On Monday, President Bush met with the White House press corps for the last time – to reflect on the past eight years and to explain and defend his record. So what is the Bush legacy? What stands out about his record and the way he did his job? That’s what we ask Richard Benedetto, former White House Correspondent Richard Benedetto.
Israeli forces continue to pound away at targets inside Gaza. What has to be done to effectively cripple Hamas and its ability to launch rockets and plan other violence against Israel? Can Hamas be a part of a diplomatic dialogue for peace? And what will the Obama administration soon learn about dealing with the complexities of the Middle East? We ask retired U.S. Army Gen. Paul Vallely.
What is the latest on legislation that critics call “The Forced Choice Act” and would eliminate secret ballot elections for members of unions and install Washington bureaucrats to dictate the terms during any collective bargaining impasse? Why might this get delayed? And why is opposition quickly mounting? We ask Mark McKinnon, former chief media strategist for President Bush. He is now affiliated with the Workforce Fairness Institute.
We have Friday’s top news…What is the Bush administration saying about the latest developments in the fight between Israel and Hamas in Gaza? What are the December job numbers and how are Bush and Obama reacting? What was the impeachment vote against Rod Blagojevich in Illinois? What are state lawmakers and the governor saying in the wake of the results? And what happened on Wall Street on Friday? We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Friday, January 9, 2009.
Should the U.S. be demanding a cease-fire or supporting Israel’s right of self-defense? Is the Obama team correct in its plans to start a dialogue with Hamas? Is Obama on the right track with his economic stimulus package? What else should he consider? And what can be done to trim wasteful government spending? We ask South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committee.
What do Arabs see as the proper terms for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas? What about areas of compromise for long-term peace agreements? How can any common ground be found when the Palestinian factions can’t even agree with each other? We ask Laila Al-Qatami, Communications Director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
On Friday, the Illinois House of Representatives voted 114-1 to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Does this suggest his fate is sealed in the state senate or does he still have a chance at acquittal? What other issues are part of the impeachment besides his efforts to sell the Obama senate seat? How long will the trial last? And does the governor enjoy a small win as his pick to replace Obama seems to be on the brink of joining the U.S. Senate? We ask Bernie Schoenburg, political writer and columnist for the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois.
Would a suspension of legal immigration help Americans find work? How much of a difference would we see in the job pool? Is there any historical precedent for this? And how serious are we getting about stopping employers from rejecting illegal immigrants as employees? We ask Roy Beck, CEO and Founder of Numbers USA, which sent sent a letter to Barack Obama to ask for a suspension in legal immigration.
We have Thursday’s top news…Will we see a major escalation of the Middle East war? Why is the UN stopping humanitarian aid in Gaza? What clues is Barack Obama offering about his upcoming economic stimulus package? What are Republicans saying about the plan? And what happened on Wall Street today? We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Thursday, January 8, 2009.
On Thursday, at least three rockets struck northern Israel out Lebanon. No group is claiming responsibility, but are we about to witness a two-front war or could this just be an isolated incident? Is Israel crossing the line with the number of civilian casualties in Gaza or are the people being used as as cannon fodder by Hamas? How is the Israeli mindset different than it was in the war with Hezbollah back in 2006? And is the Bush administration too quiet during this crisis or striking the right posture? We ask retired U.S. Navy Captain Chuck Nash.
