give us your thoughts on 5% growth in the third-quarter. does that make you feel p toe mystic or pessimistic about it? dial in, the phone-lines are open. front-page, you mean. economic growth is strongest in a decade. is their headline. and then, the denver post, their headline, rate of 5:00, in third-quarter, a rush. the ones sluggish row coverry is running at full speed. and the months of july, through september, and this according to government data released tuesday, and marking the latest

sign, that it is running at full speed. and. gross domestic product reached, 5%. better than expected numbers helped push the average above 18,000 for the first time. the latest in a series of record highs. tony, you're feeling optimistic. well, you know, one thing that i have seen, this economy is improving, and everything is going, well right now, and yesterday, 18,000, for the first time. that's good news. and one thing that' that's so regretting, and the dem mathematic party wasn't able to carry out that message to be able to win the election. that's so shocking. because president barak obama,

when he came in, we were losing 700,000 jobs a month, and today, we got all these jobs, and still, the democrat particular party, is staying, and the national election and that was shocking. and, now, caray message, the american people, letting people know that the is good. and that will cause it, so i hope we get the message. president barak obama is doing good. tony, so you blame the democratic party. they didn't talk about it enough. yes, they didn't. well, they didn't have a clear message. the son from colorado, who lost the election. that man, instead of talking about the economic mess sarges he was talking about women's

rights. you can win national elections. if you can't stand for something, and president barak obama the healthcare, the especially with healthcare, and, the economy, and people getting jobs, all around the country, no, but we go there. the economy, 100%, and, president barak obama said he will not stop until be gets jobs. we'll go to mitchell. and, you're not feeling good about the economy, why not? i'm on disability, and i can't find a job, and i can work. host: no jobs in your area. caller: no, not for disabled people. host: we'll go to jack. why are you feeling good in the economy? caller: well overall, i am feeling good over the short run.

rising national debt and, that cannot continue. and, mayan says tri is italian, and it means a debt. and this cannot continue, this long-term debt situation, and i'm also concerned, about chinese penetration, into our overall life. they want to supplant the united states as the number 1 world pore, and now, this is why i'm space mystic about the long run. but the short run, yes. long run, i'm not optimistic at all. host: front page, take a look at their headline, u.s. economy gains momentum. you can see the charts there, and the gdp up 5%.

and you can below that, how the market he ra acted and has been performing over the years, and that big yellow bar, that's the recession, if you look at how the dow jones rose, yesterday, above 18,000 for the first time. so, we turn to you, are feeling optimistic or pessimistic about the economy? if you are feeling good, if you are not. this is the front-page of the washington post, this morning, their headline, gdp growth best in a decade. the growth reported tuesday has led some to believe that the u.s. economy could expand at clip realm miss myself in sent of the booming 1990s. they include, consumer spending,

and low levels of personal debt, and, soaring mc, and the government that is encouraging growth. lori, you're feeling pestimess particular. caller: because my personal income has not increased that same amount. have you seen any increase 1. 7%. host: over how many years. caller: over last year, and over the past two years, it's increased, 1.7% last year, and i don't remember what it then creased last year, it was 2%. so, now, again, i am brained disabled, so you will have to

remind me, what it increased last year. what do you do for a living? caller: i'm brain disabled. in nevada, this is a right to work state. i'm not easily hired, i was fired because of my brain. q.all right. you're feeling optimistic. why is that? caller: in massachusetts. cautiously optimistic. the unemployment rate is down, and, i feel a lot of people like, try to get jobs, and have gotten jobs, and are working, and, you know, things are getting better. and, you know, the morag rates down, they're real low. host: part of the reason, why it grew is because of consumer

spending. have you bought any big-ticket items this past year? caller: i had had to buy the refringe traitor, and, that's not really that big. no, not really any big-ticket items. host: do you plan to buy anything in 2015. caller: no. no. host: okay. caller: i already have a house. so, i don't need to buy anything big. host: okay. norman. in new york. pessimistic, why is that? caller: i want to make a quick comment, in the last years, the only thing, the republicans and democrats have done is made the richardsoner and, the poor forker and, they always talk about making the dream possible,

and they don't tell you how much it costs. well, i'm going to tell you, $2500 net pay. and people making $500ing they'll be poor all their lives. okay.host: claudia, you're also pestimess particular. caller: yes, i am pessimistic. when i hear them talk about a 5% rise in the gdp, i never hear anyone talk about mote was in defense spending, when we the big isis because, the see questions center called for auto pat particular defense cuts which didn't go into effect because now we have this new war. i don't believe t. i think that this economy is going to crash, like there's no tomorrow and much they're taking away all the

protections to prevent what happened in 2008, and i have not had a raise in two-and-a-half years. and i work in the legal field. when you don't have ground in the legal field, you don't have broad growth anywhere. and i don't see the growth. host: the washington post reporting, that much of that surge was atrbted to the purchase of durable goods such as cars, and, appliances, the positive indicators could thuj the timetable for raising rates and the bank has taken a cautious approach, and rate-hike will come in the middle of next year. if there's any reason the pestimism, they are still seeing sluggish growth in the housing market, and wages, have not shown, significant growth. capital good orders, computers, and, ships, were flat, in

november, and this measurement, which ex clouds the defense orders, suggests that businesses are holding back. even as interest rates stay low, and their companies have cash on their balance sheets. now, 4-5 quarters, the growth has hit or exceeded 3. 5% , past two quarters, since 2003, ask there's growing concerns, that a contract when gp d. shank was weather related. jason. feeling possess as mystic. caller: good morning. merry christmas, and happy holidays, and feeling pessimistic, because, it had right, that things are going to bottle up and explode, our debt

has doubled in the last 4-6 years. we also, have a lot of part-time jobs, and they won't be there in another month or so. the biggest problem is the unemploy meant rate, it is so bun gelled because everybody knows once you run out of the unemployment, they knock you out of the system, and yo you are nt counted and there's so many people. and welfare has risen, has doubled the last so many years. and something is about to give. still, the housing, most is very expensive, properties, where, the rich are buying it up, and, in great amount. they'll be able to dictate the prices of these places and, these companies buying together, and buying whatever is out there. how is the basic individual

worker supposed to pay those high wages for property, when it is own had by people that can control the market. i just think, there's a big bubble and, it's going to burst, and i feel sorry for the next president. host: that was jason, we're asking you if you're feeling good or not so good. so keep dialing in. and keep getting your comments on this. joining us now, is in she will, who is an economic reporter. let's talk about how this is measured, we let our viewers know, what is driving this growth of 5% and, how do they measure this. guest: well, there are four components, we have consumer spending, and government spending, and, trade, in the latest report all four of those

contributed to growth, consumer spending was the most impressive and, we had all four. host: can you explain those categories. guest: well, consumer spending, win reason was we saw in the third-quarter, the lower gas prices. this was encouraging because earlier we talked about property values, and stock prices seeing gains and, those only went to a spal amount of the population. so, those who own homes, and with low gas prices a broader segment can benefit and, they can feel good about the money that they're spending on that, and we saw apply answers, and t.v.s, and clothing, and other

items, and it was much stronger, and broader base he, and government spending, we see a typical third-quarter rise as unused dollars, funneled in, and so we're not likely to see as strong a number in the fourth-quarter and, that was encouraging, and we're easing, see questionsstration, and add more, to the number. also the trade numbers were fairly strong. but maybe not as strong, in the fourth-quarter, as global growth diminishes our exports. can we go back to defense spending, and we advueuer say that this growth of gdp is fueled which that and that is because this new war on isis. well it's hard to see how much that is pinned down on the isis spending, and just from the gdp

release, it is a fair point. it was the strongest that it was in five years, so, we'll have to take another look at that, and there is a factor, of the see questionsstration, easing, and more money coming in, and i'll leave it to more reporters, to say how much congress might authorize. michele, what about consumer spend go? their debt, their income, why are they opening up their wallets? guest: income is a fair point, we haven't seen the wage gains, and we're seeing subtle signs of incomeing up, and we saw a few different industries, that maybe we'll have more money. and job gain are helping. on pace for the best year since

1999. i know that the last could you teller mentioned, and this is noted, that some of these, on the job market are not as rosy as they might seem. we're still, seeing how it is measured, and what it means, but there are encouraging signs and, job market, and people are showing they're feeling good enough to make big purchases, and auto sales, strong. that did of course continue in the third and fourth quarter. so that will be a boom. we saw it in consumer spending, and yesterday, we're the university of michigan measure of consumer sentiment of 7 year high, they are feeling good. host: what is lagging in the economy? guest: well, there are weak

points in the job market, and as i said, wage gains are, afternoon the administration will at mid, those are something that have been elusive. it takes as long time for employers to get around, to hiring, and, they've been reducing their layoff, we're seen for the whole year and, in order to add all those jobs, and then, finally get to that next step of feeling the crunch, and needing to raise those wage gains, because they don't have enough workers or because they see a lot of competition in the job market, it's still a buyer's market, and so, we have seen strong gains, and it has taken awhile to get here and, wage gains would be the big of the. host: what about thenflation? guest: this is a tricky problem. it does help the consumer that we're having lower prices, and,

gas, as we mentioned, feeds into that, and it is more after policy issue, because it is hard for the policy makers to explain, how they're going to continue to reduce the accommodation measure, and while they're seeing such low inflation, which is one of their two mandates. and so, we're seeing the unemployment figure, and improve, and for certain reasons, that may be not as bright in the past, and that side is improving, and, inflyings side is still thenar shooting the fed's target and, they think it will move up. some of these gas price effects are transa torey, and we may start to see a little bit of movement back towards 2%. host: finally, how does this

compare to other countries. guest: we're looking good. there's an old saying, that they use, about the u.s. being the best horse, in the glue factory, and, we have a lot of global economies that are struggling, japan, and china, and europe, and, emerging markets not as strong. so, we are looking good, and we're looking like we're charging ahead in the face of that slow down, and that's what the fed has mentioned, and they would like to is he that we're showing signs of underlying demand, it doesn't help us. you see that in the trade deficit, and other indirect effects, na certain countries, get into crisis mode. looking good for the u.s.

not as great in the fourth-quarter and, moving ahead, with some pretty strong underlying sen take mentales. host: okay, thank you. guest: thank you, happy holidays. host: so, we turned to you, what do you make of the economy growing? is it making you feel more optimistic? c.n.n. out with a new poll, improving views has his rate to go a 20 month high and, more americans still disapprove, and it is at its highest point, since may of 2013. back it your calls. brett, uu oar feeling

optimistic. why is that? caller: oh, yeah. i've been in the stock market and, gdp had nothing to do with it. and it will continue to do that because the government is going to have to print money, so that the economy is good. they can't, policy, keeping a blanket over the economy, one way or the other, i'm going to make money. host: okay, susan. pessimistic. caller: it's not so much, what the government goods and services are great, we have lots of jobs out there, it's the people that have a poor attitude, they don't want to work. they would rather get food

stamps. and church donations and, they don't want to improve their credit score. they want to mooch off somebody. and there's another fellow who works very hard, because of drugs. and so, the expression, the country is going to pot, is true. there's people who just, you know, not getting ahead. if they are working hard, they don't have it. and they'd rather spend, spend, spend, and not help themselves and, foreclosure. host: all right. i'll leave it there. lee, is feeling pessimistic. caller: no, i'm optimistic. okay.

i'm really optimistic, and i always prayed for this economy and, our great president and, i'm just so sorry are so pessimistic, and i can think, if romney were in office -- the accolade they would give him. president barak obama has been weathering the storm and, i'm so happy, that things are looking up, and, for me, as a businessman, and i have always remained optimistic about our country, as well, as this country, god bless america, and, god bless president barak obama and, go usa. host: front-page of the washington times, on another story, disparity, tea party, and, keep irs case open, this is a status report, put out by the house government reform, and

oversight committee that was led by daryl ice a, and he's outgoing, and in this piece, they report that the irs employees, that's how the washington times frames, it, and this is how 'the new york times' frames it, their headline is, showing no links to the white house.

so that sorry will continue. also, this morning, in the headlines, here's the chicago sun times, this morning. this is a picture, on their front page, the chicago cops salute n.y.p.d. also, the richmond times,

dispatch, this headline, on the former governor, prosecutors say, give bob mcdonald at any years. so, also this morning. of of you have heard this, sony has changed its mind, it will be releasing the inteut to a limited amount of theaters, tomorrow, the big chains, did not comment tuesday, but, art house, across country, contacted sony saying, its theaters wish to show the film. you have to find out where that will be playing, because we'll be asking you, if you plan to see it. you are feeling optimistic, why is that? caller: yes, ma'am, thank you.

i was born in 1929, and, i'm a vet, and, i think, this economy, is driving the greedy old party crazy because they can't figure out what's happening, 18,000 dow jones industrial average, and i didn't find out, because i told my brother, several years ago, i second bob, as long as the dow jones is between 8 and 12,000, i'm not going to sweat it. wonderful. you were born in 1929, the crash of 1929, how did that impact how you grew up? well, very much so, because, our folks taught us, put something away for a rainy day, and, i worked, for 25 cents a hour in a bakery and, that was

when i was a young kid. but, this, affected us because, both of us, my brother, and my kid sister, they're both decease said now, and anyway, we tried to save something. the trouble with most people is, they don't prepare for the future. the sad thing is, george said, those that don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it. i wish brian lamb would get somebody on, that has written a book about history, and, anyway, thanks for taking my call. and i really appreciate c-span. thank god for c-span. host: all right. also, in other news, this morning, here's the headline, from the washington times.

there's a picture of him, on charges of tax evasion, and i pled guilty tuesday, and, he will not resign, from congress. here's what he had to say yesterday will. very big mistakes, and mistakes, that i immensely regret. and, i am certainly truly sorry for, but i also accept full responsibility for all of those mistakes. i under reported the gross sales, receipts of the restaurant to pay for expenses include, payrolls for employees that were off the books. i had, delivery boys, that were paid off the books. and as a result, the taxes were not accurate.

will you resign? no, as i said before, as long as i'm able to surf, i'm going to serve, i'm still in the capacity to serve. outside of the courthouse, where he pleaded guilty saying he will not resign. and the 'new york times', board believes that he should. the republican leaders should do the right thing and, persuade the congressman to go. that's 'new york times' editor rehe will. speaking of politics, and whether or not someone should stay in office or run for office, here is the washington times as well and, they have this piece, this morning, about 2016, and whether or not rand paul is going to run. they say that he's hinting at

it, and that's their headline, take a look at the tweet. and this was put out yesterday by the senator. everyone has to be themselves and, i think this will be a popular item this year, rand paul, 2016 on the logo there. we'll go to ray, feeling pessimistic about the economy. why is that? caller: well, for reasons that that gentleman from columbus, must be on some happy medication, and how hot the stock market is, and, economy is rolling along, and thenar he said something about people run saving, and they're doomed to repeat itself. sounds like a typical democrat, hey everything is good, and then he went to a pessimistic stance. unusual. if everything is rolling along good, we should go to 20,000,

30,000 on the dial. and, i said, whenever you have an intakety called the fed, that's printing money, and len it go to the federal government and, that debt is 18 trillion, they did a budget for 1.1 trillion dollars. where are you going to get this money to pay this debt off? is there anybody, to me, they don't have a lick of sense. how are you going to pay this off? there's only on one way it is gg to happen. argentina, confiscated the money, and declared a emergency, and we wouldn't falter on our debt, and the debt is what the service, on the debt is what we're talking about. the interest. indeed for that not to fail, the government is going to have to go in and take money out of everybody's account, and they

tried, and it is going to happen, and it will happen, within next couple of years, because, it's inevitable. host: jack, you're feeling good. caller: yeah, very optimistic. given the finances. [inaudible] can you hear me. host: you broke up there, go ahead. caller: given the head winds that the president had to face, in 2009, and, the depression that was in his lap, he has done a great job, and the obstruction nest republicans, that have been in his way for the last six years. can you imagine, where we would be today, the republicans, just cooperated with him, 15% of the time. the economy would be off the charts. and the mcwould be over 20,000.

so, yes, i'm very optimistic and, have been, ever since president barak obama took office. host: do you give row public cans any credit for demanding cuts and see questionsstration. absolutely not. and i was a republican, and then when i saw the republicans ransacking the trshry department, and, ransacking wall street, i knew, that they were not going to help this president. they have proved to be nothing but gloom and doom, and the gentleman that spec to you, he feels like the sky is falling. so, they have this negative attitude, and had it for 6 solid years. host: brenda, you are not feeling good. caller: well, i can believe, that no win has mentioned this

earlier, i have a hard time with any sort of optimism, knowing that china, has taken our spot, and they are now the number 1 world economy. and that's very concerning to me, that our country, is now number two. host: okay. also want to share with you, this morning, that last night, that president hw bush was taken to the hospital, by ambulance, as a precaution after experiencing shortness of breath, and that was according to his office. they put out a statement, the former president, age 90 will be held for observation as a precaution. so that statement coming from the office of george h bush

there. 'the new york times', f.d.a. is going to ease their ban on gays to let some give blood. the measure was put into place, against hiv advocacy policy, still tinglinged by old biases. and also, another couple stories for you, from the 'new york times'. it says firing of va clinic chief is upheld, over gifts, the dporm mer director, hassles been implicated in the waiting lift for care,.

also in the 'new york times', another story is, about the affordable care act, and the headline, is so far, 6.4 million obtain healthcare coverage, in the federal marketplace and, new customers, 30% of the total or 1.9 million. back to our question for all of you about the economy, are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic. here's some reaction, from capitol hill, about this. the economy grew at 5%, the fastest rate since 2003, and more americans, must see the

benefits. and, economy grew at 5%. and not a lot of reaction, from republicans or this issue. rachael floating the silence of republicans as well on this. we'll go to daniel,. caller: hello. can you hear me? okay, the guy that came on, and when he was born, and what happened, i was born, and i worked for 25 cents, six days a week, and i moved to markd, and the thing is, we was getting 7% reyes a year. now they're only getting 2%, 3%

at the most. and then, the farmers. now why is that? now, c.e.o.s, is getting, 2 and 3 million dollar packages, and answer that question. president barak obama did a great job. i'm plaque and, president barak obama is black. and they did great jobs. all we have to do, is to come together as brothers, and sisters and, forget about color. host: okay. mario. you're not feeling so good about the economy. why is that? caller: well, i work in real estate, and mortgages, and i can see, you see the applications all the time, there are not a lot of people getting mort investigation, and they're not buying houses, and, because the jobs are not there.

and long island, the people in houses are not selling as fast, and the city is overpriced, and, renting it out, and, 40 times the rent roll, and they're living 2, 3, people, in the city, in a lot of places. the jobs are not there. maybe in the red states, where there's oil, you know, those, they are booming over there. but i don't think it is so great. it's either feast-or-famine. host: i want to share another opinion piece with you, and this comes from the weighing post. about elizabeth warren and her wall street grudge.

has warren apologized for getting this wrong? writing today in the column for

the washington post. richard, you're feeling optimistic. caller: good morning. i'm feeling optimistic. i just hope, the republicans, win the presidency, so they can look back and, see what the democrats have done, and what they will do. that's all i have to say. host: all right. mike in new york. feeling pestimystic. caller: i would like to say thank you for taking my call. i was a registered democrat, and i'm an independent now, and so, i have two brothers, both with higher education and, one under enployed foy the had a last eight years and, the other just lost his job. people need to read and see where that 5% is coming from. i'm a physician, and, about half

of that money, is coming from the affordable care act, i believe. but, there's only reason, that's happening, is because people are getting pushed onto the product, and we'll see what's going to happen, once the employer mandate kicks in, and they will get moved over. the stock market, that's great. but, interest rates are 0%, a lot of people borough a lot of money, but when those interest rates go up, i would like to see what happens. so, i'm -- i am very, very concerned. host: okay. up next, we'll be talking with former speechwriter, pete, who joins us for the discussion about the 2015 outlook for america, and then, later, shane harris, author of a new book, called at war, the cyberspace to wage war, but first, on monday,

the security council head a meeting, and the u.s. ambassador addressed the recent threats to the white house, and the pentagon, as well as the sony pictures. and take a look at what she had to say. recent example, the d.p. r. carried out a significant cyber-attack, in response, to a hollywood comedy, attack destroyed systems, and stole massive data, from sony. not only damaging a private sector entity, and countless american, who work for the company. the attackers also threaten he, the employees, and, movie theaters, and people who dared to go to the theatre, warning them to remember the 11th of september. not contend with denying freedom

of expression, the north korea ann regime now seems content of exercising this. north korea also threatened the united states with serious consequences, if we did not conduct a joint investigation. this is absurd, and this is the kind of behavior, from the regime, who would take conner measures over a hollywood comedy, and has no quawms of holding people, we cannot give in to threats or i tim today making of any kind. the international community does not need to cues between focusing on the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and its widespread, and abuses against its own people. that's a false choice. we must do both. as we have seen, the way

countries treat their own citizens, those countries that commit atros a cities, tens to align closely to the way they treat other countries. to view the entire meeting, go to the website. when to welcome back to our table, pete, who is the senior fellow, for the ethics, and public policy center, and former speechwriter for romney presidential campaign. let's begin with the mood of america. we were just asking our viewers, if they are feeling optimistic or pessimistic and, where do you see the mood of the country? guest: well it's a disinchanted country. it's pessimistic time, who ten to be optimistic and, forward looking people. there's more anxiety.

and a lot of it, driven by the economic conditions. so it's a country, that is out of sorts, we got some good economic news. the economy grew at 5% rate in the third-quarter. that kind of thing will help but it has to be sustained over time, and overall, forum, a this is, we're in something after trof. the research folks came out with a new poll, the public is not so happy, 49% expect a better year ahead. with 42% saying otherwise. 26% are satisfied with national conditions, and 71% are dissatisfied and what's going on there? is it the leadership? i think it's severalfect tors, part of it, is the economy, and really, the

economy, since the great recession. we have been in a recovery since the summer of 2009, and, weakest economic recovery on record. and, in fact, medium household income has gone down, more in the recovery than it did during the recession itself and, we have a record number of people in poverty, and, we have the largest number of people, that have left the labor workforce since the late 197 numbers. so, those kind of things, put a damper, on spirits. so that's one thing, and second licks we've had a prolonged period of economic difficult tits, and wages have been stagnant for 15-20 years and people are working harder, and more hours, than they did, in the late 1980s. and but their standard of living is lower, and health-care costs, and tuition costs are going up,

and we're going through a change and, that's affected both presidents. i would say there's two other things, one, in the last year, a sense of growing disorder and chaos in the world, middle east and, russia, and china, becoming more aggressive and, north korea, and that adds to a sense of disorientation, and concern, and then, fourth, i think, that there's a really deep aithere'sn the people, and the a people they elected. in terms of how they view the president, and congress, and both political parties. while we have some large challenges, our institutions, just aren't up to the challenges, that we do face. you wrote, we are in the middle after prolonged period of

alienation between american people, and those who govern them. we're in the middle of this. what's been the fallout? are both parties to blame? where do you think this is headed? well, i think both parties do have some responsibility for that. that's at least, with the public opinion polls, and, i'm a conservative, and, republican, and, i have my own views, but if you ask the public, it's boathouses. one of the things, that has fed this despair, is the president barak obama when he ran in 2008, ran with such enormous expectations, about what he could produce. very unusual. he promised not only to bring about prosperity, but to

overcome the divisions, and if you go back, and read about the campaign, what he was saying, president barak obama's campaign wasn't on a set of issues, as it wases a at the time particulars about politics, we'll overcome the divisions, and work together and, transsend the usual bickering, and we're more polar rised and more divided than we have been. very high expectations, poor performance in terms of his ability to overcome those divides, and economy has not been good. and, the affordable care act is extremely unpopular. and more so. can we overcome it? sure, it is a great country. and we have faced a lot worse problems than we're facing now. we had a war, and great depression and it takes

political leadership to do that. and we're going to see, if america can produce the kind of leader that is up to the challenge. it's an open question, 2016 will go some distance towards answering it. president barak obama's end of the news conference, laid out all the reasons why he believes americaners should feel good. take a look. but there is no doubt, that we can enter into the new year with renewed confidence, that america is making significant strides where it counts, the steps that we took early on, to rescue our economy and, rebuild it, helped make 2014 the strongest year for job growth since the 1990s. over a 57 month streak our businesses have created 11 million new jobs. almost all the job growth, that we have seen, have been bin in full-time positions, and much of the recent pickup have been in

higher paying industries, and a hopeful sign, wages are on the rise again. our invest mns in american manufacturing have helped fuel its best stretch of job growth. and americans now the number 1 producer of oil. the number 1 producer of natural gas. we're saving drivers, 70 cents a gallon. effectively, today, our rescue of the auto industry is officially over. we have repaid taxpayers every dime and, more of what my administration commit he and, they are on track for its strongest year since 2005. and we have created about half a million new jobs in the auto industry alone. president barak obama at his news conference, and c.n.n. out with a new poll showing, that this is starting to, his numbers are starting to turn around for him.

aprofl rating is up, 20 month high. and largely due to the economy. yeah, i think that's right. he's right about 42%, which is low. but, look, if this economic news continues, to be good, and the economy continues to grow and, get job growth, it will go up and, the mood of the country will get better. some is true and, some of it is false and, some is cherry picking. and it's a little dangerous when they keep talking about how good things are, when country doesn't feel that way. look, you're out of touch, and if things were really that good, the american people would feel it, and it is more complicated than he said. he wouldn't have suffered a massive loss, historic loss in the 2014 mid-term elections. some of what he said, in gas and, oil production, which is

true, but it's in spite of his policies. he is going to claim credit for it. politicians do it. they claim credit, and when bad things happen, they blame others, but, look, remember, historically, when the worst, the recession, the better of recovery, that's how it goes, in this case, we had a real i bad recession, in 2008, the recovery began in the summer of 2009, and it is the worst recovery on record, and even this good news, in 2014, and it is good, we have the best back-to-back quarters, remember, in 2013, we had two good quawferters, at the enof that year, and then the first quarter, what happened? the economy contracted, and economic growth, this year, is going to be less than 2.5%. so, we'll see, that this

recovery has been a step-and-a-half forward, and one step back, if it can be sustained. experts in the paper saying it doesn't look sustainable. and, weather related. we'll see. i mean, weather, every year, you have bad winters, and to blame the winter, was a little bit of a stretch. but, we'll see. if it gross, i hope it does. the other thing, which has happen, i don't blame this on president barak obama, is that a lot of the growth that we're seeing, is helping the best off, but it's not filtering down, the last eight years, have been good for the top 1% and, they have not ben good for the rest of the country. and that explains why the country is in the mood that it

is. what are republicans doing about that problem? well, the republicans, have been responsible for putting a check on some of the spending that's gone on, and pushing entitling meant reforms, which are very good. but, president barak obama had two years, where he really got through his entire agenda k. he had a majority in the house, and the senate. and since then, 2010, republicans have had control of the house. but, they've only been able to put a check. they haven't been able to put their imprints. and it is drerch by the president, and so i think they have checked, his things and, put forward some good

class income has been stagnant for years and years. but the top 1% -- how do they justify that in light of the

their rank-and-file employees are not experiencing the same growth that the ceos are? i don't think there is a justification for it. it is an observational fact. the stocke done well, market has done well. been because of that but because of the tectonic changes, the dramatic shifts and technology that have happened, outsourcing that has gone on, this has been a difficult and challenging time for low skilled workers because of the technological changes, because of globalization. worker,re a high school you tend to be in pretty good shape in this economy. but if you are a low -- if you are a high skilled worker, you tend to be in pretty good shape in the economy. but if you are a low skilled worker, that is not the case. inflation,een higher

so the average tuition cost in america is half the median income for a family. i will say that politicians in both parties have done very little to address that kind of thing. but there is no question, income inequality has gone up over president obama. the income inequality -- the ability of people to rise on the income ladder -- that has always been a hallmark of america. we do not have much social mobility grew there is greater -- social mobility. there is greater social mobility in canada than in the united states today. depend moreospects on income in this country than in canada, in europe, and elsewhere. that is something that is really not consistent with how americans see themselves. obamayou blame the administration for that. hasn't that been a trend

happening long before president obama came into office? guest: no, i do not blame the president for that. aboutas been going on for 25 years, 20 years. i think some of what the president has done has exacerbated some of the tendencies, but i do not think he has taken steps that could helped -- that could have helped to the middle class as well as he could have. but there is no question that these trends are global and worldwide, and neither party has figured out an agenda to deal with it. sometimes it is just the nature of things. i think we are conditioned by a certain post-world war ii period where america was -- it was not even close. we were first among equals. to 2000, the economy grew 3.5%. from 2000 to 2009, it was about half of that. from 2009 to the present, it is lower than that. so there are some deep

structural issues that are occurring. host: south carolina, jim, a republican, you are on the air with peter greater -- with peter wehner. guest: greta, looking good as always. host: thank you. guest: it is from texas and north dakota and essential oil development groups, and if it was not for fracking, which president obama stands against, we would not be enjoying this kind of growth. i really think that your guest has talked about that. one quick analogy about why the disparaging of income that is happening -- when tom cruise did movies in the 1980's, he only sold his movies to 120 million people. now with the explosion of the global economy, he can sell movies to 2 billion people. when you have apple and companies like google exporting their goods with their workers, they can make more money because

of what they are exporting overseas. on the other hand, you have some parts of the economy making less because of the lower manufacturing pay. this does not really have anything to do with any president, but president has not done much about it. guest: i think that is a very intelligent call. i completely agree. if you ask me on the whole series of policy agenda, what is the most hopeful and what has the most potential, i would say exactly what the caller waltered, which is what russell mead, a professor, says in the 21st century. there is a huge amount of natural gas that we have -- and hydraulic fracking has the potential to be a game changer. not just in the terms of oil independence, but in terms of growth. he is quite right. a lot has happened in these industries. the other thing, if you look at states with republican

governors, who have more havervative policies, they done much better. you see over the years, california is a very liberal state, high taxes with onerous regulations. businesses are leaving and going to arizona and other states, and i think mitch daniels, the former governor of indiana, he put in a series of policies that made indiana a very business friendly state. you have an experiment going on among the states. republican governors have shown that conservative policies are good and they create jobs. you see people like john kasich in ohio, he won by 30 points, a stunning performance. maryland, joeon, is the caller. an independent caller there. caller: good morning. ehner, i just want to -- thank you, greta, for c-span. it is very good.

you say that there is pessimism. that is the farthest thing from the truth. you may observe the pessimism of a few, but overall we are blessed because we have a set of governors that sometimes do not .ven see across the line on the other hand, we have a set of governors who see the line completely. so when you are being partial presidentng credit, obama, just like the rest of the presidents, he does what he can. i hear you talk about how he is a failure and not successful, but you have never said anything about obstruction. you have to understand, god is going to bless this nation as a whole, not in art. not in part. if god is going to bless the

nation, he is going to bless the nation. you all have to watch how you all -- show appreciation in public. will take your point about obstruction or anything else you want to address. guest: it is not my judgment that the public is in a sour mood, it is their judgment. that is the case in every poll. you may disagree or agree with it. certainly the case in a country of 315 million people that some people are doing well, but some are not. it economy, as difficult as has been, compared to the rest of the industrialized world, we have done pretty well. a theological question over whether god blesses nations or not, the united states has been a blessed nation, that is for sure. in terms of criticism of president obama, i try not to make them personable -- i try not to make them personal, but

that your to policies. dad but attributable to policies. york, bill, a democratic caller. caller: again, the key is income inequality. the 1% are doing well while the rest of us are not, and i think the reason for that is that the republicans obstruct everything obama tries to do to lift up the low and middle class. they obstruct minimum wage, they obstruct making loans easier for students. they obstruct equal pay for women. in doing so, they stifle the middle and lower class. the other thing republicans do is they are masterful propagandists. rhetorict anti-obama on a constant basis, and it works to some extent in that the country perceives everything as being negative.

the problem here is the republicans. what they are really doing is defending oil. oil is what keeps the 1% prosperous, but oil in the long run of course is a bad thing. we are addicted to oil. we have to change our ways or we are going to destroy the planet. but the ruling class makes all their money on oil, so they obstruct that. guest: a couple of things that bill is being tendentious and predictable. let me talk about income inequality. i do not think income inequality is the big problem. you can have a situation in which all stratus of society get that are. as the rich get better and the gap is wider in the middle class and the lower class, but if everybody gets better, that is good. contrarily, let's assume everybody's got -- everybody's

income got worse, but in the -- the the income economy got shrunk. is that good? no. i understand that at some point income inequality can be problematic, but again, under president obama, the key thing here is social mobility. giving people the middle class and the lower class the ability to rise. he mentions minimum wage. whatever you think of minimum wage, it actually hurts low income workers because mcdonald's and other places that have lower income, you force minimum wage to go up, they are going to let more people go. there is a trade-off, because the people who get minimum wage get more money, but don't pretend that will help the low income or poverty. in terms of obstruction, i think that is not right. if you go back and you look at the first two years of the obama presidency, he got almost everything he wanted including the affordable care act, which

has had a pernicious effect both on health care and the economy. fulhad the most success legislative record since lbj. the republicans could object more than they have, but it has essentially been small ball. the minimum wage, as an example -- a lot of states can have their own minimum wage laws, so what thego up over federal minimum wage is. when people bring that out, it is a shallow issue, usually invoked by people who are dogmatic and criticisms. host: we are talking with peter wehner, former senior adviser for the 2012 romney campaign. he is now with the public policy center. here to talk about the mood of america. us from florida. caller: what i see, i am watching businesses darken their

doors. i do not see anybody replacing them. that is the comments. guest: i missed the -- host: the jobs not being replaced. guest: some of that is going on. there is a situation in which, because of the technological changes, you now have technology replacing people who used to do low skill work. you have outsourcing. you have a situation in which you have a tremendous high number of people who have been long-term unemployed, and these are the people who have dropped out of the workforce. you have the highest percentage of people dropping out of the labor force since the late 1870's. those are discouraged workers who have said i have looked and i cannot find anything, so i am giving up. and the people who did lose their jobs during the recession and did get jobs, the pay was considerably less.

for low-wage, low skill workers, this is hard. host: from nevada, john, an independent caller. ma'am. yes, good morning to you, mr. weh ner. i am trying to figure out -- wasn't it the republicans who recently put in for the bill to give more money to the campaigns and stuff? host: we will take that, john. the money for campaigns, $1.1 trillion spending bill that releases the caps on money to party committees. guest: i think it was a reconfiguration, giving parties more control over finances. but i think i would be wary about whether republicans spent much moneyspence too in politics when president obama spent more in two elections than

anybody in history. you cannot have it both ways. you cannot, as president obama continually did, crow about the money involved in politics and , andgo out in raise it break records that we have never seen. he decided he could raise more money, he decided he could let it go. if you compare the amount of money in american politics versus the amount that people spend on potato chips or something, it is a lot more in potato chips. i don't think the amount of .oney is the problem i think the main problem is performance. has the most to answer for interests of performance is the president. if you compare what he said he could do that he would do to what he has done, he has failed on every front. people can blame republicans if .hey want or not yo

he has a record and people can examine it. host: john, a democratic caller. caller: good morning. this is amazing. at youtting here looking and you are talking out of both sides of your neck. offensive.an to be answer this for me, yes or no. is china a communist country? guest: yes. caller: ok. we are wondering why we are getting hacked or whatever. here you talk about minimum wage , we cannot do this, we cannot do that. but we can find everything else in the world. you never hear anything about money to thising country. we can come up with billions of dollars for that country. but then you talk about

entitlements, social security. if i work 30 years and pay into social security, what is the problem with me getting my money? host: ok, peter wehner. guest: nothing. fact, if you look at the republican plans for social security and medicare and others, those are the kinds of reforms that would ensure that people like the caller would get their money. the problem is because of demographics shifts. these entitlement programs are not sustainable. so you have to put some reforms in place. the kind of free market reforms that republicans have been advocating would work. take the medicare prescription drug land president bush -- take the medicare prescription drug plan president bush put in place in 2003. you had prices on medicare prescription drugs 40% below what was predicted by the cbo, and you have a tremendous amount

of satisfaction with seniors in that plan because of the free market reforms that were put in. to have that kind of efficiency in medicare, in a health care program, is virtually unprecedented. the republican plans, in my estimation, are exactly the ones that will keep these entitlement programs sustainable and ineffective. -- sustainable and effective. paul ryan says if you are 55 or over there will be no change. younger, there will be changes. i am completely open to the idea that higher income people get lesser social security benefits. , which political movement, which philosophy can put in changes, the reforms that will sustain it and make it efficient and helped the most people? host: we will go to robert next. missouri, republican caller. caller: good morning.

i would like to ask peter two questions. why with the gas going down the way it is and the economy picking up, why can we this money that we are saving and put it on the deck? bring the debt down. i am 81 years old, and before i die, i would like to see america out of debt. buy go out here and something and overspend my budget, i go to jail. what in the world is wrong with americans? number two question i have to ask peter -- we are fighting a whole new ballgame now on retired military. a whole new ballgame when we are

fighting isis. i've are rather fight them over there than in america. why can't these politicians get together? why can't they get together and pay for this as we go? host: ok. guest: thanks, robert, and thanks for your service to the country. it is a fair question. let me make a couple of observations about it. he is 81 years old. are not going to pay off the debt by the time you pass away or by the time i pass away. the debt is a norm us. weather has been -- the debt is enormous. where there has been progress is in the deficit, which has been paid down. oil, fracking, and so forth, the revenues that are coming in, that is good. but you really do need structural reforms to entitlement programs if we are going to deal with the deficit,

and especially the debt. we have a lot of elderly people getting money. we have a lot fewer younger people going into the system. it cannot be sustained. unless you do the kind of for sure -- the kind of structural reforms that republicans are arguing are correct, they giving $100 million here or $1 billion there to reduce the debt, those are grains of sand on the beach of an ocean. we do have to get these kind of structural reforms. i would argue that we need structural reforms on a whole range of issues, entitlement programs and the tax code, education, our schools, our immigration system. i think that explains a lot of the frustration that americans feel. that ourave the sense institutions just are not performing well, and they are not producing the kind of

educating -- the kind of educated children and the workforce and the economy that we should have. i will say also that the american people have some complicity in this. ones who elected politicians who are acting the way they are. politicians, they are publicly -- they are tuned into what the public wants, and the trouble is that the public is divided. it wants low taxes and it wants to get rid of the deficit, and it wants programs to pay high benefits. at some point, these things just do not work. now the task of political leadership is to take some of these competing issues and challenges in a way that is constructive. i am happy to be critical of the political class, but the american people are also in part responsible. host: looking forward to 2016,

of the contenders we know about, which one of them do you think can tackle the problem that you just laid out? side, on the republican the people i am most favorable to our florida governor jeb bush, marco rubio, wisconsin senator paul ryan. i think they are really impressive. for the same reasons, for some different reasons. john kasich i mentioned earlier, the governor of ohio. scott walker is very good. bobby jindal in louisiana. those are all very serious people. on the democratic side, i'm not a favorite -- i'm not in favor of any of the. not as worried about hillary clinton as i was president obama. i just do not think she is a particularly impressive political talent.

i think the chances of elizabeth warren giving stiff competition and even beating hillary clinton are higher than most other people, because i think elizabeth warren has tapped into disenchantment on the left, which i think is very real. i think hillary clinton is tone deaf to it. host: of the names that you mentioned, do you think they could beat hillary clinton in a general election matchup? guest: i do. but i think overall the democratic nominee would be a slight favorite because of certain demographic advantages. if you want to take a step back in an objective way, what is happening is that the people who are traditional republican voters, that group is shrinking. the people who are traditionally democratic voters, younger voters, single women, minorities, that is growing. there is something called the and thel, 18 states

district of columbia, which have gone democratic in each of the last six elections. that is 242 electoral votes, which means they only need about , 18 or soal votes tossup states. so the map in general favors democrats, not republicans. having said that, the democratic nominee will face problems. whoou have had a president has served does go terms, the ofs of electing a president the same party is low. it has happened, with george h w bush after reagan. obama, hepresident has been on a very bad trend in the last year and a half. it may well be that the nominee for the democratic party, probably hillary clinton, will an annded the torch from mud

unpopular democratic president. policiesratic party have shown to have been tried and failed. that is going to be a problem. if it is political -- if it is hillary clinton, i do not think she has the political talent. anhink it will take unusually gifted republican candidate to win. and i think the three names that i mentioned, one of those could win. host: we have a few minutes left with peter wehner. we go to detroit, michigan. an independent. caller: good morning. c-span, you are fabulous. , someone with your thoughts and verbalization, it is no wonder george romney lost. i as an independent find it very offensive when all i hear from the republican party is how terrible the president is. he is so terrible that yesterday

the stock market was at 18,000. all the many plans that he tried to institute were in favor of the general populace. i have been at work in a physician's office, as the office manager, and i have seen a lot of people benefiting by the affordable care act. however, i have never heard one republican say anything but it is terrible, it is horrible through the problem with our country is that negativity is the name of the game. no one ever says let's do things good for america. it is just, that guy is so bad, he is horrible, nobody likes him. but surprisingly, he was elected twice. host: peter wehner, go ahead. guest: first, it is mitt romney, not george romney. and i worked in the reagan administration, the george h.w. bush administration.

i do think that mitt romney would have been a far superior .resident for somebody to have that call to complain about negativity is ironic. taking the affordable care act, i will say several things about it. number one, it is the monster ball that the president and his team lied in terms of what they said it would do versus what it has done. there is just no question that they made promises that they knew were not true. for example, repeatedly saying that you can keep your doctor, you can keep your insurance, and of story. a lot of republicans said that would not help in -- that that would not happen. one of the architects of the informal care act, mr. gruber, is on tape saying that they misled the public. i think that is a problem. secondly, you have to answer for the website rollout, which was an epic disaster. they spent $2 billion, had four years to repair it, and it was

an utter catastrophe. that is the kind of thing the president should be held responsible for. thirdly, it was the most unpopular major domestic program that was passed in 100 years, and it has gone down in popular approval since then. why is that? because people are living with the consequences. it does not mean there are no good effects to it. there are some people getting coverage that they did not have before. but according to the cbo, which is pretty objective, the fewest number of people that will be uninsured under the affordable care act will be 30 billion. he essentially tossed on its head and did tremendous damage to a health care system to go from roughly 44 million uninsured to 30 million uninsured. in aould have covered them different way. you did not have to destroy the entire system.

the affordable care act is his signature domestic achievement. it is singularly unpopular, and i think by objective circumstances it is not working. as john adams said, facts are stubborn things. host: the headlines today in the paper are that in the second round of enrollment, the exchange has added 1.9 million new insurance customers. we will get in one last phone call. it comes from nick in norwalk, connecticut, a democratic caller. caller: thank you for taking my , greta. happy and merry christmas and happy hanukkah and all the holidays. is, i want to tell you have been a registered democrat for over 40 years, but i will be january my party in when the senate takes over as republican. i supported these people in