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Has Obama Taken a Combative New Turn?
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Has Obama Taken a Combative New Turn?

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With a veto threat and new challenges to Republicans, President Obama has switched from reasoned compromise to partisan confrontation. What does it mean for this year's legislation and next year's campaign? How does it look to Ron Suskind, author of the latest White House expose? Also, Afghanistan's peace talks are dealt a blow, and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is officially over, but life in the military still won't be easy for gays and lesbians

Banner image: President Barack Obama makes a statement about his proposed federal deficit reduction plan in the Rose Garden at the White House September 19, 2011 in Washington, DC. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Making News

Afghanistan's Peace Talks Dealt a Blow ()

The former President of Afghanistan was assassinated by a suicide bomber today at his home in Kabul. Burhanuddin Rabbani was leading the effort to start negotiations between the Karzai government and the Taliban. Laura King is reporting from Kabul for the Los Angeles Times.

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Main Topic

Is There a New Man in the White House? ()

"Scrappy," "combative," and "confrontational" are words being applied to Barack Obama after yesterday's speech on reducing the deficit. He's no more the compromiser seeking a "grand bargain," with new proposals that are "the mirror image of the priorities espoused by House Republicans." The Obama White House says, "It's fair to say we've entered a new phase." We hear how his strategy has changed, how both parties are reacting on Capitol Hill and how next year's re-election campaign might be affected. We talk with author Ron Suskind, whose latest book reports that Obama's top advisors ignored him and took over the White House during his first two years.

 



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Reporter's Notebook

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Gone, but Inequalities Remain ()

Almost 18 years after President Clinton signed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" into law, the Pentagon today formally repealed the ban on gays and lesbians in uniform. In Vermont, one Navy Lieutenant immediately married his long-time partner. Will they get the same rights as heterosexual married couples? Federal law still says only a man and a woman can be legally married. Clarke Cooper is Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group that filed one of many lawsuits against Don't Ask, Don't Tell. A Captain in the Army Reserves, he served as a diplomat during the most recent Bush Administration.

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