been convicted and the 120,000 arrested as terrorists in 65 countries over the past decade. and later, vernon loeb from "the washington post" talks about his book, "king's council: a memoir of war, espionage and diplomacy in the middle east." middle east." "washington journal" is next. >> this plan is a first step. it represents the kind of real reform that we need. folks, it must come from you. it must come from the american people. real hope is in it you. it is not that change that we heard about back in 2008. heard about back in 2008. host: fewer government regulations, tax cuts, and the

creation of more jobs. the former vice presidential nominee in making her remarks yesterday, part of a tea party rally. she did not indicate whether she is going to run for office or not. mitt romney speaking at a tea party event to date in new hampshire. the president having to paterson, new jersey, to view some of the damage caused by hurricane irene. tomorrow, he talks about jobs at a rally in detroit. we're going to begin -- we're going to begin on this question. should sarah palin run or not? is she in the race or is he staying out?

-- or is she staying out? the drug report -- drudge report had this headline. about 2000 people showing up for this tea party rally. you can join the conversation by sending us a tweet. or you can send us an e-mail. we will get to your calls in just a moment. she points out that over the last couple of years, under the obama administration, the deficit has been rising about $3 million a minute. one in seven americans are on

food stamps. she is saying that this problem has awakened a sleeping america. also this morning, will she help or hurt new hampshire? sarah palin will be in the state tomorrow. tomorrow. this begins a month of debate, beginning on wednesday at the residential -- at the reagan presidential library in california. another debate taking place a week from monday. that takes place on monday, september 12. linda, sarah palin, should she run or not? caller: yes, of course, she should run. should run. that would give obama an opportunity to wipe her out in

the general election. i do not understand why the media is so focused on sarah palin. she " -- she is a quitter. why would the american people picked sarah palin as president? knowing that she would quit her job halfway through. i do not understand what is the fascination with sarah palin. it amazes me that there are so many other issues that are important, like the of the auteur suppression. you are not covering bad at all. you are covering this quick turn -- quitter. sarah palin is not important. host: michael, a new jersey, democrats' line. caller: i would have to say a

reluctant democrats. host: michael, are you still with us? we will go to john in indiana. caller: good morning. it is not a matter of doubt whether she should run or not run. she is not going to run. the moment she declares, the financial gravy train is out. host: sarah palin talks about her plan, but does not announce in iowa. you can join the conversation by giving us a call. giving us a call. from the front page of "the new york times" -- they talk about the three debates in the next three weeks.

rick perry is privately being coached to come across as more presidential. deliberate and defending his texas record. rob is joining us on the republican line. caller: good morning. i think sarah palin should run it. she has actually run a

government, a business. she has done something other than being a political organizer. i think she would be a good candidate. i know she has a following. she has a huge crowds. i think she should run and make the race interesting. host: from the baltimore sun -- about 2000 people attending the event. we covered it live on c-span. it is available on our website. should gov. palin run or not? caller: i do not see why she should not. making money, that is all she is doing great selling books. thank you.

caller: thank you very much. as far as sarah palin goes, i do not think she should run. not think she should run. most of the candidates are on qualified. rick perry is on qualified. the governorship in texas is a powder puff position that has virtually no responsibility. to inherit an economy that was soaring and for us to think that he is a rainmaker is preposterous. sarah palin, it is much the same with barack obama. i was so swept up in education and forgets the fact that participating in the running of the united states is an extraordinary endeavor. look at most of the president's.

you can see the told emotionally that it takes on them. we live in a very complex world where presidents have been separated from their nuclear football because of their arrogance. i do not know that we have had a president in a very long time to turn out to be sold self- consumed that he brought himself and the country down. we have had very few presidents that have been able to command the attention of the world, which is the place we find ourselves in. we should be far more demanding of the candidates that we pick. these kinds of beauty contests are indicative of the character

or person that we get. host: michael, let me jump in. you are democrats, correct? caller: i do not know what i am, but i was a democrat until i got hoodwinked to think that the lectures and the impressive speeches of barack obama would translate into a man that had the confidence and character to stand up for his beliefs and willing to list on election because his values. host: is it safe to say that you will not support his reelection? thank you for the call. we will move on to some other calls. we will move onto this tweet.

jennifer jacobs has this story. she was at the rally yesterday. declaring a bid for the white house, sarah palin disparaged the gop presidential candidate and made the case for her own plan to change america. the story is available on-line. 71% of republicans saying that she should not run for president. sarah palin saying that she laughed off the polls. laughed off the polls. that story is all mine. good morning. -- that story is on line. good morning. caller: i have been watching the c-span coverage of some of the

candidates. i saw sarah palin and jon huntsman. they are both so impressive. the one thing about sarah palin, the one thing about sarah palin, no one can doubt her love for this country. i think it is really nasty of the white everybody seems to instill these terrible motives -- nasty of everybody who seems to instill this terrible modus of why she is running. i really hope that people realized the only priority in the next election is jobs and the recovery of the economy. president obama has done everything to retard our republic. that is a very sad thing. that is a very sad thing. host: she did not mention any

not mention any candidate by name . she criticized career politicians and it says it was not enough to simply replace mr. obama with an ordinary republican administrations. she shook hands, signed autographs, and took pictures for more than 30 minutes. randy has this comment from las vegas, that she left office for the money and she will not run for the same reason. it would be a pay cut. you can join the conversation on line. the president traveling to paterson, new jersey, an area that has been hard hit one week after hurricane irene. the flooding continues in vermont and the power outages continue for some rather is it -- for some residents in connecticut.

yesterday, at sarah palin took aim at fema. >> watch what happens now with the mat and some of these bureaucratic agencies. they do not want to refer to art centralized government as government. now it is called the federal family. am i too old to ask to be emancipated? i never thought i would say it, but i want a divorce. >> speaking went about 40 minutes. riposted on line at -- wheat posted it online at c-span.org. ed is joining us from national park, new jersey. should sarah palin run or not? what do you think? caller: i say no because she has neither the intelligence nor the experience.

this is a woman who quit the state of alaska and the people who voted her in to go on a money-making spree. i think her ego is him on this. i do not think she would be good for the country. i like some of the things that john huntsman has to say. i think rick perry is extreme. i think michele bachmann is dangerous. i do not think barack obama, given the circumstances, i think he is doing the best can. i think there was such a big hole. i lived in new jersey. there used to be chemical plants all up and down the delaware river. they do not hire any more. they do not hire any more. it is a daughter job situation. it is gone to take time to the

country -- it is a direct job situation. -- dire job situation. -- dire job situation. caller: what i wanted to say is yes, she should run, so we can stop asking is she going to run? at the same time, she is out there, a celebrity just like michael jackson. she will always had a falling -- she will always have a following. i will protest wednesday and i will not be buying any gas on wednesday. i hope everybody does the same thing. these republicans do not want to talk about jobs. they just want to talk about getting rid of regulations that we need.

getting rid of schoolteachers. school teachers were there for them, now they do not want them for our children. it is ridiculous. host: jodie has this on our twitter page. twitter page. the headline this morning from the new york daily news. the president called on congress to pass an extension of the transportation bill. here it is more from the weekly address yesterday with president obama. >> there is no reason to put more jobs at risk in an industry that has been one of the hardest hit and the recession. there is no reason to cut off funding for transportation projects. so many of our bridges are in

need of repair. so many businesses are feeling the cost of delays. this is not a democratic or republican issue. it is an american issue. two groups who do not see eye to eye on much, but agreed that it is critically important for our economy that congress act now. 128 mayors from both parties wrote to congress and ask them to come together and pass an extension. these are local leaders that are on the ground every day. congress as soon as they get back to pass an extension of the transportation bill to keep workers on the job and to keep critical projects moving forward. host: the president yesterday. we will have live coverage of the president's speech thursday, 7:00.

a speech before the joint session in which the president will be outlining his jobs agenda. we will be getting a preview of it tomorrow when he speaks to the labor day rally in detroit. "the new york times" write about it on the editorial page.

that is part of the view from the new york times. the "new york v post." we are focusing on sarah palin. she spoke yesterday to 2000 people in iowa. she will be in new hampshire tomorrow. the question is, should she run or not? john has this point of view from our twitter page.

john is joining us from new jersey on the republican line. caller: good morning. she should definitely run. she is the most qualified we have up there. host: ok, thank you for the call. we will go to cathy in dallas. caller: good morning. i think the more competition that we have during this election, the better off we are. i watched sarah palin. what really -- everybody is sick and tired of all the bad mouthing of each other. instead of saying what they're going to do, they just sit around and cut each other for what they have done wrong. i do not think that is the issue. i think the issue is what they

are going to do for us. i see a lot of racism going 9 and dad is a sad thing. our country -- i see a lot of racism going on and that is a sad thing. host: he writes that at times, she sounded like a candidate, at times, she did not. john has this point, artware page. but this point on our twitter page. carry on the democrats' line from miami, florida. caller: i do not think sarah

palin should run because all the people that she is talking to our old people. she is like drugs to those people because they are old and they do not see where the country is going. she should stay out of it. she should stop trying to make the other party insufficient. host: thank you for the call. caller: i must be one of the old, stupid people. i am 72. i think sarah palin gave a powerful speech yesterday. i agreed with every word that she said. i will tell you something else, she could not do a worse job than what we have now. i will tell you something else,

if she were elected president, you would not be paying $4 for a gallon of gas. she would drill for more or oil and she would drill for natural gas. i think she could do a great job. the liberal media will not allow its. they have too much invested in barack obama. they are not going to put up with someone like sarah palin being elected president of the united states. thank you. thank you. host: thank you for the call. from the front page of the new york times -- we are focusing on whether you think sarah palin should run or not. good morning. caller: good morning. listen, i was referring to the

first caller. he said that she was a quitter. barack obama was a u.s. senator, was he not? he was a quitter. that is all i have to say on the subject. caller: thank you for the call. you can see some of the photographs posted. some related stories with regard to her appearance yesterday, which, again, ran about 40 minutes. mark is joining us from cleveland. caller: hello. good morning to you.

sarah palin is just trying to get her name out there. she wants to get on television whenever she can. thank you. host: roberta and minneapolis as this. why is sarah palin relevant? isn't there something else you could put on c-span for discussion? this from a viewer in south carolina. a number of republican candidates speaking at a forum today. mitt romney is beginning the day in new hampshire, by the way. on wednesday, nbc news and politico are cosponsoring a debate that will take place in the reagan library would air force one as a backdrop. it is one of the new exhibits at

the library. our guest is former congressman john kasich. we focused on the current republican presidential field. >> i think we have a pretty good field. it is not all of the excitement that everybody would like at this point. but it is early. there are candidate getting people charged up. i do not think rick perry is too conservative. with a record like that on jobs, people want to work. >> how many conversations have you had with republican candidates? >> just about everybody. i have not talked to ron paul

yet. they call me and i tell them what i am working on. i do not have a lot of communication with them, but i have talked to mitt romney. i talked to rick perry before he decided to jump in. decided to jump in. i am not leaving anyway. i am not focused on the right now >> our conversation airs at 10:00 eastern. also at 6:00 this evening. it is also posted online act c- span.org. we are focusing on sarah palin. caller: i would say that sarah palin has gotten enough attention and. -- attention. i know a lot of people said she

did not have enough politics experience. from listening to her last night, i think she should run. i think she should take obama out of office. host: we are looking at some of the photographs of the scene at the sarah palin rally. caller: i believe that if sarah palin runs, and if she happens to when, thereby be a massive exodus of u.s. citizens. host: thank you for the call. sarah palin for president? the only thing more annoying than her voice is the extreme

ignorance that comes out of it. darlene is joining us from dallas, texas, democrats' line. caller: good morning. how are you? i think she should run. i think it would be entertaining. i think it would be hilarious. it would probably give president obama a little more fuel to the fire in regards to the gop candidates. they do not have a serious candidate right now. which means he will win the election. i am sorry that people are upset that the economy is the way it is. host: thank you for the call. let's go to politico. she is casting herself as the

strongest defender of the tea party wing of the republican party. sarah palin tipped a shot at her 2008 running mates john mccain. the story is available on-line at politico.com. at politico.com. caller: absolutely, she should run. if we have learned anything from obama and the professors in his administration, they do not have a clue when it comes to governing in real life. of course, sarah palin should run. we should have paid attention when obama was writing that he had no experience. that has proven out now. thank you. thank you. host: the weekly standard, how

they are commemorating 911 on college campuses. september 11 is the focus of the new york times sunday magazine. this programming note? next week is the 10th anniversary. we will have an extended series of events life on the c-span and networks. all three ceremonies will be live. the president will be traveling to all three locations. we will be opening up our phone lines and share with you some interviews that we have done with people who remember the events of september 11. that is all next week, beginning

at 7:00. next is a viewer from ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. sarah palin should not run. she is a big joke. everybody who is following her is a big joke. thank you. host: thank you for the call. jerry from lakeland, florida. asked -- caller: i think she should run. as a 32-year man from the military, if you would take a book and what she was talking about yesterday, take a look at the people. they were not all old people. there were quite a few young people. i have to be truthful with you. the lady says the truth.

a lot of people do not like to hear the truth nowadays. yes, i do think she should run. if she does, there will be a whole lot of us backing her. host: from our twitter page -- dick cheney's new book, we will interview the former vice president for booktv.

caller: good morning. i would like to say that my opinion is that sarah palin should not run. she quit to public office jobs. i would like to send one message to the tea party. please start supporting, ron paul. host: we are focusing on sarah palin this morning. recovered her live yesterday. she indicated that there was room in the race for more republican candidate, but she did not announce yesterday.

caller: i think she should get out. you guys need to stop focusing on sarah palin and start focusing on jobs. host: our next caller is from florida, republican line. caller: when she was the mayor, at she built a gym that was the pride of alaska. when she was governor, she double the payment to every single resident of the state of alaska from the oil companies. all the other companies -- all the other governors tried to do that, but she was the one that got it done. she also completed the pipeline negotiations and got all that done. look, she was incredible merit and she was an incredible governor.

you asked any resident of alaska who has been there any length of time, they will tell you that she was incredible. they cannot believe how smart she was. she got it done. host: thank you for the call. some of the photographs, they posted about 30 shots from her appearance yesterday. from our twitter page, david has this -- a lot of comments come a lot of reaction -- a lot of commons, a lot of reaction in. tomorrow, she will travel to new hampshire. but -- mitt romney making a play for hispanic voters. michael is joining as from iowa. good morning. caller: good morning. it is an interesting question.

it really makes no difference who is president once they are elected. they seem to be owned by large corporations. she is interesting. why not? it does not matter who is elected. elected. it is not a candy apple world anymore. it is interesting, a very interesting. host: thank you for the call. the rain threatened during much of the appearance yesterday. of the appearance yesterday. about 2000 people in attendance, according to the crowd count.

if she does, will she campaigned seriously in new hampshire? if not, will that lessened the importance of the leadoff primary? this is from one of our viewers. the media is in love with sarah palin and she has always had a fallback position. joe is joining us from tampa, florida. caller: yes. sarah palin it should run. i would like to urge all democrats to put her in office.

america seems to have forgotten george bush. we need to do what they did to the democrats with obama. obama has tried. the republicans cannot see what this man has tried to do for this country. host: thank you for the call. from our twitter page -- that is the front page story of that iowa newspaper. caller: i do not really believe that sarah palin should run this time around. i definitely think it is hilarious that people are still begrudging her making a living.

that is what she is doing, making a living. earlier the guy was talking about how sarah palin was ignorant because of what she said. the man was quoting a comedian's line. that is what is really idiotic. she never said that. she did weigh more in office then barack obama has done as president of the united states. she has every right to make a living. go for it, sarah palin. host: this on our twitter page --

the field is beginning to take shape. more politicsng later in the program as well. gm is joining us from new hampshire, independent line. caller: good morning. thank you. i hope she runs because i will vote in the republican primary as an independent. i will try -- i will vote for john huntsman. it would be nice to allied -- add to the zoo of other candidates. i earnestly hope that she runs. host: elizabeth from georgia is next. caller: hello? president obama is so much more

intelligent than sarah palin. she is very intelligent, too. host: we are getting a little bit of feedback, but thank you for the call. anyone can see the fix is in. she is a documented quarter. -- quitter. caller: i feel like she should run. i think it is a little too early. anyone who gets into that position, a republican,

democrat, or independent, is going to have their work cut out for them. it is gone to be quite a challenge to see a crew gets in there and what is going to happen. -- it is going to be quite a challenge to see who gets in there and what is going to happen. host: good morning. i think she should run because she will drive a lot of moderate independent support away from the republicans and toward the democrats. she is so extreme that she emphasizes the differences between the reasonable and -- a reasonable candidate like obama. host: a lot of comments on artware page. a lot of them aimed -- a lot of comments on our put your page. comments on our put your page. bea are asking you whether it is time for sarah palin to get in

or get out. that is our focus. caller: good morning. the first thing i want to say is that you read a quotation this morning from a newspaper article where the lady said that sarah palin did not answer the question about whether she was gone to iran. i watched that speech. she said that she would give her answer at the end of september. also, she said she was not for sale. to the corporations out there better giving all this money to the other candidates. should she run? yes. she did so much good in alaska. if all those people out there would do any kind of research on how she helped alaska, a lot of them would change their mind. i will vote for her. if she is not the candidate, i will write her name in. we will go down as a country if

obama is reelected. host: what do you think about a third party candidate? caller: i do not know. if obama gets reelected, what we've begun as a country. he is more in sync with the corporate bigwigs who are running this country and our world. we have to get out of that. if we do not, the united states is going to fall. i love this country. i love sarah palin's passion. i do not hear that from any other republican candidate. they are afraid to say anything because they are afraid if they can aggravate one group of people, they will not get elected. sarah palin does not do that. thank you very much. host: she is the most popular

and can jump in in november. fort lauderdale, florida, democrats' line. caller: i am always amazed at the intellect of the citizens of america to consider sarah palin as the most qualified individual to run for the presidency. i am also amazed at widhy you waste all of your time even dealing with paher, a person who was unable to take the heat of the seat of the governor to be considered to take the heat of the seat of the president of the united states. the most powerful country in the world.

no, she should not run. host: ok, thank you for the call. call. our last call is a republican caller. caller: yes, absolutely, sarah palin should run for president. the center she is exposed through the rough and tumble world of provincial politics, the better off we will all be. -- brinkmanship politics, the better off we will all be. better off we will all be. you can continue the conversation on our facebook page and online at our twitter page. you can watch the event with sarah palin yesterday.

it is posted on our site for politics. following mitt romney to date in new hampshire. he is speaking to a tea party gathering. president obama will be in new jersey today. one other headline we want to bring your attention to, the front page of the washington post.

and how he thinks the deficit should be reduced and jobs can be created. >> what the president could do, and i think he needs to think about -- they have tried everything. maybe you should think about some of the things that reagan dead. -- did. but some sort of a moratorium on all these regulations, provide some certainty. see what he can do to work out some kind of an agreement on this data sets that can be real. he has to send a signal. if you start talking about raising taxes and dividends and capital gains and taxing people at higher marginal rates, the proof is in the pudding. they need to think about all

this. i think we're getting to the point where they are running out of time. in terms of this current administration. >> that is coming up at 10:00 eastern time. alex isenstadt is going to be with us in just a couple of minutes. congress is back to work this week. later, martha mendoza of the associated press. a new study conducted 10 years after 9/11 that several hundred people were arrested for carries them in the last 10 years. that number has increased to 35,000 trad0. that is all coming up as "washington journal" continues. back in a moment.

>> it has become an adjective, not too many people would want to have themselves described as a machiavellian. not too many people would call themselves machiavellian. >> his name is synonymous with cynical scheming and a selfish pursuit of power. tonight, the author argues that his theories may have been a response to the corruption around him. that is at 8:00. this holiday weekend, the name conjures elegant and grandeur, but during world war ii, the

queen mary was commissioned as they troop ship. remembering 9/11, and covering september 11, from the florida trip and the pentagon. look for the complete weekend schedule at c-span.org/history. >> it might not surprise you that we see good things come in twos. >> you can watch live events at c-span.org. >> or you can see them wherever you want on the c-span video library. >> listen to what's on your iphone. >> follow us on twitter.

>> it is washington, your way, on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we want to welcome alex isenstadt. a big debate is coming up soon. a lot of focus on sarah palin. she says she will officially announce whether she is running at the end of september. what is going on here? guest: she is certainly teasing a lot of her supporters. she had some harsh words for president barack obama. she talked about some of the current republican contenders. she did everything that her supporters want her to do except for announce that she is running for president.

host: at what point does she have diminishing returns for appearances in early primary states without formally saying whether she is in or out? guest: sarah palin has been talking about running for president for the better part of a year now. she held a big motorcade rally. this is something that she has not announced. other candidates in this race, such as mitt romney and michele bachmann, built early organizations and racked up big donors. sarah palin has not laid the groundwork yet. host: let me share with you -- some people have become very

wary of restraining the media along, stringing of voters along about whether she is or is not going to run. will she help or hurt new hampshire? she will be there tomorrow. guest: there are three big names in this race to have had a big start. there are those that have covered the race for a while. we have not seen any declaration from her. by the end of september, it is going to be very late in the game. host: sarah palin taking aim at democrats and republicans. >> do not wait for the prominent political class to reform anything for you. they will not. they cannot. they cannot even take responsibility for their own

actions. our credit is downgraded, but it is not their fault. is not their fault. our economy is in turmoil, but it is not his fault. it is the tsunami in japan or the middle east uprising. it is hurricane irene, it is the atm machines. [applause] the truth is, barack obama is a drift with no plan because his fundamental transformation is at odds with everything that made this country great. .ost: sarah palin yesterday's about 2000 people on hand for sarah palin. tom beaumont covers all of this. he is in iowa this morning. thank you for being with us. what did you take away from the

weekend appearance by sarah palin? >> this is the window closing on >> this is the window closing on this opportunity for her to on the spot light before she has to make the decision. with a big of parents in iowa yesterday, obviously, with the timing -- the appearance in iowa yesterday, we have all these debates from the declared candidates coming in september. this is the weekend that she can sort of: that spotlight, a test drive this message that she had yesterday. we have seen some pretty strategic use of the media. it is testing that message before she goes into that last three weeks of making her final decision. host: the fall campaign beginning to take shape.

this morning, at writing about a series of events in september. a month that will shape the presidential race. from your perspective, how will the next three or four weeks shape the race in iowa? guest: a lot of people will be watching these debates. they will be watching to see if rick perry has the chops to go after mitt romney. rick perry gets into the race and shows some promise in fund- raising efforts, and now we have to see if he can stand up under the hot light of the debate. sarah palin is going to be watching that. from the standpoint of iowa, i think that mitt romney is going to be watching perry very closely to see if he can stand up under that pressure. if he is going to become a formidable threat in iowa, that made caused him to pitch.

mitt romney has campaigned lightly in iowa. if perry takes off, shows some promise in the debate, begins to gain traction and go after michele bachmann, you may see it mitt romney put more chips in iowa. that would make i was the central and first test of the 2012 nominating contest. host: jon huntsman and saying that he is going to bypass iowa completely. he said that florida will determine knew he thinks will be the republican presidential nominee. let me ask you about some of the other contenders. rick santorum, ron paul appear to have some strong and growing support. guest: that may be. maybe they are waiting for somebody like michele bachmann to falter.

michele bachmann hit a high point in june with her entry into the race. with the entry of rick perry, that is going to steal from some of michele bachmann's key voting area. perry is going to take some evangelical conservatives. he is going to take some tea party conservatives. he also has that element of being a strong fiscal conservative. that is going to cut into mitt romney's group. the others that you mentioned are buying for about a grass- roots mantra. for the moment, michele bachmann owns that. host: we are talking to tom beaumont and alex isenstadt. this is an ad being put forth by michele bachmann, taking direct aim at the texas governor. >> rick perry says he is one tough hombre on spending.

what is his record? but perry -- this year, he is spending more money than the state takes in. covering his deficits with a record bar wing. he is supposed to be the tea party dguy. there is an odd is conservative, and she is not preparing. -- and she does not record perry. host: we will get the first reaction from you, alex isenstadt. guest: rick perry can take some of that grass-roots support from her. he can overshadow her. they think that michele bachmann is likely to falter. i think that in her place could be somebody like rick perry.

michele bachmann supporters recognize that rick perry is the big opponent and the race right now, in terms of iowa, where she is conceivably the front runner. host: tom beaumont, what is happening here? >> both campaigns see iowa as a place where they have to win. both are not going to be able to win. taking down perry is the michele bachmann campaign priority right now. they did not see him coming. the thing about rick perry is that he steals from more than just one of michele bachmann's key support areas. it is not just the evangelical conservatives. he is a strong contender among the tea party conservatives.

i have been talking to some insiders and they need to see what he is going to come up with. they need to see if he can really rallied these different elements of the republican base tim pawlenty said he could. this would be an area that could undermine the michele bachmann campaign. host: tom beaumont is joining us on this sunday from iowa. thank you for joining a. >> thank you. host: let's talk about the debate that will take place this wednesday. the debate time has held firm, at 8:00 eastern. it is at the reagan library. what is the format and what can we expect?

guest: we cannot expect to see -- everybody is gone to be looking to see how rick perry response to questions. how directly will he go after mitt romney? will he try to contrast himself from michele bachmann? we know that he has a pretty high profile life so far, but we have not seen him in the debate format so far. we want to see some of the other candidates. rick santorum, we'll be looking at those top three candidates in this race. how does mitt romney engaged rick perry? host: there is often called the spin room after the debates. we will be there to cover it.

c-span radio will rebroadcast the debate at 10:00 on c-span radio. we will be talking about the debate this week on "washington journal." on to your phone calls. dayton, ohio, democrats' line. caller: good morning. i have been listening. thank you foresees spam. with all of these scenarios and possibilities -- thank you for c-span. if things go severely downhills for president obama, it is there a possibility for joe biden, would he take on a hillary clinton or another woman to help the boat base? -- vote base. guest: there is no indication

from the obama campaign that he is likely not to run for reelection. has focused on running for election. obama is going to be stepping out to capitol hill next week. that is going to be a message that is going to be about a contrast to some of the republicans. right now, what goes on between obama and capitol hill is less about getting legislation passed. it is more about setting up a contrast between him and republicans. the obama campaign believes that when there is a nominee pact, they can set up a contrast that is favorable to them. host: sarah palin would hurt

the republicans -- guest: there is probably some fear of that. i think that among those things that she might be detrimental, there is a belief that the window is rapidly closing for her to get in the race. host: bear with me for just a moment. rick carey's ability to raise $102 million has helped him position himself as a leader in the republican presidential field. in national fund-raising, he must lean heavily on this old network.

guest: there have been multiple organizations who have dug into this exact question since rick perry announced that he was running for president. they have all found the exact same thing. it all goes to the central question. here is a guide that raises a

lot of money. he has served for a very long time in texas. heat is an effective fund- raiser. he is going to be getting as much money as he can. he is also going to be trying to expand into other parts of the country. how much money can you raise? that is the main question. host: paul is joining us from mississippi. caller: i want to know how many people -- have they made a connection yet? test coat she does work rupert

-- dust -- host: she does work for rupert murdoch. guest: she certainly is someone who -- she's still gives republicans what they want to hear in a very direct way. i think you saw that in her speech yesterday. she questioned some of the other republican contenders and the race. one thing i was struck by, she did not seem to -- there was a surge unveiled criticism of john mccain. she made reference to -- i did not quite get that one. she is someone who will have an

influence in the presidential race. she could also have an influence in the house and senate races. she went around the country and endorsed different candidate. guess. caller: i want to make a quick comment. as far as barack obama, all of these democrats want to sit here and praise him. he is one of the most unqualified people that has probably been elected. most people do not know this, when the election was over, fortune magazine to a whole page out that most of the wealthy people in this country were going to take their money overseas because of the he was an act on the whole corrupt -- american public. if the democrats would look at

that and open up their minds to what is going on, sarah palin, i would not vote for her, but i do not think she would be a whole lot better. we have to look at lesser of two evils here. the american people need to wake up and understand what is going on in this country. host: james has the answer. i think that one of -- what obama ran on in 2008, he ran as an outsider. someone who was outside of government. he had not been in government as long as others had, but he was someone who could reform washington and bring in a sense of hope and optimism. that is going to be something

harder for him to run on this time. obviously. he has to find a way to sort of how his message to contrast himself with the republicans and explain why he could do a better job. when you see all the republicans adopt the mantle that he did in 2008. host: questions to ask the republican candidate. some of the questions, first of all, one aimed at mitt romney. have you always used "fat cats"? he has this question for rick he has this question for rick perry -- you find fault with the federal reserve for printing money. shouldn't the fed be independent? of what?

would not congress causally dictate how low interest rates should be? these are the questions from the george will this morning. guest: mitt romney is going to continue to be focusing questions around some of the statements he made it as governor in massachusetts. it will be a big issue when it comes to how michele bachmann and rick perry decide to engage. how did decide to engage, and romney. there is going to be a major question and a major challenge posed to the mets running campaign. we have seen him -- mitt romney campaign. we have seen him stay focused. the question is whether he will have to engage back when they engage him on some of his time as governor.

caller: good morning. i feel like the top runner on the republican party is mitt romney. a mormon is not going to become president, not yet. that is like electing a muslim. my governor, rick perry, he cut teachers. teachers. everybody the reason -- you get minimum-wage here. that is the majority of the wages and taxes. if the rest of the country wants to go through what texas is

going through, a boat for rick perry. -- a vote for rick perry. getting rid of all of the union workers. see what you get. i yes -- i used to be proud to listen to the news. you don't make any common sense. the only reason that rick perry one -- host: thank you for the call. guest: there are going to be a number of issues about rick perry's tenure as governor. it has gone on for a decade or so. that will come up in this race. they began with a book that he had published. it is about 175 pages long. it covers the gamut.

it is an opposition research book. his opponents are going to see is on his record as governor, his comments and the buck, and prior statements or he joked about the union to contrast themselves from riparian this race. host: rick perry and the death penalty, it includes some of the statements he has had in the past about the federal government. he has had more executions in texas than any other governor. 235, i believe. guest: that will be one of many points that will come from this race. we have not seen it raised yet. it will likely begin this week and the debate. do not forget, we have a number of debates following in weeks to come. host: it looks like the

president will be reelected. the republicans are doing a worse job than the democrats. he points out that if these debates and confrontations over jobs help to frame the issue and the differences between the president and the republicans, the debates could do much to clarify the state of the race to determine the obama challenger next year. guest: this is going to be critical. we will see -- the debate will help crystallize and gather greater clarity to the shape of the race. call, but morning. -- caller: good morning. as far as sarah palin goes, i am pretty impartial as to whether

she should run or not. that is what i would like to see. as far as the president is concerned, all the democrats calling in and argue that he is during the best he can and the republicans stand in his way. that is both true and it is also the worst part of it. he is doing the best he can and he is totally incompetent to solve the problems. i think that is all i have to say. i will take your answer off of the tv. guest: it is interesting that you should mention tom coburn. he is someone to a lot of conservatives deem a hero around the country. his argument is going to be --

you sort of crystalized some of the problems that he is going to have. he will have to go up to capitol hill and he will have to explain to the country that he is doing the best job that he can. and what his path forward is going to be. he is not going to have a real concrete successes 2.2. that is a hard thing to do. i should be reelected without having had jobs figures that he would like to have. host: republican candidate turn attention to one another. the republican field is entering -- one of our followers sane, who will get behind ron paul? guest: paul sort of joins them

with rick santorum. as someone who is in the lower tier and having a part-time getting traction -- having a hard time getting traction. hard time getting traction. we have three real front runners. host: jon huntsman outlined his jobs and economic package. we sat down and with him about a week ago about the growing up in southern california. his term of governor and his tenure as the ambassador to china. here is part of our interview. >> you have now been on the campaign trail for three or four months. what have you learned about yourself in the process? >> how important it is to speak

from the heart. and to be genuine. you cannot have people make you into something you are not. you can have advisers, you can have media folks, strategists, but at the end of the day, you are who you are. people say you for who you are. they can cut through the artifice. you are left standing as to you are. your family is to they are. your record is what it is. i have learned more than anything else, you are standing on that stage all along. -- all alone. that is driving us in this race. i think that is enough to drive us all the way to victory. >> do you have your republican opponent in mind when you say that? >> not necessary.

this is a race that is not going to be one at the extremes of the political system. the party has gone too far to the right. that is not for you when elections. this is a center-right country for the most part. it's a pragmatic country. host: alex isenstadt, before he gets to the nomination, he has to get the republican support. guest: it is a hard platform to run on when all the energy is on the conservative grassroots side. it is unclear right now who is audience is. it is hard to see him winning, for example, states like iowa or south carolina. they are critical early states. they have a large number of

conservative grassroots-oriented voters. host: on our twitter page -- guest: that is what a lot of the supporters would say. he is trying to offer a different kind of message. he is trying to offer an alternative to those who were on the stage. he started out in this race early in the summer and got a lot of attention. he has really fallen since that time. to a large extent, he has not been able to offer that harsh -- that hard edged conservative style that others have. host: jon huntsman is not a

republican. . is joining us from winter haven, florida. caller: i am an independent. i have been an independent for quite a while. what really got meat is how we did not -- -- got me is how we did not vet obama in the first place. you look over the right shoulder comment -- you see jones. it is coming more known to take a look at his policies, he is doing what they want him to do and not what the american people want him to do. you can say, that is not true, but it is true. america is waking up. we are seeing that now.

host: thank you. host: thank you. guest: we have gotten a lot of callers today you've expressed similar sentiments. it illustrates why rick perry and michele bachmann are adopting a grass-roots posture that they have. that is where the energy is and the republican party right now. they want to see a forceful contrast made with the republic -- with president obama in the election. caller: good morning. thank you very much for c-span. one of your previous callers stated that when obama takes office, the big shots, the money people are going to take their money and run to other countries. i would say that he should

watch other than just fox news, he should watch your programs and worry about those companies have been overseas in the last 10 to 15 years. obama has been in office for three years. thank you. host: thank you. guest: look, one of the big questions is what is he going to say this week in his address to the nation on capitol hill? he will have to lay out a contrast between his republican opponent in a broad way. he will also have to talk about jobs figures. he will have to talk about why there were zero jobs created last month. that is going to be the big question for him next week. that is going to be the big question. how does he do that? how does he talk about jobs in a way that appeals to voters, that

helps them understand why the country is in the economic position that it is in right now. host: and other viewers saying that mitt romney is the only person with a chance to be president obama. guest: that is one of the questions that rick perry and michele bachmann are going to have to answer. how can they win? you will see the mets romney camp making that point. -- miche romney camp making that point. host: our next caller is from texas. are you a supporter of your governor? caller: i have my doubts. because of the education system. i have a grandson that is in

school. we know exactly what is going on, and it is not very good. there is still a chance. the highway program in texas is superb. roads -- toll bridges, roads, superb. he does have some very good sides. why would it be too late for sarah palin to enter? it is still open to the public. nobody has really settled on one candidate yet, one republican candidates yet. we like ron paul. he does not have a chance. so, it is really not late for palin, but i believe it is wishful thinking for the party

and the media. host: thank you for the call. i think the filing deadline in new hampshire is november. that is the deadline for the new hampshire primary. guest: that is one issue for sarah palin if she gets into the race. the other is organization. from south carolina to new hampshire, leaders have said that she has done next to nothing to build organization -- to build an organization to reach out to voters. that is want to be the big problem with funding her. what you have three high-profile candidates -- while you have three high-profile candidates waging a vigorous campaigns, she has done next to nothing. she would enter the race with a probably significant this advantage. host: anyone who says the issident was not vetted or

not qualified must only be listening to the conservative media. could we be looking at the jobs and the economy as an issue the republicans will continue to hammer on? guest: that will absolutely be one question they will talk about. they will say that the numbers simply are not there. the numbers, as it relates to job growth and the economy, are not there for wrote obama -- for obama to be reelected. host: you can read this online at nytimes.com. done a john kasich, our guest on c-span's "newsmakers -- governor kasich, our guest on c- span's "newsmakers." >> they point to things like the

idea where he has described social security as a ponzi scheme, and that he accused of federal reserve board chairman of perhaps behaving in a treasonous fashion if he continues to pump money into the economy. do you agree with that? do you think the governor of texas might be too conservative to win ohio? >> i do not think so. when you look at his record in texas, and they can try to obscure it anyway they want to -- when you are the leader, things go poorly, you get blamed. when they go well, you get the credit. i have heard rick perry speak. have no income tax. that is why a lot of our companies look at going down there. they have young people coming in by the planeload. they minimize regulations. they have toward reform going on all the time. it is a fertile ground for small businesses. i think that is why they have done well. it is a powerful message. host: "newsmakers" heirs at 6:00

p.m. and then got a am -- airs at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. guest: anyone who thinks that rick perry does not know how to run a campaign should look at his race against kay bailey hutchison. as a sitting, incumbent governor, he ran against the establishment, against kay bailey hutchison, and embraced the mantle of the tea party. it was a masterful display in how to run a campaign. he is a very effective campaigner and he has proven that over the last decade in texas. that will be a potential challenge for his opponent in this race. i do not think he should be underestimated. host: alex isenstadt with us. thanks. we appreciate your time.

later, we will turn our attention to the middle east, a book called the "king's counsel." it is a firsthand account of what happened in the middle east, including jack o'connell's relationship with the late king husain. the associated press is putting together an incredible series of investigations looking at what has happened since 9/11. several hundred people were arrested. 9/11. thousands since. the "washington journal" continues on this sunday morning. we are back in a moment.

>> watched more video of the candidates. see what political reporters are saying, and track the latest round pain -- latest campaign contributions. you can navigate the political landscape with twitter and link to c-span media partners, all at c-span.org/campaign 2012. >> next weekend, the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 on c-span networks. with live coverage from shang's though, pa., new york city, -- shanksville, pennsylvania, new york city, and the pentagon. there will be a memorial from the world trade center site with

president obama and former president george bush. on c-span3 at 9:30, honoring those who lost their lives on united flight 93. 9/11 remembered -- next weekend on the c-span network's. >> machiavelli has become an additive. i doubt there are many people who would like to be described -- and abjective -- an adjective. i doubt there are many people in this town who would like to be described as machiavellian. >> his name is synonymous with scheming and pursuit of power. tonight, author miles unger argues that machiavelli's theories may have been a response to the correction around -- corruption around him. tonight on c-span's "q&a."

host: there is an incredible piece of journalism looking at post-9/11, what can the prosecution's we have seen regarding terrorism. martha mendoza is covering this story for the associated press, she is up early in san francisco to join us. for joining us.i what would your headline be? what would your headline be? guest: 4 9/11, there were a few hundred suspected terrorist -- before 9/11, there were a few hundred suspected terrorists arrested each year. host: you list and mary at -- list areas for potential t errorists, including turkey? guest: nobody agreed on a definition. each country made their own,

convenient definition. turkey has had decades-long issues with a kurdish-turk uprising. protesting on and speaking on behalf of kurds. they have convicted 12,000 people since 9/11 as terrorists. host: this is the first tally 9/11 -- post-nine-11, -- post 9/11. how did the ap go about this? who was involved? guest: it surprised me that nobody had compiled this. nobody followed up and said, who is being hit netted by your laws? we sent reporters to more than 100 countries to pursue the

information. how many people have been arrested? arrested? and many people have been convicted? more importantly to me, who are they? it was not easy information to get. we did dozens of freedom of information requests in many countries to get the countries who did not want to provide us the information to force them to provide it to us. host: small countries like luxembourg, large nations like china, and the u.s. passing laws to crack down on potential terrorism suspects. how do the laws vary country to country? guest: you have zero wide array of laws. in china, it is part of their indian during state security legislation -- endanger in a state security legislation. in bhutan, it is an act of terror to rise up against your government. in mexico, they are charging asug cartel suspects

terrorists. there are three basic factors in the u.s., a violent act against civilians, pursued with political motivation. host: you say that more than half of the convictions coming from two countries accused of using inside terror laws to crack down on dissent -- touched a moment ago on turkey, also china, but turkey accounted for 1/3, nearly 10,000 in the last 3 years. guest: should stress that this is -- i should stress that this is an under-count. it is definitely a higher number than that. host: what about china? guest: in china, there are ethnic leaders who are muslims, and they lived in a small part of china. for years, they have been trying to have autonomy.

after 9/11, becoming an ethnic leader and supporting their cause became an act of terror. there was a man who was a blotgger. he has an internet site. he is a uygur. he asked people not to put up anything political. someone posted something saying they would have a demonstration. he reported it to authorities and to get off of the site, as required -- took it off of the site, as required. nonetheless, he is currently serving a prison term for terrorism. host: we have a number of intelligence as catering -- intelligence-gathering agencies. as the u.s. defined "and terrorism -- has the u.s. defined "terrorism"?

guest: the justice department has one description, the fbi's is different, the state department's is different, so there is not even a unified definition in the united states. host: let me ask about pakistan, the location where bin laden was captured and killed, also the number-two al-qaeda leader was captured and killed late last month as a result of a drone attack. what are you seeing in pakistan? guest: they have a high number of arrests, 29,000 in the last 10 years, with a low conviction rate. about 10% of those arrested are convicted. this is because they do not have a sophisticated criminal justice system, so they do not allow for plea agreements. witnesses have no protection. typically, there cases fall apart. host: our guest is martha mendoza. mendoza. 202-624-111, the line for

democrats -- 624-1111, the line for democrats. 202-624-1115, the line for republicans. we are also on twitter at twitter.com/cspan and facebook at facebook.com/c-span. caller: i am getting tired of this terrorist scare tactic that the united states and governments around the world are using. it is all designed, in my opinion, to stop americans, or just citizens of the world, from stopping out of control government. you have government leaders -- oh, if this is a group in the opposition to the government, we're going to go ahead and label them as terrorists, and

that gives them free rein to tap your phones or strip search you or do anything they want, just because of this label, "terrorist" or "terrorism." i hope the stops. -- this stops. it is really scary what is going on in this country. this is perpetrated and pushed and advertised by the media. this is nothing but schering people into thinking that we have to worry about people that -- scaring people into thinking that we have to worry about people that are thousands of miles away. host: thank you. response.t a guest: some of these laws have been used very broadly. then you have countries that did not adopt any legislation, like

brazil. many felt that this harkened back to the 1970's, when terrorism and state terrorism, when people disappeared under authoritarian regimes. the world cup and the olympics coming to brazil, they do not have any anti-terror legislation. they have people who are openly supportive of al qaeda. this is an environment where, perhaps some propaganda or organization can foment in a more open environment, and they are being criticized by the united states for refusing to adopt anti-terror legislation. on the other hand, there are plenty of people who agree with this caller's position. before 9/11, murdering someone was illegal, hijacking was illegal, committing these acts -- burning something up, was illegal. to slap on the terror law only has complicated things, especially without a clear

definition. host: one of our viewers is looking at the shooting of gabrielle giffords, whether or not the person who shot her would classify as a terrorist. based on your research and reporting, do you have an answer? guest: i think it depends on what was going on in his head. the devil is in details. that is what the prosecutors and defense attorneys are trying to figure out. how clear-minded or not clear- minded was he? let's look of norway. they said the high bar for what a terrorist is. -- set a high bar for what a terrorist is. they did a job -- did adopt legislation, but it was very narrow. according to our public-records request, they have arrested 11 people as terrorists, and have not managed to convict a single one. four of the cases have ended. in

ended ended now this -- four of the cases have ended in acquittal. now this man has been convicted as a terrorist =-- charged as a terrorist. this is not the time, as norwegians, for our country to do a clampdown. this is time to show that our justice system works. host: our guest has been a reporter since 1987. she is joining us from california, leading a team of reporters looking at anti- terrorism laws around the world. hundreds of arrests, some arrested for simply plotting or waving protest signs -- blogging protest signs.

caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to say that i agree with the caller earlier. i do believe that our foreign kind of contributing to -- host: he hung up. do you want to follow up on the first point? guest: he mentioned something interesting. the rise in terror attacks. in the 10 years prior to 9/11 and 10 years since, there have and 10 years since, there have been almost the same amount of attacks around the world. of course, where they are has changed. what we've been classified as a terror attack has changed, -- what even is classified as a

terror attack has changed. the more people they arrest, the more attacks they have. it is the finance. one-day arrest -- it is defiance. when they arrest people, those who are defiant will try to make a point. host: you write that authoritarian governments in the middle east relied on strict anti-terror laws only to face arabacklash of tehe spring. guest: they labeled everyone from poets to anti-government bloggers to people who just wanted to practice their own religion as "terrorists," and

then these people banded together. there was an individual arrested in 2005. tunisia adopted anti-terror law in 2003. this man had joined a government-opposition group, which would later win their revolution. he had been sentenced to life in prison for joining this group. while in prison, he had been tortured and beaten up. his teeth had been kicked out, he said. so, it was fascinating to see how these anti-terror laws have helped foment the arab spring. one of the first things the new government did was eliminate the anti-terror legislation. everyone walked free, whether they were violent criminals or peaceful protestors. host: is it possible to be

imprisoned as a terrorist nearly four thoughts or ridings? can someone who never harmed anyone be classified as a terrorist? guest: i cannot imagine how they can imprison someone for their thoughts. most definitely for their writing. if there is something that is written that the government in china sees as an act of terror, certainly. not just china. ethiopia has convicted journalists and editors as terrorists because they have written or published articles that are considered to be supportive of groups that ethiopia considers a terrorist. host: based on your years in mexico city, wondering if you know me president calderon of mexico considers drug cartels in mexico and along the u.s.a. border terrorism? to americans? -- do americans? should they?

guest: this is something we have looked at extensively. there was a representative from texas who proposed labeling drug cartels in the united states as terrorists. the response from mexico was highly negative. they said that is highly offensive. we do not have terrorists in mexico. this is politically loaded. we have $90 billion a border security built up after 9/11 in the name of preventing the name of preventing terrorism, even though no terrorist has been known to cross that border. it was really loaded issue. the obama administration's came back and said, no, we do not back and said, no, we do not need to prosecute these as terrorists. we have other laws to prosecute them. the in new mexico, using freedom of information laws, we learned that mexico is prosecuting drug- cartel members as terrorists. i went to the mexican

authorities. how do you not want the united states to use these laws, but you are using them yourself? the difference is that mexico's anti-terror laws are much broader than the united states. you do not need to have our real political motivation. in mexico, anyone who sets off a bomb or a tax and utility, for example, can be labeled as -- attacks a utility, for example, can be labeled as a terrorist. president calderon first used the term terrorist for drug cartels recently. host: united nations is sending reporters out to look at these -- the associated press is sending reporters out to look at these things. we'll have live coverage all day sunday of next week, beginning

with "washington journal," a chance for you to share your stories and comments about 9/11. there will be ceremonies in manhattan and southwestern pennsylvania. good morning and welcome to the conversation. caller: good morning. we the people of the united states of america are 100 million times more concerned about what is happening in our own country with the terrorists, clandestine and open. the dangerous ones, of course, are the ones that blow something up, but even more dangerous is the stealth jihad, the infiltration of our government, society, education, banking, and every aspect of america by stealth muslims. their intent is to fly the flag of islam over the united states capitol and the white house, and to totally control and dominate america. read the sources, atlasshrugs.

she will tell you everything the muslims are doing. act for america. even better and more recent, the jag hunter. google that and learn about three former special investigators of the fbi who have blown the whistle that muslims have infiltrated our government all the way to the top. we must not allow that to happen. host: ok. carl from hollywood, florida. martha, did you want to respond? guest: what everybody has been saying and what president bush said, even, the day of the 9/11 attacks, the muslim is not being a terrorist. that is what we were able to show. he was mentioning things to look back on the web. we have posted all of our documents that we received back fromgovernments fro,

australia, italy, south africa, where we did ask for proof of who had been arrested and how many. we opened our notebooks and put a far spreadsheets so people could see where we came up with this -- put up our spreadsheets so people could see where we came up with this. host: the fbi also has a list of most dangerous terrorists. how does the fbi classified a terrorist? guest: and the fbi says it needs to be a person who commits acts of violence against a civilian population in the name of a political motivation or an ideology. there's a lot of controversy between countries of who is on their list of terrorists. some countries less certain groups, others will list different groups. there is a great deal of agreement between the united

nations and united states, but there are some groups which make it on to some country's list and do not make it on to others'. host: bradenton, florida, and are democrats -- on our democrats' line. caller: good morning. you say that the people that kill are terrorists. that is what i think. if you blow up people and stuff like that, you are terrorists. the man in norway, he is a terrorist. he was a terrorist, the man who shot gabrielle giffords. the man who just called talk about -- talked about muslims. whiteon't they talk about

supremacist? people who talk about killing president obama. i think the people who misstate and mislead should go straight to jail. i'm so sorry for people, because they are so misled and lied to. if i were in the congress, i would make laws for reporters that lie. host: led me pick up on one point that she made -- let me pick up one point that she made, about the shooting of gabrielle giffords and the others. is it an act of terror? guest: in that situation, with the shooter of congressman gabby giffords, it will come down to what happened in his head. under the united states terrorism legislation, there is an issue of what committed -- what motivated somebody to commit an act. host: garrett is watching on the

bbc parliament channel. thank you for joining us. caller: i am very concerned and i always have been. the nine states and united kingdom have reduced our -- the united states and united kingdom have reduced our freedom by introducing draconian laws. you can be locked up with 48 days without a trial or anything else. we have gone over the top against terrorism. in fact, there are far, far greater problems out there in both our countries. guest: in the united kingdom, they have stopped-and-search legislation, which, as you say, allows people to be stopped and searched without necessarily charging them with terrorism. where is that line between civil liberties, security, and how movable is that line?

it is an interesting point. host: one of our viewers on twitter says, here is a new terror-alert status. the web address is terror/alert.com. thanks to that viewer. eric from upstate new york on the republican line. go ahead. caller: i do volunteer security appear in the northern part of new york. me and my fellow colleagues are wondering, how do we identify a terrorist? host: martha mendoza, how does one? we have the department of homeland security campaign, "see something, say something. = -- something."

guest: i am not an expert or in law enforcement. go to your local law enforcement agency and ask them. host: chris from piscataway, new jersey. caller: good morning. thank you for receiving me. host: please go ahead. caller: ok. i wanted to find out your findings in turkey. i was surprised to learn that they are on the top of the list. do you see progress being made in the democratic wave? i go back to their history, where they deny the genocide. they have been on top of the kurds. did you get a feel of possibly momentum towards democracy? was it just laying back towards

their past history? guest: let me tell you what we learned in turkey. our reporter in turkey went out to a small village in southeastern turkey and spent time with the woman who is a -- a woman who is a mother of two, convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail for holding up a sign that called for freedom. this woman is illiterate. she could not actually read hircine, which is certain -- was writter -- read her sign, which was written in kurdish, nor could she understand the court proceedings against her, because they were conducted in kurdish. most people that we talked to found that turkey is improving and that there are real efforts to bring the kurds into society in positive ways.

on the one hand, there terrorism laws are still aggressive and still cracking down on people. on the other hand, there are efforts by the prime minister and the government of turkey, in part because they are pushing to join the european union, perhaps, to give the kurds some recognition and to, as you say, democratize. host: our guest is martha mendoza, a writer for the associated press, involved in looking at the number of terrorist suspects arrested worldwide. pre-9/11, several hundred people were arrested for terrorism- linked activity. since 9/11, thousands have been arrested, 3500 convicted. we have this -- "terrorists are criminals. the world needs to stop looking at -- focusing on labels and start looking for ways to protect citizens." a response?

guest: i think that the goal of the united nations in having all countries adopt anti-terrorism legislation was, indeed, to protect citizens. we were surprised that no one had followed up and that no one had looked and said, is it indeed protecting citizens? who is being caught up in this net? it is about labels. in some cases, it has been somewhat effective. in spain, they have had many decades of a battle with basque separatists who were responsible for a lot of deaths and attacks. they were making people feel scared, which is a good definition of terrorism. in spain, in the last 10 years, they have systematically and steadily arrested and convicted many people, about 140 per year.

spain was about the most consistent in just consistently arresting and convicting. this year, at a separatist organization, they asked for a cease-fire. they have not had a fatal attack in spain for two years. even victims of terror attacks say things are calmer and better. host: lora from richmond, virginia. go ahead. caller: good morning. how are you all doing? guest: fine, thanks. caller: i agree with your interpretation of what a terrorist is. at the same time, if you are going to say that, you would have to say that this country was founded on terrorism. anytime you come over and kill the indians like what happened, that is a terrorist act, and in the name of god.

you enslaved people who did not look like you. that is a terrorist act. one of the beautiful things about obama being president is that now the whole world knows the undercover racism, you i know, that we had to endure and have to endure in this country. all of this racial talk, people calling others names -- the whole world now knows what we have to go through. so, like, i do not understand how terrorists people -- terrorist people can call other people terrorists. you all have to get you all's

act together. you are classist. you enslave your own people. it is like the rich and slaving the -- rich enslaving the poor. host: let me clarify. when you say "you all," the ap did just investigate. this is just an investigation by the ap. there are reports that white supremacy groups have increased over 10 years. why not list these as terrorists? there are clearly some racial in bishop -- racial issues involved. guest: most definitely, individuals or groups in the united states who have committed

acts of terror, whether they are white supremacist or anything else -- an animal rights group -- have been prosecuted and convicted as such. i think what she says underscores an important point. one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. this is a problem that has stopped the united nations from coming up with a definition for decades. host: go ahead. caller: all of this dividing and divisiveness, america is going to have to have somebody that comes in some way and somehow and they will wipe out a city the size of st. louis, indianapolis, nash boat, atlanta, before -- nashville, atlanta, before people realize that these people are bent on destroying america and the american way of life. the house divided cannot stand.

i am telling you we need to wake up. we will have to almost be an isolated before we will wake up and put all this stuff aside -- nihilated before wee will wake up and put all this stuff aside. there is a lot of room for improvement. what is it going to take? a catastrophe? host: do you have a country in mind when you say that we could face a city's potential annihilation? caller: you are never going to know where it comes from. from when the iron curtain fell, there are nuclear devices unaccounted for. all it takes is one act. if they ever get one in here and they let it off, it will take the destruction of the city the size of st. louis before america

will wake up and understand that ose people are bent destroying us. if we do not protect ourselves, we have nobody to blame but ourselves. host: thank you for the call. do you want to respond? there is a headline from "the washington post." any thoughts. guest: one thing that i was told by several people who have written textbooks on counter- terror legislation is that, in the last 10 years, there are more terrorist organizations around the world. they are, however, less trained, less sophisticated, and much more splintered. on the one hand, the threat has gotten weaker. this is what the experts were telling me. because these individuals and smaller groups are not getting the sophisticated training and funding that they used to. on the other hand, as one london

school of economics professor told me, it is a matter of taking one ball in the bowl. if there are more groups -- kicking one ball in the goal. is anti-terrorism legislation -- is moving the war on terror into the courtroom the effective way to go about this? host: ed from odessa, texas. good morning. caller: hello. i think we need some more definitions of what is what. you doan says that if not join their religion, you are not fit to live. that is a direct threat against anybody who does not believe the way they live. is that terrorism? guest: i do not know of any legislation that examines the koran swiss of italy. there are many definitions --

the koran, specifically. there are many definitions. host: nearly 120,000 arrests. more than 35,000 convictions in 66 countries. which countries led the list? guest: because you mentioned 66 countries, i should say that they account for about 75% of the people in the world. there are countries where we were not able to obtain the numbers. of the countries we were able to obtain numbers for, the leading ones were turkey, china, bangladesh, pakistan, countries that have both legitimate, major, terror problems, and also countries that have been repeatedly accused of using their -- using terrorism as an excuse to crack down on

political opposition. it is very complicated, what is being done with this legislation. thank martha mendoza i, you for being with us and sharing with our audience what you learn to. guest: thank you. host: "newsmakers" is coming up at 10:00 a.m. eastern, our conversation with governor john kasich. also a discussion on presidential politics and live coverage of the president's speech will be on c-span on thursday. when we come back, we will turn our attention to the middle east, specifically to jordan. a new book written by the late jack o'connell. vernon loeb will be with us. "washington journal" continues in just a moment.

>> watch more video of the candidates and at the latest campaign contributions with c- span's website. you can put -- navigate the political -- you can navitage campaigns ate the c-span.org/campaign2012. >> this weekend, the name conjures elegance, but during world war ii, the queen mary was a warship. and remembering 9/11, covering

9/11 on president bush's trip and from the pentagon. machiavelli has become an adjective. i doubt there are many people in this town who would like to have themselves described as machiavellian. at the dark of night, they probably have it on their bedside, but not too many people would call the machiavellian -- themselves machiavellian. >> tonight, author miles unger argues that machiavelli's theories may have been a response to the corruption around him. on c-span's "q&a." host: the book is titled "king's counsel -- a memoir of war,

espionage, and diplomacy in the middle east," written by jack o'connell, who passed away last year. guest: jack was a first- generation cia officer. u.s. station chief in oman -- he was station chief in oman, jordan, the most trusted american in contact with king hussein. he continued this very close and trusted relationship with the king. in the 1990's, king hussein became interested in writing a book about the efforts he had made toward peace in the middle east. he told jack, "do it for me. find an author. get this written."

jack tried to find someone. he went to a legendary director -- the legendary director of the cia, ed helms, but it did not work. jack realized, "if i'm going to get this book written and fulfill my pledge to the king, i am. after write this myself -- i am going to have to write this myself." host: jordan declared its independence from great britain in may 1946 after world war ii. it is currently home to 6.5 million residents. it is one of only three arab league nations, along with egypt and the palestinians, with diplomatic relations with israel. 50,000 jordanian troops are

currently participating in various u.n. peacekeeping missions around the country. guest: it is interesting. jordan -- the odds of jordan becoming the nation it has were pretty long when jack o'connell first one out there on special assignment from the cia. jack argues and in the book that -- jack are used in the book that jordan's place in the world as a moderate nation -- jack argues in the book that jordan's place in the world as a moderate nation was in direct result of king hussein's diplomacy and stature as a leader. host: the king of jordan from the 1950's through his death in 1999. it even goes through the obama administration, with king abdullah in power.

he writes, "united states could have and should have negotiated a withdrawal from kuwait. -- he is talking about what we saw in the first bush administration and, ultimately, the war in 2003. dick cheney often says that the state department coddle dictators like saddam hussein -- coddled dictators like saddam hussein. guest: jack did not believe the second iraq war that began in 2003 was a particularly good idea, and he did not think the iraq war that began in 1991, as a result of saddam's invasion of kuwait, was a good idea either. he describes how he was

involved in the diplomatic maneuvering after saddam's invasion of kuwait that was part of an attempt to get saddam to withdraw from kuwait. he described how saddam indicated he was willing to do so. quickly, the interest in negotiating a withdrawal was changed. the country became fixed on some -- on extracting saddam by force. host: kane bassein of jordan -- king hussein of jordan was "a survivor." how? guest: he was an honest broker. he would talk to anybody in hi s quest to try to bring about a comprehensive peace settlement in the middle east.

he secretly negotiated for years with the us release -- the israelis to settle the differences -- their differences. this called for an end from the hositlit -- hostilities via the return of the west bank to jordan. host: 1 key benchmark was run that signing on the -- a key benchmark was from that signing in 1978. what did king hussein think? guest: i think he was always for the accord, but why can we be included a -- cannot we be included? his entire life, as jack describes, he tried everything

he could think of to get u.n. resolutions 242 implemented -- -- u.n. resolution 242 implemented. he could not get it to happen. that was the driving force of his life. host: what were the reasons for creating the kingdom of jordan by the british? guest: the british carved it out of the map after world war i. the kingdom was born at that point. host: ken in boca raton, florida, joining us with vernon loeb, co-author of "king's counsel." caller: good morning. just a little bit of history.

jordan was carved out of what had been promised to the jews as part of the ball for a declaration in 1923. -- balfour declaration in 1923. they gave it to the husseins who had been kicked out of saudi arabia, or iraq, if memory serves. the little king was part of the famous three no's -- no recognition, no peace. his consternation about what his consternation about what israel wanted from him -- they begged him not to participate in the six-day war, but he had already given over his army, his legion to the egyptians. one good thing he did t was did the p -- did was take out the plo in the black-september

movement. israelis saved it jordan by telling the syrians -- the israelis saved jordan by countering the syrians. this idea that the little king was somehow a great peacemaker does boggle the mind. he had been and was -- he allowed the plo, for many years before the six-day war, and afterwards, to go across his borders and commit acts of terrorism against israel. one very famous thing is when the plo killed those schoolgirls, he went with the hair shirt tos ay -- to say he was sorry for that tragedy, but -- host: i will stop you there.

you have put a lot on the table. guest: the one public that jack makes is that -- point that jack makes is that king hussein did resulted mistake othat in the loss of the west bank during that war. that was something he tried to turn around for the. rest of the. jack -- around for the rest of his life. jack points out that king hussein had to fight to get the m out of oman in september, 1970. host: there is an anecdote when he arrives in cario. -- cairo. he said, "are you from cia?" his heart stopped. guest: he could not figure out

how the clerk thought he was on the cia. in exasperation, the desk clerk said, "are you from cia, cairo international airport?" jack breathed a sigh of relief. host: he writes -- guest: yeah. that cost him -- at least in period, the that early-1990's, he stood by saddam, refusing to become

part of the u.s. coalition that invaded iraq. there were a lot of business reasons for doing so. iraq was a big supplier of jordanian oil. king missing came to realize that it was probably not the smartest 0-- king hussein came to realize that it was probably not the smartest thing he ever did, and he did finally turn on its a bomb -- turn on saddam, but he did pay a price for being involved with saddam. host: what was his relationship like with american presidents? guest: he never got along with carter, which was strange, because he was the most ideologically and politically in tune with where king hussein was coming from. he had a brilliant relationship with bill clinton.

he got along famously with ronald reagan. his relationships with u.s. presidents were quite good, with the exception of jimmy carter, whose relationship was best described as chilly. democrats -- (202)624-1111. republicans -- (202)624-1115. independents -- (202)624-0760. one other point from the book, jack o'connell writes, "there is a question -- can you elaborate on those points? guest: jack had a sort of a zealot -- zoellick like quality to his life.

he was added to the u.s. delegation as a go-between who the arabs trusted. he saw u.n. 242 as the foundation for middle east peace. .

host: lost that caller. guest: they -- he had a very dynamic personality, and i think he and reagan clicked on a personal level as i think he and clinton clicked on a personal level. host: you worked with jack.

describe the process. guest: when i began working with jack, he had an idea, and he needed help getting across the goal line. so i would visit him in his arlington condominium overlooking the arlington cemetery, and from that i helped flesh out his manuscript. together, before his death, we luckily had it finished and he was able to read it carefully and add all the nuances he wanted to add. so it was, i found, a very gratifying process. he was quite a guy. he was a deeply patriotic american. i think in many ways, he represented the kind of c.i.a. that has evolved. the c.i.a. he worked for is much different than the c.i.a. on emphasize nauge.

-- on espionage. on the collection of foreign secrets. >> what's his message? >> his message is, implement 242. follow international law and when -- you will be the better for it. >> 242 outlines what? >> 242 is basically the resolution adopted by the u.n. after the 1967 war to officially end the hostilities. it basically says that jordan and israel should return to the borders as they existed in 1967 before the war with some minor modifications. in return for doing so, you know, jordan would grant -- would agree to full peace with israel. >> mike is joining us from roseberg, oregon. vernon lowe with the "the washington post".

>> it is indeed an honor to speak with you, sir. are you still there? host: we're still here. caller: i'm sorry. did king hussein, was there any -- queen hussein, was there any relationship with her? i feel at the moment what we need is another anan sharari. guest: i'm afraid i don't know the answer to that. host: when he passed away, the book that you indicated he initially wanted to write, he ended up putting together. are there things in this that you think king hussein would disagree with? >> that's a great question. probably not. one of the mandates that the king gave jack as they were embarking on the book was to tell the truth about everything. at one point they were meeting

with dick helms when they wanted helms to write the memoir. the king said, tell dick everything. jack said, everything? even your secret negotiations with the israelis? and the king said, yes, everything. so i doubt there is much in the book that the king would take exception with. again, he was in fact telling it all, he would probably respond with everything in the book. >> the withdrawal of the 1967 borders is one of the questions that monte is qug asking about. what would that mean to the middle east? guest: well, jack argues it would be the linchpin for, you know a peaceful resolution of a lot of the hostilities that have existed. certainly the hostilities between now the palestinians and the israelis. it would be difficult now because there has been a lot of settlement building on the west bank. there is a fence that's been

built along part of the border or through part of the west bank. but jack never gave up on 242. he never thought it was -- had passed its moment. he always thought that was the foundation and could be the foundation for lasting peace. he never gave up on the notion of the possibility of peace between israel, jordan, and the palestinians. >> next is elizabeth joining us with vernon loeb, co-author of "king's counsel." good morning. caller: this gentleman you have on the line, this co-author of "the king's counsel" please don't cut me off. you are not mentioned our most -- mentioning our most prior president, george bush, and king hussein. george bush did a lot for peace

in the middle east, and i believe king hussein was with our president and he's deliberately eliminated and not mentioning him. he's mentioning reagan, he's mentioning clinton, he's mentioning carter. what about president george bush? you-all are all against him. why is that? why? he was for peace also for our country. and what was his relationship with this king? yet you still want to say that the 1967 border line is great for israel. i totally disagree. please answer. guest: well king hussein died in 1999 before president bush was elected. so president bush is not a major player in the book for that reason.

there are all sorts of opinions about, you know, whether the 1967 borders would be good for israel, bad for israel, good for the palestinians, bad for the palestinians. what i think about that doesn't matter at all. i'm not here as a politician or a -- even a middle east expert. i'm here as jack o'connell's coast writer. i'm here to talk about jack o'connell's experience in the region, and jack believed that region, and jack believed that implementing 242 would be good for both the p alestinians and the rayies. -- and the israelis. >> have you ever been to jordan? >> i've never been to jordan. i covered the gulf war as a reporter in israel. i was there in israel as bullets were being fired by saddam hussein. host: jack o'connell described it as a flourishing, vibrant

location. guest: and as jack first described it, he describes his account there. a country sort of scratched out of the desert, literally with cows walking through the circles . it has become a modern state since then. host: there is another part of the story. at the time the home was worth $250,000. he received literally a suitcase full of cash. he goes to the bank, deposits it, and gets a call a few days later from the treasury department saying some of that money was counterfeit. guest: not much of it, actually, but a few of the bills. host: $500. guest: obviously, jack went down to the bank and made good with the real $500.

jack was the guy who did the king's house keeping for him here in washington. when the king needed a house, jack went and bought it for him. when the king needed a house for one of his wives and children, including king abdullah, jack went and bought the house. went and bought the house. and in fact, king abdullah's kids played with jack o'connell's kids growing up. here in virginia. host: welcome to the conversation. caller: thank you for having me. you know, a couple things. one is the relationship with president -- [not audible]

the second thing, the king had in his book, he had to send his wife to tehran. barbara walters interviewed him when jordan's currency dropped. she asked him, what did you think about that time? less than $5 pill bill or something, maybe $300 billion, why don't you leave your country some money. and he paused. so if he less than 30 years, he send his wife to tehran, and by the 1990's, he was a country member that was like 27 billion or his wealth. he was a pch ruthless gifmente he screwed up his people there. i think it is worth mentioning

that. that. do you know anything about these facts? >> i do not. i know, as you say, jordan was a very poor country initially in the 1950's when jack o'connell got there. as you say, the c.i.a. back in, i think it was 1957 started paying jordan $15,000 a month to help king hussein pay intelligence agents so he could start to form his own intelligence service. what king hussein's ultimate wealth was at the time of his death is not something jack deals with in the book, and it is not something i know anything about. i'm sorry. host: what changed, if anything, with king abdulia? his son has become successor. guest: i think his son has

followed his approachment -- approach. we haven't seen huge demonstrations or cataclysmic turmoil in jordan as part of the arab spring. host: the book is called "king's counsel" written by jack o'connell, co-written by vernon loeb of "the washington post". if you think about this book, final question for you, what are your thoughts? what did you take away from the experience? guest: i mainly took away appreciation for jack 0 conl who -- o'connell who i think was an interesting public servant. >> as a first-generation c.i.a. officer, i think he had an interesting story to tell about the role of the c.i.a. in its earlier injuries, and obviously about his relationship with this really fascinating world leader.

host: "king's counsel" is the book. vernon loeb. guest: thank you. host: we're going to come back and share with you some of the headlines on this sunday morning. more of your phone calls. "washington journal" continues on this sunday morning, september 4. we are back in a moment. >> watch more video of the candidates and track the latest political campaign tricks with c-span's web site for campaign 2012. it helps you monitor with candidate bios and the latest polling data, plus links to c-span partners. all at c-span.org/campaign 2012. >> this holiday weekend on

american history tv, on american art facts, the name conjures elegance and grandeur. during world war ii, the queen mary was commissioned as a troop ship. the integration of baseball by african-americans, women, and remembering 9/11. c-span.org. >> machivellian has become an adjective. i think many people in this town would like to have themselves described as machivellian. i suppose they -- not too many people would call themselves machiavellian.

>> his name is synonymous with selfish scheming. tonight miles unger argues his theories may have been a response to the corruption around him. at 8:00 on c-span's "q & a." >> "washington journal" continues. >> we're back with open phones >> we're back with open phones for the next 10 or 15 minutes on "washington journal." we focused in our first 45 minutes about sarah palin who was in iowa yesterday. a larger story by jeff zell turns the attention on the candidates. a debate will take place at the president regan library in simi valley, california. representative michelle bachmann is working to shatter the notion that the race is becoming a two-person contest. also this morning, more reaction

from the discussion at the white house. obama's strategy confounds allies and foes. the president's controversial decision to extend new anti-smog standards. discussion over which regulations to sacrifice and which to fight for this fall. the "the washington post" editoral has "the curtain rises but will the fall political season bring anything but fear?" that is the editoral this season. also the jobs crisis is the editoral in the "the washington post." john kaich is joining us on "newsmakers "and talks about what if anything the president could do to create more jobs. >> what the president can do, >> what the president can do, and i think he needs to think

about, they have tried everything. maybe he should think about what reagan did. two, put some sort of a moritorium on regulations, provide certainty. see what he can do to work out something for this deficit that is real. when you start talking about raising dividends which is difficult and taxing people at higher marginal rates, you freeze the economy. the proof is in the pudding. so they need to think about ta all of this. i think they are getting to the point where they are running out of time in terms of this current administration. >> john kaich coming up on "newsmakers" in 12 minutes.

>> "pittsburgh post gazett", "9/11 "then and now." "houston chronicle," governor perry puts rise in fight. also a story in "the washington post" about governor perry who raised mope. some of the people that helped him have received key positions in texas government. and finally from the i sunday news" sarah palin is coming to town, will she help or hurt new mexico? writing about her visit tomorrow following up on the tea party

that took place in iowa. first up, a caller from detroit, michigan. good morning. go ahead. caller: good morning. first off, i want to say thank you for reading two of my tweets earlier. that was nice. host: a tweet and a phone call. caller: i know, right? i wanted to ask, what happened to the cartoons? to the cartoons? you used to do cartoons. can you bring the cartoons back? host: certainly. thanks for the call. missouri. open phones. go ahead. caller: hi. i hope that the republicans will bring up during the debate and in dialogue about the wasted stimulus money, where the money went, how many jobs it actually created when obama gave that green energy $500 million a year ago that is now bankrupt.

i want to know where that $500 million went. also, for them to do green energy in other countries, for instance the solar energy in foreign countries. we need to find out what happened to all those trillions trillions of stimulus money and what jobs they actually created. >> host: caller from merietta, georgia. go ahead. caller: what i find consistently from the politicians that represent themselves on your show or communicate in the newspapers is they don't tell the whole story.

like for instance the one big thing they are talking about is the balanced benl amendment and that kind of stuff. firstly, how would you deal with the hurricane that just went through if you had a balanced budget? especially when you are dealing with cancer, and he's talking with cancer, and he's talking about taking away from other programs in order to account for the hurricane. it is just not possible. you can't predict that a hurricane is going to come, and you can't predict how much it is going to cost. so you say a balanced budget amendment. again it makes sense from an intellectual point of view, but if you try to implement it, it is not possible because it is not real. what regulations does he suggest and what does he oppose? rather than saying the president

ought to do this and that. the congress in washington, a lot of the old congress that lot of the old congress that have been there 30 years. they have had all these ideas, i hope, i guess, to many, many years. host: i don't have the headline in front of me. there's a photograph of congressman eric kantor visiting the damage from hurricane irene from the "richmond times dispatch." we go to kathy in st. louis, missouri. go ahead, kathy. kathy, you with us? caller: this is my question for the american people. how do you expect the president to create jobs when that is not what he is put there to do? republicans allow the corporations to continue to not hire people when they have billions of dollars in reserve based on what the media is saying.

they take their jobs off-shore. in my opinions it is the republicans and the big business. thanks for taking my call, and have a good day. host: the prospect of one party dominance is a mirage. the revenue plus entitlement sl essential because it is on balance what most americans want. the editoral from the "the washington post" on this sunday morning, the president outlining in part what he will discuss thursday as he speaks to the nation and the congress about ways to create jobs. talking about measures in place, a clean transportation bill. he said, if congress doesn't work on could impact jobs this fall. fall. here's more from the president's weekly address. >> there is no reason to put more jobs at risk in an industry that has been one of the hardest hit in this recession. there is no reason to cut off funding at a time when so many roads are congested and so many

businesses are feeling the cost of delays. this isn't a democrat or republican issue. it is an american issue. that's why i was joined last week from the afl-cio and the congress. two groups that don't always see eye-to-eye but agree that it is important to act together. that is why they asked congress to come together and pass a clean extension. these are local leaders on the ground every day and who know what would happen to their communities if congress fails to act. so i am calling on congress as soon as they get back to keep workers on the job, keep critical projects moving forward, and to give folks a sense of security. guest: the president -- host: the president from his weekly address. louise in fredericksburg,

virginia. go ahead. caller: hello. can you hear me? host: we sure can. good morning. caller: good morning. i personally don't think roads and bridges is what we need. that to me is a waste of money. you should see d.c. i live outside of it, and there is construction going on all over the place. to me, it is no surprise that the people in washington think the people in washington think that is a good thing, but it isn't a good thing. we need sewage treatment plants, we need water treatment plants. there are millions and millions of gallons of sewage being dumped into the chesapeake bay, dumped into the chesapeake bay, and no one is doing anything about sewage treatment plants and water treatment plants and things that would put concrete steel, pipe layers, nonunion

people, other than state workers working on state roads over and over and over and over again. host: "america is in crisis. we blame you rnc and dnc." mike, welcome to the conversation. caller: i have what i think is a good idea to help offset the cost of two illegal wars. host: what is that? caller: understanding that america's invasion and occupation from vietnam to afghanistan to iraq have been afghanistan to iraq have been orchestrated for no other reason than to first ensure then protect corporate profits. what we do is we force all knees war profit tearing corporations to pay for all of the horse care of returning vets, both physical, psychological, whatever they need, top dollar. host: ok.

thanks for the call. michelle, new york. next call. caller: i was listening to vernon loeb, ghost writer, and i was thinking he could do a good job of sabotaging of merbling as the sands of an hour glass, taking place through the eras of new york, through all the parts of america that i have traveled in a motor home. it will do a lot to your physical and mental well being. i'm under the impression that there have to be some people stopping this in the small towns across america, that people are being taken advantage of by the bigger organizations that they can't get a lawyer. they can't get the police to help them. people are going to be turned against them and that the small people are going to be nowhere. only rich people will survive because no one is going to help

the small people. it is too hard to get someone to it is too hard to get someone to listen to you.