discussion. >> i agree. ridiculous that we're talking about uncle sugar and women's libido and republicans need to get back on message. president obama's pollster joel benenson along with republican pollster kellyanne conway. the president's approval numbers are, in a word, bad, in two words, not good. here's where he rates against other presidents at this time during their presidencies. he's got bush level numbers, and we all know bush did not come back. you're the pollster, tell me what's not working with obama's messaging? >> well, first of all, i think putting it in perspective, i've heard and experienced a lot of public poll numbers that were at variance with where the president's standing was with the american people. i went through a whole election in 2011 and '12 as a pollster where people said his numbers are terrible, he can't come back -- >> so you're saying don't believe the polls? >> i've often said don't believe the polls. i've spent a lot of time talking

about the poll numbers out there. when you look at the president's numbers and democratic numbers and who people think care about them and you're talking about the economy where we're still fighting back and still slowly making progress, the president and the democrats have an enormous advantage over republicans. every day the republicans spend distracting people from the mission at hand and the president stays focused on it, which is about to get our economy moving forward for everybody restoring security for the middle class, which is what he's focusing on and people striving to get there, he's talking to the american people what they care about. as we go into 2014, where the president's standing is going to be fine for the election in 2014. i think democratic candidates are going to be very happy to run around behind a president who has us creating more manufacturing jobs than we have in two decades. >> okay. come on. >> for the first time in 15 years. >> got it, actually. >> and all the polls are wrong. the average of the poll show

that your client president obama's disapproval rating is well over 50% now. that's a greater indictment of his policies than his approval rating being mired in the 40s. a lot of democrats won't want to campaign this time. those people in swing states aren't asking him to fund-raise on him not not on the magical word that you omitted, obama care. let's talk about the in 2010 that election was all about obama care. in principle the 2013 was about obama care and in 2014 they were canceled. >> your party has vote for it 44 times. >> this is a nonpresidential year. it's not a dead issue. >> they do not want to appeal obama care. >> to people who are on wall street -- >> we got a lot to talk about on obama care and bring out a couple other economic issues. >> in 2014. >> we can talk about that, there

are a couple other issues that i think will play in 2014. i can't predict what the president will say in the state of the union address -- but i have a feeling he'll talk about pretty core economic issues. talk about this "usa today" poll despite what joel said about public polls. from yesterday. >> he likes this one. >> 63% of the american people support extending unemployment. and 73% of the american people support raising the minimum wage. we're likely to hear about those issues in the state of the union. your party stands in the way of both. they won't bring it up for a vote, they won't extend unemployment insurance. you're on the wrong side of these issues, isn't that a problem going into -- >> no, it's not. if you ask people in a poll, do you support fill in the blank, you'll get high numbers. they asked people for health care reform and then found out it meant obama care. this president can't have a

serious conversation about income and equality if he and bill de blasio and other democrats on the left are against school charters. the charter school students are are black and hispanic. how will you take away their education can the best chance they have -- >> what about the minimum wage? >> what about it? >> more than 60% of minimum wage earners are women. high numbers. >> temporary jobs. >> 20%. >> people that. >> are teenagers and young people. we're talking about working 40 hours a week. your party won't move it on. >> well, you know what. >> that's a serious. >> minimum wage earners want? economic security. they're working in the fifth year of the obama economy, stephanie. >> there are companies over america like costco that are paying their employees a living wage and those that don't. their employees stay longer.

but the interesting thing here is kellyanne, you're on defense. >> i'm not. >> you said that it will be the big issue of 2014. that's what's wrong with the republican party. who is going to fight for working americans? that's what americans will clean -- >> the fighting is not talking. i know stanley's soundbite otherwise known as. >> who is that. >> your president in the state of the union. from the podium about. >> health care reform. >> the soundbite, kellyanne, minimum wage is a policy. >> you had the first two years, what did he do. >> and money. >> and nobody's against that in princip principle. >>? really? you have some of the biggest companies in america. >> one at a time, please, go ahead. >> we're both small business owners, joel, you have seen the actuarial data, increasing the minimum wage, it is not a victimless wage. you give me $2 more an hour and

you're a company, i'm going to charge you more for that product. the cost of that -- it's not like the company says, oh, i've got more money sitting around to pay more people. they're going to raise their prices and that hurts people trying to afford those products. >> but your employees are more productive, you're pouring more money into the economy. >> president reagan's pollster and i earned the minimum wage. true story. i didn't sit around saying i'm really jealous of these people. they should give me half of what they have so we each have 50-50. i said, no maybe one day i'll have my own polling firm and sit on "crossfire." >> i hope every republican keeps making this argument that you're making. when 73% of americans who believe the minimum wage is too low in the country. >> i'm not disagreeing with you. >> keep making that argument. >> i'm not disagreeing with you. but in the obama economy, in the obama economy saying let's cure income inequality, let's raise

taxes, soak the rich, that doesn't work altogether. we're living in the fifth year of the obama economy, you think things are going well? then tell the 54% of americans that disapprove of the job he's doing. >> let me switch gears because there's a big story out of "the new york times magazine" about hilly land and the planet that is the center of the universe that is now hillary clinton. the president is going to lay out benchmarkers in his 2014 state of the union address next week. do you think that he has to consider hillary when he lays out those benchmarkers and think about the fact that she will have to own or disown many of the failures or successes that he lays out over the next year. is that something he is thinking about as he prepares this speech? >> i can't speak for him. i highly doubt that he's viewing a speech in 2014 as a benchmarker as anything more than what he wants to set down as his stake in the ground to continue bringing our economy

back from the crisis that we walked into. >> i bet you hillary's thinking about it. don't you think he should be thinking about the legacy he'll leave the next democratic nominee? >> you start caring about hillary now? >> he has to keep driving the unemployment rate down, which is now at the lowest point in five years, to keep creating manufacturing jobs and keep increasing exports. if he thinks about those things, he'll put out an economic agenda that if the republicans would stop obstructing we'd make even more progress. >> let's talk about progress. >> you want to cross some polls, s.e. -- >> six years of failed economic policies. >> i know and many, many years. >> four years of republican control over the house and a leader in the senate who says my number one agenda item is to stop the president from being a two had been term agenda, if this was a one-party town. >> i like to talk about monarchy. 2016 with hillary or anybody else is going to be the same question for voters as it is

after every two-term president. do you want the ninth year of that presidency to start now or do you want something totally differently? it helped your client in 2008 to say no people don't want the ninth year of george w. bush. that's one of the reasons she shouldn't run for president and probably won't. >> big prediction from kellyanne. the last few election cycles the republicans have been in a bit of poll denial. next up numbers that should come as a warning for president obama's pollster. [ male announcer ] this is george.

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personalized coverage and savings. all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? welcome back in the crossfire tonight joel benenson and kellyanne conway. take a look at this quote. they'll either work it out or they won't. that was hillary clinton's lukewarm sentiments for the president's health care woes as reported in the buzzy magazine story. meh isn't the reply they want.

but it works to ambivalently wash her hands of obama care if it works and she runs for president. not a good sign for democrats heading into 2014. only 38% supportnd and a whopping 56% are opposed. sometimes republicans live in poll denial. i think we all remember the iraq war polling, even the romney campaign polling. but as a pollster are you willing to tell democratic candidates running in red states saying that they don't want obama care coming to our state? >> we ask this question a lot but say to people who say they oppose obama care, we say you o oppose it because you believe it doesn't go far enough or goes too far? typically 25% of the people who oppose it say it doesn't go far enough. they're liberals who think we should have done more on obama care. so you wind up with close to a majority or a slight majority usually the like it as it is or

want more. the other thing is people don't want to repeal this. as obama care works more and more people sign up and more and more democrats say if we need to make changes including the president to fix things, we'll fix them. but what we shouldn't do is go back to square one, repeal it and start over. >> republicans running in -- >> you wouldn't tell democrats running in red states to run on obama care, would you? >> i think people who want to run on obama care have been and will be republicans. we want to run on economic issues and obama care is preventing a lot of people from falling off the cliff economically. >> obama care is an economic issue, that's what kay hagan and mary landrieu and -- >> people with pre-existing conditions who, you know, can now get the care they need in emergency situations. >> which is great. absolutely. >> children to the age of 26 who are covered. >> well, they're not children, but go on. >> well, they're on their parents' policies. >> speaking of millennials -- >> t about million people to date. >> sorry, but that.

>> have coverage that they wouldn't have had. >> and 5 million people have had their plans canceled. the enrollments are increasing to be sure. people don't like it because that's not what they were promised and mill yennials are saying we're just not that into it. >> that's not true. with the people whose plans were canceled many are on better plans because of obama care. >> according to you. maybe they don't think so. maybe they wanted to keep their pediatrician. >> their benefits are going up. >> typical intrusive government. we know what's better for you. >> let's talk about another piece of reality that republicans don't want to face. s.e. was talking about polls they don't face. i want to bring something else up. here's mike huckabee just yesterday. >> if the democrats want to insult the women of america by making them believe that they are helpless without uncle sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or

their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it. >> i think that we can all agree that those comments don't help the republican party. that's not where the argument is. >> assuming we're discussing this. >> well, i think they make a pretty good point. my point is it's not so much what he says that's the problem, it's what republicans do. what they don't don't is support an agenda that helps lift women in this economy. >> that's such crap, excuse me, it is. >> it's crap that you don't support a minimum wage. are crap that republicans won't bring a pay equity bill to the floor. crap that you talk all the time about how you'll roll back women's rights. >> actually, one of the first votes. >> in the middle of the state of the union is that you're going to vote on abortion of all things. >> let's talk about which party is extreme on abortion, is it the party that official party platform says no restrictions, no regulation, can you think of any time eighth month ninth month sex selection fetal pain when nonpartisan scientists say

a baby or a zygote as you all like to say can feel pain, is there any time. >> if it works "d" sh has it worked for you to roll back funding for planned parenthood. >> what does roll back mean? >> does it work for you guys that. >> planned parenthood. let me answer. >> let her answer. >> is your interest in what i really have to say, yes. it makes no sense that an organization whose moneys are fungible should get half a billion dollars in taxpayer money, why don't you take the money planned parenthood gets and can fungably use for abortions and give it to women who you want to earn more money? >> if we could actually talk about the facts of how that money -- >> your party's obsessed with abortion. >> the party is not my client any more. kellyanne -- >> pro life democratic women in this country. can you? name five. susan collins, christy -- olympia snowe. >> you naming one bill on abortion that democrats have

proposed. every bill on abortion is coming out of the republican party. >> because you're scared to death to say fetal pain. you're scare to death to say that -- >> republican party is scared to death of this issue. >> we're talking about governor huckabee said to governor cuomo, a sitting governor told 45% of his state you're not welcome here. >> can we move on from that because be have some other ground to carry. republicans don't want to just talk about abortion. i'll prove it right now. democrats most reliable voting blocker, one of them has typically been millennials and now they are going to be the biggest generation in history and they are leaving obama for the center. they are not impressed with big government. nair not into obama care. they're not into the nsa spying program. shouldn't democrats be worried about bleeding this very important voting bloc, and what are they going to do about it? >> it's exaggeration to say that

millennials are desserting obama. they polls on this show with two pollsters. i don't know why we're here. >> you know, i'm happy to talk about these polls but i punched holes in them all through 2012 including ones that had mitt romney winning on election day. if i take them with a grain of salt because they don't ask the kind of questions that probe more deeply into the underlying attitudes to understand where millennials are, they're part of the democratic coalition. >> i interview millennials. they are leaving obama for the center. they're not coming to the republican party, but they're leaving obama. >> there's no doubt that they are less ideological than partisans who are older. there's no question. >> than they were. than they were. >> leave the question. >> no. >> that's not true. now if you're asking millennials where are they voting in a

presidential election, they were voting for president obama because they agreed with his agenda. if you're asking where they are right now, they're less ideological. they are in the center. they don't identify as millennials. >> let's talk about -- >> let's talk about poll numbers on millennial's attitude. they agree climate change is real and we need action now. the republican party is out of step with that. >> threw with obama. >> they overwhelmingly agree that we need comprehensive immigration reform. >> we are not enrolling in obama care. >> they overwhelmingly agree that gay people should be allowed to marry in america. >> you're absolutely right. those are not single issues, unfortunately, for millennials. >> what single issue is there for millennials. >> the economy. >> they are just as invested in the economy as people over 30. >> we're going to take a break. >> i think that's wise. >> next, the final question for both of our guests. we also want you at home to

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we're back with joel and kelly ann conway. it's time for the final question. s.e.? >> so, joel, let's be honest and tell each other what's one thing

you think democrats are ignoring right now that they should be talking about? one issue. >> wow. that's a tough one. that they're ignoring? >> yeah, that they're not focusing on enough or that they're not making more of or that they're ignoring at their peril. surely you can think of something. >> i think we've been pretty good. >> okay. >> i think as we go forward i think we should talk about how we're going to transition to a clean energy economy and continue to bring down carbon pollution. >> okay. >> whether that includes steps like even tougher moves to deal with cars and vehicles or office buildings and urban areas and the greening of america. i think particularly when you talk about millennials, this is an issue that they feel very passionately about. >> we do. >> i think, frankly, it's important for the future of the country both economically and

from the viewpoint of the planet. we're going to have to do it sooner or later. sooner would be better. >> kelly ann, over to you. what's the one issue you would tell republicans to talk more about. >> first the way to attract people politically understand them culturally. the republicans with their reboot and autopsy, when you look at people as voters, people don't look at themselves as voters. even this whole notion on abortion, does a woman, she fills up the grocery cart and the gas tank once a week. she doesn't get an abortion once a week. understand who people are and understand that delivery today, delivery is a system more than a style. it's not about what you wear and how you look at the podium so much as meet people where you live. if you're young and live online, i need to connect with you online politically. what the democrats did in 2012 was masterful. you run excellent campaigns, they run a crappy administration. >> feel free to jump in. >> i listened to all of the stuff about carbon emissions.

>> we have time. >> seriously speaking, we have to go where people live outside of the health clubs, grocery stores, beauty salons. >> they're debating whether they should make more out of abortion. is that counter? >> it's not more or less. our platforms are distinct. yours says abortion anywhere, any time, anywhere. i'll take ours any day. >> there's a good way to talk about anything. >> tone and content. >> as we go forward to take issue with what kelly ann said. very quickly, we are creating manufacturing jobs the first time in 15 years. we are actually increasing our solar production and solar energy to improve the economy. >> too bad people don't think so. >> we've reduced our dependence on foreign oil. >> we have to go. thank you to joel and kelly ann. go to facebook or twitter to weigh in on our fire back question. do you agree with governor huckabee's controversial comments. 15% say yes, 85% say no.

wouldn't have predicted that. >> from the left i'm stephanie cutter. >> from the right i'm s.e. cupp. erin burnett "out front" begins right now. next, a big development tonight involving richard sherman. he has just been fined by the nfl. tonight, our interview with the controversial cornerback. plus, the president says conservative media says that's why he can't get some things done. is that fair? new details about justin bieber's blood alcohol content. we'll talk to cory feldman and lindsay lohan's father. let's go "out front." good evening, everyone. thanks for joining us. i'm don lemon in for erin burnett tonight. flirting with pot.