we mentioned this earlier, but robert also mentioned bob woodward, who will be interviewing john dean on both tv this weekend. they will spend an hour talking about his most recent book the nixon defense. dou can see when that schedule interview is airing. talk toi wanted to about our politicians nowadays, republican, democrat, all of them. as it stands, they are being compromised by their campaign contributors, these independent parties, and these corporations that are funding them more and more. have noticedif you in recent years, we've seen more and more laws that have allowed unlimited amounts of money to come from these companies and corporations and contributors to the politicians. ist that is doing

essentially they are getting paid more money by some of these companies then some of the american people. you end up with this dilemma that they are essentially working more and more for the companies and for the independent parties, whoever is funding them, then they are for the american people. who is paying the more? that is a major problem and has been and it shows more and more in our laws and regulations that are coming out. host: you have a couple of big races in georgia. which way are you leaning as far as support for canada? caller: it's hard to say. i don't get into republicans and democrats and i don't believe in the two-party system. a try to have faith in the individual person and so far, i have not seen anyone i have a whole of faith and. it's tough to decide on that. host: i apologize but we are out

of time. we will take you live now to the brookings institution, their international leaders forum is holding a conversation with the president of somalia who has been in town for the african summit that took place all week in washington. his name is president shaikh mohammed and this should beginning very shortly. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

>> good morning everyone, welcome to brookings and our friends across the street at sieu, we are grateful from desk for the space and we're waiting on some water but we will get started. i am with the foreign-policy program at brookings and we are honored to have the president of somalia with us. will be speaking about his country and his challenges and the broader region and all that he is been able to do in his nearly two years in office that all that still remains to be done which is a great deal as you are all aware. let me say a brief word of welcome to the president and once i'm done, i will ask you in joining me to bring -- to bring

him a big brookings round of applause. he has been part of the african summit and we thank them for the honor of his presence or today. before that, he is a long-standing academic. if you were not present of some i a, we might offer him a position at brookings. someday we might be that fortunate. he grew up in mogadishu and attended the somalia national university and graduated there in 1981 and did graduate studies in india. he went back to somalia and tough it out through the difficult years that have been experienced since then, helping found a new university in somalia thereafter and mr. president, i know you were the dean of this university in mogadishu for younger -- for a number of years and taught there as well. in between, he was involved in education to some extent under you when offices with unesco and unicef in helping start some local schools in somalia. a great commitment to education

and now a great commitment to the stabilization of his country and the reconciliation efforts with various elements and various clans and tribes that have often been at war in recent decades and the development challenge that remains ahead because, clearly, creating a modicum of stability is the first step toward helping somalia truly get back on his feet. a word or two more of background and then we will welcome the president -- he is now working with an african union force of some 24,000 soldiers from a number of countries but four them it secular, the largest contribution, ethiopia, burundi, it -- uganda, and kenya and a number of other participants as well. one of the great encouraging things about this effort which is showing some true signs of hopefulness is how much africa and africans are working together to deal with their own problems and how the african

union has stepped up and there is a long way to go but this is truly an effort about which africans can be proud as their ability to work together as an international group has been manifested in recent years in somalia. think we will have a number of things to talk about today and i will spend about half an hour with the resident in a back-and-forth discussion and we will go through a few of the challenges his country is facing and we will open up to you until about 11:20 a.m. once we get questions, state your name clearly after waiting for the microphone. we have some television coverage today want to make sure your questions get heard. please join me in welcoming the president of somalia. hasaan muhammed. [applause] mr. president, thank you for being here. >> thank you, mike and thank you

very much for coming and giving me this opportunity to talk to such a distinguished group of people in washington. just to give you a glimpse of what somalia is -- somalia is northwest corner tip of the african continent, they call it the horn of africa. somalia in general is a very the largest with area in the african continent with being aligned on indian ocean and the red sea and is located in a strategic location. in the cold war era and today in it is inerent era, this location that the vast indian ocean that is open to asia until the cape of good hope. somalia is located there.

we have a population of 10 with rivers and arable land. semi-it has the largest per capita in the african continent. have a huge that we reserves of mineral resources, gas, oil, and other minerals which we don't know yet but that has been set. this is a country. somalis are one ethnic group with one language. muslims.i recently, there were other introductions into other thoughts in the sunni muslims. this is the country and it got

its independence in the year of africa in 1960. 17-18a was one of those countries who got their 1960 and it was one of those african countries that experienced a distinct failure in 1990. rwanda, ethiopia, burundi, liberia, sierra leone -- these are a number of african countries that have had problems in the 1990's. there was no one winner in somalia after the state collapsed. the state later on became a functional land-based war. it was not easy to reorganize and get back to the ministry of the statehood. 2000, it was the first time

that a transitional government was established in somalia. since then, there was a transitional government in place until 2012 when we ended the transition after 12 years. government, the president is the first non--transitional government and almost 22 years. we came to a reconciliation and different clans get together to reconcile and establish a provisional constitution, nominated a new parliament which elected the president. the president appointed the prime minister and established the cabinet of ministers. that is the somalia we have. we have a mandate for four years, 2012-2016, which we are supposed to bring back all of the foundations of a functioning

state in place. building the state institutions on one hand and fighting and winning the war on terrorism on the other hand. these are among the set of challenges that somalia of today is facing. office, came into the we have a very clear program in the state building. it links them to the center and establishes the federalism, establishes the program called division 2016 whereby we want somalia to have a permanent constitution, a federal unity in systems and political party laws in place and then people will go to elections. elections

somalia is going to experience in 2016, after 45 years. the last time when elections took place in somalia, we can the last election was 1969. after 45 years, somalia is now heading toward having elections. the next parliament we expect will come through elections. some people believe that it is still impossible we say it's possible. we are working on that. people are asking what type of election -- what would be the coverage, how far it will be, free or fair? these questions are there but still, we believe that we can make it and we are very much committed to make sure that elections happen in 2016.

in brief, this is somalia. somalia is fighting with one of the difficult wars that the world is facing today, extremist and terrorist group called al-shabaab. it is an organization based on ideology and we all know that ideology to not have citizenship and have no boundaries. al-shabaab is in some i ever one reason only -- they operate in somalia. they have their base in somalia. they have their training camps in somalia. transitsomalia as a that links africa and asia where it the terrorists move here and there. , although theyon have different names, they all have links to one or the other. there is very clear evidence that al-shabaab trained in somalia and members of boko haram in nigeria.

somalia is in the east nigeria's in the west and in between, mali and central africa, all of them. the leadership of al-shabaab is not somalia. there are more non-somalis in the leadership at the highest level. we have people from america and from north america and europe, people from asia, the gulf, the eastern part of the asian continent. we have all kinds of people in place. our laborers in africa but somalia has good relations with al-shabaab and that's the only reason -- why they operate in somalia is somalia has been a vacuum for a long time. this was a breeding ground for them. in the last two years, the

african union mission in somalia has made operations against the territory to control al-shabaab in the territories are shrinking day after day. the plans are by the end of the year, there will not be -- sorry -- there will not be a territory controlled by al-shabaab in somalia. that does not mean it's the end of the war. the war will continue. when they lost their military front, they just came back to the metropolitan places like mogadishu were more than 2 million people are living. societyt blended into and they had assassinations and bombings and suicide bombings. this is not just military. it is multifaceted. front,rs an economic

poverty and grievances are the two areas where al-shabaab benefits within society. it's a society that has been without function over two decades. wars ande been conflicts internally so displacement of over 2 million people. they are not living in their home places in somalia. almost 1.5 million outside the borders of somalia, have a million inside. this is the situation in brief in somalia. but still we have the hope that we can defeat al-shabaab. we can put back a functioning state into station -- state institution, one which has a strong democratic foundation. we are starting everything from scratch, maybe in some areas, we have a better chance than those who want to change systems that have been in place for a long time.

so, in brief, this is somalia, thank you. . >> thank you, that synnex on introduction. [applause] i want to make two brief points and ask the question -- i want everyone who does not remember to understand that this president has his own mandate. he explained as there has not been election in a long time but he was chosen with a strong mandate but his parliamentarians. it is in that way he came to power two years ago and enjoys a certain degree of democratic legitimacy even though we have not yet been able to see election in somalia in recent times. he points out there is a plan for that to happen now within a couple of years. secondly, i was speaking with the president prior to the meeting and i was consulting a map that was put out via think tank in london a few months ago. i said it looks to me as if you and the african union are essentially governing maybe 1/4 of the country in terms of territory and maybe happen terms of population.

he said to me that map must be a few months old because we're actually doing better than that now. that may have been correct when it was printed six months ago but we are continuing to expand our control. there really has been quite a notable progress in the degree to which the african union and the government of somalia is managed to consolidate a good chunk of the country without defeating the threat and certainly without having made the necessary progress on economic of element front just. nonetheless, a hopeful place. question if i may, i will begin with a general question about the region and we will get back to smite you specifically in a second and stay there -- i wanted to ask you to speak about the broader threats, extremism in the region. it's clearly a concern that all americans and many others around the world share. we are waking up today to news about the latest crisis in iraq.

i realize that al-shabaab may have some ideological affinities with the isis group in iraq and syria. i would ask if you would not mind explaining from your perspective how you see the inter-linkages between these groups. are they still on the ascendance and how worried are you of worried about them in a global sense and will get back to somalia specifically. >> thank you very much, mike. as you rightly said, this is an ideology and maybe they have slight different color in one country or the other or one continent or another but basically, these groups have, and ideology that they procreate all over the world. -- itbranded at extremes is branded as extremism. somaliae links between and these groups. in early 2000, all of us with

many of our international partners who know somalia claim it's not possible that it would become a society. we don't have that type of history in the past. we don't have these type of things. thate was believing somalian society would ever come and it was only late 2005 and 2006 when the first suiciders made an appearance in mogadishu. it showed the people that they were fighting -- doing this against the forces that they see us as occupiers and things like that. since then, it has been proven that suicide is not something that belongs to one particular community or country or continent. it is something that is made by people who know how to mate it like these terrorist groups.

that there realized are institutions that provide -- produce and were born in this environment but do not know what war looks like. how would that affect the region in the world? theytrain people there and send them out. that's what happened in kenya and ethiopia and uganda and maybe faraway places. they have training camps and that is where they brainwash the young people. how to do the people terror activities. it's a concern for the region and for the continent and the world at large. , the indeed somalia problem of terrorism is not our

problem only. it is regional, continental, and national. that is why we seek the support from the outside world and we from theng support sub-saharan region and the world is supporting both somali government and the security forces in the african union mission. the question i want to say again and again is that this war is not a military war only and we have experience that the military cannot end the war. we need to come up with other hope. i have a classical example -- a boy who was five years old in 1991 somali was collapsing today is nine years old o. he has a wife and kids and has never been to school and is never been exposed to any training.

he is not the tools of life. that area, his desperate and does not know what to do and cannot offer any military skills. simply becomes vulnerable to be recruited by al-shabaab. come and join and you will have $50 by the end of the month. or he will be recruited by the pirates. come and join us, we go to the sea and in a few days or months, you will have $100,000 with you. what --risk and this is this age group, around 19 are the bulk of the society, 65% of the population in somalia is estimated they are aged less than 35 years. you can understand how huge the number is in the society. the people are this quality.

even if you provide them an opportunity to employment today, the question is, are they employable? can they be employed? ak-47 gun does not need more training -- much training and anyone can use as a that's the easiest way to end the life. developing and providing alternative lives for that young generation is among the challenges that the somali government is facing now. this is an area where international partners are showing a minimum understanding. maybe the world is ready to creatinghis sector but alternative way of life, providing training facilities for them and providing gainful employment opportunity -- these

are some of the things that prove to be difficult to convince our international partners which we are working hard on and we believe the military campaign is only one part of the war. there are other parts of the war which we have to win also. >> let me ask tumor questions in that spirit -- i want to ask more about your plan for consolidating control and security terms without giving away detailed campaign plans. secondly, i want to ask what we can do as an international community on economic and development front. these, we have the issue of political reconciliation that you think about a great deal. let me ask about security. the trends are favorable and maybe you can tell us more about the progress of the last year reflate to help people

understand there is positive momentum. as you look forward to your goals for the next two years, could you explain what your concerns are and where you perhaps could use more help or more capability to make the odds of success greater than they might currently be for consolidating more control over the country? >> security is the top priority of my government at the beginning in early 2015, last year. early 20 13, last year. we have worked on improving the capacity of the security institutions, building the institutions and professional security forces with national character. all of the different sectors of the society are involved. that was the aim and the plan of the government. the reality on the ground sometimes distract you away from what you have to do.

hand, fighting the war was the challenge as i said earlier. they somalian national army and the police force and the somali national intelligence and security agency are the three major components and the security sector of somalia. we started from scratch, converting the militia forces into a professional national force which, as i said, have a national collective and proves to be very difficult but it is doable. we have not yet completed everything but we are -- we did a lot of progress. we got enough support in that area. the european union has provided a training mission in somalia. somalians.n trains

we shifted the mattos amaya now they are in some way and they we training their just shifted them out of somalia and now they are in somalia and they are training their. united states is supporting the training of special forces the seat of the national army of the future is starting with special forces training inside somalia. this is going on. , we don'tthose forces have enough equipment yet but this is supported. hassomali government provided a portion of its budget to improve the quote -- the quality and equipment and care of the forces. these are areas that we are

destined we consider are going well. that sector development is moving in a very good base. territory,he al-shabaab has been operating in almost 11 regions out of the 18 regions of somalia. there was relative instability for some time. the somali government has succeeded to take over all of the regional headquarters of these 11 regions. thereost of the distance there were 25 districts under control of al-shabaab. today, there are less than 15 districts remaining under their control. that's what i say by the end of the year, we are expecting that

there will be no one under control of al-shabaab but somali -- but somalia is a vast area. when you chase them away from the towns, they go into the rural areas and that's where they remain a threat to the community and they use means of terror. if you deal with the government forces, this is the punishment, beheading, smashing, killings and so on. this is how things are going. now they are changing tactics into symmetrical warfare in some places. that at least we will succeed soon to eliminate all the training camps and all the bomb making factories in the rural areas. our work will continue maybe in the urban places and this will

continue for some time. we do not expect that soon there will not be a suicide bomb or a roadside bomb or things like that. most of it will be contained but in the meantime, we have been developing -- one of the challenges was in the somali lows, we did not have any terrorism in somalia. in the courts, the common criminal who maybe stab someone with a knife and the one who explodes 100 people in a place, maybe we have the same criminal acts to make them so men of al-shabaab in the past walked governmentuse the has no body of proof for what they did. did not have electronic

evidence that they now have. this is changing now. there is a new act of terror that the somalian government has prepared and is almost now finished. treatment of the al-shabaab is no different legally in the war has no legal place to fight against the terrorists and those who collaborate with them. this is the situation in general. claim the final victory of the war today. realizing very much the situation is different today. the somalian government has succeeded to organize the society, mobilize the whole nation, to fight against al-shabaab. people andomadic many parts of somalia are fighting al-shabaab and not only the government but the society

understands there is no future with al-shabaab and they are fighting. that makes their base limited. >> thank you. i will ask one derivative question before going back to the economics and development. i think you can probably help us here. this may seem like a semantic question but it relates to the broader issue of the international threat. i was carol when i asked her about the international threat, not to use the word " islamic extremism." i also did not say jihadist ecumenism. we americans are still searching for the right way to describe this thread and understand the threat. we know that jihad is a legitimate activity within islam and is jeremy -- and is generally not a violent activity, it's a quest to become closer to one's maker, as i understand it. therefore i'm wondering if you can help us understand and properly describe the international threat. i don't want to make this about

a label but what do you call the broader recruitment that has its tentacles in your country throughout shabbat and boko haram in nigeria and isis in iraq and syria and with the of al qaeda central in pakistan and tribal areas and also afghanistan? how do you describe the overall movement? what kind of a term do you use? >> i would use the term extremism. jihadistather not use or islamist or whatever. as you rightly said, these may not he the right nomenclatures. the, cozzi of japan were not muslims. the ira of ireland were not muslims. all of them are doing suicide. that goes toing

that it leads to that type of behavior,. they are happy killing themselves. this is the major idea that when people go to these extremes whether it is religious or nationalism or whether it is something else. i would like to call this -- these people extremists. >> thank you. let me get back to the challenges set is the one we have neglected the most as an international community which is now building on the military and security progress in your country to get to the development challenge. that's the only way to make the security progress durable as i understood you to say. what do we need to do better? maybe you can tell us about what you are able to do today and

that will naturally lead into a discussion of what you think you need to do more of and how we can help. times, there is a very clear link between poverty and , poverty and hope -- when people lose hope, they become fragile and easy to be influenced whichever direction an organized group wants people to move. they can hire them with a small amount of money and show them there is a better way of doing things. -- there aremany many areas in somalia now -- the question is, which comes first? stability to be put in place? then we start the development or the of development feeds

terrorism that exists. when the people do not have enter -- opportunity, they have no chance. then we cannot be secure. if there is no security, we cannot attract investment in big projects to come so people get employment. this all links together. wherever there is relative someity, we need to start economic activity so that the people can be involved. security is more of a perception than reality. recently, mogadishu was not among the top 10 cities of the world. cities that in the eyes of the people today seem to be very secure cities. this shows there are more deaths

-- more deaths and those cities in mogadishu. somalia has been there. 2011, 2012, early, many of our international partners -- the prime minister of turkey's family, more of his cabinet were time, theby that young boys and girl were not allowed to go to mogadishu because it was not secure. it was not safe enough. it's more a perception than a reality. thing is thattant economic endeavors should start. that has to go hand-in-hand with the progress we are making. today, mogadishu is a different

lise. -- is a different place. many people get employment and new hotels and supermarkets are emerging and new business is taking place. it is moving. program that we will establish in the two adjacent regions to mogadishu to make the agriculture produce for the major markets easily. exploit -- the export of livestock in a couple of months, we will start the export of bananas again after almost 18 years. life is coming back like that. it has been slow but it's coming. and this is important -- in one project in mogadishu, where there was a training center was the building of a huge training complex. 2000 people were working for six

months. declined months, it and another six months, maybe 1000 700 people would be there as the project ends. 2000 people were employed. that was only one project. when we have a number of projects in different places, we roadstart 100 kilometers to the construction in three different places. 300 kilometers of road construction will start soon. --se are some of the mogadishu is getting back to the world. we usually export the bananas to europe but it's not possible today because of the standards. we still have a large market in the arabian gulf. and livestock and skins and banana and many other

agricultural items. somalia is just getting back its economic activities. >> how can we help more? i'm not necessarily asking you to repeat what you might have asked president obama earlier this week or what you might have asked in a specific member of congress this week. any such conversation first of all might have been private or might have been constrained by politics and but budgets but if we can put that aside, help us think through the real needs in somalia and where you would like the international community to do more. are there specific kinds of funds and tasks an expert he's where we can be trying to find the ability and the resources to do more than we are doing today? somalia, if weof try to list it, it's endless, it's too long. the challenge is how do we prioritize the long list of needs?

which ones are the ones that if we succeed will become a sort of triggering effect for others to move forward? onerity has been number priority in somalia. state living program, building us to tuitions -- building institutions with and regulations and procedures put in place so the old practices will be changed. that is another priority area. another priority is the issue of economic recovery. the country has been an emergency state for a long time. we are now very much focused on moving the country from emergency to recovery and then from recovery to development. happen and what we

have been presenting to our international partners in the anddeal program last year in london last year and here in the united states is how somalia can be supported in the issue of the capacity building of the institutions. and then the development of capital. and the development of the infrastructure. when an opportunity exists in one corner of somalia and the other corner of somalia is in need for that opportunity, it's very difficult to move because there are no roads or bridges or because -- the human capital is not strong enough to make this useful to the country.

aree are the areas -- there -areas of all of them but increasing the capacity of human capital of somalia and then developing the structure, roads, energy, bridges, ports, airports -- subets ofhas certain priorities but these are the overall major areas we have been focusing in the last one year or so. >> thank you very much. i will open it up for questions now. what's i call on you, wait for a microphone. we will begin with a gentle man in the second row. it's coming right up. please identify yourself. >> [indiscernible]

i have three short questions for mr. president -- i've have a personal interest in a somali-american prisoner who was in prison. the community is or concerned about the situation where there is news coming out. i would like to see if the president or his cabinet have any information on that issue. is we knowquestion you are meeting with president obama.

we know that when mogadishu was visited it was a turning point for somalia. students3000 somali have been given passage into turkey yet as the american government, we pay a lot of resources towards security. what will your discussion with the senior-level administration be? is not that mogadishu more dangerous than baghdad or kabul. thank you very much. the issue of the american-somali citizen in belgium, we have contacted the authorities and their ambassador has been crucial to engaging. it is a case that is in the

judicial system of the government of belgium. we are following it closely. the ambassador continuously visits him in prison. right now that is what the somali government has been in contact with their lawyers. whatever necessary information that the semi and government has that supports this case has been provided to them. we are waiting the result of the courts. and is a case in the court the somali government is closely watching and working with the lawyers of the ambassador in charge of that process. regarding the role of the united states, yes, mogadishu as rightly said is not as dangerous as maybe baghdad and kabul but it has one difference. kabul, there are

american forces in place what lease can guarantee the security of the american staff on the ground. in somalia, we don't have the american forces on the ground. now we a bit longer but have hour embassy in washington and we appointed a new ambassador. similarly, the united states is opening soon its embassy in mogadishu, pointing a new ambassador, replacing the special representative that we have now in nairobi. this ambassador and his staff will be placed in mogadishu and they will be operating. that will take the relationship between somalia and the u.s. to a different level. that anxpecting authority prepared for the new ambassador that will be coming to mogadishu. the united states government has already given us some assurance

that soon the ambassador will be in mogadishu. year, the the last relationship between the united states and somalia has been improving and making a lot of progress. with the two ambassadors in place, we are expecting further improvement of progress in our relationship. on the other hand, yes, the united states is supporting somalia but not only in the security sector. the united states is a major traditional donor of somalia throughout the years. the kind of aid that was given somalia is no different. previously it was more focused on food handouts and health facilities like vaccination.

this is needed still and the need for that is there. we have been engaging with the united states government to increase the support and diversify it instead of emergency packages only or recovery packages. working with somalia to have a new constitution and new set of laws -- these are the areas where the united states right now is supporting us and it is not limited to the security sector only. it is very wide. >> here in the third row -- mr. president, thank you very much for coming to speak with us today. i am with the african center at the university of pennsylvania. before 1990, was the planning officer for unicef in mogadishu.

my heart is still very much with the country. i wanted to ask you if you have any plans to harness the tremendous talents of the somali diaspora around the world. most somali extended families have members who live in communities all over the globe. this talents, their wealth and knowledge could do a great deal to rebuild somalia. >> thank you very much. touched a very important area, the somali diaspora. it is the national wealth for somalia. proving asset and it is that it is useful to somalia. ,f you go to mogadishu today the economic activities going on in mogadishu today is mainly

done by the diaspora. the new technologies that are there, the hospitality industry that is emerging now -- all of these are run by the diaspora. their business organizations. if you go to the ministries of the somali government, there is no one single ministry that you will not see four or five diaspora people working in an ministry. some of them have partners and some of them they come there is volunteers. it is there still. the usefulness of the diaspora is more than that. we are working on organizing them. we are still feeling on the ground the usefulness of the diaspora. they are there but we still feel

more organization is needed to get the maximum benefit out of our huge diaspora that is in north america and europe and in the gulf states. it is in that situation. >> here in the second row. with the yellow jacket. thank you for coming mr. president. i'm a graduate student at the university of notre dame. you mentioned al-shabaab. and military force is not the only solution to defeat them. room for the somali elders to negotiate between the government and al-shabaab?

tothere another alternative talk? >> thank you. my government is a government that has come in place through reconciliation and negotiations and through dialogue among the different clans and the different social forces that existence amalia today. the door of dialogue is always open. has articulated the way forward for that. we denounce the violence. the rest we can negotiate. whatever ideology is believed, we are ready to negotiate. whatever style of government in the country that they would like to see, we are ready to negotiate. the only thing that is not negotiable is the violence, a lot of themople

disturbing the social life, manipulating because of the certain witnesses that benefiting andre changing the social fabric of the whole nation. these are some of the difficult things that are not easy to negotiate. timese said a number of that we have produced documentation on that. publicly, we have said that the only condition we have with them is to denounce the violence, p eriod. and its the violence base and extremism and the rest we can negotiate. the doors open and we have a very good number of young people who came back through this process and we established

centers for them so that we can make sure that they are back and we have people who have a dialogue with these young boys when they are in that center. then there given skills training. were young boys who come from different corners of somalia. when they went through this rehabilitation centers, we talked to their elders and they took active the community so it is already there. there is a good number of young people coming through that. al-shabaab, it mainly consists of three groups -- one group is the bulk of the fighting force, young boys who have been distorted or misled by economic manipulation

and many others. that's one group. that's the bulk. there is another group asked to that which belongs to minorities , minority clans, that have been pressured or subjected to maybe unfair treatment. and have a sense of revenge al-shabaab gives them an opportunity to carry out revenge and kill their elders. they utilize that sort of grievance in some parts of the society. group, those core who cleave to the ivy -- ideology and many of them are not somalis. we are dealing with these three different groups, the bulk of them tries to provide economic opportunities, training, skills so that they can be easily thatyed the other group revenge, there will

not be retaliation but they need to recognize that and ask forgiveness. that process is still there. the third roop -- the third group, i don't inc. we have anything available to them. the foreigners have to go home and if they denounce violence and extremism, this is their country and they can be part of the society. there is a possibility of negotiation and consultation possible. -- and reconciliation possible. >> back in the fifth row -- thank you, i was a diplomat in somalia long ago. i was in mogadishu before and after independence. -- i wasre until one there on july 1, 1960 when

independence was declared. at the time, there's interest and concern of all the emerging countries in africa of how this was going to work out. one cause of concern was tribalism, if that's the right term, and the existence of the clans which provides some stability and democracy but also was the cause of conflict and tension and of the history of somalia as of late 1960 that bears that out. my question is -- what about today? is that still an issue? division whatan is the role and significance of that? >> first of all, somalia has clans. somalia is one tribe. tribe, theion of a tribes are in africa.

when you look at somalia, it is one tribe with the same language and same culture and same everything. we have plans. --clans. ands a social way of life the social architecture of somalis, it is clans. clans were social and clans were a social inucture never useful nomadic society. be it has shown to difficult, or not as good in -- asarts of social life good as it is in some parts of social life, not in politics. clans have a way of life and how

to deal with the neighboring .lan not the one next to them even. it depends on the context of -- of thatill stop clan. it is mainly contextual. it is not to be in national politics. and as you said, it is still there. and we do not have political parties, trade unions, other professional associations. the only means of association we have is the clan. and that ising it, how they use it to reorganize the political topography of samaria -- of somalia.

politics are sometimes good, but toetimes very difficult align with the modern thinking of state building. the challenges are still there, but this is to we are and what we are. good aspect the clan has. >> is it time for small yet to consider political parties? amalia to consider forconside rties -- somalia to consider political parties? groups are not holding much establishing that in

politics. the structure in the framework -- and the framework is not yet well established. is not get fully in place. we are trying to organize on the basis of the political idea they have any political ambition in somalia. we need to start somewhere, and that is the beginning. improve.it will there are people with new ideas already there.

the rules are not yet finalized in many parts. we are working on it. >> i'm from ireland. laster, our government pledged to -- last year, our government .ledged to support somalia what do you think the key to your country's economic success is? >> there are a lot of questions on aid and its effectiveness all over the world. aid is effective when it is used properly.

when it is provided at the right time. when it is provided in the right area. and when it is led by the needs identified by the recipient, not by the -- by those who provide it. saying,recipients and this is the need we have today. aid, if it is already decided somewhere else and is a package of what is available, but not at this early responding .o the need of the recipient the aid.pends on there is no one country in the world that has experienced stay collapse and came back by its own without international support. every country that gets out of a post-conflict situation has done

so with the support of outside, whether that's a multilateral organization like the u.n., or treaty organizations, or if it comes from a friend of a country, like what the united kingdom did in sierra leone or now the african union is doing in some all you. -- in somalia. years tos 12 transition from stateless to a state. somalia was not given the proper aid in the right time and in the right place, so it prolongs the transition. countries may come back at the end, but they will pay a heavy price.

somalia is not an exception in one aspect, it is part of conflict in the world. and in some ways it is an ineption, because coming january, 2015 [indiscernible] and we need exceptional treatment even in the aid to somalia. three years or five years is different from 20 plus years. somalia is not an exception compared to post-conflict, but on the other hand it is an exception because it is the

longest since the state collapse in the world today. >> matt simonsen. i worked at the search for common ground. your state modernizes and develops, will there be a future for nomadic herders in the countryside, for that lifestyle? >> well, the traditional way of life is nomadic in the rural area. herders,is, they are cattley look after their and increasingly need water and pasture. the traditional culture of somalia was based on that, water and food for grazing for the livestock.

now, to change that life as people are calling them all to the urban area, no. but we want to improve the , provide the facilities that are available. moving is increasingly [indiscernible] but somalia has experience with years as ase this is state. provide services for them, education for their kids, but not to change the whole thing. that would not be possible. life.s their way of i believe that we can improve

.hat to new waysuce them of hurting the livestock -- herding the livestock, it will improve the country without changing their way of life and culture. >> let me interject a quick question that is partly related, though more geographic and scope. do you have a long-term vision for similar lines and the put be to- somaliland reintegrated? or is that too distant a prospect at this stage? >> making somalia united again and one country, fun as one

state -- functioning as one state is a priority for us. there were four sessions the last year and the beginning of this year. closer than wech were two years ago. three years ago, we were not talking to each other. now, at least we are talking. we have people that are known to ofnegotiators of the union somaliland and the rest of somalia. we are working a framework now to agree that somalia will were main united. it means, what will be the kind of government, these are questions that we will need to own.

with somaliland, this is going on. the challenge of the center attacking the peripheral is constantly going on. we have a transition program that is working. and we are reaching out into the regions and to the different administrations that are existing. those that existed before we , like bones lend, we continue. i visited the prime minister of ndtland.nd -- bu

but we are not as sordid as i would like to see. the negotiation is two ways. one, somaliland is not part of somalia anymore. that is a completely different negotiation. and one that is, yes, i'm part have x concern i concern, orrn -- y i want that much of autonomy, this is something that is going on. the dialogue is taking place in a structured manner on the constitution. established -- the government of somalia

established an independent commission comprised of different somalis with the administration and the clans put together. placer commission is in that consists of different somalis in the region geographically. in two levels.n one, level of unity. one level of stability. -- one level of unity and one level of stability. >> we will take two more questions. the settlement and -- over here and then the german in the front row and then we will have to stop there. >> my first question is about the diaspora in terms of

community building. one thing i'm working on is a get diasporailm to development. is, how is the current government using media and technology to change the of the process you go through, the opportunities that are available, the access to other media and getting information available for us to change the perception in order to engage investment and other capacity? ask this question over here and them will do the two questions together if that's ok. >> good morning. thank you, mr. president for informing this community about amalia. , ia member of the diaspora had the privilege to work in somalia in 2010. already always --

contribution of the smalley diaspora -- somalia diaspora in somalia. 1974 to 1975,n of literacy levels were improved from 5% to 65%. as we have today, literacy in somalia is that the lower levels. for men, it is about 35%. and for women and youth it is below that, below 30%. do we have to improve that? and could this be a tool to help the communities learn the language, learn how to read and write, and get employment opportunities with education as a tool? >> thank you very much. media, iestion of the can claim that somalia enjoys

the largest amount of freedom that exists today in africa, and in that part of africa particularly. we have a large media, both tv , and websites. in mogadishu alone, we have more radios and across somalia, we have seven tvs across the satellite we are using. websites, hundreds of in the smalley and language and operated by somalis -- in the somali language and operated by somalis. somalians were making this happen long before the diaspora

was in place. there were discussions with the media people and the minister of onormation in mogadishu media alone. there were three sessions. each one, a minimum of three days, some of them five days, discussing the media law before it is presented to parliament. be -- has been finalized and is now in parliament. parliament is right now recess, but when they come back, the legislation will be passed. enjoying --ia is yes, it's a difficult area and a lot of media people have been killed throughout the war by the extremists, but the regulation on all of this is an issue of capacity. there are always issues. but compared to many of our neighbors, somalia is much more

ahead in terms of the media today. -- on top of that, somalia the fiber-optic cable is in mogadishu. and the quality and capacity will farther improve with the use of this faster internet facility that is today available in the wood issue. the media is there. it is very good and useful. we call the media their the eyes and ears of the people. advise them to tell the people good things in their .yes and ears in somalia, there are so many bad things that can be presented , but what is important is to show -- and that slogan is there in the media society of somalia.

my come back to the question of -- when i come back to the question of literacy, i am proud to be one of those children that was part of the literacy campaign of 1974. i recently visited the place where i went that day a few weeks back as the president. i was a young boy. that was a huge undertaking at that time when the somali language was written in the literacy campaign took place. sad to say it has declined again. we have 45% of children going to school. -- 25% of children born to school.

only last year, we succeeded in public schools. before, there were schools, but private schools. -- some amount of money has always been there. started publicwe schools. and the parents are asking it to be $10. around 50,000 students enrolled the first academic year. year isnd academic starting right now. we expect more to enroll. and more teachers. it goes back to a matter of financing. to rehabilitate a school is to

train them. it uses a lot of resources. we partner with the international partners like usaid. an exclusive discussion with them yesterday. somalia, public schooling is coming back. literacy, as you rightly said, it went accords -- it went back, but now we have established the public schools. we need a campaign similar to that of 40 years ago. thank you. >> as we conclude, let me forth a couple of quick thank you's, first to allen and jayne for sponsoring this statement form um.statesman for

i think we should all be grateful to our security personnel. they don't like us to talk about them too much. they do a great job discreetly, but they have had quite a week here in washington. [laughter] we want to extend our gratitude. and most of all, to our distinguished guests, the president of somalia. thank you very much for being here. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

>> all of this discussion today with the president of somalia, who is by the way in town for the west africa summit. andof this discussion others are available on our website at www.c-span.org. and tomorrow, we will have sessions from the conference. first lady michelle obama and laura bush will talk about the women of africa. and then president bill at 10:00 a.m.rks on sunday, followed by president obama. again, that will be on sunday. post" reporting this --

again, that from the "washington post" today. mers of congress are reacting. senator john mccain tweets this -- and congressman alan grayson, a florida democrat says this -- and this from senator marco rubio -- nearly 450 of you have left comments on our facebook page.

again, we encourage your participation. on our face but page -- facebook page and we are also taking your tweets. white house secretary josh onnest will take questions actions in iraq and a number of other issues in the middle east and elsewhere today. you will be able to watch it on our companion network c-span2. we will keep our eye on the situation in iraq and renewed significant updates. also, you can see president obama's speech last night authorizing the strikes against terrorist. you can also see his comments from june when he said he would be willing to use those targeted strikes. it is all at our homepage www.c-span.org. now a portion of today's "washington journal" looking at

overcoming gridlock in congress. joining us is doug shown, democratic pollster, former pollster to president clinton. we've invited you on the program to talk about the political center and the american political body as it constitutes today. in a general sense, how do we think of ourselves politically when it comes to liberals, conservatives, moderates, where do we break it down? guest: i'll start with a simple breakdown and look for an analysis. dd we're about 40% conservative and 25% liberal depending on the time and the circumstances and another, say, 40% in the middle, moderate. now, that would suggest that we are a center-right country with

the predominant sentiment in the center. unfortunately, and this is very sad, what is happening in our political system is that the exact opposite appears to be the result, meaning we appear to be a country of now the extremes, the far left and the far right and despite senator alexander's victory and senator roberts' victory this week, the energy in the republican party is on the right, the energy in the democratic party is certainly on the left, so moderates in the center, people like me, are sadly -- i wouldn't call us a dying breed, but we're a shrinking phenomenon, certainly. host: doug shoe, n, when you look at the results, half the people who voted in the republican primaries for both long-term senators voted against them. >> well, that is exactly my point. dr. wolf in kansas had some

compartment is own and certainly wasn't a experienced politician and think it was joe carr in tennessee. again, similarly, these were not overwhelming ratifications of incumbents and indeed, what we saw on 2010, certainly being a washington insider was a fatal flaw of the republican party, the other thing i should say, peter, is both parties in the polling now get negative ratings and there's a clear desire in the electorate desire qited to best unre the two major parties, something i hope emerges but not sanguine will. host: you're saying we're splitting apart and 40% or so, so-called moderate.

where does the 40% go? guest: well, the problem is they tend to go whichever way is least objectionable. that is, if the republican party, as it did in 2006 and 2008, gets outside the mainstream or is pursuing policies that are considered to be either unpopular or misguided, those moderates will move to the left and in 2010, and i dare say in 2014, those moderates will probably move to the right. but we see a lot more voting against than voting for, and right now, every institution, and i think this is important in our political system, is unpopular. congressional approval is about 10%, democratic approval, 30%, 35%, republican approval is about 10 points lower than democratic approval. we live in a system where there is broad-based, widespread

disdain and i dare say dismissal of established political institution and political parties. host: we put the numbers on the screen if you'd like to participate in our conversation with doug shoen about the american political body, particularly the american , ter, so-called moderates that type of issue where you stand on the political spectrum, we'd like to hear that as well. the numbers on the screen -- host: you can always tweet in as well. doug shoen, recently in "the washington times" you had an op-ed that you co-wrote where you write the vast majorities of the people have a strong desire for bipartisanship and compromise and the complete failure of both parties to deliver it is what's hurting

congress. recently on book tv ron paul was on and this is a quote from his book "liberty defined," so-called moderate politicians who compromise and seek bipartisanship are the most dangerous among the entire crew in washington, compromise is too often synonymous with selling out but it sounds a lot better. >> well, i think that sort of makes my point. i mean, we live in a democracy with a separation of powers. we have a democratic senate, a republican house, and a democratic president. it is axiomatic you have to compromise to achieve results. and every compromise involves people of firm views and strong views like former congressman paul who would be disappointed. but let's take immigration as an issue. i think there's a clear consensus in the american people, we have to do something about border security. i think there's an equally

strong consensus that we have to provide a pathway of citizenship -- or to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. but that being said, if you try to get republicans and democrats in a room to agree to that, it is almost impossible, yet the outlines of a solution, to me, seem fairly clear and obvious and i dare say to the american people as well. so congressman paul might call it dangerous, i would call it essential, necessary, and in the broad national interests. host: doug shoen, what role has redistricting played in the splitting of the american political body? >> you know, it's a very good question, peter. most of us who are political professionals, or like to think of ourselves that way, try to avoid talking about process oriented issues and redistricting certainly is a process oriented issue.

but if it is as in the vast majority of states controlled by the political parties, the parties that control an individual state legislature, it means given the tools that are at our disposal now in terms of computer technology and graphing, we can literally draw districts for state legislature and for congress that predetermine the results based on how the districts are drawn. so ultimately it means there are fewer and fewer competitive districts drawn and that means in a noncompetitive district between democrats and republicans, the only opposition a democrat will have is usually from the left and republicans, as we were talking before, from the right, so that that tends to pull both parties to their extremes because the competition invariably is from the left to right wings of the party, not from the center, making the kinds of politics i believe is essential, more difficult to pursue.

host: let's take some calls. jack in shady point, oklahoma, calling in on our independent line. jack, how do you define yourself politically and go ahead and make your comment? caller: i'm a moderate republican, but that being said, the biggest problem that i see is mr. shoen brings up a very good point, there are about 40% of americans that are moderate but neither party represents me at all. i think he missed one d there and i think that's disgust, earlier you said dismissal and there's just an utter disdain for the political system as a whole in the legal system, and our judicial system is equally corrupted and in need of change and we need significant change, not violent change but it seems like we're marching towards violent change in this country and we need to be moving towards peaceful change and the

reason to get change is we need a legitimate third party and people like myself say i believe in my right to own a firearm, i also believe we need to be more socially responsible for our poor and infirmed, and we need to get things done and neither party is getting anything done. they're just -- it's just hilarious. host: jack, let's get a response from doug shoen. caller: i couldn't agree more with jack. the first thing i would do is say i stand absolutely corrected. i should have used the word disgust. jack is right. the second thing jack is right about is i think for a vast majority of american people, majority, %, 65% the two parties as presently constituted do not represent their views. the parties are not as they

ed to be, a coalition of dispretty world -- disparity views coming together and represent more ideological groupings and i was trying to suggest earlier and jack said it, frankly, if not better than i did, the parties are so rigid, so narrow and so nym attacks ad homi and someone like jack who may be pro gun and responsible, the democrats will attack him for being pro gun and the republicans will say probably he wants to spend more money than we should. the other thing that happens, and again, i think it's part of the discussion, is the civility that i dare say c-span has always encouraged over its 30-plus years, and the civility that i think is so important in politics is largely, largely dissipating, if not been

eliminated from our system. so the idea of having debates, sometimes even contentious debate or coming to a consensus or conclusion is gone and it makes people more and more upset. and jack had one other point that's worth attention. it is all institutions, not just politics but our legal institutions, our civic institutions that are all coming into question. put another way, we used to be a beacon around the world, not only of freedom and liberty but an example of the way a government should function. i dare say and i ask this rhetorically, it's pretty hard for us to go around the world now and say "be more like us." our system is not working and not working the way it should. host: henry is a democrat in oakridge, tennessee. henry, how do you define yourself politically and go ahead. caller: i'm a moderate democrat and like the gentleman who just

dialed the phone a while ago. i believe some of the same way he do. the only thing it is, i was sitting here last night watching -- woke up this morning and watched the election here in tennessee. we don't have republicans here in tennessee. the only generation -- i'm 74. the only generation like me have really shut this country down. most whites my age, they're going to vote republican regardless to how they hurt the country. they don't care. i mean, i listen to them. i go to a church, my congregation is caucasian. and it's only about two of us in that that's really vote democrat in that whole congregation. all they're saying is the country is divided. i'm from mississippi, up in 1940's and 1950's and i can see it today. we are so divided. the republicans ain't got nothing to worry about because with regards to how they do

this country, america will put them back in there. ain't no need for us arguing about it. host: do you see a racial split, doug shoen? >> i would say statistically there is a racial split. henry is right. there's a bud. one of the great promises of barack obama's candidacy as a u.s. senator for the presidency in 2008 is he offered the prospect of racial and political unity. remember, we're not a red america or a white america or a blue america, we're a united states of america. and i think that's what most good, well-thinking americans want. the problem is, as henry suggested, we are polarized. we're not able to get together across ideological, sometimes racial, certainly political lines. there is one other thing, though, and i think it's important to underscore. henry said that he and jack agree on many things.

yet there is no real vehicle in america for people from oklahoma who are moderate republicans and people from tennessee who are moderate democrats to come together. there's no force to bring them together, no party or no real strong interests. and that is a great tragedy. and i can only say that from where i sit to the extent i'm able to play a small role in encouraging political reconciliation, it probably is as important as anything i could be talking about or trying to accomplish. host: what about the third-party movement? we tried that before and it's never really taken off. i mean, it's taken off but hasn't been 100% successful. guest: sure. i think there is broad support for it now, polls i've seen, over 60% want it. the problem is the two parties, the democrats and republicans, which agree on nothing, agree on keeping third parties off the ballot and out of

presidential elections. then there's always the sense that well, a third party will be a spoiler, so that retards support for third parties as well. but i would think we would be a healthier democracy with more different parties, more different ideas, more different forces in the system and to not try to open up the system to give more parties, interests, and candidates, a chance to run again would be a mistake given the widespread, i'll use -- yeah, i think it's jack's word, disgust that exists with the two major parties. host: from what you heard from jack and henry so far, do you think that jack ever has voted democratic and do you think henry has ever voted republican even though they both call themselves moderate? >> yeah. i think jack might have voted democratic back when there were moderate democrats in oklahoma, something that hasn't existed for probably 10, 15 years.

i'm not sure henry has ever voted republican but he struck me as a man of goodwill who is legitimately frustrated by what he sees as the polarization in the country and the fact that he goes to a church that is largely white struck me that this is a good and decent man who is decrying a system that is too polarized. i think if both henry and jack were given an opportunity to express themselves in a biracial or multiracial political coalition of change, i think both would seriously consider it, and if that's the case, it would certainly, in my judgment, be to the good. host: william, omaha, nebraska, independent. william, politics and then your comment. caller: yes, good morning, gentlemen, greetings and salutations. if we want a true center, we need to remember what our forefathers warned us of, that

it was jefferson or washington or some others, they warned us against political parties. i think if we truly want to get the attention of the politicians, perhaps instead of starting other parties, why not just everybody or a lot of people shift over to independent. and i think that would get the attention of the parties and they'd say wait a minute, what's going on here? maybe we should listen less to the lobbyists and more to the people that vote us in and put us in the power, you know. we've got many, many problems in this country today, you know. it's gotten to the point where it's like sports, you know, we're on different teams and it's our team vs. your team regardless whether you're right or wrong or whether we're right or wrong. host: william, how do you define yourself politically? >> well, -- caller: well, an independent. another thing, i was born in a democratic household and that's

what we do, whether it's religion or politics, we tend to follow the ways of our family before us and if we truly want to educate ourselves, we need to listen more to unbiased outlets, media outlets like c-span, public television, national public radio, these tend to be sources that aren't quite as biased and give us true information and if we'd just quit watching so much sports and get worked up -- host: william, have you ever voted for a republican? caller: no. but i would if i felt they were satisfying my interests and needs. host: i'm going to have to leave it there. let's get an answer from doug shoen. guest: i guess what i would say is what william is speaking of is actually happening, the number of democratic and republican identifiers are going down, the number of independent identifiers are going up. the problem is, where do the independents go once they disaffiliate? if there are only two choices, you have to do what william

does which is to say i'm no longer a democrat, i'm an independent but an independent that votes democratic. i have no doubt about william's seriousness of purpose. he seems like a very thoughtful man but statistically to the politicians, william is no different as a democrat leaning independent than he is as a democratic identifier. the reason i say we need alternatives is we need to give william, jack, and henry, an alternative in the center so they can align somewhere other than two parties that -- as we've been discussing all morning, clearly don't meet the interests of the broad mass of the american people. host: ron. westchester field, new hampshire, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you, c-span, as usual, you guys give an additional voice to the average american, hard-working person like myself. mr. shoen, i'm honored to speak with you this morning. guest: thank you. thank you. caller: i am a democrat and

i've got to say, i don't believe today's political system is really broken, it's just been abused by both sides, democrats and republicans, with the gerrymandering with the republicans and i think a lot of it comes down to the individual's hearts, what they have in their heart, you know. i think a lot of our problems take the immigration problem, i think that could be cleared up very quickly, and i say that because my view on it is we should invite mexico to become a part of the united states, let them vote on it. and if they vote no, they wish to retain their sovereignty, then ok, we need to retain ours and we close the borders and send everybody back that is illegal. that would solve the problem. host: doug shoen, that was a democrat calling in with that suggestion. guest: i would tell you one of

the reasons i think we need compromise is the caller proposed a solution that i doubt is going to get much serious currency today. i don't think there's much sentiment in the united states to add mexico as the 51st state, nor to allow the mexicans to have a referendum on that question. at the same time, he also mentioned closing the border, and he also mentioned a couple other ideas about immigration. and what i would take most generally from his message is that we need to consider a wide range of alternatives, some certainly outside the box so that we can make policy in a logical and broad-based way. and right now we don't have a process that does that. we have a process that does the alternative. so the spirit of what the caller is saying, i can accept even if the substance is not necessarily something i think is all that practical. host: eddie is calling on our

independent line from marlboro, massachusetts. eddie, tell us about your politics and go ahead and make your comment. caller: good morning, gentlemen. i was going to come on and describe myself as a moderate conservative but then you're asking people if you ever voted for this or that, and i think back, i've only -- i'm in my 50's but have been voting about 15 years and don't really remember ever voting for a democrat, but not to say i wouldn't. when i saw mr. shoen was coming on today, i needed to call because i think out of all the analysts and consultants, i think i really do value his opinion more than any other. host: why? caller: because even though i don't agree as a moderate conservative with a lot of his opinions, most of his opinions, after he gives his opinion, i can look and say, jeez, he made a good argument that way and he makes me think. and there's just a lack of --

that's what most of the conversation has already been about, there's a lack of that civility. but i did have a question, i'm going to kind of change it up. i wanted to know, because mr. shoen, you were mentioned about no like outlets or vehicles for people that have that middle-the-the road mentality. have you ever heard of -- now i'm going to forget the name of it. oh, no labels. there's a group out there called no labels. guest: absolutely. caller: i remember the first i ever heard about it was on c-span and they had a representative on there. and i thought, you know, what a novel and good and kind-hearted thing. and i also thought at the time that it's never going to work in this country the way the country is now, and you know, that was a couple years ago and i really haven't heard too much about that group. you might actually be a member of it for all i know.

host: eddie, let's hear from mr. shoen pfpblgt 89 -- mr. shoen. guest: i did play a small role in helping no labels launch and i certainly encourage groups like no labels and other centrist groups from -- i encourage them to do everything they can. and eddie, i also appreciate your comments. it means a great deal to me. i try to be thoughtful and i think groups like no labels certainly try to be thoughtful to come up with solutions like no budget, no pay for members of congress. the problem we have is, as eddie suggested quite rightly, it's very difficult for any centrist group given the political lineup of the country now to gain traction. we don't have people who are in the center, and i'd like to think of myself, and certainly eddie presents himself to be quite credibly and compellingly who try to come up with ideas to make positive change, not to

advance a partisan or narrow selfish agenda. so i would only say what we've heard this morning so far, peter, is four people, different world views, different approaches who all say we'd like to be able to come together, give us a chance to do that. i think what's missing in the system is any opportunity to take people of goodwill from different view points and bring them together for positive change. host: i'm sure as a pollster you've heard this before, i didn't leave my party, the party left me. guest: sure. and i think for a lot of people, the parties have moved beyond them. but there's no alternative where to go. i mean, you can become an independent, but then what? you can join no labels, but as eddie suggested, they haven't, as of yet. and i think it's disappointing. but they haven't been able to impact fundamentally on the system and we're left with two parties. and if you take ron paul's

comment as aluss practicetive -- illustrative on the right of what those may believe, the only thing more dangerous than the democratic left would be those in the center who try to promote compromise between disparate interests and think it's very sad, very sad politically but more important, i'm an american before i'm a partisan. i'm trying to achieve results for our country at a time when we're potentially facing two, perhaps three, global conflicts, all of which demand our attention. as an american, i want to see a united response, not a politicized response. and i think that's really what our callers are speaking to. host: from dillsburg, pennsylvania, here's jean, a republican, how do you define yourself politically? caller: conservative. host: ok. caller: good morning, gentlemen, and thank you for c-span. i would just like to ask why we

are as americans blaming the people that we vote and send to office? and instead, think about the constitution. we're a young country. government -- they never meant the federal government to take over our lives and states should have surity which is being taken away. if the american voter, when they went to the polls, would know the buttons they're pushing, if they'd take as much time finding out who these people are, and they can best do that by starting locally. these people, you can be in contact with, you can walk in their office. there is so much reckless legislation. i have spent the last six years, had the luxury of watching the committee meetings, watching the hearings, watching c-span, reading, getting as much information as i could and going back to learning civics. and what i see is what the

american public voted for. host: we're running out of time. let's get a response from doug shoen. guest: exactly. we need more people involved at a local level, at a national level, and we need a more informed citizenry. people, when they get disgusted to go back to the word of the half-hour, they tune out. . wherever you end up on the spectrum, if you're thoughtful and involved, it's a big, big step regardless of your world view. host: chris in alabama tweets in there are two teams on the ball field, democrats and republicans. you look at what they represent and choose a team, simple. while text zen tweets in, we have two parties, a center party and a far right party, there is no left party. doug schoen, do you agree with that? guest: well, i would tell you as somebody who considers

himself a moderate democrat, i uld take some issue with the second comment. i think the democrats have moved less in my opinion, though it's debatable. the republicans have moved further right than the democrats have moved further left, but it is undeniable to me that the broad-based coalition that we used to see the senate and house in the 1960's, 1970's, and part of the 1980's, has gotten smaller and smaller and the other parties have gotten stronger and stronger, both in the electorate and in the leadership and rank-and-file of the house and senate. host: warren in pennsylvania, democrat. define yourself politically for us, and then go ahead and ask your question. caller: i would call myself a liberal democrat. to expand on the last caller, the last comment, you talked, mr. schoen, about the extreme

right and the extreme left. but as a liberal democrat, to me the extreme right is illustrated in the politics of ted cruz and marcia blackburn and michele bachmann, those types. what, as a pollster, or who can you name that would be the equivalent of that on the left? please, give me a few names. guest: sure. well, let's just suggest -- and i say this without characterizing, but statistically, it certainly is the case that given the ratings that nancy pelosi has garnered, both as speaker and now the minority leader in the house, she is not perceived as a mainstream democrat, whatever your sympathies with her may be. and i would dare say, looking at the democratic party and its emphasis on redistribution over growth, there has been a movement away from where the

democratic party has traditionally been. now, you may win the argument, and i think i'd probably vote with you, that the republicans are more conservative than the democrats liberal, but the point i've been trying to make this morning is that that's beyond and besides the point. the larger point to me is the fact that we can't come together and build broad-based coalitions. it means that we all lose, whether you're a liberal democrat or a conservative republican. or like me, somebody pretty firmly in the center. host: doug schoen, we appreciate you being on the "washington journal," and hope you'll come back soon. guest: i certainly will, and thank you, peter, for having >> we are live now as the caucus advisory committee is hosting an online form.

google and other citizens have delete information if individuals requested. we expect to start momentarily. live coverage here on c-span.