waking up. we need comprehensive and safety legislation. host: part of the debate last night, focusing on the brady bill. this response from senator bernie sanders on the charges put forth by the maryland governor. [video clip] just upset the record straight, iran for the house. three candidates in the race. one candidate said, i do not think it is a great idea that we sell automatic weapons in this country that are used by the military to kill people very rapidly. there arele said -- three candidates in the race, you vote for one of the others, but not bernie sanders. i lost that election by three percentage points, very likely for that reason. please, do not explain to me whereing from a state republicans and democrats have

not supported gun control. do not tell me i have not showed courage standing up to the gun people in voting to ban assault weapons, voting to end the gun show loophole. debate portion of the last night from manchester, new hampshire. this program carried live on irius xm channel potus. national talk security, domestic issues in third debate. let's stay with the issue of gun control, which created some of the biggest barks in the debate. here is hillary clinton. [video clip] >> i actually agree with governor o'malley for common measures. i have been for the brady bill, i have voted to not give gun

makers and sellers immunity. know, senator sanders has really moved in face of the facts of what we are confronting in this country. i know he has said in the two previous debates that he wants to take on this immunity issue. we need to send a strong message to the gun manufacturers, to the sellers, to the gun lobby. i would hope, said sanders, that you would join the democrats who are trying to close the charleston loophole, that you would sponsor or cosponsored legislation to remove the absolute immunity. we need to move on this consensus that exists in the country. it is no longer enough to say that vast majority of americans want commonsense measures, including gun owners. we need, and only the three of us went do this. no one on the republican side would admit there is a problem. in whatever way we can, we need to move this agenda forward, and

begin to deal with the gun lobby. abc: from last night's debate. again, it will air today on seas that at 4:00. cosponsored last night by the union leader. by the way, the publisher of "the union leader" will join us later in the program. linda, good morning. who won last night? caller: i would have thought to vote for bernie sanders, but people in the south -- and i am done hereby transfer, not by choice. they do not understand what socialism is. they will never vote for bernie. i have to say this. i did not hear somebody say they are as dumb as a rock, or he is an idiot. trump is an idiot. trump is a fascist. everything i hear out of the

republicans, i like the muslims, but -- i like the hispanics, but -- i like women, but. but." is always a " i think the best things republicans can do is grab their guns and bibles, and hide until this is over. reverend wright is right, the roosters have come home to roost. host: linda from kentucky. a key reporter for "politico" has his five takeaways from last night. sanders narrowly leaving

in new hampshire came out actually atouting, hillary clinton, saying one of his takeaways was bernie sanders . clinton diverging from obama on isis. also, we are finally getting to where we need to be, hillary clinton dominating national security issues, suggesting that the obama administration policy on isis has finally gotten on , and also praise for the moderator, saying she was the best one this year. inwill go to dave next virginia. did you watch the debate last night? caller: i watched just a little bit of it. i don't have very much to say about it. in my background, i have conducted thousands of interviews and interrogations.

i still have a very difficult clinton'salyzing miss responses and words. the benghazi incident, the whitewater incident. i still have a very difficult time having faith in what she says. that is all. host: do you have another point? caller: just one other point. i do not have a problem with gun shows and doing background checks. i think that would be a good thing. however, you have to be careful that once you start stepping one step at a time towards regulating firearms, you are moving in a direction that may eventually end up like they had where first, they

were told, we are just registering gear weapons, and then they took them away. that is what is somewhat a concern to me. i go along with stricter of people before they buy weapons. lastmust think -- one must thing. i noticed the cdc never publishes, and maybe they don't keep track of, how many of these homicides are attributed to people defending themselves home.t involved in their those statistics are never broken down when they quote that gun deaths are equal to card us.

-- car deaths. host: i will stop you there. sandy has this point, i pressingddatz for hillary several times. [video clip] first, the most important job of being president is obviously to keep our country safe and keep the families of america safe. i have a plan that i put forward to go after isis. not to contain them, but defeat them. it has three parts. them, andafter deprives them of the territory they occupy now. secondly, to go after and dismantle their global network of terrorism. thirdly, do more to keep us safe. under each of those three parts,

i have very specific recommendations about what to do . obviously, in the first, we have to have an american led and air campaign. we have to go after everything from north africa to south asia. host: from last night's debate, hillary clinton on how to defeat crisis. mary is joining us from florida. ahead. caller: i think sanders won the debate simply because of his merit. furthermore, i believe that the settlement of the database breach was settled quickly because they do not want an independent investigation on who accessed whose records. i suspect the clinton camp data.ed the sanders

an investigation would reveal sanders.ton accessed it is obvious that the dnc is hillary clinton into office. we want to stop the warmongering and squelch the problems in this country. is the answer. also, if it is sanders versus amp -- he is going to be better president than clinton would ever. that is all i have to say. i think people should take note look at sanders' record versus clinton's voting record. host: thank you very much for the call. tom has this tweet -- when i watch trump and debates, it is

like watching a bad adam sandler comedy. airtime,rack of hillary clinton came in first. in second.ers they also kept track of the first two debates. there is another debate scheduled for mid-january. last night's debate, the only one schedule and new hampshire. the primary scheduled for february 1. a total of six debates, and more possible as we move into march and april, depending on the state of the race. a reminder, abc news has granted c-span permission to re-air the debate. you can watch it at 4:00. donna joins us from north carolina, democrats line. are you with us? caller: yes. host: good morning.

there is a delay. if you can go ahead, we can hear you. otherwise, we have to move on. caller: we just need a christian and trump don't know yes, i'm about -- listening to my message. trump don't know nothing about the middle class and the poor. we need a gumball that takes kill.ny weapon that would host: we will move on. if you get through, you will hear a delay if you are listening to yourself on television. let's go to susan in illinois, republican line, good morning. caller: hillary can say what she he isabout trump, and say

irresponsible, by think hillary is a little more irresponsible because she keeps bringing up how that cops are. it makes people in cops families mad. it is irresponsible. being late to the states made her look really bad. that is all he wanted to say. next, joiningis us from st. paul, minnesota. welcome to the program. caller: i just have a few comments to make. as far as the debate last night, i kind of believe that no one won. they did not address the real issues. first and foremost, when we talk about isis, a lot of people do if you looknd that in the bible, there is a place in syria, or one of those countries where the armageddon is supposed to happen.

we are sitting-- here worrying about people from other countries, we are not worrying about people here. we need jobs here. people without jobs are easily radicalized because they do not have anything to look forward to. to start thinking about our people. first and foremost, get some jobs here. we spend 10 times as much as he than any other country on military. what are we doing building all these bombs when we have enough bombs to destroy the world 100 times. we need to think about taking care of us first, strengthening us first. you cannot make the world right if you're not right where you are in your own home. host: steve has this point -- all i saw with three people who had no idea about capitalism or economics. since a couple of you have mentioned this, and if you

watched the debate last night, you may have noticed when hillary clinton walked back on the stage. "wall street journal" is writing about it -- hillary clinton went missing during the democratic debate. it did not go unnoticed. centesenator bernie sanders was on the podium, and so was martin o'malley, and hillary clinton was missing. rather than waiting, the moderator went on. the reason why mrs. clinton was late has not been disclosed. some on twitter blaming abc for coming back to early. others saying the campaign should have negotiated with the network to not return until all of the candidates were back on stage. isis. defeat

another moment from the debate. here is bernie sanders. we will go next to jason in indianapolis. good morning. isis, alleaking about of these conversations in the corporate media, they are all predicated upon what will be do about it. that leaves out the option of absolutely nothing. why do we have to do anything about these people halfway around the world? the reason they do that is so that we can pour as much money -- our taxpayer money into bombing these people, and making very few in the united states wealthy. it is a terrible situation. we should not be involved over there. the propaganda here does not

nothing intolutely the equation to do absolutely .othing about these people how would we like it if syria and iraq were discussing what they would do with our internal politics. it is complete hypocrisy. the military industrial complex has a stranglehold over the media, the government, and people are getting rich. a lot of people are dying. united states is profiting on war and destruction all the way around the world. it is a terrible situation. host: nathan from indianapolis. this tweet. made morealley progress in this debates and the others, less debates are making harder for him to show his

personality. times" showing hillary clinton leads bernie sanders by 31 points. at 59%.clinton i-59 pr more details available online from "the washington times." more from last nights debate. here is bernie sanders on how he would come back isis. [video clip] >> let me tell you what i think we've have to do. it is a two-pronged issue. number one, crush and destroy isis. i think there are some differences of opinion here, perhaps between the secretary and myself. i voted against the war in iraq because i thought that unilateral military action would not produce the results that were necessary, and that would lead to the kind of unraveling and instability we saw in the middle east. i do not believe in unilateral

american action. i believe in action in which we put together a strong coalition of forces -- major powers and the muslim nation. in ank one of the heroes real quagmire out there, a dangerous and difficult world -- one of the heroes we should recognize in the middle east is the king of jordan. the small country has welcomed ain many refugees, and he said something important -- he said, yes, international terrorism is an international issue, but it nationsy of the muslim and we, the muslims, should lead the effort on the ground. i believe he is absolutely right. illinois, yourm take away from last night's debate? caller: i kind of thought it was almost a three-way tie. i would give a little bit of an edge to bernie. with thet thrilled

ness.siasm, the factual it was not like the clowns on the other show. that is what that is. i believe that has turned into a show. we need a real leader. only think i was a little disappointed that was the take issues.the health care i wish they would have been a little more poignant as to which direction they would take as he costo get -- as to get the down. i believe oklahoma has gone to a , nothealth care system paying for procedures, only paying for well health care. i was hoping to hear a little bit more about that on the debate. host: thank you for the call. according to facebook, the top social moments -- for hillary andton, on minimum wage free tuition. for bernie sanders, on the hair

eroin at the deming. for martin o'malley, remarks on competence of god legislation. lyse joins us next from ohio. caller: might take away on the debate is that it was a draw. outhe beginning, it started where bernie came out really withg about the hullabaloo the dnc and debbie wasserman schultz, who should be fired as their chairperson. she should be fired for not even that she ist show for hillary clinton. she is a shame. it is ridiculous that she has a job.

i want bernie sanders to show some fire. he is a very, very polite man, and does not want to be disrespectful to the secretary of state, but she is in it to win it, and she has no doingction whatsoever what she has to do to win and get that job. i believe all of the niceties -- this is a race and the end, and someone needs to drop somebody .nd get a win bernie sanders is the perfect candidate for the united states. i am so sick of tired of everyone saying hillary clinton is going to be the democratic nominee. why not wait until the democratic voters go out and vote and see what they want to ? if i had a choice today, a gun to my head, and it was between hillary clinton and donald trump, i would vote for donald trump. donald trump is not in the bag for corporations.

hillary clinton is a corporate democrat, which is just as bad as a republican. host: thank you for the call. reuters is keeping track with a rolling poll this month, and so far, donald trump is far and away the front runner, with just over 800 respondents, he is , teded by 30.6 percent cruz, second. we were in new hampshire over the weekend, following politics. yesterday, lindsey graham was joined by his friend, john mccain. today, we will check in with john kasich. tomorrow, we will have live coverage of new jersey governor chris christie. all of this available on her website, c-span.org. here is one of the moments from jeb bush yesterday in the granite state. [video clip] to destroya strategy

isis. i laid out a plan in august to do just that. it takes, for example, arming the kurds directly. embedding our troops. be engaging with the sunni tribal leaders. , a series safe zone of safe zones in syria so that the 4 million refugees that exist in these camps, and now going to europe -- we will not create a breeding ground for the next generation. we will allow a safe harbor for them, and told us sunni led of moderate muslims that would do the job of leading the country in a post isis and post assad world. it means a no-fly zone so the brutality of the assad machine

stops aerial bombing innocent close too the tune of 3000 people. the insecurity that exists there is a direct threat to our national security. streamway the funding for isis. it is a complex challenge, but a detailed plan is necessary and someone who has the fortitude and will to carry it out. donald trump said the isis is not our fight. really? islamic terrorism is not a threat to the united states? tell that to the family members of the people in san bernardino. donald trump says he gets his foreign-policy and military advice from the shows. really? the commander in chief, someone aspiring to be president of the united states, turns on the television on sunday morning, and things that is enough to lead this country? donald trump is excited about

sadr putin, thinks he is a good man, and awards him with praise as well. really? believes the united states is in decline and takes every step forward while we take steps back is a hero of donald trump? really? he is not a serious person. he is a chaotic candidate which creates entertainment, but he would be a chaotic president of the united states. host: you can follow our coverage anytime on c-span.org. weighing in on donald trump. "the hill" has the story saying that the candidate has a 30% chance to win the nomination. he also compares them to former president andrew jackson. joe, south carolina, independent line. caller: first, i want to wish you, katie, and your kids a

merry christmas. i also want to apologize to you on air about something, but that is something personal. anyway, i watched part of the debate. i would not make so much about the saturday night thing six days before christmas. people, especially on the democratic side, pretty much have their mind made up who they want the primary winners to be. i think that is hillary. on the republican side, there is a lot more viewership, i guess, during the week. let's face it. it is more about entertainment the real stuff. donald trump, his big plus, his only appeal is that he is not part of the washington establishment. he is funding his own campaign, basically. i would like to say word about gun control. i'm a proponent of responsible -- the keyword is

gun ownership. we are in a high risk environment. the bad people have guns, they will always have guns. we need to be able to carry guns where we have never been able to carry before. as simple as that. i do not approve of high-capacity magazine us all sales.ce my goodness. i do not understand people on my side. with regard to hillary's credibility, i know something information -- cyber training that people have to go through every year. you have to go through training, and should know everything you safeguarding information, how you treat e-mail, how you treat your computer. you have a computer in front of you, there is a slot inside of

it, about the size of a credit card, and you cannot get into your government computer without having that card encrypted. it has a chip in it. she bypassed all of that. either someone took her annual training for her, or she took it anyway, and disregarded it. host: assembler issue with ashton carter, who admitted he used his personal e-mail for government business. is absolutely correct. i have seen people security .adges pulled you have to be reinvestigated every few years. i have seen people security badges pulled for credit paying for child support problems. they will march into the gate. i do not understand it. i do not hate hillary clinton, i just do not see how she is above the law. merry christmas. host: this is from beverly --

hillary clinton won the debate, she has the experience, gravitas in foreign policy, and otherwise has a feasible agenda. , it depends on who you support, sander supporters on, itay sanders w will all come down to game day next year. randolph is next. welcome to the program. caller: thank you very much for taking my call. i think the debate was a draw. i think both candidates really concerned about what is going on in the world. i think they are being responsible. for anyone to comment about , itary being irresponsible is a disservice to this country. i think donald trump shows, if

if he becomesn -- president, he is worth $80 billion. i did you can do anything he wants. uld run putin wo the world. to me, that is irresponsible. thinks they look bad because of the bathroom break -- come on, we need to wake up and unite. creating the vision and situation that we should take the world seriously with isis. i think we should come together and be responsible and talk about real issues and do it responsibly. thank you. host: matthew has this tweet -- jacksonmpared to andrew ? again, share your thoughts at

@cspanwj. here is bernie sanders after he went after corporate america. [video clip] >> number one, the most important economic reality today is over the last 30 years, there has been a transfer of trillions of dollars from the middle-class to the top 1% who have seen a theying of the wealth have. when secretary clinton says, i will not raise taxes on the middle-class, let me tell you what she is saying. she is disagreeing with fdr and social security, lbj on medicare, and the vast majority of progressive democrats in the house and senate who today are nd theng to ane disgrace of the united states being the only country on earth that does not provide paid family leave. $1.61 per week.

provide three months of paid family leave for the working families of this country. clinton,secretary $1.61 per week is a good investment. comment -- such a contrast to the gop debate. steve, you have the last word from new jersey, an independent, correct? caller: good morning. won last night's debate. many people would say it was hillary. i think the debate was another sign that the two-party system is collapsing. by looking at the republican and democratic debate, no matter who wins, people will lose. people will lose. thank you and goodbye. host: thank you from new jersey.

hankin, a democratic strategist, and kelly m conway, a republicans riders and bolster republican pollster will be joining us. isis.he latest on ginsberg will be joining us. "newsmakers" center lamar alexander is our guest. this is the follow-up to no child left behind. he explains why this law was needed and signed by the president this month hear.

in -- [video clip] >> that accelerated would race to the top -- with race to the top. congress, in 2007, we failed leave no child behind. suddenly, brothers -- governors had to come to washington and play mother may i. may we fix performing schools that way? suddenly, you had washington running 80,000 schools in 42 states. we got rid of all that and we kept the tests so we know how people are doing. those are state designed to tests -- state designed tests.

everybody was really fed up with washington telling 100,000 public schools so much about what to do, and it was really creating a backlash on efforts to set higher standards, mainly common core and teacher evaluation. host: i know you were very careful in crafting those prohibitions. some school district advocates that i've spoken to are really worried that this department will try to continue to wield a big federal hammer to the extent that it can. mr. alexander: we expect them to follow the law. there are specific prohibitions, as you said. we have an oversight responsibility. senator murray and i have talked. we are going to have at least three major hearings in our committee, education committee, in the senate, to oversee the implementation of the laundering 2016. -- the law during 2016.

we will have the chief state school officers, teachers, school board members. we will say, what's going on? what's the department doing? how are you taking on responsibility? what i believe is that when we take the handcuffs off, that will unleash the whole flood of innovation and ingenuity, classroom by classroom, state-by-state, that will benefit children. clip]ideo host: we hope you tune in for our conversation with senator lamar alexander. joining us from new york is republican pollster and strategist kellyanne conway. we're in our studios in washington, stefan hankin, democratic strategist. thank you for being with us. thanks for spending your saturday evening watching last night's debate. let's begin with your take away. guest: i don't know how many people were watching this thing.

i think most people probably tuned in for the first 10 minutes to see how sanders was going to handle the kerfuffle over the data breach. once he apologized, clinton accepted the apology, i'm guessing half the people turned the tv off and went on to their saturday nights. in general, i think there is certainly a contrast in the tone and the tenor of the debates. also, it is three people versus 10 people on stage. it certainly makes it very different. plus, clinton is the faraway front runner. she just doesn't need to make mistakes. sanders is trying to make his points, which, i think, he did a pretty good job of. i think the surprising thing has been how bad o'malley has been, in the sense that he just can't seem to articulate a reason for why he is there, which has been very surprising. but other than that, i don't think there was really much news. a couple of funny moments, like when clinton was in there at the start after the commercial

break. but in general, i don't think any dynamics change after this study -- debate. host: there have been three democratic debates, two on saturday evening. debate.t night's abc the weekend before christmas. many complaining the dnc has this ins -- rigged favor of hillary clinton. this is the lowest viewership night of the week. is probably a" strong work. hillary has an understanding of the policy more so than most people, especially when it comes to international relationships. but certainly, they are not putting a high priority on the debates, the democrats in general. given the number, when they are putting them on tv. at the same time, not many people are tuning into these things. anyone who is a consistent democratic primary voters is

going to find time to watch these things, but the dynamics have not changed after any of these debates. and if they had 20 of these things, i still don't see how it's going to change much. host: kellyanne conway joining us from new york, from the republican side of the aisle. your response? guest: i agree with stefan. really struck that bernie sanders did what hillary clinton has refused to do in the first 25 years of public life, which is to apologize for any mistake. that puts them in contrast at the very beginning. i think it is very unfortunate that a very smart democratic strategist is admitting there is very little enthusiasm on the democratic side this year. you look at the republican base -- debates. everyone likes to make fun of the town car, 12 people, 10 people come on -- 10 people, nine people, haha. there is strength in numbers. when you tuned in last night,

the left saying, "is that all there is? are these the only people who want to get -- try to get year tone of the obama-biden-clin administration going?" i didn't see anyone wanting year nine to start with them. hillary clinton tried, and i saw this last night, it is very difficult for her to anchor herself completely to president obama's years. she said, "we are on the right track with isis," and the majority of americans do not believe that. she did not have a great offense or defense for what she would do with aca, how she would fix it, what she would do about the basic exchanges that have failed, even though they spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to succeed.

--hink it's important unfortunate the dnc is trying to keep the public away from these candidates, because i think it is very healthy for the body politic. they are a form of direct democracy for thousands of americans who cannot pony up money to get access to the candidates. host: the story available online at "the union leader" website, pointing out the candidates found some common ground. as a said earlier, one of the headlines came from the apology very -- as we said earlier, one of the headlines came from the apology very early in the debate. one staffer has been fired, two others have been suspended. here is a response from the vermont senator. [video clip] sanders: so, i apologize, secretary clinton.

apologize to secretary clinton, and i hope we can work together on an independent investigation from day one, i want to apologize to my supporters. this is not the type of campaign findwe run, and if i anybody else involved in this, they will also be fired. clinton: i very much appreciate that comment, bernie. it is important that we go forward on this. i know you have your data back and there has been an agreement for independent inquiry into what happened. obviously, we were distressed when we learned of it, because we have worked very hard, i said in the beginning of this campaign that we wanted to reach as many voters as possible. we have tens of thousands of volunteers doing that and entering data all the time to keep up with what people are telling us. think, wew that, i have resolved your data, we have

agreed on an independent inquiry, we should move on, because i don't think the american people are all that interested in this. [applause] linton: i think they are more interested in what we have to about all the big issues. [end video clip[ -- clip] host: this is very much an inside the beltway clip. does this resonate with voters? guest: to the extent that the bernie sanders' voters would feel they are excluded from the process. firing the staff responsible, suspending the others, and not leaving it at that, saying we need an independent investigation, calling on mrs clinton to join him in that, that's. an appropriate response, and the type of response people would have liked to have heard

governoretary clinton, clinton, first lady clinton. is what doissue here the sanders voters feel is their voice? are they being properly treated by a dnc that seems to want to protect hillary clinton in a hermetically sealed package, because, god for bid, she go through -- god forbid, she go through what she went through in 2008? do the people feel like this process is open and fair? that's part of the question in the data breach, which, of course, was egregious and dealt with. conway, ayanne republican. stefan hankin, a democrat. phone lines are open. (202)748-8001 for republicans. (202)748-8000 for democrats.

i want to share with you a piece this morning, a rather lengthy "the new york-- "sundayreview" by the author of the book, "the big crowd." of social "the rise media is centered on forming virtual communities of like-minded people. all true, but the heart of the matter is this -- the system is not supposed to work. with a few notable exceptions, the men who drafted the american constitution were much more concerned about the excesses of power then getting things done. they threaded it with checks and balances that made it easy for a determined opposition to stop any agenda. they considered parties to be an

inherent evil." with all this breakdown, this is to be expected, according to this essay. guest: i've heard this viewpoint before. as far as what the framers were looking for, personally, i find it hard to believe they were looking for a government that wasn't going to function at all. certainly, they were looking for checks and balances, not allowing one party just to run roughshod. at the same time, there is a business to do. these elected officials have jobs to do and a lot of them seem to not quite grasp that. they just passed a budget bill, the usual just waiting until the last second. but we can't even get a transportation bill passed without problems. the farm bill is hard to pass. these were all things that were being dealt with on a regular basis. what we've lost in d.c. is the ability for folks to actually work together.

and, again, republicans aren't 'oing to buy into democrats ideology and vice versa, and that's fine. but at the end of the day, you are being elected to do a job, pass legislation, keep the country moving. host: joining us from new york, independent line, good morning. caller: good morning. to me, it is becoming more and more obvious that the sanders campaign doesn't exist, according to the media. if you listen to them, the references that they all make, it is as if it is just hillary. he doesn't exist. i think what the dnc is doing is playing right into it. i think they are afraid of this guy, sanders. i don't think they want to play ball with him, because he is swinging pendulum to a whole different set of issues.

and i think that frightens a lot of people. so, i think there is a little conspiracy there. i don't know. maybe not. but it just appears that way. thank you. host: let me turn to kellyanne conway, if you want to weigh in to what he had to say. guest: with the gentleman said is a common sentiment. look at the contrast in coverage candidatespopulist tapping into the anti-party, anti-washington nerves. --ublicans, bernie sanders with the republicans, donald trump. the democrats, bernie sanders. on tuesday, there was an entire roster of journalists waiting for donald trump -- entire cluster of journalists waiting for donald trump. bernie sanders does feel a lot his voters feel excluded from the process. i think the general and has a point. the gentleman has a

point. he is a candidate with a different message that is a little bit of an uncomfortable message for the obama-clinton doctrine, the obama-clinton administration because he clearly is running against them. i think they are afraid of sanders at the dnc and the hillary campaign. don't just look at poll numbers and say she is beating him by 20 points. when mr. sanders has a rally, he brings in 10,000 people, 15,000 people strong. that nothing -- that aint' -- ain't nothing. people are worried about hillary clinton, her speaking fees, her corporatized, nobody speaks of -- her corporate ties. there are many people on the progressive left that field disappointed. feel disappointed.

they feel they were made many promises and they are disappointed. our two guests here at the table in washington, stefan hankin, who is a graduate of the university of massachusetts , and kellyanne conway, a graduate of george washington university law center. dan is next from idaho, democrats' line. good morning. caller: good morning. i was just thinking about how she is trying to protect the gop party. when they say that is the clown party, i really believe that. p says he is going to do this, do that, but when you question him, he says, "i have a plan, but i don't want to divulge it because it will give my stuff away." he depends on other leaders to go along and help him along. he don't sound like much of the president to me. for him to be that far ahead

just for putting other people deaown, instead of like hillary and bernie arguing to try to get getg -- are doing to try to along with each other to an extent, i don't see how anybody could even think about voting for trump. he is just a disaster. he gets that stupid look on his face when he is trying to make a "duh," and all this kind of crap. i just can't see how anybody can think of trying to vote for that guy. obama has done so much for this country. it seems to me they have one writer, because they all repeat the same thing. they are saying -- they repeat something over and over again, that people are going to buy into. the american people that dumb -- the american people are not that dumb. i'm thinking hillary is going to win this.

i like burning, don't get me wrong. rnie, don'te get me wrong. i think hillary has the experience. she has proven herself over and over again. i don't think they have anything bad. host: thank you for the call. let me pick up on his point. kellyanne conway, referring to a reuters poll, released on a daily basis, donald trump has a 30-point lead, favored by 30 points, ted cruz second at 16 percentage points. the other candidates then moving into the teens or single digits. jeb bush, marco rubio. what do you attribute this phenomenon, the summer of trump, now moving into the winter of trump? towards allntipathy things washington, not just members of congress and senators, but also the lobbyists, fundraisers, holsters

-- pollsters is really at a fever pitch. when folks say, "i want the house cleaned and i want somebody out of washington," many of them currently feel they arve a candidate they can he and feel closely to. it's also because mr. trump is completely impervious to all the factors that usually kick lackody out of the race, of money, lack of name identification, lack of traction in the polls. people get kicked out because they cannot get traction on an issue or two. they can't get media. good lord, the guy is a magnet for that. sometimes what kicks people out of the race is the need to walk back a revelation of the past scandal or a current gaffe. it's almost as if, mr. trump, people can't wait to hear what he has to say next and almost hope it will be biting.

we will put down that last vote vote.ler as a non-swing i think it's unfair to say that hillary -- if anybody in 2008 mentioned "experience," we were shut down. we weren't allowed to talk about experience. look what experience got us in bush-cheney. this time, somehow the democrats want experience. they have changed the job discussion of what they want in president depending on who their front runner is. host: lee is joining us from oregon, democrats' line. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a question for the democratic -- republican strategist. how does the republican candidate, all of who denied man-made climate change, expect to win when any medical -- middle school student knows

that fossil fuels add co2 to the atmosphere and knows the chemical reaction of co2 in the atmosphere causes global warming? thank you. host: kellyanne conway, that was directed to you. guest: i have a couple of middle schoolers in public school. they tried to get fed -- they fed views like this. there are very conflicted views on this. nobody on the republican side denies there is climate change. the question is, is it man-made, naturally occurring, or both? i've noticed a big shift on the climate change by the political left, because it's not like they can run around and say, see, we promised we would defeat terrorism, but we won't even call it radical islamist terrorism. we promised the economy would be people still, and

don't feel that way. we promised obamacare would cover everyone. it's been a disaster for some. we promised we would treat veterans fairly. of course, that hasn't happened. the v.a. is a big, hot mess, with no cure inside. you have the press conference on friday being very nasty and gratuitous towards republicans. i thought he sounded less like a president and more like a pundit when you had to get the job in there about -- when he had to get the jab in about republicans denying climate change. i think he is looking at his approval ratings and wondering why they are back at an all-time low, 47% in the rolling average i have seen. it also depends on the -- greement how important will it be to the voters when they see people coming into this country, radicalizing themselves, and then murdering 14 innocent people in san bernardino?

caller wants climate change to be the big issue. unfortunately, national security and terrorism seem to be the big issue right now. ast: kellyanne conway, republican strategist in new york. stefan hankin, a democratic pollster and strategist here in washington. byolitical party meltdown, -- "political party meltdown" by kevin baker. "what's missing is that today's politicians place party interests over national interests." guest: i generally agree. there are a lot of factors that go into it. there are 435 seats in the house of representatives. on a good day, maybe 15 of those are actually competitive. for the vast majority of members of congress, all that matters is the primary. it is the unfortunate reality of the situation we live in.

some has to do with the way redistricting lines are drawn. our look at that data, it is not as big as people like to say. where we tend to move into places where there are like-minded people. and democrats are very concentrated in urban areas, very lacking in nonurban areas. i think the big problem is, and it would be very hard to fix this, is the fact that over 90% of members of congress only care about the primary. host: and kellyanne conway, i think that this tweet is related to the presidential candidates. let me ask you two of the questions from a viewer. "who is the best politician so far? and who is the worst?" who would you put on that list, kellyanne conway? oh, goodness.--

i hate to say the worst. i think this year has proven to be the year of the governor. we need a governor, we need executive experience. i have been thinking myself, where did that start? that's right, the governors told us we need a governor. they have the worst seats on the republican side this site -- y ear. two governors dropping out early, even though they had millions of dollars of super pac money. unable to sustain leads in the polls. governor perry unable to make a come back from his run in 2012. governor christie, governor jeb bush, governor pataki, governor jindal. put's probably what i would in the worst category, all this talk about executive experience, governors do stuff, people in washington don't.

the iron he is most of the issues that motivate the republican primary caucus motor s most of thei issues that motivate the republican primary caucus right now run through washington, d.c. even the common core is a federal issue, federal problem, if you will, too many republican -- to voters -- too many many republican caucus voters. marco rubio and ted cruz, there they are, first-term senator's, really coming up in the polls. people just dismissed them a year ago. wait your turn. i think the best part of all of this is that the republicans actually have a shot at doing what the democrats have done so masterfully for decades, which is elevate and maybe even elect a young, 40 something person that represents generational transformational change for the party we nominate, instead

of the romney's, the mccain's. even jimmy carter -- in not saying it is the year of donald trump. --has been to completely been able to completely throw out the rules. donors can't stand him. he probably has spent less money than nearly anybody in the race, yet he stands on top of the polls. host: to pick up on the donald trump story, one of the headlines this morning in "the new york times," "his ground game is lacking in iowa." how important is that to have the data to understand who are your supporters and who would come out on caucus night? guest: i agree with what kelly anne said. normally, i would agree.

but whatever has applied in the past does not seem to apply to him. he has run a total of zero campaign ads. the money he's been spending he generally seems to be paying off himself. he also owns the trademark to "make america great again." he is his own special thing. for anyone but donald trump, the field game is what is going to win iowa, but, for him, it doesn't really matter. from what i've seen and what i've been hearing on the ground, ted cruz is putting together a very good ground game in iowa. i think he is primed to win, if it is not going to be trump. rubio is apparently mia when it comes to ground game in iowa and new hampshire, which i find to be somewhat shocking. i don't know how you expect to win. ted cruz seems to be running a very smart campaign. i think he has picked up the

carson voters. he is setting himself up to take the trump voters if and when they move away from him. it's going to be the field game that wins him iowa, if he wins it. host: this is a piece in "the new york times." a random sampling of reporters, finding out the donald trump and his campaign workers have not put in as much effort, as many initially indicated. but after boat reach -- voter outreach, conference calls, mr. trump's support in the iowa caucus may fall short of his poll numbers in the state. on friday in the richmond area, i asked senator cruz what his strategy is moving forward not only in iowa, but also in the primaries later in february and march. here was his response. [video clip] cruz: our strategy is to

bring together the old reagan coalition. i'm so encouraged by seeing that happen. we are seeing evangelicals and libertarians come together, young people, african-americans, jewish voters, and reagan i think the reason is simple. people are fed up with washington. they are fed up with politicians in both parties that say one thing and do another. they are looking for someone who they can count on to be a consistent conservative. in my time in the senate, i have tried to do two things. number one, tell the truth. number two, do what i say i will do. i think that is the reason we are seeing conservatives unite behind our campaign. if that happens, we will win this nomination. wewe win this nomination, will bring up to the polls in 2016 the millions of working men and women that have been left behind, that are frustrated by president that will not defend this nation.

that is how we win the general, how we turn this country around, how we reignite the promise of america. host: senator ted cruz in our conversation with him on friday. we are in new hampshire today, covering ohio governor john kasich. tomorrow, we will have live coverage at 6:00 of governor chris christie, as he campaigns, holding more than 50 town hall meetings in new hampshire. we will be broadcast last .ight's abc debate today our thanks to abc for allowing us to show that debate in its entirety to all of you. george from texas, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, george. you are on the air. go ahead with your question. caller: well, last night, i watched a little bit of the debate. always talked,

"senator clinton," she ain't no senator anymore, she is hillary clinton. she don't make the most people that make more money, she will make them pay more taxes. tried to do that, he ain't done it yet. he don't know how much money the president that run against him before, he tried to get money out of him. nothing.never told him stuff like that. i don't think she is going to win. i hope she don't. it will be the same thing for eight more years. host: george, thank you for the call. co" keeping track of just how much airtime each

candidate had. your response to the caller's comments. guest: protocol is that you refer to unelected official by their previous title. i believe a sort of have a choice if they have movable titles. you refer to a former governor "governor x." that is protocol and what we do in polite society. i'm going to disagree with his thinking that hillary clinton is not going to win. i think t, in her favor, the it she will. wherethe fact democrats are in this country, everything is leaning in the favor of democrats. republicans, after the 2012 election, did a very thorough look back at what happened.

as a democratic strategist, i was nervous because i think they got it right. they said, look, we need to do better outreach to minorities, to women, the more competitive on the presidential level. what happened this year is the candidates have taken that playbook and thrown out the window, being led by donald trump. any nervousness i had out of 2012 is not there anymore. , at: stefan hankin democratic pollster. kellyanne conway, a republican us from newining york. i want to get your comments on onald trump praising vladimir putin. [video clip] >> do you like vladimir putin's comments about you? >> sure.

anytime anyone calls you fantastic, sure. he is running this country, and he is -- running his country, and he is a leader. > he killed journalist>s that do not agree with him. >> i think our country does .lenty of killing a lot of killing going on in this world, a lot of killing and stupidity. that is the way it is. you asked me a different question. that's fine. host: kellyanne conway, your response to what donald trump set on friday? can you see him as your party 's nominee next year? guest: it seems to me that mr. putin sees mr. trump as his equal, and that is why he said what he said. we also -- let's be real, we

olympians to russia two years ago to compete. if we really hate russia, we would not send our olympians thereto compete. yes, i can see donald trump because i am not blind. leading the polls this ,ramatically for this long people would say, why are other people in the race, what do they hope to accomplish. i have toist, meaning look at the polls and say, if people have said for 5-6 months now, i can go in and vote for donald trump, then maybe they will. i support senator cruz. i do see the benefit of the ground game. i do see why it matters that someone who is in washington and has to vote on stuff, even though markeco rubio sketched the most recent vote,

that is appealing to the base. does mr. trump have a lot of republicans that will go in to a school or church and caucus for eight hours or so on a cold winters night on february 1, or does he have a lot of first-time folds are people who feel disaffected from the system that ?ill not end up caucusing the other thing i would vote on the table because i do not hear e mention iti mention anybody would pay good money to do what he has accomplished. being on top of the polls for consistent months -- if his name was jeb bush on top of the polls, he would be saying something. the latest polls, he has 3%, and some wonder why

he is still in the race. yes, i could see him as the nominee because a plurality of people see him as nominee. i am surprised by the number of people who say, "when donald trump is not on top," when is that? 20.s december when will it happen? saying it does not make it so. and: this is from abc news "washington post," a hypothetical matchup between donald trump and hillary clinton, in the survey, hillary clinton favored by 50% and donald trump by 44%, 7% with no opinion. ay is joining us from fort lauderdale, florida. caller: good morning. i heard the lady, miss kelly, the sandered about

supporters versus hillary supporters. hello? host: we can hear you. go ahead. when the heard earlier republican strategist, miss kelly, mentioned that mr. bernie supporters are not getting the attention. i think what she is trying to do is alienate hillary supporters with bernie sanders supporters. i want to say, if hillary wins the nomination for the party, then i think all the democrats will go get around her. no division. primary, whoever wins, everybody will come around and support the nominee party person. i also went to say, she mentioned that she supports ted cruz. i'm thinking, for mr. cruz and

even for rubio, when it comes to , theirtion, both of them fathers are from cuba. the policy and cuba is once a cuban lands or gets their feet on dry land in florida, you get to stay. immigration worked for their parents, but now they want to cut it off for everybody else which i think is hypocritical. thatre going to tell me mr. cruz will say for the 11 million people that are here, he still does not even want them to get citizenship or some legal pathway to stay in this country. host: thank you for the call to your you bring up the issue of immigration. we'll give our guests a chance to respond. here is how esther rubio responded in last week's debate. [video clip] >> i am personally open. after all that has happened, i

personally and open to allowing people to apply for a green card. that is down the road. you cannot even begin that process until you prove to people -- not just pass a law that says you will bring immigration under control -- you have to prove to people that it is working. i was a lesson of 2013, and is more true today than it was then . these executive orders the president has issued, more than ever, we need to prove to people that illegal immigration is under control. host: to mavis, joining us from florida, and that exchange in the debate, kellyanne conway, your response? guest: since she mentioned that marco rubio and ted cruz are the sons of cuban immigrants, i would just say that the idea that either of those families got special treatment when they got here is false. , the father of ted

cruz, came here with $100 so into his underwear, went to school, washed dishes. in the case of the rubio's, marco rubio's the very often and very often-- speaks and eloquently about his father being a bartender and his mother being a made so that he could be behind the podium now, running for president -- the real american dream. there.to put that out the rubio and cruz families were , they foundcracy it, and their sons, who are five .onths apart, ironically very activelyas involved in pushing amnesty two

years ago. cruz has a different opinion on the gang of eight. he fought against e amnesty. the idea that the republicans are dealing with illegal immigration, their debate and policies -- go on any other websites, ladies and gentlemen, you can see th weather plans ar, and i commend that you do that to get the information for yourself. the idea that that is where the conversation is -- you did not see it last night. you see that there is a americanse of many between immigration policy, refugee policy, isis coming -- people are complaining all of that in their minds, and they want to make sure that we are safe and secure here, whatever it takes. they do not like a president that says isis is contained,

hours before people are brutally murdered in paris, and after paris, say it is a setback, and then after 14 people are killed in san bernardino, it takes the present five days to call it an act of terrorism. he is five days behind his own fbi. this is a very important issue to folks, and are very different opinions about it on the republican side. host: mary is our last caller from pennsylvania. we lost mary, so let me share with you some of the twitter traffic, pointing out that hillary clinton got 44% of the also 44%,nie sanders, martin o'malley, 12%. according to the top issues from isis, muslims, islam, guns, terrorism, and wall

street. let's watch this and get your response. [video clip] >> i think it is only fair to put on the record that senator for as photo resolution calling for the end of the gadhafi regime, calling for the u.n. to come in. we got a un security council vote. i understand that this is very difficult. i'm not standing here today and saying that libya is as far along as egypt. we are basically back with the military dictatorship. this is a part of the world where the united states has tried to play two different approaches. one, work with the tough men, the dictators for own benefit, and promote democracy. that is a hard road to walk.

i think it is the right road for us to travel. host: foreign policy, one of the issues in the last night's focusing on gaddafi and libya. where are the differences between the top contenders? pulls showing that hillary clinton is far ahead nationally, bernie sanders, still a slight lead in new hampshire. guest: clearly, bernie sanders would like to talk just about income inequality and domestic economy issues. .hat is his thing he is a little bit between a rock and a hard place because in the first debate, anytime he was asked about foreign relations, he basically said, i will not answer that, i will talk about how important economic and he is. notas getting flack for having ideas on what would happen internationally if you ame president, and we all

know, even as the last three presidents, they wanted to vote focus on domestic issues, but international issues always came into play. issues,focuses on the he does not have a lot to talk about, and clearly this is where hillary clinton has the upper hand, being secretary of state for five years. if he talks about it, he is giving hillary the spotlight because she has a much stronger command of the issue. if you does not talk about it, he gets pushed back for not talking about international issues. he is in a tough place. exactly where the differences are. i do not know sanders' platform by heart, by would say, if i were to categorize it, he is closer to rand paul on the republican side -- let's focus insight, and not focus on what is going on in the rest of the world, and that is what will solve our problems, which

personally, i would argue, is not the way the world works. the: kellyanne conway, phrase, pretty much frozen as we move into the holidays. give us a thing the government we can expect for henry first? guest: i think you can expect tougher ads being run by the candidates and the campaigns themselves. most of their ads have been biographical, if you will, trying to get to know the candidate sponsoring the ad and the super pac that supports the candidate. the ground game will really be important. i'v agree with the "new york times" article that you have been discussing this morning about how important the ground game is. all eyes are on new hampshire in the republican side in that you have trumpeted the lead, but you have john kasich on the chris christie, marco rubio, folks

really trying to make a stand there. his cruz wins iowa, and trump wins new hampshire, i think the republican establishment's heads will go on fire. does it start to be winner takes all? i think in january, you will see more ads on the tv and radio, and possibly add taking on the democrats as well, trying to put the republican candidate in a general election scenario, perhaps against hillary clinton. host: kellyanne conway, and stephan haskins, thank you to both of you. merry christmas. guest: merry christmas. our attention to the middle east, and joining us in a few minutes, former marc ginsberg.gin

booktv and on c-span3's, american history tv, we look at the literary life of worcester, massachusetts. programming today, including interviews with american about thegym around, first american revolution, the , 1774.ion of worcester here is a preview. [video clip] >> most americans think the american revolution started at lexington and concord and april 1775. most have a sense that paul revere rode to the countryside, alarming a sleeping countryside to the threat of the british. in fact, the countryside was wide awake. i think we get most of that history from a poem by henry walter longfellow called midnight ride of paul revere. was writtenat poem

in 1851, and a conflict he is talking about is the civil war and the threat from the south to the north at that time of that conflict. in fact, in 1774, the countryside, particularly in massachusetts is very much wide-awake, and is an open revolt by the time of april 1775. as the city towards continue, you can check it out anytime on c-span.org. this weekend, we travel to worcester, massachusetts. we hope you tune in. >> the reagan narrative is he was a lightweight, grade b actor , which is what gerald ford said about him in 1976. with all the successes of the administration, historians have

rated reagan low, i believe out of ideological bias. "q&a," crank shirley discusses "last act." >> i write about the facts, i do not make things out. i do not believe that buchanan, or anyone else makes things up. we have succeeded in repositioning people thinking about ronald reagan so that the picture that emerges is of a very serious, deep thinking, consider it, solicitous man. "q&a."ght at 8:00 on >> "washington journal" continues. host: we want to welcome back marc ginsberg, former master to

to aco and ambassador number of presidents, including jimmy carter. thank you for being with us. i want to share with you comments that the president made this past week, responding to u.s. strategy in fighting isis. [video clip] d willhink that assa have to leave in order for the country to stop the blood letting and for all the parties involved to be able to move wayard and a nonsectarian -- in a nonsectarian way. he has lost legitimacy in the eyes of a large majority of the country. is there a way for us to construct a bridge for a political transition that allows those who are allied with the now -- allows the

russians and syrians to ensure thatthey are respected and retribution is not the order of the day -- i think that will be very important as well. host: the message also from the president is that he expects more from our friends in the middle east, most notably, saudi arabia. how does this all get connected? guest: the fact of the matter is first of all, the president is correct. there has to be a bridge between assad and his departure so that there is some coherent government that emerges in syria that does not create a similar situation that we had in iraq or syria. look at the chaos that emerged as a result. number two, the fact is that there has been a security council resolution that was just by secretaryork kerry, working with his russian

colleague, where the security council is now on record, trying to create the climate and groundwork for a political .olution inside syria yet, at the same time, steve, the american people are fearful aret the slight of how we proceeding into an abyss in syria. what the president has largely been doing is responding to events. i'm afraid the strategy has not caught up with the tactics. that is a very dangerous game to play in the middle east. host: what does the president need to do, and more importantly, is there anything more we can expect from iraq and all this? guest: you asked the question, what are the other countries going to do in the region to help the president. iscarter was sent out -- who secretary of defense -- to create some coalition that is coalition. a village

there were 64 countries part of this grand coalition against isis. the fact of the matter is that the arab states, the sunni arab states, as well as turkey, have done russia's little to support the united states' effort in the region. you would think the isis is not a direct threat to them. it is a direct threat to them. it is not just the threat that they pose militarily, it is the extremist ideology that poses a threat to the more moderate regimes such as turkey, jordan, and even the gulf states. after the jordanian pilot was after he was captured, most of the arab states removed their forces, and disappeared, yet at the same ada just elected a new prime minister -- what was one of the first things he did? he removed the air force jets

that canada was flying in our battle with isis. this does not bode well for an effective coalition. headline thisthe morning, as a sidebar, "u.s. airstrike killing nine soldiers e commander." guest: this is a case of dangerous friendly fire. the forces are engaged in a city, and it is clear there was a mistake in the coordinates. this is a tragic example. it is terribly unfortunate. tens of iraq is were not only killed, but injured. f assad is somewhat

forced out, who replaces him? $64,000hat is the question. the american people are given a lot of slogans right now, when they listen to the republican debate about syria and the situation there. the candidates running on the republican side have not even read the cliff notes on syria. syria is a country that represents a polyglot nation. the shiites, who control the nation, are less than 20% of the population. the sunnis constitute another 75%. christianhuge que minorities who have been massacres and forced to flee. you asked the question, can from a political andrity council resolution, a settlement process that hopefully will now take place, where negotiation will begin in a few weeks -- can there be an

effective comical. notan opposition, composed only of syrian political leaders inside syria, syrian political leaders outside of syria? think of all the other groups, the rebel groups, running around syria. some of them are so extreme that they make isis looked like moderates. then, you have the more moderate syrian rebels fighting against the assad regime. how do you bring them together? mr. kerry has his work cut out for him for next year. formerur guest is ambassador to morocco, an adjunct professor at georgetown university, and former mideast advisor to president jimmy carter. is carried live on the bbc.

we welcome calls from great britain. that is where our first call comes from, james. caller: good morning, guys. host: good afternoon. caller: part of the strategy combating isis, one of the ,hings that you mentioned is certainly coming from our practice, apparently american security personnel are going to be based at british airports. at the moment, it will just be limited to manchester, london east, gatwick, but it will probably be expanded to all british airports that have flights to the united states. that would include many of the smaller airports as well. american personnel will have the , search,o stop sees and they will be armed, and can shoot to kill. i'm all for more security, but

american personnel, the overwhelming evidence is that they tend to shoot first, ask questions later. my attitude is if we are going to have american security personnel in the u.k., wouldn't see britisho security personnel patrolling your airports, and that way everybody works on the same playbook so we do not see accidental firearm discharges which end up with an essence getting killed? and: let me stop you there get a response. thank you for the call from england. guest: i asked a had not heard that american military will be deployed at british airports. i know there is a great deal of cooperation between the transportation security and the personnel. i think i will go back and have

to do my research on that one. says,this is from dd who isis rushed in to fill the vacuum, what is your position on assad and syria? guest: i have made the study of syria of personal app advocation for 30 years. the question of the assad regime is not just of mr. assad. he represents a shiite minority that worries that if us sunni minority takes over, they would be massacred. over 6 million syrian refugees, the havoc wrecked by the assad regime against its own people, not to much of the consequences to the knights needs and our

allies in the region -- there is no doubt the president is right. assadmust go and the family must go. they should not go where there is a vacuum, just as the president said, that would create a terrible situation where the worst extremists, who will have the greatest guns, fervor, and i di ideology and determination to take over, and in effect, kill everybody else standing alive -- that would be the worst case for the united states and the syrian people. we tend to forget, when we look at the refugees who fled into your, these have been subjected to the worst type of mayhem for the last seven years, and they deserve to have something that are than what they have right now. sure, there are some terrorists that have ample traded into the refugee ranks, but if you say to me that is a reason to condemn all the refugees, i find that inexcusable. that type of rhetoric is

dangerous coming out of the united states. host: we welcome our listeners on the radio, carried on the potus channel. curtis is next from montana. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you, c-span. first,estion i have is -- a statement. that is, a thought is not -- assad is not going anywhere. the refugees, who is left to fill the void if assad is removed from the? would it be -- i forget the people they call there, the rebels, i guess. are there enough rebels left to

form a government, or are they gone too? guest: a couple of days ago, there was an effort by the saudi arabians to convene a meeting of the syrian opposition. there was a score of syrian opposition leaders who traveled capital of saudi arabia to bring together an understanding of the so-called syrian rebels, the moderate syrian rebels. they did reach a series of accommodations and understandings. the problem has been these more moderate -- and there are moderate syrian leaders, let's not come to a terrible conclusion that everybody in syria is a radical. that is not accurate. there are hundreds of thousands of syrians who want to see a democracy emerge in syria in the wake of this terrible

dictatorship that has ruled the country for 40 years. as yo rightfully said, the russians do not necessarily want ssad under the bus, but the syrians who met in saudi arabia are insisting that go as a condition for them in gauging in discussions with the regime. it was a timetable for assad to go. that is why mr. kerry met in moscow with mr. putin a few days ago to see if he could bridge the differences between the russians and the united states on creating some sort of timetable in which assad would remain in power, there would be a transitional government that would take over, and then a free

and fair election. we have seen this movie before. cannot ultimately be underpinned by a stable syrian country where the extremists are marginalized and they do not try to destroy the nascent effort by this government to take over the country. that will be the test. host: let me follow up from an earlier caller from great britain. this is a headline from "the time,mail," for the first a new plant being discussed by london and washington. it points out that guards will be stationed at the dish air force for the first time under a controversial plan. the u.s. department of homeland in to dowants to enter d thi worldwide to reduce the terroriss of islamic

flying to america. let's get back to calls. philip from london, england. good afternoon. caller: i was listing to mr. 's comments about the syrian nation being a shiite majority. in fact, the largest minority in -- isle o the experience of iraq has not been learned when you ousted the syrian minority and put in the shiite majority. you seem to be determined to create the same situation again in syria. i think it is more to do with your bankrupt foreign policy than attempt to bring peace to the world. guest: listen, i think i have been one of the biggest critics of our policy in the region. i have always said that anybody who cannot tell the difference between a sunni and shiite in

three or four substa sentences should not be given e their opinion on the middle east. as i said earlier, the majority of syrians are sunni. the dictatorship, they pretty much lived at peace with each other. a product.en of the matter is, if you look of the geography of syria, most of the shiite live in the western part of the country. they have ruled under military

rule since the assad family father gained power in 1967. the country has been a dictatorship, a shiite dictatorship, largely ruled by alowite population since bashar al-assad, who inherited the mantle of power from his father. host: let's go to tennessee, republican line. good morning, robert. caller: thank you for your insights, sir. do you think there is anything that israel can do to help us cymer things down, for example ,f they stop the settlements move back to the 67 borders, they hate according to international law, stop stealing

the water from the palestinians. my point is is there anything they can do to stop the sympathy of the moderates, or even the extremism?towards the actions of israel defending the sympathy for the extremists? guest: thank you. let me preface -- i was raised in israel and the middle east. i was the first jewish ambassador to an arab country, and i am very proud to have had that position when i was a master in morocco. i have always believed that the best way in which to help bring a strong and secure israel forward is to help bring about the formation of an independent and viable, as well as secure, palestinian state. i have always been against the

settlement enterprise. i believe the settlement and p and prizes only been antagonizing the situation. ally.is a strong the fact of the matter is israel .aces its own threats if i said to you that ending the enterprise would and threats from hamas, i would be lying. there are extremist groups, no different from isis, no different from al qaeda, bent on destroying israel. hamas will never recognize israel's right to exist, and hezbollah, on its northern

borders, are still determined to wipe out israel's right to exist as well. you have a very strong israeli democracy, wrestling with these very problems right now. believedi have long that the settlement enterprise is it legal, and it should end, and the most important thing that israel can do is help bring about a peaceful formation of a palestinian state. that would take one major problem off the table, insofar as the future of the middle east. host: let me go back to my first question about the u.s. trying to get more support. this is from a viewer on twitter -- perhaps there is no faction in the middle east that once our solutions, that we create the enemy of the enemy context. the white house is not calling for saudi arabia to send troops into syria, but what are we asking for? how does this alliance take shape? guest: it is interesting.

for everything i have written in huffington post," the legitimacy of the islamic state -- i have long argued, this is not the united states fight to destroy isis. destroying isis is not just bombing. it will require ground truth. it will require air states to step up to the plate and deal with its ideological foundations. it will require air states to hold the territory that is back from taking isis. in the middle of syria and iraq, there is a desert. air states should be forming an expeditionary force to put at

least two divisions between syria and iraq. that is not a united states job. these are divisions that would ultimately stop and divide the territory in two. from theld be cut off main capital of mosul. why we have not been able to compel the states to put those troops on the ground, the legitimate the territory of isis is one of my greatest challenges and questions. it is why the reasons i have been critical of the obama administration policy because tactically it has been responding without this overall strategy. we have bombed isis for almost 2.5 years, and yet, almost 75% return without dropping their bombs because the president has refused to permit the pentagon to put forward air spotters on the ground that would allow us to be able to bring our targets in. arab states are always willing to die.

the gulf states, the moroccans, the algerians, can all contribute an effective force that would not involve them directly in the fighting in syria or iraq. it is cutting the caliphate into. that is the key to this. h carter gettingr on a plane and doing this, two years after the president could have done this is why i am concerned. it is an air of site, we should not be fighting this fight for them. i have always been against an american boots on the ground in syria. host: if you are listening on is potus channel, our guest marc ginsberg, we are devices, the middle east, and the latest threat from terrorism in that part of the world. joanna is next from maryland, independent line. caller: good morning, gentlemen. this is to attack on to the

comments you just made. i have been wondering the same thing about why the arabs do not step up to the plate. saudi arabia has the third largest military budget in the world. i cannot imagine that the royal family there, and elsewhere in the region, do not feel threatened. look,f we said to them, if you do not step up to the plate, put the ground troops and, fight this fight, we are leaving, we are out of here. i'm wondering if there would be any consequences to that or if it would be the and the test -- impetus to get them to do something. guest: it is a great question coming from damascus, maryland, right of the line from where i live. let's explain what is happening. down in thens bonds title in yemen. when you ask what is saudi's

foreign-policy, it is based on, first of all, self-preservation and the control over the territory that it has that constitutes saudi arabia. number two, everything that saudi arabia is doing is based on a prism of what iran's expanded influence in the region. the dreaded shiite country of iran is saudi arabia's greatest enemy right now. everything that saudi arabia does is based on that premise. number three, the saudi's, and most of the arab states, including perhaps israel as well , do not trust the credibility of the obama administration anymore when it comes to the middle east. there is a perception, whether rightly or wrongly, that the united states was pivoting out of the middle east, and would not engage in any more conflicts in the region. the arab states do not believe

that the united states has any determination to back them up if they engage any further and military efforts to tackle isis. can the united states overcome that credibility gap? i doubt it. at this point in time, there is so much distrust of this demonstration in the middle east, it is hard to restore that credibility. however, it is essential that we understand that it is not just a question of american bombing and putting guards at airports. it is getting the air states and nato allies, and other allies to do the work that the united it should not be having to do. american leadership is necessary to get them to do this. host: here is a map of the region to give you some context about what we are talking about, as we listen to mark from massachusetts, independent line. good morning. .aller: good morning, gentlemen good morning, ambassador ginsberg. i heard you talk before, and i appreciate what you have to say. you are really well-versed in

what is going on over there. especially your comment about the difference between shiite and sunni. if you get someone who does not know within a few sentences what the difference is, they really have no business talking about the affairs over there. you just showed the map. i think jordan, they have been making a campaign to try to help. is it isof the matter such a quagmire over there. is there any real common ground, maybe, between the shiites and the sunnis. what is the big deal. it is like catholic and protestant. is there any solution, in your opinion? guest: that is a great question. look. when you look at the map of the middle east, and understand the theological history of sunni versus shiite, this all goes back -- to help our viewers a prophet mohammed

died, he did not appoint a successor. there was no successor designated. the struggle over who was going to be the ultimate legitimate heir to the prophet mohammed is where the sunni-shiite schism broke out. host: let me jump in. he died, when? guest: 632. host: they have been fighting this battle ever since. guest: the battles in the air .orld go back centuries it goes back to the question over who is religion met eric to the prophet mohammed. the sunnis, who are the majority of the arab world, and the majority of muslims around the world, believe that his disciples were the rightful heirs. the word caliphate, in error, means successor. the shiite are a very small minority, most of which live in iran, some in iraq.

they are the majority of the population in iraq. some in lebanon. those people believe that the family heirs to the prophet mohammed there are rightful been, and they have subjected to a great deal of prejudice by the sunnis. this is where the cauldron, that has been boiling now for centuries, has had its lid blown off as a result of when we remove saddam and when the syrian civil war broke out. now, saudi arabia and iran are 'se biggest titans, saudi being the legitimate heir to the sunni throne, so to speak, and claimingiite ayatollah they are the legitimate areas. everything in the middle east right now is so completely hard for us to get our hands

around because of this theological divide. this battle will go on, and isis , it's extremist ideology is based on this demand that sunnis have legitimacy. they are crucifying shiites. yes, crucifixion was created by arabs, not by muslims, not by christians originally. this hatred has come out of the woodwork. the united states will never be able to put it back under control. all we can do is contain the createdm that has been as a result, and protect our homeland. host: just to remind our audience, if you want to get more information on which countries are doing what, cnn has a piece posted on its website with this headline, "the war on isis: who is doing what." here's more from the president last week in washington. [video clip] >> we recognize that progress needs to keep coming faster.

no one knows that more than the syrians and iraq is living every day under isil's terror, as well as the families in san bernardino, paris, and elsewhere, grieving the loss is of their loved ones. as the united states does more in this fight, our allies are must others.nd so that is why i have asked secretary carter to go to the middle east. he will depart right after this trust briefing to work with our coalition partners on securing more military contributions to this fight. on the diplomatic front, secretary kerry will be in russia tomorrow, as we continue to work to end the syrian civil war. host: last monday at the pentagon, as the president held a series of national security briefings and meetings. our guest here in washington is marc ginsberg, former ambassador to morocco. he also writes for "huffington

post." bob, indiana, you are next. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, bob. caller: you know, i like your show. i get some good information from time to time. but, i cannot believe that iraq. w. bush went into i almost cried that night. i told everybody i saw that i was with that night, it was like, man, he just screwed up the whole world, we are going to be at war until it is over. i did a paper -- on the back in the 1970's, when i was in high school. beating the hell out of each other every 5-6 .ears here they take a br

they take a break, rebuild their weapons, then we get hillary , andon and barack obama they did not leave anybody there doubled down. saying, 5000 people in afghanistan -- 5000 people is enough. i do not want boots on the ground either. we are there now. you cannot just walk away. host: thank you for the call. we are short on time. i will give marc ginsberg a chance to respond. guest: the most important thing i care about for the american people is their safety and security. we have to not be dumb about the middle east anymore. we have to understand where our , avoiding saying the worst things -- i was listening to mr. trump the other night on the debate. i just cannot believe that e absurdity of some other

things being said by the candidates. it shows a sheer full business and ignorance of the candidates towards the region. host: yet, he has a 2-1 lead in the polls now. guest: yes. if the american people took a step back and understood that there is a way out of this morass if we are careful, deliver, and smart about what .ur tactics would be we would empower the people on the ground to do the fighting for us -- the moroccans, the egyptians, we do have allies in the region. it will take smart diplomacy, not sledgehammer diplomacy or better than one time as the region and create more recruits for isis. that is what mr. trump has done,

and what mr. cruz have done. i want to see us defend it and have shrewd policy in the region. this a administration has not had it either, but certainly belatedly is coming to the conclusion they must do far more to protect the american people because of the threat that isis poses and the threat that yemen poses. ,he attacks in san bernardino the people were radicalized in yemen, not necessarily by isis. his hand from the grave continues to rise. allows forticularly his sermons to be broadcast, and youtube allows for his sermon to it broadcast and available -- raises the question of what we can do as a country to get our technology companies to do more to stop the radical spread of islam throughout the country. that is where the debate has to go.

that is the closest way american people cannot flick their demands on the american government to insist that technology companies do more to protect the homeland. host: which is what of you are shiitester is saying -- have never been our problem, the cities attacked on 9/11, iraq, yemen, and isis. guest: i believe that iranians are direct threat to the united states. you can choose your poison in the middle east, steve. right now, our goal, as americans, is to reduce the poison that can be tossed to us whether by sunnis or shiites. believe me, there are plenty of extremists in the region that are coming americans. our last call is from vermont. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm an immigrant from

afghanistan, and i am muslim. i want to express the most important thing. to kickabia is supposed in soldiers because they are the money from the government. and saudi arabia -- in saudi arabia, the women do not have the right. that is why -- [indiscernible] these are supposed to change her policies about women's rights. even if you get rid of isis, they create more isis. mohammed was in favor of women's rights, humans rights. mohammed. follow we havend thing is

important roles in making people understand -- host: thank you very much for the call. guest: listen, i fully agree. the ideology of saudi arabia has been one of the foundations of islamic extremism. history oface the islamic extremism, they have played a huge role. there is a toxic brew of islamic extremism that has emerged as a result of the events in the last 30 to 40 years in the region. the dictatorships in the region have kept that's largely under control. look, i have said earlier to our viewers, steve, the most important thing is that there are millions of arabs who want the same things as we do. they want to have good education for their children, they want to have hope, aspirations.

i have lived in the arab world could if we could do more to help arabs achieve that, they would rise up. they do not support extremism. the vast majority of arabs throughout the region reject isis, reject islamic extremism. they want a change in their lives. that is what they want. will they do for -- will they fight to defeat isis and extremism? that is the test for them. host: always appreciate your time and insight. guest: merry christmas and a happy new year to everybody. host: we want to come back to our first question this morning. thank you to abc. folksastern, 1:00 for you on the west coast. who won? (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats.

we also have a line for independents. and for those of you living outside the united states, (202) 748-0003 fo. more of your phone calls and comments and tweets as they "washington journal" continues on this sunday morning, december 20. we are back in a moment. announcer: with congress on holiday recess, the c-span networks feature a full lineups of primetime programming. monday night at 9:00 eastern, a new series, "landmark cases." 8:00, onight at cultural divides in america. hosting anight, discussion on gun violence.

thursday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, christmas at the white house. and on christmas day, friday night at 8:00, former president bill clinton refused -- receives the leadership prize. and monday night at 8:30 eastern, nonfiction authors on books and politics. wednesday night, authors talk about their books on the supreme court. thursday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, events and people in history. and on christmas, several of our programs from this year. and on "american history tv," monday we feature programs on russian spies. tuesday that, congressional history. wednesday night, the 150th anniversary of the end of the civil war. thursday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, tom brokaw on world war ii. and on christmas, we will taliban to williamsburg -- we will travel to williamsburg

talking about colonial life on the eve of the american revolution. and that is just some of the programs featured that -- this week. "washington journal" continues. host: we want to hear from you on last night's abc news debate that took place in manchester, new hampshire. a chance to see it again this afternoon at 4:00 eastern. it will also be airing on c-span radio. "democrats found some common ground in their presidential debate." their criticism of the republican front-runner based on his proposal for a temporary ban on muslims entering the u.s. came up early in the televised debate. hillary clinton saying she is worried that donald trump's rhetoric reinforces anti-islamic sentiment. joining us live on the phone is

the publisher and president of the "union leader," joe mcquaid. thank you for being with us. guest: good morning, steve. host: let me first ask you about the debate could this is the only democratic debate in new hampshire before your primary on february 9, correct? guest: yes. much to the chagrin of a letter of aew hampshire voters -- lot of new hampshire voters. there was an odd twist to this one because the local abc broadcastedhich is and participated in these kind of things, was thrown out of the debate as a cosponsor because of the labor issue with its station. host: i was going to ask you about that because you did cosponsor with abc news, and wmur did pull out.

what happened? guest: i think it was really overreaction by the democratic candidates and the dnc. there is a small labor unit at the station, and they were bargaining. and they had a dispute about pensions. and according to the station, a negotiation date had already been set. they said no. they demanded that the candidates demand to agree to talk right now. and the station said we already had a date. so the dnc said you are out, and abc went along with that. so channel 9 was out. host: let me ask you about the endorsement that came right after thanksgiving. governor chris christie is right for these dangerous times. he has prosecuted terrorists and dealt admirably with major disasters.

but the one reason he may be best to lead during these times is because you tell it like -- tells it like it is and is not shy about it. he has moved ahead of the -- in the polls. steve, you know i am not a big believer in polls. i think the real polls are going to be when the caucus goes in iowa and the voters in new hampshire put pencil to paper or finger to machine and vote, so i am not sure. i suppose that the publicity surrounding the endorsement draws more people to look at christie, but the voters are going to decide who they like, not with the newspaper says they should do. host: the date has been officially set by your longtime secretary of state on february 1. new hampshire primary on february 9. give us a quick overnight --

overview of where this race stands. guest: well, it stands with christmas coming, so people in new hampshire, including the diehards, are going to forget about the race for a week or two and enjoy christmas and new year's with their families. one of the complaints about the democratic debate last night was not only is it the only one being held in new hampshire, one of the few across the country, but the dnc decided to have this on the saturday night before christmas. so while the auditorium was full, i'm not your how many people were going to watch it on television. but as far as the status of the race, it looks -- although governor o'malley tried his best last night to get some airtime, it really looks like a sanders-clinton match. supportersough his are very passionate and very boisterous, i would not be

surprised if mrs. clinton pulled out a win here, just as she did in 2008. she has got such a deep bench of support, including the female governor of the state, the female u.s. senator of the state , the new hampshire legislature has a lot of democratic women in it, so she has those forces. bernie's renegade rebels can overcome that, that will make a great story for our newspaper to cover. host: and we always appreciate it. final question for you, joe mcquaid, the praise of vladimir putin aimed at donald trump, and donald trump liking what he heard. what were your thoughts? guest: well, my thought was, of course donald said they got to be best buddies when they were on "60 minutes" together, even

though they have never met. nothing surprises me in this cycle, steve. i don't know whether it helps or hurts trump. probably hurts pugin. -- putin. host: what you think of the beloved former publisher and your former boss who has passed away? guest: she -- i said this before, she would've called pat wouldnan up and tried -- have had to get them back in the race. [laughter] it is an interesting field and has some depth to it, but all the oxygen and a lot of the media coverage is being sucked up by donald trump, which is too bad, but i can see why mrs. clinton was hammering home on him last night. not only is he good to divide republicans and divide the christian and muslim communities, but she sees him as

a tyrant for the general election. host: joe mcquaid, president and publisher of the "union leader," thank you very much for your time. merry christmas. guest: merry christmas to you, steve. host: first up is danny, woodbridge, virginia. the democrats line. caller: good morning. i am leaning towards bernie sanders. everything -- the reason being that hillary, i don't like her. mean, -- [indiscernible] libya, and we did that to iraq, and here we go again with asaad. this is a dangerous idea. and i don't like it. i don't like it.

france and the military are going through some tough times right now. i just don't like it. that was the, that i have. host: thank you for the call. some say bernie sanders was the clear winner among those outside the beltway and young people. next, new york city. good morning. caller: yes. i, too, believe that bernie sanders won the debate yesterday. hillary clinton has made some of the worst decisions in our country. bernie sanders pointed some out last night, but she did not respond. for instance, she voted for the war in iraq. she did not explain why she voted for that work. we lost for thousands of americans and hundreds of thousands of iraqis. there would be no isis if we had not gone to war and bombed iraq.

and i'm ashamed of the female senators who came out supporting hillary. are they more interested in getting a woman president than what is right? what she they justify has done? how could they justify her repeal of the ceiling act? this was a co-presidency. she was responsible for the repealing of the act, which brought about the investment bankers taking over the savings account of honest workers and bringing about the 2007 disaster. and she didn't respond to anything. host: thank you for the call from new york city. another viewer saying who knew washington, d.c. worries about donald trump.

what's next? writing, the most writing this -- against syrian president assaad. both sanders and o'malley taking exception of what clinton went as unintended consequences of dislodging the haters. they'll from yuri, pennsylvania, good -- bill from erie, pennsylvania, good morning. let's go on to danny in biloxi, mississippi. caller: good morning. how is everybody this fine day jekyll -- day? i am a lifelong republican, but i will be really honest with you , what is going on in my own party at this point is really scary. on,currents nonsense going they are all fairly scary.

what is even more scary is what happened last night watching the debate. hillary clinton one only because she is the most -- won only because she is the most moderate of the two. everyone keeps screaming raise minimum wage, raise minimum wage. all that means is we have to spend more money because no one is going to take a loss. but the people who are really going to lose other people who are older. sure, raise the minimum wage. don't bother to raise social security. those people on fixed incomes will can tune you -- will continue to not only suffer, but they will suffer to the point of absolute disaster. host: danny, thank you for the call. putting the dnc and martin o'malley as a loser.

bernie sanders, among the winners. earlier, one of the biggest exchanges came with regard to what to do in syria. here is more with secretary clinton and senator sanders. >> secretary clinton is too much into regime change, and a little bit too aggressive with out to knowing what the unintended consequences might be. yes, we could get rid of saddam hussein, but that destabilized the entire region. yes, we could get rid of qaddafi, a terrible dictator, but that created a vacuum for isis. yes, we could get rid of assad tomorrow, but that would create another political vacuum that would benefit isis. yeah, regime change is easy, getting rid of dictators is easy. but before you do that, you've

got to think about what happens the day after. what we need to do is put together broad coalitions to understand that we are not going have a political vacuum filled by terrorists. that, in fact, we are going to move steadily and may slowly towards democratic societies. in terms of assad, a terrible dictator, but in syria the primary focus now must be on destroying isis and working over the years to get rid of assad. >> that is exactly what i just said and what i just described, senator. now we have a un security council that will enable us to do that. with all due respect, senator, you voted for regime change with respect to libya. you joined the senate in voting to get rid of qaddafi, and you ask that there be a security council validation of that with a resolution. all of these are very difficult issues.

i have been dealing with them for a long time. and, of course, we have to continue to do what is necessary. host: the debate from manchester, new hampshire. according to facebook, the top moments each of the candidates, hillary clinton, her comments on minimum wage and free tuition. for senator sanders, his comments on the hair when epidemic in new hampshire. and for martin o'malley, his comments on comprehensive gun legislation. did youam, alabama, watch the debates last night? caller: i did. i always manage to call when you are on. you are my favorite. however you -- how are you? host: i am great. caller: even though our senators sanders came with some very good , because i like senators sanders, he is a very honorable

man and he has a lot of integrity, and i love that about him. but hillary is very, very strong on the issues. we already know senators sanders -- i really don't think he is going to win the nomination. i think hillary is. and i really don't think the dnc -- [indiscernible] i just think she is a good debater. she can stand up against any of the republicans because their debate, it is how about president -- it is all about president obama is weak. hillary comes with very good issues and she can stand up against any of those republicans on stage. host: a quick question because i know in the past you have phones in. who do you think, if she is the nominee, she should select as her running mate? caller: [indiscernible] host: really? caller: i really do.

i think he is a very intelligent young man. not martin o'malley. there is just something about him. i am a strong, strong democrat. but there is something about him. wrong, but there is something about him i don't trust. but i think she should select castro. host: thank you. another viewer saying bernie sanders won the democratic debate. according to twitter, both hillary clinton and bernie sanders getting about 44% of twitter traffic. billy from trotwood, ohio, you are next. caller: good morning, steve. thanks for taking my call. host: thank you. caller: i'm a 74-year-old black man born in the united states of america. i am absolutely discouraged with both parties.

hillary clinton, ever since she was 19 years old with the watergate committee has been lying all her life. she still lives. jeb bush looks like a deer in the headlights standing up there. and it is said for what we have to represent this country. and clinton'ss ought to go home and rest. host: next is joseph joining us from las vegas. good morning. caller: how are you doing? host: fine, thank you. caller: i would have to honestly say that at all think any of them won. host: why is that? caller: one is because one is a full out socialist. there is no way that my family would have ever seen a socialist running openly in america. that is crazy. the other thing that blows my mind is hillary clinton.

she gets away with so much because she is trying to create a dynasty. just like the bush's. host: who is your candidate in this race check of caller: -- race? caller: to be honest, there are only two people i could ever see this country at least getting better, and i think that would be either rand paul or trump. host: thank you for the call from las vegas. we caught up yesterday with senator lindsey graham and jeb bush in new hampshire. both of those events on our website. today, we will follow governor chris christie and governor john kasich. we are tracking all of the races, all of the candidates. you can check it out at [indistinct chatter] . another moment from the debate last night. [video clip] >> let me respond. number one, most important economic reality of today is over the last 30 years there has

been a transfer of trillions of dollars from the middle class to the top 1/10 of 1%, who have seen a doubling of the percentage of wealth they own. when secretary clinton says i am not going to raise taxes on the middle class, let me tell you what she is saying. she is disagreeing with fdr and social security, lbj on medicare, and with the vast majority of progressive democrats who today are fighting to and the disgrace of the united states -- end the disgrace of the united states being the only country on the face of the earth who does not provide paid family leave. you can say that is a tax on the middle class. it will provide three months paid family and medical leave for the working families of this country. i think secretary clinton, $1.61 is a pretty good investment. host: the debate last night in

new hampshire, courtesy of abc news. carol is joining us, west haven, connecticut, the republican line. caller: yes. i was very surprised with o'malley. i think with giving him more time, he would probably be the only one on their that i could -- there that i could even think of. i do have one question, and i don't know if you are going to answer it, but i would like to know how hillary clinton can run while she is under investigation. i just don't get it. i would really like to know. and actually, i'm on the republican line, but i'm really a democrat. host: well, her e-mails are being investigated. she has not been charged with anything. that is certainly a big difference. caller: i know that, but if you would look clearly at benghazi, at the e-mails, you see what

happened to the general, how could someone go to the highest office having that in their background? host: carol from west haven, connecticut. let's go next to diana from west palm beach, florida. caller: good morning. have republican, but a three tiny statements, and you can use them as questions or have someone answer them. the first is isn't it true that obama -- a number of years ago -- suggested we should not be working up to 40 hours a week and 29 hours a week would be sanctioned? in other words, once people were laid off and those people who kept their jobs were put on 29 hours a week. this was almost an amazing thing. the -- [indiscernible] -- put together the big banks we now have on wall street. and he was very proud of doing it.

and he put -- together jpmorgan and chase, etc. and the third statement i would like to make concern hillary -- concerned hillary could when she was asked -- concerns hillary. when she was asked about she said, oh, he is a friend of mine. i quote. and i gave him the job to be there. she never responded to his calls for help. and the man was in the ambassador. host: diane from -- your last point¿ point? -- i'm going to stop either because we only have a minute left. we are out of time. a reminder that we will continue the conversation tomorrow

morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. sac -- r guests, up to bob cusack looking back at the year in congress. also, jeffrey smith, the author of a new book

announcer: "newsmakers" is next with senator lamar alexander. that is followed by president obama's news conference. been house and senate democrats discuss the $1.1 trillion spending bill that was passed before congress was adjourned. and later, mitch mcconnell holds a news conference to discuss the accomplishments this past year and what is ahead for 2016. ms. swain: our guest this week is tennessee republican senator lamar alexander. he took over the gavel of the help committee, which is health, education, labor, and pension.

first time with the gavel, oversaw the rewrite of the no child left behind. a big process. i want to tell our audience that you bring to this perspective on education, particularly serving as president bush's secretary of education, and you are the former president of the university of tennessee. mr. alexander: thank you, susan. is swain: alyson klein "education week" reporter. ." -- els "cq roll call niels lesniewski, "cq roll call ." mr. lesniewski: what i wanted to ask first was having completed one big project with a rewrite of the l w