President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney present dueling speeches, but is being against torture a left-right issue? Is Obama using Bush language? Was he pressured into the speech by Democrats who voted against closing Gitmo? Is Cheney defending the people and policies of the Bush years or getting into politics again? Also, as the economy continues to slide, California suffers a severe budget crisis. What does the defeat of ballot measures to fix the budget mean? What happened to the state's once well funded education? Will California beg Washington for more money? How will this crisis affect public healthcare programs and public schools? What is the state's responsibility to plug it's own budget gaps? (Arianna Huffington is away.)
Banner image: Governor Schwarzenegger participates in a town hall meeting with Californians about the state's budget deficit.