New America Foundation
Michael Lind is a co-founder of New America (formerly the New American Foundation) and the author of the The American Way of Strategy: US Foreign Policy and the American Way of Life and Land of Promise: An Economic History of the United States. He is a former columnist for Salon and a former research assistant to William F. Buckley.
Kathleen Sebelius on the Hot Seat, Obamacare under Fire President Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services was grilled for more than three hours today on Capitol Hill. Kathleen Sebelius apologized to the American people and vowed to solve the problems of Healthcare.gov -- but Republicans were not cutting her any slack. She took responsibility for the "debacle," but said the Affordable Care Act will be good for America. We hear excerpts from the proceedings and look at charges and counter-charges about President Obama and his most-prized achievement. Has he told the whole truth? Are Republicans attacking a plan that's of their own making?
America's Economic Resilience Former chief executive Bill Clinton has been campaigning for current President Barack Obama, but Clinton’s latest comment on the economy might not help Obama in the November election. As bad news piles up, more and more people are taking a dim view of America’s economic prospects. Is it really that bad? We hear that there is another side to the story.
Is There Good News about the Economy? Former chief executive Bill Clinton has been campaigning for current President Barack Obama, but Clinton's latest comment on the economy might not help Obama in the November election. As if to prove the point, the Labor Department announced today that American productivity fell by 0.9 percent , slightly more than had been anticipated. Yet, despite high unemployment, low home sales, troubles in Europe and a drop in consumer confidence, the US economy still has strength and resilience. Some economists say the half-empty glass is also half full, as major corporations stop out-sourcing jobs and start bringing them back to America. That doesn't mean there won't be trouble ahead. Economics is still the "dismal science." We hear about some hopeful signs and the importance of government action.
'American Exceptionalism:' Myth or Reality? Almost since the revolution that created the United States, Americans have considered themselves as a nation apart. "American Exceptionalism" is now a standard theme for Democrats and Republicans. With economic and military expansion, world leadership has been seen as an obligation. But, for all its contributions to human progress, does the US really behave that much better than other nations? Are there dangers in that kind of thinking? Should the US recognize its weaknesses as well as its strengths or, if it focuses too much on past mistakes, will it fail to take the actions required for the future? We hear an argument crucial to the assumptions that dictate national policy. How does America look to the rest of the world?
Obama Takes Over America's TV's For 30 minutes of prime time on broadcast and cable outlets last night, Barack Obama made what was inevitably called the " closing argument " of his presidential campaign. It featured a retiree cheated out of his pension, an elderly couple faced with high medical bills, a widow concerned with her kids’ education and a couple looking at layoffs from a Ford automobile factory. Obama promised to help them all. What did it say about his view of the country and possible role in the White House? Michael Lind, senior fellow at the New America Foundation, is author of The American Way of Strategy .
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.