and later, ziad ojakli from the ford motor co. will be our guest. this is "washington journal." [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] host: 435 house seats, 37 senate seats and 37 governor's seats are all in play today, tuesday, november 2. a good morning, and welcome to this edition of "washington journal." today is election day. for the first 45 minutes we will talk about how did you both, if you participated in early voting, or how will you vote if you plan on going to the polls today. the numbers --

if you want to hit us up electronically, send us an e- mail. this is the way it is playing on some of the major newspapers this morning. "the boston globe the" has this had line. -- headline. also this morning, "the houston chronicle" -- "the hartford courant" -- "the orange county register" out of california. also out on the west coast, the

"los angeles times" -- also this morning, "the miami herald" -- and "the pittsburg post-gazette" -- that is on the front page of " the pittsburgh post-gazette." "the baltimore sun" has this headline. parties crank up get out the vote efforts, negative political ads.

to the phones, our first call comes on our line for democrats. angela from iowa. have you voted yet? caller: i have. host: who did you vote for and why? caller: i voted straight democrat and the reason is because the republicans have been obstructionist since president obama took office.

i think it is all about power. i don't think anything is going to change and actually i think i would probably be happy if they won because then we would say exactly what their motivation is, to destroy president obama. they clearly said that, they want to destroy president obama. they want to make him a one-term president and i think they hate the fact that we have an african-american presence. i won't say i agree with everything president obama has done but he has only been in for two years and i am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he will get a lot of things done and the republicans have not worked on -- with him on anything. i can't believe there are so many people, because of their hatred and racism, that they would vote for republicans and against their interests. so, when the republicans are in the house and we see things get

worse because they are not going to get better with them in the house, then i think 2012, whoever they put up against president obama, president obama will win. host: let's move on to patrick in brooklyn on our line for republicans. welcome. caller: good morning. host: have you been to the polls yet? caller: yes, i was actually the first voter in my polling station. host: you voted this morning? caller: i voted straight republican. that lady who labels all republicans racist -- i actually lived on the upper west side in manhattan for two and a half years, which is filled with liberals and they were the most close minded people in the world. this is a check on obama, a check on larry summers, a check on rubin. they are deflating our dollar and i cannot wait to get the --

host: >> is cincinnati -- next is cincinnati, ohio. caller: i am an independent but i basically agree with lady, i think i -- she called from of the democrats. the reason i am going to vote democrat is simply because i believe the president has done the best he could. i think basically that tea party, i have been watching the tea party for a very long time and they are just republicans. they are not really a move meant that they say to be paired --

said to be. all the president has been doing is trying to fix what is wrong. from what i have been seeing and reading, it seems like -- host: are you finished? bo is gone. from "the washington post" this morning eugene robinson has of this op-ed.

memphis, tennessee. delores on the line for democrats. caller: i would encourage everyone to get out and vote. the republicans are against the working class. they are outsourcing jobs, controlled by rich men. talking about privatizing social security. able to get on unemployment and let people keep their homes. if anybody got common sense no vote democrat. republicans have not done anything for the working class people. host: next up is bangor, california, on the line for republicans. george. caller: i am a registered republican. i am a registered republican and i voted straight democrat because i felt that the

republican party has been completely obstructionist, and i do hope the democrats win. host: george, before i let you in "the los angeles times", fight to the finish, what was the deciding factor in terms of how you voted it regarding the governor's race in california? caller: although i am a republican i have always been an old gov. brown van and i think he did a good job and i do not should the governorship be up for sale. host: tim on the line for independents. caller: how are you today, brother? host: doing all right. have you been out to vote? caller: i am jumping at the bit and waiting until the journal was over. host: who will you both for and

why? caller: i will do something i have not ever done in my entire voting life, i always voted independent, ralph nader in the last three elections but i am voting straight democrat this year because i believe we had tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent for the last 30 years. it was supposed to have created all these jobs and it has not. china, indonesia, philippines. i don't know. it seems to me the republican logic of tax breaks for the wealthy and running up these budget deficits, and the first thing they want to cut is everything that benefits the working man and the middle class and poor people and to me it just seems like this rob. like when you come home from

work early and the wife fetches her husband in bed with the baby sitter and the husband says, honey, are you going to believe name or what you see, i am helping this girl with her anatomy of work and helping her cram. host: next is emma on line for democrats out of dallas, texas. have you been to the polls yet? caller: no, i haven't, and i am going and i am going to vote straight democrat. host: why is that? caller: the first thing i have to say is anybody that gets on the tv -- i have been listening to barack obama. they never say president obama. i feel they have not given him the due respect. he is the president and they need to address him as such. at the other thing, i don't agree with the republicans.

against the middle-class people, the working people. they are all for the rich and i want to encourage all the democrats to go out and vote because it is very important. host: when you see headlines in the paper like the one in "the washington post" that says democrats are bracing for losses and republicans are likely to win back the house and narrowly missed catching the senate, does it cause you concern? caller: well, it bothers me because i just those a why anybody should put the republicans in because all they want to do is make the president fail. they are not for anything for the people. their own agenda is to make president obama fail. host: in "the washington times" independents missouri democrats. they favor gop by 14 points. likely voters prefer republicans

to democrats 55 democratsto 40%, a staggering margin for the gop. illinois on our line for republicans. caller: this is my home state. my village, we lost vanessa kolpack in 9/11 did i voted to the right, reagan right. president obama has not been very straightforward with his birth certificate and he is not all african. he is half african. thelet's get down to situation when bill clinton and his democrat house did not do anything for two years, and that

is the same scenario. in 1994, when the republicans took the house and did very well. together they worked very well and we were in the black. we did not have any deficits. we were in the black. so you've got to look at a two- party system and think, when i go one party or the other is in both control, you have given the rains up. -- reins up. my family came from kentucky with president lincoln, settled in springfield, illinois. so you really got to think things out. if it is not working -- and i salute the independent becauses they are the swing vote and they do a good job. no stimulus package is working right now. host:liam, if you are correct and the republicans take over at least the house, what is it that

a split kind of government -- democrats running one side of pennsylvania avenue and republicans running the other side -- what is it about that situation that you think makes the government work better? caller: checks and balances. if you have one side, you did not have anyone checking. in the state of illinois we had democrat control all of this time and there is no checks and balances. corruption will follow because nobody's checking it. everybody lining up together on one side. you have to have checks and balances. i do salute the tea party for bringing up the issues and the lot and ideology that our founding fathers brought. host: we will leave it there. in "usa today" this morning, presidents who rode out the wave. president obama maybe the latest who had to survive a wave election.

if you follow this chart they set up underneath it, you can see each of the presidents that david jackson is right about. fdr in 1938.

next up is massachusetts on our line for independents. sandy? have you voted? caller: no. there are a lot of voters in this house. the thing of it is, fool me once, shame on you, for me twice shame on them. don't be ignorant, don't be stupid and blind. bill look at these people in color or race or any of those things -- don't look at these people of color or race. but you both for your heart. this government was going into the ground before obama and his whole contingency got into their. wake up. on top of that, young people 26

and under, you got your insurance. you also can help pay for college for young people. he is caring. plus the war. they say afghanistan is being won. oliver war -- north was on -- host: this morning in "the boston globe" day of decision, you're of discontent. a result may shrink president's agenda, democrats now broad grounds effort. it pursues support to the end. tell us what it has been like, the campaigning you'll have seen in massachusetts and how that affected your vote today? caller: it has been dirty. they are talking dirt about each one. it is horrible. i have never seen such dirt thrown in my life here and across the country.

you people believe what you want. we do not know how many of these people are as low and downgraded as they try to make them out. get out and vote even if you think it is a bunch of dirt. host: davenport, iowa online for democrats. did you vote today or will you vote? caller: i sure will. i will be voting straight democrat. i am very happy that a lot of my family members of gone out and voting early. i had hit -- kids in college who voted early and my dad voted early. i am just excited and fired up and ready to go. but i want to make a quick comment. you have a callers calling in and they get upset and talk about the democrats bring up the race card. you have a couple of callers today who showed their true colors when -- the republican

party. the reason i am voting democrat is the republicans constantly get on television and they do not back up their rhetoric, it is all propaganda, all-but they are not for the american people, the middle-class, the working class. they say they want to help get jobs and build the economy but yet and still they vote against their interests and the interests of the people constantly. they both know to everything. you had a small jobs bill, they voted no. business lending bill, they both know. how can we build the economy and bring jobs back to this country when they vote against the bill that go against the corporations that will bring these jobs back to america, they vote no. host: we will leave it there. in the forum in "usa today" this headline. in victory, of the gop will turn on each other.

most voters aren't moving to the republicans a much as they are fleeing the democrats. next up is the south carolina on our line for republicans. paul, go ahead. have you been out to vote? caller: i am getting dressed now. i am a registered republican and i have been registered republican for 20 years but i and voting straight democrat this time. let me give you three reasons why. host: ok. caller: my mother has -- for a year. back in july and june and

august, the unemployment extension and the republicans kept saying no for seven weeks in a row, i had to take money out of my pocket to help my mother so she can get by while they talk about they want to find a way to pay for. that is a bunch of baloney. when you are in an emergency you don't worry about paying for things. just like it there is a flood or a tornado or hurricane, the united states helps people. but it did when it came time for my mother's unemployment extension money pickups saying no. reason number two -- i did not vote for barack, because i it registered republican, but i look at his face and he is for the working and middle class. what republicans are trying to do with the tea party, they want to take things back 50 years but that is not the way we should do it. we should go forward. i am voting straight democrat and i encourage everybody, if

times are hard and when times are hard you need somebody to look out for you. host: thank you for your call. next is marcy in colorado. have you been out to vote or are you going to vote? caller: i am going to vote this afternoon. host: how are you going to vote and why? caller: you know, hearing really our district attorney, i just can't agree with anything he has said on tv or in the papers. and i just have a comment about somebody earlier about the tea party of the way things have been going for the last two years. in this country, we are so impatient. the president has really -- he promised a lot. i know he did. it takes time. he said it himself. but when you have one side who just says no, no, and does not

even want to compromise, how are things going to get done? it is so frustrating to see it and hear it every day. i just don't understand how a party that did not do one thing, it did not compromise, did not agree to anything, how they will slide into all of these seats and i don't understand how the american people -- voting because they are dissatisfied. how can they get done without compromising? host: thank you for the call. that was marcy in colorado. her hometown newspaper "the denver post" with this headline. lafayette, louisiana, brandon on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: i am going to go vote in a little bit and going all democrat. host: why is that? caller: because, i live in louisiana and i just read the papers last week and bobby jindal cut a half a billion

dollars in education. he cut health care. this is what republican takeover is going to look like and this is a man wanting to be president of the united states. let me get to my point. independent -- independents just followed with though wind. same with tea party. if they think sarah palin would be a good president put her as the no. 1 candidate and give barack an easy win. we have a weak democratic party and voters. the reason i say that is we have a majority of the congress and majority of the house. playing around with health care for so long it drained the american people. we have the 60 votes until brown won in massachusetts. that is the problem -- democratic party, voters -- we

are allowing civil rights to go down. host: bill in glendale, california, sends us this e- mail. pat on our line for independents. go ahead, you are on "washington journal." caller: i am an independent normally but this cycle i will be voting all democrat. i live in texas and the republicans have ruined this state. our governor refuses to debate bill white who is running for the governorship. he runs around. none of these people thinks we are good enough to talk to so i will not vote for any of those people. as you know, texas has -- they

would runaround, the creator of these jobs, but they don't tell you how many jobs they lost. so, i will not vote for a republican. they do not respect the president's. our governor calls him barack obama and all of the bigots here in the state, that is all they have to hear. so i will not be voting for no republican, none. host: let us move on to matt on our line for republicans out of dubois, pennsylvania. on the front page of "the philadelphia inquirer were" how strong a wave is the question they are asking about for the race for senate and governor. a lot of attention in cash. have you been to the polls yet and what are your thoughts about all the attention that has been focused on the races and has

been a question of caller: there has been a lot of attention on it. i have not been to the polls but not only do i plan to go to the polls but i will drive a couple hundred people to the polls today, what they call a grass and roots -- grass-roots effort and i am voting straight republican. it i hear all of these democrats on here playing class warfare game. they say democrats are for the working people, which a that is basically just a ploy to say that we want your union vote. get it right, people, either you are working, disabled, or retired. so a wealthy doctor that works, he is a working person. let's cut out -- just say i am for the union and i want your union democrat vote. secondly, here is what the democrats did for the working person. when president obama, which i will respect the title, took office, 40% of people in this country paid no income tax. after he took office, now we are up to 50% of people who pay no income tax. if you want a stimulus, have

more people pay some income tax instead of being on the dole. of the democrats who can't stand the rich, or what i call successful people, which is what i thought this country was built on, look at your income tax book whenever you get it in january and that is a pie chart that shows who pays the income tax in this country. and you will find that the top 10% of all earners pay 90% of all the income taxes. and for all of the class warfare people, look at the most wealthy states in the united states -- california, new york, connecticut, those are the most wealthiest states in the country, what did they vote? democrat. it is not a rich a thing. why do all the southern states, the poorer states, vote republican? because it is about what the ticket is about, what they are about -- values, what they stand for, living within your means. and generally within politics, when you are proud of what you

voted for, you advertise it. when you turn on the tv, do you see any politician advertising how great obamacare is, cap and trade, and the stimulus? you do not see that because they know they made a mistake. host: we will leave it there. "the washington post" on the front page below the fold. cooperation with the democrats may haunt firms. take the case of walmart, they write --

back to use of phones. ormond by the sea, florida. teresa, on the line for democrats. caller: i voted straight democrat. i got out early. i voted for kendrick meek. i see marco rubio as jeb bush, jr., who gave more tax cuts to special interest and insurance companies. and the factors all across america because of corporations outsourcing. republicans recently voted against stopping companies from outsourcing our jobs. does it sound like they care about working people? hell, no. tea baggers want to abolish

minimum wage. rand paul said some but -- unconstitutional. i don't see anything in the constitution center ridge should get tax cuts or it is patriotic to outsource our jobs. yes, times are bad but it will get worse if these teabags windbag get to power. host: on the front page of -- are you still with me? teresa is gone. ethel in clearwater, florida. caller: i have been republican ever since i became a citizen from canada and i am not going to vote strictly republican. in fact, already voted. i voted by mail about four weeks ago. all the money they spend on these campaigns, thousands and thousands when the schools and education systems need money. there should be some kind of a

limit on what people can spend on campaigns. your money or anybody else's money -- host: who did you vote for for governor? caller: i voted for scott. it is crist that i voted for because i think the republican party did hindered. just because they did not agree with him on a couple of things. crist ones but the people of florida want and everybody does not always want everything that the republicans won. i have been a republican but i still don't like the nra. i don't like guns of any kind. i guess coming from canada. host: target concerned the split of the independent vote between gov. chris and kendrick meek is going to lead to a victory by marco rubio? caller: yes, i am afraid it is because the republicans who supported crist for years, all

of a sudden because he did not agree on everything, going against him. that is not right. if he had been in the primaries he would have gotten ahead of marco rubio, i know. that is neither here nor there. i am almost think of changing to independent. independent gives you the idea of think your own mind instead of straight republican or democrat. it's called california, can be on our line for democrats. -- host: california, candy on a line for democrats. caller: had the election day. host: you went out -- do you plan on going out or have you voted early yet? caller: i will go vote. you know what kind bugs me, if anybody in any field was caught defrauding the people, i don't think they would get hired back

to do the same job again and here we go with this -- i heard somebody a week ago say 70% of the voting machines are the same people who rigged god knows how many elections. they are willing to shot down -- shut down government and not participate and the name calling. this is a different level. no matter what the name of your party is, just the action of them is very scary. host: thank you for your call. the front page of "roll call," election 2010 edition. in about 10 minutes we are going to be joined by more kondracke,

executive director and economist at "roll call." that will be in about 10 minutes. north carolina on the line for republicans. caller: god bless you. host: could you turn down your audio? caller: hold on, buddy. let me turn it down. host: are you with me? all right, we are going to put everett on hold and come back to a minute few seconds. jay from los angeles. caller: my name is sean and i

voted for meg whitman for governor and barbara boxer for senator. i do incline more to be democrat but not always do they have the right ideas. same thing for the republicans. but this year has been really horrible, the name calling. and i do hear a lot of passion from both parties calling out one another. it would be great if they used that same passion that they have to critically think what is best for them. rather than thinking that my party is going to blindly do what is right for me. if we really want -- simple, buy local. by your american made products. -- buy your american made products. look for the american products that use of much of love but stop blaming the politicians.

it is also our fault for supporting the policies. host: you said you split your vote, when republican and voted for meg whitman and it went democrat and voted for senator boxer. why the split? caller: before they pushed meg whitman so far to the right she was on message and she resonated with me. things that i agree with that i never heard jerry brown talk about. but she did kind of pushed me off when she went so far to the right. but i went back to listening and reading -- and i hope she does not go so far to the right and she was going to. as far as barbara boxer and carly fiorina, i do think carly fiorina knows how to create jobs, only that she does not know how to create them here in america.

she took 3000 well-paid jobs that were in california and she shipped them out. so i think she does know how to create jobs, just not for us. host: another story in "the washington times" this morning regarding the race in california. diverse district pits two minorities -- this is the one that features rep. loretta sanchez, incumbent, and challenger, vietnamese-born state assemblyman, van tran. they say translation problems is just a sign of the times in this district, the most perverse in the country, and finds mrs. sanchez defended proceed against republican state assemblyman van tran, born in vietnam. of the first real election challenge she faced since see -- since she won the seat in 1996. next up is dallas, north carolina.

everett? caller: i am a republican. i voted for kay hagan, democrat senator. i voted for republican. i voted for 10 -- a republican. i prayed to god that i vote for the right people. i tell you, this nation is in trouble. host: the next call comes from gaithersburg, maryland, on the line for democrats. go ahead. caller: i was just calling, to make a point about voting for a democrat. actually i do not agree with everything but democrats advocate for -- that democrats

advocate for the one thing i wanted to pay attention to, when senator mcconnell was asked what is the first thing they would do when they got into power, and he did not think about the debt that the country had were the economic problems, but the first thing that he promises to do, president obama, is the first one-term president. to me that is really wrong. instead of pledging to tackle the national debt, first he promises and pledges to make sure president obama is a one- turned president. -- one-term president. host: in "the washington times" this morning is what else is on the ballot. there are also some issues come initiatives on various ballots around the country. in california, virtually every

politician including rivals in marquee races for governor and senate have urged the defeat of proposition 19, legalizing recreational marijuana use. that's in the phones,

washington, pennsylvania, on the line for republicans. caller: i am a first-time caller and i plan to split my vote. mainly republican but i am voting for the democrat for governor in my state because i checked his record and he is the one who has already cut spending, when he was an allegheny county, and he pared down the government and create more jobs in my county. i thought he was the one to vote for. but it was hard finding who to vote for because the ads are so misleading, so bitter. host: what would you like to see changed about those ads? caller: i wish in the ads would just say, this is what i am proud of of what i did and here is how i plan to help in the future. i, and not the other guy does and back. you could not find anything out.

a lot of it when i fact checked, it was lives. host: debbie and washington, pennsylvania. we get this twitter message from connecticut. our last call comes from indianapolis on our line for independents. andrew. caller: i voted this morning and i live in a really diverse areas in minneapolis but the democrats are pretty safe -- there was enthusiasm gulf. two years ago we were lined up down the street. indiana was in play. i think that had something to do with it. this time, there was nobody in line. i walked right in and out.

i don't think that looks too good for democrats in my district -- in my district, again, they are all safe but if that is an indication the way it is around the nation it does not look too good for them. host: is this the usual polling place, you have been here two or three boding cycles? caller: there was a line around the corner all day -- the line host: that was in the last election, that included the election for the present, correct? caller: exactly. host: what about the midterms before that, 2006? caller: just like today. host: you think it is just because it is a midterm election or because there is tremendous amount of voter apathy. caller: people around while i live really wanted to see obama go in, but that had a lot to do with it. he was in play in indiana. in indiana we did not have a true vote for a presidential candidate in a long time, so here was a chance to go and do

something, so i think that had something to do with it. i mean, it is kind of disappointing because -- we have a senate race, that if ellsworth can beat, that would be nice. host: we will take a short break. when we come back we will talk with morton kondracke, executive editor at "roll call." last week he wrote an op-ed, democrats face big losses for what they did. we will talk a little bit more of what we should look for post 2010 elections. today is tuesday, november 2, election day. you are watching "washington journal."

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and nationwide at xm channel 132 and c-span.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining me is morton kondracke, executive director and columnist at "roll call." the headline in your paper, did -- embracing change. fickle voters to deliver huge gop midterm gains . how you'd do you see the change coming after today's elections have been counted? guest: iowa except the conventional wisdom that this will be a blow out in favor of republicans and against the democrats. the gallup generic difference was 15 points. that is about double what it was in 1994. that would suggest 100. well, it will probably not be 100 but it could be 60 or 65. it could be a big turnover in

house races. if it is that big in the house, i think it is very near 10 in the senate. so, i see substantial change. i did not read the headline and i had nothing to do with the headline, but i don't think voters are fickle. i think they are really unhappy and worried, and they tried it with all democratic rule -- sorry, all republican rule, and they hated it, and in 2006 and in 2008 they demonstrated it by putting in the democrats. they are deeply dissatisfied with what the democrats have done and the way they have done it, and now they will try the republican whip. what happens if nothing happens in the next two years? i have no idea what largely independent voters will do. will they be depressed, furious? host: you talk about the unhappiness of the voters and you wrote about that in last thursday's edition with the

headline "democrats face big losses for what they did." if it is not the money and not the messaging that has democrats in the bicol, what is it? at a forum of health care policy reform rolls on the campaign republican pollster said this election is a rejection of democratic governance, just like 2006 and 2008 were a rejection of republican governments. what was it the democrats did that turn off much of the electorate? caller: later in that column i also quotes one of the best democratic pollsters who says he was warning the white house, stay on jobs, stay on the economy, do everything you can to fix the economy and for about health care. put health care down online. i was on a panel of the other day with ed gillespie, former chairman of the republican national committee who said, you know, obama was elected to

change washington and what he tried to do instead was to change america. is think people are worried about the future of the country, deeply worried, but i don't think that changing the united states as many people perceive it into a european social democracy is what they had in mind. and they are terribly worried about the debt and they think that obama and the democrats were too liberal. every poll indicates that they think that they went off too far in a liberal direction. and the electorate itself has become more conservative as a result, in reaction. host: we are talking to morton kondracke "roll call." we would like to get you involved. the numbers --

you can also send us messages via email and twitter. there was a chart about presidents who rode out the wave. it looked at fdr, truman, lbj, reagan, president clinton. these are all presidents who halfway through their first term had to deal with a shift in congress. compare for us, if you will, some of those president and how they handled it and what may lie ahead for president barack obama? guest: look, i don't think barack obama is dead for 2012, by any means. it partly depends on what he does in the next two years, it depends on what the republicans do. bill clinton had a great advantage of having new to gingrich make -- newt begich make a terrible mistake. setting down the government and explain it because he was not

allowed to walk down the front steps of air force one. and i think there is a very big chance that the republicans, under the influence of the combination of the tea party and senator jim demint could -- and they are already talking about it -- just refuse to compromise on anything. and if obama demonstrates more willingness to conciliate with republicans and the republicans obviously back his hand away at every opportunity, and if they are responsible for closing down the government, for example, then he is viable. and if they nominee somebody weaker. it may nominate sarah palin, i think barack obama probably gets reelected. host: if they go that way, assuming that they want to see one of their own, a republican, in the white house after the 2012 reelection, would it behooves them to be a little

more cooperative and not necessarily conciliatory, but cavorted in a way that they can show we worked with the president and we got some things done, help us out by putting a republican in the white house? guest: look, i think this country has grave problems. and it is about time that both parties are working on them. and if you have a divided government, the only way you will get things solved -- the debt being the number one example -- is to cooperate. there is no other way. the republicans may think that, ok, we will wait out the two years, we will just oppose obama and then we will have the chance to run things our way. that's what the democrats did it two years ago, and they did get some of the things done their way which now the republicans want to repeal. it seems to me that progress is only to be achieved by agreements in the middle and it

is about time that both parties do that and then have a principled arguments in 2012. host: our first call for morton kondracke comes from rapid city, south dakota, a ban on the line for independents. caller: i miss "the beltway boys," i wish you guys would come back. it was a great show. i have been an independent a long time. a thoroughly disgusted with the two-party system. it seems like the people are left out. i backed the tea party movement. i think it is the most exciting thing of my lifetime. i hope the republicans don't think that we are just voting for them. we are all republicans now, so to speak, but soon after the election we will be back and keeping a guard on what they do and challenging in the next primary races. this is all about the people,

and the people need to get back to government of the people, by the people, and for the people. host: did you vote for obama the last time -- i am sorry, i cut him off. guest: there are a lot of tea party people will feel that way. i am not exactly sure what that you were actually wants the republicans to do. there are lots of republicans -- mike pence, for example, in the republican leadership, gets the message, people that this is a no compromise, we are not compromising on principle at all. if that is the message they are getting -- and they are certainly being encouraged in that -- bob bennett in utah, all he did it support tarp and core rate with a democrat on health care reform and the tea party end jim demint from south carolina went after him and beat

him for being bipartisan. i am not sure that is what the caller has in mind. but that's the problem. host: clinton township, maryland. darcy on the line for republicans. caller: i believe it is michigan. host: i am sorry, what did i say? caller: you said maryland. when you call it on c-span, i know it is a 30-day policy. but when the phone rings and rings and you get hung up on, it happens to me all the time, what is up with that? i do not understand how it can -- host: i think it has something to do with the phone company. but you got through today and you have an opportunity. caller: i appreciate that. i will. ok. as far as everybody -- everybody is talking about the wave coming through and get this morning on open phones everybody calls and said i am voting for a democrat.

it seems to me there is some kind of bias going on. but as far as mr. morton kondracke is concerned, when you were on fox news, did you feel that you were in a fair and balanced situation where as going to other places did you feel outnumbered in -- the comparison when it concerns juan williams. guest: i have been on since 1998 special report, first with brit hume and brett bair. was that fair and balance? absolutely. they were fair moderators. the panel used to consist of fred barnes who was a conservative, mara eilas, a moderate, and me, moderate, two against one. now have two conservatives and one moderate, but there is still a moderate voice every day on the panel.

on the show that i was on -- and on election coverage and news coverage at fox, i think absolutely fair and balanced. it's ideological leader in the day -- i think it's ideological leader in the day. one williams -- juan williams because of what he said about muslims. he qualified it, said he was not prejudice, does not think that they should be targeted, etc. i think the liberal viewership of national public radio was on the management, and management itself did not like him being on fox, and was looking for a reason to oust him. host: back to the outlook for campaign 2010 with morton kondracke.

ed rendell of pennsylvania says if democrats fare poorly, it may be because they sent a mottled message to voters. he was speaking on the cbs "early show" talking about some pulling in the east and west. he said we have got to learn to explain and communicate what we have done more clearly. your thoughts? guest: i said in my column it was not messaging or communication, but then i saw a bloomberg paul that indicated a majority of the public did not know that there was tax breaks in the stimulus package. what was in it is not clear to the public. they had enormous opportunity to

explain. the president of the united states is practically on the present on television. -- omnipresent on television. he and his minions ought to be explaining better. i still think the public does not like me to bake government -- the too big government, government mandates, the debt they have piled up, and it is more about policy than message, but i agree with him. host: next phone call. well my, democrats. good morning. -- wilma, democrats. caller: let me say first, the

first three sentences out of your mother was a breath of fresh air. i see that you are trying to be fair and balanced. let's say that you have a house and you are still living in it while you are doing construction on the other part of the house. that is what it seems like the president is trying to do. he is trying to renovate a house while we are living in it. i do not think the people are getting the message that we have to live in this house as we are restoring it. guest: i think barack obama --

my wife says that he was a war start test for everybody. they saw in him what they wanted. they thought that he would be a centrist pragmatist. people certainly start looking at the architecture of the plan that he is working on, and they see tripling of the national debt, a health-care system that will explode in cost. it will not reduce the deficit. talk to says iti will explode the cost. this is a right-center country. the structure, what it looks like obama is building, is

something that looks more like sweden. strong unions, have the social welfare system, high taxes, all that stuff. that is not what the country wants. host: cincinnati, ohio. patricia. good morning. caller: first of all, good morning. i think your wife is brilliant about there were shot test. i am home from work today because i had chemotherapy for breast cancer. i have two republicans that i will be voting for as an independent. john boehner has never supported breast cancer research in the congress, denying several bills. on the other hand, bob portman,

a true conservative, has supported the susan g. komen organization prominently. private charities supported by portman. as for john boehner, i cannot go there because i might get upset. guest: i think one of the most important things that the government does is disease research, whether it is breast cancer, or my disease of choice, parkinsons'. my late wife died of it. medical research is an investment, along with education, in the future of the country and well-being of its citizens. people who want to vote against expansions of either one are just making a terrible mistake and are denying health and

education to the people. that is one of the things i and worded up with the tea party people and republicans. they want to freeze discretionary spending. that could while hurt both education and medical -- well hurt both education and medical research. host: john boehner appears in the "national journal" talking about him possibly becoming the next speaker. your thoughts about the house under the speakership of john boehner? guest: he is an interesting case. he was ousted from leadership in the newton gingrich, tom delay

era, which proved to be something of a disastrous time for the republicans. he went to charity education and labor committee -- chair the education and labor committee, and he had done a great job. he is not a reactionary. i have hope for john boehner. i am surprised he voted against cancer research, i cannot believe that. the caller certainly knows the issue well. it disappoints me, if it is true. i think he is a reasonable guy. he indicated if he had to except a tax settlement with obama, only extending those tax rates to those under $250,000 a year,

as to those over, and that was all he could get, he would take it. he was then clobbered by his republican colleagues for thinking of such a thing. if obama will extend his hand, as you did not really do in the first two months -- it was 18 months before he had a one-on- one meeting with mitch mcconnell. that is unbelievable. lyndon johnson used to be on the telephone every day with the other party. the civil rights act was written in dirksen's office. for obama not to invite

mcconnell or john boehner out for a political weekend is stupid. host: next phone call. caller: i have been listening to the comments and collars. one thing that i would like to touch on is your response to a republican caller who talked about health care reform. let me just say, i am for healthcare reform, but the way it to theats took extreme that they did, it would

have hurt the people who voted for it. having to increase taxes to pay for the debt, that is not something that is lightly said. we are definitely going to see something happen. host: more kondracke -- mort kondracke? guest: there were a couple of points there. did you know that very quickly and that will be beyond the national budget. three items in the federal budget, medicare, social

security, interest on the national debt, will amount to 20% of gdp, which is what the whole government accounts for now. that is the extent of the debt. if this does not get under control, we will not be able to invest in education, health care, infrastructure, anything. we will be paying the chinese everything we have got practically. this has to be solved. before we pile on more, it seems to me that we ought to get this under control. there are ways to cover the 51 million uninsured people, to provide them with a thick -- basic insurance which does not require all the mandates that are included, and regulation that is included in the obama

health care bill. host: "roll call" put out an election preview, talking about the wave coming this time, and it lays out three different scenarios. the first one says the base turns out late and says democrats. republicans gain 30 seats in the house but failed to gain control of the house of representatives. if that is the scenario, how do you see things working in washington? guest: if that are the results, just about every prognosticator will be slitting their throats, pollsters, too. that would be the big shocker. the get out the vote machine was

so effective for democrats that they thought out to the polls, proving wrong all the polls. there is enough science behind this that there will be a republican blowout. host: the second scenario, democrats lose 45 seats and hand over control of the house to republicans. guest: that is a far more likely scenario, that republicans take the house, not by a lot, and do not take the senate, although gain seats. that would be surprising in lieu of this gallop generic. i think the third scenario is more likely, which you will get

to. host: that is right. republicans win control of the house. if they are talking about a tsunami, control of the senate. guest: republicans would need to absolutely run the table. it is possible. it requires them to win the state of washington, where patty murray is going into her third term. they need to win west virginia as well. it could happen. it is not out of the question. if this is a true tsunami, barbara boxer could get knocked out. host: culpeper, virginia. william, you are on. guest: good morning. caller: good morning.

i used to love "the beltway boys" too. the democrats need to get a spine in congress. i would hope for the democrats that they would bring up a bill to have television cameras in the supreme court. i would love to see what is happening inside the supreme court. my so-called brother clarence thomas, i would like to see some of his boats. -- votes. guest: we have three separate branches of government. each one is allowed to tender its own business. especially with a conservative majority on the court, i do not think the republicans will mess

around with the internal affairs of the supreme court. host: jay. pensacola, florida. caller: how are you? thank you for the chance. i have been watching for about five years. it seems right now politics are being driven by emotion more than facts. as for health care, when i read through it, most of the people who are upset about it never read the bill. it is like me never working on my car and then it breaks down. if i had some maintenance, it would be a better running car and less bills. that is basically what health

care is. i hope the supreme court makes republicans and democrats show where their campaign money is coming from. is it a pharmaceutical company, a foreign company? we need to make sure because the people need to make the influence. host: we will leave it there. guest: i completely agree. the supreme court will not force congress to reveal who the donors are. it did say in the citizens united case, contributors was a

viable option for congress to pursue. the democrats sponsored the disclose act, which republicans all say favor trade unions. that seems to me and easily solvable problem. if the republicans really mean full disclosure is a good thing, which they have always said. mitch mcconnell has said this a thousand times. campaign reform should consist of free-spending but full disclosure. if that is the case, republicans should write a bill which provides full disclosure, including unions, and if they do not pass a bill, they are a bunch of liars. just assume they have secret funding. it is a basic of the democracy to know who is trying to influence your politics.

host: in "the washington post" they have a graph listing the biggest 2010 spenders. it is up dramatically from previous years boeing by a supreme court decisions and enthusiasm among conservative donors frustrated with democratic policies. at the time they have the democratic campaign committee that has spent $63 million. down at the bottom, the league of conservation voters, they have spend a mere $5 million. guest: i do believe the conservative growth, added up, independent groups -- democratic senatorial and gubernatorial committees are party committees. if you are talking about

american crossroads, u.s. chamber of commerce, the largest private group, the american federation of state county municipal employees union, seia was way up there, but the balance is considerably in favor of conservative groups, based on these secret donations which were allowed by the supreme court citizens indicted case. host: florida. karen. you are on with morton kondracke. caller: good morning, i am exhausted listening to the liberals and everything they say about the republicans being against the working class people. what we are trying to do is promote and in light industry and manufacturing jobs in the

country by setting up an environment where the owners and of these corporations would be glad to do business in america. i have never had a pay check signed by a poor person. i have never had a pay check signed by someone who did not have a dollar in the bank. we want jobs in america. we want an environment that will invite jobs. these liberals need to let go the fact that we are not for the working people. we are for the working people. the labor unions are dictating what free enterprise should be by demanding ungodly salaries for people who have no work experience other than holding a pneumatic wrench in their hands and screwing a lug not on a car

in an assembly plant. guest: i think there is no question, if you look at the situation in ohio, michigan, and, tennessee, which is a non- union state, businesses choose to go to lower taxed and less- unionized places. people are leaving california in droves because of high taxes. you are right. a favorable business climate is important. the democrats would have passed card check, for example, the elimination of secret ballots in union elections. i think that would have been a disaster for productivity, and job growth, competitiveness. fortunately, they were not able

to do it. host: we have a tweet -- guest: there is no way you can dissolve the tea party. i do not know what the future of the party is. they are a desperate, melange, a collection of people with all sorts of interests and intentions. they will rise and fall on their own, i think. i do not think it is possible for the republican party to stop them out. i think they would like to absorb them. on the other hand, they may stay independent. host: will republicans who benefited from tea party movements, will they tried to distance themselves from the tea party wants, if they are elected to office? guest: i do not think so.

i would say that they would stay pretty loyal. scott brown, the senator from massachusetts, who was a tea party favored but then prove to be a moderate republican senator, i think he could probably accused of not telling the tea party line. on the other hand, he is from massachusetts and would like to get reelected. host: jan, you are on next. caller: i would like to talk about access to health care. you said everyone could have access to health care. that is true if you go to the emergency room, and all the costs will be passed on to the taxpayer, on to my insurance premiums. he said we had unions being

promoted by president obama. i do not say anything that the president did to grow unions. at this point, unions are at their lowest number in membership since eisenhower. you said he grew the budget, the debt. he inherited a 2009 budget from president bush. he has drawn up one budget. he is working under two wars. he is having to deal with the medicare part b policy, which was never dealt with by -- d policy, which was never dealt with by republicans. he has kept 122 of the promises he campaigned on. he has compromised on 41, broken 22. there are 236 in the works, 82

that are stalled. president obama is doing exactly what he said he would do on the campaign trail, as far as republicans will allow. guest: the caller has a number of points to make. let's take the union issue, for example. the democrats were basically prevented from passing cars checked -- card check. i think obama was in favor of it, but it was more than the political train could bare. we do not simply have a choice of the mandated system that obamacare is and sending people to emergency rooms, which is expenses. you can have a lot more free market health care -- as a

matter of fact, the one thing about the prescription drug bill that the bush should ministration past, the admitted they without paying for it -- you are right about that one. but it is a competitive system among private insurance plans, it is coming in under cost. that could have been followed by the health-care system. and the debt. there is no question george bush broke up the debt. but obama is going to drive it up even further and faster, and is thought dealing with it. i am not saying republicans are great. and by the way, all the polls indicate the country is not in love with the republican party. this is a tryout for them, as much as it was a for obama.

i do not know what will happen in two years if the country continues to be as dissatisfied as it is now. host: mike in virginia. go ahead. caller: thank you for c-span. i hope you can comment on something i have to say. the best thing that could happen for our republic is for the nation to vote republican back and so that we can have more of the same, like we have been having for decades. then we can prove once again that both parties are in bed with one another, as far as lobbyists go, jobs going overseas, and maybe that would bring about a third party.

my question is, and it may be silly, but i have never heard why don't they hold all of the elections, theydential -- why don't hold all of the elections, presidential, said that, gubernatorial at the same time? guest: it does come every four years. i think michael bloomberg would love to be president and research firm -- under certain circumstances. give us the option of someone who knows about business but is also a social liberal.

i do not know if independents would go for him, but it would be an interesting contest. host: mike in tampa, florida. go ahead. caller: can you hear me? sorry about that. i just want to say, with the primaries about to happen -- and the issue that i am upset about, really the forbidding issue, monetary policy. ron paul brought up the idea of looking at the banks, see what they are really holding. also, central bank policy.

you hear everyone talks about the debt. we can never really extinguished the money system because it is all backed by debt. the fed creates money, buys treasury bonds, and then is a good to appear met by selling off. that is why we have this astronomical spending when you have leadership and congress in the same party. guest: as for the fed, they have been trying to rescue the system. the system was in danger of collapsing. they injected money if into -- and they injected money into the system. -- they injected money into the

system. i think during should have been some mechanism to throw the bankers that got us into this situation out on their year, but in any event, -- ear, but in any event, the fed is trying to buoy the economy because there is no fiscal stimulus. host: you can read his comments in "roll call" every thursday. thank you for being on the program. we are going to take a short break. when we come back, we are talking about seniors in campaign 2010, some of the issues foremost on the minds of seniors. first, a news update. >> democratic party tim kaine

earlier today said "everything the president has done has been to shore up the economy and put the country back on the path to growth." he did technology that people dislike the health care plan, and he said he did not think the president overreached on his legislative goals. he said, "when you have the margin, i think you should use it." meanwhile, haley barbour says tea party-backed congressional candidates who win the elections today will consider themselves part of the gop when they get to washington. he went on to say, if tea party- backed candidates had run as independents, that would have fondest kaine's dream, as it would have divided

the democratic vote. an expected win for republicans in the house could set up a scenario that leads to gridlock in capitol hill, meaning there could be a slowdown in new government spending and regulatory reform. those are the latest headlines. >> in addition to this season's campaign coverage and archived debates, there is much more at the c-span video library. everything we have aired since 1987, indexed and available online. studentcamr's competition is in full swing. your documentary should include more than one point of view along with c-span programming. upload your video before the

deadline of january 20. the competition is open to middle and high school students grade 6 through 12. for instructions on how to upload your video, go online, c- span.org. host: joining us from new york is david paul kuhn, of real clear politics, here to talk about seniors in campaign 2010. you wrote an article called "the senior wave, elderly voter turnout." guest: in 2006, there turnout rate was twice what it was for youth voters. they already turnout at high levels in midterm elections, but

there are a series of questions that pollsters ask in the weeks leading up to an election to see how likely someone is to vote. seniors were registered off the charts in these measures. it was really republicans and independents who were leaning republican who were extremely engaged, giving the most thought. host: those 65 and older, those who registered, 90% say that they will definitely vote.

there is unanimous agreement that the debt is a problem. they have a problem with the status quo. they have an issue with obama's economic policies, that is from poland, of course. we saw a lot of dissatisfaction and anger in 2006 with the bush administration, and now we could see that against the obama administration. it is all about the status quo, about the economy. seniors are most rallying around these issues, as everyone else is, but they are just a little bit more so.

speaking with david paul kuhn of real clear politics. here are the phone numbers. republicans, 202-737-0001. democrats, 202-737-0002. independents, 202-628-0205. if you have called in the last 30 days, today would be the day to send us an e-mail or tweet. you also write in your article, seven out of 10 seniors plan on working in retirement.

that is a little bit ironic, that they would tend to favor smaller government when a majority of them are recipients of medicare and medicaid. guest: it is. it is also somewhat understandable. to a majority of americans, it looks like uncle sam is living beyond its means. they believe that their social security or medicare could be threatened. we know this from studies, but they very much care about the debt, deficit being carried on to younger generations. ultimately when we talk about government size, we are talking about funding government, and that relates to spending and

taxes. host: we hear a lot about class warfare. is there a danger of the u.s. getting into an age warfare, where the desires of the elderly, older voters, will come into conflict with those of younger voters? guest: absolutely. we will not see warfare, but we will start to see tension with the deficit report that comes out, which may change the narrative in washington, what we can do about the deficit. it will offer the obama administration and offer to pivot off of what is expected to be flosses today. -- losses today.

there are a plethora of proposals to look at. that could, understandably, anger those who receive it currently. i think older voters, once they get older, they older,the cut backs will just march on through. host: next phone call from james. caller: i am concerned. when you work, you pay into medicare. the government and th[unintelli]

if we can not collect taxes, how the hell can you spend a lot of money when you do not have the money to do so? if we had kept our jobs over here, we would be better off. the problem is people are greedy. host: david paul kuhn? guest: i am sympathetic to that position. outsourcing, particularly in the 1990's, has dramatically undercut the working and middle class. those people who once had stable working-class jobs that could buy them a home are retiring, have retired. the retirement savings are threatened because of the

economic downturn. they are in an especially fragile state. unemployment for men in their 50's are at historic levels. it is gary hart for a 50-year- old man to find a new job. there is ageism that follows women and men at that age. we should all be sympathetic to these sorts of feelings. host: george from pennsylvania. good morning. caller: as far as medicare, the democrats have set the mark. you do not hear about republicans complaining about government medicare. i did not ask for medicare. many years ago, the money was

taken out of my paycheck. it does not say much to say that i did not give them permission, but it was taken out of my check. what choice do i have? is designed to drive you into a system so that they can pick and choose who dies. as a senior, i believe half a trillion taken out of medicare and another 30 million people put into it, that plan is only something that democrats can believe. guest: that would be a good campaign line for a republican candidate. putting aside the middle comments, it has totally been

disproven in non-partisan fact checking sites that there are these so-called death panels. if you are a republican and you are receiving medicare, you may not have asked for it, you probably did not support the enacting of this program, and you pay your share. this is like an and limit benefits. if someone has put into our tax structure for decades, they are not hypocrites if they start received -- to receive unemployment if they believe government should be cut back. too, t means that daythey, rely on the safety net. politics is not black and white. i am sympathetic from where you're coming from.

i do not fault any conservative for taking medicare or unemployment benefits when they need them. if they have supplied and supported our tax structure for decades, they deserve it. host: next phone call. caller: one thing that bothers me is this prescription drug plan. my wife would always go to arizona, gets 75% off of the drugs when they are on vacation. it is the biggest republican we have seen. hopefully, we can get close to national health care. i have been without for 55

years. that is my main comment. host: are you going to vote today? he is gone. david paul kuhn, go ahead. guest: we cannot separate the fact that seniors are the greatest opponents to the obama health care plan, yet they have a secure safety net through medicare. i do not want to say that one is because of the other, it is not. senior opposition is generally pretty consistent. many supporters are also -- there are many supporters of his health-care plan also. but one has to remember, to the extent that his plan and overhaul work out, is now defunded under a republican congress, there will be 30 million people receiving health

care who are not seniors. so we have to keep in mind that is another point of generational tension. as all washington observers would say, there is no safe assumption of what his health care plan looks like in a couple of years. let's say the republicans win the house. we will see what things look like in the senate. we will see how these governor races ago. a lot is unknown, at this point. host: detroit, michigan. lou, you are on "the washington journal." caller: our president has had barely two years to fix the problems from the past eight years. if the republicans get back in, the country will be on its way down. that is all i have to say.

guest: president obama hopes that that gentleman vote. host: where in your reporting, do you see senior voters having the most impact on house and senate races? guest: once we start breaking down into democratic groups, you get into a larger margin of error. for district-wide polls, it is hard to come to great assertions because of the large margin of error. of course,n staay is, pennsylvania, west virginia, virginia, they have been organized four years as a demographic lock. races in those three states, the florida governor's race, which

is a tie currently, will mean a great deal. we are also watching the west virginia senate race. then we are watching the florida senate race. rubio is likely to run away with it. pennsylvania is also an important senate race. we will see what happens in the polls. host: baltimore, maryland. john on the republican line. caller: i have to agree with david about the safety net of medicare. seniors will be voting on health care. why are they not burning their medicare card? at the same time, you have to give credit where it is due. what happened when bush was spending all this money when he was in office for eight years?

it is obvious, you have republicans wanting smaller government but all of these things, but meanwhile, president bush did this for eight years. i may not be this president's biggest fan, but he is not doing anything others in the past half. i am 27 years old. the leadership in the republican party, in my opinion, is nonexistent. host: david paul kuhn? guest: i agree with you agree with me, of course. host the party has been terrified to make any cuts that affect seniors, why? vote.e they

we should remember, if a baby boomers are turning 65 next year, at the rate of about 10,000 a day, the senior block is growing. they will be a power to be reckoned with. lobbyists, groups that organized around seniors will become increasingly powerful. this is larger than a political issue. this will affect popular culture, we have already seen it in some movies. more emphasis on senior culture. that said, we will always pay attention to the youth vote, they are more excitable, sexier, but seniors have always turned

out. they will barely matter today. -- will really matter today. host: there is an ad on retirement t be reminding seniors to go vote. we will take a look at it. >> assume child care is not my problem. >> i am not up on the latest trend. >> taking the american seniors for granted is an awfully big assumption. >> we are reading, we are on line, and we are informed to. host: david paul kuhn, incumbents, challengers, are they aware of the potential size of this elderly voting bloc?

guest: i do not think they are. i had already noticed that no national news agencies had caught this trend. of course, that may explain why some of the serious statewide races, in the elderly states, they were not aware of the surge in republican, right-leaning independents. i think that may matter today. it is hard to tell. some of these races are tight. as far as the advertising we just saw, that is the mantra of most democratic swing blocs. we hear that from the hispanic community, for example, don't take us for granted. that transcends age and race.

host: when the elderly say do not take us for granted, it seems to come with a bit more of ferocity, that you could pay for it at the polls. guest: they vote. their bark has bite. politicians should fear their raft. -- wrath. they matter. we saw a little bit of this in 2008. it was presumed that kennedy's lead was stronger. theodore white had a great line in his book from 1960 -- i will paraphrase -- you should not

presume votes by whose voice is the loudest. in other words, the younger voter will be loud, engage in the hyper-allele -- ideological debate, but seniors show up at the rallies, they quietly said, and they definitely show up at the polls. host: sebring, florida. richard on the line for independents. caller: good morning. happy and election day. we should be celebrating today. -- happy election day. a lot of countries, their leaders appoint themselves. the earlier caller who spoke about medicare -- i am a senior

also. $500 billion to come out of medicare to support obamacare -- which should be repealed. it will bring the quality of health care down. obama's economic plan is very flawed. you can tell that by how he set up the tax deduction for small business. $30 billion. they employ about 70%, 80% of our people. however, he gave $140 billion to the international monetary fund who gives money supposedly to third world countries, like yemen, somalia, kenya, countries that we would call terrorist

countries. so he is -- his policies need to be reviewed and repealed. host: we will leave it there. guest: we have to separate foreign aid from the debate in health care. foreign aid has not greatly varied between administrations. that is done through foreign- policy. the structure of the foreign policy is not particular to president obama, just as it is to president bush. it is less of a partisan issue than we are told in the debate. on health care, this is a valid point. it is maybe a fifth of our economy. it will certainly affect benefits of seniors and other age groups who already have insurance, in the sense that doctors will have more patienct.

that said, this ultimately goes back to what went wrong politically in pushing health care reform in these tough times. it is important to think about the fact, when we went into the debate, most americans have health insurance. perhaps only one in 10 did not. for that reason, most americans are worried about the quality of their health care. the question for the democrats have long been for the decades, what do you do about one in 10? they chose to push insurance at a time when the middle-class and working-class more so, but also the upper class, is extremely strained and been extremely hard times and it is difficult to

push for a "social progress" in port *. -- in poor times. i think the caller makes some good points. koon is the paul keen chief political correspondent for politics. he is also the author of "white man and the democratic dilemma." next caller, from alabama. caller: i have three issues for mr. kuhn to talk about. the first issue is health care. in that issue, could he please explain to our party administrators, which we call insurance companies, which

administer contracts between workers and employers and get a profit from it and? and number two, could he explain the fica taxes were off 95% of americans pay these fica taxes and you have 5% of the richest who do not carry it in their wages? and three, i would like to talk about the unfunded mandates in the last few years, the first of which are the iraqi supplements. medicare part in d is underfunded. host: thank you for col. the third's take point by the collar, he is right. under the previous president,

george w. bush, we had two wars and did not raise taxes. that is not seem like a big deal to our generation, perhaps, but it is unprecedented. we have always raised taxes at wartime. we had an almost entirely rural middle class fighting this war. that including the medicare point that the caller made and so on, it underscores the fact that number one, republicans have not been doing so good on fiscal discipline for a long time. and number two, this brings us back to the tea party movement. the tea party movement is the

ultimately the conservative base and they have been angry at the republican party for a long time over its spendthrift ways. here we have a disagreement over the right and the left. when we talk about the surge of seniors and the vote, we should keep in mind the tea party movement, which is more old and young. one-quarter our seniors, and how far baby boomers. that means that 75% are older voters. we will see how they play today. kuhn, our nextl call comes from pennsylvania, also a caller named david. caller: good morning. $540 billion cut from medicare.

the second year in a row, there will not be any cost relief for seniors who are retired. because i continue to work and i met a manager, i will have to start in january 2011 to get a 1099 on the value of my health insurance from my employer based on the health care bill. this is ridiculous. why? there is no benefit to many of the programs that are put forward for working seniors and working americans. it is all smoke and mirrors. you know, voodoo medicine, and it just does not work. here in pennsylvania, we have a democratic governor that just wasted $65 million after laying off people around the state because we were in a financial crisis because we did not get enough money from the federal government. it is going to be a landslide year to -- a landslide today,

especially here in pennsylvania. one other thing, we are severely limited starting next year and the medical portion of the health care plan. and why? because the government wants more control. medical programs do not work. senior citizens are getting less. and working seniors are getting taxed more. for what reason? host: we will leave it there, david. guest: i guess one could just say that the caller expresses a comment, concerned criticism from the right. it is an example of the point of view that is going to sunder the house democratic majority today because more people agree with that caller avandia poizner -- the opposing point of view. host: chris on the line for ts you're on the

"washington journal"." caller: if you look at what employers use to do, there was not know government-held nowhere. the special and you think about heating bills and -- no government help to nowhere. especially when you think about heating bills and such. guest: i do not have much to add to that caller. again, we are hearing the point of view of americans who are likely to vote today. host: regarding americans who are likely to vote, we have some numbers from the usa today/gallup poll that was done between october 28 and the 31st. it says of those 55 and older, 40% are democrats and 55% are republican. will this be a nail in the coffin for democrats for the

time being as far as who controls the house and maybe the senate? guest: it will be the biggest now. the gallup approval rating on seniors is 39%. those are terrible numbers. and we know that there -- the direct correlation between the president's approval rating and the outcome of the vote in midterm elections, even though the president is not on the ballot. the point of view of seniors, they are very dissatisfied with the status quo, dissatisfied with what they call the obama economic policies. and there is almost uniform concern about the debt and deficit. all those things will be in place today and will all serve to explain why we will see high turnout numbers from seniors and move against the democratic party from older voters 65 or

older. host: there is an article in the "financial times" talking about funding. it talks about a group called the 60 plus. the organization has spent millions of dollars of tax and democrat . -- has spent millions of dollars attacking democrats. you can read more about that in the "financial times." next call, go ahead. caller: i do not think that i will see much from the beneficiary -- the benefits that seniors are supposed to receive.

if anybody looks back just a few years, it was bush, who tried to ram through a program to privatize social security. i guess if you would just address what i feel is a generational divide that is growing in this country, and also the not the fact that a lot of people vote against their own interests. thank you. host: go ahead, mr. kuhn. guest: ok, again, i will say this generational divide will come to the four more after december -- will come more to the fore after december. and after restarts years the considering what to do about entitlements -- after we seriously consider what to do about entitlements. those discussions will inevitably bring out generational expectations.

the older voters paid into the system and now it is their turn to benefit from it. for younger voters, and i would even say for myself, there's no expectation that i half, for example, that these programs will be around, at least to the extent that they are today when i'm retiring. i think that it's a foundational point of view for younger americans and how they saved their money. of course, this is a harder time. host: how much to you -- how much do you think you will be working out between now and when you retire? guest: i have hope of making money off of my books, but i have invested heavily in my ira.

host: our last call for david paul kuhn comes from jefferson city, mike, on the line for republicans. go ahead, mike. caller: i hear you, and i hear senators and others talking about unemployment compensation. you are continually saying that it is paid by the employee. it is not played -- is not paid by the employee. is paid by the employer. i just want to get your comments. the employee does not pay into the system. the employer does. i will take your answer off the air. guest: the most literal sense, the caller is right. obviously, social security, medicare, you are literally paying into, but employment compensation is paid for by the employer. but let's not kid ourselves. they cannot have a health insurance program that will

affect what coverage they offer to their employees and then act as if it might force them to cut back on employee salaries or benefits. or the amount of employees that they have. and then have it in the reverse, right? if an employer is paying into unemployment, by that same thought process, that will impact their overall budgets, which will obviously impact employees, whether it is their salaries, how much they ought to work, or how much staff they have. i think it is not a primary driver, but i would say it absolutely relates to employees. host: david pashtun, thank you very much for being on "washington journal" this morning from new york. -- david paul cannot and, thank you for being on the "washington journal" was one from new york.

this headline in the "detroit free press" this morning. we will be talking about that in just a few minutes. but first, more news updates from c-span radio. >> pence a been a governor ed rendell speaking on a national -- pennsylvania gov. ed rendell speaking on a national program today is saying if they do poorly today they may have sent a model message to voters, saying, "we have got to explain more clearly to voters what we are doing." governor rendell also said he believes expectations were unreasonably high for president obama when he took office. representative mike pence of indiana appeared with governor rendell on cbs's the early show and says newly elected members

of the gop in congress will be ready to, in his words, "roll up our sleeves and work with everyone." meanwhile, president obama is giving broadcast interviews in an effort to get out the vote. he will air live on shows in los angeles and is taping interviews today for chicago and jacksonville, florida. also, interviews said to air today in milwaukee, honolulu, and miami. those are some of the headlines on c-span radio. >> the c-span networks, they provide coverage of politics, public affairs, nonfiction books, and american history. that is all available on television, radio, online and social media networking sites. find our content any time through c-span's video library. and we take c-span on the road with the local bus and -- with

the c-span bus and local content vehicles. it is now within 100 million homes, created by cable as a public service. , joans weekend on booktv.or of goldberger discusses the next wave of leaders on the right -- jonah goldberg discusses the next wave of leaders on the right. >> saturday, a landmark supreme court cases on c-span radio. >> there is nothing voluntarily about a bible reading. >> this wiegand focuses on schools and freedom of -- this weekend focuses on schools and

freedom of religion. saturday on c-span radio and -- in washington d.c. at 90.1 f.m. and nationwide on xm satellite radio. >> every weekend, experience american history tv, starting saturday at 8:00 a.m. eastern. the year historic speeches by national leaders and i would his accounts that shape our nation, visit museums, historical sites, and college campuses as professors and the historians delve into america's past. american history tv, all weekend, every weekend, on c- span3. >> "washington journal" continues. host: ziad ojakli is the government and community relations vice-president with the mortar -- the ford motor company. he is here to talk to us about

jobs in the auto industry. first, the detroit free press has an article about gm creating 1200 jobs. explain how that is going to work. guest: it must be nice to talk about something other than politics on election day. we are pouring $850 million into the state of michigan. a lot of it will center around building fuel-efficient 60 speed transmissions there. -- six-speed transmission is there. it is significantly good news for the state. host: these are transmissions that will go into cars that are also produced in detroit? guest: yes, and other places as well. but it is a new fuel-efficient six-speed transmission that we are very confident about.

host: how did ford come to make this decision? guest: it is interesting. there are a lot -- there is a lot of competition these days for investing we see it sabres a state and nation verses nation. investment in manufacturing is good news for the state's economy, a local economy. we went through process with the state of michigan to line up some investment incentives that would help make for a better climate for investment in michigan host: when you say incentives, what are you talking about? guest: basically, we're looking at $850 million and we were looking to see primarily through the tax structure how we could work together to provide the right climate, the right partnership to make michigan a great place to do business. host: so, we are talking about tax breaks. guest: tax breaks, yes, and primarily related to the tax

issue. host: significant are those tax breaks? and if you were not doing this in michigan, where might you have gone? guest: i do not want to speculate where we might have gone, but i would say it would be upwards of $400 million when all is said and done, over a time frame of years. i think is about 10 years. host: we are talking to ziad ojakli of the ford motor company. if you like to get involved in the conversation, please give us a call. the numbers are on the screen. as always, you can send us messages through e-mail and twitter. i want to take a look at a couple of numbers that are surprised by the ford motor co. about the ford motor company.

163,000 employees worldwide. $6.4 billion earned so far in 2010. 65,000-70,000 u.s. employees. 64 plants worldwide. it is also expected that 1200 jobs will be created under this new program. 900 hourly and 300 salaried. and as you mentioned, focusing on transmissions and components and this will occur over the next three years in the detroit area. how soon you plan to have these facilities up and running? guest: it will begin next year through 2013. it is the second most significant investment in michigan as of late. we also had a $950 million investment in turning a truck plant into a car plant where we will make the fourth focus. a lot of good news for michigan.

host: our first call comes from saginaw, mich., carry on the line for democrats. caller: when you are doing the hiring, are you going to be calling back laid-off people or doing new hires? what are your requirements going to be? guest: good question. first call will be on rehiring some of those who were displaced in the worst -- in the work force. those are about 1200 positions. 900 our hourly, 300 are sorely- salaried. host: carey, are you still with us? ok, no. let's move on to win him, conn., and the on the line for republicans. caller: how's it going? host: what is on your mind this morning? caller: i wanted to ask the

person from ford, with global competition the way it is, how does ford motor co. plan to compete with the high labor costs and the detroit area? thanks guest: for the question. -- guest: thanks for the question. the first thing i will say is that in working with the uaw we came to an agreement on a transformational agreement that would lower the cost of labor. we're still on a path to become more competitive as far as labor costs. another thing we can see globally is that ford motor co. is a big exporter of companies. in fact, our new explorer, which is coming out of chicago, another investment that we have made recently, $400 million, that affects -- that vehicle will be exported to 90 countries. host: the article in the free press talks about the

transmission plants in sterling heights and livonia transmission in the dearborn trucks. it also says -- what is the michigan economic development corporation and how does ford motor co. work with them in order to get these facilities up and running and to get these 1200 jobs out there? guest: it is a great group created by the governor's leadership and we have worked with them very closely to figure out what it is is -- that is going to attract these things to michigan. it is a very effective partnership, kind of a model for

other states, i would say. host: next up is dover, new jersey, call on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. this is wonderful to have news that ford is going to hire 1200 new jobs in this economy. i just wanted to say, it is sad that it almost took his company to go bankrupt, and the other american car companies to go bankrupt to realize that they let foreign car companies to set the trend on longer warranties, better mileage, and towering ility.l i was wondering what ford is doing these days to meet those demands. again, is great news that there will be 1200 new jobs. especially for michigan. guest: i can say it is fantastic

news. and think you for that. -- and thank you for that. we know we had a tough road to go. we're proud that we are executing a plan and we're doing it without the precious taxpayer assistance from a few years ago. each of the areas, in competing with foreign automakers, we are best in class on safety, fuel economy on safety. on fuel economy, we continue to make improvements. -- and competing with foreign auto makers, we are best in class on safety. on fuel economy, we continue to make improvements. host: there are quite a lot of different aspects on your plate.

how does the current health-care and pension system, haldex play into this -- how will that play into this? will it cost more for the company to do that? guest: cost more on health care? host: yes. guest: right now, as it relates to the health care bill that came through, we are waiting to see what the regulations look like in order to assess that. again, in working with the uaw on our transformational agreement, we are able to come to a way to have trust set up to half retirement health care taken care of. host: up is dover, missouri, charles on the

independent line. charles, a major turn down your television. -- i need you to turn down your television. caller: ok. host: do you have a question or comment? caller: i think it's great that ford is hiring. yes, i have a few thousand shares of ford motors. i do not get a dime of dividends. do you know when ford will start paying dividends again? guest: i cannot answer that question. that is left for others to answer. there is a reason they keep me here in washington and the way for the -- away from the finances. host: next up is maryland, good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to make a comment and ask the guests to respond to a point. ford motor co. started some time

ago improving dramatically the quality of their products. and as you know, we went through the financial problems over the past couple of years. ford motor co. did not take any money from the government. and now we see the new products that they are announcing this week. i want to get back to the source of driving of the problem -- quality improvement. my question is, in the mid-1980s when you sat down with the ford motor co. and all of the motor companies, and they talked about ways to improve quality and prices. i know for took a lot from that. but whereas, other companies like chrysler and gm did not. host: dan, before you go, are you connected to ford motor co. in any way? caller: no, i'm not. i'm with department of defense

and a pretty much do -- and i pretty much do engineering. guest: rick observations on deming. i would say the biggest -- great observations on deming. i would say the biggest plan has been on not just quality, but on safety and fuel economy and to continuously improve. alta valley, a central part of the plan was to focus on ford. we had a lot of other brands. we were a family of brands. we had a jaguar and volvo and moss that and aston martin. and aston martin. all of those things were a distraction. we had to make sure we have a plan and that we stuck to executing it.

host: who is mr. deming and what role does he play today? guest: is someone who has written on continuous improvement in the business world. i think, though, that i _ that it was coming up with a game plan that with the laser beam focus on all of those areas mentioned -- that by under scored that it was coming up with the game plan that could be a laser beam focus on all those areas mentioned. host: next call from missouri. caller: we need to stop worrying about china. there is no way we will be able to compete with them. we need to focus on just getting back to work and let the rest take care of itself. guest: one thing to draw out of that, i think we are at a place in this country right now where manufacturing matters again.

it is so important that here in the united states, when you look at manufacturing, it is millions and millions of jobs. about 70% of the r and d in this country comes from manufacturing. it is a teachable moment. both political parties and officials are starting to recognize that manufacturing can be an important part of getting the economy going again. we look forward to playing a role in that. host: next up is long island, n.y., on the line for democrats, sheila. caller: good morning. i'm a senior and you just had someone on the program saying, how many people reach the age of 65. we have two cars. basically, we have both been driving a ford -- i forget the

name of it, but it is a wagon. and whoever is our age sees this car wants to get one like it and ford stopped making it. wagons are much better for people our age. and it would be a big seller. my other comment is that on c- span, the other companies, chrysler and general motors, they went to ask for federal help. the court agreed that it would help them to ask -- ford agreed that it would help them to ask for money.

is that correct? guest: first, thanks for being a low customer. if you like that wagon, you would probably really like the flux. but thank you for being a customer. on gm and chrysler and helping them, we were very supportive of both of them getting emergency assistance from the federal government. we all share a supplier base, about 70% to 80% of the suppliers are in common. our concern was that if one of the suppliers were to go down, that could have a knock down effect on the whole industry and would have led to severe begin job loss at a time when this cut -- this country could afford it least. we work supportive of helping gm and chrysler -- we were supportive of helping gm and chrysler, and at the same time

of personally staying away from government assistance. host: the "wall street journal" talks about gm's sticker of $50 billion. give me your thoughts about the situation with gm, why they had to go this route as opposed to whewent.e that ford whe and where does this put the two companies, ford and gm, in the market? guest: first, i will not pretend to understand what went into all of the decisions at gm. all i know is that ford, we had our own plan.

we took out probably the biggest home improvement loan in american history. it was $23.5 billion. we borrowed money when the markets were still lending money and we put all our assets as collateral, even our trademark blue oval. that allowed us to have the funds necessary to get through the crisis, but also to invest in the future. we are starting to see some of those products coming out right now. i would rather not comment on their plans. i wish them the best, not too much, but they are good competitors. we look forward to competing with gm and chrysler and everybody else. host: with this new $850 million investment, will there be much new construction involved in this? in building plants, or would you

go into facilities that are already up and running? guest: some in terms of construction. the majority of this will be in existing facilities. there is a lot of work to be done to retool and get ready for the transmissions. host: queen's burk, a pennsylvania, on our line for democrats. you are on with ziad ojakli. caller: thanks for taking my call. i'm glad to hear the ford is adding 1200 new jobs to the detroit area, at least. and i have forged. i have had quite a few through the years. -- i have ford's. i have had quite a few through the years. i have a ford pickup truck that i still start up and drive every once in awhile.

i tell you what, it is one heck of a truck. but i want to know if you are in a do anything about the seats in the new -- if you are going to do anything about the seat in the new ford. they are at a very sharp angle when you reach back. i would like you to change that and make it look like the 1961 or 1962 thunderbirds. ofe i said, i've had a lot them through the years. keep up the good work. guest: thank you. caller: but i would like to see the lombard and supports go and the sharp decline. host: how long have you had the truck? caller: probably about 18 years. host: if you ever get around to replacing it, will you buy

another ford truck? caller: probably. fords. my fourt guest: thank you for the compliment. i will tell you, the new f-150 is the best truck in the world. it is phenomenal. host: gordon, you are on the washington journal -- the "washington journal." caller: when will we see a 100% hydrogen vehicle? i still see the three major car companies continue to utilize 100 year old technology in a combustion engine. i'm in the market for a new car,

but 35 miles per gallon is not going to get it for me. until i see an automobile that uses a model -- an alternative energy source that is functional for me, i'm just not going to buy. guest: thanks for the question. at fourth, we are very focused on providing all of the choicest -- at ford, we are focused on providing all the choices. we will have a full gamut in the next couple of years that will be a hybrid and the electric vehicles and plug in electric vehicles. we have one that we're working on that will transition to hydrogen. we have one that we're working on in the longer term that will be a hydrogen combustion engine.

one of the problems with either hydrogen court electrification or with alternative fuel vehicles is the infrastructure that needs to be in place. that is something that we have to work on very closely with the federal government in particular to make sure there is beef infrastructure. i will give you an it -- there is the infrastructure. i will give you an example. we have probably five or 6 million vehicles that are dean hybrid vehicles on the street, but we only have so many pubs that are able to do the ethanol. host: and there has to be a certain amount of demand. guest: absolutely. host: in the marketplace. do you see that now or on the horizon? that more people will start coming into dealerships and say they want an electric car or a

hybrid car? guest: it is a very small percentage now, maybe 2% of all of the vehicles out there. i would say, yes, if the cost comes down and we continue to improve the battery technology. we may need to look at consumer credits or some kind of tax incentive. all of those need to be in place for consumer demand to increase. host: much support do you see on capitol hill for a tax incentive like the ones you are talking about? guest: there is strong bipartisan support and there's already one in place. but there is strong support for doing something on the consumer side, and also figuring out how we can do more on battery technology in the united states. the one thing we cannot do is trade dependence on one source of energy for another if our batteries are made overseas. host: our next call for ziad ojakli comes from georgia on the

for republicans.ican go ahead. caller: as ford plan to complete agricultural and marine applications? and if not, why not? guest: i think this gets back to the last question, which is, we continue to pick across the board. we are not picking one technology oover another, but looking at all of them to see which is the most promising. some arnes markets, but we are looking at everything. -- some are niche markets, but we are looking at everything. host: next call from ohio, carol, go ahead. caller: my name is carol and my husband works at the ford motor plant. i need to turn that darn tv

down. they are doing the ego boost engine -- eco-boost engine. and i was disappointed that they close the foundry. my husband worked there for 17 years. also, i have relatives that have retired from ford and their health plan is different than the health plan for for retirees in other states. why is that? they have to pay most of their doctor bills now, where if you live out of state, you do not have to pay debt. i was curious about that. and thank you, i'm so glad for is still here. host: thanks for being part of the ford family. with respect to the foundry,

tough decisions have been made over the last couple of years to make business work for the long term and become more efficient and meet consumer demand. on the eco-boost engine that the caller mentioned, this is just great. we're putting these engines on a lot of our products and it is about a 20% increase in fuel economy. it has really helped us work to meet the standards on fuel economy. on the health care question, i'm sorry, i do not know the answer to that question. but if you leave your number or contact, i will be glad to look into it. host: 1 blog talks about the white house putting out a few efficiency standards for heavy vehicles.

from your perspective, is there any truth to that statement, that it was easier for the administration to demand or ask for these cafe standards because of the downturn in the automotive industry right now? guest: i would say, in the case of ford, we were leaning forward to try to work with the government, to try to find the right kind of standards, the right kind of road map to take us through the economy. it was not an adversarial relationship. i think the agreement that was made with president obama and the administration was a good

one, a good road map that takes us through 2016. why it was so important to us is we came out with one standard to follow. that is so important with product planning, where it takes years to plan your next vehicles. we wanted to have some certainty in the equation. and prior to that deal, all the states could have their own laws and we had a fragmented policy. having won policy, a clear direction and a clear no. was the right thing to do -- having a single policy, a clear number on and a clear no was the right thing to do. when you look at co2 reduction and working toward energy independence, i think the auto industry has more than given here. we're the only industry that has been restrained this way on co2. what we hope for in the longer term solution toward co2

dependence reduction is that everybody needs to set up the table, not just the auto industry. host: next up, ohio, herbert on our line for independents. you are on the line with ziad ojakli. caller: good morning. i'm driving a 2010 ford. i love it. if ford xlt four-wheel-drive. my question is, i saw an yahoo! that you have a plan to build a $500 million engine plant in china? is that true? guest: as far as the exact number, i'm not sure. but we are expanding our operations in china. we have several facilities in a

few places there. we are growing in china. but we are growing in the asia- pacific and we have products that we think that that market well. we look forward to selling more vehicles in china. host: this article is talking about the president hoping to rally republicans and it says that the administration is under pressure from the uaw. at winning support for ford is particularly important for the administration says it was the only one of the big three u.s. auto producers to decline a bit about during the financial crisis. your thoughts?

guest: a great question. exporting is such an important part of our business plan moving forward. and as i mentioned, the explorer going into 90 countries is a great success story. the problem we have with the agreement -- there are two big problems. first, if this agreement were to pass in its current form, it would basically codify one-way trade. the trade is coming from korea to the united states, not from the u.s. to korea. korea is the most closed markets in the world. about 5% import penetration into korea, whereas the non-states is 40% or more. the u.s. is -- where the united states is 40% or more. the u.s. is the most open market. we're practitioners of free trade. and we see this as an opportunity, if we can open the korean market, to sell our vehicles there. the other issue is, if we have a

bad agreement on the automotive provisions in the current agreement, we will see that replicated and other places. meaning, if the chinese or the indians or anybody else seeks a trade agreement with the united states, they will demand nothing less than the corian scott, which is one way trade. -- that the koreans got, which is one way trade. we're glad that the president and leaders in congress are supportive of our position. host: our next call from topeka, kan., on the line for republicans. caller: we should be more interested in making jobs at the local level because it will help bring back money for the people. also, i was wondering if your wife has contempt toward you --

host: let's move on to the line for democrats in san antonio. caller: thank you for taking my call. my question is, why doesn't ford put diesel engines into more vehicles? they get more miles per gallon than regular engines and the infrastructure is already there. because trevor's are using diesel and a number of -- because truck drivers are using diesel and another number of drivers as well. if i could get an answer to that, i'd appreciate it. guest: that is a great question, and i would say on diesel technology, we are pursuing a lot in terms of clean diesel technology. the reason why you do not see it as much to hear is frankly, the

roles that were written over time that do not provide diesel the same level playing field of other technologies. i think that is changing. diesel has fantastic fuel economy. you see it in europe. a diesel technology is down -- is dominant. working for more here. and ford is working toward that end. host: the president's chief liaison to the u.s. senate from 2001 through 2004. he managed daily interaction and coordinated legislative strategy with administrative agencies and cabinet departments. back to the phones. illinois on the line for independents.

caller: first, i would like to thank for for trying to be responsible and business and do what is good for the community. can innovation get us to a point where we get gas mileage anywhere from 60 to 100 miles per gallon with, i guess, oil based fuels? there seems to be interesting potential for, i guess, fuel supplement. is there any way for could lead the way in bringing more fuel- efficient cars without necessarily relying on new technology? i mean, the carburetor, outdated technology, but if you put heating fuel in a card reader, you can get amazing gas mileage.

that may be only on long distance travel, but i would like to hear your thoughts on that. guest: our philosophy is continuous improvement on fuel economy, whether it is looking at some of these other technologies that we talked about earlier, or if you're looking at the internal combustion engine. eco-boost is an example of the perfect technology that is scalable and improves fuel economy by 20% over the previous engine. we will continue to look at it and continue to find ways to be more fuel efficient. you will see this in the ford fiesta and other vehicles, that we will be first in class across the board. host: oklahoma, on the line for republicans, mike, good morning. caller: i'm very sorry that you

guys are missing the boat on the crossovers, the new station wagons, i will call them. you made the focus in a wagon form right up to 1996 and i had one, and i'm very sorry that i traded in. all you have now is the edge, and it is very pricey. what are the plans for getting an economical crossover, or station wagon? i hope you have one. guest: the engine, and you did not mention the mkx, the linking counterparts, which is absolutely fabulous. i would say those two are doing very well in the marketplace. we have a little bit bigger vehicle, the ford flex, which is a dynamite vehicle for families. but we are advocating is the

whole family, which is, small, medium, large, trucks and economy. host: governor jennifer granholm is coming to the end of her tenure as governor. she is limited by a term limits. tell us a bit about the two gentlemen that are running to replace her and what you see as the future relationship between state government and the ford motor co. moving forward. guest: we are proud of our home, michigan, but we are located a lot of other places, not only around the country, but around the world. in this governor's race, there are two candidates. one is a businessman, rick snyder, a very successful businessman, the republican candidates. regardless of what happens, we have a strong working relationship, always have, with the state of michigan, and we

look forward to that continuing. host: ohio on the line for democrats, larry, go ahead. caller: i want to call in and thank the ford motor company. my family has worked the cleveland complex for three generations. i have my grandfather, my father, several locals, several cousins and six brothers that all work at ford. i will be a fourth man to the gadite. thank you very much. -- i will be a ford man to the day i die. thank you very much. guest: thank you for that story. these other things that make you proud to be part of the ford motor co., and after the, to be producing jobs in the united states right now and investing in the u.s. and being part of the recovery to come. host: have you started recruiting for these jobs that will be part of this $850 million? guest: i think we are still in

the process. and it has only been a week since the announcement. host: alabama, bill on the one for republicans. you are on the "washington journal". bill? caller: yeah, go ahead. host: go ahead. caller: the unions are overcharging for everything they do in the workplace. retirements, and that is really the reason jobs are leaving, on account that the unions are charging so much for their labour work. host: 0 ojakli? -- mr. ojakli? guest: we have a lot of partnerships through working with ford. one of them is uaw, and we are