Luke Bernstein, of the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee, also will join us to assess Week One of the Obama administration. The president’s call to consensus and bipartisanship notwithstanding, Bernstein will remind us that forging political compromise when divergent principles are at stake is a herculean task.

Among President Obama’s stickier challenges is finding an affordable, efficient way to provide health insurance to the more than 45 million Americans who lack coverage. Governor Ed Rendell and legislative Democrats have sought to expand state-subsidized health insurance for the last few years but Republicans in the General Assembly have preferred to await a federal solution. The growing national and state financial crises and broadening recession make a quick resolution of the nation’s health care problem more perplexing. Carolyn Scanlon, CEO of the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania, Dr. Gwendolyn Poles who specializes in Internal Medicine with Pinnacle Health, and Gerry Wevodau, president of Wevodau Insurance & Benefit Strategies in Camp Hill will discuss President Obama’s plan and what it could mean for the uninsured, consumers, doctors, insurers and health care providers in Pennsylvania.

Rendell warned state workers today of impending government layoffs, "Get over it. I don't want to hear whining." This comment comes just a week after news broke that Rendell had created a $95,000 a year "senior advisor" job at DCNR for former State Rep. Dan Surra. Rendell also projected today a $2.3 billion state budget deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30. That's $700 million more than he estimated last month. We'll talk about how that worsening financial picture will affect any plans for expanded health care access.

On Monday, Americans paused to recall the life, words and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For many, it was a day spent in service to honor his dream of community action, equality, justice and peace. Smart Talk producer Scott LaMar shares an interview with John Brittain, a renowned civil rights attorney, who reflects on the struggle for racial equality and what Barack Obama’s ascension to the presidency means to that cause.