increasingly essential. andy gallagher, al jazerra miami, florida. thank you so much for your time today here on al jazerra. and before we leave you a reminder for updates on all of the stories we have been following for you, you can go to our website aljazerra.com. aljazerra.com. [ ♪♪ ] i'm david shuster in for ali velshi. on target for the short lift for president. winning by losing. the payoff for candidates with no chance to capture the white house. over the past 36 hours, two more republicans declared that they'll seek the g.o.p.s 2016 presidential nomination, the two candidates represent polar opposite extremes in the republican party.

to the far rite the senator rick santorum, to the left a self-proclaimed new york governor george pataki. pataki spoke of the transenedant value of freedom. >> it is to preserve and protect that freedom for future generations that i speak. it is to preserve and protect that freedom that this morning i announce i'm a candidate for the republic for the president of the united states. >> pataki served three terms as new york governor, beating out democrats in one of the biggest and blowest states. he did that by holding fast on tax cuts while moving to the left on gun control, abortion and gay rights. that will not endear him to voters in key primary stakes, making up the base. rick santorum will not have a problem, he wears religious believes on his kievsleeveand wants

to ban abortions. both are long shots, and the field is expected to grow to 15. however, the social issues dear to conservatives and how they are handled could play a crucial role in determining who wins the republican nomination. nearly all of the parties presidential hopefuls come out strongly against same-sex marriage. a few candidates, including george bush, rand haul are -- jed bush, rand paul are more nuanced saying it should be left to individual shapes. another issue, the war on terror set off 14 years ago by the 9/11 attacks. on that topic pataki has his own controversies involving recovery and response unique to new york. >> george pataki was the government of new york when a september 11, 2001, two planes slammed into the world trade center killing nearly 3,000 people.

a city and a nation left reeling from a violent attack. >> all right now very simple, anything that can be done to save every life is being done. we'll continue to make sure that is a priority. >> in the days and months that followed. governor pataki was tasked with helping manhattan to rebuild. he credited the corporation aimed at revitalizing the commonly distribute with 10 billion in funds. >> when our work is done, the history of lower manhattan will be written, not by the terrorists that attack the city, but the millions of new yorkers that stood up to defend it and worked hard to rebuild it. as new yorkers began the process of trying to heal, thoughts turned to ground zero. it turned into struggle and a design nightmare. 9/11 families were injure rated. jake paterson refused to continue with a plan, making

them stronger, taller and safer. instead he supported an unwieldy desire known as the freedom tower, backed by financial supporters. the problems and the time it took to rebuild could haunt the legacy as he presidency. >> i have learnt early on you can't worry about what you can't control. you can control your ideas, vision and how hard you work, that's all i'm worried about a member of the republican party, he began in his home town and was elected to state assembly and senate. in 1984 he ran for governor against a democrat mario kuomo, defeating him in a stunning upset. going to to serve three terms as governor of new york state. he has been a businessman, and

has been chairman of revere america. in 2010 he travelled around the country campaigning against the affordable care act. and toyed with the idea of running for president - in 2008 and 2012. >> you know, i kid when i go around the hampshire, this is my i think trip, that every four years there's the olympics, world cup, and pataki shows up thinking about running for president. it seems to be true. in all seriousness, this time things are different. a look at what is happening in the world. i have never seen the world of my lifetime, in flames as it is today. >> this time around it's serious. there's a super pact that support the bid. as a relative monument, as a record and environmentalist and supported the woman's right to choose, and pataki supporters believed moderation on social issues could help them stand out in a

crowded republican feel. >> reporter: let's see what the public may say. david is a political correspondent for "the daily beast," and has written a lot. >> george pataki suggests gay rights should be left to the state. is that a death warrant for him and the g.o.p. i think he signed his death warrant. he's pro-choice, proenvironment, antigun, he's going have a hard time. he sort of speaks warmly of gay unions and people. i think his stance is not so different to other candidates. >> to the opposite extreme, rick santorum, and mike huckabee, no to gay marriage, it's against the bible. how far does it take them? >> in iowa, and south carolina, there's a big audience for that rhetoric. >> the minorities, jed bush,

chris christie, and kind of like pataki, when it comes to gay marriage, each if they are hard core to the right. where does it leave them? >> i think it leaves them well positions for general election, they'll have explaining to do in a primary election, depending where they choose to compete. doesn't all of this, when you have candidates pandering to the right. where does it leave the party which is desperate to reach out to younger voters and minorities in a general election. >> what it does is sends a signal not to the young minorities, buts the independent voters who see bigotry in this. and bigotry this part because 69% of the electorate supports gay marriage. >> so do you see as a primary ub folds that the republican is mindful of a general election

and mindful of candidates that will split up the pie, that may be they'll stay away and they'll try to refine them. >> i think they'd like to stay away from the gay marriage issue, democrats know it's an opening and will pound on it. >> in other words, it might be hillary clinton, and the political reporters in the state turning to the republicans saying hillary clinton supports x, y and z. >> exactly. >> do you have a sense of how the republican race is going field. >> right now, there's three top contenders. i'd put each of them with a decent chance of becoming nominee. as for the rest, it's hard to break out of the pact. there's so many contenders. >> is there anything to the theory that we have heard from some supporters, assuming that no one looks at ground zero and problems, you can a candidates dividing everything up in term

of the far right that if a guy like george pataki can get 5% from iowa or new hampshire, would that make him competitive in a field where you might win the caucuses with 20%, and 5% may be good enough for second or third place. >> if pataki says his thing, there's too men before him, chris christie, jed bush and republicans. >> david free lander a senior correspondent with "the daily beast", and he has written must-read articles on gay marriage. thank you for coming in a tough job that presidential candidates have is making themselves likeable to the government. some complain it's style over substance. as politicians sell themselves. voters appreciate authenticity and smalls a fining a mile away.

that's why hillary clinton's trip to carolina is getting a lot of attention, it's not what she said, but how she said it. >> and you are right, i'm running to live again at 1600 pends avenue -- pennsylvania avenue. myself. >> she is mocked for putting on a southern accent. a little thick for someone born in illinois, schooled in the east. and moving to arkansas. here is what a real abbing sent understand like. >> -- accent sounds like. >> if i'm president of the united states and you are thinking about joining al qaeda, i.s.i.l., anyone thinking about that. i'm not going to call a judge, i'm going to call a drone and we'll kill you. >> that was republican strrt graham. >> hillary clinton lost the primary in the south and the racial overtones stood up after

controversial comments by husbands bill clinton. >> perhaps it's understandable now that after appearing before an audience of women, she'd use a southern twang to get personal. after spending years in arc sea. she has -- arkansas she has an ear for the twang. there's a danger that changing your vice and top will have voters thinking you are pannedoring. perceptions that you are -- pandering. perceptions that you are fake may sting as hillary clinton may be learning from the ridicule she is facing today. >> hillary clinton is the favourite for the democratic nomination. why would you run against her as these are doing, if it seems like a no-win proposition, what about the long shot republicans jumping into the g.o.p. race. why would george pataki, for example, bother to sweat it out? coming up, what candidates win when they lose.

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gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera. only on al jazeera america. george pataki's entry in the 2016 race to the white house made one thing clear - if you can't take the heat, stay out of the presidential politics. the former new york governor broke out in sweat under all the lights shining on him. and this was inside a town hall. it's not the ideal image for a man whom many don't know and have no reason to trust. perspiration will be the least of pataki's problems as he tries to raids all the money to run a viable campaign. that is not stopping him and other long shots entering a crowded field. the question is why?

the answer is that being a long shot presidential candidate can pay dividends, some are political, others are financial. mary snow has the story. >> if you are asking george who, you are not alone. the former new york governor doesn't rester in -- register in recent polls, entering on the heels of another long shot. rick santorum, making another bid. the field of candidates and maybes is so crowded it's not certain they'll get a spot in debate. if history is an indication, being in the race can have benefits. on the democratic side, while hillary clinton is far ahead, it hasn't stopped vermont senator bernie sanders throwing his hat into the ring, and two other challenges are sizing up the option. lesser known candidates had odds

of winning. the political science professor says just being in the race brings credibility and potentially a financially lucrative career. >> if you look at samples of what certain presidential candidates have been able to parlay that experience into, in terms of military, it would potentially be in the millions of dollars. >> life before politics was that of a pastor and i got into politics you know what that while. >> reporter: muckleshoot saw his fortunes -- mike huckabee saw his fortunes rise in 2001. when he won the caucuses. his assets were lifted under $700,000. it's not clear how many he's worth, his $300,000. >> he was governor of arkansas,

it's not as if he didn't have a common position. by running for president. that gave him a brands. >> reporter: that brand translated into a job as a talk show host. his most recent book debuted at number three of the "new york times" best seller list. al sharpton who ran in 2004 won his own show. and gingrich signed a deal with cnn after an unsuccessful white house run in 2012. >> then we'll go to washington dc to take back the white house. >> howard dean's scream may have ended his hopes, but he went on to become the head of the democratic international committee, speaking fees topping $20,000. observers say when it's clear to the outside world that a candidate doesn't stand a chance of becoming president, on the inside candidates see a hope.

>> you go on the bus tours. people see you, you are the center of attention, you have ideas, and you tell people how you want to make their lives better. that can be its own reward. >> long shot presidential contenders can keep campaigns going on someone else's dime. >> they have ideas, policy positions and voters support those positions and want to fight for those causes. >> it's not just about winning, sometimes it's about keeping an issue in the national spotlight and with the issues the candidates who stand to gain financially or politically mary snow joins us in the studio. the cynic would say this is why you have candidates on the republican side. money. >> they would say that. talking to cynical political watchers, they can't believe someone would put themselves through the process just for the money, that there is some belief

that they can either win or make a difference or maybe it is a cause, and now they have a bigger platform for it and what about some of the people that are wealthy, i'm thinking herman kane in 2012, he was the c.e.o. of the godfather's pizza. he didn't need the money. >> the fact this you mentioned herman kane shows us something. no one knew who he was, he got the platform, he dropped out of the race over sexual harassment allegations. after he dropped out, he got a nationally syndicated talk show radio discussing politics and getting a name in the headlines. >> for the deep interest, few democrats are getting the upside of challenging hillary clinton. i wonder if that's the difference, whereas hillary clinton widely expected to win. we have a lot of democrats that don't want to challenge her. it could be risky in the future.

but it doesn't seem like there's a same threat from any one republican in that particular race. do i have that right? >> you do. there's that risk on the democratic side. when you think about it, how many years have we talked about hillary clinton hiding the 2016 race. she has been seen as an inevitable front runner. on the republican side it was so wide open, and if someone goes up against hillary clinton, everything she does is front page news. the spotlight is greater. do you want to take the risk for bernie sanders. >> yes. so. >> next - humpback whales can breath easier now. the mammals soon could be removed from the endangered species list. some conservationists say it is being threatened. we'll explain in 2 minutes.

after four decades on then dangered species list, the hux back whale is making -- humpback whale is making a come back. the federal government is looking to remove them from the list, but it could come with a downside. juniored reports. -- jacob ward reports. >> reporter: there's something humpback whales that humans can't get enough of. their acrobatics, and sheer size. nancy black grew up in san francisco. after a career as a marine biologists, katherine black opened her own whale-watching out fit 25 years ago. >> when i started back dlen, there was thought to -- then, there was thought to about 400 hump backs, now there's close to 3,000.

a noticeable difference. >> hunted almost to the point of extinction in the 1960s, they wound up on the endangered species list. >> they were on the road to extinction, and it was due to the one factor, commercial whaling, and once that factor was removed we started to see recoveries at the populations, and since the mud 1960, what we have seen is populations doubling. there has been four decades since then, that is a lot of inquiries. there's a lot of 91,320 hump backs in the world. up to as little as worldwide. >> the united states is considering subdividing the global population into 14 subgroups. those in the arabian sea and north-west africa are endangered. hump backs in the north pacific

in north america would be downgraded to threatened. california's whales would be another mammal in the eyes of the law. >> the population numbers of these animals, like a mother and calf, appear to be doing well. they have less protection than they do now, and the animals regularly swim through the clam traps that stud the surface of the waters. >> reporter: this is a humpback caught in a commercial fishing net, the single biggest killer of dolphins, whales and porpoises. if they are delisted as endangered they'll be protected in the u.s. by the marine mammal protection act. but whale conservationists worry that it will not be enough. >> it offers a lot of protections. why do they need an extra lair of protection. >> the esa offers protection against current and the future

projects such as oil and gas, or seismic drilling. under the marine mammal protection act, if they weren't endangered they could apply for permits to harm or harass a number of humpback whales. >> reporter: there has been petitions to take them off the endangered list. >> our goal in delisting the central demorth pacific list. >> is this about the science or protecting economic interests. in alaska delisting the humpback makes it different on the engines. oil and maritime industries, it may be a bit of both. >> it's a strictly biological opinion, analysis. and - but there are economic

concerns that bring the humpback population into focus. >> for captain black, the endangered species act has given a life-long relationship with individual wales. >> some. of them we know by name. i recognise them. i hope to do it for a lot longer, and i hope, you know, to help with the research and conservation and make sure they stay healthy, at least where a. >> the endangered species act saved humpback wales, we'll see if they've done enough to survive on their own. >> if the whales have done this well for so long under the now? >> well, it's a great question, raising a philosophical question about the purpose of the endangered species act. is there there to ensure the

bounty or keeping it there from going ex-tint. it's argued -- extinct. it's argued it's the latter, it is not to bring them back to levels prior to the hunting, it's about making sure they don't die off. in theory, taking them off makes sense. they have not - they are not in danger of dying off as a species. they need to go further, we should keep them on the list. and they are back to the levels in the prewhaling area. talk about the groups to delist the animals before the endangered species list. it's a tangled web. the thing to understand is it really enshrines animals as untouchable. under-federal law, you are not allowed to do anything. you can't make too much noise around the whole that's on the endangered species list.

under the marine mammal act you can harass them to get them to move away from a situation. if you want to do seismic explorations, around oil, commercial industry, commercial shipping, fishing permits, all of those can happen if they harass the whale. it loosens things up for commercial activity. we see the two groups, fish and department of fish and wildlife in alaska, and a commercial fishing group in hawaii. both petitioned noah, the federal government to delist the whales, loosening up restrictions, allowing them to apply their trade. there's a little tension between the science and the business of this decision. >> jacob ward from san francisco. thank you very much. >> thank you, thank you for having me. >> that is our show for today. i'm david shuster in for ali velshi, on behalf of all of us,

thanks for watching.