White House officials are already criticizing journalist Ron Suskind's book "Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President," which just came out this week, despite having cooperated with Suskind for years. Among the book's more controversial passages are depictions of the Obama White House as dysfunctional, with mean, misogynistic economic advisers undermining a clueless president at every turn. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, "I lived the original and the reality I lived, we all lived together, bears no relation to the sad little stories I heard reported from that book." White House Press Secretary Jay Carney went even further and accused Suskind of plagiarism, saying, "one passage seems to be lifted almost entirely from Wikipedia."

When America entered the new millennium, the Clinton Administration reported a budget surplus of around $559 billion and the world was in a state of relative peace. With dot-coms booming, real estate values rising and seemingly no end to the nation’s economic prosperity in sight, the American dream seemed to be a reality for more people. But in 2011 the picture is less rosy. What happened over the past ten years, and does it add up to a lost generation; one without hope of achieving the American Dream?

President Obama announced his choice for the new head of the Council of Economic Advisers: Princeton University professor Alan B. Krueger. The 50-year-old most recently served as chief economist for the United States Treasury — those credentials might make for a quick Congressional approval.

Last April the Federal Reserve said that Gross Domestic Product numbers had inched up a respectable 1.8 percent. It was a bright spot in the midst of a bleak economy. The White House touted the news as encouraging, and stocks went up. Now, after a dizzying few weeks of bad news about the economy, the government has revised its numbers, saying the economy really only expanded by 0.4 percent. What happened, and what does this say about the government's understanding of the economy?

After weeks of a bitter standoff, Congress and the White House have finally reached a deal on how to raise the debt ceiling in the 11th hour. The deal was passed by the House of Representatives on Monday evening and is expected to pass the Senate early Tuesday afternoon. But some question whether the President conceded too much in the debate, and if the administration is calling this compromise a victory. For a perspective from the White House, we talk with Jennifer Psaki, White House Deputy Communications Director.

Michelle Obama is hosting a poetry program tonight at the White House, and her guest will be hop-hop artist, Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., better known as, Common. Many conservatives are outraged by this decision, Fox News called the rapper, "vile." Conservatives are pointing to a set of lyrics from Common's "A Letter to the Law," where he says:"With that happening, why they messing with Saddam? Burn a Bush cos' for peace he no push no button. Killing over oil and grease, no weapons of destruction."

This morning, the White House released President Obama's U.S. birth certificate. Obama said in a statement that he hoped this would end any debate over his birthplace, and allow those questioning his country of origin to move on to more important issues. Todd Zwillich, the Takeaway's Washington correspondent, spoke about whether or not this will be the death of the birthers. 

Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers has resigned. She is the second member this summer to leave the president's economic team. Romer, an expert on the Great Depression, was instrumental in crafting the $862 billion economic stimulus package. She will return to U.C. Berkeley, where she is an economics professor. Chrystia Freeland, global editor in chief of Reuter says that it is fairly common to see big moves when there is a midterm election on the horizon.

Tonight, President Barack Obama will deliver his first prime time address from the Oval Office. Like the State of the Union address, it's an important part of the modern president's conversation with the American people, and often marks a significant statement of policy. 

There’s huge debate over health care reform in this country and it may come as a surprise that one person in particular is not taking part in it: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. As our next guest writes in the New York Times today, Hillary Clinton seems eager to distance herself from her failed attempt at health care reform. We’re joined by the New York Times' White House Correspondent Sheryl Gay Stolberg for her take on the situation.

For more, read Sheryl Gay Stolberg's article, Obama Taps Clinton Ideas but Not Clinton Herself, in today's New York Times.

When Barack Obama tapped Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff, Leon Panetta, to be director of the CIA there was some grumbling in intelligence circles. And the grumbling hasn’t stopped. For an insider's take on the appointment we turn to Sam Faddis a retired CIA operations officer (we think that means spy) and author of the book, "Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War inside Iraq."

President-elect Barack Obama has announced the appointment of a Chief Performance Officer to oversee… well, to oversee government performance. It’s unclear what is in store for former McKinsey & Co. consultant Nancy Killefer, who has accepted the new post. But one thing is sure: It’s going to be a really big job. For more on what the CPO gig may involve, we’re joined by Max Stier, the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service.

Watch the press conference introducing Nancy Killefer.

The Takeaway talks to two residents of Dublin, Indiana, who met with former U.S. senator Tom Daschle, D-S.D., the likely Health and Human Services secretary in President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet. Health care concerns are always on the mind of Jill King, a homemaker with breast and uterine cancer, and Travis Ulerick, an emergency medical technician. They give us their take on the senator's fitness for the job at hand.

With the presidential inauguration just a few weeks away, the Obama family has moved to Washington, D.C., and the city is gearing up for the largest inauguration ever. Can the city handle the expected hundreds of thousands of inauguration goers? Nia Henderson, the White House correspondent for Politico.com, joins us to let us know what we can expect from the inauguration.

Has the urgency of climate change dimmed since the global economic crisis? Or is it a potential economic stimulus? Environomental engineer David Greene from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory discusses the other global concern that will dominate Barack Obama's administration in the coming years.