From CNN's Carol Costello and Bob Ruff
The word "czar" conjures up the image of one of those all-powerful rulers of Russia many centuries ago.
Think Ivan the Terrible. That's the 16th Century Prince of Moscow who turned Russia into a true nation-state. And as the "Terrible" suggests, this was not exactly one of your touchy-feely, sensitive tsars ("tsar" is the Russian spelling for czar).
So, what do we make of Barack Obama's "czars"?
First off all, there are 21 of them – and counting. No previous president comes close to matching that number.
There's a "czar" for Drugs, Energy, Auto Recovery, the Great Lakes, Borders, Information, Stimulus Accountability, Urban Affairs...
You get the picture.
Some people don't like it. They think the president is circumventing the Congress by naming special assistants who don't need Senate approval because they work directly for him.
Here are the big stories on the agenda today: