♪ people love you ♪ you make them ♪ strong ♪ raise our voices ♪ let's sing ♪ . >> prime minister's questions returns january 8 when members house of common sense will have returned from their winter holiday. you can watch it live or later in the week when question time p.m. sunday at 9:00 eastern on c-span. thinks, no what he matter what it is. nd sometimes i would get after him. because i think you have to be political in a certain way. honest and you

have to say the same things. to, still, you have to cater people sometimes, i think, and need to they want and votele to influence and to for you. it's not being dishonest, it's just finding out what they want letting them know how you're going help them with those problems of the things that they want. >> first ladies influence and mage season two, this week, lady bird johnson to roslyn carter. and on wednesday, highlights rom the second season, weeknights at 9:00 p.m. eastern c-span. >> coming up a little later on q&a at 11:00 p.m. with radio talk show host, hugh hewitt. after that, another chance to see bbc parliament's westminster review. a look at president obama's second term and some of he issues some second term

presidents faced while in office from this morning's washington journal. >> and author and presidential istorian richard norton smith joins us at the table on second as president ies obama is turning the page on the year.d can we say if president obama is falling into a certain mold of a term president? >> no, i think it's amazing how rush to em to be in a get beyond the next three years. the media the part of that can't wait for the next campaign, for the next horse race. a they forget we have president for the next three years. that hes certainly true is experiencing some of the one might call the second term king, offers a curse. but it's something that goes with o the very beginning rare exceptions. george washington had a very

term.y second rightly over foreign policy. americans were sharply divided revolution and the impact upon this country. who in his rson, first term bought louisiana. to get up on mt. rush mohr. but in the second term, again, politics and the threat of war, you know, he mposed the economic embargo on american shipping to europe. really blew up in his face. >> how do presidents make themselves relevant in the especially in recent decades, there's been so much focus on like you said the next el election? yeah, i think it's harder. the modern nature of media are such that under the circumstances, they are with the notable exception of disinclined to spend a examining the

inhards, if you will, of public policy. much more attracted to the horse race. who's up, who's down. who's in, who's out. what are the latest polls show?e republican, what -- one center democrat, each of them sing to have significant challenges going into the second term. bill clinton had some real problems in his second term. question, maybe it tells us more about us and how we cover presidents, that it does about the presidents themselves. if it applies to presidents across the political spectrum, maybe do something about the modern coverage of presidents that predisposes them to problems in a second term. host: where is president obama

right now in terms of historically relating to past resident -- presidents? 8, 2005 gallup whole, two months after hurricane katrina, he first registered a 50 -- 43% approval rating with 52% saying they disapproved of his performance. day, hewo years to the declined to 41%. guest: first of all, you have two different situations. in the case of the bush presidency, there was a slow, steady, almost leaking of the air out of a balloon. katrina was a critical moment, but you had a fairly steady loss of support for the iraq war and that was kind of a heavy baggage

that the president had to carry. tried a couple of instances of social security reform, and he tried information reform -- immigration reform, and he was trying to that she was unable to get his own party, let alone the regrets and christian -- democrats interested. then you have this president, and the people who were contrasting it this party and low president with the republican party. fluidity,s to be more

i would say, with this president. he is certainly down now, let's if thereonths from now are 7 million people signed up on obamacare. host: other examples of presidents overcoming a tough year? guest: that is a great question, because although it is a jinx, i do not think it is a curse. bill clinton is a very good example. people zero in on the impeachment efforts, on the other hand they overlook the in athat he turned balanced budget, welfare reform, and significant process on kosovo. sure, hadgan, to be to deal with iran contra, but in his second term he achieved tax

reform, immigration reform, and most important of all, the inf treaty doing away with an entire doingof nuclear weapons, -- paving the way for the end of the cold war. was interesting to me is to look at reagan and clinton, just a generation ago who had more mixed records in their second terms. historians are now more generous integrating their overall performance. then you look at their successors, one republican, one democrat do and it seems to be focusinger -- and the screen much narrower and less generous. host: we're speaking with richard norton smith, author of several books.

you can read this story on cnn, calling, -- call in, our phone lines are open. several folks waiting to talk to you about this subject. brandon from las vegas, nevada court the democrats -- for the democrats. go ahead. basically, you said something about his story is -- about how historians will be nicer after a long time. you think in the future richard nixon will be absolved of the watergate scandal and people will pay attention more to his

positive impact on the world, such as opening up china? guest: that is a good restaurant. i cannot answer because i am not clairvoyant, but i can tell you that certainly, even at the time of mr. nixon must debt, i remember stephen ambrose who had bread and -- who had written a biography of him had expressed surprise that the genuine outpouring of emotion. even at that time nixon had regained, among some people, some of the aberration -- admiration for the very things you talked about. -- if this ism heeed the china century, will either be saying is the president who resigned, or a president who opened china to the world. --t: in twitter

guest: let me see. johnson, who succeeded abraham lincoln was impeached. clinton,on -- bill there was talk about impeaching both john tyler was a one term, that is it. from let's go to our old indianapolis, indianapoli. -- to our caller. good morning. i have been a firm democrat all my life, and i just feel we was

looking more at obama when he first got in office, and the way livingpeople the cost of raise, and did things out of character for a democratic president. he let a lot of people down, you do not promise things you cannot deliver. as a president, you do not go you can go back in history, and find presidents did what they said they're going to do, and a lot of people may be down on their common -- on them, but they did not hurt anybody. there are a lot of people very upset with obama, and i feel his rater a time that

will go down even farther, and i feel that the resident that lies to you and get your hopes up should be reached -- impeached. guest: i do think it is interesting at what point you rate this. the shared rescue of wall street by the bush and obama administration. one thing that i do not think has gotten enough attention, and will over time, you think back to 1932 and roosevelt and hoover were talking to each other at the very depths of the great depression. by striking contest for, for better or for worse, i would argue that from november of 2008, to january 2009 we had 1.5 presidents. the outgoing bush administration

cooperated in a historic way with the incoming obama administration. they both lot into tarp mooches newberry -- which was a very unpopular program. notwithstanding the fact that it'll all likelihood he kept a bad situation from turning into something infinitely worse. the ability tot follow up on promises in their second term? rate --it is an interest- an interesting point, because most presidents get the big things done in their first term. lyndon johnson, after the huge landslide made it very clear that he had one year. he knew capital hill better than

anyone, and he had one year to great society, however defined, enacted into law. and turned out to be right. already midterm elections, and the effect of the vietnam war to be managed on the hill. presidents historically have used their first terms to do their biggest oracle achievements. i would suspect that the president's defenders would point out that the very last thatse that he kept is one presidents for a hundred years have been trying to keep to escalate. universal health care -- successfully, universal health care.

host: one of the news remembered resident obama accepting lame for the health-care failure. i want to play a little but of that clip, and have you put it in perspective. >> i understand why folks are frustrated, i would be too, atause sometimes people look what is taking place in notington, and they say enough is getting done that helps me with my life. and regardless of what congress does, ultimately i am the president of the united states, and they could be to do something about it. in terms of how i intend to approach it, i'm just going to as i caning as hard around the priorities that the american people care about. i think it is legitimate for them to expect me to have to win back

some credibility on this health care law in particular, and on a whole range of these issues in general. that is on me. we fumbled the rollout on this health care law. host: in that clip the president talks about winning back credibility. however other residents won background ability in their second term? guest: that is a good question. ronald reagan had a real problem with iran contra. his poll ratings dropped overnight because people, even people who do not even vote for reagan, there was a special kind of odd that existed between reagan and the american people. it may have gone back to the assassination attempt, or the heirs control situation.

they credit him with 20 to do the right thing, and then iran contra came along and there was no way to fit that into that assumption. he appointed an independent review committee. he took his lumps, he went down in the polls, but the interesting thing is he was a fdr,y successful president in his inaugural address established a connection that through him through all sorts of controversies. aere was a majority -- never majority of americans that he

was a dictator. that was what he was called by his opponents. reagan had this that he was able to use to sustain him. he had a historically significant policy, and he saw his numbers shoot back up again. it was... the people were willing to say no one is perfect, you made a mistake, we are willing to move beyond it. we're talking with richard a man who knows his presidents very well. he served as the director of libraries,sidential

and he can answer your russians and comments. margaret, from our line for dents.ndence -- indepen caller: the lack of majority in congress, and/or senate for second term presidencies, does not have anything to do with the polls dropping, and the last effective the president has become? guest: that is a great question. there is something called the six year curse, and that affects great presidents, and significant presidents, insignificant presidents across the board. elections tend to go very badly against the white

house. it happened to bring the roosevelt in 1938. in recent years, george whoosh experienced it in 2006, bill clinton did not because in large part it was a perception that it was a backlash against the impeachment attempt. is ad large, the six-year powerthat the party in dreads. the democrats are probably looking at the senate majority and try to get -- and dreading that. host: on twitter-- tom is on our line for independents.

caller: obama took on policies of bush. there are some problems here in the rich are and making the poor even poorer, and they are putting the money in their pockets. the outsourcing of jobs was the worst thing anyone could have done. job./11 was an inside callingt: that is tom, from illinois. watching, i'mm hearing him say how second term presidents have such a hard time. i wonder why there is a magical number that they can run twice, and if anybody has done about --

thought about only having one term, and it wouldn't be spending their last years running for a second term. and i think it should be term limits on our congressmen. you might be surprised to know, if you asked all of the former presidents, they would all agree that a single six-year term for the president might be better than what we have now. certainly it is true with 24- oear terms -- with tw four year terms, they give a lot of thought to being reelected, and then they become lame duck says soon as they are. a longer duration might be a good idea. there was no,

limit on how many terms a president could run for. when republicans took congress, they basically beat up on a dead man, franklin roosevelt who had one for terms -- won four terms. once they amended the constitution, they elected a president of their own that was efficiently a that if he had wanted a third term of their host: can you talk about the state of america's pocketbooks and how they play into success or failure of the second term? aret: economic issues always going to be predominant.

they don't call it reaganomics anymore. in 1982 --et trade forget. 1982, his popularity was at 39% at one point. lost 26 seats in the house, managed to keep the senate. clearly, as the reagan boom took over, first in 1984, it powered his reelection. keep the democrats for retaking the senate in 1986. -- from retaking the senate in 1986. there is something about six years.

people are eager for change. host: we are talking with presidential historian richard norton smith, involved in several projects over the years about presidential history. when coming up in 2014 is your presidents and patriots tour. what is that about? ourt: in may we are doing newest tour, brand-new itinerary. we are starting in birmingham, over to warm springs, georgia and atlanta. andersonville, jekyll island, savannah, charleston. nine days, several presidential sites. this time we have designed a tour that is equal parts civil war and civil rights history. host: is this a lecture series? putt: we get a bus and we 35 people on it and we go to great historic hotels and

restaurants and walk through historic sites and museums and libraries. you name it. it's a great adventure. we have lots of repeat participants. online to presiden tsandpatriots. if you want to talk to a real, 657- human being, call 202- 7744. host: richard norton smith is with us for the next half hour or so. ginger is on our line for independents. i am somewhat of an anomaly, or was.

i live in louisiana. i am a caucasian. i was so excited when obama came out. i fell in love with this man. course, i don't tell anybody who i voted for. i voted for him because it would start a brawl down here. i voted for him in both elections. in the last six months i started to think, did he not mean what he said in all his campaign promises, or are the republicans preventing him from accomplishing these? months, with the nsa, i've started to feel that the president has not been honest with the citizens. my husband and i are both disabled. i'm 51. i have been disabled for 10 years.

shut down the hospitals. i have cataracts in either eye. i'm going blind at 51. i called about the government insurance, obamacare. we are both disabled. we make $32,000 a year. i have not had health insurance in over 10 years. for the bronze, it would cost me a minimum of $300 a month, upward. platinum or gold was over $800. i'm lucky if i have $20 b end of the month. host: can we ask you what you think this president cost last term will be remembered for? --

president's last term will be remembered for? to doubtt is caused me everything i believe about this man. jimmy carter was too good a man to play the game. that was the impression i had of obama. i think he hoodwinked me. host: richard norton smith, i will let you jump in here. guest: i'm not going to try to argue her viewpoint. i would be interested to know what it was about the nsa that disturbed her, and led her to believe the president had been less than honest. host: do you think that might be an issue that is remembered most? internals oft the the polling -- president has dropped most sharply among many of his own former supporters, particularly younger voters.

i think the nsa cuts very sharply. host: nsa a very big story of 2013. what are you going to remember about 2013? guest: i'm a biographer. to twong to say goodbye very different giants of history, each in their own way demonstrated against the cynicism of our time, that individuals can positively the course of history. what is margaret and one is nelson mandela. -- one is margaret thatcher and what is nelson mandela. i'm going to say hello to pope francis. each asks about president obama and his qualifications. wouldn't you agree that mr.

obama was probably the least qualified candidate for president in the last 100 years? guest: i don't know about that. if you look back over the course of american history, we don't elect legislators to the presidency. in the 20th century, we have done it three times. i'm sorry, in the last 100 years we have done it three times. presidenttly with obama. , whoe him, john f. kennedy as soon as he got to the senate was angling to get out of the senate, and warren harding, enough said. by and large, there's a reason we tend to favor governors. we see it as an executive an extension of what governors do as opposed to

senators. one of the unglamorous functions of government is to make it work , simply work. , you don'ta senator have a lot of people to manage. have a lot of administrative experience. as a governor, that is par for the course. next fromleen is up pompano beach, florida on our line for democrats. good morning. it's pompano beach. host: sorry about that. caller: not a problem. descendent of american slaves, i feel like every president kicked us under the bus. i'm very upset when it comes to president obama. not a nine percent of the

descendents of american slaves 99%d for our president -- of the descendents of american slaves voted for our president. he has not done anything to help us and our kids. whatld like to know president came up with the dream come january, it's going to be martin luther king's birthday. when i get my dreams and they would say to dream that, i feel like i should have the dream. not to be mean or anything. i want to know who came up with this dream act. i don't know what the origins are. it was something that was debated during the previous presidency. , president george w. bush delivered a primetime

national address calling on congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. i want to play a little bit of that and talk about the history of this issue. [video clip] >> tonight i want to speak directly to members of the house and senate. bill needsion reform to be comprehensive. all elements of this problem must be addressed together, or none will be solved at all. has passed an immigration bill. the senate should act by the end of this month, so we can work out the differences between the two bills in congress can pass a comprehensive bill for me to sign into law. america needs to conduct its debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone. we work it out, all of us need to keep some things in mind. unifiedt build a country by inciting people to anger or playing on anyone's

fears or exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain. that was president bush back in may of 2006. how tough has the issue of immigration been for presidents to move through congress? guest: they goes back to the 19th century -- it goes back to , the regional,y almost exclusively european, but to a much more expensive, global, inclusive pattern. in 2006 belongs to a species of presidential leadership -- is one reason why, with the passage of time, presidents often tend to get re- reviewed more generously than at the time.

one of the examples we remember harry truman for is the fact that he was campaigning for what became medicare. he wasn't able to achieve it in the political climate of his time, but he was credited with having the vision, being ahead of the curve. possible some day when the next round -- it is an ongoing process of immigration -- that some of the credit will be given to president bush, who was not able to get a bill passed at the time, but who will likewise be --ognized as someone something of a visionary. host: we are talking about presidents' second terms. is and on twitter says, it too early to decide about

president obama's term. guest: absolutely. a collar on our line for republicans. -- caller on our line for republicans. the americander if theic attributes too much effect of government policy, specifically presidential policy on the economy and culture in general. , everyone says good things about president clinton, but they never say anything .bout newt gingrich trie even more so the effect of the technological revolution. gdpeffect of that increased .

more ofate sector had an effect on government budget than anything else. in 2008, everyone says it was president this, that. they never specifically say policies and affects. just about american culture, buying houses, driving up the prices. it has us always looking towards the president. some of the other issues and problems we need to fix ourselves. the caller raises a valid point. one of the interesting byproducts of the clinton years -- this goes back to when he was talking about -- pollsters started asking questions different from a traditional question focused almost exclusively. blamed for badot times and credit for good times.

in the 1990's, pollsters went out and said, tell us who you think is responsible. the president in very good times got a lot of credit great alan greenspan and the federal reserve got a lot of credit -- credit. alan greenspan and the federal reserve got a lot of credit. what the caller says is already in effect. step high anden a real people. personalizends to -- behind real people. the media tends to personalize, to focus on the presidency in a way that probably does exaggerate its impact on how most people live their lives. host: you bring people who work for the president. can you talk about second term presidential cabinets and appointments and how they are different from the first term?

guest: that is a significant factor. even a president who wins a big endorsement going into a second him,with the public behind the excitement -- the sense of making -- first, inaugural, is largely missing the second time around. there are people who are basically worn out. it does not matter if it is a republican or democrat. if you are working 18 hour days at the white house because you really believe in what you are doing, you can only do it for so long. one thing that happens is, by the end of the first term, you have people who have made that kind of sacrifice, sometimes

financial. they have burned out, and they are replaced. int: a cnn puts it, gone that second term is the quote, energized atm -- a-team from the first term. caller from california on our democrats line. i really admire and respect your fairness towards our president. i think a lot of people follow the conservative media too much and fall for so much b.s. that is put out there. if we have the chance to follow

through with some of the dreams he wanted for this country, it would be so great. he has been stopped at every turn. president woodrow wilson was told about this behind-the- scenes group that everybody had to be cautious about. i have felt for a long time that the president is a front man, aremilitary or elites running everything. they are allowed to do so much. on this website, who what why, went into it. i hope and pray for the american people that they don't put so much trust or look for trust in world, going on in this he isrned to god, because the only hope for an internal, good future. -- eternal, good future.

host: i went to ask you about this headline from a recent "washington post" story. senate's filibuster rule change should help obama achieve key second term priorities. guest: there is a classic instance of something that probably frankly is not being discussed by millions of americans this holiday season sitting around their kitchen tables. there is no doubt that an absolute stalemate had ensued, for whatever reason or reasons. the opposition decided to be the unyielding opposition. the president was having a devil of a time getting positions

filled. positions, and basic administrative positions. harry reid who had resisted several times pressure to go nuclear, as it was called, finally had had his fill. is, fory what it means most appointments, not supreme court appointments, but for most appointments, the simple majority will avail. significantmously as long as the democrats have a majority of the senate. one of the things that is new about this -- obstructionism is a loaded word. there is a significant part

of the republican minority that appears to be interested not simply in blocking someone because their credentials are questionable, or even because their ideology is offensive, but because by blocking someone, that particular agency cannot function. it cannot function at a peak of efficiency. if you can't block the budget, prevent the agency from being created, you can make it difficult if not impossible for the agency to function at anywhere near peak efficiency simply by lopping off its head. host: here is a question from james on twitter. is there any chance that america will give another bush the presidency? guest: i could not give odds. i have no idea. 2016 is a long way away.

is up next from virginia on our line for democrats. caller: good morning. nice to meet you, and happy new year. i want to speak about term limits, and also about the health care program, the under obama.re act i want to break it down into two parts. has a good speaker idea about six-year terms. i think it should be five. for four years they are worried about governing, and that fifth year there would be a lot of campaigning going on. i think five years is a good limit. congressmen, senators and representatives need to have term limits to be established.

specifically about obama, i believe this health care thing is going to cause him a problem in the second term. there are a lot of things in here that people don't know about. i'm actually on the site right now, healthcare.gov. it's amazing to me because i'm a veteran, i have a part-time job. be $9,000income will a year. i also go to school full-time. i receive a stipend every month from the g.i. bill to go to school. said, i just went onto the website and looked up some sample information. --ed on the living virginia me living in virginia -- virginia cannot get subsidized --

i believe the incoming governor has indicated his intention -- host: on medicaid. guest: to change that policy. host: did you want to jump in on chris's other comments about the presidency? specifically? host: obamacare being named after this president. the intense personalization that the media has. examples ofhere any this before the 1950's or 1960's or the rise of television? guest: sure. fdr had the roosevelt revolution. the roosevelt recession. in the modern era, as presidents -- firstre visible

radio, then through film -- as becoments have almost adjunct members of our family because of television and the internet, the constant exposure they have, it is only increased that tendency. the greatest single danger to presidents and one reason why second terms tend to be dreary earier than the first is a danger of exposure. host: a caller from new mexico on our line for independents. he says inst of all, his past term that jobs had been his number one issue. the aca has been his number one issue. i wonder if he has ever had a real job. in his secondate term on anything? that's an interesting -- i'm not sure.

i don't work for the white house. have heard the president offered to negotiate on a number of things. take something very specific, very concrete. it will be interesting to see what happens on this proposed extension of unemployment. while all this debate is going on, there are real-life people out there who are hurting badly. in some ways, at the worst time of the year, they have lost their financial lifeline and are waiting. they don't care who negotiates what. they want to see the system work. boston --s go to alan al in boston our line for independents. caller: it seems like the obama second term is turning out to be

george bush's third term on national security. it seems that someone on the left does not understand there are people out there who want to hurt this country. nsa, the drone issue -- obviously, he is doing something that is necessary. they know something we don't know. it is clearly after a president comes in, in 24 hours, the cia comes in and a ghost from a political map to the reality of the world that people want to -- a politicaltfrom map to the reality of the world that people want to hurt us. closing, in our own neighborhoods, we lock our own doors, put your money in the bank. abroad and assume that

fellow americans would hurt one another, but we don't assume there are people who would want to hurt this country. security is paramount. without national security, there is no economy. it's much too soon to be conclusions, but i think the caller is onto something. continuitys of between the bush and obama presidencies probably do surprise a lot of people. in terms of national security likey, but also economics tarp. it is believed that after presidents get elected, they have a reality check with the security agencies and other members of the president's cap that. -- cabinet.

that, a a history of president having to change from the campaign trail to what they find out when they find out? lots of presidents decide that is the case. notion ofe civics 101 the president is the most powerful man in the world. i suspect if you asked presidents once they get out of office, maybe the biggest surprise that they find is how powerless they are. presidents spend much more time reacting to events they did not initiate, and may very well be beyond their control, then they do to controlling events. bette in's go to pennsylvania, on our line for republicans. good morning.

you touched on something i had never really heard before. of oure beginning country, presidents have been trying to have some sort of a health program. i have never heard that blanket statement before. historian, are the you may be just hit the high points. it's a terrific morning. everyone is really sinking, good americans out there. who is with everyone saying we need term limits. they are come in and great, wonderful, but you can only take so long. -- it so long. guest: with the rise of industrial america, government expanded. theodore roosevelt was the first somen who talked about

kind of health insurance. planrd nixon proposed a that is in many ways a forerunner of obamacare, with an individual mandate. on said he later regretted having opposed the nexen plan when he did because he thought he could get better -- nixon plan when he did because he thought he could get better. said, we went to bat in 1948 for what eventually became medicare. eisenhower had a base in the , encouraging them to take risks, particularly in catastrophic health insurance. most presidents have approached the problem one way or the other.

it is certainly a historical achievement for this president to get a program past. -- passed. host: several colors bringing up the idea of bringing it to one term for a president. -- callers bringing up the idea of bringing it to one term for a president. guest: we are in a period of gridlock. who thinks were going to amend the constitution, to undertake such a radical change in how we govern ourselves -- good luck. host: richard norton smith is a scholar in residence at george mason university. you can learn about his upcoming efforts at presidentsandpa triots.com.

>> on the next washington journal, recent housing and might e trends and what be expected in 2014. after that, a round table health carebout the law as some americans are set to care coverage as early as january 1. noam levey and julie rovner join us. as always, we look for your phone, e-mail, and twitter beginning live at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. are moving things extremely fast. years, everything is no, twitter is new. of new things mean new programming languages. life into d human four slices and five slices. one is play phase the first

a learn phase the next 20 phase a arresting afterwards and then eventually dying. we should have them all at the same time. should play, learn, work all at the same time because it we can't ast today, afford to have a single application anymore. date. e to stay up to >> new year's day on c-span, just before 1:00 p.m. eastern and throughout the afternoon, ceos of udacity, twitter, and higher n the future of education, robotics, and data as industrial resolution, n c-span book tv, kay bailey hutchison on the women who helped to shape texas. on c-span 3, american history tv, daughters rights movement share their history of the civil rights era at 8:30. few moments, q&a with hugh hewitthow host

talking about the latest book, "the happiest life." westminster review, looking back at some of the most took place ts that in the british parliament's fall session. the north american free trade agreement, 20 years now since it was signed into law. >> in your book "the happiest