in about 45 minutes we will talk about jobs and the economy will democratic senator mark begich of alaska. the founder and editor of the american spectator r. emmett tyrrell, jr. will take your questions at 8:30 eastern. we will be joined by washington post writer eli saslow, the author of "10 letters: the stories americans tell their president." host: one of the big headlines this a thursday morning says romney jabs at obama over his education policies. he blames the influence of teachers unions on what he called a third world education system. in the meantime, the white house is responding by releasing a compilation of praise by

republican governors to the president's education policy is. accept up this question for you this morning. who do you trust more on education in this country, the president or the likely gop and challenger, a former massachusetts governor? lots of papers on this question today. republicans, and independents, call on your respective phone lines. and we have a fourth line for parents and teachers. 202-628-0184. and there are several other ways to weigh in this morning. via twitter. there's also facebook. and regular e-mail. we look for to hearing from you. here's one of the stories by paul west of the tribune's

washington bureau. it's published in the baltimore sun today. he says targeting an issue popular with women that -- the candidates made a speech. here's a little bit from mitt romney and education. >> when the president took office, he faced a jobs crisis. it has barely improved. the face the spending crisis. he has made that worst. and defaced and education crisis. -- and he faced an education crisis. it would be great if we could

look back on the last of all last four years that we had turned a corner, but that has not happened, sadly. it's not as a matter of test scores and international banking, it is the frustration of a sixth grader who wants to learn more but is stuck in a class that is hardly moving at all. it is the embarrassment of a 10th grader who knows it cannot read the books he has been assigned. it is the shame of a 12 greater who is supposed to be ready to graduate but has not mastered the skills he or she needs to succeed in the jobs of today. host: that was mitt romney yesterday it. a little bit more from the ce --more sun peacie

we will hear from the president as well a couple times during this segment, on education. here's the new york times headline on this. romney calls education the civil rights issue of our era -- this is the piece as well that

talks about the president, releasing a compilation of republican praised for the president's education policies including comments from governor chris christie of new jersey and governor susanna martinez of mexico. the first call this topic, joe from salt lake city utah, republican. >caller: good morning. mr. romney is a fine man. you have to realize that the mormon church and all mormons are high on education. mitt romney would be a fine president. he knows the value of education done in the right way. i think he would bless the whole nation as far as that goes. mr. obama, all these people have run to harvard and tried to get their degree from harvard and as far as i'm concerned, there's been a conspiracy by the left- wing to try to get these people from harvard.

it's almost like a harvard mafia. they think as long as they get a degree from harvard, they can run around and get any -- how can i say it, they are, like, obama hired all of his harvard educated friends to fill the government's and these people have left-wing liberal extreme policies on everything. that is why his administration has not worked. mr. romney, i think, would be fair, balanced, andy is high on education,, because everybody here is educated. everybody goes to college, everybody goes to school. they go for their masters degree. mr. romney, i think, would be a fine man. he is a fine man, if the matter what they say about him. he will be even-handed at what he does. host: all right, i want to get some other viewpoints. who do you trust more on the education issue from what you have heard? here is the washington post

headlined, a shot of mitt romney taking off or putting on his jacket. it says -- that's in the washington post. walter from new jersey is on the air now, independent. good morning. caller: yes, i would like to know why the gop it always -- and they do the same thing in new jersey, they got after the teachers. .t's the teacher's fault always you know, they are not concerned with education. they want to cut funding to education. host: what do you see from the president that you like?

tell us what you think. caller: i feel he is more in tune with today's thinking and the way education should go. like to get rid of that "no child left behind" and things like that, which was like a one- size-fits-all. and to let the states put in their own plans. host: erick is in baltimore on the line for democrats. hi. good morning./ caller: yes, i would trust president hands down over mitt romney, because he is doing what everybody expected and now he's trying to move more the left and this is my prediction, he is going to sound exactly like president obama because president obama is so popular

and it will come down to a choice of president obama wore himself. everything he says he is adopting from the president. so it is going to be a choice of to you want a rich white guy or a rich non-white guy for the presidency? host: back to the baltimore sun peace, there's a reaction from the head of the national education association, nea. he says -- but talking about mr. romney.

here's a tape of the president yesterday at a fund-raiser in denver, talking more about education. >> i wanted to make sure that more of our citizens all the college degree than any other nation on earth by the end of this decade. i want to make sure our schools are hiring and rewarding the best teachers, especially in math and science. i want to give 2 million more americans the chance to go to community colleges and learn the skills local businesses are looking for right now. [applause] higher education is not a luxury, it is an economic imperative. every american should be able to afford it. that is the choice in this election. i'm running to make sure that the next generation of high-tech manufacturing takes place in denver and cleveland and pittsburgh, charlotte. i don't want to reward businesses that are investing and creating jobs overseas.

i want to reward them for investing right here in colorado, creating jobs right here in the united states of america. [applause] that is the choice in this election. host: next call, cleveland, a teacher on the line. welcome to the program, chey. caller: thank you for c-span. i was able to see the romney speech right here on c-span yesterday. this is my first time calling. thank you for c-span overall. my comment, actually, speaks to the fact that if you look at the quotes from chris christie and the other republican governors, what you will notice is a lot of the praise is focused on time when arne duncan, obama's education

secretary actually broke with the teachers' unions on issues like meritocracy, things along those lines and teacher accountability. so what you'll get, based on at least what candidate romney has laid out, what we would expect is that we would see more of what those republican governors for for and less dependence on teachers' unions. one of the things that came out in the speech is that 90% of teachers union dollars actually go to democrats. and that they raise more than both political parties combined. the nationals teach teachers un. although the president may want to do more to reform education,

with the teachers' union being an impediment to that reform, president romney would be in a better position to make certain reforms in education. i think criticism need to be taken in context. that's my comment. host: how long have you been teaching? caller: as an adjunct instructor i have been teaching on the community college level six years in economics. host: thanks for calling and weighing in and watching the speech. all to the program. north carolina on the line now, mike, independent. who do you trust more on education, president obama or mitt romney? caller: it would be a president mitt romney because i think that he has more of the real-world experience that's necessary to know what's needed in education. i don't think you get that from

community organizing. host: here's an e-mail this morning. i trust president obama a lot more on education. private schools teach students how to learn. when public schools try to do it, they get attacked for not doing the basics -- here's a message from twitter -- here's the second editorial in the wall street journal this morning --

beverly in new jersey -- beverly, new jersey, frank, a republican. thanks for calling. caller: i think that it's none of the above. for the simple fact i don't think the federal government should have anything to do with the education system in this country. i believe this should be handled by the state's.

the federal government has pumped hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars into the education system in this country. to be quite frank and honest with you, when you talk to some of these kids that are going to school and high school and all that, they don't know how to read, write, or anything. i think there should be a state issue. let the states handle it. if you want to continue your education, like everybody else does, go out and get a job and pay for your education. don't put the burden on the taxpayers by the government borrowing money. most of these loans that the kids get to go to school, they don't pay back the loans. guess what, that falls on the backs of people like us. one more statement and then i will hang up. host: ok, frank. caller: in regard to the fellow that call before me about the teachers in new jersey, the teachers in new jersey seem to

think that they are not subject to the economy. they don't want to give nothing back and this is the reason why the taxpayers are so upset, because they are part of the reason why the taxpayers are so upset. host: thanks for callingjoe is on -- host: thanks for calling. joe is on the line from wichita, kansas. caller: thanks for taking my call. i moved here from a republican state. it's time for us to stop playing games and look at the facts of all this in front of us. the republicans are closing down schools. they are sending them down, sending them to the magnet schools. candidates romney is about making money. all the things they keep talking, don't they know president obama has spent less money than what these people are saying? it's time to stop looking at all

the lies that are being told and look at some facts. have a good day. host:who do you trust more, the president or mitt romney on education? here's a comment from sam -- is a little more for mitt romney from the event yesterday at the latino coalition. >> today, way too many dreams are not realized because of our failing education system. more than 150 years ago our nation pioneered public education. yet now we have fallen way behind. among the developed countries of the world and you probably know this already, the u.s. comes in 14 out of 34 in reading.

17th out of 34 in science. our public education system is supposed to ensure that every child gets a strong start in their life. yet 1/4 of students in this country and fails to get a high- school degree. think of that. what are they going to do? in our major cities, half of our kids don't graduate. host: more from the papers this morning. the new york post --

so the breakdown from the new york post. back to the wall street journal, the news pages this morning.

back to your calls now. north carolina, gregory, an independent. hi there. caller: yes, sir. the state license in is more important than a college degree. it is a right to work state. there's a point system for jobs that really don't pay that much. host: what are you hearing from the two candidates that we are featuring this morning? caller: i would venture to say that obama would be the better choice, because the only thing that i like about mr. romney is

that he's a republican. his only concern is money. the minute that money is the only concern, that is a very dangerous thing. there's no loyalty. that the bottom line. the only people who are going to be educated will be the top. 1top at florida,'s move on to john on our republican line, good morning. caller: the charter schools, there's already 300 of them in the u.s. and other will be 1000 more of them. they are supporting these muslims, because the muslims are the ones in charge. ,ost: let's hear from lou

independent, miami, florida, good morning. caller: hi, i take obama over romney and i think i would approve of his education agenda. he is more into state constitution. the policy is more decentralized compared to his predecessor. i think he has a lot of good ideas. the part i like about it is the higher education portion of his agenda where he is turning community college networks into a career centers and retraining workers for the jobs that are available right now, because there's a disparity between skills and jobs that are

available. there's a lot of jobs available, but we don't have enough skilled labor to fill them. i like the fact that he's turning community colleges and supercenters, which helps with our job prospects. i would like to correct a previous caller from utah who said that obama was a harvard graduate and there's an issue with harvard graduates. romney holds two degrees from harvard. so if you have anything against harvard graduates,. you should know, host: moving on to catalina, california. darrell is on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i was going to make a comment about romney's two harvard degrees. if that's a training center for liberals, that would make him a

double liberal. if you have someone interested in just making money put in charge of a voucher system where the money is driven to the private schools and out of public schools, that is what his goal is. education -- public education means nothing to someone who was never been to a public school in their life. that's my comment. host: is more from the president at a fund-raiser in denver yesterday on education. >> understand, we don't expect government to solve all our problems. and we should not try. i learned from my mom, no education policy could take place of a loving, attentive, and sometimes stern parent. [laughter] when i was a young community organizer i was working with catholic churches and they taught me that no government program can make as much of a difference as kindness, commitment, on the part of

neighbors and friends. not every regulation is marked. not every tax dollar is spent wisely. your governor, your mayor, your president, all of us are constantly looking for ways to make government smarter. host: a little bit more detail on mitt romney. this from the new york times. we will do this for about 15 or 20 more minutes, by the way. he told donors at a private gathering in florida last month that he would reduce the size of the education department and --

here is an e-mail -- and to twitter, this your does not choose either candidate but picks the idea of lower government spending. he writes -- travis is on our independent line from battle creek, michigan, hi. caller: house is going? i would like to answer, none.

also, you look like a highly intelligent person, for lack of a better term. do you follow the campaigns, the whole presidential campaign? host: why do you ask? caller: because i believe you are missing a candidate on tv. it's nothing against it you, but i believe ron paul has very great views on everything. host: can you point to something and education? caller: i'm sorry for wasting your time, but i would like to point out that ron paul is not listed and he is still in the race. the media likes to tune him out. you know, do you see where i'm coming from? host: you're not wasting our time. we appreciate you calling and speaking on the education issue. here's another mitt romney headline that made news yesterday. this was in today's edition of the hill.

this is mitt romney talking -- we found a store in the new york daily news -- that the new university poll released on wednesday. here is some sound from mitt romney on all of this. >> i cannot possibly predict precisely what the unemployment rate will be at the end of one

year. i can say over four years by virtue of the policies that we put in place, then plummet rate will get down to 6% or perhaps lower. it depends on the rate of growth over the globe as well as what we're seeing in the u.s. we will get the rate down substantially. the key is we will show such a job growth that there will be competition for employees again and wages. the median income in america is down to% in the last four years. that has to stop. we have to start seeing rising wages and job growth. host: in "politico" there's a shot of mitt romney when he was governor-elect in massachusetts. the headline says -- we will be a little bit more moment. but now, baker, louisiana, bob, a republican. caller: how are you? host: who do you trust more on

education? caller: if you heard about the incident in north carolina the other day, there's only one choice. they've got to get the unions out of education -- out of the school's, because the kids are not learning anything. the kids know more than the teachers. and it's is all -- the reason obama -- all these democrats are saying how great obama is, it is the unions that keep him in the white house. . that does not help our kids any. i have been in the schools before, too. the teachers just don't have it. they just don't have the

education. they don't know how to talk. that's not all teachers. i'm not talking about all teachers. i am talking about the ones that should be gone out of the union. get the unions out of the school systems. host: that bobby louisiana. -- bob in louisiana. is online in harrisburg, pennsylvania. caller: unions have been made a scapegoat. i trust president obama. realizes that republicans have been pushing private schools for years over public schools while they cut back on public education. the plan is to get rid of public education, methodically. if that happens, families would pay big time for their children's education. the tests and the vouchers are just a scam to destroy public

education and turned over to private industry. host: 70 in colorado on the line for parents and students -- kevin a colorado. caller: i trust the republicans more than the democrats. i think they will give more real reform to education like vouchers. does at believe the nea good job, just the fund-raising arm of the democrats. host: more political story this morning -- stories. has --day and

here's a bit more on the peace in "politico" on mitt romney in massachusetts, a loss years --

there's quite a bit more if you want to read it for yourself. now from tennessee, wes is on our independent line. hello. not there. let's try hagerstown, maryland. the republican line, leticia. caller: good morning. i trust the republican party more. i believe our party wants to do a host of things. we want to decrease public education, but we also want to support a charter schools. for instance, i grew up in southeast in a very bad part of the city. my children, because of the charter schools and the vouchers

and things of that nature, they were able to attend christian schools, which made a big difference in their lives. the caller before me, carol, i beg to differ with her. it's not a scam. charter schools are for the poor people. but the democratic party in the city that wants to take money and funds away from the poor people. we know education is important. children cannot get a good education and oftentimes their future is very bleak. so i trust the republican party. host: thanks for calling. d.c. is the focus of the "washington times piece. they write that -- that the lead item in the paper. orlando, florida, democrat, good

morning. caller: good morning. i don't know why our country would want to pick one entity against the other, republican or democrat. or the local government against the national government. it should be a joint effort. i'm a small business owner. my taxes have increased threefold because we don't have a state tax, nothing to support our education system. where are we going to get the money from? if you are getting it from the national, you get it from me. if you get it from me, i should have some say so in how we spend the money. who we have appointed are those on the national scene. it is impossible. if we cut funds nationally, we

have to raise it locally. if we have to raise it locally, there's no way possible for us to support the high cost of this education system. it is a joint effort. but, parents, it starts and home. some of our kids come in from homes that are disgruntled, there's no food, sleeping in cars in orlando. they come from environments where there is shooting and raping and cutting in the home and we expect these teachers to rreform them. it's a joint effort. not just the president. it's a joint effort. it takes all of us. we raise our children. we need help. thank you. host:ken thanks for calling. we have time for few more calls,

but a few more headlines, lots of economic stories of in the papers today. this is the front page of usa today on this thursday. part of it is economic, but it says americans are dust hardworking and ambitious and have a lot of priorities. that the front page. several other economic stories this morning. one of them is in "washington times. they talk about gas prices going down for a holiday weekend. point out that $5 a gallon is not likely for the summer.

that's a "washington times." from the washington post this morning in the business pages they talk about housing sales. that the lead to that story. i want to talk to you or tell you about the hearing that we're covering today. it will be on c-span 3 at 10:00 eastern that has to do with housing, a hearing of the senate banking, housing and urban affairs committee, a bill called responsible homeowners refinancing act of 2012. the sea of from quicken loans will be there and a representative from moody's and the national association of realtors. that's at 10:00that's-- the ceo of quicken. rita is on a line from

connecticut. caller: i support president obama. but i don't understand why presidential candidates talk about education so much since that is a state's issue. they are paid for by proper taxes, the public schools. a little bit of money is kicked in by the state to help them along. the fed's only kick in with money for poor children and handicapped children. -- feds. i am very puzzled why they're making a big issue of it. host: what kind of job do you think the states are doing, such as connecticut? caller: connecticut has problems, because our poorest schools, this is a property tax issue, are not doing very well at all. and our governor is knocking himself out to try to straighten this out. we are really in bad shape as

far as that goes. are good schools -- our good schools in the high property- tax areas are doing very well. poor property tax areas are doing very poorly. this is like this all over the country. the federal government has nothing to do with it. why they are going on with that, i don't know. host: here's a comment from paul via facebook this morning --

last couple calls, massachusetts, ann is a parent. good morning. caller: good morning. the reason i call it is as far as i'm concerned, when mitt romney was governor of our state, one of the first things he did was two months of becoming governor, he tried to close down our community colleges. for somebody wants to be an education president, he certainly was not thinking of middle and low-income people and trying to get a higher education. host: anything else you would like to add? caller: that's all.

it host: thanks for calling. abdullah. inrom of the caller: on this issue, there's not even a contest, because romney has said publicly that he wants to do away with the department of education. the other reason -- and i agree with the previous caller, rita, on that issue. right now w we have right nowho bill lee -- right now we have a president who really understands education more than mitt romney, because money comes from a privileged past. i went to college. i had a student loan. it was a nightmare. here you have the president and his wife who just barely paid off their student loans only because obama had two successful books. if this is not a contest. this is a man who understands education. and mitt romney is a liar.

so why should we trust him on this? that's what i have to say on the issue. thanks for taking my call. a democrats is the from california. caller: he was a liar. look what he did in massachusetts. we have a mayor here who is with a charter schools, but put every effort into it. you cannot say it is just the republicans. it is the democrats, too. i know girl from detroit who said that your education is crazy and that we start our kids in school at 3 years old. that's where you learn them. you don't take kids when they are five years old to start them in school. and you start them at three

years of age can they learn a lot. it puts it in the brain. host: that was from charlotte, north carolina. and this via twitter about parents -- and here's an e-mail -- pittsburgh, kevin. caller: i would like to disagree with the last two callers. i support school vouchers and i

support governor romney. host: river falls, wisconsin, randy, republican, hi. caller: they talk about the republicans are all for money. is that not the reason we go to school, to make more money? the democrats don't know what that's all about because they are always standing out with their hand open. they don't understand mitt romney. you look at these people calling candidates liars. we know who is doing the line and its not [unintelligible] the cqnd the story from --

the house is back next week. one last phone call from portland, missouri, billy, independent, good morning. caller: good morning. host: wh o do you trust -- who do you trust more on education? caller: federal government should not be involved in education. back to the days of little house on the prairie, there was prayer in school. and regarding the lottery, somebody wins $100 million, that

is only half of what's in there. that means there's $200 million in there. somebody wins $200 million, that means there's $400 million. who's getting all? of this all and if they take a cash payout, they lose another half of that. if that went to our schools, there would not be waged problems and money shortages and high property taxes. taxes what not host: all right, that was building. thanks to everybody who called and sent their messages. tell you about a couple of guests that are coming up in a moment. senator mark begich, a democrat from alaska will join us. it is a member of the senate budget committee. we will talk about the future economy and other issues and we will take your calls. a little bit later, emmett

tyrrell about "the death of liberalism" his new book . and mark sullivan, the secret service director testified on the hill yesterday about the scandal involving the agents in the country of colombia. the culture of the secret service. this is before a senate committee. toward the end, ranking member susan collins suggested there was a larger problem. it's about two minutes. >> if i finally become successful in convincing you that there's a broader problem here with culture or with unacceptable behavior being condoned when agents are on the road, what actions would you take to address this problem that you are not taking now? how would you change the culture of the agency? >> senator, i hope i can convince you that it's not a cultural issue.

>> i know. >> senator, i look at the number of cases -- one of the things i know as the director is that i am going to have on any given day i potentially am going to have an employee in who will get into some type of incident. it might be the serious one board might not be. i keep going back to 1%. under 1% of our investigations have some kind of misconduct. that is why i do feel very optimistic about this professionalism reinforcement working group. we have over 45 senior executives throughout the federal government from the military, from other law enforcement, from non-law enforcement, who i do want to be very open with them, i want to be transparent, and i want them to take a hard look at us. it's my opinion of the overwhelming majority of the men and women of this organization

are part of a great cultural. the thing that makes our organization what it is, is our culture. a culture of hardworking people committed that work hard every single day. when i was at the nato summit in chicago, i walked around and couple hundred agents. there's nobody more disappointed by this behavior, more upset with this behavior than are men and women. i have 100% confidence in our men and women and i don't think this is something systemic within this organization. >> washington journal" continues. host: senator mark begich at the table, a democrat from alaska. how convenient. there's a picture of you in the new york times today, senator. we did that for you. the headline says, pushing for oil.

the larger store talks about offshore drilling. you just saw this piece this morning. tell us what's happen in. guest: i got elected almost of all your years ago. feels like a little longer. i talked a lot about when i was mayor of anchorage, oil and gas development is a critical part of our economy. there's huge potential reserves. for many decades delayed. a lot of the funding for exploration was 1989 in that area. there's been a push to move forward. we were very aggressive working with the administration and the president and others to make our case that we know how to do it right in alaska, can do it in an environmentally sound way, and open up 25 billion to 50 billion barrels of oil in the arctic.

and to do with the right way. it is a huge jobs opportunity for alaska. for this country is more of using our own not oil for our own purposes. host: what is the right policy? guest: i joke with people back home that anytime you do anything in alaska in oil and gas, the minute you speak of it, the odds are you will get sued. so we have big hurdles that we have to go. we create a much safer environment to work in because of that. we not only have federal and state agencies, but we have a unique alaska native population of people that live off the land and describe the ocean as their garden. the balance between when they can fish and making sure we don't disturb that activity as they continued to move forward is unique. because of that, we create tire standards than anywhere in this

country. there's also shallow waters. it's not like the deep water rise and area. it's about 150 feet of water. very shallow. and the pressures are much different. we have proven year after year we know how to develop in the arctic. i think the precautions and prevention the federal government has put on the arctic are pretty expensive. this summer we will do our first test and i think we will do a great job. a cool start is fully loaded to prepared. we have had lots of preparation and i feel very comfortable with where we are. host: the phone numbers are at the bottom of the screen for senator begich. talking energy and environment and jobs and the economy. i want to turn to what president romney said yesterday if he was president. he would promise to bring

unemployment back down to 6%. is that doable? guest: it would be great. where we are headed right now, i recall my first month here, january 2009, the amount of jobs lost that month were a half million or so, and believable pattern. the economy was in a crash and burn cycle. we were seeing it and you were reporting on it. where are we today? in three years we have seen the economy shift. it's not as robust as we would like. yesterday i saw another article about new-home sales up over 3%. another one i like to watch is home depot and lowe's home improvement, because people are remodeling again and those numbers are up. looking at 25 consecutive months of job growth. i think we are moving in the right direction. unemployment around 8%, so

that's down. if you look at every data point that's out there, it's pointing in the right direction, but it is still a fragile economy. can we get down to that number? i think where we are going now, we are headed to a lower unemployment number over time because we're having an impact. another group of economists came out with a report a couple days ago and they revised their data, saying the growth will be stronger in 2013 and 2014 with unemployment dropping again. that's a good sign. host: those on the other side say it could be all about taxes, especially extending the bush tax cuts. something we will be looking at before the year is out. guest: i have made the pitch that combined incomes making $1 million or less, because i want to catch small business and a lot of these other groups, but they should not have a tax increase. i have already prepared with senator wyden, we have a

bipartisan piece of legislation on the table, on tax reform, but simplifies it, reduces the rate from 6% to 3%, protect the middle class. you can do your taxes on one sheet of paper. not all these multiple pages. it enhances opportunities for small businesses. i hope that when we get to the tax debate we are not just dealing around the edges. we should do tax reform. it is a broken system. we see very rates on the corporate and, something as high as 35% and some paying almost nothing or getting tax credits. host: the first call is from new castle, indiana, ted, democrat. caller: good morning. i would like to discuss oil drilling in alaska and the keystone pipeline. i agree with the senator but that we should be drilling to benefit us.

but the keystone pipeline will be just like the alaska pipeline. none of the oil is coming to this country. it's going somewhere else. it will create jobs for a while. but once it is finished, then the oil will go to russia or japan or something. host: senator. guest: russia has plenty of on oil. we are purchasing oil from russia because we are not producing enough. sizable amount of oil coming from the alaska pipeline stays here. the problem with the industry is you have export and import from the west coast. it's a global commodity. it's been refined in washington state. our oil is utilized on the west coast. we get a better premium for it. if you have a choice of working with a government like canada or countries like nigeria or

venezuela or saudi arabia, i will work with canada. the keystone pipeline is a worthy project. as the pipeline is completed, it will be able to tap into and be utilized by the development of north dakota and montana bringing oil into the markets if and fule into the markets. so, i understand the concern, but that is why we need to diversify. our goal is 50% renewable energy by 2055. it is not just about oil and gas. it is about all of these energy sources. host: our guest is a former mayor of anchorage, alaska. senator begich is in his first term in washington.

buffalo, n.y., jeff. you're on the independent line. caller: do you have any plans going forward to fix the tax code in the united states? i know people think it is a problem with rates being too high, but nobody pays the marginal rates. it is really go loopholes and deductions. it is a misconception. i read a report saying if the bush tax cuts expire, the deficits will be cut in half. i would like you to comment on that, if the democratic party has any plans to update the tax code. guest: thank you. as i mentioned, on my website you can find tax reform legislation we have had on the table for about two years.

the bowles-simpson commission highlighted elements of it. we have to make it fair and protect the middle class. our bill goes to all of those pieces. right now, the debate in washington is cutting, or raising revenue. you mentioned i was a former mayor of anchorage. we had deficits. you have to cut, do with revenue, but you have to invest. no one wants to talk about all three. you cannot solve this deficit problem -- i do not care how many people, on this show and i hear what they say, they can squawk, all they want, but after

two or three decades of this, we have to move in the right direction. tax reform is a critical piece. if you did not do that, you're just nibbling around the edges. host: according to the bureau of labor statistics, the unemployment rate nationally is 8.1%. in alaska, it is 6.9%. senator begich has a proposal on small businesses. here are a few. guest: i have been in small business since the age of 14. name the business, and i have probably been in it. when you are a small entrepreneur, you might get

some space, and you are building it out. instead of writing off this desk, or these chairs, all of the work you did, the sheet rock, the electrical work, -- when you put a fan in a restaurant, that the ventilation, you have to depreciate over multiple years. for the first few years, that is critical for small businesses. instead of depreciating these over multiple years, -- the irs has some quirky codes. it is appreciated beyond its life expectancy. we say write it off in the first year or second year and businesses will reinvest that money.

that means they can invest in their business. host: we will get to those provisions, but nebraska. robin. a republican. caller: it has been three years since the democrats have written a budget. what do you say about that? guest: that is a great debate. have we written a budget, have we not? this is the only place where congress passes a budget and the president does not have to sign eight. -- signed it. if you are in your local council, you pass a budget, and the mayor has to sign it. not here. it is amazing. it never happens except three

years ago when we did the budget and it was an agreement between the house and senate but said here are our spending caps. who had to sign it? the president. why is an important? he adheres to it also. i will tell you, we are starting the next cycle. as soon as the legislation expires, it is up to us to write the next bill. i have no problem doing that. some people fear these amendments. you have to deal with it. the viewers and listeners need to know this is the one place where you pass the budget and the executive has no responsibility for it under the law, which makes no sense, except the one time we did it. i like the president signed it. we get to hold his feet to the

fire. >> oklahoma city. -- host: oklahoma city. good morning. are you there? we lost him. jerry, rhode island. democratic line. go ahead. caller: i think one of the solutions with the problem with unemployment would be to train the young people in technology and the focus on education should be different as far as training them about obtaining a mortgage for a house, making a living -- basic things. i grew up where they had trades in the high-school -- mechanical drawing, printing, whatever. you can take a mill town like

fall river, which has high electrical power, and we could save energy, turning that energy around. in alaska they could train people to work on the pipelines, so on, and so forth. that is basically what i have to say. guest: thank you. actually, this is something we talk a lot about in our office. first, financial literacy -- when i went to school you had a requirement to understand personal finance so you could figure out what a mortgage and a bank account are. we do not do that anymore and we should. we have to get more financial literacy in our customs. we are into classrooms. we are so far behind when it comes to math and science, stem

, science, technology, math, we are no longer in the top 10. we are focused on trying to increase the capacity. the other piece that he is right on about, not everyone is going to go on to a four-year degree or a master's degree, but they want a job and want to work our mining industry in alaska is growing rapidly. beginning pay is $80,000 a year, not bad for a kid. we do not have enough programs to have young people prepared for that. we are doing a program in alaska that will be over-capacity where young high-school kids are taking college credit with their high school to learn the trade. that leads to jobs.

we have to reexamine education. i come from the educated households, but we must have a much bigger variety. host: the center mentioned financial literacy, and also in the area of small business, the idea of tax credits to incentivize hiring and increasing the availability to make small-business loans and simplify the tax system. you are the only current senator who has not gone to college. what is your story? guest: i was in business all my life. in 1980, when i graduated from high school, if you look at the economy of alaska, it literally crashed. interest rates were 19%. not 1.9%. 19%. i graduated high school. i took some classis, had a

couple of jobs, and help the family business. i am fortunate to say that i am -- as i sit with you, that my mother raised six kids, four voice. -- four boy is. all of my siblings went on to college. i and the chair in the student loan corporation in the state of law less -- i ended up sharing the student loan corp. in the state of alaska. i think what we brought it is rational thinking that everyone deserves an opportunity for education. they will have circumstances that will direct them in certain ways. i was not fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go off to college. i struggled with two jobs, going

to college for my first year. is it prepared me for being -- it prepared me for being a mayor, running a city and understanding people want practical solutions. when you are struggling like that, you do not have the luxury to wait. my mother was able to retire early, my brothers and sisters went on to college, and i shape the college system in alaska. host: jim, independent. massachusetts. i think we lost him as well. tom, new jersey, are you there? caller: yes. host: tom is a republican. caller: senator begich, you're

one of the new senators, correct? guest: correct. caller: i will not target you. there is enough egg on everyone's face to go around. we need to go forward. this is about oil. when oil is least on federal lands, we all net property. when you negotiate those leases, why would it not be possible that the united states government requires that a certain percentage of what is taking out of that land that we own as taxpayers -- and this is a simple idea -- why is that a certain percentage of that oil cannot be kept in our country to help senior citizens afford to go to church and buy groceries. it is a disgrace. host: senator begich?

guest: honestly, all of us are some -- to some degree responsible. democrat, republican, it does not matter. we all have a role, may be minor or large. i believe -- may be minor or large. i believe it is about moving forward. we put oil in alaska through a refinery for in-state use. lsi is a unique model. we take -- alaska is a unique model. we take 25% of our revenue stream and put it in a trust fund on behalf of all residents of alaska. we also make sure we have a percentage of royalty set aside. the question he brings up is energy assistance for low-income families. every year that budget is cut,

and i do not support that because we need to make sure our seniors, folks that have high energy costs, and no other state other than hawaii has energy costs like us. in rural alaska, you might spend $9 a gallon or more in heating fuel. how we do this in the future is an interesting idea. we do that in alaska to a certain extent, and i am not opposed to that. host: democratic caller. deborah. ohio. caller: i have a question, but i have been on hold for a long time and i head to go to work. have a good day care guest: i am glad you are good day. guest: i am glad you are working.

host: a lesson for me, too, not to keep people waiting. i want to get your take on a couple of big stories -- jpmorgan chase and facebook. here is the front page of "the hill." guest: ipo's -- people that watch those and understand what they are all about, some of them are much smaller and are a debacle, too. they think they will get $12 a share, and they get $5 a share. they are risky. there is a lot of hype around this. it is important to look at this and look at jpmorgan chase and the laws we test. are we doing enough -- we passed. are we doing enough? we do not want to repeat what happened 3.5 years ago with a

financial meltdown because of risky investments. i think most americans are starting to really learn about how these financial institutions are investing. in j.p. morgan, they estimate it could be much higher than two billion dollars. why was this suddenly a quick hit? an ipo, from my perspective, looking at it so far, was poorly managed, and you take a rest. people-up a price, you go out and buy it -- people high of a risk -- price, and go out and buy it. caller: good morning, senator. i have high hopes for alaska. i am calling to remark that i have some very good ideas on balancing the budget.

it is a doable thing. i think people have to separate the expenditures the government makes in certain categories. there are things we should derive revenue to do the things we should just pay for by creating new money. if we have an expanding population, we need an expanding currency. just do not go into debt, just buy things. guest: with cash? caller: sure. the other angle is in our history we have had prosperity with large scale projects -- the tennessee highway authority, eisenhower's highway plan.

guest: as i said it in the beginning, u.s. to do cuts, revenue, and investment -- you have to do cuts, revenue, and investment. when i was the mayor of anchorage, we dealt with revenues, we cut, and 40% of our new revenue was from new development, new construction, growth, not from the existing population. alaska is off of those grades. we are not on the electrical grid even though we are 30 or 40 miles away. in southeast alaska we have enormous hydro power, and that is hydropower that is agreed to be developed properly.

this is hydropower that has enormous capacity. if we could get into the grid, we could resell that. there is a huge opportunity. in alaska, we have so much water. if we could get it to the west coast. host: explain why the law of the sea treaty is so important. here is a headline in "the wall street journal." we covered the hearing yesterday with senator john kerry. explain what the treaty would do, and why it is important to support. guest: i share the overseas committee. we are one of the few that has

not done this agreement. iran, north korea, and, i think, libya. that is the company we are keeping. what does it do? out of continental shelf it is estimated we have two californias yet a sense of size. that is huge opportunity for fishing, mineral exploration, oil and gas, but because we have no process to negotiate, but china, for example, believes there an arctic nation. they believe the wealth of the arctic should be divided up by population, not who touches it. second, people who are concerned thinks it is giving up sovereignty. i think it helps to stabilize

our sovereignty. senator jimshow demint on this treaty. [video clip] >> did we are facing billions of dollars of shortfalls in our military, and this is something that is real money, at the time when our country is almost hopelessly in debt, and it would be distributed to countries that might be our enemies like sudan. i expect the advocacy for the navigation aspect, but we are trying to deal with the whole treaty and what it might do as far as cost to the american tax payer and american business and our ability to operate freely around the world. host: he is talking a lot turning over royalties to an international body. what is going on? guest: if it is in our continent

a shelf, it is our property, our revenue. it is not complicated. they put up these bogeymen that we will be under some world power. every individual that comes up to me, they are hard-core supporters from the military. protect our sovereignty. the business community is also aggressively supporting this. along with them, the environmental community. this protect sovereignty, resources. if we do not act, china is building a icebreakers. there are figuring out how to make deals. they will fight us in court. the law of the sea will give us clear guidance and a process to

take our claims on what we own and we should control. host: massachusetts. eddy. caller: what is the chance of getting tax reform? pretty some chrysler will be making more cars in canada than we do here in the united states. now, to pay for it, you probably need a sales tax. that is what canada does. they have a sales tax to pay for their medical things. then of course, there is tort reform. thank you. guest: is probably cause we are less than a month away from april 15, and we still feel the bruises of tax returns. we have corporate rates creed a

more balanced system. if you profit, in need to pay tax, but you need to do it in a fair way. we spend more time trying to figure out how to avoid taxes. your tax returns are about how to avoid paying taxes. nobody disagrees that everyone needs to pay their fair share, but they want to get some value for it, and that is where congress has failed. we never said for the dollars you pay, this is what you get. we of work to do. i am hoping that as we get into this crazy lame duck session, and everyone tells me every lane duck session is different. i do not know what that means, but come november-december, texas, budget issues -- taxes, budget issues cut extenders,

there will be on the table. host: richard. florida. are you there? i do not think richard is there. let's try virginia in hunt's ago, alabama. -- hon still alabama -- hunts ville, alabama. caller: i am a retired government employee. i worked for the u.s. government for 44 years. i would like to talk to you about several things. why are there more democratic senators and representatives speaking on behalf of president obama? the republicans say that obama

is spending more than any other president and the fact is president obama's spending binge never happened. his spending is lower than any president that we have had. why are you not getting the word out about all the things our president has done? everything you hear is negative. president obama, in the short time he has been our president, has done great things for our country. guest: we briefly talked about this when we talk about the economy. i go down to the floor a lot about what is happening in this economy because people like to tell one part of the story. the gentleman that mentioned the auto industry. think about where we were three years ago. it was flat on its back, and it

was because the democrats on the senate said we are a going tobet on america, and today, look at where they are, and their more profitable than ever before. there was an article in the "the usa today" about the impact of the auto industry, and they're at capacity, paying overtime, hiring more people. we did that even though the other side flatly opposed it. we do not have an auto industry in alaska, but i was outraged when i heard people talking the way they did on the floor. as you notice, you do not hear much about that anymore because it is a success story. think about may, 2009. the market, and even though we should not engage the economy by the market, 6000 is where we

were. today, we're almost 13,000 again. that is doubled. the other side says it could be better. life could be better. where we are today and where we were three years ago it is significantly better. u.s. the housing industry, they are better off today -- if you ask the housing industry, they are better off. the refinancing every refinancing that happens in america means more money in the middle class pockets. consumer confidence is at a four-year high. virginia, your point is right on. the other side likes to look of the glass as half empty. i do not care how bad things get care there is always a better day. would you have seen from the president and the democratic senate is we will build this

economy and we will take the arabs when they're shot at us -- rrows when they are shot at us. host: last call. georgia. caller: it covers accumulated the unemployment rate from 2009 through 2011, it would be 27%. guest: i think that is people dead have been -- people that have been unemployed and are also not seeking employment anymore. i do not know the way it works the way he described it, but do i believe there's still an unemployment problem in this country? yes. is it improved >> yes. do we have a long way to go --

improved? yes. do we have a long way to go? the point is we have to work every single day and we have to reexamine our economy. when i talk about cuts, revenue, infrastructure investment -- education is key. if we do not invest in education the right way, the long-term benefit will be lost. energy costs. if we cannot stabilized and make sure our own energy is being used, we cannot grow the industry. energy is part of the equation. there is a lot there, but we are making progress. is it as good as i would like? now. is it better? absolutely. host: senator mark begich, thank you. guest: a pleasure to be here.

host: coming up, r. emmett tyrrell jr. joins us to talk about his book, "the death of liberalism turco later, we talked to -- liberalism." later, we talked to eli saslow. in the meantime, news from c- span radio. >> pakistani intelligence officials say a suspected u.s. drone fired two missiles killing 10 alleged militants in pakistan near the afghan border. pakistan's parliament recently demanded the u.s. to veto all drum strikes on its territory but the u.s. -- the west's finney tell bus end -- bus end

drum strikes on its territory. the u.s. government says pakistan has no basis to hold the doctor who is in poor health and being kept away from other officials. pentagon spokesman george little says anyone who supported the united states in finding osama bin laden was not working against pakistan, they were working against al-qaida. while responding to criticism, the united states was told to respect the decision to imprison the doctor. as far as the case is concerned, it was in accordance with pakistani laws and pakistani courts, and we need to respect legal processes. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radial. -- radio. >> there is an extra day of

booktv on c-span2. a different side of the new york politician and vice president said in night. on "aftrer -- after words" -- number 3 appeared >> it is a ridiculous dialogue. you can tell them you need to improve your human rights situation, and their responses you, the united states, have human rights problems, too. that is not a terrible discussion. >> bettis 7 night, -- , terrible discussion. >> that is saturday night at 10:00. three days of "booktv" this weekend on c-span 2.

>> this memorial day weekend, three days of "american history tv" on c-span 3. >> i say what is it? you give them everything in the platoon to jump with. ,e said we aren't jumping aren't -- we are jumping, aren't we? what is best to do with me. he said let me tell you something. how much the way? he said 138 pounds. how tall are you? 5'4 and 1/2. he said you have to put that have in there. -- half in there.

>> also this weekend, woodrow wilson, eugene debs, the legacy of the 1912 presidential election. monday night at 9:00, -- >> december 7, and 1941, a date that will live in infamy. >> toward the pro harbor memorial center. three days of american history tv this weekend on c-span3. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joined us now, are that terrell. the author of a coat the death of liberalism." what do you writing about? guest: i am writing about the death of liberalism, and it is

dead. i could tell you it has a tendency to overreach in each segment of its lifetime. in its last segment, the segment of the infantile liberal, the infantile leftist, as i call him, bill clinton, john francois, who speaks french, and served in vietnam, there is so much you can sit about him. there the leftists of my generation, born of the civil war and liberalism that to place in 1972. in that civil war, mcgovern swat the convention. the real winners were gary hart and the infantile leftists.

they dominated the party until 2008. they were a silly generation. will be shown they did nothing for liberalism. patrick moynihan, hubert humphrey, they were gone by the time those people took over. host: give us an example of the oval -- overreach. guest: the best example is the great society, a very good example of the terminal stages of liberalism was 2006 to 2008, when nancy pelosi and those people spend like madmen, where in her case, a mad woman, and she spent so much that she opened the stage for president obama, who i say is the next

evolution of liberalism. liberalism is dead by 2008. hillary clinton, fittingly enough, lost the election, the candidacy to president obama. obama one, and he spent like a madman, regulated like a madman, and as a consequence, anyone who tries to nationalize one sixth of the american economy can be called a socialist, so i call him a stealth socialist. host: let me remind viewers of the phone numbers at the bottom of the screen for our guest for -- our guest, r. emmett tyrrell junior. what do you think of mitt romney? guest: mitt romney, look, he is

a principled conservative, and he is surrounded by great conservatives, paul ryan, for instance. i will tell you right off the top, is going to win the election this fall. the american people -- the independent and conservatives are scared to death of one issue, and one issue really matters, and that is the economy, and the president does not have a clue of how to do anything but regiment the economy. he will be beaten in the fall election. mitt romney will win in the fall. i think his presidency will be a great test of america and the great test of american conservatism. host: who is the vice presidential nominee? guest: i did not now. host: hulu -- who would you like to see? guest: i would like to see paul ryan. host: how come?

guest: he understands the economy like no one else on capitol hill. a friend of mine, a member of my board of directors, says something like 10% of the congressman understand the economy. that is about it. he is probably right. i think the man who really understands the economy is paul ryan. host: first call, new orleans, carlos, independent. caller: i would like to know your opinion on dr. ron paul. i see polls said he is pretty popular, but when it comes to mainstream media, he is sidelined. i think he is the better candidate over mitt romney. i did not agreed -- i do not agree with obama or mitt romney. i do not have to pick the lesser of two evils.

the guy i am after is not being given much attention. host: ron paul? guest: i think ron paul represents a real element in american public life. in american public life there is a strong element of libertarianism. i share that libertarianism, so i favor ron paul, but, look, romney went through the primaries and he is the candidate, probably, of the republicans. i will tell you something about the independents. let me address the independent question, and a very thoughtful man who just spoke. if you look at the trend, and i chart the trends in my book, over the last 30 years, liberalism has steadily declined.

it is bound to 18%, 20%, of the american electorate. conservatives steadily increased, 42% of the american electorate. the liberals are in such decline that there are more nudists and birdwatchers in american -- in america than there are liberals, and there are more nude birdwatchers then there are liberals. the independents has remained. they were more popular than the conservatives, now there are about 35%, 40% of the vote. it is an important vote. there is one thing that focuses all independent mines, and that is the deficit.

they are very concerned about the deficit, and their right to be concerned. they are -- were with the conservatives, the republicans in 2010, and they will be with us in 2010, and in 2014, 2016, they will be there, too. the financial crisis will last a long time. host: you have described what you call civil wars within the woodrow -- liberal camp. what are they, were they, and why did they happen? guest: the first civil war came in 1948 the good guys won. henry wallace and the radicals were beaten out. harvey's less injured, harry truman, i think it represented the good guys. -- they represented the good guys.

in 1972, there was a new civil war. teddy white said it was not just the political radicals, not just the heirs to henry wallace that one in 1972, it was the youth eleeme -- element, contrary to popular myth, they are never good for politics. there are full of fervor, take no enemies, and that sort of thing, and by the way, they were not very deep or knowledgeable. when they won in 1972, the radically change the democratic party. patrick moynihan was on the sidelines. other democratic politicians like at the stevenson and hubert

humphrey, they were really marginalized. remember this, in 1948, hubert humphrey was too radical to be considered a candidate for higher office. by 1972, he had been a candidate, and his radicalism had been toned down a bid. robert carroll talks in his new book about humphrey being a radical liberal. another way to put it is he was an ardent liberal in a party that had conservatives, moderates, liberals -- a lot of diversity. it does not have the diversity today as a result of people like hubert humphrey, who are called conservative today. he was no conservative, but he was a man you could respect. host: indiana. thank you for waiting.

caller: liberalism has taken over education and the news media. the president of the university of tennessee kept calling our government a democracy. people called and it was not a democracy, and he left. you had two limbos yesterday, -- liberals yesterday, and they said the problem is the liberal budget the media tries to tell two sides. when these liberals start talking, i reach for the remote. guest: let me address that question. go out and buy my book, "the

death of liberalism." you are singing my song. i've not talked much about the media, but in the book i talk a lot about it. i turned their influence on the country -- it creates a small parish a culture of smog -- creates a smog, a culture of smog. it is a political culture that is utterly deluded by one point of view. it has the point of view of liberalism, or this kind of socialism, because as i say, with the wisdom is dead. -- liberalism is dead. abc, cds, cnn, they have made this culture.

going back to 1972, and the speech about bias in the media. it has been there. it has gotten worse. let me finish this point. it is worse today than it was 30 years ago or 40 years ago, when i started. cbs abc, nbc, i used to be invited on those shows when i had a book out. they are not answering our cause. it is probably just as well. when you talk to them, you are talking to people in a foreign country. we now have on our side, the conservative side, fox news, talk radio, the internet, so we are fumigating the culture smog, if you will. as i said in my column today, we

are fumigating the culture smog , and the only person i know aside from c-span, which is the most fair forum for political opinion in the country -- it really is -- but, so far as i know, the only person that tries to get the left and right to debate, hold your breath, is sean hannity. he is fair-minded. that is what i feel. i feel as passionate as this woman does. host: we have about 25 minutes left with our guest, r. emmett tyrrell jr., author of "the death of liberalism" and founder of "american spectator. here is it with a question for you.

guest: and get the book and read it. francois hollande is not a liberal. he is a socialist. socialism is doing very well in europe, and as a result europe is doing very badly in the world. by the way, his victory is significant because though i think he is a more moderate man than president obama, his victory might foreshadow a victory by obama here, but the problem is obama cannot hide one thing -- the $16 trillion in debt that has to be paid off some point. host: pennsylvania. bill. independent. caller: can the author give us a

definition of liberalism as how would pertains to the death of its? how does that compare realistically to people who consider themselves to be liberal today? guest: that is a good question. liberals today are dead. they're almost nonexistent. that are people that call themselves liberals, but they can only go along with obama, really, in only go along with obama by adding to our national debt. i think the widow is an advocate of a mixed economy -- the liberal is an advocate of a mixed economy -- part government involvement,. business involvement. they believe in social engineering, and with that they are at one with president obama.

the people that are as moderate as liberals were on the mixed economy, as they called it, are now just about dead. when the president took over, 1/6 of the president -- of the economy, and general motors, chrysler, all he has tried to take over and run -- he is a socialist, and most people that advocate obama for president are either socialists were democrats that do not have a clue what alternatives are out there. host: back to the other side, this question on twitter. if you define any philosophy narrowly enough, you can claim its death. how major conservatives are left? guest: that is the question of an ideologue. conservatism is strong in the

country. self-described conservatives are 42% of the electorate. by the way, i do not think that if you define an issue narrowly enough is dead. the philosophy is dead -- i did not think that is true. host: ford appeared charles. democrat. good morning. -- sort out. charles. democrat. good morning. caller: it seems conservative ideology has been in control since the 1980's, when reagan took over and had the mandate to make the changes he made. he ran up the debt. there have been conservative presidents and the debt has gone up all of this time. i would suggest that the death of liberalism is bringing the death of the country, you guys have kind of went everything, so we had better start reviving some liberalism, because what we

have left is a bunch of crap. guest: your complaint about ronald reagan -- ronald reagan put the deficit, as a -- ronald reagan put the deficit, as a percentage of the american gdp continue to decline. it was a small sliver of the american economy. the $16 trillion that has been built up over the last several years is a really onerous weight on the economy, and the $1 trillion deficit per year by obama, something like that -- obama has spent more money, added more to the debt than the accumulated presidents of the united states read "the wall street journal called -- the

united states. reed "the wall street journal" as well as the "new york times" and you will find something out about the economy of the united states. host: south carolina. harold. thank you for waiting. caller: this guy here it is a pretty smart dude. he knows it all. he knows pretty good. what i want to comment about is about obama. first of all, he is not a socialist. i think he is a devout communist. that is what we are headed for if he gets in there again. the media, ok -- who owns the media? he said it exactly right.

who owns the media? that is what is troubling me. it is not the companies they used to own them. cbs, and all of this, the people in hollywood, and i am not talking about jimmy stewart hollywood. time warner bought them out. time warner balked -- bought cnn out. that is a dangerous thing. the founders, we did not have this fourth branch of government to keep politicians in line. guest: the influence of hollywood on america is a dismal influence. i do not go to hollywood movies

anymore because i cannot stand the automobile accidents or the crashing disasters that are featured by hollywood. i had a friend of "american spectator", with a movie called "damsels in distress" that i am going to go to because as i understand it is not about crashing cars or disasters. it is about people being great people. i will not bother with other hollywood disasters. i do not really think that hollywood can be blamed for all of the banality of american news today. i think cbs, abc, nbc, they are common, and in debt to come and they have these people that decide what is news, and which

should be treated. it is very boring. this gentleman can turn on fox anytime he wants and he will find lively news, thoughtful presentation, and he will find both sides. sean hannity presents both sides of the issue. i've no idea what your politics are. when i am on with him, i know what his politics are, and i know he has patience for the other point of view, too. even if the liberal is dead scared -- dead. host: does conservatism has -- have its own challenges, and what are they? guest: i've been talking about liberal challenges and the left's challenges, but i've written several books that have

led to this book. i have a piece coming out next week, and i noticed that my books, "the woodrow crack-up -- the liberal crackup" i cited figures in the liberalism, and that was against environmentalists, the labor unions against consumers, feminists -- those really mattered, and they were the cracks liberalism. i wrote a book a couple years later called "the conservative crackup." i reviewed that book recently, and i thought to myself, these cracks between evangelicals and mainstream conservatives, between the neocons and

mainstream conservatives, between the the party and mainstream conservatives, where the cracks of a slowing -- of a growing coalition. and naturally there would be cracks there because people are trying to find out where they would fit in in mainstream m.nservativ ands -- mainstream conservatism. the mainstream conservative question today is getting its parties said. its number one priority should be the economy. -- is getting its priorities said. the number one priority should be in the economy, and the exits and seat of a critical factor of american society. host: you are on the air, and jim. what would you like to say? caller: this guy is nothing but a corporate lapdog for the

multinational corporations who basically bought everything. the rich control the media, the government. the rich control everything. that is why right now we have the patriot act being done toward the people. we do not have freedoms anymore because of these corporate lap dogs. host: let me jump in there and we will come back to you. he used the independence line, but he is not an independent. i just wrote a book and i confronted independence and i know very well what an independent is. an independent does not call a person like me a corporate lap dog. he is a socialist or a friendly fascist, but he is no independent. caller: and everything else, we do not have no freedoms because of huge corporate lap dogs doing an inside job with 9/11.

there was no any kind of terrorist. this was done by bush. host: any final thought about jim's comments? guest: i withdraw my call that he is a friendly -- that is a socialist purity is a friendly fashion. caller: good morning. i have two quick questions for your guest and i will hang up and listen to his response. my first question is -- i want to put some historical perspective on this. during the franklin delano roosevelt administration, we had social security. during kennedy's administration, we had the equal pay act. during the johnson's administration, we had the civil rights act, the voting rights act, and medicare. that would put president obama in the same category. my second question is, in your

book "liberalism is dead," what kind of ideology would you have that would replace liberalism? guest: that as a thoughtful question. social security, and sticking with the economic questions -- no one wants to destroy social security. no one i know wants to destroy it. paul ryan does not want to destroy it. he wants to introduce choice in public life and he wants people to be able to choose what policies, where they will put their money, a certain degree of their money. he wants choice in health care because health care is going bust. these entitlements are going bust now. when franklin roosevelt -- this is in my book -- when he instituted social security, he instituted it -- the number of people who were putting money

into social security was something like for everyone who would be drawing it out. now something like two people are putting money in and one person is drawing it out. that cannot go on forever. host: cleveland, byron, a republican. good morning. byron, are you there? hello, byron? let's try a little. dug in louisville, kentucky. caller: good morning and thanks for c-span3 first off, i am a devout liberal democrat -- thanks for c-span. first off, i am a devout liberal democrat. every time a republican opens his mouth -- to me, this is my opinion -- you are liars every time. ok? you say president obama ran up the deficit more than all the presidents together. if he did, and how did we get to

a $10 billion -- a $10 trillion debt under george bush? and you all are claiming it was not, but you forgot to factor in that the two wars play a big part in the deficit. plus, let me finish, sir -- plus, the bush tax cuts are part of the deficit. cannot pay for something if you do not have revenue, sir. any idiot can tell you that. i will rest my case with you because obama did not. as far as spending -- since obama has been in office, the spending has flat line. nowhere near what bush spent. guest: that is wrong. let's stop playing nickel and dime on who said what.

he started by saying everything i say is a lie, so i'm not going to answer this question. there is no sense in my lying to this man. caller: let's go to an independent. david, good morning. caller: i am certainly not going to get personal with mr. tyrrell in any way. i've been in any way. i respect him. when president bush took office, there was no deficit. there was a surplus. bush did cut taxes. he did start two multi- trillion-dollar wars. he did sign off on the tarp during his administration. he ran up massive, massive deficit. these are just fact. so when obama came into office, there was already a massive deficit. add on to that the demographic factor of the growing

entitlement risks because of an aging population, and you have all kinds of forces that had nothing to do with obama that have added to this massive deficit. that has to be honestly acknowledged, if we are going to be intellectually honest about things. guest: i did not say anything to refute what you said about obama. i agree with -- what you said until you got to obama. i agree with you that george w. bush increased the debt in the country, and i do not approve of the deficits he ran. i think you can prove that the tax cuts speak pretty closely. -- are pretty closely for themselves because of tax revenue. the wars had to be fought. and obama has come into office and he has continued to fight

the war. dancing around about how long he will continue to fight the wars, but the fact is he also has increased spending by $1 trillion. look at it this way. he has grown the american government to about 25%, 24%, 25% of the gross national product. in peacetime, that is unheard of. in generally about 18 to 20% is the gouge that the federal government takes out of the economy. now it is 25% and he thinks that is the way it should be on into eternity, that the american taxpayer should endure that kind of expenditure. and some good is coming from his increased expenditure. i do not think a lot of good is coming from it, and he has not figured out how to pay for it. he will not pay for it by the

top one%. there is not enough money there. it is just a matter of time before his taxes filter down to the middle class, the working class, and, who knows, maybe the poor. his system of government cannot be maintained. it is unsustainable. host: a couple more calls for our and its harold jr.. -- from our and that terrell -- from bar and that terrible -- r. emmett tyrrell jr. caller: if it comes from my generation -- and i am 73 years old, and believe me when i tell you, during the time i came up, i had to have support to go to school, and i am just wondering, did he ever use any type of socialist type programs?

guest: i went to indiana university. the cost in those days was much less than it is today. i finance my own education. i worked in the summer, i studied kind of in the winter, and that is how i made -- i paid for my education. caller: does he think paying for education is a socialist program, or weed -- do we need to do that to help this country survive? guest: i frankly think education costs too much, and no one has applied market principles to higher education in this country. there is overhead at universities that would not be borne by the private sector. i think that someone needs to

take a careful look at the spiraling cost of education in this country. and getting the federal government to subsidize education is like taking money out of one pocket and putting it into another. that money that is taken out, that comes out of the federal government, will have to be paid back someday. you are not recognizing how much, how important this factor of fiscal insolvency is, but it is a very big problem. host of texas, robert, an independent. hi there. are you there? caller: he says liberalism is dead? i would like to know about the liberals who were behind closed

doors and use race in politics. guest: is that an independent? host: he called on the independent line, that is all i can say. guest: i have forgotten what his question was. host: are you still there? i think he is gone. do you remember what it was? host: we are running short of time. connick, democrat, good morning. turn down your sound. caller: yes, i would like to know why you let your guest call our president names and you do not cut him off. but when it is someone else calling your guest names, you cut them off. you ought to treat everybody the same on c-span please, sir.

that is all i have to say. host: anything in particular for our guest? guest: i have to call its socialist a socialist when i see it. i have not called him a communist, used inappropriate language. i used a perfectly appropriate word from politics, and that is what i see him as. if you want me to be shut off every time every time i use the word socialist, you'll not find out what i think, are you? host: final thoughts about what is happening in this country, in this town, and what could change. guest: i am really quite astounded that we at the divide in the country.

i and the stout -- i am astounded that the left does not want to talk to conservatives. as michael barone said the other day in "washington examiner, they live in a cocoon. we conservatives do not when i wrote the book the death of liberalism, which i hope some of these people are so concerned about politics, that they will take a look at this book, i researched both sides of the issue and i was astounded at how little the american left and the mainstream, how little they really know. about conservatism. i do not think they read "the american spectator." when i started my life and politics 47 years ago and founded "the american spectator," i say right in the book, we have participation by liberals in the magazine. we had socialists who were

welcome to participate. they do not participate anymore. this divide israel in the country. r. emmett tyrrell jr.,na202-73 2 thanks for being here. guest: thanks for not shutting me up. host: after the break, we will talk with eli saslow, author of "10 letters: the stories americans tell their president." we will learn about that story and get down with some of the details about how the whole process works. we will take your calls as well. some news from c-span radio, however. >> unemployment numbers show

little change from last week. the labor department says weekly benefit applications dipped by 2000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000. the lower level suggesting hiring could pick up a bit in- the commerce department says orders for durable goods increased a slight 0.2% last month after a 3.7% decline in march. overall orders for durable goods -- items expected to last at least three years -- rose to $215.5 billion. that is up 52.5% from the recession low, hit in the spring of 2009. soldiers are placing more than 2 to 20,000 small u.s. flags at arlington national cemetery -- 220,000 small u.s. flags at arlington national cemetery. the third u.s. infantry regiment, the old guard, is planting a flag that each grave marker starting this afternoon. the units have been carrying out the annual tradition since 1948.

those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> welcome to old downtown museum, wichita, kansas. >> yee-haaa! >> waking up the city for 22 years, we think we have a heck of a star. today the mayor will be talking about the problem we're having in the city with taxicabs. 9:20, hang on for that. >> june 2 and june 3, "booktv" and "american history tv" export wichita, kansas. >> it contains an alphabetical list of the members of the senate and house of representatives, done in 1831. i believe this was issued only for the members' immediate use only.

they were not supposed to loan this out because, as you can see, it would tell you exactly where everybody lived. so you could go and but i hold them if you would like. >> number 1 what i would ask is, if people do have information, i want to come forward with at intermission, either to our office of professional responsibility or to the dhs ig. but the thought or the notion that this type of behavior is condoned or authorized is just absurd, in my opinion. i have been an agent for 29 years now. i began my career seven years in detroit, i have worked -- i was on the white house detail twice. i have worked for a lot of men and women in this organization and i never onetime had any

supervisor or agent tell me this type of behavior is condoned. i know i have never told any of our employees that it is condoned. so i feel as strongly now as i did before i read that article. >> this week, officials with the secret service and homeland security testified about agent interaction with colombian prostitutes. here it online at the c-span video library. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our guess now is eli saslow, a staff writer for "washington post," who has written the book "10 letters, the stories americans tell their president." how interesting in this era of electronic communication, lots of folks still write letters to the white house.

guest: 20,000 a day. they processed through this daily deluge of mail, and operate here in downtown d.c. where there is a staff of 50 people who sort through the mail and deliver 10 letters, and accurate sampling to the president at the end of the day. host: did this start with president obama? when did the idea start? guest: other presidents have read the mail going back 100 years and more. president obama is the first to decide this is a daily ritual, where every night he gets 10 letters in his briefing book. he usually writes back to one or two by hand and those are set off the next morning. -- are sent off the next morning. i cover the president in his early days in office. one of the most striking things to me was any modern president is so isolated from the people he governs. everything about a president's life is outsourced to entered

one of eight antidotes that president obama wanted to this was this direct connection to these 10 people riding these handwritten notes every day. host: what does this do for him and his ability to read these and right back? guest: all presidents complain about the bubble, that you are so isolated it is hard to feel for the problems people are going through out there. most things that come to him go through a staff secretary's office were 120 people are deciding which pieces of paper go through his desk. six calligraphers write anything he wants to have written. his day is subdivided into 15- minute chunks, and every meeting is made for him. to have a little bit of a chance to get a little bit more of an unfiltered -- the letters are specifically unvetted, they come from republicans, democrats, independents,

anything. to get these stories to the president is a rare thing. host: the book is "ten letters: the stories americans tell their president." i wanted to start with the photo of a young lady, andrea lattimore. here is a photo of her. she is holding a letter that she sent to the president. "hello, i go to the sixth district elementary school in covington, kentucky. i used to go to thomas edison elementary school, but they closed it down because of the economy." tell us more. guest: 1 letter might be purely positive, one might be purely negative criticism. the story is what people are going through in their lives.

andrea is one of these big -- of these.s one she wrote to president obama explaining these dire circumstances, this train wreck every day when she went to this underfunded schools, and ask for his help this in these problems. one of the amazing things about these letters was sometimes the transformative effect they can have on the lives of the people who wrote them, and also occasionally the impact they would have on the president. so the president in this case got her letter, used some of it in big education reform speeches, tried to implement a few of her suggestions, and she, meanwhile, because he was broadcasting her letter, became an education advocate in her area of kentucky. by the time i was there in her school, she was giving speeches to the superintendent there and

helping solve some of these problems. host: a lore -- a little more of what she wrote "you need to get the government to look at us differently. we are not black, white, biracial, hispanic, or any other nationality. we are the future. any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated." guest: pretty moving stuff. i think one of the reasons the president and his staff have gravitated toward these letters is because they are moving. people write often not expecting that the president would read their letters. this is a letter that she wrote one night after school with a little bit of her grandmother's help. she did not know if the president would ever respond, but knowing so little about the process, she does not have an e- mail herself, so in the letter she includes her grandmother's e-mail address, hoping that the president responds through e- mail.

it is endearing stuff that comes in from all over the country. host: where did the idea of the book come from? guest: i have been covering the president and noticed all these ways he would connect from people -- connect with people. he would occasionally bring groups of people in to talk about their concerns. he found out that when he would bring the men, they would get nervous and would not necessarily speak their minds. what he always talked about during his speeches, i would say 1 out of every three speeches he gives, he mentions these 10 letters. he knows it makes him look like he is connected to talk about these letters, so it is a bit of a political tactic. he also uses a lot of the letters in his speeches. he is smart enough to know that giving a policy speech amusing anecdote for at -- from a -- one time, in a speech writer is listening to him, he said he believes these letters are his only direct connection

left to the people he governs. if true, that felt like it was definitely worth writing about. host: 1 more story here, the clients, who lost their jobs. they wrote to the president. tell us more. guest: wrote to the president because they were at the epicenter of the economic collapse. jen -- they live in rome, michigan. their business went under, jen was diagnosed with cancer, and they did not know what to do. she was asking the president for advice. the president wrote back, anchorage and her that things would get better. in fact, things did not get better. jen filed for bankruptcy. in all of these cases, the sort of narrative journalism that i do, for the paper and the book,

i went there to monroe, michigan, and they filed for bankruptcy. i wanted to see if they had a chance to escape this. they did not escape it, and the year continued to be that in michigan. a handwritten note they got back from the president, that she really treasured more than anything in her life, they eventually drove to new york, the first time they had never been to new york, they sold it to an autograph collector for $10,000. not always a happy ending, for sure. sometimes the president's response ends up being very uplifting to people. other times the reality is pretty difficult for three years in the country, and that wins out. host: thomas, a republican, for eli saslow. good morning, sir. are you there? caller: yes, i am here.

hi, mr. eli. guest: he is one of the contributors of the letters in the book. pretty exciting to have you call interes. caller: i actually have you on my computer, and i saw this and i thought this has to be the perfect opportunity to get on the radio and talk to you. host: what is your last name, thomas, and what is your story? caller: thomas ritter. i wrote in an angry letter to the president and the health care debate was -- i did not like how it was done, and i

vented some of what i thought about the process and how we need to take a step back and make a good health care policy that maybe everybody -- it was really surprising to find out that he read it and wrote back. host: and we read that he wrote a two-page response. what did he tell you? -- caller: hey, i read your letter. i have to challenge you, though. that is what made me realize i was talking to the president of the united states in letter form. he challenge to me on the part that he does take -- does not take criticism seriously. i respected him for it, that he responded back. take seriously

-serious- criticism, i take seriously." when i saw he edited that, it hit me. we teach writing. it was an interesting deal that he revised a letter. he stopped and revised it. guest: of the remarkable things about your story that really touches me is -- this is somebody who really does not agree with very much the president has done. before he sent a letter, does not agree with much the president has gone public after. but this is a case where his letter, -- with much the president has done probably after. but this is a case where his letter, after getting the letter, the president started talking about the importance of listening to the other side and trying to be respectful. thomas, in this amazing move --

thomas is a great teacher in dallas. he might be with his students right now. these had written responses from the president are worth, sometimes from a $10,000, $20,000. he decided the biggest body would be to take the letter into the school and let the kids -- the biggest value would be to get the letter into the school and let the kids touch it and make it a great interactive lesson about our regular person can write to the president and get a response. host: thomas, your final takeaway? caller: eli is right. the big this thing i have learned is that we do need to have some kind of discourse where we can talk. when you say something, you are immediately attacked in this white house. people did not really look at it. it is attack mode. i wish we would not do that.

we have some serious problems. we need serious people to tackle them. that is what i am looking at now, how can we bridge the gap so we can get some problems solved? thank you host: calling in this morning. great to have him so early in the show. eric f pensacolarom , an independent -- eric from pen sacola, an independent. caller: would like to suggest that we knew people -- i would like to suggest that we mute people who don't turn down their tv. presidentthe -- the president is supposed to be a ceo. he is not a legislator.

he does not have any kind of financial purse strings. he does not have the ability to declare war except in very minimal times. i am wondering is this book more of an indictment on the public's lack of civic knowledge. it is nice, the human interest, man bites dog type of stories the press, the newsletter is not something for people -- type of stories, the president's letter is not something for people to run their fingers over as if he is the second coming. isn't it course that is supposed to be representative of the people -- isn't it progress that is supposed to be representative of the people? guest: i do not think it is because they think the president is some sort of a deity. what the process and the book conveys is the exact opposite, that it is important for president rc el -- in the example you used -- president or

a ceo, example you used, to hear from his employees. the feedback mechanism is, too often, broken. the direct feedback is almost nonexistent. sometimes, direct feedback can be the most novel kind. i think ceos -- the most valuable kind. i think ceos would agree. it is the same case, occasionally, at the white house. >> lucy -- host: lucy says her family considered moving once the state passed the immigration law. tell us more. guest: she was not necessarily supportive of the president or critical of the president. she was riding because she felt stock and did not know what to do. she is 23 years old. she was writing u.s

becuase she felt stuck and didn't know what to do. she is 23 years old. she lives in kingman, arizona. other hispanics were leaving her hometown. her town and less like home. she wrote to the president asking, should i stay or should i go? saying, i am an american and i want to be treated like --rican -- like american a like an american. i h privilegead the reading 10 of these every day for a year --

i had the privilege of reading 10 of these everyday for year. these are not all happy go lucky. a lot of times, it is people writing about how the policies of washington are echoing their lives in ways that are troubling them. that is a huge burden and a hard thing for anybody to read. when you see these ten searing stories about their lives, they stick with you. caller: good morning, c-span. my uncle received a letter. my blood is boiling from the last guy. i watched the d aboveebate stac cuts. they were supposed to -- i watched the debates about the

tax cuts they were suppose. to be sunset. as nobody know what sunset means -- i watched the debates about the tax cuts on c-span. they were supposed to be sunset. dozen nobody know what sunset means -- does nobody know what sounds that means? i hated to burst his bubble. i said, i do not think the president wrote this letter. if he did, it would not be a form letter. could you please explain that part? i guest: on " is not watching guest: i hope your uncle is not

watching. there are often cross-outs. they are not typed. the mailroom, which processes the mail, their goal is that every letter should be responded to somehow. there is a form letter written for almost every issue imaginable. every letter has an automated response. for the majority of letters that don't make it to the president, they will get a form response. it sounds like htat 0-- that is what your uncle got. if he keeps writing, maybe he'll get a handwritten one.

host: how did you decide what to include? guest: i realized there were 20,000 letters coming in every day. there are narrowed down to 10. those are already great stories. it is kind of a reporter posturing. the narrowing has already been done for you -- it is kind of a reporter's dream. the narrowing has already been done for you. you are picking the best of the best. it becomes a reflection of the country at large. they are very scientific about making sure that this envelope reflects what comes in. the major the metrics of the mail. if 20% of the letters are about occupy wall street, the president is going to see two letters about occupy wall street. he is probably seeing three a day that are purely political letters about the election campaign.

half negative, have positive. the mixed truly reflects what .omes in th a lot of notes or post congratulatory, a great feeling -- bought a lot of the notes were post-congratulatory, a great feeling -- -- a lot of th- congratulatory, great-feeling notes -- notes. some think this has worn out its usefulness, but he plans to continue. host: he reads them wherever he is. guest: they are couriered to him. a major job of staff is compiling this briefing book for the president, schedule

notes, policy memos, and also these handwritten notes from around the country. it is not too much of a surprise that people would gravitate to those. host: does he answer e-mail? guest: he does. in this case, e-mail and and letters are part of the same process -- e-mail and letters are part of the same process. this building is a secret building. it is about three blocks from the white house. it acts as the filter between the public and the president. if your e-mail or send a letter, it goes through a process -- if you send an e-mail or send a

letter, it goes through a process and it goes to this building. if you call the comment line, it goes to this building. the president gets 10 of these notes. sometimes, those are e-mails. it might be four e-mails and six handwritten letters. even though the white house gets more e-mail than handwritten letters, he tends to read more mail.ritten than e- the stories are longer and more thought out. host: a couple more calls first. jeremy, independent line. caller: what types of letters does the president not want to see? as he rejected certain letters -- has he rejected certain letters? he went to high school in hawaii. i think ed is a very -- i think

that is a very race-neutral environment. but not understand that -- people do not understand that enough. guest: he has said a few times that half of these letters, me an idiot. that was his direct quote. the letters are usually not in the envelope, the highly critical ones. the ones that are out bread offensive and have no point -- are out right -- that are outright offensive and have no point. if a letter starts out "dear socialist jerk," what is the point of responding? most of the ones that he

responds to tend to be respectful. host: home from the war i afghanistann. -- home from the war in afghanistan. polly exchanged letters with the president when she was wracked with anxiety. guest: the hardest letters to read are from people currently serving or loved ones who are worried about those people. in this case, the mother -- he had been in a remote part of afghanistan, serving their already for three or four months -- serving there for, already, three or four months. did not have access to phone or e-mail. and she finally received a call on her birthday, the first call

in four months. she wrote a letter to the president about what it was like to not hear from him. doug had months left on his deployment. people were praying that he would come back and be healthy. his wife was waiting, his mother was waiting, and his sister was waiting. they were wondering what he would be like when he came back. that is what this exchange to the president is about. host: nassau county, florida. norma? how are you? caller: i'd just got over a health care thing and almost died, but that is another thing. i am 77 years old. this question that has come up about the president and the letters, certainly under the constitution we are given the right to redress grievances.

however, we have the electronic age. when a country is hurting like america is, with all the various things going on today, people are so distraught, at times, i think the figure the standout is the president. these letters should be going to the representatives. those are the people who can do something about the problems. i think that is where they need to be going. i also think that americans need to review the constitution of the united states and see what their rights are. they will have rights as long as old glory is lying. people do not think are we do, but we do. -- as old glory is flying. people do not think we do have rights, but we do. >host: eli saslow?

guest: members of congress get a steady flow of mail. they traditionally get several hundred letters per day. the president gets several thousand, 20,000. it is largely because he is the most famous. he is in public the most often. when people around the country think about the government, they often think about the president first. i agree that you are right. sometimes, these very specific notes that are sent to the white house should at least also be sent to members of congress. that is probably where they have a chance to be more effective. host: the book is out that his father was imprisoned and his mother was an unemployed. -- global points -- the book

points out that his father was in prison and his mother was unemployed. guest: he had a really rough background. he identified with president obama as obama was running for office. when he won, he netted his first goal to be the first black president of this very old -- he made his first goal to be the first black president of this merry old high school. he shocked nobody more than himself. he won. he became the first black president at this catholic high school. he turned his life around. he had a struggling student. his grades got better. he got into college. he got into a salt and now he is at villanova. -- she got into lasalle -- he got into lasalle, and now he is at villanova. host: when he got into college,

his mother celebrated by decorating her apartment. she worried about sending him to college. she only had $28 in direct count -- $28 in her account. guest: his mother had been unemployed for a very long time. her unemployment benefits had run out. she was watching this very channel, c-span, watching sessions of congress, trying to see if her benefits would be extended, if there was any way she would be able to put a downpayment toward her son's college education. meanwhile, he was having this exchange with the president. the parallels were just stark. host: just under 10 minutes left. caller: how are you doing? i am not your regular kind of caller. i am an international student in the united states.

i was watching c-span. i was wondering whether the president relieved -- received any kind of letters from non- citizens, and also the fact that people write thousands of letters to the president -- my understanding is that people must feel at underrepresented through their formal system. my question is, what do you think about proposing representation like they have in europe, for example, instead of getting yourself elected to congress, for example? guest: thank you for questions. he certainly does get international letters. it is a fairly small piece of what he reads. i would guess that this may be about 5% of the mail that he receives. in terms of people not being

represented by their government, i think part of this exercise sometimes is because teachers around the country want their students to learn how to engage with government and do it in new and different ways. i do not think it is necessarily that they do not feel represented by their local or elected officials. it is one more way to engage and make themselves heard. one way that a lot of this mail comes in is, teachers around the country still a sign their students, everybody in class sastre write a letter to the president. write about what is going on in your life, what you think is wrong, what to complain about. sometimes, they are also assigned to write those letters to the local officials. host: what is this woman's story? guest: it is the one that had the most impact to the country. she is a cleaning woman in ohio.

she had lost her job and your health insurance. her premiums or crazy. she could not afford it anymore. she was going to lose her house she wrote to the press. and explained, today is my last day -- house. she wrote to the present and explained, today is my last day. she was invited to the white house to speak to health care companies about her troubles. she explained that, unfortunately, she could not come. a week after giving up her health insurance, she collapsed while cleaning. she had been diagnosed with leukemia and given a 35% chance to live. the president went to her hometown and a major speech about health care reform there. she became an icon for health

care reform. meanwhile, she was scrapping to the nail for her life, going through chemotherapy day after day and trying to survive through the disease and relying on the letters she got from the president and around the country from people who heard about her story. florida.'s go to you are on the republican line. caller: i believe our president is markets. may i explain why -- is marxist. may i explain why? host: what does that have to do with this segment? caller: i do not know. host: go ahead. caller: i have a book written by pope benedict before he was the pope. it is theology. it is a combination of marxism and christianity. it is page 14. there is also a book by richard werner brandt -- a book by

richard wurmbrandt there is a chapter where he really. marxism to satanism. he has a whole chapter. he testified before congress in 1967. host: i will let you go. not connected to this segment on these letters. there are other segments that might be related to what you're bringing up. illinois, independent, good morning. andre? caller: -- host: let's go to another story.

guest: and she wrote after the oil spill. the oil was coming closer and closer to this fishing cottage that had been in the family for 60 years. it was the most important place to them in the world. he thought the president's response to the oil spill had been lackluster. he wrote a very nicely written, but mary critical letter -- but very critical letter explaining why he thought the president's response had been inadequate. it was another case where the president received the letter and started a conversation. he came to the gulf coast and began to have these round tables where he heard from people exactly like this person, about why they were scared of losing this place, suggestions for what they should do. meanwhile, this man was out in the gulf, looking for oil anywhere he could.

during the oil spill, people -- the mailroom at the white house becomes an interesting reflection of the country. people do not just send letters. they send gifts or objects. during an oil spill, people sent dozens and dozens of things they thought could be solutions. people sent bags of sand, booms, anything you can imagine. there is a gift room. the white house is not allowed to accept gifts. there is a gift room in the white house. some of the things collected are just -- when they thought about getting a dog, several people sent dogs. when michelle obama said she was interested in ula hooping -- hula hooping, she got 300 of txt -- the next day.

i wrote to obama and i never got our response caller: -- caller: i wrote to obama and i never got a a response. guest: i wish i could do anything about getting your letter to him. unfortunately, i seriously lack that kind of power. the odds of getting a response from the president are close to winning the lottery. 20,000 letters per day, maybe one or two of those is going to get a direct response from the president. it is a great thing to try. i would also focus on writing your local officials and being dogged about pursuing those kind

of people. the volume of what they are getting is going to be less. the odds that the president directly intervenes in any of these situations is pretty close to nonexistent. sorry to dash your hopes. host: megan. caller: this is my first time calling in. i do have important questions that i would like answers to. being a disabled employee and choosing to work for the government if i went on disability, i would make more by not working for the government and getting paid off of disability