his role in creating and raising money for american crossroads. after that, johns hopkins professor pieter bottelier examines areas of liability and china's economy. plus, your e-mails and phone calls. "washington journal" is next. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] host: good morning. a month before the midterm elections and the latest indicating that 38 sayingin the u.s. house, that the tide may be turning in some respects to help the republicans. meantime, studies are indicated

that the republicans could pick up eight seats and potential to pick up seven governor's seats. there are heightened concerns about a potential al qaeda attack. an alert will be issued later today for those travelers. the alert is a general in nature and will not focus of any specific country, location, or tourist site. that is our focus on this sunday morning, the third of october. this alert is going out today. what do think? 202 is the area code. 202-737-0001 is our line for republicans. 202-737-0002 for democrats. if you are an independent, the number to call is 202-628-0205. ed gillespie will be joining us later in the program to talk about the story and about house

races. inside "the new york times", new developments, the u.s. issued this travel alert to travel to europe. a traveler would merely urge extra caution during as pacific time. it would not discourage americans from the visiting europe. according to officials, the stronger travel warning that might advise americans not to visit europe was not under consideration. this is how the story is playing out in great britain, including this from the bbc. >> this is mumbai in 2008. plans are being made for a similar type attack, targeting westerners in britain, france, and germany. the plan was detected in its early stages. and number of people are still under surveillance. it is on the strength of this information that the u.s. state department is expected to advise the hundreds of thousands of

american tourists who visit britain and europe every year to be extremely vigilant when they visit well-known tourist spots or to stay fro away from them all together. the eiffel tower has been shut down twice in the last two weeks under bomb threats. the target we opened a few hours later. but the possibility that crowded places like this could be targeted will undoubtedly have an impact on visitors. the headline from the associated press is that the u.s. is telling citizens to be vigilant as they traveled to europe. there is also the story from "the washington post", military drones aid the mission. the cia is using an arsenal of arms drones to secretly escalate its operations in pakistan by striking targets beyond the reach of american forces based in afghanistan. the merging of covert cia

operations and military far apart is part of an attempt by the obama administration to deal decisive blows to insurgents to have regained control of territory in afghanistan and the state's most of their operations from sanctuaries across the eastern border. "the washington post" goes on to point out, that the move represents a significant evolution of an already controversial targeted killing program run by the cia. in the past month, it has been delivering what amounts to cross a border bombing campaigns in coordination with conventional military operations a few miles away. one other point, the strategy shift carries a to begin with, particularly if it is perceived as an end run around the pakistan government longstanding objections to american military operations within its domain. the state department issuing a travel alert for those of you

who may be traveling to europe. what does this mean? does it make us safer? should the government be more specific? edith joins us from south dakota on the republican line. good morning to you. good morning. caller: all i can say is that we need to impeach obama and the sooner the better. host: whi sy is that? caller: he is no good for nothing. host: you can join the conversation on line at twitter.com/cspanwj. 202-737-0001 is our line for republicans, and 202-737-0002 for democrats, and if you are an independent -- 202-628-0205. our next caller from lynn, massachusetts. caller: good morning, stever.

n. i want to talk about these travel restrictions. all that is is that we need to use common sense. i used to travel without -- throughout the world. i travel on my own. just use common sense as you go. if you're going to germany or to france or even japan, we would check with the u.s. embassy and let them know we were there just to cover. host: from the bbc website -- the u.s. travel alert being issued today. this is what it looks like. next is joe joining us from idaho. the independent line. good morning. caller: on the travel alert, i think the state of israel could help of a lot by not being so cruel to palestine. host: how does that relate to

fwhat is going on in europe? caller: all the wars come from that. i think al qaeda would calm down a lot if israel would be nice to the palestinians. host: joe is joining us from idaho. next is linda from houston, texas. good morning. caller: good morning. i do not believe the travel alert they are making an announcement about. prior to 9/11, we were not having problems traveling or anything else. i think that cheney and the rest of that bunch cost 9/11. i think they allowed it to happen. since then, we have had all

these problems. i do not think there is any problem with americans traveling prior to this. host: helen from our twitter page. "the american embassy is surrounded by concrete barricades, high fences, a paris police and their vans." you can join our conversation of twitter.com. issuing a travel alert for those in europe or heading to europe. your reaction? caller: the european union cross borders. people can move back and forth across europe without documentation. i do not think they have to have any. this is showing up in the people that are traveling. i know i go to england

and it is startingit, to look like new york city. they have no travel restrictions. they have a lot of people who otherwise would not be a, there a special yet -- especially seems like.eemyoung men, it host: we missed the last point. caller: it is encouraging to me to see some kind of attention being paid to these problems. europe has been so liberal. now they are finding out there is a price for all that liberalism. host: the headline is that the u.s. to tell u.s. citizens to be vigilant in europe. the state department is issuing travel alert. a european official briefed on the subject said that the language and the alert is expected to be vague.

it will not discuss specific countries or specific landmarks. they have not identified any specific targets of the terrorist might be considering. they have called the threat credible but not specific. sky news reported on the topic. here is more from earlier today. >> on wednesday, it became public that there was a multi- style terror plot in pakistan. the americans were aware of this and they're were putting drones against the people -- if you are traveling in europe, be extra vigilant. be aware. we think there is a plot. you could pick -- you could come into harm's way. the wording is very important. if you use the word imminent -- and i do not think that they

will -- that would mean that they have specific information that something were to happen in the very near future the wording is important because it affects the amount of people that will travel. it will affect the amount of money going into the tourist industry. they're all sorts of ramifications. the americans have told the europeans about it, but crucially, the british are not raising the threat level. that tells us that whatever piece of information the americans have got it does not mean that there is an imminent threat against the united kingdom. host: that is from sky news. it is available on the website, part of the fox news conglomerate that has coverage here in the u.s.. from "the new york times", bin laden resurfacing urging aid for pakistan a flood victims. it is an odd called for compassion from a terrorist who has probably claimed responsibility for mass murder -- proudly claimed it

responsibility for mass murder and is still active in the plotting terrorist attacks. recordingsnew audio urging help for victims of floods were produced by climate change and were only the latest in a wide ranging, idiosyncratic commentary on current events. since escaping american troops in afghanistan in 2001, bin laden has issued 30 messages. intelligence officials believe they are passed from hand to hand it repeatedly to obscure any trial back of his hiding place, presumed to be in the border regions of pakistan and afghanistan. michael is joining us from st. paul, minnesota, on at the latest travel alert from the state department to be issued later today. good morning. caller: good morning from minneapolis, st. paul. the twin cities.

bombs bursting in air, yet our banner was still there. take ar words, -- dont' plane, because they will hide jackie to cuba. [unintelligible] to paris, they will shoot up the airport. travel is always under bombardment by a few violent fruitcakes, but i draw a parallel between the star spangled banner and the travel alert. something like that. thank you very much. host: a couple of comments from

our twitter page. "a traveler at the same time we are bombing civilians and pakistan? i thought obama campaign to get us out of these wars." georgia. jane on our democrats lined curre. caller: my son troubles a good bit to europe for music for - causes- travels a good bit to europe for music purposes. i hope nothing happens to him. i do think we should be warned and any and every way that we can. i will say this. people inn't the these arabic countries and so forth -- if we were the people in these arabic countries and other countries and if we had a

country like the u.s. or other countries possibly taking over our countries and using us and leading us in a mess, i did not think that we would like them, either. i think we are sympathetic with the palestinians, many of us. and also, barack obama -- for many years, an old southern family, but i think broccoli,, watching the things i have seen on a television -- barack obama, watching the things i've seen on a television, he is doing a fabulous things, but the public does not to hear about it unless they watch c-span. host: a twitter. "all these people blaming israel. what are -- i wonder what they think of world war ii or world

war room and one? how about vietnam or north korea? history for americans? the u.s. issues the travel alert for travel to europe. your reaction? good morning. caller: i have to agree with the other caller from houston. i think the lady was spot on interstate and. statement. if you look at the broad spectrum of things going on over in europe and in south america, people are waking up. they have to come out again and say the boogie man is under the bed, bin laden. they cannot think the average american is this dumb to keep calling for, the sky is falling. the sky is falling when you start to wake up to what these bankers have pulled.

the banking families. what i would like to say it is please pray psalms 109 verses one through 21. host: good morning. independent line. caller: good morning. knowing that our enemies, bin laden and his group, why do we continue to appease the regime in pakistan? we should not be in afghanistan. we should be in pakistan officially, going after been login and his groin laden and h. we should officially, not just by drones, but officially moved the fight to pakistan. that is my opinion. host: if you are just joining

us, the associated press reported that the u.s. will tell american citizens to "be vigilant in europe." the move could have a negative impact on european tourism, business and there'll be an alert issued later today as the intelligence threat has intensified in some of the capitals of europe, including paris and also in london. lewis is joining us from milwaukee. good morning. caller: good morning. i am interested in the comments that people are making, but more specifically, the state department announcement is not new. i mean, these kinds of things are issued from time to time. frankly, three european union or not, there has always been old rivalries against governments in europe -- black september, going back to germany, the ira, the

basques in spain and so on. i have travelled and that part of the world between 1970 and as recently as last year. we were warned in england to be careful on the subway system's to not sit next to an unattended package. all of this stuff continues. we sit here in splendid isolation and looked at this as our current problem. if you add to that, that there is constant dissent in the middle east, you add another factor to it. this stuff is not new. that is all have got to say. host: from "the new york times" -- a code for chaos. a threat of cyber warfare. in 2007, 108 countries had at least some offensive at cyber war capability. there has been speculation that a cyber war arms race is underway.

a number of countries have built sophisticated software and hardware attack capabilities. with russia's quarrel dystonia and with georgia have been accompanied by cyber war engagement. you can read more from "the new york times" this sunday morning. gene, on the republican line, on the travel alert issued by the state department. good morning, jim. caller: it does my heart good to see the amount of callers calling in with a skeptical attitude towards this tribal art. it is already been revealed by a former homeland security of the iief, in terms political nature of a lot of the terror alerts. he revealed that the bush

administration applied pressure to his office to increase terror alerts when there were problems politically to take the heat off of them. now with the midterm elections coming up, i think it -- it just seems very odd that all the sudden these terror alerts are being made. host: david ignatius this morning in "the washington post" -- more on pakistan. it is called pakistan's untamed frontier. "in the same week that americans killed security forces in pakistan, they were training that same force on how to use sniper rifles and other counterinsurgency tools and run mot a remote base. the program it is a symbol of the were too well the of the relationship -- a mix of public

distance and private corporation that bought or for both sides. - they will not bring stability. somehow, the people in this desolate region have to feel that they have a stake in something other than continuous warfare." that is david ignatius from "the washington post". and a look at the region. as we listen to michael from panama city, florida. good morning, michael. yes, go ahead, please. caller: this is c-span? host: we will try kathy in tennessee. caller: i have a bad cold so bear with me. we had a terror alerts after george bush's second collection

and we have not had any sense. no wonder the european nations do not pay any attention to what we say, because we add -- that the president gets that said that we were going to have a terrorist attacks by airplanes, and we did not pay any attention to that. why would anybody pay any attention to anything we said? d -- ok, i've lost my thought. host: cover story of the "national journal". return of the radical right. the movement has reemerged. not all that far from the mainstream. the cover story of the "the new york times" -- it's called "dean glenn beck,:" where does he

see himself and his followers headed/ from tennessee, good morning, republican line. caller: good morning. a couple of years ago, bin laden had a kidney problem and he had to carry the equipment around with him. all of these terrorist attacks have been said to be made by him. bin laden is probably dead, because i have not seen anything from anybody to prove that he is doing things fresh. i have not seen him in a news or any kind of a visual of him, but they are just taking him by his -- they would send it in.

as far as i know the man is dead and does not exist anymore. his kidneys failed on him because he was carrying equipment around, like in the caves where he was fighting. there is no electricity, you know what i mean -- where he was hiding. there has been no new pictures. host: "the new york times" again from this latest video reported to be from bin laden. he has also publicly taunted president obama and general david petraeus. bin laden remains a top priority by u.s. officials. he is urging aid for pakistani victims hit by the flooding. that is what "the new york times" is reporting. that is the latest video. all indications according to these reports that he is very much alive. marcus joins us from queens, new york. good morning.

go ahead. caller: yes, i would like to comment about bin laden? host: can you turn the volume down on your set? rememberedonce there was a price on his head and that has been obscured. i was curious -- what is the u.s. government offering for his head? host: i do not have the price tag on it, but what you think of the state department issuing a europe?ward for youalert for caller: why did they need to put themselves in jeopardy for a cheap reward for these terrorist acts i frankly feel that the problem with terrorism is an ideology. and the only way i have read

about ideology through the history is that most experts say that the most effective way to kill the ideology is kill the people that believe in the ideology. it's mass extermination. we cannot do that. but how do you combat an ideology like what these radical muslims think? how do you persuade them to lay their arms down and the peaceful? -- and be peaceful? they are attacking our society because they think we are evil in the world. were they do more evil than anybody else does in our current situation. the arabs invented the concept of l to route. it means absolutely -- the concept of algebra. all they do is cause problems. can't they be held accountable

for the reactions, from nation to nation to nation? that will not be achieved until this is resolved . i want to say one other thing. i think the united states and some form of fashion sees bin laden as an enemy, because look at the amount of spending that the u.s. pentagon is spending to try to fight this ideal is to. the ideology.ht ht to can't we find another way fight the ideology then invade and afghanistan? host: one nation rally. blasting the right wing. this is an event that we covered yesterday. an estimated 175,000 people in attendance -- smaller than the

rally that took place earlier this august organized by glenn beck. fired up democrats turned the tables on the tea party on the lincoln memorial. the one nation movement, a coalition of progressive and civil rights groups, opened with a rousing speech from a sheltered here is part of the rally from yesterday. >> the conservative voices of america -- they are holding you down. they do not believe in your freedom. they want the concentration of wealth. they would ship your jobs overseas. to my brothers and sisters who have fallen on hard times and ease economic -- in this economic world, we stand with you today as one nation. host: the entire event is available on our website, c- span.org.

back to the state department issuing a travel alert for yo euorprope today. good morning. caller: america has always been a country that was founded on christian beliefs and all of this year about where you are going and who are you -- is taking our minds off of what we need to be doing is rebuilding our nation. other countries have seen that we are falling week on our beliefs. nobody is listening to each other. everybody is talking, talking, talking, and progress is not being made. all this has been going on in the world since the beginning of time. we just have access to it now because of technology. if we do not in our own borders

bring about unity, then of course we will always be afraid of what is going on outside, because we are not strong in our own beliefs in our own country in our own government, and people can talk about the government is too big, but who are we supposed to turn to it if -- to give us guidance if we do not have a government? host: harold, erie, pennsylvania, the republican line. good morning pers. caller: people beware. people just do not understand. we are fighting a war but we are fighting a war that is all over the world, just not here in the united states. it is in europe, it is in africa, somalia, it is in afghanistan, pakistan. the radical islam people do not care about who they kill -- black, white, yellow -- it has

no bearing on color. all it has is on religion itself. f you are a jew, catholic, protestant, august, it does not matter. these people will kill your children -- buddhist, it does not matter. these people will kill your children. i was in the military for 20 years. in europe, i was over there during that time -- those people bombed heidelberg px. they bond u.s. places that people would never have thought anything would ever have happened. these people who are terrorists will kill. that is their main goal is to kill. and people in the united states

have to understand, one of these days is going to happen. there is going to be an explosion in them all where one of these radicals walk into a mall or into a big business and they are going to yell, "allah,"and they will pull the string or push that button. host: david on our twitter. fdr had it right. the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. when we forget that makes ourselves slaves to terror. the chicago tribune is previewing what rahm emanuel will be facing as he begins a listening tour tomorrow in chicago, beginning his next phase as he runs for the democratic primary with petitions due at the end of november. the primary is early next year. kristen mack is covering the

story fort "chicago tribune". what kind of reaction do you think rahm emanuel will face as he moves around the chicago neighborhoods? guest: i think he is going to have to reacquaint himself with voters here and also with elected officials at the city level. a lot of them have said the aldermen that make a city council have said, you know, we will not anoint him when he comes to chicago. he will have to work hard to win the votes of people here. so i think the thing that will be interesting is rahm emanuel is known as someone who is aggressive, at tactician, a strategist. how'd you soften his edges as he goes around shaking hands with people on the south side of chicago? host: how many potential candidates are there in this race? as of late last week, maybe as many as 20-30 running for the

office. guest: yes, we are keeping in a world scorecard. it started out with -- we are keeping a mayoral scorecard of 40 candidates. it is a dwindling down now. there are probably 15 or so who say they are mulling the race or considering the action. there are another six or seven who are in, but everyone likes to have their name mentioned and thrown in the mix. host: will mayor daley endorse anyone in a crowded democratic primary? guest: he said he will not endorse anyone. he says this decision is up to the voters in chicago. yesterday said the same thing when it came to obama's endorsement. he said that he did not think that would mean much to the voters of chicago because it is up to them to decide. host: in chicago had run the

for theon the rights olympics, would mayor daley have run for office again? guest: i think so. but there are other issues -- such as the city being at millions of dollars in the shortfall this coming year. people really began to question whether he was a vulnerable. and i think after serving for 21 years, he decided, you know, not going to do it this time. host: rahm emanuel has been getting so much attention here in washington, d.c. who are the candidates you are watching? guest: we are watching the cook county sheriff, dart, who just signed the person who helped to

run howard dean's campaign as an adviser. we are also watching a state senator, reverend of a church on the south side with more than 20,000 members. he is on a list of people we are watching. there are a couple of candidates that declare they are in, such as the city clerk. and there is also mayor daley's chief of staff is also saying he is officially in. host: has rahm emanuel found a home? he is subleasing his current residence and is unable to move back. guest: we talked to his advisers last week and they said that he zeroed in on a place last week. when he is in chicago today, he

will be moving in. it looks like he identified a place to stay. host: kristen mack. she writes for "chicago tribune". thank you for joining us. let's go back to the front page of "the washington post" this morning. the military drones aid to the cia mission. the cia is using an arsenal of drones to secretly escalate its operations in pakistan by striking targets beyond the reach of american forces based in afghanistan. the strategy carries civic and risks, particularly if it is perceived as an end run all around the pakistani government's longstanding objection to american military operations within its domain. that is coming the same day the state department is issuing a travel alert to those americans in or heading to london or paris or berlin or other capital cities in great britain or

europe. we have this comment from our twitter page. "notice bin laden only makes these statements when drone or troop attacks happened near his vacatio location." caller: can you hear me ok? that was a fascinating story about chicago you brought in. i am an independent. i am a member of the georgia tea party. i have been blocked from my own district town hall meeting. we were able to clear it up and have an open town meeting at the time. i want to speak about the whole thing. the travel alert, the whole thing comes back to we want three things -- after going back

to the constitution. it says when we declare war, the president has the power to do that for 60 days. since the second world war, we had all kinds of military actions. i think we might want to have that debate. because our country is so near the tipping point, the money we are spending. the chinese and iranians are developing oil. we have no interest in it. we cannot get our own. the travel alert is part and parcel there is all this other activity going on. if i came to georgia as i did in the last three years to get my driver's license, i had to present a copy of my birth certificate just to get a driver's license. we have people who did not do that. we do not know where they came from. i know it is of the subject, but one of the reasons that is so unpopular -- i helped campaign for the sky.

is guy. if anything, he is on the opposite of it. we do not talk about it in the public media, i call it propaganda, the wetlands got ruined by the inability of locals to act to protect them from the oil coming up. it was the federal government with conflicting rules and regulations all the time. maybe some people would look at that. host: by the way, we covered a hearing set up by homeland security a week ago, looking at homegrown terrorism. that is also available, as is all of our programming, with our new video library x c-span.oat - span.org. the red mass will mark the start of the first monday in october, and that means the new term for the supreme court. the supreme court begins its new term tomorrow with unprecedented diversity among its members, but

also, the potential for a split that would for the first time in decades reflect the partisan ideologies of the presidents who appointed them. for the last five years, there has been at a new member of the supreme court, including the chief justice john roberts. cindy says "how long before the terrorist get their own drones to play with?" joining us from the u.k. caller: good morning. i live on the english coast and i have lived in london for a long time. i am an american living in britain. but i hate feel the americans can lose good sense and all of these -- and i feel the americans can lose good sense and all of these matters. also, now the use of drone

bombs. it is rather like, a mansion of foreign government conniving with the united states government was looking for a murderer in ohio. and this foreign government began dropping bombs in zero age where they thought the murder was living -- in ohio where they thought the murder were was living. imagine a sentiment that would create in ohio against the united states government and their sense of outrage. waziristan is a nonplace to americans. they have mothers and fathers and children. it is a lack of sense. the pentagon, for instance, was bound by the bombers. it was not even defended. we spend billions in defense and

our central headquarters did not fire a shot. the vietnam war, it was considered to be an absolute disaster if there was any change of the state of government in vietnam. as a matter of fact, we lost, and no one even noticed it now. they are one of the biggest trade partners. nothing happened there. southeast asia did not go into communism. and we are losing our good sense. and we are stirring up problems for the future because we are making enemies where we should be considering a much more carefully about how to make a state where there is not a state of the violence. host: we go back into robert barnes -- with three women on the supreme court for the first time ever. both appointed by president

obama. john roberts and samuel alito appointed by president bush. for the first time in decades, members of the u.s. supreme court could reflect the presidents who appointed them. the defining story for the new term may be to fall. the rapid evolution of the court's headed by the chief justice, the first of the four new justices, and what the changes mean in terms of the court's image and action. by the way, we have a documentary that we produced on the u.s. supreme court. if you want to check it out on our web site, you can get more information. for the first time ever, the u.s. supreme court will be posting the audio of the oral arguments on friday of each week. we will bring you some of the most significant cases. kendra is joining us from florida on the democrats' line on the travel alert being issued today by the state department. good morning. caller: first, i want to say i

american. tlad to bae an i would not want to live in another place because of the freedoms of speech we do have. with that being said, a lot of times the misinterpretations of different people have brought about these anxieties. and as the travel alert is being issued, i do not see what the big deal is. like, ultimately, i think it does not matter what political party you are affiliated with. it goes to the end of it -- it is up to the individual to find out what the facts are. that is my final thought. host: thanks for your call. coming up later, on the "newsmakers" program, a conversation with senator john thune.

he is running unopposed this year. he is being talked about as the 2012 republican candidate. some of the changes he expects in the next congress. guest: we will have a lot of new people. a lot of people who got to the senate, in many cases ran campaigns that were about a very distinct agenda. i think it coincided with what many of us want to see done. these are people who got motivated to get involved in these campaigns because of a concern about how fast the government has grown, how big government has gotten. if you think about it, we have seen the most massive expansion of government since the 1960's just in the last 18 months. and that is animating a lot of the grass-roots movements around the country and generated a lot of the candidacies of some of these folks. i think it brings a lot of energy. if it will enable us to have the political wherewithal to solve these big problems, which we need.

right now republicans will have to lead with a lot of courage and boldness. host: you can watch the entire interview with senator john thune after "washington journal" at 10:00 eastern time, 7:00 for those of you on the west coast. david broder has more on the house of representatives. he concludes that boehner, before becoming part of the leadership, he was the chair on education and the work force. his diagnosis of the problems in congress offer a sterling point to the cure. his p's and "the washington post". "the washington post". ed gillespie will be joining us. but first, all look at some of the topics and guests making

news on the sunday morning talk shows. >> reairs begin at 1:00 p.m. on c-span reappeared today, issues include the fall midterm elections, and the war in afghanistan. beginning at 1:00 with abc's "this week" americans' attitudes towards islam. speakers include evangelist franklin graham and author of "reading lolita in tehran." today, a debate between u.s. senate candidates rand paul and jack conway from louis ville, kentucky. bob shafer hosts bob richardson and governor ed rendell, a

democrat from pennsylvania. and finally at 3:30 it's cnn's "state of the union." joining the host is senator john corrigan, republican of texas, and bob menendez, a democrat from new jersey. "meet the press" will not here today at noon as it usually does it do to nbc's coverage of the ryder cup. that is arrears' of the networks talk shows beginning at 1:00 p.m.. 3:00, face the nation from cbs. you can hear them all on c-span radio, on 90.1 in washington d.c., or on your iphone. also on access to satellite

radio. and and your online et c- span.org. >> mr. cameron, you're an optimist once, but now all you offer is a miserable pessimistic view about what it can achieve and you hide behind the deficit. we will not let you get away with it. >> newly elected labor party leader ed miliband, tonight on c-span. >> hey, high-school students. enter c-span's documentary contest. tell us about an issue, an event, or topic that helps you better understand the role of the federal government in your life and community. the sure to include more than one point of view along with c- span programming. download your video by january 20, 2011, and you will have the chance to win the grand prize of $5,000. documentaryeo

competition is open to all grades 6 through 12. >> "washington journal" continues. host: deepak bhargava is the executive director of campaign for community change. if it is the weekend in washington, it is another rally. you organize one nation yesterday. guest: it is getting people together around to messages -- we need to put america back to work. we have the widest income gap in the countries history. and second that we need to come together as one nation working together to solve the critical problems in our country. host: ed schultze is one of the organizers and is serving as master of sceremonies. here is an expert on the mall at the lincoln memorial.

>> for the last two years, president obama, he has had to put up with the word no. 40 people in the united states senate has held down the working man of america. 40 republicans have decided to say no, while you suffer, while your jobs go overseas, while they strangle the money. they do not want to give it to the small businesses. they want to keep it at the top. they want to see president obama failed. we cannot let that happen. we cannot let it happen. >> no! host: what is the message? guest: the message is that if we do not mobilize and energize, our country could take huge steps in the wrong direction.

we have made financial progress over the last couple of years. the stimulus bill helped to soften the edges of this recession, a major financial regulation at the bill, health care for 35 million people. if we want to keep making progress, it will take ordinary people mobilizing to get it done. host: this morning peggy noonan rice that the president has lost his base. she talks about the tea party. she says it signifies a developing fracture of his party. it is inexcusable for my democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelidelins in this midterm elections. guest: the president repeatedly made the point that it was not about him. it will take a mass movement in the country to solve our major problems, whether they be

poverty, unemployment, or health care. but he was right. what we are seeing with the one nation mobilization yesterday is the beginning of the three energizing of young people, african-americans -- the reenergizing of young people, african americans. host: you have a vice president biden in new hampshire telling some supporters to stop whining. you have the president telling his supporters to buck up. guest: it is true that we cannot afford apathy or demoralization among core constituencies. without real mobilization, we all passion, -- real passion, we will have big steps backwards in this country. host: are you happy with this president? guest: i think he is making some major steps forward.

we did not get all the change that we voted for in 2008, but nobody expected this to be easy or fast. we need to keep pressing forward and support policies, not just politicians. host: biggest disappointment? guest: for me, it was that we did not give immigration reform done. we had a massive backlash in a country used by opportunistic politicians to divide our country and to tear us apart. that was a destructive episode. i am hopeful that going forward we will see more rationality, more sensitivity, more ability to get that done. host: why is this town so partisan? guest: at core, there are two different visions. are we about helping people at the very top? or are we about building prosperity from the bottom up? those are two very different visions for the country. the tone, it seems to me, is

unnecessarily vicious and angry. we need civility. we need to listen to each other. we need to try to come together to bridge that divide. host: let me ask your reaction to the cover story from "the new york times", being glenn beck. what do think of glenn beck? guest: well, i think he is a very dangerous figure in american politics, mainly because he appears to be pursuing a politics of division and fear that is appealing to the worst part of our psyche. we are living in a time of great change, a demographic change, so he has found an audience. he does not represent the future of what this country is about. host: he has said that he is not talking about fear. he is telling the truth. guest: everyone is entitled to

their own opinion. they are not entitled to their own facts. is it telling of american history is rife with inaccuracies. it does not speak to the part of our countries history that is about how we have come together to bring more people in, to include more people -- women, african-americans, welcoming immigrants. it is a narrow vision of what our country is about. host: "the new york times" refers to him as our rodeo cloud or a fox bonanza in terms of the amount that he is getting in ratings. he is one of the top programs at 5:00 eastern time on the fox news channel. why is he so popular? guest: he struck a nerve among people feel a great deal of concern about economic instability, a broad demographic change, and are looking for an outlet. i think his politics is the politics of the scapegoating, of finding volvo class of people --

of finding vulnerable classes of people. lifting people ought of poverty, if we can get that going, glenn beck will be a lot less important. host: his he invited you to be on the program -- has he invited you to be on the program? guest: no. caller: i believe that the message for the president's opposition is strong because of the impatience of other people. never before has so much criticism been aimed at a sitting president heard if that position wins out in this election, the chances for the president's reelection will be much stronger. i really believe that people should be nicer to each other and we should not kill so many people in wars. host: thank you, greg. guest: i think the caller is right.

more critical legislation has gotten accomplished in these last couple of years. huge expansions of anti-poverty programs. health insurance for 35 million people. a financial reform bill that will regulate wall street and put our economy on a solid footing. we did not get all the change we voted for, but this is a long- term proposition. we cannot afford for people to be impatient or to walk away from that process. this is the time to double down and to make your voice is heard. host: bill joins us from odenton, maryland. republican line. good morning. we will go back to elizabeth in chicago. good morning. caller: rahm emanuel is now coming to chicago -- after he retards.""f'in

i did not realize that it would take 60 people in the senate. when we both thought we won, we lost everything. people got dumped without health care. also, labor, when we were going to put a freeze on visa workers, the american workers -- we're here. we need innovation based on the poverty level and the unemployment level and to make a commitment to american people. we need a hero in the democratic party. we have been told to quit whining. you know, when you do not see a difference. . .

on immigration, let me say this. america was built on the principle that we were an open and welcoming nation. it's part of our prosperity, not against our prosperity. our heart is big enough in this country for everyone to have a place. host: our guest is joining us here in our washington studio. one of our twitter comments.

guest: we live in a celebrity culture, steve. and the supposition here is that we elect one person and america will change overnight. that's not how it works. without unions and the unemployed workers councils, we would not have seen the transformtive legislation that brought us the new deal. without the civil rights movement we would not have seen the great society or the civil rights act. so what we need today is not just a progressive commited president but an outside movement that can create the conditions for progressive governance and big policy change. host: next, florida, welcome to the washington journal, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i am a conservative and republican. but when you say that glenn beck is dangerous, that's the kind of vitriol from the left and progressive movement that i find troubling. i don't agree with his vision

for america, but i don't call him dangerous. and he i hear that too much from the left. we should be able to speak and discourse. he talks a fine talk but then he turns around and calls glenn beck dangerous. no one is dangerous for putting forth ideas. and i think that conservatives and liberals, progressives must be able to have some kind of a dialogue without calling each other names and dangerous. i don't agree with anything, with the progressive movement, with obama health care, i don't want the government involved in my life. i don't need the government's help. and most middle class americans feel the same way. but we should be able to discuss that without calling each other names. guest: what i find dangerous about mr. beck is that he is building a following based on the principle that we are not one nation working together. that there are certain groups

that have a privileged access to governance, that there are some people who count more than others. that is a strain of american history that we have always and consistently rejected. it keeps coming back. i do think mr. beck has every right to express his opinion and i respect him for doing so. what i'm saying is that we can find a different path in this country by coming together, assuming that everybody has a seat at this table, that no one is outside the sphere of our concerns. we can make progress of our country. host: that's the subject called the radical right returns. following the foot step of the john burch society members and other arch conservatives. are we at that point? guest: i think we are at a very tenuous point in american history right now. we have 20 or 30% of the american people, if you believe

the poles or even larger portion of the republicans who believe outlandish things of the president. that he was not born in this country, that he is a socialist. and a civil discourse relies on us holding the same facts even if we disagree about their interpretation. so i am concerned that without a mobilization of people who want to hold this country together and move us forward that we will retreat into a politics of hate and fear and division. guest: well, i think the president was actually quite clear when he was a candidate about what he wanted to do and he has accomplished a good chunk of that agenda. in fairness to him, he operated under the assumption that he would be able to bring both parties together with a more civil discourse in this town in washington.

and forge compromise and consensus. that proved to be impossible i think largely because the republican party decided from the very outset that they were going to oppose him enmass, enblock, and try to stop any kind of progress from being made. so i think the president made an early mistake in thinking that was possible. but it's to his credit that he did so. host: our next caller from atlanta on the democrat's line good morning. caller: yes. i would like to say we have to be very careful when we say obama did not fuffleful his promises because first of all, the president does not have absolute power. there is nothing -- he is really a figurehood. in other words, when the people left england, that's what they were getting away from like the king of england had absolute power. and obama does not have absolute power. that's why you have the congress and the senate. and he does not have the right

to pass no law and be -- then america would be subjected to it. and like the lady was saying, the guest you have, that he was using the word dangerous. what i understand that to be, the caller is right, they go out -- throw out false accusations, and they realize whether it's true or not, and mostly it's untrue, that they have seeded the atmosphere with this garbage and when it's proven wrong, it already has seeded the public that it exists because they know that there are dumb people out there that will take this information and it becomes fixed in their mind that it's true. but the president is not a king. he is just a figure head sitting up there and they know that. thank you. host: thank you. guest: i think the caller makes a point here that many americans don't realize that in

the senate it takes 660 votes to pass -- 60 votes to pass legislation. and we have seen an unprecedented use of the filibuster to pass, to confirm appointments. now, the consequence of that is that there is huge gridlock in congress and that is not the president's fault. that is our -- the senate rules that is partly responsible for the predicament that we're in. host: this from a viewer. guest: yes, indeed. i think it does. one thing that concerns me is in our current media culture, certain snip ets become viral very quickly and leave an imprint on broad segments of the american people's mind even when they're untrue and disproved later as the previous

caller said, you take the issue for example of the governor saying that there were beheadings in the arizona desert. she later admitted this was not true but there were months that went by in which people thought there was immense violence and death at the border. so there's a dangerous myth of information seeping in. host: our next caller. good morning. welcome. caller: i have a few comments i'd like to make. one is about the economy the way that it is. there's several different ways that we could build the economy up. one of them is i think a lot of people -- marijuana, if they would do that and free up at least $70 billion that's being used to how's people in the penitentiaries. and then they're talking about the mexicans and things going across the border.

put up an electric fence. >> host: did you want to respond to that? guest: i do. look, on the economy question, we have solutions at hand that would do an enormous amount to relieve the suffering and the unemployment and the foreclosures we see in the country and that our people are dealing with every day. we could, as we did in the great depression, create millions of jobs quickly putting people to work doing useful things, whether it's child care or helping with nutrition or weatherizing schools and public buildings. there's a lot of needed work to be done in america to rebuild our infrastructure, and that should be a huge piece of the job solution. on the immigration question i would plead here for a certain level of decency and civility. these are human beings who whatever you think about the policy deserve to be treated as if we are all god's children

and we have to bring some civility and decency back to this debate and take hate and extremism out of it. host: this is how the story looked this morning in the new york daily news, the one nation rally blasting the right wing. it was one of those stories that we covered live but inside the papers. it didn't generate the kind of attention that glenn beck generated about a month ago. guest: there clearly is an infatuation with the tea party, with glenn beck, with what i think of extremist voices on the right. and a lot less attention has been paid to the mobilization of middle class, low income americans through unions, through community organizations. so i think we have got decent coverpbl but i wish it had been greater. and i think the significance of the most diverse march has not quite been registered by the

media. host: about 400 different groups involved. the entire rally has been posted on our web site. here's more from yesterday's rally. >> our brothers and sisters, our union brothers and sisters across america. they have villified you. they don't want you to organize the workplace. they suppress your vote. they delay the organization of collective bargaining. we will not stand by silenced. we as one nation, we as one nation must stand together, must fight the forces of evil, the conservetives in this country across the board want it for them. they don't want it for the people. they talk about the

constitution but they dent want live by it. they talk about our forefathers but they want discrimination. they want to change this country and we as one nation stand up this day and say we will be there on november 2nd. we will not give up. we will continue to fight. are we americans? are we americans? do you love this country? then we must vote on november 2nd. god bless america. god bless our troops for keeping us safe. let's move forward for the country. host: yesterday at the one nation rally. but there has been that line enthusiasm gap. is there one in the democratic party among your supporters, among your base? guest: i think there has been. i believe it is beginning to

turn around in a significant way. so the one nation rally yesterday was a piece of the puzzle about reminding people what's at stake in terms of full employment, in terms of reducing this income inequality gap, in terms of making sure that america makes the right investments in our future. so i think we're begin to see some turn around and it also helps that there's such a dramatic contrast with some of the candidates that are being put up by the tea party who are espousing such radical views that would take us back decades in terms of the social progress that we've made in the country. so i think that gap is beginning to close. host: were there community organizers in attendance? guest: indeed. a good chunk were those much maligned by the other side community organizers. and let me say what they do is give everyday people the tools to get involved in democracy. there is nothing more american than community organizing.

host: yet, the president began his career as a community organizer. he was not speaking yesterday. why? guest: this rally was not about politicians. so except for congressman gutierrez who was invited as a leader in the gcomb grant rights leaders, there were no other members of congress at the rally. what we wanted to do is lift up the voices and stories of the students who were struggling to find an affordable college education, workers who were unemployed, people who have lost their houses in this foreclosure crisis. so the focus here wasn't on stars, celebrities, politicians, it was on everyday people trying to make a better life for themselves and for their country. host: rick from pensacola, florida on the independent line. caller: good morning. i've got about 50 notes because of all the conversation we've had so far here. host: that's a lot. caller: i'll shorten it down to just a little bit. but the basic premise that i have is how is mr. bargava

really any different from the people who espouse such hard line views on the other side? he views himself as having, seems to view himself as having pretty much the unique handle on the liberal truth, where as the people on the other side view themselves as having a unique handle on their own truth. and i see mr. schultz and mr. beck as two sides of the same coin. both are dangerous. neither one has any clue about how to bring people together to look at the good ideas on both sides, reject the bad ideas from both sides, and arrive at the compromises that made this country what it is. can you comment on that, please, sir? host: thank you. guest: yes. well, i think the basic question here is do we view each other as neighbors rather than an enemies?

so i salute every american who has the courage and the conviction to take their views, make them known, participate in democracy. we don't have enough democracy in this country. what i reject are people who say these people don't belong, their voices shouldn't be heard, that there's some maligned plot going on. i don't believe in those conspiracies, i don't believe in those plots. i do think if we have constructive voices on both sides we can find constructive solutions to the great problems that face our country, be they the economy or unemployment or education. and i agree with you, there are good ideas on all sides of this debate. it requires as viewing each other as partners in a common enterprise, whatever our views. and mine are certainly more on the liberal side, the caller is correct, not as enemies locked in a life or death struggle. host: what is the campaign for community change? guest: we are an advocacy group

that pushes for measures to combat poverty in this country, racial discrimination to push for the rights of immigrant populations, to create jobs. and we are funded largely by individual donors, small, mid, and large sized donors. host: your annual budget? guest: about $6 million a year host: about how many employees? guest: 15 part time and full time host: the magazine, the 50 most influential. who would you include in that list. guest: i think you would probably have to start with martin luther king wo spoke from the very place that the one nation working together rally took place yesterday. i think he defined a kind of open hearted visionary inclusive politics that is still the template for all social change, social justice efforts in that country. our host: our next call, philadelphia, good morning. caller: good morning.

i just wanted to comment in reference to the president and the democratic party. at this particular time, here weaf president that's talking about all the nation, not republicans, not democrats, all the nation. we have people here with no health insurance, children going down -- going through the ground just about with no care, education tumbling, and then we find that everything that is asked for to put this country on an even keel becomes a common denominator on the president. example. when bill clinton was in and they were upset about lewinski, the nation went one way. mostly the whites were very

upset about that because of the moral issue. so bill clinton had a lot of problems. now the nation is having a common denominator where all whites can come together because the black agenda. when i'm saying the black agenda, the obama is the common denominator to now start looking at this whole situation and saying no to everything. now, we're looking at the republicans. here's tom coburn holding up the haiti money. there should be outrage about that. but whenever the republicans do something, it seems like oh this is the stop gap money situation. we are making people suffer because of the common denominator. this country must move past that. the racial, divide must stop. you can't move forward without the division -- with the division we have right now. host: thanks for the call. guest: well, i very much agree

with the caller. i think the president inherited a country with such profound problems, an e economy in free fall, families suffering incredibly high unemployment, incredibly high debt, foreclosures, increasing poverty, a health care system that was generating more and more people without insurance. it was a crisis situation. and he did a credible job to try to stabilize that situation. the other point i would make is that i think with the 2008 election, many people mistakenly thought we had made more progress on the question of race and inclusion than we really have. so the truth of the matter is that we have made some progress as a country. there is no quiet about it. but we have a long way to go and there still are some strains that lie very deep in our society of animus and hatred that we have a lot of work to do together, all of us, to heal. host: this from a viewer saying really what has obama done?

he made everything worse. he made wall street richer. the working class has it worse. and there is that sentiment out there. guest: i think it is undoubtedly true that the measures to combat unemployment were not nearly strong enough. the stimulus bill did not deliver the 8% unemployment rate that was promised by the president's economic advisers. we should have had more stronger safety nets, we should have had more aid to local and state governments to prevent these massive layoffs. so if there's a cri teak, it's that we did not go far enough and the president did not go far enough in pushing. but he met a unified wall of republican obstruction. and it's hard to imagine without a lot more popular outcry how we could have gotten further in tackling these big problems. host: steve from atlanta. good morning. caller: good morning. i am sure that we can agree on

this. most of the republicans pursued idiotic policies while they were in power. unfortunately, they were democratic powers or ideas. and the democrats in power now are going down the same path and it's not going to lead our nation to a good outcome. host: well, i'm not sure what policies the caller is referring to. some of the signature policies of the bush administration, tax cuts for the wealthiest americans for example, and that's a big part of the debate we're having right now here in washington. they were a disaster. they increased the deficit by orders of magnitude, they impoverished our country, nearly bankrupted our country. those are policies that this administration wants to bring by an end. by renewing tax cuts for the middle class and working class people in this country and

repealing those tax cuts for the most wealthy americans who can afford to go without those tax cuts. i also say that we in this country have made the most progress when we have solved problems together. and that does involve an active role for government, social security, the roads in our country, public schools, all of these came about through common enterprise, through our effort to work together to make our country more prosperous. host: our next call is al joining us from north dakota on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. i've got several things. first, i think people are right and wrong to preach this i hate this guy or hate that guy. i might not agree with your opinion, or what direction you want to go, but the word hate and dangerous i think is a little too strong. second, putting the finger in

the dike i don't want to be a baby sitter. i don't want to do a menial job. i want to do like we did in the depression, where we built dams and brought them in way under budget without a union, way earlier than they were expected to be on line. i want to do big things like that in this country. another thing is i keep hearing that obama inherited this. listen, he knew how full the boat was. he knew it was sinking and he decided to become the captain of the ship. he does have the power, the power of the pen. and he can do that if he gets a team. i can't do anything in my business without a good team around me. and i'll take on a few inexperienced people but i'm looking for the most experience. i'm not looking for van jones, i'm not looking for andy sterns. i am really as an independent i'm going to pick the best person. i don't care if you're a

democrat. i like clinton. he did good. in the last two years bush's hands were tied with the democratic house and senate. but i didn't agree with nafta. i thought that was a sucking going south there. so you know, those are things that we need to do, big big things like he wants to do. guest: well, i think one thing i strongly agree with the caller said is that we have a massive infrastructure problem in this country. crumbling roads, crumbling bridges, crumbleing public schools. in the great depression with the leadership of an extraordinary president we put millions of people back to work quickly, not doing make work but doing things that created the conditions for our economy to recover, for our collective prosperity for generations. we need the same kind of concerted serious effort on physical infrastructure and also on human needs, things like child care and elder care, nutrition programs and so on.

both on the physical side and on the human side. we need a massive investment in this country to put people back to work. host: let me ask you a political story, because over the weekend politico reporting that white house press secretary robert gibbs is being eyed as a potential chair of the democratic national committee. he tweeted out yesterday that i have not had any conversations about the future but under one scenario former governor tim cane would move into a cabinet position. this as a number of changes taking place within the administration. your reaction. guest: well, at the moment it appears that's what's happening is after a couple of exhausting years there's some shift in personnel with people leaving for personal reansds in the case of the chief of staff to obviously run for mayor of chicago. i think so far the president has not made dramatic shifts in personnel that would suggest a

major shift in direction. that may happen after the mid terms depending on how those turn out. but thus far he is sticking to kind of his inner circle for some of these switching and replacement. so there aren't any major shifts that i can see so far. host: he will deal with a smaller majority in the house and the senate, possibly the house controlled by the republicans, a month to go before the election. but based on the agenda items how will he be able to accomplish this? guest: it's going to be a tough road. and i think what we're going to have to see in order to get these things done is a switch from the insider beltway way of doing business, of course trading behind closed doors, and move to a campaign style of government, where the president goes back out to the american people, makes the case, helps to engage and mobilize people. and we're going to have to see ordinary people who care about jobs and education and immigrant rights taking back to

the streets to create the popular demand for these policies. washington has become a very insular place disconnected from the reality of ordinary people's lives. and i think the only way to break through that regardless of what party is in power is through large scale mobilization and engagement. more democracy is the answer. host: democrat's line from baltimore. good morning. caller: hello. i just wanted to say that i think that the united states is really heading to be a third world country. i did everything i was supposed to do. i got my college degree. but i don't have health care, i'm working every day, i don't have health benefits. my husband has been laid off for almost a year. he has a degree. we both grew up in middle class households yet we cannot provide the same for our child.

and with the president during his campaign, i did vote for change. i voted for public health option that never came about. i voted for jobs that i thought that would come here. and i'm going to have to start paying my student loans and i have no idea how i'm going to pay those. and i feel like it's a huge disconnect between here and washington. many people in the tea party say well he's a socialist or he's a communist and they really don't know what these political theories mean. they don't know any socialist theories, they don't know any communist theories. and it's pure racism from the tea party on the other end he's not doing anything. so i'm in the middle where i can't really say i would vote for a tea partier. at the same time, i'm not really content with going on in the white house. i also want to say that you all have a great program but i wish you would have more guests like

this man that you have today during the week, because a lot of the people do not watch on sunday. and thank you very much. host: well, we're glad you watch on sunday and we're glad you're here with us on this weekend. guest: well, i hear these stories every day, who are doing right and trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. and the american dream is slipping away for too many people. but here's the thing. it does not have to be with way. we have throughout american history faced huge challenges. we had great depression, world war ii, the exclusion of millions of people with jim crow. we came back and solved those problems. we did it through large numbers of people getting together and taking action together. so i agree that there is a disconnect between what's happening in washington where the unemployment, the suffering, the poverty, the inequality just doesn't seem to register in the way that it should. and the only way that it's

going to isn't by what the president himself by himself does, it's what all of us do and the responsibility we take to press forward these biggers changes. host: our next call from utah republican line. caller: good morning, c-span. if you look up the word conservative in the dictionary, you'd probably find my picture. i'm actually a rengsterd republican although i'm not happy with the democrats or republicans at this point in time. for decades now both sides have been spending us into obliveion creating huge deficits and not doing the thing that is they promised to do. and right now, you know, any time any team is struggling, the things that they need to do is get back to the fundamentals of the game. that's exactly what our country has to do right now is get back to basic fundamentals. first, we need to recognize that rights come from our creator, they don't come from government.

any time government thinks that they're the last word in anything, we the people are in trouble because then the government has nobody that they feel that they're accountable to. as far as our president is concerned, i do not care if the president is green with pink stripes, what i do care about deeply is the fact that he does not believe in our founding document, that he thinks the constitution should outline what government has to do, not what they are supposed to stay out of in separating powers. because the constitution was designed to keep too much power from falling into the hands of too few people. it was not designed for specific time. and if we don't get back -- and lastly, we have -- the reason we have deficits is because we have a got that is way too big. they're the only ones that spend money. we have created a ravenuss monster that spends money like drunken sailors on a three-day pass. host: thank you, cal. we'll look for your picture on

line. let me begin with this point. the unemployment rate that is at 9.6, 9.7% nationwide. in nevada it is in excess of 14%. the other is the deficit now at 1.3 trillion for this year and an overall debt in excess of 13 trillion. guest: well, let's talk about this question because they're very closely related. on deficits, at the moment we have american households trying to deuce their dest. we -- reduce their debt. we have businesses reluctant to invest. in the situation we find ourselves in today there is no other way to get our economy out of the ditch but to have government step in and fill the gap even if that means larger deficits in the short term that's what's going to be required to get the economy moving to reduce unemployment, to make long-term investments in our country's future. and we've got to do that.

so deficits, you know, the deficit came down substantially under bill clinton largely because we were in a period of economic growth. they increased dramatically under president bush largely because of the war and largely because of the tax cuts to the wealthiest americans. today, it would be a tragic mistake to try and reduce the deficit immediately. if we do that, we will make the unemployment problem even worse in places like nevada and all around the country. job number one is to get the job machine going in america again. and government has the unique responsibility and role right now to do that. host: illinois, good morning. caller: thank you very much. i just wanted to return to your comment about glenn beck being dangerous. i know that some of the people that called in kind of upset with that rgs at least challenge that. maybe it's not so much glenn beck what himself what he is saying is dangerous. it's how that's oomplefid by

the fox corporation . host: why don't we get him to respond and we'll come back to your question. ok? caller: look, mr. beck has gotten a lot of attention. i'm not sure i want to keep going down that track to give him even more on the show. i will say there is a strain in all of our personalities that tends to want to find somebody and something to blame, that wants to believe the borts about our neighbors, and when we have public figures with the kind of platform that mr. beck has doing that on a regular and consistent basis whipping up fear, whipping up resentment, peddling theories that i think are outlandish, it does debase the public discourse and it moves us in the wrong direction as a country. it's not the ideas that he espouses of limited government and so on that are the problem. it's the tone and the way in which he goes about it that make it very difficult to solve problems together as a country and to create a climate of

fear. host: does that answer your question? caller: i meant to agree and say the real danger isn't necessarily what beck is saying but it's the sounding board and the way that fox news portraying some of those news entertainment broadcasters because they portrait it in a way that these people are presenting facts. and they don't have to often give credit to whoever they're quoting. they'll just say things like people have said. and we have heard. and that's all the citation they need to give to bring up a point. host: thanks for a call. your response. guest: one thing that's deeply troublesome about the current media environment is that people can completely self-select what they watch, who they listen to, who they read so that you can end up in a situation where you never encounter a different point of view. and that wasn't true 30 or 40 years ago where most people tuned in to the three networks.

today, it's the case that people can go for a very long time without encountering opposing views. and so i fear that the people who watch mr. beck may not, not so much that i fear that they just watch mr. beck. the question is are they watching other shows that gives them the different points of views so that they encounter different interpretations. host: 38 seats remain in the toss-up category as determined. "new york times" saying that it is a good year, will be a good year for the republicans but not indicative of whether they will win back the house. a democratic strategist predicting that the democrats will maintain control of the house of representatives. of course republican strategists are predicting a huge win. so what's going to happen? guest: there are stories today in the times and elsewhere that suggest that republicans don't yet have a lock on all of the seats that they'll need to regain control of the house. i think many of these races are

highly volatile. most of america is just tuning in to the elections right now. i think the results are unpredictable. and at the end of the day this comes down to a choice. it's not just do you like what's happened in washington and it's what's the alternative. in many of these races i think once the focus turns to what is the alternative and what are the alternative proposals being advanced, my guess is you will see the democrats holding on to the house in the end. host: our last call from california. good morning, democrat's line. caller: good morning. i just have a couple of comments. but i'd like to start with that last caller. i don't want to talk about glenn beck any more. but until we start including in this conversation the keith obermans the chris matthews, whatever that fat mess that was

at that thing, the hatefulness that comes out, then i don't think there's any credibility in talking about chastising glenn beck. but i would like to say that i'm a moderate democrat. the last few years have really been difficult for me. the party has really lost me. i've also been to tea party events and i don't find the same stuff going on that i hear about from your guest and others. but i'm wondering if the libral end of my party, if anyone is going to address the fact that this president is uniquely unqualified. i mean, he really wasn't qualified. i voted for him and i regret that because i'm smarter than that. but he had no background. in some ways i feel sorry for him because he had no experience. he has nothing, experience that would make him a good president. but i have to say that when my party came in, we were very

arrogant. we're kind of rewriting history now. we're blaming a lot on the republicans when we were arrogant and came in and said we have the majority. we don't care what you think. it wasn't the republicans that stopped most of the things. was the democrats that jumped off. overwise we will have had everything we wanted. so i think until we address that, the fact that we just couldn't hold it together and there's no room for moderates like me in the party at this point in time, then i think it's going to be, it's going to continue to be 234 trouble because i'm not going to support some of these very, very, very radical programs. and i think that we're much better off with organizations and people on the ground. i do an awful lot of work on my own with -- to help people. i don't really think i need government. host: thank you. guest: well, look, we are having a very vibrant and

lively debate about the role of government in our society. my own view is that we need a robust and serious government, especially in times like this when our nation is facing an unprecedented economic crisis. that it's only government at the end of the day that can put people back to work, create more demand in the economy, reregulate the banks and wall street that went hey wire and made a disaster of our economy, reduced the extreme poverty, provide unemployment benefits to people who lose their jobs, help people in their houses, help address our schools issues. woe need government not as something alien to us but as an expression of our common purpose and in moving towards the common good. that is a view that i think is contrasting with the views of the tea party which seems to suggest that there is no atlanta role or very little for the federal government. that is a big debate we need to have in this country. host: you get more information

by logging on to the website. a link available through c-span . thanks for stopping by. guest: thanks so much. host: please come back again. we're going to take a short break. when we come back we'll look at some other news this morning. but we want to share with you some of the events of this past week as viewed by leading editorial cartoonists from around the country.

host: we'll turn our attention to glenn beck. there is a comment from the twitter page.

he is the subject of the cover story, being glenn beck. and this morning has a piece this morning in the "washington post" called glenn beck who is obsessed with woodrow wilson and hung up on hitler. i'm just saying. we had scheduled a long-time republican strategist, chair of the republican national committee and former senior advisor to president former george bush. due to a scheduling conflict he is unable to be with us this morning. we do hope to schedule him again in the near future to talk about the upcoming elections. there's a piece in town hall saying that former u.n. ambassador john bolton is looking at the presidential race. and senator john thune is our guest on nake nag. he is also thinking -- "newsmakers." we hope to have him back with us in the near future and we apologize because there was a scheduling conflict.

no fault of ed glesspi. we should point that out. we're going to come back to more of your calls on glenn beck because he is featured in so many publicications. we talk about so many other folks as well. but first we want to share with you from last night, saturday night live and a look at one of the events this past week, the resignation of white house chief of staff rahm emanuel from the east room of the white house. this is how it was salt rised last night -- sat rised on snl. >> last night, rahm emanuel officially stepped down as white house chief of staff. [applause] hello. good morning. today my administration says good-bye to a friend, a fighter, a warrior. a man you want in your corner when the going gets rough.

a man who won't take no for an answer. a man who has twisted a few arms and poked a few chests. a man who knows no fear but knows how to make others afraid. you know him as rahm emanuel. but to me he will always be rahm bo. rahm will be replaced as white house chief of staff by peter. pete hails from connecticut and is a lover of cats. come on back, pete. nothing to be afraid of. but enough about pete. today belongs to rahm. rahm. >> thank you, mr. president. as the president reminded us just now, i do have a certain reputation amongsted my colleagues in the administration and congress.

now, has my manner sometimes been a bit aggressive? probably. could my personality be fairly described as abbracive? yes, it could. do i lack even basic social skills? absolutely. does a little bit of me go a long way? or indeed, it does. but in my job, have i at times used ugly strong-arm methods to get support for this president's agenda? guilty as charged. but remember, there's a big difference between arguing a point passionately and commiting actual physical violence. and that's the difference i completely lost sight of. not in every case. but almost. and for that i am truly very sorry. now, pete, come here. come here, buddy. there's one piece of advice that i can give to you it's this. everyone in washington is trying to kill you. all the time.

and it's kill or be killed. are you ready to kill a man, pete? are you ready to choke a man over a vote? >> i don't think so. >> yeah? this is prison rules now baby. ok? on the first day you've got to walk up to the biggest congressman you find and say nice to meet you. and when he goes to shake your hand, you stab him in the neck with your pencil. and then you scream, i am pete. but you can call me king fing cong. do any of you ladies got a problem with that? i will fight you in the men's room. are you ready to be king cong, pete? >> no. are >> are you ready to let the part of you die? >> no. i don't think i want this job any more. >> poking a little fun at c-span. we covered live on c-span the resignation of rahm who is leaving today for chicago to do

a listening tour in his expected bid for mayor of chicago. werpt we want to turn our attention again to glenn beck. a lot of opinion on the fox news program host, also the radio talk show host. and we have featured other liberal commentators as well. but we want to focus on glenn beck. and there's a comment it is remarkable to think that he has been on fox news only since january 2009.

h the show is recorded more times on dvr than any other cable news program. he is acutely conscious of his personal safety. he feels targeted, security guards trail him on the street. he wears a bullet proof vest at public events. he wanted to build a six foot barrier around his home. the barrier would not stop those that would do him harm but it would slow them down. it would stop anything from sending in their property, whether photographers or bullets. let's hear from ralph in morgan town, west virginia. caller: good morning.

i would just like to make a comment or two. i have been living in brazil for the last 11 years and my point of view about american politics is definitely changed since i've been living outside the country. there's only a couple major american news networks that we have available in brazil. one is cnn and the other is fox news. and i will tell you, since i have been living in brazil and i started seeing mr. beck i never considered myself a republican nor a democrat. but watching him and fox news is definitely pushed me towards the democratic side. when i first saw him on tv, and after obama got elected, he had the american flag and the stars replaced by a hammer and sickle. and i have been living in brazil which naturally the government here definitely lean to the strong left, and i've heard people comment earlier today like the united states is turning into a third world

country. well, i really believe a lot of americans, especially younger americans need to actually go and spend time in third world countries. if they did, i think they would gain a unique perspective and realize what we have here in our country. and people like glenn beck and not only him but the entire fox news network is really, it's actually a little scary to me the numbers of people and especially when i come back to the u.s. to visit here in north central west virginia, people that are completely misinformed. and it is because they are totally glued into the fox news network. host: thanks for the call. one of the photographs of the september 11 this year with sara palin at the event glenn beck spoke at. will he influence the upcoming elections? texas, good morning. caller: good morning. and thank you to c-span. my comments are that it worries

me when you have folks like glenn beck and rush limbaugh and an colter and those sorts of people that are making so much money off the stirring up people. you know? they're so afraid of -- hold on . host: there's a little delay. caller: ok. i'm sorry. anyway, they're making money off of scaring people. and what worries me is when you have a company like fox news and glenn beck and they have the air waves, the radio waves, the tv and people are listening in, and you have one mega phone of propaganda that's coming up 24/7. and people are listening and they're thinking that this is the truth and they're going about their lives trying to

make a living and they don't have time sometimes to get on the internet or just go to a library and start looking up history and trying to figure out what is the truth. and all of this stuff coming from glenn beck and limbaugh, they're making a lot of money off of fear mongering people. and what's going to happen is this. is that nine years ago, my son was given a drug that the f.d.a. said don't give to kids. anyway, it left him -- it was given. it left him with severe brain damage. because of tort reform we weren't able to prevail in getting any sort of justice for him. so now we rely on social security. i quit my job to take care of my son at home. he has diapers and a tube in his stomach. and it's a really sad situation. but you know, it's, if the republicans get back in charge and they do away with social security benefits for folks like us, and older folks.

and i'm 62 now. i don't know how we're going to live. and it's a pretty scary situation. host: thank you. and thanks for sharing your story with us. appreciate the call from texas. two stories. both front page of the "new york times." one deal with the economy could have implications on the snev race where harry reid is only slightly ahead. but this story focusing on the economy. last vegas facing its deepest slide since the 19 40's. unemployment is 14.4%. in las vegas it is 14.7% august was the 44th consecutive month ntsdz in foreclosures. the plaza hotel announced it was laying off another 400 workers and closing for renovation. the other story that we've been talking about is co written by

one of the reporters joining us on "newsmakers" today. the house majority still uncertain, republicans say. the essence of the story can be found in the fifth or sixth paragraph. joining us on the republican line from new york. what role do you think glenn beck will have on the upcoming mid-term elections? caller: i live in new berg, and

i feel that the far left first glenn beck is one of the one, two, or three conservative outlets in our nation for media. if you take a look at the nonconservative outlets, there's several, the conservative outlets are very, very few. they're dynamic. people follow them. they feel that they're talking to them. i want to just say that people like your guest use very, very gentle language they feel like there will be change. if you take a look at their website for the campaign, is that they're looking for on the border policy. the border policy should be controlled by the people of the neighborhood. now, it should be a federal.

glenn beck is standing up for us people, people of the united states. thanks a lot. host: thank you. we're asking about glenn beck. here's the cover story. joining us from glenwood iowa on the independent line. welcome. caller: good morning. i watch glenn beck a lot of times, and i feel that he does stand up for the people that don't really -- you hear a lot of people talking in small towns and farm towns. they're worried about our constitution, they're worried about america. they're worried about what's happening. like for me, for instance, i listen to him. i think he stands up, like for instance, why are they taking the bibles out of -- and our ten commandments out? why are they taking them out of

schools? why can't we talk any more? you know. about having the freedom to speak. it's t it just seems like america has lost the freedom to speak. . .

>> she is joining us on the democrats line from dallas. good morning. >> good morning. how are you. i am going to try to say this and wrap it up. i think glenn beck has a great influence on the election because people in america are so full of hate and frustration that they would take anything that anybody says and they will try to use it. let me give you one example. glenn beck and rush limbaugh get on there and spout out all this stuff and start crying like

they're so religion. the u.s. is going to be like afghanistan and pakistan because everybody trying to inject religion into everything that goes on. how you see god or whoever you pray to is up to and your god when you die. just like i'm saying, things are so bad, they are teaching ha hatered and violence. you can start this mess. you think that overseas is in bad shape. but this country is going to burn. i'm not saying that as a threat. but as a religious thing. when you stir up hatered in people, don't think the other people don't hate. they are going to get a lot of republicans in there and the young people that say, things

ain't changing. host: thanks. watching the most closely watched senate races. the democrat against mark kirk. 38%, still a lot of results. meanwhile in denver, the republic ken buck is pulling ahead. he is ahead 48% to 43%. real clear politics. if the election were held today. the republicans would pick up eight seats. we will continue to follow it here on c-span. we are posting on the website.

last night, the second such debate in california and also new hampshire we aired on friday. james has this question on glenn beck. the fertile soil of corruption gave beck the seat where he is. >> good morning. >>caller: i absolutely hope beck will have an influence i think corruption is stunning. what is going on and the founding in our country. i think this is the only good president obama has brought us. the last guest was talking about government and the source of education. i think it's one of big things that ruinned our country.

yesterday, coming together of all the groups bussed in and encouraged by people that took care of those groups. i certainly hope glenn will have an influence in changing tenure. host: can i ask you about your governor? >>caller: he's doing really hard things. this morning in the "new york post". nobody in new jersey is going to have to wonder where i am on an issue. next to that is something that's been made famous on youtube. the governor speaking to a citizen in los angeles as he was campaigning for meg whitman. >>caller: i didn't see that particular thing. that he's a heavy weight. um, you know what, somebody has

to come in and do the tough things. i have written to my congressman saying if i ran my family the way you're running this government, i would be out on the street. i am hoping he will be on the street. i am supporting ana little who will hopefully make changes. host: by the way, the state department should issue a terror warning for those travelling to great britain. it's in the a. p. pointing out and warning all americans of potential terrorist threats in europe. the state department issuing the travel alert today as thousands of u.s. citizens in up and suggesting that al-queda and affiliates continue to plan attacks. you can log on to a number of

websites include sky news and the bbc. >> now joining us from atlanta, >>caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i started watching glenn maybe a year half going when he was getting the negative publicity from the media. he's opened my used on a lot of things. i totally had forgotten the constitution. i read those. and when glenn says anything on his program. he asks the people. woodrow wilson. i read about him and he was a progressive. he was had bad for this country. the -- his history, show on

blacks of eye opening. i don't remember hearing of the heroes from the revolution that were black. anybody, i think most people who complain about glenn beck has never watched this show. he has mentioned many times, he's lousy with dates. he says. i don't do dates. the caller mentioned a thousand years ago. that's nothing to what he's teaching today. he is -- he has taught me so much. the tea party anti-progressive

movement. host: the reference of dates was based from the ""washington post." this is what the piece looks like and available on the washington post website. beck himself feels he's is an entertainer. coming up on news maker republican of south dakota and 12 candidate. >> after november 3rd. whatever the numbers are, will the country understand there is a republican party with a tea party component or a tea party with a component? >> i don't think the tea party wants to be adopted. they view themselves as an department movement.

i knowledge the energy they bring is very long useful. because the issues they are talking about sync up and align nicely with what republicans are concerned about. if they are elected to the house and senate want to do in terms of an agenda. i will tell you this, if we don't follow through on the things we say we will do, there will be a third party. people are saying, okay. republicans didn't get this right. we are really unhappy with what the democrats are doing. if we don't govern accordingly, you're going to see a third party. host: airing today at 10:00 a.m.

>> glenn beck will he influence the up-coming elections? >>caller: well, what scares me is that the whole thing is centered on a lot of talking points. it's -- you hit the nail on the head with him be obsessed with woodrow wilson. none of these people believe in evolution. they don't -- something that was brought up is the debates. the people that they're bringing into this, john bolton, he was a recess appointment. we would never have made it through congress. cheney's daughter. his obsession with taxes when 98% of the people in this

country are paying less taxes now under president obama then they were under any other president. they're obsessed with helping the corporations and killing government. they want to privatize everything. they want to make the cuts to social security system and me med-care. i don't understand, what color is the sky? host: thank you. next is on the republican line. >>caller: good morning. the previous gentlemen, i don't agree with. i don't even know what color the sky is outside his window. i have a has who was laid off from a manufacturing job in cleveland, ohio, after 22 years.

right after stimulus money was given to the banks. i work for physicians. i have for 11 years. i see how medicare and medicaid is run. it's broke. medicare for the elderly that have worked their whole lives, they should be given complete care. the things that medicare does not cover. it's ridiculous. these people are forced to take out secondary insurance to cover them medicare is completely broken. they want to go out and work, and, supplement, give them some insurance. give them medicaid. not stay home, don't work. i will give you complete medicaid, as it goes back to glenn beck. i watch him and my husband

watches msnbc. mr. beck will explain everything. if he's wrong. please call him and tell him he's wrong. mr. ed on msnbc will take snippets from politicians. he completely turns things around. some of the viewers need to do both. look at both shows. look and see where these agendas come from. who can back up their statements? that's a real eye opener. host: thank you. the national journal looks at return of the right. not far from the mainstream. that's able online from national

journal online. next is steve joining us. good morning. >>caller: it's ironic. the lady on the previous call said. one of the things that astonished me about glenn beck, people actually buy into what he's saying. they say he deals with fact and therefore what he says is true. on yesterday's program, glenn beck gave a quote from jefferson to adams regarding whether the government was going to fail. glenn readily said. he didn't know where the quote from. it was from the mississippi compromise from 1820. both adams and jefferson were disturbed the country would collapse over the issue of

slavery. i find that a lot of what glenn says is taken out of historic context. on his obsession with wilson. he claims he's the one that passed the federal reserve act. that is completely untrue. congress looked at completing that federal reserve act as early as 1906. there was monetary disarray that lead to that study. he would know the federal reserve act was based on alexander hamilton. my point is glenn, by his own admission. began to read history recently and a review of people he has gotten from hillsdale college. no offense on hillsdale.

i watch him once a week -- host: according to "new york times," it's the number one program dvred on available. >>caller: we get a kick out of him. i couldn't watch the whole show. i have a hard time dealing with that because he's probably just in step six. he was on step 12 this past friday. his founders friday. i thought were really pretty interesting. i think he had some of his facts wrong. once again, i think that he, i think he is appealing to a certain element in society that hasn't really read their history and their political history particularly. i think if they did, they would

see glenn is a little off base. host: thanks for that call. the complain about beck's history. couple more calls. we are getting your opinions beck is driven by principles not politics. he says american citizen who are the terror citizens should be read their miranda rights and opposes flag burning. his world view according to oi market place. next is simon from fort myers, florida. >>caller: my opinion about glenn beck. i am sure he will affect the

election in some form. part of the reason is a lot of his poor constituents seem to be those who are not very educated. he makes a point calling those that are educates like barack obama and his background with, um, the constitution, and his constitutional law background. he calls them the elitist. makes education look stupid. the last thing i wanted to say, it worries me when he says things like barack obama doesn't like white people and racism. those kind of things only further the discord between the democrats and republicans. we need to come together.

he's more of a separator. host: simon. thanks for that call. every reason to hate glenn beck he's a truth teller. we're going to turn our attention to china and a closer look inside the economy and what it's like to live and work over there. in just a couple minutes when "washington journal" continues. we will look at some of the other programs and issues on the sunday shows. here's nancy. >> re-airs begin today at 1:00 p.m. as "meet the press" is preempted. we begin with abc host christian aman pour. speakers include franklin

graham. daisy con. and a zar. fox news sunday with host chris wallace begins at 2:00 p.m. day. a debate between and paul, republican and jack conway from louisvil louisville, kentucky. and the midterm elections, his guests include bill richard son and governor ed ran del from pennsylvania. and finally at 3:30. it's cnn's state of union. u.s. pakistan elections. joining candy, senator john

cornnin and later. donna brazil. we note meet the press will not air at noon today due to the coverage of ryder cup. 2 o'clock fox news sunday. three, face the nation from cbs and finally 3:30 state of the nation. listen on 90.1 fm. on your iphone. x m satellite radio. today on book tv. explore the realize of the fundamental forces. with michiokaku. join our three hour conversation live on indepth.

today on c-span >> washington has one of the more difficult mothers of all time. she was a very crusty, self centered woman who you would think the mother of the father of our country would have all sorts of quotes and her son. we really don't have any. >> tonight, the further interview with ron chernow. the first long scale biography of our president, tonight on q & a >> "washington journal" continues. >> here, pete. >> is that a fair perception? guest: i think they have been

very effective in restoring economic growth momentum after the international crisis hit them. it's high growth. but doesn't mean the problems internally is a complete success story. host: in august, the inflation rate was 3-1/2%. what does that it tell you? guest: after they ran into the crisis in 2008. as a result of that, hyperactive stimulus, they have higher inflation. the real estate and consumer inflation is really serious host: we have been trying to

stimulate our recession here with road ways and other infrastructure, is it the same in china? guest: one of the reasons it worked so quickly was because china was not over leveraged. at best, deregulating the private sector. through bank loans resulted in sharp increases in aggregate national demands. host: what's the unemployment rate in china? guest: maybe 4.3%. general unemployment is better

than a year ago. before that, they had tolay off lots and lots of people in the construction industry. so it was a pretty serious unemploymentment. as the result of the stimulus, they were able to reverse that fairly quickly and in the early months of this year, we have seen a tightening of the labor market to the point real wages are rising rapidly. host: i would like to you address the one-on-one relationship between the president and china. and china's relationship with its neighbors, most notably japan. guest: it's not easy to bring a

country into a free trading system. their labor force is 8 hundred million people. so we are talking about m monumental changes. china and the u.s. are the two largest economies. each other's largest trading partners. the relationship remainses one of construction, constructive understanding of each other's situation. the one-on-one meeting between the two presidents are extremely important. they have to be filled out with lots the meetings at lower levels. the meetings in asia are more complicated. china is more willing to inject

themselves into the relations, with japan more particularly, a more assertive role. host: our guest is from amsterdam. originally froth netherlands? guest: that's right. host: if you wanted to buy a home in beijing, how much is it going to cost you? guest: the tier one cities have sky rocketed in the last two years. particularly in 2009, right now, the average price for a good quality apartment per year meter is 30000 yuan. it's about a thousand square feet.

over $400,000. which is way beyond the reach of the average worker in china. certainly beyond the reach of young people entering the laker force for the first time. so there's a horrible problem of affordability for first-time home buyers. host: and a huge down payment. guest: the minimum is 30% for first time home buyers. it's more like 40, 50%. especially for second homes, the down payment was raised to 50%. host: we are taking a close are look at china. our guest is peter.

>> we listen to raphael joining us from miami beach >>caller: i justed wanted to say, how do you know all the information? i don't necessarily believe the numbers. host: let me ask you, how do you believe the numbers? guest: they are still a work in progress. they had a soviet style. they started to adjust to the market style of the economic statistics. the quality of the statistic is pretty good on the financial side and on the trade side. it's very unreliable unemployment statistic. generally, i would say that the quality of the chinese statistic

is improving very rapidly. with regard on the economy, there are few, economists that they are trending positive. host: joining from austin, texas. >>caller: my question is about, -- host: we're going to move on, i'm not sure if that call was legit. >> good morning. hi. if you want china's goods to succeed. don't worry about buying u.s.-made goods. just buy china goods and we will run all our jobs to china.

after that, they will go to africa. that's the next source of cheap labor, thank you. host: thank you, gerald. guest: the issue of china stealing our jobs is a hot topic. it's clear that many u.s. companies have outsourced to other countries with lower production costs to china. if you want to blame china for jobs, you are criticizing the outsourcing of benefits by u.s. enterprises. the second observation is correct. many of the jobs are beginning to migrate from the eastern part of the china to the interior. if they cannot be done, to cannots like vietnam, banglad h

bangladesh. where labor costs are very lower. host: david who wrote for the "new york times" the three faces of china. what we have to figure out is what drives china actions. and this deals with some of the issues we have been talking about. the trade issues between our country and china. guest: i think china is motivated by the desire to become a more prosperous country. they have memories of a century and a half of humiliation. mostly european nations partly

colonized parts of china. that period, i think came to an end when the people's republic of china was established in 1949. 61 years ago. the desire to become a more prosperous and respected country is the overriding motivation. on top of that, i think china is strongly motivated by the needs and desire to avoid losing face. they have made commitments to its people to the rest of the world and failing to deliver on those commitments. whether china has imperial ambitions, it's hard to tell. there's no evidence to my knowledge. the fact they're modernizing their military is not my area of specialization at all. strikes me as a rather normal

phenomena that any country in their position would do. the risk now is that china has been doing so well, especially coming out of the crisis more quickly than other countries, the risk is that the self confidence of china's leader will exceed the reasonable levels. they will begin to make big mistakes. china has been very eager to learn from international experience so far, and that, i think has the relationship with the rest of the world very strongly. that maybe on a point of change. host: our host is peter bottelier. >> he has served on the united states conference of trade. terry is joining us on the respect line from bar harbor,

maine. >> >>caller: i wonder if he can speak to the statistics of the unemployment rate. we talked about gdp growth. per capita income and the people in the country that actually enjoy the plays like capitalism. there's only, a billion, 3 hundred million people in china. maybe 15% are actually enjoying that. can you speak to those statistics? host: thank you, terry. guest: it's applicable to all china especially urban china. china is a huge country.

there are pockets of deep poverty. in the south and far west the country. but, the average improvement to living conditionses, the improvement is pretty much universal. there are no areas that haven't enjoyed fairly good conditions in the last couple years. host: let's bring up the currency. what is your thoughts about paul's comments that we should take a hard line on china regarding their currency? guest: i don't believe he is right in applauding a trade war type of relationship with china. there are very good reasons for china to have pursued the exchange rate they have. i believe they have been too

cautious in the adjustment and it could have been better for everybody else if they moved earlier and faster. to seek an adversary role is very dangerrous. host: kathleen says why are we begging for anything. why are we begging china for anything? put a tariff on foreign labor. guest: i'm not sure i understand the question. >> host: well, i think what she's referring, we are sending so many jobs over there. guest: tariff on foreign labor would achief what? >> that's the believe, i think the bill that was approved by the ways and means committee about a week after. that of course, if that becomes

law, the commerce department may be asked impose tariffs and constitutes a detect of export subsidy. many importers would shift to other sources of supply to keep the prices low. it would create almost no jobs in the u.s. in my opinion. host: whether it's cars, locomotives. airplanes. what is sent by the u.s., u.s. made goods that china purchases? guest: well, the biggest is a

aircraft and agriculture. we all recycle a lot of waste to china. that doesn't yield a lot of money. but it's amazing, the ships that bring computers go back to scrap metal and waste paper. the reason why that isn't providing jobs in the united states is that, it's too expensive to recycle in the united states. china can still do it profitably. host: why is there a misperception of the trade relationships with this country? guest: i think the word "misperception" is a good word. i don't see china as a threat. they have yielded enormous

benefits and a source of capital. if we have trade deficits because china is so large. it's important not necessarily economically important. what we should focus is is our deficit from the rest the world. host: mike is joining us from the independent line. >>caller: i am calling about the average american person. we have many years and people out of work. we find a lot of our jobs going to other countries, especially china. and so, why are we so concerned with chinese government when the challenging america now, militarily and economically. we need a lot of work. in the just in a way.

i mean actual manufacturing jobs. they are not going to come back any time soon. yet we're building the chinese population and the economy that's going to eventually challenge our over society. we have our or problems to deal with. host: thank you, mike. guest: this line of thought is very common. in this situation, that we are in this country. i think historically, practically doesn't make a lot of sense to blame china for our problems here. the deep problems of unemployment was not a china-made problem. it's a u.s.-made problem. to see china, not only china but

india and help this country establish new sources. the domestic economy will remain the strongest. but it's going to be terribly important for the years ahead and china is potentially a huge source. the consumption is low but indicates there's an enormous room of growth. host: edward is joining us from texas. >>caller: good morning. three observations. why is this and how do we become china's biggest trade partner? secondly, do they buy our

automobiles we produce and why don't we trade with communist cuba? guest: china is lead by the communist party in china. the way it functions is more capitalistic than communist. i wish they would change the names. why we trade with china? because it's very profitable to do business with china. they have become the largest supplier of consumer good says from outside this country. generally high quality and low prices. the american consumer has by and large benefitted that china has become such a large source of supply. on automobiles, the fact that general motors has been given a new lease on life.

buick is a huge success in china. china is the largest market for newly sold automobiles in the market. host: one of our viewers says china has become one of our highest consumers. guest: this makes trade tension so complicated. by punishing china, there's little the u.s. can do without punishing itself. to go to higher priced chinese suppliers or inferior quality suppliers, we punish the american consumer. if we impose tariffs on those supplies from china, we punish american corporations that export from china.

they are 60% accounted for by outside sources. this is the world exporting from china. host: david from heath springs >>caller: good morning. i would like to say, he's right. it's not china that has taken our jobs. our politicians are so intertwined with the political benefits to turn our country into a communist country. like at glenn beck. it all ties in together. the politicians don't want him blabbing out. the people, just like me and sat back and haven't said anything. watching our country going to pieces and watching the chinese

use our own capitalist way of living to take our government and take it, make our government. and taking our freeways away. it's all hand in hand. our government is the reason. the chinese didn't take our jobs. unions are big factors. host: thanks very much. professor, your response gues guest: whether china finances political campaigns in had the united states, i do not know. we know there are strict laws against foreign interference in domestic political processes in the u.s. if that happens, i am sure there will be lots of

politicians that will bring it to our attention. there's no reason to suggest that china is taking away our freedom. i would have a hard time finding examples of that. the way the china's economy has turned itself into a more capitalistic economy unfortunately, they didn't change their name. host: in addition to teaching economy, china's economy. he is a visiting scholar at the carnegie constitution. >>caller: hi. thing for taking my call. we can't blame china. our corporations can't move plants over fast enough to benefit their bottom line.

i would like to take a little blame myself. we can't fault our politicians or corporations, it's how capitalism works. guest: it's true that china has benefitted hugely from foreign investment. from the united states. korea, japan and everywhere else. that has been a source of rapid technological advancement in china. it's wrong to think china is relying on outside importing.

and if it hadn't been for china, our interest rates in the united states would be much higher. they have been the main external purchaser for u.s. treasury bonds for some time. that does not take away, of course, that the reverse flow private investments has been important. >> i think, if we were to really pass that law, that has gone into the ways and means committee and president obama signs is. and the commerce department in response to invitations from congress or the u.s. importers of business, imposes these across the board tariffs on china. i think it's almost certain they will retailiate and it will be

hard to remove ourselves from a very damaging trade war. it wouldn't accomplish anything. we are frustrated with china's slow pace of currency appreciation, the right response is not punitive, across-the-board tariff. host: saying this tongue in chief. you are saying, they are a capitalist country. we will go to michael, joining us from atlanta. >>caller:. good morning. how are you. my question is really centered around the relationship with china, japan and the u.s.. it's one of the most important in the asia pacific. having the u.s. oif and oef in

afghanistan and iraq. how do you think that will affect relations with china being fireful of japan's re-militarization? guest: that's a very important question. it's outside my competence. the china japan really is an extremely important one. you referred correctly. it's a triangular relationship. in recent months, we have seen more aggressive china and more assertive china, that's a better word. particularly in the relationship with japan. it concerns the captains of

fishes boats and taiwan, i very much hopeful this conflict will be reserved peacefully. i cannot imagine what would happen in china and japan were to get on the negative slippery slope relations. that would be very dangerous for the united states. i very much hope wiser heads will prevail on the china, japan host: we are talking the professor. he said. steve. that was not tongue and cheek. china is a country with one party. no government relations and no

labor movement. guest: correct. i don't see on the horizon in china. that doesn't mean china has no internal pressure groups. i think china has become a much more puralistic country. it's not much under dinastic rule you have elements of democracy without having multi-party elections. labor unions exist in china. they are a very different nature than what we know in this country. they are more social and have to be approved by the government. they resisted, but those are not the type of labor unions that we

are familiar with. it's wrong to assume, although china has a one party system. it's a one person dictatorship. there are a lot of pressure groups in china. the government is becoming very nervousous about the emergence of such groups. so the press. the media, what are being encouraged to serve as vehicles for the expression of contrary opinion. host: thank you for that twitter comment. mike is joining us early from san diego. >>caller: good morning, could you tells us, what percentage of the gdp china puts toward military and why do they need such a large offensive military capability? guest: i should preference. i'm not an expert in military

matters and don't have precise percentage in mind. china's official spending are modest. only a 10th of the united states. may be 1/7th. the total military spending is higher, therefore, i have no percentage. why china needs a large aggressive force, well, again, i'm not the expert on that. my sense is from reading the documents from dog and other sources is that china is preparing for the eventuality of a u.s. intervention. china's navy is being strengthened to make it harder

for the u.s. to intervene in such a conflict. looks like an aggressive outside posturing from china perspective, it's perspective defensive. host: your previous comment. political reforms says this viewer and listener are a long time coming. guest: i agree with that. we have been hopiing and expecting they would move to a more democratic system. it doesn't mean the whole system is frozen in stone. there are lots and lots of things allows for great debate. the one style, repressive system

has been relaxed significantly. china is a much more open country today than 30 years ago. host: our last call from fort wane, indiana. >>caller: thank you, i wanted to make some comments on what stake china has on our election progress. based on the recent supreme court ruling, we're not going to know who is influencing our elections if congress doesn't make transparency of this money that's going to pour into the election cycle. host: will that be a factor? guest: i am inclined to say no. on paper, we are very well