leaving afghanistan is july next year but defense secretary gates says son could leave room here. during a visit to afghanistan today, he said it depends on conditions. he visited a training ground where afghan soldiers undergo weeks of training by u.s. and british troops. also, mahmoud ahmadinejad. at a press conference in the afghan capital, he said it is the u.s. that is playing a double game in the country, fighting terrorists it helped to create. the iranian president responding to secretary gates who earlier accused iran of playing a double game by having a good relationship with the afghan government while undermining u.s. and nato efforts. tehran says it supports the afghan government and denies allegations that it helps the taliban. .

campaign to raise academic standards across the country. the blueprint is named to replace a hodgepodge of state benchmarks with common standards. those are some of the headlines on c-span radio. >> this weekend, "book tv" is headed west with live coverage of the tucson festival of books. hear from authors and their experiences living on the president -- living on the mexican border.

sunday, panels on debt writing about history, the war in afghanistan, world war ii, and the military and leadership. this weekend c-span 2's "book tv." >> which four presidents live past 90? john adams, herbert hoover, ronald reagan, and gerald ford. find these and other presidential fax in the new c- span book, "who is buried in grant's tomb"? >> a guidebook, a miniature history, guidand each president. >> a research guide to each presidential graveside and insights about their lives and final moments. now available at your favorite

book seller and get a discount at the publisher's web site. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us now, john della volpe, a polling director at the harvard institute of politics with fresh new polling information about young adults. who did you talk to? what did you ask them? guest: we spoke to 3017 young adults across america. we conducted a very in-depth survey about their thoughts on the president, approval ratings, congress, biggest issues, national priorities, delving deeply into issues related to the economy. host: what was the most interesting thing that you found out? guest: the president's statement -- popularity has stabilized.

overall, a majority of young americans approve of the job the president is doing. yet the majority disapprove of the job that congress is doing, democrats as well as republicans. they're also more critical of the job that the president is doing on some of the specific issue priorities. host: what surprised you most? guest: young americans in particular are energized, but most particularly young republicans. politically that was one of the more surprising things. on the economic side of the equation, we found out that there is a deep and a palpable anxiety amongst young americans about the state of the economy and their personal financial situations. host: we will be digging into the statistics here.

since this is a poll of 18-29 year-old's, those 29 years of age or younger, 202-737-0001. the second line is for those 30 and older, 202-737-0002. we will see what kind of interesting in " we get from the viewers. young adults in politics is the topic. let's look at some of these statistics. 40% of these folks identified as independent. 36% democrats. 23% republicans. tell us more. guest: the independent number is most of interest currently. while they are less likely to vote in november, the number of young people that identify as independent has grown by six points in the last few months alone.

young people are becoming disenchanted with both parties. host: what does that mean for this coming election and those to follow? guest: the concern is that we do not want to turn back the clock. 2004, 2008, young people were engaged in politics, inspired to do so by candidates on the left and right. our concern is that the tone of washington and the lack of trust we are seeing from federal institutions are turning young people off to politics. not necessarily to the country or public affairs, but politics. people still feel engaged in helping others in their community, but we are beginning to be concerned about the level of engagement in the political system. host: that lasted statistic, 56% approve of the -- that last statistic, 56% approval of the

president. guest: it has stabilized since november, young people approve of his job performance at a higher rate. to be honest, they are not be a liar that they were just one year ago. -- not the outlier that they were just one year ago. by 82 to 1 margin -- a 2 to 1 margin people favor the president over john mccain during the election, that number has come down, but stabilize. host: 25% trust the president to do the right thing -- trust congress to do the right thing. 44% trust the president to do the right thing. guest: when we compare polling with similar polling that we did the monks of the 18-24 year- old's, trust in the presidency

has improved a little bit between the bush presidency and the obama presidency. the most trusted institution is always the u.s. military, continuing number one. supreme court is no. 2. less than one-third of young people trust congress and the federal government to do the right thing. this deep concern over government is something that we will continue to probe. host: first call, riverdale, maryland. how all -- how old are you? what are your views? caller: i am right at 29, right on the edge. thank you for c-span. i had a quick question for the poller. you are talking to people in this age group, what are the

specific questions you are asking them? what are your specific questions? guest: a great question. all of the data we have collected it is available on our website, iop.harvard.edu. we ask close to 100 questions, which by the way this population will soon be the largest segment of the electorate. 25% are in the ages of 15-30. 18-year-old's and higher are the focus of the survey. host: back to our caller, are you still there? caller: yes. host: what would you like to be asked if you were a part of this poll? caller: first would basically be

about the condition of congress right now. lots of people out there are and can -- not content with congress and its performance. i would like to find out more by and that about that. host: what is your particular case? one or two issues that bug you the most? guest: -- caller: we do not talk about, and i am happy that we have the first black president, but i do not think it is being highlighted the people's feelings and issues have not changed much because of the election as far as their feelings toward african americans in general. it has changed, but some of the views where they are not wanting to do certain things to help out

obama might have something to do with race and i do not think that we are touching on that. guest: he raised a bunch of excellent points. one of the points that we noticed in this analysis, african-americans seem more optimistic about the future of america than other segments of the population. we have seen the african american segment of this population continued to be inspired. they're more likely than others to think of politics is an honorable profession, to believe in the american dream, to believe that they will be better off. host: silver spring, maryland. good morning. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. i think that president obama is doing a really good job, he has with the good ideas.

the problem is that the politics are so complicated. having so many interests in common with the corporate congress and the republican party, i would also like to comment on the election and green energy. getting independence of gasoline, that is the key of our economy getting better, officially. i was working in a big company in maryland, we had almost 1000 people working there, they started to lay off everyone, sending the jobs to china. all of these people are going to get fired and paid from unemployment.

guest: let me jump on that last point. host: your study says that 50% of 18-29 year-old's are concerned with meeting current bills and obligations. how did that compared to the public at large? guest: we did not ask that exact question to the public at large, but i do not think that, but for this survey, the economic needs of the millennium generation were seen as critical as those 30 and over. we conducted a series of focus groups in ohio, in 2009. we listened to the ranks of the younger generation, making this survey much more relevant. people were particularly concerned about just staying in college, according tuition.

host: 84% of four year college students say that it will be difficult to find a job. guest: the highest number we have seen in the survey. 45% are concerned about according to say in college -- stay in college. you have banks on a day-to-day basis. as you notice, all as 90% are concerned with finding a job once they leave. host: ronnie, 30 plus, welcome to the program. caller: how're you doing? guest: good. caller: i have concerns with the white house. if george bush had jimmy hoffa coming into his office 20 times a month for 10 months, it would be on the front pages of every newspaper, talk show, and

television company in this country. but that andy stern can walk in and out of the white house with no comment from any way -- anyone, that is unacceptable from the current media. the bottom line with that the bashing of the banks and insurance companies, pickup the phone and see if you can get an appointment right now with a surgeon and see what it takes to see a doctor. in our current system. they want to put 30 million people into this system. and he is bashing the insurance company? they're going to generate trillions of dollars from 15 million americans in the ages between 15 and 35, who do not pay health insurance. they're going to mandate to our children that they must buy

health insurance, paying $4,000, generating $60 billion at no cost to the insurance company. host: anything there that you can apply to the study? guest: i do not think so. i have to be honest with you. [laughter] the overarching viewpoint is that we are concerned with young people being gauged in politics, volunteering, working at higher levels in the past, that there is a lack of interest in becoming engaged in the system. the message here is that when we conducted the survey for the first time, young people were not voting but there were taking matters into their own hands. then they got involved in the electoral process, they really wanted to dig in. these numbers regarding

mistrust in our institutions, that cannot drive young people away. it is important for leaders across the country to begin to inspire this new generation to continue to be involved in politics. host: speaking of, one of the talking points from the survey talks about community service. 70% of those that you talked to said that concern -- community service will the hon.. -- community service is hon orable. only 35% believe the running for public office is honorable. guest: this disconnect with washington, d.c., regarding the kinds of individuals that choose to run for elected office, if

they do not believe that good things can happen, if they do not see tangible results, they are less likely to vote and participate. host: michigan, what is your name? caller: tyler. host: 29 and under, tells about the poll in your viewpoint on the world. fox -- and your viewpoint on the world. caller: i have been watching you every morning, i am laid up, think he foresees band. i would say that in -- thank you for c-span. i am a graduate student at michigan state, the vast majority of my peers are supportive of the president. as far as the poll is concerned and the waning support for obama, the election in november,

like you said, nobody is really inspired by the folks in congress right now. du will not get that same group of people out there that supported obama in the midterm elections. i do know what your methods were as far as polling, but one thing that the poles are missing is that young people do not have have -- do not have hardline poll souls anymore. i do none know if it takes in a cross-section of young americans better as far as using cellular phones as their primary users of communication. guest: yes, this poll has evolved extensively over the last 10 years. this is the second one we have conducted with knowledge

networks, the most state of the arts methodology used to conduct online polling. we sample individual households, telephone in the mail, recruiting them to participate on-line. only 35% of young people under 29 have access to a land line telephone, we were still able to have them complete the survey. we completely understand. in many situations the differences are significant between those that have a land line telephone and those that do not. amongst hispanic americans, we offered them the opportunity to take the poll in english and spanish. the differences are significant, those that choose to take it in spanish, what they think about the government and polling, the

president. host: 18-29 year-old's, quite a broad range. are there differences in that range? someone in graduate school, someone who is 18? guest: there are a lot of differences. many of them are based on educational level, income level. people in graduate school, those kinds of people in education, more supportive of the president, as opposed to community college students who are very concerned about the economic impact on the economy and their ability to pay their bills and get a home. host: conn., donna. hello. welcome to the program. caller: thank you. host: what do you make of what you have heard so far and what is your opinion? caller: it is great.

i am 57, a single mother of three. i have two boys at harvard right now. one of them works there, one of them runs a computer company and is a graduate student there. i have an honor roll daughter who is 15. i think it is the time for young people to take charge of our government. i have seen a lot. i saw my home town of massachusetts go from a very vibrant and productive, industrial, cutting edge town in -- with high employment to a very rundown, empty factory town. i would hate to see america turning in the direction where

we are promoting education -- luckily my sons were fortunate enough to get jobs, but i have a concern about pushing education and not having the vibrant energy here in the united states to support all of our great colleges and great kids, like my daughter who is planning to go when she is 15. the industry in america helps the kids to get jobs, helps the schools to get better, helps the community a better. i really want to bring our production and industry back here. i hope that the programs in the school support educating the kids to participate in their government. i am really tired of the old

boys' club. host: sure raises several interesting points. one, the need to engage in this generation of selto solve govert problems. we asked the young americans that if they were asked to engage in a public service in the country, how likely were they to be engaged? there were excited to be engaged in a form of public service. young people are committed and will serve if asked and inspired. our concern is that the lack of trust today might change that. host: grand rapids, michigan. over 30. >> the lady before sounded up,

it would be interesting if we had a poll to find out -- if the government is willing to take a cut in pay, like a lot of us had to take a half cut in pay, when we get done with their work we are laid off, fired or whenever. then we are stuck without health insurance again. i have been an injured person since i was 18. the issue is when i go in i get laid off because insurance companies raise the premium. host: health care, can you apply that to the poll? guest: yes, we had our survey discuss health care extensively.

48% of people under 30 were in favor of major reforms, 28% in favor of limited reform. the majority of the elements at the time indicated that health care was the no. 2 priority of young people right now. everything is trumped by economic concern. host: are they interested in mandates? having to purchase? guest: we have not gone deeply into that issue. host: michael, how old are you? caller: 28. i wanted to say thank you for c- span. host: you are welcome. caller: i wanted to talk about the accuracy of the poll. so accurate. it really is a reflection of

what young people these days are seeing and perceiving about politics. regarding political scandals in my state, you see that politics are not the role model for what you want to do when you grow up. in the last presidential election, how many young people had the power to rock the boat? -- vote? we have a lot of power because of our numbers and fashion. when you actually unleash it, that is when you can change things. people are saying that they want to change, but it is not just about one election, it has got to be about your country. politics may not be that hon., but you have got to make it hon..

putting people into the community that actually care. guest: he is right on there, in iowa they voted in higher margins choosing barack obama over senator clinton. looking at voters over 30, it was not the same. if it was young voters under 30 that held him to win that first caucus in iowa that held him to compete. if it were just voters over 30 in the iowa caucus, hillary clinton would probably be president right now. young people also made a difference in the general election. north carolina and indiana went from red state to blue state

because of young people. guest: we had this message from twitter, "send $50,000 with an education and we will replace you -- that way you will not make over $30,000." david, your thoughts? caller: i will be 60-day period in 1960, -- i will be 60 in may. when i was born in 1960, things were different. i would imagine that if we compared the two age groups, both would agree that the country is too big to fail.