questions about campaign news coverage. ♪ ♪ host: good morning and welcome to "washington journal," on this tuesday august 21, 2012. president obama will speak in ohio, nevada and vice president joe biden go to minnesota. mitt romney is on the trail in texas and his running mate paul ryan will appear as well. fallout continues over remarks on a break from missouri congressman todd akin. president obama address reporters yesterday at the white house and issues ranging from the remark to the tone of the presidential campaign and what is happening in syria and in afghanistan, rockets have damaged aircraft used by

american chief of staff but he is fine. we like to hear what is on your mind this morning. we have open phones to start our show and here are the numbers -- you can also find us online. we would like to hear your thoughts on what is in the news this morning. here is the headline from "the kansas city star." this is looking at what is happening in the race for the senate seat.

he is talking with the media at the missouri state fair. he vows to stay in the race despite pressure after controversial comments on a break. rape. monday he became a parade of targets. here is what senator john cornyn said it --

there are some windows looking at what other prominent politicians have said -- lots of other stories in the news this morning -- from the political campaign --

candidate brown may and vice presidential candidate ryan were in new hampshire and the talk turned to rep dagestan. we will hear some comments from the campaign trail. we would like to hear what you have to say. what is on your mind? democratic caller in oklahoma, good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for cspan. host: son your mind? caller: i am calling to talk about congressmanaakin.

i think he should step down because those comments were way over the top. i think he should step down as soon as possible before it starts hurting the republicans even more. i am a democrat and i believe that mitt romney should show his taxes. host: what do you think about the prospects for the missouri senate seat? caller: he will probably still get a lot of votes. he will probably still well in that senate race against cleared mccaskill. host: let's look at the comments. he appeared on the missouri talk show on sunday. [video clip] >> what about in the case of rape? should abortion be legal? >> people want to make that --

how you slice this tough ethical question? first of all, from what i understand from doctors, if it is a legitimate rape, but the nobody has ways to shut that whole thing down. let's say maybe that did not work. there should be some punishment but the punishment should be on the river and not attacking the child. host: the congressman speaking on sunday. here are the headlines of other papers -- abaddon rouge, louisiana, our next caller armed republican line. caller: how're you doing? i cannot understand why they are making such a big deal about this when bill clinton was doing

it. he was committing rape and they did not say he should step down. host: i have not heard that. where do you get that information? caller: ha ha, you don't remember that? i guess you are too young. they had a big trial and he lost his attorneys license. it is the same way with kennedy when he killed that lady in chappaquiddick. host: the comments here are about rape and not sexual conduct. clinton was impeached by the house of representatives back in

1998. this was about lying and sexual misconduct in the white house, not about rape. let's go to our democrats line. what's on your mind? caller: i wanted to speak as an american citizen that i think mitt romney needs to show his tax returns. as a matter -- it is a matter of something he should do if he expects to be president of the united states. we want to see -- if we want to see his birth certificate, he should give us that, too. we should see whatever we can say. see. my other comment is about

akins. he should resign. he should just give it up. i would like to say something to the american people. i don't know how long it would take for anybody to realize that we have a two-party system and i'm not trying to justify one or the other but i really must say that the republican party is really a party of not knowing what the truth is. if they ever decide to say something that is true, i don't think anybody would believe them. thank you, libby. host: let's go to pennsylvania,

an independent, good morning. caller: good morning, thank you for cspan. my father had a saying -- all i see when i look at mitt romney is a used car salesman. the reason he does not want to bring forth his tax returns, it is not how much taxes he paid. i'm sure he paid what he had to. he does not want the american public to see how much money he actually made. that is why he will not release them. second, i cannot gvote for someone who buried his money in the cayman islands and not invested it in the united states of america. i have a big problem with that. third, we will put this man in

the highest office in the country when he cannot be a diplomat. he does not know how. it does not know how to keep his mouth shut. if he takes over, we will end up being at war within the next two years with one country or another. i don't know which one. it looks like it will be to iran. that man scare's me. we need to wake up. what they are offering is not going to be good for the country. thank you. host: here's a story from "the wall street journal."

here's another story from "the wall street journal."

we see registered voters in places like colorado, iowa, north carolina and independence. new hampshire, katharine of our independent line, good morning. caller: good morning. host: republican candidates were there yesterday. what do you think? caller: i called to speak on the economy and how to perhaps fix it. it will be a long wait before the wealth of corporations, wall street, and the bridge trickle- down. the cost of most everything, gas, health care, higher education have risen dramatically. the only thing that has not risen is the minimum wage.

we need to raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour. don't chemical and on the minimum wage but make it a solid $20 per hour. -- don't a nickel and dime the minimum wage but make a solid $20 per hour. taxes will be paid to pay down our national debt, spending would increase, and we would need less government programs. the rich would go to outsourcing for hiring cheaper labor but they will pay higher taxes. small businesses might say $20 per hour is impossible. small businesses hiring people would pay a lower tax rate. passing $20 per hour minimum wage would spark a stimulus.

host: anthony carnavale will talk about a new study about jobs that were lost in the reception that have been required and most require a college degree or higher education. this is a piece from ezra klein from "the washington post." jacksonville, florida, republican caller, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i understand the publicity and stores this morning in regards itmr. akins'remark said -- bears repeating that the country is reminded once again that the political party that is far and

away and above in support of abortion and partial birth abortion in particular is the democratic party. barack obama has firmly supported partial birth abortion and abortion in general. the media can make whatever hay it wants to make about this remarkable it wants to but the american people know which political party is the party of abortion. as the democratic party. if you want to sort things out and make mr. akin out to be the bad guy, remember which party is the party that supports abortion, the taking of unborn life. it is the democratic party. host: would you like to see him stay in the race? caller: his position is not that important.

as long as at a republican and to bring that state. host: this is from twitter -- to whatke a listen president obama said about this yesterday. >> me say that the views expressed or offensive. rape is rape and the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what type of rape we are talking about does not make sense to the american people and it certainly does not make sense to me. what i think these comments to is we shouldn't have a bunch of politicians, the majority of whom are men, making decisions on behalf of women. although these particular comments have led governor

romney and other republicans to distance themselves, i think the underlying notion is that we should be making decisions on behalf of women on their health care or qualifying forceable rape of verses of non-forcible rape, that is a significant difference in approach between me and the other party. i don't think they would agree with the senator from missouri in terms of his statement which was way out there. host: that as president obama speaking yesterday. mitt romney said the congressman's comments are insulting, inexcusable, and frankly wrong. we found them to be offensive.

joining us now to talk about the fate of the missouri senate race is julie sobel. guest: good morning. host: congressman akin has until 5:00 tonight to step out of the race. how are things looking for him? guest: right now, the republican party has taken age -- has put a huge amount of pressure on him to drop out of the race. the deadline is today. the other scenario is for him to drop out and replace them. this is a race that was considered a very good pickup opportunity for the republicans. senator clare mccaskill is considered of the most vulnerable senator up for reelection this year. things are not looking as good for them right now.

you have mitt romney condemning the comment and a couple of senators have a straight up called for todd akin to get out of the race. ron johnson is calling for him to step aside. additionally, the njohn cornyn d mitch mcconnell said he should step aside. they said he should take time with his family. there will not publicly tell him to drop out of the race. he is under an immense amount of pressure from republicans. right now, he says he will stay in the race. he released a new television ad this morning which is pretty much an apology for his remark and asking for forgiveness. he says rape is an evil act and

he used the wrong word. he apologizes and says or it can lead to a pregnancy and basically echoed his previous apologies which he has made a last day and a half. host: how will the money be affected by this? we are seeing powerful forces encouraging him to get out. how might fund raising affect his game plan? guest: that's where serious pressure is coming. the nrc is said -- has said they're pulling their money out of the state. the nrsca said they will pull their ads today if he does not resign by the deadline.

karl rove has said there will take their interest out of missouri and they have already spent millions of dollars against clare mccaskill. they are saying if you stay in this race, there will be no one coming to help you with fund- raising. akins has not raised a huge amount of money on his own. without that outside help, it becomes pretty difficult. being abandoned by the entire establishment makes it look very difficult for him. host: how can he change the race? guest: a couple of candidates are being mentioned. there are other members of congress from missouri is names are being tossed around. congressman blaine lukemeyer is

one of the possibilities. there's also the state auditor. he had toyed with entering the race back in march but decided against it. many people had originally complained about the republican field in the primary. there are rumblings that another candidate could get in even back then. another candidate people are talking about his former senator jim tqallent who clear mccaskill beat in 2006. he said he is not interested in the race and is involved in the and mitt romney campaign. he says right now that he might not want to be considered. there is businessman john bruner who self-funded his bid. there's also a former state treasurer.

those candidates were beaten by akin in the primary. they have been pummeled with negative ads for the past few months. they are less appealing choices. host: thanks for talking with us this morning. what do you think about this issue are other issues on your mind? we're doing open phones today. we will hear from the candidates themselves as they weighed in on this yesterday. both parties, both candidates for president really talked about their ideas. that is also on the agenda this morning. tweet --a treat chicago, illinois, a democrat, good morning. caller: the propensity for mitt

romney to avoid paying taxes -- taxes is a huge issue for me. people sure how regular -- i use that term loosely -- how can we avoid -- how can we vote for a man for the office of president of for a man who avoid paying taxes? he puts money in the cayman islands. he is going to avoid his responsibility. it is a significant issue. he is the potential president of the united states. this tax rate is 50% making $20 million a year -- is tetras 15%

making $20 million per year i think that should get more press. this speaks to the heart of the divide between the democrats and republicans. that position, to not disclose taxes is unacceptable. that means there is something there, something he wants to hide. democrats and republicans have to be up in arms about that. >> judy on our independent line -- caller: i find this issue laughable. regarding todd akins, he is leading in three polls and the republicans need to remember that. how convenient for the democrats to want to taken out of the race. i will continue to support todd akins.

it is the democrats and this president who support abortion in this country. children are murdered every day in this country, the united states of america. host: here's a story about campaign fund raising. this is the headline in " the new york times." let's go to atlanta, georgia, republican kohler, good morning. caller: thanks for letting me on the air. i wanted to talk about a stance that has not been given enough publicity. there is a growing group of

traditional republicans, and talking about real conservatives who understand the history of the republican party, that have grievances with the mitt romney campaign at almost every republican campaign since the 1990's. they have lost touch with their roots. they have forgotten what it is to be conservative. you have mitt romney getting paul ryan and he thinks that is the greatest deal in the world because this guy is proposing cuts. paul ryan is not proposing cuts. he is proposing cuts to things that might happen in the future. this is in order to play the republican party, the people that come up faithfully and say he is a republican and i will vote for him. it's true republican, a real conservative, would go out there and he would be non- interventionist. the republican party has the perfect opportunity to have a

real candidate out there like ron paul and they choose to go in a different direction and support a guy like mitt romney. we will really regret it in the future. what americans have to ask themselves whether you're republican, democrat, or independent is -- if both campaigns are funded by goldman sachs and the large banks that were bailed out, who are we voting for? barbara really represented? host: c-span will be watching the political conventions and starting next week. theaugust 27 through the 30th. we will be down in charleston for the democratic national committee. you can catch our coverage on monday. if things kick off at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. we will be there for the rest of the week if the rnc proceedings

go on. tuesday, wednesday, and thursday evening. we'll also have continuing coverage throughout the day with what is going on down in tampa. you mentioned congressman ron paul and his lack of support for that romney. ron paul delegates nationally could deny romney their vote if the republican national convention shuns paul's oklahoma delegates. they said a political battle could erupt.

host: omaha, neb., june on our democrats line, good morning. caller: i am calling about this taught acton's. >> would you have to say about congress -- host: what you have to say about the congressman? caller: i am proud to be a democrat and i believe the republicans want him to step down because ryan is a co- sponsored to this bill that he signed. as the republicans are all afraid that they are all going to have their hands of muddied because they all want that abortion thing. they all believe the same thing he does. they all want him out. i think it is hypocritical for the republicans to try to get him out and say that by 5:00 --

with a going to do at 5:00? this is all what they believe. people should be very scared if a republican president gets in because the poor people -- i do not know what will happen to this world. it is really scary. so, i am voting obama. i am very proud to be a democrat. host: let's take a look at the "the new york times." there is no supporting evidence for what the congressman said on sunday. our next call is in a georgia.

bobbie, on our republicans line. caller: this is bobbie. can you hear me? host: yes. caller: i am black and i am proud to be a republican. i'm not going to fake any outrage about rape or anything because only women go through that. host: men can, too. caller: the media, the way they are covering this, it bothers me. the news station has these scrolls putting people. we have a bunch of talking heads. you never heard that before. i can understand that, but that happened before he was president. he was accused of rape.

the way obama comes out and says -- he talks about this, but he will not talk about joe biden. bidenall pretend mike joe said it. and move on. move on to bob on our independent line. caller: the fact is that mr. akin, all the pretty -- all the republicans pretty much think the same way, but they do not want to admit that because they are afraid it will lose some votes. i would like to say something. the u.s. chamber of commerce is pulling money from other countries to change the election here in virginia. i think that is appalling and i think it is illegal if you want to research it. rupert murdoch -- i will tell you.

if this country does not change those big money people, there will ruin us. we are the laughing stock of the rest of the world. after the elections, it don't make any difference. i think everybody is still going to have this terrible feeling of the other side. i hate that side, they hit the side. that is all i had to say. you have a good day. host: you, too. here is a headline and "the wallstreet journal." let's take a listen at what president obama had to say yesterday. [video clip] >> i have, at this point, not ordered military engagement in this situation. but the point you made about chemical and biological weapons is critical. that is an issue that does not just concerned syria, it concerns our close allies in the region, including israel.

it concerns us. we cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people. we have been very clear to the assad regime, but also the players on the ground that a rat line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my calculus. that would change my equation. host: president obama yesterday speaking on syria. host: watching what is happening

in syria and how the u.s. decides to respond to it. let's move on to a democrat. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am real concern about mitt romney not releasing his taxes. he is evidently hiding something that he does not want the country to know. i do not think it is right. i am also concerned. i am a vietnam veteran. i was drafted. i am concerned that during the vietnam war he went to paris france to avoid the vietnam war. i do not know that he should have -- he should a bond of to that, also. thank you for taking my call. host: here is a headline from "the associated press."

host: joining us now is a heidi from "the associated press." tell us what we know about this rocket attack. is this just dumb luck, so to speak? or was it more calculated? guest: the place where the plane was parked is very large and does receive indirect fire a lot. with the spokespeople are telling us is they think this was shot towards the airfield and just happened to hit the plane. what happened is the rockets came in and shrapnel from the rockets actually damaged the c- 17 and dempsey had to leave on another plane.

host: i am looking at a headline from "the new york times." why was he there? what has he been doing? guest: what officials have been telling us is this was an update on the strategy visit. one of the big issues they were discussing was these insider attacks in which afghan police and soldiers have been launching increasingly more and more against the coalition partners. we have had 10 americans died within the past two weeks. it is becoming something that at the highest level is being looked at. obama has said he is focusing more on it now. host: what can be done? these attacks, these soldiers

are returning and firing on their trainees and killing nato forces. what is there to do to screen them better or deal with? guest: this is the hard question, right? because when these attacks started to be an issue a couple of years ago at a much smaller amount, each time this has happened they keep saying, we're going to be more thorough. with the have done most recently is said friday that international forces will be carrying a loaded weapons at all times, were as previously they did not have their weapons loaded. in the end, what you have is -- you need these people to be working side-by-side in order to do what they want to do which is to train the afghan forces so they can leave.

obviously, this is a risk. >> you are joining us, we have not heard a lot over here in the presidential race. we did hear the candidates talked a little bit yesterday about afghanistan. what is the feeling there in terms of how to do in both politicians and americans are with what is going on the ground? >> definitely among the international, you hear them sing, wow. nobody wants to hear what we have to say anymore. nobody wants to talk about it. on the afghan side, people are a bit worried. people say we keep hearing from the americans that they are here to stay, we're not sure if that commitment is there. because they recognize as well as anybody else that there are a lot of politics that drives some of this. host: afghanistan correspondent,

thank you so much. was it looked at what president obama had to say in afghanistan yesterday. [video clip] >> we are already doing a range of things. we're seeing some success when it comes to intelligence. making sure the vetting process for afghan troops is smaller. we have what is called the guardian angel program to make sure that our troops are not an isolated situations that might make them more vulnerable. part of what is taking place it is we are transitioning to afghan security. our troops are in much closer contact with afghan troops on an ongoing basis. part of what we have to do is to

make sure that this model works, but does not make our guys more vulnerable. in the long-term, we will see fewer of these casualties by sticking to our transition plan and making sure we have the most affected afghan security force possible. we have to do it in a way that does not leave our guys vulnerable. hopefully, over the next several weeks, we will start seeing better progress on this front. host: president obama speaking yesterday. don tweets in. to mitt romney made comments about afghanistan yesterday. as take a listen to candid it romney. [video clip] i can tell you this. when i become commander-in-chief of i'm so lucky, i will address

these issues. i will do everything in my power to transition from my military to our military -- to their military as soon as possible. our mission is to keep afghanistan from being overrun by a new entity which would allow afghanistan to be a launching point for terror again like it was on 9/11. host: mitt romney speaking in new hampshire. let's go to the phones in virginia. caller: good morning. they are making such a big deal about romney's tax returns. how about obama's tax returns? have they been released? host: they have. caller: how about his school records that are sealed? why is that? host: do you think mitt romney should release his school records? is that across the board for every candidate? caller: yes.

host: joining us, good morning. caller: i would like to point remarks arein's unfortunately ignored, but i like to point out that most of washington, d.c. is unfortunately ignorant. the war in afghanistan -- our mission was to get in, get those who attack is on 9/11, and come home. our mission is not to nation- build halfway around the world. if united states wants a nation built, they should do it in this country by winning the hearts and minds of america with the bridges and roads. thank you. host: tony rights in referring to a call earlier. referring to the debate over romney's tax returns. maryland, a democrat, good morning. caller: the paul ryan budget

plan that just passed the house, he said he would sign, and the future he would pay 0%. he would pay nothing in taxes because under paul ryan's plan there is a 0% capital gains. it is 15% right now. basically, after all of his tax layoffs and other things like that, we would probably be sending billionaires' refund checks. my husband goes out and works every day and we pay taxes. but we're gonna pay taxes and send it romney a refund check? this is out rages. the most outrageous budget in the history of this country, i believe. it is ridiculous. that is my comment. host: thank you, angela. here is what tony tweets in. in philadelphia, a republican.

we lost him. orlando, florida. our independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to make a suggestion. i would like to see two people get in there. a lot of people are believing. it is just real hard to get the truth out. such as, democrats have complete control of the house and senate. for two years. that is not true, because the passing of ted kennedy and al franken, there are a lot of them out there. i would like to see all of these things gotten rid of. host: thank you. on our democrats line, hello.

caller: the comments the congressman made about rape, he was a candidate in the primary. i think he should go on to the election. the people have a choice between him and a democrat who is running against him. my greater concern is for the future of this country after the decision of the supreme court about how corporations are the same as people. and that corporations now have the right to spend billionaire'' money to influence the national election. i think that is a greater danger to the future of this country than any comment that one particular congressman candid it can say. -- candidate can say. host: do you think that will change? caller: i was hoping that would

happen already. unfortunately, it does not seem to have done so. i am really worried about that. i was listening to a judge this morning who was active in the nixon campaign as one of his supporters. he was expressing concern for the future of our democracy when corporate people can spend billions of dollars to influence our elections. every citizen has a hard time getting heard. host: one last question. one of our followers right's then -- writes in. what is your response to that? caller: he was elected in a primary. even though i find his comments totally out of line, he still is the candid it and should be judged that way. host: let's look at one more

story in the news. the gender barrier falls. after admitting its first female member. the addition of the former u.s. secretary of state and south carolina investment banker marks the single change for the club's famous for the masters golf tournament. the pressure has only grown in recent years. toss a little more about these two women.

host: it talks about what these two women will bring and how it changes the dynamic. we will talk about campaign 2012 and the job market coming off. ed o'keefe is our next guest talking about the latest developments. and later on, anthony carnevale will talk about a new study that says almost half the jobs lost were recovered with people -- by people with higher degrees. >> i know there are those who

criticize me for saying that complexities, and i do. some issues are not all that simple. saying there are weapons of mass discussion -- weapons of mass destruction in iraq does not make it so. off saying we can fight a war on the cheap does not make it so. proclaiming mission accomplished certainly does not make it so. [laughter] >> three days after september 11, i stood where americans died in the ruins of the twin towers. workers in hard hats were shouting to me, what ever it takes. a fellow grabbed me by the arm and said, do not let me down. since that day, i wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. i will never relented defending america in whenever it takes.

>> c-span has aired every minute of every major party conventions since 1984. our weekend has live gavel-to-to gavel coverage live on c-span. all starting next monday with the gop convention and new jersey governor chris christie and the keynote address. also, 2008 presidential nominee, senator john mccain and former governor, jeb bush. plus, first lady michelle obama and bill clinton. >> "washington journal" continues. is with theeefe washington post. he is the 2chambers blogger.

what has been evolving as the big story? guest: certainly, this element with akin and the comment he made using the phrase "legitimate rate." certainly the type of situation that could throw off what republicans thought would be a reliable pickup for them, the democrat wes been pulling behind the three republican opponents should is facing until earlier this month when akin one. today is the day for him to decide whether he will stay put. if he does stay in, he has won more out by the end of september were he could ask a judge to be dropped off of the ballot. if he stays put, he will not have the support of the national republican senatorial committee, a group that likes republicans to the senate. crossroads of gps, this group by

karl rove has decided to pull out if he becomes the nominee. if he stays in the race and begins to fall back, that throws off the balance of power in the senate, at least when it comes to republicans who were hoping to get above that 50 seat mark. if it will be much more difficult for them because it will have to find another race to target in hopes of taking the majority. >> other places and images for the candidate. to people like karl rove reacting to this. what about members of congress? are they being asked for their responses? guest: sure. they were yesterday. scott brown faces a difficult race against the democrat, elizabeth warren, who was the first out of the gate. she said he needs to get out of the race. a republican who is leading the

parties messaging say he needs to get lost as well. candidates from new mexico said he should go. they said that what he said was offensive. his democratic opponent turned it around and said he should perhaps leave the race. and of course, you had a mitch mcconnell say that akin should spend the next credit for hours thinking with his family about the future of this campaign, which is a senate speak for get lost. we will see whether or not he he said advise. host: congressman paul ryan is running for vice president. the official nomination happens next week in tampa. what is it like to have a member of congress on the ticket? how rare is that to have a house member on the ticket? and what is his race mean for fellow members of congress? guest: if you remember the

house, you are right. the two i can think of that have experience was gerald ford, who was not elected but was appointed to his role, and it jack who ran with bob dole back in 1996 and had served in the house. it does change the dynamic. what it does most of all is candidates.-- hides it ties democrats to the vote to have taken in support or against budgets that were proposed by the then-house budget chairman. democrats were nothing short of gleeful when this happened. they have spent everything they can to tie republican candidates to anything ryan supported or proposed over his 14 years in congress. host: if you'd like to join the conversation, here is the number

to call. the number to call for our republican line is 202-737-0002. the number to call for our democrat line is 202-737-0001. the number to call for our independent line is 202-628- 0205. let's get to the phones and hear from stephen, a democrat, joining us from buffalo, new york. caller: mr. o'keefe, i am concerned that many people are not addressing the main problem, which is a massive disconnection from the natural world. it can best be stated by quoting england's for most anthropologist when he said that all of modern man's problems stem from the difference between how nature works and the way man thinks. no one is discussing this. what basically you can see is that they definitely follow environmental policies. it leads to a complete ignoring of a physical reality. for example, this constant use

of the word growth. you cannot grow in philly on a finite planet with finite resources, especially water. i think this is a major problem, not as we go forward as americans or europeans, but as members of the human species. not understanding the foundation of life itself. host: let's talk about how environmental issues are coming into play. we saw mitt romney talking about cold. we saw president obama talking about wind power last week. the campaign politics back and forth. ed o'keefe, how are you seeing environmental issues plowbacks guest: -- play out. guest: as i understand it, he has essentially called on the

congress to end tax credits for wind power which is becoming an increasingly popular use of energy or way to create energy in iowa where you have these large windows being constructed. the thousands of them on the farms. republican lawmakers said they disagreed because it has been a big plus for the state. it has the potential to become a factor. environmental issues are taking a backseat to broader discussions about national security and what ever the daily distraction is. if you could boil your argument into a 32nd commercial, i am sure political consultants will take your call and find a way to work it in to the campaign. >> republican caller. illinois. caller: about the remarks the

congressman made, which is outrageous and it should be condemned, and he should step out, but i did not appreciate the president tried to use that remark to push his agenda of the issue of abortion. i thought that was disingenuous of the president to take advantage of the situation. guest: what was most interesting about yesterday is the president went to the briefing room at all. our colleagues have complained that he had not given a formal press conference since the g-20 meetings in chicago a few months ago, or in mexico. so, he showed up and took three or four questions, and the first

thing out of the gate was this question about senator akin, and he needed clear that he disagreed and he made the point that it was a reminder that perhaps men should not be making decisions on the health of women. yes, certainly that is a loaded statement and appeals to his base, liberals and pro-abortion, and abortion supporters who have long argued that men who served in washington or are on the supreme court should not make these decisions. it is notable that he took questions, and that he weighed into a congressional campaign for a seat that is someone that is a strong supporter of his, in senate term tesco. >> our caller talked about

environmental it -- host: " talked about environmental issues and what will be discussed. let's look at the debate schedule. domestic policy is the issue at the university of denver. then, foreign and domestic topics at hofstra university in new york, and the foreign policy that uynn university. ed o'keefe is with "the washington post. eric. democrat. caller: i feel the congress is not going to change until the makeup changes. you have the senate, which is basically all, white, male caucasians, grown in a time where people were separate and

unequal. if you had 10 blacks and 10 hispanics, they would have to work on immigration, unemployment, and it would not be polarized. you would have a diversified congress. the senate is what is stopping the progress. most of these people are elected by majority white people. president obama has a coalition. the republican mitt romney, what they're looking for, 75% of the hispanics voted, and 90% of blacks voted for obama. host: the diversity -- is there

any chance you'll see more diversity? guest: if democrats have more say, you will see more women. that is something very much pushing for. ecb of -- ecb fema candidates in new york, -- you see female candidates in new york, california, missouri, nevada, north dakota -- there is a real pleasure. there is a record number of women to be running. on the republican side, you could pick up one more hispanic in texas who is facing democratic opposition that is not pulling as well as he is. that would bring the number of hispanics to three. depending on how things could go, it would be more diverse.

it would certainly not be as colorful as the caller would like, but you might have more women, and women have argued that the more women that are there in the more bipartisan action -- bipartisanship there could be. host: ed o'keefe, you're on the road. tell us about your trip. guest: 31 from five congressional districts in five days -- we went from five congressional districts in five days. we started in des moines, iowa, then into southwest iowa. tuesday was the fourth congressional district between congressman steve king and the former first lady those sacked. that was a competitive one

there the democrats were hoping they could somehow wind and beat back stephen king, who is a popular conservative spokesperson. wednesday we were in the 16th district of illinois, a newly drawn one were the republicans expected to win easily. he was not around. he was doing his obligatory national guard service. we then headed to the chicago suburbs where there are several seats democrats hope to win, with the eighth district between joe walsh and his democratic challenger who first ran in 2006 and as a former veterans affairs assistant secretary. in the 11th district in illinois, there is a race between a former democratic congressman, why he would want to get back in, who knows, but

he does. that is in the south of chicago. all five races reflect the matchups the congressional candidates are facing this year. you have well-known, well-funded democratic challengers against republicans with a broad national followings, and then you have close swing districts where it could be a coca-cola against pepsi election, where it could be turned on or -- turnout or personality. is a good reminder of where the american psyche is right now. host: outset of the beltway. guest: exactly. host: michigan. judy. caller: in michigan here, in the

primary in august, i voted to give debbie stabenow prada there. she is a democrat. -- out of there. she is a democrat. i do not like her very liberal ways. how does that go in the fall and november since that was just a primary? i would like to see more social conservatives in november and take this country back to kristin -- christian nation we were once upon a time. >> the rates currently looks like debbie stress among -- guest: that raced through the sec in the distaff, will win.

that could be a kind of race republicans look to and say that is within striking distance. a free throw more money, perhaps we could not senator debbie stabenow off. she is also chairman of the senate agricultural committee, which is trying to get a farm bill passed at the end of september. if she is able to pull off a deal, that would help her in michigan because she could say we have been able to strike a deal with republicans and come to a bipartisan consensus. it is not know how that will go, but not only is she facing a tough reelection, she has a tough job when congress gets back here. did a fivekeefe in five teens, and to absorb that midwesterners love paul

ryan, and also that people are not warming up to mitt romney. tell us about the dynamic. guest: our luck was phenomenal. we had planned to go to the morning four weeks and it just happened that paul ryan was in there which it was there the same week. -- was there the same week. in the course that we were talking to people, you get the sense of this is a genius take because they think we know this guy, he is not from the east coast, he is not an elitist, and i said does this mean mitt romney is an unknown, east coast and elitist, and she said yes. this is a republican. mitt romney had flip-flop on many issues. paul ryan they know is a strong

conservative. that helps to bolster mitt romney's changes and make it easier for republicans to sleep at night knowing they will vote for this republican ticket. talking about paul ryan, it seems that nobody likes personally mitt romney, and may not appreciate that he might and c. president obama, but they have no personal warmth for him. if it comes down for -- to personality and less about policy and president obama's record, you could see it go against the president. other pundits have said that. . crews said it was about personality, the president will likely be reelected easily. host: michigan.

the independent line. caller: i just wanted to speak more in generalities than to the specific, but i hear everybody calling in to say i am proud, i'm a proud republican, i'm a proud democrat. one of these people proud of? this is not democracy. this is a two-party system. it stops being a democracy when it is a two-party system. they could do the same thing, but then fight for your amusement. they are asking you to take cyanide, but they are asking if you want barry or orange. if you want a snack in the ribs or upside the head. guest: if i were you, i would look at the survey from the

kaiser foundation that looks at independent voters and tries to explain who exactly they are and it sounds like you are one of them. there are a lot of disaffected people that might vote in a democratic or republican pattern generally but overall are dissatisfied with the process and a two-party system. this was a great piece by our polling director and our chief correspondent. they spoke to about 3000 randomly selected adults. about one-third of voters are considered independent, and about half of them are not committed or have not made up their mind. one of the more interesting things, and your rhetoric there reflects what we have discovered -- words democrats used to describe republicans -- the three most commonly used

were, bad, greedy, and crazy. words that republicans used to describe democrats -- socialist, it, lier -- idiot, lawyers, and then just the word -- liars, and then just the word suck. you are not alone. host: here is one of the headlines in "the washington post." we are talking with ed o'keefe, washington post 2chambers blogger. let's head suit in new jersey. good morning. caller: is funny that

republicans will where flip- flops' one year, and now they're trying to get mitt romney. is it important to be accurate? you wonder why ron paul and chris christie are so popular. they are blatantly honest, right or wrong. nobody knows the facts. host: what do you think of ron paul? caller: ron paul is honest. i think he was short-changed. he never got as much credit. host: what will the role of ron paul de as we head to camp the and watched the -- watch the republican convention get under way?

guest: he does not have a speech, but i think his son rand paul does. he has maintained a low profile, especially since mitt romney short things up. he has not said much. he had his final house financial-services meeting with his great nemesis federal reserve chairman ben bernanke a few weeks ago. those have always been legendary exchanges. otherwise, he is preparing for retirement, so we will see how visible he is, how much he will speak out. he isn't obstetrician. -- he is an obstetrician. when asked, he had no comment on the comment from senator akin, but he is certainly someone that is still long admired, and there might be a lot of focus on what

his son decides to do index four or eight years. host: was a key issue of medicare. -- let's take a look it the issue of medicare. we will take a look at an advertisement in the 12th congressional district of pennsylvania. [video clip] >> the candidate said he would oppose medicare, then voted against obama-care. he joined the liberals in one of the biggest tax hikes in history, putting more than 40 50,000 tons of this hearing -- seniors at risk. clearly, he is not on our side. host: a republican advertisement. how will we see this issue of medicare play on both sides? guest: just like that, the black-and-white footage, the ominous announcer, tried to

lead people to think the candidate in focuses trying to destroy medicare. one of the more illuminating discussion the head was in illinois with steve king, the incumbent congressman, and he said the idea that democrats continue to attack us for ending medicare as we know it, and if you have watched television, you know what we are talking about, and he said that is just a completely false and hollow argument. if i caught one hair out of my head, we have changed my hairdo, but this will only effect people older than 55. four days later i was in the suburbs of chicago and a senior center with a democrat running against joe walsh who was just about the rise in medicare plan and she essentially says the

plan would create a voucher system and allow you to go ahead and negotiate your own insurance, and i turned to a woman in the audience and esther what she thought -- asked her what she thought. she said it the only thing she knows is that the plan was to end medicare as we know it. on the flip side, they are saying the health care reform plan change the formula, past the more costs to seniors, and therefore also changed medicare. we will see which argument works. democrats are more experienced at using this as an attack. host: ed o'keefe, you mentioned going to the congressional districts in the midwest. irv pushes back and says the midwest of illinois does not like paul ryan. as far as i'm concerned, he does

not represent me. maryland. mike. republican caller. caller: i almost did not know where to start, but i want to respond to the first caller at the beginning of the hour. hello? host: yes. we're listening to you. townhall.com -- caller: the first caller was talking about growth, and how nobody wants to talk about growth, saying that we cannot have incident growth on a finite planet. -- infinite growth and a finite planet. i thought that was interesting because when we are talking about economic matters, we are talking about the creation of new wealth. we are not talking about men building more and more stuff. we are talking about the creation of new wells, and the

creation of new wealth is something that absolutely has to take place in order for the modern world to exist. the modern world is based on this debt money system, and without continually creating wealth through a lending of money, you just do not have the engine, the fuel that drives the engine. guest: i'm glad to have this discussion, if only through the phone lines. host: another observation you got on the road was that voters do not care about congress, at least not yet. congressional -- conventional wisdom tells us most voters to the answer to think about political choices until after labor day. we want to hear more about that in a moment, but first this from twitter, our congressional and senate seats more important

than the presidential election? guest: it is interesting that that question gets asked because i have spoken to more than one dozen voters and i had several said -- say i will vote for president, but the president cannot do anything without congress. it is congress that will determine this. arguably, there are some voters that believe congress is the more important vote than the president, especially considering the balance of power in both chambers is so close and either president will have to work with both to get anything done. you can talk about mitt romney or barack obama and why you like them or do not like them, the advertisements you have seen and the issues you heard for 10, 15 minutes, but as the about

congress, who is your congressman, do you know anything about them? you get blank stares. you do not have to apologize. he still have to go and a half months -- you still have two and a half months. last week, a gallup reported just one in 10 americans approve of the job congress is doing and they do not have much of an opinion on their local law maker. it shows you there is a lot of time left for mines to be molded. perhaps those attack advertisements could still sway voters. there is also confusion with the redistricting process. why'd parts of the country are not sure who their congressman is. host: long beach, new york, grace. independent caller.

caller: what i want to say is wants to -- since the new congress has gotten in, they have not done anything but taking long vacations. we have nothing to say about the congress. all we know is they are on vacation. guest: that is the point also made by voters. the number of votes cast and a number of bills passed is lower than previous sessions, and i do not think any lawmaker denies that, but they will then turn around and blame the other party for slowing things down, and that makes it challenging. i will say this. i went to five congressional districts. i spoke to seven congressional candidates. two were away. when was on vacation with grandchildren. the other was doing two weeks

of military service. i can guarantee the others were working hard to win your vote, if only to make sure they have their jobs after november. host: yesterday, president obama took a look of what congress will face after the election. [video clip] >> alternatively, they could go ahead and vote for a bill we have said will definitely strengthen the economy, and that is giving everyone that makes two and $50,000 a year or less a break on their taxes. republicans have voted that down once. it is not likely that they will bring that up again before election day, but my hope is after the election people step back and recognize that is a sensible way to bring back the

investments. host: president obama speaking yesterday. how much are members of congress facing questions from constituents about the building fiscal issues that have to be done before the end of the year? guest: it is starting to hit people that a lot of things have to be done. the voters i spoke to were not as familiar with sequestration as those of us in washington are, but trust me, it is a term you will get to know. i think the understand the face a daunting september and october and a more challenging lame duck session the matter who wins, and then come the new year, several challenges including the fiscal cliff, sequestration, tax reform, and a host of issues. the president feels he has a plan that has not been addressed by either chamber. there are only about 10 legislative days left in

september and october before the election in november. they have to have a new farm bill. they have to sort out what to do about the postal service. plenty of things to do. host: hershey, pennsylvania. bill, democrats lined. caller: i cannot help but notice the flag behind the gentleman. i'm wondering why is not flying at half mast to mourn the death of democracy. the state i'm living had worked to expand the right to vote, but the gop and our legislature has turned back the clock. i think we have entered the hall of fame, where the hall of shame for the states that have been brisk the voter suppression -- that have embraced voter

suppression. guest: that is a sleeper issue. you have voter i.d. challenges in ohio, pennsylvania, florida, and it will certainly be an important issue. and somebody said to me last week, this is not just an issue about laws and voter fraud, it is the fate of a few swing counties, try to effect the outcome and turn up in those areas. the suburbs of philadelphia, cleveland, columbus. that is a big issue in the commonwealth, ohio, florida, and other places host: denver, colorado. george, republican. caller: good morning. i was calling about paul ryan

and the congressman from missouri. i think for the most part one is as legitimate rate, and in the bill but they sponsored together, they said something to the effect of forcible rape. is that not the same thing? guest: it depends on who u.s., but from my no understanding what -- my understanding, what akin was referring to was a bill that would do something with abortion restrictions regarding forcible, or as the congressman put it, legitimate rate. it is an issue that is out there. it is an issue democrats are trying to tie congressional candidates to, because they see

it as an opportunity to sway independent voters and tire republicans who sponsored this bill -- tie it to republicans response to this bill. host: ed o'keefe, before we let you go, one other issue facing congress right now is this trip to israel. we saw the freshman republican from kansas to decide to go skinny dipping their. that is getting attention. there is speculation about who was involved, and now there is an opinion piece because it could cost the gop seats. play out what has happened, and what the repercussions could be. guest: there is an education trip that is tied to apac, and they travel and visit religious

sites. last august they held this trip primarily with freshman republican lawmakers, and at one point they went into the sea of galilee, where the bible says jesus walked on water, and after some heavy drinking, at least one congressman admits he went in in his birthday suit, and he has admitted it was a lapse in judgment. there were other congressman there including key sutherland of florida. qualyle said it was a religious experience, and he did not do anything inappropriate or see anything in a prepared where it could throw elections, it is -- inappropriate. where it could throw in

elections, it is with conservative voters the sea of galilee is a holy site for jewish voters and evangelical christians who support these congressman in those districts. the opponent for ben quayle has made issue of this, and his campaign told me they were not surprised he was involved, referring back to a time when he admitted he used a pseudonym to write stories i read adult- themed website. he says this is consistent with fresh-boy behavior. -- frat boy behavior. ,ost: ed o'keefe, 2chambers

with" the washington post. thank you. coming up, anthony carnevale, then we continue our series looking at online media with guy benson of townhall.com, but first c-span radio. >> an update on syria, dominic evans writing for writers says russia is one in the west about universal -- unilateral action against syria, one day after president obama talk about serious consequences. the russian foreign minister speaking after meeting with china's top diplomat said moscow and beijing were committed to the need to hear to the norms of international law. russia and china have opposed intervention in syria and have the killed three united nations security council resolutions that would have put more --

vetoed three national security -- in that nation security council resolutions. today, the focus will be on health care without the president's comments. the republican platform committee, meeting in tampa, florida, defeated a proposed mortgage reduction. the document includes a call for federal reserve audits. the platform will be submitted next week for approval by the full convention. the platform committee is live on c-span to come and will be live on c-span radial following "washington journal. toe live coverage of the republican national convention begins monday, august 27.

those are some of the -- latest headlines on c-span arabia. >> now, i know there are those that criticize me for seeing complexities, and i do, because some issues are not just that simple. saying there are weapons of mass destruction in iraq does not make it so. saying that we could fight a war on the cheap does not make it so. proclaiming mission accomplished certainly does not make it so. [applause] >> three days after september 11, i stood where americans died in the ruins of the twin towers. workers in hard hats were shouting to me, whatever it takes. a fellow grabbed me by the arm and said do not let me down. since that day, i wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country.

i will never relent him defending america, whatever it takes. [applause] >> c-span has aired every minute of every major party convention since 1984, and our countdown begins -- continues live on c- span, c-span radio, and online c-span.org. , starting monday with the gop convention, and the keynote address by chris christie, and also john mccain and jeb bush. democratic convention speakers include san antonio mayor julian castro, first lady michelle obama, and former president bill clinton. >> "washington journal" continues. host: anthony carnevale his with georgetown and diversity and directs the center on education and workforce.

in a recent study you called the college advantage weathering and economic storm. looking at the job losses, who was able to get a job at this moment? guest: well, at the moment, and since the recession began, when is remarkable is that we have actually created two 0.2 million college jobs -- two 0.2 million college jobs. we would create a lot more if we did not have a recession. at the same time, jobs for high- school graduates have declined by about 5.8 million jobs. what it shows us is underneath the on the incoming numbers structural change continues to go on, taking away the high school jobs, and making more jobs require some kind of college training. >host: we see this chart.

you can see in green those with bachelor's degrees or better, in red, associate's degrees, and in blue, people with a high-school education or less. is that because of the types of jobs that are out there? what sectors are losing jobs -- ground? guest: the sectors losing ground the most are traditional, blue-collar, mostly male jobs. obviously, in this recession because of the housing bust construction, but also transportation, utilities, the things that we think of as what boys do after they get out of high school. those jobs are melting down rapidly. host: we see the recession segment, as we see how there

were job losses across the board, although people with bachelor's degrees maintained somewhat, but as we see increases more people are getting jobs with bachelors were associates, but the numbers are not surviving if you have a high school degree or less. we're discussing this with anthony carnevale . here are the numbers to call. you can share your story of looking for a job and how your story has made a difference. you mention the jobs do between men and women. how are men retraining for the workforce? guest: since 1979, manufacturing, utilities, the blue-collar economy where you could make good money with a high-school degree or even without one, those jobs have

been declining steadily, but there are still a lot of them around. ask young men have been able for a long time to leave--- young men have been able to for a long time leave high school and not go on secondary education, but their world is getting smaller. and host: the study says men are going into fields the historically dominated by women. what are those fields? guest: men, for the first time, since about january, 2010, are going back to college at a higher rate than women. women have been going to have a higher rate since the 1980's. men are still behind in college graduation rates, but in moments in this recession have exceeded those of females. there is some hope that this

recession was a wake-up call and young men will start getting post-secondary training. and. -- host: independent line. north carolina. nancy. caller: i was wondering why no one has addressed the fact that the republicans are responsible for part of that unemployment rate? after the republican governor fired employees to raise the unemployment rate one whole point, and then the same republican governor refused to go ahead and take advantage of the stimulus funds in order to go through with the jobs programs to rebuild the infrastructure, which is needed

desperately. also, the republican congress, which has refused to go through with a jobs program to rebuild our infrastructure. i mean, how many points of unemployment does that add to obama's unemployment rate? i would say 3 or four. why is no one addressing that? republicans are keeping the unemployment rate high so they can get rid of obama, and in the fact they are holding the economy and the american people hostage. guest: there is a pattern in this recession that is quite interesting in the sense that the men lost jobs in the recession, which ran from december, 2007, until january, 2010. men were the major losers in the

recession, but since the recovery began, females are the major losers, and that is almost completely because of a decline in public spending, especially education. i do not know if you could ascribe that to either party. we are going through a time where public revenues do not equal our appetite for public goods, and states have to balance their budgets. when they do so, they have to do so on the basis of personnel costs, because that is the largest item in their budget. we have a something of a second shadow recession in the public sector. the recession in the private sector was the one that hurt men, but the one that hurt woman was in the public sector. host: anthony carnevale, economics professor, your study

says college educated workers have led the recovery. long island, new york. republican line. caller: as we speak about the college-educated recovering the economy, i am college educated and four years ago i lost my job. i am older. a lot of employers were stating why should i hire you when i could hire someone younger and pay them less? when you talk about leading a jobs recovery, what is the age group? older people, like myself, i am college-educated, i'm not getting the jobs out there, so would you please answer that? guest: i would not minimize the pain and suffering of people that have lost jobs in this recession. in american society where we

get identity, and social status, and money to keep a roof over our heads, from a job, losing a job as a life crisis. in this recession we have seen more of that and we have seen at any other time since the great depression. it is the case that pain is relative, and college graduates have been unemployment rate that is headed for 4%, and people better high school -- that are high-school graduates, have an unemployment rate that is 10%. we do not want to minimize the suffering of anyone who finds himself out of work, but there are differences in education at -- in terms of what your chances are. host: this comes from indiana, -- mom india, in miami.

in your opinion, do you think colleges worth it? guest: i do. if you did it? first-degree, the chances are on average it will be worth about 1 million, three into thousand dollars over what you would have earned -- $1.3 million over a career. a few graduate with a degree in engineering, he will make $70,000 a year, but if you graduate with a degree in psychology, you will make $30,000 a year. rule number two is what you take will pretty much determine what you do after breakfast for the next 35 or 40 years. host: this shows growth in

employment, increases in college-educated workers. he see in green, the best years degree, in red, associates, and in blue, those with a high- school degree or less. grand rapids, michigan. good morning. caller: i graduated recently. i have a bachelor's degree. in my pursuit, my brother and i have been looking for jobs, and i have noticed there are more opportunities for me. i guess my question is two-part. the think people pursuing opportunities in trade school will go up because with the rising college costs is making a hard for individuals to seek degrees. these think those will rise? host: brandon, before you go,

may i ask did you have to take out loans? caller: in years three and four i did. host: a are you still paying those off? caller: yes. thank you for -- host: thank you for your story. this from twitter, is it better for men and women to go to a technical school? weigh in on the -- trade schools. guest: the value for trade schools in then-oriented occupations is high. if you get a certificate in the air conditioning, heating, computers, if any kind of electronics, you will earn more than the average person who gets a two-year and shows its degree, and more than about 25% of people did get bachelor's

degrees. you have to be very -- that get bachelor's degrees. yet to be very careful about awards below the baccalaureate level. you need to choose carefully. host: the caller talked about having loans. how does that factor in to the advantages or disadvantages that people start their career with? guest: we have a loan crisis with the government no longer able to afford subsidizing higher education. that means the government is slowly withdrawing support. as a result, the full cost of post-secondary education is falling on individuals and families. that will continue because the government still pays about 25% or 30% of the cost of college. we can expect to see prices

rise and loan amounts to go up. that is why when you take on a loan, it is an investment. like any investment, you want to know what the value or the return will be. it is not a you should only take subject matter that will make you a lot of money, but you ought to know the career opportunities the education is going to give you. host: anthony carnevale, talking about a recent report of a separate college advantage, whether in the economic storm coming out of the georgetown university center on education and workforce, which forecast director carol, tennessee. -- our guest director dick carroll, -- directs. carol, tennessee. caller: the reporter that was on a minute ago -- he said it

comes down to personality, obama wins, and if it comes down to the economy, romney winds. are we really that syria -- silly? colleges are not doing their jobs teaching about economics. the money mitt romney has invested, he is paid income tax. if he chooses to invested in america, he is taxed again. is already paid the taxes on the money he earns. the cause is a message to be teaching people that if we it -- the colleges do not seem to be teaching people. host: how much is the issue of the economy coming up in campaign 2012? since you're an economics

professor, do you feel it is being discussed more this year? guest: this is a case where what everyone says happens to be true. the economy is the core issue. we have been through a disastrous economic collapse. we're still recovering. we will probably not require fully until 2016 or 2017. between now and then, one has to be careful about career planning, more self than if we were at full employment, unemployment of about 5%. college graduates are at an unemployment rate below 5%. that does not mean every college degree has value and will get you a job. host: jim, not so, tennessee. republican line -- knoxville,

tennessee. republican line. caller: i do not agree with the study. i of three classmates all over the country -- i have three classmates all over the country that are millionaires. the problems, electricians, and those people, if they stay out of universities and do not borrow that money you can be a wealthy person without going to college. i knew a man that was an apprentice to elevator inspections and repairs, and he has two houses. the reason they are fascinated with college in this country and the president is talking about college degrees is work from jim demint shows that about 50% and. as republican or democrat, and when they graduate, it is

reversed, at 80 percent democrat, 20 percent -- 80% democrat, 20% republican. the faculty was 100-to-one. host: your response to that, anthony carnevale? guest: it is true that in the american system, the labor market, has always been more democratic than the college education system in the sense that it is awfully hard to get into harvard if you had low test scores and bad grades, but you can go into the economy, be an entrepreneur, and make a lot of money, but since the 1980's, that option has been reduced greatly. more and more occupations require an entry level skill that is above high school. it does not mean you need to

have a four-year degree. it means that more and more, in order to get started in the american system, evening the skills that come with some post- high school education -- to get the skills that come with post- high school-education, you need that. host: let's look at a story from the new york times -- from "the new york times." is his job losses persist for the less-educated parents -- less-educated, what better- educated people have gained millions of studies according to a georgetown university study. where you surprised by the results of your research? guest: we were surprised by the strength of the results. we knew that of the need all of the data on unemployment, all of

that said -- that underneath all of that data on plant, all of that sad news, what we know now is that during recessions, the process of change, by which technology automates repetitive tasks more and more in the economy, leaving not repetitive tasks to human beings is requiring more and more skills and work. we knew this was going on. what surprised us is the strength continuing through a recession. host: from twitter, is the biggest reason we see this trend because we cannot manufacture anything in the united states anymore? guest: keep in mind, manufacturing is still our largest industry, producing more output than any other industry, but what has changed as we are doing that with half of the workers that we used to used in

1979. it is a productive industry, with a 6% increase per year, compared to health care, where the productivity rate is literally -1%. there is a story of success, look that one way, but the shared jobs in manufacturing, still about 11 million jobs, not to be sneezed at, but it has sneak -- slipped to fourth or fifth among employers. host: anthony carnevale and his colleagues write that even in traditionally blue-collar industries better-educated workers fare better. let's go to nick. tennessee. you are on the air. caller: good morning.

this is my first time been able to get through. i have two statements. i am 59 years old, and the problem that i see is that in rural communities, there are no jobs. everything has gone on to bigger cities, and politicians do not do anything but collect property taxes, and they do not put industry back into the rural communities. so, you have a long ways to travel. during my unemployment, i used unemployment to go back to school at 58 years old. i had a two-year certificate for auto mechanics, and they go of in the workforce, and i find that i am challenged from the younger generation to get the same job even though i feel i could do the job as good or better because i am precise in what i do.

i did go back to school and got the education. i just have this problem there when they seek 59 years old, they shuffle your application to the bottom. host: be to have a second point? caller: is in the true retreat isn't it true that people help the economy by much bass band and if they don't spend and cut back on their spending, employers traditionally cut back on their production and when they cut back on production, they cut back on how many people they hire. those twos go with issues. guest: you spend money or the government spends money. you put money in somebody else's pocket and they buy things and when you do that, someone else

makes those things. the only way of money does not create jobs is if you burn it. the difficulty of this recession and the opinion i think of most economists is that we have a dual problem. we have they -- we had a financial collapse which means we're having a hard time getting the system going again. the economy has no bank account. we are not invested. consumption is relatively low. there are two problems here -- one is our debt which is so large, personal debt and government debt, which is holding back the economy and the second thing is reduced spending by consumers. hopefully, as the recovery grinds on, spending will increase and jobs will return. that has been happening. there has been positive jobs growth since january of 2010.

it is painfully slow. >host: one caller talked about the tough times that rural america is having finding a job. an earlier caller said the same thing. is there a trend in terms of what you have seen with recovery of jobs? guest: there are two trends in rural areas that are not good need to -- that are not good news. the younger population is leaving it a popular rate and that has accelerated during this recession and recovery in search of jobs, one a sense. secondly, the jobs themselves leaving rural areas are moving toward urban areas in part because the base jobs, construction, agriculture, and a variety of other traditional industries have taken a hard hit.

the one thing that is holding up in rural areas as health care. those jobs are still struggling along. that is an industry that still hires but it tends to fire you they're very skilled people like nurses or doctors or technicians or very low-skilled people like nurses aide to don't make much money. >host: weathering the economic storm -- we're talking about a new report. vallejo, california is up next, an independent college. caller: i may high-tech robotics executive who got involved in education reform about seven years ago when our district completely failed. i am saying the same thing that the speaker has been saying about college and the need for it. i have just completed an

interesting study in california i schools. for what i can tell, about 2/3 of our kids are effectively not hirable for 21st century jobs. the previous caller mentioned more traditional careers like farming and things like that. anybody with entrepreneurial drive stands a better chance. the fact of the matter is, 100 years ago, less than 20% of our jobs or white collar jobs and today it is over 60%. i think america really has to wake up and understand the world is changing. we have really got to get serious about educating our teens and there are scores have

not gone up in 30 years. it is not a question of money like the president says. you could go to sacred heart and they spend less and will get those kids to college. i would like to hear more of your perspective. guest: one of the time the caller points out is a profound change in american life in our economy and education system. it is increasingly the case that we allocate opportunity and access to the middle-class by virtue of whether or not you go on to get some kind of education and training after high school and what kind you get and how much you get. that is the difference between the america we live in now and the one we lived in between

1946-1983 when all this began to change very rapidly. in 1970, 7% of americans only at high school degrees or less. most of them were in the middle class. they would be making moderate dollars, anywhere from 35- $40,000 per year on up. now less than 40% of people with high school degrees or less can make more than $35,000 per year. only about 1/3 of the graduating class of high school which is virtually all mail can make $35,000 per year without going on to post secondary education. for women, there is no attraction in the labour market. there are no real earnings until they get to eight two-year degree. host: from twitter --

guest: it is still true that when recessions come along, that great job you wanted may not be there. the best thing to do is to hide out in a college course. that means you will be storing up not for the winter. that means you will increase your human capital so when the winter recession is over, you can either move up and get a better job than you hoped for before and you don't lose as much. the job you really want was not there any way. it is a matter of cutting your losses. it is true but the days ahead now shows that if you start your career in a recession, the first job you get affects all the job you get after that.

people who start out in recessions take a lifetime earnings loss. it is best to start in the economy when it is very robust and hiring. to the extent you can stay out of the bad economy by going to school and improving your earnings power, that is the smart thing to do if you can afford it. bridgewater, mass., republican caller, good morning. caller: i'm a 26-year-old college student and i will graduate in a few years. my plan it is to find a job in a foreign country. i find might sell part of a demographic that my generation is not focused on by politicians as much as getting the votes. is this a growing problem of people taking their education to foreign countries to find better opportunities? guest: in general, a large share

of americans do work in the united states. it is an economy that now has about 140 million jobs. over the next decade, it will probably go up to 165 million jobs. what is also happening in that economy is that pieces of it are becoming more and more international. health care is an international labour market. you can work here or someone else. any time there is science, technology, or engineering has a degree, it is available offshore and onshore. there are many others. we are truly becoming, for all the problems it brings, a global economy. it still brings opportunities to people who can move fluidly in that more worldwide labor market. host: the study is called "the college advantage."

alabama, our next caller on the democrat line. caller: good morning. host: turn down your tv. caller: did the obama college thing that past have any effect? he gave opportunities for college students, easier to go to college. guest: the administration and congress have cut back on

spending for higher education but compared to other cuts, higher education has done fairly well. american political leadership is very pro education and that is bipartisan. it is probably the one issue we all agree on is that we want to live in an economy and society where people make their own way by virtue of their own talent. in american politics, what has happened since the clinton era, is that the one thing we agree on is that education, we are happy about the fact that education create opportunities. most americans believe that connects opportunities to individual responsibility. you have to take your own task and do the homework and go to school and good a good job and americans feel that is fair. we would rather have that than have the government give us money and make us equal. the problem with that is that education and access to it is

very much government by economic class, race, ethnicity. it is more fair than an arbitrary system that at -- allocates opportunity without regard to individual effort. host: let's hear from west columbia, south carolina, an independent scholar. caller: i have more of a statement than a question. i have been in the construction business for over 22 years. i am 40 years old now. i have not sought higher education as of yet. since the decline of the construction industry, would it be feasible to seek higher education seeing how illegal immigration as a whole has taken over the construction industry?

guest: both construction and housing are two industries that have been -- and manufacturing -- that have been hardest hit in this recession. they are recovering slowly. most economists agree there will be a new normal in construction. it will not come all the way back to where it was because during the 1990's, we had a huge bubble in construction jobs because the banks were putting out so much funny money that we were building things with this money and that is gone. going forward, it is one of the reasons why males will need to get more education and training after high school because that pathway which was through construction of manufacturing, you could get a pretty good job and learn on the job without going to school and make a career of that.

that will still be there, construction and manufacturing will recover and we will get retirement in those industries so there will be job openings but it will be a smaller and smaller share of the jobs available. host: the study shows the more educated have feared better in the recession on our recovering in every industry. business and professional services are in the green again. in jobs like natural resources, leisure and hospitality, week -- we're working our way down to the bottom would services like manufacturing and construction. the losses have been worse. they're worse for those with a high school degree or less. one final question from twitter ri-- guest: the college education is more valuable.

washington, d.c. is a mecca for the college-educated. this economy is very much part of the new economy. as our places like boston, new -- massachusetts, new york, san francisco in that is a very diverse highway service economy. a good 65-70% of the jobs of these economies require some kind of formal education and training beyond high school. there is a robust concentration of these jobs geographically. we are seeing brain and drained. -- brain drain. where the jobs don't exist, people get educated and leave. host: and the carnevale -- anthony carnevale, thanks so much for coming in.

coming up next, we continue our week-long series looking at online media outlets with a guy benson from town hall.com. we want to show you a live shot from the tampa bay for more the republican national convention will begin next week. you can see the floor, the stage and preparation is under way. about 50,000 people are expected during convention week next week and that includes delegates and national and international media and other tourists. the rnc is expecting 15,000 reporters to go down to tampa. the rnc is one of the biggest media events outside of the olympic games. the forum is 670,000 square feet with three decks and seven

separate levels rebuilding contains about 3,400 tons of steel, 30,000 cubic feet of concrete and 70,000 square feet of glass. the amount of electricity will likely be the most ever utilized for any event in the state of florida. we will be watching all of this as preparations continue heading into convention week next week. cspan will be on hand to bring you live coverage of the rnc, august 27-30 down in tampa and then we will turn our attention to charlotte or the democrats will gather september 4-6. monday, august 27, 2:00 p.m.- 11:00 p.m., is when they plan to get things under way and we will be on hand tuesday, wednesday, and thursday to watch the convention on full. we will have coverage throughout

the week next week surrounding the republican national convention. for more information, go to our website, c-span.org/campaign 2012. we will be right back. >> there are those that criticize me for seeing complexities and i do. because some issues just aren't all that simple. saying there are weapons of mass destruction in iraq does not make it so. saying we can fight a war on the cheap does not make it so. proclaiming mission accomplished certainly does not make it so. [applause] >> three days after september 11, i stood where americans died, in the ruins of the twin towers. workers in hard hats were shouting to me - what ever it takes. i fellow grabbed by the armond said do not let me down.

since that day, i wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. i will never relent in defending america, what ever it takes. [applause] >> cspan has aired every minute of every major party conventions since 1984. the countdown to the convention continues with our live coverage of the republican and national democratic convention live on c- span and cspan radio and live online at c-span.org starting next monday with the gop convention with chris christie in the keynote address. also the 2008 nominate john mccain and former governor of florida, jeb bush. speakers include the san antonio mayor giving the kilo -- keynote address at the democratic national convention. , michelle obama and bill clinton. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are highlighting online

media sources. today we're joined by guy benson from town halls. thanks for being here. what is town hall that guest: town hall.com is a news and political aggregation site. we have news and opinion from a conservative perspective. we follow the day-to-day developments from across the country. we have a heavy emphasis these days on the election. our sister site is hot air.com. we are excited to be here and plans for inviting us. >> we are looking at the magazine version.

another story inside is a web doj doesn't want you to know about drug trafficking. michael bloomberg is america's most dangerous man here is another story. what was the idea behind your website? guest: it was launched in the mid-'90s. it was one of the first political sights on the right on the internet. speaker newt gingrich at the time and majority leader bob dole was there for the unveiling. it was a property of the heritage foundation so it was not for profit. it was a little bit different in nature. it did not have the ability to be quite as partisan because it was part of a think tank. the ownership changed a few years ago and it was purchased by salem communications which is primarily a radio company.

it is bill bennett, michael madsen said and that group of guys. dved. this was one of their first big initial purchases and hot air was added to -- two years ago. it has been an interesting he pollution. -- evolution. we're hoping to remain in the black. election season is very helpful in that regard. host: here are the numbers to call -- you are the political editor. what is your big focus now? guest: i have been on the campaign trail for over one year. i was at the first republican primary debate.

if memory serves, there were about 1000 of them. i think it was in south carolina. governor romney was not there and tim pawlenti was the headliner. i went to almost every debate after that and followed a round number of candidates. it was interesting because our leadership -- this is not necessarily a shock -- but our readership has made a distinct turn from the fighting in the primary where our leaders have their dogs in the fight and they were promoting themselves o whee most of the acrimony has shifted to a more general election mentality where regardless of people's misgivings about mitt romney and some of their leaders had more

than a few, but it -- that had taken a back seat. the focus is now on beating the president of united states and mitt romney is the only vehicle to do so. host: how you choose stories to write about? guest: my boss has been great. he has given me a wide berth to get a sense for what people are interested in then draw and readers that way. i began my career in chicago in talk radio where you are driven by ratings and phone calls. you get a sense of what people are thinking about and what people are talking about, what types of stores will interest people. the big developments on the election front, that is my job to cover. occasionally, i can go down a rabbit holes into esoteric topic that interests me personally and try to get other people interested but by and large, especially now, it is about the

presidential race. host: you look at the stores in the news this morning, fallout from the comments ,t respondodd ak9ins made. how do you tackle a story like that? how do you decide to write about it from a conservative perspective-guest: i was on the telephone yesterday with a couple of sources and getting in touch with people in missouri to get a handle on what exactly is going on akin were to drop out. the central committee would step in and they could do so without any penalty if he drops out today by 5:00 p.m. it is incredible we're talking about this. it goes till september 25, there is still a possibility to replace him on the ballot but it becomes much more convoluted. a judge would have to be

involved and the party is not interested in that. i have talked to folks in party leadership and focus on twitter -- this is not someone garnering very much support among conservatives. he has made an egregious mistake. he said indefensible banks and many people are saying let's not defend him. there is an opportunity for a mulligan but take it. will the congressman recognize that? will he decide, in my view, to put his country and certainly his party at his own ambition? or will he march forward and let the chips fall? i suspect the chips will fall in a way that is not helpful to the republicans and to him personally. there is a few things at play. centre clear mccaskill --

senator clear mccaskill, his opponent, is out there giving warm word fortodd akins. she is praying he hangs on past the deadline so she can hammer him with every at she runs. how do you miss speak about forceable rape? it is mystifying. host: here is the op edge in "the wall street journal." how much do look at other media, other editorial pages, to hone your message and decide what you write about?

are you finding a lot of it in papers or online? guest: much of it is on line and i don't subscribe to a hard copy of anything other than town all magazine. i visit these publications on line. if we were doing this interview five years ago, i would not be saying this but i have found a sense of getting that pulse on twitter. i try to follow a cross-section of folks from across the aisle, elected officials to members of the media, to average voters and everything in between and i think that has been a very helpful resources as well. when you are covering a story, you want to get a sense of what other people are saying. i try to avoid, especially when it comes to instant reaction to speeches or some sort of policy initiative, if it's something that i want to lead in opinion

of my own, i don't necessarily shop around and get a sense of what other people are saying. i prefer to give my own reaction first and then later on and go back to hear what other people are saying. if it is something where i am invited to do a television appearance and it is a topic i am not well informed about, i will go to sources i trust and read what they have to say and try to gather as many facts as possible and go from there. host: you can send us a to wait -- let's get to the telephones and hear from georgia on a republican line, good morning. caller: i am a republican -- host: we are having a problem with the audio. craig says he does go on town hall.com.

caller: mr. romney is not coming back aggressively on the tax side. why should mr. romney asked mr. obama to show his tax records from his college years and he will match those? we need an attack dog on the republican side. you are the presidential candidate, do you necessarily want to be the chief attack dog? if you decide you will go on the attack, do you -- you want to pick your battles.

i'm not sure feeding into a democratic narrative about governor romney's tax returns by offering a counter challenges about college records would make the most sense in terms of his time. we have seen a little bit of a punch back efforts from mitt romney himself when he is asked about the tax records. he will say let's deal with something that matters. if we're talking about being secretive, why has the president exerted executive privilege when it comes to tens of thousands of documents containing to the scandal that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of agents -- hundreds of people including agents in the gun-running scandal. for the justice department to be

covering this up as something people should ask questions about. if there is going to be a quid pro quo question or an attempt to fire back, i would go in that direction. congressman ryan said it well when he was asked about this in an initial interview. he said there are a handful of americans who are deeply concerned about what is lurking in the mitt romney tax returns. we call those people democrats who will not vote for him anyway. americans and undecided voters are not asking where the tax records are, they are asking where the jobs. that is the essential thing we have seen from the mitt romney campaign and we will see that continue as we move to the convention next week. host: washington, d.c. on our democrats line, go ahead. caller: over the years, people

bring their money from the neighborhoods to the avenues. you can't start anything in your neighborhood because of the regulations. the only thing that is available is a hot dog stand. guest: interesting you brought up that example. there is a story recently in one of the states that there were a young man tried to open a hot dog stand or send which stand in order to make some money to help pay for the health care of his parents and he was shut down by the local government because of local regulations. i would completely agree that there are some major barriers to job creation in this country and one of them is burdensome

government regulations and that is something republicans have been talking about a lot. governor romney was just an ohio talking about the epa last week. i think you hit on a very important point. host: let's go to missouri where bill is an independent scholar. good morning. caller: your guest made the comment that people are concerned about taxes and they are democrats. if mr. runyan does not release those records, i will vote for mr. obama. -- if mr. romney does not release those records i will vote for mr. obama. he has a new ed this morning

staying -- saying he will say in the racewillmr. akins. host: york giving us and on the ground perspective in missouri. what do your friends and neighbors say? bill? i think we lost him. guest: i think he is right on clear mccaskill. -- clear --claire mccaskill. this is the biggest boon to her campaign. she is in deep trouble and a lot of ways. she is out of step with her state. she is in lock step with the obama agenda. she is on the process of being a former senator. one of the few things that could have intervened to help was an implosion of her upon which happens to be happening.

for republicans, perhaps this is implosion came one day too early. if you are a republican, it seems the man in the center of the storm does not realize exactly what the implications of that implosion maybe. when it comes to the tax records, to the caller's point, i wrote a piece about a month ago suggesting that governor romney should release more tax returns. i gave four arguments against it because i think there are good arguments against it and i gave five reasons why he should anyway. he has chosen not to go that direction. if you look at the state of the country and the economy and the debt and you decide you are more interested in mitt romney's tax returns that getting the country back on financial footing where we need to be, i don't exactly know how i can persuade you otherwise. from my own perspective, it shifted when senate majority leader harry reid had his imaginary friend show up and

inform him that there was no information in the mitt romney tax returns. if you have people on the political left willing to make things up about governor romney, that gives him a diminished incentive to play ball because they are not good actors. called thes thing irs. if mitt romney was hiding something and of something or illegal, the irs would have something to say about it and the governor has had no problems with them. he has paid tens of millions of dollars. the mccain campaign who vetted him for vice president said his taxes were in good shape. we could talk about the most americans are interested in the

employment picture, the debt picture, and whether we are headed off a fiscal cliff and wondering what are the two candidates' positions. we are seeing a lot of pro- active solutions from the republicans and we are seeing a lot of demagoguery from the other side host: guy benson, we will go now to robert in oakdale, tenn., a republican column. caller: good morning. i have a short statement and i would like to ask each of you a question. my statement is -- this will be my last morning watching "washington journal." i have had all i can take of the democrats using all three lines to defend them. democrats lie and cheat and steal. when they use the republican line, they are stealing, ok? my question is, and i will not

-- i would like an answer from the both of you -- have either of you heard the name juanita broderick? host: why is that important? caller: as you recall, won a to broderick went on television some years ago and accused bill clinton of raping her. do you remember that? guest: i do remember that. maybe you are going in direction of the comments about rape. i think "washington journal" and cspan does a disservice to the country so i would continue -- i would encourage you to keep watching. people call in knowing full well they're not republicans but the call on the republican line and say they are lifelong republicans horrified by what the republicans are doing and

there is no credibility. it is not clear that you are not one of them. you are a genuine republican and i thank you for the call. what comes to the juanita broderick situation, there's a tendency in this town to say that one of our guys is in trouble, let's figure out something bad that someone else a dawn on the other side. sometimes there is a reasonable point to be made and sometimes there isn't. in this case, todd akins said something and it is 100% all on hand. but harry reid standard of killed, bill clinton should have to prove that he did not rape juanita broderick because the allegation was out there. someone went on television to make the allegation. senator reid, based on his logic, would say the words out, bill clinton rate someone and it is up to him to prove otherwise but that's not the way our criminal-justice system works.

i think that was grossly unfair of harry reid to do. i think the juanita broderick example can illustrate that. host: this is the old story on that from "the washington post." our caller had harsh words for democrats. as an independent, why should i vote for a republican when i hear discontent? where should the discourse level bay? what language should be used? guest: i am always about debating ideas. sometimes, some figures on the right become incendiary on the

right. people get heated and say things. let's not forget that the president of the united states, his official super pak run by his former deputy white house spokesman is running an ad right now linking mitt romney to the death of a woman by cantor based on no facts whatsoever the president gave a press conference yesterday in which he absolutely refused to condemn the head. he tried to play the equivalency game. he said the republicans are running at about welfare reform. i think is probably an exaggerated ed from the romney campaign. a policy dispute over welfare reform and what the president is doing to undermine that law verses trying to tie a candidate to a woman's death when the facts are completely not on that side, i think that some of the worst kind of rhetoric.

we had the vice president last week putting on some course sort of accent and telling an audience in a heavily black community that the republicans will put y'all back in chains. there is some things being said by folks on both sides. if we're going to hold republicans to the standard of everything rush limbaugh says, let's go back to what the vice president and president of the united states are saying and allowing to be set on their behalf. host: guy benson is political editor at town hall.com. he was a public radio reporter in south florida. you can hear him on the radio. guest: 1260 am, it is a sunday evening program. host: a democratic caller joins

us from florida. caller: good morning. i have a question for you -- these bush tax cuts have been in effect for 12 years now. at the end of 2010, all the republicans said that corporate america has uncertainty about the bush tax cuts. where are the jobs after it was extended? guest: good question. they extended the tax cuts for one year. if you run a business, i think you understand that tax policy that is in flux every single year, that does not provide very much certainty. president bush took over as did president obama in a recession created by his predecessor. it was much less severe than the one president obama inherited.

president obama had two rounds of tax cuts. president bush averaged 5.2% unemployment over his eight years in office. the budget deficit came down as low as $161 billion in 2007 which was still far too high but is change compared to what we see these days. president obama himself in arguing on behalf of those tax rates, he said there was a consensus of economists from across the economic spectrum. they told him that if you raise taxes during a fragile economy, it is not helpful and it will have a counter-productive effect on job creation. that was president obama's argument in favor of extending the bush tax rate.

if he wants to build a case now that the economy is in better shape than it was in 2010, he is welcome to make that argument. i think americans will look around him and look at 8.3% unemployment and the jitters that remain for various reasons. we're still in a state of fertility and maybe we should listen to 2010 barack obama in the midst of an election campaign. host: let's go to north carolina, an independent scholar. caller: good morning. i pried my military service in salt lake city. i know there is a lot of insults going on in that state. what is religion not being brought up right now?

it is to protect mitt romney. you know i am telling the truth. i'm telling you right now, incest is at its worst in the state of utah. host: are you trying to make a correlation between mormons? caller: you put reverend wright out there but you will not say anything negative about the mormons. guest: despite the odious implication from the caller, i want to thank him for his military service. i don't know how to respond to this. utah is a great place and mormons are some of the most moral and nice wonderful people i have ever met in my life. he is making assertions that -- about incest but that is not a serious point every deserves a serious response.

if you can point to mitt romney attending a church for 20 years that openly preach to incest, that would be one thing. that is not the case. the rev. right analogy is not apt. i think we should move on from that one. host: let's talk about how -- how governor romney opened up his spiritual experiences to the media over the weekend. reporters got to watch his family at their church. what do you think about that decision and how will it play out? guest: on the two major tickets, we have only one traditional protestant and that is barack obama. you have two catholics, the two vice presidential nominees and a mormon at the top of the republican ticket. my suspicion is that the romney campaign is doing something of a

dense. they understand that some people will try to exploit governor romney possible fate and tap into some confusion about the fate and maybe something that exists out there. they also want to demystify it. they want to say mormons are great people that you need to be afraid of if you are living somewhere else. i think governor romney and the millions of dollars spent on negative ads on hand over the last six months, try to paint him as a greedy corporate raider who outsources jobs and killed women with cancer and all these horrible things. many of these claims have been thoroughly debunked by independent fact checkers. availableiece that's at town hall.com or go through

the eight major points against mitt romney. some of the untold stories about mitt romney are these tales of profound and almost extra generosity throughout his life. there is one that was highlighted in the end about how when he was managing bank capital, one of his partners daughters went missing in new york city and there was a suspicion she had been kidnapped and romney shut down bank capital, moved everyone down to new york city for a weekend and set up a nerve center and offered rewards and walked the streets looking for this girl and ended up finder and saving her life. a great piece that was in "the big target mid ' tt." he has been a personal generous

individual sharing prodigious amounts of money to charity and helping people who need help. host: let's look at the piece you did it -- -- guest: what i try to do in the peace is not just give my own opinion. i go throughout the entire peace

and there is about 80 hyperlinks to other sources. i tried to make them generally agreed upon and credible mainstream sources whether it is "the washington post," i try to accumulate what has been written about these questions and get to the bottom of what is going on and what the truth is. i think the american public is being given a choice in this election where they have a president of the united states that has four years of a record to run on and the main strategy i can see from the obama campaign is to disqualify mitt romney. there was a political story months ago that shows the internal workings of the obama campaign. their strategy was to figuratively disembowel mitt romney. they have eight major attacks on governor romney and i thought as

long as they are spending $100 million on attack ads and we're being subjected to them, let's see how many of them are based on fact and how many are not. that is an important case to be made. it says something about people making the allegations and the against to the allegations are directed. host: we are looking at an online media sources this week. we will also hear from representatives of the huffington post and the daily caller throughout the week. today we are looking at town hall.com. are you exclusively here in washington or are there other bureaus? is it an old school news room? guest: i would not say it is a traditional old style news from. we definitely do has a new -- have a news room and we are based in d.c.

our editorial team is relatively small and definitely relatively young and energetic. we have some great colleagues at town hall. we have the sales side because we have to make money to pay the bills and have folks out in california and elsewhere who are on the team. a major part of us is aggregating syndicated columns and exclusive columnists, some of our most popular names are with us. the list goes on and on. is a center for conservative thought. some people ask how to get in touch with and coulter. she does not work with us but it comes with the in-house editorial team. we might have 10-12 at a given time so we run a tight ship.

covering everything that is going on is a daunting task. my goal is to get a little bit of sleep after november sex. host: let's go to a republican caller in kansas. caller: i would like to talk to you and mr. bentsen about the privatized or in the affected as having on this country. are you there? host: we are here, please continue. caller: i have been trying to get this across the two senators and the president. he has agreed to bring home 33,000 troops. the problem is we have more people coming home in body bags from suicide than we do having been killed in the war. this is not a good time in any way at all.

we have not chosen two really good candidates for president and we still continue with this war. i have not heard anything from mitt romney about the war. when we had world war two, we conscripted everyone from the president's sons in the navy to every man and every woman from our nation. everybody was involved in collecting rubber so they could have tires for their equipment that needed tires. we collected all kinds of foil paper. i don't know what that was for. we could not wear nylons because they needed it for parachutes. were all involved every day of our lives. now we are not involved at all.

host: we are running short on time but the candidates talked about afghanistan yesterday for the first time. we heard mitt romney and congressman ryan away in. they support the transition to afghan control. congressman ryan talked about letting the military decide how to pursue a course of action. president obama also taught at his press briefing yesterday about the situation in afghanistan. is it getting enough attention? guest: i think it is not getting enough attention. to some extent, those of us in the media, texan plant for that. it is my beat to talk about the presidential campaign but sometimes we tend to forget in the midst of the campaign that there is a much more dangerous flight happening overseas where

there is men and women at risk and in harm's way. i'm not sure if some of her statistics were exactly right on with suicide and combat fatalities but we can all agree when there are servicemen and women carrying our flag around the world and deployed in war, it is something of the utmost importance and should deserve a lot of scrutiny and discussion among our leadership. i think it was appropriate to hear from both governor romney and president obama on afghanistan. it has taken a back seat in some sense over the recent months. host: independent caller in california, welcome. caller: 2 the previous call -- four years ago mccain talked about the surge and obama

continued. as far as the presidency this time, i believe congress will stay with the republicans and i believe one reagan worked with the democrats and clinton work with republicans, obama should give everyone to work together to solve the problems. that is what i have to say. guest: good luck with that. i have not seen very much of this president displaying the leadership skills and the wherewithal or the desire to work with republicans and ideas that he did not particularly care for. his signature accomplishment is obama care where republicans were shut out of the room and their ideas were ignored. there is a reason why that particular piece of legislation and now law remains unpopular because it was a very partisan exercise.