Sunday Morning "Talking Heads" Guests 4-19-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

The economy and foreign policy continued to be the focus of the Obama administration this past week. President Obama gave a speech at Georgetown University early in the week discussing the current state of the economy. It was well received and he did a good job describing the reasons why the government was spending money at the rate it is and why leading economists feel it is necessary to help get the country out of the severe recession. The Dow Jones closed above 8000 for the second week in a row and closed at 8,131.33.

Meanwhile, the Republicans tried to make hay on April 15 (tax day) as they held coordinated "tea parties" across the country. While they appeared to have good attendance, a CNN/Opinion Research poll indicated 60% of Americans approve of the actions being taken by the Obama administration in regard to the economy and only 24% felt Republicans had a plan to fix the economy. Also raining on their parade is the fact 95% of Americans will be receiving a tax cut from the proposed Obama budget for fiscal year 2010.

Interestingly, not only did the "laizze faire" approach by the George W. Bush administration to the financial sector over eight years fuel the current recession, the national debt and annual deficit spending more than doubled. Expect discussion on this as even the Republican Governor Rick Perry of Texas was trying to woo the right wing nuts with threats of succession from the Union - huh?

On the foreign policy front, President Obama had a very strong and positive moment when he authorized the use of force in freeing the American Captain held captive by Somalian pirates.

Strong signals were also sent to Iran the U.S. was ready to drop the long standing insistence they shut down their nuclear facilities prior to discussions taking place. Over in Pakistan, Envoy Richard Holbrooke indicated the U.S.would be providing 1 billion in aid.

At the end of the week, President Obama met with President Calderon of Mexico to discuss ways to help in battling the drug cartels and how to secure the border. Homeland security Secretary Napolitano announced the hiring of a "border czar".

Obama was then off to Trinidad for the Summit of Americas where global warming, trade and of course, the economy will be discussed. Cuba will be a focus as many want the U.S. to drop the 50 year restrictions that are in place today.

Expect all of the above to be discussed along with the release of White House memos from the George W. Bush administration that provided justification for the use of extreme interrogation techniques.

Below is a list of the morning "Talking Heads" and their scheduled guests. Remember to check your local listings for time and channel.

NBC "Meet The Press" - David Gregory will interview Dr. Lawrence Summers, Director National Economic Council. The roundtable will include Harold Ford, Nina Easton, Dick Armey, Steven Pearstein, and Rick Stengel.

ABC "This Week" - George Stephanopoulos scores big with Rahm Emanuel, White house Chief of Staff. Also appearing will be House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Oh.). The roundtable discussion will include Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts, Peggy Noonan, and George Will.

CBS "Face The Nation" - Bob Schieffer has Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod, Governor Ed Rendell (D-Pa.) and Wayne La Pierre, V.P. of the NRA.

Fox News Sunday - Chris Wallace will have CIA Director Michael Hayden along with Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

CNN "State of The Union" - John King has Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, NY Governor David Patterson, and Senators Amy Klobucher (D-Mn.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.).

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