♪ mark: on the show tonight, more focus group action from iowa. but first, let's go to our man peter cook with all the latest political news. peter: the state department released the first batch of hillary clinton's personal e-mails when she was secretary of state but using a private e-mail server. they are all related to the 2012 terrorist attack in libya that killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other american. clinton said she never used the server for classified materials but the fbi revealed e-mails

while struggling with how to disclose the debts, receive condolences, and got a lot of advice from sidney blumenthal even though he had no government role. clinton commented on the e-mails. hillary clinton: i want them to release all of them as soon as possible. they're in the process of doing it. i understand there is a certain protocol that have to be followed and they are following that. these that are being released today have been in the committee jurisdiction. they were given to the committee some months ago. now, finally those are getting released. so it is beginning. i would like to see it expedited so we get the more out quickly. peter: clinton supporters says the e-mails bolster her previous accounts of benghazi. but a republican congressman on the special committee investigating this tragedy says they relieve unresolved

questions, that is why he wants to blumenthal and eventually from hillary clinton herself. -- eventually hear from clinton herself. mark: back to the focus group -- john and i were in des moines, iowa earlier this week. we did a lot of focus groups we spent a lot of time with democrats and republicans. we want to bring you more material we have not got to show you yet. first, democrats. we talked about hillary clinton and other democrats who are talked about as presidential candidates -- bernie sanders and also elizabeth warren, who so far has refused to declare running. we talked about the clintons and their political style. the clintons tends to be more secretive than any other politicians. does anybody agree? you agree? anybody else is i don't? the three of you agree. none of the rest of you think that? >> they are more strategic maybe. what is secretive? mark: another thing deriving from the foundation controversy

and the e-mail controversy, some people say the clintons feel like they can play by their own rules. anybody feel that way? >> i think all politicians -- >> i think they play the game well. they think ahead before something happens just like when she was using, what did you say, the non-server? mark: the personal server. >> the personal server. i think she is thinking ahead. she knows what is coming next. she has been there she has seen it. she knows. mark: people tend to agree with that point of view as opposed to something inappropriate about playing by their own rules? >> it is the nature of politicians. >> they all do. mark: so the republicans have a big field -- they have like 15 candidates. >> i count 21. mark: that is a lot. is anybody that is running for the republican nomination that you find appealing? [laughter] >> no. >> no. >> not at all. mark: anybody?

>> marco rubio does have some good use. mark: what is appealing about him? >> a lot of the social programs would be better. he is more left than most republicans. mark: does anybody have anything positive to say about jeb bush? >> is that a joke? [laughter] mark: why do you say that? >> we don't need any more bushes in the white house. mark: hillary does not have much stiff condition. do any of you want hillary clinton elected? >> she doesn't have much competition. mark: does anybody worry about her chances of winning? >> i would like to see elizabeth or joe biden in there, maybe to get more of a race. mark: does anybody else share bill's wish to get a tougher contest? >> i think bernie sanders will surprise people. he will have a bigger voice than he has been given credit for.

mark: tell me why you think that. >> i personally like his policies. i like that he answers the questions. mark: would you like his presence in the race to cause hillary to take more progressive positions? >> yeah. mark: will it take an effect? >> i think it has already. she has had to lean more to the left now. mark: do you like him more than hillary clinton? >>. mark: you would like it more if he could be the nominee? >> oh, yeah. whether we like it or not we , have a citizens united america. you need to raise a lot of money. there is so many characteristics where he does not stand a chance. mark: christina, what do you think about bernie sanders? >> i don't know much about him. mark: martin o'malley? who knows who that is? >> governor of maryland?

mark: former governor of maryland. what do you think about him? >> i don't know much about him. the little i have seen of him he sounds like a good guy. but i just have not really read too much of his stances lately so i really couldn't say. mark: charlie? >> i know he is a bit to the left of hillary on some issues. i think i personally land somewhere in between bernie sanders and hillary. so, it aligns a little better with me than either of the other two. mark: anybody have thoughts on jim webb? anybody know who he is? >> i have seen them in interviews. i like that he is direct. i don't know -- i have not seen him too much recently in the news. in the past, anytime i come across them, i have always liked what he had to say. mark: raise your hand if you think elizabeth warren could win if she did the race.

>> i don't think she could beat hillary. >> i don't think anyone can beat hillary. mark: ok. is there anybody you think that could beat hillary or is she unbeatable? >> at this point, yes. mark: charlie? anybody you think could beat her? >> i don't, not that i have heard of. mark: always interesting what voters think. we did those focus groups in des moines. what do you think they said about the clinton's willingness to engage in hardball politics? john: it is amazing. people talk about how the clintons get away with stuff because it is taken into the cake. people assume that is how it is. these people not only assume it, they admire it. they look at the clintons and say, this is how politics is, it is hardball and these guys play it well. mark: they know they can win elections and that is what they want. john: totally. they spent a lot of time talking about bernie sanders who is the

new player in the democratic side. what did you think about the reaction to him? mark: they knew a lot about him. they liked the fact he is playing a role in pulling clinton farther to the left, and they had some affection for him and respect. they did not say this totally explicitly but it seemed like they wanted somebody more like bernie sanders but they know he cannot win. john: they were not in love with his grooming, but they like the honesty and the authenticity which a lot of voters crave. and he has those things in space. -- in spades. mark: i asked them about elizabeth warren and they don't think she can beat hillary clinton. a lot of people in brooklyn at clinton's headquarters would say we hope elizabeth warren does not get in. and these people did not say that if she got in, she cannot beat her. john: they must be students of pulling. -- polling. john: you look at the polls and it is true, elizabeth warren would not have much chance. there are some people that make a lot of noise on the left that make it seem like she has more support than she really does.

at least if you go fight these groups. -- at least if you go by these groups. mark: my takeaway from the full session -- they are sophisticated, pro-clinton and not idealistic. they don't think hillary clinton can necessarily change washington, but they know that is their best hope to win the white house. or at least they think so. john: all they care about is winning and keeping a republican from taking the oval office. mark: they are pro-clinton with a lot of asterisks. we will be right back with more exciting focus group action. this time with the republicans right after this. ♪

mark: on the show tonight, more bonus footage from our iowa focus group. the one be conducted earlier this week. this is what the republican voters had to tell us.

if you had a choice, would you pick somebody that has experience or someone who knows how government works and experience in that way or somebody that can bring change? someone that can come to washington or change a system? or are you looking for a mixture? >> i think there has to be a mixture. i think you need both to run this country. you need somebody with leadership and governance qualities and have to be able to work with people and be diplomatic and be able to cross the aisle and deal with both republicans and democrats as opposed to being so divisive. that comes again with leadership and the ability to run business. >> i think most politicians want to get elected their first goal is to get reelected. that is their number one goal. that should not be the number one goal. because of all the term limits -- i don't think the country was set up for it -- i think the

country was set up for a lay politician, but now everybody is a professional politician. there are guys coming in with no money and leave as billionaires. >> i want somebody that is charismatic, who can instill hope and can get people behind him. john: is it important to have someone that has held elective office before? >> not really. they need to have a record. this guy now had never really done anything other than being a neighborhood organizer. we need somebody that was successful at something. john: fair enough. christine, what you think about that? >> i agree. you need to have something. an entrepreneur, something-- donald trump is so successful in business. that is a core he does really well. i am not saying he is the next president, but he is one reason

-- he is great at money, making money. can he turn america's economy around? sure. that is something. better than obama has done. john: if you put aside mr. trump, you have a bunch of republicans who have either been a governor or are a governor work or a senator. when you think about those qualifications, is there one of those that is more attractive or less attractive? the idea of the executive experience of the governorship or the legislative experience of the senate, or could it be either one? what you think about that? >> either one just as long -- they still need to understand how government works and know the ins and outs to be able to run the government. if you don't completely understand how the government works, how are you supposed to be it commander-in-chief? >> i think a governor is better than a senator. a senator is a legislator.

a governor has to run the state. i think a governor would make a better president than a legislator. john: anybody agree? >> he or she is an outsider as well which gives you no , preconceived notions. john: quick show of hands -- how many people in the room think it is important the republican nominee be a conservative? how important is that to everybody? ok only about half. for the others of you for whom the conservative is not important, do you want a a nominee who is a moderate moderate or either or? , is moderate what you are looking for? >> i would like somebody moderate but not too terrifically conservative. >> i think there is different levels of conservativism. you have the far right which, if you elect someone like that gridlock. an elephant instead of a donkey.

john: how important is it to you that the candidate you get behind represents the future for the republican party? >> that is the reason we go through this whole process otherwise we can sit back and do , nothing while complaining. again, i have a senior, i would like to see the world left in good hands for my family. yes, it is very important. john: you said it was important to you after talking about ronald reagan. >> i think we need a crossover -- she made a point about gaining all the republicans. everyone, instead of just the passionate ones. people get upset -- i don't want to vote for him. we need somebody that can cross over and bring everyone in. >> you have to have a visionary. you need to have somebody that can see into the future and keep us progressing and moving forward. if you don't, we will stay stagnant and i don't think anybody wants that.

john: mark, everything we have seen across the country so far was exemplified in that conversation. it is a wide-open race. mark: some like experience, some like a new face. some like a more conservative candidate, some say doesn't have to be conservative. some want someone from washington, some want an outsider. john: one as a legislator and some want executive experience for business leaders. mark: anybody thinking about running can look at that discussion and find some hope that their profile will work. you don't have somebody like bob dole, an old senator. lindsey graham would be an exception. but the leading senate candidates are younger. they can argue, that. john: the one thing that came through is -- in this republican group -- they want a visionary and somebody that looks like the future. not necessarily young but someone who will take the party forward. you could kind of tell in this group there was a palpable buzz -- i sat and talked with them -- there was a palpable buzz around carly fiorina and marco rubio.

there was a way in which you could see how it might benefit them, that kind of yearning for something new, fresh and future oriented. mark: my instinct while listening to those voices and looking at the polling is while somebody like rubio is getting their turn, i don't get the sense it will be like the last cycle where when someone had their journal mistake they , rocketed up to the 20's or 30's. john: i think people might get a little bit of a bump but even the people expressing enthusiasm or positive things about rubio and fiorina and walker, it was not like consensus. mark: it was, i interested in them. -- i am interested in them. john: last time, you had a very weak field where people shot up and collapsed. in this field, it is stronger see you can imagine it'll be even more evened out. the thing that also struck me which is the moderate conservative thing which you are supposed to have where iowa republicans are super conservative -- you do not have much of that at all. even those that were conservative did not think they

have to be conservative and there were plenty of moderates. we will be right back with the best food in iowa. and that is saying something.

mark: every time we go to iowa, we try to stop by smitty's which is near the airport and the other is also pretty easy to get to -- the restaurant in downtown des moines that has more to do with politics than most things in the hawkeye state. we took andrew with us to find out how this incredibly popular restaurant has become incredibly important. ♪ >> how are you? mark: great to see you. >> nice to see you. mark: this place has been open since 2002. what was downtown des moines like when this place opened? >> there was nothing across the street. there were virtually no restaurants or activities going

on. john: you would not describe this as a gastronomic paradise would you? >> it was a food desert. john: what gave you the idea that you were going to do this? >> the city wanted to tear the building down to build a central park type of environment. i had a preservationist friend who felt that this building should not be torn down. it was built in 1912 as a masonic temple building. mark: when did it become a political place? >> as it turns out we do not , at the time -- we do not really know this at the time but most of the candidates stay downtown at the marriott, a few blocks from here. when they would finish their day, they would start coming here in 2002. i think it was john kerry, john edwards had his own table, joe biden had his own table. right in the middle. john: how much did adam to gurney do to put it on the map? >> adam was the chief writer for the new york times, and a lot of people follow his lead, we found

out. he had a table in the middle of the restaurant. by the end of the evening, the press latched on and there were five or six tables of press. john kerry announced his candidacy here. mark: was romney here? >> romney with your a lot. i think he had an event here, they had new year's eve parties here for the press. that ceiling alone was $80,000 to repair the stained-glass windows. they were all coming out. we spent $9 million on the building to restore it. it is been the singular most satisfying investment, but also the singular worst investment i have ever made. mark: do you know when you will make your money back? >> the restaurant is doing quite well, so that helps. in 2002, 2006 caucuses, we had all three anchors here. we had peter jennings, dan rather, and tom brokaw. they were all in the restaurant at the same time. plus, all of the candidates were

there that night, and tim russert. mark: we are here right before the lunch rush. what is the biggest night in terms of media star power? >> it used to be the night before the caucuses but now the candidates seem to be politicking all the way up until end, and even during the day. so, i think the night before the caucuses when we are most busy. mark: what is it like with the political people coming in particularly the journalists? does that make a difference in your business, higher checks? >> i guess. we do a lot of business. right now during the caucus season, we get people that stay a long time so they can see celebrities. it helps us and hurts us at the same time a little. john: as you look back at the 13 years, what is the most star-studded night you can remember? the one that stands out in your mind? >> sharon stone called one night and said she had heard about the

food, and was getting in the late, so she was hoping we can keep the kitchen open. that was a pretty easy decision. we had her, scarlett johansson was here, that was pretty exciting. john: what might with that? >> that was right after the obama win. the night of the 2008 caucuses. mark: do political people order different stuff, more stuff? >> john kerry liked the fish -- everybody likes their favorite. ron paul came here a lot. mark: what did he order? >> i don't know what he ordered but i know kerry liked the seafood. john: nothing like good iowa seafood. >> there you go. mark: if you are writing a history of des moines in the last 15 years what will be the paragraph about this restaurant? >> preservation makes a difference. as a result of this, there were a lot of buildings that might might have been slated for demolition. there have been 16 restaurants

that have opened downtown. 5000 or 6000 different apartments that are being built or have been built. whole areas are growing and we have had a number of those developers come and say if it weren't for this building and restaurant, they wouldn't have opened here. mark: where does the name come from? >> my wife and i spent a lot of time in italy. when you go to downtown italian locations, it is the city center in italy. it says centro. mark: this is the city center of des moines. >> we like to think so. mark: thank you. congratulations on your success. >> thanks a lot. mark: great restaurant, great building, and a great man. we will be right back after this.

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