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Observations from India

A pair of "Ambassadors" outside the Indian Finance Ministry. Photo by David Gregory.

It's a handsome car and you can't miss it around Delhi -- the Ambassador. I took this picture outside the Finance Ministry. The pearly white compact provides added flair to a city of 7 million people so rich in history. It reminded me of a bygone era in India, one I've read about in the history books. The Ambassador was made in 1957 by Hindustan Motors. Here's what a local write up said about the car:

"Though the sturdy Ambassador does not find many takers in India, with people looking to more fancy cars, its export has been steadily increasing, mainly in the British and Japanese markets. Trucks are being exported to Bangladesh, Egypt, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. The Earth moving Equipments are being exported to Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Bangladesh, Mauritius and Libya."

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With the president in India

This is the President’s first full day in Delhi. How is he being received? Well, the lead editorial in The Times of India says the President’s schedule has been designed to created "maximum nuisance."

Big news here today is that the U.S. and India have reached an agreement on nuclear energy. This is actually a big deal. India needs nuclear energy if its economy is going to continue to grow at such high rates. American companies know that as Indians get richer they will buy more of what we produce. Consider this: the emerging Indian middle class is estimated at 300 million people -- bigger than the  entire U-S population. That is a rich prize for America’s export market.

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Port politics

There is something remarkable about this port deal flap everyone is talking about. Think about it: President Bush, the 9/11 president who says he thinks every day about how to protect the country...  who said he wanted Osama bin Laden "dead or alive"... whose top political adviser Karl Rove said in January, "Republicans have a post-9/11 view of the world and Democrats have a pre-9/11 view of the world"... his administration is now making a much more nuanced argument about why the U.S. cannot block a deal with the UAE just because it's an Arab government with terror links. Two 9/11 hijackers were UAE citizens and money for the plot went through UAE banks.

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The week that was at the White House

It's been a rough and tumble week in the White House press room over the Cheney hunting story. Many viewers have written me with praise and plenty of criticism about my questioning of press secretary Scott McClellan. The debate about this story has focused equal parts on my colleagues and me as it has on the unfortunate facts of this hunting accident involving the Vice President.

Let me say at the outset that I was wrong to lose my temper at Scott McClellan. I've worked well with Scott since we first met during the 2000 campaign. Monday, he suggested my aggressive questioning about the disclosure of the hunting accident was a stunt for the cameras. He said this during a morning OFF CAMERA briefing, which undercut his point. Furthermore, I considered it a cheap shot. I said, "Don't be a jerk to me personally, just answer the question." I regret saying that because it's never appropriate to speak that way and because it created a distraction from the issues at hand.

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Heading back out to the White House lawn

Thanks for reading... I'm going to run back out to be part of our NBC News coverage after the speech. Check it out and MSNBC's coverage later.

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New justices

The President paying tribute to his Justices Roberts and Alito. This is a big accomplishment. The President has moved the Court to the right and he did so without the protracted battles many expected. The bottom line is that elections matter.

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Cindy Sheehan -- what happened?

Editor's note: You can follow the latest in the Cindy Sheehan arrest story here.

This is from Sgt. Kimberly Schneider with the U.S. Capitol Police.

Cindy Sheehan was arrested in the gallery of the house floor tonight and charged with demonstrating in the Capitol--a misdemeanor. Sgt. Schneider says she was wearing a T-shirt with a slogan on it and was asked to cover it up. Sheehan did not cover it up and she was arrested. Capitol Police would not say what the slogan on the T-shirt said. She is being processed at Capitol Police HQ and is expected to be released at some point tonight. The misdemeanor charge carries one year in jail.

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Can you hear the alternative fuel jokes?

OK, I don't mean to be irreverent, but don't you think Jon Stewart is going to do something with the alternative fuel proposal? I can see the bumper stickers: "Switch grass is the answer!"

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Health care

Very interesting...did you notice that our NBC News/Wall St. Journal poll found health care the top concern of Americans? Health care is also a better issue for Republicans to run on than Iraq.

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Jabbing Congress

It's like the British House of Commons! You don't often see this kind of interactivity in the Congress. The President noted his biggest political defeat last year -- Social Security -- pointing out that Congress did not act. Democrats rose to their feet cheering!!! Pretty in your face. But he got them back, earning their cheers when he called for a commission that will examine the triple threat of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Entitlement spending -- is it out of control?

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