Medicare, G8 and the Arab Spring; Dismal First Quarter Numbers

Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, faced some setbacks this week in his proposed Medicare plan. The Senate voted down the GOP plan, and in New York's conservative 26th Congressional District, a Democrat won in a special election, where Medicare was a core issue to voters. Has the GOP learned that it needs to be better at defending its plan? Are there major restructuring efforts in the works in the months ahead? Also, leaders of the Group of 8 meeting in France this week pledged nearly $20 billion to Egypt and Tunisia in an effort to bolster pro-democracy movements there -- money well spent? Our panel weighs in. Finally, this week the Commerce Department estimated that the economy grew at an annual rate of 1.8 percent between January and March, growth that was called weak and disappointing by most analysts. Our panel discusses why the economy isn't growing at the rate many expect it should be. (Guest panelist Chrystia Freeland sits in for Arianna Huffington.)

Banner image: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) (2nd L) holds a news conference with (L-R) Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) to announce the Republican's 'pro-growth job creation agenda' at the US Capitol May 26, 2011 in Washington, DC. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images