report on high school graduation rates and why that number is expected to decline in 2017. ought -- as always, we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. washington journal is next. ♪ >> good morning. it is saturday, december 17, 2016. in the headlines, president barack obama if his end-of-the-year press conference yesterday where he highlighted the achievements of his eight years in the white house as well as addressed his biggest challenges during that time. the issue of russian computer hacks before the presidential election dominated the press conference and the president lays the blame for the cyber intrusion on the russian president.

also talkedama about his legacy from the implementation of the affordable care act, cutting the deficit and killing osama bin laden. what are your views on president obama's legacy? you can also reach us on social media, on twitter, and on facebook at facebook.com/the spam. good morning. a look at what president obama said. president obama used one of the last news conferences of his presidency on friday to lament the country's deep political divisions asserting they make the united states vulnerable to foreign manipulation and to warn president-elect donald trump to

be less casual in his dealings with foreign leaders. thatost goes on to say while for the past five weeks, obama has had -- has tried to hide his disappointment and remain publicly upbeat about the country, on friday the optimistic facade began to crack and he worried that the political discord had been degraded to a point where everything is under suspicion and everyone is corrupt and everyone is doing things for partisan reasons and all of our institutions are noble and actors. look at what he said about the partisan divide. newsdent obama: it is fake being released by some foreign governments. identical tost report that are being issued

through to partisan news venues, then it is not surprising that the foreign propaganda will have a greater effect. it does not seem that far-fetched. compared to some of the other stuff that folks are hearing from domestic propaganda. the extent that our political dialogue is such that where everything is under suspicion, everyone is corrupt and is doing thing for partisan reasons. fullf our institutions are of malevolent actors. if that is the storyline that is by whatevert there then whenut of power,

a foreign government introduces that same argument, with facts , voters, who up have been listening to that stuff for years, who have been getting it every day from talk radio or other venues, they are going to believe it. we want to reduce foreign influence on our elections, we better think about how to make process, ourtical political dialogue is stronger than it has been. host says larry is calling.

it is so partisan right now. now, theg he is doing republicans will not give him credit. he won't get any credit for killing bin laden. the republicans now, i don't trust any of them. look what they are doing in north carolina. it is ridiculous. calling from lawrenceville, georgia. what do you think? americansly 30% of feel like things got better for them. things i have to say, his legacy is going to be that he has just about destroyed the

democrat party. i have a lot of friends who are democrats that are republicans now. , the 25 senators are going to go up against eight republican senators have to go in 18. i think the democrats are in a bad way. host: how is that the blame of the president as opposed to other candidates or the most recent democratic presidential nominee? caller: i am in the 14%. i have a better view of what is going on. now arerity of people more optimistic that donald trump is coming in.

obama is running away to hawaii for two weeks. chinese,ans and the and he is going to hawaii for two weeks. this is a reason the democrats are losing. policies of the president obama touted yesterday was implementation of the affordable care act. i more from the post on that. president obama used his to-christmas news conference tout the popularity of the health care law his successor wants to abolish. announcing sign-ups hit a record for a single day. americans chose health care plans in states relying on healthcare.gov on thursday, the original deadline to have aca coverage in place by january 1. that is 70,000 more than the enrollment on the same date last year -- a record at that time.

was a flurry of aca statistics that the administration released this week in contention that president-elect donald trump and republican congressional leaders will pay a price in public opinion if they pledged to repeal the law and replace it with more conservative policies. fairfax, south dakota. good morning. we are going to go on to dawn. -- don. caller: the legacy i see issident obama leaving out the legacy of green energy that has done nothing but raise our electric bill and raise our deficit with china world the

green energy products are made. also, a legacy from president it with therdoing trans-genders to the point a grown man can shower with a little girl as long as he pretends he is a woman. he hass there anything done in the last 18 years you think was good for the country, that was an improvement? caller: that i think he did was an improvement? to think hard, the best thing he did was to marry michelle obama. our greatest first ladies, i think. what the's look at

president had to say about his domestic achievements. [video clip] pres. obama: as i was taking office, the unemployment rate was low. -- wages have grown faster over the past few years than any time in the past 40. 44 million people were uninsured . today, we covered more than 20 million of them. in our first time history, more than 90% of americans are insured. yesterday was the biggest day ever for healthcare.gov. more than 670,000 americans signed up to get covered. we cut our dependence on foreign oil.

none of these actions stifled growth. the stock market has tripled. add it all up, last year the poverty rate fell at the fastest rate in almost 50 years. the median household income grew at the fastest rate on record. gains were larger for households at the bottom in the middle than for those at the top . we have done all of this while cutting our deficit by nearly two thirds. and protecting vital investments that grow the middle class. charlie is on our republican line from new york. 2008, we warned the

country, do not elect a president who began his political career in the home of terrorists, millionaires --. he hates us. here is obama's legacy. the democrats have said they are to keep obama's policies intact. it is because of his unpopular , it is why the democrats were so badly been in 2010 and 2014 midterms. in statehouses across the country, the democrats have lost 1000 seats because of obama's policies. want to keep him in place, they will continue to lose. calling in.en is

what do you think about president obama's legacy? , on many issues, he gave it an incredible try. successful with obamacare, although many of us would have wished he would have gone for single-payer instead of negotiating right away. climate change efforts, huge success. even though republicans stood in his way at basically every turn. his policies, as well as hillary clinton's influence on pushing interventions in libya and syria have been catastrophic for the people living in those countries. yesterday, president obama said they did everything to halt the civil war. wanteds completely -- i to say and accurate -- it was really a lie.

you havet would preferred the president do in terms of the policy in syria? host: i have done a great deal of reading. i read many articles on foreign policy in the nation. the guardian and the independent. negotiations at the u.n. at that point, the u.n. had negotiators trying to work with bashar al-assad. a dictator. he has committed crimes. the obama administration has committed crimes by arming unknown rebels in syria and many of those arms ending up in the hands of al qaeda and isis. when he said he tried to halt that civil war, it is completely a lie.

they fueled -- i read hillary clinton influenced those decisions in big ways. those decisions have been disastrous for the people in those countries. integrity on the issue, he would accept responsibility for some of those decisions he made. a little more about obama's legacy in syria. mars obama's war legacy. the fall of the last rebel held areas could seal the fate of the obama doctrine, deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis in decades. obama's light footprint approach to the syrian conflict will suffer a serious blow weeks before he hands power to president-elect donald trump on

january 20. for washington, maryland. what do you think about the president's legacy? i think his legacy will go down in history as one of the best presidents the usa has ever had. obama was not only our president, but he was sent as a withiner for all to see the usa and abroad. could look like, unity that helps all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, love. he is a man of peace. i feel bad because president obama was never given the opportunity, from day one.

goal to bring him down, not compromise with him. that is what our republican brothers and sisters have done. everything that is negative is all because of president obama. we all know that is not true. is there anything from the last eight years that was disappointing to you or that you would see taking a different approach? he took all of the different approaches he could take. he is still our president. he went to the republican party's to try to compromise. him.never compromised with the things he did get past, like ,- things he did get passed like obama care, saved many

lives, including my own. they are about to sweep that under the rug. obamacare helped many people in this country. host: more from time about the president's legacy. it varies greatly by party a studyion according to by the pew research center. perceptions of the president very greatly along party lines. average job approval rating has not been as polarized as obama's. eisenhower -- since dwight eisenhower. difference appears to be more pronounced than in years past. about 78% of democrats and left-leaning independents believe obama's accomplishments will outweigh his failures when

historians look back, that only 13% of republicans agree. calling in on our independent line. what do you think about the presidents legacy? obama had a couple of great accomplishments. state owned health care, he won a peace prize. to bean is going remembered internationally as a warmonger. he proceeds to use robots to blow up people thousands of miles away. that does not sound peaceful. seen in recent years a rise in prices of obama care, a concept which was unthinkable at its inception. host: do you think it is better,

republicans are proposing to repeal the affordable care act. do you think congress needs to start from scratch on that. i am part of the affordable health care act. with these rising rates, they need to be fixed. there are people out there who need health care and they are not getting it because it is becoming just as expensive as .he other ones the promise behind obama care in the affordable care act was no rising rates and you will get a top-notch health care system. america has the best health care system in the world, but we have been seeing rising rates. what are we going to do with that? ont: thomas is calling in

our independent line from illinois. what do you think of the president possibly to see? only thet is not presidents legacy, it is the legacy of presidents and every branch of power since the 1970's, i believe it was. i am 65 years old. that is the holocaust, the the voiceless infants or the legalization of something that should be illegal. that is the murder of babies through abortion. there was a time when the supreme court for -- first set abortion was legal because of the health of the mother. that has been desensitized all the way to where it is just a method of birth control.

now, it is just to wear a woman has the right to do with her body with what she may. following that logic, it would follow suit that if a woman has a right to do what a woman wants to do with her body and abort the baby as a method of birth would follow suit that a man should be able to have the right to do with his body what he made and abort making child support. this holocaust of the voiceless infants is bringing back murderous car model. what goes around comes around. spirituality calls it you reap what you so. what you sow.

desensitization of holocaust degrees. the the pentagon demands china return a u.s. underwater drunkard the pentagon is the term -- is demanding it be returned after a chinese warship took the device from waters near and oceana graphic vessel. peter cook said using the abbreviation front manned underwater vehicle. the latest encounter in the waters in the south china sea a ship was sailing about 100 miles off the philippine port when the incident occurred. waterssel stopped in the to pick up two underwater drones. a chinese naval ship that had

the bowditch put a small boat into the water, came up beside the crew and took one of the drones. we have jason on our republican line. what do you think about the president's legacy? caller: i have a few things to say. the majority of people are not going to be happy with what i have to say. he has been a coward as far as i am concerned. in his policies, as far as making statements and making deals. bringing three of the world's

five most heinous criminals from guantanamo bay in exchange for a -- for bowe bergdahl. withing up the white house a rainbow in favor of gay , in a country founded on the principles of .hristianity the presidentlike has left a good taste in the mouth of america. he hass there anything done that you approve of? any policies that help make america better? his best intentions with the stabilization of obama care and for everyone to have health care.

the best intentions were there. , but thatrun smoothly is one major thing. he has not done much. has fallen under him has been done by congress. a majority of his decisions he is done by himself has negative results as far as i am concerned. the majority of people around me feel the same way. francis, new london, new hampshire. what do you inc. about president obama's legacy? will go downnk he as our greatest president. not a -- hero, but

in my mind, he is. to work with congress and to get so much done every day, he kept going and going and he got us health care we need, the unemployment rate is way down from what it was when he took over. our country was at constant war when he took over and i have felt at peace for the eight years. i feel privileged. he should be the next candidate for the --. rememberinghimself that he has -- that he is human. he is equal to all of us. he has used his brilliant mind to do a job that most people would have given up on.

with all of the things that were against him with our congress hope he is and i able to have a wonderful retirement. i hope he stays involved. i feel like we have been at peace and it is because of him. sam is calling in from coastal springs, mississippi, on our republican line. good morning. caller: i think he will go down as the most divisive president we had a team made the justice department the most politically active justice department we have ever had. people understand these talking about the lower unemployment rate.

reality, the unemployment rate is probably around eight to 10%. the affordable care act, honestly, you think that is affordable for folks who really need it? help frometting the the government to pay for their premiums, that is fine, but not the people who are having to pay $12,000 deductibles for them to be able to use it. set up there and live it i think he is divisive on race and religion. the issuetalk about of divisiveness. do you think the blame for divisiveness is mostly with the president or all with the president, or do other folks share the blame and that? there are folks that share the blame and at. ,e has made the issue of race

that is all they talk about his race. he doesn't look at the facts of something that has happened before he makes a commitment or a comment. he has made race relations worse than it has been. as far as his legacy, the beat in 2010, 2 thousand 14, and recently the presidential election. his -- i think he is a total liar. as it turns out, he is another jesse jackson. let's look at the press conference where president obama laid out his foreign-policy achievement. clip] pres. obama: we were in the middle of two wars, now nearly 180,000 troops are down to

.5,000 bin laden, rather than being out battlefield along with thousands over the past eight years, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully executed a tad attack on her homeland directed from overseas. iranve in short that cannot attain a nuclear weapon without going to war with iran. we opened up a new chapter with the people of cuba and brought nearly 200 nations around the climate agreement that could very well save the planet for our children. almost every country on earth sees america as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago. host: jeffrey on our democratic line from auburn, new york. what you think about the legacy? caller: i would like to pray for preface this by

saying i am a lifelong democrat who has never voted for a republican. obamacare asx to they put it -- and i am going to praise richard nixon believe it or not, as a lifelong democrat. he had a solution for a high inflation rate and his problems in his administration were solved by a wage-price freeze and i believe this could be applied to the pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies in this rampant hyperinflation. the hyperinflation of some drugs by 200%, 500% is insane and there needs to be regulation. currente the republicans do not believe in regulation but democrats believe in rational, reasonable regulations.

we could regulate the pharmaceutical industry and the 2000 something insurance companies providing currently which is a ridiculous amount of numbers that could be done by a half of a dozen or a dozen insurance companies. host: in that case, if regulation is what was needed, do you think that is something that should have been in the affordable care act to begin with? something the president overlooked? no, i think it was partisan politics, the republican party put poison pills in the legislation and wrote the legislation slanted towards the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. before i leave, i want to make a separate point for obama. that is the richard nixon created the epa.

it is insane that the republican party does not believe in protecting our environment. , richardre person nixon, that created the epa and they are so against regulation that they would destroy the earth and destroy the country environmentally speaking by drilllating at letting a baby, drill mentality -- look at oklahoma and the earthquakes, we do not want fracking in the finger lakes. this is the default we have elected. -- these are the people we have elected here. host: what donald trump said about president obama's legacy. according to cnn, donald trump is not set on dismantling barack obama's legacy but wants to streamline federal agencies interactions with businesses.

on fox news sunday i chris wallace, he said he would take a wrecking ball to the obama legacy, but quickly answered, no, i do not want to do that, he said, i just want what is right. -- the comments came after he appointed the heads of several agencies, including health and human services, labor , and environmental protection agencies, that have been destroyed and critics of the obama administration policies, donald trump says his appointments are not about dismantling obamas legacies but it did it to streamline businesses direction with the government, particularly the epa, he said the epa, you cannot get things approved, people wait for 15 years before getting rejected, that is why people do not want to invest in this country, trump said. tennessee, a republican line, good morning, clara. go ahead. caller: i am not pleased with

what he has done. get intopossibly everything in this time that causes me to come to that decision but i will say that obamacare is a great concern to me. toind him very hypocritical stand up before the cameras at talk about putin being a dictator when he made nice with castro in cuba at open that up and none of us have a say in that. i do not like his apology tour, the way he did his business with iran. i find him to be hypocritical. he used our tax dollars to try to interfere with the israel elections. on to mention listening in andrea merkel's conversation. i find him to be a hypocrite.

i do not believe that his favorability far as high as the press reports them to the because statistically they only poll the people that have their opinions. their same believes. host: is there anything the president has done that you approve of, any policy that his father was -- any policy that is positive? caller: i like the president because -- i like that the president has a beautiful smile. clarksburg, west virginia, spent, democratic line. some people need prayer, looking back at this president, what a class act. to have a real family in the white house. i hope they keep michelle obama's garden, it represents farmers throughout the united states.

in my lifetime, i have never seen a prettier first lady and a classy group of human beings. human beings that led this nation and i am so proud of them. in ways that may of heard the democratic party in different ways but i will take it. mr. obama has been a class act and we will miss him. god bless you, have a nice day. host: talking about president obama's legacy. republicans can call 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. .ndependence, 202-748-8002 a little bit more from yesterday's press conference where the president laid the blame for recent computer hacking's of democratic organizations and individuals at the seat of the vladimir putin. the wall street journal said barack obama implicated vladimir

putin in cyber attacks designed to hurt democrats in the elections. he promised a methodical retaliation. mr. obama said the u.s. intelligence he had seen gives me great confidence that russia hacked the democratic national committee and the you mail accounts of hillary clinton campaign chairman john podesta. vladimirhe believed putin authorize this comes he said not much happens in russia without vladimir putin. kathy, republican line, montgomery, texas, what do you think of the president's legacy? caller: he will go down as the great divider. black lives matter, mexican against american, muslim against christian and, unions against non-unions, straight people against gay people, etc., it can go on. he is the worst president in the history of the united states and

i am ashamed of him. he needs to get prayer in his life, thank you. host: ruby from atlanta on the democratic line. good morning. caller: how are you? host: good, what do you think of the president's legacy? caller: it will be fantastic. i am disappointed about people calling in that cannot say one good thing about him. they blame everything on president obama. actually could have done many more great things that the republican party from the get-go said they would not support him, he would get one term, he got to terms, that is a statement right there. i love president obama and michelle, god bless him and the country is blessed because he served us those eight years. host: you are saying -- singing

the president's praises, anything he has done that you did not approve of war that did not -- you think was not the right decision for the country? caller: i do not because he did the best he could for the country. he did it for all people, not a race oriented, he did it for all people. host: a little bit more about the president's comments on russia yesterday. the president -- more from the wall street journal who said the president was vague about what tom a u.s. response may take the cyber attacks with just five weeks left in office to order any retaliation, the president said some of it may be public while other aspects could be covert or only known by moscow. among the options are declassifying more information or leveling charges at any people it believes carried out the attack or assisted in them.

look at more about what the president said about russia and what it can and cannot do to undermine the united states. president obama: this is a situation where, unless the american people genuinely think that the professionals in the fbi, our entire intelligence infrastructure, many of whom by the way served in previous administrations, and -- who areblicans republicans are less trustworthy then peoplesians, should pay attention to what our intelligence agencies say. this is part of what i meant when i said that we have to think about what is happening to

our political culture here. the russians cannot change others -- us or significantly weaken us. they are a smaller and weaker country, their economy does not produce anything anybody wants to buy except oil and gas and arms. their their --ovate they do not innovate. but, they can impact us if we lose track of who we are. they can impact us if we abandon our values. mr. prudent can weaken us -- can weaken us like he is trying to weaken europe if we buy into notions that it is ok to lock up dissidents.

evil --criminal against discriminate against people because of their faith or what they look like. host: tom from yuri, pennsylvania on our independent line, what you think of the president's legacy? caller: he is the best man to be in the white house since john kennedy and the most attractive family in the last two centuries. what the republicans did with him was disgraceful. i used to be eight republican until midway through obama's first term and i saw the way they were treating the man. unfortunately, i cannot think ofaight but the stupidity the -- the bigotry of these people who cannot see a dem thing good the man has done --

good the man has done, he pulled the country out of a financial mess that the republicans created. guy is criticism of the that he did not -- he acted like he did not have enough streetsmarts to realize the trash that he was dealing with. ae republicans have made andnce of misinformation nota and the democrats did call them out constantly, that is the only thing you can do with bigoted bullies, you have to call them out constantly and constantly publicized the crap that they are doing. host: more in other headlines

about the donald trump transition to the white house. from politico, donald trump will not accept briefings on his businesses while serving as president. he is open to limits on his ability to talk business with his two adult sons slated to run the company according to a trumpet spokesperson -- trump spokesperson. as the gills emerge, he question -- as details emerge, key questions are unanswered, he wants a way to return to his business when his white house days are over and he does not --t anyone outside earning owning the rights to the name while he is away. his friends, businesses is it an transition staff tell political -- politico. host: cedric from midland,

texas, a republican line. caller: i am black and a conservative and not a bigot. i like his family, i like president obama personally but he never brought in a budget his last eight years and his administration was very heavy-handed on regulation that cap growth down. -- kept growth down. we had to bring in a sequestered to control spending and i used to be a democrat but i left the democratic party because they became so liberal and so out of touch when it comes to race, gender, and jobs in america. i really like president obama, personally, but this administration from jeh johnson, homeland security, i am glad donald trump put a general end, we do not need a politician in homeland security who does not -- his job is to keep people out

of the countries who are not supposed to be in the country, not to bring the men. -- bring them in. is any of the blame for some of the problems you listed shared with congress? about, forer came example, as part of a standoff between the white house and congress and was never intended to be implemented, intended to be an incentive to come to an agreement. caller: i agree with that but the problem you had with the sequestered is because every time the president's administration committed a budget it was so unbelievably large that they had to put in a sequestered that said we have to keep this administration under control or they will spend us into oblivion. abouttaking your calls the president's legacy, republicans call 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. .ndependence, 202-748-8002

pat from houston, texas, democratic line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to say that academyt obama has the -- epitome of class. my mom used to explain to me as a child, she would say class is in the blood. it is not for sale. you do not have to have money, you only have to have class. other things will come. compared to donald trump, i understand what she means. he has all the money in the world and no class. he could buy it but he does not have it. he was not born with it, it is not in his blood to have it and that is why he does not have it and he cannot get it, ever, i do

not care how much money he has, he will never have class. and class can be given to a poor person, a poor person can enter a room and show themselves in a way that will let you know there is something there. they do not have any money but something inside of them. president obama may not be as rich as he is but he is the epitome of class and that you have to be burned with -- born with. host: the hill reports 48 states have added jobs during president obama's tenure, almost every state in the nation has added jobs during president obama's tenure, and the balance exists between urban centers and rural regions struggling to recover from the worst economic downturn in decades. updateden recovery has

the american political map as areas where the recovery has lagged has punished democrats and rewarded republicans, even as the unemployment rate fell and jobs rebounded under president obama. rural voters overwhelmingly favor republican donald trump in the election, nationally only two states sought job losses during obama's tenure, wyoming and new mexico. hyannis,alling in from massachusetts on our independent line. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. president obama has done a great job. i think he will go down as the greatest president since jfk, hands down, history will decide it. all the problems, people who hate his policies and everything he has done are just negative.

they just want to keep thing i do-- the one not agree with him on, in a similar way to what jfk did, how people little russia -- belittled russia, funny everybody complained about hillary clinton's email and of the cia and fbi are talking about russia intruding on the election and nobody wants to take their side. it is ridiculous. he should have laid off the rhetoric but otherwise the greatest president since jfk. host: vincent from georgia, democratic line. what do you think about the president's legacy? caller: i think he has done a great job at i am surprised at the calls who cannot recognize that, when he started, he picked up a big mess, he saved the automobile industry.

he started the health care plan. the more people get into this plan, the lower the deductibles will become but if you do not get in, it will stay high. they are trying to find ways to not say he did a great job but everybody can see through history, the talk is just talk. what speaks loud is things he did to change the country around. let me ask you about this -- the report in the hill that we just heard shows that, when it comes to the economy, things are uneven, people who do not live in urban centers are not doing as well as before. do you think the blame for that is at least in part with the white house? caller: the state had a choice to make changes in their own state and they refused to accept

assistance from president obama tried to make ranges towards the infrastructure that changes towards the infrastructure. he wanted to give them money to put money into their own bridges and roads, a lot of them did not accept it. a lot of the states did not accept it and if they did they did not put it where they needed to which would boost more jobs. themnot want to hear complain about he is not trying to help, the problem is the ined, the money that stands these positions of leadership over our country right now is what it is about. donald trump will take this country down because of the fact that this greed will get in the way and cause us to go backward. all the things we did to go 5 -- forward will go backward. senator mcconnell out of

kentucky, his intention is for him to be a one term president, he is working against him, how many people working against him so that he will not be successful? bipartisan? he is trying to work together on both sides of the fence but when , when it getswork to the point it will not work, you have to give every president a chance and i will do the same with president trump when he gets into office but once we see he is going backwards, who wants to support that? we need to go forward. we need to move centuries forward. host: let's look at what president obama said about the danger of seeing everything through a partisan lens. president obama: there was a survey where -- this is just one poll -- a pretty credible source -- 37% of republican voters

approve of putin. over one third of republican approve of vladimir putin, the former head of the kg b. ronald reagan would roll over in his grave. how did that happen? forappened in part because too long everything that happens in this town, everything that is said is seen through the lens of -- does it help us or hurt us relative to democrats or president obama? unless that changes, we will continue to be vulnerable to

foreign influence because we have lost track of what it is we are about and what we stand for. host: republican line, new york, steve. obama isy problem with the chicago issue, i am black, and it republican, all the children were getting killed there but he did not do a thing. he did nothing. as far as the poor people, he did nothing while he was there. to me, he was the worst president. when i first accepted him, i had tears in my eyes for a black president. when i saw his policies, they were horrible. it made me upset. i cannot believe people say he is a great president, he did nothing. we have been a laughingstock all across the foreign countries, people do not have respect for

us because of his policies. host: you mentioned the crime issue and the situation in chicago. blame is thate with the president and how much is with local officials in chicago who are dealing with the crime wave there while at the same time other parts of the country is falling according to statistics? caller: it is the president, it is also some of the local officials that most of the cities in the united states are democratic run. laws,annot have tougher people -- children selling drugs on the corner, this is a problem that could have been done because they do not have conservative views, they do not a lot of innocent, young people are getting killed across the united states, black ,ids, black on black crime everybody knows it but they act

like it is not happening. this is crazy. it is under his administration where he could have said, this is what is going on, i want to help children and have programs for these kids. he did not put any programs in for them. host: other headlines from the new york times, it reports that a bid for a coffee appointment trump amid ethics concerns, it was offering a meeting in exchange for a donation was canceled friday after questions were raised about the process by ethics experts who said it appeared to offer bidders special access to the first family, the auction had drawn 28 bits with the highest reaching $72,888, the bidders included three

businessmen that they saw their donations as an opportunity to have coffee with this trump and pressed her about her father's in a statement, eric trump said the auction was done to that a fit st. jude's children's research hospital. he said he expressed regret that the effort had to be called off. the only people that lost are the children of saint jude. kathy is calling in from tennessee. good morning. caller: good morning. i think he is the worst president we've probably ever had. he's divided this nation. he went in thinking he was the president of the world. i believe he was a part of the arab spring. he has invited the muslim

motherhood in. he has divided. he says now he's helping with the transition. he is horrible. obamacare is a mess. if you've ever had to deal with it, i'm in it, it's a mess. it's high deductibles and high premiums. you can't keep your doctor. if you find one, good luck affording to go to it. he's been horrible. host: are you concerned about what happens now that congress is bowing to repeal the health care law altogether? caller: this law needs to be repealed. obviously you don't have to deal with it. it needs to be repealed. can't nobody do worse than what

it is now. i guess they think that everybody is a up to a computer. it's the only way you can get on it. good morning. caller: good morning. host: what do you think about the president's legacy? governmente been a employee since january. -- ink his legacy is more got terminated now. legacy, he had too many goals he wanted to do and he didn't have the right policy.

he did not have the right people to do everything. i was working at the census bureau. i also worked at the department of transportation. i have a lot of experience in the government. my goal, i got terminated because i had a disability i did not tell them. they did not like the fact that -- i a disability and a filed an equal opportunity complaint against him. they thought that was serious so they terminated me. as theo you see that fault of president obama?

caller: it's the administration. host: ok. post,ay's washington astronaut brothers mark and scott kelly wrote a remembrance to john glenn, the former veteran senator as well as astronaut, the first man to orbit the earth. they close out the remembrance today with this. we had the good fortune of getting to know him as he trained for that final mission. they are talking about the 1998 mission where he went back into space at the age of 77. he was gracious, humble, and a lot of fun.

playingike a rookie baseball alongside a brief or a kid getting music lessons while mozart composed in the living room next door. the early idealism of mercury pioneers that pave the way. as we stand on the precipice of a new era of exploration to mars and beyond, it's possible only because of the pioneers and patriots such as john glenn who came first. his memorial will be taking place today at 2:00 at ohio state university. he is a decorated u.s. marine and aviator and astronaut. he was the first american to orbit the earth and became the oldest person to travel to

space. he represented ohio in the senate from 1974 to 1997. he became the oldest person to fly into space. he passed away on december 8 at age 95. he donated his senate papers and other artifacts to ohio state university. it grew into the college of public affairs. services todayse on c-span at 2:00. calling we have natalie in from houston. what the you think about the president's legacy? caller: he is just magnificent. i was born in tennessee. tennessee, in louisville, kentucky, now i am here with my

husband. hit by ason that got and his he was six insurance was so high until president obama got in. i am 74 years old. all the turmoil and everything of what they are trying to do to him. like that gentleman talked about in chicago, he can't stop them. he's in the white house and he tries his very best to do everything that he can. my insurance is cheaper for my son. paying almost $300, now he is down to $98. his deductible is slower. -- lower.

has -- that's when he came back in his second year. saved 10 people's houses they were ready to foreclose on. it could have been better. 48 state income is lower. when i hear these people talk about this, i don't know where they are at. he did whatever he could do. i have seen, if he didn't do the executive order, it would be worse. republicans did everything. if they had worked with him, it would be lots better. our: a programming note, cities tour takes book tv and

american history tv on the road to scottsdale, arizona. noon on book at tv. it will air together in one block, including of vision to brooks. it was the most marvelous man right before charlemagne becomes the roman emperor. we live in a new dark age. in spite of the proliferation of electronics and we use them all peoplee, we see shortchanging thought for soundbites. we love the long haul. , they are our joy.

we have books that are $25 and $30 and we have books that are in the thousands. we find the right person for the right book and in the process they are changed forever. host: you can find that and all of our programming. up next, we have george, he is calling in from florida on the republican line. caller: good morning. you do a great job. you are my favorite moderator. i don't think president obama ever spoke the word republic. when he was first coming in, they talked about the recession. the big investors, the giant investors saw of socialist was going to be elected and they

backed down. i am an american european. i don't go around saying that. i put america first and african-americans should be the other way around. if they see a black man on the street, i don't know if he's american or african. i don't yet that. that's the way it is. why is there such adulation for obama? tell me why. that's about it. he was a socialist and i'm glad as a republican the gop did what they did to him. the whole world is moving capitalistic. host: let me ask you about -- is there anything from the last eight years that the president has done that you think is positive? i think that anything

environmentally he did was good. i can say about anyone that they were 100% wrong except for cutler install in. he was ok in that sense. when the gun thing happened, he never talked about city violence. he made it sound like hunters don't need weapons. hunters are white. a lot of things he did didn't divide the country. other headlines from the new york times today, democratic residential nominee hillary clinton says vladimir putin's personal beef led to the hacking attacks. she also laid the blame as part

of her loss with vladimir putin. hillary clinton lashed out at vladimir couldn't on thursday night. she described the hacking dncnst her campaign and the as an attack against our country and had been motivated by arsenal beef.

we're continuing our discussion on president obama's election. caller: thank you for taking my call. maybe not now or in 15 years, it will be a historical tragedy. nobody faced the obstruction he has and these people say he was divisive. when people decide they're not going to vote for you, what's he going to do? people who called about violence the president can't appropriate money for programs. congress wasn't working with the president.

think there were unrealistic expectations. he did the best he could with what he could. you can't really argue against that. aspect of the any president's legacy that was disappointing to you? he himself has taken responsibility and expressed disappointment about foreign policy and the situation in syria right now. is there anything you think the president should have done a better job with? caller: in terms of foreign policy, it's in a game of clackum all. off thek their eyes palestine issue. area ire focused on that just wish that they had been more focused on not tackling one problem at a time. host: let's take a look at the

latest news on the situation and aleppo from the wall street journal. the violence and the evacuation has stalled as new gunfire opened up. the operation to evacuate civilians from the last rebel held neighborhood stalled again friday with the syrian regime. they traded blame for an outbreak of gunfire that rebels said killed at least five evacuees. the violence came as turkey's had intensester shuttle diplomacy. they wanted to prevent further disruptions of the evacuation of people. what take a look at president obama said yesterday about the situation and aleppo. responsible when kids

were being shot i snipers and when millions of people had been displaced. i feel responsible for murder and slaughter that's taken place in south sudan it's not being reported on partly because there's not as much social media being generated from there. thee are places around world where horrible things are happening and because of my office, because i am president of the united states, i feel responsible. i ask myself, is there something i could do that would make a whoerence and spare a child does not deserve to suffer? starting point. during the a moment course of this presidency where i haven't felt some

responsibility. that's true for our own country. when i came into office and people are losing their jobs and losing their homes and pensions, i felt responsible. night and aske myself was there something better i could do or smarter i could be that would make a difference, that would relieve their suffering? with respect to syria, what i have consistently done is taken to best course that i can try to end the civil war while having also to take into account the long-term national security interest of the united states. host: we're talking with you

about your views of president obama's legacy. republicans can call (202) 784-8001. democrats can call (202) 748-8000. and dependence can call (202) 748-8002. caller: i think history is going to treat obama is one of our greatest presidents ever. it's unfortunate that half of america isn't educated on their own constitution in the scope of his job. it's literally to head our military and deal with our foreign policy. he can present policy here in america, but he has to have the support of congress. he has dealt with prejudice and obstructionism that is unprecedented. i think he has done a tremendous job. our memories are very short and

they last as long as the latest news clip. he was handed a disaster. he has got us onto a path of recovery. we have bounced back from other countries. you talk about the middle east, bush senior, not even junior, this president did not destabilize the middle east. that came long before he took office. people need to start researching to issues in depth, get back reading and knowing what they are talking about. host: is there anything the president has done or policy he is implemented that has been disappointing to you? fond of the tpp deal. there is potential to lose jobs in america. he working on a global scale. of my fall short

education on some of those issues. it's a tremendous responsibility. i see no self-interest in his decision-making unlike the current president, and. sharkss appointing some who do not have your interest at heart. they are worried about their own wallets and i think we are in for one heck of a ride. donna is calling in honor independent line. caller: good morning. the number one reason donald trump elected was because of jobs. he is such a big liar, i would not put much faith in that. i think obama was a great president until he started trying to pass the tpp trade deal. the other ones before we think about another one. we had a republican congress when nafta was passed and a

republican when they pass the free trade deal for china. they fought social security and medicare and obamacare. some people need to read some history. they are uninformed. obamacare, that helped millions of working class for people finally get some kind of medical insurance. it's the greedy insurance companies leaving the plan. time to get back to what a couple of responsible republican senators wanted in the first place, medicare for all. these people who call in here, c-span if they watched the last 25 years, they would know a little more. who passed nafta before clinton signed it? who passed the china bill before george junior signed it? we have a caller on our

democratic line. what do you think about the president's legacy? caller: i want to thank you first for c-span. his legacy is phenomenal. michelle michelle dancing. he was going to do it. when it came to the first term that this man did, i saw a change in him. when he did the next term, he changed his whole emphasis on america. throughout it all, he has stayed steadfast. crash hist just congress. gridlock is here. this is a part of america. he tells his governors in all the states that if there are

emergencies, get to my office. there is something out there, when he goes overseas, he speaks so good to everyone. on, heexit was going spoke good over there. he has his family intact. i want to say something about donald trump. i did not vote for donald trump. but he is a businessman. right now what he is doing is quirky. i am going to pray to god that he sits down, it's his business had on and really gets those jobs. he promised people a lot and they are waiting to see what goes on. to donald state went trump. about president obama

, whitey think some people in your state express the did that -- desire for change. caller: do you want me to tell you the truth? i've only lived here for three years. when i first came here, i said to my husband, my dad told me not to go south and i think they are still hung up on discrimination. my husband laughed. this is where the war was. they are just honoring that. don't worry about it. you are still an american. there are more republicans, there are more people here that just want to stay with the same thing. they really don't care about the poor people. they are doing ok. that's going to bring you over into the republican area and that is my viewpoint.

host: good morning, thomas. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. host: what do you think about the president's legacy? caller: i think he's going to go down as the worst president in history. he could not keep up with all the scandals that he had. host: what scandals you mean? caller: the fast and the furious. everybody forgets about that. there is still no answer on benghazi. the families deserve better. what about the plane of money in iran? he should have been thrown out for treason. that's trader. he can't answer for that. money,le plane full of it's just insanity. he'siggest thing is

definitely a divider. especially, when he came into office racism was almost dead. it is terrible right now. i have tons of black friends and we talk about it. they agree. it's worse than it's been, especially in bigger cities. it was almost dead. our: philip is on independent wine calling from florida. what do you think about the president's legacy? caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. president obama is a humble man. he doesn't get the credit. he inherited the worst financial disaster in the history of mankind. people don't realize that. $40 trillion was lost.

this was unprecedented. watch the big short, or too big to fail. greatest looting of a society in history. it's scary. it's the white man, i am a caucasian. suits,e white men in they are the robber barons of the 21st century. perl is calling in from memphis. what do you think about the president's legacy? caller: i think he's been one of the greatest residence we have ever had.

i am a republican. i am black. i don't look at colors. i look at people. i think all people should be equal. what's going in now is all of the rich. they will be double bed -- dipping. about -- those men are already getting the checks. they are going to get a big check for serving in the white house. we've got people out here with education who are qualified for those jobs. the way i look at it, president obama did the best he could do because he had no help. nation would realize he can't pass anything without the congress.

don't put all the burden on him. state, they can't pass anything. it's the same way with the president. host: charles is calling in from richmond, virginia area and start hisy doesn't he own health insurance company? he basically taxed every person in america as they are being born. mike is calling from pennsylvania. i think he's been a very good president. deal is goingan

to go down in history as a really good deal. the iranian people are very westernized. they are persians, not arabs. they get the sanctions dropped right when there was an oil glut. this allowed iranian oil to go on the market which is cap the price of oil and the price of gas low. it has made our life better in the united states. host: are you afraid that the iran deal will be dismantled in the next and ministration? caller: that's what they are talking about. i think that would be a giant mistake in look at the deal with boeing. they have a $17 billion deal to sell airliners to iran, that would do nothing but boost manufacturing numbers in the united states and help the workers in the united states.

the republicans are all against it for some reason i don't understand. next, a texasp collector will join us to talk about why he will not be casting his vote for donald trump monday. later on, joe garcia joins us talk about a new study that looks at current and predicts future high school graduation rates in america. but first, newsmakers interviewed kevin brady of texas. he talks about how republicans are working to develop a business tax rate that will allow american businesses to compete around the world. >> one of our goals, and we designed this to break even in the budget counting on solid forward,growth going

to lower rates and make changes you have to do trade-offs. you have to lose something else and pull your punches on something else. we are weighing that within the tax reform effort. we are having rate discussions with the trump team. lowestoing to have the business rates in modern history so our businesses can compete and win anywhere in the world, but especially here at home. >> the way you were trying to do this is called order adjustment. u.s., novel thing for the but not so much for the rest of the world. retailers, oil importers whor are concerned about this proposal. how are you trying to calm them down and assuage their concerns?

>> we have made a strong case that we need to change the way we tax area all of our competitors adjust. they take taxes coming our direction. that gives them a price advantage over us. don't, sending our products around the world. hope here ine america and around the world. this is a key part of our tax code. it's going to stay. i thinks tax reform affects everyone differently. we want to listen to and find solutions with those who rely a lot on imported goods coming into america. we think imports and exports are important to the economy. we think they should be taxed equally here in america. joining us now is a texas

republican elector. he is talking about why he has publicly stated he will not be voting for donald trump in the electoral college on monday. good morning. guest: good morning to you. host: you said you will not vote or donald trump. tell us why. difficult that i came to that conclusion. i came to that conclusion after the election. i had some concerns earlier. three things we know from federalist 68, we don't want a president who is a demagogue. for the past 18 months he has been yelling at his protesters from the pulpit. last night he came out and said some of my audiences have an violent, he acted like they aren't still.

he spent a great deal of time dividing america. colleagues who are national security experts said he would be a danger to us if he were elected president did the will violate the clause from day one iffy passes the electoral college test. that sets up question for is the house of representatives willing to start impeachment hearings for someone who is in violation of the constitution? host: you wrote an op-ed piece in the new york times. mr. trump does not understand the constitution for bids a president to receive payment or gifts from foreign governments. you have reports that the organization has business dealings in places. he should be impeached in the first year given his dismissive

response to federal conflicts of interest. he has played fast and loose with the law for years. he may have filing the cuban embargo. there are many improprieties with his foundation. you said it first you supported him. a lot of these things were known before that. what made you change your mind at the point that you did? guest: what changed my mind was the attacks on the election itself. weeks, theyt few have said there are 3 million illegal votes that occurred. neither of them asked for a recount and there's no evidence that occurred. case, if you think there were illegal voters out her, you should have done that. ,e is attacked our institutions he rarely talks about the constitution. we were promised he would become more presidential.

this past thursday he was going to hold a press conference and explain how he was going to deal with those matters. he's put that off to an unknown date. there comes a point when you have to make a decision. am i going to stand up for my principles and make a tougher decision? host: we are talking to a texas republican elector who says he will not vote for donald trump on monday when they vote. republicans can call (202) 784-8001. democrats can call (202) 748-8000. and dependence can call (202) 748-8002. tell us a little bit about how you came at elector and what that process is. guest: in texas, i ran in my precinct convention. i think there were three of us who attended it after the primary. i was elected to go to the state convention. there was a secondary process to

confirm that decision. it was kind of boring. i threw my hat in the ring. i don't think there were any other candids. i was actually recruited to run for rnc delegate. i was passing out bags of candy and shaking hands. did you sign any sort of pledge that binds you in any way to vote for mr. trump? will you face a penalty for failing to do so? guest: yes i signed a pledge and no it's not binding. when i campaigned for this position, i said i was not using it as a stepping stone. i'm not looking to run for congress. i am running without ambition or aspiration. if there is a future will

a possible, there is criminal consequence in other states. host: ted is calling in from oregon. guest: good morning. caller: i want to say congratulations for your stance. observer for the primary up to this point, i was just appalled by his behavior, by his lack of class, by his lack of knowledge. presidentalk about a and the birther issue, if you should be involved with indigenous personnel, the resulting child has split citizenship area -- citizenship. i think to myself that this is a conversation taken on this morning i am man who is

obviously a republican. raised inly has been this line of schooling to stand up and say that this guy is not the right guy. congratulations. i don't see many of your party standing up. host: a response? guest: i appreciate the compliment. i should look to fairfax high school locally where i had a great teacher who put the federalist papers in my hands 20 years ago. i take exception to your contact -- comment about younger people. i think there are lots of neighbors trying to do the right thing every day. i have a wider platform this year given the election. i think there are lots of americans out there that want to do the right thing and are

trying to make your community better place. host: randy is calling in from virginia. you voted in the general election and now you are going to get to vote again. the constitution says one person you're going to be representing the people who put you there. goingn you justify against the people that you represent? i've heard a lot of people throwing around the word demagogue as they refer to trump. thinks theyn who are part mortal, part. i don't know where in the world you would come up with stuff like that. question,your first where i live in texas consists -- she is one of the more

liberal democrats in congress. 4-1.w she wins we have a representative government. on many issues she votes opposite of the way i would like her to. in terms of this being a one person one vote issue, the electoral college is a personal representative situation where for the most part we have affirmed decisions of the states. affirmed decisions of the states. individual decisions of always been part of a process. i disagree with you a little bit on the representation issue. they should make the best decision they can. i hope other electoral college members are making. i don't don't consider donald trump a demigod, a demagogue.

let's talk about the response you have gotten since announcing you would not vote for president elect trump. according to the dallas morning news, since you made that announcement, you been called a coward, and idiot, a disgrace to texas, a dirt bag. and those of the nice ones. host: you been told to get chased out of texas. you've been accused of being paid off by george soros. he was wrongly accused of funding the protests that funded that corrupted after the election. talk about what this is been like. guest: i'm not getting any money from george searles. that's one of the funnier

assertions people make. i am sorry for having an independent mind. those comments amend some of the nicer ones. i have received multiple death threats. it's some tragic statements that people are unhappy with my decision to the point that they are willing to talk about violence. that blowback is unfortunate. our system is supposed to be about the peaceful transition of power. there is another blowback and that's very positive. i received three messages from people who say i can't believe you're in the news. you are standing up for america. i had a friend who i haven't seen in more than a year and he said my family lineage goes back to the american revolution. they would be proud of what you're doing. you've got people who are so unhappy they are ready to go to

violence and people saying our ancestors would love what you are about. know electors who don't along with how the state votes are referred to as faceless electors. guest: it's the term that's been in use. i am not here to argue the term. i am trying to be faithful to constitution and country. i'm ok with it. host: jonathan is calling from california. you were on. caller: good morning. let me start off by saying i am 47 and for 47 years they told me the russians were our enemies. this goes back to kennedy and the missile crisis. , russians put those missiles there. suddenly the russians are our the friends because

democrats. it doesn't make any sense. putin is a billionaire. maybe he is paying the republicans and donald trump to become traders to the country? i hope that you can get the rest of the electoral college to go along. that is the failsafe of keeping people like donald trump and his cronies out of power in this country. you are a great american. thank you very much for your service. guest: i appreciate the call. there are lots of neighbors trying to do the right thing. there are individual communities. i got a bigger platform. in terms of the vladimir put in

position, i am concerned that my party is intellectually dishonest about him. set someagan would people down and say what you doing? i don't know where that is. i did sign on to a letter with several democratic electors declassified for a briefing. i would not get classified information. i would like to know the facts and information that russia was involved with our election and find out where they are. one last item since you stated where you are from. , i hope the quakes have a great season next year. let's talk a little bit about your background. it talks about the back that -- fact that you work for a volunteer fire department.

to the pentagon attacks on 9/11. you worked as a first responder during hurricane katrina in 2005. a report surfaced questioning some of your service as a first responder, especially on 9/11. can you talk about that a little bit and respond to it? guest: the reporter in question did not speak with me. he sent an email to part of our team. he did an internet search and try to match up dates. the volunteer fire department panetta statement last night. it says he was a member of the department at that time. why they went in that direction. i think we will have a conversation at some point and try to get it figured out.

are enough other people who know where i was that day. i am not bothered by an inaccurate report. i have been smeared with a number of things. they are trying to discredit the movement to stop mr. trump are in -- trump. was based on a report you not working for manassas. it also called into question another part of your resume. it says you were a paramedic with freedom ems in dallas. you have a response to that? it's part of a larger smear campaign and it doesn't bother me. i think they could've solved a number of things if they had not gone after a profile i hadn't updated in months. if you want to use that information, you're going to

report that information out. given some of the fake news out there, i'm glad it doesn't involve the pizza place. there been some horrible think news out there that is inaccurate and not sourced. is calling in from california on the democratic line. thank you so much and thank you for c-span and washington journal. chriso happy to speak to and thank you so much. you've done. what i read about it three or four days ago. at that time, i thought what a brave guy. you're were from texas, that's wonderful. my daughter is in austin.

i think that's wonderful that you are doing this. i don't know how hard it is. i can feel for you. it makes me very proud. i consider it an honor to be speaking to you. host: do you have a question? caller: thank you. can'ted to know why you get the cia or material? i know it's classified. i know you aren't expecting all the classified information and i know it's only two days until your voting. can they delay it? can you get the material that you need? host: just before you answer

that, i want to update the latest news. asking the electors were for an intelligence briefing prior to the vote. voters in the electoral college will not receive an intelligence briefing about russian meddling in the presidential election. receivetors will not any intelligence before they cast their ballots monday. 54 had signed a letter asking for a briefing. they asked the director of national intelligence james clapper for information on what role russia played in helping elect donald trump. was that something you sought as well? guest: i did not see that. that's why you should keep watching c-span. i did sign on to the letter requesting information. entitled think we were

to classified information. there is a classification system and someone with a higher pay grade than i have makes. if that's their assessment, that's fine. we can't delete the vote. i believe it's a constitutionally set eight. it will take place in two days. for me, that's ok. i wanted this information show i could better understand what happened. i wrote my op-ed 40's prior. my decision was made with other data and information that i was concerned about. this was icing on the cake. host: good morning. caller: good morning. i have two questions. is your vote a secret vote?

the second part of the question, who are you going to vote for? first answer is i don't know the mechanics of the process. ballot beow if my signed or if -- i know we have six talents that we find -- fill out for presidents. i don't nor the other three go. i don't know if we sign the valid or how that is submitted mechanically. electors, iother don't think anyone's come out before hand and said this is how i'm voting and why i'm doing it. i wanted to not be anonymous. i am trying to be very clear about why i'm doing what i am doing. it's not secret in that sense. i have a question for you

anyway. questou tried to convince -- guest: i am settling on four or five names and have not decided who i am going to vote or. i would like a final call with the other electors. several people reached out to me on the republican side. i have reached out to some recommended to me. we tend to talk about these four or five names consistently. i only have two days left. it seems like a short time. i'mnot going to rush it. going to make sure the other can represent we a unified voice. host: how many electors do you think might vote against president tromp? say seen harvard professor

it could be upwards of 30 people. guest: i am not going to speak to numbers. i have seen the report. i have had many conversations since that. at 37, i amk we are going to stay on the phone. this is not a pr stunt. it's about the future of our nation. i'm having enough conversations that i feel good i'm not going to be alone and i feel there are concerns about where we are as a country if we don't do this. host: rosie is calling in from texas. caller: good morning. you that i'm very proud of you. i am not anything important.

i want to pray for you. protected withe guardian angels. i am not a political person. seew this man and i could lies through his mouth. with so much money, he doesn't care. i know he is not the correct president. host: let's let chris respond. guest: i appreciate the call coming from texas. even outside the country, people in the u.k. in asia have reached out and said you restored my faith in america.

i appreciate the prayers. i will always appreciate anyone's prayers on my behalf. host: john is calling in from asheville, north carolina. caller: i appreciate you taking my call. i have a couple of questions. you stated you went to school in northern virginia? were you raised their? guest: yes. caller: that was always a very liberal place and i'm trying to isure out why in texas which a very conservative state why you have become a rino. you were not raised in texas. that's what i wanted to say as a statement. host: let's give them a chance to respond. guest: i'm not sure how liberal

or conservative virginia is. in 1993i campaigned for a guy name george allen. i campaigned for gilmore, who later became rnc chairman. we could talk about republican in name only or not in name only. for me, i am comfortable with my stance. some people are going to disagree with it, and i am ok with the labels, however you want to go. but my a bringing in virginia, i do not think it had a great deal of impact, other than it was 1968 and near williamsburg and with charlottesville in the backdrop. i learned lessons from our founding fathers. yesterday, president obama was asked what he would say to electors meeting on monday to

vote. let's look at what his answer was. [video clip] president obama: i am not going on that issue. again, it is the american people's job, and now the electors' job, to decide my successor here at it is not my job to decide my successor. i have provided people with a whatf information about happened during the course of the election, but more importantly, the candidates themselves talked about their beliefs and their vision for america. the president-elect has been very explicit about what he cares about and what he believes in. so it is not in my hands now. it is up to them. host: what is your reaction to the president? often it is not very

agree with president obama on issues are constitutional topics, but he is right. it is in our hands. it is to protect smaller state'' interests. host: i have a statement here from the dale county volunteer fire department. it says, in response to an inquiry to the press regarding the membership status of chris he was an confirm active member in good standing from july 2000 through june 2002. the official station records confirm no dale city fire department members were on duty from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on september 11, 2001, therefore, no members of the department were involved in the initial response to the attack on the pentagon in their capacity as a member of the dale city fire department. however, members were part of the operation from 1800 hours on

september 11, 2001, until released by the incident commander. in the were involved initial response on the pentagon in their capacities as safety officials with other organizations. what is your reaction to that? guest: again, there were questions from wfaa, as we talked about, where they tried to say a paid department of worked for, not a volunteer department, and i cannot have responded because i did not work there. i am glad they confirmed i was there, because i think it added weight to other people who spoke in response to that on my background. know that dale city would not be in the initial response. the initial response would be here in arlington, virginia. i appreciate the statement. i think it backs up what we have said. i am pleased. host: doug is calling in from

augusta, georgia, democratic line. caller: how are you doing? guest: i am living the dream. caller: i hear you. one question, and i may be wrong, when you vote as a faceless collector, does not one of the house of representatives and one senate cannot challenge you and either throw out or disqualified your vote? wastingd part is that -- is it wasting your vote or is it making a stand if they do that? guest: i want to make sure i your first point, i do not know the process for the house of representatives. i hope they do not throw it out or challenge it. i think that would be inappropriate. i was certified by the texas secretary of state, duly elected . if they were to do that, that would be concerning for me.

in terms of why i am doing it, i tried to lay out reasons in the op-ed. i do not consider it a publicity stunt or throwing away my vote. i think it is important for americans to know that we can stand up and make the right decision, as opposed to the easy decision. i know in texas and even in virginia, too many people complained about walking into the ballot box and having to make a decision about the lesser of two evils. choose not from the lesser of two evils but try someone who can truly make america everything she can be. call fromave a florida on our republican line. caller: praise be for c-span and having mr. suprun. i want him to know that i called personally the voicemail of

senator lindsey graham, marco rubio, and grant paul and asked them to come out and suggest john mccain, that you electors vote for john mccain. mr. trump put down john mccain as a zero hero in vietnam, an insult. it is probably going to be symbolic only did so if you could all organize around john mccain and that gives him more force to oppose trump if trump does go in in the senate for constitutional checks and balances, to give john mccain more authority, i asked you to consider voting for john mccain if you cannot vote for hillary, who got the popular vote. the reason is, mr. trump, it has to be asked about his mental state. i taught psychology classes in college, and he may have -- this is a question and the supposition -- he may have borderline personalities order

-- personality disorder, one foot in reality and one foot in fantasy. do not want to speak about specific candidates, but i think the group has mentioned her name. certainly come a senator mccain has a long service record in the military and the united states senate. i appreciate your call. your comment about him being a commented mr. trump that i like soldiers who were not captured -- i agree, he has been a prison of dignity and stature in the united states senate for years. i think he will continue to be. he has done an excellent job being an independent force desk voice when he needs to. he has done an excellent job being an independent voice when he needs to get with respect to secretary clinton, i will not be casting a ballot for her.

my goal is overly to attract other electors to vote with me for a republican alternative. while the republican party does not like what i am doing officially and basically said you are out after this vote, i still consider myself a republican here i like small government. i cannot vote for secretary clinton. i looking for another republican who i will cast the ballot for. the: we have seen president-elect be very vocal about people he disagrees with an things he does not like. he usually takes to twitter to make those thoughts known. if you do not vote for him, there is a possibility that may happen. are you expecting that? it has not surprised happened already. i think we are getting to mr. trump, and i think he knows how serious this movement, if you want to call it that, is. chesapeake, from

virginia, on our republican line. you are on with christopher. questioneah, i have a here at where you a democrat before you were a republican? also, if you were to look at our state in virginia here, it was totally red until it got up near washington, and i just cannot believe that so many counties voted for trump. and now we have lost in this state. i think this state needs to be recounted again, because it was just unreal. and our governor here let all these criminals vote that had felonies, gave them the right to vote. that was not supposed to happen. i hope they hurry up and get him out of virginia, along with kaine. that is my question. guest: i cannot speak to the governor's decision to allow all the felons to vote, previously

convicted felons. i disagree with that. in terms of how quickly he will get out of office, i think that campaign has already started. you will elect a new government november of 2017. governors in virginia are term-limited, so that opportunity will come very quickly. if you are a republican, i hope you'll consider voting ed gillespie, because i think you would be a strong leader for virginia. your comment about the demographics of the state are true. when i worked campaigns previously in virginia, we had a line. anything south of the rappahannock river was republican. north of it, we had to count votes. raleigh, north carolina, independent line. you are on. caller: i want to make a comment to the great people of texas.

you guys sit up there and come the people in texas voted and voted for trump, and i think you are a sellout to your own people. i think you are a communist for what you are doing. the great people of texas have voted, and you are taking it upon use of to vote for somebody else. i think that is wrong. i think it is against the law. i think you are breaking the law. toer than that, you need give your position to somebody else. thank you for your time. host: there have been other electors who have stepped down because they did not want to vote donald trump. why not take that route? guest: i was elected to it while it may not be comfortable, it is a representative decision. thank god we live in america and we can be in a society where you can call and say, chris, you are being stupid. i do not mind a call like that. in fact, i appreciate it. that is what makes america

great. we can have a civil discussion. i am going to represent taxes -- texas as best i can. that said, auote representative owes the people he represents not just his industry and work ethic, but also his judgment, and he sacrifices his entire representative career when he sacrifices that judgment for their opinion." sometimes you have to make a decision contrary to public will. and part, i am doing better but we had the call earlier from victoria, texas, that was very supportive, as well. host: there is a petition on change.org to have you removed as an elector based on your view. it currently has over 36,000 signatures. what is your reaction? guest: again, i am glad i live in america. you can have a petition on

change.org and say, please remove him. there were some arguments about ap one of them said, chris is a k, and then another one said, you have to be respectful. i said, of course, the first person who said i was a blank, can say that. this is america. lauderdale,rom fort florida, on our independent line. caller: good morning. please bear with me. i truly do not vote for either of the two candidates. i am a naturalized citizen, and i am in love with the system. suprun as al mr. hero or vilify him as a villain.

but has he really considered the repercussions? the look for a college was set up to ensure stability and to protect the contrary ends test contrarians. does mr. suprun think that if somehow he got 270 electors to change or vote for somebody, that they could and stall somebody else, that it would really help the stability of this country, and would it really benefit the union and the republic? that is all i want to know. guest: that is a perfect question to thank you for that. first, i am working for 37 to see we can get it to the house of representatives. if a large number of democrats join in vote for an alternative republican candidate and we get to 270, i hope the nation will accept that are that is the

system. i love the system, as you. i vote legal and constitutional. votes, it get to 37 is also constitutional for it to go to the house of representatives, at which point i will trust their judgment. you said it very nicely in your question, but others have voiced it a little bit differently. it is concerning when i hear people suggest insurrection or that this would launch us into a civil war. what we are doing is both legal and constitutional here at while it may not be popular, it would be appropriate. from we have a call alexander city, alabama, on our republican line. i am telling you what, i cannot believe this joker over here. you have now proven there is suppression of the vote. millions of people went out to vote, stood in line. just because you do not agree with our choice, and i would say this if it was hillary you were

against, because the american way is you get out, and your vote counts. but now you are pushing a bunch of baloney. your job should be to represent the will of the voter for the state you are representing. your job should never be -- well, let me think about it, you know, i do not really think that , you know, trump, he is not really good for america. so i alone want to change it. so my vote did not count after all. the american voting system is a joke. host: let's let chris suprun respond. guest: good morning, and thank you for voting. keep in mind, when you vote for president, and i do not know the rules in alabama, but there should be in line on your ballot that says you are voting for the electors for a candidate. i think in american history, we have been lucky we have never had a situation like this are the electoral college has had to take on this role.

there is certainly a precedent for electoral college members, looking at situations like the judge and setting aside a jury verdict. it is not a popular thing to say. i glad i am not running for office again. that when you go to vote, you are voting for in lectures for president -- you are voting for electors for president. i do believe this is the right thing to do. host: gail from florida is calling on our democratic line. you are on. caller: hi, thank you, chris, so much. my family is from texas. i went to school there and am a psychiatric registered nurse. andother was burn in spur, my father was a professional baseball player. i was born when he played for the cincinnati reds. i really am extremely, like a anyof my friends -- i mean,

president, any party, will be safer than this man. i think a lot of psychologists -- i have a masters in clinical psychology -- and this man is diagnosable. host: do you have a question? caller: my biggest concern is that most people do not seem to understand is that you are doing what alexander hamilton has put in the constitution for you to do. you are right, usually we do not have to do this here it but i would like to know the original history of how it started. i do not believe the electoral college right now is doing the same thing as it originally was meant to do, because our culture has changed. and hethe popular vote, did not get the popular vote. more and more, that is happening. can you talk about how the electoral college started and if we still need to have it now? thank you. guest: sure.

i am a big fan of the system and of the electoral college. it was originally designed -- and i should stop before i get too far -- i do not claim to be an electoral college historian, but it started with the idea that large estates in the population should not dominate. i believe hamilton speaks about the tyranny of the majority. you know, if you have a direct democracy, we could have an election where everyone says that every night for dinner, we are going to serve everybody to paul vance is of skittles, to get back to the candy metaphor from the campaign. it may not be appropriate, but the point is, if you have a direct democracy, that could happen. the republic has safeguards, and this is another check and balance. this is a separate stopgap in the system. again, it is fortunate america

has never had to use it before. whenthink this is one time we need to. and i believe do called in on the democratic line. i am doing it not so much for you but to try to save my own party from either having to impeach our own president or after history looks back at this , having made a great mistake. i believe the republican party is careening toward the path it should not be. you may not like me, but i think i will be looked upon as being in the right camp 20 used on the road. host: kathy is on our democratic line, albuquerque. i am a of course democrat and am proud of that. i do not expect you to change your vote. it is not easy doing what you are doing. you are a man of principle and humility. the president-elect should be in same principles.

unfortunately, he is not. i want to thank you. it is not easy. i am so sorry that your reputation is being smeared by what you have done. there should be more people like you. i just want to say thank you very much. guest: again, it goes back to our first caller this morning, there are great people in every neighborhood working hard to try to do the right thing for their community. my platform might be bigger, but i think the same profiles of courage are out there in our communities, whether it is albuquerque or alexandria, virginia. i appreciate your support. that is the way we continue to do it, hearing positive news from people to lift us up when we get dragged down. host: chris suprun, texas republican elector, thank you for joining us today. coming up, we will be talking to joe garcia, president of the

western interstate commission for higher education. he will talk about a new study that looks at current and predicts future high school graduation rates in america. we will be right back. >> i do think you can learn from failure. i think if the next president wants to aspire to be like somebody, they probably want to aspire to be washington or lincoln. they cannot re-create the country or have civil war, so then do they aspire to be james monroe? i don't know. but you can as fire not to be james buchanan. >> sunday night, historian robert strauss talks about james buchanan's presidency. he talks about his new book. >> i think the differentiation of good presidents and bad presidents, washington, lincoln, and fdr are at the top of the

surveys historians take. they were decisive men. you cannot come to the top of the ladder and not be decisive. you cannot be a waffler. that is how he was as president. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on q&a. next week is author's week on "washington journal," featuring segments with a new author each day. 18,nning sunday, december mm or of a family and culture in crisis. charles murray will join us to talk about his book. on tuesday, mark levinson will talk about his book. wednesday, carol anderson

will tug about her book about the unspoken truth of our racial divide. on thursday, "twilight warriors." , friday, december 23, the resentment."ics of on saturday, two authors will join us to talk about their books. finally, sunday, december twice "shall wedecember 25, wake the president?" authors week on "washington journal." 1, a livenuary

discussion on the presidency of barack obama. we are taking your phone calls, tweets, emails, and facebook questions during the program. author of "the presidency in black and white" will be there at a princeton university professor. a pulitzer prize winning journalist and associate editor of the washington post. from noon toth" 3:00 p.m. eastern on sunday on booktv on c-span2. continues. journal host: joining us now from denver's former colorado lieutenant governor joe garcia, no with the western interstate commission for higher education, where he is president, and he is

here to discuss a new study called "knocking at the college door, projections of high school graduates," a study that shows decades long stagnation in the number of u.s. high school graduates and how the number in 2017 is expected to drop significantly. lieutenant governor, thank you so much for joining us this morning. guest: my pleasure to be here, kimberly. thank you for the opportunity. host: let's start off by asking you to explain what the western interstate commission for higher education is. guest: first, it is an interstate compact form back in 1952, intended to help largely rural states increase access to higher education institutions. as you can imagine, in a state like wyoming, montana, there might be fewer institutions, particularly those that offer professional degrees, yet there

is any for doctors and dentists in those states. host: tell us a little bit about what this study, why this study was undertaken. what was trying to be measured here? guest: i want to be clear about one thing, people think we are talking about graduation rates. we're not talking about graduation rates, which have been going up, we're talking about graduation numbers, which have been sort of going up for 15 years but now we are at a decline over see a the next 15 years. that is what people should be concerned about. we have done this study every four years for the last 40 years . it has been sponsored by the college board and a.c.t. we think a nation should be concerned as we think about our future workforce. host: and a highlight from the wall street journal on this decline inas a sharp

births during the great recession will result in a fall off in the number of students graduating from u.s. high schools starting in about 2012 four, likely to create additional pressure on u.s. .olleges can you talk a little bit about what the impact of this drop off any number of students graduating high school will be? guest: it is going to be significant on those institutions, the higher education institutions that already are struggling with enrollment. it is not going to impact the elite institutions that already turn away far more students than they can handle. for institutions, like the one i used to lead, small private colleges in the midwest, they will face a real challenge in generating tuition revenue.

and for employees, at a time when the nation in needs more and more college educated working, there will be few of them available because we are not graduating enough from high school. when i say college educated, i do not mean a four-your traditional degree. we need people who have post secondary credentials, including secondary certificates. we're talking to joe garcia, former lieutenant governor of colorado, current president for the western interstate commission for higher education, about a report detailing the drop off in the number of high school graduates that is predicted to happen through 2032. we have special lines for this conversation. students can 202-748-8000. .arents, 202-748-8001 educators and administrators, 202-748-8002. all others can call 202-748-8003 .

now let's look at some of the numbers, lieutenant governor, of this study and what it shows. , the number of white public school graduates is projected to decrease by 14%, compared to 2013. by 2032, the number of white high school graduates is 252,000 fewere than in 2003. findings show that hispanic high school student graduates is orjected to increase by 50% more from the first projected year, 2014, to the highest point of 920,000 graduates around 2025. asian and pacific islander morents, about 58,000

public high school graduates expected by the early 2030's. black students to my which recently reached a high of about 48,000, are now expected to s,cline by the early 2030' decline by about 6%. talk about these different demographics and how the numbers are changing and what the impact will be. guest: frankly, the different demographic groups are what is saving us right now. we would see already a significant decline in the number of high school graduates but for the fact that the hispanic population and asian population has been growing so fast. once we get through 2025, even those numbers will fall off. right now, for every white student who leaves, you have a hispanic or asian student to fill in. that will no longer be the case after 2025, because hispanic

rates have started to decline. we will see an overall net decline. the groups that will be graduating are those groups that traditionally have not enrolled in college at the same rate as the white population. so we need to increase the number of graduates, all graduates, who complete high school college-ready, and role in college, and persistent graduating. is calling from lake oswego, oregon, an educator. caller: thank you for taking my call. i enjoy season. mr. garcia, i taught high school math for 30 years. one of the things i noticed was more and more of a push to get everybody college-ready and the severances -- less emphasis on making sure everybody was engaged. i saw students saying this is

not for me, the four-your school track, and there was not enough information available to encourage them to stay engaged and find their ambition. i am wondering how you might be working on that. guest: it is a very important wantion, because, first, i to emphasize that we are not talking about getting more students enrolled in four-your colleges. we need people with associates degrees and technical and trade certificates at least as much as we need people with bachelor's degrees and graduate degrees. the problem is we're not getting enough students to persist after leaving high school and pursue any credential. so we need to make sure the students feel engaged and find things, including careers and technical programs. we will have the biggest shortages in advanced manufacturing and health care, areas where you do not necessarily need a bachelors degree. host: let's talk a little bit

more about the trends identified in this study. let's look at the geographic trends. the south is the only region that is protected -- projected thexperience an increase in number of high school graduates for every year of the projections, although that number is expected to contract after 2025. in the early 2000's, about one-third of the nation's high school graduates were located in the south. the region pose a share of the national total group to 43% b y 2013. southernjected that states will generate almost 47% of the nation's high school graduates by 2025. it will go from accounting for one-third of all high school graduates to nearly half. what are the reasons of this boom in the south while we see

this decline in the north and the west? absolutely, good question. we are seeing significant growth in the south. again, it is driven by significant increases in the hispanic population. keep in mind that texas is considered part of the south hear it when you look at texas, it has the highest growth rate in the number of high school graduates of any state or that is really what is going to drive the growth in the south. we are going to see, in the south, just like everywhere else, a leveling off of the african-american population and a decline in the white population as a population of high school graduates, but we will see significant growth in the hispanic population. in the northeast and midwest where we see declines, we do not have that significant hispanic population growth, as we do in the south and the west. host: you are talking about the places where we have seen growth, talking about the growth in the hispanic population.

why exactly are we seeing a decline in the number of high school graduates? is it fewer people of that age group? dropouts?more what exactly is driving this projected decrease? it is simply a matter of birthrates and migration from other countries. we have seen a decline in the birthrates since 2007. that will impact the number of high school students graduating in 2023. that is why we will see that significant decline. high school graduation rates, on the other hand, are going up. if they had not been steadily climbing, these numbers would be worse. and among our hispanic population, they tend to trail the white population in terms of graduation rates. if we really want to increase the numbers, we have to focus on increasing graduation rates for all of our subpopulations, all

minority groups. we're talking with joe garcia, president of western interstate commission for higher education, about a new report predicting a dramatic decrease in the number of high school graduates. we have special lines for students, 202-748-8000. .arents, 202-748-8001 educators and administrators, 202-748-8002. all others, 202-748-8003. we have larry calling from evergreen, colorado, a parent. caller: yes, thanks for having me, and thanks for c-span. i grew up in a christian conservative family. my mother seemed to have a very anti-public education attitude, and i think i see that more and more as the years of gone by,

especially from my republican party. and i see this new take for the department of education who seems to feel that the private schools, parochial schools have an advantage over the public schools. i know my kids went to public charter schools here, and i was very happy with the education they received, especially in the form of civics, civic education. i just do not see that as much from the parochial side and the private school side. i wonder if you have any comments on that. thank you. guest: thank you, larry. really good point. what we have seen is a decline in the number of students attending the rokita or -- parochial or other private schools, and that will continue to decline. it was about 10% of the entire student population here at will be about 7% in 2030. we have seen a tremendous

increase in the last five years in the number of students attending public charter schools. that has increased by 50%. these are public schools. we're seeing a dramatic increase in the number of students going there, because parents see that there are different options available through the public system. host: what might this mean for private schools? the wall street journal says number of30, and private school students will drop from 220,000 -- will drop 302,000 in 2011, at 26% decline. what does this mean for private schools overall? guest: what we have seen is that private schools, especially parochial schools, have been closing their doors for years. you think about traditional catholic schools in urban

centers, and they have struggled. table began to flee to the suburbs 20 years ago and fewer people attend those catholic schools. we have seen more students who might have otherwise attended the private schools find public charter school options that met their needs. we have seen a shift away from those private schools to the public charters, and we expect that to continue. although it is possible that changes to policy under a new administration might reverse that trend. too early to say. an educator is going from silver spring, maryland. caller: thank you for c-span. i am enjoying the conversation. i am also a parent of three children educated in the public school system, and i am a big advocate for public school education. i live in a part of the country where there is a diverse mix of students, and my children have the benefit of being educated in that kind of environment. one of the things that gems out

at me from the numbers that have been shared here in the discussion is a continuing trend students or mix of the diversity, and i am wondering, what is being done to to move one students from school and into a workforce where they will be interacting with people from many different , diverseand this great environment we are seeing so that we can expect them to function and thrive and succeed by being able to interact positively with people from other cultures -- how is that part of the work being done? it is certainly one of the advantages of attending a diverse public school. it prepares you to work in a diverse work environment. we know that our country has

been growing steadily more diverse over the last several decades, and that is not going to change. so we want to make sure our students are well-prepared. we need to be ensuring that our educators are diverse. we do not have a particularly diverse teaching force. we need to make sure more of our diverse students are graduating from high school, graduating college-ready, and thinking about pursuing teaching degrees. that is what we will really need in the future. host: an earlier caller mentioned the president-elect's choice to head the department of education. this report from politico -- the billionaire philanthropist tapped to lead the education department once compared her work and education reform to a biblical battleground where she wants to advance god's kingdom. of thea national leader school choice movement and has pursued that worked to promote the use of taxpayer dollars on

private and religious schools. what are your views on the use of taxpayer dollars for private school? guest: well, i agree with the court's, which have said public be used to cannot support private schools, particularly parochial schools. the public charter school has been a great option that has worked well in providing great opportunities, providing opportunities to innovate in education. that is what we need to see. happenot know what will with the new education secretary, but we know the happn with the new education secretary, but we know the law has not changed and the constitutional principles have not changed. host: can you tell us a little bit about how this study was done. how can you predict so far ahead what high school rates will be for students, some of whom have not been born yet? a good question.

we do look at trends. that isis based on data publicly available, primarily from the federal government. we look at the number of students enrolled in school and in each grade level right now. and we also look at birth rates, which are critical here. it varies depending on the demographic group and the region of the country. and then we use summing this on the little dark call the cohort survival ratio. we look at the number of students in a given grade and how that compares to the number of students in the previous year and then we grade, make projections based on all of those things together. we also look at the private school data, and that is important. that is where we have been able to anticipate continued declines in private school enrollment, which really outpace the declines overall in public schools. host: how do you expect the

federal government, as well as states and local municipalities, to use this data? this is what is really important. we have to recognize that the student population we are serving now and will be serving in the future is different than the student population we served 30 years ago. 30 years ago, it was more than 70% white. going forward, it will be barely above 50% white. we know that the students are coming in increasingly hispanic often need other supports to be successful. that is why we have seen a achievement gaps, kindergarten readiness gaps to it we have to address those gaps early on so we continue to maintain and even increase of the graduation rates from high school, and just as importantly, increase the college participation rate after that. when he to make sure more of these students who have traditionally been

underrepresented in post secondary institutions now and role at the same rate or higher than whites in the past. frankly, our workforce needs more people with postsecondary credentials. not necessarily four having your degrees but post secondary training. host: marianne is calling from austin, texas, a parent. caller: hi, i am calling in regards to the technical programs that you are talking about, getting students ready. i have a 10th grade student that invery lax in taking -- partaking in education. i fear that i am going to lose and the dropout, student diversity in the school now and the system of the school is full-blown multimedia. they live in this world, and i would love for my child to go ahead and get some sort of

apprenticeship to get ready for a technical program. childot want to lose my to a dropout rate. i really don't. but i just fear she is lacking in school so much -- that is my worst fear, to be honest. i am hoping i am not the only parent like that. guest: well, i sympathize with you. inave been a parent of kids high school, and i was one of those 10th graders that was disengaged. we have to make sure to provide opportunities for young people in school to become engaged in nontraditional ways. for me, it was shop classes and small engine repair, and that is what i looked forward to more than calculus. but a cap's me involved in a engaged to the point where i was able to graduate -- but it kept me involved and engaged to where

i was able to graduate. those programs are expensive to run in high schools and are often delegated to community colleges. we need more hands-on programs for students to keep them engaged. once they graduate and enroll in a secondary -- post secondary institution, there interests bloom. host: how did the graduation numbers compare to those in other countries? do you know if this is a worldwide phenomenon or something specific to the united states? host: our study did not include any other nation, but we do know in the more industrialized nations, they have seen similar issues here at their growth is coming from either an immigrant population or increasingly diverse population. but the white population is beginning to decline as a percentage of the total.

most of the countries, at least western european countries, are facing similar challenges. we want higher education institutions and faculty members to recognize that they have got to be prepared to teach the students who come to the door, not the students akin to their door 30 years ago or the students they wish they had. it is often first generation low-income students and students of color. from dexter, missouri, and educator. caller: good morning. for mr. garcia, i was a vocational teacher in an illinois high school, and seniors from five counties were bussed in. kids loved folk asian or. --

kids love vocational. i saw a higher level of kids really knowing what they learned in school and having retention. my main question is for today. i think kids are bored. even the young kids in my neighborhood down here in missouri. we have a big head start program. by the time you get to 12th isde, all you know teachers, school, and school buses. is that having an effect on kids? thank you. guest: we know that when we create diverse opportunities for students, many of them do better. some do very well with a traditional academic program, but some need the opportunity to do some hands-on applied work. we need to not just look at the old school sort of vocational

programs, woodshop or welding or auto mechanics, but look at new forms of vocational training and high school, including health care and technology. most of the kids are bored because they can do the work easily and we need to provide more opportunities for them to take college-level classes while in high school. we have seen growth in dual enrollment, and those students often graduate with college credit and a farmer likely to continue on to college. we need to begin to blur that line between post secondary and secondary to give more kids in the secondary system the opportunity to get post secondary training. host: harold is a parent calling from maryland. you are on with joe garcia. caller: i wanted to say good morning, joe, and thank you for being a soldier in this fight to make us a less anti-intellectual country.

i feel that with donald trump being elected, and it started with george bush, that this country is really -- i think the reason we have such an issue with public education is that the republicans, as a whole, have really emphasized, you know , making intellectualism something that only people on the east coast and west coast deal with. besides that point, one of the things that i think would be a start this trend towards fighting against this anti-intellectualism is using one of bernie sanders' suggestions, making any type of public university, college, technical training school, community college, making it free. lettingstart by just any person that wants to get into the education field have free tuition. any person that wants to get into the education background,

you know, a major that has anything to do with teaching, let that be the first free tuition that you give out. long wayhat would go a into fighting against this being of intellectualism something for only east coast and west coast elites. host: let's get a response. guest: i agree with you that education is a value. when i had an undergraduate degree, a four-year degree, my first job was a charger i've are. i thought i was a better truckdriver and a more engaged citizen because i had that degree. it did not necessarily translate into the work i was doing, that it made me a better and more engaged citizen. we should do everything we can to promote the pursuit of education at all levels. we also need to think about what we're doing to engage students while still in high school so they are motivated to go on. that is, make sure they

understand the college will be affordable to them. many folks look at college and think it is too expensive, so why bother pursuing college, precollege curriculum in high school, and why bother even graduating? we know that if students see it as an attainable, they are more likely to pursue it. so the notion of free college is something that is gaining traction or was gaining traction around the country. whether that will continue, i don't know. if it does not, we need to be focused on providing financial aid so students can afford to go to school, especially since more graduates will be coming from low-income backgrounds. we're talking about projected high school graduation numbers with joe garcia, president of the western interstate commission on higher education, former lieutenant governor of colorado and a former white house appointee under president bill clinton at the department of housing and

urban development. now we have a call from el paso, texas, a parent. .aller: good morning, joe my question is simply that even if we prepared the students to graduate from high school, colleges are making money off of remedial courses, coming back and saying that these students are not prepared for college courses. i just don't get it. sometimes i feel colleges are doing that in order to make more having to know, by take the remedial courses before they can get into the main core. what do you think of that? guest: first, you have a great community college right there in el paso. you are right, far too many at the community college and test into remedial courses, manning their learning something they should have learned in high school.

they are paying tuition but not earning college credit. nationally, that number approached 40% of all students needing remediation after they graduated from high school and when they enroll in college. we need to change it at we have seen dramatic improvements of remediation reform, so we are able to move students more quickly through a remedial sequence. it is costing committed the college's money, because remedial courses charge the same tuition, but they are far cheaper to teach. they are generally taught by adjunct faculty, and their generally in english or math, two areas that do not require extra equipment. students through those programs more quickly. if we do a better job with dual enrollment in high school, we make sure that not only our students college-ready but they have some college credit when they graduate. that will be key to reducing remediation rates, which really are impacting the overall

persistence and graduation rates from college, particularly for nonwhite students. host: on the issue of school choice, something advocated by the department of education, the secretary-designee has an opinion piece in forbes magazine by an education analyst who says it is not enough. actions informed by taken in states like arizona and michigan, they should introduce results-based expectations in funding for federal programs by tying education opportunities to measures of student outcome-based productivity, and the nation will understand that the choice that leads to results is the greater good. what is your opinion of that? guest: it is absolutely true. we know that people often criticize public schools because

of their graduation rate. they are not graduating enough students, and the students they are graduating sometimes are not college-ready. when we look at private schools, particularly in michigan, and even some charter schools, their outputs are not any better. we know they are outstanding performers in the public charter school networks, and we know there are outstanding private schools. but those outstanding private schools often serve a very narrow range of students, predominantly white and upper middle class, and they would do well wherever they were enrolled. in michigan, we have seen an increase in the number of for-profit charter schools and private schools, and the results are, frankly, not very good. i have no objection to those kinds of schools of they are serving all students and serving them effectively. from wake forest, north carolina, a parent. caller: thank you.

i am calling from north carolina. i have seen the policies changing over four or five decades. , the general public and the students, they are the loser. what i am -- black, whites, hispanic, asians, you can serve all of them. ratio you have it, then we can look at it up to high school. you can start preparing the student from junior high and then high school. .hen we can teach them

need ofat the education the future for their goals. host: i want to let lieutenant governor garcia respond. guest: guest: we need to be working with kids when they are born. we seem to have lost our uplink with the lieutenant governor. we thank joe garcia. tomorrow, we will be joined by the media industry and what it could look like under the trump administration. we will also be joined by the author jd vance.