book t.v. ask prime-time each night on c-span 2. the c span cities tour takes book keeping and american history t.v. on the road traveling to u.s. cities to learn about their history, and we partner with time warner cable for a visit to austin texas. whatever in the sweet of this was a private quarters of the president, and when i say private, do mean that. this is not part of a tour that involves the public. this is has never been open, and you're something it because of c-span's special access, vips come in this space, just to be ask but it's not open to our visitors on a daily basis and the remashable thing, it's a live, breeding artifact, and it hasn't changed at all as soon as president johnson died in january 1973, in the corner of it room, the then and ladybird johnson seconder telling my predecessors, nothing in this room can change. so we're here at the 100 block of congress avenue, to my left, just down the block is the river, colorado river and, this is an important historic site is, because this is where waterloo's audauthor waterloo was and were occupied by four

off fire families and i'm standing at about the same spot, where it was and, this is where lamar was staying, when he and the rest the men got wind of this big bawf, so, and the other men, jump on their horses, and congress after, and, it wasn't an avenue, it was just a muddy ravine, that led to the hill and capitol, and ty afternoon at 2 on amount

a lot of them political, and the first one, on that list, was the obama presidency and, what we saw there, and some of these challenges, that he had dealing with congress and we'll move ahead and, take a look at the stories in the papers, u.s. a. today, has a spread that takes a look at what we can expect, looking onto fist if you want being the last day the year, first one on national security, the obama administration touted the end of iraq war and, a video, uploaded to youtube shows hostage, james foley kneeling into the desert and

then the jury na list was decapitated and, now known ass was followed, and the shock of that video and, emergence of the islamic state, prompted them to deploy more troops and intensify a bombing campaign and, that's a story, from the top stories of 2014789 we want to hear what your top story is and why. for republicanses the number is. democrats. and independents. let's take a look at as we come in from karen she says that the missing malaysia flight was a big story for c.n.n., 24/7 coverage. we mentioned this morning about top stories, making the news

this year and another big case full page spread comes from the wall street journal and, they start off by focusing on the u.s. economy makes a comeback at last. u.s. economy began 2014 with thud 000 and it ended on a roll,. it will be remembered since the 1990's boom. all three helped soft ena year by me ger wages and, jobs, and the country is on track to be. we go do you the page a little bit more and, look at those

stories. poor health and, planning, let's go to the phones, good morning, gregg, you're on washington journal. caller: i just wanted to call and say hello and, i think that, the public knows the non government employees, needs to really wake up and be alert, because, i think, once the tipping point goes 50/50 over on the government side there

will be bad things happening and the good things, this coming year since the more people coming to realize, that they're safe and safe. host: what stories caught your attention this year? caller: excuse me. host: what news story, that caught your attention? caller: the complete nonsense of washington being out of touch they think we don't have computers, we know what's going on. we know about that stawf and then to go into that boston bombing, made up story, like a fairy tale and, sandy newtown, totally made up story, just to grab guns, we see what's going

on. host: next caller is robert. what story got your attention? caller: i think, they're out there doing their job. host: referring to number of stories about violence related to police. one in ferguson. let's go to another story, that's been gripping minds, and that's the release of the so-called, report, what the c. i.a. director had had to say about the release of that report. our review escape that the i tear ro investigation program produced useful intelligence, that helped the inside save lives, but let me be clear, we have not concluded that it was the use of e.

p.s within that program that alloweds to obtain useful information from detainees, the cause and effect relationship between the use, and useful information, provided by the detain knee is unknowable. irrespective of the role they might play, i believe, effective non cooersive methods are available. methods that don't have a counter-productive il packet on a national security and international standing. it is for these reasons, that i fully support the president's position to prohibit it. that's john brennan speaking about the release of the report. and take a look at one more story that's on the list. that's an n.b.c. news, and the

health and human receives secretary is, one of the top stories. again, resigned after a story, that dominated the year. the botched rollout of the affordable health website. and an aloud a lot of people to register and, sign up for held insurance. caller: yeah, you know, you're pointing out what i believe, the different outlets know can you u cus on different things, and a lot of u.s. mainstream outlets do easy reporting, where they read the same story. but, i think that u.s. torture report, out of the senate was huge because it is more information to americans to let them know what their government is doing and, that lasted one

news-cycle. and i think that god reportings gaza is, which things have that taken place and, i think mainstream has opened up to reporting accurately. and i just watched a great piece on b.b.c., and i, this is huge i think, called the saudi secret uprising and i hope you have the guests, the camera person that issued report about what's going on, in saudi arabia with protests and this is huge in, regards to us understanding dictators that the u.s. support and why there are repercussions from those actions, and, i turn it to them because places like msnbc, and fox will reroll the

sony issue. and cyber-attacks and, they don't report about how the u.s. and israel have done attacks against the nuclear program, because there is no proof that there is a new nuclear weapons program, i'm fasten nateed who focuses on what, and for how long. but i hope you have that guest. host: can't talk about 2014 bought talking about elections and, republicans saw record gains in the house, and control of the senate, setting them up to have control of those chambers when lawmakers return to washington. gregg waldeman, the chairman spoke about the results that were favorable to his party.

we have just begun, what you heard my colleagues talk about is how the republican party is back, with youth, and women, and we have a long way to go and, we made great gains, if you look at the house races versus the senate we were in blue territory, these were blue territories and, we won, because we have good indicateds. we worked with them closely and, president barak obama's agenda was on the ballot and we're back to a majority. it may be 100 year majority. host: he chairs the national republican campaign committee. what's your top story? caller: it looks like it is going to be the collapse of the fracking industry, and the collapse of oil.

when bush and cheney got e lengted, bush is an oil guy, and that's where all your wars are started, and your largest military base is. and military contractor. so when they got elect he, they started this process of trying to rule the world through oil and gas. when they got elected, haliburton was $10 a share, i know, when you start talking about the jews, and had feds, teeming up with the south trying to control. world, by manipulating oil and, when they got elect he, oil was $20, and then it went to $80 and then, $50 and $120. and now it is $40. the way that thee been manipulating the oil, is the

jews and feds have cut interest rates to zero. and they print dollars, and so -- host: moving on. caller: good morning. i think biggest story of this year, has been the c.i.a. financially supported the attack of the ukrainian government over the summer. since the cold war, nate to has been pitching themselves into the border. and this is something that i don't think the t.v. has been very responsible on. and letting the people know about. host: bring you a few pieces of news and, some good news for us. we'll look at a piece, from the washington point.

president bush is released from the hospital, and he's resting at home, and grateful to doctors, and nurses and much one more health related piece of news. he's retiring but he sends his last day in office, and he said i'm out of here. my sincere thanks to the hospital for their wonderful care and to all. caller: yes, i just wanted to call, and say i'm amazed at people, that don't want to admit the fact, the biggest story of 2014 has to be the republicans taking over congress. i mean when you look at the fact that when obama took office democrats had both houseses, and they had the house and the senate, and over the

years, and over the policies and a different scap delaware that went on with the irs, and the ben gadsy, and all that, you think people have said enough is enough. republicans have taken over both houseses of congress. to me that's been the big story. i mean, people of the united states have spoken. host: why do you think that more people aren't talking about that story? caller: well think that democrats a lot of them have their head in the sand, and they don't want to admit it. this is one of the biggest takeovers of congress that we have seen in many years, i can't think of anytime that it has happened but a lot of people don't want to admit that that's true and i don't think president barak obama wants to

admit the fact, that he has lost control of congress. he had it. in his first term. and it is very very interesting. i hope that the republicans take advantage of their advantage now, in congress, and utilize it to its best interest of the country. this morning we're talking about the stories that grab your attention in 2014. and, round up of the quotes and, number nine is the quotes "hands up," don't shoot, and i can't breathe. they report race relations between police, and their communities, are in the front and the death the of garner, and is.

also take a tweet that's related to that. he tweets it is not just one story, it's the repeated stories, they all end up police shooting black men. daniele is in ohio. caller: good morning, i think that for me, the biggest story of the year was, that the total and absolute disrespect that the repel cans had for president barak obama. you think that, you know when the republicans say things like the american people have spoken we have taken over congress. two-thirds of the didn't even vote. and so for you to claim that, and for the republicans to claim

that, i think that that's just wrong. i also feel that the political map is going to look different, in 2016, and the republicans have revel in their, we took over congress, and i think that's going to change in 2016 the lack of disrespect for the president of the united states is my biggest story. host: president barak obama and hillary clinton are the most admired politicians. clinton, living anywhere in the world and, may admire most, and president barak obama. clinton has held the top women's spot, in 13 years and 17-18. and.

that's as headline we'll be hearing a lot about next year. jerry, what is your top story of 2014? caller: okay, good morning, i used to be very thankful to c-span now, c-span has been taken over by the new york and propaganda, and, you cut him off, and anytime they mention anything that's contrary to what this take other is. you are cutting them off, c-span is now just another propaganda organ. host: ellen is a democrat. caller: good morning, my comment would be in rares to the two

policemen, that was assassinated in vegas and how the races, shot them, the e-mails that they left behind, and the facebook postings, about killing police and, you come back to the two police men, and i think it's a very sad thing. i don't condone it. but they're not connecting the dots. none of them are bringing it up. i listen to fox, and msn b. c and they're not making a connection. there are bad people out there, that want to do wrong. q.take a look at some of the stories making headlines today, this is from "the washington post," is.

host: we'll have more about that story and others, in our next segment this morning. mike cal is on the line. and he's a independent. caller: yes, i will like to make a comment, i watched a little bit of the local news, and a

montage was featured of people that we lost, a great american. mr. james brady, and the work that he has done across the aisle, with democrats and republicans, and independents, and the work that his wife has done and, standing by and helping him support his family mens doing what they do, in their fight for us. regardless of what you believe, consider what that man has done and the therapy and all rehabilitation and, care and treatment, that the many providers have provided to that man, while on that note. if i can make another comment along with that. america, "cbs news" has featured and i haven't seen it much on other news outlets, i am a veteran we need to stand by

our veterans, and the effects of what's coming down the line. i thank you for your time and let's hope 2015 is a little bit better. q.if you want to see the memorial for james brady, you can see that on c-span.org. now, 'new york times' another story, that dominated the year. they have each recalled more vehicles in the united states than they have on average since 1966.

that's according to the review by 'the new york times'. james, democrat, what story caught your eye? caller: well, not real astory, but, highway to say things money has controlled the media. the rich receive most of the welfare food stamps, and they voted republican, that voted against all of the things that they use and need. and even against president barak obama, and they make you think that the democrats are against the military and, military voted for the republicans and, the post office who the republicans are trying to close. i don't understand it. how the media presents itself and, how the american party makes it think that they are for them. they have voted against everything that is for poor people and, the red states.

host: gregg on the independent line. caller: yes, ma'am how are you doing? host: i'm well. caller: just fine. host: what's your top story. caller: it was the rise of obamacare, and the rates would go down and, my rates have gone up and, my doe duckables versus gone up and, i'm middle to lower income family, and, it was all lies what he said in the beginning, and, everything that gets reported it on the other side it seams to be like pushing the president's agenda. host: now, take a look back at

2014, you can see c-span's most watched videos, at c. span.org. the so-called fan gate, might be a nice way to wrap up you're watching. sergio and he's a democrat. caller: hello. i just want to say that 2014 for me, the biggiest think that ever happen for me is i pay a $1.99 a gal listen for gas. [laughter] that's something that is just put more money in my pocket and i am part of that 51% that believes that the economy is improving. but, i want to thank the president for what we went through, from 2007 to now, and i don't know what the republicans

are talking about. but a lot of good things are happening, just wonderful things are happening. my family shows it and,my wallet feels it. and, 2015, hopefully, it will continue, and i want to say that. happy new years, and you look marvelous. thank you. host: now about our top story this is from the top 25 political stories received little media airtime,. re pick cans debunkerring the scandals. 'new york times' reports that the race climbs and killing of officers on the job, and the number of officers killed in the

line of duty increased by nearly a quarter in 2014 with more officers killed in ambushes this year. the survey. we'll go to north carolina with john. caller: good morning how are you doing? host: good morning. caller: don't cut me off. i'm kind of old, my top story was, the president was elected as president of the neds, and he wasdess respected more than anybody has ever been. and also this president has done more for people, than anybody has ever done and, we have never

had a president like this and, republicans winning the election, that was down by the voting minute. when i went to vote, and i pushed for a democrat and, republican came up. and they bring them out and, those minute would do the same thing. it was a problem with the voting minute. and nobody vote for them, when they're against healthcare and medicare and medicaid, and cut all that off. these republicans are going to devastate the country, so everything that he do they'll vote against it. host: we'll stay with presidential policy tx, earlier this year, president barak obama announced a executive action, of immigration. and they will take it up next year. we exclurespect people to play by the rules.

we expect that those who cut in line will not be unfairly reward he and so we're going to offer the following deal, if you have been in america for more than five years and if you have children who are american citizens, and if you register, and pass a criminal back ground check and, willing to pay your fair-share of taxes, you'll be able to stay in this country, temporarily, without fear. you can get right with the law. host: that was president barak obama announcing his executive action on immigration. caller: how are you doing? host: well. caller: all right, i'm calling on behalf of my mom i have pretty much about the insurance, obamacare and, i have a preexisting history of cancer,

myself and, so i will right now recoup per rating, and there's no way i don't get any kind of life insurance. i wonder how some people got cancer and can't get no help on besides volunteer people. host: another story making headlines today from the 'new york times'.

anthony what's your top story. caller: first of all, my name is anthony and, i'm a female. and i'm calling because i have concerns about the medical thing, situation. i have been, you know, off and on sick for awhile and, i have had, many problems, going on, and, every time i go to the doctors, the doctors will put me on medication and i feel like i was overmedicated and now i have blood coming from the inside-out and so now, they have to check that out.

and i have been telling them about that. so they just now checked me out, and so, a couple of years ago, they found a polyp and, now they got to do another test on me. and in january of this year, i had surgery on my foot and i was able to walk and now i can walk and i toll them about that. and, my to the has started twisting over to the side and, my nerves are acting up in my eyes and i have a lot of medical problems and i don't know if it is from the medication and i can't walk. and, when i did have the surgery, they never did give me a wheelchair, and i'm on medicaid and i don't know what the problem. even i was in a car accident, in june, and i told them about something was wrong with my arm and, they would not do no x-ray or

nothing, and i had to go it another doctor, and they found out that there was a torn lining in my arm and that i had tendonitis and all this stuff that's going on, i feel like i've been neglected and i don't know what to do about it. i just need to know if i can get some answers, because, i feel like there's as lott of neglect going on, because of the insurance that i have. host: for healthcare, that's a big story that dominated headlines. a tweet, i think the story not being talked about is mental healthcare. willie. caller: yes and i am a -- i

have been living in this area and i was surprised, not surprised, the whole time they ran, they showed a black president face and is the down. thank you. host: front-page of usa today, obama takes aim at gitmo again. he's renewing efforts to redeem what is proving to be a very difficult campaign promise.

gregg, and what is your top story? caller: well, i think it's the frankers and, now the tbleen prices take effect, from learning how to get the oil out of the ground. and, the guy in wisconsin, he's so happy, he's paying $1.99 that's why. it has nothing to do with president barak obama. but, we're just proud that i think it's going to help the securities of the country, in the long run. and i'm just proud of them. host: speaking of next year financial times is trying to

forecast, the year and they made a round yipe as to what next year is going to look like. will a serious rival emerge, to clinton, and answer is no. keep an eye on that one and, we have the conversation, next up, is rob, he's in kentucky.

caller: yes, my comment is about the past election for senate tor, and i think, he did an injustice for the poor people, and african amount answers. never reached out and never did any campaign, other than being with hillary clinton and, worry down this whole state who has been for the black democrat, and he does so much for the united states that he was ashamed to bring to the state or city. and i find that bad. so, next time we'll find somebody not scared to bring in the american president. where we can have a say so and also he's from texas, thank

you. host: gregg, from michigan where jeffrey is on the democrats line. caller: good morning, thanks for letting me speak. i'm an african american man, i. host: turn your t.v. down, and make sure we can hear your comments. caller: wait until i turn it down. host: we'll put you on hold. and then we'll come back to you. caller: my remote, turn it down. host: we'll move along now, and we'll look at an article from politico, and the 15 top questions for 2015.

let's go to the independent line. are you with us? caller: yes, listen, my top story is, i was born disable he and, i've had violations from the government's office, down to the city of columbia and i have had a boone hospital, employees, forge my name and, when i called

the police, no one ever did anything. and that's my top stories. it's just a shame that, had a lawmakers, don't abide by their own laws and i've had three assaults from three white gentlemen and been held on the side of the road and, no ones came to my rescue, and we had to beg them, about to be in a lawsuit, because i lost my job because after doctor whose office forged my name, and the employees of boone hospital for a doctor who is responsible for the third job i lost. host: our topic of your top stories, roger. republican. what's yours. are you there?

does not look like we have roger, larry. caller: yes, good morning my story was, the v.a. issue. and i'm glad it see that it is finally being addressed, also the group of physicians, that i witnessed, in 1990 when my dad was there, and deny see improvement. so i'm glad to see that that's being looked at and being address. but, my one issue is, i wish that they would again care through all hospitals, for the vets not just the v.a., but for all hospitals, and i think that would alleviate a lot of problems and may not have to have the issues, that did occur. and i'm glad that's being

address. that's all i have to say. i'm glad and best wishes to you, and happy new years to you guys. and you know see that they get the care that they need. luke one person brought up, you have to look at some of the mental issues, that these people have witnessed, the destruction and loss of life and they have seen friends blown apart, and that's my issue. i'm glad to see excuse me that that is being addressed. host: caller: hello. host: dan, you're on washington journal. caller: yes, i will like to, my big story is the immigration thing, that the issue that the president passed. i think that, it was i'm a

democrat but i'm totally in disagreement with it, and i think that the horror stories, that will come out, because of the the illegals will really tip the balance in favor of the republicans in 2016. because, getting people who enter the country, immunity, is illegal, and against our american constitution. the president has pardoned law breakers and, the other thing is he does not believe, in reparations for african-americans, he pardon he would people. and i think this will be a big issue, in the election. he may have organized the

republican party, by enacting this pardon for people who have come into our country illegally. i hope it doesn't come to pass but that's what i see. happy new year. host: bob, who is in bellevue, nebraska, and he's on the line. what is was your top story. you're closing us out. joe well, i would say, the top story, is jim crow white and this discovery by the national news media, about how african-americans are harass he and, killing the then justified. sadly, that is the story. host: all right. well, we'll take more of your calls about your top story and right now, we'll take a break

and, next up the 114th congress convacus next week with republicans, and with bill crystal, he'll join us with a preview and then, by the daily beast, and we'll talk about how progressives should respond many we'll be right back.

this is not part of a tour that is offered to the pb. this has never been open to the public and, you're seeing it because of c-span's special access and, vips come into this space, just like they did, in lyndon johnson's day, and it is not open to the visitors. and the remarkable thing, about this, it's a living and breathing artifact, and it hasn't changed since president johnson died, and there's a document signed by, the then oork ka tech and, ladybird that nothing in this room can change. so we're here at the 100 block, in austin, to my left, is the river, the colorado river, and this is an important historic

site, because this is where waterloo's predecessor was. it was a must star of cab ben's, and including the family of jay carol, and i'm standing where it was, and this is where lamar was staying, when he and the rest of the men got wind of the buffalo herd, so they gemmed on their horses on congress avenue but it was just a muddy ravine and they galloped on the horses and they had stuffed their belts, full of pistols, and firing and shooting and, lamar, shot this enormmiss buffalo, and we were to the top of the hill, and said, this should be the seat of the future empire.

washington journal continues. host: next week, brings the start of the 114th congress, both control by the republicans. and here to talk is bill crystal, well, let's start off, yesterday, on the third ranking republican, has spoken to a white sue premissist group and here's what he said in response. it was wrong and it was inappropriate, like many of my colleagues, i know steve to be, a man of high entelling grety.

what's going on here? hard to tell congressman hasn't been clear, and i guess it's hard to remember, who you spoke to, 12 years, were you a little bit unsure. and i think if nothing more comes out, he survives, it is ridiculous, you speak it a group once and, not that he said anything, to that group. and he was a crusade and, he said he is accepting invitations, and he thought it was a special group, and he spoke 40 minutes and, had no particular connection wes that group. they're pushing guilt by association. i guess his colleagues will decide in the house, and the voters can decide if they want

to remove him. host: more than a decade ago and i wonder, with republicans, holding both chambers, they have said, we want to govern and, we want to focus on getting things done, in washington. is this too distracting? no. if nothing more comes out one of his colleagues defended him as a decent person and i don't know him and i never heard anything about it. in terms of his personal treatment of people and, i love david duke, and he loves me, and i think, i can mention it. seizing control of the u.s. government, and there are americans like him, paid a tiny role in the first bush white

house, and working against him when he was in the run off and he was claiming to be the nominee. and many people thought that they not accept his claim. and he won, and president bush came out against him and we endorsed edwards, the democratic candidate for governor. we thought that was better than having david duke elected republicans. so, think they have been good, in distancing themselves, from repudiating, him. and he did it again. let's go to another story, that they are running the congressman, michael grimm said he's going to leave his office

and,. everyone thought that was one that the republicans might lose, and he won it. and i think it's a mostly republican district and, i think, it was right to step down. and maybe pressure you are him to step down. he is pretty good hands off way of manage things, and gets people to resign, without that. i don't know, he wanted to hang around, and without him on the ballot republicans have a good chance to hold the seat. our guest is bill crystal he's here to talk about the startup of the republican controlled congress. and reach out for us.

our first call is from betty. caller: my comment is, how could the country reelect a person that said that his main thing was to not to help the president? my other comment is to disrespect that was given to the president, and also they criticized al sharpton and jesse jackson, when rush limbaugh, and sarah palin have said some terrible things. happy new year. host: your thought. guest: happy new year to you and everybody else. well, i guess mitch, is the person you're referring to and wanted to torch president barak obama, and he did a decent job of it, and i think he did that

for policy, and he deny agree with him and we have and it's proving, you have to give him some credit, he's president and, he knows he's president and he's not giving up, he's doing what he can to do a few things, that i don't think that he can. and personning husband agenda and i think we have the congress.

mexico his case and people can make his case against him. caller: yes, how are you? how are you. guest: hi. caller: what i would like to say, this is as example of a big distraction, this whole thing the guy who got into stress, is part of the system that we live in. that's the way it is. but, if the president, it's his fault, he allowed disrespect. and, al sharpton, he is on your team. let's be real about that. guest: i don't think it is a country that elected president barak obama twice and it's a country that has made great

strides, and i'm not making al sharpton as a leader of anything. i think he has the down we us claims and there's a lot more african-american that have contributed more and, achieved more, in their lives, and i'm happy to recognize that. so, you know, one of the distressing things, look back, and one of the big stories, i didn't vote for president barak obama, i disagreed with his policies and, they are getting us in deep trouble, and i do think that he would help improve races. and i think for the first two or three years, that was reasonable. he's been pretty responsible and, not play the racecard too

much, and i have to say, the last few months, have been distressing, and if you would like to have healthy civil relations, and they are healthy and, the interactions are normal and much different than, they would have been but, the dry of racial tension has been happening because of incidents. but, some of the reactions, have been unhelpful. and here i do worry that something, i wish that wednesday the case. i think it would ab shame, after eight years, of president barak obama, whatever we think of his foreign policies and obamacare, it would be nice if we could say, this is good for race relations, and we have now moved.

they will not have the votes to appeal it, and they will not get president obama to sign. frank in the next few years. this is something the chairman of the house and the financial services committee talked about common and they have not actually move this legislation. republicans in congress, if we could talk about that for a minute, they need to find things they can do that are not just symbolic, that could actually help the country and embody conservative principles, but are so unrealistic, they cannot get signed by the president. i'm not against passing think the president will veto, but there are middle side things are public ends can do. there is concern on the one hand with little symbolic inks, and on the other hand, grand symbolic things.

the regulatory burdens on them, which they are not well enough to their. the banks and different states have trouble doing that. they are still covered by a million regulations, obviously and they always have. a good example of something republicans have made progress on. show the voters they are serious , and then lay the groundwork for a conservative agenda in 2014. it is a very decent government now. i think it is really an unfair charge.

we have had real setbacks. putin has gotten away with doing things you would have thought a year ago you would not get away with. russia is suffering because of a drop in oil prices due to our energy. letting putin get away with crimea and eastern ukraine, very bad. >> he started to talk about this earlier. what are your expectations going into the progress -- process? what are the big areas of conflict? guest: i have modest expectations. such a talking point for the past four years, maybe this is the congress that does not get anything done. the main reason they did not get anything done is because harry reid did not bring anything to the senate. the house passed many legislations. the house will repass a lot of

legislation, some of it to ambitious for the president to accept. some of it they could sign. now the piece of legislation will come to a vote. some of them will die in the senate, and some of them will pass the senate. the key attitude is do not overthink everything. they micromanage everything. let's let the committees do their work. i think you would get a fair amount of legislation passed and some of it signed. there is not a great sense of the economy honestly. the economy is growing faster than it was here the deficit is down. some issues like immigration doing nothing -- there is

plenty they can do and they will pass pieces of legislation a reasonably successful you have. -- year and a half. after a couple of bad congressional election setbacks, winning the presidency a third straight time, that would be a big moment for democrats, for liberals. republicans could say, ok, the obama era is unique, and now we can go ahead and legislate conservative justice. 2016 is the big election. a lot of republicans in congress spent a lot of time worrying about not messing up, which is reasonable but they should not do that either. a." the terrible government

shutdown, ted cruz, the government would never recover it would destroy them in the elections. you can go back and find headline after headline, including conservative publications pulling their hair out about how much damage had been done. i think they should be a little more relaxed, honestly, in congress. let the committees do their work , have a piece of the legislation, hope the president signed them, and not over plan overthink and over strategize which they do sometimes. host: my colleague that he was going to approach it. let's play that back and i want your thoughts. >> is there anything that you personally intend to do differently in your approach to congress in hopes of getting better results? >> i can always do better in every aspect of my job. congressional relations is not

exempt from that. i think the circumstances will have changed, though. i am frustrated with the results of the midterm election. we have a great record for members of congress to run on. i do not think i am the democratic party made as good of the case as we should have. as a consequence, we have low voter turnout. the results were that. now you have got republicans in a position where it is not enough for them to simply grind of congress to a hold and then blame me. they will be in a position where they have to show they can responsibly govern, given that they have significant majorities in both chambers. what i have repeatedly said is that i want to work with them and i want to get things done.

i do not have another election to run. host: what do you think? guest: it is nice president obama thinks he had a great record. we should ask in particular what exact way should they run on that they did not run on? i think the record was well highlighted in both parties and that the public did not like that record at least big swing states where republicans one easy victories. a little denial there but he is entitled to that. harry reid honestly, i agree with barack obama he is probably frustrated because he has a sense he is getting blamed for the election. one thing -- one person who should be blamed more than he probably has been is harry reid. i find it amazing they will just reelect him and not putting new

person in there. isn't this the time to move on? that he has the strategy, incredibly determined. resolute in a stubborn way. not letting anything to vote in the senate. nothing came up in the senate. the ridiculous position of people like the senator from alaska had never had a piece of legislation, -- harry reid, his own leader, was so nervous that if they got a vote, the republicans would offer an amendment to the amendment and so forth. harry reid, in the short term he did well. they held the senate. it turned out to be pretty much a disaster in 2014 and a disaster for democrats. he watched president obama you

cover the hill whatever you think in terms of legislation they pass a ton of stuff here at mitch mcconnell kept saying, whether it is getting rid of the individual mandate in obamacare many pieces of the legislation were passed by the house that never came up in the senate. it is just not credible for the president to say republicans were primarily responsible for the gridlock. there will be some of that gridlock, but in terms of actual mechanics, it was harry reid that shut us down. i am amazed in not moving tissue than for somebody else, but it is not my problem. internal senate and house celebrations is something i learned over the years, you look from the outside and you cannot quite understand it sometimes. it is like high school. some people are popular with their colleagues and have done favors over the years. some people do a very good job behind the scenes that people like me do not see. there is loyalty to members in a way that one does not back.

it is also democrats, barack obama was a great candidate and a fresh face. it gave the democrats a whole image of young, new, change, different, and running against republicans a generation older. now look at the democratic party sedley. harry reid, nancy pelosi. i noticed this yesterday in california progressive politics in america, it was has been, totally democratic state. governor of california, 76. two centers in california 80 one and 74. nancy pelosi is a leader from california, 74. that is the forward-looking, young progressive democratic party currently take that -- take joe biden --

i do think there is a way for me as a republican, as a conservative, the most encouraging thing about the election was not so much just the results and the numbers but the quality and the youth of republican candidates. you have got dan sullivan and cory gardner and others coming into the senate. people in their late 40's and 50's. military veterans, impressive people. they were all younger than the democrats they beat in each race. the republicans will be younger than the democratic congress. suddenly the image one had and i had as well, depressing as a conservative in 2012 of the republicans as the party of backward looking, older, hanging on desperately democrats are

cutting-edge, i think that will look different in the next year or two. that could affect the 2016 election. hillary clinton has been around for a long time. republican candidate is much more likely to be someone in his early 40's or 50's. jeb bush would be a little older, even though he is a little younger than hillary clinton. that is an argument against jeb bush. if you want them to be young and forward-looking, it is hard to explain why you are nominating another bush. host: we are talking with bill kristol, the editor of weekly standard. on the republican line in texas. caller: good morning. just to add a fairly simple question, i do not understand why the republican party and the conservatives have not been able to frame the concept and educate the american people of the concept that you simply do not

have a nation if you cannot fundamentally define and secure and control your borders. that does not mean just your physical border at mexico. it means immigration as a whole. new not have a nation. you'd -- you do not have a nation, you do not have a country if you do not do that. why the immigration debate ends up degrading into a tit-for-tat in -- as opposed to a need to define your borders as a nation, which every nation in the world doesn't have that right and obligation to do. we know to some degree, the census works or we would be able to take down the fence from the white house. in order to identify where people should and should not go there it and yet it is something that will not work. if that is the case, let's take

down the fences from the white house and see how it works. if you could elaborate on that please. thank you. guest: i agree with your sentiments. there is border security, important for our nation. we have made progress on that. president obama does not really want to enforce it, i don't think. and then people who overstay their visas, which i think is most people here today. we have done a very poor job there. there is not much stomach to enforce that. some nonenforcement is reasonable. people who are here for 20 years, no one really wants to throw them out. that is why we do some debates these children who might be citizens. there are a lot of debates which are important, the immigration issue, but i agree. you need to have citizens secure in their own country and not have people overstay visas randomly.

you cannot have millions of people overstay visas, not all of them with good intentions. the good news is i think the american public agrees with the caller on this vast -- this aspect at least. one of the big conventional wisdom's of the." is, those republicans better pass the immigration bill. the future of the republican party is terrible if they do not cave and given to the immigration bill that passed in the senate and the business community was hammering the republican leadership in the house. newspapers, wall street journal, even, which is liberal lebron immigration, and i have been fairly liberal on immigration. and i thought clinically republicans would pay no price on immigration. and they pay their price honestly, in the election. they got more hispanic and latino votes ann romney has gone in 2012. turns out voters are multi-issue

voters. they all have different views on immigration. the immigration system, is it broken? yes. republicans have to have their own agenda for how much legal immigration there should be, how we enforce and verify and all these things. these are complicated issues. i am not sure about what i think about some of them. it is an argument that is a reasonable one to have their but i agree, i think being serious on border security is the right place to be. it is a good place to be politically. >> florida now, flank -- frank is an independent. >> hello. i enjoyed watching you on tv over the years. your knowledge of washington is

good so i will have to ask you a question. you might know something about it or you might have some ideas on what direction we could go in. one of the things that have just that could happen, if the scandal gets bigger and bigger, the fact that he had a powerful position as a majority whip, if that is correct i saw a film on the washington examiner online where he was questioning al gore a while ago. i think it has to do with oil if i remember correctly. louisiana is a big oil state anyway. among other things, al gore had dad connections with people. he was connected to someone who bought -- brought specimens specimen id 20's. his father did too. i'm not blaming al gore for that. the fact that he never expressed any kind of regret for that or

anything else, we have a problem with tort reform with asbestos also. i do not know if he is involved in anything like that, but it makes me wonder whether this could be derailed, or maybe somebody else, if he had done enough trouble and lost power, somebody else could move in to that particular area. thank you ahead of time for your reply. >> thanks for the question. you said is the scandal gets bigger, he will be in more trouble. that is true. one thing i learned in washington is not to predict. some of the ones that look really good on the first day or two, it goes way fairly or unfairly. two weeks later, no one can member what they are about. others seem small to beginning and then more stuff comes out. if that were to happen in this case, knowingly participating in any organizations, i think his

colleagues would not want him in the leadership of the republican party in the house. i think this'll be different by what comes out. it is a tough business politics, and collects make hardheaded decisions. what is best for the party. having said that, based on what we now know, i think he may have made a mistake, and perhaps went into a meeting he did not fully understand. there was some murky mess and i think he is personally popular. as is down to what did he believe, what did he say, what did he do, giving money to a group, a member of a group like this, that is one thing. not a personally bigoted man but he said something, so it is

a little unfair in a way. i think he was just being nice to a very elderly senator, but saying the country would be better off is a little weird and to say that in 2002 or something like that. he was held accountable for that. they kind of used it as a way to ease him off the stage for being leader. again, the claim really is literally guilt by association that is something liberals and most of us used to think is not a good way to judge people. liberals and the 50's, going to communist sponsored events. they gave talks, and it turns out they were, in a way being used. that is probably the case with him.

charges of guilt by association typically have not gone very far . different if he said certain things and its earnings. host: what we're talking about is the fact that he was there not that he said something objectionable. there is nothing about what he said as far as getting into hot water with his conference and others very just the act of being there. >> right. if you are a state legislator which is what he was at the time, you get invited to something, people there, your constituents, the neighbors invited him, murky, but i will go and give my pitch about taxes and i will leave. you do not probably think to yourself exactly who is responsible -- sponsoring this. 40% of louisiana voted for him in 1941 for governor. you cannot go around in the state and say anyone who is ever vaguely been associated with them is ruled out of bounds.

i would be pretty strict on the ruling out of balance of anyone who has been associated with them. so far, at this point, based on what we know, i think it is probably fine. but the history of these things, things can come out and people can make decisions. you can make decisions that he is a decent man and i did not think he is a racist at all. you could end up in a situation where cussing he is just not the right person to be the number three leader in the house and conference. i do not expect that to happen but it could. >> i want to make sure we have time for our parlor game. jeb bush talking the 2016 field by 10 points. could this perhaps be a reason bush should not be the nominee? my question to you is who gives republicans -- to the white house question mark that he has been around a little bit? >> yes, that he is just another bush.

hillary clinton, i think is not that strong a candidate. she at least could say she would be the first to run for president. it is kind of a first and gives her a certain way of overcoming the fact. jeb bush would really be the third bush president. it could happen. it has never happened in american history three people of the same family being president let alone in a 25 year stretch. but i'm skeptical. i think jeb bush would be a good president, but as an analytical matter of, is he a strong going into the primaries, i am dubious. i'm curious to see the cnn poll, it is early, he got a lot of publicity in the last month, is that a high water mark or does he keep going off? who would be stronger?

i think one of the younger and fresher faces whether it is rubio or cruise in the senate, scott walker, chris christie in the governor's mansion, bobby jindal, and others as well. republicans have a lot of young talent. we had romney and mccain in the last two cycles. the younger candidate has won the popular vote in all six of the presidential elections. really, you're better off with the younger candidate host were. that is the rule today. yung, change, reform. cruise is a little more conservative, rubio is center-right. all the normal things that get debated in the primaries. i think it is a pretty good presidential field. jeb bush would be formidable. if one of these guys beat jeb bush, it makes them more

formidable. like obama beating hillary clinton in 2008. you should go find him the first day their back on generate fifth and find out what they will do. the former governor of florida was kind of a mentor to rubio, came up to the state center there and a fantastic campaign that one in 2010. if rubio would announce an two weeks, i think it would be impressive. he respects jeb bush, he likes jeb bush, but he is not yielding to the older guy. it shows a kind of populist on rubio's part. this may be typical of republican primaries to think that is impressive, rubio things he could do the job and jeb bush has more donors but rubio's supporters have gone off to jeb bush. more of an uphill climb, but most presidents become president have had uphill climbs, like

clinton in 1992, president obama in 1998. if a republican beats jeb bush it could help him in the general election in the way beating hillary clinton helped barack obama in 2008. >> new jersey governor chris christie at 13%. ben carson at 7%. 6% each, mike huckabee and rand paul of kentucky. what is your read of the rest of those? >> huckabee is a good politician. i have -- i think newer and better is younger -- newer and younger is better. the great thing about huckabee is the narrative that he speaks to middle america. he criticize wall street in 2007 in 2008 and it made him somewhat unpopular interpublic and primary. i think he is right, though.

huckabee had a populist tone and a sense that we're worried about their wages and not just wall street. i think that is a very important part of the message. i would expect huckabee to influence the rhetoric and the policies. then -- ben carson was a very retinal man. these people who had never been elected run in both parties and then they do not win. they are symbolic candidates and they get the vote taken a lot of votes. mccain, pat buchanan in the past. i kind of assume that is what happens with ben carson, that he does not actually when the nomination, but an offense back in august of last year, our readers and mostly republicans and primary voters, i would not expect.

we did a formal poll, very formal, so it does not prove anything but jeb bush, marco rubio, ted cruz, a lot of them loved and respected and liked in person. he is an impressive man. it is such an unusual moment. so many people are so sick of washington. i would not be totally surprised if someone gets up there and gives terrific speeches and people say, you know what, if you are a fantastic neurosurgeon who has saved a lot of lives and has lived an exemplary life and is come up with a tough background, maybe it is not the craziest thing in the world. ultimately it does not happen. history would suggest it is not usual. eisenhower was the commander of allied forces, world war ii, kind of a big job.

ben carson should not be underestimated, either. host: new jersey, maria is on the line, a democrat. caller: yes. host: go ahead. you're on the line with bill kristol of the weekly standard. caller: i wanted to inform you i noticed you said 40 something times, that has been quoted by other politicians and it is not true. these people have the same name as reverend al sharpton. it just so happens i was listening to rachel maddow the other day and she quoted this, that these evil have the same names as famous people we have heard about for years. but they are not the original people. they just happened to have the same names and they just signed the book. if i went there, i would sign the book. it is just a name.

i think you need to stop saying that al sharpton has been there so many times. it is not the al sharpton we all know and love. >> i will double check on that and i have not seen that challenge. people have confusion sometimes and say some of their names. certainly al sharpton has been there several times and there are photos of president obama with him. the mayor of new york embrace sharpton, with sharpton at city hall after the incident with mr. garner. it is fair i think to say that he has been given a lot of credibility by democratic leaders. he is a major talk show host, i guess. he claims to be a big leader of civil rights, but people in that movement, but i think it is fair for people to say that sharpton

has been legitimized and some of his past bad behavior overlooked by some democratic leaders. host: our last call for bill kristol is a steward on the independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. when john boehner was ushered in, i remember him crying and telling his story about how he worked at his father's tavern and relates to the joe american, and i am a disenfranchise republican. i do not have a reason to vote for your party. i want to do it again and i did it for years and years, but there is a major problem with optics. there is so much internal strife and the party. i do not know what they stand for anymore. if you look back in the summer, we are confronted with isis, which i heard described as a threat to world wide security. what does congress do? they leave the president

dangling to deal with it. they were more concerned about campaigns. so they are captured giving their comments and criticizing what obama did single-handedly to help secure the country. if this is the way they will continue to operate, what chance do you have of taking the white house in 2016? >> i think a good chance honestly. congressional parties are usually a bit of a mess. it is hard to govern in congress, especially when you only control one branch. you can criticize speaker banner and it was held i harry reid in this -- in the senate, but we lay out a coherent agenda. if you look at democrats on the hill in the old days republicans on the hill, pay off and a lot of fighting. one person's fighting is another

prison's healthy debate. house members, when i visited with them and spoke with them sometimes, there are a lot of interesting issues about how do you help working-class americans and how do you reduce the tax on labor. they should have more proposals and not fewer. you write articles and say, this and that, would you be correct? marco rubio has a different view about how to reform the tax code, but that is fine in my view. the limit to what republicans can achieve then the presidential candidate jeb bush or marco rubio or anyone else, ted cruz, one of the non-politicians, will have to lay out a coherent agenda. i think romney in 2012, i agree with the caller in this -- in this respect, the economy's not

working, obama bad elect me, i do not think that is enough certainly in 2016, when no one who is in office is on the that -- on the ballot. both parties would have to lay out the agendas. hillary clinton is a democrat. obama has been in power for six years. democrats controlled the senate and the last four years. what is their agenda to help working-class and middle-class americans? it is as much a challenge for hillard is in as a republican nominee, but it is in a way healthy, both of them would have to explain domestic i'll see foreign policy has been covered a lot. everyone else will win that debate, which is good. hawkish foreign policy and one of the things they will be able to say is they would not have let isis grub as they had. anyway, that is why we have

primaries and a lot of people running. it is lysander is said, do not narrow the field immaturely. let's have a lot of candidates and a healthy debate. we do not quite know which would be a better presidential candidate, and let them lay out their ideas. that is why i think the next years will be interesting. host: we are talking with bill kristol, the founder and editor of the weekly standard. thank you. we will take a break and when we come back, we will be joined by michael tomasky. he will tell us about president obama and congress. we will take your calls. we will be right back. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] ♪

>> new year's day on the c-span network. here are some of our featured programs. the washington ideas forum. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, from the explorers club, and a pile of seven astronaut on the first manned spaceflight. new year's day on c-span two, just before noon eastern, an author on the 33 men. in a mine. -- 33 men who were buried in a mine. correspondent for cbs news cheryl ackerson on her experiences reporting on the obama administration. new year's day on american history tv on c-span three, at

10:00 a.m. eastern, one need a -- juanity abernathy. and the link between alcohol and politics in prerevolutionary new york city. new year's day on the c-span networks, and for our complete schedule, go to c-span.org. >> washington journal continues. host: a week away from the start of the congress and republicans have one of the largest house majorities as well as control of the senate. here to talk about how democrats talk about reality, a special correspondent for the daily beast. thank you for being with us this morning.

when we look to see what is a reasonable progressive agenda given how huge the gop majority is, what does it look like to you? >> pretty much nothing to me. democrats will be in substantial majorities. republicans now have a nine seat advantage. what position does that put them in? they cannot realistically pass anything. they can filibuster and play the role the republicans played in the early years of the obama administration, so the republicans will be in a position where they have all the things the house was able to pass that mitch mcconnell now bring to the floor, but i do not inc. they will get any farther than that. if a few of them do, there is a likelihood in many cases that the president will veto them.

>> we will see republican legislation, is that it? >> i think that is about the size of it. i did a piece in the summer interviewing 15 to 20 people, republicans and democrats on what they thought might happen when republicans took over, and there was not much optimism from people on either side about what could get done. if you people talked about the possibility of corporate tax reform. there are trade deals and the transpacific partnership obama is interested in that republicans like and liberal democrats do not. it is something that may happen there. if you google made mention of some form of immigration, but i do not think that is likely. >> we can all agree this is not the position the white house loves to be in. guest: he changes his focus to foreign policy, tries to make

sure his isis policy works, so to speak. he tries to get his nuclear deal with iran. and in terms of domestic policy there is just not much for him to do anymore, just hoping the economy gets better and the wage numbers get better so people feel we really are in a recovery. host: our guest is michael tomasky of the daily beast. the number -- we will start off our calls this morning with ronald in george on the democrats find. -- democrats line. caller: you were a big proponent of the iraq war? guest: no, i was an opponent of

the iraq war. caller: my call was for mr. bill kristol earlier. i was wondering if he was willing to accept any blame or can you name one out of the iraq war. guest: well, i will pass it along to him. host: he is no longer with the spirit on ohio, the republican slime. caller: -- republican line. caller: yes, do you republican line. caller: yes, do you think actually born in canada? guest: i think he is right, but his mother was american.

so he is eligible. as for john boehner, a lot of speculation was whipping around some months ago about whether he would throw in the towel and whether he would outlast the obama presidency. that speculation seems to have died down. i think he is probably in there for a little while. the conventional wisdom is maybe he is not interested in being the speaker and being in congress for the rest of his life, but there are not any real serious challenges to him right now. >> given the wide republican margins we have talked about right now, how relevant are democratic leaders in the house and senate now? >> they are leaders so they are relevant, but their relevance

has been diminished. control what goes to the floor you control what senators do and do not vote on. u.s. considerable but not total control over the number and kind of amendments that can be attached to legislation. harry reid's power is diminished. he is up for reelection. people might remember in 2010 he faced the challenge, a serious challenge for a little while. and he pulled away at the end. that is six years ago. he will be up in 2016. there's already a little speculation about what might happen if he did not seek reelection. host: i want to talk about democratic leader pelosi a little bit as well. there were a lot of questions from members of the press. should she step aside? do they need an infusion of

fresh blood given they are older and have been around for a little bit? what about her power now? guest: i think she has got a pretty good handle on the democratic caucus. well respected. a good manager of the caucus from everything that i hear. i do not think she is going anywhere in the immediate future. if we start talking long-term and get to after the next redistricting in 2020 and the democrats looking at a serious shot of recapturing the house, i think it would be time at that point for the democrats. >> carol is on the line for democrats. >> my concern was the election

that caused us the senate, but my thing as well is republicans always talked about what the democrats are doing and what president obama has done, they do not get any credit for things that are going on good in the united states right now. everybody can see that everything this man tried to do with everybody, it was not just for the blacks or brown's. it was for everybody. the republicans, they all said no. even though we lost the senate, this is going to be a two teller right here. do you know that everything they put up against president obama look at how things are going. don't you know they have done everything really, they are treasonous, what they have done to the united states. it is like they wanted the united states to go down just for him to look that. it is the people that is really hurting.

the thing is, you have got to hold the truth to the power. the republicans did not do anything there they keep talking about jobs, jobs, the health care, they talk about everything but they have not done anything there at they got the senate. let's see what they do with the senate. >> i think there have been times when republicans have pretty much intentionally obstructed economic progress in the country in order to hurt obama and tried to make him a one term president. i think that is true. certain democratic all decisions said that publicly from time to time. there are more who would say it privately. you know, they have been uniquely obstructionist. the number of filibusters and closure votes, the voting studies of political scientists who study the votes as scientists do, all members show both parties do it but

republicans do a lot more than democrats. so i think there is something to what the caller says. at the same time, there are a lot by this administration that yes, republicans will not give them credit for but i think a good chunk of americans do. >> he go to washington where elaine is on the independence line. >> the reason i'm calling is there are a couple of things i want to ask you about. the gdp, it went up quite a bit. i wanted to know if one of the reasons there was such a jump in it is that now, because people have to buy health care, that all that purchasing went in to estimating the gdp which, if you force a person to buy something, then it is not really something they're doing

willingly, which would affect the gdp quite a bit. the other thing i wanted to know is how you think the democrats would respond to lindsey graham ryan for president. guest: i do not really study the correlation between these things. i would be surprised if that were true because at the end of the day, not many people really have had to buy health insurance , given the said and surprise of the country. i would doubt that would affect gdp that much. lindsey graham is an interesting subject. largely for foreign policy, and

largely -- rand paul of course is a quasi-nation, guess you'd say. lindsay graham is a neoconservative foreign-policy hawk. he is genuinely concerned. i think his party is going in the paul direction. he wants to be a counterweight to that. i do not necessarily see him as a first tier candidate. but, you know, i've been wrong about these things many times. host: brandon from north carolina on our lines for democrats this morning. caller: happy new year to both of you. my question is, in 2016, in 2012, president obama he was willing to get the hispanic and african-american vote and the women's vote, so do you think

the same thing could happen in 2015 with democrats? guest: i take it he means because the candidate will presumably not the african-american, will there be that intensity of support. not quite, but i think pretty close. if the candidate is hillary clinton, the clintons have a long record of support for and from the black community, civil rights causes, and things like that. i do not think they will lose much of that support their the latino vote is arguably a little more up in the air depending on who the republicans nominate and what kinds of positions the republicans take her jeb bush talks more pro-immigration game than others. but i do not see the party at all in congress over the next

two years. then throw in the cuba move that obama made. you know that is very broadly support among latinos and even cuban-americans below the age of 65 are very broadly supportive of this. i would expect, if you asked me to put my marker on one spot or the others, i would guess today that the support for the team -- for democrats for latinos would be high as well. it is worth pointing out that democrats win the women's vote and they lose the weight women's vote and they win among african-americans and latinos women substantially. i think clinton can come closer and maybe win. host: if hillary clinton wins she is the first female president of the second clinton. talk about what her advantages

are and realistically, when do you think she would go for it, if in fact she does? guest: i think she probably will, sometime early next year she even -- i think she will start sending the stronger is the most. her advantage is, 18 of the last 21 years, she is the most admired woman in america. she has got her detractors, a diva -- a decent approval rating but, you know, a lot of people in the country do not like her, but more do. she can make inroads into the independent vote. and she did as a candidate in new york. on the downside, you know, as bill was saying, i watched him on the segment before me, the younger candidate usually does

when. she will have to come up with ways to compensate for that. she will need to come out with some policies and ideas that appeal to younger voters. >> suggest maybe she comes out early. my question is, by waiting so long and everyone is watching her every move, though she heard her party by not going ahead and saying look, i am running, this is what i guess this is what is happening, or at least saying, she is exploring a run? guest: i do not think so. it is still pretty early. we keep pushing these things forward, we journalists, but we are still two years away. there is time. if she decided not to run for it every in, that really throws the party because as much debate as

there is about her, and people in the elizabeth warren wing are not crazy about her and so forth, almost everyone is counting on her to run because when you get past her, the democratic -- is pretty thin. host: let's go to tom in ohio independent. caller: my thought, and i'm pretty sure this will be right in the 2006 election, it will be about 19. that is about food, the availability of food, the cost of food, quality, and ricky. as you already know, it is either the 37 or 38 month in a row, we have had less food in the pipe line than we have had in the month previous. we are producing food in the same rate we did in the 1950's,

when the population was a lot less and we're probably double that now. a few reasons why. east of the mississippi the 2012 and 13 of 14 seasons were mainly due to cold and wet weather in the spring, we just never could get cross out of the ground, and with greatly temperatures running 7-9 degrees colder than normal we are still in serious problems. my question to you is, what is any presidential candidate going to do to provide food for the people in the united states? guest: i do not know. i did not know some of the statistics you cite here it in general, you know, while i am

sure you're right in all the facts that you cite, i do not think this shortages in the front consciousness of the average voter right now. maybe by 2016. who could predict what the issue will be in 2016. it could be part of the country -- a could be a country 5% of americans have not even heard about today. host: it is inevitable on both sides of the aisle, and yet you have written a piece and your answer is not hillary clinton. talk to us about that he's a little bit. guest: i said elizabeth warren because of the intensity and the passion she inspires among her followers are millions of americans would walk through a brick wall with her. clinton has had my -- moments of inspiring that passion but i think at this moment, warren is

our -- arguably more powerful. i read the column after the recent weekend in the senate where she voted against -- what a my forgetting? you know this better than i do. host: i think financial regulations. guest: right. she really made a stand and there is a wine wing of the party. people are passionate about her. i do not think she will run for president. host: if she does not run to do you think people will, and i use this -- will people be able to suck it up and vote for hillary clinton, if they are so passionate and motivated by the idea of president elizabeth warren? guest: it is not just her as a person their passionate about. they are passionate about the

issues she emphasizes and the way she is able to talk about them. to answer your question, i think hillary clinton will have to make serious overtures to those voters and it will have to be more than a few sentences and speeches. will have to be real policies she will have to adopt to show the voters that she hears them and that she can change and that her views are a little bit different than they were in the 1990's, and that she is responding to this very real desire among the democratic electorate. if she does that, they will vote for her happily. host: are there other democrats we should be watching as we are going ahead to 2000 seen? keep pushing further and further ahead? guest: that is a good question. among the democratic residential

contenders i do not quite know and i do not think anybody quite knows where he will be to hillary clinton's left and right . he is to the left a bit on sentencing reform questions where he took a leadership role where he is in senate it he will probably be a little bit to the right on certain cultural political questions. depending on how he purports himself on the debate stages, he has the ability not to win the nomination but to influence her and influence some directions she takes. bernie sanders is likely to run as a democrat. he is still thinking whether democrat or independent. he will maximize influence if you runs as a democrat. -- he runs as a democrat. he will get that spotlight and

be able to highlight those issues. martin o'malley has been a successful governor of maryland but he is dinged here lately by the bad rollout of obamacare in the state and the loss of his -- those are the main ones where looking at in terms of -- host: our caller is robert in atlanta, georgia on the democrats line. caller: good morning. it has occurred to me for a long time that the most progressive thing these progressives could do is do whatever they can to preserve social programs for those who actually need it. there has been a lot of

middle-class into those programs, people who don't need them but get them nonetheless. i'm annoyed when i see organizations like aarp -- whenever a suggestion to do anything to preserve or protect social security, raise taxes are raised the aid, the entire liberal organization freaks out. that is highly inappropriate productive and economics don't work. if you take a clearheaded look at the economics of those programs, the amount of the budget they are consuming now they will fall flat on their face and harm the people who need it while those who should

not necessarily be fully benefiting from it keeps sucking it. i would like your comments on that. guest: entitlements are a big fight within the democratic party. especially social security and medicare. a centrist wing of the democratic party wants to deal with republicans come a mice with republicans on these issues -- compromise with republicans on these issues. the liberal wing is dead set against those things. this is a big fight within the democratic party and something to watch if clinton does run where she comes down on social security and how to deal with it. social security trust fund is in a lot less trouble than the medicare trust fund.

problems loom in the near future . social security, that is not true. my own policy preference is that i think the payroll tax cap should be raised. we stopped paying taxes at $115,000. if that were raised, a lot of fiscal problems would go away. i have seen many polls were people preferred that, when given the option majority choose raise the payroll tax cap . that is in theory. once it gets that -- to that building, it's a tax increase. eventually, our political system will come around to considering an increase or a change in the payroll tax. host: flat rock, north carolina.

republicanrobert is on the republican line. caller: i was just wondering if he thinks any of the democratic senators might support the republican agenda in congress. it takes 60 to override. is there anything that will move forward? guest: there are a handful of democrats from red states who feel that pressure from home. there are a few others. this election wiped out a lot of democrats from red states. the pickings are pretty slim there in terms of the number

of democrats who have a clear home state benefit from voting with republicans. it's a voting issue. there may be some issues where the 54 republicans will get together with a handful of democrats and hit that 60 mark. i don't think it will happen very often. host: a particular policy issue health care. the republican congress will focus on chipping away some parts of the affordable care act. what did democrats do -- what should they do when that happens? guest: there is not much they can do. they should defend it and defend every element of it. the one thing, there will be some come from i saw on the medical device tax.

-- compromise on the medical device tax. there are democrats from states where they manufacture medical devices. they have talked about looking at that. that will probably be changed without a huge fight. other stuff, i expect a big fight. i don't expect anything much to happen. barack obama is going to be tell anything -- veto anything. the biggest danger is from the supreme court which may decide by june that it's done. host: something i've heard a lot of liberals are scared of what the supreme court could roll back in 2015. guest: i think of the supreme

court and longer terms. even in terms of the next president. it looks like, there is speculation about ruth ruth bader ginsburg. she says she is not going anywhere. the next president, they will have a lot of appointments. i don't want to wish ill on anyone but look up their ages and so on. there could be 2-3-4 appointments to the supreme court under the next president. that could really reshape the court. potentially, president clinton could create a liberal supreme court majority. that is going to be a huge fight going forward. in the short term, the biggest deal is this obamacare case that

the supreme court decided to hear and only decided to hear so they could take a whack at the bill. host: could take up cases that deal with same-sex marriage, freedom of speech, political conservation limits. in those cases come back in 2015, what can that do for progressives? guest: it will galvanize progressives to some extent. if the supreme court somehow decides against same-sex marriage, that will galvanize liberals to a great degree. i would be surprised to see the court do that, but it might. on campaign finance issues, we have a clear signal from this court that they are going to wipe away as much of those as they possibly can.

that will galvanize liberals but that is not a big voting issue for a lot of people. the main thing it will do is permit many more millions of untraceable dollars into the campaign system, which republicans are better at taking advantage of the democrats. host: priscilla in texas on the independent line. caller: hello? host: you are on. caller: my question was on immigration and the way it is being handled now. i don't agree with it. because the president has two years left, so he is doing this to get the country in an uproar.

i don't think he should be making any decisions at this time. he should have made them when he first came in our when acorn helped him get in. i feel that he had very little experience on what he is doing now. guest: he would say that he tried to do immigration leverages lately many years -- legislatively for many years. the republicans in the senate passed an immigration bill that had a path to citizenship, but it passed with substantial republican support.

ever since, it has been at the house. the truth is, john boehner could have brought that bill to the floor any day and it almost certainly would have passed the house with 180 democratic votes. a lot of republican power groups wherefore it. united states chamber of commerce was for it. it could have passed any day that john boehner would have let it come to the floor but he would not let it come to the floor because he was afraid of the right-wing base out there and his tea party caucus inside the house and how they would react.

obama was patient on this issue. now, we can debate whether he overstepped the bounds of executive authority or not by making these announcements that he recently made. but he waited a long time and he gave the republicans a chance to do compromise legislation which some of them in the senate did. host: chris is on a republicans line in florida. -- our republicans line in florida. caller: i think it is going to be interesting to see if hillary clinton does run, how progressives will try to rally around her. she is the darling of goldman sachs. she has not served herself well charging $200,000 plus to college students for one hour and say it is going to the clinton fund. the new york times did an expose

on that clinton fund and there was a lot of black holes and sloppy accounting practices. she has criticized president obama. she is more of a foreign-policy hawk. guest: he raises a fair point. on the foreign-policy question i don't think she is a neoconservative. i have written about this. she is a more hawkish liberal interventionist than barack obama is. i don't think she is a neoconservative. i think she can finesse that one. on the goldman sachs question this relates back to what i was saying earlier about the signals that she will have to send, not just symbolic signals, but real policy signals she is going to

have to send to progressives in the democratic party to show that that is not what she is. host: i want to ask you about one of the biggest stories of 2014. the outrage over the killings of eric gardner and michael brown. does this become an issue in 2015? guest: hard to say whether it becomes a presidential campaign issue. if there is another incident in the heat of the campaign, it certainly would. these are understood to be mostly municipal and local jurisdictional issues come although presidential candidates are probably going to have to talk in general terms about the relationship between the police

forces and african community. -- and the african-american community. host: let's go to the york any that is on outline for independent -- anita is on outline for independents. caller: you mentioned the ted cruz could run for president. you don't acquire citizenship to run for president. you may acquire it to become a citizen but in order to be able to run for president, you have to be born on the soil. you have to be born on the soil. canada has not been taken over yet. guest: this latin is above my

pay grade. i have read many places that cruise is eligible to run for president could people should look it. people should look it up. host: a couple of tweets on the topic of hillary clinton and elizabeth warren. another tweet from laura -- guest: they do and the bench has been filled -- they are down. that is where you get your presidential candidates, from the governor's. they need to rebuild in a big

way. host: austin, texas where alex is on the line for democrats. caller: earlier, he mentioned rand paul as a non-interventionalists. it was too vague a term to throw out there. can he explain why he is against non-interventionalistsm? it is a heavy-handed and very loaded thing to say. i would like him to explain that thing for me, please. guest: he has given speeches on this subject here to a major one pretty recently that i recommend you google and find and look up and read.

he is certainly not a neoconservative interventionist. he has spoken of how we need to have a much larger footprint in the world, military footprint in the world. he is very skeptical of military intervention. too much u.s. engagement in global hotspots. he said this many times and in many ways. i can tell you, i think paul is a shrewd politician. a very serious candidate to win the republican nomination. he will have a big fight on his hands with the republican establishment which does not support his approach to foreign-policy and they will be trying to stop him because of it. host: clark in new jersey.

independent line. caller: i'm listening to you speak about elizabeth warren. she is coming out of nowhere. a law professor. somebody is propping her up. she is a farce, a big phony. i know when i get off the line you are going to -- you will say whatever you want to twisted around to be. -- twist it around to be. i will give everyone a website. google "frontline" the episode called "the warning." she was the head of the committee to find out who was responsible for the economic collapse of 2008.

i don't know how she got appointed because she was not an elected official. she never mentioned who was responsible for it. never said that. she covered it up. the people responsible for it was the clinton administration and this happened way back in 1998 and you can go right back and see the hearings and you will see she never mentioned that. you have to know that she was ahead of this committee first -- the head of this committee first. you as a reporter should be saying this. guest: i don't need to be told what my job is. elizabeth warren got appointed by democrats in the senate to have that committee. it is not unusual thing.

a often applicable from the private sector to head these probes. she got appointed because she earned it and started out the rp and worked her way up -- very poor in life and worked her way up. that is her curriculum, hurt qualifications -- curriculum vitae, hurter qualifications. she did say who was responsible. she talks about the deregulation of the banks under clinton and places partial blame on that but lismore blame on more recent characters -- lays more blame on more recent characters. host: rod in florida on outline for republicans. caller: i would like your guest

to explain for me what social justice in america would look like. how would i recognize it when it arrives? guest: it's not going to. the main thing i would say is less economic inequality. nothing is everyone to be perfect but less economic inequality, which is really -- has really spiked crazily in the last 30 years in this country. for a lot of concentrated reasons. it's not the evil republicans fault. there are a lot of forces at work that contribute to the problem. it is much, much worse than it was. i would argue that in this country's golden era of growth and prosperity at the end of the second world war, until the

1970's, one of the reasons for that prosperity is that we had a lot more economic inequality and equality helped growth, helped prosperous middle class which was able to go out and buy refrigerators and cars and washing machines and keep this bridge was cycle of production and consumption going -- virtuous cycle of production and consumption going. that would be my main thing. that is something i want to see our political system do more to address. host: our last call is no in jacksonville florida on the democrats line -- noah. caller: you won't believe what just happened. i heard something that made me say "wow." i was born and raised in florida , a segregated community for

almost -- for most of my life until i served my country proudly and i have no regrets. with that said, i was going to ask you about something you wrote about. elizabeth warren. i have been circumvented, ambushed. if you read the constitution -- i want you to correct me on this if i'm wrong because you are a learned person. if i'm wrong, you tell me. the constitution itself, the way it's preamble is a pledge of social justice. i will let you answer me -- there is so much more i could have an wanted to ask.

would you think i was right in thinking the preamble is an instrument for social justice? guest: it is. thanks, by the way for your kind words and reading my prose. it is and that is the idea of this union. of course, the constitution endorsed slavery and counted slaves as the bits of human beings so the legacy is obligated. -- as 3/5 of human beings. as we have overcome this legacy, we have come to understand that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is supposed to reach all citizens of all colors and backgrounds and economic stations and so forth.

that is the point of this whole enterprise. that is why we do what we do. there are many of us who think we are still come as much progress as we've made, quite a long way away from that ideal. host: we will leave it there. thank you so much for being with us today. we are going to take a quick break. we will have your calls on the top stories of 2014. first, let's get an update from c-span radio. >> jobless numbers in this hour show more americans applied for benefits last week but the number of applications still and historically low levels. the labor department says applications brought up limit benefits climbed by 17,000 last week, to a seasonally adjusted 298,000, suggesting solid

economic growth will continue. guantanamo bay come a word that the united states transferred prisoners to context on last night -- kazakhstan last night. "he 14 with 155 detainees -- began 2014 with 155 detainees. the cdc tweeted out that it is officially declaring the current flu season and epidemic. the threshold for deaths reached 6.8%. reuters reporting that the center plans to hire a chief of laboratory safety, a new post to take on more urgency after he cdc scientist was possibly exposed to ebola in a laboratory last week. angry u.s. lawmakers faulted

what they called a dangerous pattern of safety lapses and government laboratories that handle deadly pathogens and called for the overhaul of controls at the cdc. the director of the cdc tapped ac/dc microbiologist to oversee lab safety until the position is permanently filled. the mars rover is experiencing amnesia because it is forgetting what it has done. it is causing the rover itself to reset and stop communicating with mission control altogether. the nasa team is attempting to hack into the rover's software so it ignores the faulty part of its flash memory. the rover has lasted on mars bar longer than nasa ever anticipated, even if it fails now, it will have succeeded the initial goal of spending three

months on the red planet where it landed 10 years ago. >> this sunday on q&a, president and ceo of the national council of la raza. the state of hispanics in america, immigration reform and her personal story. >> i had the great privilege of experiencing the american dream here in this country. born in kansas, my parents actually came to this country in the very early 1950's. my parents came from mexico with no money and very little education. my dad had an eighth-grade education and my mom a fifth-grade education. yet, they believed in the promise of this country and they were seeking better opportunities for their

children. they worked really hard and sacrificed as so many latinos and hispanics have done in this country because they wanted that better future for their children and believed in the promise of this country. they taught us important values that have been our guide for our lives, for me and my siblings. they taught us the importance of family, of faith, of community hard work, sacrifice, honesty, integrity. all of those were important values they shared with us. >> sunday night at 8:00 on c-span's q&a. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back for our final segment, we will focus on the stories that get you talking in 2014. for republicans, the number to

call is -- we will also take your comments online. on twitter facebook, or you can e-mail us. we have been talking about your top stories. the associated press does an annual poll asking them what their top stories were. the first was police killings. michael brown had his hands up to surrender, others said he was making a charge. there was no dispute that he was unarmed. another unarmed black was killed in new york city after a white officer put him in a choke hold.

after grand jury's opted not to indict the officers, protests are rubbed it across the country -- erected across the country. -- you were you erupted across the country. the evil outbreak. by the summer -- the ebola outbreak. a liberian man died at a dallas hospital followed by a few other cases involving u.s. health workers. nick in california on the republicans line. what is your top story this year? caller: the biggest one is immigration. i'm trying to find my mute button here.

ok. i am sick and tired of all the comments being made regarding immigration. it is broken, it's this, it's that. they are here illegally. coming here illegally is a crime. it is nice that everyone wants to come here to make a better living. i have no problem with that. they are coming here illegally and want all the benefits right away. in california, they are giving people the drivers license.

-- giving people drivers licenses. we spent do billions of dollars for homeland security building up the order to keep more people out here -- the border to keep more people out. they are not stopping them. they are just bringing them in and they spent months trying to decide whether they will go back or let them stay here. host: a story topping the list for yahoo! news. the most shocking defeat of the 2014 primary election cycle when eric cantor of virginia lost against a virtual unknown.

cantor was in as a politician who cared more about national politics than local matters often spending more time in new york for fundraisers or d.c. for partner work working with his richmond area constituents. winter haven, florida. karen on the line for democrats. caller: my top story broke this summer in that the knology meant that the price for solar energy and wind energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels. -- acknowledgment. we will see a real shakeup in our society. nuclear and tar sands have been too expensive to produce. we will see a change in our society. host: a couple of responses on

twitter. this first one from mark williams -- let's hear from kevin in seattle, washington on the independents line. caller: good morning. i thought the top story which dovetails all our economics, our institutions and the racial dynamics of this country are so ask you that -- askew that we kill call the murders "killings" when the government does it. we no longer receive the process that is due when the government

breaks the law and somehow the news media likes to pump it across the air as if the government has the right to say they can violate due process. that is the most ridiculous thing and i'm so upset that americans are watching our country being commune ized right in front of our eyes while saying it is why people versus black people. you look at the issue of race and government -- president obama has done the best any president has done in who knows how long. because he is black, they want republicans in. republicans are saying we will vote for the white guy. it is not white people or black people here to.

congress has shown it is at war with its citizens. host: another tweet about the top stories of 2014 -- burlington vermont. zack on the line for democrats. caller: i believe the top story for me, has been racism throughout the united states. the police brutality is only dignified in showing that racism and the after affects of slavery are impacting african americans is not over.

the previous caller claims it is not whites against blacks. it is not the government either. racism has taken over this country. it's a war on african-american males. there is a war on african-americans. and there is nothing being done. barack obama has been in office for two terms -- what has he done for black people? that is the top story. it's ridiculous. host: illinois where chuck is on the line for independents. caller: the top story is the legalization of marijuana. he was talking about helping black people -- it helps black

people by not putting them in jail. host: we've been talking about the top stories of 2014. fox news maties dorie -- made a story of 2014's top gapffe. alison grimes tried for months to distant herself -- distance herself from president obama. out of it this morning is your top stories of 2014.

-- our top story this morning is your top stories of 2014. we are joined now by raymond in michigan on the democrats line. are you with us? caller: yes i am. host: what is your top story? caller: the takeover of republicans in the house and senate is the best thing in the world. before the takeover -- now, they have it all. now they can start doing something. it is great for the country. let's see what they can do rather than saying no to everything.

host: another tweet from stella -- we will hear now from mitch mcconnell. this is what he had to say about the dysfunction in congress and how it will be changing when his party takes over next year. [video clip] >> it is pretty clear, the reason we were not doing anything was the senate. we have evolved over the last 3-4 years into a body that never passed anything except in emergency situations. i feel like we have an obligation to be responsible conservative governing majority which involves allowing votes on

matters. you had a freshman democratic senator in alaska who had never had a roll call vote six years. we will be working longer, harder. there will be an opportunity for members of both majority and minority to offer their ideas and get votes. i know that sounds revolutionary , but we will pass individual appropriations bills. instead of rolling everything up into a continuing resolution. host: mitch mcconnell, the minority leader in the last congress come expect it to be the majority leader come january.

we go to lincoln, delaware. bob on the democrats line. what story got your attention this year? caller: i think president obama is doing a good job. things have really changed since he come in there. he got blamed for the bad things, but what about the good athings? oil prices have dropped. he was being blamed for the gasping high, but -- the gas being high, but now you don't hear about him when it's dropped. host: back to twitter --

tim in oswego, new york. republicans line. caller: good morning. the top stories one that has not been covered. one of the things that came out of the ferguson mess. i started looking at the numbers and we have less than 13% of the population representing 50% of the murders. in places like detroit, only 21% of the murders get solved. that is a civil rights issue. the vast majority of the people who live even in the worst neighborhoods are good, decent people and they deserve safe streets. host: we turn to politico now where they have a list of 15 questions ahead of 2015. one has quite a bit to do with 2014. can chris christie get his outbursts under control?

he spent much of 2014 trying to put the bridge gate scandal behind him. many republicans worry about americans not trusting the lodge code -- one of the many reasons romney did not seriously entertain christy at his 2012 running mate -- as his 2012 running mate was his temperament . that from politico. we go to chuck in south carolina. independent line.

are you with us? we will go ahead and let him go and move on to anthony in asheville, north carolina. democrats line. caller: good morning. the president is somewhat a victim of his own doing. he wanted to have faith in what should have been watching out for. they call him -- he is the president of the united states. he is president obama. if we disrespect our own president, how will anyone else respect him? we call latinos latino americans or latin americans or asian-americans but when it

comes to africans and europeans it's black and white. that is the beginning of the hate in america. host: another comment from twitter -- if you have comments on your top stories of 2014, tweet them to us. next caller is tony in florida. republicans line. caller: good morning. i would like to hope that our policies to support israel to resolve all this middle east conflict, it seems like the palestinians or the factions within the palestinian community does not want to seem to work with the israelis.

it has been like this for almost 70 years. i hope the president can resolve this issue. it is a waste of tremendous money and time. host: usa today where they have compiled a list of their top stories of 2014. number seven is on climate change. president obama and the chinese president unexpectedly announced an accordance that targets curbing carbon emissions. right now, we want to hear your top stories. cleveland, ohio.

independents line. caller: happy new year to you. to me, one of the biggest stories is how the democrats ran away from the president's record. one gentleman mentioned that he feels the president is doing a fantastic job. the economy is better. gas prices are lowering. we know the president takes a hit when things go bad. this president does not give credit when things go good. -- get credit when things go good. this president has been disrespected. for the gentleman who called -- who made the statement about he has not seen anything president obama has done for black people.

as an african-american myself, i would like to remind him that president obama is the president of the united states of america. he has to look out for everyone. he can't look after one particular group or another. the gentleman who mentioned the marijuana and black people black people are not the only people in this country that use marijuana. thank you and may you all have a blessed holiday season. host: another tweet from someone who says they are john steinbeck -- we go now to sherman in dayton, ohio on the democrats line. caller: my top story is race relations are much better than they used to be. however, the atmosphere and

climate going on right now, to let all those people know that you still have to participate and vote. because of the president, the tea party which is the confederate party now of 2014 lets us know that our fight against racism and sexism and homosexual some and all the other isms is not over. we have to participate and be activists in our electoral process. if we don't keep on fighting things like dominant republican offices will continue in this racism will continue if you don't keep on fighting. i'm glad that young people are able to see that racism is not over.

the n word is still a bad word. host: how topic this morning is your top stories of 2014. if we are talking about the auto industry, this is known as the year of recalls. more than 60 million vehicles have been recalled in the united states. double the previous annual record of 2004. an average of two and day. bill on the independents line in new york. caller: the story of the year is that finally come of country starting to realize that our president is doing a great job despite the erroneous propaganda

of the republicans. i look forward to seeing a further realization that he is a great president and move forward. happy new year. caller: we go to a e-mail -- host: we go to an e-mail from dave -- you can e-mail us at journal@c-span.org. independents line. caller: my story this year is the entrance into the united states of all the illegal children. by funding them, you are taking away from out of it. here in philadelphia, we have a problem every year with the funding of schools. i would like to see the

president close the borders. i can't afford -- i'm on social security. i'm 68. i'm just making it. there are a lot of people who are not. especially our children. stop taking away from our children and giving it to the illegals. happy new year. host: another e-mail now -- we will check that out next year and see if that comes true. georgia, democrats line. caller: good morning. happy new year to you.

i will say that -- i just want to mention two things. number one about the racist situation. the old roots have been dug up. the only way we will get rid of this stuff is to get rid of that route. we have to teach our young kids that this stuff is still buried in the ground. the president ought to do so much -- it will take us -- let me start by saying it will take god. to help us to come together as a united front, as a united states.

when 9/11 happened, everybody came together. there was prayer, they were talking to god and god brought us together. all of a sudden, the devil came in and he parted us. he started turning people against the president. i do like how the democrats went against the president. we have to stick with our go d. yes, he has done a great job. people need to wake up and see what this president has done for all people, black, white mexican and all. i'm tired of people saying this president has done nothing for the whites or done nothing for the blacks. he does stuff for everybody. host: we go now to lorraine in wisconsin on the line for democrats. caller: i agree with the fellow who called on the earlier segment that the house of

representatives is secretly rigged -- secretly rigged the voting machines to vote republican and so democrat. -- instead of democrat. host: we have a compilation of c-span's most viewed videos of 2014. you can find those on our website. that is all the time we have for today. be sure to join us tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. eastern and have a happy and safe new year. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] ♪

>> this year marks the 10th anniversary of c-span's " q&a" and we are featuring one interview, today about inside the president's club. their history of the private and public relationships of modern american presidents. also tonight on c-span remembering some of the celebrities that died this past year including robin williams and his routine at a democratic party fundraiser in 2000 when he talked about then-president george w. bush. >> i guess the bottom line is we are here tonight because of