Jobs Numbers; Obama's Brain; SC Special Election

Chaprter 1:  Unemployment Down but Economy Still Struggling

Unemployment hit a four-year low today when the U.S. Labor Department released its latest jobs report, showing a drop from 7.6 to 7.5 percent after the economy added an estimated 165,000 jobs in April. The DoL also raised the estimate for March to 138,000 new jobs from the dismal 88,000 originally reported. We speak with Tony Yezer, an economics professor at George Washington University.

Chapter 2:  Close Race Between Sanford and Colbert-Busch

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and businesswoman Elizabeth Colbert-Busch have entered the final stretch in the state’s race for the first congressional district seat with each campaign pushing voters to turn out in Tuesday’s special election. The two met in a head-to-head televised debate this past Monday where both candidates ferociously and often humorously attacking each other. We speak with Corey Hutchins, a Slate contributor and a reporter with the Columbia Free Times in Columbia, S.C., to discuss the story.

Chapter 3:  Washington No Place for Obama's Focus on the Rational

President Obama is often considered stately, articulate and practical. His demeanor has been the fodder for much speculation about his real personality, how much of the true Obama we really see and even where his political positions truly lie. Georgetown University professor Stephen J. Wayne argues in polarized Washington, the president’s tendency for purely rational arguments, his avoidance of socializing with other politicians and his default for negotiation have both hurt and helped his presidency and his policy goals. We speak with Wayne, who is an expert on the American Presidency and author of – among other books – “Obama For and Against Himself:  The Legislative Presidency and Presidential Leadership,” to discuss Obama’s political tendencies.