Coming up on 'This Week' ... Austan Goolsbee and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
Plus, George Will, Arianna Huffington, Jon Karl & Kate Zernike on the Roundtable
September 9, 2010 -- He's just been named by the President to chair the White House Council of Economic Advisers and Sunday he's our guest on This Week. It will be Austan Goolsbee's job to steer the President's policy through economic uncertainty and political turbulence. First up, tax cuts. The President wants them to expire for upper income Americans. Republicans -- and even some in the President's own party -- don't. Is a tax increase the right thing for an economy growing so slowly?
Then, we take a closer look at Muslims in America. Anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise in this country as the debate rages over plans to build a Muslim community center near Ground Zero. Florida Pastor Terry Jones has called off his plans to burn the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary, but his small congregation already prompted international reaction and strong criticism from the Vatican, the president, even Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, who warned this week that it could endanger the lives of troops overseas.
An ABC News poll released this week found that only 37 percent of Americans express a favorable opinion of Islam overall, the fewest in ABC polls dating back to 2001. We ask, is America a place where Muslims can feel comfortable living openly and practicing their faith?
In his first Sunday interview, the Imam behind the Islamic center near Ground Zero speaks out. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf sits down with Christiane Amanpour for an exclusive one-on-one interview. Will he consider changing his plans to build a mosque near the World Trade Center site? Is America becoming intolerant of Islam? Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, only on "This Week."
Then, three top voices weigh in on the state of Islam in America. Member of the president's Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships and founder of Interfaith Youth Core, Eboo Patel, advocate for reform in Islam, Irshad Manji and founder of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, Rev. Richard Cizik discuss why Islam is at a crossroads in America and around the world.
Plus our powerhouse roundtable with George Will, Arianna Huffington, ABC News' Senior Congressional Correspondent Jon Karl, and Kate Zernike of the New York Times and author of "Boiling Mad," a new book about the Tea Party Movement, debate what should be done about the expiring the Bush tax cuts.
Then, President Obama is in campaign form, lashing out at Republicans, but will his efforts be too little, too late for Democrats? And finally, 9/11, nine years later -- new ABC News poll numbers show whether American's feel safer. That and all the week's politics, Sunday on "This Week." You won't want to miss it.