gwen: no.ne of the things that happens after these kind of national paroxysms, we were just this way when president clinton went to oklahoma city after the bombings, we were taken somewhat by surprise when president bush went to new york after 9/11 and picked up this bullhorn and talked. but these meements -- moments, all eyes are on the president. >> it is interesting that the role of mourner in chief is now part of the contemporary job description of the president. gwen: -- gwen: it was not always? >> it was not always. you can go back to gettysburg and lincoln did that, but it was not always that way. it began i think with reagan after the challenger disaster. i thought this was an important moment for president obama. he was able to deliver what is in essence a political message to the country, which is let us step back, let us cool, let us seek our better angels. but he did it in a way that was basically shorn of partisanship, i thought, and that's one of the reasons he has gotten praise a

gwen: i think mr. boehner's response was oh, those are funny numbers. >> let's go back to the gingrich era. there is one reason only in washington today that they're the ultimate scorekeeper. it was the showdown of the government in 1999. before that, white house said no, others keep score. one of the long lasting policy victories for republicans, though they lost completely on the politics on that day was to put the c.b.o. dead center. republicans say now c.b.o. numbers don't matter, that's stretching things historically, factly and politically. >> and i think democrats believe there is a bit of political upside in having this health care debate over again in some respects, threat -- at least. the democrats are hoping that republicans look extreme, that they're trying to take away aspects of the hurricane bill that people are ok with. a bigger problem is what if it does pass the house, which it probably will. it gets to the senate. how many uneasy senate democrats are there who they -- may vote to rep

once again from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. at year's end, we can use this week between two holidays to take a deep breath. and after a year as eventful as 2010 and looking forward to one that promises to be at least as important, it helps to look back and forward. remember thelma hart? she's the obama supporter who said she had become exhausted defending him, then she lost her job a few months later in many ways finding the best answer to her question and the remedy for her exaugs defined the year in politics. the question becomes now looking back on it all now, karen, how did that shake out? >> i think it shook out as a pretty conventional mid term election. all year long, right up until election day the democrats kept telling us elections are really choices between two candidates and the republicans kept saying no, this is going to be a referendum on the president. that's what midterms are for after presidential elections. they are often the american public kind of putting its foot on the brake just a bit. and ultimately wha

gwen: good evening. we begin tonight with the dramatic events in egypt and the ramifications they may have for u.s. policy in the region. the white house call the protests a very fluid and dynamic situation. that proved true today when president mubarak said his cabinet would resign but he would not. >> there's a fine line that separates freedom an chaos. i'm absolutely on the side of freedom of each citizen in press -- expressing our opinions and at the same time i am on the side of the security of egypt and i would not let anything dangerous happen that would threaten the peace and the law and the future of the country. gwen: presidents mubarak and obama spoke right after that. then the president made his own statement at the white house. >> i told him he has a responsibility to give meaning to those words, to take concrete steps and actions that deliver on that promise. violence will not address the grievances of the egyptian people, and suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. when i

gwen: who is likely to go next? covering the week, david wessel of the "wall street journal," peter baker of the "new york times." doyle mcmanus of the "los angeles times." and carol tumulty of the "washington post." gwen: good evening. it couldn't have gotten any fancier in washington this week. ruffles and red carpets and famous faces and lots and lots of hand shakes. the obama administration pulled out all of the stops for jintao's visit. also went out of the way to stress the importance of the relationship. >> at a time when some doubt the benefits of the cooperation between united states and china, this visit it also a chance to demonstrate a simple truth. we have an enormous stake in each other's success. >> break down the numbers. why is china considered to be so important? >> it is simply a matter of size. in 2000, the economy of china was smaller than the economy of california. today the chinese put out their numbers this week, china is three times the size of the california economy. this was very much abou

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we'll preview the speech, starting with kwame holman's wrap-up of today's events on capitol hill. >> lehrer: then we interview white house press secretary robert gibbs. >> we have to make some important investments in innovation and in technology. we can't simply take a knife or a meat axe to the budget. we have to do this in a way that's smart. >> ifill: we talk with two illinois senators who will cross party lines to sit together. tonight: democrat richard durbin and republican mark kirk. >> lehrer: and mark shields and michael gerson offer their pre- speech analysis. >> ifill: then, margaret warner examines the power shift in lebanon that has ignited protests in the streets. >> lehrer: and betty anne bowser has a cancer conversation with a doctor turned storyteller. >> it would cure... the word cure is such a productive word, such a tand liesing word. the implication is two things. number one is there's one cancer so that you can cure all of it and the seco

. >> gilbeto leon nos trae la información >> lo que parece ser la guión de una pelicula de terror gwenhez confrontó a us hermano >> cuanodo las autoridades llegaron encontraron a dos hombres sin vida. hombres sin vida. salio a encontrarse con un hombre, mieentras esperaba, conoció a otro hombre, durante unos tragos, los invitó a su casa. fue la última vez que se le vio viva. >> y el principal sospechosó pasó dos años en la cárcel. >> ayer sabado maurice nasnñ pagó con su vida, ser el principal sospechoso de la muerte de la mujer. >> gwen sanchez, hermano de la mujer, llegó al centro comercial yconfrontó al asesino de su hermana. >> sanchez siguió al hombre que salió del restaurante cafñ. >> y lo baleó mortalmente. >> despuñs de una breve conversacion, el hombre sacó el revolver. >> el pistolero salió del cafñ, cuando la policía llegó, y oyeron otro disparo un balazo que ñl mismo se dio >> un extraño y trágico incidente en san josñ >> la oficina del condado de alameda identificó a la persona que se habría suicidado >> los hechos ocurrieron el jueves por la noche. >> al parecer los famil

i'm gwen ifill. new governors are sworn in, and immediately confront expensive old problems. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we talk to our public media colleagues in california, ohio, and new york about state budget woes greeting the new leaders. >> ifill: ray suarez gets the details of goldman sachs' big investment in social networking giant facebook from andrew ross sorkin of the "new york times." >> woodruff: jeffrey kaye reports on the dire health conditions facing southern sudan as it prepares for a vote on independence. >> reporter: most people have no access to health care so the challenge is not so much to improve the system. it's to create one. >> ifill: we examine the costs and consequences as >> ifill: then we examine the costs and consequences as millions of baby boomers turn 65. >> woodruff: plus paul solman looks at the job prospects for recent college graduates, who got their degrees in the midst >> once they look at of the recession. and figure i've been

representative gwen moore, fourth district, wisconsin. representative yvette d. clark, 11th district, new york, secretary congressional black caucus. representative keith ellison, fifth district, minnesota. representative hank johnson, fourth district, georgia. representative laura richardson, 37th district, california. representative andre carson,

jon meacham, john heilemann, john sununu, gwen ifill and kamala harris, and my partner al hunt. as i said to all of you, thank you very much. great to have you especially you kamala harris to come in from california. >> thank you. >> rose: good night. see you tomorrow night. >> thank you, charlie. >> thank you very much.

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the "newshour" tonight, we wrap up today's summit and assess the challenges ahead for the two superpowers. >> brown: then, betty ann bowser reports on the move to repeal the healthcare law and david chalian explains the politics-at-play in today's vote. >> ifill: paul solman explores automaker g.m.'s bet on the new electric car, the chevy volt. >> emotionally it's very important for the industry; it's important for the city; it's made here in hamtramck and it really marks the leadership in technology again from the detroit automakers. >> brown: and ray suarez examines what the merger of media giants comcast and nbc universal means for consumers. that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> for three hours a week, i'm a coach, but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer, i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions, i felt lost. united healthcare offered a specially trained r.n., who helped us wei

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the "newshour" tonight, ray suarez reports on the day of ceremony as john boehner was elected speaker and new members were sworn in. plus, norman ornstein and michael beschloss preview the congressional battles ahead. >> lehrer: then, judy woodruff talks with "newshour" political editor david chalian about the shakeup of the white house staff. >> ifill: miles o'brien looks at how growing up in the digital age affects adolescent brains. >> we're going to be dependent on technology, let's be honest here. it's definitely going to wire my brain differently than it, then how your brain was wired growing up. >> lehrer: we examine the political turmoil in pakistan after the assassination of an important provincial governor. >> ifill: and we profile minnesota photographer and storyteller alec soth. >> yeah, where there are 500,000 pictures of things uploaded on facebook. being a photographer in that environment. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, tom bearden in tucson begins our coverage of the rampage that left six dead and 14 wounded on saturday. >> lehrer: then, we get the latest from tucson mayor bob walkup. >> ifill: we look at the heated political rhetoric some have blamed for the tragedy with mark shields, david brooks, beverly gage, and kathleen hall jamieson. >> lehrer: and judy woodruff gets a medical update on giffords' condition from trauma surgeon peter rhee. >> ifill: plus fred de sam lazaro reports on the mood of jubilation in south sudan as the vote for independence gets under way. >> people have never experienced anything like this before in their history. there is great exuberance and unmitigated joy everywhere you go. >> lehrer: and we'll have the other news of the day at the end of the program tonight. that's all ahead on the newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> oil companies have changed my country. >> oil companie

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, betty ann bowser covers today's debate, and judy woodruff talks to new york democrat anthony weiner and california republican dan lungren. >> lehrer: then, as chinese president hu jintao arrives for a state visit, paul solman explores the pressure on china to revalue its currency. >> ifill: and from seoul, margaret warner gets south korean views on whether china can be persuaded to rein in north korea. >> they want obama to persuade president hu that china needs to pressure north korea to act more responsibly vis-a-vis south korea. >> lehrer: we examine what's next for apple, as c.e.o. steve jobs takes another medical leave. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> okay, listen. somebody has got to get serious. >> i think... >> we need renewable energy. >> ...renewable energy is vital to our planet. >> you hear about alternatives, right? wind, solar, algae... >> i think it's going to work an a big scal

i'm gwen ifill. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer.'ll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i mean, where would we be without small businesses? >> we need small businesses. >> they're the ones that help drive growth. >> like electricians, mechanics, carpenters. >> they strengthen our communities. >> every year, chevron spends billions with small businesses. that goes right to the heart of local communities, providing jobs, keeping people at work. they depend on us. >> the economy depends on them. >> and we depend on them. and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media acc