my sister was appointed by ronald reagan. elevated in the clinton administration. >> [inaudible] my sister have nothing to do with me. she's a federal judge at a high level, the court of appeals. she was appointed by ronald woman, highly brilliant known as a brilliant judge. i don't know what her views are and i don't think she would want to tell me. of your cohorts wanted to do a great story and i said they're going to do a great story and she says i don't want any stories. she's very much like me in that respect. she is a federal judge, highly

respect it at every level. what he said about her was horrible. she may have views on certain things. i don't think it is appropriate. she is a very solid person and a great intellect. she is acknowledged as being so on the court. even jeb won't go and say donald trump is against the second amendment or whatever. he doesn't do that, but what ted cruz says is incredible. --hink he actually said it donald trump is against the second amendment. i did a radio show with a very good host and he said you were

totally inflated -- totally in favor of obama care. every speech i have made -- we have two repeal and replace obamacare. he said he really likes obamacare. how'd do you like that? we will bring a lawsuit -- he is a lying guy -- some people misrepresent -- this guy is just a plain liar. i in fact, i felt better because marco rubio called him a liar the other night on stage. i said good, a politician called a politician, now i can actually him a liar. let's go. go ahead. .inaudible question) mr. trump: this is a different this is for gitmo, but you folks haven't asked that it'sion yet because

ridiculous that they're moving people into this area and we're win we're and if i moving them out. and nay shouldn't be closing gitmo, they should not be closing it in any way, shape or form. movingy shouldn't be people, hard eped criminals, into this area, and i will stop it. and if i don't stop it in terms of time, if i win, they're going back. i'd keep it each, we have to be lament, we'll look at everybody's case, certainly, and you don't want to have people that are innocent of something suffering. but you have some very hardened people. we want to keep it open and that's the way i feel. and i don't want people coming into this area. i've had such complaints,

i've had people from south carolina calling me, asking me do this press conference about guantanamo bay. and there's not going to be any people coming here, and frankly i think the governor should be it.ng a strong stand on (inaudible question). trump: eventually they would. population.ease the with the migration you have into southng carolina, if i were governor i wouldn't let them in. the governor doesn't have anything to do with it, i would have something to do with it, believe me. it so uncomfortable for the federal government that sendll say, okay, let's them to other states or not take them in. we shouldn't be taking people in we shouldn'tation,

be taking people in from syria because we don't know who they theywe don't know where come from. you look at sweden and germany and all these other countries, taking peoplebe in from the migration. withwe should help people safe zones in syria, we should get the gulf states to pay for it, because right now they're paying for nothing and they're taking nobody, because they're smart. you know what, they're smart. but they'll pay. and we're not going to pay. we'll lead it, but we should build safe zones, because you have to do something. but i don't want to take people into this country. saw what happened in california with two people that got married that were radicalized and it was a disaster, okay, a disaster. they killed 14 and plenty of people laying right now in the hospital. you look at what's going on throughout the world, we're not going to do it. a have enough problems as country. you take a look at what's going on in germany, you take a look brussels,going on in what's going on in sweden the other night. to have that.g

question). anything, i don't say i'm just saying this. if you look back at your records, you'll see that there information and the c.i.a. and various other agencies were not talking and along andnot getting there were personality conflicts and they all hated each other and we ended up with the world okay.center, if you take a look at the book, the america we deserve, written in the year 2000, i mentioned in book, me, i wrote it, i mentioned in that book, osama i saw him aecause couple of times and i read about him and i said, you know, he's a dude. we better do something about him. politician, ia just said it sounded very interesting. but i'm saying to myself we about thatomething guy. so if you did something about wouldn't have had the world trade center come down. look back at the c.i.a.

and other agencies, and i don't know if you remember it, but tremendous problems getting along together. that's management, because if knew some bad things were going to happen, they could have stopped it. go ahead. i don't say it was anything. i don't say anything. what i say, here's what i say. are you ready? the world trade center came down during his reign. was, it's like he was the top, the world trade center came down. the war, with iraq, which this whole thing, the whole thing start with the war iraq. saddam hussein was a bad guy. one thing about him, he killed terrorists. now iraq is harbored for become a, you want to terrorist, you go to iraq. saddam hussein understood and he guy.d terrorists, bad but if the president and other people, and frankly obama was no

better because the way he got us was a disaster, look what's happened since then, a disaster. shouldn'tbeen there, have got out the way we got out. but if the president went to the beach, we would have been better off, believe me. john, go ahead. (inaudible question). no, i think we could have this greater vigilance, but say anybody was responsible for that. regards.my warmest look, this is -- me, no. look, look, actually no, when idea.is set up, i have no this was set up for guantanamo. no, not really. (inaudible question). i compare to it bill clinton. and his wife made a

statement about me having to do with sexism, and i made a state her and him. i said once she made that statement and once she was campaigning, it's a whole different ball game. now, if the ex-president is campaigning for his brother, i he's probably open to grit scrutiny, maybe things that then't been thought of in past. when jeb used his name, as i the, in the first debate in reagan debate, i left it alone. but when he kept using it i said i have to bring it up. when he talked about the great sorry,we had, i said i'm at some point we have to bring it up and the other day brought up. i said the wayed came down during your brother's reign. don't think anything can hurt him, he's doing so badly, how much worse can he be hurt. .inaudible question)

>> i wouldn't draw the line. i can hurt him, he's don't blame obama, i t successful,uld be because mitch mcconnell has tremendous power in terms of the and in terms of proceeding, et cetera. and the time is not that long, what, 11 months, 10 months. nott's not, no, but it's that much. i'm not saying obama shun do it, republicansing the should not allow it to happen. i also said the republicans theld not have aproduct budget, and they approved the budget. the republicans have been very, disappointing. i always say that obama is the worst negotiator i've ever seen, everybody but the republicans. .inaudible question)

mr. trump: i think what's going to happen is he'll put in somebody who is more moderate he would have normally done. i think the republicans should reject. think the new president should have that option. tom, go ahead. .inaudible question) mr. trump: i said from the i said from the beginning, tom -- tells me nothing about him actually. that the name bush would have been better than an exclamation point. he's jeb bush. the exclamation point didn't work, so now he's using bush. but i think he should have used his name. i think it shows that he wasn't proud of the family, i don't know what it tellses you, but i would tell him why don't you use

name bush. (inaudible question). mr. trump: if you look at -- can play cute.u way?re you, by the okay, cnn. let me tell you, you can play cute. in 2003 -- me, excuse me. because i said many things for a long time but i wasn't a so i'm not getting publicity if -- don't gor a long time into the war. but i think the first time they have me down is 2003, this is right after the war started. somebody said it doesn't make difference, because early on i said it. but i was saying it before then too. but in 2003, right at the beginning, i said it and very strongly. and004 i was in reuters quoted all over the place because e was very much opposed to the war. you're going to detail yoiz the middle east. you have two powers, iraq and iran, equal in terms of military

strength, if you knock out one of those the other one will take other, that's exactly what happened. them a dial like we just gave them. 150 billion, ave very wonderful agreement with us in terms of, you know, they went spending their 150 billion. so far they haven't spend any of it with us. bought 118 aircraft from airbus, which is european. their money all over europe. they're buying missiles from russia. they're spending their money everybody but the united states. not good. not good. .inaudible question) you, i went'll tell to the debate and i was attacked. if i -- thought it was my best debate. some people thought i was too tough. was being attacked from

anybody, it was unbelievable. the moderator, because they're saying donald trump said this and this about your brother, that's how that started.ng but donald trump said, and you know, in ancient times, so and about your brother, that's how that -- i didn't bring it up. brought up by john, as you know. so i didn't bring it up. by thes being attacked moderator, it was like a feeding that's why they got good ratings. i think i'm doing great in south carolina. think the south carolina voters -- i know south carolina very well, i've been here a lot. i think they have a very sophisticated voter, and they get it. for instance when cruz lies about virtually everything i've it., they get i really believe they get it. we'll soon find out. (inaudible question). trump: actually i'm doing a

favor, because the democrats are file it any way. just so you understand. i get along with everybody, remember? i was a business guy got along with everybody. the democrats, if cruz ever got it, i don't think -- get it.i'm going to but if cruz ever got the nomination the democrats are going to file the lawsuit. sense i'm doing him a favor, because i'm file it early. very good lawyer, already hired, i have a very good lawyer and a lawyer that truly believes. but remember this, how do you give a man the nomination for major party, one of the two the man has aand cloud over his head. and id to him get a decollarrer got to dot, you've something, because the democrats are going to file, to the best of my knowledge there already lawsuits out there. eventually it's going to be used, they're going to sue him. nomination,e they're not going to sue now

because they don't think he's nation. get the him in -- if he got the not not nation, he's going to be sued. tell him veryly nicely, keep your lies going, youre going to get sued, might as well keep your lies going, but let's see what happens. i think it's a good lawsuit. question). mr. trump: what does that mean, safe after country 9/11. we had this major catastrophe. that for years, jeremy. i've heard for years he kept the country safe after 9/11, what does that mean, after. what about during 9/11. i was there, i lost a lot. thatds that were killed in building. the worst attack ever in this country? during his presidency.

you mean we had the worst attack the way after that we did okay. that's meaning the team scored inning, buthe first after that we played well. so.n't think (inaudible question). mr. trump: i think we're doing well. we have a tremendous rally tonight. i'm here for the entire week and -- the fact that i'm here? break. a .inaudible question) situation you have a here where people from syria are being settled in south carolina, and i think it's disgraceful. wouldere nicki haley i not allow to it happen, i'll tell you right now, and she'll say we have no choice. governor has choice, believe

me. (inaudible question). whatrump: i don't know you're talking about. go ahead. question). trump: well, i'm responding, in all fair nose, i'm responding them. i think i deal with pressure well. i've won many club championships, you have to deal with pressure. that's what i do, my whole life pressure and i like pressure. think cruz deals well with pressure, i think he's a basket case. lost new hampshire big league. hand elz does not pressure well, i don't think rubio handles pressure well, you withhat in his run-in christie. i was standing next to rubio and i thought he just got out of a

swimming pool, he was soaking wet. i just don't see him negotiating -- look, i don't see that personality negotiating with this personality, okay. you want to make a good deal for the country? you want to deal with russia? there's nothing wrong with not fighting everybody, having russia where we have a good alltionship as opposed to the stupidity that's taken place, but i'm going to make the great trade deals. i'm going to make the great deals, these guys are politicians. question) plrp you have to handle pressure, that's i love the doing, pressure. but you didn't allow lies to place. with virtual everything, it's just a lie. and saybody has to come it. i find the whole south carolina thing so interesting, i find the people, you know, we've already this a couple of events today, i fine the people amazing.

the one thing that's really interesting, they're very politically in south carolina. and i think that's a good thing for me. they understand politicians. they understand that they're all talk, no action, they're not make deals. look, i'm the only politician that's not getting money. guys, like cruz is getting tremendous amounts of thesefrom oil and all different -- jeb bush, johnson from john on johnson is his campaign finance chairman. trotsly control what happened. you think the drug industry is going to be hurt by jeb bush when woody johnson is the head of his committee raising fund for him? the drug companies, basically there's no bidding. if we bid out, you know we are the largest purchaser of drugs the world. they'll make you better, the largest in the world. drug case, there's no bidding. you know why? because the politicians all take companies,their drug campaign contributions, probably

money too, but that i don't know about, you guys can figure that out. but they take money from the drug companies. and same with the military lumberes, same with the companies, same with everything. me, i'm not taking any money. right. what's i'll do what's right for the people. and i think it has an impact, at big asre if it's it should be, becausely have spent a lot of money by the time it's over. don't know if that point, john, is being made as importantly. somebody go into the booth and say i love trump because he's not taking money from any of the special interests? i don't know, but we'll soon find out. .inaudible question) we're going to see about it, i'm going to look at a lot of things. far is what i see so

unbelievable, that somebody can go and do what they're doing and make statements like that. learned a lot from iowa, don't forget i've been doing this since june 16. iowa,ned so much from when somebody can be so dishonest. and i know you people covered thing, but to me what was worse was the voter violation forum. it cameng looked like right out of the i.r.s., the paper, the look, it looked like document.nt it said voter violation, you are i'll betion, so looking. go ahead. reporter, by the way, very good reporter this guy. go ahead. (inaudible question). mr. trump: they defall. i'm very disappointed in the republican national committee. i'm very disappointed in the r.n.c. because for three debates room has been stacked with special interests and know, as theu

press knows, and as an example i who were verys conservative judges, always met with nice applause, bush got up stumbled through an answer and the place went crazy. then i realized all of these -- people, i have to say, many of the people in that room i know. are friends of mine. some are with a waving to me and thisg, they're waving like and they're booing and they're having fun. i get it. them are friends of mine. they are special interests, and thatobbyists, shouldn't be. and they have total control over the people i'm running against, total absolute control. i bring up the drug thing because the drug companies are go to competitive bid. whether we save $100 billion a or 350 billion a year, they're going to competitive bid. these people can't say that, the drug koition give them a fortune -- companies give them a

fortune to run for office. tom? question). mr. trump: well, he's the biggest liar. i've seen some that are much cunning, because you wouldn't catch them. this guy lies but he caught every time. carson.aught with the good ones are the ones that can do it and not get caught. if cruz did it and not get caught, e got caught with voter got got in new hampshire. he got caught here, they're doing robo calls saying donald trump is a horrible human being cruz is wonderful. what they're doing is, you know what it is, push polls, and we caught him. so the rae good ones are the don't get caught. every time he did anything he got caught. don't you catch him and do anything about him, then it's your fault, okay.

question). mr. trump: very simple, great build a we're going to wall. by the way, mexico is going to pay for the wall, that's a very because peopleng say mexico is not going to pay for it. i say of course they are, we lose so much money with mexico, we have a deficit with mexico is so massive. the world is -- peanuts.is but we're going to have a strong military. we're going to take care of our vets. obamacare, it end going to be terminated. we're going to come up with something very good. there's so many different plans. now part of the problem with the plans that the insurance dictated the plans to obama. insurance companies are making a fortune, some of them, with obamacare. we're going to come up with a savings, you know, you can do the health care savings plan, to get rid of the boundaries around the states where it makes it totally

noncompetitive. so we're getting rid of obamacare, we're repealing and obamacare. common core is absolutely going to, it's dead, it's the worst. we're number 30 in the world in education. china,e norway, we'd en, denmark, you have these countries. we're number 30. more per pupil. so common core is dead. to sprek our second amendment. when i say dead, we're bringing education locally. we're going to protect our amendment, and et cetera. (inaudible question). mr. trump: what we're doing here today for guantanamo bay, we're not going to let people come here from guantanamo bay. we are not letting people come from guantanamo bay, they're going to stay where they are right now. they're not coming to the country, let alone to this area. and if they do come to this area time, before we

take office and i take office, they're going back. and you can tell that to the people, okay. you can bank on it. question). mr. trump: winning south carolina would be a great thing, i agree. have received so many calls from people you all know about and write about and speak viciously about me where they want to come on board. they're politicians. but i've received so many calls. can speak to cory and we're not going to give you names any way. but cory, is that a correct to put it mildly. i've received so many calls, the people.uspecting people that you would not

believe, it's all going to come .ogether, i'm a unifier obama is not a unifier, by the unit -- a unifier. doing the best, i'm here, we're working hard, we have a great relationship with the carolina.south i hope it holds. i can't tell you what's going to happen when a guy lies. about youry lies record, that's why you have to get the truth out. we should hold, i hope ear -- be successful. my whole theme is make america again. south carolina will have a big part of that, because this could be the start, and maybe running table. i think if we win south carolina we could conceivably run the table. we're going to do very well. question). mr. trump: i think they will, i think you'll have certain people the race.

forink it would be better him if he stayed out. rally. i'm giving a i'll see what happens, obviously. but i don't believe i'll be able to because i think i'm giving a rally at that time, yes. .inaudible question) mr. trump: weak, period. sure. i think it's great. you know what i want, i want dreamers to come from this country, okay. you mentioned dreamers, wait, you mentioned dreamers. dreamers to come from the united states. i want the people in the united children, ihave want them to have dreams also. we're always talking about dreamers for other people. the children that are growing up in the united states to be dreamers also. now.re not dreaming right

and you look at african-american unemployment. you look at african-americans in their 30 years old and 40 years old and we have an african-american president, and theas not done anything for african-americans in this country, okay. and you got a free pass, and he have.n't because if that were me or would be, we, we would be taken over, it would a good situation. president obama has done nothing for the african-americans. you look at african-american atth, you look african-americans that are 30, 40, and 50 years old in their prime, the prime, and take a at their statistics, it's very sad. how about one or two more questions. go ahead. what? snfl inaudible question (. it.'ll look at excuse me, that's enough. about cuba. question).

mr. trump: i think after 50 years it's time, but we have to make a much better deal than making. it's like the keystone pipeline, favor of it. by the way, we're using eminent an article came out today that bush used private eminent domain in florida, veteran.ut a disabled these little things come out, he was talking about private domain, but two major stories about him using private and he just doesn't understand that.hings like willeystone pipeline, i build the keystone pipeline, but i will make a deal for this country where we get a chunk of it. because we make the keystone pipeline and other things possible. they're going to make tremendous amounts of money with the keystone pipeline, a lot. to money they make is going come back to the people of this country, you understand what i mean. john? .inaudible question)

mr. trump: lies. my only word about south carolina is that my opponents lie, especially cruz. as i said, he's the single worst liar i've ever seen. the lies,believe then, you know, we won't make america great again because is going to be able to do it by me. believe me, i know my boughttion, they're all and paid for by the special interests. negotiatet going to with the lumber companies, the drug companies, the oil and gas companies, the any of them. they're not going to make good trade deals because andmade by the lobbyists the special interests. me, i'm going to have the greatest trade deals ever made. we're going to become rich again and we're going to become great again. but i know my opponents. so the thing that i would say if a daughter is when a guy is allowed to lie like ted cruz can just say take an

issue, boom, make it the opposite, with in fact at all. know i'll get, on sunday i'll get a phone call, i just realize,ay, i didn't like ben carson did. carson got a call two hours election. frankly in iowa they should overturn the election based on the voterdid, between violation and that, they should -- if they had a strong leader in iowa in terms of the republican party, jeff is a good guy, but strong, i don't know. but what cruz did is a fraud. do is overturnd that election. okay, one more question. back.out you in the .inaudible question) mr. trump: no, he wouldn't be on my short list. okay, good luck, everybody, thank you. yes? well, the r.n.c. is in detaught, okay, just so you understand, r.n.c. is in default.

yeah, i understand. when somebody is in default that means the other side can do what they have to do, okay. the r.n.c. is in default. r.n.c. gave all the tick totes special interests that cruz and rubio. they had all the tickets. stage, the placeage, the went crazy. one good-bye is very low in the polls, the other guy is pretty low. i had my wife and my kids, okay, because i don't have donors and i don't have special interests or any of that. but i think the r.n.c. did a very poor job. we warned them and they don't listen. r.n.c. ise controlled. the bottom line is the r.n.c. is controlled by the establishment. the r.n.c. is controlled by the special interests and the donors and that's too bad. and that's why the republican party for president has lost so so long. thank you all very much, i appreciate it. thank you.

>> during campaign 2016, c-span takes you on the road to the house. as we follow the candidates on c-span, c-span radio and c-span.org. >> coming up shortly, national security advisor susan rice and security advisor ben rhodes will be at today's white house briefing, that will 3:30 eastern, we'll have it live for you here on gets under way. we have more road to the white house coverage coming up later today at 6:00 eastern, it's a rally in charleston, south carolina, jeb bush will be joined by his brother, former president george w. bush and get under way at 6:00 p.m. eastern here on

c-span. of his last public appearances before the death of supreme court gets under way. we justice antonin over the weekend, committee just says john roberts engages in a wide ranging discussion about the nation's highest court, that's tonight at 8:00 eastern. here is a look at some of the made about the confirmation process. the process is not functioning very well. you look at two of my colleagues, justice scalia aand justice ginsburg, for example, i they were confirmed, maybe there were two or three dissenting votes between the two of them. and now you look at my more colleagues, all extremely well qualified for the court, i thinkvotes were strictly on party lines for the three of them, or close to it. and that doesn't make any sense. that suggests to me that the process is being used for ensuring other than

the qualifications of the nominees. it's a process now where the members of the committee frequently ask questions, they know it would be inappropriate answer.o thankfully we don't answer the questions. and it's a forum i think they have a different agenda when participate in the ahearings. it's not something that's easy us to change. i don't see how we would do that, it's certainly up to them the hearings as they see fit. but it doesn't seem to me to be very productive. >> chief roberts also talks crafting some of the court's rulings, public perceptions and technology. that event from the new england in boston, airs tonight at 8:00 eastern here on c-span. a portion of today's "washington journal" now, this one on a few obama'sut president

white house, including the president's efforts on health care reform, the wars in afghanistan and iraq, the economy, and climate change. host: our next guest is ian swanson, managing editor of the hill. he will talk about the new e-book, "inside obama's white house." tell us about this book. it is supposed to be looking at president obama's legacy and his term here as president. tell us what you guys uncovered. guest: we wanted to try to look at his entire seven years in the white house. springfield, illinois last week to mark the anniversary of his first campaign for the white house. tofelt that was a good time look at all the things or most of the things that obama had done. to find some stories or anecdotes that people had not heard before. we looked at the big things that obama did and tried to judge whether there were successes or

failures and get as many people as possible to talk about their thoughts of these events that are really recent important history from the passage of obamacare to obama's efforts to end the wars in iraq and afghanistan and the fights against isis, the battle over environmental regulation which started with legislation to try climate change and unfinished business, things president obama still wants to get done even as he is a lame-duck president. host: you mentioned in seven years in office. the eight-year looks like it well.be consequential as what you make of this battle over whether the senate should move forward on giving a hearing to anyone the president might nominate to fill the vacant court seat? story thatmazing broke saturday. we had done a story about

obama's unfinished business and the firstmediately piece of unfinished business obama wants to get done in 2016, which seemed like it would be a sleepy you're in washington. washington. you will have the biggest battle of obama's entire career in washington. obamacare was huge, but the fight over replacing justice scalia is one that is going to determine the direction of the court. if a liberal justice replaces scalia, it is likely to tilt the court toward liberals. it has not been since the 1970's. there's a lot of reason to think we will not see the senate confirm anyone to the court this year. republicans came out immediately condolences had about justice scalia, we had democrats and republicans battling immediately and this

tends partisan fight over whether or not the senate would even consider replacing him this year. for republicans, it is almost political suicide for them to president obama nominates. my prediction would be that we are not going to see an end result. that doesn't mean that president obama isn't going to try to fill his constitutional duty to appoint someone or nominate someone to the supreme court. you are likely to see that in the next couple of weeks. this will be a battle that will go on month after month after month. it will greatly influence the presidential race. host: how do you see it influencing the race? guest: it is too early to say. the stakes are really hyper both parties. for republicans and democrats, this is an issue where both parties will want to bring out

their bases on this issue. it almost immediately becomes the number one issue in the presidential race. that you areen able to appoint someone to a lifetime term in the supreme court where they could change the direction of the court. there's other justices that are .lderly the next president will have a chance to fill other vacancies. this is a real big one. it could change the overall balance and scalia has been such a dominating presence in the court for decades. the: tell us more about thread that ties together the e-book. you wanted to look for new stories, new facts, new details about obama's term here in the white house. is there any unifying theme around the book that you discovered? guest: the unifying theme is obama and all the things he has done or try to do in washington.

it is by no means everything. you could write volumes of books about obama. i suppose people will. we tried to pick the biggest things, the things we thought were the issues that people are going to be talking about for a number of decades. on thegest pieces are passage of health care. we talked about how that happened and we tried to ask people to remember stories about in excruciating battles congress. people might have forgotten about the drama that happened with that vote. one moment in particular, democrats had a 60 seat majority in the senate, they had a huge majority in the house and scott brown, a republican in massachusetts is elected to the senate to replace kennedy and it

immediately goes away and the white house has to figure out what are we going to do now? moment inamazing washington and we thought it was valuable to go back and talk to key players like nancy pelosi, valerie jarrett and other members of both parties who were there on the ground fighting this out. host: here is a clip of president obama from march in 2010. [video clip] it is easy to succumb to the sense of cynicism about what is possible in this country. today, we are affirming that essential truth. it truth every generation is called to rediscover for itself. we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. we are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. we don't fall prey to fear. we are not a nation that does what is easy.

that is not who we are. that is not how we got here. we are a nation that faces its challenges and excepts its response abilities. we are a nation that does what is necessary and right. we shape our own destiny. that is what we do, that is who we are. that is what makes us the united states of america. ashave now just enshrined, soon as i sign this bill, for principles that four principles that everybody should have when it comes to basic health care. it is an extraordinary achievement that has happened because of the advocates all across the country. thank you. you and godod bless bless the united states of america. [applause] that was president obama speaking in march of 2010 just before he signed the affordable care act into law.

in swanson is the managing editor of the hill. -- ian swanson. republicans can call 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. .ndependents, 202-748-8002 you can send us a message on twitter as well. michelle from atlanta, georgia. she is on the democratic line. good morning to you. knowr: i want to let you that i want to have my time just like you give the republicans time to come up. . -- to come up here. you give republicans all the time to talk about president obama. they never wanted a black man in the oval office because they think this country belongs to them. president obama's legacy is among blacks,wn

latinos and every demographic as great because we know what their codewords are. they want to take their country back. they want to send negroes back into slavery. this one is not going because i got my ak-47's and my semi automatics. as for scalia, i'm glad he is dead. my grandmother prayed that he would die. they are not going to tarnish this black man. host: we hear your thoughts this morning. we cannot cut about president obama's legacy in the white house without mentioning that he is the nation's first black president. talk about how he approached race and how that has evolved. guest: we approached race and business."finished

obama would like to have done even more on racial issues and guns. these are issues that are still dominating the last year of his presidency. we have a series of mass shootings in the united states and obama has sought to get congress to take action on gun control. when congress did not move, he took executive action to make progress on gun control. separately, there has been a of unarmedhootings black man involving police. that is another issue that obama has spoken out very forcefully on. recount in our e-book come after the charleston shooting last summer were a young white man who wanted to start a race war when into a church in charleston and

shot a number of black parishioners. on thent obama was later aide told him in aian about how the relatives were offering forgiveness everyone on marine one, the at theter taking obama time, just sort of stopped and there was silence. obama said that is what i want to talk about when i go to charleston to deliver an address. that led to this memorable eulogy that obama gave for the charleston victims were i think he ended up saying "amazing grace." it was a moment that people at the white house remember and people on marine one remember it well. it says something about the importance of those issues to

obama, but i'm sure obama himself would say that he would like to have done more to both address racial harmony, i guess, and united states and do something on gun violence. president's a clip of obama speaking at reverend pinckney's funeral in charleston. [video clip] drew on aan act that long history of bombs and arson and shots fired at churches, not controlut as a means of , a way to terrorize and oppress. [applause] an act that he imagined would recrimination, violence, and suspicion, and act

that he presumed would deepen divisions that traced back to our nations original sin. oh, but god works in mysterious ways. [applause] god has different ideas. [applause] he didn't know he was being used by god to [applause] god. [applause] hatred, the alleged killer would not see the greatness surrounding reverend pinckney and that bible study of love thatght

shown as they open the church doors and invited a stranger to join in their prayer circle. the alleged killer could have never anticipated the way the families of the fallen would respond when they saw him in court and the missed of unspeakable grief with words of forgiveness. he couldn't imagine that. [applause] with ianare talking swanson, managing editor of "the hill." you mentioned that president as hedidn't do as much wanted to our could in terms of race relations, etc. was this a question of desire or was this a question of the environment he faced? guest: it depends on your point of view. there are some african-americans that are critical of how far obama went to try to address racial issues in the united states.

we quote tavis smiley, the commentator, and our e-book, who expresses frustrations that obama did not do more. obviously, a lot of supporters of president obama do think he was facing a lot of obstruction from congress to do anything on certain issues. i do think at the beginning of present obama's first term, people will remember a certain reluctance to get out in front of these issues. president obama was the first african-american president. he did not want to be seen however as a president for all people, no matter what your race or gender was f. het may be affected how did things at the beginning . he also focused on pretty big things at the time that he was trying to fix for a lot of people. we will also debate whether he actually fixed it or made it worse, but from the economy, which was in a complete freefall in the early 2009, to the fight

over health care reform, obama was really focused in his first couple of years on those issues. host: we will turn back to the phone lines now. rhode island, chad is calling on the independent line. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i love c-span. that -- i was really stunned when mitch mcconnell came out saturday and said that if the president had nominated anybody for the supreme court. it harkens back to early 2009 when the president was sworn in. mitch mcconnell said our number one priority is to deny him a second term. the guess just said, the country was in freefall, economic freefall, and that was not the republicans'priority.

their priority was to deny the democratic president anything and it has been that way for eight years. work tothis is going to the republicans's detriment because the majority of voters, like myself, are independent. i left one political party because i was totally fed up with it and i've got friends from the other side that left their political party because neither political party is independent. when the independents see that these republicans are just think thenists, i republicans run the risk of not only losing the white house but of losing the senate as well. want to thank you for your time and your tolerance. have a great day. guest: a couple of interesting points from the caller. he mentioned he is an independent calling on independent line and independence are going to be a key part of the election coming up. you look at joh donald trump

leading the republican race and bernie sanders, these candidates are appealing to a lot of independent voters. you throw in the scalia news on top of this election and it would be political suicide for a republican senator to vote and confirm president obama's nominee to the supreme court, particularly a nominee seen as being a liberal justice. i think that is very true. the caller identifies a real danger for the republican party going forward and that is a large group of voters going to think, hey wait a second, why t we confirming a supreme court justice and waiting an entire year to confront someone? republicans will argue that this is an appropriate thing to do and a decision like this should be left to the next president and this should give voters a chance to decide who it's going to be, but a lot of other people but just as good of an opinion will say, hey, wait a second, present obama was

elected in 2012 to four-year term. we are in completely uncharted waters here. i don't know off the top of my head is a supreme court justice has died in february of an election year. i don't know that justice would be want to tip the balance of the court. how people like that caller determine that question could end up determining who will be the next president of united states. host: next up is sandra in utah on the report inside. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i like to point out that during obama's first two years in office, he did not need the republicans to push anything through. he could've gotten a lot of stuff done there. he is the only president i can remember in modern history that has not been able to work with congress because i don't

remember any other time in history where there was a super majority of both the congress, the senate, and the presidency all being on the same side. somehow other presidents have found a way to work within that and work within the other side as opposed to rejecting everything on both sides. and i am sick and tired of being told that i am a racist because i don't agree with his policies. thank you for taking my call. you guys have a great presidents' day. host: that is sandra from utah. guest: thanks a lot. a couple of good points there. present obama did get quite a bit done in his first two years in office while he was working with both super majorities, things he probably could not have gotten done if he had not had the huge democratic majorities in the house and senate. the biggest things that come to mind, of course, is the health care law, a once in a generation lifetime change c.

i'm not saying whether it's good or bad, but it's a big thing. the nearly $1 trillion economic stimulus bill, which was never heard of, got very little republican support. i think three votes in the senate at the time from a pumpki republicans. finally, the dodd frank financial reform, which some people on the left did not think went far enough and a lot of people on the right thought it to hurt the economy. those three things were done in the first three years of obama's term in office. in writing our e-book, we look back at obama's efforts to try to win republican support for these measures. this is one of these debates that is really hard to solve. republicans feel pretty strongly that present obama came in and had the super majorities and felt he was not interested in working with them to get things done. democrats and people in the

white house argue that they spent hours, for example, with olivia snow, a former senator from maine, on a health care to get her supporting obamacare. she ended up voting against it on the senate floor. there was an enormous political pressure on republicans to vote against it and it was something that zeke manual, a health-care administrator and brother of rahm emanuel, he remembers it as one of his biggest disappointments. he was so frustrated that he cannot get olympia snowe on board. host: carol is on. go ahead. caller: i just want to say a couple of things and really one is a question. the republicans declared war on this president from day one and they have never relented. when i heard him speak at the

last state of the union, i was struck again by his eloquence and the beauty and the exceptionally decent man that president obama is, which i hope will be his legacy. i do have a question -- can the president make a recess appointment in place of justice scalia if again he is obstructed from doing his job? that's his responsibility to appoint a justice. appointmenta recess if they block him? host: we got it. guest: he can't. is some thing obama can do with administration officials but not the supreme court. i do speaking earlier that not think the republican senator

is going to confirm someone to votes in the senate to confirm a supreme court justice. there are 40 democrats and if you get all them, which i'm not sure is a certain thing, you need at least 14 the publicans to vote for whoever president obama emanates. and thes climate election hanging over us, i do not think it's went to happen and i believe that's probably the case. host: a central part of present obama's campaign in 2008 was built on this idea of hope and change and uniting america. this poll from the pew research finds that an overwhelming share of republicans say that obama's failures will outweigh his a couple's men's. outweigh hisng -- couples months. the interesting thing is that republicans say obama's a compass men's would be more significant. 88% to his failures would be more significant. democrats are reversed.

19% say his failures will be larger. that divide, that split is larger than for clinton or for bush. increasingverseen polarization within the american political system, not a unification. how do you think history will rate that? guest: it won't rate it well. what we have seen is that each president in my lifetime, i feel, has been a more polarizing figure than the one before. prettyinton was a polarizing figure, particularly toward the end of his presidency. it was a popular president because the economy was doing well, but a lot of people do not like him because of the monica lewinsky affair and other things like that that tarnished his reputation. and then you have george w. bush , certainly a polarizing figure. liberals hated w over the war in iraq. obama might be more polarizing than george w. bush.

i think at some point, we have to ask -- is it the president or is it us? c-span is like a medium where republicans can call in and democrats can call and and in some ways it might be one of the last cases where you have people of different political perspective sort of talking to one another in a way at least for we do not have a lot of that in our society right now. aboutevious guest talked diversification of media, which is a good thing, but you can also just go to whatever media you want to get your point of view and it becomes a bit of an i could chamber. it becomes almost like sports where if you are the dallas cowboys or the washington football team, you hate each other. redskins fans do not like the cap was in the cap was fans do not like the redskins. it is becoming more like that in presence of politics. maybe the independents will really decide the outcome of the race. host: rachel's calling in from

texas on the independent line. go ahead, rachel. caller: hello? host: go ahead. you're on the air. caller: you know freedom of speech and we have freedom of the truth. why can't somebody with all the technology we have today -- hello? host: you are on the air, go ahead. caller: with all the technology we have today, why hasn't anyone made something where we can put on a tv and root out all the lies they tell us every day on tv? the american people deserves the truth about everything. they get on tv and they lie about everything. about obama not getting anything done, they said they was going to make him a one term have president. reagan when he was in office, in order to get a job, you had to pass a lie detector test. people remember it back

then. they went against that because they heard a lot of people getting jobs because they do not pass a lie detector test because if they ever stole anything in their lives, even when they were children, that one against them for years on their applications when they went to apply for jobs. that's not right. host: rachel from texas, we hear your point. person's truth is another persons lie and a lot of cases. you see more fact check: to newspapers, but it's awfully hard to do anything about opinions. opinions asple see either true false and it often depends on your perspective. i think it goes to the division in the country that we are talking about. the poll that you mentioned -- many ask yourself why is each president seen in such different ways

announcer: from rancho monrovia in california, we join this life. -- live. >> how is that? better? if i do not fall through this thing. good afternoon, everyone. it is great to be with you all in beautiful rancho mirage, california. we are very excited to be hosting the leaders of 10 countries of asean. occasion.y a historic it is the first time we have theed asean leaders in united states for this kind of meeting. that we succeeded in doing so reflects a return on seven years of significant and sustained investment type this

administration and by president obama personally in the asia pacific and in southeast asia, in particular, and it demonstrates our enduring commitment to this vital region. indeed, it is reflected by this summit. relations have never been this strong pain with nearly half of the worlds population and one third of the gdp, some of the world's most gdp's and ecosystems, it is increasingly the world's political and economic center of gravity, which is why president obama from the very beginning has write your ties to engagement with asia, recognizing this region is central to u.s. interests in the 21st century. our was the impetus behind rebalanced strategy, which aims to forge a network of partners throughout asia who worked together to build and sustain a

rules-based regional order, and asean, of course, is at the heart of asia. this 10-state union founded on common principles, like respect for international law, free-trade, and the peaceful resolution of disputes, is a natural partner for the united been a core focus of the rebalance. our ties with asia have expanded dramatically over the last seven years. in 2000 years, we signed a treaty of amity and cooperation. first aseane dialogue partner to establish a dedicated diplomatic mission and inoint a representative jakarta, and in 2013, we created the young southeast asian initiative, and our

economic ties are also booming. we have a quarter trillion dollar trade relationship with since 2009.% the asean region is now the fourth largest goods export market for the united states. trade with asean countries supports nearly 500,000 american jobs. last year alone, companies from right here in california exported $11 billion in goods to asean. in fact, companies from all 50 of our states engaged in trade .ith asean u.s. companies have been that largest investors in asean, with a stock of more than $226 billion, nearly doubling since 2008. asean is also an increasingly important partner in addressing regional and global challenges.

from maritime, climate change, pandemic disease, to violent extremism, sustainable development to trafficking in why last year is during the president's trip to malaysia, we elevated our partnership with asean to a strategic partnership, but there is much more we can still do together, and that is why we are here. over the next day and a half, we will discuss our shared interests in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, encouraging peaceful resolution of disputes, and combating terrorism, and dimitrov disease, climate change, and trafficking. we are quite aware that some of our asean partners have a long way to go with human rights, but the united states will continue as we do everywhere to stand up for the rights of all people, and i emphasized this point last week with a meeting at the white house with representatives from

all 10 asean countries. the president, as always, will stress the importance of good governance, the rule of law, human rights, and a vibrant civil society and capable, accountable institutions. the unique and informal environment here will allow leaders to engage in a more in-depth and candid discussion that is possible at the usual, more formal summit meetings, so this we look forward to as a rare opportunity for candor and to identify new areas of cooperation that will help assure peace and prosperity in this critical asia-pacific region for our children and grandchildren. thank you all very much, and i am happy to take any questions. do you want to go to the phone? >> do you have any questions for the ambassador? >> yes.

ambassador: can we tell him we cannot hear him? >> we are having trouble hearing you. region eaction in the ambassador: can we hear him? >> jeff, we are having trouble hearing you. can you speak up? >> is that better? ambassador: much. >> i will try again. what is the expectation about with all of asean and the united states with regards to the south china sea, and what is your reaction about putting pressure on some members ?

ambassador: i think i heard it it was it jeff? >> jeff. jeff: did you hear that? more or less.s, i think the question was about some pressure on some asean partners and a statement about the south china sea. we will continue to work with our asean partners on a potential statement that we might issue together. this statement will cover a wide range of topics. it will not be focused primarily wethe south china sea, and obviously have issued/statements in the past with asean, and in it, we consistently underscore our shared commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom of commerce and navigation, the rule of law, and the necessity of disputes being solved through peaceful, legal means.

expressed concerns about efforts to resolve disputes through other means, and we will continue to do so, so i am very confident that among other topics that we will discuss during the next day and a half, this would be an important one. the only one. i am also confident that our shared commitment to upholding these norms will be reinforced. questions, and if you could speak up real loud? ambassador: or into the phone. >> with bloomberg news. . have a question it has been a pretty tough week for u.s. backed forces in syria, ,eing hit by russia in aleppo

and a lot of kurdish forces have been allied with them. when they come under attack from what is youres, reaction in your response to what they have been doing to attack? and secondly, what is a plan cease-fire to get russia to stop its bombing? ambassador: first of all, we continue our strong support for opposition elements in syria and for the government in iraq, and we do so in furtherance of our primary objective, which is to defeat and ultimately isil. we have made progress in the recent months, but we look to have that sustained. you are right.

this has been a period of intensified bombing, particularly in the north of syria. we have condemned to that in the strongest terms, and we think it runs counter, frankly, to the commitment made in munich on friday and to our shared interests in seeing the violence , civilians allowed to receive humanitarian assistance, which is of critical importance, and more importantly ultimately to the goal of negotiating a peaceful resolution to the bothte, which is necessary for the well-being and the people of syria and for a political transition to come into effect that reflects the will of the syrian people. it is also essential in our judgment ultimately for the success of the counter-isil campaign, so we will support that on the ground, those supporting isil.

manyll do that with our allies in the coalition, about the five. turkey remains an important partner in that effort, as do many others, and we will stay focused on the fight against isil, even as we work on the political track, and the principles agreed to in munich reach base the station of hostilities and humanitarian access. >> anything? ok, let's go to -- >> [indiscernible] reports --some anxious to get your view on --

the increase -- ambassador: i could not hear that. >> do you want to try one more time? -- i door: let's move not want to answer a question i did not hear. >> the question was about your threats andf the also -- well, i just want to get your view about the increased military intervention. ambassador: i am sorry. is that andrew? you are really breaking up, and i cannot hear the question. we will go to some folks in the world. evenspitals, schools

children, i am told, in an area where russia has been very active. what happened there? who is to blame? who is responsible? ambassador: i do not have details on what happened on the ground. the state department issued a theng statement condemning bombings at the facility and other facilities in which civilians we believe were present. it appears that this was action taken by the regime would the backing of its supporters, that i cannot provide a specific attribution at this point. >> president obama had a meeting .ith president putin ambassador: what concerns us the obviously is as violence continues, more and more civilians are being impacted, and the pressure on

civilians and the outflow of displaced persons from areas of residence is increasing, and that is why we have a premium on trying to halt the violence, andle humanitarian access, create an environment that is conducive for apical track to get underway. reason for our collective efforts in munich. that is why we will be working in the coming days to try to encourage parties to implement the agreements reached in munich, and that is why the president will continue its -- his medications with leaders of all stripes who have a role to play in this. >> michelle? michelle: to try to limit their cooperation with north korea, militarily, economically -- can you be more specific about what you expect to come out of this on that front, and would you say

you are putting pressure on them to do so? also, what effect do you think that will have? ambassador: well, north korea is a topic of interest to the entire region and certainly to and our allieses in japan and in the republic of korea, so we will continue our work to contain and reduce the threat posed by north korea. we will do it both in the ontext in our discussions the margins. this is not a topic former -- agenda, but with the japanese government, as well. in new york, we continue to work and see the negotiations on the security council resolution, which we expect will contain significant new sanctions,

progress, so we have an working on multiple fronts simultaneously. >> mark? mark: i actually heard andrew's question, and it is kind of an important one, so i would like to repeat it. ambassador: or ask it your self. mark: or ask it myself. syria becoming a place for foreign fighters, so his question was how concerned are you buy those reports, and also is that concern prompting you to way more seriously some form of military intervention in libya? ambassador: i heard you much better. thank you. [laughter] libya isr: obviously, an important area of interest and concern for us for a variety of reasons. one, we are actively engaged in trying to establish a unity government, and our diplomatic

have been quite energetic in trying to back the u.n. effort there, and we have seen some modest progress, but obviously that is a difficult and persistent challenge, but it is a necessary aspect of trying to help to stabilize libya, because when it has had competing governments, it has been even more fertile ground for extremists to exploit than even when it had a weak central government. in respect to the terrorist threat there, this has been something we have long been focused on. in tryingen involved to improve our situational awareness, both of the threat as it has evolved, and to take steps to counter that threat, which is why the united states las acted against the isi leader in libya with success, so we are going to stay very threat as ite isil

relates to libya, just as we have done in iraq and syria. we will try to cut the flow of foreign fighters and financing and look for ways to build partnerships with those on the ground and to take action as appropriate and necessary isil. to suggestepared anything further than that at this point, but this is an area isil globally, where the united states is giving considerable attention along with our partners and allies. >> two more. >> when president obama spoke with ladner, did he receive any kind of assurances that russia -- when president obama spoke with putin, did he receive any kind of assurances that russia would stop its bombing in syria?

is there any reason to think it will change now? not prepared to characterize russian motives. i am prepared to characterize some of their recent actions as being counter productive and actions that we have an dammed. clearly, the intensified bombing, the displacement, the fact that civilian entities have been hit by the regime and its backers is of grave concern, and theoes call into question russian willingness or ability to implement the agreements achieved in munich. that said, we still believe that russia has the ability should it constructiveplay a role in restraining the regime. obviously its own actions, as we stand ready in cooperation with our partners in the syrian support group to do bring abouttry to the cessation and the

humanitarian access that is so badly needed it we will see what russia will do. >> russia can stop the regime, but they are choosing not to? ambassador: they can. and with the opposition and the syrian government, if they agree to implement these cessation. wey will be obliged to, but was see how the events unfold in the coming days. last one. >> last one yes? i would like to focus on south korea. you mentioned the security to have tougher sanctions against north korea. ambassador: well, china is obviously a critical player at hasunited nations and also

decisions to make. we have had ongoing negotiations with china. president obama has spoken with president xi. it unlikely that china wants to be seen as the protector of north korea given their outrageous behavior in violation of international law and security council resolutions, so given that, i expect that they will indeed come on board with significant new sanctions, and we are working towards that end. government --e supposed to investigate the north korean abduction of japanese people. what is your reaction to that? ambassador: well, we have been supportive of japan and their efforts to pursue resolution of the abducted, and we hope that japan's interests in this will

continue to be fulfilled. thank you. >> may i? >> one last one. cambodia, people who have terrible human rights records, and human rights organizations including human rights watch says it is a signal that the united states supports and legitimizes these leaders to their people with private to than twots rather people and civil society. how would you respond to that? ambassador: i would refute that strenuously. we deal with people around the world, including asia, where we have serious disagreements on human rights, democracy,

corruption, and yet, we do talk to them. at the same time, we take every opportunity, both publicly and privately, to underscore our grave concerns about human rights. that is why i made mention of that in my opening statement. that is why i spent an hour and a half last week with the leaders about the asean civil society to make sure there concerns were incorporated into the thinking and planning for this summit. we have stood with the people of astheast asia for many years they seek to build more just, more open, more accountable .ocieties we have been significant supporters of civil society organizations, and why the leaders initiative is about the united states building people to people ties with the next generation of the region's leaders.

asia, asuse in elsewhere, we are obliged to do with governments, including in some cases with those we have significant disagreements on things like human rights, does not mean that we are legitimizing them or their behavior or that we have in any way lessened our work for democracy in a civil society. thank you. >> thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> thank you. i will entertain any topics on the domestic nature that you have. try to -- is the pool still with us? ok. jeff, you want to give it a whirl? jeff: no, i do not have anything. >> ok. mark. >> there, whether you can give

us any updates at all about a selection of a nominee for the court or any details on who may be leading the effort for the candidates? anything new on that front? eric: as i said, the president will take rigor. picking a nominee, i would not expect anything this week, especially given that the senate is on recess, but the president has made it very clear that he is going to fill his constitutional responsibility to put forward a nominee to justice person and to get that fair hearing and a timely vote. i am going to resist the urge to engage in speculation about a list of names, but if you are looking to get a sense of the , i would urgets

you to take a look at the two supreme court justices that the nominatedhas already and successfully gotten confirmed to the bench and look at the several hundred judges the president has nominated and successfully confirmed to the lower courts. anerally, they adhere to number of principles, which i am happy to share with you. number one, i would say the presidential judicial nominees are all imminently qualified with a record of excellence and integrity. the president looks for individuals who have impeccable credentials. number two, the president tends to look at individuals who have a commitment to impartial justice, respect the integrity of the judicial process, and the who will seeks judges faithfully apply the law to a fact at hand. lastly, the president is mindful

where there are cases where the law is not clear, and these incidents occur most often at the supreme court. in those times, a judge will have to bring his or her own ethics and moral bearings into a decision. in those circumstances, the people whoeeks understand it is not about an abstract theory or a footnote in a casebook and how it affects the daily realities of people's lives. .ook no further the rulings coming-out of the highest court in the land, and you will see that these just are not cases just about legal theory, but they are about the way people go about their daily lives, and often that means protecting people's freedoms. michelle? michelle: all of this being said , starting hours after the justice's death, what is your take on this, and do you feel that there is any chance tha