Sunday Morning "Talking Heads" Guests 4-26-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama's first 100 days in office will likely be examined by the pundits Sunday morning as day 100 is the following Wednesday. It will tough on them to wait until the following Sunday!

As to the last week, talk of a "torture probe" intensified after the release by the CIA of memos which provided more detail surrounding the use of "harsh" Interrogation techniques during the former George W. Bush administration.

It now appears Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice approved the use of waterboarding on detainees as early as 2002 contingent on Justice Department legal review. Information detailing how some prisoners were waterboarded over 100 times in a single month has lead many to wonder how any reasonable person could conclude information obtained under these circumstances could be credible.

This has put President Obama in an awkward position as he has wanted to focus on moving forward and not getting caught up in a lengthy review and investigation of individuals from the Bush administration. However, Attorney General Eric Holder realizes he must follow up on information presented to him.

With thousands of prisoner abuse photos being released as a result of a ACLU lawsuit, expect the cry for further investigation to ratchet up even more. House Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) is in favor of further investigation and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is following the lead of the president.

The increased violence in Iraq as a result of suicide bombers will receive discussion along with the Islamic extremists in Pakistan posing a threat to the government in Pakistan. In the span of one day at the end of the week, 140 were killed and 240 wounded in Iraq as a result of suicide bombers. Over in nuclear armed Pakistan, the Taliban had control of the Buner district, only 60 miles from the capitol city of Islamabad.

On the domestic side, President Obama called for revisions of unreasonable credit card rates and fees to consumers. President Obama also called for Universities across the country to reduce their tuition fees as a College education is becoming unaffordable.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner began the review of the government stress tests with the largest 19 banks in the country at the end of the week so expect some of these reports to have leaked by Sunday morning. They are scheduled to be released to the public at the beginning of next week.

In the NY district 20 special election, Republican Jim Tedisco conceded on Friday. The unofficial lead by winner Democrat Scott Murphy was 399 votes. This effectively put a damper on any early jubilation by Republican leaders who had hope for a victory in a district with a majority of Republican registered voters.

Expect all of the above and more to be discussed this Sunday morning. As always, remember to check your locals listings for time and channel. The scheduled guests are as follows:

NBC "Meet The Press" - Dick Gregory will have Jordan King Abdullah II, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Doris Goodwin, and Jon Meachum.

ABC "This Week" - George Stephanopoulos will interview Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The roundtable discussion will include Donna Brazile, George Will, David Sanger, Chrystia Freeland, and Matthew Dowd.

CBS "Face The Nation" - Bob Schieffer will interview Senators John McCain (R-Az.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

Fox News Sunday - Chris Wallace will interview Lawrence Summers Director White House Economic Council. He will also have as guests, Senators Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

CNN "State of The Union" - John King will interview Valerie Jarrett, Senior White House Adviser. Also appearing will be Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calf.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

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