Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Happy Wednesday! Hello everybody and welcome to the Shuster "Daily Briefing" for March 18, 2009. For all of you New Yorkers, what a magnificent day this one is, eh? The weather in the Big Apple today is stunning! I'm in N.Y. today to sub for Keith Olbermann on Countdown at 8 p.m. Ed Schultz is in DC and will handle 6 p.m./"1600" hosting responsibilities. And our star D.C. intern Yang Wang is going to be responsible for the rest of this briefing. So, take it away! Thanks Shuster. We have a great show planned for tonight! The AIG executive bonuses story that broke out yesterday continues to be our big headline today. The public is outraged, the President is angry, and the Congress is fuming.
First, we will talk about the testimony today of AIG's CEO Edward Liddy. The member of Congress who oversaw today's hearing at the House Financial Services Subcommittee was Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Pa. Mr. Kanjorski will join us live to offer his perspective on the day long hearing. During the testimony, AIG CEO Liddy called the executive bonuses “distasteful” and said he “shared the anger” with the public. However, Liddy insisted he had to honor the contracts with the employees.
The reaction from lawmakers at the hearing was very strong. Some members argued the excessive pay could have easily been avoided. Other lawmakers criticized Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and called for his resignation. At the White House today, and just before traveling to California, President Obama tried to take heat off Geithner saying the Treasury Secretary was "making all the right moves while playing a bad hand."
Later tonight, we will hear from Sen. Patrick Leahy,D-Vt., and get an update on his proposal to establish a “truth committee” to investigate Bush administration interrogation and detention policies. The issue of “torture” is back in the spotlight following the release of long-suppressed Red Cross documents.
Another hot topic today will be the challenges facing the Obama administration regarding the budget. There are some potential legislative shortcuts. They would, however, carry a political price. In any case, the budget director Peter R. Orszag said yesterday that it is "premature to be taking it off the table." We will bring our excellent panelists, radio talk show host Lars Larson, Republican Strategist John Feehery and Nia-Malika Henderson of Politico to talk about some implications of this issue.
Also, our panelists have their opinions to share with you about the contradictory comments made by the former president George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney. Bush expressed his support for President Obama and said Mr. Obama “deserves his (Mr. Bush's) silence.” A few days earlier, Cheney sharply criticized the Obama administration's national security policies.
By the way, President Obama released his 2009 NCAA College Basketball Tournament bracket today. Which team is the President's favorite to win it all? You can find out on our show.
Finally, if you have questions/videos you want us to consider, send them via Twitter. Our "Quote of the Day" is from Friedrich Nietzsche:
“The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments.” Hope you will join us once again tonight on St. Patrick's day. "1600" airs at 6 p.m. in Washington, D.C.; 5 p.m. in Dallas; 4 p.m. in Denver; and 3 p.m. in Hollywood. The "1600" team |
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