between i guess basketball and politics is the only score that matters is how did somebody else do. oom -- are more people working? are more kids going to college? is housing improved? is the financial system more stable? are younger kids getting a better education? do we have greater energy independence. >> i would not be satisfied as

long as i'm meeting someone who doesn't have a job, and wants one. i'm not going to be satisfied as long as there is a kid who write me a letter and says i have $60,000 of debt, and i don't know how to pay it back. i want to do everything i can to deliver for them. [ inaudible question ] >> listen, as i think some of you saw out on the campaign trail, i love campaigning. i love talking to ordinary people. i love listening to their stories. i love shaking hands and getting hugs and just seeing the process of democracy in citizenship manifest itself during an election. but i'm also a practical guy.

and ultimately every candidate out there had to make their own decision abouts what they thought would be most helpful for them, their particular region, state, congressional district, if it's helpful for me to be behind the scenes, i'm happy to do it. what i will emphasize is that one of the nice things about being in the six year of your presidency.

>> keeping the eye on the ball, and tha scott, last question. >> thank you, mr. president. you mentioned that where your policies actually were on the ballot, they often did better than members of your party, does that signal some shortcoming on your part or on the party's part in framing this election and communicating to the american people in what democrats stand for? >> you know, i do think that one area that i know we're constantly experimenting and trying to do better is just making sure the people know exactly what it is that we're trying to accomplish and what we have accomplished. in clear ways that people ca

can--that understand how it effects them. you know, i think the minimum wage, i talked a lot about it on the campaign trail, but i'm not sure it penetrated well enough to make a difference. part of what i also think we've got to look at are the two-thirds of people who were eligible to vote and just didn't vote. one of the things that i'm very proud of in 2008 and 2012 when i ran for office was we got people involved who hadn't-involved before. we got folks to vote who hadn't voted before, particularly young people. that was part of the promise and excitement. if you get involved, if you participate, if you embrace that

sense of citizenship, then things change, and not just in abstract ways. they change in concrete ways. somebody who gets healthcare that didn't have it before. an opportunity is able to go to college who couldn't afford it before. sustaining that, especially in midterm elections has proven difficult. if you get involved, if you vote then change will be made. when they look at washington then say nothing is working, there is a constant slew of bad news coming over the tv screen then you can understand how

folks would be discouraged. but it's my job to figure this out as best i can. if the way we are talking about issues is not working, then i'm going to try some different things. if the ways that we're approaching the republicans in congress isn't working, you know, i'm going to try different things, whether it's having a drink with mitch mcconnell or letting john boehner beat me again at golf or weekly press conferences, i don't know if that would be effective. whatever i think might make a difference in this i'm going to be trying out up until my last day in office. but i'll close with what i said in my opening statement.

i'm really optimistic about america. i know that runs counter to the current move, but when you look at the facts, our economy is stronger than just about everybody's. our energy production is just about better than anybody's. we slashed our deficit by more than half, more people have health insurance. our businesses have the strongest balance sheets that they've had in decades. our young people are just incredibly talented, gifted, and more are graduating from high school, and more are been og to college, and more women are getting degrees and entering into the working forc workforce. one of the things i love about campaigning is folks are just

good. they're smart, hard working, and they're oh not always paying attention to washington, and in some cases they've given up on washington. their impulses are not ideological, they're really practical, good, generous people. we continue to be a magnate for the best and brightest from all around the world. we have all the best cards relative to every other country on earth. our armed forces, you talk to them, and i had a chance this morning to just call some of the health service that is operating in liberia, and the amount of hope and professionalism that they brought has galvanized the entire country. they built a platform for other countries to effectively come in, and we're see real progress fighting a disease in a country that just a month and a half ago was days operate, and had no

hope. my job over the next couple of years is to make con treat things possible with congress. if not possible with congress, then on my own to show people why we should be confident, and give people a sense of progress and a sense of hope. that does not mean that there aren't going to be ongoing nagging problems, and the biggest one is a this despite economic growth wages and income have still not gone up. that's a long-term trend that we've seen for 10, 20, 30 years. and it makes people worried about not just their own situation, but whether their kids are going to be doing better than they did, which is the essence o of the american dream. i think there are concrete things we can do to make sure that wages and income go up. minimum wage in those five

states was a good start, but i want to communicate is the possibility of america. this is just an extraordinary country, and our democracy is messy, we're diverse and big and there are times when you're a politician and you're disappointed with election results. it doesn't make me mopey. it energizes me. it means that democracy is working, and people were reckless and impatient, and we want to get things done. even when things are going good we want them to be better. that's why this is a greatest country on earth. that's why i'm so privileged to

to have a chance to be president for the next couple of years. >> there you have it, the president of the united states, boy, the post mortem begins in earnest, but also the president trying to look ahead. you heard him there at the very end and at the beginning of his remarks talking about how optimistic remains. we'll take a moment and look at both. we'll look at yesterday, and we'll look at what the next two years has in store for this president. david shuster is with us, and michael shure is well. mike viqueira, he answered the question bluntly about what happened yesterday, but he also tried to suggest to the american people that he remains optimistic about the future of the country. >> yes, at the end of the press conference they did get reflective in many ways, and i think it came after the question whether in fact, he was the lame

duck. thats is an official status if not an official phrase. for all intents and purposes the president will have a very difficult time here. for an hour and 13 minutes i don't think we learned a whole lot about new relations or how relationships are going to go with the president and congress. the president does intend to move forward with immigration reform through an executive order doing what he can do. one other bit of news the president broke there, he's going to go to congress starting on friday when he'll have general loyal austin at the white house, central command chief, and expand the group as the president revealed from the hill to talk about a new authorization in the use of military force. it really does beg the question in a manner of speaking, tony, if the president put off immigration reform until after the election, he put off naming a new attorney general, and he did get a question about the nomination process there.

he told us as his aides and officials for several months that the authorization of military force that was leftover from the bush administration both as a predicate for the of a damage and iraqi wars was all the authorization he needed to carry on against isil and the battle against isil, why didn't the president do that before? if this was a repudiation of the democratic base, if the democratic base did not come out and turn out for him this result being this wipe out. he didn't want to use the word shallaqing or any other noun or adjective. perhaps that strategy backfired on him. to some extent he paid the price, but in terms of any concrete legislation, yes, he wants to get along with mitch m mcconnell. yes, he's extending the hand of friendship. yes, he wants to see common

ground. it was verbatim from the last shallaqing he got. i think we're in for more gridlock and bickering unless there is a splice. >> i was listening and you know michael shure and david shuster is here with me. did you hear any areas of the indicated agenda from mitch mcconnell and the president with possible overlap, possibility of getting things done. >> yes, let's start with minimum wage. there are some who want the minimum wage hike. that was going wobbly in the debate. i don't think that's going to happen at a federal level. i think that's a fanciful notion. you heard the president note five of the five states including red states like nebraska and arkansas voted to raise the minimu minimum wage. that plays in to the republican

argument. let the states decide how they want to approach this. same thing with income tax return. they're talking about mitch mcconnell trying to repatriate billions of dollars and perpetrating some tax reform without an individual tax reform having that linkage there. that is a possibility there, but again that would require an immense deal with an immense amount of negotiation with a group of individuals in congress now conservative republicans, tea party republicans who are loathe to give the president any kind of victory, and will interpret yesterday as a mandate to press forward on an agenda that they feel has-stymied with lack of control at the senate. they'll see what mitch mcconnell can deliver with him. mitch mcconnell will be in a difficult situation trying to carry through with factions.

the ted cruz faction, as he gingerly tries to move his way through these different factions in the republican party. >> mike, i'm curious as to how you see this whole discussion over the use of force against isil playing out here. certainly the lindsey grahams of the world and the john mccains of the world have a different view of how this fight against isil should be prosecuted. and in this process moving forward they'll certainly get an opportunity to voice their opinion on this. you know john mccain is on record saying that airstrikes can mitigate, but it can't stop isil. is the president setting up an scenario where john mccain and other members of the republican caucus feel this way will have to make an argument for more u.s. ground forces on the ground for iraq and syria. >> i think its possible that the president is setting that rhetorical trap.

i'm not sure that the republicans are shy expressing that view. john boehner, the speaker of the house, said that the u.s. military needs to have a more forward aggressive posture. including boots on the ground. i think you need to separate the tactical and strategic questions from the simple authorization question that the president is putting on the table. the white house and the president said he didn't need it. now he tells us he wants it. i think there is going to be a lot of second guessing among core democrats, base democrats, activist democrats why didn't the president do this before the election? why didn't he move forward on immigration before the election? why didn't he name a new attorney general before the election. i think there will be a lot of disappoint and accusation that the white house was trying to be too clever and all of that backfired on them. >> mike, i'm going to try to squeeze one more in. >> i got to go soon. >> just generally speaking your

thoughts and reflections on last night. some of the postmortem from your point of view. view. >> by 7:00 last night democrats were sticking to the line what we're going to see even if they lose the senate is not a change in their political in the long term. the central question going in to the election last night that decision was going to be made in red states like arkansas, and west wes virginia, georgia, and states that had had a pretty strong chance of going republican. it came in at an alarming degree that saw a whip out of a republican governor being elected in maryland. mark warner, still has not been declared a winner. there may an recount in that. you look at that, and you have

to come to the conclusion this was a repudiation of the democratic party. it was a deflation of the democratic base, and it was a shallaqing which any other name. >> let's get you out of there before they kick us out. >> let's bring it to the panel now. michael shure and david shuster is here as well. guys, i want you to talk to me. i honestly want you to share with me your thoughts as you were living to the president earlier as you were listening to mitch mcconnell, what did you hear? did you hear any areas where there might be some compromise available, where there might be some overlap in the respective agendas? where did you hear. >> let's pick up at the last point, that is about last night. one of the things that mitch mcconnell and president obama are trying to do, they're now in a position where they say that the american people want us to get things done.

the thing is that the message last night was that the republicans need to get things done. they blocked president obama at every turn and the democrats were unable to inspire their ter term. they're looking up and saying, o what worked in 2014 was to block the president at every opportunity. so why would a marco rubio or rand paul or ted cruz go along with the president on anything. that's the fundamental problem that mitch mcconnell has right now. >> because the map changes. the map does fund mentally change in 2016. more republicans have to defend seats. >> it does, but the map that some of these people are most concerned about is the republican presidential primary map. that's the rain concerned by conservative activists.

and they have blocked the table. you don't want to be aligned with him. >> it's not just the map changing. we went in to last night thinking as mike my care are a did, that the democrats lose. it's not because of anything other the fact that they're running in difficult places. throw that out. this happened all over the country. this did not just happen in those southern states. it's more than the map right now. as david said. when they go in to the republican states they can plan according to that how they're going to run the republican primary. what's going to come out of that. i honestly believe that nobody told president obama what happened last night. >> after listening to him today. >> there was zero taking of blame. the only time i heard him specifically take taken blame for anything was to ed henry when he said, yes, we really screwed the website of obamaca obamacare. >> what is he take responsible for in your mind? >> what does he need to take

responsibility-- >> yes. >> he said, i'm going to leave it to you all. the pundits, the chattering class. he said that twice. i think it would be nice to hear some acknowledgment from the president saying we made mistakes here. now it's up to us to work through those and fix it. >> and this is the post mothe postmortem part of this. give me a couple of big mistakes. i know the president is talking about messaging as not being as effective as i suppose the administration would have liked to have been in highlight accomplishments, but what do you see that the president needs to own up to and fess up to. >> let's take example of mike viqueira. the white house is doing a flip flop on whether they need the authorization of military force. they said no, we don't need it, but now we do. >> is that to get the republicans to buy in because they do now have to come to the table and suggest how this should be prosecuted? what are you going to do? >> the white house now believe

they need to get points on the board. they've been shut out, and they need to convince the american people and perhaps they believe the republicans feel they need to come to the american that washington can get things done. the way to demonstrate that you can get things done, pass something that you don't really need. who is going to pass on isil. it's a slam dunk. the white house didn't feel like they should have before. maybe they should have, then the democrats could go to the american people and say washington is not broken. look at what we're doing with isil. but instead the president, the democrats went to the electorate and said those scary republicans, you elect them and they'll take away the woman's right to choose. >> there is a bit of indecisiv indecisiveness that the white house should have dispensed with. they should have done it with immigration. >> what do you tee mean

indecisiveness? >> when to move forward. >> there was a bill that was not brought to the house. >> right. >> there was actual work and good work done. >> there was good work done, and then if he's going to do an executive action, as he indicated today, david, i think all about certain he's going to do some executive action on immigration. why not do it then? why not give the democrats something to run on? >> what he said, and i'm just offering this up. what he said was that i you was trying to give congress room to do its work. we had a bipartisan bill passed in the senate. i've been waiting for action on this. >> he knew two months before the election, the president had an opportunity then to say well, if i'm going to spur the congressman to take action, what he wants in december over the last two months he could have passed immigration, he could

have taken executive action on immigration reform and said, pass something. that's what he's doing now. he has not gained anything politically. all he has done is manage to infuriate the hispanic and latinos by raising expectations before the election and then dropping it. >> he's certainly done that. let's bring libby casey in lucyville, kentucky. libby, same thing to you.. >> he was really quite cord dal. now he may have a different threshold than your average person, but he was essentially giddy over the prospects of the becoming majority leader. he did talk about his relationship with president obama. he said what he's using right now is basically trust, but verify. he talked about being able to

work together on corporate tax reform. on trade issues. but did he have a bit of warning for the president. >> i think the president choosing to do a lot of things unilaterally on immigration would be a big mistake. it's an issue that most of my members want to address. it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull to say if you guys don't do what i want, i'll do it on my own. and the president has done that on obamacare. he has done it on immigration, and he threatens to do it again. i hope he won't do that because i think it will poison the well for the opportunity to address a very important domestic issue. >> now senator mcconnell talked about some issues related to congress. he talked about extending

legislative week to get more done on monday and friday. oftentimes they're not in washington. president obama said that something that he heard from the american public. those who voted and those who voted opted not to vote they want washington to work as hard as americans are. that's something that senator mcconnell wants to show as well. they may have some parallel thinking on that front. he's also talking about restor restoring regular order in congress. not the sexiest idea but it's an important one because it means trying to get bills through a normal procedural route that just has not been happening on capitol hill with all the dysfunction, tony. >> didn't mitch mcconnell also talk about dismantling some aspects? >> absolutely. this cordial tone only goes so far. now the question will be how

constructive can republicans be if they admitted was a very powerful veto pen? they have to strike a balance trying to figure out how they can convince the american public they're trying to be successful, trying to accomplish things legislatively. that can actually go anywhere. they put president obama in the light of being the no-guy now after republicans for a long time being accused of being the no party. they have an opportunity to pass some things and put president obama in that corner. that's optic. another thing that mitch mcconnell will have to worry about is how to bring his party together. it can be a pretty fractured and diverse group of republicans. he has the likes of ted cruz, rand paul, a fellow kentuckian with very different ideology, and he did take questions from reporters of how it will be to

work with republicans who may have other ambitions. >> i have no problem with people's ambitions. i'm--i serve in a body of a punch of class presidents. they're all ambitious, or they wouldn't be where they are. a lot of folks with sharp elbows and big egos. look, i am not troubled by ambition, and i think we can accommodate that and still make progress for the country. >> so we'll see if republicans have enough of that within their ranks, but senator mcconnell trying to set a leadership tone, get out in front early and let the caucus know that he's going to be the guy in charge of the senate. >> libby casey for us in louisville, kentucky. michael shure and david shuster. any last thoughts before we go

to break? >> i would say some of the concilliation. when he talked about immigration the very first thing he said was secure the border. he didn't talk about a pathway to citizenship. he didn't talk about amnesty. he went right to something that republicans glom on to first when they talk about immigration. it was a little thing, but i thought it was telling. >> libby raises an incolleaguing point when she describes the parallels that mr. obama and mr. mcconnell has right now. it's a similar bi simbiosis. the president is talking about not being a lame duck. he wants to be able to show that they can, etc. things done. they need each other, yet they to protect themselves on both sides. i think you may see mitch mcconnell and president obama who know each other, they may be

able to get things done and then they would be able to say to their respective caucuses. look, washington is not broken. we fixed it. except on the fundamental issues, it's fun to imagine. >> maybe it's just me, if america last night voted for even more of what it says it hates? which is gridlock? and partship. did america vote for even more of that? >> they voted to take incumbents out in large parts. even though the republicans won the republicans have been the party of no. the people in those roles, the democrats, it was a little bit of a throw the bums out election last night. >> is that how you see it? >> yes. >> i think michael is right, but it's also an election where you look at the amount of money spent. this is an election that cost $4 billion, a record number of

ads in midterm election, and voters were turned off. maybe they've been turned off by washington. >> two-thirds of american eligible to vote did not bother. >> look, a lot of people may have been turned off by politics in washington, but a larger percentage was turned off that they could not get away from the ads on television, radio, tv, and they said enough already. people have reached a breaking point. a lot of americans don't know who their congressman and senator is. why bother participating when you hear all this nasty stuff. >> i'm sure he had a chance to look at the front pages of newspapers. look at some of this. always you can always count on the new york post. >> yes, mid terms tsunami. stripped, emperor has no cloth

clothes. cuomo wins, flattering. >> and let's take a break. we'll be back with other news. this is al jazeera america. struck me, i am listening to all of the analysis, and i feel like there is something that i am missing here as i see these results come in. you have talked about this being a rock solid south. pipping up on that. expand on that and let's tick it around the table. >> a separate in the country. look at the southern state. 12 southern states i mentioned

>> landrieu faces a run off against bill cassidy. that's next month. randall pinkston join us from new orleans. how does senator landrieu approach this next challenge? >> well, tony, senator landriu is intensifying her campaign as they go in to the run off to debate on issues not president obama. just hours after the vote result, senator landrieu oh stopped by a construction center to talk about federal aid for louisiana. she said she's continuing to run on her record of accomplishment.

>> the question facing us tonight, the voters in louisiana will be a very simple one. which candidate has the proven record of standing up, fighting and delivering for our state? and which candidate has a record of running scared and trying to hide his record from the voters? >> congressman cassidy from baton rouge said that he'll continue to use the strategy that has worked for him and other republicans across the country tying landreiu to president obama. he said he's going to stake with that theme. >> i'm wondering if there cocoa be a different strategy in this last month leading up to the run

off there? >> one thing we know there will be more money expended. offer, for landrieu she may be at a slight disadvantage. she will not have the ad dollars available to cassidy with republicans winning so many races they can focus on this campaign, and put in more money for him. but there are some groups that supported landrieu in the past that are not supporting her this time. environmentalists say they do not like her energy policies, the keep stone pipeline, for one example, and they did not like the vote of restricting abortion rights. >> incumbent governor dan malloy gave his victory speech just a few hours ago. it came after tom foley conceded

this morning the battle to retain malloy's seat remained tight throughout the night. with most precincts reporting now malloy has 51% of the vote. and a pick up in the governor's race for d, ms in pennsylvania. wolf defeated tom corbitt. but democrats winning governor's races was not a common sights in election. the g.o.p. had a number of pick ups with several deep blue states. among them in maryland voters elected larry hogan and took out pat quinn in favor of bruce rounders, and charlie baker won a massachusetts race against martha coakley. and florida, governor rick scott held onto his job for another four-year term.

georgia where ren republican nathan deal won over jason carter. the senate is now finally in g.o.p. hands. we have more on the american people. >> very interesting night. voters did not just pick who they were sending to congress. they're speaking up on a number of fiercely debated issues. republicans may have ruled the night but several liberal ballot initiatives shared center strange with a spotlight shining brightly on pot. voting to legalize marijuana for

recreational use. >> part of it is connecting to younger voters. showing them that they have a stake, and showing them that their vote will matter and it will matter on issues that they truly care about. >> despite another effort in florida, voters there failed to make it the 23rd state to legalize marijuana for medical reasons. another hot issue, raising the minimum wage above the level of 7:25. four red states all voted to raise the minimum wage by $1.25 or more by 2016. with voters in illinois saying yes to a non-minding measure asking whether the hourly wage should be raised from 8:25 to $10 next year. >> prop 47 is a bad idea. >> in california it was a decision against mass

incarceration, with the passage of number 47. under the measure felonies like shoplifting and drug position will be downgraded to misdemeanors. there could be early release with 40,000 fewer felony convictions each year. >> there are two high profile gun initiatives. both in washington state. one would ban background checks. another called for expanding background checks including gun shows. that one passed overwhelmingly. >> the elections brought many firsts for women in politics. for the first time there are 100 women who can vote in congress. roxana saberi has more on this for us. >> tony, last night we saw the election of the youngest woman in congress and the first black republican woman. women have a long way to go before they reach the same

number as men in congress but they're already making history. >> it was a big night for female candidates all across the country. >> people ask me all the time what my favorite part of the campaign has been, well, i think tonight. >> republican joni ernst. will be the first female from eye way and the first female combat veteran in the senate. utah's mia love will be the first black woman in congress. >> my generation can't just complain, we have to help solve them well. >> elise... stefanik will be the youngest woman elected to congress. there will be 100 women casting votes on capitol hill. after all the ballots are counted that number could reach 106. >> i'm hoping that through the presence of women and their greater ability to negotiate,

listen, and not be quite so anxious to fight might impact help us overcome some of the gridlock we've seen in congress. most are in the house, and most are democrats. congress looked a lot different a century ago. so women make up only about 20% of congress. and an institute for women's policy research predict they won't hit 50% for another century. >> i'm trying to do this for a greater purpose, and to help all young people in the state of west virginia. >> for that to happen it will take more young women like sarah blair to go in politics. she just became the youngest state lawmaker in the nation. >> it is significant if young women are getting on the electoral ladder as a young age. that means that the pool of

women sort of gamed for leadershi--groomed for leadership for senate or presidency, the pool gets bigger. >> an interesting first for a man. republican scott brown became the first man to lose to two women in senate history. he lost in massachusetts two years ago and in new hampshire this year. the highest number of new women elected to congress was in 1992. there were 24 of them this year so far there has been 11. >> 100 women casting votes in congress. >> that is historical. >> yes it is. david shuster and michael shure will be back with us, and we'll be joined by jim manly in just a moment here. jim, we're going to leave the other two guys in this segment, and it will be just the two of us talking. jim, the president has promised executive action on immigration reform. my first question to you, do you think he'll actually follow through with it?

>> i do. quite frankly, there will be hell to pay with the base if he does not follow through, and i have every confidence that he's going to do so. >> and if all hope of cooperation, you heard the warning from mitch mcconnell, all hope of cooperation with the incoming republican congress over the moment the president takes his fifth step in that direction? >> that will be up to them. but the fact of the matter is the senate died a slow painful death in the house. the only two votes in the house were both punitive anti-immigration measures endured by michele bachmann and steve king. but let's take a step back. my bottom line despite all the nice rhetoric from leader mcconnell and new majority leader kevin mccarthy, if the--i believe that the take away--if you think that the take away for the republican caucus

is that they feel they're going to need to crow mice more, i'm telling you, you're in the wrong business. >> tell me why you feel that way. >> the senate republican caucus, joni ernst. she has a proposal to abolish the department of education. that is so 1994. i didn't know that was still around. the house is still dominated by tea party types, and senator mcconnell has three members, senator rubio, senator paul, and senator cruz, all of which are going to run for president. >> yes, are there any areas kind of natural areas of overlap here of congress who think they can work together? >> yes, as the president indicated earlier, and as

senator mcconnell, there is a handful of issues where i think they can reach an agreement. i think there is going to be a narrow window to get things done. it will be five oh six months based on past history. during that time i think if there is a will they can do something on energy policy. they can try and do something regarding infrastructure spending paired with business tax breaks and other small ball issues. also. if senator mcconnell works his cards right, i think he can get the 60 votes necessary to get a bill to get the keystone pipeline out of the senate, and get a repeal on the medical device tax as well. >> you think so? >> yes, the votes are there. no doubt about it, tony. the question now whether the president vetoes those bills, i don't claim to have any knowledge. the votes are there on those two issues, and a couple of others

to get things done if they play their cards right. but i'm telling you, that house republican caucus, they won' will want to play the game smartly. put me down as kep skeptical about much getting done in the next two years. >> the minimum wage increase, and i don't see mitch mcconnell and the republicans going along with the president's idea of a raising federal minimum wage. >> there is not a snowball's chance in hell? if only because you got to understand speaker baner is dead set against it. he has been opposed to it for years. the house will never move a minimum wage bill. >> the president talked about building up trust. maybe that process starts on friday. when the president has congressional leaders to the

white house. and some say that the president has to start a charm offensive. is that what is needed here? >> one of his great strengths was ability to speak to those across the ail. if the president would sit down and talk with mitch mcconnell more or go golfing with boehner, than things are going to change, they're not paying attention. you senat senator mcconnell, since day one, has done everything to undermine the president's agenda. no amount of get togethers will change that. will it help to engender trust, absolutely, but like i said, that's not going to lead to anything dramatic.

>> you heard it here from jim manley. thank you for your time. >> thank you very much. >> coming up on al jazeera america, more than half of eligible voters in the united states didn't even bother to cast a ballot yesterday. what's behind it, and what does that mean for the country? projections show fewer--that's the same thing repeated. we're back in a moment.

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ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> projections of eligible voters in the united states cast a ballot use. that's nearly 60% of voters who turned out in 2012. jake ward takes a look at why. >> let's look at what effect that has on the country. first of all. turn out in the united states is always awful. there are always 239 million people eligible to vote. roughly 145 million chose not to during 2010's midterm elections. that means more than 58% of eligible voters simply didn't vote. who is vote? 90,006,000 voters showed up to be heard. that number does not mean much on its own. bear with me here.

it's weird. when only 90 million americans vote. it's like another country has formed within our own. a country one-third as large as the united states. i'm not just talking about a matter of size here. in this smaller country the politics are different because when i say another country, i'm serious, it really is like another country. for one thing it's a wid white er country made up of richer, older people and they decide the fate of a poorer group who do not vote. our country would be very different if everyone who could cast a ballot did to. groups like the pew research center studied this. for one thing the democratic party would enjoy much more support, more than half of all non-voters identified or lean towards democrats. compare that to those who lean republican, 27% of non-voters. this is why democrats have so much more to gain to get new voters to the polls. 21million people who lean republican and don't vote to the 40 million or more non-voting

americans. nearly twice as much who lean democratic. there are simply far more potential democrats in the united states than there are potential republicans. if all eligible voters did vote, the make or break political issues could be vastly different. let's consider income, for a moment. 32% of americans make less than $30,000 a year. that group makes up more than half of people who do not vote. that's more than 35 million people hovering just above the poverty line and not being heard. >> amazing. joining me now from washington is john, a fellow in government studies at brookings and managing editor of the fixed up blog. good to talk to you. look, the president said in his remarks within the last of last hour that two-thirds of americans eligible to vote did not bother to vote. is that adding historical low or

near a historic low for a midterm cycle? >> well, i think we have yet to hear final totals on what turn out is. that is quite a low number for a midterm, really for any national election. and like you said in the lead-in, mid terms are always lower than presidential years, but it appears this year is quite low. >> how different are mid terms and presidential elections, and why the disparity in the number of people, and from the various groups who actually participate? >> well, one of the reasons why we have lower turn out in mid terms is frankly presidential years interest is always a competitive race. the presidential election is also almost always competitive. when you get to a midterm some people don't have to vote on a senate race. everybody has to vote on a house race. those races are not necessarily competitive either. as gerrymandering increases, the competitiveness of house races decreases.

some senate races are not competitive and some states don't vote on nat race senate races in some years. some believe their will make a difference in this vote. >> that's part of the cynicism. >> but it is a reflection of reality. if you have your congressman winning with 80% of the vote every time he goes up for re-election, really there is--first off, there is very little chance that your vote will be the tie-breaking vote anyway, but that's especially true for an comfortable incumbent. >> it seems to me that we want to broaden the franchise, and we want to make it important for more and more people to vote here. how do we turn this around. there are always these get-out-the-vote campaigns, we are aware of that, but is there something that needs to be done? >> we need to convince voters that, a, their vote matters and individually coming out to the polls won't have much of a

difference. but as you start increasing participation among key democrat graphics, then as a whole they will have more of an impact on elections. but convincing voters in the aggregate as opposed to talking to them in the individual is always a tough--it's always a tough position to be in. and the efforts so far have not been working. >> you're also the managing editor of the fixed u blog. i know colorado is experimenting with mail-in ballots. any thoughts? >> easing the ability of individuals to register to vote certainly helps. easing the voting process in general helps voting. i mean, there are different ways in which people are turned away from the polls. sometimes days and weeks in advance of an election because people get sick of it, but

sometimes on election day, too. and so states without early voting obviously limit the number of opportunities you have to vote. but in 2012 i live in northern virginia, in 2012 i waited three hours in line to vote. >> insane. >> i work for a place that that's all right. but for a lot of people, they don't. that's not something that they can do. you pull up to your voting precinct, and you see a line out the door around the corner and around the block, you keep driving to work. >> i think you're right. >> issues like that are a problem. >> i appreciate it. thanks for your time. "inside story" is next.

one year ago america tonight brought you the story that shocked the nation sex crimes on campus: >> i remember waking up and he was trying to have sex me... >> now we return has anything changed? >> his continued presence on the campus put the entire community at risk >> for the better... >> i was arrested for another false charge that she had made up... >> america tonight's special report sex crimes on campus: one year later on al jazeera america >> protestors are gathering... >> there's an air of tension right now... >> the crowd chanting for democracy... >> this is another significant development...

>> we have an exclusive story tonight, and we go live... . >> close? not even close to being close. in the u.s. senate, in the house of representatives last night a route. it's inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. polling firms and universities public their final surveys before the polls open nationwide.