Imam Rauf Says Moving Mosque Might Fuel Terrorism, and More Sunday Talk
Imam Rauf says moving the "ground zero mosque" might fuel terrorism, John Boehner stuns with talk of a tax compromise, and Austan Goolsbee talks straight on job recovery. That and more in our roundup.
Imam Rauf: Moving Mosque Would Fuel Terrorism
In an exclusive interview on This Week, the imam of the proposed “ground zero mosque,” Feisal Abdul Rauf, said that bowing to protesters’ demands to move the religious center away from the downtown Manhattan site would “strengthen the radicals in the Muslim world” and fuel terrorism.
Rudy Giuliani: Good Imam, Bad Imam
Meanwhile, on Meet the Press, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said that Imam Rauf’s attitude is “not the kind of tactic that I would have expected from an imam who’s featured as a man of conciliation.… I’d hate to simplify it, but that’s the only way to do it: There’s the Good Imam and the Bad Imam.” Spoiler alert: Per Giuliani, they’re both Imam Rauf.
Tax Compromise? Could Happen, Says John Boehner
Bob Schieffer had to check his hearing on Face the Nation after House Minority Leader John Boehner suggested Republicans might be on board with allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire. “If the only option I have is to vote for those at 250 and below, of course I'm going to do that,” Boehner said.
Austan Goolsbee: Job Recovery Unlikely Any Time Soon
In his first interview since becoming the new chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee went on Fox News Sunday to discuss—what else—job losses. A less-than-optimistic Goolsbee told Chris Wallace, “I don't think the unemployment rate will be coming down significantly at any time in the near future.”
Napolitano and Townsend Talk Homegrown Terror
In a roundtable discussion on State of the Union, Frances Townsend, former Homeland Security Adviser to George W. Bush, and current Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano discussed the threat America faces from homegrown terrorists. “Putting this in context, let me claim some success for the secretary and former secretary,” Townsend said. “We’ve reduced al Qaeda from a 9/11-type, massive, spectacular attack to the idiot with the bomb in his underwear, or the guy who screws up the bomb in Times Square.”
Schieffer to Boehner: Thank You for Smoking. Not.
In a heated moment on Face the Nation, host Bob Schieffer—himself a former smoker and cancer survivor—held Rep. Boehner’s feet to the flames when he grilled him on his smoking habits. Flame on!
The Trouble With ABC News
Broadcasting & Cable magazine’s Marisa Guthrie went on Reliable Sources to weigh in on the sudden resignation of ABC News chief David Westin. Guthrie says that the real trouble with ABC News is that they lack a cable news outlet comparable to MSNBC and Fox News, leaving it vulnerable to contractions in the market.