Following a disappointing evening at the Grammy Awards Sunday night, teen pop sensation Justin Bieber stopped by the studies of Conan O’Brien for the standard talk show fare. A rather unremarkable segment turned suddenly interesting as Bieber retold his visit to Oval Office, where in he did his best President Obama impersonation. Social anthropologists could have a field day trying to break down the multiple influences of race, music, pop culture and language in the following clip, courtesy of TBS.

In the event you are just waking from a coma, Justin Bieber is the 16 year-old Canadian kid who has moved lots of music units and caused shopping mall riots with his adoring fans of mostly pre-teen girls. He is a protege of pop-star Usher, and his musical style is in the style of pop R&B. As many 16 year-old kids, his communication style is often littered with hip-hop patois, which makes his impersonation of Obama seem so strange. Put another way, here is a skinny white kid who has made millions of dollars co-opting a traditionally African-American art form impersonating the first African-American president in what might be described as a dorky white guy voice.

Perhaps this is the best evidence to date that we are living in a post-racial world? Watch the clip below and see for yourself.

With Rahm Emanuel back in the race for Chicago mayor thanks to a ruling from Illinois’ highest court, the question now is what effect the legal dispute had on the race.

A lower court threw the former White House chief of staff off the ballot earlier in the week because he had not lived in Chicago for a full year before the Feb. 22 election. The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unanimously in Emanuel’s favor.

It’s unclear if the other contenders were able to attract some notice from voters who thought Emanuel might not make the ballot. And it’s possible Emanuel garnered sympathy from voters.

Don Rose, a longtime analyst of Chicago politics, said the legal saga would bring Emanuel “even greater sympathy” and could lift him to victory.

President Barack Obama is marking Martin Luther King day today with community service.

The president and first lady will pitch in today at a to-be-named location in Washington, while Cabinet chiefs and other top officials do likewise across the country.

Obama has eagerly embraced the idea of honoring the memory of the civil rights leader in projects that help the community.

Last year, Obama dropped by a Washington food bank to serve hot meals to the needy.

In a statement marking the holiday, he said King dedicated his life to others, especially ensuring justice for all. Obama asks all Americans to observe it by volunteering on projects that benefit neighborhoods and those in need.

Last year, Obama dropped by a Washington food bank to serve hot meals to the needy.

The nation got its first look on Monday at the 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Jared Loughner, head shaved, a cut above the right temple and his hands cuffed, scanned a packed courtroom and sat down.

His attorney, who defended “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, whispered to him.

The judge asked Loughner if he understood that he could get life in prison — or the death penalty — for killing federal Judge John Roll, one of the six who died in the shooting rampage at Giffords‘ meeting with constituents on Saturday in Tucson.

“Yes,” he said, standing at a lecturn in his beige prison jumpsuit. His attorney, Judy Clarke, stood nearby, as did a U.S. marshal.

The judge ordered Loughner held without bail.

Throngs of reporters and television news crews lined up outside the federal courthouse, where the hearing was moved from Tucson. The entire federal bench there recused itself because Roll was the chief judge.

Hours earlier, the nation observed a moment of silence for the victims of the rampage, from the South Lawn of the White House and the steps of the U.S. Capitol to legislature beyond Arizona and the International Space Station.

There, Giffords’ brother-in-law, Scott, the commanding officer, spoke over the radio. Flight controllers in Houston fell silent.

“As I look out the window, I see a very beautiful planet that seems very inviting and peaceful,” he said. “Unfortunately, it is not.”

“These days, we are constantly reminded of the unspeakable acts of violence and damage we can inflict upon one another, not just with our actions, but also with our irresponsible words,” he said.

“We’re better than this,” he said. “We must do better.”

On a frigid morning outside the White House, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stood side by side, each with their hands clasped, heads bowed and eyes closed.

On the steps of the U.S. Capitol, congressional staff and other employees did the same.

At the Supreme Court, the justices paused for a moment of silence between the two cases they were hearing Monday morning. Arizona’s chief federal judge, John Roll, was killed in the attack.

The president called for the country to come together in prayer or reflection for those killed and those fighting to recover.

“In the coming days we’re going to have a lot of time to reflect,” he said. “Right now the main thing we’re doing is to offer our thoughts and prayers to those who’ve been impacted, making sure we’re joining together and pulling together as a country.”

In total, 19 people were shot in the rampage outside a supermarket where Giffords held here meeting. Giffords was shot in the head, and remains in intensive care.

Among the six people killed were a 9-year-old girl who was born on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and was interested in public service, as well as one of Giffords’ aides.

Loughner was tackled to the ground minutes after the shooting began, authorities said. He has been silent ever since.

Loughner is charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. More charges are expected.

A White House spokespers announced that President Barack Obama has commended the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance after his release from prison.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton says the president told owner Jeffrey Lurie that while he condemns the crimes Vick was convicted of, he believes people who have paid for their crimes should have the opportunity to contribute to society again.

The Eagles signed Vick last year after he served an 18-month prison sentence on charges related to a dog-fighting ring. Vick has led the Eagles to the playoffs this year after assuming the starting job.

The White House says Obama also applauded the Eagles’ plan to install wind turbines and solar panels at their stadium to reduce energy consumption.

 Fulfilling a campaign pledge, cheering his party’s downcast liberals and striking a blow for what he sees as basic human rights, President Barack Obama signed a landmark law Wednesday that tells America’s armed services to let homosexuals serve openly for the first time.

The president said at a press conference preceding the signing that the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” will strengthen security and uphold ideals. He also said the government will not be “dragging its feet” to enforce the repeal and encouraged those discharged under the ban to rejoin the military.

So many gay rights and Democratic activists were expected at the signing ceremony that the White House booked a large auditorium at the Interior Department.

“This day has come!” said an elated Mike Almy, an Air Force major discharged four years ago when his sexual orientation became known. “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is over, and you no longer have to sacrifice your integrity.”

While the elation is real, Pentagon officials caution it could be premature, since the bill requires service chiefs to complete implementation plans before lifting the old policy — and certify to lawmakers that it won’t damage combat readiness, as critics charge.

Also, guidelines must be finalized that cover a host of practical questions, from how to educate troops to how sexual orientation should be handled in making barracks assignments.

While officials have avoided timetables, the process will probably take months.

Still, for gay and lesbian Americans, Wednesday is a watershed. And for Obama, it is a day to revel in the achievement of a goal he’s long championed.

The woman who told President Barack Obama that she was “exhausted” from defending him and his economic policies and waiting for the change she expected after voting for him has another reason to be put out: She’s lost her job.

Velma Hart, the chief financial officer for Am Vets, a veteran services organization based in Maryland, said Monday in an interview with CNBC that she was laid off as part of the nonprofit’s effort to cut expenses.

“I want to focus on the positive and be optimistic,” said Hart, who lives in Upper Marlboro, Md. “And assume that somehow things will work out, that there’s an opportunity out there with Velma’s name on it that’s right around the corner.”

Am Vets executive director Jim King told The Washington Post that the nonprofit was looking for ways to survive financially.

“It’s not anything she did,” King told the Post for a story that appeared online Monday. “She got bit by the same snake that has bit a lot of people. It was a move to cut our bottom line.”

In September, during a town hall-style meeting on the economy televised by CNBC, Hart told Obama: “Quite frankly, I’m exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the man for change I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now.”

Hart said that the recession had taken an enormous toll on her family and left her and her husband worried about their finances. “And quite frankly, Mr. President, I need you to answer honestly,” she said, “Is this my new reality?”

Obama responded, in part: “As I said before, times are tough for everybody right now. So I understand your frustration.” He went on to cite examples of administration policies that he argued were helping families cope financially.Hart told CNBC that she still supports Obama and noted that the economy is improving, though she finds the prospect of unemployment “scary.”

Not only is Sarah Palin considering a run for president in 2012, she’s confident she can win.

The former Alaska governor told ABC News’  Barbara Walters for a profile airing next month that she’s trying to determine whether throwing her hat into the ring is a “good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family.”

The 2008 vice presidential nominee also told The New York Times for a profile running in this weekend’s magazine that she’s “engaged in the internal deliberations” of mounting a campaign.

“If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?” asked Walters.

“I believe so,” Palin responded. The interview will air Dec. 9.

Palin told the Times that her biggest job would be to prove her record to voters.

“That’s the most frustrating thing for me — the warped and perverted description of my record and what I’ve accomplished over the last two decades,” Palin said. “It’s been much more perplexing to me than where the lamestream media has wanted to go about my personal life. And other candidates haven’t faced these criticisms the way I have.”

A Gallup survey released last week found Palin might have a good chance of capturing the GOP nomination in 2012: fully 80 percent of Republicans polled had a positive opinion of her. But the poll showed she might have a harder time in the general election. Fully 81 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of independents viewed her unfavorably — while fewer than four in 10 viewed her favorably.

Declaring that “Indonesia is part of me,” President Barack Obama issued a strikingly personal appeal to the Muslim world to join the West in an unrelenting battle to defeat al-Qaida and violent extremism.

After his speech in Jakarta, Obama flew to South Korea and a meeting of the Group of 20 major economic powers in Seoul.

In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, a place where he spent several years as a boy, Obama on Wednesday acknowledged the fraying that remains in U.S.-Islamic relations despite his best efforts at repair. He urged both sides to look beyond “suspicion and mistrust” to forge common ground against terrorism.

Obama praised this nation of islands for progress in rooting out terrorists and combatting violent extremism, and he resurrected a theme he sounded last year during visits to Turkey and Egypt: “I have made it clear that America is not and never will be at war with Islam. … Those who want to build must not cede ground to terrorists who seek to destroy.”

Returning to Indonesia for the first time since 1992, Obama beamed with obvious pride as he delivered what perhaps was the most deeply personal speech of his presidency, including many phrases and words in Indonesian.

“Let me begin with a simple statement: Indonesia is part of me,” he said in the language, cheering the audience of more than 6,000 mostly young people at the University of Indonesia.

At the G-20 summit in Seoul, Obama will find himself on the defensive because of plans by the Federal Reserve to buy $600 billion in long-term government bonds to try to drive down interest rates, spur lending and boost a slow-growing U.S. economy.

Obama has defended the move, which has triggered alarm among leaders from Berlin to Beijing. Critics say the result of the Fed’s action is that American goods will benefit from an unfair competitive edge in world markets.

In his university speech, Obama said he learned to appreciate the “humanity of all” people during the time he spent in Indonesia, with its thousands of islands, hundreds of languages and people from many different regions and ethnic groups.

His brief but nostalgic visit lent an unusually personal touch to the speech, portions of which were devoted to his childhood here. Obama reminisced about living in a small house with a mango tree out front, and learning to love Indonesia while flying kites, running along paddy fields, catching dragonflies and buying food from street vendors.

He also spoke of running in fields with water buffalo and goats, and of the birth of his half-Indonesian sister, Maya.

Obama, a Christian who was born in Hawaii, moved to Indonesia as a 6-year-old and lived with his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, and Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro. He attended public and Catholic schools while in Indonesia and returned to Hawaii when he was 10 to live with his grandparents. Obama took care in his remarks to note that he is Christian; back home in the U.S., he continues to fight erroneous perceptions that he is Muslim.

Obama occasionally studied the Quran and visited a local mosque when he lived here. But he spent hardly any time in the speech discussing Islam or his religious background, except to describe Islam as a “great world religion.”

The president’s homecoming had been twice-delayed – first because of the congressional battle over health care and then because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This trip was to be cut short, too, so Air Force One could depart ahead of a big ash cloud from the erupting Indonesian volcano Mount Merapi.

Reaching out to the Islamic world, Obama said efforts to build trust and peace are showing promise but remain incomplete.

He said both sides can choose to either “be defined by our differences and give in to a future of suspicion and mistrust” or “do the hard work of forging common ground and commit ourselves to the steady pursuit of progress.”

On the Middle East, Obama noted the “false starts and setbacks” in getting the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians back on course. But he said the U.S. will “spare no effort in working for the outcome that is just and that is in the interest of all the parties involved: two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.”

A reminder of that difficult road awaited Obama when he landed in Indonesia on Tuesday. Israel’s decision to build more apartments in east Jerusalem, a disputed territory claimed by Palestinians, had already earned a rebuke from American diplomats before a tired, traveling president weighed in at a news conference with Indonesia’s president.

“This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations,” Obama said alongside President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. “I’m concerned that we’re not seeing each side make the extra effort involved to get a breakthrough. … Each of these incremental steps can end up breaking down trust.”

President Obama said Monday that India should rise to the status of holding a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, a dramatic show of respect to the powerful nation he hopes will play a key role in support of U.S. interests around the world.

But the stature would come with a price, Obama told members of parliament, exhorting them to join with the international community in difficult fights ahead.

“Let me suggest that with increased power comes increased responsibility,” Obama said in an evening address here. The U.N. exists to preserve peace and security and advance human rights, he said, which the responsibilities of all nations “but especially those that seek to lead in the 21st century.”

The pledge is only a step in direction of new international stature for India. The nation likely won’t attain permanent council status anytime soon, and the U.S. is backing its addition only as part of a series of council reforms that could be years in the making.

Still, the promise fulfills India’s top priority on the agenda of Obama’s visit, a three-day series of meetings to build what the White House is now calling an “indispensable partnership.”

In his final scheduled day in the country, Obama met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to craft the broad outlines of that partnership, agreeing to collaborate anew in the effort to root out terrorists, reform export controls and combat hunger. The talks touched on sensitive subjects, as Obama unveiled for Singh the findings of a new report on the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and what the U.S. knew in advance about the American collaborator David Headley.

The report, due to be released publicly as early as Monday, shows that American intelligence community had picked up general suspicions about Headley but that the information didn’t point to a specific plot in the works, administration officials said.