Obama's move to the center. Telling your kids about the news. The GOP abortion strategy. Remembering the original fitness guru Jack LaLanne. Today’s “blue”blooded elite drifts to the left.
Obama aims for the center
In preparation for his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama released a video to Organizing for America, his network of campaign supporters, previewing his themes. In the video, Obama sets forth an agenda that leans decidedly to – the middle. Emphasizing the need for both job creation and deficit reduction, Obama asks that we assail the challenges ahead of us by coming together “as a people – Republicans, Democrats, independents.” And the video makes clear that his speech will be geared towards independents, business owners and executives alienated by big government and partisanship bickering. Obama, who is viewed by much of the country as a big-government liberal, would seem to be courting centrist voters with this tack. Will the strategy serve to unite the country behind the president? Or will the shift in tone alienate his left-leaning followers?
Guest:
Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times
Children and the news: coping with violence and its aftermath
The Tucson tragedy. The Gardena High School shooting. School campuses on lockdown. The barrage of negative news stories, coupled with violent images on television, can be disheartening for adults and even more challenging for children. As journalists and engaged citizens, it’s our job to be informed about the world around us. But is all this bad news appropriate for children? Parents and psychologists differ in their approaches. Some parents keep the news switched off when the kids are around. Others sit with their children and try to explain what’s going on and why it doesn’t mean they’re in direct danger. How does your family listen to or watch the news? How should teachers deal with these difficult issues in the classroom? Is there a way to inform our little ones without traumatizing them?
Guest:
Catherine Mogil, Associate Director of the Child and Family Trauma Psychiatry Service at UCLA Medical School
Dr. Joseph Harazti, Psychiatrist, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, at USC Medical School
Pia Escudero, Director of School Mental Health and Crisis Counseling for Los Angeles Unified
GOP targets abortion provisions
First the House voted to repeal health care reform. Now, GOP leaders are taking up the issue of abortion, introducing legislation that would permanently ban any taxpayer subsidies for the procedure. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) says such a ban is the will of the people and should be the will of the land. The move is part of an emerging strategy by Republicans to dismantle the health care law piece by piece. Meanwhile, anti-abortion rights activists are planning to march in the nation’s capital to mark the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. Is appealing to social conservatives a good strategy for the GOP? Or could it risk splitting Republicans? Does the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" have any legs?
Guest:
Arnold Steinberg, political strategist and analyst for the Republican Party
Jacob Sullum, Senior Editor, Reason magazine
The legacy of Jack LaLanne
Maybe you remember seeing your mother exercising along with his television show in the 1950’s. Or perhaps, more recently, you bought a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer after hearing him extoll the value of raw fruits and vegetables. Surely you remember seeing him, at age 60, swimming across San Francisco Bay – handcuffed, shackled and pulling a tugboat. Jack LaLanne was the original fitness guru – his daily exercise program encouraged housewives to get up and move decades before running, yoga and pumping iron became our national obsession. LaLanne died yesterday at the age of 96 at his home in Morro Bay, the embodiment of a lifetime of healthy eating and exercise. How do you remember America’s original bodybuilder?
Today’s “blue” blooded elite drifts to the left
In his new book, “Fortunes of Change,” author David Callahan argues that liberal views are gaining currency among America’s new upper-class, signaling a continental drift that will topple long-held beliefs about the super-rich. While “old money” tends to back the GOP and its pro-business, anti-government stances, today’s super-educated, nouveau riche professionals and entrepreneurs lean towards liberal ideals like multi-culturalism, active government and civil rights. As products of the new economy and liberal educational institutions, these wealthy liberals are using their money to fund Democratic candidates, gay rights issues and environmental causes. How will this shift in power and influence change the nation’s direction? And what will Republicans do to recapture the upper class?
Guest:
David Callahan, author of Fortunes of Change: The Rise of the Liberal Rich and the Remaking of America (Wiley), and co-founder of the think tank Demos.