low-level drug offenders. we'll talk to gregory korte. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption contents and accuracy. visit ncicap.org host: good morning and welcome to "washington journal." it is friday, august 26th, 2016. marking one month until the first presidential debate on september 26. also, marking the end of a campaign week that saw both the donald trump campaign and the hillary clinton campaign sharpening their focus and rhetoric on race. so we thought we would spend the first 45 minutes of the spram this morning asking for calls from african american viewers and listeners only and their thoughts we want to hear are what are your thoughts on dommed trump's outreach to the

african american community. here's how to join the conversation. again african american callers only for the first 45 minutes. we have covered a number of speeches both from donald trump and hillary clinton this week as the rhetoric increases on the issue of race. and here's the front page this morning of the washington times and their headline. clinton and trump bring bigotry to the presidential race.

the "new york times" and their reporting of that speech in reno, nevada which we covered and you can find in our library. we'll read more and show you a

bit more of hillary clinton's speech. we'll start where the week started for donald trump in akron, ohio, and his appeal to african american voters. here's some of what he had to say. >> violent crime rose 17% in he 15th largest u.s. city. this is the legacy of president obama and hillary clinton. it can't get any worse. , what e suffering, i say do you have to lose in trying trump? what do you have to lose? i will fix this. i will fix this. will fix the problem. with rates of crime, with rates of poverty like you've just

heard, what do you have to lose? i will fix the problem. we will fix it. let me tell you what we have to gain. re jobs will bring brought in. i will be the greatest jobs president that god ever created. elieve me. higher wages and a massive reduction in the terrible crimes plaguing our inner cities. we are going to turn it all around. give donald trump a chance. i say this to the african american community give donald trump a chance. we will turn it around. we will make your streets safe. so when you walk down the

street you don't get shot, which is what is happening now. host: donald trump asking the african american voters to give him a chance. his words. we're asking our african american viewers this morning and listeners for the first 45 minutes to call in. and your thoughts obhis outreach. lori, a democrat in tampa, florida. caller: good morning. i just don't believe his gal, really. he's stereo typing the black 90 nity and in front of a to 99% whilet audience. he's not talking to black people. he's talking against african americans. why is he stereotyping african americans as jobless, hopeless, we're criminals? we can't walk down our neighborhoods without being

shot? that he stereotype has played on with other minority groups and i feel quite frankly i'm insulted. he's not talking to the black community. he's talking about the black community to the people that he wants to draw into his campaign, which is not african americans. it is the moderate white americans who are on the fence right now. ed. ori's comments reflect a couple days ago titled donald trump talks about urban blacks not with them. here's lisa. caller: good morning.

i totally disagree with the lady from tampa. donald trump did try to talk directly to the black community in chicago he couldn't because the black lives matter group shut him completely down and he had to cancel the event. i'm so saddened by black america. they don't realize that the democrats have been so disaster rust in every cities, in every state that has got high cribe, horrible schools, mayhem everywhere. it has been run by democrats. donald trump is exactly correct. hillary clinton and barack obama have done nothing for minorities. what they've done is put black eople in ghettos, they put spanics in bar yos, american indians in reservations. wake up. let's try trump. i believe he is going to turn

the ship around, he is going to bring jobs. he is going to eliminate criminals. he is going to kick out the criminals that have crossed our borders illegally. what else do you want? host: here's washington, d.c. thanks for that call. caller: good morning. i would like to preface my comments by saying i do agree with the previous caller who just spoke about democratic rules and how many major cities that have democratic and african american mayors exactly the cities are doing poorly with their schools, et cetera. however, giving the person -- let's review donald trump's history. e was discriminating against african americans and hispanic people in his housing areas. everyone forgets the central park and his role in causing a fervor in asking for the

execution of five young men that were actually acquitted of the crime that they never committed. we forget also that his whole tenor and tone throughout the entire time here has been one of racial divide and using race as a kind of casting to get certain parts of our republic to vote for him. he didn't even -- wasn't honest with his association with david duke knowing that he had previously spoke negatively about hifment and when asked about groups like the k.k.k. he says i don't know what that group is. i can't disavow groups that i don't understand. so someone who says he doesn't understand what the k.k.k. is about, granted, democrats have done to me a poor job as well in terms of making sure our communities progress. but the alternative is not to give this gentleman -- who has a history of showing that he definitely has a problem. i'm not sure he is a racist but

he certainly has used race and racial -- host: hillary clinton made some of those similar comments. again, she spoke yesterday in reno, nevada. here's some of what she had to say. >> in just this past week, under the guise of outreach to african americans, trump has stood up in front of largely white audiences and describes black communities in such insulting and ignorant terms. poverty, rejection, horrible education, no housing, no homes, no ownership, crime at levels nobody has seen. right now he said you can walk down the street and get shot. those are his words. but when i hear them, i think to myself how sad. donald trump misses so much. he doesn't see the success of black leaders in every field, the vibrancey of black-owned businesses, the strength of the black church. e doesn't see --

[applause] he doesn't see the excellence of historicically black colleges and universities or the pride of black parents watching their children thrive. he apparently didn't see police chief brown of dallas on television after the murders of five of his officers conducting .imself with such dignity he certainly doesn't have any solutions to take on the reality of systemic racism and create more equity and opportunity in communities of color and for every american. it really does take a lot of rve to ask people he's ignored and mistreated for decades, what do you have to lose? because the answer is everything. host: again first 45 minutes of "washington journal" asking african americans only to call in with your thoughts on donald

trump's outreach efforts reflecting that statement by donald trump, what have you got to lose? the daily news this morning in their headline, here's what i have to lose by voting for you, don. leads to a piece by the daily news comment opinion writer leonard green. all rational thoughts. that's the opinion of leonard green from the daily news. back to calls. democratic caller. good morning. caller: good morning. greetings from motown.

anyway, in response to the caller from georgia, she couldn't be not only more naive but also more incredibly smug. i've heard plenty of her white friends -- i'm sure she has white ones -- lament about all the problems in the supposed democratic cities. i want to bring up a couple of issues. first of all, these problems would have existed regardless of which party was in control. and as far as donald trump's so-called outreach, he's speaking ironically about these issues to the very people who have always hated us. older conservative whites. and if donald trump thinks for even a second that black people are going to be buying the white conservatism that he sells, i think he's got another thing coming. nd one last point.

white people always use a lot of revisionist history about the democratic party, and that's why they're going to see this propaganda film. i don't know if you're familiar with it. hillary's america. telling all sorts of depiss torsions and lies about the democratic party. they seem to forget there was a party switch in that that was called for in 68 during the richard nixon presidential campaign. a lot of white people, including the whites who may be friends of the caller from georgia, seem to forget that. i mean, all of these urban problems that they're talking about. what makes her think that a white republican will do any better for those cities than a democrat? host: let's hear from another city, this time richmond, virginia. and republican caller.

caller: thank you. the question what do i have to lose? i think the question, maybe what have i already lost. ecause i'm from the 60s. democrats were always more the racist groups than the republicans. so what happened in 68 when lyndon johnson became president and look what he had -- after kennedy, he signed the voter rights act, the civil rights bill and most of the ration -- democrats went over to the republican party. i know that changed. when you start talking about talking in front of people and white audiences, i remember the bombings in birmingham. white people generally -- i'm not a racist by the way. they didn't really pay too much

attention what was going on. they watched television, they could see all the stuff. but when those three little girls got killed in that church, then it was a different attitude. so you say trump talks to white people and he doesn't talk to black people. -- e whites [inaudible] i was listening what happened in when the police were killed, they killed a man on the ground. the blacks were saying, well, what we're going to do is we're going to go somewhere else and we're going to boycott the city. who are you going to boycott? who are you going to boycott? where are you going to march to? think about it. at home i have a book called the green book. that's what black people use when they travel. every city, you can find

businesses and you can find stores, especially places to stay. so racism is something that -- host: how recently would you have had to use -- this is a book that allowed you to stay in places that were friendly. caller: right. the last was 1960. i have a 1960 copy. black folks sort of threw it away in 1960. but i kept a copy because i knew that 50 years ago, i knew that people wanted to see this novelty. what are we doing to the blacks? we don't have businesses, all we've got is barber shops and beauty shops. and here, in richmond, virginia, i don't think there's black store that has a lot -- lottery machine. here can i find a black store? host: the people that own the

stores, who own them? caller: they come from other countries. and 7-11s and a lot of the convenience stores. host: charles, thanks for being with us this morning. asking your thoughts on donald trump's outreach efforts. this is the "washington journal" this week writing about some of those efforts.

back to calls. new jersey, welcome to walter on our democrats line. good morning. caller: donald trump's message may be more receptive if it didn't come off in a condescending way. he comes off in a way that he is pandering. and let me -- that's not a partisan thing neither. because clinton seems to be pandering to blacks and hispanics. we should see through that, too. host: thanks for the call. florida next up. republican caller.

caller: i have three reasons why i'm voting for trump and i think that trump sacramentoly doing a good job because he's not politician so he's not going to be refined. we sclain we want regular people and when we have regular people that aren't used to the crafted responses we complain. so the first reason is the media, if you ask a person portrays blacks as thieves, thugs, pimps, criminals, and they drive victims of police violence through the mud. the media does that. now, the same media is telling us black folks that we shouldn't trust trump because he's the racist? i find that very ironic. now, secondly, the reason another reason why is that when exactly did trump become a racist? is he after he got the nomination? before? because i could have sworn prior to him getting the

nomination nobody was really saying that he was a racist. and even if he's a racist, i kind of want to give white people their obama. and even if he is a racist, let's say he is a racist. he throws out all the mexican people, he brings back jobs, to the factories to the whites. who's going to benefit? blacks. because if there aren't any illegals here blacks are going to get the jobs. there's no way that trump will be able to give only white people jobs. host: we're asking you the first part of the program, african american callers only, your thoughts on the outreach efforts of the donald trump campaign.

the front page this morning of the "washington journal." presidential rivals exchange harsh attacks. donald trump, she lies she smears and paints decent americans as racists. hillary clinton, there's been a steady stream of bigotry coming from him. here's some of what she had to say in that speech in reno, nevada. this is donald trump from manchester, new hampshire, also from yesterday. i apologize. >> the news reports are that hillary clinton is going to try and accuse this campaign and ll of you, and the millions of decent americans at record levels there has never been anything like this. this is a movement we have. this was set up -- this event was set up late last night and look what happens. look how many people. [cheers and applause]

it's a movement, folks, like they've never seen before. and don't accuse decent americans who support this campaign -- your campaign -- of being racist. which we're not. it's the oldest play in the dackic playbook. -- democratic playbook. when democratic policies fail, they are left with only this one tired argument. you're racist, you're racist, you're racist. they keep saying it. you're racist. it's a tired disgusting argument. and it's so totally predictable. they're failing so badly. it's the last row fuge of the discredited democratic

politicians. they keep going back to the same well but you know what? the people are becoming very smart. they've heard it too many times before. host: follow that speech at c-span.org. some reaction to the whole issue here in the "washington post." and virginia governor terry mcallive.

more at c-span wj. independent line. caller: good morning to c-span. i've been listening to c-span now for over 25 years. host: thanks. caller: and i really enjoy listening to the program. i think it's about the best. i use it for news, for true news. unfiltered news. but in the situation, the conversation we're dealing with this morning, what appauls me is that you get some -- i don't call them black folks, i call them colored folks. they're after one thing and that's materialistic things that's going to proffer them from a money standpoint. that's their support of donald trump because they think they're going to get some money, some materialistic to proffer them. they don't care about the people. they don't care about the children. they don't care about the

elderly. they're not concerned about the veterans that are suffering. but the thing that really gets me is the fact that we have the largest group of evangelicals following this man. and believing in this man. who is supposed to be the ones that are leading the way for righteousness. but yet they are pandering to this man. and what is even more unsettling is the fact that these same people -- these same people, on sunday morning at 11:00 don't want blacks in their churches. they say thing that is they don't want blacks to hear. donald trump is not concerned about black folks. donald trump is not concerned about the welfare and the prosperity of black folks. donald trump is a con man. he's a con man. and i say it. the anti-christ -- and it's the spirit, it's the spirit of cant christ. will fool the very elect.

those evangelicals and those called christian preachers that are out there moving to donald trump are so sadly mistaken. host: lewis next up in virginia. caller: hello. host: good morning. you're on the air. caller: first of all, i'd like to say to the caucasians out there, they have no know the difference between a bigot and a racist. a bigot is a person who has less money and less education. a racist is a person that has education and money. so a racist can control a bigot. most caucasians in this country are bigots because they can't think for themselves. another thing. trump is nowhere near a billionaire. he's got people believing he's a billionaire. if he's a billionaire, i'm a trillion nare because i'm -- i

read things about him and his wealth. and he ain't nowhere near where he is saying he is. and then another thing is he says that he's going to bring these jobs back to this country. well, let me tell you something. those jobs are gone for good. they are not come back here. why should -- if i was a businessperson, with a business, why should i pay you people $15, $20 an hour when i can get people in taiwan or wherever and pay them $2 an hour? host: donald trump's polls nationally among african americans under 5% but looking from historical context on how republicans have done with the black community looking to a 2008 based on exit polls among whites, president obama 43% in 2008 and 55% for john mccain.

among african americans 95% for barack obama and 4% for john mccain. in 2012, for president obama got 39% of the white vote, mitt romney got 59% of the african american vote. in 2012, the african american vote for mitt romney was 6% and 93 for president obama. back to your calls. to chicago your thoughts on the outreach efforts of the trump campaign. republican caller. make sure you turn down your television there. mute your set. go ahead with your comment. all right. we're going to move on to james n florida. caller: ok. host: james you're on the air. go ahead. caller: ok. what i have to say is very important. what's wrong with the black people? nd i am black.

the identity have been taken from them. this is where i can show you where they are confused. i the -- adam and his great-grandson noah. host: asking your thoughts on the donald trump campaigns outreach effort. and the voting rights issues and laws in a number of states are a key concern among many across the country. report -- theost

supreme court. allowing north carolina to use a restrictive voting law would injury onreparable minority voters in the presidential election. host: it would take the approval of five justices to grant north carolina's request to keep that law. that is in the "washington post." here is mark. from the independent line. caller: good morning.

i would like to say that i am not an african-american. i was born in columbus, ohio. i am an american. all the white people-eight hour hyphenateies --- hour nationalities when we know ant every american is immigrant. for donald trump, there is no outreach. he is doing nothing but playing with us. he has no concern about black people in america. line hisnts to do is pockets. i agree with the individual who spoke about racism and bigotry. he is the bigot. there are very few races -- racists in america. ont: following his speech

monday in akron, ohio, donald number ofwith a african-american leaders. a tweet from fox news from that meeting. the african-american community has been let down by hillary and the democrats. welcome. caller: good morning. i find it appalling to hear a lot of republicans coming on people toling black leave the democratic party to go to the republican party when they are running away in droves from the republican party. i am not sure what i am missing but something is wrong. host: joseph in springfield gardens, new york. african-americans only. this is the republican line. caller: i am an african american. onei would say an educated

at that. i am a little older. i am a republican. by choice. host: whereabouts in new york is springfield garden? caller: by jfk airport. host: ok. whenr: i voted for reagan he ran and every republican candidate. i did vote for barack obama the first time but not the second time. donald trump's outreach to the african-american community. rememberk, i do not someone in the republican party, and i have been waiting for that all of these years. i have been waiting for a republican to make an outreach to the african-american community. in to c-span one day and peter asked me that i am republican and african-american. have they ever reached out teal and i responded -- have they

ever reached out to you and i said no. i like the ideals of the republicans. my wife is a democrat and she is voting for donald trump. and heted bernie sanders is not in. host: why is she voting for donald trump? she likes his honesty. she likes him being up front. she believes we need a non-politician. politicians.of the she believes he is honest and she can trust and him. i believe he will give a person and honest shot. thefirst time he made outreach to the african-american community, it was very poised. it touched my heart. the second time he did it, it his pointle raw but

was taken. i look at the condition of some of our young people. he was right on point. joseph, will you hang on the line for just a moment? you may not have seen this ad from the hillary clinton campaign. soundspublican voter, it like you will both for donald trump but i would like to get your reaction to the approach the hillary clinton campaign is using. take a look at this. >> the reason a lot of klan members like donald trump is because a lot of the things he believes, we believe in. donald trump would be best for the job. i am a farmer and a white nationalist and i support donald trump. >> sending out the evil eagles. building a wall -- sending out the illegals.

building a wall. condemn david duke? mr. trump: i don't know anything about white supremacist. best-known -- his hisbannon is best known for controversy. alt-rbest known for the ight. a lot of what he believes, we believe in. host: a new ad from the hillary clinton campaign. to joseph in springfield gardens, new york. a republican color. what did you think of that ad? caller: it is a powerful ad.

my response is this. america has not yet healed from the residual effects of the civil war. there is a lot of bitterness and hatred. we have to find a way to bring healing between -- in the country. .nd i understand that i understand that people who may racists, may be prone to support donald trump but how do we bring healing to the country? it is interesting to me that many african-american people the firstk obama black president but then they say he was not black enough. i don't see the that the things that barack obama did have a affected the inner cities. i believe donald trump will give

people an opportunity. i am familiar with that advertisement and that line but i just ineptly that all african-americans should vote for the democratic candidate. i believe this quietly because if i say this out loud in my community, i will catch a lot of flack from my family and in my community. host: joseph, thank you for talking to us about this. our road to the white house coverage continues here on c-span. the vice presidential is inates, tim kaine tallahassee, florida. our live coverage of that will be at 2:15 p.m. eastern. and look for the live coverage of governor mike pence on saturday here on c-span. back to calls and rodney from texas. good morning. it is a beautiful day in houston, texas. i would want everyone out there

to understand that there are more than just two candidates in this race and the african-american community have very loyal toen the democratic party. there is no way the majority of --ican-americans will not the republican candidate. i thought about giving donald trump a chance. but you cannot get into one of his rallies without 200 caucasian people looking at you like you are not supposed to be there. is whatent african-americans need to look at. look at a different candidate. we do need a female in the white house but we do not need hillary clinton in the white house. it is the same old, same old. host: who is your independent

candidate? we are not getting any coverage for her. even the national news barely shows her. host: did you say jill stein? caller: jill stein. i saw her on sunday morning, this past sunday but very little coverage. host: we have covered jill stein a couple of times including most recently this week, a news conference of hers at the press club. to wrestle in south carolina. sell in a- to rus south carolina. caller: i am a veteran and i amonghree brothers and

the three of us we served in the army, air force, and marines. if donald trump becomes president, i am afraid i might lose my country. that has nothing to do with any color. but his relationship with vladimir putin, his treatment of nato is so aggressive that i think he could easily start a war that could end up hurting the entire world. immigrationsue of has gone back and forth this week in the donald trump campaign. the "wall street journal" -- trump immigration fallout is the headline. is showing mixed signals about immigration. it is dividing his closest allies and there are warnings that he could lose his closest supporters. said they would

welcome a softer tone. what he said on thursday that it would be difficult to do port 11 million immigrants and he might do it anyway. in an interview this week with talks news, he backed away from his long-held position to deport illegal immigrants. saying that if they pay back taxes. that did not sit well with sarah palin who was among the first high-profile republicans to endorse donald trump in january. a couple more calls. we go to illinois and we hear from daniel. i am an older, community organizer. i have been around a long time. -- be afraid.aid be very afraid. i am. the world is watching america.

-- theyerica, europe are all watching and they are also afraid. understand. how could america allow the rise of a donald trump to happen. things thattwo scare me is one, we do not know --t effect donald champ donald trump will have on the world and election day is where it will all start. of corruptedunt money on the streets already. can you imagine what will happen now? i am so afraid. it will start on election day and it will get worse if we let donald trump happen. host: one more call. from minnesota. cj is on the line. thank you very much for allowing me to get in on this one. the reason i like donald trump is because of what he did to the

republican party. he knocked out 16-17 candidates running for office and he is not their friend. if he does win, the republicans will not be on his side because of what they did -- of what he did to them. the other side of that is that most people like him who will tell you what he is going to do. i don't think he is as much of a racist as hillary is. she has been in the political game for about 30 years. doingould not have to be some of what she is doing as far as accepting money from people. i don't trust her. i think she is more of a racist then he is. it is the quiet person you have to watch out for. cj, we appreciate your comments and all of the thoughts this morning as "washington journal" continues.

we have an international focus now. china is watching. robert daly recently returned from china and he will tell us what he learned, in particular what the chinese think about hillary clinton and donald trump. a new super pac hopes to draw women to donald trump. first, here on c-span, our newsmaker program, interviewed cornell william brooks this week about policing, voting rights, and this year's election. the, he comments on comments from the candidates. you can see the entire newsmakers program on c-span and c-span radio. you get a response from any other presidential candidate to the pledges you asked them? stand ass the naacp far as this election goes?

>> we start with the pledge. our pledge to protect and preserve our lives. pledge.ed this with a five key elements. we reached out to both presidential candidates from the major parties. secretary clinton came to our convention and addressed the pledge at length and in detail. we have not heard from mr. trump whatsoever. he declined our invitation to come to our convention. he declined the invitation from the association of black journalists and the urban league and other groups. we have not heard in depth or in detail with respect to his plan for criminal justice reform. whether there will be policing or sentencing. in terms of the pledge, we continue to press forward with candidates -- all

we seek their commitment to bring about those reforms and make significant progress with those reforms in the first 100 days. >> you said secretary clinton addressed the pledge. did she signed at? -- did she sign it? meetingid not sign it that by executive order or congressional action that you will make significant progress within the first 100 days on things like collecting data, review boards, ensuring we have a minimum standard of conduct when it comes to law enforcement , that we not fund law enforcement agencies that engage in a pattern or practice of investigation. -- hat we do not subsidize

you can watchrg, our programs at any time at your convenience, on your laptop or mobile device. c-span.orgomepage, and click on the library search bar. you can type in the name of a speaker or an event topic. review the results and click on the program you would like to with or refine your search our tools. if you are looking for our most current programs, our homepage has many current programs ready for your immediate viewing such as today's "washington journal" or the events we covered that day. this is a public service of your cable provider. if you are a c-span watcher, check it out at c-span.org. >> washington journal continues. the: robert daly is director of the kissinger china --.of the

he is just back from a trip to ofna looking at the areas the economy and getting reactions from the people in china on what is going on in the presidential election. how did you wind up doing this tour? the american embassy in beijing invited me to go to the west, the east, and beijing itself to speak to chinese think tanks and general audiences about the u.s. elections. we were trying to explain to them at about the conventions and what was going on. host: what was the common question you would get about the election? wanted to know what it would mean for them. that was what most of the questions were about. host: in terms of the reactions personalities, broadly, give us a flavor of what you heard

about both of them. have ay: the chinese book on secretary clinton and the official view which is reflected in the state run media. and they believe she takes a hard line on china. she gave a famous speech in beijing when she said women's rights are human rights. they see secretary clinton as emphasizing human rights and the role of international civil chairmannd under the -- they have been clamping down on civil society. as a candidate, secretary clinton has been fighting back against that. they also view her as one of the primary architects of --. they see her as taking a harder line. on the other hand, they find her more predictable than a president trump might be. they know who her advisers on

china are are in gent -- and are in general comfortable with them. her record as of secretary of state with china, was it a favorable relationship? site,ly: on the official no. secretary clinton in 2010 during a famous meeting, declared for the first time that the u.s. had core interests in the western pacific, the south china sea in particular and china saw that as inspiring countries like vietnam and the philippines to take a hard line resisting china. that was a major movement -- moment for china. china's then foreign minister said to the countries of southeast asia that you have to remember is that you are small countries and we are a large country. a donaldre is barely trump speech that goes by that he does not mention china in

terms of banks or trade. what is the chinese view, unofficial on donald trump? mr. daly: there are a range of views. we would do a show of hands. in china, it was about 55% donald trump and 45% clinton. ask follow-up questions, the majority of the chinese, this is anecdotal -- they supported donald trump would behey thought he bad for america in ways that would be good for china. there was also a group that simply liked the entertainment value of watching the donald trump campaign. there was a more sophisticated read on donald trump as well. donald trump, regardless of what he says, and he does say things that are offensive to china and some that are encouraging.

positive critique is that if he shows up and he really is a businessman, a transactional president that wants to negotiate waste on interests, then china could deal well with a donald trump presidency of that kind. china is used to playing hardball at the negotiating table. they are comfortable there. host: did you find that the chinese new donald trump as a personality as a developer personality or his tv persona or his brand? mr. daly: they know him more recently from the headlines. they follow the american press closely. and a lot of the chinese press when they report on politics transcribes the american media. host: robert daly is our guest. he is here to talk to you about china's view of the presidential elections.

we also welcome your tweets at c-spanwj. we won it to play you one of donald trump's comments. comments in a recent speech. mr. trump: they have no respect for our country. we do not blame them. we want to put ourselves in that position very soon. they will like us better than they do now. they are building a massive military fortress in the middle of the south china sea that they are not allowed to do. they are doing that and yet they are ripping us economically. we have tremendous economic power over china but we don't do anything. a couple of things there. we have tremendous power over china and they will like us better. what is your thought on how the

china --on how china views that? china and the u.s. have tremendous influence on each other. it is not the case that the u.s. has a lot of powerful chips we can play. a number of the things we just heard. china is building a massive military fortress in the middle of the south china sea. that is not true. china is building out islands in the south china sea and putting some military resources there. it is not a massive fortress. say that in the event of conflict, these assets would be almost instantly taken out. he also just said that they are not allowed to build these. that is also not true under international law.

he said that they do not respect our leadership and they do not like us. this is a much more complicated issue. the chinese in general, while nationalistic are not anti-america but they are very pro-china. as anyone that has been there can tell you, this is not an anti-american country. there is considerable worry about what the u.s. is doing to limit china. that is a form of respect. host: robert daly is just back from a u.s. embassy sponsored trip to talk about the election. you lived in china for some time. caller: for about a let -- for about 11 years. i served as a diplomat in the 1980's and 1990's. i then went back and taught at a university. i have since been back with ngos. host: plenty of callers would like to chime in. we start with peter on the

republican line from tampa, florida. caller: thank you for being a guest. i appreciate your comments. hillary clinton is a well-known commodity. i think they feel more comfortable with her because they have a history and they know what she is going to do. donald trump's unpredictability is a question mark not only for the chinese but for all people around the world. you mentioned one aspect about donald trump. i am a republican. i have had almost an abused wife conflict -- complex. he keeps abusing us and abusing us. to be switching. i am going to vote for hillary clinton because i just cannot take it anymore. he comes across as so dangerous to me. i am 72 years old.

i think about that all of the time. anythingt ever seen like that in my lifetime. i appreciate you being on the program today. mr. daly: thank you. a range of views in china. may see some of the things asald trump has said dangerous. he also is seen as reflecting an international trend towards greater populism and strongman leadership including as demonstrated by vladimir putin. and in the philippines. on number of questions in china about why we see a number of countries in the west and the east turning more in word, being more protectionist, more bombastic, and more populist. donald trump is we have california next.

caller: good morning, it seems to me that as a member of a think tank, our relationship with china which began with nick's and -- nixon. because of our indebtedness to china, regardless of what we say concerning human rights and civil rights of the chinese people, it seems to me will never be able to disagree with china, politically we are still indebted to them. they can do exactly what they like. we can say over think about what they do but it will not change anything. it is a matter of economics. politically, we all know that is basedse philosophy on their ties with communism.

is the same with north korea. these are political questions that neither hillary clinton nor mr. trump are going to be able to solve. not interested in solving them. they are interested in making the american public -- believe they are doing something. host: several points there. issue ofthink the american indebtedness to china is often exaggerated and misunderstood in the media. it is often misunderstood as if china is america's banker, begging them to bail us out. that is not the case. foreign governments and foreign entities own about 40%, less publicly, of america's owned the debt. of that 40%, china holds about a fifth. china owns about 8% of america'a publicly owned sovereign debt.

we don't go to them hat in hand. they buy american treasury bills because that is in their interest to do so. that is the best safe investment excess u.s.r dollars. in this sense, it is a compliment. 8% of total debt. we don't have to dance to china's tune in any way. happened to china sells all of the holdings for stuff they wouldn't do that. if they were to suddenly sell its value would decline rapidly. china would lose money. they may slowly draw down the other, but there are buyers for it. this issue is not well understood. it is exaggerated. of their debt. even since the financial crisis they haven't gone down.

u.s. dollar, u.s. debt remain the most reliable investment. the issue that was most famous broad bunch of the chinese by hillary clinton in 1995 in her speech. she has used this speech as part of her current campaign. set the scene for that speech. why did she go to china? guest: this was a conference on women's rights. there were a number of different parts of the conference. the section on international n gos as advocates for human rights. the chinese were worried about that. instead of holding those meetings, in downtown beijing, they moved away out of the suburbs. very inconvenient, the media couldn't get there. the first lady said that women's rights are a part of human rights. she made that a major plank of

her international policy. when she came in a secretary of state, she said that human rights could not be the measure of all things that could not drive the relationship. there was a move away from human rights as being central to u.s. china relations early in the obama administration. as a candidate, china has been interest.f clinton's last spring, china, during a major political meaning suddenly disappeared, arrested five young feminist activists who wanted to put stickers on chinese public sexual-harassment on buses. for that alone they were disappeared at the same time the chinese secretary was making statements about women's rights for stop secretary clinton put this waset that said shameless. that made headlines in china and was seen as a direct attack. having,ow seen as

andr her initial activism drifting away, now shifting back toward it. she is a leading advocate for the importance of civil society organizations. china is cracking down on those. this is something that for them is a red flag. host: here is a quick look back to the 1995 moment. [video clip] is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights once and for all. [applause] >> among those rights are the right to speak freely, and the right to be heard. host: were you in china at the time of that speech? believe i was

although not in beijing. it is interesting, that statement -- it is not aimed directly at china. this is a u.n. conference. it was a global conference. since taken it as an attack on china's practices. you don't hear that in that statement. this raises the broader question to what degree china is interested in aligning its practice it with what are seen as the most liberal, or best practices internationally. to nongovernment one organizations, this becomes the major issue for china. host: arkansas, democrats line. found somebody they could use against the other ones. that is what they are doing. you don't stick together like i like. host: turned on your tv, go ahead with your comments. your tv, go ahead with

your comments. ok, we've lost him and go ahead with a mark on the independent line. hystericalhink it is that donald trump is some irrational dictator like personality. he is an international businessman, and accomplished international businessman. he has dealt with the different governments throughout his career. many different kinds of leaders and bureaucracies. what he is concerned about is the theft of intellectual property by the chinese. our wagesng of because left to compete with people making two dollars a day. they don't accept goods, they create bureaucratic load -- road blocks. some successe had in business and fill the coffers of not the people, but the dictators. generals, the autocrats who

rule over them. are seeking hegemony over the south china sea. they one of the products did except, the picture in the wall street journal this week u.s. gas of the first shipment arriving in china. the first one from the lower 48 to arrive in china. mark, youhink mentioned donald trump is an international businessman. chinesethe trump the are hoping will show up should he be elected. thatwould agree with assessment of what he might be. in terms of other issues, intellectual property theft, barrierson-ttariff that limit access to the chinese market. china's increasing belligerence in the western pacific, these are major issues. thatee these are things

and the american president will have to deal with. i don't think either the democratic party or the republican party would argue this is the nature of the challenge from china. it is precisely as you describe. host: minneapolis, next on the democrats line, good morning. heard him say it was legal that china was building these islands in the south china sea? i don't know how he could say that is legal. think you're referring to the recent permanent court of arbitration in the hague which said that china -- it basically said that china draws a long s along thee -dashe south china sea means most of it belongs to china or has special historic rights to that area.

this finding rejected that under the u.n. convention of the law. that it is essentially without meaning under existing international law. china is signatory to it. the other thing this said was that a number of individual are not islands. they are rocks under the u.n. convention of the law. what that means is as rocks they don't have 200 article miles of exclusive economic zone. however has sovereignty over these features has limited maritime rights. the decision did not say to whom these rocks along. -- belong. it did not say you could not build these rocks out. you can, under international law. outtechnically, that build on its own does not violate international law.

what the permanent court of arbitration said is that china's strong application that is built out features also get exclusive economic zones has no standing. these are very technical questions. statement that this is a massive military base is not true. is technically illegal -- it is worrisome. as one of the previous caller said, china is trying to project hegemony in the region. but illegal, technically, no. picture of chinese soldier standing guard in the islands back in february. the number one issue regarding china facing the new president? guest: how to understand what china will settle for the western pacific and figure out the existingjust

security architecture in the western pacific in a way that advances all of our core interests. guaranteeing these lines of communication stay open. at the same time, finding a way ismake china feel that it playing an active role in the security architecture, and lowering china's assessment of risk. some sort of inclusion of china in the security architecture you been the primary gear towards us since world war ii. it has been extremely successful. not has to, somehow, if fundamentally shift, make allowance for china's security concerns if we will have peace in this vital region. that is extremely difficult. the question is, how can we possibly shift this or adjust thatecurity architecture

gives china more of a sense of inclusion such that china is gratified and not emboldened? so that china doesn't push for more and see any adjustment as weakness, i don't think we have the answer. host: back to calls, good morning, independent line. caller: good morning. i would like to ask a question. china is such a large country. it has a large military. i was wondering if you had any insight into how does the individual chinese person contribute to the country? as an american i pay federal and state taxes and property taxes. how does the individual chinese person contribute to their government? do they have a system similar? is it something different? guest: this is a great question

for us of the answer is that china doesn't yet have a taxes system for individual income tax comparable to that in the united states. that is not where it gets most of the to revenue. it is often suggested that while china probably have to go over rates ofrun to higher income tax, personal income tax, they are hesitant to do so essentially because chinese citizens would then want to know how the money was spent, and would demand greater accountability from the government. the government is not prepared to give that. so, individual chinese don't feeling that many americans do that i'm am a taxpayer and therefore i deserve answers. that is not there yet. they don't have a voice. they are also not the true beating as much. china is in a holding pattern that way. they are playing around the edges with increasing individual ready to dout not

that yet. your question is an important one. we're talking about china's interest in the u.s. presidential election with robert daly, he was director of the kissinger institute on china. taking your calls and comments and reaction to the presidential campaign from china. chinaad a piece on how views the u.s. elections of decision makers in beijing are not buying into threat to launder their way by u.s. presidential candidates. that doesn't mean chinese lawmakers are taking the election -- are not taken the elections or is it. they write the views may strike many americans as familiar. the democratic nominee is generally considered the devil anknow while donald trump is unknown entity who is seen as having a worrying level of volatility. do you hear any reaction in terms of this volatility? --st: they are where

aware of it but so far they are entertained by it. this plays into the narrative of the chinese government that what we're seeing in this election are indications of the failure of american democracy. the indication of continued american decline. you will see a lot of writing in the state which says how can a great democracy produce two candidates like this? this is also used by the chinese propaganda. we have a wonderful meritocracy in china, we select leaders who come up through the ranks and prove their ability. run forca, anybody can president. this is used for anti-democratic propaganda. the one thing i would argue with in the quote you just read is a manifestation between chinese leaders and lawmakers.

as though china had separation of powers. this isn't true. chinese leaders make the decisions. congress is a rubberstamp legislature that approves whatever the leaders put forward. i was a rejected that distinction. other than that it is accurate. host: here is chris on our democrats line. caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. host: we're doing great. caller: great, i have two questions. does the -- do the banks in china, are they owned by the chinese government? donaldnd question, if trump owes than half $1 billion, how -- what kind of leverage could the chinese government impose on donald trump? the major banks in china

are all owned by the government. there are a number of non-directly government owned banks that are also regulated by the government. the government owned banks don't operate the way american banks do. they are often the means by which the government disburses otherto enterprises and projects the government wants to support. the chinese government does only chinese banks. with how muchiar money donald trump host to the chinese government. even if it is half a billion, were he to become president, that could be easily solved one way or the other. i would consider as constituting chinese leverage over a president. host: next in california, on the independent line. caller: good morning. i had to wake up very early to talk to you. i am a businessman that, well,

retired businessman that was an executive with a watch company that did a lot of business in china. we went 80 every two years back and forth, the difference is right now in china and ten yar ears ago are so vast, it is startling. the way that it was before, and you might agree or disagree, i never dealt with the government, only large companies. these people were very well knowledgeable on what americans wanted. lovedlly, their -- they america as much as americans did. the last donald trump, trip that we took was about six

months ago. these people had a different attitude. are really, i think they afraid of donald trump to the point where some of his akoni thoughtsaconian trade are starting to worry people. much more than i thought would be possible. i will take your answers on the -- my answer off the air, thank you very much. touched on a number of important issues. he's talked about how different china is for that this is something that is important. china continues to change quickly. about china aste if it is this monolithic

political entity moving inexorably in one direction that is dangerous for us. the story of china has been the story of change for the past several decades. it continues to be a story of change. it is not set in all of its courses. america has certain kind of influence that it can use for stub indirectly, we cannot call the shots for china. but our policies make a difference in what china becomes. just back from a month in china. talking a lot about the election. i didn't hear too much fear about donald trump and what his threats to impose a 45% across-the-board tariff on chinese imports might mean. the chinese government, which might be different from the business menu were talking to, has become fairly sophisticated in observing american elections.

they have been through a lot of cycles in which candidates say very negative and critical things about china, then once they get into the white house more or less carry out the same policy that presidents have had since 1979. that emphasizes constructive engagement. they don't take extreme rhetoric too seriously. . they recognize that going forward the current terrace which average 1.4%, that is a low tariff that we impose. am extremelyis difficult thing to do. it would require an act of congress. it would violate and overthrew all of american existing treaties, most notably the wto. it would be tantamount to a withdrawal from those treaties and giving up on american leadership. i think the chinese were

sophisticated observers and understand american domestic processes. they are worried about protectionism in america generally. but that threat of a 45% tariff would be very difficult to achieve, extremely destructive to america's own interest. the chinese leaders know that, i think. host: david, on the republican line. caller: i have a question about military on the chinese. i am wondering if -- are they drafted in? are they -- do they feel like they have an obligation to join the military like we do? is a volunteer model or a contract model? i am curious as to how china is developing its professional military. guest: again, a very important

question. carrying out major reforms of the chinese military. that is going to involve cutting back 300,000 personnel. an outdated military model which emphasizes an enormous army of foot soldiers and infantry. they are cutting down on that side of the military and are and air up the navy, force. they are improving the technological capabilities. they are looking again at the nuclear doctrines. they ware working primarily with a volunteer army. do they feel a patriotic duty? ison't think that widespread. most of the folks in the chinese army come from lower socioeconomic classes. there is an old saying that you don't use good iron to make a male or a good man to make a soldier. a good man to or

make a soldier. they think they are in the army because they could not succeed in the bureaucracy or the business. most chinese parents want their children to succeed academically, to go into business or government. although, as the military becomes more technologically sophisticated they will have a need for personnel. thee that can operate equipment. we might see changes. china is getting more nationalistic. ofaven't seen a recent start the profiled the people going into the military. and thee nationalism increasing prestige of the military and the technological demand i wouldn't be surprised to see china reaching out for more students who are accomplished academically. host: a couple comments on twitter. the democrats

don't need to be making any deals with china, but the mess they have with iran. get loansrump can from u.s. banks of the borrows money from china and a them huge money. this has of course china wants trump because you make them weak with a bad policy. center, the kissinger named after henry kissinger making the inroads to china. n administration still fairly venerated by the chinese? guest: yes, i think they are the -- the foundrs of founders of the relationship of the people that worked with mao are very much still venerated in china. in china, dr. kissinger is seen someone who set up a relationship that has been extremely beneficial to china. 1972, and in

diplomatic relationships were set up in 1979 post up since then, american openness and trade and training as made an enormous contribution to the increase of the wealth of the chinese people. is that policy of engagement in china of working with china that is largely responsible for that. yes, president nick and in havinglar is seen as been the architect of that. more calls, tony from fort worth, texas. welcome. >> good morning, how are you doing? i am going back on the general from alabama who had the question about the personal debt of donald trump's to china. i have two questions, should that debt be taken care of

before he is elected president? other president with such a great debt to a foreign country? those are my two questions. guest: i am not familiar with what debts trump may have to china and how that is structured. don't know if the previous caller is true. this is it -- this is business debt? guest: i don't know. i assume that is the case. interviewe was an with you and wanted take away you talk about the individual candidates. you talk about a bit of a diminishing respect for the office of the president because of the tone of the current presidential debate. explain that a little bit.

guest: it is the number of debates. this must do with the different political culture in china. in china, the leader has to have andrtain degree of majesty respect. has to be a paragon not only of political and economic wisdom but also personal rectitude. on chris audible, that it always been the case in china. i was struck during the kerry-bush election which i watched with very savvy graduate students. i watched all of those debates. in speaking to the chinese group said what do you think? rather expecting they would admire the openness and the give and take, the criticism that was allowed. none of these things are allowed in china. they said this is dangerous. theamerican president is

most powerful person on earth. because of the nature of the democracy, there is so much ,udslinging in name-calling whoever goes into the white house will stagger into the wh ite house so demeaned and insulted that they cannot possibly have the kind of it any they need to do american president needs to do. that was the chinese critique. americans are more comfortable with that. i thought that it was a sophisticated view. it wasn't an attack on the american system of the many americans also have that question this year for us to we noisy,ather have a vulgar honest open campaign and live with the result of that. thanr t -- rather suppressing speech -- but china would go the other way. caller: good morning, it

response to your comment i want to put in an additional comment. you have been in china and speak chinese. during the preparation for the impeachment of bill clinton which raise questions about integrity and values. that was when the chinese begin building on the islands. bill clinton sat back and let the headlines deal with the lewinsky matters. covering up college owns, but at any rate, c-span broadcast a program in which one of the speakers raises serious issues about the chinese plans to take action, taking over taiwan theeen the period of after

election and before the inauguration. the were convinced that barack obama will not do anything. control, andn gain combined with the other things going on -- host: glad you brought that up is to we haven't touched on taiwan at all. guest: first, the chinese built out did not begin during the lewinsky scandal. it was much later than that. it was not under bill clinton. taiwan has changed a little bit becausethey have elected a new president. elected last winter and inaugurated in the spring. she is the head of the democratic progressive party which beijing is very suspicious of. historically, it has advocated

for taiwanese independence. beijing has made it clear it is uncomfortable dealing with the president of taiwan because she they't sign on to what call the 1992 consensus. this is the formula under which both taiwan and china would recognize and would say that there is only one china, but that taiwan and china have different interpretations of that. china puts this out as a test of the magical formula. pronounceder will those words, they can deal. if not, beijing will try to thet even more so international space and will not cooperate with the president as they did with her predecessor. so, yes the situation is tenser than it was over the past 8 years, but the notion that is planning an invasion over the lame-duck session is not credible. is back fromdaly

his month-long visit in china. thank you for joining us this morning. guest: thank you. host: more ahead on washington journal, we talk about, trump in particular, women and campaign 2016. mp. women vote tru also, the obama administration set a record with commuting 200 sentences. ♪ >> coming up this weekend on american history tv, the abraham presidential library foundation published a book of musings by public figures and ordinary american celebrating a responding to lincoln's

gettysburg address. the editor of gettysburg replies, the world responds, reads passages from the book saturday night at 8:50 p.m. eastern. resonatessence still from the words he has written and the artifacts and documents he has left behind. he was a simple, yet deeply complex man. he looked at complex issues plainly and purely. he accepted and spoke the truth. transcended lincoln all presidents before him or sense. his great american story continues to reach across borders, and oceans. races, and religions, politics, and party lines. host: antenna clock, on with america, the march in washington. u.s. information agency filmed the march on washington

for jobs and freedom and produce a documentary for foreign audiences. sunday, this marks the 40th anniversary of the nasa viking landing on mars. discuss theecently viking program which landed the first u.s. spacecraft on mars on july 20, 1976. >> the events surrounding were incredibly exciting. when the lander landed, it was almost caught up. to team had programmed in photograph to be taken so that they could be delivered fairly quickly back to earth for the press to see. and for nasa to confirm that the lander had landed on mars. >> at 8:00 p.m. on the look atcy, historians harry truman's leadership and how he interacted with three prominent national politicians.

madeleine albright speaks with historian michael about harry truman's commitment to public service as vice president and president. >> in his life, this is someone that should've gone to a great college and graduate school. he deeply want to do, but couldn't do it because of his family economic circumstances. if there's one thing he felt strongly it was that when he became president he wanted to help others. one way he did that was to strengthen the community college system. >> for the complete schedule, go to c-span.org. >> washington journal continues. host: we continue our discussion on campaign 2016 talking about thefemale vote with cochair of the women vote trump, an organization unveiled back in june. what was the reasoning behind

this super pac? guest: we wanted the women's voice to be out there. we realized that mr. trump does need women in this election. one of the interesting things along this campaign is that women have been reluctant to speak out. there has been pressure because of the gender shaming -- you are supposed to vote for hillary, the first female president. he wanted to give women a safe place to support mr. trump. -- did you find yourself saying i could support donald trump? guest: for me, it was in february or march. i came to this more from the "never hillary" side and

was waiting for things to shake out amongst the republican candidates. toould have been willing support several candidates. telling the 90's during the hillary care issue, and the health care task force. health care has been my area of policy and work, and being upset about the way that was run. proposal, but the way it was run. i see a history of exclusion, trying to keep things secret. i was working with a group that sued hillary over the secrecy of the task force. host: your group is women vote trump. who is part of this coalition? fundraising, what

level are you looking at? guest: not for the campaign, for our pac. we are a super pac. my colleague is the former chairman of the tea party express, and considered one of the founding mothers of the tea party movement. she was one of the original founders of the tea party patriots. one of our cochairs was a longtime republican activist and a cofounder of the women's history is he him. ann has moved over to the trump campaign, which is great. she is doing coalition work for them. that is great. amongst the female groups and ad hoc groups. host: one of the latest snapshot from monmouth

university, the latest polling goes through august 7. so far, they look in terms of white women without a college to become a 49% support donald trump post up 32% support hillary clinton. women with a college degree, 27% support donald trump, 57% support hillary clinton. speaking to that audience of women, what is your message? guest: let me preface one thing, did they ask who would you be voting for, or favorables? guest: that is a key issue here. we are dealing with two candidates that have high unfavorables. unfavorable does not equate with will vote for. tahhat is key. back to your question. what we are seeing is that

polling isn't giving us a snapshot. particularly in those communities of the educated, white, upper middle class, there of gender pressure to support hillary clinton. so, those are the women that have been reluctant and reported a great deal of pressure and backlash if they talk about trump. we are not sure those numbers are complete accurate. the message is it is ok to vote for mr. trump. he is a supporter of women. i talked to a woman who is 26 the other night, college-educated. her first answer was "he loves women, it is obvious. i can tell none of this

information painting him as a misogynist is true." host: you can send us a tweet @ cspanwj. your organization set up back in june, how would you describe the trump campaign outreach? guest: well, one of the reasons we set up was that we saw the trump organization seemed not to have the ground game together that in the spring and early summer. we saw all of these ad hoc groups springing up a stub nevada women for trump, new york women for trump, all over the places. there are hundreds of these groups doing it on their own. we wanted to create a home ofor

them. we call ourselves the home for women who support trump. then, the -- i thinkw e have see n a change as our cofounder and think of -- i still her as conway. as her of her so long maiden name. we will see a big difference now. we can move back over to the idea of being the role of a real path. to raise money to get the women's voice out there. we are looking to tell women's storeis. we have women who have worked for mr. trump. they are telling their

stories. peoplere -- there are you may not expect. latina woman who wants to go out and tell her story. so many people are willing to speak up. three, his third campaign manager. what do you think of her. guest: i have known kelly a long time. she is very organized. i don't knowis -- how to describe it. reasonable,y organize person who is a good move for him. host: are you seeing that influence in the couple of comments he has made so far? guest: so far? i think so. in on thei am not campaign. i have no communication with the campaign. standing back and looking as an

observer, i would say i am seeing her influence. that is to -- she is a very calm, reasonable person. i am seeing some of that generate from the campaign. host: let's get to the calls. good morning. this.just wanted to pose the considered a leader in republican party in utah. for me number one thing because i am also african-american. the reason why trump has outreachsome of his and his position is because he wants to appeal to white women voters. i don't know if that is true. i would like to pose the question, from a woman's point

of view, what is the main reason that he has been making this transition during this outreach? my number one concern has been literally early in this campaign hurtd a tweet that -- it my soul as a plaque republican -- black republican. he has apologized. what can women expect from these changes? guest: that is a really good question. one of the things we have heard is they are supporting him because of him telling it like it is. they feel like they're getting the truth from him. we acknowledge and say clearly in our video he is not perfect. a perfectat he is not

candidate. women now he is not a perfect candidate. of, he is -- it is a breath fresh air to women. he has to balance keeping that, always telling the truth, along with tone. someoneisclose, i am who has coached candidates for debate. i prepped him for doing their presentations and speeches. be known as a spin person. i can tell when somebody has been focused grouped and prepped and is going down the talking points. that is not mr. trump. i saw that from the very beginning. sometimes he stumbles on words and what he is saying. he is speaking off the cuff, without a teleprompter. well, when you do that, sometimes you will misspeak. i will this speaks today because

i don't have a script. dot is what we saw him sometimes. that was a problem with his tone or a question with a choice of words. what he is trying to do is be more disciplined about his message in my opinion. he will be more disciplined about his message while remaining true to who he is which is to tell the truth. we want to see, that is one of the things that women like so much about him. he is telling the truth. when they see hillary clinton and think that it is focus group tested and she has had everything -- host: now on our democrats line. caller: good morning, greetings from tropical ohio. being surrounded by other democrats, i voted democrat since jimmy carter, they think ofn i tell them the story

bill and hillary leaving the white house and taking furniture, artwork, linen. they had to count the silverware. they think it is a conspiracy. . they think it is a trumped up thing from the republican party. it wasn't until she was ready to run for senate that they said these things back. could you please corroborate my story that this really did happen? with notnot trust her taking things the white house how can we trust her as president? guest: iam showing my age. i was there. i came to washington in 1993 to fight hillary care. the lawsuited in against hillary because of the lawsuit in the violation -- the secrecy in the violation of the laws which required open

meetings. they refused to hold open meetings. that is back to 1993. we started right off the bat with the clintons with secrecy and deception. they said nobody -- everybody on the task force was a federal employee. they were financed from all over the country. people from insurance companies were able to, i would now say evil to bu -- now say able to buy seats. they did take things from the white house. millennialsive our and education in the last 25 years of history with the clintons. they warned around. i was talking to some young women, they want around for all of the escapade with the clintons in the 1990's. they don't realize this is a very long pattern. host: our guest is the cochair of women vote trump. to find out more at womenvotetrump.com.

some comments on twitter. i don't think, one says, that we or identityve race politics. another says is there a silent majority among women that will vote for trump that we are unaware of? do women for trump think about having a female nude model in the white house? before that was -- the silent majority. i completely agree with that. women'shrough the movement in the 60's. i was a witness to the civil rights movement in the 60's. i feel like i have been breaking the glass ceilings. i was one of the first women in a television station. i would love to see a woman in the white house. i can't tell you how much i would love to see a woman in the white house.

but not this woman. not hillary clinton. i am not proud to have her represent me as the first woman in the white house for stuff there are many women who feel the same way. again, they are afraid to say it and speak out because of the pressure. i want to talk about one thing -- i don't fit labels. i am not a long time republican activist or consultant. that is not me. i was previously a democrat. but, i don't fit the labels. it is difficult to segue into the other question. into the labels most what we've seen so far is trying to get people by gender, race, i would likeics -- to see that stop and shutdown and just talk about issues. beenf the things that has

extremely disappointing, i will leave the show today and i can tell you my twitter feed will be full of all kinds of ugly comments. most will be gender specific. they will refer to my weight, l ooks, and call me dirty names. from -- the truth is, it is coming from the hillary supporters. that needs to stop. the gender politics, the racism, i am insulted when i am called a racist because i support donald trump. that deeply offends me. it wounds me, and upsets me. as far as a nude model in the white house, i am more offended by having a first gentleman

having liaisons in the oval office than i am by one picture few melania trump did a years ago. i want tood morning, begin this by saying i am a yetired, very senior militar retiree. i have a phd. phd at is completing her the university of minnesota. they will both be third-generation graduates. she is being threatened by her c lassmates, let alone her professors, because we support donald trump. they have gone as far as

denying her thesis. her support for trump, it has nothing to do with what the thesis is about. it has everything to do with her politics. yetonsider this to be another example of political correctness. correctness it is supporting. host: we appreciate your call. guest: we get this a lot. our celebrity cochair has talkedloquently --

eloquently about the hate she has received and the impact that is happening on her professional life. a personal you example. i had a yard sale in seattle last week, it is a pretty blue area. we have a socialist on the city council. i took my trump sign down before sale. the yard i can't keep a sign up. i was worried about pushback. i should know better, but i caved to it. lines, ang the same tweet that says my expensive, private college educated wife won't be voting for hillary if her life depended on it. , what youck to that said earlier. a reflection be

that among white women trump is trailing clinton by 30 points. that is just the opposite for women without a college degree. is one of the things that we realize. we can nudge the numbers on those women a few numbers, and make the difference in this election. host: let's hear from sharon, on the democrats line. caller: i find it insulting that women feel the need to put for hillary because she is a woman. please give us more credit than that. frankly, you are -- your twitter all.e should say it said, bitchna fey

is the new black. i have been called so much worse supporters with the words i can't even repeat on the air. never telling me to do things to parts of my body that are physically impossible. i wouldn;'t want my mom to see those things. i am old enough to have come glass ceiling myself. i didn't care what you called me, that was ok just give me the job. that was back in the women's movement in the 70's. things were quite different than. as for as feeling like they have to vote, was in the marilyn albright to told us there was a special place in hell for women who didn't support other women? a moment when i decided i needed to do something to support mr. trump and take

action. i was deeply offended that madeleine albright telling me i was going to hell if i didn't support hillary. i take offense with your position as well. also on how democrats line, good morning. as a democrat, i feel betrayed and they turned mr. trump into a demon. i have a masters degree in computer engineering. all my compatriots are voting for donald trump. democratsd for more to vote republican. part -- i feel his heart is there. he wants american -- america to be better. i think he wants people to appreciate him and respect him as a leader.

he has proven he is a leader in his own business. today is national women's equality day. end of theate the amendment giving women the right to vote. women'she models of the deeds,e movement was, not words. that is one of the things that we look at mr. trump is look at his deeds, look at his hiring of women, hiring of minorities. look at his family, how he treats the women and respect women. look at his daughter. look at the deeds, not the words. be, hees he doesn't this says things we would rather not have him say. thank you so much for support. bannon,ws about stephen

he was in a domestic dispute is in the headline of the "new york times." it was part of an effort to reset a candidacy that has stumbled with minority and female voters. mr. bannon brings to the post his own background that includes misdemeanor charges of domestic violence and allegations that he threatened his been wife with retribution if she testified in a criminal case. the charges were dropped in that case. how difficult does this make your efforts? upst: this kind of burns me when i see these types of things coming out. they had to work long and hard to find something, of which he was not convicted.

nothing andt to be it has gone on. i wish that the press would do the same investigating -- if they are going to talk about sexual behavior or actions towards women, to somebody who is a campaign person, all we have to do is look at the first gentleman if you want to talk about sexual escapades and treatments of women. -- treatment of land. there is no comparison between what is more important. things in our past that we probably are proud of. if you want to research any person on the planet you can find something. this turned out to be nothing. host: mary lou in new jersey on the independent line. bill andood morning

kathryn. thank you for c-span. catherine i voted for donald trump in the primary and i have every intention of voting for him in the general election. however, i am very troubled about what i am hearing regarding his change in policy on the issue of immigration. , it was hishis is signature issue that made many people flock to donald trump. this issue has been out of control for so many years that when he stepped up to the forefront and said he was finally going to get this under control, this is what basically attracted me to donald trump. i think one problem is that he is starting to surround himself with too many people from the establishment. if he isn't careful, like in my

case, i will stay home. if he changes his policy and does not follow through on building the wall and deporting these people that are in this country illegally, i, for the first time, will not be voting. this is very important that he sticks to this. i know a lot of people who are enraged by this change. when he getshat feedback from his supporters, he will turn around and follow through on what he promised us, to get him elected in the primary. guest: i like it that you are speaking out. you raise a couple of things. immigrationabout first. seen is that he is a work in progress, and that he is trying to define his policy. he has not yet delineated the policy. the talk this week was delayed. what i see is that he delayed it

because he wanted to get more information. he was at eight tom hall -- he and asked town hall for feedback. it seems to me that he is doing what i want a leader to do, which is going out and getting information and talking and listening to people. he can listen to what you have to say. change as seen any far as the wall. know everybody is analyzing every word he said about it. i don't know what is in his heart or mind. i personally think that the wall is set. he also talked about deporting jails,minals in our sending them back to their home countries as a done deal. is, this is so complex and issue, is harry reid and nancy pelosi and president

obama wanted to fix it or could fix it, they had two years to do it with the control of the house, the senate and the president he. it is a very -- the presidency. it is a very complex issue. keep speaking out and let him know what you think. i like it that he is listening checking.e is still the other thing that you raised is the establishment that you are worried about the establishment people coming on. i like it that you said that, because, one of the things that i personally like about him is that he is very disruptive to the republican party, and i like that. , that'shave changed when we have change sometimes we have chaos long we have change. i see that as a positive. host: her comments are reflective of the wall street

journal headline. donald trump's mixed signals on immigration on the campaign. silver spring, maryland. caller: hillary is personal for me. i am 69 and legally blind. my wife who was an extreme liberal, as soon as the clintons got into office she gave me an ultimatum, either the marriage or rush limbaugh. i picked rush limbaugh and she dumped me. rush said on his show many times that hillary will remind every man who has been through a divorce with the way she screams and yells, she does remind me of my former wife, who i cannot stand. that youm glad

apparently got custody of c-span as well, or joint custody as well. host: a new ad that came up by the clinton campaign focusing on some of the things that donald trump has said, and families reaction. here's what it looks like. clip] go --n help them to himself. when mexico since its people, they are bringing drugs, crime, they are rate this. you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, coming out of her wherever. >> our children and grandchildren will look accurate

this time at the choices we are about to make. the goals people strive for, the principles we will live by. we need to make sure that they can be proud of us. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. host: what did you think? this is a little reworking of the spot that has been running since july, they tacked on the hillary, at the end. promisesherry pick from any candidate and string them together and make them look. if we want to take hillary parking and some of her comments and string them along, we can do the same thing with her. vote trump does have a spot to answer this spot going on. looking at theo

deeds, not the words. this is a state of politics today. every time a candidate missteps or says something, that becomes the thing that will go into the spot and get played over and over again out of hours and hours of comments, rallies, speeches, etc.. politicians and people who run for office must have different dna than the rest of us to be willing to do this. i'm in all of all of them on all sides, that they are willing to do it. fishers, indiana on the democrats line. caller: hello. i heard her talk about hillary. i am having a problem with trumps ethics. not paying contractors, his investment. i don't really see the comparison. i never knew a democrat to take

away rights. i have seen republicans take away rights and want to take away rights. whisking women's rights -- risking women's right is severe. cap -- this is beyond me to hear this. i am voting for keeping rights. guest: i don't see what rights mr. trump is trying to take away when he talks about bringing jobs to the country, bringing jobs for women. one of our former co-chairs worked for mr. trump back in the 1980's, and has known him for many, many years. she told us that the issue with the subcontractors was that he had a problem and they had not done the job, and he wasn't paying them until they finished the job. it's not that he just refused to pay a bill.

back to people who work for him, they have wonderful things to say. -- you tough about the democrats and republicans taking away rights? itt is a big discussion, but seems to me that it is the democrats who are trying to limit using big government as the weapon. the other thing that you you don't think that his ethics compared to mrs. clinton's. i can't see how you can even begin to compare whether he paid a contractor or not with the fact that the woman had a server that was not secure and was in exposing herries, and her e-mails to potential enemies of this country. how is that not one of the worst

things that you can do? host: florida, good morning to donald. good morning c-span and good morning to your guests. i have not seen any plan that donald trump has had put out except make it great, trust me and i am going to do it. he really hasn't given a plan on anything he will do. remarks and comments that he has made, these are things that came out of his , from recordings of him saying things. it's not like somebody is putting words in his mouth. he is a racist. dollars .0 policy specifics, is this something you would like more from the campaign? i understand why, he is

not professional politician. he has not had the same briefings, people sitting down and talking with him. he is starting from scratch and is working his way through it. that he ise listening and trying to form a policy, instead of telling us what we should accept from him. i would like to see some more specifics. as we move into debate time, he will have to be more specific been. specific then. i don't understand this charge of misogyny and racism. what has he done to put women down? what has he done to keep women down? what has he done that is racist?

that is why i am offended when sayle say that when people that i am for him. meet deeply wounding four for you to call us racist because we support donald trump. host: your online at women vote trump.com. we appreciate you joining us this morning. we will talk to gregory korte, he will be talking about the announcement, commutation and pardons of federal inmates. more ahead on washington journal. campaign 2016, c-span continues on the road to the white house. >> we need serious leadership.

this is as real as it gets. -- we wille a great make america great again. debatescoverage of the on c-span, the c-span app. monday, september 26 is the first debate live from hempstead, new york. tuesday, october 4, vice president candidates debate at longwood years of -- longwood university. on october 9 washington university in st. louis post the second debate. the third debate on october 19. live coverage on c-span. listen live on the c-span radio at --app.

on c-span 2, 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors every weekend. here are some feature programs as we can. saturday at 10 p.m. eastern on presidentialhe candidacy of donald trump is the subject of an coulter's latest trust."n trump we she is interviewed by tucker carlson. genuinenk he is a hatred, loves the country. i think he looked around and saw so many things going wrong becky good sex. he said something to the effect that if we don't stop it now, it will be too late. urban radio networks washington bureau chief april ryan moderates brace in america, a discussion on race in relation to the news, politics and american culture.

an examination of the rise in racial incidents, their origins and possible solutions. at 10:00 eastern antonio martinez, former twitter advisor talks about his book, chaos monkeys, an insider's perspective on the silicon alleys tech world -- silicon valleys tech world. the washington post reports on america's nuclear arsenal. former sniper nicholas irving recounts his missions and afghanistan and iraq. and the movement to increase workers wages. go to book tv.org or the complete we can guttural. -- weekend's schedule. washington journal continues. is a whitery korte house reporter for usa today. we're talking about commuting

sentences of some 214 federal inmates, mostly low-level drug offenders. record, 214 commutations. what was behind the president's decision to do this? thet: this has been part of clemency initiative, which started in 2000 13. the idea was to really go after these disproportionate drug sentences that were handed out during the war on drugs. starting in the late 1980's and 1990's and the early part of the last decade. the mandatory minimum sentence is, the disproportionate sentences for crack offenses and cocaine. all of these things that a lot of people now in retrospect see as an overreaction to the drug crisis, the crime crisis of the

last generation. at least over sentencing. we saw people getting 30, 40, ears and life for drug offenses. these are people who in many cases were convicted of significant quantities of possession of drug trafficking and drug and sometimes multiple offenses. the president believes that those sentences were too long and we have too many people of those people in prison. they could be out of is an and could be contributing to society. he is using his constitutional power to grant reprieves and commute the sentence is up -- sentences, by executive action. line,opening up our phone republicans,for 202-748-8000 for democrats and .ll others 202-748-8002

we will be using a couple of different words here. aat is different from presidential pardon. reduces the sentence, either totally or partially. it does not change the conviction or imply innocence or remove civil disabilities. it may include remission of fines or restitution. the person must have reported to --son and may not challenge may not be challenging his conviction in court. it includes restrictions on the right to vote. a presidential pardon is an expression of the president legal forgiveness of an offense. it is granted in recognition of an applicant acceptance of responsibility for the crime, and does not signify innocence. it remove civil disabilities. the person who is convicted not one for fivebtain

years elapsed since his release from any form of confinement. sometimes you will hear the word clemency. that encompasses both of those. tools, previously the president's immediate --decessors use more host: let's bring up a justice department graphic on that. obama, 562, tatian -- commutations.

president bush, 43 commutations, bill clinton with under 100. overall philosophy, tell us about that and the role of the justice department? guest: the role in the justice department is to advise the president on this. it is called the office of the pardon attorney. it usually has about 12 full-time lawyers. it has racked up a little bit more now to deal with all of ,hese commutation applications they may have 24 lawyers. they take all of these, they sort through them and look at the prison record of the applicant. they look at what they were convicted of, how they were are andd, how old they if they have in mitigating issue. although range of factors. give a recommendation to the deputy attorney general, who sends it to the white house counsel, and then to the

president. three or four step process to make sure that the president doesn't grant a pardon or a commutation that is not warranted. these can be politically perilous. the president alluded to that earlier this month. he talked about willie horton, the memory of willie horton from that george bush campaign against michael and caucus in 1988. ad bush campaign ran the above the convict who was for load in massachusetts and got out of prison and did some pretty heinous crimes. colored the perception of the clemency powers of a governor or president. it underscored how careless it can be if just 100 -- one of these 500 people goes on to

commit a serious crime. that comes back on obama. host: here's surest -- here's the president's response to your question. processas that slow goes forward, i wanted to see if we could reinvigorate the pardon process that has become stalled. partly because it is politically risky. you can meet somebody and they commit a crime. the politics of it are tough. everybody remembers the willie horton ad. the bias, i think, of my predecessors and thankfully, a number of my advisors early in my presidency said to be careful about that. i thought it was very important for us to send a clear message that we believe in the

principles behind criminal justice reform, but ultimately we need legislation. we have focused more on commutations and we have on pardons. i would argue that by the time we leave office -- i leave office a number of pardons i grant will be roughly in line with what other presidents have done. he response to your question there. any indication he was acting on his advisors? guest: he doesn't very often lousy internal debates that lead to the policies that he develops. what he said was that early on in his presidency, he did not grant a single pardon or commutation. he was very slow in getting off the ground in using his clemency powers. two -- 2014 that

he used it. that was the turning point that he was dealing with a republican congress, and getting to use his executive action on immigration and climate, etc.. it began in that timeframe where he gave on -- gave up on getting things done by moving your congress and started using executive action. this was not easy, unlike immigration where he has been challenged in court, the power to grant pardons and commutations is absolute. , georgia, mike on the democrats line. thanks for taking my call. when i hear black people call in and say what has obama ever done for black folks? go tell a business owner that he must hire black purple that -- -- black people

when they don't have any. taking actions like this really sets the town, because the drug laws in this country whether you want to admit it or not, has a racial undertone to it. crack epidemic in our country, a lot of black people found themselves kind bars. even one of my in-laws was behind bars. now you can go to colorado and order you a whole slate of different flavors of marijuana. host: you write about some of the people affected by these commutations. effort to stop the mandatory minimum sentences. richard who was given a 40-year-old sentence for

dealing metal -- better off mean -- methamphetamine. looking at the people that the president has commuted, you can see the timeline over the war on drugs. historyook at the whole of the presidency use -- the president's use of commutations. the criminal justice system was overreacting to, checking into 20 years later to see what kind of commutations were being given, hoover and roosevelt did a lot regarding prohibition. you started to see american indians convicted of crime, all happened over these ways of whatever it be perceived criminal threat was at that point in american history.

the most recent one is this war on drugs from the 1980's and 1990's. it did disproportionately sentence african-american men to long terms in prison. the one thing we don't know and it is difficult without checking through, it each of these 214 couple the total is 562. it's difficult to know what the racial, position is. if you look at the prison there is a distortion it impact on people of color. host: savannah, georgia. --ler: i would like to know i am proud of what he is doing. does this come under the local officials, start with this

supreme court -- the supreme court? i am having a hard time voting this year. in situations like this that we have to go through for decades. when i listen to the democratic party when they had their speaking on their campaign, only one person brought attention to --and that is senator warner warren. we'll get some feedback from gregory. guest: a couple of things i will point out is that these are federal crimes that the president has the power to grant commutations and pardons on. if someone is convicted of a state or a state or a local ordinance, the president doesn't have any power. in most states the governor has the power to pardon or commute

those sentences. is checks orre balances on the governor's power to do that. but most crimes in the u.s. are state and local crimes. most serious crimes are local crimes, armed robbery, murder, rape, kidnapping across state lines. doing ispresident is ,ot going to single-handedly with a stroke of his pen, address the massacres a ration problem that we have any united incarcerationmass problem that we have in the united states. he might be able to set a tone some kindss to take

of action on criminal justice reform and it could trickle down to attitude in state legislatures. caller: i just have a couple of things are it --. to get in prison now days you don't go in there with an ounce of merit want to -- an ounce of marijuana and get put away. you have to have a pretty good reason to get in there. i hear a lot of blacks calling stereotype whites. if they could listen to themselves, i think obama could killed 20 people and they would be ok. holder, i hope years not an

example of your good justice system. whites do discriminate against whites, sir. i come from a very poor labor class. i went to vietnam and there were no jobs are in if they looked at somebody's like my past would not touch me. don't see where we are privilege. when i go to philadelphia, and he black families that have a union member was more privileged than my father who was just a drunken idiot. there are a lot of things in there that you seem to dismiss. mentioned theer attorney general. initiative, you talked about this clemency initiative that the administration announced is that

people who would have gotten shorter sentence as if they committed the same crime today, applies to most nonviolent drug offenders. that.egative reaction to loretta lynch said additionally the fact that the justice department's clemency initiative is focused only on federal drug offenders, continues this administrations lame on, usual practice of picking and choosing which laws to enforce and which laws to change. chairman also has clearly stated that she understands that the president from theare conversation. it is a nuanced argument that while the president -- what the

president is doing is not unconstitutional, it is part of executive actions that circumvent the will of congress. commont's kind of a , there is somee agreement on that. thet: part of what president is doing, he is implementing retroactively what congress already did in the fair sentencing act. law010, congress passed a that changed some of these things and reduce some of these sentences for many classes of drug crimes. what congress chose not to do was to make that retroactive. they could have. there are other mechanisms that congress set up through the sentencing commission to retroactively reduce some of these sentences. what the president is doing here

is to say we as a society have come to realize that some of these sentence as were too long. if you are convicted of one of these drug crimes, you would not be sentenced to one of these lengthy minimum mandatory sentences. randy, independent line in amsterdam, new york. caller: good morning. -- your guests avoided the overwhelming discrepancy between -- who is he pardoning, what race are they. where itf avoided that should be pretty easy to find out who is he playing too? i hope i didn't avoid that. what i said was it was

impossible to know. on the basis of the clemency warrant that the president has signed what the race of the recipient is. it -- a nonprofit organizations did the grunt work and it is labor-intensive work to go through each and every , to gond the recipient back through public records and toe phone calls and go back booking mug shots to try to identify the race of all of these convicts. at leastund was that through the george w. bush administration, that white convicts were more likely to get presidential clemency than an african-american who committed a similar crime. that is something that the president is trying to correct. it is too early without

identifying the race of all of what progress this administration has made on that. the argument is there is an and heron biased built into the sentencing of many of these men because crack cocaine, which was predominantly the choice of many african-americans, was dealt with more harshly than comparable amount of powder what thewhich was white convicts were using. caller: are their sentences erased?, is the record

is it still intact? if they commit the same crime again will they go to risen? thet: the answer is no, commutation does not erase the conviction and yes if they commit a crime again they will go to risen to -- go to prison. a full legal forgiveness. ,t doesn't sponge the record but it does remove every legal impediment that is a consequence of that record. pardon you can buy a firearm, you can vote, any civil right you have restored. with a commutation you are released from prison. all those other consequences remain. you still have court ,upervision, probation officer

you are not able to purchase a firearm legally. commit another crime, you are going back to present. host: you wrote earlier this -- pardon the parting attorney suggested a broken system in her resignation letter , saying the administration instructed the justice department try to neglect applications for pardons to give try or the to release low-level offenders from prison. that the resignation letter suggests a broken and bureaucratic process at odds with the president's own exercise -- his pardon power. what's going on there? guest: deborah was a pardon

attorney for a couple of years. during the time that the attorney general launched this clemency objective it became a huge management challenge. the president put a neon sign up saying, apply for clemency. i am in the business of letting prison out of -- letting people out of prison early. prevent anyone in prison from saying maybe this is my chance. still today there are about 11,000 attending applications for computations. each one has to be reviewed. ,e also -- the pardon attorney the job is to make recommendations for the full hardens. while the president -- has granted fewer -- more fewer pardons.t

for the cost of $25,550 , -- and a final question is there any talk about whether he might pardon snowden? guest: the last question is the most interesting. is,part of the rationale the numbers we are seeing so far if you do the math is a significant amount of money. it won't balance the federal by letting some of these drug offenders out of prison early. i'm not sure that you can say that any one of these were unjustly imprisoned.

what is the appropriate sentence? that's what the power the presidency had. snowden has not yet applied for pardon. nothing that says you have to apply to get one. one of the things the president said in the news conference was that he will not issue any pardons to someone who has not applied and whose case has not been vetted. guest: given the position of the white house and the just the departmenttice should he face trial in the united states, that is a decision for the next president to make after he has been given due process and perhaps convicted.

host: victoria in louisa, virginia. my name is victoria. thanks for taking my call. my comment is that it makes sense that the president is doing commutations for low-level crime. states,a is legal in not only for medicinal purposes it also recreational. the independent ticket, gary johnson, he said that he gave up marijuana just for the time of campaigning and he plans to go back to it. think president obama should let them get out. but the really dangerous drugs , is such a huge

problem. louisianaall town of -- of louisa it is a problem. more is coming. pattern, gotten into a not just issuing more commutations, but doing it more often. somehow a tradition emerged over the process -- past presidency that the only time you would get one of these is about christmas time. it was used as a christmas gift. one of the things that this white house is trying to do is make it more routine. we are seeing them at the rate of about one month. sometime, maybe early september to have another

, and each month for the remainder of the president term. host: fill in venice, florida, on the independent line. caller: the term crime is being tossed around. i think we have to get it straight what crime is. crime you have to have a victim. in these cases, the term low-level drug crime has been use. there cannot be a crime if there is no victim. this supposedve injustice in this country, and people don't seem to be aware of that. there should be thousands of them. thousands are in their and have committed no crime because her is no victim. that's a philosophical

argument that we have been having for quite a while now. i have heard this argument before. others point out the huge societal costs in terms of health care. wherever you see the drug trade, you also see guns and violence. this is something -- this is so hard for congress to get right. let the appropriate sentences are. the previous color, talking there are aana, number of states that have decriminalize marijuana, but the federal government still

considers it to be a class one controlled substance. to trafficeral crime in marijuana. people are convicted every day. princeton, new jersey on the republican line, tom. caller: i have a question and a comment. my question is that our any of these commutations results from the 1990's clinton's presidency? guestsed that your repeats what i hear a lot from the media, and that is that mr. had constant obama objections from republicans the first few years, now he is resorting to taking matters into his own hands. if i were member correctly, there were town halls when obamacare was being discussed and -- and republicans objecting to it.

i thought that people were speaking loud and clear and the republicans were representing the people. and yet we still hear this matter of mr. obama did he get any help while he did things -- that would make us less. the back room deals were the only way he was going to get it through. that i guess the jobs were shovel-ready. said 2014 is when you president obama started this process. the basic timeline of the obama presidency is the first two years he has a congress that has been focused with the house and senate. there were times when he had a filibuster proof majority and

times when he had not. was --t two years, it they thought. two or three years of his -- heency he almost decided that executive action is the only way to get done while he is still president. says hee headline blames obama on the connotations. the chairman said the president's action were not as a congress intended. instead he said obama is using the power to commute time and is to benefit an entire class of offenders who were duly convicted in a court of law. hear about this, the appropriate uses of clemency toers, and can you apply it

an entire class of people as opposed to individuals? technically what the white house is doing is they are looking at it as a -- there have been times orpresident pardoned commuted drafter baiters, for example. those are things that might be a little bit broader -- those might be a little bit broader. this -- the three strikes law might be a big part of this area -- of this. people convicted of a third felony offense, and sent for a long mandatory minimum sentence. it gets tricky. what the president tried to explain earlier in his press conference earlier this month is that, you have to look -- if there is a gun specification on

there, how was it found, was a gun pointed at anybody, was it just located of the other are some one they were arrested? those are three strikes. what were the previous two strikes? these are intensive cases. in tody else could go each one of these case files and make a different judgment. these are objective decisions about the merits of presidential clemency. host: yukon, oklahoma, and helen on the democrats line. remember first hearing about the war on drugs. at that time, i thought they would be determining the origin of the drug trade, and working from that amd of it. -- in end of. there seems like there were a lot of low-level offenders. many have no education, no working skills to make a living

wage. then they get out and they also have a record. is there any kind of race or system question -- is there any kind of a support system? guest: the average length of sentences guest:? guest:i am pulling together the data now. they don't even really start to consider this until they are five, 10 year convictions. it is somewhere in the range of maybe a 10 year sentence or 20-32 life. thank you for taking my call. do you -- these drug offenders are not first time offenders. it is repeat and repeat. now where are they going? a are going into the black community to victimize the black community. they don't come or i live.

we report drug pushers were i live. to black community has arule you also have a popular culture of criminality in the rock music which perpetrates this, which the media never addresses. and we are a country of all kind of minorities, but this issues always comes down to black and white. do asians have white privilege? they do very well and our kids do well in school. do we have indian and pakistani privilege? problem withve a black crime in their neighborhoods. they do also very well. host: you talked about possible repeat offenses. the president with 500 tuesday totalal commie -- 562 commutations. guest: has a ever been a study, has anyone looked at the

recidivism rate is a people who have gotten accepted? i am not aware of any studies anyone has done. -- ripebe very right for study in the future. what they hope is that the recidivism rate will be lower. these are people that the president certainly believes have a high like the hood of succeeding. the previous scholars and where do they go? they don't go straight back. they are supervised i halfway houses sometimes. there are programs. there is an increasing emphasis givingn giving giving --

inmates life skills and helping them to become productive members of society and the president writes a letter to each one of these recipients of clemency. what he says in that letter is to say, i am giving you a second chance. i looked at your file and i believe you can do it. it is up to you to prove to the naysayers that you can succeed. i hope you will do that. perl, texas.a in caller: good morning. that bothers me about the conversation as it never goes deeply enough. we know that there are no drug manufacturing going on in the black community. we know that there are no gun going on in the

black community. all of this stuff is probably in -- is brought in. i keep thinking about the movie i saw years ago " but godfather," where they were bigg to use guns in their enterprise and how the statement was made to "the colors are the dark he's, because their animals anyway." this has been brought into our community and given to our little kids, to protect the drugs i have been given. all of a sudden they are arrested for possession. host: virginia, thank you for calling. remarkableink it is how often we have heard this come up this morning. if there is any one last thing i would say, it's clear that issues you -- this issue for

sentencing is part of a larger discussion. right now we have the black discrimination, criminalsuesof disparities in employment opportunities, and these are all things at the first black president of the united states is trying to -- issues ofot race -- but the many permutations of that central problem of american history. this is just his use of clemency power to correct some, in his mind, some of the sentences, is a manifestation of that. thank youory korte, for being with us this morning. that w i