host: good morning. it's saturday, dessbrr 6, 2014. we have a three hour "washington journal" ahead in which we'll discuss today's runoff elections in louisiana, the ongoing debate over genetically modified foods and whether president obama is trying to remake his political image. but first we'll discuss yesterday's better than predicted monthly jobs report. with over 32 0,000 jobs added and an unemployment rate of 5.8% we're asking whether the u.s. has turned a corner. tell us about the situation in your part of the country. our phones will.

-- are open. the numbers are on the bottom of your screen. a very good saturday morning. here are the headlines that americans are waking up to this morning. many of them talking about the economic and jobs situation in the country. the lead story in the los angeles times the wall street journal this morning. the orange county register this morning.

here's the front page of the financial times weekend paper. finally to the front page of the "washington post" this morning. president obama spoke about the jobs situation and wage situation yesterday in remarks at the white house briefly before he introduced his new pick to head the pentagon. here's a bit of what the president had to say at the beginning of that statement. >> last month america's businesses created more than 300,000 jobs. this keeps a pace so tar this

year -- so far this year that we have not seen since the 1990s. so far this year over the first 11 months of 2014 our economy has created 2.65 million jobs. that's more than in any entire year since the 1990s. our businesses have now created 10.9 million jobs over the past 57 months in a row. and that's the longest streak of private sector job growth on record. we also know that the pickup in the pace of job growth this year has been in industries with higher wages and overall wages are rising very welcomed sign for millions of americans. so we've got an opportunity to keep up this progress if congress is willing to keep our government open, avoid self-inflicted wounds, and work together to invest in the

things that support faster job growth in high-paying jobs. that means exports, infrastructure, streamlining our tax code, immigration reform, giving minimum wage workers a raise. >> but not everyone on capitol hill yesterday thought the economic situation and jobs situation was quite so rosy. here's a statement released by speaker of the house john boehner. he said while it's welcomed news, millions still remain out of work and mcfamilies across the country are struggling. we're asking abouts the economic situation in your part of the country do you think the economy's turned a concher? -- corner?

we'll be talking about the jobs report for the first half of our show today. but just in the first 45 minutes we're asking for your calls on the topic. there's the data from last month. let's get your take. larry first in south memphis tennessee on our line for democrats. caller: good morning. the president has done an excellent job. destroyed the economy and president obama did his part. they're not getting the credit hat they should be for it.

i can't believe someone would vote for the policies that the republicans are putting up. host: the editorial board of the "washington journal" this morning giving credit to republicans in their lead editorial.

we want to get your thoughts. has the economy turned a corner? ken from des moines, iowa. caller: good morning. well, i'm a salesman. in 2008 i made 84,000, in 2009 , in 2010 t 65,000 about 72,000, in 2011, maybe 65,000. and this year i will probably come in around 60,000. so i think i'm a pretty good

gauge of the economy because people buy stuff from salespeople. i just haven't seen my income go up. it's just pretty much stayed about the same or dropped. host: what do you sell? caller: well, i've had probably three different jobs over the last four or five years. ome improvement, worked with adjustable beds. now i'm selling fords. host: as you've changed from job to job have you found it easier or harder in the past couple years to find that new job? caller: well, i'm an experienced salesperson so it's nod a hard thing getting a job. it's just a matter of having them pay you more because of the market share has just sluverage, i think. host: call in and tell us about your job situation, the economic picture in your part

of the country, and whether you think the economy has turned a corner. cody from bolder city, nevada. good morning. caller: good morning. it's a pleasure speaking with you. the economy i think is doing quite well. i'm a software engineer. high-paying jobs are hard to get in this economy. i think the president is doing a great job. with people doing -- if you study and you get your education, i think you can do quite well in this economy. in terms of the whole immigration thing the low-paying jobs, you know, people don't want to do that and that's fine. that's for a different class. but people that actually are skilled and educated i don't think the economy is doing too bad. and people that say the president is selling our jobs to other people i think that's the wrong thing. thank you for taking my call.

host: members of congress tweeting out their response to the jobs report that came out yesterday.

we're asking you what jobs and part of the economy you work in this morning. the unemployment rate in agriculture, leisure and hospitality, construction, professional and business services, transportation and utilities, manufacturing. so on down the line. it ends with government workers there with unemployment by sector at 3%. let go to fran sin waiting in st. petersburg, florida. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to comment i think that the economy is doing well. as far as unemployment, i believe that if people would

get up and get a job -- you can put it out there for them but they just have to get up and go to work. we have a lot of people that just do not want to work. and to put it on the the president and our economy i think people can create a job, that's what i did. i just think we need to put it out there for them and don't just put it on one person. we need to get upnd create jobs and go to work. >> you said you created your job. what do you do? caller: i'm a home day care provider. host: how long have you been doing that? caller: in 89, i believe. host: did the recession have any issues for you in terms of business or being able to conduct your business? caller: right now, as you know, because of the economy people are not wanting to work. my job fluctwuts up and down because of the children.

but because of being an entrepreneur, you have to have something else in line besides one thing. so if the day care is not working, i've created other jobs. i'm an instructor for cpr and first aid. you have to create a job. ou have to want to work. host: thanks for the call. a few more stats on the unemployment demographics. here it is by demographics.

here's a few tweets that have come in about this topic as we've been talking about this morning. host: let's go to joey calling in from wyoming on the line for independents. how's the economic situation in wyoming? caller: well, it's probably about the same as most of the other country. i see a lot of agricultural jobs here continuing to do well. i myself am in the construction

trades. that's not doing very well. people don't have the money to spend to do maybe not unnecessary but things that they can put off until later on. so -- host: so in terms of hours working per week, do you work a full week in the construction trade or is it -- has it been up and down? caller: no. there's been a lot of layoff periods. there's been a lot of weeks where we just don't have the work. you know, we go in and get what we can done. but people are really afraid. i think that in a country where you have 90% of the people fighting for 4% of the wealth, there's going to be a lot of problems on the bottom. unfortunately, that's where most of america is right now.

we're a country being run by hedge fund managers and corporate lobbyists. host: has the economy turned a corner considering this latest jobs report, what would you say? caller: no. i don't feel it out here in middle america. i don't. i don't feel like it has come around as much as it can. and the jobs that are being created, they're not good-paying jobs. they're not jobs you feed your family on. they're jobs that you can say you got a job. but $9, $10 an hour is about the going rate out here where i'm at right now. and you can't feed yourself and a family or anything on that wage. host: thanks for the call from wyoming. on this issue of the economic situation in the country.

senate minority whip john cornyn from texas took to the senate floor on wednesday to discuss the middle class economic problems that he believes that the american public is asking their leaders to solve. here's a bit of what he had to say on wednesday. >> when people have asked me hat my constituents expect, my 26.5 million constituents in texas, i've said they want us to demonstrate we can govern. they want us to demonstrate that we can actually solve some of the problems confronting our country. and they primarily deal with how do we unleash this american economy, get it growing again, creating jobs and opportunities so people can find work, provide for their families, and pursue their dreams? i actually think that's what the senior the senator from new york was saying the other day that we need to focus on the needs of the middle class and the wage earner who has seen

stagnant wages and seeing their costs, health care, energy, and other costs go up, and their check shrinking and having to live on less. that's not the american dream that i think most people have bargained for. host: we're asking our viewers this morning, has the economy turned a corner? that was senate minority whip john cornyn. up next, flash from yuma, arizona. would you agree with john cornyn's statements on the floor of the senate this week? caller: i don't think we've turned a corner with anything. i'm a small business owner here in the southwest. our unemployment rate sky rockets. during the summer months in our area the unemployment turns to 26%. a lot of these numbers that i see, i pay attention, talk too a lot of people, we're a town of 95,000 people.

-- et an influx through during the farming time here which brings a lot of people in from california and other areas for our agriculture, which is very big here. that's the only boost we really get. we also get it from our canadian friends. other than that, five months out of the year the yuma area runs pretty flat. people are struggling, losing their homes. the affordable care act is crushing people like myself 's gone from $600 a month to $1400 a month. i'm going to have to take the hit on the penalties for taxes because i can't afford it for me and my son any more. and i don't think that -- i think that most of these guys that sit up in congress and in the house, they don't understand. they're so disconnected from us. and it's harming us. i believe in the government,

but i look at it and i just feel that we're not being told the truth any more. host: you're on our line for republicans. republicans getting ready to take over the house and the senate in the 114th congress when it is seated in january. if there is one thing you want the 114th congress to do that the help you on the economic front, what would it be? guest: first of all, when -- caller: they talk about the shovel jobs and infrastructure, instead of talking about it, let's do it. because that's how we put america back to work. host: so infrastructure spending would be your number one? caller: yes. host: on that point -- thanks for calling in. a story in the "new york times" this morning speaking to that topic.

if you want to read more there's some charts that go look along with it in the "new york times" this morning but we want to get to more of your calls. steve. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. that's my point, that was the point i wanted to make. we're trying to turn a corner and i think we're -- the president has done a very good job with what he has had. the republicans have blocked him in every way they could.

he had jobs bills that were up for infrastructure that could have had pretty good-paying jobs that could have been had by some people and they blocked it every turn. and to hear boehner and cornen and all these republicans that sit and to -- stagnant wages. they're part of the stagnant wages. they're part of the corporate greed, corporates fund them more than democrats. every election. so people need to wake up and for republicans like the guy who just called to sit and complain about congress, well, you helped put them there and they're the ones that hold it up. host: let me ask you about some regulations that's one concern of republicans exsive regulations holding back the economy. here's a piece by congressman bob lata, republican from ohio in yesterday's hill newspaper.

what do you make about the regulatory side? does it affect you and your job? >> now, regulations, i mean, it's a fine line. a lot of them we need, a lot of them we may not need. but they could wipe out all regulations and big business would figure out a way to drive wages down either way. they're never going to try to have a good wage if they can get out of it. host: mark's up next in florida n our line for independents. caller: good morning. host: you're on the "washington

journal." caller: i have so many comments to make. i'll try to prioritize them. number one, this inflation rate is -- i don't know. they say 2% to 3%. anybody living and breathing knows that it's at least in the double digits. we all know that none of these numbers are real. d we know it's a method to actually not give the people that are collecting social security the correct amount. and at the same time what we're doing is spending trillions of llars making war so we can feed companies like northrup grummond and these projects. how in the world are we going to advance?

with government and all of hese things happening at once? host: you may want to stick around for our next segment. we're having economics reporter ben lutesdzrop is going to join us to talk about how the bureau of labor statistics comes up with these numbers. and we'll dig into a few of the numbers beyond the top line numbers. the 32 1,000 jobs created in november and 5.8% unemployment rate that had not changed from october to november. we want to get to your calls but first note that today is election day once again the 2014 mid term election not quite over in the state of louisiana. louisiana's most expensive u.s. senate race is in the hands of voters. this is the story from the times picayune this morning. polls will open today from 7:00 to a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

the results will be coming in tonight in the final days of the campaign for that final senate seat that's up for grabs in the election. both sides releasing campaign ads making their final pitches and going after the other side. here's a bit from mary land rue's campaign. her campaign focusing in these nal days on the money that congressman bill cassidy made from a parttime job that she says he didn't show up for. >> bill cass day has portrayed himself as a doctor serving the poor but now we've learned while in congress he collected over $100,000 in additional income for medical work he didn't do. cassidy even build taxpayers for time at a louisiana hospital when he was actually in washington. >> the congressman claimed to

be in two places at once. >> i'm mary land rue and i approve this message because louisiana deserves the truth. >> one of her closing ads bill cassidy of course is the republican congressman who is facing her and she is chasing him in the polls. he has been ahead in the polls since the primary since election day in november heading into this runoff race. here's a bit from his campaign. this is actually from americans for prosperity, an outside group who has been playing in this race their ad for cassidy and against land rue in this clacl t.s.a. test. >> she repeated his lie of the year. >> those individuals who like the coverage they already have will be able to keep their current plan. >> then bragged about deceiving americans to pass the law. >> all the stupidty of the american voter. >> how can she fight for

louisiana and still support the obamacare deception? >> i would support that. >> if they don't like it they can unelect me i'm up for reelection right now. host: here's a story from cnn politics that he is taking election day off. the story noting that bill cassidy will be spending election day at the hospital where he sometimes work taking a course on the new system that the hospital launches next week. he says it was the only time i could fit it in. he said the election is done by then. so the results coming in tonight in that race. i should also note that there's two other congressional races two other runoffs going on on the louisiana ballot for the sixth district seat now held by cassidy republican graves former coastal rest ration adviser to bobby jindal faces

edwards a former governor who served prison time. and the other race opt ballot is in the fifth district where vance mccal ster who was caught on a leaked surveillance video kissing a former aide he didn't make the runoff. his replacement will be republican physician abe ramson or monroe mayor. so two house races going on. get to your answers to the question, has the economy turned a corner? good morning. i just want to start off with a quote. and then i'll get to some other points. mayor rothchild has let the issue in controlling nation's money and i care not who writes

the laws. and let me just tie that into these things i wanted to say about the auditting the fed bill. i think that has a lot to do with our economy. there was a bill that was passed that we were supposed to have some transparency in the federal reserve, a private organization that is about as federal as fedex, truly. and it said that is what we have going on. so i wanted to say that about the fed. auditting the fed would be a great way to help the economy. stimulate the economy. host: stick around we're going to be talking about some fed policies as well in our next segment as we continue to dig deeper into the jobs numbers yesterday specifically on fed policy though i want to read you a bit from that "new york times" story in which they note that just how low unemployment

can go. let's get to james in maryland on our line for democrats. aller: good morning. they cannot have it both ways. the numbers were real low. most jobs are being created. when they come in high, they must have been cooked. they believe the low numbers and disbelieve the high

numbers. the reason why they keep emphasizing the unemployment rate, because when they're criminalizing the black youth, that's it ply -- right there. nd rush limbaugh and [inaudible] if it's good for america it must be bad for them. any good news for america is bad news for them. host: a few more headlines on the economic report out yesterday.

back to your calls. tyrone from redlands, california. caller: good morning. we hear so much about what the republicans say about mr. obama is not doing. but we see growth. the economy is turning around but no thanks to the republican party. they talk a lot, do nothing republican congress, where now next year we'll have a do nothing senate and house which also affects the middle class. they're so worried about what big business is going to do and they forget about the little people.

they want to cut military pay. why don't they get out of their seats pick up weapons and defend the country? host: did you serve in the military? caller: yes. i'm a vet. host: talk about your pay and what you've done since getting out of the military. caller: i've had to reinvent myself. i've had to go back to school and reeducate myself for different jobs to keep my family together. it's to no fault of mr. obama. if you're willing to work, you're willing to do what you need to do. but when you look up come january they say we get a cost of living allowance. by the time they get through with the taxes and stuff they do, we in the military normally nd up with maybe 1, 1.2, 1.3%, which by then the taxes take up

at least 7% of that. so actually the cost of living accounts for absolutely nothing in our paycheck. host: sterling up next, virginia, on our line for ndependents. yes, sir. i would like to comment about the fantastic so-called jobs report market. this is november figures. sales n the retirement for years. if you don't have a boost in nober you're in a depression. 100,000 jobs i'm sure are amazon, ups, fedex, and dhl.

come january these jobs will be gone by the wayside. so the figures look great but they're not nothing but part-time jobs. thank you, sir. have a nice day. host: sfick around for our next segment. we'll talk about what goes into e jobs reports that come out each month in the first week of each month. we're going to be joined in our next segment by the "washington journal" reporter there. some news from overseas this morning. i want to keep you up to date on some breaking news. statement out from the pentagon from chuck hagel's office this morning on the death of luke so maniers, a hostage who had been held by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, militants. the statement noting.

the president also releasing a statement this morning from the white house.

one other piece of news this morning from another front. this from the ap out of islam bad this morning. those are some of the breaking news stories from overnight. ack to your questions. anthony is in california on our line for democrats. caller: good morning.

i'm a proud u.s. citizen. i love my country. like the first caller, he can't believe how people would still vote for people who are not making a change. but look at the facts. the home crisis, the medical is better. we've got the most jobs we've ever had since 1990. to me just look at the facts and you'll see that the democrats are doing real good. i'm proud of barack and i want him to keep doing a good job. i don't understand how people can still vote for someone not loving this country and knowing that it's getting better. the wars and gas prices, everything is just better all the way around. not like -- and i'm proud of that. thank you.

host: david in north carolina on our line for independents. good morning. caller: first, the jobs. the subsidy that everybody is getting to create jobs, how much does that play in on it? and are they going to increase the subsidies they give to poor people that can help them compete with the auto industries and all the big bailouts that keeps us subservient to their products? that's all i've got to say on subsidies. nd on boehner's passing that thing for the disability to be able to save money, did that really address the problem where they're not even allowed to scrimple and save to have luxury items such as r.v.s and vehicles? thank you. host: with a few economic questions we can get answered in our next segment this morning. one other story, this story in

the "new york times" on the economy. some of the possible actions they refer to are an overhaul and simpleication of the tax code and to be dealing with the across-the-board spending cuts that will return automatically in october. if you want to read more on that in the "new york times." we'll go to daniel in new york n our line for drabts. caller: good morning. my background is department of labor statistics. i also taught at the university of bing hamton. my expertise is german, economics history. you asked about the economy urning around. in 2010 we started to have positive job creations. we've now had 59 months consecutive job creation.

that's a record. we tied the record in june. we're setting a record -- this will continue. we're averaging 230,000 plus jobs a month in 2014. put something in perspective. back in 2001 to 2008, those 96 months when the republicans had hedge money over the house and the senate, supreme court, federal reserve, we averaged 13,541.2 jobs per month, 96 months for two horrible recessions. g.d.p. collapsed of 8.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008. so has our economy turned the corner? of course it did. in 2010 we were averaging 1080,000 jobs per month created .

i think the problem even as far as forbes, pro republican. i read it. i read brarnes i read bloomberg. you read forbes, geithner put out how much better president obama has done than president reagan. but if you're a news source, the television, or the radio, you'll never hear these -- this information. you've got to read. it's out there. it's in the "washington journal." it's in forbes. president obama has done better in job creation than president reagan. but people just don't know this stuff. so just to sum rise we've had the longest consecutive monthly job creation in our history for 59 months. we're averaging 230,000 plus jobs created this month per year. the republicans when they had jobs ower, 13,541.2

created per month. host: all right. we want to also get in nancy who has been waiting in kansas city, missouri on our line for independents. good morning. caller: good morning. my question is, for other people the future looks bright. the young people and people that are in the job market now. but for older workers like myself, the job future doesn't look that bright. we don't have a lot of us don't have pensions. and we need jobs. and yet no party is addressing it. not even any president has addressed it. so what does our future look like? our older people who can't get work and don't have a pension or may have a small pension and have to get social security our future does not look bright. so i would like to see congress and some president address

older people's concerns about working. and about being able to survive as we get older. because we are going to be in trouble if this country doesn't address those concerns. host: all right. two other stories from here in the u.s. i want to keep you updated on that high profile of rape and fraternity house -- at a fraternity. here's the "new york times."

that story making a lot of headlines in the past 24 hours. and then another story, this out of nasa, craft returns safely after a nearly flawless flight.

leubsdorf ext, ben .nd later julian zeller first speaking yesterday at the white house, president obama announced his nomination of former deputy defense secretary ashton carter to be the new secretary of defense replacing chuck hagel reresigned. the president explains why he chose carter and elaborated on his qualifications and credentials. >> i'm pleased to announce my nominee to be our next secretary of defense mr. ash carter. with a record of service that has spanned more than 30 years to the public service as an adviser, as a scholar, ash is rightly regarded as one of our foremost national security leaders. as a top member of our pentagon

team for the first five years of my presidency including his two years as deputy secretary he was at the table in the situation room, he is by my side navigating complex security challenges that we were confronting i relied on his expertise and i've relied on his judgment. i think it's fair to say that ash, in his one year attempt at retirement, you've failed miserably. but i am deeply grateful that you're willing to go back at it. e brings a unique blend of know how. he understands the united states, as the single most provider of security in the world. he plays a key role in devising our defense strategy to advance that security. he's also a physicist which means that he is one of the few people who actually understands how many of our defense systems work.

that is also allowed him to serve with extraordinary breadth and also depth in a whole range of work that we've had to do. in one way or another ash has served under 11 secretaries of defense. he's an innovator who helped create the program that has dismantled weapons of mass destruction around the world and reduced the threat of nuclear terrorism. he's a reformer who has never been afraid to cancel old or inefficient weapons. he knows the department of defense inside and out which all of which means that on day one he is going to hit the ground running. ash is also known by our allies and friends around the world having served both republican and democratic secretaries he is respected and trusted on both sides of the aisle. he's been a close partner with our military leaders. and he is admired by civilian lashedse across the department because he is a mentor to so many of them. >> "washington journal"

continues. host: as we continue our discussion on the latest jobs numbers and what they say about the economy we're joined by luke at the "washington journal" street journal. in your piece on what to watch in the november jobs numbers you talk about sort of the data points beyond the top line numbers. the key one is wage growth. so let's start with wage growth and what we saw yesterday. guest: there was a lot of attention paid to the headline mbers in the reports, 5.8% unemployment. 123r,000 new jobs created. but the most significant number is 9 cents that's how much hourly earnings went up. and that's a 0.4% increase. that doesn't sound like much but it's twice the average that we've seen per month over the last year. nd it tooks -- took fsh it doesn't look as impressive but we went to a 2.1 increase from 2 last month.

but economists have been watching, watching, watching, for any sign that wages are going to pick up. they've been so slow to grow over this entire recovery. and now we have signs and different measures that show that wages may be picking up. this is the first sign we've seen in this particular very reputable wage data from the labor department that earnings may be finally starting to pick up. host: what else do you look for to make sure this isn't just a one-month aberration here in the wage growth? >> it could be a one-month aberration. one month doesn't make a trend. and we'll be watching the next few months to see if it is sustained. if it can grow. but there are other measures that we look at. a cost index that comes out once a quarter. it measures em

it stopped going down over the last few months since the spring it stopped declining, which is good. but it hasn't shown much sign

that it will be going up. so we're still waiting to see if a stronger labor market, if more people getting hired, lower unemployment is going to draw people off the sidelines, people who have given up hope and stopped searching are now going to start looking for a job and be counted as part of the labor force. >> for people who are more visual learners, like myself, here is a chart noting that t's near a 36-year low labor orce participation rate. ere it is today below 63%. other numbers beyond the top line numbers that were of interest to you in yesterday's report. guest: one of them is the u-6 is a broader version of the unemployment rate. there's a lot of people who criticize the standard unemployment rate saying it

doesn't count a lot of people and it doesn't. it's a good way to measure but it's not the sole answer so we also look at the u-6 which counts people who are stuck in part-time jobs because they can't find full-time work, people who are called marginally attached to the workforce, people who looked last year but not last month, that rate is 11.4%, a lot higher than the unemployment rate. it's down a little bit from october when it was 11.5%, down a lot from a year ago. and it has been going down just as a standard unemployment rate has been going down. so there's a lot of pain out there. but it is getting better. the economy is getting better. host: if our viewers want to talk with you for about the next 45 minutes or so our phone lines are open for questions or comments for him. the numbers are on the bottom f your screen.

explain what an involuntary part-time worker is. >> this is one of those delightful labor department terms that sound both bad but doesn't sound as bad as that. called part-time for economic reasons. when you're in a part-time job because your hours have been cut or because you're looking for a full-time job but you can't find one. the government considers you involuntary part-time. but when you're not doing it by choice. a lot of people choose to work part-time. if you're doing it because you can't find full-time work they're involuntary. that number is very high. they're still well above prerecession levels. it's been coming down but it's still very high. that's another sign of lack in the labor market and a sign of pain. we'll start with your calls. henry is waiting in michigan. good morning. caller: good morning.

i'm looking at these numbers and i'm wondering if my own mind just how much better these numbers would be, how much better the country and the middle class people would feel had the republican governors in stimulus accepted the package money in 2009 when the president came in, had helped the president by accepting federal funding to help implement the aca in their states. the republicans have blocked everything that this president has tried to do. hey have turned this country against brother against brother, family member against family member. it's disgraceful. it's treason. i think they have stolen this

election. as far as immigration is concerned, it's ridiculous. white people -- we didn't have an immigration department when you came in this country. and you took this country from those hispanics that you now want to kick out. host: we want to stick to the jobs numbers that came out. and the caller brings up the affordable care act. might help us in breaking down those numbers by industry. one of the charts that was out yesterday from the bureau of labor statistics showings the net change in jobs since january, 2009 at the beginning of this chart. this red line here seems to be going up pretty steadily is jobs in the health care industry. guest: the health care industry has been adding jobs steadily i would say. there's been a lot of volatility in these numbers over the last five or six years. there's been a lot of

industries that have had stops and starts. and health care has been one that's been growing pretty steadily. how much of that is due to expansion of health insurance and how much is just because of natural growth as the population ages and needs more medical expenses. i'm not sure. but i did talk to an employer in california about preparing for the jobs report. we said it's a chain of physical therapy centers, they're opening a new location in part because the owner said that california expanded its medicaid program under the a.c.a. that means more people are covered for insurance and more people can now get physical therapy. so he's seeing an increase in demand in part because of that. host: let's go back to your calls. eddie in massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. i don't think much of statistics like the c.p.i. they went out just to raise it. but the unemployment a fiasco.

it's the government spending that's the problem. what are we going to have another 600, 700 billion in deficit spending here? and they want to spend more? and then it's a ponzi scheme this quantitative easing. nobody wants to buy our junk bonds any more, especially fannie and freddie's so they're just printing money and buying bonds. that's a ponzi scheme. thank you. host: the flal reserve bond buying effort ended in october. so this was the first jobs report that came out without that effort happening. did it have any impact on the jobs report? guest: i sort of doubt it. it's a pretty short time frame to see that kind of impact. the federal reserve of course has bought a lot of bonds over the last six years as part of three rounds of bond-buying. the last one ended in october. the fed said that was to stimulate the economy, to

support the economy through this very slow recovery, to make borrowing cheaper. they would argue that it succeeded. other people have debated the actual effects of the program. but it's over and unemployment is coming down, and inflation has remained stable and low. so the economy doesn't need as much support as it did when it began the bond buying program. the fed is now looking to come start t year, to likely to raise rates and cut short-term interest rates. this is extraordinary. these are extraordinary the fed efforts, and says that they understand there lot of pretension -- attention paid to the decision at the same es, but time, top official said that it is a testament that the economy will be stronger when they start to raise rates. it will be a good moment for

the u.s. because the u.s. will be strong enough that it need this kind of extraordinary stimulus. fed : what would keep the from doing that? what would force them to hold back from that? guest: the fed always caution that everything is pending on incoming data. a worsening job inflation iif the has been lower, if inflation took a nosedive, i think they would be concerned. there is also concern about growth overseas. we are seeing weakness right now in japan and europe. a slowdown in china. if there is turbulence that into the u.s. economy from overseas, that could affect their calculations, as well. right now, a lot of people looking towards the middle of next year for the first rate hike, but the timing is up to the feds. they are going to be looking at every piece of data coming in to make that decision. host: john is on our line for

independents. caller: good morning. they take into account seasonal hirings this time of year? when they say that tthere is this much growth and jobs. the employers cutting hours down to 29 because of the aca, ddoes that create more jobs? but at 829 an hour a week rate? december 2 questions. guest: on the first one, the job report does our seasonal adjustments. the government does know that there is usually more hiring in ad of the holiday season retail and transportation. so they try to adjust to that. not e adjustments are always perfect, but that is be ething that is try to corrected and seasonally adjusted. on ours second question

being cut, we actually saw a small uptick on the average hours in a workweek this month. of one uptick -- 1/10 hour - but it is an increase, and that is good for people because it means that the be a ecks are going to little heftier. terms of part-time jobs, i do not know that anyone has a on how many nswer -- on the effects of that. that over the recovery, month-to-month numbers can be pretty volatile. jobs verall, also the created during this recovery have been full-time jobs, not part-time jobs. so they have been part-time jobs created, but many, many more full-time jobs. that is good for people who want a full-time job instead of a part-time job. host: on twitter -- a question

on these monthly job reports. if the job report is good, who gets the credit? if it is bad, who gets the blame? guest: well, everyone was to take the credit if it is good. put out e house statements yesterday and the president would like to take ccredit for this. it is a good jobs report, and there pointing to things like it is the 50th consecutive month of job growth. that it is the longest since ion of job creation world war ii. other hand, republicans say that things would be doing even better if it weren't for the president's policies. so, i do not know if i can apportion blame and credit. lots of people want to credit. host: members of congress certainly wanting to do that, and other members, including vice president joe biden. 10.9 million -- that is the number of private sector jobs that have been added in the

past 57 months. he helpfully provided this graph along with his treat. we must protect the jobs that coal mining bring to kentucky, and we must preserve the culture and tradition of the kentucky coal miners. one of the sectors taking a hit -- coal one of the sectors taking a hit in recent months. adding that's the u.s. economy 321,000 jobs in november, but employment and underemployment is still too high. to empower the e pprivate sector to create jobs. let's go to kevin in marshall, texas on our line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. a good , you are doing job moderating because it seems point you bring up, i am like, yeah, i'm wondering about that.

so i want to think about that. host: thank you, kevin. what is your question or comment for ben? caller: when you talk about you ng credit, something never hear -- the credit goes to the businessman. for them to regroup, amid all the new changes and the new and the new regulations, a while to regroup and figure out how to make money again. so i think, really, the credit goes to them. i'm happy for the american workers. thankful for our business. thing i really think control over t has is -- you brought up the grass the participation rates -- i i think, government, can create wwhere more people work and more people are taking.

more people are taking from the system when they work less. thank you all. host: ben leubsdorf, is that what you are seeing? guest: well, it is really hard to unpack what is affecting the rate. how much, essentially, welfare programs affect that. we know there are people out there who want to work, but are not in the labor force. they have been discouraged and a long ybe were laid off time ago. the benefits ran out and i couldn't find a job. so they sort of dropped out of the labor force. the same sort of structural issues that are driving down the street, as i have said, it has been declining ssince well before this last recession. there was this great movement into the labor force over the last several decades of women. there was the baby boomers, the three large generation of workers. now baby boomers are retiring,

and that will mean that there people in the workforce -- more people retired. but it is tough to unpack and much of it -- a lot of us have tried to unpack how much of it is structural, these structures, aand how much of it is cyclical. there is a lot of debate on that, but i think everyone agrees that at least part of the decline is because of the recession. there are hopes that the rate will go up as things get better. post let's head out to new york. gerald is calling on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: yes, good morning. this labour participation, it seems like i've heard many times that be 300,000 a month. what are the facts on that? host: we have touched a low but on that before, but --

guest: i do not know the numbers on that, but there's a lot of churn iin the labor force from month-to-month. there are people who lose their jobs and there are people who find jobs. and there are those who retire and take social security. those are enter the labor force, their graduating from college or high school. enough training programs or to have decided to go back to work. sense of et a better the breakdown of this in a couple months. has a is a report that delightful acronym jokes -- job opening turnover survey, breaking down how many people quit their jobs in a month. how many people lost their jobs. how many people were looking for work. that helps us understand the flow of workers in and out of the workforce. that report was released on a one-month delay, so we would get the october numbers next week. that is a report that allows

to look very closely at because it may mean that people are more confident to quit their jobs and find a new one. weight in september -- rate in september had the highest mark in a long time, to present. if that continues to go up, that will be seen as a positive sign. host: joseph is waiting in a line for independents. good morning, joseph. caller: good morning. hello? host: joseph, you are on. on with ben leubsdorf. caller: good morning. i am a car restorer. i restore cars, and i find that 90% of the car parts are foreign-made. brands are foreign-made -- from tvs to refrigerators to tools.

people are going to be buying just tmas items here, and whether was hing -- clothing -- tthe facts are, have is a ve to congress that -- they have it is not e ball, and their fault. the fault is in the two-year term. we have to abolish a two-year term and instigate a one-time, eight-year term to change america. when you are on a two-year term, you need about $3 million reelected every two years; therefore, you give into all the corporate lobbyists to finance your reelection. are not making -- host: oout of curiosity, without a u-turn be for members of the house? or would you do it for members of the senate and president, as well?

caller: not the president. just the congress and the house of representatives because we where they them to can make heartfelt decisions for america. if you don't do that, america will never turn the corner. then, the second thing we need to do is put on a manufacturing rally program -- across america back on t manufacturing u.s. soil. talk ben leubsdorf, let's about the manufacturing sector. guest: well, it has been hurting. there was a huge decline since the recession, and it is a long ways from normal. that said, employment has been in the manufacturing sector. the last two months have been fairly strong in terms of gains. i believe it was something like 28,000 jobs in manufacturing this last month. and automakers have been doing very well.

car sales are at very high levels, i think something around 17 million. which is levels that they expect to be at. was 2008 and 2009, i working in detroit aand it was grim for automakers. now we see sales are rebounding. so that is good for durable but part of this is also a trade story. we are seeing some interesting in trade right now, wwhere the dollar is stronger. that makes our exports more expensive and are imports cheaper. us to importing more foreign goods. that is something congress is watching, as well, to see how the stronger dollar will affect the manufacturing sector. host: you talk about global currencies, president obama leaders from how other countries vview the u.s. economy. he indicated, when he was at business roundtable on

wednesday, that there are world leaders that can be more optimistic than american citizens about the u.s. economy. of what the president had to say. [video clip] >> what was striking was the degree of optimism that the world felt about the american economy. ways, imism that, in some is greater than how american sometimes feel about the american economy. saw among at you world leaders was consistent with what we note from global you ask which is when people now -- where is the number one place to invest -- united states of america. it was china for quite some time. now folks want to put money back into this country. a lot of that has to do with we have the best workers in the world, we have the best university system and and arch and development innovation the world, and we have the best businesses in the world. lot of you can, i think,

take great credit for the kind of bounce back we have seen over the last six years. host: and we want to hear from the viewers this morning. we have about 15 minutes left with ben leubsdorf, and economic reporter with the "wall street journal". we will go to pasadena, texas next. good morning. caller: yes, sir. i am watching and trying to keep my television down. what i think is that is un-exaggerated for employment because there are so many young people and so many people of ethnicity -- including people that are here not necessarily legally -- that in a nemployed aand are, bad way. i really feel for them.

and i would like to know what your stance on -- what is going on with them and why they not credited in the unemployment numbers. thank you. host: so, tracking and documenting undocumented immigrants. how are some of the projections and numbers determined for rates in those sectors? guest: well, the job report is actually to service -- it is a payroll survey with the government goes out and asked businesses. that is where we get the payroll number -- the 321,000 last month. the second to the household survey, and that is where we get the unemployment rate. that is why the numbers can sometime purge from month-to-month. but the survey doesn't ask about legal status in the country, so we don't have a separate. folks who are in this country counted in ould be both surveys.

in terms of ethnicity, the house survey does break down those unemployment rates by race. they show that the unemployment rate for white americans is of h lower than that hispanics, and especially african-americans. all l, those numbers have been declining, but it is a very large race gap in those numbers. they also break it down by age. the youth unemployment rate is it is usually higher than the standard unemployment rate -- but it does remain high. those are all things that you at it and say, saying that there are 321,000 new jobs -- that is not true for everyone in the united states. host: just above the numbers the unemployment demographic breakdown in november among whites, 4.9%. blacks 11.1%. hispanics 6.6%. and asian 4.8%.

almost 80% for teenagers. our line to richard on for independents. caller: good morning, sir. i could have 100,000 tvs made at hundred dollars apiece, take them all and put a cargo container and sell them at walmart in the united states for $500. in china, they will work a 40 hour week for $100. earns $300 a person or $400. now that opec is pumping out as oil as they can to push two price of oil down to

dollars a gallon, doesn't that the dollar lue of down, too? oil is so low, shouldn't we take some of that and put it back into our treasury? host: ben leubsdorf, let's focus on the oil pricing question. how does impacting the numbers we are seeing. oil prices are down. something like 30% of the global numbers are down from their peak. and that is good and bad. the bad news for the u.s. is that we have been producing all this il and gas in domestic energy boom, and lower prices mean lower profits for those companies. in some cases, if the method of extracting oil is very expensive, the price can drop below the points at which it is profitable to sell that oil. but really, most economists agree that, for now, at least, oil prices are good for the u.s..

because it means that companies, and especially have lower will energy costs. don't know the national averages for gas, but it is below three dollars for the the end of since 2010. that means people are getting a boost. they have more money to save or to spend on other items, with the holiday shopping season. i think that is something a lot of retailers are looking to a boost this year. even if wages haven't been going up very fast, people are essentially getting a raise through lower gas prices. crude oil futures cruising -- another .5% on the week. you bring up retailers -- black friday numbers out last week. reporting from the national retail federation, noting that 55.1% of consumers shopped friday through sunday.

that is down from 58.7% last year. total spending was also down. that is ou think impacting seasonal employment coming up? well, the retail numbers were pretty strong. something like 50,000 new jobs in the retail sector. i know a lot of people have the blackout a numbers aand how much they may signify ffor the shopping season as a whole. they do not have a great track record of predicting how the are going to look, but we'll get november retail sales from the census bureau next week. us an early give head on those. yes, black friday shopping was down. i don't think that will mean shopping is done for the whole holiday season. last month, saw that was just what rretailers are expecting.

host: let's go to kentucky where mark is waiting on our line for independents. good morning, mark. caller: good morning. post good morning, mark. just go ahead. caller: is it a private business? if so, who regulated? and what are your projections for the auto industry? guest: well, the federal reserve is the federal bank of the united states -- the controls the currency. it is responsible for monetary policy, taxes and spending in state and local budgets. monetary policy is the money. control the money supply and influence these a short-term ough interest rate, which is in overnight lending rate between banks. they have other tools they are introducing the work obligated, essentially the federal

reserve -- introducing this week that are more complicated, essentially the federal reserve controls the monetary currency. under ion has been shooting that goal for several years. so, the fed is looking to reach those goals. that they're gue getting their on the unemployment tied, and have go -- unemployment side, and have a ways to go on inflation. i know that sales have been very strong this year. host: time is on our line in indianapolis, indiana four republicans. caller: good morning. i have a suggestion on how to bring jobs back from this country based on an example. win football games by destroying your competition or your opponent. back to country by doing the same thing. a nation, our football

team is losing business overseas. thank you very much. host: a suggestion from indianapolis, indiana. is in new hampshire, calling in on our life for democrats. caller: good morning. i just had a couple quick questions. i know the regulations on wall street -- i understand a great not yet of that has been implemented, from my understanding. the i wanted to know what future or impact -- oor what they have looked at in job creation. and the specific trade agreements. has anybody analyze that for growth or potential future jobs within our country?

have been exporting jobs, instead of importing jobs. i would gladly appreciate it. host: thank you for the question. guest: well, you have to very controversial questions there. of course, the 2010 financial regulation overhaul, many of those rules have not been written yet. they are still in the process of being implemented. i know that there are banks, and wall banks, street banks that argue that will hurt egulation their abilities to have employees and make loans, which helped other businesses grow. on the other hand, we have this huge financial crisis. and that is where the slot came out of. the attitude that we should try

to prevent another one. on the transpacific of tnership, trade is one those things that is, in general, good for the economy. but in practice, it lacks specifics. means jobs going overseas when they can be competitively done cheaper in other countries. host: we talked about this one of the ifferent sectors economy. in the "wall street journal", into a very specific sector of the economy -- church building and church construction. what did you find? it is i think interesting because this is a very religious country -- oone of the more religious countries in the world -- but we are building fewer churches than we used to. looking at data on religious construction, from private agencies and the government, you can see that around 2002 or

on houses of g worship's -- any religion, not just christian worship -- peaked. and is down in square footage since then. it is not just cyclical things lack of credit or tthe economy being week that is holding back church construction. this decline began a long time ago. and there are various things driving it. there is a long-term decline in religiosity in the united states. fewer people are going to church regularly. with people identify religion at all. this year of people who give as none has on increased to nearly 20% in 2012. that has an effect, i believe, on finances for churches. that the share of total contributions like a religious groups has fallen the total in lf of 1990 two less than a third today.

at the same time, there is a change in taste out there. in the late 1990's and early or, without mega -- 2000's, without mega churches going up. other ey are looking at sometimes e they are multicasting the services. some pastors and rreligious leaders i talked to said that they just don't want to focus on building's. they have limited time and limited funds. they would rather spend it on their ministry. host: for viewers who are interested in this topic, ben leubsdorf's story is in the "wall street journal" yesterday. just a minute or two left in the segment. in go to rené who is waiting san antonio, texas oon our lines for republicans.

good morning. caller: good morning. the jobs going overseas, in regards to nafta regional and state economies, the states are like laboratories. you can see which leadership is which ones are d not. in south texas, it is not just oil. you've got manufacturing, you've got medical services. but also i wanted to add that have to rnment democrats and republicans -- wolf has done a really fantastic job down here. you for your time. host: the last minute if there is anything you want to pick up. states have different economies, and we have seen huge variations among the states over the last five terms of job growth.

texas, where you are, has seen very strong job growth. the recession was much shallower there. texas has been booming. other states like california have only recently reached their prerecession peak employment. many states haven't done that, even. so there is a lot of pain out there. it is not just based on age and ethnicity, it is also based on where you are. host: ben leubsdorf, and economic reporter with the "wall street journal". your time this morning. guest thank you for having me on. host: next, we are joined by prof. julian zelizer. what the executive action could mean for president obama's legacy. later, we talked to carey gillam.

first, on "newsmakers" -- representative linda sanchez reacted. [video clip] had he spanish caucus has an up-and-down relationship with president obama on his record on immigration issues. if you were to survey his time in office, what letter grade would you give the president? >> i think the president deserves a b+. areas in which we obviously would of liked to see more done. clearly, the president is certain liberal presidents. he has been far, far more receptive than the republican leadership in the house has delay and d the stalling tactics and promising that they want to work on immigration reform. they have essentially been sitting on their hands and

doing nothing. so, i think the president has been proud. i think he understands these issues. i think he understands, sentimentally, what is at stake. so i think he has done, overall, a pretty decent job. >> how do you feel voters will be reacting to this? one of the questions was whether the president should have done this before the midterm elections. is the hispanic community black to see what the president did, hoping he will go even further? you ell, i think that if believe in polls -- and there is some question on whether or are really accurate -- the information is always based on how questions are phrased. a believer in polling, support for the present among the hispanic community has gone up tremendously since his announcement of executive action. is across the board, it is republicans,

democrats, or any other members of the hispanic community. are a variety of viewpoints that overwhelmingly -- the community as a whole, has seen it as very positive. >> "washington journal" continues. host: julian zelizer is a professor at princeton university. and a fellow at the new america foundation. he joins us now. dr. zelizer, i would like to start with a new article. only starting with the president who is trying to remake himself? guest: i think we are seeing that. i don't think he is doing anything that is new, in terms of his agenda, but he is using oor planning er -- to -- more aggressively than he

has in past years. he is going back to two key things that i think he has felt would ated that congress not deal with. one is immigration reform, and one is climate change. when the midterms everything looks bleak, hhe has sent a clear signal to congress that he will move ahead without them if they're not willing to tackle these issues. host: with so much pushback, see the other lanes where he could continue as he tries to create the new president obama here? guest: even with the pushback on immigration reform, i think you will continue to move forward. think he anticipated this. he understood that this would debate e immigration about executive power, and not just immigration. but he will move forward. he has already announced that to the epa to do with climate change and omissions. i think you'll see more of that.

many people said this is one of unfilled issues for him. that he felt he had no chance on capitol hill dealing with. he will continue to do this. on has already taken steps the economy -- trying to shore up the minimum wage with better contracting. he will look for other efforts to do that, as well. issue and what about the of civil liberties, a topic on t he talked a lot about the campaign trail and early in his presidency. is there room for him to -- to take executive actions here? guest: i don't know if you want to. talk about what back in the 2008, campaign, and all the promises that fell to the wayside. promises fell away because he dealt with the congressional environment that absolutely -- you know -- intent on stopping progress of measures, like immigration reform and some economic reforms.

but on other issues, it is unclear where he stands -- civil liberties, the tensions security he national agency and surveillance versus privacy rights. not been very and ressive -- aggressive protecting civil liberties, and i do not know whether he wants to invest his executive power in that issue. in some ways, he has been very comfortable maintaining the infrastructure for national security that president bush put into place. are a history professor. president obama is trying to remake himself here. who are his role model that he can look to? there are l, i think many examples when these final two years are important ones. often talked about -- although from a different party -- is ronald reagan. probably one of his most memorable achievements was

where he worked with gorbachev to sign an arms agreement. takes place in 1987, after the midterm elections of 1986 control mocrats retake of the senate and, therefore, have control of congress. the agreement with the soviet union, which is really the beginning of the end of the is what many people remember him for. i think that is very much a model he has in mind. carter and president clinton also use executive power for domestic issues, like the environment, and their final years. and i think that is another model he has. to talk to u want phone lines are open. the numbers are on your screen.

zelizer, what could president obama's legacy be? are his options here? is st: well, the one that already out there and that we will debate for many decades to come is healthcare. this was his signature measure. it has survived court challenge. it has survived congressional challenge. so far, as survived, the administrative challenge. this will be his landmark piece of legislation. see how it does. the financial regulation put financial after the collapse of 2008 is another big achievement of his. i think it will be part of the legacy, good or bad, that we talk about for years. a messier part of his legacy will be the middle east. an area where he came into office intending to extract the

united states for more, but will and his presidency with troops very much and the d to this area region, still, in a state of great uncertainty. i think that when we examine legacy, this will be part of what we look at and how things unfold. finally, there is the economy. this is what many democrats are starting to openly talk about. did he do enough to deal, not just with the recovery, bbut with making sure that there is a robust recovery? that gave the middle class a sense of security. with issues to do which was pushed aside by both parties. i think this will be an part of the debate about the obama presidency. was he able to do enough? and i will just add a final thing. obviously, part of the legacy changed the he national conversation, the

national debate, the national policies involving race relations. given all the protests and over ict that have emerged policing and race, i think this is going to be something we hear a lot about in the next few years. host: llots to talk about with our viewers. phone lines are open iif you want to talk with a professor of princeton university. how much does the present have his orry -- thinking about own legacy -- how much does he have to worry about the democratic party? out the store yesterday about obama finding his second wind. it included a quote from aaron a wilson center historian, who said that who pursued you and who follows you is important. i think -- guest: is a very ink that

important note in terms of their diplomatic accomplishments. that is all very important. but then there is the president ip of the to the party. do they leave the party in better shape than when they started? do they leave it damaged? do they leave it greatly damaged? some would argue that one of the great costs of the obama that the y has been democratic party is in -- and, you know, difficult condition right now. their ave lost, you know, state of power on capitol hill, the end, the base of political power for a party. and many people fear that republicans are so revived that for years you know, to come, they will be able to do damage to the democratic agenda. so, i think what you leave behind and who precedes them is very important. there are going to be important issues like health care.

who the next president is and, you know, how democrats are doing in congress. becker play a big part in it, what is the next generation of leadership, which remains somewhat fragile. talking with julian zelizer -- is there a new president obama? hhe will be talking to us for about 35 minutes or so. let's get to jim who has been waiting in akron, ohio. jim, good morning. caller: hi, good morning. isn't the biggest problem that is having right now the truth? host: what do you mean by that, jim? -- i am a newsy person. i listen to the news or read it probably six or eight hours a day.

for example, the new york black man was a overpowered aand he died. wasn't there a black female of the white harge policeman? in t has not been mentioned any of the -- the news on it. zelizer, we're still hearing details coming out from that incident, as well. guest: well, i think people are reading different things into videotapes from staten island, aas well as what happened in ferguson. think this is do now emerging as one of the last few issues of the years -- policing and race relations. some who here are don't believe that what was an incident that is defined by race, bbut i think that is the protests around the country show, the reaction of many americans --

conservatives and the last -- to policing matter with eric in staten island -- is that race still plays a huge part in policing. it is a problem that we need to do with. out pouring ink the of protest ssuggest that there a lot of support, not just for punitive action against the police, but dealing structurally with what allows this kind of incident to happen. and to try make sure that this is something we eliminate. it is a problem we have been dealing with for decades. of s has been the cause in cities -- rioting in cities as far back as the 1960's. we will see if there are investigations into staten island, but also more broadly

in this policing issue. host: do see another possible commission on race relations, as we have seen from previous administrations? guest: i do. some commenters say that obama has been reluctant to do with issues of race because he is the first african-american president. he talks that whenever about this or tries to set up a commission on these matters, it white ferent than if a president did it. it brings a different kind of political reaction. it shapes the issue differently. but i do think this has reached especially with the videotapes, where there is going to be a lot of interest some kind of study to look and hat is happening hopefully propose reforms so that we can avoid this -- both for the sake of the community, also for the sake of the create a more viable

infrastructure for protecting communities. host: do think there is an opening for a presidential legacy on preparing the nation's infrastructure? this question from twitter a federal state partnership to repair failing infrastructure has ever happened. guest: well, this is something the administration has been interested in, going back all the way to 2009. obama and the congress did make some progress on think tructure, but i many will agree it is lacking. of this e many parts country where there are infrastructure projects that are in dire need of federal assistance. the beauty of a program like only does it help repair bridges and repair roads, it brings jobs. which are still needed, even as

the economy is recovering. the problem is, tthus far, congress has not been hospital. it is not clear that a republican congress is going to be very interested in spending on this issue. host: let's go to mount pleasant, texas. our line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing this morning? host: good. you are on with julian zelizer. caller: okay. my biggest problem is that i don't think there is any changing the president. pushing he is still for his socialist approach to government in the united states. and it directly violates our constitutional law. i think that is the reason he has had as much trouble with congress -- because of his attitude with socialism. host: julian zelizer on socialism and the president's actions.

guest: i do not think president obama is a socialist. i think many liberal democrats is their biggest complaint that he is way too far to the center. within the mainstream democratic sector, he has abandoned some of his progressive ideas. with that said, i think that perception continues. i think it has been part of his presidency alone. republican are many to view him as a socialist or view many of his programs as way too far left, you have a which ssional environment becomes almost impossible to make progress with on legislation. is not going away. use hink if he tries executive power -- and we see this new, assertive president obama -- he is only going to inflame those feelings. not only will he have a debate the socialist president

obama, now we will have a debate about executive power and presidential overreach. difficult issue for democrats, who try to take the steps. will only inflame republicans. my guess is you are going to a lot of backlash from the steps. we have artie seen the tax deal that senator harry reid -- that dy seen a tax deal senator harry reid put together with republicans. they got severely damaged as a result of the immigration action. host: these are the tax looking to hat were be continued, or, actually, tto be reestablished with 2014, correct? guest: exactly. host: a question on terms we are using from twitter, asking what the differences are between an executive order and an executive action. are there any differences there?

guest: there are. let me just start by saying that even within the realm of there are many , varieties of what the president can do. i think overall, in terms of the politics of these issues, people react to -- including president obama himself when he ran and responded to president bush aand his use of executive a sense that, ultimately, these issues should be decided through the democratic will. which is the legislative process. passing a bill, rather than adjusting federal regulations. rather than making changes within federal contracting. i think these are the kind of debate that are unfolding. host: llet's head out to missouri on our line for democrats. mike is waiting. you are on with julian zelizer. caller: okay, my question is

about regulation. -- is what -- deregulation is what caused some of the problems. it caused the businesses to be they wanted hatever to do, like the banking industry. about oes julian think regulation right now antiregulation? host: mr. zelizer. and also, if you could, work into that what president obama's legacy would be on the regulation issues. guest: i think there is a lot of agreement that the deregulation that took place in a 1990's and 2000's actually back to the 1970's. but the deregulation of financial markets in the 1990's

lead right to 's 2008. a lot of companies were making highly risky investments. we created a banking system that was not going to be over the long term. what we got was a crash. obama has been more of a regulator. ultimately, it is a regulatory that chasuble more constraints and oversight on what the financial sector can do. the legislation, though, is notoriously complex and hard to administer. i think, as many people have seen -- while president obama more of a regulator and did try to push back some of the regulation that was dismantled in the previous decade -- it was still a relatively weak bill. it created all kinds of opportunities for financial services to undercut the regulators.

so, the framework is in place. i think it is a little ical care. we're going to have to see in if there's years political opportunity to strengthen those regulations, and to make sure that they are implemented effectively. but he certainly is not a new dealer. this goes back to an earlier criticism. even not a socialist, not a new dealer. he n with the legislation, is not called for the kind of regulations on economy that we in the united states until the 1970's. host: we are talking to julian zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at princeton university. on various presidencies -- jimmy carter, the reagan years, george w. and an upcoming book on lyndon johnson's presidency.

and s taking your calls questions this morning for about the next 20 minutes. tom is a next. miami, florida. on our line for independents. caller: good morning. -- the alking about house and the senate are totally going to be against him when they take power. is ean, the legacy that he going to leave his way to the left -- further than jimmy carter. i do not seen anything in the next two years getting done other than more bickering. it happening see with obama. guest: it is actually at eresting to look back both the carter presidency and where the democrats were in the 1970's. would st actually see, i

say, the opposite and how he has adjusted to reagan era politics. in fact, president obama is much more a product of the conservative era of politics than jimmy carter was. take healthcare. the health care program that obama put into place is a very complex series of regulations that try to create new opportunities for purchasing private healthcare play many 't put into cost controls, and ultimately existing expanding programs like medicaid to provide insurance to the uninsured. in the carter era, we were still talking about a single-payer system. my mainstream democrats -- carter was sympathetic to some of those ideas. is in fact, in some ways he not far left compared to jimmy carter.

and he has also faced the which is extraordinarily difficult compared to what carter faced. had a difficult situation when he had a democratic majority. i actually think the relationship is a little different. i think carter did start a path that democrats to move to the center. were they started to abandon some of the orthodoxies oof the new deal. but i think, generally, president obama has fit within than the ework, rather parting from what carter did. money conclude with at a national security. i think the record is clear, president obama hhas not been far left. just the opposite. he really has maintained many the key policies from the bush era on counterterrorism. sometimes for political reasons, but sometimes because in a very f, believes aggressive, muscular national security state.

that is not far left. post i want to ask you about a carter -- ashton carter. fourth d be his secretary of defense. what is his nomination tell us who his president chooses to surround himself with in his final two years? is important to note -- best encoder has been of a group of democrats on national security. he has often favored aggressive military stance to do with issues like nuclear power in north korea. so one thing, i think, we can this nomination is -- president obama has a very good feel of the landscape, and is putting into place someone who cannot easily be characterized as a dove. and who cannot be characterized as far left. i think he is trying to send a

signal. a very intelligent person with ivy league education, a respected academic. i think this fits part of the portfolio of who obama has always liked in his white house. he wants the smart white house with thinkers in his white house. i think the nomination send that signal. including itics -- john mccain -- say is actually a signal that he is not going to take this person as seriously as he should. john mccain -- senator mccain said, like many republicans, that president obama gives a very tight inner circle on national security. appointing someone like him is actually a way to but someone into place who he can control. enter won't be an overwhelming force at the pentagon because of their relations with congress or because of their own stature. host: paul has been waiting on

our line for republicans. good morning, paul. caller: good morning. good morning, professor. president obama is my president and i respect him for that. i will always stay with him as my president. i think the biggest problem is that he surrounds himself with two things. one is people he knows very well, and they seem to give him the answers that he wants to hear. and he puts too much faith in them. on the same side, the people he surrounds himself in the circle and inner etc. -- some of them are, i guess, incompetent in many areas. host: who, specifically, are you concerned about? caller: let's take a former secretary of state, mrs. clinton -- secretary clinton. very, very smart lady.

to sharpen there foreign relations -- foreign affairs, where she could, in turn, run for president. she was kind of a free spirit out there. the defense department, as you said before -- he has gone through four of them. two of them were, i think vvery competent. but he would not listen to them. fraser -- that man, for many years, ran wild. and land security guide us much, much trouble. i think the biggest one is the attorney general. he has put so much faith and power in the attorney general. point, he is almost on the been the president of the united states. that is not good.

then ms. jerrod -- i don't know her first name -- or t: let julian zellers jump in here. of the criticisms is of the leadership of major positions -- whether it is hillary clinton or eric holder. he has had very strong figures in this position. some of the credits don't like them and don't like the policies they have pursued. we'll see how the successors do. the second criticism is one that is rather traditional with presidents from both parties -- that when in, they s come surround themselves often with people who they have known. so reagan surrounded himself with people from california, who had worked with him or who had known him for many years.

jimmy carter had the georgia mafia. figures like hamilton, who had worked closely with them. as presidency's progress, some those people are often let go. kinds of rent washington figures come in, instead. criticism of of sident bush that members both parties -- he does continue to surround himself only with the people he is comfortable with. and that he has a particularly tight circle of trust. he is not nimble enough to move were things go wrong. was a criticism of, when

republicans attacked healthcare continually and the president didn't seem to understand the more aggressive response -- in terms of public relations -- because his advisers were saying this program was going to work. most id he fail, as presidents to overtime, to broaden the range of people who he listens to. faced the same criticism -- that he really surrounded himself with people he wanted with what to do, and wasn't willing to in the room. this is a kind of perennial criticism. host: we have about 15 minutes left with julian zelizer. even when the country is out of

you've got democrats who never worried. what it we cut their salaries and continue to help the country and we can help all of our people? they want and go on -- stop helping the veterans. guest: the first part of the criticism of the united states,

this is not unique to president obama. the criticism and the heat that the united states is taking for the problems that it causes and faces is something very old. beene last decade it's part of the story of the united states in relation to other rising superpowers like china. i don't know if he meant to cut the salaries of legislators in the united states in terms of domestic issues. we are coming off a very good jobs report yesterday. i was wanting to know if you could talk about what the president's economic legacy will be over the next two years. guest: very mixed.

seen as a elections come, what is and he benefit from the economy slowly did recover from 2008? it seems to be on a relatively good trajectory. look back at his presidency, we will talk about economic recovery. i think there will be a discussion and a recognition that the economy became stronger and it came out of a dire recession. it's a weak economy. it's an economy that is still defined not simply by economic growth, but by continued and growing inequality between the rich and the poor. defined by anh insecure middle class. they might have jobs, but they are not jobs that people can count on for the long-term and often they are makeshift jobs that are good on the numbers but don't provide families with the

kind of security that they really need. i think there will be a lot of criticism that he did a good job getting the economy back on its feet, but it wasn't an administration that was successful in dealing with the structural economic problem's that exist and caused many great-class americans concern and great anxiety. chuck schumer just recently raised this issue. he said this was on the failures that the administration focused on health care when it was really the economy that he should of put front and center. that explains some of the electoral problems the democrats of faced ever since. host: jacksonville, florida is next. caller: good morning. comment.to make a what i see a problem is with the reporting in the news media. it's just terrible.

let me give you an example. just by listening to c-span, the democratic callers, i am it to independent. i am a true independent. i know a lot of people call the independent line but they are really not. on the claim that the president created all these jobs, he is doing a wonderful job. out that most of the in thee created republican states. the white house is taking credit for it. what i hear on the news media and coming out of the white house, i don't know who to

believe anymore. guest: maybe you can help out. but do you think in terms of who should take credit for a jobs report like yesterday. caller: i think both parties will take credit and both parties have some reason to take credit. there are republican governors who have been successful at launching initiatives within their states to generate more economic activity. you can't separate their administrations from some of the recovery that has taken place. the administration in washington is also responsible. if you take away the stimulus package that was put into place in 2009, it's not clear that some of those republican governors would be boasting of states that are doing so much better. the reality of politics is always complex. it always involves both parties having credit and blame.

we don't like to report that way. it's a fair criticism to say that we often have a very partisan media where norms of objectivity have fallen away. the reporting comes from one side or the other. that leaves people who are independent and some who aren't to be frustrated. we don't like complexity often in our news coverage. it's the truth of politics, but there is a partisan clarity that reporters and publishers often insist on in many viewers -- and many viewers want. it doesn't give a true picture of how politics works. host: good morning. caller: good morning. topic should be more like the dividing obama or the same obama.

it seems to me over the last six years or so, he used inflammatory rag or it like you did not build that for small business owners and people who made this great. that's an inflammatory comment. i am a small businessman. i work 60 hours a week consistently. why would anybody use that comment? do you think that's going to make me feel good? obamacare was passed on ally by lie.-- a 16% of the economy and only democrats passed it. there are plenty of things that are good. pass ality is you don't big massive bill without the consensus of the american people.

in this past election, he said he represents the two thirds that didn't vote. that's narcissism. you are not doing your job. it's funny. some of those comments i could switch the policies and the person and you can imagine democrats saying things like that about president bush. security, he moved forward with ideas that did not have a national consensus. he made statements that inflamed situations like his comments after hurricane katrina. other statements that did not come out well. clear thats it's not president obama is the source of polarization.

i think what's more accurate is he governs in an age of polarization. we have seen the electorate moving further apart and more rigid for several decades now. it did not start in 2008. we have seen a congress which is steadily more polarized since the 1970's as the number of moderates has declined in both parties. both parties are more thelogically rigid and media has transformed in terms of journalistic norms and the kind of media outlets that exist at the end of the fairness doctrine to the point that you have many partisan media outlets. this is the environment that he took over in. he has divided. he has been controversial. this is almost inevitable giving the kind of environment in which he governs. i think many republicans here

, even ifat anger them that wasn't the intention of the president. that's the world we live in. host: we want to get our last couple of calls in. rick is been waiting in maryland on the line for democrats. that color, -- caller, he needs to be back in time. when you talk about the economy, let's talk about ronald reagan. defend the american people and work on the economy. reagan left, the -- he had

no choice but to raise taxes. person.e then we get 43. we get $7 trillion more in deficit. guest: you were talking to a lot of -- a guy who knows a lot about reagan. the deficit skyrocketed under ronald reagan. steep taxation of cuts and high military spending left this country with skyrocketing deficits that president george h w bush was the first to deal with when he agreed to a tax increase that was costly to him politically. one of the ironies is deficits

often arise much faster under republican administrations than under democrats. many people point to the fact that at the end of the clinton administration, that's when we were making the most part -- progress toward a balanced budget. that goes away under george w. bush. are there parts of the puzzle that i think would date back to reagan? the deregulation that started to allow for very risky behavior and some of the inattention to the condition and the strength of the middle class which many people think today we are still paying for. , think that reagan presidency for those who love him and those who don't, it has a continued influence on contemporary american politics. host: robert has been waiting on the line for independents. caller: good morning.

am -- i have been covering the ferguson thing. theident obama was president of harvard law. he worked with john mccain on lobby reform around 2006. he has an understanding of how elections work. i have identified the problem with this lease brutality thing. it is the symptom. the problem is police unions and organizations are the people who put the attorney general's in office. i think pointing to the police unions is interesting and

not familiar or conventional on what is happening. i think if you want to talk about the policing and race relations, that's one issue. the issue the caller is talking about more broadly and many people feel this way is money in politics. how it works at the state level, the local level, and the national level. 2007 say obama did in repeatedly that if we are going to deal with the problems of changeuntry, we have to campaign finance. we have to change the way in --ch money in -- changes influences government. not only did he not deal with campaign finance, he accepted a

system in which the problem has become much worse. money has become even more influential. and dependent groups that are relatively unaccountable have been flooding elections with money. this is a heart of why we can't fix policing. say this is why the regulations on wall street are not a strong as they should be. there is strong agreement that campaignpain -- our finance system is broken. fixing campaign finance is not one of his legacies. in fact, it's just the opposite. int: we will get in don arizona. caller: thank you very much. to explain toou the audience that the president did not sign any executive orders to implement the emigration policy.

directed the department of homeland security to issue a memorandum to follow out what he said as far as stopping deportation of illegals. that in my mind is fraud. he turns it down to his cabinet leader to issue a memorandum without filing it in the federal register. i actually think the administration has been rather clear on what they're doing with immigration. of the conflation of what was promised in what's happening comes from news reports or some of the media debate and comes from a fervor over anything that the president does using executive power.

this will be an issue. a lot of republicans are using those arguments right now, threatening to challenge this through legislation and challenge would he is trying to do in court. the administration stands firm. they say that everything is within the parameters of what they are allowed to do. what the president is doing is making the situation better for 4 million. i think you are going to see a legal fight over this. i think some of these debates about language and promises are front and center. this is how this immigration policy is going to be carried forward. has a newan zelizer book coming out next month. it is about lyndon johnson and

the battle for the great society. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you. host: we turn next to the debate over genetically modified organism. we'll be right back. >> here are some of the programs you will find this weekend on the c-span networks. today, live coverage of the memorial service for marion barry. sunday evening on q&a, and the abcwho retired as news white house correspondent. kol on how soqu the northeast was not always supportive of civil rights.

with your phone calls, e-mails, and tweets. , marthacan history tv jones on female slaves and the law. sunday at 8:00, president h to be -- george h w bush on james baker. let us know what you think of the programs you are watching. you can e-mail us. at can send us a tweet twitter. you can join the c-span conversation. the c-span cities tour takes , travelingthe road to u.s. cities to find out about their history. go to waco, texas.

digitize it, we turn over the b sides of the 45s we received. music was not widely heard. the flipside would be heard even less. what he discovered was how many of the b sides were directly related to the civil rights movement. there are very few databases. we did not know the sheer number of songs that had very overt titles. whenwas at a time possessing one of the songs was a dangerous thing in the deep south. you could get killed for a lot of things in the deep south. the texas ranger hall of fame

was set up in 1976 on the 175th anniversary of the rangers. madeve 30 rangers who have major contributions to the service. we have paintings or portraits of all of those rangers. it really began with stephen f austin. he was very successful with his rangers. they manage to make the area reasonably safe for settlement. when the war for independence broke out, they played a major role. they staved off the mexican army long enough to allow the colonists to build their own army and develop a strategy. texas became its own independent nation for about 10 years. >> watch all of our events from waco today.

afternoon, on c-span 3. host: we check in now on the ongoing debate over gmo's in foods. is with reuters. what start with a few definitions for those who may be new to this debate. what are gmo's and how common are they are food? gmo's are genetically modified organisms. modified crops are normally what we refer to. they have been around for about 20 years. many of the main ingredients in packaged foods that you buy in a grocery store. most of the foods that you are going to buy and a grocery store has genetically engineered ingredients. host: one of the current u.s. laws about gmo's and where they

can be used? caller: they are pretty widespread. there are three agencies that regulate gmo's. the epa, the fda, and the usda. a lot of the critics say that the regulatory bodies are not thorough enough. they consider these crops to be similar to any other kind of crop. they are considered deregulated. they are not regulated. host: there were some state efforts to change state laws to have more regulation over gmo's. where did that happen and what happened with those efforts? a lot of people over the last several years have become concerned about them.

they have tried different strategies to rein in production of the planet of the crops. the latest effort has been labeling. you've seen that in many states around the country. there was an initiative in california that failed. there was one in a washington state. there were initiatives in oregon and colorado. the oregon initiative is under a recount right now because the vote was so narrow. pass thet, they did first mandatory gmo labeling law earlier this year. for mont has been sued now. the future of that law is in limbo. host: why go the labeling route? caller: there has been a consumer backlash against gmo's. strategy to fight back

against the biotech companies and the crops that they are developing. there are some concerns about the crops. environmental concerns and safety concerns. the companies say that their products are very safe and proven safe. they say that they are well-regulated. be people that just don't trust the companies and don't believe that. whatwant the right to know is in their food and they went to be clearly labeled with they are buying it at the grocery store. host: how do labeling laws compare to other countries around the world? guest: there are some 60 countries, australia, france, china, that do require some form of mandatory labeling. the fda which regulates food labeling in the united states

has never deemed that necessary for foods that contain gmo's. they are considered safe and not to be any different than the other types of corn or soy that goes into our food. host: if you want to weigh in on the debates, our phone lines are open. we are talking with carey gillam of writers. republicans can call. as we talk about this debate, can you lay out who the key players are as these efforts have moved through state legislatures? know, nextou wednesday in washington will be a big day on this issue. there is a hearing on a bill in the house that was introduced.

there will be a hearing in the house energy and commerce subcommittee. this will be next wednesday. both sides are planning to turn out for that. this is a bill that would essentially nullify any state efforts to require labeling. it has a number of other provisions as well. gmo labeling are trying to gather their forces and show up en masse in washington. you have the proponents of this bill who do not want labeling that will be the grocery manufacturers and other groups like large food companies that would have to change their product or the labeling. host: what is the reason for not one in to do that? guest: they have many different reasons. they say it would be confusing to consumers. there is nothing harmful about

the product and to label it would indicate that there is. costly. be more that would be passed on to consumers. they say that consumers can choose non-gmo foods right now by buying organic or things that are labeled non-gmo. there is a non-gmo certification process that has been put together i the industry. consumers can purchase them and they don't need the labeling. those are the vast majority of the products in grocery stores. guest: you mention some the events on capitol hill. celebrity, there were chefs on capitol hill urging gmo labeling. you mentioned as they, we are expecting some rallies on capitol hill. we are talking with carey gillam

--writers about genitally genetically modified foods. we start with our line for independents. caller: i noticed that people are getting more and more overweight and i am wondering if this is something to do with the gmo in food. i am wondering if that has something to do with the genetically modified foods. it has progressed in the last five years considerably. i am questioning the organic food. you go to the places that sell organic food. are they really organic? does the science tell us on gmo's in food? guest: i have not seen much connection or much theory that

ties gmo's in food to obesity. there are a lot of different scientific studies do show cause for harm. that is more related to gastrointestinal problems, some immune problems. there are concerns about pesticide residues that could lead to fertility problems. scientific studies showed no impact. as far as the oranges in the organic, i wouldn't know. surveys tell us about what the public thinks right now and where they are on the gmo debate? guest: the surveys have shown that consumers are widely supporting labeling. they want the right to know if they are in their food. this of course has been

increasing. number of efforts and companies respond to that by changing the ingredients in some of their foods to go non-gmo and put that label on the packaging. you see a number of farmers turned to non-gmo cultivation. all up and down the food chain, you see a response for the consumer in the issue. that is affecting the actions of the chemical companies who develop and market these biotech seeds. they are trying to fight back against that. they want to do what they say is consumer awareness and education through social media and through other outreach efforts. there is a lot going on. the federal government has stepped in. next week, the national research council's holding a public hearing on this issue. the public can listen in. you will have a lot of the food

company executives there to testify. there is a lot happening right now. host: we are talking with carey gillam for the next 25 minutes. david is in mississippi on the line for democrats. good morning. is are youquestion talking about meat or vegetables? or both of them? the thanksgiving turkey is all white now. guest: i am not an expert on meat. when people are talking about gmo's, we are talking about genetically engineered corn, soy, sugar beets, that kind of thing that makes the main ingredients and a lot of the packaged food products. from sea oftion

tranquility on twitter. the technology involved in what we refer to when we talk about genetic engine nearing -- engine nearing, doesn't occur in nature. that dna into the plant that you're trying to alter. it is something that hasn't been seen in nature and scientists say could never be seen in nature. and that isconcerns one of them. you are creating novel allergens or toxins at the body is not designed or a vault to handle. -- or eve auld to handle. -- evolved to handle.

traditional plant breeding has been around forever. this is very much a different twist than that. host: let's head to washington for a line for independents. i have been harmed by genetically engineered food. that too been doing weak for more glued in -- gluten. attacks your small intestine and turns over your immune system and causes you to have a lupus. your immune system attacks you. that happened to me. by not eating any gluten products. when these experts get on and say nobody has ever been harmed by genetically engineered food, it's an outright lie. tomato that doesn't

taste like a tomato anymore. host: the want to start with gluten and how that fits in? there isn't any commercialized wheat at this point. there are changes in wheat breeding that are ongoing all of the time. i know a lot of people, it seems like there is an increasing problem with gluten. that is still something the companies are trying very desperate lead to bring to market. monsanto was very close. market backlash against that in japan and other countries. they threatened to boycott buying any u.s. wheat. there is no gmo wheat on the market anywhere in the world. unfamiliar, can

you explain monsanto? guest: they are the world's largest seed company. they develop janet -- genetically engineered seeds. sinceave been around 1901. they have been around for long time. they were primarily a chemical company. they spun off. they got into some amount of legal problems and had legal problems because of their products. an agriculture division for the last 15 years. since the late 90's that they made that transition. they are a six been billion dollar -- $16 billion organization.

they have really grown rapidly. next for our line for republicans. caller: good morning. we pulled allg if gmo foods of the grocery store, what impact would that have on the consumer and how quickly could those whose be replaced? well, i don't know that you could do that. there might not be anything on the shelves left to eat. make transitions. the large cereal companies that cereal,to change their seri it took two years to make the change to force the supplies they needed. it could be a big deal to make the change. i don't see companies doing that. i think it's something that would happen over time.

i think there is going to be a contingent of consumers that it's not important to them. companies are all saying to these things a been proven safe. they think the labeling efforts of the criticism of gmo crops is given by the organic industry or people who are carrying water for the organic industry to drive the sales of that segment of the market. host: 61 countries around the genetically engineered food. let's go to david in las vegas. that the would say problem with the gmo's. you can say they are the same. is thelity of the matter major factor is to make them

more resistant to pesticides and herbicides. they get a higher yield on the crops. that they spray heavier doses of pesticides on these crops. soybeans arethe soaking up this poison. it's getting into our food supply. if you want to look at how it's harming our country, i am assuming you know something about biology in that fetuses are developing. most are going to have the devastating effects on their development. rise, itnt to get a would match exactly the dramatic rise in autism and other nervous system diseases among our children. host: a lot of connections made there. is one oft definitely the main concerns that is driving some the labeling

efforts and critics of biotech crops who want regulation. he is talking about herbicide tolerance. usedis the most widely genetically engineered crop around the world. monsanto developed it. it's a technology that makes crops tolerate being sprayed with roundup. farmers loved it. many still do love it. it's the most popular technology out there. they can plan their fields and then they can spray on those crops to kill the weeds. they love it. life is good. weeds havepened is developed resistance. they are becoming more prevalent so they are spraying more.

this is found in the food. the epa which sets tolerance levels has been steadily increasing those tolerance levels at the request of monsanto. bey're still ought to higher. scientists and others are concerned because there levels of it in it year and a and mother's breast milk. geological societies of founded in the waters. there are concerns that it may be having an impact on human health. has beeney gillam following this with reuters. the debates are happening on capitol hill. the is yesterday in washington post talking about a trade deal that many europeans

can't stomach. we've got about 15 minutes left to answer questions and take your comments. let's go to ohio on the independent line. nephewot o a that works for monsanto. he was concerned about the bad publicity. we talked and i said my problem with the gmo's, when you've got science that has an agenda behind it, i don't trust that they are saying. the big problem i have with gmo's is you've got a field whens got gmo seeds and i

the pollen of that blows in, they have sued people and gotten their crops. you are taking your product to off your truck in the somebody else's field, that politics your crop, monsanto goes after them. i think there is a lot of greed. i don't trust american scientist anymore. they have proved themselves beyond a doubt that they have too much of an agenda and they let that affect their decisions on what is safe for us. host: questions again about what is the settled science in this debate. guest: in terms of what he was talking about with contamination of other fields and monsanto going after farmers, that has happened. these are patented products.

they do go after people that they think are using their licensed rocks without aim for the fee. -- paying for the fee. contaminate fields. there have been concerns where tradeination has affected in wheat and alfalfa. ,here was just this past summer the ust has been -- usda has investigating wheat that they have been experimenting on that was growing where it should not be growing. it was not contained or supervised. that has caused concern for people. that is one issue that the usda is looking at. these productsep

separate from organics. host: good morning, debbie. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am pleased that you are discussing this. i think it's a real problem. the taste has gone. when you travel a lot, food tastes different. , it's justck here not the same. the concerned about complete chokehold that monsanto has on all of this. what do you think it will take to make some real change? that's a hard question. monsanto is very powerful. dow and dupont, it's not just

monsanto. they all play a role in this element of agriculture. they are very successful in smart. they have a lot of money. from their perspective, this is tech knowledge he that helps farmers and aids food production. they lobby very heavily in washington dc. they have a lot of money to spend as they do when ever there is a state labeling effort. shootpent $37 million to her defeat those ballot measures. they have a lot of power. i don't know. consumers are standing up. there are a lot of consumers trying to fight back against it, but they are outgunned. host: in terms of lobbying, how about the organic food industry? guest: they are very involved as

well. they are heavily involved in lobbying. it is a growing industry. they have money and an agenda. they don't stack up to the same level yet in terms of dollars in revenue and power. in terms of lobbying dollars, can you give us a ballpark of what we are talking about? we wrote a story about that this summer. there are reports that come out of the numbers are escaping the. they are large. host: tom is in maryland on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. let's say a farmer lance plants his seeds

and harvests. does he have to buy more seeds next year? and growe the crop again from what he planted? would they be totally dependent on these chemical companies for the seeds? yes.: that's been one of the complaints. these are patented seeds. farmers cannot save their seeds, which is traditionally what you do in farming. if you're going to use the patented product, you bite every year. for: let's go to new jersey our line for republicans. caller: thank you for taking my call. the woman is very intelligent. she understands the issues. i would like to let her know,

please read "seeds of deception" about all of these studies. monsanto's science is completely flawed. give you an example, there is something that they insert into these crops. , it'sou eat this food incorporated into your own intestines. it releases the same toxin that is so deadly. this is going to kill our people. guest: you are not in your head a little bit. i know jeffrey smith. i have talked with them. he is very involved in this. he has books and videos and travels the world talking about this. bacterium.oil the dna is spliced into corner.

ownplant can create its toxin, it's on pesticide to ward off harmful pests. this is been very popular with farmers. there are concerns about it. studyis some scientific that believe it's harmful to human health. the company say absolute not. these studies are popping up. we are starting to see some past resistance with these crops. we want to get to his many of your calls as we can. corey is in new york on the republican line. caller: good morning. ask, can she explain whole milk?

express the difference of the labels? being that the fda is approving this on the shelves, how can the sue them? host: i know that you said your specialty is not meats and meet roddick's, if you want to pick -- meet and meat products. were anrowth hormones issue. they can increase milk production. that was a product was developed and marketed by monsanto couple of decades ago. problems. some there was evidence that cows

would develop ulcers or infections in the mammary glands. -- there are a whole list of problems. there was a backlash. they ultimately gave that up. it's not as prevalent in milk as it was then. host: let's go to marianne in south dakota. is, we haveuestion seen such a huge rise in algae in our children. could these gmo seeds have something to do with that? ira member -- i remember when i was much younger, don't let these seeds cross contaminate with other crops. insideet them be grown

cabin. scientists refused to listen. these seeds have contaminated people's crops. could it be that the seeds have to do with the rise in allergies question mark --? that is a line of scientific study and concerned by critics of gmo's. they could be tied to a rise in allergies. there are other problems that seem vaguely connected. there are no human feeding studies. some people are not dropping dead. critics worry that they are having creeping developments of health concerns. you don't know if it's because of the dna changes or the pesticide residues. they fear that health is being impacted.

the biotech companies say they have s spent billions of dollars and they would not put unharmed -- harmful products on the shelves. host: that is all the time we have in this segment. you can check out her work and follow her on twitter. you can check out all of reuters'stories. thank you for your time this morning. that is our show for today. tune in tomorrow in which we about policessing training and how to interact with youth and research with youth in chicago and detroit regarding their perception of the role of police officers in their communities. we will be joined by corey bennett. threats putuss

forward by hackers. we will also discuss the review of the process to recover american hostages overseas. that is all tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern. we will see you then. >> coming up, we have live coverage of the memorial service for former mayor marion barry who passed away last month.

until then, we will show the former mayor at an event talking about his book. he discusses his up ringing in a mississippi and his early political activism and his experience as mayor. and has returned to washington after his release. from the national press club, this is an hour. >> good evening, everybody. welcome to the national press club for this very special event. i am eleanor herman. we are very glad you've come to this event and we hope you enjoy it.