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Closing Arguments: Obama's Bonus Backlash

January 29, 2009 11:58 PM

Earlier today, New York officials revealed that more than $18 billion in bonuses were handed out on Wall Street last year -- despite a dismal economy and billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts to help many of the same banks that are paying out those bonuses.

President Obama delivered a swift and stern public scolding, one that he said would be followed by action.

"And when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that, if they don't provide help, that the entire system could come down on top of our heads that is the height of irresponsibility," Obama said, with his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner sitting be his side. "It is shameful."

So tonight, we ask: Exactly what should the government do to respond to these bonuses?

Tell us what you think.

January 29, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (115)

Closing Arguments: Church, State and a Sex Abuse Probe

January 28, 2009 11:53 PM

It was reported today that the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles is investigating Cardinal Roger Mahoney in connection with the scandal stemming from the alleged abuse of children by priests.

The reports cited unnamed government sources who said the federal probe focuses on whether Mahoney deprived parishioners of their "right of honest services" from the cardinal, a man who has been accused of covering up sexual misconduct by priests.

The archdiocese confirmed an investigation -- but denied that Cardinal Mahoney is the focus.

So if these reports are accurate, we ask you: Should courts be allowed to decide what counts as the "honest services" of religious leaders?

Tell us what you think.

January 28, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (13)

Closing Arguments: Obama's Bipartisan Play

January 27, 2009 11:52 PM

President Obama met behind closed doors today on Capitol Hill with House and Senate Republicans.

He appealed to the lawmakers to put aside party politics and support his economic stimulus plan -- an $825 billion combination of tax cuts and public works spending.

But Republicans want greater tax cuts and less public spending, particularly on projects they consider wasteful. And before Obama arrived, GOP leaders urged members to reject the new president's proposal unless significant changes are made.

So tonight, we ask: Is this economic crisis the time to put politics aside?

Or are the Republicans right to say "no" to Obama's plan?

Tell us what you think.

January 27, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (112)

Closing Arguments: Obama's Arabic TV Debut

January 26, 2009 11:55 PM

It came as a surprise to many that President Barack Obama sat down for his first formal interview today not with an American journalist, but with a reporter from the Arabic television network Al-Arabiya.

"My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy," President Obama said. "We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect."

The interview took place as George Mitchell, special envoy to the Middle East, heads to the Gulf region to begin work on cease-fire negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Tonight, we ask you: What kind of a message did the selection of an Arabic network for his first interview send? A good message or a bad one?

Tell us what you think.

January 26, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (317)

Patti LaBelle's Playlist

January 26, 2009 6:14 PM

Friday on "Nightline" we heard from Patti LaBelle, the woman who gave America a lesson in French with the hit single, "Lady  Marmalade."

LaBelle told us that she's an "analog girl in a digital world." She doesn't own a cell phone and has an iPod but doesn't know how to turn it on.

"It's got about 6,000 songs on it, I said I've only heard about 100 because it stopped it, and I don't know how to get it back," she said. "Oprah admitted that she...she didn't know anything about computers years ago, she said that and I said I love her for that."

LaBelle began her singing in church.  She was so shy as a little girl that often times her mother would give her a quarter as incentive to go and play with the other kids.

"My mother wanted me to join the choir, and I did,"  LaBelle told "Nightline" at the Empire Hotel Rooftop Bar in New York City.  "My choir director heard my voice and said, 'You are not going to sing back here, we are going to put you in front. My first solo I sang was ‘We Have a Friend in Jesus.'  And the audience stood up.  And that's when I knew I could go on as a solo performer."

For more than 30 years, LaBelle has been topping the charts and has written her own cookbooks, has her own line of wigs and has just released a reunion album.  We spoke to her about the music that has influenced her over the years. 

Moody's Mood for Love, James Moody

"My first musical memory was James Moody," she said. "I had a half brother who lived with me before he passed and he would play all of this jazz music and all of this wonderful music.  And I loved the way everybody sang, what they did...those songs are the first songs I listened to as a child.  And at the time I didn’t know I was a jazz buff.  But I guess I was, huh?"

Ain't No Way, Aretha Franklin

LaBelle was born in 1944 in Philadelphia and was one of five children.  She and her sisters would listen to Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way" when they were growing up.

"We all just listened to this song and cried, my sisters were going through different relationships at the time.  All my sisters died of cancer before they turned 44.  And I sang it on stage, I recorded it with Mary J. Blige, about five years ago and that's one of my staple songs.  The song means, ain't no way, if you don't love me.  So it means give it up,"  LaBelle said. "Don't try to make someone love you."

Imagine, John Lennon

In discussing the mood of the country after President Barack Obama's inauguration, LaBelle said that John Lennon's song "Imagine" comes to mind. 

"I used to do 'Imagine' by John Lennon," she said.  "Imagine living life in peace.  When the president was sworn in, and I was like, imagine this:  And it happened that we have our first black president.  Martin Luther King said he always knew what'd happen.  And imagine now all of the people in America and outside, they are all feeling a lift from this man, like he is lifting the script. And that's what ‘Imagine’ means to me."

Patti LaBelle, Lady Marmalade

In 1974 the group LaBelle recorded the smash hit single Lady Marmalade and according to LaBelle herself, it's the one song she can't stop performing.

"I still do that song," she said. "So that song is one of those songs I can never not do."

Mariah Carey, Hero

Not only is LaBelle Mariah Carey's godmother, she's also a big fan of her powerful voice.   

"Mariah Carey can sing her face off.  And when she sings 'Hero,' I try to sing along with her, literally try. She just has the most phenomenal voice," LaBelle said. "Smetimes you don't know the heroes are around you and they really are and someday you might recognize them. That's what it means to me.  So many heroes and she-roes, like the gentleman who flew the plane the other day, what a hero, and landed that plane and nothing was wrong with anyone….if I get a chance to meet him, he's going to hear 'Hero,' I'm going to sing it to him."

Gold Digger, Kanye West

Many Patti LaBelle fans might expect that she listens to the music of Josh Groban and James Blunt, but but few may know that she has a soft spot for the musical stylings of artists like Kanye West, Tupac and 50 Cent.

"Gold Digger, by Kanye West, and uh, Jamie Fox, one of my favorites," she said. 

January 26, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Closing Arguments: Marketing the First Daughters?

January 23, 2009 11:01 PM

As the Obama family prepares for their first weekend in the White House, they're already embroiled in a controversy, of sorts. Michelle Obama expressed dismay and distress this week about a toy manufacturer creating dolls named after her daughters, Sasha and Malia. Does the First Lady have a point?  Is this unfair exploitation of the young girls, aged 7 and 10? Or, have the Obama's put their daughters in the public domain and therefore willingly made them subject to the trials and tribulations of celebrity? Tell us what you think.

January 23, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (117)

Closing Arguments: Obama's Gitmo Goodbye

January 22, 2009 11:51 PM

It's only Day 2 of Barack Obama's administration -- and already the new president is undoing one of the most controversial symbols of his predecessor's eight years in office.

The Guantanamo Bay prison camp was established by the Bush administration after Sept. 11 to hold and interrogate alleged terrorists.

Today, President Obama ordered the camp closed within a year -- a decision in line with an inaugural address in which he said that our security will emanate from humility, restraint and the justness of our cause.

Some have already pushed back, wondering exactly where the 248 alleged terrorists at Gitmo will end up after the facility on Cuba is gone and worrying about the message the move will send the international community.

So tonight, we ask: Do you agree with President Obama's decision to close the military prison?

Tell us what you think.

January 22, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (197)

Today's Crowds: Generations On the March

January 20, 2009 1:36 PM

Here's what "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran had to say about the inauguration crowd this morning at about 9:00 AM.

I just walked from 24th and M St. NW, around the Capitol, through the Rayburn Building, and have arrived at the West Front of the Capitol.

All along the way, people were laughing and smiling. Some sang. Families strode down the streets together, generations on the march. I saw crowds of ebullient young people; they filled the air with their chatter and cries. "Snap!" hollered one as he saw a couple who were passing out free Starbucks coffee.

I saw a group of a dozen or so people, black and white, stopped in the street, hands joined, in prayer. Older folks in wheelchairs, trucking along. Smokers paused in alleyways and entrances. The hucksters selling Obama this and Obama that.

And I was overwhelmed. I thought of a line from Walt Whitman: "The United States are essentially the greatest poem."

And as I look out now over the throng on the Mall--this is what he meant. Our strengths and weaknesses, our nobility and crassness, the noise and struggle and vastness of American life--our dizzying diversity--it is the most sublime articulation of the human soul ever achieved.

And today--whatever your politics--today is one of our masterpieces.

January 20, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Closing Arguments: Sky-High Obama Expectations

January 16, 2009 11:53 PM

On Tuesday, Barack Obama will take the oath of office to be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.

Obama has enjoyed adoring crowds on the way to his historic election, and millions are expected to celebrate the inauguration.

He will officially be on the job when he wakes up Wednesday -- facing serious challenges and seriously high expectations -- from a deepening financial recession to a pair of unsettled wars.

And Americans are anxious for results.

So tonight, we ask you: Are the expectations too high? Will the last bubble to burst be the Obama bubble?

Tell us what you think.

January 16, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (63)

Closing Arguments: Apple Without Steve Jobs

January 14, 2009 11:48 PM

Apple founder and chief executive Steve Jobs announced today that he will be taking a medical leave of absence until June.

A survivor of pancreatic cancer, Jobs told employees his current health issues are "more complex" than he originally thought.

A little more than a week ago, Jobs issued a statement downplaying speculation about his apparent weight loss, including rumors the pancreatic condition he had suffered had worsened.

The 53-year-old corporate icon attributed his appearance to a hormone imbalance.

Today's news sent Apple shares falling by more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.

So tonight, we ask you: How will Apple do with Steve Jobs on the sidelines?

Tell us what you think.

January 14, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (17)