Does racism have anything to do with opposition to Pres. Obama?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Former President Jimmy Carter says racism plays a major role in the recent opposition to President Obama. Carter says part of this "intensely demonstrated animosity" is based on the fact that the president is black.
Former President Carter tells "NBC Nightly News" that racism has surfaced in opposition to President Obama.
Carter says that racism is bubbling up among many white people all around the country because they think African-Americans aren't qualified to lead. he calls it "an abominable circumstance."
The former president also says racism was at play in the recent outburst by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina, who called President Obama a liar. Some say a white president would never be treated this way.
But critics say all this is nonsense. The head of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele says President Carter is "flat-out wrong." Steele, who is black, says the opposition isn't about race, but rather about policy. He calls these charges of racism a distraction by Democrats to shift the debate away from health care reform.
Then there's Rush Limbaugh - he talks about how race rules all in what he calls "Obama's America." The right wing radio host suggests that race is at play in nearly every aspect of society today... including the story of the white kid who got beat up on an Illinois bus by black students.
Limbaugh also says racism is behind the media's treatment of Kanye West after his stunt at the video music awards, which Limbaugh considered relatively mild behavior.
Here’s my question to you: Does racism have anything to do with the opposition to President Obama?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Do celebrities behaving badly say something about us?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
These days it seems like some so-called celebrities are acting more like third graders than the role models they're supposed to be. At the top of the list is hip-hop star Kanye West, who was a grade A jerk at the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday when he jumped on stage and ripped the microphone away from teenager Taylor Swift, saying Beyonce should have won.
Kanye West took the microphone from Taylor Swift during her speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
West has since apologized several times - but he ruined a young girl's moment in the spotlight. Even Pres. Obama called him a "jackass."
In sports - Tennis star Serena Williams cursed out a line judge a third her size in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open, saying she would "take this ball and shove it down your f--ing throat." This happened after an earlier temper tantrum where Williams slammed her racket on the court and broke it.
In the very same tournament, Roger Federer also swore at the chair umpire, saying: "Don't tell me to be quiet, OK? When I want to talk, I talk. I don't give a _____ what he said."
Meanwhile a recent YouTube video apparently caught golf great Tiger Woods throwing his club into the weeds in anger.
Some of our politicians are acting like pigs as well. Congressman Joe Wilson called President Obama a liar on the floor of the House during the president's address to Congress.
And Democratic Congressman Pete Stark of California told a constituent during a town hall meeting that he wouldn't "waste the urine" to pee on the man's leg.
It's not hard to figure out why some of our children don't respect their parents, their teachers, the police or any other authority figures in society.
Here’s my question to you: Do celebrities behaving badly tell us something about the rest of us?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
House act on congressman who called pres. a liar?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The House may formally criticize Joe Wilson - the congressman who yelled "you lie" at President Obama during his health care speech to Congress last week.
Rep. Joe Wilson shouts, "You lie!" after President Obama denies the health plan would cover illegal immigrants.
Democratic leaders are deciding whether to bring a resolution of disapproval to the House floor. It wouldn't be a formal reprimand or censure - but would put the House on record as condemning Wilson's behavior.
Republicans say Wilson already apologized for his outburst... and the president accepted. They say Democrats are just wasting taxpayers' time - instead of focusing on issues like health care.
Even one top Democrat - Congressman Barney Frank - isn't sure the resolution is such a good idea. Frank says it sets a bad precedent to put lawmakers "in charge of deciding whether people are jerks."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initially said she didn't plan to take the issue any further, but other Democrats argued that Wilson's behavior couldn't be ignored. For his part - Wilson already said he would refuse to apologize on the House floor.
Meanwhile some of Wilson's supporters say if Democrats go forward with this resolution, it will only help him back at home in South Carolina, where he's up for re-election. They see it as yet another chance to raise money and rally the base behind him.
Both Wilson and his Democratic challenger have raised more than $1 million since he called the president a liar.
Here’s my question to you: What should the House do about Rep. Joe Wilson, who called President Obama a liar?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should U.S. send more troops to Afghanistan?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
You knew this was coming… the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says it will probably take more U.S. troops to win the war in Afghanistan. Can you spell "surge"?
Admiral Mike Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that he doesn't know how many more troops are needed, but "it's very clear to me that we will need more resources" to carry out President Obama's plan to fight the Taliban.
Top Democrats have already said they're opposed to sending more troops. Committee chairman Senator Carl Levin says the U.S. should first be sure that Afghan security forces are trained and deployed.
But Republicans say that the U.S. could repeat the mistakes made in Iraq by not committing enough troops. Senator John McCain says, "I've seen that movie before."
The Obama administration has been kind of vague about what happens next, which may be so they can buy time for other priorities like health care. They say no decision on troops is expected "for weeks and weeks."
In the meantime, the troops that are there are being killed at a greater rate than ever before and could no doubt use the help. 51 U.S. troops died there last month - more than in any month since the war started.
At home - public support for this war, which will soon enter its ninth year, is fading fast. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows only 39-percent of Americans favor the war - the lowest percentage ever. The number is down from 53-percent as recently as April.
Here’s my question to you: Should the U.S. send more troops to Afghanistan?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should employer have to pay for employee's weight loss surgery?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
An Indiana pizza shop has to pay for weight loss surgery for a 340-pound employee. An appeals court upheld an earlier ruling that the employer must cover the surgery - which could cost as much as $25,000 - so that the man can have another surgery for a back injury he sustained while on the job.
The pizza shop had agreed to pay for the back surgery... but argued they shouldn't have to pay for the weight-loss operation because the man was already obese before he got injured.
But the court said the surgery should be covered because the man's weight and the accident combined to create a single injury.
And this isn't the first case of its kind...
Oregon's Supreme Court recently ruled that the state worker's compensation insurance had to pay for gastric bypass surgery in order for a man's knee replacement surgery to go smoothly.
In a nation where one-third of adults are obese, these cases could have a chilling effect on business. Employers could become wary of hiring fat people or those with other preexisting conditions that could make a workplace injury more likely.
Experts say although it's illegal for companies to refuse to hire an overweight person because of where they tip the scales, they could find other reasons not to hire them.
There were more than 220,000 obesity surgeries performed in the U.S. last year.
Here’s my question to you: Should an employer have to pay for an employee's weight loss surgery?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Is it really health care reform without 'public option'?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
If health care reform happens - and it this point, that's still a pretty big "if" - it's looking less likely that a so-called "public option" will be a part of it.
Senator Olympia Snowe - about the only Republican working with the White House on this - says there's "no way" that a plan that includes a public option can pass the Senate. Snowe says that President Obama should drop the idea of a government-backed insurance program in order to get more backing from Republicans:
"I've urged the president to take the public option off the table. It's universally opposed by Republicans."
Two other top senators, one Democrat and one Republican, say that the House version of the health care bill - the one that includes the public option - is dead; and the only chance for reform lies with a compromise bill still being hammered out in the Senate.
Meanwhile some Democrats and the White House are trying to downplay the importance of the public option - saying it's not a deal breaker and that it's just one way to reach the president's goal of covering an estimated 46-million uninsured Americans. Democrats are saying things like "That's a small part of this," or "there's more than one way to skin that cat."
But the fact of the matter is a lot of people insist that without a public option to compete with private insurers, health care reform is meaningless. The president says he still backs a public plan - but that he's also open to other ways to create more competition.
Here’s my question to you: Is it health care reform without a "public option"?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Tens of thousands protest Pres. Obama's policies in DC
Protesters march and hold signs during the Tea Party Express rally on Saturday in Washington, DC. Thousands marched to Capitol Hill to protest high spending, higher taxes and the growth of the federal government.(PHOTO CREDIT: Brendan Smialowski/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Tens of thousands of protesters marched on Washington Saturday - in the largest demonstration against Pres. Obama since he took office. The march leading to the Capitol was loud and animated and stretched on for blocks.
It seemed like the culmination of what started out as Tea Parties in the spring against the president's economic stimulus package - and turned into health care protests over the summer.
These protesters have managed to give a voice to an opposition - something that Republicans have been trying mostly unsuccessfully to do.
The crowd was protesting a whole range of things - there were opponents of Mr. Obama's tax, spending and health care plans, as well as those who are concerned about the government's possible encroachment on their right to bear arms.
There were accusations of socialism and shouts of "liar." Protests like this also attract the lunatic fringe - who questioned the president's citizenship, compared his administration to Nazi Germany and even those who likened the president himself to an African witch doctor.
The White House says the protesters are "wrong" about health care and that the president does not think the protests and the growing conservative movement against him are motivated by racism.
Whatever the cause it's worth noting that tens of thousands of people gave up their Saturday to march on Washington, D.C. against a man who has only been in office eight months.
Here’s my question to you: What message do tens of thousands of protesters marching on Washington send to Pres. Obama?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Confidence in nation's financial system?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
One year ago the financial system of the United States came very close to collapsing. It began with the failure of Lehman Brothers and triggered the biggest government financial intervention in our history. That may have been what saved us.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the bailouts and the other actions taken by the government were absolutely necessary to keep the economy from going over a cliff. And while the worst is over, Geithner warns the recovery ahead will be slow and painful. He expects continued high levels of unemployment and weak growth.
On Monday, President Obama will give what the White House is calling a "major" speech here in New York on the financial crisis. He will address what's been done so far, and what he thinks needs to be done going forward.
In the year since Lehman Brothers collapsed, the U.S. economy has taken quite a beating. The weeks and months that followed saw failures in the financial system and a government response that at one time seemed unimaginable:
– The bailout and subsequent takeover of the world's largest insurer, AIG
– A much larger than usual number of bank failures
– The government taking a stake in huge institutions like Citibank and Bank of America
– The government investing massive sums of money in two of the big three automakers
– And the huge $780 billion economic stimulus package that was rammed through Congress in the early days of the Obama administration
The stock market tanked - but for those with a strong enough stomach to stay in, a recent six month rally has recouped a lot of the losses. And many economists are now saying the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression is ending.
Here’s my question to you: How confident are you in the nation's financial system?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Why won’t White House be more specific about health care?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Ever since the debate over health care heated up this summer... the rap on President Obama is that he hasn't given enough details about what he wants, how it will work and how to pay for it. And, despite the president's speech to Congress this week - many say he still hasn't.
For the first time in that speech - Mr. Obama referred to a set of ideas as "my plan"... but he continued to paint with a fairly broad brush... and critics say he still hasn't been specific enough.
Instead - the White House is pretty much leaving the details to Congress, saying they'll consider all options. Leaving this to the "legislative process" is what got him in trouble to begin with.
As for the hotly-debated public option, the president seemed neutral - although liberals insist he's completely committed to it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - who had previously insisted on a public option - now says she'll consider any plan that increases competition and accessibility for health insurance.
Republicans want what they're calling a "blisteringly specific plan" from the President. And some Democrats say they don't think there's enough focus on the cost. John McCain says Obama's proposal is an "egregiously expensive and expansive form of government-run health care."
President Obama continues to promise that health care reform won't add "one dime" to the deficit... but he has failed so far to explain just how that's possible, and a lot of people don't think it is.
Here’s my question to you: Why won't the White House be more specific when it comes to health care reform?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How has U.S. changed since 9/11 attacks?
Family members of victims stand in the rain near the reflecting pool placing flowers as people gather at Ground Zero during a 9/11 memorial ceremony. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Today marks eight years since the terror attacks of 9/11. 2,976 people died that day in the most devastating attack on the United States homeland since Pearl Harbor.
This country and the world will never be the same again since that fateful Tuesday in September. The U.S. has invaded two countries and remains involved in two wars. 4,346 U.S. troops have died in Iraq and another 822 in Afghanistan. And Afghanistan only seems to be getting worse these days.
Here at home - the debate now revolves around Islamic extremists, torture, etc. As for getting on airplanes… that's changed forever too. We're used to taking off our shoes and belts, placing liquids in separate bags, waiting in long lines with picture ID, and so on...
And for residents of New York and Washington - most people probably think twice every time they see a plane flying low overhead.
Meanwhile, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows 34 percent of those surveyed say an act of terrorism is likely somewhere in the U.S. over the next few weeks... but that's only half as many people who felt that way right after 9/11.
In that same poll, only seven percent of people say life in the U.S. is now completely back to normal. 32 percent say it eventually will be... but 60 percent say things will never be back to normal.
Here’s my question to you: How has the U.S. changed in the 8 years since the 9/11 attacks?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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