i just -- i feel at this point -- yesterday we had a meeting before our hearing, we had a good discussion in there, and then the way he handled himself in the hearing, if there was something he wasn't up on -- i mean, six weeks, there are bound to be things he doesn't know, and he was able to defer to the gentleman with mc or to ron hale, and he doesn't feel -- you know, i'm looking at him as a person. >> right. >> the way he is relating. and i'll tell you, i just -- i got a handwritten note from him, and i thought where does he find the time to do this? that's a nice thing to do. but i never write notes. i mean -- >> what was the note about? >> just basically thanking me

for our association to this point and how i handled the hearing, as to how the hearing went, and he said you run a tight ship. well, i don't -- i'll tell you, he doesn't need to do those kind of things, but he does them. president bush, h.w. bush, i heard, would write thank you notes like that to people, and i admire him for taking the time to do something like that. i'm feeling pretty good. this is a guy that's been there, and done it. i mean, he was a hero, and he could have set up war in germany, he asked to go to vietnam, he served there with his brother, and he just seems to be a very calm demeanor, doesn't seem to get upset, and i just hope things

continue. i feel really good about secretary panetta, i feel really good about hagel. >> well, we'll leave it there, thank you very much for your time, appreciate it. >> thank you. >> and we're back with our reporter. craig, what did you hear there from the chairman of the threats that we're facing in this country, and the pentagon strategy overall? >> it is a remarkable time in washington, in that every day, we have new headlines, new stories about north korea, syria, iran, afghanistan, about all these missions or potential missions facing the u.s. military. we unseemly parts of the world. at the same time every day, we have pretty much chaos when it comes to how to fund these operations, fund the pentagon, with the cut in military spending. congress and the white house are completely far apart. even within congress they

can't agree on how to pay for all of this, and this is really affecting the pentagon in this day and age, whether you think there should be more or less money devote to military spending, the uncertain is he it is -- the uncertainty is a problem. >> he talks in one voice about red lines and we need not to back off of red lines, but then in the next breath he was saying i don't want to get involved anywhere because we're not in the position to get involved in all of these places. and when you talk about afghanistan, he is saying we're winning in afghanistan, but we've been fighting in afghanistan for 12 years and we've not yet subdued the taliban, and yet we're confronting possibly north korea, talking about iran, we're talking about military intervention in syria, and it begs the question, well, if you have red lines, you may have to actually back off the red line if you don't feel like you have the military that can meet these challenges. >> so time is -- it's all happen sog quickly, these guys are having difficulties figuring out what they want

to do. >> how do you get to next week on north korea, what are we watching for in. >> we're watching for any -- watching for? >> i think we are watching for any day, the north koreans could launch another missile test, and they want to see how does the u.s. respond, south korea respond, japan respond. we need to show them they can't get away with it but the question is what do we do. >> and syria, what is next there? >> we can already see pressure bubbling in congress to take any sort of action. carl levin, chair of the senate armed services committee is calling for airstrikes against military target that is try to take down the aircraft that syria is using to beat back the rebels. it's his president, a democratic president, disagreeing with him on that. the pressure is growing and people like buck mckeon will have to make some tough

calls. >> thank you both for being on "newsmakers". >> sure. >> next on c-span, radio talk show host talks about minority outreach and rand paul's remarks at howard university in washington, d.c. and later, high school students in the u.s. senate youth program. i really learned, politics, it's about people that really interact, and we learned that we can do this, we are all capable of being leaders of our country, and it's about working together and finding common ground. >> before this program, i really wasn't all that optimistic about the future because like jay said, all the media shows is the negative aspects about the future, and i think this

program really made us all more optimistic about the future and more positive about where our country is going. >> we get the negative opinion from all the news media, whether it's msnbc on the left or fox on the right, but the fact of the matter is that every day they're working together, you know. justice kagan is able to put behind her differences and go hunting with justice scalia and our students each lunch together and it happens every day. >> i thought president obama said something perfect the other day, he said our country has been in turmoil throughout its history but we as a people have always found a way to get through it, and i'm not saying i'm not worried about the future and we don't have problems to fix, but i look around this room, see 103 minds who want to make a stkeufs for this -- difference for this country, want to do good and i know there are plenty of people that are our age that want to make a difference and do good, so i think we will be able to involve the problems

we face each day. >> each year students meet in washington as part of the senate youth program, this year they met with leaders from all three branches of government, including president obama, justice kagan and senator burr. hear their insights tonight at 8:00 on c-span's q & a. >> we are joined by armstrong williams, radio host, talk show host and columnist. welcome. >> good morning. >> i want to talk about the gop, particularly its outreach efforts to minorities. what do you think about that as a proposal and what do you think about how it's going so far in that proposal? >> guest: listen, we are a country of choices. we all don't marry the same, we don't eat the same, we don't like the same sports. and what makes america great

is to have alternatives. if minorities only feel that their place is in the democratic party, then it's not democracy. that party will take them for granted, and obviously, you have no mechanism to hold them accountable. so not just for the of -- for the good of minorities but the country as a whole, it's very important that the gop makes not just a rhetorical effort, and a symbolic effort, but a substantive effort to reach out to a base in this country that if you listen closely, basically supports them on many of the issues that they embrace and their party platform, so the issue becomes, and why is it that you don't see, from 1970, minority, especially american black, don't embrace the republican party overwhelmingly. there is this perception. i can't say that it's manufactured by the media. it's manufactured by the

left. that makes many blacks believe that the republican party, while they share their values when it comes to the issue of race and poverty and equality, they're not represented. and when you think about desegregation, slavery, what americans did to get us to where we are today, they will not risk any remote of chance of going back to those days based on the color of their skin, so it was wonderful to see rand paul at howard university recently. it's not even about what he said. it's the fact that he showed up. he decided he had waited -- or -- made it well known his intentions are to seek the presidency of the united states as a republican candidate. howard universities and the historically black colleges

are never -- the fact that rand paul was willing to go in the fiery furnace, the face of adversary, and obviously he did not have the understanding of the history of race and segregation and that's okay too because he was able to take something from the young people who were bright, well researched. but they were happy he was there. i had an opportunity to talk to some of the people who were there and got to chatting afterwards and young people are different, they're open, they realize there is something they're missing, they're talking about job opportunities, whether they will have a future so, they're more willing to listen to other parties. so they actually listened to rand paul. >> let's listen to what he said and get your reaction: >> no republican questions or disputes civil rights. i've never waived in civil rights or the civil rights act. the dispute, if there is one, has always been about how much of the remedy should come under federal or state

or private purview. what gets lost is the republican party has always been the party of civil rights and voting right, because republicans believe that the federal government is limited, though, and that its function is limited by the constitution. some have concluded that republicans are somehow inherently insensitive to minority rights. nothing could be further from the truth. republicans do, indeed, still believe many rights remain with the people and the states respectively. when some people hear that, they tune us out, saying he's just using code words for states right to discriminate, for the states right to seeinggy greato segregate and abuse. that's simply not true. >> important -- equally important is that the students showed up. they were there. they came to listen. so you don't get caught up in the criticism. you get caught up in the fact that this shows progress from the gop.

>> here's one criticism, "new york times", he ignored the past generation gins sensitivity by the gop toward the african-american community. >> the media cannot control the dictates of mr. rand paul or the gop. instead of findinggate that he showed up they showed to malign him. >> it's not true what he said? >> you cannot include everything in his speech. he decided in the time slot he had available, what he was going to discuss. the issues thaw reported in the "new york times" was not in there, but he discussed what he thought was important. you know how the speeches come about, everybody is trying to tell you, include this, include that. the issue is he spoke and he took questions. there was a q & a. he gave the kids an opportunity -- they're not kids, these are young, intelligent bright -- they are our future. they gave him a chance for

exchange. there are many members of congress who don't come on your show because they don't want to take phone calls. he showed up. it's progress when somebody like the party chair goes to new york, with the pastor a.r. ben arrested, has this meeting where he honors bob rumm and others, stalwarts of the republican party saying we can't. and they committed $2 million. that's not chump change, committed $2 million that they're willing to spend and know people like a.r. benard and others in the party will hold him accountable because we're going to help guide them through this process because we really believe there's a tremendous opportunity for not just blacks but all who felt the republican party was not a voice for them, they will come back and take a look at this party. and at least give us another look. >> armstrong williams joins

us as he talks about minority relations. you want to ask questions: here are the numbers: >> you talked initially about the gop needing to make concessions. what does that look like? >> i do believe that the leadership, along with the commitment of funds, along with going to these different places in the outreach, the gop has together to find a major piece of legislation that is very important to the american black community. but it would take a fierce stance and say this is where we stand. i'm not saying whether it's voters rights and the issues before the supreme court that

they're dealing with the border rights issue, but there has to be some issue that they have to come to grips on, that they take a stand on, that will send a clear message, and not just in terms of dollars, not just in terms of rhetoric, but clear legislation, we're going to put our teeth in this and we're going to support it. whatever that legislation is, they must figure it out. i think if they were to do that, it would take a major step in the right direction. >> and akin to senator rubio, supporting the immigration proposals going through? >> not just supporting it. but in a very thoughtful way. very thoughtful. taking into consideration the guest workers program, taking into consideration that you must have the border secured 24 hours a day. taking into consideration that there are a lot of young people who came in this country, who are illegal, through no fault of their own. we must show compassion for those, the least fortunate. yes, there should be a pathway to citizenship, but that pathway must be

sensitive, it must be reasonable, and it's not to punish someone. what you want us to do is respect. i think that was a fine example. like senator rubio, he's taken a stand, and willing to compromise. the gop has to step forward on a piece of legislation that black people care about in this country and show the same grit, the same enthusiasm, the same tenacity, that we're going to push forward, because we believe this is the right and moral thing to do. >> do you think it will change hearts and minds? >> it already has. people are talking. once you get people talking, not so much that the gop is racist, they don't care about us, they're saying wow, this is different. let's wait and see. the american people are very open. they're very forgiving. understand, many people in this country struggle and listen, the liberal polices of the past, of the present, have not worked. if you ask black people, of all the resource, all the voting that they've done,

that put democrats in power for the last 20, 30 years, are their lives better, the problem is, -- i'm not saying black people are poor, this is generally for most people, if you were poor in the lower class, before bush, clinton, obama, in office, nine times out of 10, you're going to be poor or poorer when they leave office. i think something that president obama said, in one of his speeches recently, when he was in chicago, he talked about the fact that particularly in the american black community, they must be more accountable, they must take more responsibility for their lives. when he was saying there, you can have all the government programs in the world, by design, they help those that are less fortunate, but unless you learn work ethic, discipline, sacrifice, and realize that the help is within you, based on you, the government can't help you, eventually, that is going to run out and you will find yourself in a worse situation. even the president is coming around to understand that as

much as the government can do , it is on your shoulders. you are responsible for your life when it's all said and done, not the government. but it does play a role. but it should not play the overriding role in terms of providing for you and your family. >> viewers want to talk to you. mary, florida, good morning, you're on with armstrong williams. go ahead. caller: yes, good morning. i'd like to say to mr. armstrong, where were you at during the republican convention when they had paraded all the black republicans up there saying really nasty things about president obama? and another thing, you know, you're sitting up there, saying, you know, about black community is aware of what you are trying to do. but you've already tried to suppress our vote, you've tried to keep us from getting jobs and you think you're going to go out and sell this to the black community? and when you send people like allen west out there to talk to the black community, you know, you cannot be doing the

things that you're doing. we don't believe anything that you're saying. that is the problem. you are lying. you are making things up. host: let the guest respond. guest: i really appreciate the caller because what the caller is expressing is there is a mentality that, no matter what the gop says and does, they won't trust us, they won't believe us, and it only reminds us of the hurdle that we must overcome, and while her perception is that black republicans are trotting around at these conventions just to criticize president obama is not necessarily the case. in my opinion, it's not the case at all. these are people who have a different value system, a different belief system, they have a different way of looking at the world, and how the world should run, and how it should work for everybody. some people see that antipresident obama, and, therefore, there's a certain culture in this country that has such an attachment to the first black president that they feel a sense of

ownership, and so they see it as family thing, you don't criticize the family member. you don't say those things. but let me tell you, in any of our lives, to have improvement, to progress, we -- president obama is better through this constructive criticism. people can say whatever they want. in wisconsin, at the press conference, his attack was not critical of president obama, but he was trying to say to the president, some things are not working in thers a of health care, in the area of taxes. let us look at it in a different way. we respect you, we admire you, but we want you to succeed. but we cannot succeed if we're saying everything that person wants to hear. in order to be better, constructive criticism is necessary. i respect the caller but i want to say to the caller that this gop has to earn your trust, you should not just give it to them but i think if you are wise and if you are really open, you will begin to see the kind of change that you thought was

almost impossible and unbelievable as you just expressed in your comments. host: caller, go ahead. caller: i want to say i'm african-american female, republican, 45 years old, and i am so happy to see the outreach, the visibility, of republicans reaching out to those of us african-american republicans. i felt during this last presidential election so marginalized. they would show the numbers of african-americans that were republicans and not supporting the democratic ticket, it was such a small percentage, and i felt like i didn't see myself, and now i'm glad to see myself there, but i also wanted to say in response to the comment of the last caller that we african-americans do not think with one mind, and what

i find really hurtful is when african-americans who are democrats malign those of us that are republicans, as though we don't have the right to have our views. and if you do not support president obama's polices -- not him as a person, as armstrong was just talking about, but if you don't support his views, that somehow you're that less than african-american. i think that we really need to stop and think about how we're hurting each other when we do that. and when you talk about people like alan west, when you talk about dr. carson, and when you talk about armstrong williams, you know, saying somehow that they're some different kind of or less than african-american because they have a different viewpoint, we should be supporting the fact that we have a right to think and express our mind. guest: freedom. freedom.

free to speak what you believe. back to the malignment, we really love -- we love this country, we see that this country is losing its greatness. it has lost much of its potential. people are fighting, people are afraid. it takes all kinds of ideas to make it work. you know what the problem is, and what saddens me, if you are a white american in this country, you can say anything you want to say. whatever you want to say, nobody puts new a box. if you criticize a white president, they don't say you're antiwhite. they don't. but the problem s. they do try to put black people in a box, that because of my skin, you're going to dictate how i am to believe, how i am to vote, how i am to think, how i am to rationalize politics. that's not only slavery but racism in itself. the reason you're telling me i can't do it is because i am black. what you need to do is check yourself, when you hold me to a standard that you're not willing to hold everybody

else to because of the color of my science. host: lisa, good morning, from virginia on our independent line. caller: hi, good morning. i am an african-american woman, and i have typically voted democrat. i am on both sides of the fence, voting independent. i could in every way vote republican, but i tell you, every time i -- although i support the views, and every time i share -- listen to a republican candidate, i'm turned off. i an apalled of the behavior that some of the republicans have put out there and that is something that i'm not going to stand behind. i'll go ahead and support the president because i believe he has an agenda that can work, and even if there's a republican counterpart that has a similar agenda that's better, but i can't take the sarcasm, i can't take the rhetoric, i can't take the radical ideas. you take this issue on the nra, you can't -- i can't

stand behind -- because we are a gun owner in my home but i can't understand the lunacy when you don't want to stand behind basic polices, so i'm always on the fence about whether or not i want to go vote and -- vote republican, stay middle of the road, independent or follow the republicans and every time there is a republican out there, whether it's on the congress level or locally, that says something, does something, behaves in a crazy manner, where i say i in no way could be associated with this party. that is the reason why i don't stand behind republican parties. i just don't. host: in this case, she brought it strictly to the gun control issue, and she gave that as an example. guest: she supports that stance, she made it clear she is a gun owner. she is say you know, armstrong, i was about to vote for the republicans, then i heard this republican say wet back, and oh my god. wet back? my god. what hole did you just crawl

out of. it's 2013. that's what she's talking about. and she's absolutely right. there's no place for that kind of rhetoric and feeling about people in the republican party. but what this caller also shows us, that she's oefplt she wants to. but it's the little things that they do. they need better face place, man, better voice, they need people to understand that you can criticize the president but it doesn't have to be personal. i thought the whole birther issue, whether he was a citizen. he's a citizen, obviously, why waste your time on that, why get in a discussion with that. deal with real issues like affordable care, deal with immigration, deal with the government, with iran, deal with what's going on in north korea now. people can respect that because they understand those are real issues but when you become petty, it turns people off. host: this is armstrong williams to talk about the gop outreach to minorities for the next 20 minutes or so. brady is from miami, florida,

on the republican line, hi. caller: good morning, how you doing? mr. armstrong williams, i love -- i'm a republican, and we are more aligned -- our conservative views are more in line with the republican party, we're more aligned with the republican party on gun ownership, to protect our community. we always were republicans. it became the fbi, the new deal, that ushered in the food stamp, medicaid, all those things and unfortunately, that is what the democratic party has used as our crutch, food stamp, welfare, the promise of a job that you're never going to get, an apartment, you're going to get section eight and public housing. that's the welfare party. my mom was a democrat, the whole family is a democrat. i'm republican. and i can assure you, you're looking at the racist element of the republican party,

because i'm a -- the legislators, the cabinet, the legislators outside of -- we have to be careful in the rhetoric, we have to be careful when you come in and you do away with urgent voting, you have to be careful with you -- when you do away with registration or civil rights. we have to stop putting our foot in our mouth more than anything and we have to do outreach and deal with the issues. we can't talk about race issues. we have to stick to our guns, stick to the issues, and stick to the person -- give people the boot strap toss lift themselves up and out of poverty and not give them the food stamps, not give them what they want, which is to stay in a place of poverty. i want to be the best. i have three sons, and --

>> host: caller, thanks. guest: you know, i love learning, and life is a laboratory. i just had this epiphany. the other thing that is -- minorities find so offensive, and they should, you know, the government had a mobile and well meaning idea when they instituted the society programs, welfare, aid for families, they actually thought they were helping, and the people that go on welfare and take assistance from the government, these good are good people, decent people. these are hard working people. these are people that don't want to be independent on the -- to be dependent gone the the -- deniedent on the government. people go through challenges, some of the best and worst things in life, you cannot plan. what this has done, the government, in its own way of trying to be helpful, has create thunderstorm permanent

underclass, and these centers where people become so dependent that they've lost their initiative to do for themselves. they become dependent. so when we talk about welfare, we try to make welfare synonymous with poverty, with black people. that's why i said earlier in the discussion, by no means am i trying to stereo trip black people. >> you even used the term welfare party. >> and they're not. the bottom line, there are so many people in this country, the 47 percent that romney spoke about, that people found was the turning point in his -- in the election. you have to understand, people need help. most people want their dignity. most people want to get up in the morning and set an example to their children that they work. many people would like to create jobs and have employees. many people have -- they have pride. we should not try to make black people synonymous with welfare, everything that's wrong in this country. listen, the bottom line, we have created this, we have to

find a way to undo what we've done. and do it in a way, where these people can regain the ability to take care of themselves, because every now and then, even you and i, we may have a slip, we may have a fall. we're not going to stay down but sometimes we need help. and none of us get to where we are today unless somebody believes in us, invests in us and gave us an opportunity. that's all many people want is an opportunity, and i don't think black people are different than anybody else.

something tabblet government became pay drug. it removed families and removed fathers from the household. it said if you have a father in that household, you are not going to get that check. so what we've got to do, we have to understand, we have to ncourage entrepreneurship. it's not enough to look for a

job, to think ha the government is going to give you something. you have to create something and we're not creating like we once did in inner city america. host: he has a website. where can people find your show? sirius every night monday through friday. guest: it's on network tv and check your local listing. right side wire. host: good morning. caller: i'm a young african-american boy. i'm not able to vote yet. i listen to c-span regularly and i comment on what he said

about encouraging young entrepreneurship. but i encourage african-americans to get their education. we will always be looked down at. we will always be thought of in a different way than others. i say get your education. it's not enough like you said to go look for a job. create your own business. get your education, go to college so that you can change the way people feel and think about african-americans. that's all i have to say. host: we'll go to andy next from south carolina, independent line. caller: hi, i listen to your show in the evenings and i find it kind of comical. but it's interesting in a lot of discourse. the question i have for you and gop republicans. first of all i'm an african immigrant and i'm black. but i don't