that are and you build a natural gas gas station. if you build one right now no one is going to use it. we'll go to waste. $43 million. they spent $80,00 in what businesses of ours to borrow money and send it to afghanistan. we studied japanese quail to see if they are more sexually promiscuous on cocaine. i think we could just stipulate yes. thank you all for coming tonight. thank you. thank you so much for coming out please put your name on that card and help us all out. thank you very much.

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>> c-span takes on the road to the white house. access to the candidate that town hall meetings, speeches, rallies, and meet and greets. we are taking your comments on twitter, facebook, and on twitter, facebook, and by phone. as always, every campaign event would cover is available on our website, see spend outward. >> with the presidential candidates in new hampshire, south carolina and i would this weekend what is the state of the race where the first votes will be counted in iowa? we are joined on the phone with stephen shepard, editor of the political caucus. thank you for being with us. >> good to be here. as you look at the survey, right now hillary clinton is leading in iowa. the lead republican senator ted cruz on his side of the aisle. could things change? >> things could change. for the most part and i would those polls were conducted before the

holidays. pollsters take a break over the holidays. they are not paying attention, they are traveling for the holidays. they are worried about getting christmas shopping done and cooking for their families. so they take a break. we will see in the next week a bunch of new polls coming out of iowa and new hampshire, nationally and south carolina as well as we look later in the nominating calendar. i would stress those numbers are old, there from december. the other thing is, things i was to change. that is. that is why we expect them to again. candidates are working hard to make things change. candidates are not seating i went to ted cruz. another earlier states we talk to, they think these candidates

can still be challenge. three weeks, 24 days be for the iowa caucuses enough to mount a credible challenge. >> is secretary clinton and senator cruise are not sure bets in iowa, what has the past told us about what potentially could happen question. >> one thing that is clear is that things change up until the last minute. if you look back four years ago with rick santorum who came out of nowhere in the final month of the campaign to win the iowa caucuses, he in the final des moines register poll conducted a week before the caucus, you can see not only was he gaining at that point relative to his previous position, but every day the pole was in the field, the three or four days interviews were being conducted, each day rick santorum was gaining strength. to the point where he had passed by the end of the survey, he had served pass both romney and rand paul. you can see day by day him gaining strength. the key to to winning and i went in large part, seems to be getting out of

the end. which candidates are poised to do that and which are hot now? that is what it is about. that latebreaking moment that is going to be in the last half of january as we move through the next few weeks. >> let me take that one step further. let's assume ted cruz and donald trump cummins first and second respectively. it seems to me the third-place finisher is the one person, the one candidate who will get a lot of attention. >> that's true. the cliché is that you get three tickets out of iowa and new hampshire. that third person is interesting. i think pressure in a big way is at marco rubio to be that third person. then he can pivot to new hampshire, south carolina, nevada which are three states in which he is making a big push. he can protract himself as the

compromise candidate between the established republicans and conservative republicans. that said, he does not nest will have a clear path to third place. ben carson who is leading and i would two months ago still maintains a pretty healthy share of the vote there. about 10% of the vote in the latest polls, and has a pretty committed basis of supporters. they say a lot of his core supporters are still with him. he could finish in third place. chris christie, that is a name you have not heard in iowa, you have heard a lot and new hampshire. he recently went up this week with his first television advertisement with our insider say he is mounting a challenge in iowa. jeb bush who has taken down a lot of his ads and i what but he spent some time there, right now he was in that conversation below cruz and trump, with

carson, with rubio, with christie and maybe ramp all to try to do well in iowa. so who finishes third, fourth, fifth, those fifth, those will be just as important as who wins. everyone takes the show on the road to new hampshire and south carolina. those electrics can be very different. >> governor christie is back and i when i street. on the democratic side of the aisle there are three candidates, martin o'malley, is he in any way making any inroads in his candidacy and i would question. >> it's interesting because the first metric we are going to get on o'malley in 2016 is going to come out of iowa. late this week nbc news announced the criteria for the next democratic debate in south carolina on january 17. they have set a threshold of 5% in the polls either nationally or in one of the early states. martin o'malley is not nearby% nationally or 5% in south carolina but he is right at 5%

in iowa. the average of the five most recent polls. there there will be a few more polls coming out next week that will determine whether he gets into that debate. we talk about momentum a little bit. nothing stunts any surge of momentum like the public embarrassment of being excluded from a three-person debate. if martin o'malley cannot get good polls out of iowa next week, which will measure his current viability in iowa, that may stop any momentum before it starts for him and i will leading up to the caucus if he is not at the next democratic debate. >> this is the headline at politico.com. the current front runner poised to win people caution that things could still change. stephen shepard is joining us on the phone. thank you for being with us. >> thanks for having me.

>> tomorrow evening will take you to clearlake iowa for campaign rally with republican campaign candidate donald trump. that will be live on c-span. this weekend, planned parenthood action fund is expected to officially endorsed democratic candidate hillary clinton. we we will blink that you live at 4:0. >> now we continue our coverage in meredith, new hampshire where jeb bush talks to voters that a town hall meeting. the new hampshire residential primary is february 9. this is about an hour and a half. >> wow, this is a great great group tonight. thank you all for joining us. i am really excited to introduce jeb. i am excited about supporting

him, the reasons are that number one, i think he has the most depth and breath on policy issues than any candidate that is running today. [applause]. he is absolutely incredible. second, he, he has a proven track record. as governor florida he reformed government, he reformed education, he cut over $19 billion in taxes, he has done a phenomenal job bringing people together to solve problems. third, the third reason is that he is a unifier. he is not not a divider. he is not an agitator. that is really something we need today. fourth, he really is a hawk on national security. he has a plan for defeating isis. he is a second amendment

advocate which is near and dear to my heart. he cherishes america and he believes in the genius of the constitution and the bill of rights. [applause]. last and most important reason, is that he has the characteristics of leadership that we need today. he has integrity, honesty, and we need integrity today. he knows what is required to rebuild respect of our allies and to instill fear in our enemies. i think for all of those reasons i think jab is absolutely the best candidate to be the net's president of the united states. he can beat hillary clinton.

but he can't do it -- [applause]. he can't do it without your votes. so i hope after this evening all of you will sign up and help us elect jeb as the next president of the united states [applause]. thank you beverly. thank you master for your support and for your leadership here. michael is a patriot, he was a prosecutor, federal judge, he protected the homeland in a really difficult job, and and he is a friend. i worked with him in 2004 and 2005 when he was secretary and i happen to be governor of us date that had eight hurricanes, for tropical store, 150 plus billion hundred 50 plus billion dollars of insured and uninsured losses. homes, more than a million, 200,000 homes that were

completely damaged or damage to the point were people cannot live in them. trust me, it was a big big deal as we say in florida. i am proud of the fact that the federal partnership works there. you didn't hear people complaining about the response when we got hit by katrina and the other seven hurricanes. because leadership matters. it matters across the board. a leader leader does not blame the other person. a leader doesn't do what our children occasionally do which is to say, the dog dog ate my homework, i'm sorry, i did to my math today. a leader accepts responsibility, rolls up their sleeve, forges consensus, and fixes things. in working with michael it made it possible for me to do that as governor. i got to act on my heart for the people i really loved and cared for. i'm proud of the fact that we went through the storms on

precedented, never has that ever happened to any state and we recovered at a faster rate than anyone could ever imagine. we didn't buy it by large without a lot of criticism. don't you want washington to work that way again? don't you want washington to work in a way that we are proud? [applause]. bev, thank you for that kind introduction. i want to recognize president morse who is doing an extraordinary job as president of the new hampshire senate. he has a 530 plane tomorrow, he doesn't live around here, at least everyone says new hampshire is a small state, i don't think it's that small. i've been traveling all over the place. it's a pretty good distant from where he lives in salem to be here. he came up to show his support. he is a principle centered leaders as well. i well. i appreciate your friendship and support as well. look, were living in an extra ordinary times, dangerous times. if everything was rolling along well then he could probably say let's take a bat at the big item

stage. let's just go for it. everything will work out, this country's growing and everything is fine. that's not what is happening. we are living in dangerous times. were living in times where people have lost hope for themselves and their family. were living in times where the middle class is perpetually seen declines in their income. sadly, we are living in times from the day barack obama was inaugurated where six and a half million people more are living in poverty. today, as people think about america's strength and whether we are secure, a growing number of people correctly say we are not. because america's leadership is lacking in the world. when we pulled back, voids are billed. they're filled by nationstate that c is now as weak and baffling, they take two steps forward when we timidly take steps back. now, we have these new asymmetric threats of

terror that are uniquely different but caliphate's the size of indiana, with 30 to 40000 islamic radical list. they can destroy in most ways most particularly by focusing on what they perceived to be our weakness. which is our our liberty, our freedom. there is a lot riding now. i believe people in new hampshire, particularly, are going to say we have a lot of influence of this process. we are first in the nation, we actually make the candidates walk over the hot coals. we don't sign up the first time we meet them, sometimes we don't sign up until maybe the fifth time we meet them. )? that is new hampshire. that is the way it is. i admire that.

i think every candidate out to be tested, have questions, add them from all different directions, to show their mental, to show at their depth of knowledge is, to of knowledge is, to show their heart, to show their strength, to show their conviction. my bet bet is that the people in new hampshire are not going to tarnish their incredible reputation of being discerning voters and tarnish the first in the nation primary status. that is why i'm here. to make the case that we need proven leadership during these difficult times. in august i had a chance to lay out a strategy to deal with isis this was before the paris attack. this is before the russian plane was shot down by isis supporters. this was before the attacks all around the world including the tragedy of paris and most

particularly the tragedy in san bernardino. after that, all sorts of candidates were screwing around saying what they would do, changing their views that they had in august or in the summer. they were scurried around, they were scurried around, they were talking about carpet bombing now. and other things like that to show that they were strong. to show they have thought it through. here's what i had said in august prior to all this. this was a national security threat for our country, first and foremost. not every case is that the case, but this is. they are organized to destabilize us, to attack us in ways that will freeze us in place, make it harder for us to be able to lead the world and create a more secure united states. my strategy started with arming the kurds directly. this administration refuses to do that. they are strongest highlights, the best fighters in iraq. we should arm them directly and give them confidence that the united states has their back. secondly we ought to engage in the iraqi military which we have not done. others countries have done. their troops in iraq, inside the iraqi military to train them, to fortified them, to give them

confidence so that they can be successful as well. there, we need to reengage with the sunni tribal leaders who felt abandoned when this administration led by secretary of state clinton and president obama abandon the sunni partnership that created a fragile, secure iraq because of the search. fourth, we need to get the damn warriors off the backs of the war fighters. this is ridiculous what we have to do now. to attack isis, half of them go back because they have not gotten approval. layers of approval that is required. the united states will always adhere to the international standards of war fighting. why should we impose additional restrictions endangering our troops by the way by putting these restrictions on. if this was a law-enforcement exercise. this is not a

law-enforcement exercise. they have declared war on us and we need to fight a war against them. that is the strategy when you combine that with safe zones inside syria. for those in my heart breaks for the 4,000,000 refugees that that have been uprooted inside syria. 4,000,000 refugees. there are now in now camps in turkey, lebanon, and jordan. the way to solve that problem is not to send them off to far off lands including our country, it is to create safe zones inside of syria and provide protection there. to to allow us to build a military force that will be sunni led with american training, with arab support, support, with the world supporting it to destroy isis to bring about stability by bringing about regime change in syria. that requires a no-fly zone as well. that my friends is a strategy. it is. it is not reacting to events as they come. it is thinking it through. here is insight into this and i hope you appreciate. i know what i don't know. i admit it.

i feel better now it feels like i've given myself there.. i hope you want a president that recognizes and conflicts the best thing to do is to acknowledge what you don't know and then go seek out the best information possible. that's how leaders lead. they don't don't lead by saying i'm the big guy on the stage, all disparage everybody just blanket, big talk. that's not how leaders operate. leaders operate by creating strategies and having the determination to stick with it. i believe i have the skills to do it and i hope you understand that i thought these things through. i believe we can destroy isis. we can create a more stable middle east which will be in our national security interests. if we get that right, there is a lot of work that needs to be done in washington d.c. for our country sick as well. declining income in this country should not be the norm. it should be our highest priority to make sure the middle

class, that defines who we are as a nation, in fact has defined our greatness begins to rise up again. that means we need to have the courage to change the culture in washington d.c. let me give you another insight. i don't think people who disagree with me are bad people. i just think they might be wrong. [laughter] trust me, there is a a huge difference. if you start with the premise that people who disagree with you or have bad motives or are evil, or stupid, or, or whatever, you get a bad result. over the last seven years we have had a president who whenever he has had a chance to use his extraordinaire skills, it consistently is to push people down that disagree with him to make himself look better. i for one am sick and tired of this. he is is creating a divide that is hurting our country. i can like you love this country. if we love that we better start

forging consistent to unite around, purpose rather than divide us. if you are president obama and someone disagrees with you on the iranian agreement, and i for one leave it's one of the worst agreements ever negotiating, that it rewards a regime regime that is not deserving of reward, a real shame that is larger sponsor of terrorism in the world. that is not going to necessarily open up their country, they don't go quiet into the night, that naïve notion has already been rejected by iran themselves. they already made it clear that whatever the deal was that's fine, but fine, but will never negotiate anything more with the united states. that upheaval is wrong. president obama says to people that disagree with him, that they are in cahoots with the death to america crowd. how wrong can you be? why not just a super moment that moment that people might have a principal difference of opinion.

in washington d.c., we need to start at least where we have consensus to solve problems. let the atrophy of lack of consistency begin to change. where we start exercising the consensus muscle so we can start fixing the things that are important to fix. there is a bipartisan consensus on entitlement reform. there's a bipartisan consensus on shifting power away from washington so we can create 21st century rules around our economy. there is a consensus on a bracing and energy revolution that will have high's is an economic growth and higher wages. it will require president who doesn't start off each day assuming people are his enemy. to disparage them and push them down to make themselves look better. a sign of strength, and my mind, is to stop the divide. it is to

build consensus. if we are going to build consensus, i would argue 4% economic growth should be our aspirational goal. we can do it. america has done it in the past, there's no there's no reason in the world that we cannot do it again. do not let the naysayers say that the new normal of 2% growth is acceptable. two 2% growth means rising poverty. 2% growth means medium income will be in decline. it means increasing demands that government. two% growth means will have double-digit increases and people receiving food stamp and the divide in our country and social costs associated with that is unacceptable for a great nation like ours. the final thing i want to say to you is, that i believe that life is precious, it it is a gift from god. i hope people are not offended by that notion. because it it is. but, if you believe like i do that life is precious, that it is divinely inspired, that everybody has a role to play, that everyone can make a

contribution, which i truly believe. then you do not organize society around a bigger government. more regulations, you don't say you have problems, it's not your fault, i'll take care of you from washington d.c. that is what the left does. that is what hillary clinton has promised us, more of the same, more rules, made taxes, more spending, i will take care of you. if you start from the premise that everybody has a chance to reach their god-given abilities, then you have the opposite kind of you about the role of government. it should build capacity for people to achieve success. i want to be president to tear down the feelings of people's aspirations. i don't want don't want to tell them what line to get into, i want to tell them whatever your dream is, let's make sure you have the capacity to pursue those dreams. whether you achieve the dreams are not is not as important as the pursuit. that is my life lesson.

it is learning through trial and air how to be a better person, better husband, better father, it is the pursuit of life that matters. a conservative will never win if we play the game that the left place, by pushing people down that disagree with us. we. we have to campaign with our arms wide open. with a hopeful optimistic message, with the basic belief that the greatness of this country is not through its government, through the interaction of 300 million plus people with a capacity to achieve their own dream. imagine an america where everybody is in pursuit of their country. the interaction of all of us together will create more prosperity, more innovation, more love, more compassion, more creativity, more goodwill, more everything that we desperately want than any government program ever created. i think that is an aspiration we are fighting for.

it is why come here to ask for your vote. you, in new hampshire as i said will make the difference. if you decide that you want a candidate representing the republican party that is an agitator, that only plays on people's fears, then it will probably happen. if that happens, i can promise you this, hillary clinton will be elected president of the united states. if you think things are bad today, imagine what it would be like for eight more years possibly of the same thing. a pushing people down, dividing, dividing, creating no opportunity for people, advocating the possibility of allowing people to be successful on their own terms and on their own ways. this is worth fighting for. i intend to fight to the bitter end and i hope that you will join me. thank you all very much. [applause].

>> thank you for coming out. we have microphones on both sides. >> yeah, my dad said, my mom said thank you that's so nice. she's gotten sweet she's gotten sweet all of a sudden, i'm getting nervous. my dad said, jeb it doesn't feel like a day over 70 years that we been married. they have been married 71 years, that's a standard joke. i said what are you going to be due, you going to do something romantic with mom? he said yeah i'm watching a mystery movie. at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon, that's very romantic.

>> a two-part question for you. what are your feelings about common core and what are your feelings about the department of education? >> , core standards have been poisoned by a political environment. , core effectively means different things to different people. i will tell you what i am not for that will make it simpler. i'm not for the federal government being involved in the creation of standards, content standards, content or curriculum, directly or indirectly. [applause]. recently the k through 12 law was refit on tran reauthorized six or seven years late, typical of washington. he tried both house and senate passed a bill, it expressly prohibited the federal government being involved in the creation of content, curriculum,

or standards. i think people's voices were heard on this regard. let me say what i'm four. i think that's important as well. i'm for high standards. i want standards to be high so that when you assess them you know whether a student is a college, and/or career ready the end of the journey. it should be locally driven with strategies to make sure it happens. the state drives the policy. today in new hampshire, in this country, no more than 40% of our kids are truly college, and or career ready. for those who who think that we are not spending enough money, maybe in some school districts because union contracts of 20 years ago basically sucked the money out of the classroom, that's probably true. the simple fact is that on a per student basis we spend more per student than any country in the world other than belgium and

luxembourg. a couple rounding errors in terms of student population. are we just going to accept, one side says we need local control, the other side says we shouldn't have any standards and accountability around it. i i believe that we are to have a robust reform oriented, stage of an education system, with local control driving the policy. everyone ought to be held to account. if you are getting only 40 percent, and i'm being generous here, 40% of your children graduating from high school or not graduating at all sadly, and they are not college or career ready, what, what life are they going to live? are they going to play titan from new england patriots? that jobs already taken. this has to be a national calling from the bottom up. in florida we did that. we created the first statewide voucher program, the second statewide voucher program in the third. i took on powerful teachers

union interest in the bureaucracy that hated it. guess what? because we graded schools in a way a way that everyone understood, we ended social promotion and this idea that functionally illiterate kids at the end of third grade should go on to fourth grade even though they can't read the math book. we challenged all of that stuff, we changed our education system, we pressured it was school choice, we have the greatest gains in learning in the last 15 years. i'm proud of that. if you give parents more options i can guarantee one thing. the public schools get better. i will give you an example. does anyone here have a child with a learning disability? like 10% or 15% of the student population in most places. i know scores and scores of children who were struggling. in the united states, you have a civil right to be able to have a contract with a local school board about your child.

there has to be a contract. that contract if it's not fulfilled you get into an argument, litigation, always a fight, school districts don't like to deal with this. parents are frustrated, so in florida we decided to do something different. any parent who any parent who believes their individual education plan required by federal law, that is not been taken care of, if they unilaterally think that, they can send their child to a private school with state and local dollars. you would think that's going to destroy public schools right? guess what, the greatest the greatest learning gains on the report card test they care teach to? who has the greatest gains? florida.

the public schools got better because god forget if these 30,000 kids would go back to school district or other sweetly. competition and choice empowers improvement. high expectation, high accountability, more accountability, more school choice, upon president of the united states i am going to fight on i am going to fight on behalf of get stuck in failing schools. not to impose a federal solution but to make sure the federal government is a partner for the states that want to have meaningful reform. as far as i'm concerned, the more radical, the better. [inaudible] >> is a veteran i would like to hear you issues with of the virginia and what you might do to alleviate some of those problems. >> first of all, thank you i think we should give a round of applause to all the veterans here today [applause]. so, about six months ago and the beginning of my campaign the first policy rollout we had was a plan to reform the veterans administration. i base this on listening and having roundtable discussions were about one month around the country, listening to veterans

talk about their frustration, talking to former secretaries of the administration and military leaders who are concerned as we drive ever military that the number of veterans now entering the veterans administration will overwhelm it. a department already in crisis. so i crafted a policy, we rolled it out south carolina and basically like this. first, the veterans administration needs civil service reform. there 300 30,000 employees and will they have in some professional parts of it, the bureaucracy is enormous. it is slow, it is molasses like slow. they have created management reformed in their mind that are completely wrong. $142 million last year for performance bonuses, including lowering, lessening though

waiting list for veterans. now we all know, that in some parts of the country what they did was take people off the wedding list but not give them care. veterans died. people got fired only three. it is shameful. shameful. for anyone in government to treat a client or anyone who was her and that support, but most particularly veterans. first and foremost, we need to have, we need to change the employment law see you do not have lifetime employment. where you reward the people who do good work and you fire the people who do not to good work at all [applause]. second, rectors are deserving of choices, it improves quality when parents can make choices.

the veterans could improve their quality of veterans had a choice to go to a private provider private clinic, or private private hospital. that is what we need to do. it is not to make a so bureaucratic as it exists today, but is so bureaucratic, so complex, again this organization would not consider the opportunity to serve veterans and give them greater service. they are saying their threat and so they maintain this complex system so veterans do not have that choice. it should be opened up. it's not to hurt the veterans administration, it is to help veterans. third, i think veterans administration has a huge opportunity to create centers of excellence. now you have big challenges, post traumatic stress being a big challenge that is somewhat unique to this current generation of veterans. they should aspire to have the

best quality care, with the best research, the, the best doctors to deal with this. they should develop that practice to deal with this great challenge, homeless veterans exist in many cases because of posttraumatic stress. the inability to integrate themselves back into the community. so take advantage of this opportunity to really sore, this is not negative thing, this is an opportunity of the resources are there to do it. another great challenge for veterans now is many veterans would have died in previous wars, and other lives have been saved but they have permanent disabilities. long-term, permanent disabilities. families struggle with this. of course veterans struggle with this. why not make the veterans administration the place, in the world, to be able to use provide

support for people of long-term disability issues because it is going to be long-term. at some point these folks get abandoned and the should not happen. the final thing i suggest is we need a management reformed, not only for veterans administration should not be involved with building their buildings. that one building in aurora, colorado that that is supposed to be $300 million, it's a good size hospital, it has all the bells and whistles, they are at $1.8 billion now. they haven't gotten the funding from congress because finally congress said enough. how to go from 300 million to $1.8 billion. you can make that up. it's almost like the cost of the obama care website. [laughter] bringing sound business practice to washington d.c. may sell my can anything to do, but actually it is essential. we are way over spending so many areas. i think the army corps -- i think we should just move everything over to the army corps they have a proven record for building things that stay around for a long while. the the final thing i'll say is that there many more women that are

now becoming veterans, which is a good thing. many more enlisted women, as they leave i think we need to shift our focus and i would like to get your focus on this towards women health issues as well. the veterans administration veterans administration can play a role there as well. here's an example, there are people that run to the fire and their people that run away. if you noticed, when i see a problem my first impulse is moving forward. the greatest joy in services fixing things. you had a mass, the department of homeland security, it's like a gigantic beast, there are all sorts of problems government have's. when you see a problem the the first impulse should be wow, we could do better. of you to bring the best people in to solve it, i'm going to

bang heads until we get it. that is how you lead. you can't say the dog ate your homework every day. you can't blame your predecessor every day. maybe i'm overly sensitive about that. if i'm president of the united states here's my promise. on day one, i vowed that i will not blame my predecessor about anything. i will accept personal responsibility for the mess that exists, i know it exists. my joy will be in fixing it rather than blaming other people for why it exist [applause]. >> i have a question about your opinion on background checks. before you answer, let me tell you who i am. i am the mother of one child. she was murdered one morning as

she was making coffee and studying for school. she was executed. her only child, my only grandchild saw this. the gunmen turned on her and shot her six times. she was left for dead. she survived. i'm not anti-nra because i know not only is my husband a member of the nra, i know responsible gun owners. i am also not against the right to bear arms. what i am for is some common sense so that you do not have to look at my eyes, all of you around the room, if any of you have experienced anything what i have that you don't have to have this happen to you.

i just don't think it's unreasonable to step up and do something. i have to have a license to drive a car, please what is the big deal about background checks? >> i'm happy to answer that, my heart goes out to you and your family. the florida, we have a 72 hour waiting period for background check that is required. it works. we are probably, may be there's a few states that mike claimed that their prose second amendment states in the country but florida ranks up there high. there high. we have 1,500,000 concealed weapon holders. we believe in the second amendment, but we also believe a background check. we also believe in background check. i do not have any problem with doing that. our state agency does it because the we do it better than the

fbi. i think in general, states ought to be able to make these decisions them self. here is my problem with president obama's action of yesterday and in general when he talks about this. i expect expect the emotion he talked about yesterday, in fact it for a guy who is pretty cool, calm and collected, i appreciate it man who shows his heart, there's nothing wrong with that. his first impulse whenever there is a crisis appears to me that will have policies that will take away rights from law-abiding citizens. made worse yesterday by using executive power he does not have. in our democracy, if if you have an idea and you are president, or your governor, a a mayor, you go to the legislative body and you try to get it passed.

here's a good example of what president obama, instead of doing what he did because it will be overturned in the course in one month. he doesn't have the authority, there's no law that delegated the authority to do this. certainly the constitution does not provide for this. why not focus on the one thing there's common ground to deal with these tragic cases that we see on television. which is the common denominator, by and large, there's other elements, san bernadino was an attack of terrorism, most of these cases are to range people that are severely mentally ill. we do not have eight unified mental health system in this country. we have holes in it. we have privacy rights that make it harder to identify people when they are getting out of control. so you have these cases and we do not have the ability to determine whether people that have mental illness are actually being able to acquire god. why not focus on that?

conservatives agree with that, i would agree with that, the nra might even agree with that depending on the specifics of the bill. his impulses to do the opposite which is to say that if you don't agree with my views then somehow you don't care about these tragedies as they play out, which is not fair not true. it makes it harder, the gap gets wider and wider. in florida, we dealt with the issue that you are describing. it works. no one is saying that florida is not a pro second amendment state. we have background background checks and in a big, irving kind of state that is important. people move in and out and it is important to have that. of time to do the proper background check. again, i'm sorry for your loss. look, there's a lot of crazy things going on in this world, each and every day we see them more often because of the focus on these things. it breaks my heart that we have to be able to talk about this. >> thank you. i agree with your form policy. i was wondering about another

current foreign issue with china. what is your current stance of the united states relationship with china, especially with, especially with the prospect of cyber attack in what happened last year. >> so china is going to be, for the next several decades in all likelihood china is going to be the most complex, may be must relationship the united states will have. the two largest economies, that will stay the same for a long while. we are intertwined economically. there are real challenges, china's real view is shaped by a much more centralized, controlled economy. intellectual property doesn't appear to have the same value as it does here. the cyber efforts they are making our big challenges for

our country. here's what i think we ought to do. one, when we say we pivot to asia, which we did with great grandiosity, we have to do it. i would not have made this statement of a pivot just because i talked to a lot of people in asia, i used to do business there travel there a lot, what they said was if you talk about pivoting to asia in the region but no one seems to be talking about pivoting to asia when asians aren't watching. it doesn't seem to be as high priority, that's right. there was not a big pivot to asia. if you're going to do it, by the way a pivot also means you're leaving something else. so the rest of the world is wondering why you're abandoning another area. the role of the united states is not to pick and choose places where they work.'s in our security interests to to be engaged in asia. i think we should do it to counter the influence of china in the world. that economic interest to do so.

it should be comprehensive, complete dialogue, but we should recognize that they are a competitor, not an ally. we should have our guard up, we we need to rebuild our military. the idea that we have to notes that we are sending naval vessels through international waters, which we now have to do because we feel that is a sign of of strength, that's a sign of weakness. to actually announce that you're going through international waters it confers legitimacy to china's claim. the fact that they would build an island 100 miles off the coast of the south china sea, in the middle of the ocean where trading patterns are the largest in the world, where volumes of trade take place. we should just do that as a matter of course. we should fly planes over those as a matter of course. we should make it clear to our friends that we have their back. the japanese, the koreans. we see the upheaval in the world when we pulled back, north north

korea being the most recent example. we have to be engaged in china but from a position of strength. we have to rebuild our navy and military to make that happen. the final thing i say is the chinese don't understand anything about us. based on my experience, and we don't understand anything about them. that's dangerous. hank paulson have the strategy that i thought was appropriate, former secretary which was to have ongoing dialogue so that any misunderstanding did not going create a larger problem. i will give you a quick example. they had a conversation and they did it at palm springs, mrs. obama did not go to the summit this weekend, where the two families were going to get to know each other, china that was very important.

in the united states it wasn't mrs. obama have other things to do. so every meeting that i went to, and i went to to way too many we spent the first ten minutes where i got lambasted because our country insulted their glamorous first lady and insulted the first family of china. i'm going, look i'm not a big fan of president obama, but i'm defending president obama and mrs. obama saying, there's no way that michelle obama is going to go out of her way to insult the first lady of china. she may have had the same challenges a lot of families have in the united states. it brought back memories of having to do my kids science projects because they refuse to do them. think about it, she has two teenage daughters, i'm sure she had something going on with her family that was really important. we all have that experience. the chinese would've never thought that because our culture is different than theirs. so engagement has to be essential in that regard.

>> a copy of that was given to your brother. that's for you, series of poems. my question for you is i grew up, 55 or so, a new england kid, i was five years in tallahassee when your governor down south and i saw your actions firsthand. you had a t-shirt on, i grew to admire you then and there, well before you ever started running for president, mr. bush, my compliments i watched as a person. >> thank you, this must've been the skinny jet before i got fat. >> was chosen by an organization as a rescue worker for katrina. it was a nightmare wasn't it.

without your action, the federal government dropped the ball with that whole thing going on, if it weren't for your facilitation of people and resources, i don't know how that whole thing would have worked out. it was your leadership that helped a lot with that transition. the influx of people, i got a feel for what it must've been like to live in another country, like the middle east where an influx of human beings, souls, poured through through tense in tallahassee, hundreds of thousands of people and i lived right there is to come down the big bend of the eye ten exit. people were mobbing the hotels, dog some pet alligators, is unbelievable. as. as a new england man, i grew up in an old-fashioned way and just to be quick, this woman touched

me in earlier i spoke to people filming questions, i'm a god-fearing man, radical christian guy and i respected my dad who wasn't. mr. ferrero lived down the street and when he saw us doing something wrong he would grab this by the aaron dump us on the fort front ports that. i don't believe guns or weapons have anything to do with what we see on tv but psychosis might. a departure from godliness, departure from the church, a departure from the american family, and absolute the parts are from the american family. i was born to smithereens that was start up this meeting with the pledge of allegiance, as

everyone realized it says one nation, under god, and division indivisible. jeb bush, i believe you would stand up for people like me and defend our rights as much as they're founded in our nations history. i believe you personally as a man of integrity, i believe in you, i believe you would stand up for our rights because we have now become a minority. [applause]. >> a couple of quick points. the bill of rights, the constitution is a blueprint that we should cherish. we should cherish it not to say that it's an interesting document. some countries have constitution that are amended to the point where they have to redo it because it's 2000 pages long, our constitution should be cherished and respected.

the right of religious freedom is called the first freedom because it is at the heart of who we are as a nation. the whole bill of rights is important, but the right of being able not just to have a religious fates there are people who literally say get over it, but you you have to keep it in your church pews are seven gods, or at home. that is not what the first freedom is all about the first is about allowing for religious conscience. that means they have the right to act on their faith and they can do it in the public square. in a tolerant, big diverse country, people have to be accepting of the fact that not everybody has faith as their organizing principle. but those that do have faith have the exact same right to be able to act on their faith.

we can solve this problem. it's not the most complex problem in the country, but to exclude people of faith from the public square i think we do. i i think there's a lot of people act on the faith to feed the homeless, to take care of children who had been abandoned, not collected, and abused. whatever it is, a a lot of times it is motivated by faith, whenever you limit someone's actions in that regard you limit the ability to solve problems way americans have always solved. second story, this one relates to katrina. i'm doing this in honor of secretary chertoff. katrina was going to hit pensacola. we had a a year before, is the largest storm in american history it was a five and a half if you will. it was headed toward pensacola

comes we mobilize the port. we had 600 people at the armory of the florida national guard in tallahassee, we ship them out. we had all the stuff we're so good at. >> ..

>>

occasionally you have to break the china or break the rules not for yourself but on behalf of people. we need a government that is not our master but servant and the katrina experience is a good example how it can work in. [applause] >> if you are elected president would you take steps to fix welfare? >> yes. tomorrow i annealing a

welfare reform proposal does anybody above policy here? you will see the most comprehensive detailed plan for everything from restaurant meals to the entitlements and we will unveil the of welfare reform proposal in addition to paul ryan and the senator from south carolina are hosting. go to jeb2016.com when if you are bored or you're more likely to stay porter we have lost upward is social mobile -- mobility has defined the country as it doesn't matter where you surf but it is what you do

but increasingly we find people stock because love $1 trillion per year of transfer payments plus its limits rather than a floor for the aspirations we need dramatic welfare reform one of the great policy changes in the 1990's pass welfare reform the president vetoed twice then said to support this in debt was is a huge success. and change to work-related program. work, of marriage than a high-school education.

that give us a giant leap forward in we need to recognize there is a lot of people on the bubble with middle-class hypocrisy in the they do this on their own to make ends meet wonder to paychecks away to you think it's fair to get unfair treatment then without the work requirement? it is important to the also a question of fairness. we should not force people to say i should not have to work to get a better deal. so a total recasting of the transfer payments in dealing

with the massive fraud and abuse the u.k. with it through welfare reform and they had welfare programs are bigger than ours. because they were on their knees with the debt levels prohibit he did they cut benefits but everybody had to go through the eligibility process again. what they found was not yet 20% were receiving benefits not deserving to bring back that balance you eliminate fraud that is essential that is is going forward they

cannot organize themselves of a wet paper bag it doesn't embrace technology as it should. in a used to defer century solutions for the cost of foods audiences in the billions of dollars i would like to do the following if we we're doing it that way hallwood we? how many have had that? to create whatever it is without the vestiges of legacy cost that is how you move forward. we should do that with the welfare system to give that dignity and support so they

can go way beyond where they are today.xi

>>

the. >> we ought to be celebrating the success. that is great. wonderful he does exaggerate that but it is good is healthy in american to be successful and be proud. end to a limit he is politically incorrect because we're too uptight there is no way to express your views into everybody assumes you are hateful or a racist and while he is exaggerating the fact he is made a contribution to loosen up is good. this is why i called him a jerk. i am serious. i spent eight years in the belief life is precious truly a gift from god the

disabled we're all equal under god's watchful eye in the deeply held view that when anybody disparages anybody with disabilities it sets me off that is why i called him a jerk because he disparaged a person that he knew had a disability and made fun of it. what kind of person would you want to have is the president that does that? does it disparaged women are muslims of all kinds? hispanics we get down to about 90 percent of all people. [laughter] zaph 1.do we say enough's? you don't solve problems like barack obama the he pushes down those that don't agree with him or not the way trump does that either.

if we solve problems problems, someone who has a servant's heart so donald trump in the debate last week, this is important important, that north korea has tested a hydrogen bomb that is a step beyond where it was and if you are asked the question about the nuclear triad and the importance you need to have a pretty good the answer is of means since the post

world war ii era. to make sure we have the effect that is unnecessary is important. and tell me if he is qualified right now to be president of the united states. but he better polyol have a president that has the steady hand. we are in serious times in greediest serious candidate. i want your vote. i will track you down and get you to support me. [laughter] >> ally will turn around.

>> cry of a political science student at james madison university. and i am pretty discouraged to start a career in politics with the polarization that we see today in government. that is important to have a leader. but i want to know how you will compromise beyond starting on that common ground to work together? >> i hope if you have och eight dash and you're not discouraged because it will change. it always does. they never stay static and

there will be a sobriety because we're living in dangerous times. who will sit behind the big desk and make big decisions? second if you are interested i will not migrate to the federal government anyway. [laughter] and i am elected president we will shift power away from washington back to places that work. it works in florida and new hampshire. [applause] why is it that budgets are balanced or passed at the state level? why is it that city councils and mayors have budgets? no violence over food fights? that is a democracy.

but it works in the political system works except it doesn't work right now in washington someway encouragement would be go work for the president you'll see how democracy works the right way. how do you change the culture in washington? one important point is to shift of power away the way they compromised, think about your at the kitchen table with your spouse, you have a challenge, a competing interest, a sound familiar? and you decide to do with the washington way. i get what i want and you get what you want. that is our i solve problems democracy means you have to forge consensus to recognize

that finite time of money that would be a powerful first that. because they normally have the seem sincere desire but a very different view it if you are wrong so be it. with barack obama has evil motives it doesn't change anything. the is unchanged what he is doing but to assume those of goodwill exist because that is the leeway to leave that culture of consensus making mental health is something we can do right now. will full restore the justice movement from five years ago decided they were

sentencing too many people to remember mandatory sentences and to reduce the prison population. and now to replicate that. and nevers for drug-related use. barack obama believes in the same thing. and god forbid he finds common ground with conservatives on the subject so he is is that clemency project even when they support the idea. there are a lot of places there is bipartisan consensus. and set the stage to build for the bigger things. but a president is the only

person or institution has to take the first that. how do you know, unless you try? it's we have a lot of the cappers, a lot of talkers. [laughter] people are really good than 24 hours to fill it up. [laughter] we have a healthy dose of people talking. we have to create a culture of doing and they think have the skills to do it. >> good luck with your career. >> we to be willing as a third-party candidate? >> no.

since i will not run as a third-party candidate i am a republican in have been supporting republicans since richard nixon's. [applause] i have been a fighter for the conservative, as of personal responsibility i have been all in to defend the conservative cause in the long the well will win the nomination. that is my position. have you restrain the power of lobbyists? because the government is more powerful and it is so

complex that nothing is near that complexity of washington. so if you shift power to eliminate programs and sent the money back without strings attached they may show more in other places but in florida we created a more transparent requirements for lobbyists and we should do that in washington d.c. to have any interaction with an elected official transparency will open you up in florida we

require the names of the clients that lobbyists have in that range of income that they make. that was suppose to be onerous than the realized now we make public the money we are making to show how successful we are we want to be at the top not at the bottom. [laughter] but it is transparent and everybody knows. [laughter] so it opens the shades a little bit as part of this as well. a and lobbyist should not be elected officials there should be a six year be and they should not go out the back door then turn to lobby successfully. [applause] i know a lot of people in congress who are good people serving with honor the best they could but most of them need to go back to their communities and add value to the communities they were

serving that would help them and deal with the issue of the revolving door that is ridiculous. there needs to be procured reform wide you have to hire a lobbyist to get a government contract? the ultimate form of how you approach your services is that you don't hire a lobbyist the lowest price for the highest quality but now the up complexity from the defense department is absurd. it increases cost dramatically in hertz taxpayers it extends the time for which things happen for information system or department of defense it takes an act of god and 20 lobbyists in 10 years for it to be done that has to be eliminated.

because we have allowed that to happen if we change how we grow our economy we have to change the culture in front and center with the reforms i just outlined. can you add to my repertoire? [laughter] >> i don't know where to begin. >> e-mail me. >> back to the middle east in the boundaries to be created in the aftermath to break up the ottoman empire by the allies that was artificial at the time but now we can see the presence between their religion and economic interests and so on.

and this has the potential to go on. would you consider supporting an international long-term effort to realign those boundaries to reflect reality 100 years later? >> great question because it does appear the boundaries local lot more artificial today then they did when they were created you have the fight that has accelerated partially because of our departure so the saudis no longer feel there is a security umbrella to act in their own interest as they see fit. the iranians aggressively pursuing their agenda aegir -- in direct conflict apart from the geography issues

with the ongoing religious conflicts that add a complexity. click anti-iraq of a centralized government that was fragile and working and tell we laughed again now uc a possibility at a minimum that moves towards sovereignty. claim not proposing that today because the upheaval in the risk could be great but the commission to move towards that sounds like something that could lessen the downside. but we will not solve these problems that the arab world with that in position in

they are capable to do that right now. serial lost that capability though. lebanon had it emlyn the egypt and muslim brotherhood were there so now that seems to be restored. country by country is different that is a challenge for stability in the middle east that the boundaries to reflect the culture and differences that exist. >> in a completely different area president obama has retired military leaders not

one and staff and has said nasty things in one was the excuse to use abusive language to underwrite you get in the navy. [laughter] but anyway and on and on. given the conditions of the world today, what do you look for in your top military leaders? >> another high-quality question. first the commander in chief of should have the obligation to support the military and not impose non-military social agenda or political thought agenda on top of that. you now work for me these

are the conditions you have to operate here the conditions they have to operate it should be give me options to achieve a the effect of what do we create the lovell of the strongest to deter military action? how do we do that? you start with a promise to allow for the military to have the leaders he merged based on leadership skills. one of the great examples of this was of book about marshall. and how he selected leaders. he didn't pick them because they deserve to be a four-star general but had true leadership skills and put them in true leadership

ability and network to very well in world war ii. not that it cannot be hands off but there should be a difference to the of military and ultimately to say whether the options to achieve this objective and then hold them to account but not have a political environment. but the national security council is way too big it has doubled in size comment it is politic -- politicized am not sure they have the skill sets necessary to revise the present with competing interests relating and it should not be centralized so the power existed in the white house?

sera that has served they have been highly critical because of that imposition because of those whippersnappers that told them what to do pass to stop. that presidency is better served to have a person the accord needs that policy at the national security agency not to dictate that. does that make sense? >> we have time for one more question. >> the traditional conservative message of strong families and economic growth is very appealing to immigrants but yet he managed to tell them to go way. >> i do?

you said we. ion calling you a penalty. [laughter] >> if you achieve your ambitious goal of growth you have to do that. >> i wrote a book called the degree shores written to create a conservative alternative that would be the catalyst for a legal system with economic growth in chapter one this guy 40 bought his i will give it back to him. here is something to consider a wrote this book for five years ago the views that i hold are the views that i hold.

that has conviction will not end with the times looking at the guy running for president that is that guy. to ask a path to leadership -- citizenship name another candidate that has the same views they had three or five years ago or a couple minutes ago. [laughter] this is a leading indicator of how they will act. that you cannot persuade

them into state out of the world -- the world and bluetooth mills this? putin and smells weakness. we do not need a president that will change with the times but guess what happens? public sentiment changes they change their thinking based on the conditions that they seek to change that environment that is for high economic growth my hope ben dream is that everybody in

this room will be 10 years older. [laughter] anybody have a position on that? sudden the pyramid stars to look like this. if you take the children of that equation every working person goes take care of one it is not sustainable over the long haul. we increase fertility rates for those that have aspirations to pursue their dreams. if you expect this to happen so far it is not working the birthrate is dell below break-even.

it to restorer the demographic period control illegal immigration and to narrow the number of people coming and expand the number of people that will have children to rebuild the pyramid and that is embedded in my book $1.99 on amazon immigration wars. [laughter] isis are this:of the measurements people will look for who has a steady hand? i hope to give me credit i believe five believe there

is a lot tougher challenges that is a sign of strength and not weakness i appreciate the question. thanks for being here. god bless. [applause] ♪ ♪

and now. >> she has more relatives in new hampshire. >> given the general election and in particular. >> we love you to pieces. >> ♪ [inaudible conversations]

>> very voting for reno? >> i always was. [laughter] >> i will join the army in 41 years old i hope that you are the president. >> good luck. good job. where did you live in tallahassee? >> i have moved around the state. >> i remember that. take care. of course, .

>> [inaudible conversations] ♪ [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] sticking to their everybody laughing all-around. thank you. thinks for being here. >> dear change my mind. [inaudible conversations] >> i appreciate you.

select edit is so weird frame to. >> i am looking forward to the debate to one. >> thanks for being here just coming to receive how they do a. that is crazy. is in debt?

do you like it? just of a regular day at the office. [inaudible conversations] moi. >> famous for being here. [inaudible conversations]

>> how was that? >> you were great. [inaudible conversations] you will into the truck rally? >> we did. that is so unusual. >> with exponentially there ability to learn. that is great. >> and.

>> serve richmond down from virginia. despite to a great reputation. >> thank you.

and if room fell. [inaudible conversations] you hope that demographic is still here into any years. -- in 10 years.

i have that message. >> bid cannot draw people with all of the excitement of the candidacy did not yield economic opportunities for the long people. -- yields people. [inaudible conversations] >> you are making regulations have been notice they are getting bigger in the age of obama? [inaudible conversations] if.

[inaudible conversations] not giving economic opportunities the yen people say the thrill is gone. are you a reporter? so that is why we have 400 and separate chapters chapters:university in my message to make that happen. good luck. [inaudible conversations] ♪ ♪

[inaudible conversations] thanks for being with us. >> good to be here look at

their real clear politics survey hillary clinton is leading in iowa also senator ted cruz baja -- pin things change? >> if you are looking at that was conducted before the holidays. pollsters take a break over the holidays voters are not paying attention and they are traveling and in great about getting christmas shopping done and cooking so pollsters take of break we will see in the next week a bunch of new polls coming l iowa and new hampshire and nationally to the nominating calendar but those numbers are all from december and things change the candidates are working hard to make things change bernie sanders

is not be that to clinton and any of the early states we have talked to to portray

himself as the compromise candidate that said he does not necessarily have to but ben carson was leading to a ago still maintains a pretty healthy share of the vote about 10% in the latest polls and has a pretty committed base of supporters they say a lot of his core supporters are with him. and chris christie you have not heard that in iowa but more in new hampshire he had his first television advertisements even only having average of 2% insiders say he is now posing a challenge and jeb

bush he has taken down a lot of his ads he is in that conversation envelope cruz and a trump with cruz and christie and rubio or maybe rand paul. who finishes third and fourth and fifth will be just as important because then everybody takes the show on the road. >> a governor christie is backed is in iowa next week. there are three candidates and martin o'malley is he making any inroads in iowa? >> the first metric we will get on o'malley will come out of iowa nbc news analysis the criteria for the next democratic debate

in south carolina january 17. they set a threshold of 5% nationally or in one of the early states he is not mere 5% nationally right at 5% in iowa with the five most recent polls there will be a couple more that amount that will determine if he gets into that debate so talking about momentum nothing stemson the possible surge of momentum like the public embarrassment to be excluded from a three person debate if he can i get some good polls next week that will measure his current viability then one that may stop any momentum before that starts for him in iowa if he is that at the next erratic today.

-- democratic debate. >> in the work is available on-line. thank you. bernie senator,

sanders. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> what a great night. hello nevada. the battle born the

beginning of the great movement for word to have a huge turnout for the caucus then win nevada for the democrats again. >> i want to think everyone who has worked so hard to build the party from the bottom up and what an amazing dinner. after senator reid with that excitement and energy the you are projecting. that we have something going right here in nevada. [cheers and applause] .

>> you are the heart and soul of this campaign. now, i love you all, too. thank you!