A slight slowdown in economic growth this week as new unemployment numbers showed that March only added half the amount of jobs February. We featured a debate this morning on the role government should play in a struggling economy.
Ohio governor John Kasich (R) argues that the nation's economic recovery is "too anemic" at the federal level and that his state could be a model. "Ohio's coming back because we set a clear path," Kasich said. "We cut taxes, we balanced our budget... And we've created an environment and an atmosphere for job growth."
Senator Durbin, on the other hand, argued that following Republican [and Mitt Romney's] proposals for the federal budget would take the country backward and harm economic recovery.
"I think governor Mitt Romney's approach to this thing sadly is a return to the same economic policy we had under President Bush that brought on the worst recession since the Great Depression."
As for the GOP horse-race, Governor Kasich has not endorsed anyone and says he will wait until a nominee is chosen before weighing in. However, in the fall, thinks his state's contest will be "tight as a tick," adding that independent voters will be the key.
Watch our entire program on our website including a special roundtable discussion on the role of faith in our politics and whether or not a politician's religion should matter to voters.
We were joined by Archbishop-designate of Baltimore William Lori; daughter of Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz; United Methodist Pastor Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO); member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID); and Executive Editor at Random House, as well as author of “American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation,” Jon Meacham.
We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.
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Balanced discussion???????????
This wasn't a discussion it was just another Interviewer having a "pep" rally and not doing his job. Its called counter questions David !
The statement " would never vote for an Atheist, because they have no basis for morality" went unchallenged!
A full 16% of Americans are Atheists and 24% more don't go to Church, but say they do! Atheism is the fastest growing group in the Country!
Clearly and for the past year, Christopher Hitchens has conducted debates all through the Southern Bible Belt taking on all comers and winning hands down. He even debated David Blair in Toronto and beat him!
So, how is it that the Bible and the Story of Jesus all came from the God of Egypt Horace? Why did the Exodus debunked by Conservative Jewish Archeologists! Why were tens of thousands of Jewish artifacts found only in Egypt by them dating hundreds of years after the Exodus, proving they never left, proving there was no Moses bringing down any ten commandments! Which, by the way are all from the Code of Hamerabi and Confucius!
But according to Meet the Pressure, none of this exists!
Really disgusting Interview!
Takes this woose off my Channel!
Get a real interviewer, not a child scared of doing his job!
i agree with your panel saying religion should not be matter in election. but, people are not being sincere when it comes to politics i wonder if any one them can vote for Muslim even though he or she is qualify for the position......
I agree with Colin Powell. What difference would it make if a candidate were a Muslim? This is a SECULAR country. These people are running for President not Pastor!
David, How could you let Kacick geet away with saying that they balanced the budget in 1997 without a tax increase. What were those Clinton tax rates that we're now fighting over, chopped liver? A 1993 tax increase was central to balancing the budget.
Rep. Labrador speaks of respect and cohesiveness, and then uses the Presidents last name only when referring to him. Would he have said "Bush"? I think not. John Meacham, thank you for your insight, Representative Claever...amen.
Balanced discussion?????? I just wanted to agree with your comment Judith I have just been preached at by Billy Graham's daughter - I am going to take a shower now!
I also had to shower. UNREAL. AND in the beginning didnt she say something like, i'm not that religious, i hope to talk about that later. ugggg. then he started to ask her what everyone was thinking about the whole religion thing (" i'm not religious, but i'm preaching my ass off and this dude isnt EVEN trying to stop me, THINNG. ) he totally started to ask that, and at the end veered off.. couldnt believe it!!! last time i'll watch.
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Okay, I have a few questions. If the Archbishop believes in human dignity and that his faith should be allowed to inform his public decisions are they also not suppose to inform his religious decisions. The Roman Catholic Church is harboring 1000's of pedophiles...where is the moral outrage for those in their own ranks. Or do they just what to impose their morality on people outside the Catholic clergy. To Ann Lotz, we had a Born-Again sitting president who let the people of New Orleans die in the street and did not lift a hand to help...is his faith informing his policy??? I don't think that just because someone says or even believes in a certain faith that that insures ANYTHING! I wish it did, but we have seen in history that it doesn't! The person is known by the fruits of his or her life and that's really all we can look at. And for sake of perspective...I joined the Catholic Church independent of my family at 16 and was Born Again in 1976! All I am asking is that everyone live up to what they say they are or get out of the discussion!
wow, great comment.
It is very sad to see people equating religion with morality, and seeming to imply that atheists cannot be moral--no, it is more than an implication, I think, an outright statement. How arrogant and self-righteous! I know atheists who are some of the most moral people you would ever find. Billy Graham's daughter feels that one must "fear God" in order to be moral, just as a child must fear that they will be punished if they disobey the rules. I know many people, atheists certainly among them, who do the right thing not because they fear they will incur the wrath of God if they do not, but simply because they know it is the right thing to do and want to do it. Simply because they actually care about the welfare of others. History is filled with many examples of murder and hatred in the name of religion or in the name of God.
Thanks for representing my thoughts so well.
thanks. i hate whenpeople generalize. but i feel pretty safe in generalizing about people of faith (christians especially) know nothing about athiests. They thinnk we hate god. We dont. People of faith cant comprehend what we believe, so im not even going to try. (one reason is they dont want to understand, if they do , eeek, they'll question there own belief.) atheists think only about making this life better, taking care of each other, the planet, helping each other. The thought that only morality can come from a crazy, violent , incredibly mean god, cruel even-- book, they call the bible. amazes me.
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This guy needs to share his secret for "cutting taxes and balancing the budget" all at the same time.
Agreed, RAM. And not only are there atheists that are moral. There are "people of faith" that aren't. Just as Meachem said, "We are, as a nation, people of faith by polling if not by practice!"
Your panel is not representing every faith or lack there of. I am an agnostic and there are no athiests or agnostics on the panel discussion. I agree with jan jones-2604875 (post) and other posts of similar vane. You do not need religion to be a moral person. Please add a non-religious person to your panel in the future.
David, I thank you for a least having a member of the Church on your panel today.
It seems most of the meida panels want to have a discussions about what Mormon's believe, with everyone but a Mormon.
One clarification, you said that the Church is a "new church", but even the shortest study of the Church's doctrine, would lead you to understand that it's not what Church teaches.
The Church claims to be the restored Church Jesus established during his ministry.
Thus the name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Respectfully Jerry Treber
Fort Worth Texas
ii'm an atheist. i thought it was cool too to have a mormon on the panel too. although i thought he did a bad job of representing mormons. Of course, after i thought that, i thought, how old is this guy 25. wow.
What an outrage you have committed by not having a single secular thinker amidst this group of religious nuts. They all blather about "respect" and tolerance and no one challenges Graham's daughter's despicible insult that she would not vote for an atheist. These hypocrites want tolerance only for those who believe in their god. You should be ashamed to call this a balanced discussion.
David, is Leviticus that bans everything from shaving to pork chops.
By the way, if the priest wants freedom to practice his religion, then why is he in the real estate and insurance businesses?
A note to Billy Graham's daughter...during the show you used the word "God" and the word "Fear" in the same sentence not once, but twice! That kind of talk does not resonate with people today as it did in the olden days. The days of using God as a fear tactic are coming to an end as we all approach the coming spiritual age and are being enlightened as to who we "really" are. The word "Fear" is a dark word (negative) and as most of us believe, God is light and love (positive). So a negative and a positive does not make a positive now does it! I don't really believe your message this morning fits the new conciousness of today's world.
The Bishop and his talking points are the reason people are leaving the Catholic Church. As a forty plus year Catholic I can no longer participate; the hypocrisy is beyond the pale. Why is the panel so one sided and why are the premises they are making not being challenged.
I am not surprised that the poll showing numbers of each side who would be uncomfortable with a Morman is getting strong press coverage. However, I think popular interpretation may be somewhat off. The poll is too narrow if that was the only question.
Had I responded to said poll, I would be among the 46% of democrats "uncomfortable with a Mormon", not because I feel badly toward Mormons (I have relatives who are Mormon), but because I feel uncomfortable with ANY mention of religion connected to politics. A candidate, especially a candidate for President, must be responsible for and to all Americans of all faiths.
Dr. Virginia Traylor
Silver Spring, MD
Where are the women invited to discuss spirituality and contraception? Anne Graham Lotz' capitulation to the the catholic bishops is a disservice to Protestantism's historic struggle for the freedom of conscience of the individual and also a disservice to women, science, medicine, spirituality, humanism, and democracy. The men on the panel cannot speak to this issue except by inherently invalidating womens' speaking for themselves by purporting to speak on behalf of women on an issue that pertains to them, and Anne's "fear of God" seems to be a fear of men in authority. David, please consider thinking farther outside this confining "box" when you choose your guests. Spirituality and Christianity are much broader than this and it is disheartening to have the Christian perspective represented by authoritarian voices and responded to by those who don't take them on.
David, we must ask again, where are the women? Anne Graham Lotz' capitulation to the Catholic bishops is a disservice the the historic struggle of Protestantism on behalf of the primacy of the individual conscience, and her fear of God seems to represent a fear of men in authority. The men on the panel cannot but imply that women are incapable of speaking on matters of spirituality and conscience by purporting to speak for us, and even the non-Catholics seem to have no force of conviction to counter the bishops' position because it is not personal for them. The spectrum of Christian thought is much broader than this disregard for freedom, science, medicine, and conscience, and women's voices need to be better represented than by Anne Graham Lotz who has no feminist instincts whatsoever. It is disheartening to repeatedly hear the Christian viewpoint represented by those who are so authoritarian and implicitly devaluing of women in their outlook.
Why didn't Gregory question Durbin about his comments conerning the need to buy hybrids because if we didn't there would be more bad weather? Simply ridiculous!! But not one question from MTP because they have to protect this liberal dunce.
Horrified by the Religious roundtable! Nobody challenged the twisted idea that the Government was attacking religion. The Catholic Bishop's argument is absurd. By the Federal Government insisting that all employees be treated equally by institutions who receive federal dollars or federal tax-breaks when it comes to health care, it is acting in the political and public sphere, not in a religious sphere. Every individual who receives coverage has a right to use contraception or not (individual religious freedom happens at an individual level, not at an organizational level) The churches are inserting themselves between faith and their parishioners and employees. The attempt to limit their employees ability to make their own choices is the actual attack on religious freedom. Not the administration's insistence that individuals get to make their own individual medical and religious choices.
Why do your guests , most of them think a government must cater to any one group ofpeople. When the President ask the insurance companies to pay for the cost of insurance He is taking care of business as he should. Jesus said give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. Obama did what is good for all. It is up to religion to say to its followers "that is prepared for you but do not eat it". If they succeed no get people not to partake they would have done what God wants them to do. This is the messageage that must be gotten across. Christians are not taking in the whole picture of governing into consideration. I am a Christian.
Finally David, this was your worst moderated discussion and a really badly organized panel. Please improve. Have real politics and religion discussion sometime or risk that thinking people will stop watching your show.
I believe Politicians who assert their strict belief in the Biblical God are not qualified for public service. Much of their decision making is based on a God premise. These people do not have the ability to use an inductive reasoned approach to analyzing a problem, and should not be given a position to lead a country of 300 million people.
In order to make reasoned decisions, people must be able base their information on a valid premise. A valid premises must be able to be substantiated. The biblical God , as established in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and as characterized in following books, does not meet the test. There is absolutely no witness or other evidence to validate that Biblical story. It is only a myth, expanded as it was handed down through the ages.
To quote the Bible to establish it’s validity, is like a promoting a proof that Good Witches exist because it says so in “The Wizard Of OZ“. To establish a political argument based on your biblical beliefs is irrational! Further, a person with that kind of thought process, indicates a limited cognitive ability. Look at where George Bush got us!
When religion contributes so greatly to the nation's polarized political landscape, this was a missed opportunity to discuss how to reconcile religious convictions with secular governance.
There were many weaknesses in the forming of this panel. First, many religious individuals were invited, but not one secular humanist or atheist seemed welcome. Second, there were no challenges to many statements made by guests. Ms. Graham-Lotz stated that she believed an atheist could not be a moral President, which is a despicable accusation and should have been followed-up. The Missouri congressman also made the contradictory statement that all religions are inherently arrogant and yet people should respect other points of view. Third, and most disappointingly, there was no discussion of the radical rhetoric fueled by religious candidates and media personalities.
Furthermore, where were the credible academics on such a wide-ranging topic? NBC producers should follow the balanced and considerate coverage done by Bill Moyers on the subject of American faith and politics. Jon Meacham was the sole progressive voice of moderation and historical insight.
Yes, Jon Meacham was THE voice of reason. It's almost as if the Archbishop and Ms. Lotz are trying to start a war on religion by claiming that there is a war on religion!
I, too, was waiting for for a balanced reply, hoping someone would speak up for the secularists. Ms. Graham-Lotz's unchallenged statement about atheists in politics was a cruel rhetorical attack. While bullying comments like these are easily dismissed by seasoned secularists familiar with the "bingo-ing" of fundamentalist religion, it highlights the very real discrimination that people of reason face. The caricature of the "immoral atheist" is a monster, and it continues to divide families and communities. The flawed logic only serves to dehumanize and minimize the secularist point of view, and to discourage atheists and agnostics from seeking representation in government.