U.S. Presidency 2011 Archive | PBS NewsHour

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	2011 DECEMBER Dec. 16, 2011 Gingrich, Romney Defensive in Last Debate Before Iowa Caucus The bell never rang for the Newt Gingrich vs. Mitt Romney fight many expected at Thursday night's debate in Sioux City, Iowa, as the two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination were put on the defensive by the other candidates as well as the Fox News moderators.

	Dec. 15, 2011 Congress in Familiar Territory With Shutdown on the Horizon The federal government is again facing the threat of a shutdown because of a partisan divide in Congress. The version of the story this time is that Senate Democrats don't want to pass the House Republican version of the payroll tax cut because it contains policy riders they disagree with.

	Dec. 14, 2011 Romney: Gingrich an 'Extraordinarily Unreliable' Conservative Mitt Romney is turning what has been one of his biggest political liabilities -- lingering doubts about his consistency on key issues -- into a line of attack on his chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich.

	Dec. 13, 2011 3 Weeks Before Iowa, Gingrich-Romney Fight Gets Personal The rivalry between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney veered from political differences to personal attacks Monday, marking a sharp turn in the Republican presidential nominating fight just three weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

	Dec. 12, 2011 President Obama: 2012 Election 'Going to Be a Good Debate' As President Obama capped off a week of making his case for re-election with an appearance on Sunday's "60 Minutes," a fresh batch of poll numbers show 54 percent of Americans do not believe he deserves a second term.

	Dec. 8, 2011 White House Pets During the Holidays From Bo lookalikes planted around the White House, to one of the Fords' puppies snacking on an ornament, view photos of the White House pets through the years at holiday time.

	Dec. 8, 2011 From Racoons to Singing Strays, a Tour of the White House Pets Many presidents' cherished pets have made their mark in the public eye -- and on the White House lawn. They've made movies, "written" books and received fan mail from around the country. View a slide show of first pets at the holidays and take our quiz.

	Dec. 8, 2011 Gingrich's Surge Spreads to Swing States The Newt Gingrich surge has spread beyond Iowa and South Carolina, and now extends to Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released Thursday.

	Dec. 7, 2011 President Obama's 2012 Pitch: 'Everyone Gets a Fair Shot' With the election 11 months away, President Obama outlined a populist argument for a second term in Osawatomie, Kan., the same town where in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt delivered his "New Nationalism" speech calling for a strong central government that "must be freed from the sinister influence or control of special interests."

	Dec. 6, 2011 Polls Show More Good News for Gingrich Another day, and two more polls affirming Newt Gingrich's position as the new front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

	Dec. 5, 2011 Gingrich Leads GOP Field in Iowa, Surges in New Hampshire Former House speaker Newt Gingrich claimed the top spot in a pair of polls released in Iowa over the weekend, both of which showed him with comfortable leads ahead of the state's Jan. 3 nominating contest.

	Dec. 2, 2011 Gingrich: 'I'm Going to Be the Nominee' Newt Gingrich is looking to bring some certainty to a Republican presidential race that has been anything but settled. "I'm going to be the nominee," the former House speaker confidently told ABC News on Thursday.

	Dec. 1, 2011 Knives Getting Sharper in GOP Fight The reverberations from Mitt Romney's recent interview on Fox News are still being felt -- and the manner in which they settle could go a long way toward determining the shape of the GOP race in the coming weeks.



	NOVEMBER Nov. 30, 2011 Cain to Reassess Campaign, Asks Supporters to Stick with Him A day after an Atlanta woman named Ginger White said she had a 13-year romantic affair with Herman Cain, the one-time front-runner in the 2012 Republican primary said on a conference call Tuesday that he would reassess his campaign.

	Nov. 29, 2011 Ad Gives Taste of Potential Obama-Romney Election Battle The Iowa caucuses may be five weeks away, but the way that Democrats and Mitt Romney's campaign clashed on Monday, it seemed as if the general election were around the corner.

	Nov. 28, 2011 Gingrich Looks to Build on Momentum By picking up a coveted newspaper endorsement over the weekend to go along with his front-runner status in many recent national polls, Newt Gingrich heads into the final month of 2011 with plenty of momentum.

	Nov. 25, 2011 New Nixon Tapes Reveal Details of Meeting With Anti-War Activists Recently released audio recordings detail President Richard Nixon's surreal meeting with anti-Vietnam War protesters at the Lincoln Memorial one night more than four decades ago. Ray Suarez reports.

	Nov. 24, 2011 From Lincoln to Obama: Thanksgivings at the White House President Obama pardoned the official Thanksgiving turkey in a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday. See a slide show documenting past presidents' Thanksgiving celebrations, including shots of turkeys who were lucky enough to receive a pardon ... and some who weren't.

	Nov. 18, 2011 U.S. to Re-engage Myanmar to Encourage Fledgling Reforms President Obama said Friday that because of recent reforms in Myanmar, he is upping U.S. engagement and sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton there next month.

	Nov. 18, 2011 Gingrich's Past Business Dealings Under Scrutiny When Newt Gingrich was preparing to launch a run for the White House earlier this year, part of the delay was reportedly his need to unwind the financial entanglements from his multi-million dollar business operation. Those dealings could now be what slows down his presidential bid.

	Nov. 17, 2011 Idaho Man Charged With Obama Assassination Attempt Led 'Sort of a Troubled Life' Gunshots that hit the White House on Friday evening eventually led to the arrest of Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, a 21-year-old man from Idaho, on a charge of an attempted assassination of President Obama. Margret Warner discusses the developing story with Charlie Savage of The New York Times.

	Nov. 17, 2011 Chu Set to Face Tough Questions at Solyndra Hearing Energy Secretary Steven Chu appears set to push back forcefully on GOP criticism that the Obama administration's $535 million loan guarantee to the now-defunct solar panel manufacturer Solyndra was financially unwise and politically motivated.

	Nov. 16, 2011 Supercommittee Edging Toward Failure After another day of private meetings and negotiations on Capitol Hill, the 12-member Congressional supercommittee was apparently no closer Tuesday to its mandated $1.2 trillion deficit reduction deal, and all signs point to a process that will remain gridlocked until the Nov. 23 deadline.

	Nov. 15, 2011 Cain Stumbles on Libya Questions Herman Cain struggled Monday during a question-and-answer session with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about whether he supported President Obama's handling of the uprising in Libya.

	Nov. 11, 2011 Perry Pokes Fun at Flub on 'Late Show' Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent Thursday working feverishly to turn the corner on his much maligned brain freeze in Wednesday night's debate. He did no fewer than seven nationally televised interviews, additional radio interviews and ended the day at the Ed Sullivan theater doing David Letterman's Top Ten list.

	Nov. 10, 2011 Perry Launches Damage Control After Major Debate Flub You know you didn't have a good night as a presidential candidate if you need to get up early to do a round of morning show interviews in which you have to assert you're staying in the race.

	Nov. 9, 2011 Labor Scores Big Win in Ohio; 'Personhood' Rejected in Miss. Two high-profile ballot measures in Ohio and Mississippi headlined this year's off-year elections, and both were resoundingly defeated Tuesday.

	Nov. 8, 2011 Voters Head to Polls With Union Rights, Abortion at Stake Both Mississippi and Kentucky are home to gubernatorial contests Tuesday, but those elections for the highest office in the state are being overshadowed by controversial and base-energizing ballot measures in Ohio and Mississippi.

	Nov. 7, 2011 Poll Shows Why Romney Isn't Gaining Traction With Voters A new ABC/Washington Post poll tested a number of GOP candidate attributes and found that Mitt Romney is running even or behind on each of them other than electability.

	Nov. 4, 2011 Unemployment Dips to 9%, 80,000 Jobs Added in Oct. The October jobs report shows that stubbornly high unemployment continues to hang over America's economic psyche. And no matter how successful President Obama is at preventing a double-dip recession, the impact of high unemployment on the country's continued pessimism remains his political problem.

	Nov. 3, 2011 Cain Launches Blame Game, Regroups on Strategy Herman Cain has stopped talking about the sexual harassment allegations against him. It's a new strategy for the embattled GOP contender who has been leading in the polls for the last few weeks.

	Nov. 2, 2011 Cain Struggles to Contain Sexual Harassment Story From the moment Politico broke the Herman Cain story on Sunday evening, it seemed inevitable that more facts and details would emerge about the claims of sexual harassment against the Republican presidential contender when he was CEO of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s.

	Nov. 1, 2011 Cain's Consistency Questioned After Day of Public Appearances Heading into the second 24 hours of a candidacy consuming story, Herman Cain has several things going for him. Foremost, there have been no additional facts brought to light beyond what Politico initially reported Sunday evening about two women who claimed to have been on the receiving end of inappropriate behavior.



	OCTOBER Oct. 31, 2011 Cain Faces Scrutiny After Allegations of Sexual Harassment This was supposed to be the week that Herman Cain won over some establishment street cred without damaging his outsider brand. But it will most certainly not be the week Cain envisioned, as he's likely to face questions regarding a POLITICO story about two women who accused him of sexual harassment in the late 1990s.

	Oct. 28, 2011 Despite Rhetorical Gridlock, House Leaders Claim to Want a Deficit Deal A day after Democrats on the bipartisan supercommittee leaked a proposal to "go big" and reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years by cutting entitlement spending and raising taxes, Republicans introduced a counteroffer: $2.2 trillion in deficit reduction that includes cuts but no tax increases.

	Oct. 27, 2011 The Cain Conundrum He is leading in the national polls. He is running a close second to Mitt Romney in early and critical nominating states. His campaign claims it is raising more than $1 million per week. But Herman Cain can't seem to cross the critical threshold with the Republican establishment, the press and, most importantly, the voters.

	Oct. 26, 2011 Romney Provides Fodder for Opponents After Ohio Visit Mitt Romney stopped by an Ohio Republican Party phone bank on Tuesday to support a get-out-the-vote effort for an off-year, big ballot initiative in a couple of weeks. The support he lent, however, appeared to be only rhetorical in nature.

	Oct. 25, 2011 Perry's Last Bid to Regain the Right Texas Gov. Rick Perry came out of the gate in the 2012 Republican nomination process with a bang: After announcing his candidacy on Aug. 13, Perry dominated many of the polls by mid-September. He has since plunged in the polls.

	Oct. 25, 2011 The Perry Re-Launch With just over two months to go before the Iowa caucuses kick off the nominating process, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is in the midst of a campaign re-launch to get his White House bid back on course.

	Oct. 24, 2011 Would Obama's Refinancing Plan Boost Ailing Housing Market? With millions of Americans "underwater" on their mortgages and millions of homes facing foreclosure, President Obama unveiled a revamped home-loan refinancing program Monday during a stop in Nevada, which has the country's highest foreclosure rate. Judy Woodruff and guests examine the politics and substance of the plan.

	Oct. 24, 2011 President Obama Moves From 'Pass This Bill' to 'We Can't Wait' White House advisers unveiled a new focus on executive actions President Obama can take in the face of congressional opposition to his jobs bill. Team Obama is moving from "pass this bill" to "we can't wait."

	Oct. 21, 2011 Senate Blocks State Aid for Teachers, First Responders President Obama's plan to break his jobs bill into pieces doesn't seem to be enhancing the chances that legislation actually gets to his desk for his signature. The Senate blocked the first stand-alone measure, one that was aimed at providing states with federal aid to retain or hire teachers, police officers and firefighters.

	Oct. 20, 2011 How Will History Judge U.S., Coalition Intervention in Libya? President Obama said Moammar Gadhafi's death "marks the end of a long and painful chapter." Margret Warner explores how history may view President Obama and the United States for intervening in Libya with Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations and James Steinberg, former Obama administration deputy secretary of State.

	Oct. 20, 2011 Romney vs. Perry Battle Moves Off Stage The newly combative tone dominating the Republican nomination race is likely to stay with us for the next few months. In the 36 hours since the CNN debate in Las Vegas concluded, the skirmishing between the campaigns has remained at a boil.

	Oct. 19, 2011 GOP Contenders Clash in Feistiest Debate of the Year The Tuesday night debate in Las Vegas among seven Republican presidential hopefuls proved to be a far more contentious affair than any of the previous encounters.

	Oct. 18, 2011 In Vegas, Stakes Are High as Republicans Set for Fifth Debate in Six Weeks As the 2012 Republican candidates prepare for Tuesday night's debate in Las Vegas, two new polls show why the battle for the nomination has thus far felt like a campaign of debates and little more.

	Oct. 17, 2011 Obama's Bus Tour Rolls On Despite Death of Jobs Bill President Obama heads out on the road Monday to kick off his three-day "American Jobs Act" bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia.

	Oct. 12, 2011 What is Georgia Works and Why Does the President Consider it a Model? President Obama has called Georgia Works "smart" and modeled part of his Americans Jobs Act after it and the program has support from both Republicans and Democrats. So what is Georgia Works, and how does it relate to the President's plan? Here's a snapshot.

	Oct. 7, 2011 Romney Blasts Obama's Foreign Policy in Major Speech On Friday, Mitt Romney plans to turn his critiques of President Obama into a blistering campaign rallying cry when he takes the stage at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., for what his advisers describe as a major foreign policy speech.

	Oct. 6, 2011 Obama to Congress on Jobs Bill: 'This Is Not a Game' President Obama challenged members of Congress to vote for his $450 billion jobs plan or explain why not. "This is not a game," he said at a White House press conference.

	Oct. 6, 2011 Morning Line: The Palin Primary Begins Perhaps the most astonishing part of Sarah Palin's decision not to seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination is how easily and completely it was overshadowed by the death of Steve Jobs.

	Oct. 3, 2011 Political Checklist: Shifting GOP Primary Calendar and Rick Perry's Sign Problem This week Senior correspondents Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian consider whether the accelerated Republican primary calendar benefits the front-runner candidates at the expense of candidates who need more time to make their case to Republican voters.



	SEPTEMBER Sept. 30, 2011 Florida Moves Primary to January, Others Likely to Follow Florida is now first on the 2012 calendar, but it's not expected to stay there for very long.

	Sept. 29, 2011 Gingrich on New 'Contract With America,' Jobs, Brain Research, Elites After unveiling his "21st Century Contract with America," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spoke with Judy Woodruff about his policy proposals, including efforts to create jobs, ramp up research into brain science and overhauls of Medicare and Medicaid. This is the third in a series of conversations with GOP contenders.

	Sept. 23, 2011 Shields and Brooks on Romney vs. Perry, Disaster Aid Deadlock in Congress Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including the latest debate among GOP 2012 hopefuls and the House showdown over disaster aid funding.

	Sept. 23, 2011 Debate Night: When the Questions Count as Much as the Answers If you are a political junkie like me, there can never be too many candidates' debates. FOX? CNN? MSNBC? Have at it. The more they talk, the more we learn.

	Sept. 23, 2011 Perry Delivers an Unsteady Performance at Republican Debate After his performance in Thursday night's debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his team will have to work overtime to assuage concerns among supporters, donors, voters, party poo-bahs and the press that he might not be ready for primetime.

	Sept. 22, 2011 GOP Hopefuls Get Warmed Up for Florida Showdown Seven of the nine Republican presidential contenders who will take to the debate stage in Orlando Thursday night took part in an afternoon kick-off event for a meeting known as Presidency 5, giving the candidates -- and the party faithful -- a chance to warm up for the night's main event.

	Sept. 22, 2011 Front-runners Romney, Perry Provide Debate Preview The two men in what has become a two-man race for the Republican presidential nomination each conducted national interviews Wednesday to help set the stage for Thursday night's debate in Orlando, Fla. If Rick Perry and Mitt Romney get their way, the debate will be "Obama Lite" vs. Electability.

	Sept. 21, 2011 Perry, Romney Tee Off on Obama Over Palestinian Statehood President Obama may have thought he was leaving domestic squabbles behind when he headed for the U.N. General Assembly this week. But as the Palestinian Authority seeks statehood recognition at the United Nations, his Republican opponents seized the opportunity to portray his administration as not strong enough on Israel.

	Sept. 20, 2011 President Obama's Deficit Plan Rallies His Base The political reaction to President Obama's deficit reduction plan has pretty much gone according to script. Republicans are charging the president with "class warfare," and Democrats are cheering the president for drawing the battle lines.

	Sept. 19, 2011 Political Checklist: GOP Calls Obama's Deficit-Reduction Plan 'Class Warfare' President Obama on Monday unveiled his new recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on deficit reduction -- a $3 trillion, 10-year package that would increase taxes on the wealthy and make some changes to entitlement programs.

	Sept. 19, 2011 Obama Calls for Taxes on Wealthy in Deficit Reduction Plan President Obama will call for $1.5 trillion in new taxes as part of plan to find more than $3 trillion in savings.

	Sept. 16, 2011 President Obama Puts Another Rough Week to Bed President Obama closes out another very tough week Friday, one in which he faced a continued stream of negative economic data, a Congress that doesn't seem eager to pass his jobs bill as is, an investigation of a botched green-tech stimulus program and an electoral rebuke in two House special elections.

	Sept. 15, 2011 Recordings of Jacqueline Kennedy Offer Rare Glimpse of Life With JFK The new book, "Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life With John F. Kennedy," includes never before heard audio recordings of interviews conducted with the former first lady in 1964. Ray Suarez discusses the rare and intimate glimpse with presidential historian Michael Beschloss, who edited and annotated the book.

	Sept. 15, 2011 Speaker Boehner to Present GOP's Economic Fixes One week after President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, plans to present his policy prescriptions for job growth and the economy.

	Sept. 14, 2011 Democrats Suffer Defeat on Home Turf in Special Election Democrats went 0-2 Tuesday night in the House special elections in New York City and Nevada. The results, especially the GOP upset in New York, are sending real fears throughout the Democratic Party about what can be done to avert similar disaster at the polls next November.

	Sept. 13, 2011 Perry Turns Into Punching Bag at Republican Debate It seems the old saying "Don't mess with Texas" doesn't apply to Republican presidential debates, as Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent much of Monday night's CNN/Tea Party-sponsored event in Tampa, Fla., under withering attack from many of his rivals on the stage.

	Sept. 12, 2011 Ahead of Debate, Perry Adjusts Approach to Social Security Texas Gov. Rick Perry is trying to "fix" a political problem he created for himself in the last Republican presidential debate. The front-runner for the nomination previews his adjusted approach to talking about Social Security in an op-ed in Monday's USA Today.

	Sept. 12, 2011 Pawlenty Backs Former Rival Romney for President Tim Pawlenty was once seen as potentially the biggest threat to Mitt Romney's quest for the Republican presidential nomination. Today, the former governor of Minnesota has become Romney's most high-profile endorser to date.

	Sept. 8, 2011 Video, Analysis, Tweets: Obama's Jobs Speech President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress Thursday to outline his plan for job creation and reviving a stumbling economy.

	Sept. 8, 2011 Perry, Romney Spar at Republican Debate It is far more often the case than not that hyped political events don't live up to expectations, but Wednesday night's GOP debate at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., was the exception that proves the rule.

	Sept. 7, 2011 Perry-Romney Battle to Take Center Stage at Debate All eyes will be on Texas Gov. Rick Perry as he participates in his first debate of the presidential campaign Wednesday night. In just a little over three weeks, Perry has skyrocketed to the head of the pack and will be wearing the largest target at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

	Sept. 6, 2011 Romney to Prescribe Economic Fix and Unveil Jobs Plan As a new round of national polling out Tuesday tells us, there is nothing more top of mind for American voters than the issue of jobs and the economy. Mitt Romney has talked about the issue almost to the exclusion of all others throughout his campaign.

	Sept. 2, 2011 Shields and Brooks(es) on Rick Perry vs. Mitt Romney, NCAA Football Scandals Mark Shields and David Brooks joined Hari Sreenivasan Friday for another edition of The Doubleheader, where the guys weigh in on the battle for the top spot in the Republican primary between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, as well as President Obama's highly anticipated jobs speech.

	Sept. 1, 2011 'The Contenders' a Nod to Failed Candidates Who Still Changed History A new C-SPAN series starting this month called "The Contenders" profiles failed presidential candidates who still managed to change political history. Gwen Ifill discusses the presidential race losers with George Mason University's Richard Norton Smith and RealClearPolitics.com's Carl Cannon.

	Sept. 1, 2011 Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Presidential 'Losers' How much do you know about failed presidential candidates who managed to change history -- despite failing in their bid to win the nation's highest office?



	AUGUST Aug. 26, 2011 Shields and Brooks on Rick Perry's Rise, Cheney's Book and Peyton Manning It has been forever and a day since we got the band back together.

	Aug. 26, 2011 Despite Perry's Gains, Romney Remains Strong in Florida This week saw Texas Gov. Rick Perry leapfrog Mitt Romney in the national polls, but the former governor of Massachusetts is still holding on strong in the key battleground state of Florida.

	Aug. 25, 2011 Texas Gov. Rick Perry: The GOP's New Front-runner Texas Gov. Rick Perry opened up a 12-point advantage over Mitt Romney in the latest Gallup survey released Wednesday, despite -- or perhaps a result of -- a campaign launch marked by controversy.

	Aug. 24, 2011 Why the Sioux Are Refusing $1.3 Billion Members of the Great Sioux Nation could pocket a large sum set aside by the government for taking the resource-rich Black Hills away from the tribes in 1877. But leaders say the sacred land was never, and still isn't, for sale.

	Aug. 24, 2011 Poll: Perry Moves to Front of GOP Pack Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a double-digit lead on previous frontrunner Mitt Romney in the survey of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents on which candidate they are likely to support for the GOP nominee for president in 2012.

	Aug. 24, 2011 Jeb Bush: 'You Can't Just Be Against the President' Democrats may have used the strategy to win elections in 2006 and 2008, but Jeb Bush has a stern message for those seeking the GOP nomination in 2012: "You can't just be against the president."

	Aug. 23, 2011 President Obama's Shelf Awareness Like many Americans, presidents often turn to a good book to ease a troubled mind, and dissecting their summer reading lists has become a bit of an annual tradition.

	Aug. 23, 2011 GOP Presidential Hopefuls Cautiously Cheer Gadhafi's Fall Republican presidential hopefuls, irrespective of their initial policy position on U.S. military action in Libya, all praised Moammar Gadhafi's removal from power as a positive development. Unsurprisingly, none of the contenders gave President Obama any credit for initiating the policy that helped achieve that desired goal.

	Aug. 22, 2011 Among GOP Field, Huntsman Stakes Out the Center Jon Huntsman and his campaign team seem to have come to the conclusion that remaining invisible in the GOP presidential nomination battle isn't an option that allows for success.

	Aug. 19, 2011 Huntsman Seeks to Steal Some of Perry's Spotlight In a move that is far more about trying to gain some attention and traction than it is about a desire to have a full-fledged policy debate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman tweeted the most aggressive and sharp contrast within the GOP field since the race began.

	Aug. 18, 2011 Obama's Approval Rating Hits New Low on Economy President Obama's approval rating on his handling of the economy has sunk to a new, very low 26 percent, according to a Gallup poll out Wednesday, 11 points lower than the same poll recorded in mid-May.

	Aug. 17, 2011 Obama to Present Jobs Plan in Post-Labor Day Speech In addition to flooding the airwaves and newspapers with images of President Obama in the heartland hearing from rural and small-town Americans, the White House informed reporters Wednesday that the president plans to give a major jobs speech immediately after the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 5.

	Aug. 16, 2011 President Obama to Unveil Economic Plan in September During a trip to Iowa on Monday, President Obama announced that in September he will unveil "a very specific plan to boost the economy, to create jobs and to control our deficit."

	Aug. 15, 2011 Reshuffled Republican Field Takes Form With Texas Gov. Rick Perry's entrance into the race, Tim Pawlenty's departure from it and Rep. Michele Bachmann's weekend straw poll victory solidifying her top-tier Iowa status, the dynamics driving the battle for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination began to solidify.

	Aug. 14, 2011 Pawlenty Drops White House Bid Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Sunday he is ending his campaign for the White House.

	Aug. 12, 2011 Gwen's Take: And They're Off: The GOP Campaign, in Full Effect DES MOINES, Iowa \| About halfway through my grilled pork chop on a stick at the State Fair, I was reminded why covering politics in Iowa is so different than anywhere else.

	Aug. 12, 2011 Pawlenty, Bachmann Have Most at Stake in Straw Poll The Iowa GOP Straw Poll has a terrible track record at predicting the winner of the caucuses the following year. In fact, the winner of the Republican caucuses is often not the party's eventual presidential nominee. But those facts won't alter the outsized attention this weekend's festivities will receive.

	Aug. 11, 2011 Ask Political Editor David Chalian Your Questions on Iowa Straw Poll, 2012 With the Iowa Straw Poll set for this weekend and news that Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be contending for the Republican presidential nomination, NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian is taking your questions about the state of the 2012 election.

	Aug. 11, 2011 Iowa Debate, Straw Poll Will Set Stage for Fall Campaign Eight candidates seeking the 2012 Republican presidential nomination will debate Thursday night in Iowa. The most significant development in the race since most of these competitors last squared off in June has been President Obama's weakened support among voters amid an unpopular debt deal and persistently weak economy.

	Aug. 10, 2011 Wisconsin Republicans Keeps Control of State Senate Democrats in Wisconsin came up one seat short of ousting Republicans from control of the state Senate in Tuesday's recall elections.

	Aug. 9, 2011 Texas Gov. Perry Looks to Steal Some Thunder As soon as advisers to Texas Gov. Rick Perry confirmed that he would make his presidential intentions clear this weekend at stops in South Carolina and New Hampshire, the Iowa GOP Straw Poll took a bit of a hit.

	Aug. 8, 2011 Obama: Economic Problems Stem From a 'Lack of Political Will' In a televised statement Monday, President Obama acknowledged concern over Standard & Poor's downgrading of the United States' credit rating but indicated it was a wake-up call for Washington as much as an economic shift.

	Aug. 8, 2011 Credit Downgrade Becomes Political Football The intensity and scale of the Obama administration pushback against Standard & Poor's downgrading of America's credit-worthiness from AAA to AA+ has been swift and severe. So, too, are the potential consequences.

	Aug. 5, 2011 New Obama Directive Aims to Prevent Genocide, Violent Outbreaks President Obama signed a directive Thursday setting up an interagency board to come up with a coordinated governmental approach in the next four months to prevent mass atrocities and genocide.

	Aug. 5, 2011 President Obama Can Tout Improved Jobless Rate When President Obama heads to the Washington Navy Yard Friday to speak about getting America's veterans into the workforce, he'll have some forward progress to tout on the overall unemployment rate.

	Aug. 4, 2011 Obama Turns 50: What Were Other Presidents Doing at That Age? President Obama celebrates his 50th birthday Thursday with the passage of the debt ceiling compromise earlier in the week likely not far from his mind. We took the opportunity to look at past presidents and what they were doing at the same milestone age in this slide show.

	Aug. 4, 2011 'Super Committee' Picks Pose Tough Challenges for Leaders The moment President Obama signed into law the Budget Control Act of 2011, congressional leaders were immediately presented with a new deadline: 14 days to decide which lawmakers they would appoint to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction created under the freshly-inked deal.

	Aug. 3, 2011 Presidents at Age 50 As President Obama turned 50 on Aug. 4, we took a look at what some past presidents were doing at the same age: from George Washington, who was trying to quell a possible mutiny among war-weary soldiers, to George W. Bush, who was governor of Texas and about to make his first presidential run.

	Aug. 3, 2011 Obama Takes Economic Team on Burger Run After Debt-Limit Deal A day after signing a compromise debt-ceiling bill into law, President Obama took his economic advisers to lunch at a Capitol Hill burger joint.

	Aug. 3, 2011 With Debt Deal Done, Obama Turns to Re-election Campaign President Obama took to the Rose Garden on Tuesday afternoon to publicly put the debt and deficit deal behind him and point the spotlight once again on jobs. One job that the president will clearly be focused on Wednesday is his own.

	Aug. 2, 2011 Senate Passes Debt Deal, Ends Crisis Hours Before Default President Obama said Tuesday afternoon that the emergency default-prevention bill that cleared both houses of Congress in the past day is merely a first step toward making sure the nation lives within its means.

	Aug. 2, 2011 Watch Live: Obama to Make Statement at 12:15 p.m. ET President Obama is expected to deliver a statement at 12:15 p.m. ET in the Rose Garden of the White House.

	Aug. 2, 2011 Most Americans See 'Ridiculous' Process in Washington House Speaker John Boehner got his votes. He passed a debt limit increase tied to significant deficit reduction with two-thirds of his conference supporting the bill. He only lost 28 of those 87 House freshmen and, most importantly for his legacy, he avoided becoming the face of default and potential economic calamity.

	Aug. 1, 2011 Can Leaders Find Enough Votes for Debt Ceiling Agreement? If members of Congress from both parties and in both chambers follow their leaders, the United States is all but assured of avoiding default thanks to a last-minute agreement reached with President Obama on Sunday.



	JULY July 29, 2011 'The President Is a Sick Man' Details Secret Surgery of President Cleveland When President Grover Cleveland underwent secret cancer surgery in 1893 the public was kept in the dark for weeks while he recuperated and for decades to follow. Ray Suarez discusses the history with author, Matthew Algeo, who details the happenings in his new book, "The President is a Sick Man."

	July 29, 2011 Debating the Debate: When Words Substitute for Action As Washington's debt ceiling debate approaches its deadline, those of us who watch and cover it anxiously await its drop-dead date. Or skyrocketing interest rates. Huge tax hikes. Bottom lines. Gimmicks. Smoke and mirrors. Ticking clocks. You name it, someone has said it.

	July 29, 2011 President Obama: 'Plenty of Ways Out of This Mess' The morning after House Speaker John Boehner failed to secure enough support to hold a vote on his debt-limit plan in the House, President Obama made a statement to the press Friday, calling the situation "increasingly urgent" with the debt ceiling deadline now four days away.

	July 29, 2011 Decision to Delay Debt Vote Produces Only Losers Thursday night's decision by Republican leaders to scrap a vote to raise the debt ceiling dealt House Speaker John Boehner a stunning loss, despite the fact that the plan's prospects had been uncertain given the strident opposition among GOP conservatives and a united wall of Democratic dissent.

	July 28, 2011 Bachmann's 'Titanium Spine' Doesn't Bend Under Questioning Rep. Michele Bachmann took to the podium Thursday in Washington at a sold-out National Press Club luncheon to restate her commitment against voting for a debt ceiling increase and take questions on controversies surrounding her presidential campaign.

	July 28, 2011 Obama Preps Emergency Plan if Debt Deadline Passes With No Deal With six days left before the debt ceiling deadline arrives, there will be no shortage of reporters trying to glean intelligence from President Obama's closed-door meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Thursday afternoon.

	July 28, 2011 House Speaker Boehner Faces His Biggest Test When the House votes on Speaker John Boehner's plan to cut the deficit by $917 billion over 10 years and immediately raise the debt ceiling by $900 billion, it will, at once, represent the most meaningful vote of his term and an entirely meaningless vote in actually solving the looming debt ceiling deadline.

	July 27, 2011 Boehner's Debt Ceiling Plan Hits Snag, Vote Delayed Speaker John Boehner's challenge became tougher when the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said his plan would have only $850 billion in spending cuts -- far below the $1-$1.2 trillion he had been seeking in order to pass the first $900 billion tranche of a debt ceiling increase.

	July 26, 2011 No Deal in Sight After Obama, Boehner Address Nation The back-to-back speeches by President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, a rare event outside of the annual State of the Union event, were evidence of the seriousness of the debt limit situation.

	July 25, 2011 Watch Live at 9 p.m. ET : Obama Addresses Nation About Debt Talks President Obama will address the nation from the White House at 9 p.m. ET Monday regarding the state of the debt-ceiling negotiations as the Aug. 2 deadline to reach a deal looms a little more than a week away.

	July 25, 2011 White House Backs New Deficit Plan From Senate Dems Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid officially unveiled the outlines of his debt reduction proposal Monday afternoon at the U.S. Capitol -- as expected, it would cut $2.7 trillion from the deficit over ten years.

	July 25, 2011 No Debt Deal in Sight as Leaders Propose Rival Plans Congressional leaders and President Obama aren't closer to a deal on raising the debt limit Monday morning after talks collapsed late Friday and party leaders met throughout the weekend to find a way to avoid a government default.

	July 22, 2011 Boehner Calls Off Debt Talks; Obama: 'We Have Run Out of Time' Speaker John Boehner released a statement Friday saying, in part, "I have decided to end discussions with the White House and begin conversations with the leaders of the Senate in an effort to find a path forward.

	July 22, 2011 Democrats Unhappy Over Possible Deal Focused on Cuts President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner may be close to a deal that lowers the deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years, which would be mainly achieved through spending cuts and entitlement reforms with the promise of revenue increases through tax reform at some point next year.

	July 21, 2011 Obama Open to Short-term Increase in Debt Ceiling With negotiators running out of time to raise the country's borrowing limit, President Obama signaled Wednesday he would be willing to accept a short-term increase in the debt ceiling if lawmakers were close to nailing down a comprehensive deficit reduction plan.

	July 20, 2011 Ron Paul on Proponents of Raising Debt Ceiling: 'I Think They're Misled' In an interview Wednesday with The PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff, Republican presidential candidate and longtime Texas Rep. Ron Paul said "you can't solve the problem of debt by raising the debt limit." Watch the rest of Judy's interview with Ron Paul on Wednesday's NewsHour broadcast.

	July 19, 2011 Conservative Groups Oppose McConnell-Reid Debt Plan Just as the McConnell-Reid backup plan on the debt ceiling is gaining steam in the Senate as the likeliest outcome that avoids default, conservative groups are ramping up pressure to take it down.

	July 18, 2011 Congress Prepares for Show Votes on Debt Ceiling The United States Congress will once again become a Kabuki theater troupe this week when the House of Representatives puts the "cut, cap and balance" plan on the floor Tuesday despite it having nearly no chance of becoming law.

	July 15, 2011 President Obama: It's 'Decision Time' on Raising Debt Ceiling The weeklong series of White House meetings with President Obama and congressional leaders has produced one concrete result: There will be no meeting Friday. President Obama will instead use his bully pulpit, which Friday will be the White House press briefing room podium, to frame the current state of affairs.

	July 14, 2011 Democrats Spell Out Debt Default Consequences Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks with Sen.

	July 14, 2011 Frustration, Deadlock Dominate Talks on Lifting Debt Ceiling If the threat of a credit rating downgrade from Moody's Investors Service and a warning of possible "financial calamity" from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke doesn't bring congressional leaders and President Obama closer to an agreement, what will?

	July 13, 2011 President Obama Hauls In $86 Million for Campaign, DNC He may have to fight sky high unemployment, persistent economic pessimism and an energized political opposition to win re-election, but if he loses President Obama will not be able to blame it on being underfunded.

	July 12, 2011 Clock Is Ticking on Debt Ceiling Agreement After yet another meeting at the White House Monday, the bipartisan group of congressional leaders charged with hammering out a deal with President Obama agreed to meet again on Tuesday.

	July 11, 2011 'Betty Ford: The Real Deal' Charts Public Battles, Personal Triumphs We've been looking back at the life of Betty Ford -- outspoken wife of President Gerald Ford, advocate for breast cancer awareness and activist for equality issues -- who died Friday at age 93.

	July 11, 2011 Watch Live at 11 a.m. ET: President Obama's News Conference President Obama will update reporters Monday on the status of deficit and debt ceiling talks.

	July 11, 2011 Debt Ceiling Negotiations Enter Round 3 The debt and deficit negotiations are now aimed at accomplishing two goals. The first goal for all sides sitting around the table is to get a deal in place by Aug. 2 to avoid any negative impact on the economy. The second goal, which is being pursued concurrently, is to emerge from the talks as the political winner.

	July 10, 2011 No Deal Yet After Sunday Debt Limit Meeting Congressional leaders left the White House Sunday evening without news of a deal to reduce the federal deficit and raise the debt limit after meeting with President Obama for the second time on the issue.

	July 8, 2011 Activist and First Lady Betty Ford Dies at Age 93 Betty Ford -- wife of President Gerald Ford, advocate for breast cancer awareness and activist for women's issues -- died Friday with her children around her at age 93.

	July 8, 2011 President Obama Gets His Monthly Jobs Report Card A jobs report does not an election make, but the Obama economy is in a rut and the president is going to find it harder and harder each month to earn the patience of the American people.

	July 7, 2011 Obama, Congress Search for Grand Bargain on Debt Ceiling At his news conference last week, President Obama called on members of Congress to "do something big" when it comes to raising the country's debt ceiling. It appears he plans to hammer home the point with top House and Senate lawmakers when they arrive at the White House Thursday morning.

	July 6, 2011 President Reverses Policy on Condolence Letters President Obama will begin sending condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide in combat zones, he announced Wednesday, reversing a longstanding policy.

	July 6, 2011 Obama to Host Twitter Town Hall Sure, President Obama may use his 2 p.m. ET Twitter event to move the ball rhetorically on the deficit talks, but his hosting of the first ever White House town hall on the popular micro-blogging social media site is well worth noting.

	July 5, 2011 Congress Gets Back to Work on Debt Ceiling The debt/deficit problem facing the country didn't go away over the Fourth of July holiday. As Aaron Sorkin's fictional President Bartlet once said, "My point is this: Break's over."

	July 4, 2011 Campaign Cash Race Is on for GOP '12 Contenders, Obama Campaign Republican presidential contenders spent the July 4 holiday on the campaign trail. Lately most have spent their time feverishly dialing for the dollars they will need to support their campaigns. NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian updates us on the race for campaign cash.

	July 4, 2011 Fourth of July Celebrations Draw Families, Troops and Presidential Hopefuls Americans at home and abroad celebrated Independence Day with parades, barbeques, and fireworks. Judy Woodruff reports on how Americans celebrated Independence Day here and abroad.

	July 4, 2011 The 9 Deadly Diseases That Plagued George Washington George Washington is a mainstay of history books for fighting everything from the British Empire to a cherry tree, but his private battles may have been the fiercest.

	July 1, 2011 As Debt Deadline Looms, Leaders Remain Far From Agreement Washington's debt talk theater delivered an encore presentation Thursday, with Obama administration officials and Republicans in Congress trading verbal jabs, one day after the president admonished lawmakers for not acting with a sense of urgency to raise the federal government's $14.3 borrowing limit.



	JUNE June 30, 2011 New Counterterrorism Plan Too Narrow, Some Analysts Say One day after the White House released its counterterrorism strategy to conquer al-Qaida and its partners, the Defense Department announced the death of a leader of the Haqqani terrorist network.

	June 29, 2011 Vietnam's 'Haunting' of Post-War Presidents Explored in New Book "Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama," written by the father and daughter team of Marvin and Deborah Kalb, examines the war's lingering grip on several generations of civilian leaders and military strategists. Judy Woodruff and the authors discuss the shadow still cast by America's "lost war."

	June 29, 2011 California Voters Ask: What Happened to Our State? A remarkable thing happened in California this past weekend. Voters came together to talk about how to get their state government back on track. Remarkably, there was little yelling -- mostly they listened respectfully to one another. Judy Woodruff reflects in this Rundown post.

	June 29, 2011 Watch Live: President Obama's News Conference Watch President Obama's news conference live from the East Room of the White House Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

	June 29, 2011 Obama to Hold News Conference Amid Debt Ceiling Talks The last time President Obama held a major news conference, an earthquake and tsunami had just struck Japan, the revolt in Libya was a month old, a budget deal had yet to be hammered out to avert a government shutdown, the unemployment rate was below 9 percent, and the president had yet to declare he is running for re-election.

	June 28, 2011 President Obama, Palin Head to Iowa The Iowa caucuses are a little less than eight months away, but the Hawkeye State will be the center of the political universe Tuesday as it plays host to President Obama and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

	June 27, 2011 Bachmann Rides Momentum Into Race for GOP Nomination The 2012 GOP presidential field will get a serious jolt of Tea Party fervor Monday when Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann formally kicks off her campaign in Waterloo, Iowa. She couldn't have picked a better time to launch a bid if she tried.

	June 24, 2011 With Debt Talks Stalled, It's Up to Obama and Boehner With five weeks to go before the U.S. government could begin defaulting on its financial obligations, it's now up to President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to settle the differences between their two parties over raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

	June 23, 2011 Obama's Middle Ground Is Between a Rock and a Hard Place By seeking the middle ground in unwinding U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, President Obama now finds himself on an island.

	June 22, 2011 Obama Unveils Afghanistan Drawdown Plan: What Will Allies Think? President Obama outlined his plan Wednesday to withdraw 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by summer 2012, saying "it is time to focus on nation building here at home." Judy Woodruff discusses the impact of the president's decision with The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus and The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol.

	June 22, 2011 Obama on Afghan War Drawdown: 'The Tide of War Is Receding' In a primetime address Wednesday night, President Barack Obama announced that 33,000 U.S. troops -- the full amount of the surge he announced in 2009 at West Point -- will be leaving Afghanistan by the end of summer 2012. Here are the president's full remarks as prepared for delivery.

	June 22, 2011 President Obama Faces Difficult Test in Afghan Speech President Obama has to tout the real successes in the war effort (killing of Osama bin Laden, diminishing al-Qaida's strength, increasing Afghan military and police capacity to protect their own nation) while also arguing for why a major presence of U.S. troops is still needed for years to come.

	June 21, 2011 Huntsman to Launch Campaign With Biography, Style Up Front One truism of American presidential politics is that biography is not destiny. But biography is a key gateway for a huge swath of voters to decide whether or not a candidate is worth giving a hearing.

	June 20, 2011 Political Checklist: Huntsman Ready to Jump Into 2012 Fray Gwen Ifill and David Chalian marvel at the fact that more Republican candidates, including former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, are getting into the 2012 race in late June.

	June 20, 2011 The Morning Line: Perry Weighs White House Run Texas Gov. Rick Perry roused the audience at the Republican Leadership Conference over the weekend, leading many to wonder if he will make a run for the White House.

	June 17, 2011 Gwen's Take: Under the Big Top, Part II: Enough About Me - What Do You Think? Gwen Ifill looks back at the week that was in politics and media in Gwen's Take.

	June 16, 2011 The Morning Line: Romney's the Man to Beat

	June 15, 2011 What Is the War Powers Resolution of 1973? House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent President Obama a letter Tuesday claiming that he will soon be in violation of the War Powers Resolution, as the 90-day mark of the U.S.' involvement in NATO air strikes in Libya approaches.

	June 15, 2011 The Morning Line: Huntsman Gets Ready to Rumble Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has been on the sidelines for the first two Republican presidential debates of the 2012 campaign.

	June 14, 2011 The Morning Line: Romney Emerges an Emboldened Frontrunner From Debate Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney walked into his first debate of the 2012 nomination contest with a significant lead in national and New Hampshire polls.

	June 13, 2011 Obama Pledges to Grow Economy as New Faces Join GOP Debate in N.H. President Obama pledged Monday at an energy-efficient lighting plant in North Carolina to make good on a promise to grow the economy. Meanwhile, Republican presidential hopefuls were preparing for a second debate. Judy Woodruff gets an update on the 2012 campaign from Political Editor David Chalian, reporting from New Hampshire.

	June 10, 2011 The Doubleheader: Bad Economic News, Anthony Weiner and the NBA Finals New York Times columnist David Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Political Editor David Chalian discuss President Obama's ability or inability to handle the economy and the ongoing Rep. Anthony Weiner scandal.

	June 10, 2011 The Palin Emails: 5 Places to Dig In A reading frenzy has begun after the release of a collection of emails between Sarah Palin and her staff, officials and family.

	June 9, 2011 The Morning Line: Obama's Election Map Might Need an Update President Obama's path to the White House in 2012 may be different than it was in 2008.

	June 8, 2011 The Morning Line: Obama to Renew Focus on Jobs President Obama repeated his oft-used line Tuesday about how when he wakes up in the morning his first thought is about how to get more Americans back to work.

	June 7, 2011 Merkel and Obama Emphasize Economic Stability, Mideast Peace German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Obama addressed questions about their countries' sluggish economies and the missions in Afghanistan and Libya at a news conference Tuesday.

	June 7, 2011 The Morning Line: Pawlenty Rolls Out Economic Plan Shocking as it may be, President Obama and every serious contender for the Republican nomination agree on one important fact: The 2012 presidential election is going to be fought and won on the economy.

	June 3, 2011 The Morning Line: Amid Poor Jobs Report, Obama Will Tout Autos Success On a day when President Obama heads to Ohio to tout the successful rescue of the American auto industry, he'll have to combat brutal headlines about a labor market that seems entirely stalled.

	June 2, 2011 The Morning Line: Frontrunner Romney Officially Launches 2012 Campaign You can circle today on your calendar as a turning point in the 2012 campaign for the Republican nomination for president.



	MAY May 30, 2011 Obama Names Army Gen. as Chief Military Adviser Army Gen. Martin Dempsey is expected to replace Adm. Mike Mullen as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

	May 27, 2011 Romney Set to Formally Declare Candidacy in New Hampshire On the eve of Mitt Romney's first trip to Iowa, home of the first-in-the-nation caucuses, the Union Leader reports that he plans to formally declare his candidacy next week in New Hampshire, home of the first-in-the-nation primary.

	May 26, 2011 GOP Seeks to Move Budget Debate Beyond Medicare One day after seeing an electoral rebuke to the House GOP budget proposal that overhauls Medicare into a voucher-like system for future beneficiaries, only five Republican Senators defected in support of it after Democrats forced a vote on it Wednesday night.

	May 25, 2011 Democrat Hochul Pulls Upset Win in New York House Race In a decisive victory Tuesday, Democrat Kathy Hochul defeated Republican Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, 47 percent to 43 percent, in a heavily GOP congressional district.

	May 24, 2011 All Eyes on Battle for House Seat in Upstate New York If Democrats score an upset victory in a special House election Tuesday in upstate New York, they'll claim it was all about rejecting the GOP budget plan and its controversial overhaul of Medicare.

	May 23, 2011 President Obama Goes to Europe: Track His Trip President Obama will spend this week in Europe, meeting with dignitaries in Ireland, England and Poland. He'll break away for the G8 summit in France, where he's expected to ask for a financial plan to help struggling democracies Egypt and Tunisia.

	May 23, 2011 Pawlenty Officially Launches 2012 Campaign for White House Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, gets his moment in the spotlight Monday when he officially declares his candidacy for the White House at a 12:30 p.m. EDT town hall in Des Moines, Iowa.

	May 20, 2011 Gwen's Take: Dog Whistle Politics: You Talking to Me? The past several days have handed me a cluster of excuses to return to one of my favorite topics: what happens when politicians speak in code.

	May 20, 2011 Huntsman Gives Debut Interview as Likely Presidential Candidate The former U.S. ambassador to China and Utah governor emerged largely unscathed from his first TV interview since returning stateside and stepping up his activity as a likely presidential candidate.

	May 19, 2011 After Obama Speech, What's Next for Arab World, Israeli-Palestinian Relations? In a speech Thursday, President Obama called for support of democratic reforms in the Arab world and steps toward peace in the Middle East. Jeffrey Brown discusses the president's address and U.S. policy with reporter Mona Eltahawy, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk and American University of Beirut's Rami Khouri.

	May 19, 2011 Bahrainis 'Thrilled and Surprised' by Obama's Call for Dialogue In a speech Thursday, President Obama pledged aid to Arab nations that are shifting toward democracy and renewed calls for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state settlement. Margaret Warner reports from Bahrain on reactions to the president's address, which called for dialogue between that nation's government and the opposition.

	May 19, 2011 President Obama to Address Arab Spring, 'Turn the Page' on Policy in Region President Obama takes the stage to address U.S. policy as protesters demanding change across the Arab world appear to have stalled in their mission, as the conflict in Libya remains in a stalemate and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process seems moribund.

	May 18, 2011 Grand Deal on Deficit Reduction Unlikely as Coburn Quits Talks The quest for a bipartisan solution to the country's short- and long-term deficit problems got a lot tougher Tuesday when Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., walked away from the negotiating table.

	May 17, 2011 Romney Hits the Jackpot in Las Vegas Fund-raiser Mitt Romney's haul from his Las Vegas call-day exists, for the time being, in a vacuum, without any other figures for comparison. And that was precisely the campaign's goal as it set out to boast financial prowess, intimidate the opposition and build momentum for Romney's second attempt at winning the White House.

	May 16, 2011 Romney Raises $10 Million in One Day The all-but-formally announced presidential candidate Mitt Romney raised $10.25 million in campaign cash Monday, according to his campaign, via an 800-person phone bank operation headquartered in Las Vegas that he promoted in a telephone call and Facebook video event Monday.

	May 16, 2011 Political Checklist: We've Hit the Debt Ceiling, Now What? Gwen Ifill and David Chalian examine why, if the nation has hit its limit for borrowing, has there been no outcry from the markets or the political system? Gwen suggests that Wall Street is well-aware that Congress is known for making politics out of the debt ceiling increase, but always raises the limit before it is too late.

	May 16, 2011 World Week Ahead: Obama's Mideast Speech; Reports From Bahrain Amid continuing protests in the Middle East and following the departure of his Mideast envoy, President Obama plans to deliver a policy speech on the region on Thursday.

	May 16, 2011 Gingrich Calls GOP Budget 'Right Wing Social Engineering' Former House speaker Newt Gingrich broke from his party leadership on the Hill by stiff-arming the budget drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and passed last month in the House.

	May 13, 2011 Rep. Paul Launches 2012 Bid, Hopes Third Time's the Charm Rep. Ron Paul made it official Friday, becoming the second full-fledged presidential candidate in the GOP's 2012 field, coming on the heels of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's move Wednesday.

	May 12, 2011 Romney Aims to Tackle His Health Care Conundrum Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a tough assignment Thursday when he takes the stage at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to discuss health care.

	May 11, 2011 How Will Gingrich's Political Past Determine His Future? He may have left public office in the '90s, but Newt Gingrich will announce Wednesday that he's running for president in a manner very befitting of 2011.

	May 10, 2011 President Obama to Renew Push for Immigration Reform When President Obama takes to the stage Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, and launches the next phase of his public campaign to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, he'll be doing so against the backdrop of the recently released 2010 Census data.

	May 9, 2011 For President Obama, Back to the To-Do List Is there any doubt that President Obama woke up Monday morning and thought, "Hey, let's do last week again. That was fun."?

	May 9, 2011 Obama Describes Risks of Bin Laden Raid, Miss. River Nears Record Levels In an interview on Sunday's "60 Minutes," President Obama said he was aware of the political risks of conducting the raid but decided to proceed with the intelligence available. And Syrian security forces arrested hundreds in Monday raids.

	May 6, 2011 Without Heavy Hitters, First GOP Debate Does Little to Shape Race The lack of attendance by Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and other top-tier presidential hopefuls at Thursday night's GOP debate was notable enough to get its own round of questioning.

	May 4, 2011 President Obama to Tell His Side of the Story President Obama plans to sit down with Steve Kroft of CBS' "60 Minutes" on Wednesday to tell his version of events leading up to and overseeing the killing of Osama bin Laden.

	May 3, 2011 'Bin Laden Bounce': Obama's Approval Rating Jumps, Except for Economy There are, of course, huge military, intelligence and national security implications caused by the death of Osama bin Laden, but political reverberations are also at play.

	May 3, 2011 Panetta: Obama Couldn't See Bin Laden's Death, but Received 'Geronimo' Signal In a newsmaker interview with Jim Lehrer on Tuesday, CIA Director Leon Panetta describes the final tense seconds of the commando raid on the compound housing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan -- and the culmination of a nearly 10-year manhunt.

	May 3, 2011 Obama Pleads for Bipartisanship in Bin Laden Aftermath At Monday's previously scheduled White House dinner with congressional leaders, committee chairs and ranking members of both parties, President Obama highlighted the sense of American unity surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden and appealed to the lawmakers for more bipartisan action moving forward.

	May 2, 2011 The Politics of the Killing of Osama Bin Laden It will take days, if not a few weeks, for the full political impact of President Obama's announcement that Osama Bin Laden has been killed to take hold.

	May 1, 2011 Osama Bin Laden Killed in Pakistan, President Obama Says President Obama told the nation Sunday night that Osama bin Laden, long-hunted leader of the al-Qaida terror group and mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight in Pakistan following a lengthy intelligence operation.



	APRIL April 29, 2011 Obama and Palin: The Script's the Same Imagine how proudly gratified I was this week to scroll through my Twitter feed and discover that Barack Obama and Sarah Palin have so much in common.

	April 29, 2011 Clean-up Begins After Devastating Storms in the South President Obama met with local officials and survivors in Tuscaloosa, Alabama Friday morning and said he had "never seen devastation like this."

	April 28, 2011 For President Obama, 'Birther' Issue Is a Teachable Moment For years now, conspiracy theorists have stoked false rumors about President Obama's place of birth. On Wednesday, the president called their bluff, and in doing so, attempted to shift the country's focus back to more serious issues.

	April 27, 2011 The Obamas Gave $131,000 to the Fisher House Foundation Last Year. What Is It? The Obama document du jour may be the President's birth certificate, but here on the Business Desk we've been looking into another document: the First Family's tax return.

	April 27, 2011 Obama Releases Full Birth Certificate, Calls Controversy 'Silliness' The White House today released President Obama's long-form birth certificate, hoping to put an end to speculation that he has been lying about where he was born.

	April 26, 2011 Barbour's Surprise Adds Further Uncertainty to GOP Field Surprise. That one word, more than any other, summed up the reaction to Haley Barbour's decision not to run for president next year -- and for good reason.

	April 25, 2011 Haley Barbour Not Running for President Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is ending his nascent campaign for the presidency, his office announced Monday. Barbour will continue as governor of Mississippi and policy chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

	April 25, 2011 Republicans Get a Tough Break on Spring Recess When House Republicans voted on their 2012 budget the Friday before the congressional recess, there figured to be plenty of stories over the course of the following two weeks about how the plan was being received in their home districts.

	April 22, 2011 Sen. Ensign Resigns Amid Ethics Investigation Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is resigning from his seat in order to avoid further investigation and action from the Senate Ethics Committee looking into any possible wrongdoing related to his affair with a former senior aide's wife.

	April 21, 2011 New Poll on Libya Offers Warning Sign to President Obama As Moammar Gadhafi remains in power and a stalemate continues between the rebel forces and Gadhafi's military, President Obama has turned his focus domestically by working to avert a government shutdown, laying out his vision for how to rein in the debt and deficits facing the country and launching his re-election campaign.

	April 20, 2011 Polls Show Support for Fixing Deficit, but Not for Remedies The storyline after November's midterm elections was that voters had sent a clear message to lawmakers in Washington to reduce the size and scope of government. And it appears many Americans still feel that way.

	April 19, 2011 Poll, Credit Rating Complicate Obama's Mission on Deficit On a day when he's scheduled to hold the first of a series of town halls to sell his vision for bringing down the deficit, President Obama is greeted by a new poll that shows 57 percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy and fresh headlines about the dangers of the country's debt.

	April 18, 2011 Obama Hits the Road to Sell Deficit Reduction Plan President Obama put forward a plan last week to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years. Now he has to sell it to the American people.

	April 15, 2011 The Bully Pulpit Advantage: Budgets, Deficits and 2012 A few weeks ago, I mused in this space about why anyone would want to be president. This week, I had an epiphany. And so did Rep. Paul Ryan.

	April 15, 2011 Vote on Ryan Budget Sets Stage for 2012 If you weren't paying close attention this week, you may have missed it. But make no mistake about it, this was the week that defined the contours of the political battle set to dominate the discourse for the next 19 months.

	April 14, 2011 Lincoln Assassination Film 'The Conspirator' Raises Timely Justice Questions Ray Suarez reports on a new film profiling Mary Surratt, the sole woman implicated in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and the questions raised about the use of military commission trials, both then and now. He is joined by screenwriter James Solomon and retired U.S. Army Col. Fred Borch.

	April 14, 2011 House Vote on Budget Compromise Looks to Be Rocky Remember that much heralded 11th-hour deal to cut $38.5 billion from this year's federal spending in order to avert a government shutdown? Well, it turns out actual savings in this year's spending are only about 1 percent of that sum, and conservatives are none too pleased.

	April 13, 2011 Obama to Unveil 'Grand Bargain' on Deficit and Debt Reduction President Obama is set to give a major speech on his plan to address the nation's deficits and debt.

	April 12, 2011 Civil War's Causes: Historians Largely United on Slavery, But Public Divided On the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War at South Carolina's Fort Sumter, Judy Woodruff has an excerpt from Ken Burns' "The Civil War" and discusses the conflict's causes and legacy with Harvard University's Drew Gilpin Faust, Howard University's Edna Medford and the University of South Carolina's Walter Edgar.

	April 12, 2011 Around the Nation: 150 Years After the American Civil War Tuesday marks 150 years since the opening shots of the Civil War. See how public media outlets across the nation are covering the anniversary.

	April 12, 2011 The Civil War: Between the Battles There is an old combat adage that states, "War is long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror." It's a saying that exemplified the military experience for both Northern and Southern soldiers, according to Kelly Knauer, the editor of "TIME Civil War: An Illustrated History."

	April 12, 2011 For Romney, a Challenging Path to GOP Nomination The moment Mitt Romney officially tossed his hat into the 2012 presidential ring, the press coverage immediately turned to describe why the perceived front-runner is a flawed contender for his party's nomination.

	April 11, 2011 Shutdown Showdown Just the Start of Spending Debate on Capitol Hill On this week's edition of the Political Checklist, Judy Woodruff and David Chalian explain how last week's near-government shutdown was just a preview to bigger debates over raising the debt ceiling, budgets and entitlement reform.

	April 11, 2011 Obama and GOP Prepare for Much Bigger Fights Ahead Political leaders in Washington were able to avoid a government shutdown by reaching a deal centered on $38.5 billion in spending cuts for the remaining six months of the fiscal year. The debate over the fiscal crisis facing the United States now moves from the billions to the trillions.

	April 8, 2011 Gwen's Take: Ideology vs Idiocy: The Shutdown Showdown As the shutdown showdown approached its third or fourth climax late this week, I found myself in Flint, Mich.

	April 8, 2011 Lawmakers Must Beat Midnight Deadline to Avoid Shutdown When the clock strikes midnight Friday the federal government will run out of money and all non-essential operations will grind to a halt unless Democratic and Republican negotiators are finally able to resolve the differences over spending cuts and policy provisions that have divided them for weeks.

	April 7, 2011 With Shutdown Imminent, 'Narrow' Differences Remain Congressional leaders have taken budget negotiations to the brink of a federal government shutdown, and Thursday is almost certainly the point of no return.

	April 6, 2011 Budget Negotiations Down to Wire, Shutdown Looming Two days. That's all congressional leaders have to agree on billions in cuts to a trillion-plus dollar budget in order to avert a government shutdown at midnight Friday.

	April 5, 2011 Ryan Risks Political Backlash With GOP Budget Rollout As Congress wrangles over relatively minuscule reductions in non-defense discretionary spending for the remainder of the fiscal year, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is taking the long view Tuesday as he rolls out the House Republican budget for FY 2012 and puts a marker down on major reforms to Medicaid and Medicare.

	April 4, 2011 Obama Looks to Grassroots Base, Battlegrounds With 2012 Bid In a YouTube video posted Monday, President Obama announced his candidacy for the 2012 election and filed official paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Gwen Ifill discusses the announcement with political editor David Chalian.

	April 4, 2011 Political Checklist: GOP to Unveil a Budget, Obama Opens Re-Election Bid In this week's Political Checklist, Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff and David Chalian look at the details of the looming April 8 government shutdown deadline as well as Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's Tuesday budget announcement, which is expected to advocate cuts to both the top tax rate and to entitlements.

	April 4, 2011 President Obama Launches 2012 Re-election Campaign "It Begins With Us" is the name of the video that the Obama 2012 campaign emailed to its 13 million supporters shortly after 5 a.m. EDT Monday, marking the official launch of the president's re-election effort.

	April 1, 2011 Iowa, I Hear You Calling I have this little theory that has long served me well. Everything, I believe, is politics. This is why I love politics and don't mind politicians. So it is with no small amount of anticipation that I look forward to the 2012 campaign.

	April 1, 2011 Jobs Up, Unemployment Down as Economy Continues Recovery The economy added 216,000 jobs to the payroll in March, and the unemployment rate ticked down a notch to 8.8 percent, according to reports released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday morning.



	MARCH March 31, 2011 Congress, White House Make Progress On Budget, But No Deal Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner's spokesman are in agreement on one key thing: Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.

	March 30, 2011 Revisiting the Reagan Assassination Attempt, 30 Years Later On the 30th anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, Jr., Judy Woodruff discusses that day's events with the Washington Post's Del Quentin Wilber and Dr. Joseph Giorando, who led the George Washington University Hospital trauma team that treated the president.

	March 30, 2011 Tea Party Poses a Dilemma for Boehner in Budget Battle As the clock ticks once again toward the government shutdown deadline - April 8 - the NewsHour asked Todd Zwillich, Washington correspondent for the Takeaway radio program from Public Radio International and WNYC, to explain the influence of the Tea Party-inspired Republican freshman in the House of Representatives.

	March 30, 2011 Judy Woodruff on Covering Reagan Assassination Attempt Normally I keep the word "I" out of my reporting. That's what we were taught as journalists in the early 1970s. But if there's one episode that caused me to break with that precedent, it's what happened 30 years ago today, on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.

	March 30, 2011 'Rawhide Down': Former Secret Service Agent Revisits Reagan Shooting Scene Jerry Parr is credited with saving President Reagan's life twice on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley, Jr. opened fire. Thirty years later, the former Secret Service agent agreed to return to the scene of the shooting.

	March 30, 2011 Rising Republican Star Rubio Steps Into the Spotlight Sen. Marco Rubio, the rising Republican star from the Sunshine state, has decided to step more directly into the national spotlight that has been craving him since his arrival in the Capitol in January.

	March 30, 2011 Obama: Gadhafi Will 'Ultimately Step Down'; Rebels Turned Back at Key Cities In yet another reversal in the back-and-forth battle between forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and opposition militias, government tanks shelled the oil port city of Ras Lanouf, forcing rebels back at a city they had retaken days earlier. President Obama told NBC News that Gadhafi will "ultimately step down."

	March 29, 2011 Message Received? Obama Weaves Warning for Syria, Yemen, Bahrain Into Speech Commentators and bloggers are buzzing today with critiques of President Obama's speech on Libya. He's taking hits for the questions he didn't answer -- What happens if Gaddafi stays in power? -- and for the broader issues he didn't address -- Where's the "Obama Doctrine"?

	March 29, 2011 Obama Lays Out Strong Defense for Military Action in Libya President Obama spent much of his speech Monday night defending his decision to use military force in the coalition effort to protect civilians in Libya. His defense was forceful, grounded in a worldview where America still plays the role of unique leader and tied to the country's core values.

	March 28, 2011 Obama: History Is Not on Gadhafi's Side; Libyans Will Determine Own Destiny In a prime-time speech Monday evening, President Obama addressed the nation on the U.S. mission in Libya and the military's continuing role in coalition airstrikes protecting civilians from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces. Here is the full text of his speech.

	March 28, 2011 President Obama Set to Address Nation on Libya President Obama probably feels pretty good about making his big speech on Libya on a day when the lead headline in the New York Times is: "Rebels In Libya Make New Gains Amid Airstrikes."

	March 25, 2011 Rocks and Hard Places: Why Governing Is So Hard Every four years as I set off to cover another presidential election cycle, I secretly ask myself: why do any of these people want to be president? Consider the choices that have faced the current president just within the last few weeks.

	March 24, 2011 View From Rio: How Brazil Pays the Price for 'Economic Miracle' When President Obama visited Brazil this week, he touted the two countries' similarities and the mutual benefits of economic cooperation. But while Brazil is enjoying an economic renaissance, its residents are experiencing some growing pains along the way.

	March 24, 2011 The Morning Line: Welcome Home, Mr. President President Obama's schedule on his first day back at the office since launching U.S. military strikes in Libya has him behind closed doors throughout the day...for now.

	March 23, 2011 Political Checklist: Health Reform's Uncertain Future and Conflict in Libya The Political Checklist is back this week, and Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff and David Chalian look into how public opinion regarding President Obama's signature health insurance reform law is reverberating in American politics one year after it was signed into law.

	March 23, 2011 The Morning Line: Health Care Reform Turns One A lot has happened in the year since President Obama signed health reform into law. And despite all the campaign rhetoric, legislative battles and legal action, public opinion seems to be right where it was when the president put ink to paper and Vice President Joe Biden proclaimed the occasion to be "a big [bleeping] deal."

	March 22, 2011 And They're Off...Pawlenty Launches '12 Republican Race With yet another highly produced Hollywood-style video, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has taken the plunge as the first major contender for the Republican presidential nomination to open an account with the Federal Election Commission for the purposes of eventually setting up a full-blown campaign.

	March 21, 2011 Pawlenty Takes His First Step Toward '12 GOP Nomination Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Monday he has formed a presidential exploratory committee, making him the first major Republican candidate to take an official step toward running for the GOP nomination in 2012.

	March 21, 2011 As Commander in Chief, Obama Seeks Contrast With Bush Both in his ultimatum to Moammar Gadhafi on Friday and again in his remarks Saturday in Brazil announcing military action against Libyan government forces, President Obama appeared wary of leading a war weary nation onto a third battlefield.

	March 18, 2011 Gwen's Take: Mixed Signals: When to Send Them, How to Read Them I was sitting behind the wheel on Pennsylvania Avenue Thursday afternoon in the kind of traffic clog that those of us who live in Washington, D.C., have become accustomed to. The clamor of sirens signaled that President Obama's motorcade was about to pass.

	March 18, 2011 President Obama Heads to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador As President Obama makes his first presidential foray into Latin America, he does so with a pair of international crises in Japan and Libya far from resolved.

	March 17, 2011 House GOP Makes Another Run at Cutting NPR Funding House Republicans are putting funding for NPR back on the chopping block Thursday. On Tuesday, the House passed a three-week temporary spending bill with $6 billion in cuts, including $50 million from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS.

	March 16, 2011 April 8 Looms in Battle Over Budget April 8 looms as the deadline by which a continuing resolution must be passed funding the government for the remaining six months of the year -- or a shutdown will occur.

	March 15, 2011 Some Republicans Plan to Break Ranks Over Stopgap Funding The most important vote tally to watch Tuesday will be the one that indicates how many Republicans in the House voted against the three-week continuing resolution brought to the floor by the GOP leadership.

	March 14, 2011 President Obama to Push for Reforms to 'No Child Left Behind' As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama was often critical of the implementation of No Child Left Behind and the lack of full federal funding accompanying the law, but he always placed himself in the camp that thought the law should be mended, not ended.

	March 11, 2011 In News Conference, Obama Addresses Disaster in Japan, Oil Prices, Libya In a news conference Friday afternoon, President Obama called the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan a "catastrophic disaster," adding that images of the aftermath have been "heartbreaking.

	March 11, 2011 President Obama Has a Full Plate Ahead of News Conference When President Obama takes the podium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to take questions from the press, he does so with a great many unresolved issues on his plate.

	March 11, 2011 Rest in Peace, David Broder There have been a lot of reminiscences shared about David Broder this week. Writers write. That's how we celebrate, and that's how we grieve. And I haven't been able to stop reading everyone's version of life with Dave, and marveling at how often the stories overlap.

	March 9, 2011 E-mails Show Possible Crack in Wisconsin Stalemate As Democrats in the Wisconsin state Senate reached the end of their third week hiding out in Illinois, there was a possible glimmer of movement away from each side's fortified positions in the battle over collective bargaining rights and slightly toward compromise.

	March 8, 2011 Senate's Votes on Budget Expected to Fail Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have a pretty good idea about how far apart they are when it comes to funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year, but they're expected to vote Tuesday on two measures to find out for sure.

	March 7, 2011 Republican Presidential Hopefuls Take the Stage in Iowa The first big Hawkeye State cattle call in the battle for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination is set to take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET at Point of Grace Church in Waukee, Iowa.

	March 4, 2011 Wisconsin Budget Stalemate Reaches Tipping Point Republican Gov. Scott Walker announced Thursday that he would start sending layoff notices to 1,500 state workers Friday unless the impasse over his budget repair bill is resolved.

	March 3, 2011 Gingrich Ready to 'Test the Waters' of 2012 Presidential Bid The former speaker of the House is expected to announce that he plans to start testing the presidential waters at a news conference at the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta.

	March 2, 2011 Former House Speaker Gingrich Prepares to Make His Move Newt Gingrich has indicated that he'll soon clarify his intentions for a presidential run.



	FEBRUARY Feb. 28, 2011 Two-week Stopgap Puts Talk of Shutdown on Hold Senate Democrats have signaled they can support a two-week funding measure put forward late last week by House Republicans that contains $4 billion in cuts from current spending levels.

	Feb. 25, 2011 Governors Making Their Annual Visit to the White House President Obama waves to guests as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House earlier this week.

	Feb. 24, 2011 President Obama's Views on Same-sex Marriage Are Evolving The news out of President Obama's Justice Department that the administration will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court should come as no big surprise. Mr. Obama has long been publicly committed to legislatively repealing the 1996 law.

	Feb. 22, 2011 Political Checklist: Wisconsin Standoff, Spending Showdown and Chicago In this week's edition of the Political Checklist, Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondent Gwen Ifill look at the political standoff in Wisconsin, the spending showdown in Congress and the Chicago mayoral race.

	Feb. 22, 2011 South Dakota's Thune Says 'No' to 2012 Presidential Run John Thune is going to pass on 2012. The second-term South Dakota senator announced Tuesday he would not seek the Republican presidential nomination next year.

	Feb. 22, 2011 Stalemate Over Labor Rights Continues in Wisconsin Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will directly address the residents of his state Tuesday about the "current fiscal year challenges, the divisions which have arisen over the past week and his positive vision for moving Wisconsin forward," according to his aides.

	Feb. 21, 2011 A Presidents Day Reading List Two of the NewsHour's regular historian guests gave us a recommended reading list for the holiday.

	Feb. 17, 2011 Republicans Plan Vote to Cut $61 Billion From Budget House Speaker John Boehner may have lost an intra-party skirmish on funding for an alternative engine for a fighter jet and Democrats may have wooed enough Republicans to restore funding for police officers, but the big moment many new members have been waiting for is due to arrive later Thursday.

	Feb. 16, 2011 On Capitol Hill, a Budget Faceoff Now that President Obama has unveiled his budget proposal and gone before reporters to defend it, we can start paying attention to the real budget battle in town.

	Feb. 15, 2011 Poet, Basketball Legend, Former President Among Medal of Freedom Recipients The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, was awarded to 15 individuals Tuesday, including former President George H.W. Bush, billionaire investor Warren Buffett and poet Maya Angelou. Kwame Holman reports on the ceremony.

	Feb. 15, 2011 President Obama Defends 2012 Budget In a news conference Tuesday, President Obama defended his proposed 2012 budget, acknowledging that "there will be plenty of arguments in months to come, and everybody's going to have to give a little bit.

	Feb. 15, 2011 House Republicans Seek to Fulfill Campaign Pledge on Budget House Republicans campaigned on a pledge to cut $100 billion from the budget this year, and they're seeking to fulfill that pledge as they kick off Tuesday's debate about how to fund the government through Sept. 30.

	Feb. 14, 2011 Cuts, Deficit Highlight 2012 Budget Blueprint, But Battles Loom in Washington President Obama submitted his $3.7 trillion federal budget blueprint for 2012. Gwen Ifill speaks with White House Budget Director Jack Lew about the details of the budget and Judy Woodruff has the Republican reaction from Sen. Rob Portman, a member of the Senate Budget Committee and former budget director under George W. Bush.

	Feb. 14, 2011 President Obama's Opening Bid for 2012 Budget: $3.73 Trillion President Obama's message of "Winning the Future" in his State of the Union address was the poetry. Now comes the prose.

	Feb. 11, 2011 Obama Administration Spells Out Endgame for Fannie, Freddie In a long-awaited report, the Obama Administration unveiled a series of proposals today calling for the eventual end of the troubled and often-criticized mortgage financing giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

	Feb. 11, 2011 On Day 2 of '12 Cattle Call: Thune, Romney, Pawlenty, Daniels, Paul The largest annual gathering of conservatives got underway Thursday as more than 11,000 activists flocked to Washington to size up their potential choices for the 2012 Republican nomination.

	Feb. 10, 2011 Obama: Egypt Needs 'Immediate, Meaningful' Transition of Authority The White House released a statement from President Barack Obama Thursday evening on the latest developments in Egypt: "The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient."

	Feb. 10, 2011 CPAC Sets the Stage for 2012 GOP Hopefuls The list of confirmed speakers for this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) set to get underway Thursday reads like a who's who of potential Republican contenders for the party's 2012 nomination.

	Feb. 9, 2011 Economy, Spending on the Menu for Obama's Lunch With GOP President Obama will welcome the top three Republicans in the House of Representatives for lunch Wednesday at the White House, part of his renewed outreach to GOP lawmakers since the "shellacking" suffered by Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections.

	Feb. 8, 2011 Rumsfeld Settles Scores, Spreads Responsibility for Iraq War "At its heart, it is a revenge memoir," writes NewsHour senior correspondent Gwen Ifill in her Washington Post review of former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld's new book, "Known and Unknowns.

	Feb. 7, 2011 Reagan Remembrance Offers Chance to Take Stock of Current Political Climate Three thousand miles from the White House, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan proved to be an unusual, even audacious event, much like the man himself. Judy Woodruff files a dispatch from the ceremony.

	Feb. 7, 2011 Obama Faces the Opposition in Speech to Chamber of Commerce It will be a very short trip across Lafayette Park Monday morning as President Obama makes his way to speak at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But don't let the physical distance fool you.

	Feb. 4, 2011 For Nancy Reagan, White House Offered 'Role of a Lifetime' Judy Woodruff previews "Role of a Lifetime," a new PBS documentary on the political life of former first lady Nancy Reagan.

	Feb. 4, 2011 On Centennial Celebration, Reflecting on Ronald Reagan's Legacy With Sunday marking the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth, watch an excerpt of a 1989 interview where Jim Lehrer spoke with the former president about debating then-President Jimmy Carter.

	Feb. 4, 2011 Ronald Reagan on 'There You Go Again,' Other Notable Debate Moments Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of former President Ronald Reagan and begins a yearlong celebration of his life and legacy. Watch an excerpt of a 1989 interview with Jim Lehrer in which he explains the backstory behind some of the highlights -- and low points -- of his presidential debates.

	Feb. 4, 2011 President Obama Likely to Face Questions on Egypt When President Obama takes the stage with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he will face his first series of public questions from the press about the crisis in Egypt since it has escalated over the course of the last week.

	Feb. 3, 2011 President Obama's Push for Innovation Hits Happy Valley The crisis in Egypt has largely sidelined President Obama's plan to sell his "Winning the Future" message delivered in his State of the Union address. Think back over the last week if you have seen President Obama doing anything other than deal with Egypt.

	Feb. 2, 2011 Remembering Nancy Reagan's Crucial Role as Husband's Centennial Nears As we approach the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth on Feb. 6, 1911, there will be some re-thinking of his presidency and the role he played in history. But no examination of him is complete without a careful look at the woman who was by his side for more than half his life.

	Feb. 2, 2011 Senate to Vote on Repeal of Health Care Reform Law As most of official Washington keeps its eyes on the streets of Cairo, the Senate on Wednesday will continue its ongoing debate over President Obama's health care reform law.

	Feb. 1, 2011 Judge's Health Care Ruling Sparks Political, Legal Debate In the most sweeping denouncement of the law to date, a federal judge in Florida ruled Monday that the entire health care overhaul enacted last year is unconstitutional.



	JANUARY Jan. 31, 2011 Political Checklist: Egypt Crisis Changes the Agenda at the White House In this edition of the Political Checklist, Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff discuss how a foreign affairs crisis like the popular revolt in Egypt forces a White House to change its script.

	Jan. 31, 2011 Obama Administration Taking Cautious Approach to Egypt As thousands of protesters in Egypt continue to call for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, the Obama administration is being careful not to advocate a specific outcome in the conflict, instead calling for an "orderly transition" to a more representative form of government in the country.

	Jan. 31, 2011 Protests Continue in Egypt, Investigation Into Afghan Bank Shows Massive Fraud A week after protesters first converged on downtown Cairo, tens of thousands continue to march and call on President Hosni Mubarak to step down after 30 years in office.

	Jan. 31, 2011 Nancy Reagan: The Role of A Lifetime The documentary explores the life of a first lady whose power and influence were often underestimated. Friends, family, historians, members of Ronald Reagan's political inner circle and the former first lady herself tell the story of Nancy Reagan,.

	Jan. 28, 2011 The Doubleheader With Shields and Brooks: Egypt, SOTU and Reddit We're back. It's 2011, and we're bringing our brand of political flavor to new audiences around the globe. Watch Hari Sreenivasan's web-only interview with Mark Shields and David Brooks.

	Jan. 28, 2011 Why the Best Part of the State of the Union Address Wasn't the Speech Seldom have I watched the president's annual speech to the joint session of Congress with anticipation that had so little to do with the contents of the address itself.

	Jan. 27, 2011 Nancy Reagan's Life in Photos A visual timeline of Nancy Reagan's life.

	Jan. 27, 2011 Watch Live: President Obama Answers Questions on YouTube President Obama is answering user-submitted questions on his State of the Union address in a special interview on YouTube Thursday.

	Jan. 27, 2011 Possible '12 Opponents Romney, Palin Criticize Obama Most national polls show former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney at or near the top of any potential Republican field in 2012, and Wednesday night he inched closer to announcing another run for president.

	Jan. 26, 2011 State of the Union Reactions From Public Media Stations Around U.S. Reactions continue to roll in regarding President Obama's latest State of the Union address ), plus the pair of responses from the GOP.

	Jan. 26, 2011 Looking for an Elusive Middle Ground on Government Spending For all the comity on display at the State of the Union address, finding a political middle ground on the issue of government spending looks tough.

	Jan. 26, 2011 Obama Road Tests Message on Economic Competitiveness in Wisc. President Obama took his State of the Union message on the road Wednesday, traveling to Manitowoc, Wisc., to speak at Orion Energy Systems, a company that focuses on energy technology.

	Jan. 26, 2011 State of the Union Has the Feel of a Re-election Launch President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night was far closer to the launch of a re-election campaign than to a listing of policy prescriptions or a tough love conversation with the American people about the inevitable hard choices that are before us.

	Jan. 26, 2011 Pence, Gillibrand, Brown and Gingrey React to the State of the Union Speech The NewsHour spoke with lawmakers from both parties at the U.S. Capitol immediately following President Obama's State of the Union address for reactions to the speech.

	Jan. 25, 2011 Full Text of Obama's 2011 State of the Union Following is the full text of President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery and released by the White House press office.

	Jan. 25, 2011 Annotated 2011 State of the Union Address Click on the red links to the left of the text to take a closer look at President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address through expert analysis, NewsHour videos and more. The text of the remarks below is as prepared for delivery and released by the White House.

	Jan. 25, 2011 Gibbs on Deficit: 'We Did Not Get Into This Overnight' White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs talks to Gwen Ifill about spending and the budget deficit as part of a preview of President Obama's State of the Union address.

	Jan. 25, 2011 Bipartisan Seating at State of the Union Pairs Odd Couples, Friendly Foes Amid new calls for political civility, several lawmakers attending tonight's State of the Union have signed on to a bipartisan seating plan. The plan has led to some interesting seat pairings. We've asked the NewsHour's political team to help us recap a few of those "odd couples."

	Jan. 25, 2011 President Obama to Offer 'Robust Agenda' in State of the Union White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett took to the morning shows Tuesday to preview President Obama's State of the Union address, saying that the president will be presenting "a robust agenda that lends itself to strong bipartisan support."

	Jan. 24, 2011 Political Checklist: State of the Union Preview In this week's Political Checklist, NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff preview President Obama's State of the Union address.

	Jan. 24, 2011 Ahead of State of the Union, Drawing Battle Lines on Budget Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., took to the Sunday morning airwaves to draw the anticipated budget battle lines in the upcoming dominant debate in Washington as they pre-sponded to President Obama's State of the Union address.

	Jan. 23, 2011 The Reagans Travel the World Photos of President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan on trips around the world.

	Jan. 23, 2011 Nancy Reagan's Stylish State Dinners Photos of some of the extravagant state dinners hosted at the White House during the Reagan administration.

	Jan. 23, 2011 Nancy Reagan in Hollywood Photos of a young Nancy Reagan in Hollywood.

	Jan. 21, 2011 Shields and Brooks on GOP's Repeal Effort, Obama's Overtures to Business, China Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks sort through the week's top political news, including President Obama's outreach to big business and China's president, plus the Republican-led vote in the House to repeal last year's health reform law.

	Jan. 21, 2011 President Obama Taps GE's Immelt to Head New Jobs Panel President Obama has picked Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, to head a new jobs panel.

	Jan. 20, 2011 50 Years Later, JFK's Inaugural Address Continues to Resonate On the 50th anniversary of his inauguration, watch an excerpt of John F. Kennedy's famous speech on the steps of the Capitol that began his presidency on Jan. 20, 1961.

	Jan. 20, 2011 Kennedy's Inauguration Still Captivates, 50 Years Later On the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy inauguration, we look back on President Kennedy's speech, as well as some never-before-seen photos from the event.

	Jan. 20, 2011 Why Is JFK's Legacy So Enduring? Americans love to take note of anniversaries, both good and bad. This week, many are remembering President John F. Kennedy's Inauguration, 50 years later.

	Jan. 20, 2011 At Midpoint of Presidency, Obama Is on the Upswing In the aftermath of the tragic shootings in Tucson and following a lame-duck congressional session full of positive headlines for the White House, President Obama "is riding a surge of public support," according to Jonathan Weisman and Danny Yadron of the Wall Street Journal.

	Jan. 19, 2011 Will U.S.-China Talks Reset Tone in a Competitive Relationship? Jeffrey Brown examines the undertones of the meetings between Presidents Hu and Obama with Susan Shirk of the University of California's Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, George Washington University's David Shambaugh and Minxin Pei of Claremont McKenna College.

	Jan. 19, 2011 Obama, Hu Talk Up Cooperation, But Big Differences Persist President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao vowed Wednesday to seek common ground while acknowledging that both nations are major competitors in the world market. Jeffrey Brown has more.

	Jan. 19, 2011 Obama, Hu Emphasize Cooperation President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao answered reporters' questions in a news conference at the White House Wednesday after meeting with business leaders from both countries. Both presidents emphasized cooperation and the need for a positive relationship between the two powers.

	Jan. 18, 2011 Hu's Visit Highlights U.S.-China Rivalry, Need for Pragmatism Chinese President Hu Jintao is headed to Washington to meet with President Obama at the White House, a reciprocal visit of sorts after President Obama traveled to Beijing in November 2009.

	Jan. 18, 2011 Congress Starts Up Repeal of Health Care Reform Law The House of Representatives returns to work Tuesday after putting legislative business on hold for a week to reflect on the Jan. 8 shootings in Tucson, Ariz., that left six people dead and 13 others wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

	Jan. 18, 2011 Obama to Meet With China's President, Attack Kills 45 Iraqi Police Recruits Chinese President Hu Jintao is headed to Washington on Tuesday in preparation for a series of meetings with President Obama and a state dinner.

	Jan. 13, 2011 Pawlenty Appears Primed for a White House Run Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's whirlwind media tour swept through Washington, D.C., Thursday, the city he hopes to make his home a little more than two years from now.

	Jan. 13, 2011 The Morning Line: President Obama's Call For Civility The Morning Line starts off this Thursday with a look at some of the reporting on President Obama's remarks at Wednesday's memorial service in Tucson.

	Jan. 12, 2011 President Obama Calls For Talk That Heals, Not Wounds President Obama traveled to Tucson Wednesday to help memorialize those who died in the shooting rampage that took place there last Saturday, and to honor those who are still struggling with their wounds.

	Jan. 12, 2011 Full Coverage: Memorial in Tucson The NewsHour is planning live streaming online coverage of Wednesday's Tucson memorial service at 8 p.m. ET, followed by a special edition of the broadcast.

	Jan. 12, 2011 Politicians Targeted by Assassins Law enforcement is calling the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the murder of six others in Tucson, Ariz.., an assassination attempt. We take a look at some of the failed and successful assassinations of American presidents and members of Congress throughout history.

	Jan. 12, 2011 President Obama Set to Address Nation at Memorial Service President Obama is set to deliver remarks about Saturday's shooting rampage in front of thousands at a memorial service Wednesday evening on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, with millions more Americans watching around country, all listening for words of compassion, strength and hope.

	Jan. 11, 2011 As Rhetoric Swirls, Political Centrists Look to Seize Moment Before President and Mrs. Obama touch down in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday to lead the country in a memorial for the victims of the shooting rampage there, the Obama administration will work carefully to determine just how much they want the president to delve into the political debate that has been spawned by these tragic events.

	Jan. 10, 2011 Shooting of Rep. Giffords Pauses Partisan Rhetoric in Washington A week that looked to be full of heated partisan rhetoric as Republicans work to repeal the health care reform law will instead have a much more subdued tone.

	Jan. 7, 2011 Of Symbols and Meaning: Or, How to Read Too Much Into Anything Just a few weeks before Christmas in 1996, I was seated in the front row in an auditorium at the Old Executive Office Building across from the White House.

	Jan. 6, 2011 William Daley to Be Named Obama's Next Chief of Staff President Obama is expected to name William Daley as his chief of staff in a statement at the White House Thursday afternoon.

	Jan. 6, 2011 Watch Live: Constitution Reading in the House Members of the House will read the entire U.S. Constitution on Thursday morning.

	Jan. 6, 2011 Day 2 of New Congress: Read Constitution, Cut Spending A civics lesson will transpire before C-SPAN cameras at 10:30 a.m. Thursday as Republicans have scheduled a reading of the U.S. Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives, a symbolic move viewed as a nod to the Tea Party movement that swept many of the 87 new GOP lawmakers into office.

	Jan. 5, 2011 Boehner Set to Take the Speaker's Gavel, Putting GOP in Control After 20 years in Congress and a midterm election that saw his party net 63 seats, Ohio Republican John Boehner will become the 61st Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

	Jan. 4, 2011 The Morning Line: Welcome Home, Mr. President After nearly two weeks out of town, President Obama returns to the White House Tuesday morning with a pretty hefty to-do list.