Steve Inskeep talks with Michele Flournoy, who served as undersecretary of defense for policy in the Obama administration. Flournoy weighs in on foreign policy challenges facing the president in his second term.
Morning Edition has a team of reporters spread out across the city, getting a feel for how things are going in different areas. Thousands of people are descending on the nation's capital to be a part of President Obama's second inauguration.
Vice President Joe Biden first ran for president in the 1980s. He tried again in 2008 before becoming President Obama's running mate. At a weekend inaugural event, Biden declared, "I'm proud to be president of the United States." His son politely corrected him. One persistent question is whether Biden may try one more run in 2016.
One of the chief expectations of those who voted for President Obama is that he moves assertively to pass climate change legislation, whatever the political climate in Washington. But that won't be easy given the polarization in Washington.
The president's record on keeping his campaign promises over the last four years: 47 percent, according to the watchdog PolitiFact. A boon to Obama's promise-keeping came from the passage of big-name programs like the economic stimulus package and the education program Race to the Top.
House Republicans held their annual retreat this week in Williamsburg, Va., to figure out their next steps. They dropped a demand to have spending cuts for ever dollar the debt ceiling is raised, at least for the next three months. GOP lawmakers are now pinning their hopes for deficit reduction on other looming budget battles.
Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Mara Liasson about whether the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans can find some common ground and overcome the political gridlock that characterized much of the president's first term.
Four years ago, when the nation's first African-American president was inaugurated, even conservative editorial cartoonists marked the moment with reverence. Now, not so much. Political cartoonists Scott Stantis of the Chicago Tribune and Matt Wuerker of Politico weigh in on the evolution of a president's image.