about her career and the state of today's media. foreign affairs hearing on afghan reconstruction efforts with special inspector general >> this week on "q&a" other uest is emmy award winning journalist and investigative reporter lisa myers who iscusses her year, state of media and her further plans. news aftery left nbc more than 30 years at the network. myers, over 30 years with nbc news, how would you today?journalism uest: i think journalism is at

its best is holding powerful people and institutions ccountable and exposingen justi-- exposing injustice. not doing that enough we are too driven by ocial media which is important but it has come to dominate a lot of decisions about coverage spend more time digging and providing new viewers.ion to the host: why did you leave the business? had been more than 30 years and i think change is a good thing. a matter of i either change now if i were going to make a change or probably through the next election. i decided i wanted to take a spend a little time playing golf, making a few and then decide what i want to do next. ost: have you come to any conclusion of what you might want to do next?

guest: no. i was in the process of moving nbc, and 33 years at i want to take time when i under any pressure and particular out what might be out there. projects willbout e determined by the principles earlier.ed i care about holding people and institutions accountable and exposing injustice. but i'm open to doing something entirely fresh that i may not have thought of. host: what was life like growing joplin, missouri? guest: it was a little like the cleaver family. we had a wonderful life. webb city, 6,700 people next to joplin. i have four very smart younger sisters. was a was a lawyer -- dad lawyer. my mom graduated in journalism

up to raise the five of us which was more than a full-time job. we had an ideal childhood. school.to a pretty good we were encouraged to do do.ever we wanted to i went to the university of missouri to college. a pretty happy, pretty normal childhood. print ou started in journalism where? guest: b. and a publications. when i went to college my dad wanted me to take a broadcasting because i was in news ed and i refused, i said no, i'm to be a serious journalist. o i went to washington, i was determined to get my first job in washington, d.c. imagine all the ohs that say come back when you get experience. i found b. apnd a and they hire

report on their daily reporter executives and daily tax report. one hour in economics and never seen a tax return. them ianaged to persuade would be perfect for the job and they hired me. that is how i learned washington was covering taxes an economics. host: i think the first time i met you you were with the star.gton it was from there to nbc. happen?that guest: i think that the reason there was awas that news conference during the cart presidential race in september of 1980. asked a somewhat sassy news on at the end of the conference and the president basically tried it blow me off. instinctively i stood there and reasked the question at which point president carter said what he ever had said and had said on tape.

that question led the evening that hat night and after is when the networks became interested. host: what was your first job nbc? guest: when the washington star spite of hired me in my audition. glorified mic stand. hey called me a correspondent but i really didn't know much about tv so they had to teach me to do the packages. i was so bad that when my spot came on the air i didn't want to same room with anyone because i had enough sense to now that my work was not as good, as professional, as everyone else's and i didn't want people telling me i had a good job when i had not. fortunately they assigned me a who f great producers taught me how to do television. the attitude then was it was take a strong print reporter and teach them was to take than it

a local reporter who was a great try to teach d them good journalism on a national level. ost: we had you on a program here in 1990 the first available video we could find. is that, 24 years ago. here you are talking about choices.ack of [video clip] >> i think one reason voters fully ventle to more their anger on a congressional level they were not presented choices. as was said again and again, on level we do not have real elections any more. 85% or 86% of house members and alf of senators running for re-election either had no opponent or who had an opponent so misrabbley under financed he didn't have a prayer o you have options between

choosing between someone they are frustrated with or somebody or was a heard of joke close to not vote or -- stick with vote or the incumbent. host: anything changed? guest: not much. a lot of at is what incumbents are hoping this year. there are not real choices because it is so much a matter redistricting he where house districts either ngly are republican or safely democratic few swing re very districts. host: what do you most remember covering congress? [laughing [. change?nd is there a guest: i think there is. russell arted you had long, wilbur mills, dan howard baker.

people who were giants in their own way. couple of them got themselves into trouble. all very l these were intelligent and they knew how to craft legislation and how to do all worked with whoever the president was. whether it was their party or the other party. yes, there were politics but they found a way to come for her and make decisions the good of the country. today you just don't see that. first of all, i think the quality of members of congress, in terms of ate, intelligence and work ethic, has diminished. there are still great people and mallaign -- there are wonderful members but they are a minority. increasingly people are driven by the politics and their own self-surviv self-survival. i think that the hardest work they do is raising money.

they are not crafting deals, it s making speeches and positioning themselves to get re-elected. host: we you were on capitol -- did you spend up there by the way? guest: i would say at least 15 overall. host: who gave you the hardest time? me the hardest time? don't remember one. gave me a hard time during hillary's health because he was the point person for healthcare when trying to get re their health care plan through congress. and, as you know, hillary taking the lead on that. -- he was the point person covering that and basically to punch ask provocative

questions and he at times would be annoyed by that. then i should say i worked with senator rockefeller on any investigations. but i think at that point he was probably the one who was most irritated with me. person who probably disliked robert tortella. host: why? uest: there were these finance hearings and he made this grand opening statement about he could likening this to some previous, i think -- i can't which set of hearings he tv could remember t hearings that us people were unfairly mallined. it turned out that he was about our days old when the other

hearings were held so away interviewed a pediatrician to memory a childch of that age would have and he didn't appreciate that. we did stories is t his corruption, which what caused him to leave the senate. dehas not somebody liked your reporting, how have you felt it? they are direct about it. sometimes they call my bosses. sometimes they scream and yell. host: your reaction to any of that? intimidated ever? guest: i haven't been. it is always nerve-racking when put a spot on the air, i always worry about the question failed it ask. that is why in the most important spots i work with producers and on all the conversations i make sure both are having and i the same conversation, are hearing the same conversation are key sources we

go over them to make sure we don't make a mistake. every time i put a big story i worry about the question i fail to ask or the mplication i left in the piece that might not be accurate. host: here you are in 1992. [video clip] networks no longer ontrol what people in america of on television news presidential campaigns. thought bill clinton's problems with the coverage of the jennifer flowers allegations was a classic case. he would not have had to go on 60 minutes" if the networks' treatment of that issue controlled what the american people saw. is because of technology. all of this stuff is getting fed all around the country. our news channel operation fed commercials out of

new hampshire all over the got incorporated in local spots. whether we like it or not, the a lot of people around the country were seeing some of these ads. 22 years ago. you set the networks no longer control the message that went out. should they have controlled it? guest: i don't think they should able to control it but i think prompted that s why did we provide such coverage issue. do we cover an a lot of times these days if an issue is big enough it is not a or er of whether you do don't. it is out there. so, if it is false i feel like we almost have a responsibility on the air to say this story you are seeing all over we didntry is false like when the issue arose about whether the president was in hawaii.rn at some point it was so out we did a story basically fact checking it and arguments.t the

even k that it is true more today that the networks flow, control the news and certainly this white house -- gone to great lengths to every president tries to work around the media and to go people.y to the but this white house, i think, has been even more sophisticated in their criminontrol of the pictures and interviews the president grants. hey have relevance done, from their point of view, a in many cases of -- circumvent g being the filter. ost: how well is the public informed today compared to we you started this business? is t: i think the public much less informed. when i started in the business way basically had three

broadcast networks and many more newspapers. and a huge portion of the country watched the evening news. so, there was a common experience. information. i would also say the newscasts n those days tended to be more substantive or fact filled. -- there were fewer features and it was more news of the tkaday. public that time the didn't have all of these other things competing for their attention. you have the internet, most working, not home any more. so when they do get home people on't have the kind of disposable time they used to have to inform themselves. wants to be who informed, the technology is out

there, whether the internet, tv, newspapers, it is there. before the that common experience of watching the evening news, it was part of the daily routine for families. and, therefore, just through as a whole they got more information. an excerpte show you from brian williams show you were on, this is in february and just want to show you the early part of it and we will talk is t it and ask you what going on here this particular subject over five minutes was news d to on the evening show. [video clip] >> later tonight following your a new cal news in fact era will begin at 30 rock in new of the re lucky members audience filed in for the taping "the tonight of show" starring jimmy fallon. after a hugely successful run in los angeles jay leno has passed the baton to jimmy and before we

new york jimmy sat down with us in his old studio to talk about the debut, what it what those of us in the audience can expect to see. and it is like it pann -- arting it sink sinking in and becoming really happen.ing to host: what would that story have been 30 years ago on nbc? that have made it? guest: i think so, actually. the tonight show" is an institution and jay len nevada had een there -- jay leno been there decades over time and it is a big deal. deal now is a bigger because truthfully there is more self-promotion of our own division.by the news synchronicity. but i think that would have gotten coverage. should it?

guest: sure. at the end of the broadcast that is a legitimate story, i think. a lot of people watch the evening news. the tonight show" has been an american institution and therefore it is entirely legitimate to do that story. a matter of placement and how much time you give it. host: can you remember when an go do this story and you said not a chance? there have been times i robably would not have said it that way. i probably would have gone back thenone some reporting and perhaps tried to argue my way story or why we shouldn't do a story. refused an lutely assignment. there were times when i encouraged people to get others do the assignment. i'm usually a team player. an time i was given assignment and peewee herman was hasty an award at the

pudding club in harvard and i herman er been a peewee fan. host: is there before or after or after the ore incident in florida. guest: i think it was before but been some previous rumbling about it. but i also didn't think was funny. so, i did a piece, is was snarky.t i didn't want to do it but i idn't refuse it but it didn't make "the today show." host: what about the reverse where you had a piece you wanted do, you had an investigative piece and the network said no deal? guest: do you have 10 hours? it is hard to get investigations on the air. first of all, it is hard to -- to -- they have to be of national interest it show enough re with be broad appeal. they take time in terms of presenting them.

a lot of important stories -- that is one of the great things is moste magazine shows investigations that one with do fit better in a magazine show then you can bring people in. darcharacters and you talk about what is going on you can have both the emotion and facts. t is hard to compress a lot of investigations for television and that always is a challenge. and then you have to compete against breaking news. so, people may say go do it and gets on because of other news and because it becomes dated. never get on because you get 90% of the way and you can't 10%.hrough the final host: what is the longest investigative report you worked didn't get on the air? something i worked on

months bub -- six that is because we couldn't get the last 10%. ost: can you tell us what it was? guest: no. host: why not? guest: because it with mal-lin -- malign someone. host: can you give us some idea the 10% was? uest: there was a lot of circumstantial evidence. there was not something that definitively connected the final a source that one had nough credibility in to do that. host: can you give us an example of how much effort was put into it up to that point? did you do a lot of interviews? travel? have to was there a lot of expense involved? guest: this did not have a lot expense. there were some interviews but it was not a terribly expensive

thing. host: here you are in 1993. the reasons it has gotten as far as it has has been the administration's handling of it. had the administration not had along the ts story way a number of times on foster whitewater had there not been resistance it a special resistance continued to making public the document i hink the documents relating to whitewater i think has raised suspicions that there is that the president and mrs. clinton want hidden. horribly complex story. of, whoses characters credibility can be easily questioned. unbelievable number of missing records, records that determining what happened. and you look at this -- one hing you find if you look at

it, you find a pattern of incest incestuous relationships between bankers in the state of arkansas. host: what do you remember that is almost 21 years ago? did you cover it enough or not? guest: i think we covered it enough. there were some incredible characters involved in was -- ter and it fs whitewater also became -- you know, produced stories about the rose law firm that hillary was the issue came up about how she made so much money investment in cattle futures. years it was nton like one scandal morphed into they kept on giving in terms in you are a investigative report there was

something to look into. host: what do you remember about administration about the day-to-day activities. guest: i don't recall the being administration that helpful. host: why not? guest: i was usually covering want covered.dn't so, i don't necessarily blame providing a lot of information. i had too many people actually out lie to me in that administration even about white house had just received a subpoena for the by the t to testify special prosecutor or the counsel.ent combative -- ery anyone who covered the clinton administration will remember it period withombative the press. initially not so much but you rotc issue early in his campaign, then you had the early in lowers issue

his campaign, which he denied any relationship but the minute on the tape you knew that was not necessarily truth. did he survive it? guest: isn't it amazing. it is amazing. you look now and bill clinton is the most popular political country. the he has amazing personal skills. you look back particularly with the economy the way it is the economy was very good period.that when it became politically to ssary he found a way compromise with newt gingrich, of all people, and get deals welfare reform and balancing the budget. e promoted trade, got some trade agreements, which i think helped the economy. put aside back and some issues of veracity and other really important

his cteristics but still record as a whole stands up pretty well in many cases. that when people see a ysfunctional washington, it akes them -- it makes him look better in retrospect. a lot of young people don't remember the bad. in fact, i saw tweet once about clintons tolect the restore honesty in government. maybe 40 yone over hat might seem like an objection soxymoro oxymoron. but for the or people they clintons as in the context of his -- as a former he has been extraordinary and they mostly hink of hillary clinton as secretary of state when she was in a less partisan role. would you expect if she runs for president for her elationship to be with the

media? guest: i think that she will trying to cultivate the media. i think that actually there will a lot of support in the media for her. in her gut she and not trust the media withon the people who deal her most closely and question anything it will be testosteronity. here you are in 1999. >> you are saying that bill sexually assaulted you, that he raped you? >> yes. no doubt in your mind that is what happened? >> no doubt whatsoever. president and his lawyer declined to be interviewed on camera through the president said any allegations he assaulted her is absolutely false. about it today in a news conference he said he had nothing to add to that

statement. important to note she concedes that aside from her witnesses.o as far as we know no one saw linton enter or leave her room or even the hotel. she took no photos, kept no has no and the hotel records to confirm she stayed there. host: what do you remember about that interview? go to her or did she come to you? guest: i went to her. year in theew was a making. heard ly it began when i that one of the -- the monday -- monica y issue lewinsky evolved from the president inst the involving paula jones and there were a number of other women jane doe and she was jane doe number five. that one of the women maintained that her contact with was not consensual.

have her name and i did finally get it, it was a and i managed to find her in fort smith, arkansas, basically because she been in a doubles tennis tournament that. is how we found her. initially called her and she didn't want to talk. want to talk dn't made me think there was something to the story. sontually we spoke with her her and to try to get to to have a conversation. and we went down at one point to and the day we were to leave we got a call juanita would meet us at a restaurant for coffee. first met her. i think d have been before impeachment ever started. in fact, it was definitely impeachment started. i thought at one point she

>> then when she saw what happened to kathleen wil hoite, she decided not to. at the very end of impeachment, he decided he could not stand it anymore -- she could not stand it anymore. , itas complicated for nbc is hard enough to do this story, but in the middle of impeachment proceedings makes it particularly explosive. one of the things -- i don't think i have ever done another story that was as meticulously reported. one of our fears was that there would be something to pop up that enabled bill clinton to say he was somewhere else that day. through alll went , newspapers, this

had happened 25 years ago. the hotel did not exist anymore. they could not get records there. going --hing we had she had going for her in terms of being able to verify is she did talk to a number of people at the time it happened. roommate at the hotel. they had gone to a nursing home convention. her roommate came back afterwards and saw that she had a swollen lip and was clearly upset. there was one person who saw juanita right after the fact. there were a couple, three other people who she told the story contemporaneously. >> how did the clinton spokespeople deal with the media and you during this. ? were they denying these relationships? they did not respond on the

juanita broderick story. for the longest time they would not respond at all. finally, he we got the story you saw me read the statement from the president's lawyer. i can't say that nothing has come up since that story was reported, that in any way undercuts what one either broderick said. >> has there been anybody undercut that came forward that you know of in those times? the women that have come out and said that they had this relationship with bill clinton? >> i had not gone into the kind of detail about the other women that i did with juanita broderick. i did not report those stories as meticulously. i did not say -- i can say that nothing has happened with one either broderick's story that stories oft the those who came forward. >> how long did you cover it at the white house?

>> i wasn't at the white house during that. . time. there was a political investigative story that needed it wasone, whether whitewater, cattle futures, travel gate -- that was just one after the other, as you recall, during those years. in many respects agreee one who did not to with the special prosecutor. she is the more combative of the two when it comes to giving no quarter. as you can see on a personal level, bill clinton, i think, is more of a next revert and more charming. certainly beon can charming and she is quite talented as a politician in her own right, but i think that she

holds her cards more closely and trust fewer people. >> amigo back to what i asked earlier. how did they do it? how did they come through all with him being popular and she is the odds-on favorite to be the democratic candidate? how have they done it? >> it is astounding. butn't say how they did it, it is astounding. >> let's go to another topic. 2005.s you in it is on an msnbc documentary about the trail of terror. it is all about jihad and iraq. >> this grainy video obtained by nbc news captures on tape a dramatic incident which the u.s. military says occurred on september 14, 2000 five in east baghdad. the video shows a suicide bomber whose mission failed. he ramped a tank but his bomb did not go off.

the u.s. army sends in a robot that shoots video revealing that the man is still alive. after the bomber refuses to surrender, the robot is sent back to the car with explosives which are detonated, killing the .ould be bomber his identity is not known. came to do.hat we now we have done it. >> the internet is loaded with horrific video of suicide attacks which did work. killing hundreds of americans and iraqis. damage is part of a propaganda war conducted by the group, al qaeda in iraq. >> what do remember about that documentary? >> i was in the home of a family of a suicide bomber in jordan at the time that the bombings in london occurred, the two bombings. >> the buses?

>> yes. it was yuri. eerie. we turned on cnn in the family home. we had just conducted the interview, asking about his son and how he felt about this. we turned it on and the bombings had occurred in london. that night i drove to london -- i went to london to cover that. i was in london for about a month. >> suicide bombers, what did you pick up on why they do it? >> what i found interesting, it was not only the down and out people with no future. there were families -- there were children of prosperous families and children of middle-class families. there seemed -- they seemed to religious fanatic

-- fanatic religious belief, but also a real hatred of america. >> based on what? >> based on, i think a lot of them had to do with what they were taught. if you go into some of these areas and listen to the kind of religious sermons that are given, particularly at some of these mosques, america does not fare well. we found that there was hatred of america. we found that among some of the poor young man they thought they had nothing to lose. also, in that religion, martyrdom on behalf of your religion is really the highest calling. you go in -- for example, in palestine, you go into their territories and you have faces on the walls of the people who

have done suicide bombings in israel. they become heroes. many ofin the eyes of these young man, what they were doing was heroic. became aat some point liberal network. what do you think of that idea? >> i think it was a business decision. ishink what happened executives saw it worked at fox quite successfully and thought that the best counterprogramming or best way to build an identity for msnbc was particularly in the evening, to have progressive hosts. morning joe i

think is fairly balanced and evenhanded. like chuck shows todd's rundown and andrea mitchell's show, they strive to be more balanced. what do news correspondents think of the idea of having this? >> i think the correspondents are grateful for the opportunity to do extra reporting that you can't do on nbc. i think there is concern, particularly about the more partisan aspects to the coverage varied >> did you ever refuse to go on anybody's program because of their known bias? through aanage to go scandal without ever having to say good evening, geraldo rivera. i didn't refuse, but i managed to avoid it. i think people try to pick and

choose. some of the more controversial if they they're not -- are not comfortable, they try to avoid it. may appear toideo be out of context and you are not involved, but i wanted to run this to ask you because people are confused about what a journalist is. you will see what i am talking about. this is the new mayor of new york a few years ago. to say something personal about mike bloomberg. you all see the strong side of mike, but you rarely see the more sensitive and emotional side. no one would take on the ofmingly impossible task reforming our school system if he were not deeply passionate about children. mike is. i think it is his dream that one day some child who seems to have no future will be standing here on this stage being sworn in

because he had an education. what a gift that would be. mike made gracie mansion the city's home and he has made himself the city's voice. nowhere is this more apparent than during the recent transit strike. the mayors morning walks across the brooklyn bridge were not just symbolic but they were inspiring. and, besides, he lost five pounds. he may will be -- may well be one of the trim rest and one of the greatest mayors this city has ever known. >> what is your reaction when you see that? >> you're crazy and i'm going to talk about barbara walters. >> y? >> she is an icon. she has special status. she does move between the worlds of politics and celebrity and journalism, but i think people know basically what role she is playing at the time she played it. she was criticized so much for

her relationships between said. dat and begin. she played a fascinating role in one of the few successful efforts to negotiate some sort of peace in the middle east. >> did she have to do what she did in that particular case in order to get access to the big names? >> i would hope not. >> this is in 2006. >> added on sources tell nbc news that the u.s. army blocked a plan that might have given american troops more protection against one of the deadliest weapons used by insurgents. if the favorite weapon of insurgents in iraq and afghanistan -- it is the favorite weapon of insurgents in iraq and afghanistan, the rocket propelled grenade or rpg. cheap, easy to use, deadly. in iraq, these weapons have

killed more than 132 americans, including 21-year-old five at dennis miller. >> they were in ramadi and his tank was hit with an rpg. he never knew what hit him. >> 16 months ago, commanders in iraq began asking for help, sending the pentagon urgent request for a new system to counter rpg's. >> what you remember about that? >> these were the best pieces we ever did very it >> and you want an emmy award in 2007 for this. this is one of the more shameful incidents that we investigate involving the pentagon, another one involved body armor. some people were taking liberties with body armor testing. here you had, basically, a system that the israelis had figured out, which was a fairly advanced stage there. in an effort to try

these on three tanks in iraq. they were given a demonstration to just see if they would work and it was blocked by the army because they were protecting raytheon. it got to the inherent corruption in the pentagon's contracting system. sadly, it is a continuing story, either because of outlying corruption or just coziness with contractors. harnessing technology that might be cheaper is pushed aside in terms of giving contracts to the big corporations. i must say that raytheon -- i don't think they have been able to develop this capacity for -- the israelis have actually installed it on their tanks and it has been operational in the theater. >> when you know as an investigative reporter that they are about to kick back on you on

this stuff? >> you can't assume they are going to kick back on you. in fact, on this one, the army was furious. the army insisted on coming to new york and meeting with all our top wrasse. brass.top york and to new arrived at 30 rock wearing their combat fatigues. these are all people who worked at the pentagon. they are mostly pr side. they came and sat down with us and told us we were all wrong. besides, there is no document that shows that the army ever did such a thing. withdam was sitting there -- >> your producer. >> he had a folder of documents. he pulled out a document and handed it to the general.

that was the document. >> how many people from the army came? >> i would say a half dozen. >> you had to fly to new york to had that meeting with them? >> oh, sure. they tried to undercut our story first. invited, to his credit, me on his show. i brought along the folder of documents and we had a good discussion. >> why would the army go to that length to stop this report? >> because it looks bad. people who cared most about the troops were furious that there was a system that was potentially already available to put on tanks to save soldiers lives, and because of cozy relationships between the pentagon bureaucracy and that they contractors, those soldiers couldenied weapons that

have saved lives. >> you mentioned the other story, we will run that right now, a little bit on the dragon scam. >> for troops in the line of fire, body armor can mean the difference between death and life. the army insists our troops have the very best. without question that armor has saved lives. in iraq and afghanistan. >> the body armor we issued to our soldiers today is the best in the world bar none. >> but is it really the best? and nbc news investigation including independent ballistics tests suggesting that there may be something better called dragon skin. some soldiers and their families have tried to buy it, believing it offers better protection. but the u.s. army band dragon skin last year, even before formally testing it very it >> that was in 2007, how did you

get a tip on that? >> i don't recall exactly, but we had been hearing about the whole body armor testing program , that the rules were not meticulously applied, that standards might have been different for favored , whereas others weren't treated the same. it came up in the context of dragon skin because of some groups who were very supportive of the troops that were trying to get better audio armor for the guys in iraq. armor for the guys in iraq. former top- a official at the pentagon for weapons testing. they looked at some of the testing that had been done of

dragon skin and they looked at some of the claims and what they knew about it and some other testing that had been done on dragon skin and said what the army had found didn't add up. so we went to a lab in germany and had dragon skin tested. theeld up better against army's body armor. to protect our guys, we didn't penetrated ourt body armor that didn't penetrate dragon skin. noticeableas a difference in performance. subsequent to that, there was an ig investigation in which they found that the army's testing facility had been taking in evaluating body armor. >> what is a motive on the part of the army? >> i don't know if it is coziness with the hope of eventually getting a job with one of these contractors, but

there wasn't any evidence of outright corruption. >> how rampant is this kind of thing? >> i worry that a lot of these things are going on in government. and you see what is happening at the v.a., i think that the same kind of culture exists in other government agencies. not in the national transportation safety board or the cdc, but there it -- but in other agencies there is a lack of accountability and an indifference at best to taxpayers. they don't care about waste or efficiency, it is a sad thing when you read the various ig reports. agency after agency with the same problem year after year after year, and nothing gets fixed. it is just my own anecdotal experience in dealing with government. it seems to me it is not just

the quality of our politicians which has declined, but the quality of government employees and the bureaucracy. government,mpetent we have stupid government, we have -- we may have some great federal employees, but that is not the norm. >> here is another report from 2009 somewhat along the same lines. >> some locals are up in arms about florida's a guest stimulus million for a8 controversial bridge linking palm city and stewart. >> the bridge is not needed very at the justification is that the existing bridge which is right behind us, is overcapacity, which it is not very it >> also listed as questionable, $1 billion which the bush administration deemed a waste of money.

$1 million for a new guard rail for an oklahoma lake that no longer exists. the white house says the guard rail was stopped last week. >> you mentioned the ig inspect -- inspector general, what mark would you give them? this is more congressional pay her what mark would you give them on this stuff? ig's.have some terrific they deal with iraq and afghanistan waste and fraud. terrific.sky was by and large i think most of the inspectors general have been neutered by this administration. there has been a real effort to sit on them, to appoint people who will not rock the boat. there's a story in borofsky's

geithner thought he should report to him. that is the antithesis of what an effective ig is supposed to do. >> in general, when you see books, and tim geithner has a book out right now and neil borofsky had his own book, what do you think of them when you see these reviews of an individual's time in government? >> i think some of them are interesting. by definition, they are self-serving. i think a lot of things in these books is fascinating. i think bob gates book was one of the more interesting. the headlines for more sensational than the book itself turned out to be, but i think that for people who have had a lot of years of experience in who have the

perspective of having worked in both administrations is helpful. i think borofsky made some very important points in his book about the administrations choosing the banks over the homeowners. >> one last clip. this comes from november 7, 2013 . it is a clip of the president talking about health care. i want to get your view of this. >> i regret very much what we intended to do -- that what we intended to do, which was to make sure that everybody is moving into better plants because they want them, as opposed to being forced into it, that we weren't as clear as we needed to be in terms of the changes that were taking place. i want to do everything we can to make sure that people are finding themselves in a good thanion, a better position they were before this law happened. >> what grade would you give the obama administration on health care?

>> i do think we will know for three or four years, but where i would fault the administration most is on the way they sold the plan. they sold this plan as something that could provide health care for millions of americans at virtually no cost to anyone but a few rich people. they sold to people where they were all winners and no losers. there,p you showed earlier in the week i had done a story which revealed that the it ministration had known for years that millions of americans would not be able to keep their health insurance as the president promised because of the way the law was written. even saying that he was sorry and that he wanted able to keep their insurance, the president the grandfathering, the regulation about grandfathering people in did not work the way we thought it would. it did work exactly as it was supposed to work.

at the time the regulations came out, the administration said basicallykly -- that 14 million people that had individual policies would not be able to keep their insurance, even if they liked it, under the grandfathering rules. it involved business groups and the health-insurance industry who said look, the president will not be able to keep his promise under these regulations. the administration did not change them. the administration had known for years that millions of americans would, in fact, not be able to keep their insurance even if they wanted to. the administration also promised that costs would come down. clearly they have not heard costs have gone up, not just for people with individual insurance some larger companies. one of the recent stories showed union become an issue in

negotiations because he affordable care act has driven up costs for these health care plans anywhere from 5-12%. what i would fault the ministration most profoundly is that they didn't level with people. i think that is why people are so angry. come as a you reporter, ever use the word " lie"? >> i try to use other words. sometimes it is not avoidable. i try to use prevaricate. lies sounds very harsh. been in this town for a lot of years. are you going to stay here now that you have left nbc? >> no, i am actually moving to florida. >> why? >> i'm doing advanced work for the 2000 16 campaign. basically, i find washington has become a really toxic town.

it is one thing if you need to be here for work, but otherwise, i think the rest of the country has a lot to offer. i'm addicted to golf. i wonder what it would be like if i can actually play golf for six months if i could get any better. i hope to spend the next six months playing golf, making a few speeches, and trying to figure out what i would like to do next. >> lisa myers, thank you very much for joining us. >> you bet, thank you. >> for free transcripts, or to give us your comments about this program, visit us at q&a.org. q&a programs are also available as c-span podcasts.

>> next, british prime minister david cameron taking questions in the house of commons. then, a house hearing on the funding for afghanistan reconstruction. at 11 :00 p.m., another chance to see q&a with former nbc news investigative reporter lisa myers. >> on the next washington journal, former republican congressman tom davis of for junior talks about the influence of the tea party in the 2014 elections. associated press reporter alicia caldwell will examine the resources devoted to watching u.s. borders. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> during this week's question time, british prime minister david cameron answered questions

about jobs, the economy, and in -- and islamic extremism in schools. ed miller band also question the prime minister about waiting times for passports issued through the home office. this is about 35 minutes. >> questions to the prime minister. >> number one, mr. speaker. >> thank you. i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in wishing the england football team, the very british before their first world cup game this saturday in brazil. just her speaker, i had meetings -- mr. speaker, i had meetings this morning. i'll will have further such meetings later today. >> i wish every football team in the world cup, everyone