The National Defense Authorization Act for next year has been met with criticism by civil liberties organizations for provisions that they say would allow American citizens suspected of terrorist activities to be detained indefinitely. As the House and Senate work on versions of the bill, President Obama has quietly withdrawn a veto threat for the legislation — something he campaigned on as a presidential candidate in 2008. A Gallup from August shows that 71 percent of Americans believe basic civil liberties should not be violated, even if doing so would prevent terrorist attacks. 

President Obama says he’s withdrawing troops from Afghanistan because they have satisfied their mission. So does that also mean we no longer have enemies there- we find out soon, on The Takeaway.

We’ve heard a lot about President Obama’s ethnic background since the 2008 election: his father from Kenya, his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia. Few of us remember that the President's mother’s family came to the U.S. from Ireland. But the tiny village of Moneygall, Ireland hasn’t forgotten. Today they’re getting ready to celebrate the president as he visits his ancestral hometown for the first time. Barry Williams is a Moneygall resident - he says that many presidents have come through Ireland looking for ancestral roots.

President Barack Obama is headed to Memphis to meet with families and local officials who have struggled through flooding caused byt he Mississippi River. The president will also give a commencement address at Booker T. Washington High School, which has seen its graduation rates rise remarkably in just three years. Bill Dries, reporter for the Memphis Daily News reports.

Nicholas Kristof, columnist for The New York Times and Mina al Oraibi, Washington D.C. Bureau Chief for the Arab-language newspaper Asharq al Awsat talk about the view of the U.S. government shutdown from the Arab world. As revolutions have spread throughout the Middle East this year, American politicians have had a lot to say about the importance of democracy in the region. But today, as the U.S. government teeters on the brink of a shutdown, do these words ring hollow to Arab revolutionaries? What would a shutdown look like to the countries fighting for democracy in the Middle East?

The Obama administration made a bold decision in November 2009 that divided the country, which was still scarred by the events of September 11, 2001. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four other detainees allegedly tied to the attacks, would be tried in a civilian court in New York City, just blocks away from where the Twin Towers stood. After battling Congress for over a year, Holder reversed his decision and announced yesterday those same men will now be tried before a military commission at the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

President Obama will address the nation Monday night about U.S. involvement in Libya in a speech that will likely be one of the most important on foreign policy so far. It is a chance for the president to explain why we're in Libya and to demonstrate that he has a plan for U.S. involvement in the conflict. Bruce Jentleson, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at Duke University, and former State Department senior adviser says that this will be a defining moment for Obama's presidency.

Over the last few days, the U.S. moved very quickly from a U.N. resolution authorizing military intervention in Libya to missiles and bombs actually striking the country. In many ways, members of Congress are still catching up with the news from the White House and they have been reacting both with support and anger. Who's in charge of the no-fly zone: Britain, France or the U.S.? Who exactly are the Libyan rebels we're supporting? And why didn't President Obama consult Congress before authorizing military intervention?

A new book traces Barack Obama's Kenyan family back twenty-three generations, or roughly half a millennium. Peter Firstbrook was a documentary filmmaker for our partner, the BBC, for 25 years, is the author of “The Obamas: The Untold Story of an African Family.”  Using oral testimony from family and historical documents, Firstbrook uncovered some fascinating details of the president's family, including questions about how President Obama's father died.

Republicans are planning to undo as many of the Obama administration's regulations as they can. This includes regulations on Wall Street, health care and the EPA and greenhouse gasses. Republicans are calling these regulations "burdensome" and are creating a bill that will strip the EPA of any power to regulate greenhouse gasses or climate change.

After President Obama’s 2009 State of the Union address author Stanley Fish responded this way to Barack Obama’s performance:

“It’s as if the speech, rather than being a sustained performance with a cumulative power, was a framework on which a succession of verbal ornaments was hung, and we were invited not to move forward but to stop and ponder the significances only hinted at.”

As we anticipate President Obama’s second State of the Union Address, we’re reminiscing about our favorite presidential speeches — and thinking about what makes a speech great. Michael Waldman joins us. He’s a former Clinton speechwriter and the author of "My Fellow Americans: The Most Important Speeches of America's Presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush."

Next week, President Barack Obama will deliver his annual State of the Union address. We can expect to hear him lay out his roadmap for the next two years. Leading up to his address, we’re talking with some key political observers about the direction in which the president should and must move in his remaining time in office.

On the heels of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' visit to China last week, President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao will discuss the evolving relationship between each country's military this weeek. Gates urged the need for both countries to strengthen their military ties and keep one another informed about all their military capabilities. However, historically, China's military has been reluctant to take part in meetings with their U.S. counterparts.

After a shooting spree over the weekend that left six people dead and a U.S. Congresswoman in critical condition, President Barack Obama flew to Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday to offer his condolences to the community. Obama spoke last night at service titled, "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America." Despite the occasion for grief, many at the rally seemed energized, in part by the news that during the president's visit to her hospital bed, Rep. Giffords (D-Ariz.) opened her eyes for the first time since the attack. It was estimated that more than 14,000 people were in attendance. 

At the end of the month, President Barack Obama will deliver his annual State of the Union address. At that time, we can expect to hear him lay out his roadmap for the next two years. In the weeks leading up to his address, we'll talk with some key political observers about direction the president should and must move in while he's still in office. Today we speak with Roger Hodge, author of "The Mendacity of Hope: Barack Obama and the Betrayal of American Liberalism." Hodge is a fierce liberal critic of the president, and says Obama must focus on economic stimulus and job creation and end policies that kill jobs and attack our civil liberties.

The 112th Congress begins this week, and with the House under Republican control while Democrats still hold a slim majority in the Senate, many are expecting gridlock for the next two years. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, and Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, look at what's in store for Congress in the upcoming days, weeks, and even years. They also discuss the obstacles President Obama's health care plan may face this year: Will the plan as implemented look the same in 2012 as it does today?

How well do we really know our president? All week we’ll be looking at the President Obama that has emerged over the past two years, and what that portends about Barack Obama’s future plans as he seeks re-election in 2012. David Bromowich, Sterling Professor of English at Yale University, says that when the nation elected Barack Obama, they actually got two presidents, not one.  

The Pentagon will release its highly awaited review of U.S. policy in Afghanistan today. Early leaks from the report indicate that some progress has been made in President Obama's stated goal of defeating al-Qaida in Afghanistan. But The Washington Post reports a high-level U.S. official says Pakistan is failing to pursue insurgents who cross the border into Afghanistan and then retreat into Pakistani territory. We talk to Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, the former Pakistani ambassador to the U.K., for more on the story. 

Are we seeing the start of a Democratic insurrection? Our conversation this morning with Oregon Democrat Rep. Peter DeFazio suggests we are. Here's how he responded to John's question this morning about whether he'd support a Democratic challenge to Obama in 2012: "I'm going to withhold my support until I see who's on the ballot."