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Scott Pelley, CBS "Evening News" anchor: How do you create jobs in this country? Robert Johnson, founder of BET: Unfortunately now, I don't think we have the leadership either in the White House or the Congress to end what I call a zero-sum game mentality towards the U.S. economy. And until both parties agree that the goal is to rebuild the American economy to reflect the 21st century on a global environment - we're going to be stuck. And it's a little bit frightening from the standpoint of a business person and particularly an African-American business person. Pelley: What do...

Tavis Smiley says the President is ignoring blacks, the "most loyal" part of his base who "ought to be looked out for." Smiley spoke to NBC's Lester Holt. In April, Smiley said the 2012 elections will be "the most racist in the history of this Republic. "It's just not that black folks are hurting the most now. It's that there's no sign that it's going to get any better. There really are two questions in black America, I think, Lester, have to wrestle with. At least two questions. Number one: what is the pain threshold in black America? What is...

"We can put people to work and strengthen the economy by building solar and wind facilities. Refurbishing inefficient buildings, building smart grids smart trains. And putting people to work instead of continuing this addiction to very expensive, dirty oil and coal," Al Gore said on Tuesday night's edition of "The Colbert Report."

“I’ll put it this way, you don’t deserve to keep all of it. It’s not a question of deserving, because what government is, is those things that we decide to do together," Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) told the Don Wade & Roma show on WLS-AM. "I think you need to pay your fair share for things we've decided are our national priorities," Schakowsky added.

While addressing college students in Richmond, VA, President Obama was surprised to learn that schools use trailers, also called 'modular buildings' or 'modular classrooms.' During his visit Obama said he was approached by an educator who mentioned she teaches in a trailer. Obama did not mention that the teacher had a problem with her situation, but he made it clear this was unacceptable. "I just -- in the back, I was taking some photos with folks who had helped out to organize this event, and there was a young lady who is a teacher. And she said, “I heard your...

"A more important number that our pollsters say is in there is this idea that is this a long-term setback for him or a short-term one? 54-percent said long-term. Our pollsters are concerned. That’s kind of numbers you have when the public starts to give up on a president as a problem solver," NBC's Chuck Todd said on the "Nightly News."

White House press secretary Jay Carney was asked by ABC's Jake Tapper to give a response to Teamsters President James Hoffa's controversial comment at yesterday's union rally in Detroit, Michigan in which President Obama also attended. Tapper asked for the White House's reaction in light of President Obama calling for civility in political rhetoric after the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. "First of all, those weren't comments by the president," Carney told Tapper. "The President wasn't there. I mean, he wasn't on stage. He didn't speak for another twenty minutes. He didn't hear it." "Mr. Hoffa speaks for himself....

Former Governor Sarah Palin gave the keynote speech at a Tea Party rally in Indianola, Iowa on Saturday afternoon. "We sent a new class of leaders to DC, but immediately the permanent political class, they tried to co-opt them. Because the reality is we are governed by a permanent political class, until we change that," Palin said about career politicians. The speech, roughly 40 minutes, ranged from politics to policy. Palin made sure to address reforming taxes and entitlements. Palin called for eliminating all federal corporate income taxes and called entitlement reform "our duty." As predicted, Palin took a swipe...

CBS White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell said President Obama displayed his engagement to the federal government's response to Hurricane Irene by returning a day early from vacation and meeting with the head of FEMA. O'Donnell says the administration wanted to make sure no comparison to the government's handling of Katrina was made. "I think it's important to note too that the Obama administration was really determined to avoid any comparisons to the failed federal government response to Hurricane Katrina. So, President Obama made a very public display of his engagement on this issue. He returned from his vacation a day...

Goolsbee in his own words: "In the year 2010 which is when most of the clips when the president was saying we were going to grow again. We were growing and over that 17 months we added two-and-a-half million jobs. "Now, at the beginning of this year we get earthquakes, tsunamis, revolutions in the Middle East, European financial crises, now they even have earthquakes out of Washington, D.C. I mean, we've had a series of things that have put some heavy blows and slowed the economy back down again. But, I think it's a little -- I don't think you...

Karl Rove responds to controversy over his speculation if Fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin will indeed enter the GOP field. Rove said chances are she will jump in, but was not definitive in his observation. "I mystified," Rove said about his speculation. "Look, she is all upset about this saying how I am trying to sabatouge her in some way. How do I speculate on her future." "Look, if she doesn't want to be speculated about a potential presidential candidate there is an easy way to end the speculation. Simply say 'I'm not running.' Instead, every time she pops up in...

"The fact that America exists is an inspiration to the rest of the world," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said in an interview with Sean Hannity from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. "Ronald Reagan and the things he stood for defined so much of what I experienced growing up and to be here today just brought all that back and to have a chance to talk about the two major issues during Ronald Reagan's presidency. "One, what would America's role in the world be -- and that, of course, led to the end of the Cold War. "And the other is...

Comedian and actor David Cross appeared on Current TV's "Countdown" program Monday evening to promote his upcoming movie and other gigs when the conversation turned to a recent study that watching one hour of television shortens your life by 22 minutes. Cross was being very serious on how this would benefit his pocket because that would mean he would not have to pay for medical care of the elderly who are "not contributing anything." Keith Olbermann, the host of "Countdown," believes this is a Darwinian idea. Transcript below: David Cross: "I don't mind, I like the idea -- or I'm...

Earlier on Monday, the President told the press he would produce his deficit plan to the not-yet-in-existence bipartisan, bicameral "super committee." Here's what he said: I realize that after what we just went through, there’s some skepticism that Republicans and Democrats on the so-called super committee, this joint committee that’s been set up, will be able to reach a compromise, but my hope is that Friday’s news will give us a renewed sense of urgency. I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed. And that committee will have this administration’s full cooperation....

"I think the Commander in Chief has a particular personal responsibility to the families of every service person. This is one of those critical moments he should be there. We'll see what he says today. This is going to rip the scab off every feeling about this war. Joe Biden, who gets beat up for his mental limitations, and yet he was the one that understood intuitively this should be a counterterrorism operation. Then he was beaten down by the sophisticates who said we have to stay there. And then you wonder, what are the sophisticates really offering here in...

During his interview with Obama 2012 campaign strategist David Axelrod, "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer played a clip of President Obama talking with NBC's Matt Lauer a few weeks after he took office. Here's what a newly inaugurated President Obama said: PRESIDENT OBAMA: that's exactly right. And — and, you know, a year from now I think people — are gonna see that — we're starting to make some progress. But there's still gonna be some pain out there. If I don't have this done in three years, then there's gonna be a one-term proposition. Schieffer, reminding Axelrod that...

ormer Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan explains how the United States can pay down the debt. By printing money. Transcript: David Gregory, moderator of "Meet The Press" on NBC: "Are U.S. treasury bonds still safe to invest in?" Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve: "Very much so. This is not an issue of credit rating, the United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that. So, there is zero probability of default." Greenspan says the S&P downgrade was just meant to hit a "nerve" and hurt the "self-esteem...

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday that the media has the responsibility to ignore the Tea Party and not give any credence to their views. Here's what he said: SEN. JOHN KERRY: "And I have to tell you, I say this to you politely. The media in America has a bigger responsibility than it's exercising today. The media has got to to begin to not give equal time or equal balance to an absolutely absurd notion just because somebody asserts it or simply because somebody says something which everybody knows is not factual. "It doesn't deserve...

"It's been a long, tough journey. But we have made some incredible strides together. Yes, we have. But the thing that we all ought to remember is that as much as good as we have done, precisely because the challenges were so daunting, precisely because we we were inheriting so many challenges, that we're not even halfway there yet. When I said 'change we can believe in' I didn't say 'change we could believe in tomorrow.' Not change we can believe in next week. We knew this was going to take time because we've got this big, messy, tough democracy,"...

"A lot of the spending cuts that we're making should be around areas like defense spending as opposed to food stamps," President Obama told in an interview with NPR. "What is true is that given the rising number of seniors and given the huge escalation in health care costs, that if we don’t structure those programs so that they are sustainable, then it’s going to be hard for the next generation to enjoy those same kinds of benefits. And so we are going to have to make some modest changes that retain the integrity of the program, but make sure...