>> give us a sense of what you think the tone has been. if you think the tone has been more negative, call

(202)585-3880. if you think it's more positive, (202)585-3881. and if you think it's been the same as previous campaigns, (202)585-3882. you can reach out to us and give us your thoughts on social media today. twitter you can reach us at c-span wj. you can send us e-mail to journal at c-span.org. one of the questions they took the people who participated was the into. this is the response they got. they said this. there is another turn off for american voters.

the remaining quarter has no options, suggesting they just all tuned it out. with that in mind, your thoughts on the tone of the campaign as you've been viewing it. if you perhaps think it's more negative than years past, be sure to tell us why. if you think it's been more positive (202)585-3881. and (202)585-3882 if you think the tone has been the same as in previous races. when it comes to ads, one of the things they tell us is the number of ads, according to the center for public intug row tie is reaching about a million monday, about 908,000 u.s. senate focused tv ads this election cycle.

that's according to the folks at slate magazine. if you turn to "the washington post" this morning they have a listing of attack ads or most attacked candidates. and these are done by outside groups and the amount they've spent. it doesn't list the specific groups but does give a dollar figure. at the top of that list of most attacked candidates by outside groups is thom tillis out of north carolina with $32 million spent on attack ads against him. joany ernst also the republican from iowa, $23 million spent. mark udall the democrat from colorado with $21 million in ads targeting him, and coming in fifth, kay hagan the democrat from north carolina, $18 million spent by outside groups, taking a look at that campaign targeting her. for those thoughts, maybe the tone of the campaign comes

through debates, maybe it comes through ads that you've seen, maybe some other thing, as well. if you want toel the us if you think the campaign has been more negative, call us at 20 fight of 585-3880. if you think it's been more positive (202)585-3881. if you think it's been the same, (202)585-3882. we'll hear first from june, she is in lexington, kentucky. she thinks it has been more negative. tell us why. caller: well, i can go back to even the beginning of when president obama -- i'm african-american here in kentucky. and when mr. mcconnell first said i'm going to do my best to make this president a one term president, after that i was just, you know, just the whole disrespect of the presidency bothered me. now this race here in kentucky

with allison grimes, you know, i went to alison's very first campaign party. i took four young 13-year-old girls. but i guess to get to my point, i just -- it's just really sad how disrespectful congress has been to this president. host: so june, specifically to this campaign, what you're looking at in kentucky, would you say it's been a negative one so far? and if so tell us why specifically. caller: okay. i'll make this point, and i don't know how long i have. i actually was a person that signed up people for connect, the health care here in kentucky. and to listen to people call it obamacare, i would have to really correct them say call it

the affordable care act. but we signed up 500,000 people. and the negativity that's gone on and people talking about that it's not working, i had people crying on the phone saying they never had health care. they were just so happy to have it. host: okay. john from spring, texas, also says it's been a negative campaign. john, hi. caller: yeah, i agree with that woman. host: before you leave tell us why you think the campaign has been negative. you have a governor's race going on there. would you say that's been negative, as well. caller: yes. host: how so? he's gone. rene from san antonio, texas, she says she thinks it has been the same. hi, rene. caller: hello. good morning. host: why do you think it's been the same?

caller: unfortunately i've been watching the debates on c-span, and i don't see anything different than in the last election. i think that whenever anyone one asks a direct question they never get an answer, a true answer. so i'm to the point where i think i'm just going to vote everybody new in. oust everybody. and maybe that will make a difference, there's going to be some honest people somewhere in this country. host: so from the debates you've been watching, you're saying you're not learning anything from them, is that what i'm taking away? caller: no, i'm learning a lot. i'm learning a lot. i am an educated woman but i'm learning that no one can answer a straight question. host: betty is next, thinks it has been a negative campaign. hi, betty. caller: hi, good morning. i do think it's negative, because the back and forth, the bickering, the no -- no

solutions, it's just so mean spirited. nobody is trying to work together, not coming -- not coming with any kind of -- with any indiana don't of solutions. and it just gives off that negativity and i'm pretty much at my wit's end. and it's sad the politicians cannot work together on behalf of the american people. host: being where you are what have ads been like? you probably get them from pennsylvania, i suspect, and the surrounding states. caller: yes. the ads i pretty much don't really -- once you see them ads i pretty much kind of am turned off. i don't really pay attention to the ads as much, because it's pretty much -- it's to be expected, you know, just very negative. host: again, if you're just

joining us about the campaign, campaign 2014 if you think -- we're asking if you think it has been more negative or months testify or the same. during this time we want to show you some of the debates we've been taking in, and some very charged, as far as nature and the tone of the campaign to help illustrate what we're trying to discuss with you. by the way, six debates that you can see tonight on c-span. if you go to our web site, c-span.org, part of our campaign 2014 coverage about 130 debates we're up to covering. six of those you can see tonight. you can find out more information from our web site at c-span.org. but here is a sample or bit of debate that took place. this is out of minnesota. it's the republican challenger, mike mcfadden, he's challenging the democratic senator from minnesota, al

franken. the topic was that of partisan ship. >> i believe that al franken is one of the most part i and the senators in -- politico magazine -- >> why have senator roger wicker, a republican of mississippi, worked with me to reign the credit rating agencies on wall street. >> look at actions versus words. may i answer? >> go ahead. >> okay. >> i see common ground when i can. but, i also stand my ground when i -- when they come after the middle class. and this is where mr. mcfadden and i fundamentally disagree. i think the economy works from the middle out. i want to work for the middle class -- >> i yo i talk about -- >> we have to plaintiff on. >> we're talking about partisanship.

>> "politico magazine" came out with a study, they ranked senators from one to 100 in terms of their ability to cosponsor legislation across the aisle. you were ranked last place 100 out of 100 senators. my dad said look at actions not words. >> according to that statistic, ted cruz is one of the most bipartisian members of the senate. host: again, we can only show you a portion of that. if you want to see the whole thing go to our web site, campaign 2014 web site at c-span.org where you can see the whole exchange between those two candidates. we'll be showing you more as we go through our first 45 minutes this morning. as we ask you about the tone of the campaign, what you think about it. james thinks the tone has been the same. james is from chattanooga, tennessee. thanks for holding on. go ahead. caller: thank you for having me. i think it's the same old stuff

because each candidate or party is trying to talk about certain talking points, like whether it's abortion, or whether it's affordable health care or, you know, obamacare, or something like that, it's just meant to take the focus off what's really important. host: when you see candidates debate, how much do you learn from them? because we had a viewer talk to us about how much she learned from debates, perhaps even ads if you learn anything from the ads you might be seeing on tv. caller: well, i went to a third district debate in tennessee, and the congressman kept on, you know, not trying to answer the questions. and talking about being civil. the challenger wanted to talk about some real issues. so i tell you, the challenger

was the one that brought up, you know, some solutions. so that was helpful. host: who is the incumbent in the third district? caller: chuck fleshman. host: is that your candidate of choice? caller: i've already voted for mary hendrix. i mean, i'm hoping that you know she doesn't turn washington when she gets in there. host: what was the one thing that drove you to her f. there was one thing out of the many things that might have driven you to her? caller: just the fact that she had humility and had served in the trenches doing several different jobs like i had, and well rounded experience that i thought she brought to the campaign. host: that's james from chattanooga, tennessee, as one who says the campaign has been more negative. this is georgia, carol, hello, how are you? caller: give me a second, okay? the thing here in georgia is

that, you know, the ads are very negative. michelle nunn is trying to speak. and some facts don't get heard in all the chatter. the thing is that in georgia they have really turned georgia -- i'm from -- i had called in a while ago and i had told you that i'm from georgia. marshville lost 41,000 jobs out of the whole state of georgia we lost the most jobs. and it used to be the most paying job. the koreans came in, and it went to mexico. and now you have the state -- the capitol, all of them are republicans now, 15 democrats, okay? but the thing they -- when obama was elected, that's okay, i want you to pay attention, pedro, the thing is that i don't understand

why the media -- they let the republicans come on there, you don't even talk about how well the economy is doing. we are not where we was. and it is because of barack hussein obama, not because of george bush. if you pay attention, everybody is trying to run on hate. you can't get anything with hate. god is about love. if you pay attention, pedro, everything they have tried to come against the president for, he have come through like hallelujah, go democrat. host: that's carol from georgia, mentioning michelle nunn runs as candidate, one of the debates we took in was fever youring her. it was she and republican david purdue who talked about negative ads, also talked about outside money in campaigns. here is a bit of the debate. >> i challenged david to keep

the outside money from georgia. let's do something different in georgia. but within a few hours david you said no we're not going to do that. and i think you know, we do see millions and millions of dollars coming in for negative advertising. i've also said we need campaign finance reform. we need transparency when groups come in and spend millions of dollars without us knowing who they are. so you know, i do want to point out that the winner of the most a grig us ad of the campaign, not just in georgia but the entire united states of america, has been given to you, david, for saying that president george h.w. bush's points of life organization has given money to terrorists. that ad was called pants on fire lie, not only by the ajc, but by "time" magazine, by "new york times," and "usa today." in the actual hall of fame of pants on fire. >> okay. let's hash this out because this

is what people have seen at home. she is correct in the sense that people who judged this who aren't part of your campaign say it was misleading, what was in her memo is not how it was presented in the advertising. >> it's right in the memo. that's exactly what was in the memo. here is the other part of what you're not getting straight. michael bloomberg put $350,000 in your pack to come into georgia to fight against our second amendment rights. you got millions of dollars given to you by outside liberal parties who want to come in here and steal this election. when i look at this race, the outcome is too important for our country, the direction of our country, for our kids and grandkids for us to sit in here and bicker about ads. host: again, some of that exchange from the debate between the two candidates. find out more at our web site at c-span.org. back to the phones.

hello. caller: yes, my name is -- i'm from las vegas. i came here to the united states, and don't get me wrong i am so proud i came here to america. i am grateful to america. i'm a naturalized citizen now. everything is argument, instead of just working together. all you have to do is compromise. then there will be something accomplished. nothing is accomplished when everybody is attacking each other. they're not working together. they should work together. you know. and the lady who -- you know, she holds something she sees it as a sign of responsibility.

host: bill says the campaign has been more negative. he's from new york. go ahead. caller: hi, good morning. host: good morning. caller: i think the tone of this campaign is decidedly negative because america is so divided at this point. and i think america is divided because what we're seeing is that the reign of the conservative white male is coming to an end and the emergence of liberalism is rising, and so the conservative white male is lashing back in a very angry fashion, and that's creating the great divide. host: how do you see that demonstrated in the campaign specifically? caller: well, you know, the conservative white male is backed by the coch brothers, and it goes to, you know, antiabortion, it goes to anti-obama, it goes to serving the rich class rather than serving the middle class.

and it's a very powerful faction, but it's dying in an angry fashion. host: off of twitter, candidates prefer to discuss negative issues rather than address solutions. >solutions.

if you want to comment on your thoughts on the tone of the campaign, if it has been more positive, more negative or the same, (202)585-3880 if you think more negative, (202)585-3881 more positive. if you think the same (202)585-3882. you can reach out to us on social media, as well. joeys from woodbridge, virginia. he thinks the tone has been the same. joe, tell us why. caller: definitely believe it's business as usual. i'm a white male. i'm 50-years-old, and i don't see any more rhetoric or negative campaigning than i have my whole life. but i would say that as far as nastiness is concerned, the democrats definitely take the cake in that, and that's why they win elections. republicans want to get a little bit more nasty if they want to win another election.

host: how close have you been following debates and ads and things like that this cycle? caller: well, you know, i've pretty much turned a deaf ear to it at this point because i'm not getting anything out of it. i do want to make a comment on the lady who called in a few calls ago. it's almost comical now at this point to hear african-americans call in and complain about the negativity towards president obama. i mean, the bottom line is, people are negative towards president obama, not because of his skin color, but because they believe he's a horrible president. his policies have been devastating for this country. he's flooded the country with illegal aliens, not approved the keystone pipeline, millions of americans have lost health insurance. he's run trillion dollar deficits over the last six years. why wouldn't people want to criticize him? host: dave from california, thinks the campaign has been more negative. hi, dave. caller: hello.

yes, it has been more negative. and i also plan to -- more primitive. it reminds me more of 15t 15th century politicking than 21st century political messaging. host: why so? caller: candidates seem to be challenged to either return to the past or just running negative campaign, in other words just using the failure of an incumbent or somebody's personal -- live as opposed to challenging ideas. no good seems to come from that. host: do you think the negative aspect comes from the debuts or ads or are they equal? caller: i think it's a general national. >> of representative democracy where outside money influences

elections by basically class tieing competitors. super packs have been pretty good at that. host: chuck from virginia. hi there. you think it's the same. tell us why. caller: it's the same probably a little worse. you know, these things happen because not the last guy but the guy before the last going to calling in with the nonsense he has been talking about the president being a horrible president. the reason why thinks are horrible is because people represent him. people -- if the american people are stupid enough to put the senate back in the hand of the people who are screwing up everything to make sure nothing -- to get back in power again, they don't give a dam about them. all they want to do is make sure the democrats -- so they can get back mad at the democrats and put them back in power. they don't deserve to be able to

vote. that's why you don't have anything because the people you love. you keep voting for them. go become to ronald reagan when he screwed up the rescue of the students in iran. they screwed that up on purpose to make sure the democrats didn't get elected again. wake up stop being so stupid. host: again, if you think the campaign has been more negative, more positive, the same, you can have a chance and ability to call in and let us know. recently the defense secretary chuck hagel speaking at the washington ideas forum in washington, d.c. announced policy when it specifically comes to members of the military who travel where ebola might be present. here is a little bit from the forum about this policy. >> what i said in response this morning was give me within

15 days the operational specifics of how that would workings and then i believe we should review that policy within 45 days. the fact is, the military will have more americans in liberia than any other department. that's number one. number two, our people are younger. the cohorts are different. they are not volunteers. and this is also a policy that was discussed in great detail by the communities, by the families of our military men and women. and they very much wanted a safety valve on this. so that's essentially what the directive says. host: "wall street journal"

article that i referenced earlier says the military policy sets up a regimen that differs markedly from what the obama administration implemented. the washington ideas forum continues today. you can see that live today on c-span at 8:45 today. if you want to see more of it, that's when you can tune in. it's sponsored by the atlantic institute. go to our web site for more information on c-span two. day two of the 24 washington ideas forum. back to you if you think the campaign has been more negative, positive or the same. here is steve, oklahoma, he thinks it's the same. hi. caller: yeah, good morning, pedro. host: good morning. caller: i think it's about the same. i couldn't understand that last caller, and that one that talked

about obama presidency, that thought it was a good economy, will they took off the key, so that created a bubble economy for what, the last five years, to make it look kind of good? which it should have been took off before the election, right? so guess what. we haven't even had cnn on this network, so we can't even -- they took it off from this network, so we're only getting a couple news channels. but it's really bad. i had it worse years ago. host: rebecca, frederick, maryland, thinks it's more negative. hi. caller: it's definitely more negative. you know, i'm 63-years-old, and i've seen a lot of campaigns. it tends to be i think the negativeness comes with eight year presidencies for one thing. but for midterm elections, this is extremely negative.

my -- i can't believe my mailbox, it's got -- i probably got -- i believe i counted 20 large, double sided ads from politicians, local to state officials that are running, and it was just amazing, i sat and read ever single one of them. i'm an educated voter. those things don't help to really make a decision but i guess there are people who just vote based on ads that they get in the mail, and that's why they spend all those high dollars. host: so rebecca -- caller: there is one positive in those 20. host: i was going to ask you when you read them, is it more about the candidate and their ideas or is it more about the person who he or she is challenging and why they're not a good candidate? caller: it was -- and i went through every one of them intentionally to lock at that. 19 of them were attacking the opposition. there was one that was kind of

half -- their ideas and half the other out of those 19. there was one, it was john delaney, who was their ideas, it was his ideas, you know, and it was very unusual to see it was not an attack, it had one sentence on there about an opponent. but again it was not a huge attack like the others were. and i thought what a refreshing thing. i'm not saying -- he may have attack things out in that batch and i've gotten many of them. that just happened to be -- i was shocked at under four days i had 20 of them and i was like what in the world, they're spending huge amounts of off money just to -- i guess -- i'm just one that wants to read what each of the candidates have to say. i read opposition views, but i go to their web sites. i go and i look at their voting record. i go to the congressional record. and i listen to your debates from around the country to hear

what candidates have to say. i just, you know, the louisiana debate listening to that one, you know, you hear positives, but as your previous callers have said, you know, you hear people, you know, touting their voting record but at the same time you hear as other callers have said over and over again these slogans where they just come out, you know, it's like bash obamacare because they don't want to have to talk about what they would actually do, either they don't have ideas or they don't have a plan. and they feel that the best way is this attack, the negative attacking, which i think this is the worst mid term election i have ever seen. host: what about the television ads? what are you seeing there in maryland? caller: i will tell you, they're really bad, but i am a person who does the timo, and i fast forward to them. it's just -- you know, i look at them, look at them once, but i haven't -- you know, i just

don't stop for them, because they are of no use to me to evaluate a candidate for me, personally, you know, i'm just one who likes to dig deeper in what people have done, or what they -- not just what they say. and i'm a person who wants to check what their actions have been not what their voices are. what they say. and i write letters to my congressman, my senators, and i tell them i don't need your empty words, i need your actions. and that's -- that's pretty much my views. host: that's rebecca from frederick maryland who says the campaign has been more negative. john from fairview, north carolina also saying the same. john, good morning. thanks for calling. caller: good morning. actually, i have to take a little issue with the lady just said, because right in the middle of all the filibustering she did she talked about out-and-out lie talking about republicans don't have any ideas on obamacare. and that has been the kind of

negativity that has really, really bothered me. all throughout the campaign here in north carolina between thom tillis and kay hagan, kay hagan spent nearly four times as much money basically lie oning about thom tillis and his record saying things like he cut $500 million from education, which is a flat out bald faced lie. at the same time, anytime that she gets called on the fact that her family benefited directly from votes that she took in the senate, you know, as a senator from north carolina you know, immediately swoops in a bunch of these special-interest groups that say no, this is not true, and bashing thom tillis again. and this is the indiana don't of thing that has really bothered me. inningly enough. the stuff i get in the mail, the lady was talking about, has generally all been positive.

the stuff that i get in the mail has been, you know, well this is where i stand on the issues, depending on who the candidate is. so in the mail, it has been actually extremely positive. but on television, my internet connection has been bombarded with all kinds of negative things from the right and left. and at this point it's hard to make a decision. host: john, there is a "washington post" headline that says in north carolina senate race a negative ad ran on average once a minute for seven days. would that be your experience watching on television, perhaps? caller: i think it's a bit of an under statement. it's once every 30 seconds. this morning i get up to watch the local news and ever 30

seconds you get a negative ad from thom tillis, a negative ad from kay hague again, and two other negative ads from the challengers. it has been pretty much one every 30 seconds. host: onsets it up perfectly only because we have examples of the ads that some of you in north carolina may be seeing about the senate race. here are two of the ads. >> as speaker of the state ledge is lay lure thom tillis has a plan. that's thom tillis' record. and it's wrong for the middle class. >> i'm kay hagan and i approve this message. >> i'm thom tillis, i approve

this message. >> days after kay hagan took office she pushed obama's stimulus bill. it helped kay hagan move forward personally. host: again, those ads, debates that we've taken in all available on our campaign 2014 web site at c-span.org. more than 100 debates we've been taking. we're going to show you six of them tonight, by the way, including the race for illinois governor, that's governor pat quinn, democratic. there is others, as well. you can see them all tonight. if you go to our web site at c-span.org all that information about when it will be there, plus the ads you've seen, plus the debates we've taken in, all

that in one place at c-span.org. mary is from fort washington, maryland. hi, marchy. caller: good morning. how are you? host: fine, thanks. caller: they're so negative they galvanized me and my family and the whole neighborhood to make sure we vote democratic. this is a blue area here and we're going to keep it here. mr. hoe again doesn't have a chance. the way i see it the negative ads are going to galvin ice the democratic party to the point where we're going to get rid of all the republicans we need to get rid of and so we can get something going in this country like jobs, infrastructure, all the things that we were wanting to take care of in 2008. if you think repealing the health care is going to be something that's going to going vannize the republicans, no. plenty of republicans like the health care. and you can call it obamacare all you want, it's here to stay republicans. it's going to be a landslide and

we're going to win. democrats go. host: the lead story of "the new york times" takes a look at the campaign. lieu from new york joining us, says the tone of the campaign has been the same.

hi, lou. caller: someone introduced me to a few pages where campaign slurs were as severe, immoral, dangerous. these speeches, these print media were done back in the 1700s and the 1800s. talking about people like polk, people like jefferson. so i think it's been -- when you think about it, little less than that, although people are not -- they bring uproars that they should bring up on either side. i'm a registered democrat but when i hear that there's a democrat who is involved in some kind of shady dealings, and it's being proven, not just investigated, but proven, that's something that i'm ashamed of. and i think that's awful.

so i'm not partisan to the extent that being ignorant to facts, but the campaign, this is business as usual. host: petersburg virginia says the campaign has been more negative. hi. caller: yes, sir. the state of virginia, he got them to state the delegate, even to the city, it's gotten terrible in this area. but i think the democrats going to do well because we're not going to be fooled by the negative ads, because we got high quality people and our economy reflects our government. virginia is a good state. we're not going to change our things just for negative ads. host: what ad stuck out to you the most as far as being negative? what sticks out? caller: the opposition to mark

warner. this guy keeps saying he's going to cancel obamacare and he's in step with obama and all this kind of stuff. here in the state of virginia we got 400,000 people right now that do not have insurance because of the state of virginia failed to approve the affordable care act here and the government is working very hard to try to get it but i don't think it's going to work. host: those ads, are those the ads you're talking about? caller: yes, sir. yes, sir. host: pennsylvania up next, james, who says the tone of the campaign has been the same. hi. caller: hello. host: you're on. caller: i'm negative, and i have some reason for that. i think that the congress is upsetting the people. and it caused many people don't come to vote.

and i -- many campaigns in the u.s. that work in the congress for this issue. thank you. host: that's james from gibson, pennsylvania. he says the tone of the campaign has been the same. in just the few minutes that we have, if you just joined us we've been talking to you about the tone of the campaign and getting your thoughts on if it's been more negative or more positive or perhaps even just the same. and giving you an opportunity to call on the lines and express your views. the lines will be there on the screen. also if you want to let us know on social media, twitter is at c-span wj. send us e-mail, if you want. education department is targeting policy when it comes to for prove it colleges as their known. rules being put out by the department, saying the new education department rules

rolled out late wednesday went penalize colleges. robert, tennessee, thanks for joining us on the phones. he says campaign tone has been the same. hi, robert. caller: yes, i do think it's -- it's always been the way it is. it was dirty back in the '90s when clinton ran. i would like to say that, you know, if the american public wouldn't treat an election like it's the super bowl, and pick

that winning team and stick with that team to the bitter end, i think it would be a whole lot smoother of a process, you know. host: how would that work out on the practical level do you think? caller: well you would pick a candidate based on who they are, what the record is, what they've done in your community or your state or what they've done in previous offices that they've held. or, you know, you just quit voting for the candidates that keep making mistakes. here in tennessee we've got a very strong conservative state government, but we're not really moving anywhere except in the bigger cities here in tennessee. it's going nowhere. seems like we're going backwards. i do think, you know -- and i tend to be a very conservative fellow, a small town tennessee fellow, but you know, people

need help elsewhere other than these big cities, you know. we need to maybe check and rearrange the electorate a little bit maybe so our elections are more representative of the body of the country and not just the populace of the country. host: what race is in tency are you paying most attention to? caller: i guess that would be the lamar alexander race. that's the big hot contested one here. you've got this woman coming in with what's probably a bunch of hollywood money backing her, i know ashley judd is in on all that. lamar has not been a bad senator in tennessee. he has tried to hold up some things and get some things done. but like i said, you know, what's getting done is just being done in places like clarksville and nashville and chattanooga, knoxville, but there is a whole -- you know, the whole rest of the state

where we're -- where nothing is really getting done. host: that's robert from clifton, tennessee. if you go to the web site of the "new york post," it talks about a debate that took place recently in new york there. this is representative michael grim, the republican, and democratic opponent talking about their debate. you can see the whole exchange on c-span.org. here is a bit of it. >> i don't think the president handle it well. i don't think the cdc has allowed it well.

the administration basically said she should have been on a private jet of some sort, like an average citizen can afford a chartered flight. >> you cut the funding. you cut the funding for hospital preparedness. face the fact. >> the cdc received more funding in the last two years. >> you cut the funding back. >> absolutely did not. simply not true. >> okay. you know what? you're lying. can i address that? how were you interviewed by the fbi? how could i have lied to them? >> you're a lawyer. you have ethical obligations as an attorney. >attorney. >> gentlemen, this is --

>> we can't allow this to become a shouting match. host: that whole thing available on our campaign 2014 web site. the six that you can see tonight, taped previous events, as well, all that information on the web site at c-span.org. the tone of the campaign we're getting your thoughts on it, texas, i'm sorry, kansas, rob says it's more negative. hi. caller: i think it's more negative because of the -- host: go ahead. you're on. caller: can you hear me okay? host: go ahead. caller: okay. i think it's more negative because of the citizens united decision which is allowing more billions and billions of dollars to be pumped into the negative campaign ads. i think most of us -- some of us on the extremes enjoy negative campaigning because it's in politics, it's what it's for, so i think we encourage that instead of discouraging it. i want to say in kansas, senator

brown back cut funding. and we had senator pat roberts who has been absentee senator and i think we're going to vote both these guys out. i would like to say those of us who are going to vote republicans should remember the only two things we got from these guys is sequestration and government shut down and we cannot afford that. thank you. host: our last call on the topic from flint, michigan, anthony, who thinks the tone of the campaign has been the same. anthony, hello. caller: hello. thanks for taking my call. we got a mark schauer thing going on and rick snyder thing, and it's about a billion dollars. and i would like to say we're aware that funding for school is close in michigan, we have a serious water problem in flint. we're going to stick to the

local politics here. host: that will be the last call on this topic on the into of the campaign. coming up, we're going to talk about president obama's role in campaign 2014. he has several events planned in this last couple days before election day. joining us is paul brandies from "west wing reports." later on in the program the president this week announcing several new initiatives specifically aimed towards manufacturing. we'll talk about that and the state of manufacturing in the united states with scott paul with the american alliance for manufacturing. but again, point you to another debate that you can see on c-span, this was the candidates for louisiana senate that took place last night. they made their final pitch to voters. during the debate the three candidates were asked a question about economic prosperity and

the millennial generation being the first to not do so well as their parents. >> this is the first generation of americans who may not achieve the same standard of living as their parents. that's a very frightening concept. what is the role of government, if any, in ensuring economic prosperity for my generation and future generations? >> i thought the congresswoman was going to go first. >> please note the first real gaff of the night came from the moderator. >> i think that is a legitimate concern and one of the things i work hardest on in washington, is trying to lift the economic power of our country. as chair of the energy committee i'm in a particularly great position right now on behalf of the people of louisiana to help create millions of high paying jobs so that your generation can benefit. in addition i'm excited to be

here at lsu where we have science, technology, engineering and math for men, women and minorities, as well, in the field of energy. but number two, i also think access to education is important. my opponent, bill cassidy, refuses to sign on to a bill that i have to lower interest rates on student loans which are 21,000 average, 11,000 -- 11% interest. he's refused to do that and he won't sign on to my bill to double the opportunity for pell grants for poor students who are smart and want to work but they come from families that simply can't afford the cost of education. >> congress man? >> i can tell you, government doesn't create permanent jobs. and if it does those jobs don't want to have. the greatness of our american economy comes from the american people not from government. government gets in the way. keystone excel pipeline if the president would allow it to be permitted would create 40,000 better jobs with better

benefits. by the way senator landry, she said her first priority is becoming chair of this energy committee, was to get a senate floor vote on the pipeline. she has not been able to do so. she said she has done everything in her power, that means she is not very powerful. there is other things. the president's health care law is a damper on the economy. if you look at those in the lowest fifth of income earnings, the obamacare laws hammered them. and lincoln parish for example 400 food services workers had their hours reduced from full to part time because they could not afford the obamacare law. get government out of the way, get creativity going you're going to have a better job. >> the main thing senator landry has been able to accomplish on energy is push through all of president obama's anti-energy appointees. we don't need that kind of clout. we need to pull obamacare out by the roots. i've been in all 64 parishes and

talked to all the business owners, and every one of them give me the same message. sir, you got to get -- do away with obamacare. we cannot afford the restrictions. we cannot afford the new fees. we cannot afford the taxes and we're not creating the jobs we could, and we're cutting the jobs we had down to part-time jobs and that's hurting the economic spectrum. that's exactly what obamacare was supposed to each had and we need to unleash our energy sector in this state so we can lead america to energy independence. that's what we should be doing here in louisiana, across the board, drill baby drill. >> let me revisit the subject on the issue of clout. if you're -- >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us now, paul brandis with "west wing reports." for those who may not know what your publication is about tell us about it.

guest: it's an independent news service, i founded it in late 2008. we have overseas clients, web site, i write magazine columns, this kind of thing. we've been to the white house for about six years now. host: covering the white house, talk about the president's role in campaign 2014. to date what role has he served? or lack their off. you say that because? guest: he has been absent on the trail except for the past week or so. he had an event in maryland for anthony brown running for governor of maryland, and pat quinn in illinois. today he's going up to maine. he was in wisconsin the other day, but very few campaign events, and the ones that he has done all the ones that i've mentioned have been for governors. he is really staying away from these senate races. he's not wanted, he's perceived as toxic especially in the states that are really tight that could really determine whether the republicans, in fact, take the senate or not,

arkansas, louisiana, north carolina. he's really been awol from the senate campaign races, even in the governor's races it's only been the pass week and a half, two weeks or so that he's gone into some of these states. very low profile for him, except for this, he's out raising cash by the boat load which, of course, they want. we don't want you but we'll take your cash, and that's exactly what he's doing. host: do you think he has the desire to be out there more or even despite the fact that he's not welcomed by some? guest: you know, i don't think he is the greatest retail politician, certainly not in the bill clinton sense. i think he is privately probably relieved that he doesn't have to go out and do the glad handing and kissing baby kind of thing. but you know, i think he's probably slightly -- well he's a thick -- i'm not sure if he has a thick skin or not but i think he is a little hurt perhaps that he's regarded as toxic, in the

low 40s, of course, in the polls as everybody knows and simply unwanted. so i think he's probably happy to stay home but probably hurt that nobody is asking him to come out. host: as far as activities up to election day, mainly with governors, and then what do you think as we head towards election day about the end results? i mean, almost everybody talks about the commission of the senate, what are your thoughts on that? what do you think will happen? guest: the conventional wisdom is that, you know, there is something, called the six year itch. in the sixth year of a second term of a president, the party in opposition, the part of that that's not in white house gains on average about 30 house seats, and about six senate seats. now it's not going to -- there's no question the republicans aren't going to gain that many in the house now. you have such a large majority there's not that much more room to grow. i think the forecast is they'll

probably get anywhere from six to nine seats. there have been forecasts that they could get ten or 11, perhaps. very solid gains for them on the senate side, of course, where everybody is watching, probably a five to eight seats, and of course, the magic number is six that they need to win control. so five to eight with the sixth the magic number. i think at this point it is reasonable bet that the republicans are going to take the senate and assuming mitch mcconnell wins in kentucky over miss grimes i think he will be the next senate majority leader. host: going back to obama, what happens to the remaining two years of his presidency? guest: i think we've seen a preview of that on what has transpired over the last couple years. i think the gridlock will probably get worse. i think the president will probably turn to more of these executive actions. it's important to remember also that on a lot of these key issues, pedro, he has really

kicked the can down the road on a ton of things, simply because he doesn't want them to come up in this election season. for example, keystone, immigration, we don't know what these premium increases are going to be on obamacare, for example. all these things have been delayed until after the election, even though the president himself said that he wanted to be more forceful, take action on these things. just to take immigration, for example, back in june we were in the rose garden one day and he came out and said man, i'll tired of these republicans obstructing me on everything, on immigration. i'm going to act right now. we're going to take action to do whatever we have to do. and a couple weeks later he said we're kind of pushing this off until after election day. he's opened himself up to criticism in doing so by delaying all these things until after november fourth. he's playing political games. which, of course, is true ..

ronald reagan, 63%. president obama is ranking in the 30's right now. guest: the real politics

average, -- host: i should say 42%. guest: he has been, despite all the trouble he has had this year, one after the other, his numbers have generally hovered in the 45 range pretty much since last christmas despite all the things that have come his way. , he has a bed rock hard support any has not gone below that. it is interesting, we talk about these comparisons with other presidents. most is no question the popular to presidents of the past century, ronald reagan and bill clinton, at this point in their presidencies, in the mid-60's, reagan was about to

encounter -- which docked them down to 45 in a hurry. bill clinton, on the other hand, was about to be impeached. the opposite happened for him. his numbers went up as he was impeached. very interesting to look at. no question president obama was lay down in terms of proper charity -- popularity. for the that consistent remaining two years of his term? guest: absent a big external event that could shake things up , if you extrapolate the data, he has been in the 45 range since last christmas. suggest he will probably stay around there for the next two years. i think going forward, there will be nothing but great luck -- he will not be a lovely get a lot done.

he is no bill clinton or ronald reagan in terms of popularity and he will stay under 50% where he is. paul is joining us for a discussion on president obama in campaign 2014. minnesota is up first, this is murray. caller: i would like to just say one thing to this gentleman. the president is not an insurance commissioner. he has got a lot through to help us with health care. that is to bring the price down of health care. , believe he is the best person and hillary clinton follows right in his footsteps. thank you very much. guest: there is no question. but the one thing about obamacare, it is sort of like social security.

when fdr passed that come all kinds of opponents said it would wreck the economy. it is deeply entrenched in our economy. obamacare over the next couple years continues to shed roots. fewer republicans now are campaigning against it this year. , delayed until after election day, deciding what these increases will be. be 14, 15 percent. pretty hefty increases. that is one thing they do not want to talk about in the campaign trail. very muche jury is still out there on the other hand, there are a lot of people who, for the first time in their lives, have health insurance. is nothing to be denigrated. they could be thankful they have insurance. the question is, at what rice?

it depends on how you look at it. >> has anybody touted the affordable care act virtues? >> democrats are distant -- distancing themselves from the president as much as they can. the answer in short is no. it is so controversial. states wherehese these incumbent democrats are on in arkansas, north carolina, and so forth, anything that reminds voters of obama, and obamacare is the biggest it iser you could get, something they do not wish to mention, generally. it simply does not come up. thank you for taking my call. i have generally been a republican for a lot of years, but i am disgusted with of

parties. a real problem with leadership in the republican party, but also with my president standing up in front of the nation and saying, you guys do it you have do to get elected, which basically says to andlie and we will go ahead tried to get elected, and then we will do what we want to do and the american public debtat all. i'm very concerned about that. is, what am i supposed to follow? my president's will to say, go ahead and do what you want or have to do to get elected, and the republicans are just as much as the democrats, at polly sigh, apparently, the idea is to lie about everything you can, and then do it you want. i cannot tell you what to do, but he thinks -- he speaks

to a broader issue. the beltway and travel around the country. the rising level of distrust in , distrust elected officials, that is what the man is talking about. who do you trust? trusticans have huge issues. the brand has been damaged. as bad as the poll numbers are, republicans in terms of their are pulling even worse. they have succeeded making the election all about obama. assuming they win the senate, they will have to stop saying what they are against -- everything obama does, and really tell us what they are for. gym and's point, do what you have to do to get elected, that is really nothing new. the tone of his question is something that really bothers me.

that is the level of distrust and skepticism in washington, a distrust of our elected officials. people say the house should just be held in contempt for what they have done and yet 95 percent of them historically tend to be elected. my congressman is ok and it is the other guy that is the problem. that is always how it goes area -- goes. host: tyler from new york, independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. on the lastent point you made, i could not agree more. some of the things our representatives, especially in the house and senate, is just criminal. back to the initial question, president obama's role in the campaign, it is not surprising to me that he basically sits back in the campaign. i do not think either side wants him around.

his approval ratings are so low, they probably see him as a curse to the campaign and honest sadly a been a it. might want to i talk about, you mentioned the possibility of republicans taking control and mitch mcconnell in particular taking control, that is disturbing to me, especially, like you said, the republicans do not like to offer up their opinions on what they would like done. they like to say, we do not like the way that democrats represent -- recommended this, but they never come out with their own opinions and say, this is how we would like to make things better. it is a messaging problem that they have. we do know, assuming the republicans take the senate, they have already laid out their to do list. keystone, better enforcement of , howrs, another attempt may dozens of times they have

tried, to repeal obamacare. it is usual. but these all have an underlying, and they obama -- anti-obama tone. but i think they really have come in terms of branding and messaging, they really have to do a better job in terms of explaining to the american people what they are in favor of. one thing i've noticed, there is an interesting trend. in the past, cycles. the republicans have used social issues as wedge issues. we see now the democrats are latching on to things like gay marriage as wedge issues to advance their agenda. there is a little turnabout there. my own opinion is that the republican party would be far better suited using a back to basics approach and explaining to the american people what they will do about the number one issue, not ebola or isis or this and that. it continues to be the economy.

say, lowerhey spending, lower taxes, getting people back to work, these kinds of things. a back to the basics approach and the social issues they tend to focus on, which are very divisive. there was a piece in politico with a headline, -- do you see that? should that happen? they deny it publicly, but their job is to put a good spin on things. yesterday, he said we continue to think the democrats will hang onto the senate. frankly, the number of people who honestly, deep down believe that, you could probably fit into a phone booth. is overwhelming expectation that the best scenario the democrats can have is a 50-50

senate, which would make joe biden the tiebreaker. that is the best scenario. nobody really thinks the will get 5150. it could happen. if you remember the. can't force a prize, nobody saw that coming. but you never really know what will happen, but the data at this point suggests the republicans will certainly -- host: is turnout the main factor? guest: it is a very important factor. if you look at the whole like -- the whole dynamic of midterm it is so different than the dynamic of the presidential elections. turnout was 45% and then in the presidential cycle in 2012, it was 61%. a huge number. in general, the lower the figure

in terms of turnout, the better it tends to benefit republicans. i think that is what we will see now. you will have the republicans, they will pick up states in the house, the likelihood is very strong of them taking the senate, and people will the data into the future and say, we are in good shape for 2016. i would argue, not so fast. as bad as the senate map looks is equally badit for republicans in 2016. they have to defend 24 of 34 seats. it is as bad for them as it is for democrats. in 2016, you have all of these voting blocs, hispanics and blacks and so forth, who tend to vote in large majorities for obama, who will sit home on tuesday and they will come out in droves. whatever happens on tuesday, then one wants to extrapolate, do so at your own peril.

it will not work. >> here is tony from california, the democrats line. good morning. the poll numbers for a second term president are always low. the problem is we keep electing individuals that go from year to year from one generation to the breedand not put in a new of thinkers. my question is twofold. this guy says republicans are concerned with social issues. i would like to know what social issues republicans are concerned with. when he says obama is kicking the can down the street, i want to know what he mean, whent does he the can is kicked down the street because the senate is preventing him from doing his job. thank you so much. guest: i have already answered a

lot of those questions. the traditional wedge issue, and i said republicans are hedging away from that this year. guns, god, gays, which has worked well in the past, but not in 2012, those are the wedge issues. i would this be the point, again, she said that most presidents are not that popular in their second terms. we just talked about reagan and clinton at this point in their presidencies, who were in the 60's. so not necessarily. it depends on the president and the times. i forget what her other point was. host: kicking the can down the road, but you may have addressed that. well. i addressed that as on immigration, in june he said he would address that. then he came out later and said, we will delay that until after election day. on obamacare, a delay in announcing what the premium

increases will be for obama care. again delaying these things until after election day. keystone is another one that has been lingering for years and the present is between a rock and a hard place. does he want to area -- alienate the environmental crowd, which tends to vote heavily for him and heavily for democrats, or, does he want to alienate people who say, we are unions and we need these jobs to build a pipeline and so forth? .ou really cannot win from that standpoint, i do not blame him for that. >> from texas, the republican line. go ahead. hello. i learned through seized on that mr. obama sold out to the brotherhood. it has really become very clear, when he went over to egypt, he made a commitment and he was threatened.

say, we will take you and your family, and you will die. he has now taken a stand for the brotherhood. it is very quiet. that is why he cannot support our country and support our people and our troops and the aople on the planet who made commitment to freedom and liberty and justice for all, and the deaths and the killings that are taking place as we speak -- guest: is there a question? caller: is mr. obama a muslim? thank you. guest: mrs. trump calling? i think this has been dealt with time and again. i think the question is not even worth it. host: let me take something where policy is concerned. is that playing out at all as far as what people vote on and the decisions they make?

this is not a foreign-policy election, although, in the past month or so, it has been creeping up in terms of what people are concerned about. the broader point, let's talk about that. the obama presidency has been toracterized by his attempts reframe our relations with the keep layers around the world. speech,ple, that lady's he had the muslim outreach and arab outreach for the speech in cairo in 2009. we have had a reset with russia, a pivot with asia. the net result of all of this outreach and pivoting and resetting, i am not quite sure where we have gotten. the overall yield to us in terms of foreign-policy has maybe been slightly accelerated, diminishing of our safety around

the world. is liked around the world personally, but he is not necessarily respected, and he is certainly not feared. we have seen that in this much more aggressive stance by putin in russia. i am a russian scholar and i worked there for five years. have neverith russia been as bad as they are now. really a three decade low in .erms of relations with russia the relationship with china is not nearly as good as it used to be. disputes over cyber hacking, which are quite serious, china has gotten much more aggressive pushing around smaller countries like the philippines. what obama has done to stop this, despite pivot in asia, all of this is in a blender, outcomes, the united states is in a riskier position

strategically than it was a couple of years ago. he is not feared or necessarily respected. he walks softly, but he wears the big stick. that is the issue. just -- jimmyis from virginia. comments is, i think if the congress would work with this president in the next two years he has left, the country would move forward. but right now, it does not seem like that will work out. because sinceg reagan might have been a good now, you haveht got a president who came at maybe the worst time, being a black president. but i am proud to have him, as first of all a family man.

he is concerned about others in this country. was a veryebola scary topic, but he stood there like a president should. egypt and thead foreign lands. the man is strong and he is holding up as well as any other man. guest: two point that if congress would only work with the president, it is unreasonable to suggest that all the sudden they will cooperate with him. the gridlock is probably only going to get worse. to blame it all on republicans, a mantra you keep hearing, the president could not even get background checks with guns even

through his own senate. even senate democrats, for a variety -- a variety of reasons, have bucked the president's wishes even on things like that. to completely blame the republicans for their obstructionism, a general theme but not necessarily accurate. from delaware, howard on our democrat line. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. us.m quickly for mr. brand a lot of believe ronald reagan could not be elected on a bet that my question is, there is a school even amongst democrats that there is a hope the republicans take the senate. my question to you is, if that occur, what do you envision the synergy between the , thearty base republicans

more moderate republicans, being? after all, if that occurs, they are sort of going to have to wear it for the next couple of years. guest: that is an interesting question. i think we have seen in the party fashion, which has really caused a ton of problems for speaker boehner. if you go to the senate side, ted cruz of texas said the last thing we need to do is cooperate more. he is already trying a line in the and. just as the house has been divided among the more traditionalist senators like lindsey graham and john mccain, these firebrands like ted cruz who say, we will not cooperate at all, just as you have the divisions within the house gop, i think the divisions in the senate gop will become more apparent as well, if they win

next week. from bill, good morning kentucky, republican line. caller: i want to get on here. i am so sick and tired, talking this talking against all this social security tax that they gave us in 2010 and 2012, that was not a payroll tax. foras a social security tax everybody to her three years, 2% from the social security, that they were is going to go in the next five years. it a payroll tax, but it was a social security tax to obama administration pushed through in 2010 and 2012. we now have bill clinton coming

into tuckey -- kentucky today. all these jobs they talk about for the campaigning, when you could look up on the computer, bill clinton said if they did not support -- he would not support them for reelection. host: thank you. let's take the point about bill clinton -- bill clinton is enormously popular. barack obama can only dream to be as popular as though clinton. he was impeached, his numbers went up to 73%. he is just enormously popular. he's a really good retail politician in the way barack obama has never been and frankly never will be. times appeared countless

with ms. grimes, running around he is ae in arkansas, real asset for democrats here at the question is, what will he do in 2016, when his rife -- when his wife runs? she will be the candidate, but what kind of profile will he hadn't support? the expectation is that hillary will run and she is out campaign themes and everything. she has frozen out a lot of big rollers who might be expected to support other democrats. she has really frozen the playing field. you have joe biden and martin o'malley. no one knows who he is on a national basis. it is hers for the taking, i think tom if she wants it. that is what people said in 2008, and things change.

she can make mistakes and she made a mistake just the other day when she said the companies do not create jobs. that ando backpedal say, of course create jobs, but underlying economic conditions. but those, that will come back to haunt her i think in a big way, it is like obama saying, we did not know that. you can be sure those comments will show up in a ton of advertisements years from now. what about republicans? who is a standout? good: it is your guess as as mine. jeb bush is thinking about it more and more. we have heard for months that he will make a decision one way or another by the end of the year. other than that, it will really just be a big free-for-all. nobody really knows. host: from florida, this is charlie, democrats line.

caller: am i on now? ok. yeah. good morning. i noticed you had mentioned republicans had not talked about much as far as issues go. the reason is because their platform is just same old same old that it used to be. it is stale stuff like tax cuts and increased revenues and trickle-down economics and savings accounts to get those people who are uninsured insurance. it is wacko stuff that has proven to be useless. pick onwhy they just obama and obama care, even though they are not talking about obama much because it is working. aboutso mentioned earlier how keystone pipeline will be a big issue. but i do not think with the price of oil down at 70, that it

will enter into anything. it is too expensive and it would not be profitable to be working that stuff at this point. us what you think will happen in the governor's race there. caner: i hope charlie crist pull out. rick scott has been a bump on a log. and the education things that he does, i just don't think -- he just wins because he has so much money. i ask because of the story in the washington post about statehouses. answer the question and you wish or the statement from the viewer. of, it is really what the to talk about price of oil is at this time. it is a commodity and it goes up and down. so many things influence the

price of oil. the issue with keystone is people say we need keystone to bring down oil prices. apparently, we do not hear it we are down to about three dollars now. we know it will happen with keystone. the vast majority of that oil will be refined and exported overseas too big and fast-growing markets to consumers willing to pay a lot more than three dollars. united states out -- is already exporting fine fuels of gasoline , tons of gasoline to the rest of the world. it will only accelerate if we get keystone. we are the biggest oil and gas producer in the world and more energy than we need and that is helping to drive down prices. keystone will simply be exported . >> one last call. a call from west virginia, the republican line. caller: good morning.

my concern is president obama and eric holder are fighting --s voter id to the and now tooth and nail. the american people believe it is a good idea to be able to prove who you are. if one illegal vote cancels my vote, that is one too many. i can tell you what will happen one of these days. and reporter will dig in find out the illegal people voted and affected a critical race in this country, and all hell will break loose. you should be able to prove who you are when you vote here that is all. is a: on the surface, that reasonable point, but that is a common republican charge that illegals will swamp the system

and distort the electoral system . there is very little evidence to suggest that is happened in the past, so it is hard to extrapolate those kinds of fears that they will in the future. >> what you -- what will you be watching in the days leading up to the election day? the broad expectation is that house republicans again, 69 needs, possibly double digits if things go their way. five senate seats, i think the expectation is. i think they are going to take the senate. one thing we have seen in the past couple of weeks in republicanss that appear to be gaining a little ninth-inning momentum in terms of polls moving their way cap -- and heading into tuesday, republicans might even have a little more momentum than they

have had in the past. better onven be tuesday night for republicans than it appeared a week or two doesn't go. where can people find the reports on the web? guest: i happen to be the biggest following among the entire white house, you can go on twitter and follow. thank you if you do. , thank youbrandus for your time. out, a discussion about the state of manufacturing in the united states. president obama announcing several initiatives specifically toward manufacturing. we will discuss that with scott hall. question, youour can talk a little bit about the tone of campaign 2014.

we will pick that up later as washington journal continues after this. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] on c-spanekend networks, friday night starting at 8:00 eastern on c-span, our campaign 2014 debate coverage continues primetime. saturday night at 8:00, the funeral for ben bradley, and sunday evening on q, eric holder on his newest book, lincoln and the power of the press. friday night at 8:00, on c-span two, an author on the story of two families, one white and one black, and the slave plantation that bears their name. saturday night at 10:00 on afterwards, james mcpherson on the confederacy's president, jefferson davis. sunday live at noon on in-depth, a three-hour conversation with editor-in-chief at

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above water. for a long time, we have seen a downturn with manufacturing and a lot of people are familiar with that. for the first time in a long time, we see some light and some hope. we have gained several hundred thousand manufacturing greatince the end of the recession. sounds like a big number, and it is in terms of manufacturing job development, but you have to look just a little past that and see we have lost 5.5 million manufacturing jobs from 2000-2009. it is hard to say manufacturing is back to a huge recovery when you consider the job loss. others things seem to be working in manufacturers labor -- favor right now. lowering energy costs relative to competitors. we see businesses reevaluating their sourcing models and saying, we may have by little too far by outsourcing

everything, to asia or another country, you see a little of that. cca highly production -- productive workforce in the united states, and some policy attention to manufacturing. when you combine the factors, i think there is promise. if you were to ask a lot of people in manufacturing years ago, i am not sure that would have been the answer. host: the president made it a goal to put one million manufacturing jobs in by his second term. how much of this policy has contributed to what you are seeing? they have had some positive effects. it is important to connect manufacturers with innovation and scrape the rest off of the pipeline for developing talent in manufacturing and the skilled workforce.

it is important to leverage other resources to aid in resource development, and then to remote the idea that made america make sense there those are valuable. macro factors, we still have some progress to make. exchange rates. if the value of the dollar goes up, that makes our exports less competitive, especially if we have competitors engaged in trying to lower their currency balance. you see trade policy and positives that you also see, a lot of the same old trade policy that probably contributed to the outflow of manufacturing jobs. seeou see positives but you some of these stubborn facts that are still there and our standing in the way of what i inld call a true recovery manufacturing. chris we are talking manufacturing with scott all. any questions --

this week, the president announced executive actions toward the sector. what is the end result of the announcement? >> i think the package put together was valuable and it addresses three issues. ship andprentice training and the other is connecting small manufacturers with technology. there was an announcement there would be $300 million pull together for some agencies available to do research in new materials. these are composites, advanced metals, biomaterials, digital manufacturing. exciting all developments, a lot of which the technology did not even exist a decade ago. that is connecting manufacturers

and technology. apprenticeship, that is something the united states is falling. a lot of apprenticeships in the building trades, but in the industrial trades, you have seen , whereas inar germany, 1.5 million. we have a little over 300,000. is $100 million $100 million that will be available to innovative programs. three companies that have partnered with the labor department, and in some cases with the united steelworkers union to show best practices in terms of how you do with the program. hopefully, they will go and expand their the last item is connecting small manufacturers with technology. this is the innovation gap. manufacturers500 do have access to the latest and greatest technologies. getting them down in the supply chain takes work.

through the manufacturing extension partnership program, to findbe $130 million ways to bring those technologies onto the mom and pop stores. >> about a half billion dollars total as far as investments from the federal government? large enough? guest: i would say it is better than nothing. i would say we need additional public investments. we need research and development as a percentage of gdp. that is very low and it needs to be a lot higher. but this is a positive step forward. it the way a lot of advocates would do it? i think we would be more robust. but this is obviously foreign progress. host: our industries throwing money in as well in the announcement that came this week? yes, there are companies

that contributed to scaling up apprenticeships. there are matching programs that need to be met for access to money through the manufacturing extension partnership. some of the innovation institute is the white house has announced over the last couple of years, there is initial federal seed money. self-sustaining raising money from the private sector or through other sorts of partnerships. host: the first call comes from new jersey, mary lou on the independent line. go ahead. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. i want to make two points and then i would like mr. paul's response. first of all, a lot of people i we lost agnize that great deal of our jobs during the clinton era with nasa appeared when 2016 comes around, people need to remember that in terms of hillary clinton. that is why number one.

the second point is, for the sake of being able to reinstate many of these jobs, who will get these jobs? my concern is, we have all been told that after the election, obama intends to do blanket amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. many people think when illegal aliens come in, they only stay at low skilled jobs. in some cases, that is true and in others, it is not. many of them start moving up the employment chain. this is a serious issue. even though we have jobs, mr. question is, who will fill them? we need our people here in this country back to work. guest: thank you. two good points. let me talk about trade first. i do not think there is any party that has a distinctive advantage in terms of trade

policy when it comes to results. she correctly pointed out bill clinton signed -- it was george bush who negotiated. you see bill clinton also signed the legislation that allowed china to enter the world trade organization. us more jobs cost than nasa. he saw eight years under a bush administration where there was not a whole lot of what we call trade and was meant, where we piled up trade deficits. i would argue there has been bipartisan failure of leadership in standing up for american workers in the global arena. we have to do a better job of that. tried hillary clinton has to separate from her husband a little bit in this issue. she did in the 2008 campaign and i imagine if she runs again, she will point out some of the differences she may have with him on this matter. with regard to who is filling i would say

manufacturing for generations has been an opportunity for migrants in this country. jobshink of the garment and some assembly jobs. it has attracted people from all over the world. you can argue it has made our country a lot stronger. ahead, the issue is not that migrants will replace american citizens in manufacturing jobs. it is, how do we create manufacturing that makes sense and how do we have policies that promote prosperity and rebuild the middle-class. thank you for taking my call. i was going to ask about the keystone pipeline, but i would rather ask you this. have they ever considered changing the hours of label --

of labor, a six-hour day rather than an eight hour workday, to increase the jobs for the people? thank you. guest: that is a good question. labor policy in other countries have adopted this where they are scaling down the work week a little bit here and you look atn the great recession workshare programs, where instead of laying everybody off, employers cut down on their hours so they could keep the talent fresh and when orders came in again, they could ramp it up. there are innovative ways to do this. i think in manufacturing, this is an issue a lot of economist's have looked at, in the new era technology, a lot of things will be automated.

much work will there be? these are longer-term questions policymakers will have to address. it seems we are bumping from crisis to crisis right now. shiftsill be demographic . there is a germanic changing technology. i think we do need to be prepared for it. --host: bill. pennsylvaniaed in to invite all the prisoners here without paying taxes. now, you guys in government do not relate jobs. as a businessman, i create jobs. if you invite people to come to the united states and create these jobs and get these people a the workforce, we will have

better education and economy in the country. not only that, put these people in work and get rid of these immigrants. where the problem is. get on the ball on that one and i guarantee we will have a .etter country we would have a better system that everyone would be working 100%. thank you. public policy has an impact on the success of private sector manufacturing. no question that jobs in the manufacturing vector are created .y private businesses but public policy can make a difference. there is a lot an individual businessman cannot control. one is the tax rate. we need to figure out a tax reform plan. another is exchange rates.

those have a dramatic impact on manufacturing. there is little an individual businessman can do about that. some of these public policy issues could have a great deal of impact on american business. that is what we're trying to address and making sure democrats and republicans know a lot of people are working hard from a business perspective and those working in factories as well that there is policy support. >> the state of unions, -- guest: unionized is a small part of manufacturing right now. < percent of the manufacturing less than 10% of manufacturing workforce is unionized. there has been just as much unionized jobs lost as there has

been it nonunionized jobs. if you look around the world to see any causation, look at --many, which has high waste high wages. $58 per hour, including benefits. national healthcare, a lot of requirementsenergy and heavy regulations. germany has 23% of its economy in manufacturing. in the united states, less than 12%. unions have seats on boards in germany, where they are required to get -- to make a decision. incredible valuable partnerships being formed by working together to figure out flexibilityhat have that represent a new era of work

and even taking a haircut. we are offloading the health care cut for retirees. these all have consequences for the people. they are showing they can have a partnership with the union and be very successful and profitable in this globalized world if you're making the right decision. from tennessee, ray, democrats line. know unions made the middle-class in the country, no matter what you say, and you took the jobs offshore, you destroyed the union and you destroyed the middle-class to the middle-class will never come back until the unions come back. allcan sit there and say it you want, but people have no obligation for manufacturing in this country does they treat

them like because there is no union representation. long as you have no union, you will have no middle-class. guest: i think the conversation we had before just kind of covers where i view the unions stand in the economy. i think there is a lot of value. i think they face a lot of challenges as well. it is a small part of the workforce right now. the larger point here, an important and critical point, is this question of what happened to the american middle-class and why do we see widening income inequality? there has been a lot of high-quality research done that shows that the decline of manufacturing, off shoring, has to theuted greatly hollowing out of the middle-class. from my perspective, one of the answers of rebuilding the middle-class is to make sure we

have a strong manufacturing base and make sure the manufacturing jobs we create our good jobs that pay family supporting wages. when we create a manufacturing job, you get a lot of other manufacturing activity. an example, mayors love to do ribbon-cutting ceremonies. they like factories more than anything else. they know if they get a factory to come to town, odds are they might get another storefront, a big box store, suppliers to come. it does not work the other way around. former comes to town, it does not mean you will get a factory in your hometown. that makes manufacturing so valuable. it spurs a lot of manufacturing activity in every area of the country. herbert.ependent line, hey, you asked a about, how did president obama affect

manufacturing. he has been doing it for six years since he has been the president. trying to get manufacturing back online. question.the it was micro. the president was micro in the success of the community and now is coming back. republicans do not like union. if you vote republican, you are voting against families and the middle-class. with the president, all the jobs went overseas. even clinton, jobs went overseas. obama is the only one getting the jobs back. guest: this president has done a lot to help manufacturing. on working has done innovation is the best i have seen. probably the most important development for manufacturing is the energy labs and the defense research facility came online many decades ago.

i do not think there is any question the president has done more in that respect. in terms of outreach and valuing manufacturing in the economy, again, i think the president has done it in a way we have not seen any president since reagan do it. that is also critically important for positively stating the value of manufacturing as a that wef the economy want to keep strong. there have been opportunities missed in the macro sense, where we could have pushed harder to get china to discuss the exchange rate, enormous impact on the manufacturing race. this president has not done that. policy, we seede trade agreements that may come online that more closely affect the model that people have a lot , then a highbout wage in high wage growth model. none of that has been signed

yet, but we have concerns about that. there has been progress and also missed opportunities. i am excited about it and i think the obama administration deserves a lot of ways for that, lotcially dealing with a where congress is not cooperative. host: a previous caller mentioned outsourcing. is this a campaign issue, as you see it, as we are five days before election day? guest: absolutely. this election in particular, you see it tightening up some races. ec michelle nunn in georgia, based on his business record and the fact he closed down textile ,actories in the united states although polls show that helped to tighten up the race. esau mitch mcconnell making the

argument that he saved jobs in kentucky because he stood up to china. he let a bill passed and did not filibuster it. but alison grimes came back and said, he has blocked other measures that would be helpful in our trade policy in china that would actually cost a lot of kentucky jobs. you have seen it in virginia and you have seen mark talk about manufacturing jobs in virginia. basically anywhere you turn on your tv set in canada, you see a -- it isny candidate possible with democrats and anublicans, but it is also issue that resonates. people want to see made in america, they want to see manufacturing come back. i think they realize how important this is. the real challenge is what happens after the election and holding folks accountable to make sure they follow up on that. investments as

president obama's making, are these american jobs or will they depend on other countries? a good question. let's take the iphone. most of the innovations in the iphone came about as a result of federal response research somehow, the transistors and semi conductors, almost top to bottom. was probably from nasa or a department of defense or energy that held rain around that technology. and yet, so little of the value in theiphone is made united states. the production of the iphone contributes like 1% of our overall trade deficit to china every year, a substantial amount. i would like to see a lot of investments focused inward. that is the design of the programs to make sure we are reinvesting the tax dollars so we are not innovating here. we have always been good at innovating but we are also making the innovation here, part

it is to create clusters of manufacturing around these centers in chicago host: we are talking with scott paul. mississippi is next. republican line. caller: good morning. thing,he whole overseas the bottom line is it is not even overseas. you just go to one of our border towns, laredo, texas for instance. the manufacturing jobs are across the border. is how our jobs ever going to come back home with that going on? what about the keystone? what is that going to do?

do you have any answers? i'm a registered republican, but i considered myself -- consider myself anti-incumbent. guest: there has been this concept that has been around for 30 years and that is where some of the high-value manufacturing takes place in the u.s. and the lower scale manufacturing takes place on the mexican side of the border. naftaas the model that helps to inflate. was that you would reduce the strain on immigration and you would not have that kind of pull toward the united states. the reality is that even mexico is losing jobs to china. we are all in the same north american boat with canada, the united states, and mexico because of heavy government intervention in china, we are

facing in north american competitiveness challenge. i think the attention on that needs to be turned. i think there would be plenty of manufacturing jobs for everybody if we got competitive challenges from the mercantilist governments from korea, beijing, and japan and provided more reciprocity. the other point was about keystone. i don't know how much value it would add to manufacturing. costshink overall energy and the domestic production that has occurred already have had some impact on the competitiveness of manufacturing, particularly in very energy intensive industries. you see facilities that manufacture the byproducts of natural gas springing up in the midwest and down in texas and louisiana. that continuing. i'm not sure overall from a

macro perspective how much keystone contributes to that or detracts from that. i think we are on a path that is sustainable in the united states will have an energy cost advantage for at least 20-25 or without keystone, in particular versus japan and western europe and that is pretty exciting. think abouto you the drop in world gas prices? i think from an overall manufacturing perspective, low energy prices are a good thing. 40% ofoften times can be the cost of production, a lot more than labor costs. having lower energy costs matters quite a bit. the issue of our production, how much we are able to export, that has a different impact on the united states. the laws of economics.

raisesng more products domestic prices and lowers international prices. there would be drawbacks. policy makers will have a very challenging time finding what is the right balance between how much domestic reduction we want to keep here versus a much we want to get into global markets. in some cases to advantage countries that already employ a lot of government intervention to help manufacturing bases. we would be eating that progress --haps at the expense of the aiding that progress perhaps at the expense of the domestic. caller: i think a lot of people forget just how long we have .ome from 2008 recession, i would say

the great depression, really, as close as you can get to it, anyway. how the democrats really lifted us out of there, including the democrats in the senate and the house, the congress. the second point i would like to make is that the republicans, the way they treated the unemployed in the last 18 months has been terrible. they cut off benefits after six months and i think the unemployed would be good to remember and voting time this coming tuesday -- at voting time this coming tuesday a badly the republicans have treated the unemployed. that is a good indicator of what they think of the hard-working american people trying to find jobs. guest: i think those are both good points. there were two very early interventions that were incredibly important for manufacturing. , even at an all-time low

lower than during the great depression. rescue, whichto was very controversial and remains so today. there is no question that gm and chrysler are on much more solid footing now. it is not only the assembly jobs. that is a very small part of the auto supply chain. only one out of every 10 jobs is on the assembly line. the otherre making parts. that intervention allowed the industry to recover in a way that it otherwise probably would not have and would have permanently downsized the american auto industry. we are up at levels we saw before the great recession. auto production has contributed an outsized amount of the

manufacturing jobs that have been created. the other intervention was on infrastructure. by giving a shot in the arm to infrastructure investment. that was incredibly helpful as well. we have seen that spigot be cut off, unfortunately. what i would like to see happen in the lame-duck session or if not early next year is a long-term, robust infrastructure plan. there was a lot of support for this among business, labor, democrats, republicans. it have to pay for it, but would be incredibly valuable, incredibly valuable to the unemployed. construction, manufacturing jobs. there are economy wide benefits for making transportation more efficient and reducing congestion. host: michael from new jersey. on the republican line. caller: good morning.

62,000 american factories are outsourced to china. why not impose a terrorist and and forced-- tarif them back into the country? compete workers cannot with work in asia. i went into a high-end in new yorktore city and saw a 100 when he five $125 garmentt -- made in cambodia. what does that tell me? crystallized globalization challenges that the united states faces.

office suggested terrorists -- warren buffett suggested ta rifs tenure. he suggested that any company -- 10 years ago. he suggested that any company should have to pay a fee to offset the trade deficit. it makes perfect economic sense. i don't think it will see the light of day in this administration or congress. i do think the rules we have bound ourselves to when china joined the wto, to keep our handcuff.w, is a we out to be able to have adjustments to seek balanced trade. i'm not arguing to put up a protective wall in the united dates. -- around the united states. i'm arguing for reciprocity.

we out to be leveled out. out.ght to be leveled itise slaughter has proposed -- proposed reciprocal trade in the past. we are on the path of giving up more concessions to theoretically gain access to other markets overseas. it has not worked in the past. i'm not holding my breath this time. i expect to see a big battle. host: ray is in arizona. caller: good morning. i just had to call you. i was reading some statistics about coal exports to the asian-pacific area, mostly china. 2010, they had 400,000 tons of coal exported to china.

now, we are up around 4 million tons of coal exported to china. the koch brothers are doing just fine. my son works in seattle. he said coal trains go through their real regular and they ship it over to china. china has tother pay anything for importing that to them or not. coalt: the tariffs on are exceptionally low and they needed as a feedstock. than half ofore the steel in the world right now and you need a lot of coal to make steel. this brings up the question of the value of exports. a lot of people talk about exports matter a lot. when you look at their composition, it matters even more.

when we are exporting airplanes from boeing, you think of all the value added that occurs in the united states to create that airplane, that is exceptionally valuable to the economy. when we are exporting feedstocks like coal or scrap metal or scrap plastics or scrap paper, which are some of our top exports to china, that is not as valuable. we need to concentrate on the high-value exports. the second thing is the question of coal going to china and when we look at goals like reducing carbon output. on average, in the united states, you are going to use a lot less coal per ton about foot. on will have more scrubbers your factories and you will put out a lot less pollution.

when that good is produced in china, you were going to have 3-4 times the carbon output you would have otherwise. as we are addressing solutions to carbon output, you have to look at the global implications of that. we don't want to see just more production occur in high pollution countries. we have to find a way to level that out so it does not disadvantage american producers, but so we can meet our goals as well. host: roger from indiana. independent line. caller: i'm looking for work. i've worked at a company for 35 years and it shut down and i have been looking for manufacturing jobs since. from my early years working manufacturing, they were eight hour shifts, three shifts, good benefits, decent wages. daysou have 212 hour shift 12 hour shift days,

low wages, and not very good benefits. no benefits to pay out. the jobs start from eight dollars to $12. it is just not a pretty picture as what they paint when they say that manufacturing is coming back. thanks for c-span and that is all of got to say. host: let me combined that with a tweet. the ideal educational experience for somebody who wants to prepare for a career in manufacturing? guest: first, to roger's point. wages in some sectors of manufacturing come down dramatically. it is a consequence of globalization. against are competing

manufacturers all over the world, some and much lower cost areas, in terms of labor, it has downward pressure on labor. this is something that the economists will not tell you. it does not work out that way. it has profound effects for our economy when you consider that there are millions of people who are in that situation in the united states and we have to do a better job of that and part of it is focusing on high-value manufacturing. this gets to the second part of training for a manufacturing career. , as recently as about 15 years ago, most manufacturing jobs did not even require high school. that has shifted and most manufacturing require not only a high school degree, but some sort of post secondary training. often times, it is somewhere from six to 24 months in community college. we talked about apprenticeships.

folks need toost know about going into manufacturing, you need to know math. a lot of it is digital on machines right now. it helps to have a scientific understanding. you need to be a good problem solver, you need to be able to communicate. you need to learn the skill set that is required for that particular job. of communityot colleges that offer classes that help you gain a skill certification, where you have to show you can use the machine and once you have the certification, you are employable in a lot of different factories around the country. the landscape has shifted. there are opportunities. let me talk about the demographic shift. the average manufacturing workforce is well over the age of 50. it is pushing 55. there is going to be turnover in these factories and there will be opportunities for a new generation of people to enter manufacturing.

they will be more skilled jobs that require that type of training and i hope a lot of people will pursue them. host: kevin, from alabama, you are the last caller. republican line. caller: good morning. i've been listening to the show for the first time. i'm a republican. i live in south alabama. alabama has had some success with bringing new jobs to the state. i have been a blue-collar worker most of my life, i now work in management. i went back to school at an older age. i received a degree. i received a certification. i work in manufacturing now. that being said, looking back over the years of my life and looking at what is going on, i appreciate what the last comments were about education and preparing the next generation of workers.

it is my personal perception that we have a shortage of skilled workers in our region. i'm disappointed in the school system that i grew up in. they did away with a lot of vocational training many years ago. every year, we are putting out a lot of high school students that are not prepared. there are a lot of students that are just not prepared to go out into the real world. host: we have to leave it there. i apologize. guest: i've been to alabama a lot of the last couple years and i have seen some of the successes and challenges in manufacturing. the one thing i will say and terms of preparing the workforce is that there are some localized challenges in some particular type of workers, like welders or machinists. i think the technical college system is responding to that. you had a.

from 1998 through 2008 where there was virtually no hiring and manufacturing. it takes a little bit of time to turn the ship around. it is turning around and i think it will be doing a good job. the announcement about apprenticeships will be valuable. i think we need overall a stronger economic policy to andote economic manufacturing jobs. skills is a part of it, but i think we need a lot of investment in the right trade policy. host: scott paul with the alliance for american manufacturing. think you for joining us. guest: thank you. host: coming up in our final segment, we want to hear from you on the tone of campaign 2014. how would you describe it? if you would say it is more negative, (202) 585-3880. if you think it is more

positive, (202) 585-3881. if you think it is the same, (202) 585-3882. let's get an update from c-span radio. some economic news this hour. the u.s. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the july through september quarter. this is due to solid gains in business investment, export sales, and the biggest jump in military spending in five years. the commerce department says that the results followed a 4.6% rebound in the second quarter. the report is the first of three estimates of the gdp. believe the economy is maintaining momentum in the current quarter. jobless numbers show people seeking the benefits rose slightly last week, the labor department says weekly applications increased 3000 to a seasonally adjusted 287

thousand, but remained at historically low levels, the signal of a strengthening job market. the obama administration is said to announce a new role today aimed at for-profit colleges that don't produce graduates capable of paying off their student loans. the education department estimates that about 1400 programs serving 840,000 students won't pass. nearly all of these programs are offered by four programs that -- for-profit schools. they want to make sure that programs that don't pay on -- that prey on students don't continue abusive practices. the c-span cities tour takes a book tv and american history tv on the road, traveling to u.s. cities to learn about their history and literary life. this week, we visit colorado springs, colorado. 1806, the region was

explored, very similar to lewis sent to theho were northwestern part of the newly acquired louisiana territory. pike was sent to the southwestern part of the territory. when he came out here, he really walked off the map. he went to an area that was unknown. he first sees to the grand peak, he thinks he will reach the top of it in a few days, but it takes weeks to approach. they reach what they believe is a lower mountain on the flanks edge peak. they turned around and at that point, he wrote in his journals that given the conditions, given the equipment that they had at the time, no one could have summit at the peak. pike's peak inspired the poem that became america the beautiful. the poet came here to teach a

summer course at colorado college in 1893. the view down to the planes from the top of the mountain inspired the poetry and inspired the images that are captured and that poetry of the united states. of our events from colorado springs, saturday at noon eastern and sunday afternoon at 2:00. cam 2015 c-span student videoc m competition is underway. policy -- topic "the three branches and you." zero 200 cash prizes for students and teachers, totaling are two -- there

hundred cash prizes for students and teachers totaling $100,000. our: at this time, we get house various issues leading to the campaign. this time how we are going to talk to you about the tone of the campaign and what about it. you can come out of the same. here is how you can help. (202) 585-3880, more negative. (202) 585-3881, more positive. as it is the same, (202) 585-3882 hundred 51 posts post something on social media --(202) 585-3882. if you want to post something on social media, here are our addresses. you can e-mail us as well.

about 80 people so far are saying that the campaign is more negative. you may have other opinions. post your thoughts. mike from maryland is up first. caller: i'm on c-span? host: go ahead. caller: it is extremely negative and it is an unfortunate situation. now it seems like the politicians are willing to say everything negative whether it is true or not. if they say it more and say it enough than a segment of people will believe it. it is unfortunate that we as the american people cannot come together with the motivation of having ideas celebrated regardless of what party. there is so much partisanship, so much divisiveness. is coming up with an idea or trying to be positive, even that is taken and slanted in a manner which is

deceiving the american people. my hope is that the american people really see outside of the box and not be duped and hoodwinked by these tricksters on both sides. if someone has enough charisma to step in and show the right leadership, that would move the country as a whole and that seems to be not happening now. ronald from oklahoma says the tone of campaign is the same. caller: i'm on c-span? host: yes. caller: go ahead. i'm saying it's about the same. everything that is going on now has been going on in the past. everything that is going on right now, we have been seeing it. now more people are watching, more people are paying attention , and that's why it seems it is

more negative. it has always been negative. it has always been negative for as long as they have had tv, even before tv, they had radio. it shows you how powerful tv is. when you can see somebody, you can actually see them discussing in the debates, when you look at their faces, you can tell, you can tell by their answers on how they really are, telling the truth or not telling the truth. talks about the impact of tv. we have been showing you debates as far as our coverage of the campaigns. more than 100 debates are all available on our website at www.c-span.org. part of one of those debates, the final florida governor's debate. between charlie crist and governor rick scott. aboutc that came up was

racism. did charlie crist believe that all republicans are racist? [video clip] >> no, i'm saying that that element exists. here is a pretty simple thing. if you remember back to 2008 and some of the e-mails that were distributed about the president by some members, not all, of the republican party, they were not exactly flattering. i think you probably can research and find what i am talking about. but it wasn't right. the reactionu that i have gotten from some in the republican party leadership was not tolerable to me. and it was pretty clear to me that it was not just because i was willing to work across the aisle with the democrats to get the recovery funds to come to florida. it was also pretty apparent to me because he was the first african-american president. i don't enjoy saying that. it is not fun to say.

but i'm going to tell the truth. you are a divider. , a are a mud slinger divider. the entire times you have been in politics -- you are a divider. look at what we want to have. we live in a wonderful state. we have some in a wonderful people here that come from all over the world and you want to try to divide people. i want everybody to have the same shot i have to live the american dream. host: just an example of some of the debates you can see on our website at www.c-span.org. we are asking you about the tone of the campaign and if you think it is more negative, more positive, or the same. unius from arizona thinks it is the same. caller: hello.

please give me my time. i do pay a high am out for cable and i enjoy it. basically, i would like to straighten things out as to what people say. here is one item. saipan. no regulations. am i going over the tv? are you calling about our last segment or the segment currently, campaign 2016? i am talking about the whole ball of wax and how people lie and get away with it. a side panel would be a good study for the whole program to last for a long time. also, the military-industrial complex set up all over the world to keep continuing. that is why we have so many

benefits in so many words to pay. it is not right to treat people , andpeople are treated what really shows how people are treated is how you watch these debates coming from the republican side. they cannot afford any minimum wage increase because they are so greedy, if you look at what happened there, what they perpetrate all over the history of our trade policy and what it would be good research, and also include in their the military, please. up is fromext tennessee, saying the tone of the campaign would not be the same. caller: the tone of the campaign pretty much is about the same it has been in the last 20 years.

one thing i've noticed more and the quality of politicians coming out now. we have a lot more politicians now that are spineless. flowpretty much follow the of what they think people want to hear, instead of what they really believe. that is one of the problems i have put some of the politicians we have here in tennessee. a lot of them are spineless. rather than really follow what they talk about during the campaign, once they get to , they turn around and follow the flow, like harry reid and nancy pelosi.

they do not really follow what their convictions are. we as american people, we do not have convictions anymore. we are uneducated. we do not try to find what the true meanings of the problems are and attack them there. we want to hand out to people and feel sorry. everybody is on on feelings now. i feel sorry for you saw want to help you. no more, pull up your bootstraps and tried to take care of yourself. there has those been mudslinging in campaigns. that is the spirit of the campaign. you point out where your opponent is weak. mike from minnesota where

the campaign is more negative. caller: i think it is negative. debates, these guys, you ask them a question on an issue, they will not say anything about the issue. they will immediately attack their opponent. they will not answer simple questions. they get on television and they tried to debate the issues that the issues never get asked. i do not understand why commentators allow them to do that. a small window of opportunity we have to get to know a candidate, it allows them to continue to do that. it is embarrassing. we get nothing done. papers leaving with a story similar to that of the

wall street journal. this is about upon purchasing program the fed has been participating in. joining me on the phone, john of the wall street journal who wrote the story this morning. good morning. guest: good to be here. tell us about the program and why the fed has decided to stop it. the fed has been trying mortgage bonds in the men's quantities for the last couple of years. dot they have been trying to is to use these purchases to hold down long-term interest rates, to push down your mortgage rate, or the rate on a car run or a credit card, to try to encourage more spending and investment to get the economy going, and ultimately to bring down unemployment. an ounce yesterday they are ending the program and no longer mind the bonds does he think they have seen enough improvement in the job market to signal to them it is not wanted

anymore. that the economy does not need what is basically, you could liken to booster fuel to get it going at little faster. they think the economy does not need the booster fuel anymore. for: what are they looking to see signs that they could stop these programs? they launched the program, but the last stage they launched in december 24 -- 2012, and the unemployment rate was 8%. they said when they lost it, they would keep doing these on purchases in the labor market. since then, the unemployment to a twogone down percentage point decline in the unemployment rate. so we think they have seen enough improvement, and we thought it was time to stop. they had an out clause and they

withwe would stop doing it a burst of inflation. they have not got a burst of inflation. host: what happens now? is a good question. treasury bonds and mortgage bonds, the fed now own them. they actually have a portfolio of $4.5 trillion of different securities and loans. they will hold onto them for the time being. they will just let them sit there and bond. they will take the cash they get when it matures, and roll it over and get a new bond. they expect to let the stuff gradually wind down. when stuff matures, they will mature. it they do not want to do that now,se they think right

the economy is still too fragile to bear that kind of activity and they will just hold onto it. they are a buy and hold investor. host: if they're making these purchases to support the economy, are there unintended consequences since we have been supporting it for so long? fragilehey say they have to bear that kind of activity and they will just hold onto it. been waiting until they thought the economy was strong enough to and stop. own before he would they think they can avoid the unintended consequences because the economy has got enough aim. we got a report this morning of gross to plastic product output 3.5% rate in the third quarter. that is a good growth rate. theave now had an four of last five quarters, gdp growth of 5%. they also think because they're notselling securities and

getting rid of them right away, that also provides insulation and avoiding the consequences. , could ithilsenrath be a time where they say, we have reacted too soon? guest: a lot of things could go wrong. one thing is that the economy could weaken. inflation could fall. we're looking at a global environment now that is looking dodgy. with the slow flirting kind of economy they saw japan experience in the last 20 years. that all could come back to the spending back in the market. things could go the other way and improve more quickly than expected. we could get a jump in inflation. we could see wages start to rise. in that case, they have got to decide what else they need to do to pull the reins back a little

bit. the next step they are talking about is when they start raising short-term interest rates. the benchmark interest rate is at zero. by the middle of next year, the economy will be strong enough for them to gradually raise the rate at little bit. , thank youilsenrath for your time. we will continue in on our calls and ask you about the tone of the campaign and what you think. if you saw the numbers now, if you're more negative, -- more positive -- and if you think it is the same -- more negative from alabama, go ahead. caller: thank you for the service you do for all of us to get at the truth. i've have been watching

advertisements for two days because i live part-time in my residence in alabama. everyone isink running against obama, a republican in the state. what you hear is not generally what the person will do, but how many things i disagree with obama about, it is a big issue for state elections now. borders, ande who, and the republicans have,ey are for education behind-the-scenes, voted to give theirbates to people with children in private schools, and have taken millions of dollars

from funds voting for public education. i am, you might have guessed, a democrat, in a state where most of the people are republicans. we have adisappointed governor now who is a medical doctor who has turned down $5 billion of government funds to expand medicaid, in a state that is very poor, with a lot of who need medicaid. host: florida, good morning. caller: hello. we love c-span. thank you for that. we feel the campaign is so negative and all these people would not be getting money from the billionaires and having public funding and cutting down in the radio and

on the tv, on the fires at your mailbox, that money could be used for better purchases in this country and not have these campaigns going on for weeks. you take canada. have -- how long do they campaign? people on the ballots. they get short and to the point and that is what we need this country. not all the money spent wastefully on negative advertisements, cutting down people and politicians who do not do their job in washington and are only there because some billionaires give them the money. thank you very much for your time. host: the topic of negative advertisements came up in the race for governor in kansas. the incumbent, this is a story from the wall street journal talking about that from october 23, saying it was that money the governor released a new democratment linking a

opponent to the dubious position this summer that overturn death sentences against brothers convicted in 2000 four brutally murdering five wichita arrest and then raping another. i want to show you that advertisement, and then we will show you the response from paul david toward the advertisement that took place for kansas governor. here it is. we will get back to that. let's get back to the calls. mark, more negative is what his thoughts are as far as the campaign is concerned. thank you for holding on, go

ahead. good morning. thank you for c-span. i am a 61-year-old, white vietnam veteran. know, this country, as much as i love it, it just makes me sick. politicians these and especially republicans, and just lie andnt, they seem so racist against anything this president would do. i do not agree with everything , whyes, but i do not know can't theymericans,

think on their own? are they brain-dead or what? host: we have a thought on twitter -- let's hear from billy in nevada, and he has said it is more positive. good morning. i am happy campaigns are more negative. i believe everything democrats and republicans say about each other, and the more dirt they dig up on each other, the better i like it. host: you think that is positive? caller: yes, how else will we know them unless they take out the stuff we do not know about them in washington. host: what are the advertisements like in washington? caller: i like it.

that's how we find out about people. host: stephen in las vegas also thinks it is more negative. caller: i read a lot of newsletters in the economist. when they start raising interest rates, it makes all the bonds more expensive underneath everybody in the whole world, economics without getting too technical, government spends more money and is forced to create jobs. the only jobs going on is down there in texas and north dakota, where they are doing show oil, and everywhere else, a 30 year low wage inflation. i do not see anybody doing business ship -- business or customer service. i am a public bus driver here. there are some politicians here

trying to do things without being so expensive in a helpful way for the government's in the united states and everybody seems to be so different toward everyone else. , he: howard from alabama thinks the tone of the campaign is the same. i think is pretty much the same. i wish it would get more negative. one of the biggest problems is we do not have a congress anymore. that is always part of it. they just push the president's agenda. are part of the white house staff, instead of sitting down and are getting -- arguing out the problem and coming up with the best deal, they just support the president's agenda. 10 billione this times. andaise the minimum wage

never at any time has that ever solved the problem. carolina, youth believe the campaign is more negative. caller: i am a 90-year-old woman who lived through the depression. so i remember everything about it. to know i cannot imagine anybody voting for republicans this year. i cannot imagine it. i live in north carolina were clay aiken is running. saying he has done a lot for education, he has not done anything for education. teachers to houston, texas, everywhere in south carolina. i cannot imagine anybody would vote republican. .hy would women vote republican

thank you very much. host: if you think it is more negative, more positive, or the same -- there were lighthearted moments in the tone of the campaign, as he conceived recently with the massachusetts governor. the republican candidate and the democratic candidate, the , -- ine personalities,e that it may the devotees of the which were fatally lacking in the high-profile run, it came through. here is a little bit of the last 10 minutes. slice is there a place in the administration, yes or no? >> no. [laughter] [applause]

>> sure. secretary of finance. >> one more final question. martha, if you lose the race, are you done running for political office? >> he yes. >> if i lose? yes. my wife would never let me run for anything else. >> next up, brian from michigan says the tone of the campaign is the same. go ahead. yes, it is the same. more about a nuclear bomb. that was crazy. there is nothing different now than there was then. now the tone on both sides has gotten more vicious.

there are not nearly as many positive advertisements as negative. negative advertisements work, but the problem is, they tear it each other down and you do not know who is trustworthy. theink the democrats tell truth more often than the republicans do. that is proven by cliff at and a couple of the fact checkers. thanks a lot. vote democrat. host: next, atlanta, georgia. you are on. i am letting you know the situation is basically the same and it will never change. i think we need to do away with a two-party system. it is completely counterproductive. makes a good decision, the other party will fight it tooth and nail. i watch these debates on c-span. you hear all the republicans talking about, people voting 99% of the time for president obama. office,when bush was in

how many republicans voted 99% of the time for bush? makes a good still trying to get out of that mess and now republicans want to go right back to putting troops on the ground overseas. that brings us right back to greater debt and brings us to where we are now. we need to do away with the two-party system, the moderators need to take more control, and insteadirectwe are questions, of dancing around questions. they need to make them answer the questions as wolves -- wolf blizzard did when he held a debate. we need to make changes, seriously, and get things right. right now, things are not getting better. you do not know what the truth is. the republicans say they voted on this and the democrats said they did not and vice versa and add the end of the debate as a viewer, you do not know what to believe. diane, who hear from says the campaign is more negative. first, in regards to the

president. he is half black and half white. his mother seems to be irrelevant as a woman who bared all these men, most of them, at that point in time. we must all remember, republicans have something against women. not mentioning the president's mother is white. disgusted. i could never ever live with that. my next thing has to do with c-span. wheniced your programming, you generatells, -- generally go to something to read afterwards. just be more balanced. thank you. rick,we will hear from

negative, florida. i do not want to see more negative or more positive. i want to see factual. it is unfortunately -- that folks like your previous caller, listening to things about republicans being anti-woman. how absurd. none of these folks can give you any truth fax to show that. you think would go into making the process more factual? for the american people to require it to be more factual. when they listen to this negative stuff and believe everything they see, from both sides, it will continue and as long as it works, they will continue to do it. the washington post, a story taking a look at the interest of people, saying battleground states will draw more viewers ships. the washington post showed a drop in 2010 in 2006, past

midterm election year. all richarder of and -- registered voters say they're paying attention. 50% said they are not paying attention at all. four years ago, the number of those not paying attention because those paying no attention. 34% by for years ago and said they had been contacted by someone regarding a campaign. up next, mary from indiana. hello and good morning. yes, hello. theink in general, campaigns i saw have been more negative. it is a reflection of what is going on in the public arena anyway. television shows, reality tv, everyone is contentious and negative and insulting. it seems to be the acceptable norm of communication now. bill is up next, from

frederick maryland. caller: all your viewers now, is capitol in the background getting a facelift. what we need is a facelift inside. i want to encourage you to take a look at your incumbents. if you think they need to go, let's have a facelift inside the capital rather than or at the same time concurring with the facelift outside. thanks a lot. host: i showed you this earlier, but there is a chart showing. attackedg the most candidates. post thishington money, tom of north carolina, the republican, is leading that list. 32 many dollars against him.

followed by the republican from colorado. democrat from colorado, the democrat from north carolina, and it goes down from there. that is courtesyfollowed by them the washington post this morning. elizabeth from maryland, good morning. you are on. go ahead. caller: do i put it on mute? go ahead. yes, you could. you're on already. host: from texas, hello. caller: the if it isn post this i do not kw basically more or less negative. it is like a preacher told me once. i'm from the south, so very well inducted into that. it is what you listen to the most. you might be on fox too much, you might be on the other one that is opposite from that. and over probably

watching this, turn off the tv and have a beautiful day and vote your heart. do not think about it personally one side or the other. that is propaganda. that is what they use continuously to slant your side. you know in your heart how the last eight years have been. i am a democrat and also a republican. straddle the line and get out of the bubble. all of us. thank you. caller: i am discouraged about republicans who have done things that they defeat the republicans them athe democrats for slide through it like crazy. it does not make sense. i do not like some of the negative things being done about women, especially for women who cannot get birth control because you dial a doctor to do the

description, and if the advertisers would just tell the narrator, also the would get them to tell the truth. after bush,blican and i am retired. after bush and cheney. host: that is the last call we will have to take. do not forget, the governors debate, the new york governors .oday, the senate debate find out that information at c-span.org. we will see you then. retired. after bush and cheney. host:♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]