On Tuesday, President Obama unveiled a revised nuclear policy – one focused on nuclear prevention and deterrence, vowing not to develop additional nukes and promising not to use a nuke on a non-nuclear nation. Is this tangible progress toward a nuke-free world or is Obama willingly weakening the U.S. and our allies? We ask Arizona Rep. Trent Franks, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Both Republicans and Democrats are getting ready for critical midterm elections coming up in November. Long before American voters head to the polls, Britain will hold key parliamentary elections – exactly one month from today. What are the key issues in the campaign? How important is the U.S.-British relationship as an issue? And where would President Obama and British Conservative Party leader David Cameron find common ground? We ask Amanda Bowman, CEO of Atlantic Bridge, which was founded by a Conservative member of parliament who may be the UK’s next defense secretary.
While the health care debate continues until the midterm elections and beyond, the next big issue on the Congressional agenda is reforming the nation’s financial regulatory system – an effort designed to prevent a Wall Street meltdown like we suffered in 2008. Democrats are pushing two different versions of this reform. What is the basic approach in these bills? How are they similar and how are they different? Why would the government be taking over bailing out more firms than ever? And why would a plan supposedly designed to benefit the consumer actually hurt us badly? We ask Georgia Rep. Tom Price, who also leads the coalition of House conservatives.
More trouble in the Middle East…Karzai threatens to join Taliban and accuse U.S. and partners of being occupiers, radical surging again in Pakistan, Iran defiant towards nuke-related sanctions while United Nations fails to schedule sanctions for security council debate this month. Obama takes part in two rites of Spring.
Dr. Walid Phares of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies discusses the suggestion by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that he might align with the Taliban. Why is Karzai saying this? And what does Dr. Phares believe is behind Iran’s increasingly defiant attitude regarding its nuclear program?
Over the weekend, we learned that longtime Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (who is almost 90 years old) plans to retire as soon as this summer. What should we make of his public desire to have President Obama name his successor? What is the legacy of Stevens on the high court? And what kind of fight can we expect over the next Obama nominee? We ask Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Diana Furchgott-Roth served as chief economist at the Department of Labor under President George W. Bush. She says the March jobs report shows a good month on the jobs front, but the real unemployment rate is now almost 17 percent. So is this the start of a turnaround or just a good month in a long, difficult stretch for the job market? How much is the census inflating the job numbers? And why will the many tax provisions in the new health care laws stifle job creation?
President Obama says he wants to expand offshore drilling in certain areas, so why is one of the chief proponents of drilling not celebrating? What does Rep. John Shadegg believe could derail new oil and gas exploration long before it ever starts? Does he have any proof this will happen? So why would his energy plan be any better?
Louisiana Sen. David Vitter is very skeptical about the president’s plan to allow more offshore drilling. Why does he think we will see little to no new drilling? What does he think the president is trying to accomplish through this? What can we expect from the Senate on energy legislation?
John Gizzi of Human Events reviews the week in politics. Why does he believe Obama’s effort to sell the health plan won’t dent the entrenched opposition to this massive plan? What major power does the government take away from states in the health plan? Are President Obama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy making any real progress on Iran? What has Obama really negotiated in the new START treaty with Russia? And who will win the rematch in this year’s Maryland governor’s race?
