journal." grudges will hear from eric schmidt of google, ursula burns and alan mulally of ford. thought author of becoming a candid it will discuss the dynamics of who runs for office and why at 8:30 eastern, and are calling the series continues when we're joined by a clarence page. "washington journal" is next. >> ♪

>> the morning and welcome on this tuesday, may 29, 2012. president obama walworth the medal of freedom this afternoon to recipients including former secretary of state madeleine albright, retired supreme court justice stevens, and novelist toni morrison. the race for the white house, mitt romney is expected to if i get the delegates he needs to secure the republican nomination in today's texas primary. the new york times has a story about the white house strategy for combating terrorism. it talks about a secret list of terrorists that president obama signs off on. we would like to know what you think about the president's counterterrorism strategy. do you agree with it or disagree or do you think it's working? here are the numbers on your screen -- you can also find us online through social media. we can share that on the air.

you can also join the conversation on c-span or email us. the new york times headline is this -- joe reports --

we would like to hear what you think about this. you can see an image of the president in the oval office with thomas dahlin, the national security adviser, and john

brenan, his top counter- terrorism adviser. it details how they make decisions and how involved the president is. three dozen of his current and former advisers describe mr. taking onolution in the bowl. personally overseeing the shadow war with al qaeda. it describes a paradoxical leader he shunned the legislative dealmaking required to close guantanamo bay in cuba. tear what you think. the first call is from vienna, virginia. frederick is on our democratic line. good morning. what do you think about the president's post counterterrorism strategy? caller: it's a good idea. if we had thought about this, we would not have put our sons and daughters in harm's way. you don't know your enemy. you are fighting a name less

militant. you could be talking to someone tomorrow and the next thing you know, they're killing you. so this is what we should've done a long time ago. we would not be in this situation. here we are jobless and all that kind of stuff. host: let's look at some comments come into our facebook page already. you can chime in by looking for c-span. gloria says -- austin has a different perspective --

in pennsylvania, john is an independent scholar. welcome. --independent caller. caller: it's ok to run this program as long as every other country in the world can do the same thing. it's unconstitutional. the aclu has a lawsuit where that's included, the defense authorization act. it is bizarre. i cannot believe people are accepting this. he has already killed three american citizens and no one has said much at all except the progressives. it is disgusting. host: do you think the president has acted the way you thought he would before he went into office? caller: he is like bush on steroids in some cases. he is just smarter than bush and a lot more charming. host: democratic caller in alexandria, virginia. caller: a president of a great

country has to do what he has to do in order to protect the country. these people have been identified by reliable sources. someone to blow up an airplane or destroy a city, do you want to wait for that before we do something? the republicans and goes down on the country to lead the country, this man believes and protect the country and will do what he has to do. host: the new york times has a section about maintaining my options. it says --

little river, south carolina, markets a republican. good morning. caller: it looks like it's time to puff -- host: we don't need to use language like that. now we have a republican on the line from san diego par. caller: there's no way i would

vote for obama again. i actually agree with dick cheney that the president owes bush an apology. all of his rhetoric campaigning in 2008 was just talk. i don't believe that he really is an expert in constitutional law. i have never been so disappointed in my life in a president with the way he is doing in his foreign-policy and doing this in my name. we don't even know who is killing. host: what do you do as a democrat, roseanne, and it's time to vote? caller: i will go for green or not vote or into a right t -- write-in. host: jake is on our republican line in las vegas, nevada. good morning.

caller: it's actually the democrats' line, unfortunately. i don't want to get into a political part of it. and i am worried about is some of the cyber threats and some of the small technical preps that people are building little machines that could come over here. terrorists are advancing in ways now that our political bickering back and forth is surpassing. as a country, we need to get together around the people actually getting something done. you might want to argue about who is getting something done or not. the proof of the matter is who has been trying. obama has been trying. he has been getting kicked out every time. it is widely known across the world that this is happening. so this morning you say to yourself, are you going to believe it or not?

denial is not the way to go right now. it's time to take action. it's time to vote. it's going to be are placed. i do believe that we are going to have to either regret what we do or not. so take the time to think about it. to go with the people who are doing stuff. have a good morning. host: let's hear comments made by john brenan as the president's top counter- terrorism adviser, in the spring. >> we decide whether a particular out that a member wants being pursued in this matter. given the stakes involved and consequences, we consider all the information available to us carefully and responsibly. we reviewed the most up-to-date intelligence, drawing on the full range of our intelligence capabilities and we do what sound intelligence demands. we challenge it. the question it.

including any assumptions on which it might be based. if we want to know more, we may ask the intelligence community to go back and collect additional intelligence so that a more informed decision can be made. we listened to a department and agencies across our national security teams. we don't just zero different views. we ask for them and encourage them. we discussed. debate. we disagree. we consider the advantages and disadvantages of taking action. we also carefully consider the cost of inaction and whether a decision not to carry out a strike could allow terrorist attack to proceed and potentially kill scores of innocence. nor do we limit ourselves nearly to counter-terrorism considerations. we consider the broadest to teach it implications of any action, including if what effect if any that an action might have on a relationship with other countries. host: that was john brenan, the top counter-terrorism adviser,

speaking of the -- at the woodrow wilson center couple months ago in late april. say is an independent scholar in north clarendon, vermont. -- independent caller. caller: he walked into a mess after two republicans in office. there's so much more in the background that we don't know. i think he's doing an excellent job, personally we just hear little bits and pieces and draw conclusions. honestly, we don't know the whole thing. we don't know what's going on. honestly, i think he's doing an excellent job. host: baltimore, maryland, william on the democratic line. >> our new? -- how were you? this is my first time calling. would you rather have 20 people running amount who are trained

assassin to take out just the enemy or 500 people running around dropping bombs killing 500,000 people? it was used in vietnam and was very successful. my next question is, i just got a letter from a church saying that president obama is the forerunner of the antichrist. can you believe this? it must mean that mitt romney is the antichrist, because they're telling me to vote for romney. why on earth would anybody votes for a man who has already lighted, postponed filing his taxes because he know that he's not paying taxes, he is cheating? turns around, tells people that he has created jobs. he has created nothing. host: we're talking about

president obama's counterterrorism strategy, whether you disagree or agree. don writes -- let's look this graphic from the new york times -- now from florida, republican caller, phil. caller: i am outraged over this, liddy.

-- libby. i am upset with the american people. we are sanctioning these guys to be judge, juror. these are the guys that made the case for weapons of mass destruction. now with the national defense authorization act that obama signed on a year's leave, they can say any american on u.s. soil can be deemed a terror suspect and these guys will say take our word for it and it's okay to kill them. i take issue with the earlier caller who said the only ones bothered by this are the progressives. i would like to point people in the direction of ron paul's group, people that are actually looking at the constitution and outraged at this.

i believe the reason we have gotten to this point is because of less cover that is allowed for obama and this administration to put bush on steroids, to act like bush on steroids as far as these kind of actions. if it was a republican doing all this, the anti war people would. be calling would. yet to this very day they have not. the anti-war people would be calling for impeachment. some are calling for obama's impeachment for the same crimes that president bush did. host: we will leave it there. there's the new york times story that talks about the attempted bombing --

a comment on twitter yl --darrel lincoln city, oregon. rocky and the democratic line. caller: i love c-span and all the flavors. i watch all the time. i think bush and dick cheney on to fly over to your because there are some judges over there that want to talk about war crimes. -- to europe. like the last caller, if he thinks obama should be impeached, that is his opinion. i would like to say that government is hard to keep track of. i am a layman. it is tough.

i'm not on the computer all the time finding out all the statistics on what the government is doing all the time. i just want to say that as long as my rights are not totally taken away, i am a democrat, i anybodycalling to bs w who about who i am, like cutting down bush. i've heard phone calls of people calling -- i can call in and say i am anybody. but i love c-span. i love all the people that call that don't have a lot of information, misinformed. that is america. host: you talked about you think

bush and cheney should be held responsible in some way for their roles. in the war roles. what do you think about president obama, about his role? do you think he should be held to the same standard as they are. -- bush and cheney, should they be held responsible for their roles in iraq? caller: we will have drones flying around in the u.s. because it's big business. host: c-span will be live at the new america foundation. this is an event called "osama bin laden and al qaeda." the featured speakers include an associate professor at the department of social scient ces. that's live today on c-span at

12:15 eastern time on c-span 2. we're talking about the president's counterterrorism strategy, what you think about it. there's talk of a secret "kill list" that the president get personally involved in looking at. let's go to greenbelt, maryland. tony is a republican caller. caller: good morning, c-span. i am very conservative, conservative when it comes to killing people. i don't understand how the american people can put up with the fact that just because some people claim that some people are terrorists that they are supposed to believe it. no evidence, just saying and you should believe it. i don't understand where al

qaeda came from. unlike since 9/11 of cod is everywhere. it there's no proof al qaeda exists. these people cannot even afford shoes in afghanistan, yet we are involved in a 10-year war with these people that are very poor. terrorism has become our business. it is an unending war. host: albany, new york, charles, democratic line. caller: good morning, thanks for the program. i remember growing up in the 1970's and there were counter- terrorism cells and terrorist cells. according to the president's that i knew growing up, this kind of combat was considered and secretive, that you had henchman that went out and performed these murders.

yet we come around to 2012 and understand the need went on a mass scale you get the enemy you are directed at, but what has changed in the 46 years i have been alive is, is this a cowardly tactic that was defined in the 1970's when president nixon and then carter and reagan further to these wars on terrorism and now it's gone on to bush and obama? i'm wondering which way the pendulum will swing now. second, my concern is i am pretty boisterous not against the government but certain policies and i am a veteran and i speak out against the va system because of all the inadequacies. does that put me on this? this i am a law-abiding and very disgruntled. i would not consider myself a domestic terrorist and would

never raise arms against my neighbors or my country, but where's the bottom line? host: let's look at a couple comments on facebook. michael says -- matt says -- in new york, murray is on the independent line joining us now. cal-- maria. caller: we would consider a acts of war if someone had drones over our cities.

the president goes around the world with undeclared wars. i feel people have to be read the declaration of independence. jefferson said that the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots. nobody has looked at obama's school records or anything like that. it is a global list, criminal conspiracy and the american people will be judged the way germany was. thanks very much. host: in michigan, william is a republican. hi. caller: c-span is great. i have two comments. for the last caller, you have the tree of liberty about shedding blood every once in awhile, but the president is american. there's no question about it. his birth has been checked by numerous sources.

the bottom line is if mitt romney becomes the president, he will have the same agenda. he will serve his interests just like a president serves is interests. the whole thing is the american people have to wake up and realize, if i am in michigan and the automobile industry would have failed if it would've been a republican president. i have been a republican all my life, but i'm not happy with the way they treat the va or the way they tried to bash this president. the level of disrespect and he has had during this time is never been seen in this country since the time of the black panther moment. anything they cannot control, they tried to destroy. the problem in this country, when we turn against each other in the name of democracy. host: we will leave it there and look at a couple other items in the news. abrasions and commemorations yesterday around the country for memorial day. here's the "washington times"

photograph -- a mother kissing the headstone of her son. and a woman mourns her husband at his grave. and mitt romney, the presumptive nominee for the republican side, has an event today to commemorate memorial day. president obama began a commemoration of the vietnam era. 50 years since the vietnam war started. he was at the vietnam wall with michelle obama and people who lost loved ones. the story says --barack obama

was still in the crib when vietnam's started, opening a chapter in history that reverberates to this day. 50 years later, the baby in the crib is president and commander- in-chief during another long walk without a victory in sight. as he made a pilgrimage to the vietnam veterans memorial on monday to kick off a 13-year project marking the anniversary of vietnam, to find a better outcome for the decades-long war in afghanistan. now mitt romney, a war hero at his side, accorded veterans today. he spoke alongside senator john mccain. they attended a memorial day tribute in san diego. he would be the first republican presidential nominee since world war ii not to observe in the military. he warned yesterday against putting america on the pathway to europe by reducing the size of the military to pay for social programs. this is from the new york times. he attended a memorial day

tribute and declared that the world is not safe and he criticized president obama, without mentioning him by name, for proposing cuts in military. . jumping from there into politics. after dick lugar's loss, orrin hatch is not taking his race for granted. this is an "washington times. he is shunning debates with his senate rival. that is the senate candidate for utah's seat. richard lugar happens after orrin hatch appeared to be floating to victory. so we are watching that race. senate hopefuls sparring in texas. texas faces its primary today. cruz wants voters to see him as a warrior for conservative causes.

he wears a black cowboy hat. it talks about how he is facing his battle against a 66-year-old or rather this is a gentleman who is a self-made millionaire in the energy industry, one of the most powerful figures in texas. nearly 10 years as lieutenant governor -- you can see the two it in their earlier debate. they clashed in this republican primary race. that's a wall street journal. and also in texas, romney is expected to reach his delegate threshold today. it may feel like a distant memory, the contentious fight for the gop nomination, but technically romney has not amassed the 1144 delegates necessary --

we will talk about some more news in a moment. but left at back to our question. what do you think about president obama's counterterrorism strategy? linda is on our democrat line in missouri. caller: good morning. married to anld, air force man. i have had family in vietnam and also the civil war and iraq. i feel the president of the united states, president obama, has been through so much problems because i have never heard of a congress or a house fight the president in my life.

he cannot suggest anything without the government fighting him. i have never heard so much criticism of a president in my whole life. i can remember when john kennedy was president and they did not like what he did and when he was up for, but they remember his famous words. and of course he was assassinated. i feel that the united states of america should look at that flag and think of every star on g and what state you are from and stand up and pull for the president. he can only do so much. he is trying to protect israel, which we have to. that's also in the bible. host: let's look at a couple comments on facebook. jenny calls for impeachment of the president --

and still, alabama, lee is an independent scholar. caller: i just want to say, how soon does america for get? when president obama was running for president and senator john mccain was saying that he was so passive than he would not protect america. i do remember president bush had said he was no longer looking for osama bin laden, then he was not even on his mind. but then we had president obama to come in and find him and kill him. i agree with president obama. he's trying to protect our country and our nation. i am from a military family from

centuries of military participation from the spanish- american war up until this war. i agree with the last caller. president obama has been ostracized and it's only because of the color of his skin. host: let's look at a comment on twitter. and this from seattle -- hazel in new jersey -- has slipped, new jersey, arlene, a republican -- in hazlett. caller: i'm a republican and

when i vote, a vote for the person i feel will do the best. it's not right for people to go around knocking president obama went so far he has gotten rid of bin laden, who was the biggest terrorist going. the only thing is the bombers, it's very hard for him to go and get a bomber that is a car bomber. but i feel he has really done a lot for this country and he really loves this country. for people to go around knocking him, it does not look good in other countries that our own people are knocking our president, who really loves this country. host: in oregon, joyce is an independent scholar. caller: i don't understand why more people are not incensed and even afraid of this. to go after american-born citizens in a foreign country,

no indictment, no trial, no judgment by a jury. and just to go execute them. we should be very afraid. host: what is the solution? caller: show all the cards. these people are on the internet. it's not like they can pay for the tickets for someone to come over here and do like a bin laden and then took credit for it and everything. this is just wrong. it is dead wrong. host: now to savannah, georgia, steve is joining us on the democratic line. caller: i have said this before, that republicans are the worst hypocrites on a plan thet. you just heard from a caller from oregon, the lady that said it is an outrage that the

president is killing terrorists overseas. she wants them to be read their miranda rights, the same thing republicans accuse the president of. he took out bin laden. they want him to read him his rights. it's better to have the drone strikes than to put soldiers lives at risk. we just celebrated memorial day. i believe he is smart and the way he approaches war, a smart way of doing it. they wanted up about the national defense authorization act, this was an act passed by republicans in congress. host: the new york times story says this -- he believes here is more of the story --

louisville, kentucky, pat, a republican. good morning. caller: if we don't interrogate, that is how things were done. we knew very little when 9/11 happened. we had to build knowledge. now with this knowledge president obama is using for

drones, what is the next step? are we getting what we need for other future intelligence? that is what worries me with the drone strikes. i really did not like the way they did the american citizens. if you are american on foreign soil, you still have american rights. host: in michigan, mark is an independent scholcaller. caller: good morning c-span, and good morning, america. president obama's counter- terrorism tactics are going against the people that are trying to stop it. if you are against the status quo in this country, your being labeled a terrorist. obama is not the one doing this stuff. he is not the one in control. there are many other people that

are using him. we must wake up and realize what is going on. our federal government has been hijacked. it has been taken over. it happened during the bush administration. host: let's look in other stores in the news. talking about the economy, how the state of the american society and pocketbooks are doing.

the new york times headline says -- another story about the economy, this one from the wall street

journal -- a couple more stories about politics -- we mentioned that race in texas, but here's another story on that one. the much-watched texas u.s. senate rate may come to or run

off -- it may split so many ways that we will have to watch how that plays out today and tomorrow morning. now on the democratic line, linkedin on president obama's counterterrorism strategy. -- weighing in. steve. caller: i would be more worried about somebody in the neighborhood watch in florida that would run me down and the judge, the jury, and executioner to the local people, then worried about what the president is doing it. thank you. host: annapolis, maryland, suzy is a republican.

caller: there is a great documentary called "power of nightmares," which is also about the war on terror. i think that it if you would listen to the media, you would have to believe that the whole world is a terrorist haven. you hear it when people talk about venezuela and cuba being a tourist haven's now. terrorist havens. a u.s. congresspersons said that raul castro's daughter is coming to america and has accused her of being involved in terrorism. if so, why did homeland security not arrest her? maybe she was not on obama's hit list? i take everything -- i don't

believe everything they're saying any more. cbs, nbc, cnn, what a joke? it is mass propaganda. a very small part of what they are reporting is true. the rest keeps everybody in a perpetual state of fear about how terrible the world is. i choose not to believe it anymore. host: now we will hear from jim on twitter -- louisville, kentucky, robin is an independent caller to close us out. caller: i am definitely against the "kill list." our intelligence on weapons of mass destruction was bad. so i don't think we will make appropriate strikes without making a mess. we are seen as too cozy with

israel by many in the muslim world and around the world. the whole anti islamist scare that going on in this country will provoke some more irreparable damage, i'm afraid, to start killing american citizens because of associations that may have nothing to do with anything threatening and it could hatch a new generation of homegrown terrorists. god knows we don't need that. host: linda on facebook -- thanks for all of your calls and comments this morning. coming up next, michael steele, the former head of the republican national committee will join us. later on, a professor and

author jennifer lawless will talk was about political ambition and the gender gap. that's all coming up. >> and the weekend in wichita, kansas, with "book tv" and american history tv. saturday and noon eastern it. american presidents and black entrepreneurs with robert duane. and idennis farmer. sunday at 5:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv, the old cowtown museum, the early days of flight at the kansas aviation museum. two participants from the kansas civil rights movement sat down for service at the drugstore.

c-span local content vehicles explore local life of cities across america. this weekend from wichita, kansas. 3.c-span 2 and c-span >> writing assumes reading. it goes back to the question about a tree falling in the forest if there's no one there to hear it. if you have written a wonderful novel, one of the part of the process is that you want readers to be. enriched be. -- to be enriched by it. >> the doctor will talk about her perspectives on writing and life and her guide to social policy and politics that make it happen. live sunday. "lots of candles, plenty of cake" is her latest. that's on c-span 2.

>> "washington journal" continues. host: michael steele was the chairman of the republican national committee, 2009 through 2011. thanks for coming to talk with us. talking about campaign 2012 and republicans. let's first talk about some of the recent happenings for senate seats. senate hopefuls sparred in texas is a headline. we also read a story this morning about congressman upton facing a run from the tea party. however the tea party changing the race this year? guest: they have had an impact going back to 2009 in utah. host: do they still? have an still guest: absolutely. if you look at dick lugar's campaign, the impact and influence of tea party-backed best's. i don't so much say it's a tea party phenomenon as the grass roots within the party asserting itself and making the claim that

we want to have control over it who will best represent the things that we value and think are important such as the economy. for candidates who have grown out of touch, who are not as committed to the base as they should be, they pay the price. i think that's a very important part of rejuvenation of the party, re-focusing its energies at the grass-roots level where the communication is most important. we're seeing establishment types, those typically supported by the establishment, having a hard time holding on to those seats they had at 10 years, 30 years. host: does that worry you? guest: not at all. it is a refresh in part of the process. you get the message that you better stay engaged with your voters. you cannot come to washington and not get back home, spent time at home. you have people that buy homes

here and live here and really go back to their districts. when they get to a critical election, they say, me too. people resent that. especially in the economy. they want to know they have folks who will be fighting for them in washington and not doing the same old thing. if i'm not bothered by that. i think it's pretty good. host: recent poll shows president obama and mitt romney in a dead heat on the economy. what does romney have to do to win over american stressed especially if in light of the focus on his time at bain capital? guest: i think this turning point comes to night in texas with the primary. i think that will be enough to solidify the 1144 number that he needs for the delegates for nomination. so i think that will get behind him. now he can begin to tailor his

arguments and his message, as he has begun to do, more specifically and more explicitly on the president's handling of the economy, the role than he has played in creating jobs in the past, whether that is at bain capital or as governor of his state, and how he sets the tone for the future and vision of the country. that is going to be a very important message. he will now begin to have that conversation with independent voters, particularly white women, who will be the swing vote in many places around the country. he must have a way to connect with them and say all the scary stuff you are hearing from obama about bain capital and how capitalism is bad, let me tell you a different story, let me tell you how it can actually help you get back into the job market if you lost your job or grow your business. host: how does he appeal to that demographic, a possible swing vote, someone -- the woman vote, maybe someone with more moderate views?

and the tea party that's having an important influence in what's going on? guest: it is not an easy dance, because there can be extremes on either end of that spectrum that people want you to play to. speaking specifically on the economy, the voters who may be moderate or have some other political persuasion, they still have a fundamental view of what the economy should be doing. to the extent that he can talk about that -- and the obama folks don't want to talk about that. the president is saying a lot of beautiful things around the country and not talking about the real jobs picture in this country, 23 million people still underemployed or have stopped looking. he is not talking about his health care plan. his signature piece of legislation has had a big impact on the economy and will have a big impact in 2013 when the

taxes that go to pay for this program, to plant. he is not talking about this. that's an opening for romney to have that conversation, and context for the voters, and i think he will be successful. host: michael steele served as lieutenant governor of maryland. 2003 to 2007. if you would like to speak with him, here are the numbers to call -- loretta, joining us from cleveland, ohio, on our democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning, libby and mr. steele. host: i will pass on your question to the chairman. caller: my question for him is regarding the republican plan to

pay for eight years with bush. the republicans spent $11.50 trillion with two wars, with the military advantage, with tarp. and they blew clinton's surplus and gave me $0.50 trillion tax cut in 2003 for jobs. by 2008 we had millions of 99% percenters.-99- the republicans still have a lot to explain. guest: i agree with your premise and that's why you saw the emergence of tea party activism within the gop. those republicans were frustrated with big government republicanism, frustrated with spending money we did not have,

and creating debt, which is a burden for future generations, and spending on medicare advantage, as well as not having the resources to pay for that at that time it. i give you all that. but that does not change where we are right now. it's part of the history of it. it's part of the scenario, but it does not change the fact that in the last four years our economy that has grown $5 trillion in a for your years versus $3 trillion that it grew under bush under eight years. the wars were not paid for, but $5 trillion has been spent and has not been accounted for. we will have the same discussion coming up this fall about raising the debt ceiling, spending more money that we don't have. and so, that it is what the debate in this election will be about. not so much what george bush did. we get what george bush did. that's why we have the turnout in 2006 and 2008 where the gop

was frustrated and votes of people out of office. we saw that turned around in 2009 and 2010 with a new crop of fiscal accounts into as elected officials who have drawn bright lines in the sand in washington. now the debate going forward will be how do we pay for the additional spending and that we have? what is the obama agenda going to be like in 2015 should he be reelected? you have a youwho has yet to pass a budget in three years for the country to even able to have a debate about the nation's fiscal health. -- who have a democratic senate yet to pass a budget. host: there's a big story in the new york times today looking at

president obama's counterterrorism strategy and what he's doing to fight terrorism, to go after targeted strikes. what do you make of what he's doing? do you think he's doing enough? and is it that different from what george w. bush was doing? guest: i don't think it's that different from what george w. bush would have done. i find it ironic that you have the president, who was apoplectic about waterboarding and now has a "kill list." i'm going to put your name on a piece of paper. i don't know how they go back to justify this. it has been romanticized, the president's decision and how admirable it was for the president to put himself in the midst of this, too draw up a list and talk about these

things. if george of the bush and come up with a list of people -- remember the reaction to the playing cards that the president had of all the terrorists. it was not a "kill list," just playing cards and people went, oh my gosh. it's a very difficult situation, a troubling time for the war on terror but more specifically in syria. the president has a very important decision to make. i'm glad he is making decisions and be cautious and delivered in his process. i'm glad that he's listening to certain people. senator mccain, i would agree with his view that we don't want to get in a position where we are leading from behind. so that you would have the slaughter of innocents. you look at bosnia, rwanda, all these other places where the world community has sat back and let people die because of the

brutal behavior of dictators. so the president has a full plate in that regard. but somehow thinking the "kill list" is something noble, is misplaced. host: looking at the new york times, a mass burial in syria, pressure on syria increasing after killing citizens there. let's get back to the host: hi, johnny. caller: we are in trouble in times. my main concern is back when george bush was the president, after the 9/11 happened, it was a weird thing that happened to me. i happened to be flying the day before. and mentioned to a friend of mine that someone could take one

of these airplanes over and do whatever they want. here i was complaining about the captain of the flight that i was on leaving his door open, and after 9/11 happened to my friend called me and says i cannot believe you said that. i said it is common sense. that is where i think this government is failing. common sense. we have simple solutions that could fix big problems, but it seems like the government does not listen to the average person. my goodness, i have called my congressman and by senators to get them to listen, and it seems they do a copy and paste of letters carry the guest: a i think to make a good point. it goes back to the -- letters. guest: i think to make a good

point and it goes back to our conversation about activism like our friend from baltimore who is frustrated. they look at things from a common-sense winds. the government says if you do a, maybe d happens. people want to follow the logical progression is the door to the cockpit is open, that could be a problem. we should address that. when you look of things like terrorism, our economy, people want leadership to come up with common sense solutions. it is not complicated in that sense. the reality is looking at the top line, we can begin to address some of our nation's problems right now. economically, how do you cut down on that? do not spend money that we do not have.

how do we continue on the road to provide everything to everyone? we cannot. when i've looked at the last 10 years and the two major event, 9/11 and the economic collapse, what did both of these presidents have in common? they never asked the american people to sacrifice. the war on terror, what the our government tell us next go back to the malls, it back on airplanes. do not worry. the economic collapse? cash for clunkers, this -- there was not a sense of making a sacrifice. you have to sacrifice a liberty or two in order to secure this homeland. you will have to make financial sacrifices. yes, we might have to raise taxes, where maybe we have to

cut spending, but let's have the discretion instead of retreating to the camps that we retreat to which it against tax cuts, -- retreat to -- against tax cuts, cutting spending. host: this from twitter -- what is ron paul's game. will he have any effect on ending the war, closing the fed, legalizing marijuana? guest: you have seen in recent contests where the state parties have had state conventions and he is picking up the delegates. it is cord to be well- represented. there is no doubt about that.

ron paul has helped change the course of the dialogue and focus on issues like national security. the core struggle within the gop on that issue -- certainly, he has educated and elevated the debate with respect to the fed. mitt romney and others are talking about what to do with the fed. he has clearly had an impact and will continue to have one beyond this presidential cycle. that is ultimately a good strategy. he has laid down these seeds. his son rand paul will argue those points in the senate going forward. i think ron paul has had an important impact. on the marijuana, i do not know how far he will get on that, but on financial and foreign affairs he has energized the debate, particularly if with young folks who gravitate more toward that libertarian sense of

the world. host: how do you you keep the voters engage, and we see a story on all told the hill -- host: since you have experience, how do you divvy up the spots? guest: you run into a couple of problems. the major networks plan to cover only an hour a night, at most. your time will be cut down. the cable networks will cover it. where i work, and thus nbc, i know they will be in it. that means you will have to get the massive mecham maximum effect for your audience. his bet -- maximum effect for your audience. if they are only covering one hour each of those nights, we

have to get right folks in those spots. that will be a new dance for both committees to deal with. you will see the jockeying. you will hear the pleas, you will hear the advocates, but i think they have to decide who will best reflect the message i want to send to the country? this is not about paying back pay debt or making sure that joe blow gives a speech because he is a good guy. i want people that reflect my message about how to heal the country and move it forward. that is where you will see the mitt romney team come down, and the people that get those spots will reflect that view. host: melanie, maryland. a self-described libertarian. caller: i will get back to that in just a second.

michael steele, i voted for you. i wish you had one. i really do. i want to find all your opinion on what the democrats are doing right now. he few oppose all, you are racist -- if you oppose obama you are racist. you would be a good person to tell people why you are a republican and what kind of things you have had to deal with in your different runs with people calling you names. help people understand why the republican party does stand for african-americans. guest: i grew up in washington, d.c., so i did not grow up in a traditional republican household or structure. what moves me to the party was its history and its orientation

toward the individual. the republican party has always had a strong libertarian strain where the rights of the individual trump those of the government and individual empowerment is more important than this sense that we are all one and move together. the rhythm of this country is built around individual initiative and that is something i thought the party always reflected well. with respect to my own community, appreciating the historic link between the republican party and african- americans was important. my first election was 1976 and i watched the battle between ronald reagan and gerald ford, and ronald reagan's message resonated because it spoke to the sense of who i was as an individual. it sounded a lot like my mom who talked about going out and making good things happen.

i think that is the strength of the party's message if they stayed to it. you do not have to cater to and due out reached to black folks. you need to talk to all people and have a sense of where we want to take the country, why leadership will make a difference, and how they will be better off. back because they're going to create a new government program, -- and not because we are quick to creating new government program, but because we are going to free them up to pursue the american dream. in this election, i think mitt romney can make the argument, not run away from his successes and failures, because veddas part of the american experience. we want people to share that.

not say it is better to give you the fish then teach you how to fish or chicken than teach you how to 6 -- -- than teach you how to fish. i think that as a powerful argument. host: we had an offensive call earlier in the show, where someone used language that was not appropriate. how you deal with that? guest: you do not defend stupid. this is not part of the national debate nor anything we want to be part of the discussion. a lot of times people see the color of obama's skin and they go ok, what does that mean? his policy is what matters. what he is done on health care,

the war and terror, education -- the areas that touch your life. that is what matters. how you feel about that and how you respond should have very little to do with the color of his skin, where he was born, tom lee combs his hair, or how tall he is -- how he combs his hair or how tall he is and everything with the health-care system he is pushing through congress. depending on where you are in the debate, that is where the rub of this is. his world view is not colored by his skin tone. it is colored by his philosophy, experience, ideas. that is what takes shape in policy. host: tom is a republican in saint petersburg, florida. caller: i am also calling about

ron paul. you did not address some of the concerns ahead candidacy. i would like to reinforce some of the things. i want to guess how you think he has been marginalized by the republican national committee and media outlets, and i want to throw c-span in in this case. i think a somewhat marginalized his candidacy. the lady from cleveland called out and you pointed out that we have to look at where we are, and where we are is in serious debt crisis. he is the only person to drooly -- truly address the problem. guest: taking the last point first, ron paul has, as i said before, brought to national

attention to issues on the economic front that have rung true with a lot of voters. he is making the arguments that he made 30 years ago. the authenticity, the consistency of -- debt renovates which it resonates with voters -- that resonates with voters, particularly young voters who see someone who was willing to expand the debate and discussion and they gravitate towards that. that will bode very well. a of how he has been marginalized -- because he might come off quirky and people want to make fun of the size of his suit -- what is the debt to do with the substance of what he is saying? -- what does that have to do with the substance of what he is saying? the markets -- people treat him on the fringe and then the

edge, but he is more mainstream than people want to give him credit for. host: scott, green party member. florida. caller: i see we are in the middle of the republican propaganda machine. does c-span do anything else? it is only republican call in shows only, or less secure slandering me as a liberal. when the supreme court describes at that the mandate is unconstitutional. i'm going to come after c- span's mandate so that i do not f to pay for this propaganda. host: -- so i do not have to pay for this propaganda. host: i am sorry you feel that way. we have michael steele on, and

later we will have a balance on our show. joel, a democrat in the bronx. caller: good morning, my brother. brightest of the brothers that i have ever seen. i told my brothers and not try to criticize this brother. we should try to laugh and regardless of the party bittered i'm looking at the republican party. if you look at what they did, i'm not talking about way back when when the new president became president -- this is what concerns me the most. when the world was celebrating precedential new

president, it was a group of republicans was putting themselves together saying they want to make sure they prevent this man from progress. host: the caller is talking about republicans who have said they did not want the president's agenda to go forward. guest: i have always thought that is silly. a i get the partisanship. just back to the point before, the one lesson in that conversation is you cannot please everyone, but you certainly can't take them all off. -- certainly can tick them off. those that came in when the president was collected with a pre-determined pre-cent agenda for his failure, i think that

has been misplaced and it has her purse with voters, particularly independent -- it has hurt us with voters, particularly independent voters who have hope for success as they would with any president. when you say though goal is to make sure he fails, that is something the country does not want to hear or see elected officials do. fight over the policies, but you have to have the policies there to fight over. do not set the terms and say no matter what you do i will be against it. that is not true when it comes to matters of war and terror. the obama administration has not closed guantanamo bay, they have used drones' more than the bush administration would have used it, so you can not pre-judged.

it gets back to the policy discussion. if you're prepared to have a policy discussion between conservatives and liberals, that is great. when you personalize it, that is when you lose. host: but stock about the race for vice president in a moment. rob portman, making the case for him as a. , and this weekend on " newsmakers cocklebur debbie wasserman schultz talked about the race ahead. [video clip] >> forget is the mother ground of battleground -- the mother of battleground states. we have a massive voter registration program we are

deploying. when you the to the issues that matter to florida voters, the economy, job creation, immigration reform, medicare and social security -- on all of those issues which drive motors to the polls in florida president obama has been fighting to make sure we maintain medicare and social security, while mitt romney has embraced the paul ryan budget plan which would end medicare as we know it, and leaving seniors with a four they would fall right through. that is not acceptable hit. hispanic voters are concerned about mitt romney being the most extreme president on immigration. we should have opportunities for everyone to be successful. that is why i believe barack

obama will ultimately win florida. marco rubio, in the polling imc recently does not make much difference -- that i am seeing, does not make a difference. the nice guy, but does not belong on a national ticket. host: you can find that on c- span.org. who are you looking at, and how much can this effect the game? guest: marco rubio might not be a community organizer but he was the head of house leadership. i take a little bit of exception with throwing off his credentials. he has as much standing to the job as anyone, certainly coming out of state legislature as our former president did. the reality is all of these individuals will be important to the mix this fall.

they will have some play here. for mitt romney, he will probably pick someone that is consistent with the overall thrust of his a administration -- serious, dedicated, understanding the mechanics of government and how it works -- that tends to lend itself a lot to rob portman, who was the budget management and director and a member of legislature. marco rubio, been at the state- level, brings that experience. he will take his time. i do not believe him play in the hispanic card or this or that card. that is not mitt romney's style. he will be much more deliberate

and serious. host: norma, newport common -- newport news, virginia, republican. good morning. caller: i would like to offer my comments in respect to the comment that was just made on priorities and what i'm certain about. what i am concerned about is i'm a veteran. i've served 20 years. i am concerned with active-duty and retired military. mitt romney has five sons that did not serve in the military. whether your comments? -- what are your comments?

guest: i would not say that just because he did not serve for his sons did not serve, that his it is not important to him. i would not say that about him at all. what i would say it is first of all, thank you for your service, and i appreciate your frustration and concern about how veterans are treated, and i think the country has become much more sensitive to that point, not just in terms of the past wars, but the men and women coming back home from iraq, afghanistan, suffering all types of issues, whether it is mental, physical, or otherwise related to their health. that is one thing. also, just in terms of getting them back into the workforce, reinterpreting them into the community, back to a life they knew before war is critically important.

i knew -- i know the around the team has laid out an aggressive effort on that. -- the mitt romney team has laid out an aggressive effort on that. i've read reports about the commitments he wants to make to defense and military matters, but he does, very much as president obama does, have a serious view of how to take care of veterans when they come home from work, and how we are smarter and better at deploy in our soldiers. that raises the question of syria. do we go down the road of talking about votes on the ground? if you did serious about dealing with some of the things there, that is another consideration. moreheard them be much sensitive than people give them credit for. host: saint louis. donna. democratic line. caller: i agree that c-span is

balanced, but what i do not like is we do not get the same amount of time to respond as the guest does because it fills a we are losing. the guest gets five minutes, and we get 30 seconds. last year, obama in john boehner had a deal to cut the debt but tea party republicans did not go along with it because they did not want to raise taxes when penney on people earning $1 million a year. they are not representing the average person. they want to privatize social security and medicare. secondly, in 2006, george bush and republican congress passed the free trade deal for china, which not only sent millions of american jobs there, but millions in lost tax revenue.

.ost: let's get a response guest: the effect of the matter is the obama administration and the john boehner deal broke down because you head tea party members say you do not of corresponding cuts him spending. all we seek is revenue deals and a tax increase. republicans have been down this road before. ronald reagan and even george bush got into these deals where we will cut spending, as long as you do a tax increase. we saw the tax increase, but we did not see the cut in spending. leaders say we want to see the spending cut first. once we see that revenue stabilized they will decide what additional revenue to bring in. i understand why you want to block the republicans in saying they block the deal. the president himself turned his back on simpson-bowles, the commission he put in place that

came back with recommendations both conservatives and liberals supported. the president walked away from that. there is this washington game of status quo, and whether that comes from a fear of stepping into the unknown, like simpson- bowles, or blocking your base, as we saw with what john boehner had to go through, that is what we are trying to break and that is what the american people want broken. i think we will all see this fall these elections turn on that in some of these congressional district. money is part of politics. while you want to block republicans by saying they're getting money from these fat cats, wall street helped elect obama in 2008. average donations usually come from individuals. it is only ones at the presidential level that you see

that. it still bothers a lot of people. host: let's keep talking about fund raising. here is a story from today in "" host: it has donald trump questioning the president's citizenship, and ends with the classic line "you are fired." guest: a lot people were upset that the committee went into debt, which i did not want to do. they wanted to take out a loan, with the argument that they will make the money up. they have. in presidential years you'll get

the money to flow into the committee. we have seen that. the president has seen 14 million -- $40 million. the president has more wheels to pull look, small dollar -- to pull off. look, small dollar donations -- the new landscape is the smaller dollar and that is where obama is the most effective. he held off opening up his team to the big money. why? he and 386,000 new small donors in the first part of this year. the dynamics have changed. they will have to focus more on individual, smaller donors. the ones that can write the big check, that is one in dawn, but if i had 1000 people writing me

checks over the course of a campaign, that is something you really want over the course of a campaign because it is constant flow. typically the way it is set up -- let me charge $100 every month. you do not see it, but you feel it. host: dennis, democrat. kentucky. caller: i enjoyed seeing you on msnbc, but i disagree with a lot of what you said. you talk about individual liberty, yet you tell me i cannot marry who i want. the next thing is the paul ryan budget. when i got sick i lost my insurance before i lost my job. i was homeless for two years. last year i spent 60-something

days in the hospital. i cannot be employed. now, you say we have to pay for these wars and all of that by cutting back your benefits? those are the only things that give me dignity. those are the only things that give me a little bit of freedom that i do have. guest: right. first off, i am sorry to hear about your health situation and i can appreciate that given some of the things i have had to deal with in my life, in my family. i understand that, and i think this is a classic situation where we have worked in a paradigm that has been guns or butter, and we need to evolve into a new paradigm where we make the decision to have both. in other words, we can protect us against global offenses that, on our way, whether it is the

war on terror, or dealing with nation-to-nation, but we can also make those choices at home with health care and education. that is the conversation these leaders need to have with the american people. what the caller just laid out. i am not able to be employed. what will you say to me, mitt romney, barack obama? you want to cut these programs, this is the impact, if you want to spend more on these programs, and this is the impact it has done this community of people. this is the national debate the need to have. individuals like this are reflective of the frustration across the spectrum with people that do not want to have that conversation. host: michael steele, thank you for coming in, former chair of the republican national

committee. guest: great to be with him. host: next, jennifer lawless, author and professor, who has a book called "becoming a candidate." later, we will talk to clarence page of "the chicago tribune." >> and opted on the situation in syria. the united nations high commissioner for human rights says entire families were shot in their homes during a massacre that killed over 100 people including children. most victims were shot at close range. conclusions were based on united nations monitors inc. by other sources. u.n. monitors found that 20 of the 108 people were killed by artillery fire. fallout against the syrian government is continuing. britain, france, the united

states and three other european countries are expelling ambassadors coming as the u.n. representative met with syrian president bashar al-assad in damascus to convey the grave concern about the violence from the international community and the prospects for his implementation of his plan. australian -- australia also said they would expel their ambassador. spain and italy are due to do the same. syria has called this a terrorist massacre. those are some of the latest headlines. >> writing is a transitional process. writing and simms reading. it goes back to the question about a tree falling in the

forest if there is no one there to hear it. if you have written a wonderful novel, one of the parts of the processes in one readers to be enlarged and enriched by it. you have to pull on everything in your disposal. >> author and pulitzer prize- winning columnist anna quinlan will talk about her guide to social politics and what makes that happen. her latest, "lots of candles, plenty of cake" and she will be ready for your calls and e-mail on "indepth." >> "washington journal" continues. host: jennifer lawless is the author of "becoming a candidate ," and a professor. thank you for coming in. when people think about whether

or not to run for office, what do they weigh in their mind? guest: it is an important decision. 95% of people never think about it at all. the kind of things people consider is whether they are interested in politics, whether they have grown up in a political family, with apartment reflects what is important to them, and then of course specific circumstances surrounding any given race. host: 1 thingy your work but said is the gender gap and who decides -- one thing your work looks at is the gender gap. you can see how the u.s. compares to other countries -- far ahead of us, rwanda, countries like sweden, iceland. the united states is at 91 the. -- 91. guest: one-third of the nation's

have gender quotas. many of the nations that have surpassed the united states have no such quotas but they have a system that is more consistent. in the united states we have a candidate-centered process where the political parties do not get involved. we have over five and zero thousand offices, and most of them require an individual to put themselves forward, and that is more difficult for women than men bought. host: we are talking about gender further -- we are talking to jennifer lawless about her book "becoming a candidate" focusing on the gender gap. here are the numbers you can call

host: view, and yourself, ran for office. guest: iran in 2006. host: you did not win, but you say that is not what your book is about. you sit as an academic look at why people run for office. how did your experience influence their research? guest: i finished writing my first look at the time. this book is a little more abroad. when the biggest obstacles is women do not feel they are qualified to run. even though they might identify an incumbent that is out of touch, they do not find

qualifications. i looked for an incumbent that was out of sync with constituents, and i decided to throw my hat into the ring. host: did the experience think -- teach you about the hurdles? been under the microscope, people talk about the experience of sarah palin, how her family was put under the microscope -- are there reasons people do not get in when they see the experience others go through? guest: a lot people say they would never want that scrutiny, what i've learned is you do what that scrutiny because it means that it is competitive and it is a tough race. no one is going through your trash if they do not think there is a shy you are going to win. when i realized is that it is very easy to develop the thick skin they need to indoor those circumstances because you want this more than anything else. host: looking at a chart that

shows a bar graph of women and men thinking about running for office. jennifer lawless said american university put this together. the gender gap in political ambition -- in 2001, 59 men against 43 women seriously considered running for office. last year, 62 men, 46 women. an increase in both, but still a consistent again. guest: right. we've seen a consistent gender get of 16 percentage points. what is important is the circumstances in politics have changed a lot. in 2001 when we conducted the first wave of the study, it was pre-9/11, george bush was president and was experiencing high popularity. nancy pelosi had not become speaker of the house. hillary clinton and barack obama had not emerged as candidates.

we would expect those things to have close the gender gap, but that does not happened. host: mark, independent line, and norfolk, virginia. caller: good morning. i could agree with you on the gender gap, but would your might bereveale that we considering a class difference? we are talking about something from the social economics. you mention 95% have no inkling to run. within the 5% that do come is did not ironic that you have the majority of people that are part of the third judicial branch, lawyers, being of a certain economics and the actual culture

that exists continues to breed that which it wants to see the political circles? for someone to come in to break and -- what is going on, but political system would have to be turned completely upside down because of the dollar especially with the money involved. i think that fights against minority status, the woman's status, and also against the independent movement that a lot of people are really wanting to see, but do not have the courage or the reality that it will ever happen. guest: that is a great question. to be fair, the people that we surveyed and interviewed for all our studies and my book come from the four profession's most

likely to lead to a political career -- law, legislation, political activism -- the majority of legislature's come from those professions, and those are obviously relatively high professions social- economically. the overwhelming majority of elected officials, hundreds of thousands of the ems, are at the local level where very little -- of them are at the local level, where very little money and oftentimes a small time commitment is involved. it is important that we let people know the they do not to think about their own political ambitions through the lens of national politics. host: here is a graph from the book and you can see how activists have the largest number of folks better thinking about the decision, and not be

-- far behind that are lawyers education and business leaders. guest: keep in mind these are way ahead of every other profession. looks aghast, but in real life these are the leaders. -- this looks bad, but in real life these are the leaders. host: lydia, illinois. caller: without a signature on grover norquist's pledge, it is difficult to run for congress, and that is the goal of his organization which is funded with the koch brothers money coming in to find out the background of these politicians -- scott walker dropped out of college, which if i understand correctly that he did do that,

would not be an issue, but his main target has been people like teachers who have to have a college diploma. i think women need to start a third party. i think it is necessary. it has to be done in 2020. i hope hillary clinton will participate in the process and i'm going to stop -- start the process locally. guest: i think third parties have always done what people consider the solution to all of our problems but it is difficult for third parties to make serious moves because we have a two-party system that is deeply imbedded. if i am not convinced a third party is the way to go. we need to encourage a more diverse array of candidates in both parties. in terms of women, the overwhelming majority of elected

officials that are women are democrats. if republicans want to increase their numbers of women, they can do so quickly because there have few to start with. the democrats up their numbers and that might allow more diverse opinions without a third party. host: alice, a republican. colorado. caller: yes. i am a republican and i thought hillary clinton would have made a wonderful president. it was democratic men that pushed her out. she was the closest woman to become a candidate. guest: she did an amazing job in 2008, receiving 18 million votes in the democratic primary but she was running in a tough year against a tough opponent. i do not think anyone would have expected barack obama to emerge as quickly as he did four years

earlier, and although we could identify voters that were not amenable to hillary clinton, what is important to remember is there is no bias against women candidates. they are just as likely to receive votes and raise money. the voters on the problem here. the fact we have so few women in politics has to do with a system that is not encouraging and recruiting women. the voters are willing to cast ballots for women. host: if you are a woman who holds office or is running for office, you can reach us. host: you talked about developing a thick skin, and you talked about how there are perceptions about how women would be treated. guest: people of the 2008 and they saw hillary clinton was treated poorly, and sarah palin

was either seen as a laughing stock or held under such a high level of scrutiny that it was virtually impossible to achieve the success she needed. if those people could not win, how could i? what is important is the overwhelming majority of women running for office would not be running for president or vice president and it is important to look at politics for the local and state-level not necessarily presidential campaigns. host: tony, independent. where are you calling from? caller: near massachusetts. i do not believe women should be in politicians' offices. i believe it is a man's world. host: why? caller: women are different-

minded. i was in the fire department for 35 years, a woman came in and she could not do the job. there are certain jobs a woman cannot do. when this is forced upon us, we have poor quality of workmanship all around. host: has there ever been a woman you would have voted for? caller: no. guest: when i said there is no aggregate level bias, that does not mean individual voters are not biased. as the end of the day, at 50% of the population is women, and if we believe they have a different perspective we should elect them, and if we believe regardless of the prospective young girl should have role

models, it is important to give women on the ballot. it is up to individual voters, but as a nation we have moved past the point where we deemed women unsuited for elected office. host: of north carolina, someone who has run for office or one office. caller: yes. when you talk about women running for office, presidentially, surely tillman was the first, and that always seems to be ignored. how would you suggest having women be involved? i think a lot of people believe you need to be an attorney or have a law background. how would you suggest young gen

get involved? guest: get involved with a issue you care about. if you are concerned about reproductive freedom, worked with planned parenthood. in addition to that, it is important that we encourage young women when they're in high school and college to run for student government because it turns up if you run for office as a student, regardless of whether you win or lose, you are 10% more likely to run for office says an adult. one of the ways to close the gender gap is to get to its roots. host: joseph, a democrat. indiana. caller: good morning. i was listening to the gentleman before me saying that women

should not be in politics. i think women should be involved in everything that concerns of our country. they are our mothers, our teachers, and lead us in life's we are old enough to reject everything they stand for. guest: of some voters really to favor women candidates. host: maureen, massachusetts. caller: a i think until we get a hold of the media that displays women as this or that, it will be difficult. talk shows are 90% white guys. people in the media do not have changed -- interest in changing that. host: have you ever considered running for office?

guest: -- caller: i have. item 53 and retired. i think i might again. host: where would you get involved? caller: the sexy thing that is united states senate or house of representatives. i would go for state office. guest: you make a great point about the media, but the times that when the nets are held up to a standard that is hard -- that women are held up to a standard that is hard to bear are in presidential elections. most races and officials did very little coverage, and the covers that does exist is not a gendered. people the value that politicians and their propensity to get in which evaluate politicians and their propensity to get involved -- evaluate

politicians and the propensity to get involved to the lines of national politics. host: good morning. you're on the program. caller: i have no problem whatsoever with women running for political office of i feel people should care about our country and do the right thing that will protect each and every body. host: vincent turner have you ever run for office? caller: no, ma'am. host: what holds it back? caller: i believe this country is a great country, and i am proud of it. i really think you did not turn anyone down for gender or

anything. guest: i think that is right. over the course of the last several years study after study reveals that party and party affiliation is a better predictor of how an elected official will vote than his or her sex. electing women does not necessarily mean choosing someone that will think differently. it is a more diverse way of electing the democrat or republican that you would have preferred anyway. host: chicago, illinois. build is a democrat. caller: good morning. it really ticks me off, the man that called in against women. i have three great granddaughter's. i would like to see all of them run for office. i cannot understand any man

against women. it is almost more than i can bear to hear. it almost moves need to violence. guest: well, do not do that, but the good news is he is rare and that is not representative of the average american citizen. in fund raising and the vote totals, women fare as well as their male counterparts, and public opinion demonstrates voters are more than willing to support women for all levels of office. the numbers breakdown

host: we get that from the american university women's and politics instituted. what to the numbers tell you? guest: we have a major problem when women are 50% of the population but hold less than 20% of the positions. this is not to say everyone is qualified to run for office or every woman should win the election, but the overwhelming majority of people do not get the chance to vote for a woman because there are not enough candidates. host: the lowest number is among mayors. why you think that number is lower than state-wide elected officials, which is almost 23%? guest: mayors and governors are also low, and those are executive positions, and that is a situation where men are likely to emerge and say i could run that. women tend to lead more

cooperative lee thomas a working in committees or a legislature conforms more to stereotypical notions. host: here's a question from twitter -- what is a breakdown for women candidates between democrats, republicans, and independents? guest: what this means is when democrats have a bad year, like a did in 2010, and some would argue they might in 2012, that is bad for women because they hold a disproportionate number of the abominable seats democrats would have to protect. until both parties have an equal number of women and men, weapons positions will succumb to the vagaries of the political climate. host: our guest is jennifer lawless, author of "becoming a candidate."

, republican. albany, new york. caller: good morning. as the father of two women, i've raised them to become whatever they want to be when they grow up, as a woman is qualified and not just crying because she is a woman, that as important -- and not just running because she is a woman, that is important. you need to be qualified for the position. a lot of issues in this world in this country. you need strong people to take care of them and to deal with them and to represent -- just be qualified for it. do not run just because you're a woman. host: how old are your

daughters? caller: 24 and a 16-year-old. host: are there people you show them as role models? caller: i am a role model. their mother is a role model. i'm divorced. guest: i think you're exactly right. women and men with the same credentials and the same -- are substantially more likely to women to say that they are very qualified, even though on paper you cannot tell them apart. women who do not think they're qualified to run for office do not run for office.

men have a pretty good chance of throwing their hats into the ring. it is about making sure they realize they are qualified in the first place. host: here is a graph and how women and men look at themselves as to whether they are up to the tasks. you can see that the percentage is higher for men thinking they are qualified or very qualified. guest: man looked around and they see people who look like them in office and they assess themselves relative to people who exist. women look around and they do not see that many women. hold if you're a woman who office, you can call at 202-628- 0184. john in tennessee.

caller: hello. i'm excited to see this program and i wanted to make my contribution. i'm from west africa. we have the most qualified local president in the world. she is not just a woman but she is a leader. i pray that americans try to go back and forth. i prayed there be a lot of women presidents, vice presidents all over the world. you women are ready. thank you for c-span. first majora's president.

she was sworn in a couple of years ago in liberia. pledging a fundamental break with the violent past of west africa. how revolutionary or groundbreaking has that been in liberia? guest: it has mattered in part because it demonstrates that government is more inclusive than people might have expected. demonstrating that this is a democratic government and we want everybody to be included. we suggest this is a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" culture, and it is. host: john from maine.

caller: good morning. i would rather be the king maker than the king. it makes no difference whether it is the man or woman running for office. it is the person behind them. i'm originally from new york. during the time of teddy roosevelt, he went up against everything in this party said. that is what made him good. it makes no difference who the person is. i would go to the party board to get something done, not to the politicians themselves. it makes no difference whether they are a man or woman. sooner or later they have to

bend to the party. to get something done, i would go to the party board instead of the politician. guest: party bosses in some cities remain but we have a relatively weak party system overall in this country, especially at the local level. when constituents need something, it makes sense to go to the people behind the candidate. turn the most important debates, it is about elected officials that are casting their ballots. it is important that our political institutions look a little bit like our population. host: our caller talks about being the kingmaker and not the

king. what about spousal support when a partner says they're running for office. guest: spousal support and family support is key. people don't realize running for office is a viable option until they do. why this is important is because women are less likely than men to receive that kind of support. it is not that surprising that women are less likely to run by party leaders, but they're less likely to receive encouragement from their family members and sometimes that makes it difficult to foresee a path to candidacy. host: gary from georgia. caller: if we had more women in

politics, we would not have all of the scheming and skulduggery and all the scandals going on in government if we had more women influence in government. you learn most of your morals from a woman, anyway. guest: i think that is an optimistic view. people who want to get involved are so fundamentally unliked. i do think there's something to suggesting that women are a little bit different in how the lead then man but i'm not sure that paul six is completely different -- that politics is completely different. host: "usa today" talks about

first ladies in office. you can see how michele obama it is stacking up against hillary clinton. host: so hillary rodham clinton manages to run for president in the 2008 cycle. guest: and the secretary of state has the highest approval ratings of anyone we have ever seen. part of it has to do with evolving norms and part has to do with the role itself. people elect the president as the commander in chief.

they did not elect his wife. there is some resentment about hillary clinton when she was first lady. politicalseen as a entity in and of herself and i think that is why her approval ratings have gone up. host: tom is an independent caller from maryland. caller: hi. i think it is is inevitable that a woman will become president sometime in the near future. it looks like we have a choice between african-american or mormon. it wasn't that long ago that people cannot imagine a mormon becoming a president. i think it would do our country good if a woman is elected

president. a lot of people feel it doesn't matter who your president is. one of the main values of having barack obama as president is he instilled a lot of hope in young african-americans and that they can be successful and i think that has helped our country. guest: i think there is something to be said about role model effect. the best path to the president tends to be governor's mansion and that is where women are underrepresented. three of the sixth female governors are first term governor's. i agree that will probably see a female candidate and perhaps a female president, we did not have that many options and that

is why it is important to recruit women to run for office so there are a series of woman that the party can choose. host: more women represent the democratic side of the tickets. do you have a guess as to when we can see a democrat first female president or a republican first female president? guest: people speculated for a long time that it would be a republican because she would have the republicans behind her and would be perceived as being more liberal which might bring around some democratic support. the numbers are so heavily on the side of the democrats. i think it would be a democrat. host: janice is a republican.

hi, there. caller: hi. i just want to say i do not like the way women and everybody are always saying they do not have an opportunity because they always have had in this wonderful country. they have. i agree when you say it is could when you have a good family. i had a good family, a mother and father. i have been elected to office. i been a lawyer for over 50 years. i have no complaints about this country or the lack of opportunity. my father and mother told me i could be would ever wanted to be. i had faith in the lord jesus christ. this is a christian nation. that's where the answer is.

guest: she has had a fortunate life, but that's not the situation for most people in this country. we know that not everybody benefits from those circumstances. it is important to go out of their way to provide opportunities and to encourage women and people of color to get involved in the political process. host: victoria response to an earlier tweet -- responds. rochelle is thinking back running for office -- michelle. tell us your story. caller: the health care situation interests me.

i have watched the demise of our health care industry over the years. i became legally blind in 2002 and i've heard more than i've seen. i am not pleased at what i'm hearing. i'm ready to run for office because i believe this is the year of women. we have a big role to play in turning this thing around. wouldn't listen to one another -- women listen to one another. it is a problem in the profession so i know it is a problem in society. and then a woman of color. i'm hoping more women will get involved and take a stab at this. host: do you have any questions for her?

guest: what is it that has made you think that maybe this is the time? caller: i would have done it earlier but i was working. you hear the news and you sit down and digest it and go on. i was appalled at what i was hearing as those listening to the news. i would have been out here trying to do something. people were lying on television. they would say anything. i heard three different versions of the same story. i think that is work honesty has become a thing of the past. host: let's get a response from jennifer lawless. guest: i am heartened by the story.

people become more cynical and say they are less likely to get involved. perhaps there is something to say about the partisan gridlock. host: marty from florida honor democratic line. caller: what happened to women after world war ii. women were relegated to being secretaries and teachers and nurses. executive jobs and being appointed in the legal field was almost nonexistent for women. i feel women have been discriminated against. same thing against atheists and gays. aged: if you're a middle

white man that is christian, you're the majority of the candidates out there. although the circumstances were bad for the 1970's, women have been graduating from law schools in the last decade in equal numbers compared to men and getting doctoral degrees at the same rate. these professional degrees are not translating into candidates. host: jennifer lawless, director of the women and politics institute and author of "becoming a candidate," thank you for being here. now a news update from c-span radio. >> a commander in south korea

says u.s. and south korean special forces have been parachuting into north korea to gather intelligence about underground military installations. pyongyang had built thousands of titles since the korean war and the infrastructure is hidden from our infrastructure. ce general made the ommentst in florida last week. the case schiller home price index shows prices increased in 12 of the 20 cities they tracked. this is the latest evidence of a slow recovery in the housing market. first lady michele obama has written a new book.

the book is divided into four sections marking this season's and includes recipes for each. those of some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >[video clip] >> spend the weekend in wichita, kansas. the founding of beechcraft. on sunday, experienced early life at the cow town museum and the early days of flight. they sat down for service at a drugstore. c-span local content vehicle explore cities across america.

this weekend from wichita, kansas. "washington journal" continues. host: our series spotlights on columnists with clarence page from the "chicago tribune." we began on saturday with mona charen. clarence page joins us today. thank you so much for joining us this morning. guest: happy to be here. host: 1989 pulitzer prize winner. how to pick a topic for columns? you never know about president obama and gay marriage. where do you start?

guest: i look at the headlines. a fellow columnist was always meditating over column ideas and i did what i call the pundit walk, talking to reporters. they have to be objective. that is my job. if i hear a good gripe, i will go with it. it is not hard to find ideas. ideas are all over the place. look at the headlines today. there are lots of things you can

have opinions about. what do you want to write about today? what is a burr under my saddle? then i go from there. after a finish writing, i have a postpartum depression. host: what is undermined right now -- what is on your mind right now? guest: the details of marijuana smoking of president obama when he was a teenager on the mountaintops. this has come out in a new book. the president wrote about being a pot smoker. bill clinton did not inhale.

george bush kept changing the subject. i am troubled. president obama shows some promise in moving towards marijuana laws. host: we will have to stay tuned and watch chicagotribune.com. host: you and your peas by talking about african-americans after own unique story to tell-- you end your piece. "we have a lot of experience." guest: we do. a lot of americans will come up with dread because they thought

it was impossible a person not white with a name like barack obama was going to be sitting in the white house. these are people that "want their country back." i don't begrudge them. i think that there are a number of americans who feel like they're losing their america. pat buchanan is a fellow candidate of my -- fellow friend of mine. we both have a commitment to this country and we get along well. pat has written two books about how the country is in trouble because people who are not of " american culture" are taking over.

i'm not troubled by that at all. look at mark rubio from florida or at louisiana or were you have immigrants not from european backgrounds but embracing the american dream and helping to make it real for the rest of america. they come from both parties. most of my readers are not disturbed either. the latest census showed 20% of americans have somebody in their family from a different race. that is becoming more and more common. my son's generation has a whole different view. we black americans know what it is like to be a minority.

we know how to feel resentful and how to get past that, too. host: our guest is clarence page and writes -- "our challenge is how to make that stew work for everyone." let's go to the phones. good morning, anthony. caller: good morning. i worked as separate journalist in arkansas. i never was able to write a column. it is important for a journalist to have a lot of views and taa take on what is going on.

it is especially true for a progressive voice, a liberal voice to do that in a red state. arkansas has become more and more republican over time. i grew up a republican. i'm in my mid 40's and in graduate school. the world around me is the world that i want to be in. in my office, i am the only white guy. i think that is refreshing. they didn't see the color issue. i happen to be gay. i enjoy what you write. i think it is important that other voices in this country be heard.

i did not vote for president obama. i have voted republican in six presidential elections. this fall i'm voting for the president. i inquire what he has done. the venture all scares me -- the vitriol scares me. we have overcome some of those issues. guest: i want to hear more from anthony. that is great. i fully agree. i understand the kind of changes people are going through. race is still something that haunts us. we want to have a post-racial society but we are not there

yet. the american dream has shown itself to be real thing. after 9/11, we need is some good news about the future of america. we saw that opportunities did not have to be limited by a glass ceiling of race. folks do not adjust easily to change. we have had a national dialogue going. it was necessary. the future of america. these are serious questions that are going on right now. i think we will work this out. a lot of this has been debated. we are a democracy. host: you did a recent column

about slackers in washington. republicans are delighted to hear they scored better than democrats in a survey of political knowledge. nobody did that well. participants managed to give wrong numbers including which party has a donkey as its symbol. guest: "gop" stands for "grand old party." there are questions like which party is known as the party of labouor? it is amazing americans don't know the answers to these questions. jim carvel used to say people

voted for the candidate they think is on their side. these are gut feelings. most americans vote for one party or another 80% to 100% of the time. there are reasons beside actual issues. i would like to see is paying more attention to the actual issues that are represented by people we are voting for. host: julia from queens, new york. caller: i would like to say that the press is so biased. i don't understand how they can get away with what it does. i really do not. they are so biased, so liberal.

they admit to it. it is so hard to understand. this is the media, too. i do not understand that. i am an independent. i would vote for a democrat if i thought he was great for the job. you can see europe and the condition that it is in. we are at the same footsteps and the press is not dealing with it at all. guest: can i ask which media did you follow? host: she is gone. guest: i hear her frustrations. there's all kinds of media out there.

that is a joy and a burden because we have lots of choices. we're not like the european press. i work for the "chicago tribune." we still tend to endorse republicans. we have endorsed all republicans except horace greeley and barack obama in 2008, good old illinois fellow that he is. we cover the news from an objective perspective. we have a mix of columns and opinions. rupert murdoch wants to bring the european style over here. his papers tend to be blatantly conservative. "the wall street journal" is

terrific. but people have choices in a broadcast and print. i urge everybody to mix up their new sources. don't go to one that is just all american, because we'll have an obligation to try to find the truth among the facts. we cheat ourselves if we only look at one source. host: you won a pulitzer prize at the "chicago tribune." you're a producer for local television. why go into columns and expressing more of your perspective then stick with the report beat. guest: my career started as a

high school student in ohio. we have a high school paper they cannot once every two weeks. we turned out a lot of good writers. that's what i first, interest in becoming a columnist. to be honest, i wanted to meet girls. i kentucky others who got into the media for that very reason, to meet people of the opposite sex. we can be nerdy types. that is how i got started. i wanted to write a column. nowadays anybody -- go on the web and open up a blog.

caller: good morning. i do not want to get upset with journalists and whenever the reporters. the lady that called before me. do not get angry with the " liberal media." we have to find out what is going on. we have to be students of reading. you have to check of these people that are running for office. what happened in 2010 when the tea party people in congress that took over. we just got angry. everybody got angry.

you did not know anything about it. you did not try to get involved. it is on us to find out what is going on. let me make one more point. comee from campaigns on. they are going to spin. it is up to us to get involved. we are americans first. i want to know what is going on. what type of background you're coming from. we need to find out. get out and become involved. reading, reading, reading.

guest: great to hear from birmingham. my family is from alabama. back in high school, dr. king marched on washington and the terrible church bombing. we had john kennedy's assassination. the beatles hit ed sullivan's show. all these things were happening. she is absolutely right. go out there and vote, contribute to campaigns. try to make a positive difference in the world. host: ronald from dallas, texas. are you with us?

let's move on to buffalo, new york. hi, lucille. go ahead. caller: i wanted to make a comment. i love the last lady. she is right. in kansas, it is not democratic. likelifornia, they don't circumcised.ng circumsta thank goodness we know people from all over the state to keep us informed. host: where did you get your information? caller: mine came from the media.

guest: people say, "why don't to cover so-and-so?" the information is out there. people ignore it or pay attention to reait. people question where barack obama was born was ludicrous and tragic. we have folks who think there was a conspiracy in the late 1950's. "lets arrange for a child to be born in kenya and we will put him in hawaii on a fake birth certificate." it is so ridiculous. folks say they do not believe the president's birth certificate -- there is something else that troubles them.

maybe the president is not american enough for them. but they do not want to say that. people like donald trump exploit that to improve their tv ratings. i will write a book about this some day. host: mitt romney is still a big fund-raiser with donald trump today. there is a contrast between mitt romney and john mccain. how do you think this will play out politically? guest: i think both sides will use donald trump. host: specifically the birth comments -- birther comments. guest: most americans who are going to vote already know which

side they will vote. this is about the swing voters. they have a hard time deciding. they are trying to get a feel for one candidate or another over the next few months. issue is one isser example. host: frank from bradford, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: i wanted to write a column on capitalism -- i want you to write a column on capitalism. i look at the supreme court. they get free health insurance, 14 grand a year.

i work for a company that pays my health insurance. i am not taxed on. guest: it is not free, by the way. host: they are not american enough to get subsidized health care like they do. these are people whose children are fighting over there. they'renot americans -- not american enough to get health care. there must be a change. do you think apple would be in china if they had to pay $10,000 a year in health care? i am interested in a couple of companies. one in canada. we left the united states because of insurance. i think congress has a lot to think about.

it's: yeah, well, true and health care is a big issue this campaign. republicans but the issue on obamacare and they have not presented an alternative of their own. mitt romney says on day one he will overrule obamacare. he does not say what he will replace it with. we should have a conversation about this. until i hear that debate, i will not take the health-care debate seriously. but you're right. health care is hurting businesses and people. i feel a single payer plan would

be more efficient and would cover a lot more people. expand medicare to cover everybody. i proposed that to barack obama when he was running for president in the form of a question. i got big applause from people who were watching. he said in my work but to cannot get it through congress. he gave up on the clearest stated position in order to try to negotiate with himself. he has learned he cannot give up anything 1 going into negotiations with republicans because they will last for more every time. this is a serious issue. host: clarence page, a columnist for "chicago tribune."

you might see him on "nightline." he does essays for pbs and was a pulled a surprise winner -- pulitzer prize winner. we have a comment from rabbitran on twitter. guest: the future of investigative journalism hinges -- it is not a profit center. the sports pages are probably our biggest profit center. food section, entertainment section, great. you have to deal to free up reporters that work day after day digging after facts without

producing any topic until they get the investigation nailed down. that cost money. the solution has been a foundation support. up.e seen nonprofits rise their websites where you can contribute online to investigative stories that you see somebody is working on. you can send a check. ways finding all sorts of to fund investigative journalism. the market reality has changed. caller: it is an honor to speak with clarence page. guest: you, too. caller: i was born in raised in ohio.

i get problems from fans. i was raised in a family of conservative democrats. today i have seen the republican 40 i used to have a lot adoration for forget the fact that abraham lincoln was our first pro-union president. they are experts and giving good words and negative connotations. compromise -- it doesn't matter what it means, it has a negative connotation. then the it is mission accomplished. we need to work on "patriotism."

if you attack any of the three legs, you attack the whole stool. you can disagree but you cannot attack them. there was a man on c-span last week. i cannot think of his name. he came out with such a book which is like the vatican, met with a book on lutheranism. but the calendar -- look at the calendar. let's assume mitt romney wins the election. danner 21st is martin luther king day -- january 21 is more

of the king day. the day after a knocks obama from office. would you like to plan such a commemoration on mitt romney's behalf? >> if mitt romney wins, some speechwriter will take note of that. -- guest: we have liberals and conservatives but they tend to believe the line that -- what kind of ideal cow we work out the will help the most people? -- what kind of a deal can we work out? we need help of northern republicans.

the democrats back in those days where not identified as the party that was a friend of civil-rights. lbj was willing to spend the political capital. raciallyve gone too polarized. we rely on slogans rather than looking deep into which party is helping my interest. host: the caller mentioned an author. he has a book, "the death of liberalism." chris on our democrat line. caller: i enjoyed your column. my question is about health care. what bothers me is the media

doesn't seem to want to investigate congress in all this. they debate both sides about obamacare or romney care. y used, whie the us is a subsidized health care plan. i have done all of my investigation. i do not understand why we do not use it. it blows my mind. guest: yeah. you're right. the health care plan theersi in the polls,

mandate for everybody to pay something for insurance, even the low-income people will be subsidized. that is the real issue before the supreme court. will take up all the mandate or overturn it -- will they take up the mandate or overturn it? it is based on the federal insurance plan and based on the massachusetts health care plan that former governor romney pushed successfully and he is running away from now. that is going to be the real issue here. we look at the polls as far as the features by the obamacare plan, covering the pre-existing

conditions and covering young people like my son who still finishing college but he will be able to be carried on my insurance plan until age 26. features like that are very popular across the country. host: barry from columbus, ohio. caller: clarence page, i really enjoy you. i moved to columbus at the age of 25 and was very much involved in community politics. i have been a businessman and also a committee activist and there is nothing wrong becoming the president of the united states, from activism. i believe they understand people more because they are on the

ground and they understand the situation. it is important that you know that. when you come from the corporate world, you see things a little bit different. i don't think the republicans are going to do anything for small business. this has been dividing american and i am a disabled veteran. i just moved to virginia about an year ago. ness and ess liste unemployment -- what i've learned trawling this country -- traveling this country, you are suffering the same way from homelessness, joblessness and a

lot of things that hurt us. we tend to vote on our social issues. in america, we have to come together as a people. it has divided us. one republican talk about the health care and not attack liberalism. i respect that. i grew up where i know that african-americans were suffering a lot in this country. i realize that whites are suffering, too. urray in hises ma latest book talks about the rich and divided by who was schooled beyond high school and

who does not. this is remarkable how true this has been since 1960. americans are just beginning to deal with that now. when i was back in high school, i could work at the local steel mill in the summer and make enough to pay my tuition. now the steel mill cannot hire enough students. that path of upward mobility in our society has been drying up in recent years. that is an underlying issue. we're not dealing with that divide in america. host: any other call will inspire any columns?

guest: i get an idea a minute on c-span. this is great. meet is where americans and air what is on their mind. host: clarence thomas -- excuse me. guest: i wonder if they call him clarence page. host: clarence page, thank you so much. you can read his pieces at chicagotribune.com. to see any of the gas we have had so far, go to c-span.org. we'll be back 7:00 a.m. eastern time tomorrow.