How surprised are Democrats that Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter is leaving the GOP and becoming one of them? Would Specter have made this move if he wasn’t facing a Republican primary defeat? How are other potential Democratic candidates dealing with this surprise? Is he well enough for another six-year term? We ask Michael Lewan, longtime Democratic activist and strategist. He is the former chief of staff to Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.
We have Monday’s top news… What is the latest on the swine flu outbreak in Mexico? How many are infected in the U.S? What is the government response? What could be the impact on the global economy? What grade is Obama’s own press secretary giving the administration over its first 100 days? Why is the latest downsizing move from General Motors confusing a lot of people? And what is the latest news for Chrysler? We have the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Monday, April 27, 2009.
On Monday, the first so-called gay marriage was performed in Iowa. It follows a decision from the Iowa Supreme Court a few weeks ago declaring the traditional definition of marriage unconstitutional. So what is the impact of this in Iowa and around the nation? Why is the lack of a residency requirement for marriage a huge problem for other states? Are state lawmakers showing any inclination to impose residency requirements or start the process towards a state constitutional amendment on marriage? And what will be the political impact of all this? We as Iowa Rep. Steve King, a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
General Motors and Chrysler are working furiously to meet government demands and deadlines in order to avoid entering the bankruptcy process. Why are they so intent on avoiding bankruptcy at all costs? What would the process look like? Where would the automakers be right now if they had entered bankruptcy six months ago instead of coming to grovel here in Washington? And is it more or less intrusive to respond to every government demand than to take orders from a bankruptcy court? We ask Olivier Garret or Casey Research.
Over the past few days, media coverage has centered around the outbreak of the swine flu in Mexico. What should we make of the amount of coverage? What has the tone been like? What is the media track record when it comes to outbreaks of the flu? What lessons should they keep in mind while all of this plays out? We ask Dan Gainor, vice president of the Media Research Center’s Business and Media Institute.
The U.S. is awash in red ink, and for the rest of Fiscal Year 2009, the government is spending money it doesn’t have. Where does Debt Day 2009 stack up in history? Where will it fall in the coming years? Is President Obama to be believed when he says we need to spend a lot of money in areas like health care, energy reform and education in order to save money in the long run? What ere the Republican alternatives on these major issues? And is a focus on tax relief the best medicine for our economy – or just tired old ideas that led us into the current mess? We ask Georgia Rep. Tom Price, chairman of the Republican Study Committee.
We have Friday’s top news… What’s coming next in the CIA interrogation controversy? What did Al Gore and Newt Gingrich have to say about the new cap and trade bill that many call a massive energy tax? What are Democrats doing to assure passage of their version of health care reform? What is President Obama proposing in order to make college more affordable? What line of vehicles is General Motors about to end? What is Chrysler saying about the possibility of bankruptcy? And what happened on Wall Street Friday? We have the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Friday, April 24, 2009.
Did President Obama help the nation move past the controversy over interrogations or just fan the flames by releasing the CIA memos? Just how extreme were the techniques? Does it matter that we subject our own soldiers to waterboarding, sleep deprivation and forced positions? Is Nancy Pelosi credible when she says the intelligence committees were never told about waterboarding and the other tactics? Should Obama release hundreds of pictures of the interrogations? What is the impact of all this on our intelligence workers and military interrogators?
President Obama has been in office less than 100 days, but that’s not stopping the Capitol Steps from looking back at the 2008 campaign and the impact of Sarah Palin. Or are they looking ahead to 2012? Listen here for the Steps song “Neiman Is A Girl’s Best Friend”. Guest is Steps star and co-founder Elaina Newport.
As the Maersk Alabama drama played out off the coast of Somalia earlier this month, President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and others discussed the need to confront and eliminate the threat of piracy off the horn of Africa. So why are shipping and insurance companies strongly opposed to this sort of confrontation? Why are they skeptical that such an approach would be effective? And why do they fear more for their crews if the situation does escalate? We ask Mark Hosenball, investigative correspondent for Newsweek magazine.
