George Wenschhof Bio
The economy will continue to be the focus of discussion by pundits this coming Sunday morning. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will appear on "Meet The Press" and "This Week". Perhaps Mr. Geithner feels buoyed by the third straight week of gains on the Dow Jones. This is the first time that has happened in almost a year.
Geithner is not exactly a good front man so we will all get to see how he does explaining his latest public-private partnership plan to rid banks of their toxic assets. In addition, he will be asked about his request from Congress of new regulations on financial institutions.
On Monday, the president's auto industry task force will be announcing their recommendations to the automakers on how to restructure their companies. These changes will be monitored and tied to the receipt of the additional 22 billion that has been requested by GM and Chrysler. Let's see if anyone brings this up for discussion.
The president appears on "Face The Nation" so expect him to receive the same financial questions as Mr. Geithner. Another subject that will receive attention Sunday morning is the war in Afghanistan. President Obama announced an additional 4000 troops to be deployed and 1.5 billion in yearly aid to Pakistan for the next five years. It will be interesting to see if the president receives tough questions regarding sending this amount of aid to the unstable government in Pakistan. Getting the U.S. out of Iraq and into a quagmire in Afghanistan also deserves tough questions.
Perhaps, that is why Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be appearing on "Fox News Sunday" and General Petraeus and U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke will appear on "State of The Union".
As always, remember to check your local listings for time and channel. Below is a list of the guests appearing on the Sunday Morning "Talking Heads". Tune in and enjoy.
NBC "Meet The Press" - David Gregory will interview Senator John McCain (R-Az.) and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
ABC "This Week" - George Stephanopoulos also interviews Timothy Geithner. The roundtable will include Matthew Dowd, Paul Krugman, George Will, and Cokie Roberts.
CBS "Face The Nation" - Bob Schieffer will lead the ratings this Sunday morning as his guest is President Barack Obama.
Fox News Sunday - Chris Wallace will interview Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
CNN "State of The Union" - John King lands General David Petraeus and Richard Holbrooke who is the U.S. special envoy for Afganistan and Pakistan. Also appearing will be Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Representative John Spratt (D-SC) is also on the show.
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Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sunday Morning "Talking Heads" Guests for 3-29-2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Democratic Chatter 3-26-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
Today, President Barack Obama will answer questions from you - in a online town hall meeting, the president will answer questions on the economy that were previously submitted online beginning at 11:30 AM ET. WhiteHouse.gov will have his answers here.
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5.5 million receiving unemployment - the figures were up slightly from the previous report from the Labor Department. The Commerce Department also released the year end report for 2008 which showed what everyone already knew - the economy had shrank 6.3%. You can read more here. Pay attention to the unemployment claims as we are heading into a traditional seasonal employment gain period. A bad sign would be continued rising unemployment claims.
Meanwhile, unless the Dow Jones tanks big time today and tomorrow, this will mark the third straight week in gains. Too early to get excited and it is still at 50% of it's high mark. However, this is a good sign.
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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will appear before Congress today - he will be proposing new regulatory measures needed to prevent future financial collapses. The president alluded to this in his address to the nation Tuesday night. CNN.com has some of the details here. Expect financial institutions, such as A.I.G., to fall under regulatory control similar to banks. They are presently outside of the system. Also expect some talk about the size of Banks. Remember the breakup of monopolies after the "Great Depression"? The U.S. financial system should not be put in a situation where a Bank is too big to fail.
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Obama's Budget voted out of House committee - it will go to the full House for consideration next week. Minor changes were made, but the budget still equals 3.45 trillion. The vote was 24-15 with all the Democrats voting in favor and all the Republicans on the committee voting against the budget. TheHill.com has more here.
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Chrysler and GM ask for additional Billions - the auto Industry Task force established by President Obama is set to provide an additional 22 Billion to the auto makers. Also expected are some guidelines and a timeline for those changes to be made. The Obama administration does not want to see them enter into bankruptcy. MSNBC.com has more here.
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Senate votes not there to pass Emplyee Free Choice Act - it is becoming increasingly likely the bill will not be presented for a vote until after the 2010 midterm elections. The bill which would make it easier for workers to form unions does not have the 60 votes needed in the Senate to prevent a filibuster. Senator Arlen Specter(R-Pa.) who is facing a tough reelection campaign has already signaled his opposition to the bill. Politico.com has more here.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
Democratic Chatter 3-23-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama returns to the White House from Camp David this morning - later the president will discuss the energy independence part of his proposed budget. Increased funds will be provided for clean energy technologies. Tomorrow night at 8:00 PM ET, the president will address the nation during prime time. He is expected to address the A.I.G. bonuses and efforts being made to correct the dismal economy. Time.com has more here.
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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announces the latest bailout plan for Banks - this has been talked about for some time but the details were lacking on this proposed public-private partnership to purchase up to 1 trillion of troubled mortgages and related assets of banks. CNN.com has more here. Initially the Treasury would buy between 75-100 billion of bad debt and then auction the debt securities to the private sector. There is already hesitancy from the private sector due to the government attempting to limit executive pay so don't expect the private sector to be lining up to buy these bad debt securities.
Geithner has an Op-Ed which appeared in the Wall Street Journal today describing this program and the efforts to date of the Obama administration to stem the financial crisis. You can read his Op-Ed column here.
Perhaps the Obama administration has finally realized Geithner is not a good public relations man - Dr. Christina Romer, chair of the White House council of economic advisers is the one appearing on TV early today to push the program.
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Wall Street reacts favorably to Geithner's plan - at least for this morning. The Dow Jones is up 150 points after stocks in Asia and Europe gained on news of the latest U.S. government plan to aid troubled banks. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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For those of you who are MSNBC junkies - Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman have signed contracts through the 2012 campaign - this will ensure loyal viewers these political pundits will be discussing the first term of the Obama administration and the 2012 election. Politico.com has more here.
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On the foreign policy front, Obama spoke yesterday on "Sixty Minutes" of the need for a comprehensive strategy and exit plan for Afghanistan - he spoke of the need to improve the economy, further diplomacy with Pakistan and increase regional assistance in the effort. The exit strategy is important as this was absent in the planning when George W. Bush administration sent U.S. troops into Iraq. MSNBC.com has more here.
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Sunday, March 15, 2009
Democratic Chatter 3-15-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
Tomorrow, President Barack Obama will announce steps being taken to help small business - He will discuss measures being taken to provide billions in lending aid to small business owners. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner back from a meeting with the G-20 nations will also be present. Small business has long been recognized as generating employment opportunities across the country. You can read more here.
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Yesterday, President Obama tells China and other countries that investments in U.S. debt are sound - this came during a press conference following a meeting with the President of Brazil, Ignacio Lula da Silva. The Chinese have 1 trillion invested in U.S. Treasury notes. TheHill.com has more here.
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Wow! AIG to pay 165 million in bonuses after receiving 170 billion in bail out funds - American voters will be outraged when they hear this. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reportedly demanded the bonuses not be paid but lawyers for American International Group said they were obligated to pay them. How does a company pay bonuses in this situation? More importantly, should the government continue to provide funds to AIG? The NY Times has more here.
CNN is reporting this morning that AIG CEO Edward Liddy sent a letter to Geithner yesterday pledging a reduction in bonuses by 30%. The question remains how do you pay millions of bonuses to employees of a company on the verge of collapse?
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Left leaning groups coming together to form Unity '09 - reportedly many left leaning groups are coming together to promote positions on issues. Groups, such as MoveOn.org, American Civil Liberties Union, Panned Parenthood and others are involved. Aarin Pickrell a senior aide in the Obama campaign is said to be heading the day to day activities. Politico.com has more here.
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On the foreign policy front, keep an eye on Pakistan where police are battling protesters - fueled by a continuing rift between rivals Nawaz Sharif and President Asif ali Zardari. Sharif lost to Zardari in recent elections and the two have been unable to reach a power sharing agreement in this nuclear armed nation. The stability of Pakistan is imperative in the success of the U.S. in regard to Afghanistan and the Taliban. Stay tuned. MSNBC.com has more here.
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