experts who have all determined that this is real, happening, and you need to take action to confront the fact dead man is causing further emissions that degrade our environment and potentially will cause huge ramifications for our weather patterns and all the kinds of resources we pay into try to avert them as in hurricane katrina, though fires and the west, and so on. these issues must be confronted and they happen more and more. host: next, on the democrats' line. . .

they don't talk about the structure of it and have some cross will be eliminated. we really need a health care program. my son had open heart surgery when he was a baby, and we were on cobra, but even on cobra paying $366 a month in the 1980's, that on the cover my son, we still ended up paying $10,000. host: how to fix that?

guest: you have heard president obama talk about that. to keep people out of an emergency rooms. i think that is part of what happened with tobacco regulation bill. guest: there needs to be a lot of personal responsibility in health care. if you are not doing your part to ensure that you are watching your weight and taking measures to make sure that your health is good, the costs will be borne by all of us. people need to take a certain responsibility. another thing is that it is important that we have care, you see it through out people who need the care the most, and you see they have been neglected by the system.

we have to insure that visiting physicians don't get to a point where it comes so devastating that they take on huge costs and require such care. host: right of you -- both of you right youwrite, there is an article this morning that says that the journalism rules in terms of the coverage of iran, they say the use of unverified video and other sources during the coverage of the street demonstrations in tirana, tiranatehantehran, how does that you as reporters?

guest: the huffington post has been covering this and doing an excellent job. a lot of that is using a twitter feet, something we did not have a few years ago. there is a lot of reliance on people from the inside. host: the white house came into a lot of criticism at the news conference last week. guest: he is to be my deputy. journalism is shifting and we have new players on the system. we have a huge audience. we have a seat at the table in terms of demanding information

from the administration. many in the society of journalism who feel like the tables should be small enough for company only, are feeling as if the rules of the game are changing. host: some of that bank was on display at the news conference after the president's news conference. >> i have a procedural question about yesterday. what led to your decision to ask the president a question, what kind of a message do you think that sends to the american people about the kind of free flow and you're questioning at a presidential news conference? >> it did nothing more than two

_ that free flow. -- underscore that free flow. you and virtually every one of your outlets has done the same thing. in this country, we enjoy the freedom of the press. in iran, your colleagues have been dismissed. they have been kicked out. some of them have been rounded up. there are journalists that can speak for the iranian people, but the president was -- take a question from an iranian. >> could you accomplish that without you guys putting someone through here? >> the answer to that would have

been no. them is this going to become a regular feature of the president's news conferences? bring people in here that you select to ask questions? >> let's be clear here. there was no guarantee that a question -- a question are would be picked. there was no idea of what the exact question would be. i will let you down easily. the number of questions you all asked. iran dominate the news conference, not surprisingly. i think it was important and the president thought it was important to take a question using the very same method that you are using to report

information on the ground. i will not make apologies for that. host: the questioner asked about the designated hitter. guest: they called him the night before and said we might be interested in a question from an iranian. he had a great question directly from an iranian. the problem with that is that americans come to watch press conferences and they expect a spontaneous exchange from reporters. the white house pre-arranged this thing and that is why so many journalists are upset with this. it was a well intentioned thing on both sides. it is not exactly the right thing. host: is it always spontaneous?

guest: the fact:ap is that ap always gets the first question. they know the top four or five news stories. iran on that given day was a top agenda item. the one thing that is getting lost here is that nico asked a difficult question. he did not give a response as to whether -- under what conditions he would accept a ahmadinejad. he was able to ask the question that the regular press was and a position to ask because of the type of work that he has been doing. it was not as soft-ball

question. host: will we see more of this? guest: i don't think so. host: our republican from michigan is next kerik calle. caller: this says -- congress has done nothing -- the passing of the bill the ramification on corporations. all on something that is not proven yet. it is like the old fable, you tell a lie enough times and it becomes true. we are ready to hand over responsibility of our health

care to the government. host: your thoughts? guest: the president said he is expecting unemployment race to -- and employment rates to rise to 11%. if you look at the polls, the public policy agenda of the president is to confront the problems that we face. the stimulus was about asserting a government role and addressing these problems. the private part has failed. host: florida on the independent line. caller: thank you for having me on. my main question and concern about is merrick -- america itself is that right now,

americans say they want to go energy-efficient and green, why do we just don't improve or invest in more solar power, wind, and that will create more jobs. the bill that will pass will limit more jobs. even like myself, it may end up putting me out of work. i work at a health-care group. even with the medical bill that they are passing, i don't foresee myself with the job in the next two years, because it may put my doctors out of business. host: economic concerns on this energy bill? guest: yes. the main argument from republicans is we are shipping jobs overseas to china and india. i think the democrats would counter that argument by saying that will be creating some in the new jobs and the transition

this to happen. it might as well happen now. host: 8 your rights when it comes to the passing of a bill, the issue of lobbying comes up. americans can see that lobbying is making it -- playing a major role in critic -- in stopping this legislation. is the rule of law being changed? guest: it has continued to grow and become a major problem. the lobbyists are trying to influence both democrats and republicans. they have been trying to persuade members of the republican and democratic parties to a boat -- oppose obama's agenda.

this is true also on tap and trade. a lot of the energy and coal lobbyists as well as others are fighting vigorously to oppose measures pushed by of them -- democrats. that is the main obstacle. host: st. louis on our democrats line. caller: that argument is the most painful thing i've ever heard. he is a journalist and he as a journalist question. i want to go back to the emissions question. with global warming, we know republicans don't even believe in the science. my question is, what is it they believe happens to the missions? does it just go into the air and disappear? i would like to hear from the

conservative on the panel to answer that please. host: i don't know if you want to between the two of you. guest: i'm not sure they know where the emissions go. they say they want to push for a clean and healthy environment. i think the main thing they were arguing against was first of all, the cost. all these intricate details that many of the of members of congress did not even read, and the fact that a number of these jobs that people are in will be -- companies will move to china and india for cheaper labor. the emission standards are not as high there. host: another capitol hill store happening in detroit. the wife of john conyers pled

guilty to bribery in detroit on friday. are there any political ramifications for the john conyers? guest: it is probably too soon to assess. a large part of it will depend on how closely involved in these efforts john converse -- john conyers was paired we don't know the answer to that yet. host: what stories are you reading about this week? guest: she has her own political career. possibility that those were intermingled, we don't know that yet. he is in a pretty safe district for himself. host: you posted a story about immigration, saying it is time

for the heavy lifting to begin. how realistic is it? guest: it is probably at the height of the greatest possibility of getting reform done. a lot of republicans agree, and learned a lesson about opposing immigration last time. politically, it costs them a great deal. this is not a community they can ostracize. immigration reform needs to be accomplished, you cannot continue to allow 12 million undocumented workers underground without forcing them to become a legal immigrants without some fashion or another. it will be important to have this immigration community who

can serve in many of the roles that we will need, some of the low income rose that the economy will need to move on and get stronger. host: pennsylvania on our republican line. caller: you opened the show with --. i think they should abolish it. it simply does not work. the gay community itself does not do itself justice when giving cause for getting equal ross -- rights. the gay community, especially during world war ii tens of thousands were used for target practice, medical experiments, and the rest were basically gas.

it was illegal for two people of the same sex to be basically dancing together, walking together down the street holding hands, going into the aids crisis, their mates didn't even have the ability to be involved in their mates medical care. guest: the roll call this morning and, by gay-rights activists have protested the president failure to act on don't ask, don't tell. guest: the poll numbers are on a very different side than where the administration and congress are. the poll numbers on this issue, peeper are supporting it out -- supporting of it, particularly when they see it in their daily lives. it should not apply in the

military. the one thing that seems to be a hurdle is the administration and congress don't want to engage on social and cultural issues. it is a miscalculation to suggest that we should not report on this, the security arguments are there. people are already way ahead of this. host: sugar land, texas, on the democrats' line. caller: in the last two years it was brought out that the oil companies -- the republicans said we need to sell these refineries. congress had the fought -- five top oil companies come in, and

they said they did not want to build any new refineries. but in india they are building some type of super refinery that will provide gas to lots of different countries. name me some of your people know about that. but remember, on the prescription drug benefit, congress was forbidden to try to get the best price for medicare. thank you. host: drilling for more domestic energy production, is this part of the energy package and was produced? guest: no. not that i know of. certainly, they do want to produce more energy within our borders, but i don't think drilling for more oil is the key component in that energy legislation.

host: on another political store, gov. mark sanford last week in the revelation of his affair with a woman from argentina. south carolina's governor's wife, according to some, the sanford affair is evidence that there -- they need to be electing more women. what are some of the political fallout from this? guest: it is hard to get beyond a hypocrisy. he is somebody who was railing against president clinton and the late 1990's, and now is engaging in the same type of issues that he was railing against president clinton for. gov. sanford was not doing a

project a good job for his constituents. south carolina has record unemployment numbers right now. he rejected stimulus funds. the unemployment rate and a minority population in south carolina is extremely high, 20%, 30%. what we saw from the governor both on the affair issue and stimulus issue is that he was politically grandstanding. he was taking positions that reflected a moral code that he wanted to sell as political gamesmanship. it wasn't he sought -- it wasn't something he believed in. the moral code was something he was trying to push on to others. host: what about political fall out, for the party in general? guest: i wrote last week that i think it the one person to help

the most was mitt romney. he is a presidential hopeful that falls off the map here. i thing -- think there are some arguments about how successful he would have been. i think this pushes mitt romney to the forefront. >> he is waiting in the wings. host: illinois on the independent line. caller: i am all for personal responsibility, but more people in this country should embrace that. i find it amazing that the congress and reporters think that people who didn't need to take any personal response well

-- responsibility are now going to take responsibility for their health. host: special interest lobbies a fourth brain -- branch of government, big oil, cap and trade and health care. next on our republican line. caller: i wanted to call uncap and trade. this is a fraud. see 02 has nothing to do with the temperature of the earth and the people that are proposing it know it. i have five books as it is of fraud.

look at american center. half of the co2 that is produced goes into the ocean. still to is one and a half times heavier than air, it sinks down to the ground. that bill is a one-party rule bill. they will charge the republican states, all the democratic states probably don't have any co2 code at all. it is corrupt and crooked. guest: the caller is hungry for knowledge on global warming. my view on this is this is a scenario where republicans can either choose to lead, or they

can go to their worst instincts. if they chose to lead, it will be telling people like this caller and others who don't believe in global warming that they are just wrong. they can assert a very important goals for themselves in this debate, republicans could, by telling people, if you don't believe in global warming, you are wrong. instead, i think they cater to their worst intentions, and tell people that think it is a hoax that they are right, it is a hoax. host: congress is two weeks away from the start of the hearings for judge sotomayor. guest: i think it will be tough at first. republicans will want much more time. i think she will eventually be confirmed.

republicans will give her a tough time. host: and the hispanics and legislation, how big a deal is this to navigate? guest: that is a real concern. i don't see many republicans stepping up. they all -- they already have a problem in the republican party with this. to oppose sotomayor, who is a qualified judge, we have not learned anything to diminish her record at all. her record still stands largely -- to oppose her for reasons of just general ideological or some kind of bigotry is wrong. going to the early article about the gop in minority, i think of it -- just a few southern

states. southern white males may need to expand their view. they can start to reorient themselves by voting for someone like sotomayor. caller: host: thank you for being with us. in a moment peter brookes we peter m. >> the air force says it has successfully launched in on our minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile from a california-based, firing at targets in the pacific ocean.