President Obama will have a full plate this Thanksgiving holiday -- with crucial domestic and foreign policy issues on the menu. On Saturday the democratic-led Senate will hold a test vote on a massive health care bill that is expected to be determined along party lines.  The vote will be an indication as to how quickly the Senate can pass reform, which has been the president's top domestic policy along with getting the economy back on track.

On the international front, a decision on Afghanistan is looming.  The president is expected over the next several weeks to announce whether he'll send more troops to the region.  White House officials have confirmed that Mr. Obama won't take any of the current options offered to him.  Instead he's seeking clarification on how long U.S. troops would stay in the country and how much responsibility the Afghan government will assume in the near future.

Mr. Obama's week will also include his first state dinner, where he'll host Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The event usually consists of high-profile guests including lobbyists, dignitaries, lawmakers, and celebrities.  Though the White House has remained mum on the details, a large tent is currently being constructed on the South Lawn to accomodate the hundreds of guests expected.

Before leaving Seoul, the White House organized a quick trip to Panmunjom, the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone, otherwise known as the DMZ.

We journeyed by bus out of the bustling, traffic-snarled capital northward on a highway called Unification Road, the first of many indications of how deeply South Korea seeks to end the nearly 60-year reign of silent tension and alienation with and from the North. The drive took just under 90 minutes.

Traveling by bus to the DMZ, passing rice paddies (All photos: courtesy of Major Garrett)

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The White House has posted some new photos of the President's trip to Asia....check them out here..

The President 's motorcade makes its way through the mountains en route to the Great Wall of China outside of Beijing. November 18, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

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There are no public events at the White House today...

The President returned from his Asia trip last night and he's got nothing on the schedule today...

As his administration aims to move thaw U.S.-Cuban relations, President Barack Obama took some time to respond to questions posed to him by a young Cuban  blogger.

Yoani Sanchez , whose blog 'Generation Y' is distributed through the website 'DesdeCuba.com', (From Cuba.com), explains that she wanted to ask the U.S. president about issues that keep her up at night.

According to the site, DesdeCuba.com is an "exercise in citizen journalism."  The site aims to "give visibility to opinions that are not found in the official Cuban media or other publications restricted by political requirements."

The site is blocked in Cuba for being anti-government.

Sanchez also wanted to know "how the [US-Cuban] dispute is going to play out, when it will cease to be the central theme in every aspect of [Cubans'] lives." 

So she came up with a list of seven questions for the U.S President, and waited for months as she tried to get her questionnaire to the White House.

(1) For years Cuba has been a U.S. foreign policy issue as well as a domestic one, in particular because of the large Cuban American community. From your perspective, in which of the two categories should the Cuban issue fit?

(2) Should your administration be willing to put an end to this dispute, would it recognize the legitimacy of the Raul Castro government as the only valid interlocutor in the eventual talks?

(3) Has the U.S. government renounced the use of military force as a way to end the dispute?

(4) Raúl Castro has said publicly that he is open to discuss any topic with the U.S. provided there is mutual respect and a level playing field. Is Raúl asking too much?

(5) In a hypothetical U.S.- Cuba dialog, would you entertain participation from the Cuban exile community, the Cuba-based opposition groups and nascent Cuban civil society groups?

(6) You strongly support the development of new communication and information technologies. But, Cubans continue to have limited access to the internet. How much of this is due to the U.S. embargo and how much of it is the responsibility of the Cuban government?

(7)Would you be willing to travel to our country?

 Thursday she posted the answers she received from Mr. Obama.   Keep reading to see his responses.   (Sanchez also submitted a questionnaire to Cuban President Raul Castro, no word back from him yet though.)

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            He’s been to some twenty countries so far in his first year in office, but for President Obama, the welcome he received in Seoul, South Korea Thursday was particularly colorful. He mentioned it two separate times to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, noting, "I have to say that the arrival ceremony for our state visit was as spectacular as any that we've seen."

            Take look for yourself…

It was clear there was warmth between President Obama and President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea when the two met in Seoul Thursday. But if there was any doubt, the two laid that to rest when they hugged at the end of their joint press conference. It’s not clear who initiated it, but it didn’t seem to be a problem for either side. Take a look:

Presidents Obama and Lee shake hands after press conference in Seoul, South Korea (AP Photo)

President Obama and President Lee in an embrace in Seoul Thursday (AP Photo)

There’s a lot of back-slapping and hand-shaking at these types of events, but the full-on embrace is rare. I guess that’s what you call direct diplomacy.  

Traveling with the President can be hectic for the press corps. Before you go on any international trip, there are a series of vaccines and medications you may need to get in preparation for that particular country’s health hazards. But it’s a different situation when you become the health hazard. That’s what happened to the traveling press pool, who closely follow President Obama wherever he goes, on Thursday in South Korea.

It all took place just before the press left their hotel for the Blue House (the Presidential compound) in Seoul, South Korea, where Mr. Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held meetings and a press conference.

The press who attended these events was first made to get their temperature taken, in the event that they had some sort of fever, which could make the South Korean President sick. There was no indication that any of the press was in fact sick, but due to the high temperature of the van they had been traveling in, some in the press were concerned they wouldn’t pass muster.

So what did they do? Took off their jackets and stood outside in the frigid 37 degree Seoul air.

In the end, however, none of this mattered. The electronic thermometer the South Koreans were using apparently malfunctioned. Thinking it was a battery issue, a US sound technician offered up another. Still nothing.

The whole thing was then called off and the press was allowed to enter the building and do their jobs. One South Korean official jokingly concluded that the thermometer must have been made in China.

   President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told their respective citizens at a press conference in Seoul Thursday that there's nothing to fear in a US-Korea Free Trade Agreement beyond improved relations and economic conditions.

GARRETT: Mr. President the Fox News Channel is very happy to see you.

OBAMA: Good to see you

 GARRET: And on behalf of the news channel, let me wish you, Michelle, Sasha and Malia a very happy and joyous 2009 holiday season.

OBAMA: That's so nice, I appreciate it, to the Fox family let me say the same.

GARRETT: Very good. Ah, we have a lot of ground to cover, kind of a lightening round nature to this, I’ll have short questions, indulge yourself if you will in short answers. A couple on health care. 

Dick Durbin said the new deadline for signing legislation is now State of the Union. Why is that delay acceptable to you? And how upset are you about it?

OBAMA: You know, I want this done as soon as possible; and, I think the American people do. We've had a long debate, but, you know, there's a reason why Health Care hasn't been reformed in forty, fifty, seventy years. It is a big, complicated piece of business. And frankly, Congress is not accustomed lately to doing big complicated pieces of business like this. Keep Reading ...