Yesterday we heard some strong arguments against the very structure of bank bonuses from economics professor Dan Ariely. Today we hear from someone who represents the financial services industry to explain why bonuses are used.

The biggest task for President Obama in his speech on Wednesday night was to take back the health care debate after a chaotic summer where unruly town halls and misrepresentations dominated the headlines. Yesterday, it seemed, some of that chaos continued, much of it centered on two words blurted by Representative Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina): “You lie!” Wilson shouted the words in response to the president’s claim that no illegal immigrants would receive health care under his plan. Yesterday, after a request from GOP leadership, Wilson apologized for his outburst, calling it "spontaneous." For a look at how politics changed for Republicans this week we speak to Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has been working on its own health care bill. We also talk to Jackie Calmes, Washington correspondent for the New York Times, about the raucous disagreement between the political parties and what it means for health care reform. (Read the full interview transcript)

In case you missed the presidential address, here it is in its entirety:

As the lavish AIG executive bonuses continue to infuriate the nation, the Obama administration is swearing to step in. But due to existing contracts and the rule of law, their hands may be tied. So what's a President to do? The New York Times' Jackie Calmes joins us to discuss.

For more, read Jackie Calmes' and Edmund L. Andrew's article, Obama in Effort to Undo Bonuses Granted by A.I.G., in today's New York Times.

President Obama says he's open to ideas from both parties when it comes to the budget, but who are the Congressional gatekeepers to Obama’s ambitious agenda? The Takeaway talks to New York Times National Desk reporter Jackie Calmes about the committee chairmen who will determine how Obama’s spending and taxation plans will move forward.

For more read Jackie's article in the New York Times, Obama’s Budget Faces Test Among Party Barons.

View the Obama administration job questionnaire »

"It's like 'Give us the rope to hang you.'" -- Jackie Calmes, talking about a particularly probing question on the application for a job in the incoming Obama administration