Rice University
Professor of History at Rice University and author of The Quiet World: Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom, The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War and The Nixon Tapes: 1971-1972
President Obama Says, "I'm Not Done" With Republicans controlling the Senate as well as the House, the President will tour the country this week, taking credit for economic improvement. He’ll preview themes from his State of the Union speech in an all-out effort to resist becoming a lame duck during his last two years in office. We hear what he has to boast about and look at the unfinished business he may try to accomplish -- on Capitol Hill or, more likely, by “executive action.” How does he look compared to past presidents as their terms in the White House were beginning to run out?
The President's Speech and the Politics of Tragedy In last night's memorial service in Tucson, President Obama began with touching stories about the dead, the wounded and the first responders, apparently learned in telephone calls during the past few days. He addressed the question of what caused the killings and woundings that shattered what he called "a quintessentially American scene."
The President, the Republicans and the Rhetoric President Obama took the high road at last night's memorial service in Tucson, asking Americans not to use "tragedy to turn on one another." At a time, he said, when political discourse is "sharply polarized," we should talk "in a way that heals, not a way that wounds." Republicans are now on a closed-door retreat, talking about the business of trashing healthcare reform under heavy pressure from Tea Party supporters. Did Obama meet the challenge a president faces in troubled times? Will politicians and pundits tone down the rhetoric?
The State of the Union: 'We Don't Quit...I Don't Quit' Barack Obama's first State of the Union address touched on many subjects in more than an hour of prime time TV. But the principal focus was the economy. President Obama conceded that he made mistakes in his first year in office, but said most of his problems were beyond his control. He promised to create jobs, curtail spending and work for economic recovery in the long term. He still wants comprehensive healthcare reform, and he criticized Democrats as well as Republicans for partisanship on Capitol Hill. Did he rally his base? Reach out to Conservatives? Did he get Independents to lean his way again?
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.