for added contest. in colorado republican congressman mike kaufman about to get more than aggressive push from the establishment to challenge the incumbent there, bennett. he won by nine points in a competitive swing district against a strong democratic challenger. you might remember tea party candidates in 2010 and they won victories in what otherwise was a pretty big republican year. thank you for sharing your monday morning. state of the unions starts right now. hillary clinton's big cash headache. a legends call for justice.

this is "state of the union." ohio governor kasich on other things. good morning from washington. i am jim acosta. president obama is promising a review of his drone program after two were killed and their deaths brought up new criticism of the strategy. and now joining me is senator mccain. thank you for joining us and getting up so early this morning. >> thank you, jim. >> you have had a couple days to mull this over. the drone strikes that resulted in the deaths of those two hostages. were their deaths preventible in your view? >> i think it was preventible where there was an obvious

breakdown in intelligence and they didn't know they were there, and as you know all of our prayers and thoughts are with their families. it was obviously preventible, but the question then is do we continue these drone strikes and how important are they? that races all of those questions, and it's clearly a subject for review by intelligence and armed services committees and the entire congress. >> i notice this week after the president's admission about the drone strikes and the terrible tragedy that occurred that both he and the white house did not use the word drone and they did not say that the cia program existed. we do know that to be a fact isn't that right, senator, these drone strikes are run by the cia? >> yes, and there is kind of an internal struggle going on within the administration and within the congress as to whether it should be an armed

services operation, the whole issue of drone strikes or should it be done by the cia? obviously as a member of the armed services committee, i have bias and that's not the job of the intelligence agency. back to your question, i think that raises the debate do we need to continue drone strikes? if so how? obviously better intelligence. we are now facing a new form of warfare, the nonstate terrorists organizations that are spread all over hell's half acre, and the only way you can get at them that is viable is through the drone operations. they have taken out leadership and we can argue, and in fact i would argue strenuously, there are places where we could have done a lot more but this is an aspect of the frozen conflict

that we are not going to send boots on the ground to go and get those people and this is certainly understandable. >> and that's something white house press secretary said earlier this week we cannot conduct an bin laden style raid. you said you would like to see the drone program moved out from the cia and over to the pentagon. why has that not happened? >> turf battles. >> the cia doesn't want to give it up? >> failure -- in all candor obviously, and the president said a couple years ago he wanted them moved, and there is is a question about the capabilities and the movement that the dod has compared to the cia. what this will do we will renew this discussion with the administration and within congress as to who actually should be running the drone

operation. >> in your view the cia should not run this program -- i don't want to interrupt, but i want to ask that question? >> i don't think so. that's why they are called the intelligence agency and that's why we call the armed forces obviously the people supposed to be carrying out military operations. i understand when it was a small operation why it would be done by the intelligence agency such as other reconscience aircraft and now it reached a point where it's a integral part of the conflict and essential one, and it should be conducted in oversight by the department of defense. >> there was a potential for a military confrontation between the u.s. and iran when it was feared the iranians were sending arms through their naval ships over to yemen to support the

houthi rebels there fighting the proxy war on the part of the iranians and the u.s. sent an aircraft carrier, and the white house would not say whether they were there to keep those weapons from being delivered, but do you think it would be necessary to block the shipments? >> absolutely. there is no doubt the houthis are the proxy, and you look at where where yemen sits and i applaud the saudis' efforts and their operations, and for us to continuously argue that they stop their campaign i think it's ludicrous, part of the delusion that there will be a new u.s./iranian agreement, and

why wouldn't the president just say that? because we are going to preserve freedom of navigation? let's be straight with the american people. >> do you think he was afraid of spoiling this nuclear deal? >> so much of their actions are related to this nirvana, this mirage out there that with the nuclear deal we are going to have some kind of new relationship throughout the middle east and that scared the hell out of our sunni allies and it scares the hell out of me because they are on the move in all of these countries, lebanon, syria, iraq and yemen, and they are on the move in other places as well. they are carrying out very aggressive operations. >> senator, you know that the president, a couple weeks ago, slammed you when he essentially accused of you trusting the ayatollah more than the

secretary of state, john kerry, when you said the administration and ayatollah were on separate pages when it came to the nuclear deal. do you think diplomacy has any chance and don't you think diplomacy should be given a chance? >> i think diplomacy should be given a chance, and what i was saying are the facts. the facts are the ayatollah depicts the state of negotiations as far as inspections are concerned and lifting of sanctions are concerned and other aspects of the deal that are opposed to what john kerry and the state department are telling us. that's a fundamental fact. i think george schultz and henry kissinger were correct in the op ed in the wall street journal, where they think they should rid iran from having a nuclear capability to delaying iran from having a nuclear ability, and i can assure you if this deal goes

through like i think it s. you will see a nuclear armed iran and that's dangerous. >> you said something about national security. that comeback from you, wouldn't that make a great hillary clinton campaign ad if rand paul is a member of your campaign party? >> my first obligation is the security of the country, and rand paul is leading from behind. >> would you serve as his running mate if he were to ask you to be on his ticket? would you serve on his ticket? >> the vice president has two duties. one is to enquire daily as to the health of the president and the other is to break a tie vote in the united states senate. i am not interested. >> you wouldn't serve as vice

president on anybody's ticket. what about lindsay graham? you are his surrogate in the upcoming campaign? >> i can be far more effective in the senate and the armed services committee. many have stated we are in a greater crisis that we have ever been since the end of world war ii and i agree with them. >> getting back to lindsay graham and you are going to be his chief surrogate in the upcoming campaign and would you say yes to being his vice president, is that right? >> i don't think lindsay would be -- he is really a smart guy. i don't think he would ever consider such a thing. we are very close and there is no doubt about that but he understands national security as no other candidate does. >> do you wish you would have picked him as your running mate

back in 2008? >> no no i certainly don't. i have watched him grow and i have watched him handle his responsibilities on the armed services committee and the budget committee, and i have seen him -- it's one of the great life stories that we have ever had, frankly. >> okay. let me ask you about the president's remarks last night. i am sure you probably noticed or you have heard since last night the president took a little swipe at you when talking about the security lapses at the white house and fence jumpers and so forth. he made a suggestion as to how to beef up security at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. let's throw it to that tape. >> i am happy to report the secret service, thanks to excellent reporting by white house correspondents they are really focusing on some of the issues that have come up and they finally figured out a foolproof way to keep people off my lawn.

>> senator, i don't know if you can see it there in arizona, but there was a picture of you basically saying get off my lawn over at the white house. what was your response to that? what did you make of that? >> well i am reporting for duty on monday morning, and in my usual laid back style, my diplomatic style, and i am telling you i will get the secret service squared away. i am ready for the job. >> senator john mccain thank you for joining us this morning, and being a good sport at the end. always good talking to you, sir. >> thank you. and up next the ohio governor whether he is ready to jump into the race and john legend mixing art with activism. >> what means more to you, winning an academy award and grammys or your political

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is acting a lot like it. he was the keynote speaker this week and my colleague spoke with him after his address. >> i will start with the question everybody wants answered which is are you running for president? >> i don't know yet. i have taken another big step for me which is to create a political organization to begin to accumulate more resources so i can travel more robustly and think about infrastructure, and once that is done and i am successful in raising the seed money, and then i have to see if people like what i have to say and then i have to find if i can compete, at least in the early states. if that works, i am likely to go forward. >> at this point, what would stop you from running? >> lack of resources or the consideration i wouldn't win. i wouldn't go to do it just to

do it. i have a big job, and as governor i have 11 million people and a lot of responsibility. if it doesn't work i will be vice president, and i am not interested in any of that. either i feel like i can win or there is no reason to do it. >> the last time we spoke you said that somebody who is extreme in their politics would not be able to win in the state of ohio. what did you mean by that? >> dividers. people that come in and want to divide are not going to do very well. and that's because americans are tired of all the division and want to see solutions. >> do you think hillary clinton can win in ohio? >> yes, of course she could, and anybody on the list are capable and it's just how they project themselves. anybody that underestimates hillary clinton makes a mistake.

they underestimated her husband. >> what do you think about wall street is too greedy. >> i said all along there is too much greed on wall street and the reason i say it is because i saw it and the fact is there is nothing wrong with making money, there's a lot of good but you can't just be totally dedicated to making money without sort of doing good in the process. i think that we have paid for the problem of greed on wall street and, you know -- >> there's a little elizabeth warren in you, i think. >> nobody maybe there is me in her. >> if you were in congress would you vote to allow that to occur? >> well knowing what i know now, no. reagan used to say trust and verify in regard to iran it should be verify verify verify without the trust. >> you don't think the administration has done that or tried to do that?

>> i think they have fallen in love with the deal. a lot of it is about legacy. i am not here to condemn and demonize the president, but i can tell you i do not like what i have read so far. >> you know drones apparently killed two westerners by mistake and he came out and admitted this was an error, and should we expect deadly mistakes like this as part of the drone program? >> i don't think the drone program should have been run out of the cia. the cia is an intelligence gathering operation. the operation, the drone program, should be operated exclusively out of the pentagon. you know the air force has the capability of doing extensive targeting. you don't have those capabilities in the cia. i have talked to former cia people who have told me this. >> let me ask you the final question. what do you say to republicans who look at this field and they

say, the republican party has grown a lot more conservative than john kasich who supports common core and doesn't take a pathway to citizenship off the table on immigration reform? >> i think it's a misread of the party. i think the party, the members of the republican party, the members of the democratic party share a lot of the same concerns and same anxiety and want to see solutions. >> at the end of the day, what i found where i travel i don't change my message, if i am in south carolina or new hampshire, i am told by people that my message is resonating. in the great state of ohio 64% of the vote and 86 out of 88 counties and one county that barack obama won by 40 points. i must be doing something right, but we will see. if they don't like me or don't

think i am this or that my conscience will be clear i did the best i did, and by the way, i am not changing my positions or talk and i will be who i am. >> an interesting footnote. next summer's national convention is in ohio. up next is hillary clinton's presidential campaign already in trouble? and john legend is he using his art for change? >> this is personal for you? >> yeah i have had family members caught up in the system and family and friends, and people grew up in my same neighborhood, i could have been one of them. nervous whitening will damage your teeth? introducing listerine® healthy white™. it not only safely whitens teeth... ...but also restores enamel. lose the nerves and get a healthier

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is republican strategist kristin sul tuesday analyst, and carolly, and democratic strategist stephanie cutter, and senior soar jeff zell knee. i am calling this the hapbg kwroefrngover edition edition. there is a new book out, of course, "clinton cash," by peter swaoeut sur. it asks questions, and some these foreign donors were actually able to pay for access and what is your take on this? how damaging is this for hillary clinton? should she be worried? >> number one, the book is not out, and -- >> it feels like it's out. >> it certainly feels like it's

out because of the media coverage and some of the deals it has gotten with media, however, every allegation or piece of innuendo that has been out there, it has been struck down. the author even says there is no evidence here of wrong doing, and that's important for everybody to remember. he suggested she was able to get the deal through because of a donation. that's ridiculous i worked on the columbia free trade deal for years, and if one person would have put their finger on that it's not possible. >> you did not see that? >> that system is not set up in a way for it to happen. >> did you expect this kind of political gift to come to the republicans so early in the campaign? >> it's a constant drip drip drip and we have a long way to go until november 16th and republicans seem to be getting a

new week every week. it doesn't take a lot to persuade voters and the highest bidder in the case is foreign corporations and governments. voters also aren't dumb. bill clinton's speaking fees tripling when hillary clinton becomes secretary of state, and it's not a hard case for the people to make that the clintons are in it for themselves and not in it for the good of the country. >> and peter has supported republicens in the past. when hillary clinton seemed to be saying when it comes to the republicans republicans, this is what she had to say. >> we will be subject to all kinds of attacks, and i will be

ready for that. it's worth noting that the republicans seem to be talking only about me. i don't know what they would talk about if i were not in the race. >> it's all about me at this point, jeff. is that hillary clinton's line of defense now? >> she is right about that and i was in new hampshire with her when she said that and that's the only time she addressed this and she did it briefly. i think it races legitimate questions that people have to answer about if she was elected president, what role would bill have then? the do have to answer some of the questions. you are totally right, and there is no huge smoking gun in the book that we know of right now, and it does raise questions of speaking fees of why that one $2.35 million donation was disclosed when he was becoming secretary of state in january of '09, and she signed a document saying she would disclose all contributions to the foundation

and that did not happen. but the bigger question is this is it going to affect the trust and credibility of her, and the bigger question is are people going to say, more scandal and more this? >> i want to turn to carol on this because there may not be a smoking gunning and i am curious, carol, how big of a problem is it going to be for the white house, because when we asked john earnist of this he said we have not been presented with evidence of the wrong doing here? >> everybody is talking about the smoking gun, and it's a perception problem that she has, and that feeds the larger narrative that the clintons are secretive and don't play by the same rules and if so they are just within the lines. that's going to continue for the next 17 or 18 or 19 months. >> stephanie, isn't that true isn't there a clinton fatigue

factor? >> there is going to be a fatigue factor and it's going to be a fatigue factor for stories like this and how the media covered this. >> we shouldn't cover this? >> the clinton campaign is trying to answer the questions and being forthright and transparent, and however they don't seem to be that worried about it and i think it's probably -- i am not out there campaigning about it but there is a different can conversation happening in new hampshire and iowa and wherever else she is traveling than what we are watching in the national media. her point about republicans are talking about me i think the larger point is yes, they are talking about hillary clinton. hillary clinton is talking about real people and that is what elections are about, and if republicans lose sight of that they are guaranteed to fail. >> going back to the late 1990s, one asset the clintons had on their side was republican overreach, and bill clinton's approval ratings went up after the impeachment.

do you think republicans might over play their hand once again and set the table for hillary clinton by overreaching? >> i don't think it's going to take a lot to get americans to believe she is not trustworthy, and if i was a democrat i would be nervous that there is no plan b, and as the layers get peeled off, there is no smoking gun at the moment but it's a constant drip drip drip of stories where the clintons have not done the right thing or barely have done the right thing is not going to be a helpful narrative for them over the next 18 months. >> you did not hear jeb bush talking about it and there is a danger of republican overreach. this is one small part of it and the benghazi situation, this is going to be a soundtrack believe it or not, and republicans paying attention to it. >> the republicans are out of focus on what this election is

about, and there is almost a guarantee there will be republican overreach in this election. >> washington once again could have been accused of overreaching with the white house correspondent's dinner, and we will talk about that coming up. when we get to that we will talk about president obama's turn of comedian in chief, and we will have highlights in a few moments. making a fist something we do to show resolve. to defend ourselves. to declare victory. so cvs health provides expert support and vital medicines. make a fist for me. at our infusion centers or in patients homes. we help them fight the good fight. cvs health, because health is everything. meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more

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i am aware of my age. when i go in for a physical now, they no longer ask me how old i am they just carbon date me. >> i have actually shown up here for eight straight years. looking back, that was probably a mistake. >> members of the white house correspondents' association, distinguished guests, ladies and

gentlemen, here i am. >> now to the mid-term elections, my advisers asked me mr. president, do you have a bucket list? and i said well i have something that rhymes with bucket list. >> and it's a good thing he pulled that off and there was no miscue on saying bucket list. the white house correspondent's dinner an event where celebrities and politicians mingle and last night president obama appeared at the dinner for the seventh year in a row and got some big-time singhers in there. i got to see a few celebrities. jane fonda was sitting at our table last night, and i got to meet julie bowen from "modern family", and i was checking by

twitter, and posting pictures has backlash. what do you think, carol? >> i will be president of the association, and i disagree. i think that's what gets a lot of the focus, obviously, and that's what people are interested in. we do a lot of things that have nothing to do with celebrities or all the parties and the glitz that surround the dinner. also last night, we honored people that won awards doing great journalism covering the white house. >> we featured the washington post reporter that is behind bars right now. >> we acknowledged everybody in the room who is covering the beat and dedicated to this and we talked about transparency and access which is what we do day in and day out, and once a year the spotlight is on us and our dinner, and nobody wants to take a dinner with -- sorry, jeff

with jeff and me -- i mean i do you know and they want to take a picture with jane fonda and that's what gets on twitter. >> jeff you have been to a number of these. is this obscene, do you think? "the new york times" doesn't go to this. >> they don't anymore, and i was at the "new york times" when that decision was made. there is a lot of talk of how obscene this is. last night's was more in check than previous years, and there was no ozzy osbourne standing up on a chair. and the most interesting thing is how the president reacts. we get a great window on how the president is thinking and his frustrations and humor in this kind of speech, and that's the value in it. and we saw president bush in '06, and that was funny, and that was his humanity. >> it was a well-crafted work of

art last night, and let's show a clip from that and he had anger tran translation going on. >> protecting our democracy is going on more than ever and the donor that gave ted cruz was just exercising free speech. >> yeah it's the kind of speech like this i just wasted $6 million. >> and it's not just republicans. hillary clinton will have to raise huge sums of money, too. >> oh, yeah she going to get that money. she's going to get all the money. kau leasy is coming to restaurants! >> great stuff. stephanie, the jokes work because, you know it's funny and it's true. >> you know i think it's the one night where the president

can poke fun of himself and poke fun of other fellow electives and also poke fun of the media, and in that regard it's a good time. >> i talked to a white house official last night and said the president does relish the opportunity -- >> he does. >> what do you think about this? what did you make of some of the jokes last night? there was a lot of jokes at the expense of ted cruz and rand paul and others? >> i think those running for president are all big boys and girls and can take it. it becomes a weird skeptical thing, and in general i think this is the story that most americans are probably not talking about this morning. >> they don't really care about us as much as we would like to talk about ourselves? this clip actually sort of shocked me because some of the jokes can go close to the edge and this was right there or maybe went over it. let's play that clip.

>> dick cheney said he thinks i am the worst president of his lifetime which is interesting, because i think dick cheney is the worst president of my lifetime. >> that was a singher, and there was another one of hillary clinton, where she was living out of a van. the subject of the jokes have to take it in good form i suppose? >> and most of them seem to except there was one year when donald trump did not take the jokes well. >> and donald trump sat close to me last night and he seemed to be enjoying himself a lot more than the last time during the birth certificate controversy. if we can't laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at right? >> the worst thing that is not being mentioned in this situation, martin o'malley who is probably running for president on the democratic side he was the butt of jokes, but he was mentioned.

the biggest thing is -- >> some of the best advertising he had. >> there were not a lot of jeb bush jokes, and a lot of democrats are concerned about his candidacy, and by monday morning all of us will be back to work and this is a memory for one more year. >> and a good one as well. thank you very much. we appreciate it. my conversation with john legend, some surprising words for the president coming up. and that sounded really scary to me and i was like well can you fix it can you paint it back on and he explained that it was not something that grows back, it's kind of a one-time shot and you have to care for it. he told me to use pronamel. it's gonna help protect the enamel in your teeth. it allows me to continue to drink my coffee and to eat healthier and it was a real easy switch to make. bring us your baffling. bring us your audacious. we want your sticky notes, sketchbooks, and scribbles.

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he has won nine grammys and took home the oscar this year for best original song. "gift lifted" was released in 2004 and he has continued to create hit after hit, but for the talented singer and thanks for being on state of the union. >> thanks for having me. >> just in the last week or so what's flared up in baltimore has heightened this awareness of issue of police brutality. do you think there's an epidemic of police brutality happen in this country. >> i think for too long implemented by the police but

not solely run by the police have treated black people as though our lives are not as valuable as though they are enemies in the communities rather than community members, and we need our police to look at us as community members they care about and want to keep safe and healthy and treat us with the same fairness they would treat any other person and far too often that hasn't been the case. that's why you see so many people walking around with signs, black lives matter. the reason we have to be specific and say black lives matter is because so many forces in american life are telling us that our lives don't matter that our lives are expendable. that when we're killed when we're unarmed, that we can't get justice for that. when we were the perpetrators of crime, we get longer sentences or treated worse by the criminal justice system. >> and a do you think that we're just seeing a greater number of these types of cases right now or is it because -- >> i honestly think there's more awareness. i think there's more technology

that allows us to have transparency but i think -- >> cell phone cameras. >> cell phone cameras and i think in some ways it's a good thing, but in other ways it's almost like it's numbing the extent to which we're seeing it because we're seeing something new almost every other day. the >> the case in south carolina. >> we're seeing it in south carolina baltimore, all over the country. almost to the point where it seems so xhem commonplace, i don't want us to get too used to it. we have to be outraged about these things. >> we have not heard from president obama about the situation in baltimore, about the situation in south carolina. he has a lot on his plate obviously. >> sure. >> you have been a big supporter of his over the years. do you think he's said enough on this? >> i think there's more to be said but i also think it's not as important that he comment on every case. it's important that we reform the system. on the federal level and the state and local level as well. and it's not just about these

killings which are very important and a huge concern in the community, but it's also about what i have been talking about for a bit in the past couple weeks is mass incarceration and the overall way that the criminal justice system treats particularly black and brown communities, poor communities. we are the most incarcerated nation in the world, and we've gotten there through a set of policies that have been in existence over the last 40 years. we have to have more than just press conversations. we need to have real changes in policies. >> john i remember when you launched this campaign you went to a prison. >> yeah. >> to perform. >> yes, i went to a prison in austin. i went to a prison in sacramento. i went to old follow somesom prison where johnny cash performed. i also visited facilities in california. in d.c. we went to visit an alternative programmer foout orfor youth who get caught up --

>> have you found a solution? >> we found a great thing today saying we don't need prison as the solution for every problem. so when our young people get in trouble, a lot of times it's nonviolent. a lot of times it's minor fights and things like that. a lot of times they have been sent to the prison system to the juvenile justice system and look locked up when there are other ways to deal with them other way that is are community based and more focused on restoring them so they can come back and live a good life and pursue their dreams. these are kids that are 15, 16 years old. for us to give up on them and throw their lives away at that age is just a travesty. and so we've seen that. we've seen people who have gone through all kinds of trauma who are living in a cycle of broken lives where, you know, they've had issues with their own parents, issues in their own communities. they've seen people get killed. they have seen family members get locked up so they're already broken already people who have gone through so much and then when they get in trouble, they end up back in that same system and so we need

to find ways that that are better -- >> you have to figure out how to get to these at-risk kids before they become incarcerated. >> exactly. i spent so much time focusing on schools and i still do. we focus on helping make sure that teachers that are doing great -- a great job are getting their solutions funded and getting their work seen around the country so that we improve our schools, improve the instruction quality that we have for the kids. make sure that the resources they need are there. may sure if they have emotional traumas, that we offer support for them but it's also important for the kids that slip through the cracks who all these interventions haven't gotten to yet that we find solutions that aren't always about locking them up. we have made a decision as a country over the last 40 years we're going to deal with most problems like poverty, drug dependency mental health issues by putting people in prison. >> can i challenge you on that for a second? let me challenge you on that. if you look at the crime statistics across the country,

crime is at a generation low levels. >> yes, and incarceration hasn't gone down to reflect that the crime has gone down. and -- >> but isn't incarceration -- >> they recently did a study because intuitively you might say the reason crime went down is because we locked all the bad people up. a recent study said that's statistically not the case. there's a small percentage of it that impacted the crime rate early on but over the last 10 or 15 years, incarceration hasn't improved the crime rate. >> i'm going to get in trouble if i don't ask you about your work. you have a lot of fans not only at cnn but around the country, around the world. you won an academy award for the song "glory" which you co-wrote with common and you said more black men are under correctional control than they were under slavery in 1850. this is personal for you. >> well it's personal for me because i have had family members that have gotten caught up in the system. i have had family friends that i grew up with that have been caught up in the system. people that grew up in my same neighborhood. i could have been one of them

and so i do take this personally but i have seen it destroy way too many families. i've seen it destroy way too many communities. and as i go through our schools and through our communities and see the results of these -- this situation where you see so many kids growing up without a father for instance so many kids that have some kind of parent in prison or under probation or parole can't get a job, can't vote for various reasons, you just have to think that there's a better way to do this than what we're doing right now. >> and what means more to you, winning an academy award, winning all these grammys, or your political activism? >> you know what i'm fortunate that they're not separate. you know my music has given me be a an opportunity and particularly winning the os cass for "gloryings fo a fell amfilm "selma" which is about fighting for justice and equal rights for all. ♪ one day when the glory comes ♪

♪ it will be ours, it will be ours ♪ ♪ oh, glory ♪ >> it gave me an opportunity to speak out on behalf of people who may be voiceless otherwise, who people may not listen to otherwise, and i'm trying to back that up with actual action. >> you sound like somebody who might want to run for political office one day. we are in washington i have to ask the question. jive no interest. >> reporters like me will say that's not a nop. it's like saying i'm not running right now. >> i don't want to run por political office. i feel my political activism is exist outside of me running for plig office. >> finally, president obama, how would you grade his presidency right now? >> i think there's been a lot of successes. i think health care reform is one that i'm particularly proud of. i think the fact that -- >> you worked hard to get him elected. >> absolutely. health care being affordable and

accessible to so many more americans now is going to go down in history as a huge accomplishment. i think the stimulus package, i thought it could have been a little bigger, but what it did accomplish is bringing the unemployment rate down to where it is now. >> what if he doesn't get a handle on the policing issue? >> i think there's more to do and i'm going to push the president to get more involved in criminal justice reform. i'm going to suggest some ideas that we think could help improve the situation. but a lot of it has to do with state and local governments as well. that's why we went to the state house in texas. that's why we were in sacramento with gavin newsom because a lot of these laws are enacted on a state level so we need state by state change as well. it's important the president is behind us but it's also important that we get legislators and governors across the you don't do it as well. >> if you change your mind about running for office give cnn the scoop, will you? >> i will. don't hold your breath. >> we might just a little bit. john legend thank you very much for your time. great talking with you. >> thank you.

>> john legend recently launched the free america campaign which will focus on ending mass incarceration and reforming the criminal justice system, and we'll be right back.

thanks for watching state of the union. i'm jim acosta in washington. "par reed "fareed zakaria gps" starts right now. >> this is "gps," the global public is square. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. we'll start today's show with something americans see as a bigger threat than iran russia, north