Obama Sunday Show Blitz
(Pres. Obama states his administration will continue focusing on creating more Jobs.)
(No deadline on Afghanistan)
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
(On World Series: Who will win?)
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
President Barack Obama today became the first president to appear on five Sunday network shows in the same morning, an extraordinary effort to build public support for health care reform, his top domestic priority.
Here are some notable highlights from the Sunday show blitz:
ON HEALTH CARE POLITICS: IT'S A HARD TOPIC TO TALK ABOUT
Despite so many weeks of speeches, town halls and interviews, Pres. Obama said he has found it difficult at times to make a complex topic clear and relevant.
"I've tried to keep it digestible," Pres. Obama said. "It's very hard for people to get their arms around it. And that's been a case where I have been humbled and I just keep on trying harder."
Pres. Obama told Univision's "Al Punto" ("To the Point") that the strong opposition to his plan is part of a political strategy.
"Well, part of it is ... that the opposition has made a decision," he said. "They are just not going to support anything, for political reasons."
ON TORTURE: JUSTICE DEPT. OK TO CONDUCT INTERROGATION REVIEW
President Obama says he has no plans to ask the Justice Department to end its criminal investigation into the harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists during the Bush administration.
Seven former CIA directors have asked the president to do just that. In a letter to Pres. Obama on Friday, they warned that the probe could discourage CIA officers from doing the kind of aggressive intelligence work needed to fight terrorism.
Pres. Obama tells CBS' "Face the Nation" that he appreciates that the former CIA chiefs are wanting "to look after an institution that they helped to build."
Pres. Obama says he wants to make sure that he's not somehow overruling the decisions of prosecutors such as Attorney General Eric Holder who are there to uphold the law.
ON ECONOMY: NOT READY TO DECLARE RECESSION OVER
President Obama isn't ready to close the book on the recession.
Only last week Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the worst recession since the 1930s was probably over.
But Pres. Obama tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he's going to leave it up to the Fed chairman to say whether it's officially over or not.
Pres. Obama says all the signs are that the economy is going to start growing again. But he says jobs are a challenge.
The president says job figures usually are the last to catch up in a recovery and he says that making up for all those jobs that have been lost will require really high growth rates.
He's warning that the jobs picture could get even a bit worse over the coming months and that there might not be enough job creation until next year to deal with the rising population.
ON AFGHANISTAN: NO "INDEFINITE OCCUPATION"
President Obama says he has no deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan and is pledging there will not be an indefinite American occupation. Sounding much like his predecessor, Pres. Obama said he won't base any war decision on "the politics of the moment."
The 8-year-old conflict in Afghanistan, overshadowed by the war in Iraq during much of George W. Bush's presidency, is a dominant challenge for Pres. Obama.
The American public and leaders of his own party have eroding faith in the face of a resurgent Taliban, doubts of Afghan leadership and rising U.S. engagement.
"I don't have a deadline for withdrawal," Pres. Obama said in one of a series of television interviews broadcast Sunday. "But I'm certainly not somebody who believes in indefinite occupations of other countries."
Pres. Obama has ordered 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan, increasing the number of U.S. forces there to 68,000, and is expecting to get a request for more from the U.S. and NATO commander. Pres. Obama said the decision is more than the inclination of "If I get more, then I can do more."
"Right now, the question is, the first question is, are we doing the right thing?" he said. "Are we pursuing the right strategy?
Pres. Obama has pledged no imminent decision on sending in more troops and says he wants to see updated reviews on all aspects of his war strategy. His road map to winning the war in Afghanistan relies heavily on clearing Al-Qaida terrorists from Pakistan, according to a list of benchmarks given to Congress last week.
Pres. Obama said once he hears from advisers and has a better idea on whether more troops or needed, then "what I will say to the American public is not going to be driven by the politics of the moment." Bush often used similar language when overseeing a war in Iraq that had lost support of much of the public.
ON ACORN: NOT SOMETHING I'M FOLLOWING CLOSELY
On ABC, George Stephanopoulos pressed President Obama on the recent controversy surrounding the community group ACORN. Here's the full exchange:
STEPHANOPOULOS: How about the funding for ACORN?
PRES. OBAMA: You know, if -- frankly, it's not really something I've followed closely. I didn't even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Both the Senate and the House have voted to cut it off.
PRES. OBAMA: You know, what I know is, is that what I saw on that video was certainly inappropriate and deserves to be investigated.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're not committing to -- to cut off the federal funding?
PRES. OBAMA: George, this is not the biggest issue facing the country. It's not something I'm paying a lot of attention to.
ON MISSILE DEFENSE: DECISION NOT ABOUT RUSSIA
President Obama sharply dismisses criticism that Russian opposition influenced his decision to scrap a European missile defense system, calling it merely a bonus if the leaders of Russia end up "a little less paranoid" about the U.S.
"My task here was not to negotiate with the Russians," Pres. Obama told CBS' "Face the Nation" in an interview for broadcast Sunday. "The Russians don't make determinations about what our defense posture is."
The president's comments were his first on the matter since he abruptly announced on Thursday that he was scuttling plans to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a related radar in the Czech Republic. That shield had been proposed under President George W. Bush.
Russia condemned it is a threat to its security despite years of U.S. assurances to the contrary.
In its place will be a different missile-defense plan relying on a network of sensors and interceptor missiles based at sea, on land and in the air. Obama says that adapts to the most pressing threat from Iran to U.S. troops and allies in Europe, potential attacks by short- and medium-range missiles.
Yet at home and abroad, Pres. Obama's decision immediately raised a political question of whether it was done in part to appease Russia and win its help in other areas, mainly in confronting the potential of a nuclear-armed Iran. That point was underscored when Russia lauded the change.
In an interview with CBS News that was taped Friday, Pres. Obama was pressed on why he did not seek anything in exchange from Russia.
"Russia had always been paranoid about this, but George Bush was right. This wasn't a threat to them," Pres. Obama said. "And this program will not be a threat to them."
He added: "If the byproduct of it is that the Russians feel a little less paranoid and are now willing to work more effectively with us to deal with threats like ballistic missiles from Iran or nuclear development in Iran, you know, then that's a bonus."
ON WORLD SERIES: WHO WILL WIN?
On NBC's Meet the Press, David Gregory asked President Obama who he thinks will win the World Series. The president's response: "The White Sox can still make the Play-Offs".
Sources: Huffington Post, MSNBC, CBS News, ABC News, CNN, Univision
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