy. Until then, keep buying Funyuns and playing Wii!

LENO: Now it's only [been], what, 59 days now, right?

MR. OBAMA: Yes, 59 days.

MR. LENO: And so much scrutiny. Is it fair to judge so quickly? I mean --

MR. OBAMA: Well, look, we are going through a difficult time. I welcome the challenge. You know, I ran for president because I thought we needed big changes. I do think in Washington it's a little bit like "American Idol," except everybody is Simon Cowell.

MR. LENO: Wow. Wow. That's rough.

MR. OBAMA: Everybody's got an opinion. But that's part of what makes for a democracy. You know, it's contentious and people are hitting back. I do think, though, that the American people are all in a place where they understand it took us a while to get into this mess, it's going to take a while for us to get out of it. And if they have confidence that I'm making steps to deal with issues like health care and energy and education, that matter deeply to their daily lives, then I think they're going to give us some time.

What do you think? Is America giving the Obama administration a fair shake? Should we be more Paula than Simon? Sound off below!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

Any overarching presidential speech of this decade would be remiss if it didn't include a plan for Iraq, Afghanistan and our troops. Beyond the overwhelming youth involvement and enthusiasm, there are a few things that stuck out as major promises in President Obama's campaign, like the planned 16-month troop pullout from Iraq. Democrats and young people across the nation applauded Obama for his plan, which was in strict opposition to that of former President Bush and, of course, opponent John McCain.

So when Obama gave the time frame of 19 months last night in his speech, there were a few furrowed brows. While the campaign promised 16 months, apparently the Pentagon and military officials argued for 23 months — and so, through a "meeting of the minds," as Obama called it, they arrived at a compromise of 19 months. Compromise? In Washington? Fresh. And certainly a departure from the more ... didactic and unilateral decision-making of our 43rd president. I think we can forgive the three-month difference in place of the bigger promise kept, which was to bring compromise, and a president who listens to his entire Cabinet before making a fair and balanced decision.

That said, back when I was writing my Wesleyan University thesis on exit strategies, one of my findings was that a timetable can often result in negative consequences. An exit strategy is always an integral part of presidential war decision-making, and the lack of an exit strategy was certainly one of the main criticisms of Bush's invasion of Iraq. However, there is a serious difference between an exit "strategy" and an exit "timetable." In a conflict like the one in Iraq, in which there are opposing insurgencies and factions, telling your enemy when you're planning on leaving can be extremely detrimental to the success of the operation. That's just plain common sense. However, in a war like the one in Iraq, where the American public's anger has been fueled since the beginning, a president must give his or her people an expected withdrawal — in fact, the people demand it.

The other issue to address is the fact that withdrawal deadlines are seldom kept and often extended. If President Obama plans to keep his public approval rate high, he cannot afford to break promises. A strict deadline of "19 months" is a dangerous promise to make, as conflicts and wars seldom go according to plan. Given the public's trust in Obama, I'm sure there will be an inherent understanding and approval if he does, in fact, have to later extend the deadline. However, historically, exit deadlines and timetables have been detrimental either to the conflict or to public opinion in the long term, even if beneficial in the short term.

So, as we, the public, demand that President Obama delivers us out of the war in Iraq, we must also look at history and allow him to change his withdrawal plan a few times along the way. After all, nothing is so unstable and unpredictable as a war.

Now, it might've been due to the HD set I was watching his address to Congress on (BTW, Nancy Pelosi in HD = yikes), or perhaps it was the lighting or the angle, but from where I was sitting, it appeared fairly obvious that President Obama is growing a mustache.

Look closely at the photo of him. Note the shadow on his upper lip — there's definitely something happening there. This is huge! This is historic! The president of the United States is growing a mustache! The ramifications of this will reverberate long after the stimulus package has been spent.

It's not just amazing because the president's pseudo-stache looks like one you'd see on a 14 year old smoking cigarettes behind a 7-11 — really, when was the last time a president had facial hair of any sort, let alone an upper-lip warmer like Obama's? (Richard Nixon's soul-patch doesn't count.)

Sure, we're all familiar with the facial-hair heroics of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant (great beards), but this nation has a great tradition of mustachioed presidents, too. From 1881 to 1913, our commanders-in-chief all had 'staches (save William McKinley, but look what happened to him). Teddy Roosevelt had a great one, and so did twice-elected Grover Cleveland (pictured left). But sadly, the mustache tradition ended with our 27th president, William Howard Taft. Since then, it's been a facial-hair-free White House.

Until now! Barack Obama has already broken down many barriers ... what's one more? By bringing back the presidential mustache, he'll not only harken back to leaders of the past, but he'll further inspire a new generation of young people to surge to the forefront of facial hair. (He will also sort-of resemble former Mexican president Vicente Fox.)

And that's important, because for too long, this great nation has lagged behind the rest of the world when it comes to lip foliage. Truly, this is change I can believe in.

The former commander in chief was in great spirits. He always seems to be in storytelling mode if you can spark his interest. He's very aware, very warm, very jovial and very genuine, all at the same time.

We had actually met before, in 2008 at the MTV/ Clinton Global Initiative event at the Apollo along with Shakira, Alicia Keys, Chris Rock and Bono. This time, the purpose of the interview was to talk about a film that MTV made about "Real World" star Pedro Zamora and his courageous fight to make the world more aware of HIV and AIDS.

We also had an opportunity to talk about the collaborations at this year's Grammys. He mentioned the Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder's performance, which he thought was an odd but successful pairing. He especially liked that Stevie was in "good voice" that night. He also told us about how Stevie played for him and Hillary and that he has a picture of it. He said he enjoyed Coldplay and Jay-Z but also thought Al Green, who is a good friend of his, and Justin Timberlake had a magical performance.

He had great advice on how the Obama family can deal with being celebrities. He said America should not begrudge President Obama or Michelle when they are taking time out for their children, because that is the kind of balance that makes you an even better president.

If you just can't bear to wait any longer for Bono's "Spider-Man" musical — and who can, really? — maybe this will have to do: A small theater in London is currently rehearsing a brand-new show about the man John McCain called "the biggest celebrity in the world."

"Obama on My Mind" will begin performances at the small Hen and Chickens Theatre (yes, that's really what it's called) in London next month, and despite its lack of big-name stars, the creators feel confident it will attract legions of British Barack fans.

"I think Obama, because he's so huge and [because of] the fever around him, I think lots of people are going to come and see it," Tim McArthur, the musical's director, told The Associated Press. The show's U.S.-born creator, Teddy Hayes, describes it as a "humorous romp" that mixes several different types of music, including pop, gospel, jazz, tango and, uh, "some Motownish stuff."

But here's the thing: Obama, or to be more precise, an actor playing Obama, doesn't even appear in "Obama on My Mind." The story actually centers on an Obama campaign office. Be snarky if you must, but a workshop of the show apparently played to sold-out audiences in the fall.

We're not here to judge — we'll let you decide for yourselves. Take a look at a snippet from the show's rehearsal below, and then call your travel agent to book your flight to London.

FROM HUFFINGTONPOST.COM: Well, it's been about 15 days since the inauguration, and the "appointing" process has already seen a few slip-ups. They aren't scandals on any grandiose scale, but for a President who spent his campaign focusing on the importance of "ethics" in Washington, they are a bit worrisome. On Tuesday, Tom Daschle became yet another appointee to Obama's cabinet to step down due to misdemeanors and allegations of illegal action. Daschle failed to pay taxes on an expensive limo and driver, and failed to report a hefty $80,000 in consulting income on which he owed taxes. On the same day, Nancy Killefer withdrew her candidacy as chief performance officer due to a "personal tax issue." Recently, Bill Richardson, whom Obama had nominated for Commerce Secretary, stepped down after he was named in an influence-peddling investigation (translation: allegedly, Richardson tried to influence government officials in order to help his own private business pursuits. He maintained his innocence but stepped down anyway.) Sadly, the list goes on. Timothy Geithner, who was confirmed as Treasury Secretary last week, also has a shaky past with the IRS. Furthermore, we all remember Obama rallying against lobbyists who have held or hold government posts - he practically built his campaign around fighting that in order to "clean" Washington. So, when I heard that Obama appointed William Lynn to a high post in the Pentagon, I was perplexed - aren't we talking about the same William Lynn who was a lobbyist from Raytheon, a homeland security firm? And now he's in the Pentagon? Huh.

Obama! What's going on here?

Continue reading Kim's post at huffingonpost.com ...

In reaction, Obama dryly commented on Jessica being "in a weight battle, apparently." As a result, blogs and magazines and talk shows are asking if the president is making fun of Jessica's weight. Really, guys? From watching the video, it seems clear that Obama's dryness is poking fun at media coverage, rather than Jessica's weight.

Jessica has, in years past, said she hasn't understood people's obsession with rail-thin women, and has also expressed concern over the health risks that come with extreme slimness. She also spoke out about the criticism onstage last week, saying, "I feel like in our world today, we focus on so many things that are completely pointless."

The last time that Hollywood seriously played up curves was decades ago, during the 1940s and '50s; conservatism and traditionalism prevailed in those days, and perhaps a fuller figure signified affluence in those post-Depression, post-WWII days. In short, the "curvy housewife" was ideal. Then the Vietnam War and Twiggy came along, and the decades since have made "stick-thin" the new "curve." We haven't quite gotten out of that mindset.

Having said that, we have a bounty of challenges facing our economy and our country, so perhaps, for the same reasons, another era of curviness is on the horizon for the worlds of fashion and tabloid culture. (Of course, it's hardly a matter that, er, outweighs the economy, the wars and dozens of other more pressing issues our president and all of us are confronting.)

Over the past week many celebrities have spoken out in support of Jessica: Carmen Electra, ex-hubby Nick Lachey, Kim Kardashian, Heidi Klum, sister Ashlee and brother-in-law Pete Wentz, among many others.

As for me, I certainly don't know what it's like to be judged by the tabloids or have my every cheeseburger documented (I'm eating one right now, fyi). But, I do remember my time on "America's Next Top Model" being the most scrutinized time in my life with regard to my weight. One of the (non-aired) storylines of my season was the fact that I was just a little bit too heavy, in their eyes, and that sentiment was made clear to me at least every other day. One unnamed "judge" even taught me about the "chew and spit" diet! (I tried it, it sucks).

That scrutiny was almost unbearable for me, so I can't even imagine what Jessica has gone through over the past week. But hey — perhaps a sea change will occur, the trend will turn away from sexy-'rexy, and Jessica will show herself to be ahead of the "curve" after all.