Happy Thursday!
Hello everybody and welcome to the Shuster "Daily Briefing" for February 12, 2009. Regards to you from our "mother ship" at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, N.Y.
We've had a series of terrific meetings about our 6 p.m. show. You will start to see a few new things rolled out next week. More details in the days ahead. But in the meantime, a special shout-out today to everybody on Twitter.
The feedback, suggestions, story links, and segment ideas have been terrific. Some of the links below came from our "followers" on Twitter. You know who you are, so thank you. Also, a quick reminder, I'll be sending tweets out again tonight during the 6 p.m. hour. Plus, I'll be online after the show ends to chat about my favorite parts of the hour.
At this hour, the President's economic recovery plan is moving towards final passage in the House and Senate. Votes in both chambers could come as early as tomorrow.
Several House Democrats are convinced their leadership got "rolled" by the Senate leadership in the final negotiations. I have a feeling such talk will stop soon, in part because of the attitude on display by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She is telling reporters she is wholeheartedly in support of the final deal. Check out a fascinating interview she gave to my colleague Chris Matthews. We will give you a taste of it in our 6 p.m. show. And you can catch the full Hardball interview at 7 p.m. EST.
By the way, there was this intriguing and disturbing article in the Washington Post today about employers trying more aggressively than ever to block benefits to former workers. Sad.
Also, I was a bit perplexed by the headline on an anti-stimulus op-ed penned today by South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Sen. Jim DeMint. They call the plan the "anti-freedom stimulus bill."
It's nice that they are so concerned about the financial debt we are placing on future generations. However, it's worth remembering that the debt might be even greater on the next generations if we do nothing and our economy continues this horrific meltdown. Plus, I don't recall Sen. DeMint caring so much about the exploding deficit when he was voting to fund the Iraq war and keep such spending "off budget."
A few of you twittered about the topic we hit on yesterday in our "Hypocrisy Watch." Here is a great write through on the genesis of that story.
Also, I received a fascinating link to this take on the stimulus, the idea that there should be a "promo code." Some of you in the marketing/business world may know what that is.
Oh, before I forget, in "Hypocrisy Watch" tonight, we are putting a spotlight on a few Senators who were quick to complain about the tax problems of Secretary Geithner and nominee Daschle but who refuse to release their own tax returns.
We have a few items in the works for our briefing. And, we are already looking ahead at stories for tomorrow. In the mix of it all, I noticed that the majority of Americans in most polling now favor investigations of President Bush.
Finally, back to the economic challenges before I hit "Quote of the Day," the entire world is suffering in this economic climate including the very rich oil producing nation of Dubai.
"Quote of the Day" comes from T. Boone Pickens: "I've always believed that it's important to show a new look periodically. Predictability can lead to failure. "
Thanks in advance for watching "1600." Our show airs each weeknight at 6 p.m. in Washington, D.C.; 5 p.m. in Memphis; 4 p.m. in Denver; and 3 p.m. in Las Vegas.
Shuster