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Closing Arguments: Bush "Drunk" Comments

July 23, 2008 10:56 PM

President Bush made some unguarded comments at a closed-door fundraiser in Houston last week about the state of the economy and Wall Street's roll in the current troubles. No press cameras were allowed, but the comments were captured on a personal video camera. And they have created quite a stir:

“Wall Street got drunk. That’s one of the reasons I asked you to turn off your TV cameras. It got drunk and now, it’s got a hangover. The question is how long will it sober up? And not try all these fancy financial instruments.”

Well, today the White House played it all down, saying that the remarks were consistent with what the President has said in the past, just more descriptive. So, what do you think about it all?  Did the President have a point?  Should the President be so candid? And what about the release of such a video when it was a closed-door event?

July 23, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (73) | TrackBack (0)

DC's Chancellor Rhee -- Taking No Prisoners

July 23, 2008 11:25 AM

Michelle Rhee has a very tough job – repairing the failed D.C. public school system, which has some of the lowest performing schools in the country despite spending more money per student than any other district nationwide.  Her methods have been controversial and her confidence, often seen as arrogance, has rubbed many the wrong way.

Watch this story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m.

Rhee's decision to take the chancellor job was a brave one.  Just 38 years old, Rhee is the youngest person to ever head the DC school system.  She has never been a school administrator before and her only teaching experience was for three years in a Baltimore elementary school.  Rhee, a Korean-American, has the additional challenge of being the first non-black chancellor in DC in 40 years. 

In her first year as chancellor, Rhee has started a revolution by closing 23 schools primarily because of under enrollment.  She has also made a slew of firings including 100 central office employees, two dozen principals, and 23 assistant principals.  She even fired the principal of her two daughters' elementary school.

Her take-no-prisoners approach has met with a lot of resistance from the Teachers Union and parents alike. A local Washington blog even superimposed Rhee's face over a photo of Donald Trump, the mogul now famous for his catchphrase, "You're fired!"

Maria Jones is one of dozens of parents who protested outside of Rhee's office earlier this year. "She has no academic plan," says Jones. "I can't see anything but cuts happening."

Rhee is nonplussed by the shouting and picket signs.  "This is not about being liked," she says.  The children are her focus. "We are going to totally transform this district and in doing so the learning outcomes and the life chances ... of every kid in this city."

Chancellor Rhee acknowledges change will not come overnight, but this year's standardized test scores are cause for optimism.   Preliminary results of the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS) released last week show gains in math and reading for both elementary and secondary schools. Washington's Mayor Adrian Fenty gives Rhee much of the credit for those improvements.

While there have been six different chancellors in the last 10 years, Rhee has vowed to see her reforms to the end. Rhee says it may take up to eight years to see a significant difference in student achievement, and she recently told the Washington Post that she plans to stay in her role for that long.

July 23, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Obama Overseas

July 18, 2008 10:15 PM

Senator Barack Obama heads overseas for his first trip as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president this weekend. He'll make stops in Europe and Israel and he's also expected to stop in Afghanistan and Iraq. What do you think about his trip? Is it all about politics and the potential PR value or could this trip begin to shape a new American foreign policy if he wins in November?

July 18, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (102) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Open Adoption Records?

July 17, 2008 11:23 PM

Of course, the issues around adoption are not just emotional and intensely personal, they are also legal. Adoption laws vary widely across the country. How easy or hard should it be for adopted people to seek out their biological origins?  Only seven states -- Maine will become the eighth in January -- currently have laws that make it simple to find out who one's biological parents are. In some places, it's as easy as filling out a form. Do you think other states should follow suit?  Or do you think such records should remain sealed, as they still are in many places? 

July 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (99) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Talking with the Enemy?

July 16, 2008 9:53 PM

The Bush administration announced today that it will send William Burns, a high-ranking diplomat, to meet with an Iranian negotiator this weekend in Geneva. It's part of discussions about halting Tehran's nuclear enrichment program and appears to be a change for the Bush administration, which once referred to Iran as part of the Axis of Evil. For two years, the Bush administration has stuck firmly to its policy of not directly engaging with Iran, unless enrichment ceases.

So is this a real change in policy for the Bush Administration? And should the American government be sitting down with the Iranian government?

July 16, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (13) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Politics of Fear

July 14, 2008 9:47 PM

At the heart of tonight's Closing Argument--a cartoon. But it's one many are not finding funny. The latest issue of "New Yorker" magazine has this drawing as its cover. Entitled " Politics of Fear" it has Barack Obama and his wife Michelle doing a fist tap in the Oval Office. He's in Muslim clothing and she's armed and in camouflage. Above the mantle piece is a portrait of Osama Bin Laden. In the fireplace is a burning American flag. The magazine's editor says they were trying to satirize the rumors about Senator Obama and his wife. Others do not see it that way. The campaign of Senator Obama called the cover "tasteless and offensive." His GOP counterpart, Senator John McCain, publicly agreed calling the drawing "inappropriate."

So what do you think about all this? Is it satire or smear?

July 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (247) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Is "Black National Anthem" Artistic Freedom or An Outrage?

July 02, 2008 10:38 PM

A major controversy is swirling over yesterday's State of the City event in Denver, Colorado. Rene Marie, an admired jazz singer, was slated to perform the national anthem and instead, she sang the so-called "Black National Anthem," "Lift Every Voice and Sing" -- to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner. Marie hadn't told anyone before hand and many are furious. But she says she didn't mean any harm -- she just wanted to express how it felt to be a black woman in America. So what do you think? Was this a moving expression, a display of artistic freedom? Or was it an outrage, and was she utterly out of line?

July 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (816) | TrackBack (0)

Closing Arguments: Will China Clean Up Its Act?

July 01, 2008 10:56 PM

Algae -- the tiny water-borne bacteria, the little blue-green guys that turn up on top of your pool -- well they're turning into a really big problem for China. In the port city of Qingdao, soon to host the Olympic sailing events, huge swaths of the stuff are choking the waterways -- with just a month to go before the events. It's not the only concern facing the organizers of the Beijing Olympics. The city's infamous air pollution is also a concern for runners. So what do you think? Will China clean up its act in time for the Summer Games?

July 1, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)