specter on the 2012 presidential election and the health-care debate. then neil lirwin talks about the european debt problem and the the u.s. economy. ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] host: president obama will travel to oklahoma and ohio today highlighting his energy policy. he will spend the day increasing oklahoma where he will talk about approving a section of the keystone xl pipeline. meanwhile, house republicans are looking to extend a highway transportation bill for 90 days as republicans continued to debate the size and scope of the bill. good morning, everyone.

we want to begin this morning with your take on those stand your ground lost in 21 states. do you agree or disagree with the laws? send us an e-mail journal@cspan.org. facebook.com/cspan. let me show you "usa today's" headline.

we want to get your take on this this morning. what do you think about the stand your ground lost? there aren't least 21 states that have these laws. -- there are at least 21 states that have these laws. florida and 23 other states have passed stand your ground laws that allow the use of deadly force in self-defense. the states and read our states with existing laws. states in yellow or were they have been considered this year. that is what is happening around the country. we want to get your take on this. there is a call to repeal these laws. caller: good morning. i am a c-span viewer. i watch every morning. this young man was walking while

black. he had a bag of scuttles for his brother and a can of sweet tea for himself. host: what do you make of this law? caller: apparently a man with a gun, and was probably 60 pounds more than this man and 60 years older and felt threatened by a young man? please. he is hiding behind the law. this man must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. it is not a crime in the united states to walk if you are black. it is that simple. host: republican line. agree or disagree? caller: i totally agree. this man has got to go to jail. he took the loss in his own hands. they told him not to follow this

kit. what is the world come to when a man can pull a gun out in the streets and shoot a man dead? host: your state does not have laws.your law groundground caller: i disagree with it. it is one thing if someone breaks into your house. he is on your property. this guy was just walking around his neighbor and sees a kid in the street and decides to do this? i do not care what law you have in your state, he killed decade. he needs to be prosecuted. host: the communications director for gun owners of america had an op ed a year ago talking about the austriastand r ground lost.

this is what he had to say -- part of the statement gave example of a woman who was attacked and able to prevent being raped or otherwise hurt by having a gun on her and able to claim self-defense under one of these laws. caller: you need to look at each case individually. a situation like that i may look at it a little bit different, but this is a neighborhood watch the guy. even if he has a license to carry the gun, he had no right, unless someone stuck a gun in his face and was threatening his life, he had no right to pull

the gun out. host: cbsnews.com has this -- authors are saying the law should not apply to george zimmerman. the guy lost his defense right then when he said i am following him. the co-sponsor in the florida house agrees with his former colleague, telling the newspaper the law does not license neighborhood watch. another story in the miami

herald website says -- host: michigan.

steve. your thoughts on the law. the ec a i can't find it steve. steve in michigan? -- steve. caller: this is george. i think it is just wrong. it is unnecessary. i think what the war on women and all of these radical acts against people, we are all americans, and we should stand together. we know this is wrong. we should repeal that type of attitude of these types of laws, especially with these radical ideas that republicans are putting forward here yet i think it is time to stop and realize we're all americans and should stand together for the things that are right and oppose the things that are wrong. host: george, michigan has one

of these laws. do you think it should be repealed? caller: yes. it is just wrong, and we know it -- when we know it is wrong, we have to stand up as americans regardless of whether we're democrats or americans. host: do you remember how your state to about to pass one of these laws? do you remember the debate when it happened? caller: no, it was not given much attention because it was such a radical idea. i do not think people realize the ramifications. host: next calller. caller: i am a single female and live by myself. i am no stranger to people saying you should get a gun. i am not saying they need to be repealed, but they definitely need to be tightened.

you can clearly hear several people calling in saying someone is running around in my backyard asking for help. coming here to die running after him, even though he was clearly told not to chase him. he is still chasing this kid, who was probably running for fear of his life, and he shot him. of i am not for repealing those laws, but we think about it, you have to tighten it up. o vague ine to your opinion? caller: yes, they are too vague. they need to be tightened up. some guys should not be chasing after a poor kid. host: newspapers have reported the nra was supportive of the

law back in 2005, and this story says the nra wants the law protecting the killer in all but the state's. "washington times" nra will continue to support its bid your stand your ground laws . caller: stand your ground is exactly what it sounds like. spin your ground. not run after a 14-year-old. i do not believe he should have shot the kid. i do not believe you run after someone down the block when they are screaming for help and you shoot them. i do not believe in that. and anyone that passes on to your property with the intent to kill you, you have all the right to the world to defend yourself. that is still-defense.

what that the and it was cold- blooded murder. host: a grand jury will look into the shooting death of trayvone martin. that is the investigation side of this situation. in a 3-2 vote wednesday night, the van from city commission gave a vote of no-confidence, adding to the mounting national pressure to oust him. that is from "the miami herald" webb said this morning. ken in new york. caller: i wanted to say i feel very strongly about the stand your ground wall. i believe people should have the right to stand their ground and

not run away the and try to avoid any of certain instances. this is a sad situation where the gentleman unfortunately went after someone so he became the aggressor. he was not standing his ground%. he loses in the advantage of this law and that situation. unfortunately people will use the situation like this and see it as a law that does not work. i think that is not correct. i think the law can work. we have to understand that some individuals are going to misinterpret them, and he clearly admitted he was going after this person, which is not standing at your ground. host: this situation came to the floor of the house yesterday. a congress woman coming -- and to the floor yesterday and gave

one of her morning speeches about the situation in florida. here is what she had to say -- "washington journ [video clip] >> i continue to ask the citizens of florida and around the world to fight for justice. i am tired of fighting when evidence is so clear. so transparent. 20 years ago while serving as a school board member, $1 million a nationally recognized in a foundation that the decree addresses the trials and tribulations of young black boys and sends them to college. it impacts almost 20,000 young men throughout florida. in spite of that, we still have to march and demonstrate and write letters and protest can

fight and have per vigils and citizens just to be heard. no more. no more florida. no more, america. no more hiding your criminal racial profiling by using self- defense to get away with murder. stand up for trayvone martin. stand up for justice. stand up for our children. i am tired of carrying young black boys. -- burying young black boys. caller: i have heard the audio, and i believe he went out of bounds. for this woman here to be using the boy isshame, but

just a pawn in the game of black and white. if you listen to msn dbc, you have to listen with the text. basically we are to look at is why is this law in effect? it is because of failed liberal policies have created an environment where people feel they have to pick up a gun and defend themselves. they will sit back and act like me? i did this? it turns into a war on women. it is clear evidence this is what it is. it is always a bigger picture. as i said, i have heard audio and believed the man did step out of bounds. he was wrong, but let's look at the bigger picture.

to go in other news this morning, the front page of "the vegas review." the new york times says this about the tour. the president will be traveling to oklahoma to talk about approvals for a section of the keystone xl pipeline. going on the defensive of gas and health-care with a poll that shows with a question --

on the issue of gas prices from, post" hasshington this headline. back on the keystone pipeline, "the washington times" has this headline -- we will turn into that in our last half hour or so of today's washington journal to get your take on president obama as energy policy. but back to work question this

morning, stand your ground laws. we will talk to a calller from bristol, virginia. caller: good morning. i really do not think it is necessarily the law. the problem is for the individual. it is clear this individual does not understand how to apply the use of deadly force. there is absolutely nor reason reason for him to follow beckett. it is truly a sad day in america when a young teenager cannot go from point a to point b not bothering anyone and had to lose his life. that is truly a sad day. the law itself is not a problem. that individual should be in jail right now, and he should be in jail for the rest of his life. host: next calller is an

independent from texas. i live in texas. we have the same law. it has allowed people to murder each other. we have a similar case where a guy was in his house, and someone else was breaking into his neighbor's house. he called the police. the 911 operator told him to stay inside his house. he did not. he pursued the robbers. he killed them. the grand jury or what ever let him go free. that was nothing but a cold blooded murder. just as mr. martin for the teenager, the teenager was killed was killed in cold blooded murder. what is this country coming to when everyone is carrying a gun?

are we going back to the wild wild west? host: ohio. good morning. caller: i do agree with the laws. we live in a country where it is dangerous, and people are running amok. the sad part is a lot of people were the laws have been approved, they do not even know. if that law is in your state, you need to understand it. i believe people should be allowed to use guns when they feel their life is in danger. this case was sad because he was truly going to the store, doing what he had to do, and he went out there and killed him. this was murder. host: what is your reaction to the facebook comments? there is about 28 of them. scott says -- yes, he does.

he needs to go to prison for murder. he did not abide by the law. he went after him. he needs to be in jail. the people of florida need to stand up and make sure he goes to jail. you do not think the law should be repaired? no, the law should not be repaired. host: do you think even on the streets? at a bar? caller: barr and guns do not mix. more than likely you are their drinking. host: do you think it should go back to more the traditional aspect of where you can use a gun at home? caller: yes, but not running around shooting people.

you do not have any knowledge of what this person is doing in your neighborhood. front boston globe hom page. jeb bush gave his coveted back against it to the core massachusetts governor as saying unitertyty needs to around it wrongly. that was overcome by news that the top aide to mitt romney likens his campaign to an etch a sketch. many people talking about that on the cable news network's and will probably continue to talk about it today. if a wall street journal, as you get rich bates, his super pak and eight runs and drive -- as newt gingrich fades, his super

pak runs dry. they rely greatly on people who can get $500,000 or more. also related to the road to the white house, this is "the financial times" this morning -- to the supreme court oral argument. they will be taking a look at the health-care law. here is "usa today" --

the individual mandate will be the topic on tuesday before the court. we will be up there covering it all here on c-span. we will begin on monday, tuesday wednesday dedicating the program to the debates over the health- care law. we will have a constitutional scholars and reporters covering the as to give you the information of this case. by the way, if your interested, the wall street journal of opinion case today 00 -- if you are interested in reading that. greenville, south carolina.

an independent. what do you think of the stand your ground lost? aws? caller: good morning. first of all, the report of this young man. my initial thought was another young black male. baby and already it existing criminal history. when the facts came out and i saw the photograph of this zimmerman guy. face, look at this guy's i see something dark. it was obvious he was looking for someone younger and weaker than him. host: arkansas. republican. you are lost phone call on this. -- you are our last phone call on this. caller: the morning.

host: you have to turn the tv down. house puts the brakes on the transportation bill. republicans on wednesday held ranks in a vote on $109 billion transportation bill approved by the senate last week with 10 days left until current transportation funding house leaders say they plan to introduce legislation today that will continue transportation funding for 90 days. if approved, it would be the ninth extension since last plan expired more than two years ago. that is an update on the house transportation bill. also, house members and their families profits from their campaign coffers. looking at ron paul, as well as a democrat of texas and how they have paid out family members from their campaign coffers.

john mccain, joseph lieberman of writing in the opinion section of "the washington post" about the war in up in a stand. saying -- "the washington post" this morning from the three senators -- house republicans on the budget committee rejected an effort to oppose the budget rule attacks on americans. that does it for our questions for you this morning. and the last half hour or so, we will turn our attention to president obama as energy strategy. we will also talk about the u.s. economic situation and the european situation coming up. of next, the former

pennsylvania rep, arlen specter joins us. [video clip] >> i am ready to be a social worker. i even thought about being a doctor. at one thought i even -- one. i even thought about being a catholic nun. in this country, wonderful things happen. when my great-grandmother came to this country, she had little money in her pocket, but the dreams in her heart that she could be part of the american dream, that she could own a home in her own name and right. that she can have a job and help the people in her own family. based on merit and hard work you could be something. i have become the united states senator. only in america of the story of my family could have occurred.

hard work coming neighbor helping neighbor. i was really thinking about getting a doctorate. of dr. and public health at johns hopkins. there were going to run a highway through the older neighborhood. we were viewed as the other side of the tracks. i wanted to keep those neighborhoods on track. i did fight them. in this country, what happened? in another country would have taken a protester like me and put them in jail. in the united states of america, they set the to the city council. when i arrived in the house,

1976, only 19 women were serving. 14 democrats, five republicans. only five women of color. in 2012, 74 women in the house. democrats, 24 republicans, 26 women of color. host: barbara mikulski recognized as the longest- serving women of congress. many of her colleagues coming to the floor to server -- to recognize her. we're joined by arlen specter. was a representative of pennsylvania. wrote a book, "life among the cannibals." how did you come up with this title? guest: this came from the final speech i made in front of the united states said in 2010.

there is a custom for senators to make a farewell address. i made a closing argument. very much concerned about the deadlock, partisanship, and about the fact that they were cannibalizing other senators. i wanted the title to be cannibals devouring senators, but the publisher thought that would be to start. it is not to start for what goes on in the senate, but to be specific, you have situations like bob bennett with a 93% conservative reading because of one vote supporting the bailout of auto industry, which was very important. he was defeated. you had a member of the house named mike castle who ran from

-- iran and the senate against the woman from delaware to have to defend herself saying she was not a witch. in my own situation, i voted for the stimulus package. one of boats out of 10,000. that created irreconcilable differences between the republican party and arlen specter, which led to my taking the invitation to present obama, joe biden -- president obama, and joe biden. the significant problem is the fact that cannibals are succeeding. host: who are the cannibals'? the republican party? guest: the lead campbell is

senator didndemint. i will not be bashful. he announced publicly he would change his ways and not support people against the party. lisa murkosky in of rakowsk alaska. he gave $5,000 to the club for growth. it is another cannibal organization. they are out to defeat senator luger. he is one of the best, if not the best united states senator today. he will not change his stripes, will not bend them to the will of the far right, so they are out to defeat him. some of the others that have primary contests are not going.

senator snow is leaving the senate, because in my opinion, she is tired of fighting cannibals. >host: freedom works on the list of cannibals? guest: well, i do not know enough about them. host: the two-party group led led by dickup army. he writes yesterday in "the wall street journal" -- guest: one of the things in the

republican party, but only if i could vote my conscience. with the economic downturn ochered and we were heading for a depression, i felt it was necessary to support the stimulus package. i took the lead role in getting that past. the right wing was outraged. they had never been very happy with me. i had a tough race in 2004, but i was not sent to congress to vote to preserve my seat. i was a child during the depression in the 1930's. i remember how tough it was. my family lived in wichita, kansas. my dad had a pickup truck. he put the kids in the back of the pickup truck. a pretty tough ride from wichita to philadelphia to go live with

my father's sister, but that's what you do in the depression. you move in with family. that is where we're heading. the right wing, the extremists, did not like the bush bailout of auto industry. host: the tarp vote. guest: i call it the bailout, because some of your listeners do not know that. this is a pretty sophisticated audience you have. the house of representatives had defeated tarp, auto bailout. dick chenney talk to the republican caucus and said he did not support this measure, you will turn george w. bush into modern herbert hoover. the 25 of us supported that.

one of them was bob bennett. he got defeated on that vote. the twin brother of tarp was the stimulus package. that is what i supported. the candles were up in arms. host: you had a moment you read about in the book, after you voted for the 2009 stimulus bill where you went back into the court room and ran into bob bennett, and he said what? guest: he said i am proud of you. i seaid thanks. i said will you vote with me? he said i cannot do that. the key is for senators to vote their conscience, and not be bound by party loyalty. this is a theme i have been developing for years.

in 2005 the senate faced a very historic moment when the democrats were filibustering the first nominees, and the republicans have the plan for the constitutional option to change their rules on filibuster. really, a deceptive practice but the power it through. i went to the floor and said -- i talked to my republican colleagues and do not like the nuclear option but they feel they have to back the party line i talk to democrats, and they do not like the filibuster. they need to fill the traditional vacancies. the administration of justice today has been crippled by vacancies in the federal courts because of vacancies. i said democrats do not like that.

i spoke yesterday. i was back in town for a big party for howard baker. they invited me. i was a member of that group when i was in the senate. i carry that forward. there is a lot of wisdom in the senate, if they would be exercised to vote their conscience and not follow the party line. the reality is members are terrified by a primary challenge. senators like joe lieberman could not win a party in connecticut. i cannot win the republican primary, and that creates the gridlock. host: will you endorse president obama for election? guest: i will wait to see how the campaign evolves. i am now in a different position. host: will you wait until after

the general election? guest: i think i will decide october 25. host: would you vote for a republican then? guest: absolutely. i will vote for the better man in my opinion. i will not be bound by party loyalty. host: you right in the book part of the reason you lost the primary and 2010 was president obama did not campaign for you as much as he had promised to do so, and democratic leadership in the senate. are you holding out the vote for president obama and your support for him because he did not follow through? guest: i am not doing that. all of that is yesterday. i tend to make it a valuation of the nominees. i am not very happy with it wrongly. frankly i am not very happy with president obama.

i think his policy in afghanistan is dead wrong. 30,000 additional troops. i think it was a colossal mistake to extend the tax breaks to the 1%. they were going to expire at the end of 2010. they should not have been extended. i think there are a lot of issues now on economic growth, but i do understand i have to make a selection between the alternatives. i ran for the republican nomination. it was a well-kept secret back in 1996. i have no illusions about winning, but i was trying to move the party to the center. host: you were quoted saying you do not think rick santorum is up to being president or mitt romney. guest: i did not say i do not

think it wrongly is. i said i'm not sure. the difference is i note rick santorum very well. i work with him for 12 years in the senate. i helped him win his election back in 1994. i gave him my organization. i gave him my people. i campaigned for him and helped him win. we had a collegial relationship. but when he is running for president, it is a different matter. here you have his views. he does not believe women belong in the work force. he does not believe in contraception. the gay issues, man on dog.

he talks about bestiality. he criticizes john kennedy's speech, separation of church and state, the foundation of america. next, he is likely to attack jefferson. i urge him to have some unexpressed ideas, but he is very dedicated to a very extreme position. i do not think that is right for america. mitt romney, where does he stand? yesterday his chief advisers talked about an etch a sket ch. what will it wrongly do next?

fillmore had a great line about it wrongly, which i think is ok for c-span. he said that mitt romney changes positions more often than a pornographic movie queen. where is he going to be next? that is why i am not sure about mitt romney. i am sure about rick santorum. host: what about newt gingrich? is teddy is a great resonate and great credentials. -- i said he has great resources and great credentials. gingrich has a lot of qualifications. five years ago i was in the

celebrity, the program in washington and had a good time. i decided to have an open mike in philadelphia. during the christmas season i decided to go back. i was well received. i have been invited to go to [inaudible] in new york on broadway. since i am going to be in new york next week promoting my book -- we have to show this book. may i have the book? i want to show this book. i'm going to be promoting this next week. it is an inside story as to what washington. back to newt gingrich. he is part of my routine. we came to the capital at the same time. he was elected in 1978. and i have known him so long, i

knew him when he was scanty. -- was skinny. host: on that note, we are going to turn to phone calls. [laughter] caller: good morning. unfortunately everyone does not have the opportunity to change types like senator specter. guest: i did not change my stripes. if you talk sensibly, i will not interrupt. i am on camera, too. caller: senator, can i finish my point? the senate democrats have not passed any budget bill at all. i think that is something to talk about. all of these cannibal organizations you are talking about is off this subject.

the last thing i want to say is this right here. there are 50 million americans who do not pay any federal income tax. the u.s. has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. the top 10 percent of the wage earners pay 65% of the federal receives in taxes. 26 states are objecting to the health care. all of the unions that support it have wavered. host: i am going to leave it there. guest: when you say i have not commented about the democrats, you are not listening, mr.. i said the democrats would not elect a senator like joe lieberman. that is what i said a few minutes ago. when you complain about the tax structure, i think you have a good point. i made the point earlier that i

disagreed with president obama when he extended the tax cuts for the wealthy. i think our tax code needs to be changed. when i was in the senate i introduced legislation for the flat tax. host: oral arguments start next week before the supreme court. is it constitutional? guest: yes, because it is a legitimate exercise of authority. host: your teaching a class right now talking about the separation of congress and the supreme court. is that what you're telling your students? >guest: yes. i am telling them the same thing i am telling you. host: you have worked with many justices in your career. guest: all of them. i did not vote for marshall. host: how do you think the

current justices will vote? guest: the conventional wisdom is they will declare them constitutional. we have got of an ideological core. we have an accord that is divided very sharply. bush vs. gore in the supreme court elected george bush by one vote on a very far-fetched very of irreparable harm that justice scalia had. in citizens divided, you had a very bad poll rise to ideological core. justice kennedy is in the center him, and i think he enjoys being unpredictable. he took another step yesterday when he was the swing vote on giving counsel to defendants on plea-bargain cases, but the

conventional wisdom is a court will strike it down. host: kennedy will vote with the conservatives? guest: that is the conventional wisdom. i would encourage you to follow the facts. the big issue is whether they follow factual information. when chief roberts testified, he said it was congress' job up to establish the facts, and that the supreme court deviated from what congress have followed, found that it was really legislated and not an appropriate judicial function, that in citizens divided there was a 100,000 page record of congressional fact-finding. chief justice roberts and scalia did 180 degree u-turn

testimony. it the supreme court looks at the factual basis for what we did in enacting the legislation, they will uphold it. host: democratic calller in texas. caller: good morning. thank you for your service. i am a vietnam vet, and i really --

it was 97 percent signed white people that voted for the gop. -- 97% white people that voted for the gop. it will start in november with the vote that really hinders the minority the and hispanic. host: let me get a response. guest: you raise a very good point. the department of justice has moved into many of those situations on voter idea. -- voter i.d.. guest: in the redistricting there have been challenges it

is tilted especially in the south. there has to be clarence and the voting rights was packed to give standing to every citizens. . the department of justice is enforcing it. it is very hard to keep up with all of the maneuvers that were made in the southern states, which tend to exclude african- americans. host: next phone call is from columbia, maryland. go ahead. caller: good morning. it is an honor to talk to you. i have a hypothetical scenario, if i can. let's say there was a brokered convention and a drop did you and you became the republican nominee. what would you have for your in yourw fights

presidential campaign? guest: my top two would be to disengage in afghanistan. al qaeda is not there. we have no quarrel with the taliban. i would fight al qaeda, but i would not spend time in afghanistan on foreign policy. i would be much more into diplomacy. during my tenure in the senate where i chaired the intelligence committee, i visited with sit on hussain. and i think we had a chance to use diplomatic pressure on him. mubarak aside. we had an opening with iran back in 2003, and we did not really take it. we need to trade foreign leaders with -- train of foreign leaders with more dignity and respect. we are known around the world as

ugly americans, and for good cause. that is one item i would emphasize very strongly. i would restructure the tax law with some teeth so that the 1 are not shielded from what is% going on the indian economy. and you have the recent disclosure from goldman sachs of one of their key people quitting in disgust because of what goes on. and you have the collapse of the economy trigger's significantly by the bubble on housing. they took all of these mortgages, which were vastly overvalued. they wrapped them up in securities and sold them. on the same day they sold the securities to investors, a lot of pension funds. the brokerage firm on wall street was a betting against

them. selling them short. they have the opinion they were going to go down, and it went down the brokerage firms would make money. that is fraud. that should be prosecuted. that would be one step on real efforts to put people back to work. host: ben are republican and california. your up next four arlen specter. caller: by the way, i think the host always looks lovely, and that is a good thing, as far as politics goes, i wanted to go off the subject, but cannibalism is a part of politics. what do you remember of ted stevens? is jeremy rockefeller still in the senate? guest: j. rockefeller is still in the senate. what do i remember of ted stevens?

he was a terrific senator, an honest man. did a lot for his state of alaska and did a lot for america. when he was being persecuted, which is what was happening, not prosecuted, i urged the attorney general to take a look at the case, because i followed it very closely. i got the documents and took a look i used to be district attorney in philadelphia. i have a lot of experience in that field. when eric holder was up for nomination and i was the ranking republican, ahead some questions about some of the things he had done. i alternately supported him. i got an agreement from eric holder that he would take a fresh review. i could not get the republican

attorney general to do that, but eric holder agreed to do that. look at what has happened. they have found that there was terrible concealing of evidence that would have led to stevens going. he then lost his life in a plane crash. now, the independent investigation has shown that chicanery. there is a demand in the morning newspapers that is not sufficient. a number of senators are standing up and raising hell about it, and justifiably so. >> -- host: this is from twitte.

grover norquist has exerted interest. when you talk about raising taxes, it is very unpopular politically. he has set a lot of influence. do remember been sick -- host: do you remember being scared of " northwest? guest: i did not remember been scared of grover norquist or anybody. host: steve, you're next. caller: mitt romney accused rick santorum of supporting you, which led to the obama-care. that was one thing that i wanted

you to address. 10 years ago, i would have probably been in the tea party because i was an independent in the republican party that did not want all of the spending in iraq. i think it is hypocritical for the tea party to play this hard- line debt game. i was just wondering what you thought of that, and the last thing was the word rhino -- republican in name only. . i have been called for 10 years. i will vote democrat. thank you. guest: you have been called republican in name only for 10

years. i happened to be for 30 years. i came to the same conclusion. the republicans and i developed, as i called it, irreconcilable differences. my votes have been more independent than the party line. i think john kennedy was right when he said sometimes the party as too much. host: do you regret switching parties? guest: which time? guest: the most recent time? guest: i do not regret it. i inherited my politics. i was the assistant and district attorney -- i was assistant

district attorney in philadelphia. i wanted to run for district attorney. i went to see the chairman of the democratic party, and they said we do not want a young tom dooley. most people probably do not remember tom dooley. he was a tough d.a. in the '30's. host: he ran for president. guest: he was governor of new york and he ran for president twice the republicans have not won an election in a long time. they offered me the nomination, which was not worth very much iran a vigorous campaign, called the big upset, and was elected -- i ran a vigorous campaign, and it was a big upset and was elected. philadelphia is a one-party system town. there is a lot of corruption.

i became a republican to bring back a two party-system -- two- party system. i have been comfortable as a republican. i agree with the philosophy on jobs, low taxes, strong national defense. i support the death penalty. on many items, i do not. i led the fight for national institutes of health funding. these earmarks are not bad if the direction is for something that is useful. my role in the senate was pretty much independent. we are having a 25 year retrospective next month. i will be speaking there. when i voted for the stimulus, and irreconcilable differences, i made the switch, and i have no regrets.

host: debbie, democrat in kansas city, missouri. go ahead. caller: i have a question. there is a bill in the republican house that says everyone should be paying taxes across the board, even people on welfare should be paying something. i cannot see why our country can not allow every single person, if you are on believe, you pay a tax across the board. everyone has a stake in the game. i am on limited funds because i work part-time, but i still file income tax every single year. i file what i make. i do not see white people cannot do the same thing. if your on some kind of

assistance committed least you have a stake in the game. if you do not file income tax, i do not believe you have a stake in the game. guest: i do not agree with you. i think people should pay the fair amount of taxes, but if a person is on reliefs, the government has made a decision that people will get a certain amount of money from the government on welfare. it is not really very much money. it is barely enough to survive on. that is a very close question. i would not make a decision to give people a certain amount of money to live on, and take part of it back. your general principle about fairness, i think that is right. i have addressed that earlier in the program with respect to taxing the 1%. my disagreement with president

obama on extending the tax cuts for the very wealthy. host: new jersey. walter, and independent. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to ask you what you think you have done to make people like yourself, colin powell, and republicans have a more moderate in view? >> guest: the answer -- guest: the answer is to have and arrau's, informed electorate. the retail you what happened to lisa murkowski in alaska. she was challenged by the tea party and they beat her in the primary. she -- she decided to run as a write-in candidate. that is unprecedented. strom thurmond did it in 1954

under very different circumstances. in an unprecedented way, lisa murkowski won a primary. a write-in. do you know how hard it is to spell lisa murkowski? if you have a "y" instead of an "i", they throw out your ballot. she beat the system. if you have any electorate that is informed and motivated, and that is what i'm trying to do with a book i wrote, "life among the cannibals," describing what is happening in washington. i have had the unique perspective of being in both caucuses. i tell the inside story of what is going on. after she won the right-in, the cannibals challenge turgeon

court, and senator didn't, why identified earlier, -- senator demint, raised money to fight her in court and they lost. the lesson is and our rollo's, informed electorate can beat the rascals. -- and are roused, informed electorate can beat the rascals. caller: good morning. i have read your book. i have been a follower of yours ever since. a would like to comment on the lady who called him about send stuff. is burning madoff had been in the senate, he would still be in the -- walking the street. back to you, senator specter, i admire your judicial confirmations. i enjoy listening to you.

he brought the best in everyone and it was great. your first book was great. this book, the reason why you lost or changed is because when you went to democrat, you knew you would give peak in the republican primary in pennsylvania. -- you knew you would get beat in the republican primary in pennsylvania. in your book you have now, in your title there should be a tear drop underneath the title. [laughter] i still regard you. you're great. guest: thank you very much. thank you for the endorsement of the book. you can order it now on amazon .com, and you can get it next

tuesday, the official release date. we are promoting it pretty hard. we might have to have a second printing. order it now. host: woodbridge, virginia, democratic caller. go ahead. caller: good morning, senator specter. i want your opinion. i am in my 60's. i watch your colleagues sometimes. i am a democrat, but there are many republicans who i may have disagreed with, but i always respected them. with the state of the republican party now, and telling the party line, they are all talking the same talking points, saying the same thing, and i looked at some of your colleagues in the congress, and they look like empty suits. they do not have any independence or clear thoughts of their own. it is all talking points, and it

looks like they went from great lions to nothing. host: senator? guest: i could not agree with you more. hughes said it all. they follow the party line -- you said it all. they follow the party line. there is a lot of wisdom in the senate, if only they speak their minds. when i joined the senate, i am as college changed -- it has changed dramatically. -- i am asked how it changed. it has changed dramatically. the republican caucus was filled with moderates. we crossed the aisle and we talked. it was so much better. that is why i wrote this book. i wrote this book to tell the american people what happens in the american -- in the republican caucus, the democratic caucus. it is very similar.

the conversations are very similar, except the democrats are way off to the left, and the republicans are way off to the right. most of america is in the center. is the a electret is informed and motivated, coming back to senator lisa m. kospi, we can turn this country around. -- lisa murkowski, we can turn this country around. host: this from twitter -- why did the economy not tank after president clinton raised taxes? guest: well, because of the economic cycle that was with him. the raising of taxes, that was one factor, but there were a lot of other factors. the economy is very hard to control by the external forces.

it has a cycle and we just went through a very productive cycle, and a strong economy turned -- economy. host: i want to get your thoughts on bob kerrey returning to nebraska. he will appear on the ballot. what are your thoughts of him? guest: he is an outstanding man. i worked closely with him when i chaired the senate finance committee in 1995 and 1996. he was the vice chairman. i saw him recently. he has been away from nebraska for a while. he is independent. he is smart, and an outstanding senator. host: i want to go back to campaign 2012. do you think rick santorum can win the primary in pennsylvania?

guest: it is an open question. the last time he ran in pennsylvania he was beaten very badly, 59-41. the people who knew him best handed down that verdict. that is what the jury said. in the presidential issue, there is a lot of local pride. my hunch is it will not be sufficient. he will not win. the republican establishment is against him, not that necessarily is significant, but the elected officials would be worried if he is on the ticket he would hurt the race for state attorney general and the people running for the house. my hunch is he will not win, but the local pride to turn that around. host: joan. caller: i want to praise you for

a second. guest: take your time. you do not have to do it in a second. caller: great. your leadership research for biomedical research makes me grateful for every day in the rest of my life. your leadership in trying to increase understanding of transitional research is just as important, or maybe more so. we can have all the money in the world, but if it is just spent for basic research, and never gets to delivering tears, it will not get us anywhere. i'm wondering what the status is for that now. guest: thank you for your kind words. on the issue of increasing funding for parkinson's, i did take the lead as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee to raise annual funding from $12 million, to $30 million, in the

stimulus package, i offered the amendment which had forced $10 billion more. there have been enormous advances made. i've gotten to know michael j. fox, who is a leading spokesman, and also a tremendous advances in combating cancer, of ism, heart disease -- all of the elements. when you mention transitional, you are on a subject most people do not know about. i introduced legislation on that which would carry from the bench, in the laboratory, to a bedside, to the patient. my legislation was included in the affordable health care act known as obama-care, in substantial funds were appropriated there. so, the problem is there is no champion now in the united

states congress for nih or that funding. it takes it least $1 billion a year extra in order to just try to water to maintain the status quo. last year -- tread water, or maintain the status quo. last year, it was cut by $380 million. it is necessary for the american people -- $318 million. it is necessary for the american people -- there are 10 million americans infected by these melodies, and -- maladies. host: on another topic -- ask about fast and furious. do you think eric holder should resign? the selling of the guns supposedly to drug cartels in mexico?

guest: that ended up in a scandal, misdirected, and a lack of supervision. the issue is if it goes all the way to the attorney general himself. they are terrible mistakes that have to be corrected. if it did go -- host: if it did go to the attorney general, do you think he should step down? guest: 8 would depend. if he made a judgment knowing better, yes. if he was lax in supervising somebody -- he has a lot to supervise. you cannot sit in a chair at a distance and make a decision about having him step down without knowing much more than i know. host: daniel, indiana. republican. guest: good morning.

vote for dick lugar. caller: i got a call from his office host: are you planning to vote for -- office. host: are you planning to vote for dick lugar? guest: i am. i'm still treading on the party line, as senator specter has for his political career. i commend you very much for that. you have proven that bipartisanship is possible in this nation and it opens up the system for all people to meet their leaders in the center. excuse me, i'm a part of the parkinson's community as well. guest: take your time. caller: to say i will vote for senator dick lugar, i cannot say yes right now, but i will most likely vote for him. i also called to escape, do you think the people in?

-- ask you, do you think the people in afghanistan are still facing a critical threat from the taliban, and if we pull out, will the people beat successful in the fight for protecting their domestic future? guest: i think they are facing a threat, but there have been negotiations between the hamid karzai government and the taliban there was -- i was part of a congressional delegation that visited in afghanistan less than two years ago, and met with president hamid karzai. i think they can work it out themselves. it might be that their chances to work it out are improved, if the united states is not there. when we are there, if it's the taliban back up. one we are there, -- when we are there, there are incidents that happen like the recent killing

of so many afghanistan civilians by a sergeant who simply broke under the strain of been sent back there so often. our leading may improve the chances for their working it out. there is another factor, and that is that we cannot be everywhere. we cannot be everywhere were there are feuding factions. that is happening all over the world. you cannot get through the morning press. you cannot get through the morning press. we have to be where we have a national interest for the united states. in time is long past to be out of afghanistan. host: sarasota, florida. gary. democratic caller. caller: thank you, senator specter.

you have done fantastic work. i have been watching for many years. what i am worried about is the center. like you, senator simpson, everyone is giving up. . i wish everyone gets together, centrists, come together, and formed a union. bring america back. america is divided between super-conservatives and super- liberals. guest: agreed. host: vermont. richard, a republican.

it seems to me the biggest single issue is the debt. senator specter, you were part of that problem. an informed electorate depose the. then you changed part of the deposed you, then you changed party and were defeated again. i am not sure how to qualify for the high road. they are spending my grandson's money. host: let's get a response. guest: well, three times i voted for a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget so the federal government would have to live within its means just like the cities and states, and just like ordinary citizens. in the senate, i worked very

hard to eliminate fraud from my work on the judiciary committee, where we lose a tremendous sums of money by fraudulent practices in medicaid, medicare, and defense contracts. i did support funding for items like the national institute of health on scientific research. i think it is money well-spent. i did support funding for amtrak, to have a major transportation system to get people to and from work. i did support the philadelphia navy yard to bring jobs there, and the deepening of the port on what are called earmarks, but they were very well-funded. so, i fought against the debt,

the deficit in the national debt, and the record shows it. host: on foreign affairs, here is "the baltimore sun" -- host: you write in your book about syria and iran, and you write about how you spoke to president bush about syria and around, encouraging him to talk to them. do you think if he had done so the situation would be different? guest: it is pretty hard to change what president bashir massad has done, but i think it would have been worth a try. i took a special interests in the middle east. i first went there in 1984. i made 20 trips. i knew president assad's father. i met the current president there. i believe a dialogue would have had a chance to succeed. i think dialogue still has a

chance to succeed in iran. i think the beating of the war drums, without exhausting all of the sanctions and of the diplomatic avenues is not smart. i think when you have the israelis -- the former prime minister, who is now the defense minister, i think he is engaging in tough, psychological warfare with iranians when they talk about a strike. i think diplomacy does have a chance to work. it is astounding, though, what president assad has done on his brutality. host: do you call him a dictator? guest: i would call the more than a dictator. he is ruthless. i would call him a barbarian. he is worse than a tenable. he is a barbarian.

-- than a tenable. he is a barbarian. what they are doing their -- what is shocking to me, is i set as close as you and i are. he is an ophthalmologist. he is british educated. he is a very cultured wife. my wife had lunch with her, developed a report. to see what is going on now is just astounding. listen, you make peace with your enemies, not your friends. there is an old saying, keep your friends close in your enemies closer. host: athens, georgia. eva, independent caller. caller: good morning. i look forward to reading your book. i wonder if you included anything about the confirmation hearings of clarence thomas?

i watched those judiciary hearings during the time that anita hills was testify \ -- hill was testifying. guest: it is in my book. i go into that issue in my first book, "passion for truth," which was published 12 years ago. there is great detail about those hearings. i have actually written three books -- "passion for truth," which includes my work as an assistant counsel, one of the young workers on the warren commission's staff, investigating the assassination of president kennedy, where i developed the single bullet theory, and i talk about my work as district attorney in

philadelphia, and my time in the senate, including the confirmation hearings of justice thomas. i then wrote a book titled "never give in", about my battle with hodgkin's cancer, and then my current book, "life among the cannibals." host: can you talk about your health now? are you in good health now? guest: what you see is what you get. host: are you still working out? guest: i play squash. i will be playing squash this afternoon. i consider a trip to the squash court a trip to the house bank, and every time i go i make a deposit, and i have made big withdrawals. host: colorado. an independent.

caller: i watch fox news every day and listen to rush limbaugh, and grover norquist, and all of this stuff, and i hear these republicans parrot what is coming off of the media, and it does not seem like they have any voice of their own. i am telling my friends who are republicans that this is barry in your party. when you start getting -- burying your party. when you start listening to people better so far to the right, you have to win the independents, you will never get anywhere. you will end up with rick santorum, mitt romney, not with jeb bush. they are basically eating themselves up, because people

like me to look at rick santorum, and saying what in the world? are we draconian? help me out. guest: do not insult the draconians.pirit -- you are insulting the draconian when you compare them to rick santorum. we just lost olympia snowe. that is a big loss on top of bob bennett. joe lieberman is going. when you say why do they not have opinions of their own, let me tell you something. they do have opinions of their own. you ought to be right off of the senate floor in the cold room where people go and have a cup of coffee and talk. you ought to hear the opinions

in the cloakroom. there are a lot of opinions. when i walked out after my vote on the stimulus package, the first thing that bob bennett said to me was i was proud of you. i said would you vote with me? he said no, that might get me a primary. he had won anyway and was beat. the thought just came to me. they ought to televise the cloakroom. instead of televising the senate chamber, which has a forum, most of the time, all of that the legal time is wasted on a quorum call, and not with beautiful greta, and some intelligent questions come into knows about the answers. we ought to televise the cloakrooms. never mind what goes on the floor because nothing goes on on the floor. televise the cloakrooms. it would be a different america.

host: senator arlen specter, thank you for being here. the book is "life among the cannibals." thank you for being here. guest: thank you. host: next, we turn our attention to the european debt crisis, but first a news update. >> it is it a crack 30 5:00 a.m. eastern time. -- weekly unemployment applications have a four-year lull with jobless numbers coming in at 348,000, showing the job market strengthening. more background on the decision to allow former democratic senator bob kerrey on the democratic primary ballot in may. the decision came down one day after the republican party filed a legal challenge trying to keep him off of the ballot. the state gop challenge an

earlier opinion, finding the former senator -- violated a state law requiring residency for the candidate in which they register to vote, but the constitution requires only that they'd be a resident by the time they are elected. texas governor rick perry's facebook page was fall of sarcasm as hundreds flooded it with graphic questions about women's issue. it was a likely retaliation to texas cutting medicaid funds from health care clinics such as planned parenthood, which are affiliated with abortion providers. in response to the texas law, the obama administration has a limited federal funding for the state's medicaid women's health program.

the administration says they were violating rules. governor rick perry has bowed to keep the program running by replacing the federal funds with state money. those are some the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> this weekend on the presidency on american history tv -- >> think about the fdr memorial. it was not just three designs. it was 3-plus designs. i think we should not be afraid of looking at this issue, because we are building something for the centuries, and we want to get it right. host: with the eisenhower memorial opposed by the family, a house committee discovered the discussed the plan. this weekend, c-span 3. >> "washington journal" continues.

host: i want to welcome back to the table neil irwin, reporter for the "washington post." before we get talking, let me show one moment from yesterday, where the treasury secretary was says about the current economic situation in our country. [video clip] >> our economy is gradually getting stronger, but we still face tough challenges here in the united states. among those challenges, of course, unemployment is still very high. the housing market is still very weak. we still have a long way to go to repair the damage caused by our crisis, but we also face a challenging and on certain to -- on certain environment with iran and you're facing a long crisis. the euro area accounts for 18% of global gdp. it is a major source of financing for many emerging

economies and accounts for 15% of u.s. goods and services. when growth slows in europe, a defect growth around the world. host: neil irwin, help us read between the lines. guest: sure. when the treasury secretary says it is things are better. the european crisis has eased since last fall. the u.s. economy shows signs of picking up, but nothing bacon used to say happy times are rich but nothing they can use to say happy talk -- but nothing they can use to say happy times are here again. on the one hand and getting better, but on the other hand we understand they are not as much better as we would all like. what is to watch for next on the european crisis that could change the process that has been made? guest: is there the political

will to do the things the countries have promised they're going to do. we've seen a bunch of promises to create these backstops to prevent defaults in europe. greece and some of the other countries that are in financial difficulty will cut their spending, trying to become more competitive the question is can they carry this out. suddenly, you would have a lot of unhappiness, and there would be resistance to that. the same is true in greece. they are being asked to make changes in that scale. host: if they do not make those changes, what is the impact on global institutions like the imf? guest: the truth is the global institutions, the imf, the european central bank, which has played a role in this, they have leverage. they have been funding the greek government. the question is do they back off

and let rates rise. do they try to force the hand of politicians? it is a fragile situation there has -- because there is a contraction. that story is the political system. host: what does this mean for the u.s. taxpayer? he called there's not much risk carex -- risk. in theory, is the imf had losses, those would be our losses. there is not financial risk really for the taxpayer.

. that said, the risk for america is that things really go wrong. the risk is that this thing does move in an orderly direction, it goes the other way, and suddenly u.s. businesses over there are in trouble, and the global financial markets start to implode. secretary dieter told congress that the obama administration when not return -- secretary to the tighter told congress -- secretary tim geithner told congress that the obama administration would not return to the imf. guest: it would be hard to say we need more money for this international organization to support your pants. that would not go over terribly well. as things go so far, there is not a need for pisa's petitions.

host: let's get to phone calls. patty, a republican. caller: and earlier this week, either monday or tuesday, your paper wrote a lengthy article regarding john painter tried to negotiate with obama, and he gave -- john boehner trying to negotiate with obama, and he gave him what he wanted giving the -- with the budget, and obama refused it, and it talked .bout obama's arrogance i wonder if you can expand on that, and also cb hato a re--- cbo had a report about the actual cost of obama-care. that is not getting no press --

press on c-span. guest: kai reed was different than yours. -- by reed was different than yours. the piece ran sunday. there were moments where it looked like there was going to be a big deal on a strategy to reduce the deficit over time. from my read of the article and my colleagues reporting, it is a little more complicated than the caller describes. it definitely was the case that obama had cold feet about the deal on the table, and it is also pretty clear that john boehner and eric cantor were not sure they could pass the plan that included tax increases in the house of representatives. anytime negotiation breaks down, the two sides have different views of whose fault

it was, and what went wrong i did not think you can put it on one side. at the end of the day, it was john boehner who walked away. i do not cover the legislative side of things, but that is my read -- i am not sure about the health care. host: this from twitter -- guest: can the u.s. and europe compete? i think that overstates it. the u.s. is still the biggest economy. here, collectively, is the second-biggest. -- europe, collectively, is the second-biggest. that could change. china has a large population. for high-grade services, high- rate manufacturing, the stuff

that is really hard to make, it is still the case that the u.s. and europe is better than most developing nations, and you see that in our wage structure. whether tariffs are a good idea or not, i think it is connected. i think that will impede the ability to read -- ability to impede. host: eric. in georgia. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have a comment and question. it seems like 99% of your questions on c-span are about what will happen in the future. i would encourage suspense to analyze what has happened in the test, give -- encouraged c-span to analyze what has happened in the past, instead of speculating

about the future. my question is, could digest expand and how bullish -- code the guest expand on how his bush allowed china in to the wto, and the investment in wall street caused wall street to pay mortgage lenders bonuses to get these sub-prime loans out so washington would have a way. so, china put the of the videos that as from the -- china's wto status from the bush administration -- can you give some background and the financial transactions? guest: i would not agree with the entire framework. there are aspects of truth. what happened in the 2000 patel , one -- 2000's, one term is

the global savings crutch. they were running trade surpluses. they had more money coming in and going on. they have to save the money somewhere. in china and a lot of other places, this disproportionately became u.s. security. was backed by mortgages, in some cases private-level mortgage- backed securities. so, there were a lot of savings. there were savings from around the world, including asia, europe as well. it is finding its way to aaa- rated dollar-dominated securities. that ultimately funded sub-prime mortgages. is that purely a china story? china is certainly part of it. it is also part of german savings, wealthy individuals in oil-producing countries in the

middle east. you have all of this money chasing a small pool of securities. some of that what -- found its way to sub-prime lending and that is how we got into this mess. host: republican line. frank, a beltsville, maryland. caller: this question goes back to arlen specter, but suggest, the question has to do -- but to the guest, the question has to do with public health, its effect on the economy, and how bad ripples through the globe. i will particularly go through the drug situation worldwide, but to stay in north america, the cartels and the billions that are lost, and the economy that is effected there and that effects the recession because of the billions involved. how do you look at that as an

impact on the debt crisis, even into europe? is it just a situation of the weakness of the people that use recreational drugs and it feels these things which lead to the war, and economic disarray. i would go back to president lincoln. if you could mention something from four words or five works with malice toward none, and charity towards all. how would we go towards those things as the effect the economy and the peace? host: neil irwin? guest: i am venture how much illegal drugs have to do with the europe crisis -- i am not sure how much illegal drugs have to do with their european crisis, but it is a problem on

both sides. caller: why are we still subsidizing big corporations like general electric, oil companies and so and so? our congressman, paul ryan here, -- how can i put it? he is cutting benefits for seniors and all of that, you know? he goes around giving tax breaks to the 1%. host: hector, do you have a question? caller: that is my question. guest: the question becomes what are the tax policies that would make our economy stronger. one philosophy says you keep very low tax breaks on capital gains, it encouraged investments, and that would incentivize job creation, starting businesses, and that

would have benefits for everyone. the alternative theory is what you are really doing is giving low taxes to the people there have less money, and the people that -- should you not lower taxes on low and middle-income people? that is the central debate between the two parties. it will be playing out in this 2012 election. host: treasury secretary timothy geithner and head of the federal reserve ben bernanke were on capitol hill yesterday. that is a topic here this morning. neil irwin, the u.s. economy -- how much does it depend on the european economy? guest: on one side, the direct linkages are fairly modest. u.s. exports to europe are to%, 3% of gdp. it is not massive. when we have seen is the

connections are really more profound than it might have appeared. whenever you're's crisis seems to be getting worse -- europe's crisis seems to be getting worse, it seems to show up in u.s. data quickly in terms of job creation and everything else. we saw that in the spring of 2010, and the summer of 2011, and that is dangerous. that means if the european markets are on the verge of collapse, the u.s. market does the same, so that hurts business conference. maybe employers do not want to hire. that clearly has been something that has held back and players. -- employers. some of that risk has been put aside. employers are saying maybe europe has figured itself out. host: when it comes to the global market and gas and oil

prices, president obama going on the offense talking about what he is trying to do for gasoline prices. how much as the u.s. crisis dictated by factors outside of the united states? guest: overwhelmingly so. we are a major oil producer and consumer, but it is a global market. there is more oil coming from the middle east and elsewhere to the united states. u.s. sellers are free to ship oil to china or warehouse is that is what economics favor -- or wherever else if that is what the economics favor. in the short-run, it does not matter. the major determinants are how much economic growth is there in china and india? that pushes oil prices up. what happens in iran? if there is more turbulence, it could reduce supplies, cut

supply chains. those will determine gas prices over the next year. over the longer term, that is where the energy efficiency matters, drilling matters host: -- matters. host: from "washington post, " this morning. the kingdom's oil minister insisted by weak oil markets are amply supplied and that it stands ready. guest: it will be interesting to see what they do. there is an interesting dynamic were the major oil producers like saudi arabia, their incentive is not to make oil

prices as high as they could be. they have more complicated incentives. if prices get too high, people will start investing more heavily in energy efficiency, and the other side wind, a new car, and other things. they want to make -- nuclear, and other things. they want to make sure there is demand for many years. the saudis have no interest in the letting oil prices get to out of control. the question is how much capacity to the have. his their capacity to try to produce more and leaned against some of the disruptions that are threatening prices? guest: -- host: gary on twitter says -- will the europeans really be able to wean themselves off of government feeding? guest: we have seen quite a few targets -- riots. it does not always been peaceful

in greece. it is tough. anytime you make huge structural adjustments, there will be pain. if these were easy decisions, they would have been made years ago. the fact that some of the changes are under arrest, -- underdress, it is a sign of how deeply entrenched these things are. this is a extreme example. in spain, there is a labor market des makes it hard to -- that makes it hard to hire. they are trying to liberalize the market. employers are more flexible. the labor market has evolved over many years, and has a lot of entrenched interests. there's a lot of strain in trying to make those changes.

the question is is the outside pressure on these countries from other european countries that are essentially supporting them financially, is that strong enough to ease -- force these things through national policy? so far, it is. host: independent line. james, richmond, virginia. caller: my question is could you add more color to the statement that the economy is just a little bit better if you look at where we -- little bit better. if elected 2008, and where we are today, -- if you look at 2008, and where we are today, we are significantly a lot better. maybe not where we ought to be, but it is important to be honest about where we were. host: we have your point, james.

guest: the direction in the level -- is certainly true the direction of things as far better than it was in late-2008, early-2009. we were shrinking at an annual rate. that we were shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs per month. those were very dark days. the economy bottomed out in the summer of 2009. since then it has been gradually creeping back up. what we are growing at now is a looks like the first quarter growth will be 2%. that is the quarter that ends in a week or two. 2% is not great. that is not climbing out of the whole. it is going back to the baseline normal rate of growth. that would be fine if we had full employment and growing at 2%, that would be fine, but we are not. we have 8.3% unemployment.

so the pace we are growing at is not fast enough to put people back to work in massive numbers, not fast enough to put us back on the trajectory we were on before 2007, before the recession started. we are in a much better spot than we were two years ago because we are not in the middle of the deep decline. not back to normal anytime soon. host: democratic caller. caller: yesterday the cbo grade d paul ryan's budget plan. taking all the pain of getting us out of this, putting that on the backs of the elderly, poor people. how do you think, since it did not a word in europe, why does he think that less consumer ability to buy things will work here when it did not work there?

why are they so adamant when they have not created any jobs in the last 10 years? guest: i think you just saw a preview of an argument the democrats will be making this election year. paul ryan's argument would be that by cutting taxes on wealthy and businesses and cutting spending on social programs and having a leader government, that would free up a much more conducive environment for entrepreneurship and growth. you are right that there's reason to think -- first of all, cutting spending too fast would be a drain on the economy. this is the fundamental ideological argument of our times. paul ryan's budget is one step

in a long debate that will happen in the course of the year. host: which countries should u.s. viewers be watching that are making strides in the markets that might surprise them? people talk about china and others. but what are some other countries? guest: there's a number -- this has been a remarkable last decade for growth in a lot of emerging countries. billions of people on earth are entering the global middle- class. brazil is a great example. indonesia is a huge company that had been very poor and is joining the global middle class as well as china, which is enormous. coverone of the great under stories of our time. it's a wonderful story. it comes at a cost of higher fuel prices and higher demand for things that middle-class people want, but it also means

many fewer people are living in dire poverty than 10 years ago. new jersey, chris, republican. caller: good morning. my question is, do you see portugal requiring another bailout? what would the implication on financial markets be? guest: portugal is a small country. there finances are con the mess. whether they actually have to go back to the imf and european commission and have another package, i don't know. their problem is they are the poor man in europe. they are small. because they are small, their problems are manageable. if they need more help, the imf

can. afford can the real fire wall is spain and italy. if they run into trouble, it becomes a very difficult problem for the world community to deal with because they are much bigger countries. portugal, they have been doing reforms that are tough and not popular domestically, with the government has been living up to the terms of its aid packages. host: people talk about greece, ireland, spain. what are the help of those economies? guest: the major problems has been different for them. greece was spending beyond its means, had big budget deficits, there were lying about the scale of those deficits and accumulated debts. greece is the worst financial problem in europe. ireland had quite good finances going into the crisis.

it has a pretty efficient economy. it has labor markets that work well. however, it had too much lending on real-estate, banks propped up by the government. then the government is on the look for these liabilities and the banking system that had gotten too big and was really exposed. the underlying strengths in their economy probably bode well for the future. as they moved past the big debt they incurred from backing up their banking system, they have the potential to move forward. spain is a large economy. they have problems in the labor market, 20% unemployment. but they are making changes, trying to figure out how to make sure young people can get jobs. right now it is hard to get a job as a young person in spain because older people are holding on to jobs under a rigid work rules situation. italy is even bigger than spain.

italy is making progress. they have a new government as of last summer. they are making changes. it is funny. we have all these countries. the debates we have in the u.s. over what should the social safety net look like and what should tax levels look like and what should the deposition be? how quickly it should be reduced while keeping? onouts keeping the basic questions are everybody is doing them at the same time. host: back to the u.s. economy, the number of people seeking unemployment aid in the u.s. fell -- guest: this has been an area of progress for few months now.

every week the labor department puts out these numbers on how many people last week filed new claims for unemployment insurance benefits. is a real time indicator of how many people are losing their jobs or being laid off. the fact that -- that sounds like the lowest number we have had in years. host: says its at a four-your local. guest: that's a good sign. in the labor market right now, the number of people losing their jobs or being fired is down quite a lot. what is not picked up enough is hires. fires h are down ires -- fires are down, but hires are not up enough. the labor market is frozen in place. employers are no longer cutting jobs and that's a good sign. at the same time, they are only

now starting to say i am confident enough in the future that i will add another shift and add hours and bring another five people on. that is starting to happen more and more in the last few months, but not happening in massive numbers that what put the long- term unemployed back to work. host: a tweet -- guest: here's how it works. the u.s. economy is constantly -- the labor force is constantly growing. there is immigration. there's him people spreading from college and joining the work force. people are always becoming more productive, so productivity is almost always rising. that means we are capable as a country of making more stuff year after year. most people and that number is something like to% or 2.5%, is

how much our capacity grossed mix of every year. we need to grow at least at that rate just at that neutral, just to keep people employed and not have a rising unemployment. right now we are at 8% unemployment. we would need to grow faster like 3% or 4% for that to grow and then the an islamic rate would come down. then we could go back to growing 2% or a 2.5% gdp. host: democratic caller, bill, good morning. caller: good morning. i have a question about the united nations agenda 21. if anybody does not know, they really need to look it up. that's online. how do you see it affecting all of america's economy right now? the republican national

committee has passed a resolution stating that they recognize it is real and they are against it. how do you see stopping the u.n. agenda 21 effort in america? host: are you up-to-date on that? guest: i am not. host: we will go on. burlington, wisconsin, david. caller: you have a beautiful smile. there was a call recently about paul ryan's budget, how to fix the u.s. economy. at the listening sessions in the first district of wisconsin, paul ryan would use those sessions to cause fear that our economy might take a nosedive in

the likes of the european economy has done. i asked him if germany did not do quite well? he ignored my question. he said our primary focus should be greece. but germany is doing quite well because their government is patterned after our government after the second world war. host: let's have a response. is germany doing well and what about patterning their system after hours? guest: yes, the german economy is doing pretty well. the netherlands, austria, a number of the nordic countries doing well, sweden and denmark. to try totendency say, having a large social welfare states like most european countries, means you have high deficits and all the

highgreece have a spirit that can happen, but you can have large social welfare states coupled with fiscal responsibility and that's what they have in germany. they have socialized health- care, they have a lot of things americans may not want, but they are able to do that in the context of fiscal stability and not letting deficits get out of control. it conflates the issue. the u.s. is not greece. in terms of how that government is run, but decisions they were making an choices they made before the crisis, and that's on a different scale than anything we have done here. host: a tweet -- guest: tax policy does affect investment decisions. they have to decide whether to

open a new factory in the u.s. in michigan or in germany. if our corporate tax rate is higher than over there, that's one reason not to build it here and not create jobs here. corporate tax policy absolutely matters of a and it is something businesses are laying as they decide where to invest. the thing is, politics is about trade-offs. government is about trade-offs and economic policies about trade-offs. figuring out where our economics is as a society is. host: linda, a republican, you are up next. caller: i would like to know, i'm sorry i'm not sure if you can hear me.

regarding social programs, in our country and in other countries that is where politicians always go to get rid of fraud. they say poor people are ripping off everybody and the politicians balance their campaign, in other countries, not in our country. there's no economic recovery where i live. people are not getting pushed back to work. everybody in the united states pays taxes. at least $20 probably of your cell phone bill goes to pay taxes. host: anything there to respond to? guest: why do politicians focus on social programs when they are looking to cut budget deficits?

because that's where the money is. there is ideological aspects involved as well and different parties and people have different parties aboard want to cut, but my colleague has a line that you look at what the u.s. government spends money on, is a retirement insurance organization and happens to have the military attacked. if you look at the big money in the budget, is social security, medicare, medicaid, and military. add interest on the debt and that covers most of what the u.s. government spends money on. everything else is crammed into a smaller piece of pie. if you are looking at right now we have a deficit that is in the neighborhood of over $1 trillion or so, if you have to try to reduce that deposition over time and you are trying to make a meaningful reduction, cutting little things here and there, you would have to go where the money is really being spent. that happens to be social

welfare programs along with the military. host: michael speaks to that on twitter -- guest: if wetoo fast, it -- if we cut too fast, that can hurt growth. people that build tanks and airplanes could lose their jobs. in the long run, as we try to figure out a way to chart a path to a more sustainable fiscal pat, most people say the military will have to be part of that, because it is a big area where money is being spent. there is the tricky balance of trying to get deficits under control but at the right timing and in a careful way that does not undermine our recovery and stop us from gaining jobs. host: on the line is a democrat in bowie, maryland, connie.

caller: good morning. history tells us that the way we got out of depressions before was by building things, like our infrastructure. if we would have passed a bill to build our infrastructure, we could pay off our debt quicker than cutting social programs. we cannot cut enough and ordered through get us out of debt. but if we put people back to work building our roads and bridges and schools, we could pay our debt off much quicker. guest: i think a lot of economists would agree with you. we have very low interest rates by now. the u.s. government can borrow money at 2% for 10 years, which is remarkably low. it has risen a little in the last couple weeks. interest rates are low. we have a lot of infrastructure. apart from building new roads and bridges, there's just a puppy, the required minutes we have been deferring because money has been tight. all materials.

labor is cheaper. the unemployed construction workers, so you can hire them for cheaper than you would in a stronger economy. a lot of economists would say the last three years we should have been doing a national investment in our infrastructure and getting our roads in good shape and borrowing money to do it. it's wanting to borrow money for things that have a long-term payoff than pouring money just to fund this year's consumption. money toer to borrow pay your grocery bill than your mortgage. it's been a missed opportunity. there's not been a bipartisan ability to come around investing large scale on infrastructure. it's possible in the years ahead we will look back at 2008 to 2012 as a missed opportunity to invest in that area. host: an independent on the line. caller: i have a question, sir. i traveled around the states a

lot. every down, every newspaper has help-wanted ads. my point is, if there are certain jobs, why are there help-wanted signs and why is unemployment not dropping faster? guest: there are some mismatches. in some cases, the skills that people have don't match the jobs available. part of this is a structural readjustment of getting people prepared and trained and ready for the jobs in the 21st century, not the jobs they had in the past. there's always a turn in the labor market. even in the darkest days of the recession, there were still empty jobs. there's always a matching time period. it is true we are starting to see more help wanted ads. including today's jobless claims numbers tpoint to a labor market that is starting to get a little tighter. there are still many people unemployed.

but i think we will hear more and more stories of employers looking to hire and just a matter of finding the right people. host: for the last 40 minutes we will ask our viewers take on president obama's energy strategy. on gas prices, what should people be watching for? guest: people want to know how that will affect the election. it's frustrating for people in the white house as they look at this. in the short term they have no leverage to adjust it. there's the strategic petroleum reserve. that's for emergencies and not for an election year. the bush administration had this in 2008 when there was a run-up in the summer of 2008 that probably heard john mccain's popularity. the truth is the price of oil is determined by supply and demand.

on the supply side, is there war in iran or instability in the middle east? that could drive prices up. and china, india, europe, do those economies they don't track and keep needing more oil? that would bring the price up. what would bring the price down is for that demand to soften, which is probably not what we want either. there is financial speculation in energy. over time, if people are speculating and the price gets beyond fundamentals, they will lose money. it can drive up the price, but it will catch up with them eventually. it's hard to see how that is the issue over the longer-term. host: coming up, will turn our attention to president obama's energy strategy. thanks very much for being here.

a news update first and then we will be back with your take on president obama's energy strategy. >> it's 9:22 a.m. eastern. the number of people seeking unemployment a low last week, or this hour that volkswagen will be creating a hundred new jobs at its chattanooga plant. the company plans to increase production of the passat. that will beat a total of 1000 positions there this year more on the shooting of a teenager in florida last year from director of the national neighborhood watch programs. he says it's highly unusual for watch members to carry a weapon and is highly discouraged. he says the groups are intended to be the eyes and ears of police, not law enforcement act themselves. he went on to say that he was flabbergasted to learn that a florida watch captain shot and killed an unarmed black teenager. w a marine. ho started a facebook group that

is openly critical of president obama and boasted, he will not follow what he says are unlawful orders of the commander-in-chief is facing possible dismissal from the marine corps. the marines told the sergeant gary stein betty's in violation of pentagon policy barring troops from political activity. we'll hear more about military priorities in a few minutes on c-span radio and on c-span3 when general john allen testifies before the senate armed services committee. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> a new america and where freedom is made real for all, without regard to race or belief or economic conditions. [applause] i mean a new america which has

the ancient idea that men can solve their differences -- that attacks the ancient idea that men can solve their differences by killing each other. it's as candidates campaigned for president this year we look back at 14 men who ran for the office and lost. to to our web site c-span.org see videos of the men that had a lasting impact on american politics. >> they continue to offer only one solution to the problems which confront us, the liberals tell us again and again and again that we should spend our way out of trouble and spend our way into a better tomorrow. >> c-span.org/thecontenders. "washington journal" continues. >> we're back. for the remainder, we want to get your take on president obama's energy strategy.

off yesterday started on a tour to tout what it plans to do on gas prices and other aspects of his energy strategy. he was in nevada yesterday at a solar panel company. here's what he had to say. >> an energy strategy that focuses only on drilling and not on an energy strategy that will free ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil, that is a losing strategy. that is not a strategy i will pursue. america uses 20% of the world's oil. we have to% of the world's oil reserves. ics major.a mathematici the actor bring in the rest from somewhere else. why would we want to start finding alternatives that make us less reliant, less dependent on what is going on in the middle east? -- why would we not want to?

>> we host: he will travel oklahoma today to talk about a section of the keystone pipeline that he wants to approve. the paper says -- and on the front page of usa today is this story --

and the republican congressman from oklahoma rights in the washington times today about president obama's decision on expanding the entire keystone pipeline --

and he says -- that background on president obama's visit to oklahoma from both sides. now we turn to new york, a republican. what do you think? caller: i think that he has no policy whatsoever. what he is doing right now is totally political. he is trying to get reelected and is not doing a very good job of it. i think he lacks any policy whatsoever regarding energy. host: before you go, noel -- we

lost him. now, a democratic caller in ohio. caller: good morning. your last caller is a little late on the pipeline. he that the speculators -- i am a democrat and i know that he's gone wrong. the pipeline, he should have agreed with that right off the bat, because they strutted that three years. now he is trying to executive order the pipeline. that is typical for the election. when iran said it would close off the strait of hormuz, he did nothing. he should have said that they would put some battleships in their and a couple of carriers and tell iran that its international waters and that the u.s. would not allow them to close off the straight.

now he's trying to do everything it can to get out of it. host: the president will be talking in oklahoma close to 11:00 a.m. this morning. c-span.org for more information. bob, democratic caller in duluth, minnesota. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i was watching c-span a few months ago when they had a few political figures, people from the company that wants to build the pipeline. when i learned was that the oil that would be piped through texas in the free-trade zone and it would be exported to europe and china and the u.s. would not be able to collect taxes on any of this oil. when i see that we are taking all the environmental risks like we did with bp for the sole

purpose of enriching oil companies and political campaigns, i have to side with those that would only want to allow the pipeline to go through our country if it played a major role in lowering the price of fuel and the ceo of exxonmobil a few months back also said that 40said that of the price of fuel is caused by speculation -- 40% of the price of fuel. and i found that online. host: what you make of the story in usa today/" we lost him. now, and independents in texas on the line. caller: hello. talking about the pipeline coming from canada, there is a pipeline going through our area

right now, going into oklahoma, which is supposed to bring all that oil that they say they cannot get out until the keystone comes through. it will try to go to a piece of my land. they're having trouble and they are trying to come straight through my house and they could care less. here's the real problem, this was from the houston chronicle in december, fuel exports up and so is the cost of the gas pump. u.s. prices high. this was put out by the u.s. energy information association. last year almost 700 million barrels of refined products leading this country. if we so need this oil, why are the big oil companies or a lot of the energy out of here?

host: john, you are an independent. what do you make of president obama's energy strategy? he says that he will continue to say all of the above. this was a headline, obama hales corner and energy, solar power, including the pipeline from oklahoma down into texas. what you make of it? caller: i think he is doing what he has to do. there's politics on both sides. you have to try to please the majority of the people so you can get an office again. i think his policies have been fine. i would not disagree with him. host: is this a big enough issue for you to vote for president obama in november 2012? caller: not really. the larger issue is the overall issue of the health care situation, for example.

the program the other night on health care in the world and how we rate in terms of longevity, no. 29. 28 other countries where people live longer than we do and all of them have universal health care. host: are you opposed to the health care law? if so, are you planning to vote against president obama because of that? caller: no, i am not against the health care law. i'm telling you what the real problem is. i wish you guys would have a program about how many military bases there are outside the u.s. and around the world. if you can find out for yourself or do you know how many there are? host: we actually have done program segments where we talk about our presence overseas and how many military bases we have.

nebraska, thomas, democratic caller, your next. caller: i'm calling about the pipeline. the question of the pipeline seems to be framed as to whether or not there should be a pipeline. a lot of people in nebraska frame the question as the direction of the pipeline. the company already has a pipeline that appears over to the east and then down. they want to short cuts that instead of putting the new pipeline adjacent to the one they already have, because it will cost less. the hypotenuse of a triangle is much shorter distance than the other two sides. it's about the cost. they want to avoid the cost of going east and then down. that's all. host: now to new hampshire, dave, independent caller. talking about president obama's energy strategy. caller: i will try to be brief. i am an engineer who has invented a windmill to amplify

wind velocity and thereby wind power. it is long and complicated, but basically imagined antenna that can increase power. i have had very good response from three major companies in europe. every company in the u.s. has either just ignored me or said stupid things. i would like to get a hold of somebody in the energy department who will look at my data and reports and try to come up with something we could work on. i am not trying to get rich or anything. i want to do this because i think it is important. host: there's a headline in the advocate's of south louisiana --

the former house speaker referred to obama's secretary of energy as the secretary of anti- energy. tennessee, linda, a republican. caller: the secretary wanted us to paint our driveways. mr. obama has vetoed the pipeline yet he is acting like the shovel dirt to get in there. they paid him a $50 million and they created 10 jobs. why not just give a complete $5 million and colet's a washed?

-- call it a wash? has no clue about what to do about gas. he leads from behind. he stopped the drilling in the gulf and stopped drilling on public land. he gave his friend george soros money to pump gas in brazil and is begging saudi arabia to pump more of it. he is lying about the 2%. we have more than 2%. host: to you believe president obama can do things in the immediate future impact gas prices? caller: get out of the way. he and the epa, a study to the pipeline 3 and 1/2 years. we cannot build anything anymore because of lisa jackson and the epa. host: you think the obama administration should get out of the way? caller: get out of the way and

let the private industry do it. we are cabalist nation, but -- we are a capitalist nation, but liberals have destroyed our economy. host: here is the washington post with an abc news poll --

and then you see the independence breakdown. 66% of independence in 2006 thought that president bush could do something. now 53% of independents now think president obama can do something on gas prices. a democratic caller in new hampshire. caller: good morning. i'm calling to repeal the other person who just called. it is like, unless you see the documentary on gas land, i can see why obama is hesitant of why he wants these other companies to put in pipelines, because they don't care how old they are going to ruin our environment? and especially the water. people don't understand that without water and cannot survive. if they keep polluting our waters, we will be in deep

trouble. all they have to do is look at the documentary and you can see where people are struggling. now they don't have any water source other than those companies bringing in water to them. i don't think people understand that we are polluting our waters and without water and cannot survive. i can see the hesitance and to make sure that is pipelines are going to either be safer to protect us. that's all i have to say. thank you. host: the front page of the washington times this morning as this headline about the supreme court -- also on the front page of the new york times --

so that the latest from the supreme court. we will cover oral arguments next week on the health care laws monday through wednesday. tune in to "washington journal 7:00 a.m. eastern and you'll get your thoughts, your questions about the case and how it is being broken down on all the different days. individual mandate, anti- intentioned, all that we will talk about and learn more about the case. here's the "washington times this morning with this headline --

asheville, tennessee, kevin, independent. but you make of president obama's strategy on energy? caller: yes, ma'am, a couple minutes. your previous caller does now that called about wanting to protect the environment against the pipeline being installed, there are pipelines all over this country. they have been there for years. they have been taken care of. we are going to have accidents.

we will have numerous accidents. there is raw sewage in the appalachian mountains. it has been there 100 years. they are getting nowhere with the cleanup. the government is totally unresponsive. your previous caller before that was talking about, well, we should be able to go ahead and drill, we are capitalist country. she's exactly right. we are basically a capitalist country, but, unfortunately, we are living like socialists. we are handing out entitlement money, we are spending our way into so much debt. my grand kids and great grandkids, there's no way they will be able to pay for this. host: we also posted this question on our facebook page

-- and there are many people responding. here's one -- and many facebook, questioning whether or not president obama has a strategy. and then on twitter, here's one from jody -- las vegas, a republican. the president was out there yesterday talking about clean energy, solar energy,? what do? caller: yes, he was. the u.s. does need to be energy sufficient on our own. but i think what the president is doing with the pipeline, i agree with it somewhat. i have not been able to find out exactly how much money it will produce and how greatly it's

gone to affect the economy. president obama has already spent over $5 trillion almost in the three years that he has been president. i don't know, money he can spend to try to revive our nation building a pipeline. that will not do much. probably will just increase the oil. energy independence, that is our main goal in the country. host: peter has this on twitter -- now, south dakota, linda, democratic caller. caller: i guess i really think it's a good idea to build a pipeline from oklahoma to the refineries. acroos the aquifer,

you could destroy so many people oppose the source of water. the governor of north dakota would not let the pipeline go across north dakota because they would not accept the oil. host: linda, what are the gas prices like? where you like caller: right now you can get it at $3.65. i am also wondering, it costs so much to ship oil from saudi arabia to here. how come the other oil is 14% less? weaken transfer its cheaper from north dakota to a refinery that we can from saudi arabia to a refinery. that does not make any sense. host: representative, and independent on

-- on the line. caller: what was the question? host: we are talking about president obama's energy strategy. caller: i think what we need to do is have him either cut the gas prices and actually start drilling like he said he was going to do. maybe not in south dakota, but get the gas from canada like they said there were going to do. host: and this headline --

so that's the background for you as we are moments away from the house coming into session and looking like house republicans would put another extension possibly on the floor today for 90 days. for lauderdale, melvin, democratic caller, a go-ahead. caller: with respect to the pipeline, it's not want to be built overnight or a couple months, so it's ridiculous to talk about it having to do with oil prices. we should consider why we have speculator is and why they are there. [unintelligible]

oil that is drilled in the u.s. is priced differently. if you want cheaper oil prices, it has to be nationalized. that's the only way we can determine what the price will be. anything else is up to the open markets. this does about pipelines, there's nothing anyone can do about that. host: st. louis, missouri, a republican. caller: i back obama's energy plan 100%. people are shortsighted with the natural disasters that are occurring, because that would

make more disasters and there will possibly be more oil spills. that is just more cost. people are looking so short term. it's like, let's get this keystone pipeline and let's not worry about what it will do to our natural resources and land and water. host: independent, ray. caller: i just have a short comment. most ofon't understand, the callers, that we are limited on information. we are all limited on the whole scheme of what needs to be done. we get our information from either the newspaper or from books or magazines. how can we actually determine -- a few callers have guidelines that we should go by, but how

can we actually determined to know what the solution is? none of us are specialists. how can we possibly make a rational decision on something that that we are so limited on the information given to us? host: a programming note, general allan, the commander of coalition forces in afghanistan is back on capitol hill right now. c-span3, you can get our coverage of the senate armed services committee marius' testifying about the situation in afghanistan. columbus, ohio, democratic caller, millie. caller: we have so many people that live in the united states, senior citizens. we are not getting what president obama promised. he lied to the people. and the gas price keeps going up. how about people that don't have the money to keep up with gas

prices and they have to go to the doctor and to the store? it's not right. a lot of people out of work that need jobs and they cannot make it now. and the senior citizens. the president has tried to everybody. host: a reminder, please turn the television down. otherwise it causes feedback. here's gracie on twitter -- garden city, michigan, lillian, a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. why is it the people are not being told there are 70 leases for smaller oil companies that want to drill? the president has it on his desk and he will not do anything. also, the epa is holding back

from any oilan fromland drilling. the democrats are lying. host: here is the new york times this morning -- let's go to ted, independent in tennessee. caller: good morning. i would like to make a. couple i hope everybody was listening to the man in houston who lives there. he talked about how they are exporting oil. if we get the pipeline, where is the oil going to go? it will go on world markets.

i wish the gop contenders would tell us just how much the pipeline would lower prices in america. second, we are a capitalist country. i am from tennessee. but you cannot turn them loose without any regulation. we saw what happened and roots -- under the bush administration. look what kind of mess we got. host: now this article --

so he was in nevada yesterday and then he went to mexico. oklahoma today. the ghost of highfill as part of a four-stop tour. -- he goes to ohio. now robert, in richmond. caller: hello. i agree with those ladies from ohio and michigan about allies by the obama administration. when he went oklahoma, he did when he went oklahoma, he did