The View From Here

This Sunday: Their joint appearance

This Sunday on MTP, we will take an in-depth look at Decision 2010. I will be joined by the four chairman charged with leading their parties to victory in November. In their first joint appearance, Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tx), Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Nj), Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tx), and Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) will be live in studio to debate the issues facing the nation. What measures are the Democrats taking to try and keep control of Congress? What's the GOP's strategy to win back seats? These questions and much more to be discussed this week on the show.

In the news today, a lot of talk about the financial reform bill that passed the Senate yesterday and is now awaiting President Obama's signature.

• Douglas Elliott wrote in a Brookings Institute blog, "The bill is a good one."
• But Kimberley Strassel in the Wall Street Journal questions if this bill will be "more political liability than political benefit."
• Plus Clive Crook from The Atlantic weighs in on the bill's passage.

A few opinions

A few opinion pieces from those in the political sphere that make for an interesting read:

1. Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal: "My biggest mistake in the White House."
2. Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa) in USA Today: "Kagan did just enough to win my vote."
3. Senator Tom Colburn (R-Ok) on Real Clear Politics: "Financial reform's empty promises."
4. U.S. Rep John Boehner (R-Oh) in the Detroit News: "Spending spree won't fix our ailing economy."

The press secretary, the cap, the economy, and the Boss

1. There is chatter about what Robert Gibbs said on the show this week: Jonathan Allen writes that "Democratic strategists are privately grumbling," over the remarks and Naftali Bendavid asks, "who benefits?" Watch the full MTP interview with Gibbs here.
2. BP put a new sealing cap on the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico late Monday. Now, the company must determine if the cap is working and that all oil has stopped spilling. Take a look at a timeline of the spill.
3. David Brooks writes that we are living in an economy filled with "grinds." Robert Samuelson says insecurity with the economy "goes upscale."
4. Longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died this morning after winning 7 World Series titles and building a billion dollar franchise. View photos of  "the Boss" through the years.

Expectations too high for Obama administration?

A major focus of today's show was how the issues are being framed as we inch towards the November elections.  With White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on the program, I was interested in the language President Obama used while campaigning for Democrats across the country.  It would be an oversimplification to say that the mid-terms are an agenda on Obama. (As Gibbs quoted to me today, "All politics is local.")  But, you still can't dismiss the correlation between the president's popularity and the success Democrats may or may not have in the fall.

We used this clip from Obama campaigning in Kansas City on Thursday:  

OBAMA: You're going to face a choice in November and I want everybody to be very clear about what that choice is - the choice between the policies that got us into this mess in the first place and the policies that are getting us out of this mess.

And that's what our roundtable talked about - campaigning on the idea of how much worse things could have been.  Gibbs told me, "I'm not here to unfold the Mission Accomplished banner."  But he also said, "There's no doubt things are getting better." 

That's the kind of statement the GOP will jump on.  Former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie brought up that the Obama administration said unemployment would not rise higher than 8 percent.  Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle has an ad out that hammers Harry Reed about how the economy has only gotten worse since he became Senate Majority Leader.  As David Brooks put it, "Are you better off?"  For a lot of people, the answer is no - and with a lot of Democrats in Congress, that spells trouble for the party.

Here's what Gibbs said about mid-terms:

I think there is no doubt that there are a lot of seats that will be up.  A lot of contested seats.  I think-- people are gonna have a choice to make in the fall.  But I-- I think there is no doubt there are enough seats in play-- that could cause Republicans to gain control.  There's no doubt about that.  This will depend on strong campaigns by Democrats.  And again, I think we've got to take the issues to them.

For more from today's show, and a very compelling Take Two with Rachel Maddow, visit our Web site.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I'll see you next Sunday.

Can't get no satisfaction

As I prepare for Sunday's program - which features White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on the roundtable (complete listing here) - I keep returning to this theme: Is all the dissatisfaction with the Obama administration fair? The more precise question, I suppose, is whether the administration is falling short in key areas like the economy, responding to the oil spill, and the war in Afghanistan. Or are expectations too high? We are going to have this debate in earnest this fall during the midterm campaign. The President is trying to frame the argument as a choice: stick with the D's and move forward (however slowly); vote the R's back in power and it's the Bush presidency all over again. Fear of the other guy is an easier strategy to pursue than running on a record. The Obama record is decidedly mixed and in some cases simply incomplete. The GOP doesn't really have much of a record to run on - simply a promise to undo what Obama has done and do what they failed to when a Republican was in the White House.

What I am interesting in pursuing is what the government can and should be doing now to get more people working. There is a real debate about direct government spending versus reining in government spending.

 

 

At the same time, there are some real warning signs for the GOP as it taps into the energy of the party's base this summer. Read Michael Gerson's op-ed today in The Washington Post.

By the way, for some fun reading, pick up Daniel Silva's new novel The Rembrandt Affair. I read his novels every summer and this new one is great! It comes out July 20. 

 

 

I hope you will watch Sunday.

As the weekend approaches, I hope you can enjoy one of these somewhere.

This is from Nantucket, Mass.

What's Happening Today

1. The economic recovery remains slow despite the Obama Administration's recovery plan. What should be done? Both the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund are weighing in with suggestions.
2. RNC Chairman Michael Steele has been criticized for his remarks on Afghanistan but E.J. Dionne Jr. writes, "he (Steele) had a right to offer his opinion."
3. Relief in the Gulf could be coming sooner? BP says it is aiming to fix the oil well before the end of the month. 
4. Details of the spy swap with Russia continue to unfold. Who's pleading guilty?
5. Debate over Elena Kagan's nomination for Supreme Court Justice continues as The Washington Times questions her fit for the court. Plus, Senator John McCain gives his opinion to USA Today.

Afghanistan: The way forward

This week was a great example of how quickly things can change in Washington, in the media, and in the American consciousness.  Last week, we spent the entire hour of our show devoted to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  This week, we spent almost an entire hour on Afghanistan - all because of a magazine article.

And as we renewed our attention back to what is now America's longest war, we saw a rather frightening picture.  This June - almost nine years since the conflict began - was the deadliest month for coalition forces.  Part of that can be attributed to anti-Taliban offensives in the Helmand and Kandahar provinces.  Part of it can be attributed to our military distraction in Iraq.

I thought Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Ca) made a striking point when she said that the debate we are having now is one we should have had nine years ago.  Was it a mistake to have invaded Afghanistan?  Few people thought of it that way at the time, but Lee says people who she never thought would waver are now rethinking their stance on the conflict.  Here's what she told me:

Rep. Lee: I question this policy. I think more members of Congress are beginning. And this is not just liberal and progressive members. These are many members who you never would have believed would have begun to question this. The American People are war weary. This is an endless war and they want it to come to an end.

Of course the big conflict continues to be that July 2011 date.  We used some of the recent quotes from administration officials and military leaders to highlight the discrepancies between what next summer will actually mean for troop levels in Afghanistan.  Sen. McCain, as he had been through his campaign for the presidency, was very against any timeline for withdrawl.  He called the president's position "indecipherable."  Here's the language he used when I asked him about timetables:

SEN. McCAIN: I'm against a timetable. It-- it-- in wars, you declare when you're leaving after you've succeeded. And by the way, no military advisor recommended to the President that he set a date of the middle of 2011. So, it was purely a political decision. Not one based on facts on the ground. Not based on military strategy.

For some interesting background, here's McCain's appearance in Dec. of 2009 after the president announced 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

For more on Afghanistan, watch our roundtable of lawmakers and military experts. 

We're off next week, but will be back the following Sunday.

Have a happy 4th, and please remember the troops.

McChrystal, Petraeus and the U.S. future in Afghanistan

1. Here's a behind the scenes look at the events leading up to Gen. McChrystal's removal.
2. And with Gen. Petraeus being uniformly celebrated as the right man for the job, the question remains whether his success in Iraq can translate to Afghanistan.   Counterinsurgency was not the only thing that worked in Iraq, writes Time's Joe Klein. Critics say COIN was an oversimplified headline that became a big reason for U.S. troubles in the country.
3. Thomas Ricks, who will join me Sunday, takes a look at some military history to put the most recent events in perspective.
4. A political question we'll hit on this Sunday: Has the president reaffirmed leadership or is he "in no man's land"?

Jon Krakauer talks Gen. McChrystal credibility on MTP

Gen. Stanley McChrystal's job hangs in the balance today after a meeting with the president about his comments to Rolling Stone.  This latest controversy has rehashed some of the heavily criticized decisions the general made in the past.

In November of last year, I was joined by Jon Krakauer to discuss McChrystal's handling of Pat Tillman's death.  Krakauer authored the book "Where Men Win Glory," which chronicles the life  of the NFL player turned soldier killed in Afghanistan.  Here's what Krakauer told me on MTP:

MR. KRAKAUER: The--after Tillman died, the most important thing to know is that within--instantly, within 24 hours certainly, everybody on the ground, everyone intimately involved knew it was friendly fire. There's never any doubt it was friendly fire. McChrystal was told within 24 hours it was friendly fire. Also, immediately they started this paperwork to give Tillman a Silver Star. And the Silver Star ended up being at the center of the cover-up. So McChrystal--Tillman faced this devastating fire from his own guys, and he tried to protect a young private by exposing himself to this, this fire. That's why he was killed and the private wasn't. Without friendly fire there's no valor, there's no Silver Star. There was no enemy fire, yet McChrystal authored, he closely supervised over a number of days this fraudulent medal recommendation that talked about devastating enemy fire.

Another interesting read for today is Krakauer's piece in the Daily Beast from October 2009.  It looks at some of the credibility issues with the general well before these latest developments.