April 30, 2012 | 28:23 | Public Domain
President Obama and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan announce progress on a number of initiatives that will help expand economic and security partnerships between our two nations.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
President Obama holds a Press Conference with Prime Minister Noda of Japan
President Obama and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan announce progress on a number of initiatives that will help expand economic and security partnerships between our two nations.
Mr Romneys, how do I express this..utter failure at communications
As most of you know, I am a democrat, proud of it. I could not swallow what the republicans are looking to do to my (our) country. I am no fan of the republican party, they have a presidential candidate who flips on everything he has stated in the past, his so called etch-a-sketch campaign. And in these videos I have tried to show, the biggest flip flops he has done, the auto bailout, the bin affair, the 'war' on women, I mean how many times is he going to change his stance to mimic President Obama, or try to take credit for Obama's success's. Do I want a President who lies, changes his mind, does not talk about his wealth, has 22 off shore bank accounts, and only tells the rich behind closed doors what they can expect from him as President. Like I said, I am a Democrat, and the idea of a Romney presidency literately scares my undies off. I am in fear for those less fortunate than me, and I am not nearly rich enough to be free.
“We don’t need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget,” says anti-tax enforcer Grover Norquist. “Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States.”interpreted by @EzraKlein in his tweet: "Norquist does not expect Mr Romney to lead as President, he just wants him to sign (Paul Ryans) Bill."
How did you do, Question by Question
These are my results, the graphs are of those who took the test early. I got twelve of the thirteen...
Your results and the percentage of all adults who answered each question correctly in our telephone survey.
| Question | Your Response | Correct Answer | All Adults, Percentage Correct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Thinking about where the political parties stand on important issues, which party is generally more supportive of restricting access to abortion? | Correct The Republican Party | The Republican Party | 61% | |
| 2. Which party is generally more supportive of increasing taxes on higher income people to reduce the federal budget deficit? | Correct The Democratic Party | The Democratic Party | 67% | |
| 3. Which party is generally more supportive of reducing the size of the defense budget? | Correct The Democratic Party | The Democratic Party | 58% | |
| 4. Which party is generally more supportive of reducing the size and scope of the federal government? | Correct The Republican Party | The Republican Party | 53% | |
| 5. Which party is generally more supportive of creating a way for immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally to eventually become citizens? | Correct The Democratic Party | The Democratic Party | 63% | |
| 6. Which party is generally more supportive of allowing drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? | Correct The Republican Party | The Republican Party | 60% | |
| 7. Which party is generally more supportive of expanding the rights of gays and lesbians? | Correct The Democratic Party | The Democratic Party | 66% | |
| 8. The initials "G-O-P" are usually associated with which political party? | Correct The Republican Party | The Republican Party | 68% | |
| 9. Thinking about a few current and past political leaders, was Franklin Roosevelt a Republican or a Democrat? | Incorrect Republican | Democrat | 58% | |
| 10. Was Abraham Lincoln a Republican or a Democrat? | Correct Republican | Republican | 55% | |
| 11. Is John Boehner a Republican or a Democrat? | Correct Republican | Republican | 55% | |
| 12. Is Nancy Pelosi a Republican or a Democrat? | Correct Democrat | Democrat | 61% | |
| 13. Which political party is considered to be the more conservative party on most political issues? | Correct The Republican Party | The Republican Party | 71% | |
Demographic Breakdowns by Question
Your results and the percentage of each demographic group that answered the question correctly in our telephone survey.
| Gender | Education | Age | |||||||
| Your Responses | Male | Female | High School or less |
Some College |
College Graduate |
Ages 18-29 | Ages 30-49 | Ages 50+ | |
| 1. Thinking about where the political parties stand on important issues, which party is generally more supportive of restricting access to abortion? | Correct | 62 | 61 | 52 | 61 | 76 | 62 | 64 | 60 |
| 2. Which party is generally more supportive of increasing taxes on higher income people to reduce the federal budget deficit? | Correct | 68 | 66 | 56 | 69 | 84 | 58 | 67 | 71 |
| 3. Which party is generally more supportive of reducing the size of the defense budget? | Correct | 62 | 54 | 50 | 59 | 70 | 65 | 59 | 56 |
| 4. Which party is generally more supportive of reducing the size and scope of the federal government? | Correct | 58 | 49 | 43 | 53 | 68 | 44 | 53 | 57 |
| 5. Which party is generally more supportive of creating a way for immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally to eventually become citizens? | Correct | 66 | 59 | 52 | 69 | 74 | 74 | 61 | 59 |
| 6. Which party is generally more supportive of allowing drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? | Correct | 65 | 55 | 48 | 66 | 74 | 57 | 62 | 62 |
| 7. Which party is generally more supportive of expanding the rights of gays and lesbians? | Correct | 67 | 65 | 51 | 71 | 85 | 72 | 66 | 63 |
| 8. The initials "G-O-P" are usually associated with which political party? | Correct | 71 | 66 | 55 | 72 | 86 | 60 | 67 | 72 |
| 9. Thinking about a few current and past political leaders, was Franklin Roosevelt a Republican or a Democrat? | Incorrect | 61 | 54 | 50 | 59 | 69 | 43 | 53 | 68 |
| 10. Was Abraham Lincoln a Republican or a Democrat? | Correct | 59 | 51 | 46 | 58 | 67 | 48 | 53 | 59 |
| 11. Is John Boehner a Republican or a Democrat? | Correct | 60 | 50 | 45 | 55 | 70 | 43 | 53 | 62 |
| 12. Is Nancy Pelosi a Republican or a Democrat? | Correct | 67 | 56 | 49 | 65 | 78 | 43 | 60 | 70 |
| 13. Which political party is considered to be the more conservative party on most political issues? | Correct | 73 | 68 | 54 | 77 | 90 | 68 | 72 | 71 |
| Your Responses | Male | Female | High School or less |
Some College |
College Graduate |
Ages 18-29 | Ages 30-49 | Ages 50+ | |
| This shows how many questions you answered correctly, compared with the average number of correct answers for different demographic groups. For example, men answered an average of 8.4 questions correctly. | |||||||||
| 12 | 8.4 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 8.3 | 9.9 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 8.3 | |
Advance report of Obama's Afghanistan trip raises new security concerns
The Afghan news station TOLONews reported early Tuesday that Obama had arrived in Kabul, hours before the White House's embargo on reporting the news was lifted. Other news organizations, including The New York Post and the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, cited that report, which was attributed to unnamed Afghan officials.
The U.S. National Security Council and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul both denied the report, and Obama's official schedule indicated that he was still in Washington, meeting with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the Oval Office:
President Barack Obama's official schedule for Tuesday indicated that the president was remaining in Washington all day.
In the face of the official denials, the Post removed its report, as did Buzzfeed, which deleted a tweet noting the news after an NSC official called it to argue that its report endangered Obama's life, it said. Obama's previous visits to Afghanistan, in March and December 2010, were unannounced for security reasons, and news of them didn't leak out.
And strict security measures were in place Tuesday as well, including a White House embargo that prevented journalists traveling with the president to report the trip until Obama arrived at the Afghan Presidential Palace about 11:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET), hours after the TOLONews report was published.
The apparent breach comes in the wake of an incident last month in which members of the president's advance security team were reported to have picked up prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia, before Obama's visit to the Summit of the Americas. Eight Secret Service agents have been forced to leave the agency as a result of the scandal.
The Defense Department said it couldn't discuss the incident, and the White House didn't immediately return calls for comment. Editors at TOLONews did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Ronald Kessler, a longtime political reporter who interviewed more than 100 active and former Secret Service agents for "In the President's Secret Service," a book on presidential security arrangements, told msnbc.com that an early report on a surprise visit "clearly endangers the president when he's going into a war zone."
The biggest concern, he said, "is the possibility of attacks on the ground when (Obama) lands and thereafter."
NBC News and other news organizations learned about the trip Tuesday but withheld reporting it until Obama arrived at the palace. But "the fact so many U.S. reporters knew about it made it easier for it to disseminate," Kessler said.
Kessler suggested that the Obama administration follow the example of the administration of former President George W. Bush, "which did not let reporters know beforehand at all" when Bush traveled to Afghanistan.
"They told the press pool that they were going to go on a trip, (but) they weren't told where," Kessler said. "It was not until they got on the airplane that they were told they were going to Afghanistan."
Preident Obama addrsses the nation from Kabul, Afghanistan
President describes new support role in Afghanistan
Obama hails the future of a 'new kind of relationship' with Afghanistan
On
Tuesday night, President Barack Obama addressed the American people
from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to announce an agreement he signed
with President Hamid Karzai: "The goal that I set -- to defeat al-Qaida,
and deny it a chance to rebuild -- is within reach." Watch the full
speech here.
Wrapping
up a surprise visit to Afghanistan, President Barack Obama made a
televised address from the war-torn country to discuss an agreement he
signed with President Hamid Karzai. The agreement, which would see
23,000 U.S. troops withdrawn by the end of the summer, hails “a new kind
of relationship” that would see the United States in a supportive role.“As our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014 the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country," Obama said.
President Obama’s visit to Afghanistan was kept secret until he met with President Hamid Karzai. During a planned meeting on Tuesday, the two leaders signed a post-war agreement that provides a framework to the U.S.’s commitment to Afghanistan after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.
At the podium at Bagram Air Field on the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death, Obama noted that 10,000 troops left last year. Nearly half the Afghan population lives in areas where Afghan Security Forces are taking the lead.
“The Iraq War is over,” the president said. “The number of our troops in harm's way has been cut in half, and more will be coming home soon. We have a clear path to fulfill our mission in Afghanistan, while delivering justice to al-Qaida.”
International troops will continue to train and advise the Afghans, Obama said.
Judge: Texas can't ban Planned Parenthood from health program
NBC's Andrea Mitchell talks with Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, about the latest piece of legislation out of Texas that would block funding for the state's Planned Parenthood centers.
In a win for Planned Parenthood, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled Monday there was sufficient evidence the state rule barring Planned Parenthood is unconstitutional. He imposed a temporary injunction against enforcing it until he can hear full arguments.
In response to the new rule, eight Planned Parenthood clinics that don't provide abortions sued the state. The clinics say the law unconstitutionally restricts their freedom of speech and association.
In granting the preliminary injunction, Planned Parenthood can continue to serve women, and getting reimbursed by the state, according to the Austin Statesman.
"The court is particularly influenced by the potential for immediate loss of access to necessary medical services by several thousand Texas women," Yeakel said in a 24-page ruling.
The preliminary injunction is a big win for Planned Parenthood, which has been under siege in several states by abortion opponents. In the past year alone, states including Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana, in addition to Texas, have all moved to block Planned
Parenthood from receiving taxpayer money.
"For many women, we are the only doctor's visit they will have this year," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "This ruling affirms what women have known all along: politics simply doesn't have a place in women's health."
The state Health and Human Services Commission will comply with the order and will work with the state attorney general to determine its next steps, spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said.
"We remain confident that federal law gives states the right to establish criteria for Medicaid providers," Goodman said.
Texas Governor Rick Perry and some Republican lawmakers have said they would rather eliminate the women's healthcare program entirely than direct money to Planned Parenthood clinics.
The Texas program, which is part of the federal-state Medicaid program, provides cancer screenings, birth control and other health services to more than 100,000 low-income women.
The program does not pay for abortions or allow abortion providers to participate in the program. The new Texas state rule would ban program money from going to affiliates of abortion providers.
State law has included that ban on affiliates since the program began in 2007, but the state did not enforce it. Texas notified the federal government last year that it intended to begin enforcing the ban, effectively excluding Planned Parenthood from the program.
According to Planned Parenthood, about 49 percent of the women who received services through the program in 2010 obtained some services through a Planned Parenthood provider. Planned Parenthood said it would lose about $13.5 million of annual funding for preventive care and family planning if the rule is applied, forcing it to close clinics and lay off staff.
Texas has already made deep cuts in other family-planning programs. As a result, state subsidies that once provided low-cost birth control to 220,000 women a year now cover fewer than 60,000 women a year.
The federal government pays for 90 percent of the cost of the Texas Women's Health Program, which serves low-income women of reproductive age who do not qualify for regular Medicaid coverage. Texas puts up just $4 million a year.
Critics object to Planned Parenthood receiving taxpayer money, which cannot be used to provide abortions, arguing that a steady stream of government grants provide an indirect subsidy by helping pay utility bills and keep doctors on staff.
Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest abortion provider, terminating about 330,000 pregnancies a year.
It gets about a third of its revenue -- $360 million in 2009 -- from government grants to provide birth control, gynecological exams and care for sexually transmitted diseases to low-income women.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
President Obama goes to Afghanistan to sign post-war agreement
4
hours
ago
President Obama speaks from Afghanistan about the post-war deal he just signed with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
By msnbc.com staff and news services
President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed an agreement that provides a framework for a lasting U.S. commitment to Afghanistan after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.
Standing in front of Afghan and U.S. flags, Obama and Karzai signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement just after midnight local time. Obama called it "a historic moment for our two nations," adding that the deal with Afghanistan allows the U.S. to wind down the war, but still stand by Afghanistan and its people.
"Neither Americans nor the Afghan people asked for this war, yet for a decade we've stood together," Obama said. "Today, with the signing of the strategic partnership agreement, we look forward to a future of peace. Today we're agreeing to be long term partners."
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Karzai says the postwar agreement will seal an "equal partnership" between Afghanistan and the United States. According to pool reports, Karzai thanked the United States for helping the people of Afghanistan.
Obama and Karzai signed the agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul shortly after the U.S. president arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday on an unannounced visit.
The partnership spells out the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, covering security, economics and governance. The deal is limited in scope and essentially gives both sides political cover: Afghanistan gets its sovereignty and a promise it won't be abandoned, while the U.S. gets to end its combat mission but keep a foothold in the country.
"When it comes to an enduring U.S. presence, President Obama has been clear: we do not seek permanent military bases in Afghanistan," a statement from the White House said. "Instead, the Strategic Partnership Agreement commits Afghanistan to provide U.S. personnel access to and use of Afghan facilities through 2014 and beyond."
The agreement opens the possibility for continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida, which is present in neighboring Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama is in Kabul to sign a 10-year security agreement with Afghanistan. NBC's Chuck Todd and Jim Miklaszewski report.
Obama planned to be on the ground for about seven hours in Afghanistan, where the United States has been engaged in war for more than a decade following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The trip carries major symbolic significance for a president seeking a second term and allows him to showcase what the White House considers the fruit of Obama's refocused war effort: the killing a year ago of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Air Force One touched down late at night local time at Bagram Air Field, the main U.S. base here.
Media traveling with Obama on the 13-hour flight had to agree to keep it secret until Obama had safely finished a helicopter flight to the nation's capital, Kabul, where Taliban insurgents still launch lethal attacks.
For Afghans, death of bin Laden hasn't ended their problems
Obama will also give a speech designed to reach Americans in the U.S. at 7:30 p.m. ET.
His war address will come exactly one year after special forces, on his order, began the raid that led to the killing of bin Laden in Pakistan.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Barack Obama shakes hands with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker upon his arrival at Bagram Air Base in Kabul, Afghanistan May 1, 2012.
Since then, ties between the United States and Afghanistan have been tested anew by the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. base and the massacre of 17 civilians, including children, allegedly by an American soldier.
Obama's overarching message will be that the war is ending on his watch but the U.S. commitment to its ally is not.
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Politics, too, set the tone for what the White House hoped would be a positive message and image for Obama: the commander in chief setting a framework to end the war while reassuring Afghanistan, on its soil, it will not be abandoned.
At home, Obama's Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, has retorted to the Obama campaign's suggestion that Romney might not have gone after bin Laden as Obama did.
Bin Laden in hiding: Hatching horrific plots despite crippling attacks on al-Qaida
"Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order," Romney said of the Democratic president ousted after one term. Obama has tried to portray inconsistency in Romney's position on the merits of targeting bin Laden. Without mentioning Romney by name, Obama has said he has been consistent and if others have not, "let them explain it."
Obama aides said the anniversary of bin Laden's killing is not a focus of the trip. But they do not mind that Obama's mission will serve as a reminder, six months before Election Day.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., released a statement saying he was pleased the president had traveled to Afghanistan to hear directly from the troops on the ground about the progress made there. McCain said there is a need for the United States to remain engaged in Afghanistan in the coming years.
"I hope the President's speech tonight will emphasize the degree of our commitment in Afghanistan, rather than the plans for withdrawal," McCain added.
More than 1,800 U.S. forces have been killed and 15,700 more have been wounded in Afghanistan.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined have cost almost $1.3 trillion. And public support for keeping troops in Afghanistan seems lower than ever.
Obama has gone twice before to Afghanistan as president, most recently in December 2010, and once to Iraq in 2009. All such trips, no matter how carefully planned, carry the weight and the risks of considerable security challenges. Just last month, the Taliban began near-simultaneous assaults on embassies, government buildings and NATO bases in Kabul.
Still, it would have been unusual for Obama to sign the "strategic partnership" agreement without Karzai at his side.
Nearly a year after Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces, President Barack Obama, Admiral Mike Mullen, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke exclusively to NBC's Brian Williams and reflected on the raid. The hour-long special, 'Inside the Situation Room,' airs Wednesday, May 2 at 9pm/8c on NBC's Rock Center.
The deal is essential for locking in America's commitment and Afghan's sovereignty when the post-war period comes. Negotiations have dragged as Afghan officials have demanded specific assurances, financial and otherwise.
Want a bin Laden brick? Pieces of Abbottabad compound sell for a nickel
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Both sides have scrambled to get a deal before the NATO conference in Chicago later this month. Negotiators seemed to clear the way for Obama and Karzai by finding agreement over the conduct of night raids and authority over detainees.
The president was to travel back from Kabul to the Bagram base to spend some time with troops.
He was then to give his speech in a straight-to-camera delivery reminiscent of an Oval Office address, before flying back to the U.S. He is expected back in Washington on Wednesday afternoon.
The United States has 88,000 troops in Afghanistan. An additional 40,000 in coalition forces remain from other nations.
Obama has already declared that NATO forces will hand over the lead combat role to Afghanistan in 2013 as the U.S. and its allies work to get out by the end of 2014.
One important unsettled issue, however, is how many U.S. troops may remain after that.
U.S. officials are eying a residual force of perhaps 20,000, many in support roles for the Afghan armed forces, and some U.S. special forces for counterterror missions. The size and scope of that U.S. force -- if one can be agreed upon on at all, given the public moods and political factors in both nations -- will probably have to be worked out later in a separate agreement.
Nearly a year after Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces, President Barack Obama spoke exclusively to NBC's Brian Williams inside the Situation Room and reflected on the raid. The full report airs Wed., May 2 at 9pm/8c on NBC's Rock Center.
Support for keeping American troops in Afghanistan is dropping all along the political spectrum, a new Pew Research poll says. And just 38 percent of people say the military effort is going well, down from 51 percent only a month ago.
Overall, polling shows, Obama gets favorable marks compared to Romney in handling terrorism, and the president's public approval for his handling of the Afghan war has hovered around 50 percent of late.
The trip allows Obama to hold forth as commander in chief in the same week he plans to launch his official campaign travel with rallies in Virginia and Ohio.
"We've spent the last three-and-a-half years cleaning up after other folks' messes," Obama said at a fundraiser last weekend. "The war in Iraq is over. We're transitioning in Afghanistan. Al-Qaida is on the ropes. We've done what we said we'd do."
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press, pool reports from the press corps traveling with the president, and msnbc.com staff.
We're Still at War: Photo of the Day for May 1, 2012
| Tue May. 1, 2012 8:27 AM PDT
Sgt. 1st Class Raja Richardson, platoon sergeant with Company C, 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, Task Force 2-28, 172nd Infantry Brigade, leads a patrol across a ridgeline outside of Forward Operating Base Tillman. Photo by the US Army.
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