Barack Obama, Back on the Road

Making News

US General Says Iraq Needs More Time ()

US military leaders in Iraq have long warned that President Obama's promise to withdraw in 16 months may be optimistic. A recent interview with London's Financial Times may be the beginning of a public campaign, as Demetri Sevastopulo reports from the Pentagon. 

Guests:

• Demetri Sevastopulo: Pentagon Correspondent, Financial Times

Main Topic

Barack Obama, Back on the Road ()

Signed into law today, the $789 stimulus package is the biggest thing of its kind since the Great Depression. Passed in three weeks with help from just three Republicans, President Obama is gambling that it will work. The GOP's gambling that it won't and that Obama will take the blame. Outside the Beltway, Obama wins two-to-one in the polls. This week in Denver and Phoenix, he'll talk jobs and once again dramatize his grass roots appeal. Is bipartisanship an illusion?  Will Obama transform governance into a permanent campaign?

Guests:

• Michael Shear: National Political Reporter, Washington Post, @shearm
• Jacob Heilbrunn: Senior Editor, National Interest
• Byron York: Chief Political Correspondent, Washington Examiner, @ByronYork
• Frank Newport: Editor in Chief, Gallup Poll, @galluppoll
• Jay Cost: Creator, HorseRaceBlog, @jaycosttws

Links:

• York's article on Obama's showmanship, transparency
• Gallup Poll on Congress' approval rating
• Cost's post on partisanship

Reporter's Notebook

California to Lay Off 20,000 State Workers ()

California, the Golden State with the world's eighth largest economy, faces a $42 billion deficit in the next 18 months and is about to run out of money. Democrats have the majority in the Assembly and Senate, but they lack the two-thirds of both houses required to pass a budget. After months of concessions and compromises, the measure has been short of one Republican vote for the past three days. Jordan Rau covers Sacramento for the Los Angeles Times.

Guests:

• Jordan Rau: Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times

Links:

• Schwarzenegger Administration officials on job loss in face of budget stalemate