clearances that need intelligence. people like voters who need to understand foreign election interference and tech leaders and more competitors. and i think that's probably the most challenging war, which is that u.s. intelligence at sis don't dominate the information like they did in the cold war. >n c-span's q&a. you can listen to q&a on our free c-span now app. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back and we are joined by ethics and public policy center senior fellow, and washington post columnist, henry olson who is here to discuss with us campaign 2022 and the political news of the day. thank you for being with us. guest: thank you for having me. host: let's jump straight into

it. described the landscape for republicans heading into the midterms. guest: i would say it is decent but not as good as it was a couple months ago. the overruling of roe v. wade has energized some democrats. some wins for president biden are improving his job approval but the fact is that president biden is still the most unpopular president in polling history, since world war ii. a lot of people who say they are undecided about the genetic -- general ballot disapprove of president biden. host: normally in a political year, the president's party faces heavy losses in the midterm election. is this a normal political year? guest: at least a normal political year. the republicans went into this

year down five seats in the house from the majority, they gained one in a special election. the odds are pretty heavy that they will gain at least that and win the house. the question is whether they get the -- the senate has always been a little different. i think the republicans are the odds on favorite to gain narrow control. they have nominated a lot of people who have not run for political office before and that is causing problems. host: what do you mean like -- what do you mean by that? guest: vance in ohio and dr. oz in pennsylvania are having trouble raising money because they don't have those networks. they also have very high negative ratings. dr. oz was attacked massively by republicans in the primary and that means he's going into the election weaker. host: under the generic ballot, they say that right now on generic ballots, -- people

choose republicans and 44% of people would choose democrats. that is awfully close for a midterm year isn't it? guest: it is close but i would caution that first of all that is a couple points of improvement for the republicans over 2020. they lost vision -- they lost the generic ballot by a couple points. if you dive into the polls, you find out that most of the people who say they are undecided have a negative opinion of joe biden. the question is where do you think people who don't like joe biden but are undecided about the parties -- historically they go against the party in power but we will see if the democrats can reverse that with their campaigning. host: so normally in a midterm election year, the referendum is on the president. but we hear a lot of people

still talking about the former president, donald trump. how much of an effect will he have either positively or negatively, in the midterms? guest: he is somebody who energizes republicans, positively and he is somebody who energizes democrats, negatively from a republican standpoint. i don't think he is going to be campaigning quite as much as democrats would like him to be. i think he understands he has exerted his influence in the primary process and there are a lot of people he is going to campaign for in the general election but the fact that he is still in the news with the search of mar-a-lago, the case with the trump organization in new york, i think he will be a moderate impact but he is not going to be the dominating issue. host: what issues are number one for voters right now, both republicans and democrats? is it inflation, is it the wars

overseas, is it gas prices? what will the voters be thinking about when they go to the polls? guest: if you are a republican, you are think about the economy and immigration. if you are a democrat, you're thinking about abortion in the economy and also things like climate change. if you are independent, you tend to be thinking about the economy still. independents are thinking about the economy and inflation. host: that is something that we always hear about, independents deciding the election. is the american population still split with that salsa -- that small sliver of independents able to swing it one way or the other? guest: absolutely. and generally we see the

democrats nationally have a narrow advantage. but the independents are the ones who have swung the election back and forth in the last 10 or 15 years. they are about 30% of the american electorate and they will be the ones to decide this election. host: let me remind our viewers that they can take part in this conversation. we will open up our regular lines. republicans, your number is (202)-748-8001. democrats, you can call (202)-748-8000. independents, your line is (202)-748-8002. keep in mind, you can always text us at (202)-748-8003. we are always reading on social media and on twitter.

i want to look at this nbc news poll which talked about the most important issue facing the country. this was conducted between august 12th and the 16th. the number one issue that that poll shows was threats to democracy at 21%. number two was cost-of-living. number three was jobs and the economy and immigration at 13%. all double-digit numbers. what issue can you speak to republicans pushing as we move into the midterm elections and what issue do you think democrats are going to push? guest: of those top four, republicans will push issues 2, 3 and four and democrats will push 1, 1, 1. nbc polls don't release crosstabs which is the

formulations and responses by demographic, so we don't know which groups are driving each of those concerns, based on what i have seen from other polls. democrats are probably heavy and threats to report -- threats to democracy and publicans are heavy on immigration and independents are heavy on cost-of-living and the economy. host: let's go to eric, calling from california on the democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning america. i want to get on the democrats for allowing these republicans in one breath to brag about all the money they have made while donald trump was in office, bragging about all the money they made when donald trump was in office while we were in a pandemic and then they complained about food and gas prices. in the same context, how can you

say glut -- god less america and then make america great? it doesn't work this way. you can't say god bless america and then choose a man like donald trump to make america great. you are so messed up. host: would you like to respond? guest: that is a democratic point of view. i'm sure many people believe that. i think the gas prices and food prices are rising and we have record inflation. is something that is eating away at the average person's savings and their ability to keep up and it is on the mind of many people. you have republicans harping about it and it is something people are figuring out naturally when they go to buy rotaries and castling. host: many people say they expect the republicans to take the house in the midterm election. if republicans take the house,

who is going to become speaker? guest: kevin mccarthy. host: you said that quick. you are very confident. guest: mccarthy is a cash cow for the republicans. he is a prodigious fundraiser and that means he can bring in the armaments, so to speak that fuels the political warfare. that is incredible value. there is also no particular reason why they should get rid of him. there is also no particular person who was an obvious successor to him. you can't beat somebody with nobody. right now there is nobody. -- and the leader is always the first to get blamed that it is a normal election and they pick up 10 to 15 seats and have an ok majority, kevin mccarthy easily. host: does mitch mcconnell

become senate majority leader again? guest: that is the coin flip question. if republicans win control, he will become majority leader. the coin flip question because it is not clear if they will win control because the senate races are in closer states, and also there are more weaker candidates. you see a lot of cast -- questions about whether or not republicans can win states that they should win in an environment like this. i still think it is little more than 50% that publicans have at least a 51-49 control of the senate but i have to say that it is more of a coin flip over there. host: despite the war of words between mitch mcconnell and donald trump, if republicans take the senate you say mitch mcconnell is the majority leader. guest: a majority in the senate will vote mitch mcconnell in. host: let's go back to the phone lines and talk to ron, from

pennsylvania on the republican line. good morning. i've never heard of your town before. caller: my thing is as we talk about issues continuously, we don't talk about the tone of the politicians in washington. sometimes i am a c-span guy. it seems there is a deep-seated animosity politically regardless of the issue. it does not bode well when you see them or you hear of them. as a republican, this is another thing that is ailing us. when is the publican party going to stand up and refuse his endorsements across the board? he's not representing what the party is and that is going to hurt republicans if they don't ratchet him down.

my thing is the tone of politicians and their lack of wanting to interact with each other and get things done. if it is not hope -- high-profile on a network you don't hear much about it. there is so much before us and it makes me wonder. that is my comment. guest: i think americans would love to have somebody who can present an optimistic tone. they've been hearing doom and gloom attacks for so long. the candidate for a presidential leader who strikes that tone is somebody who will find resonance with the american people. i think president biden was helped in 2020 by trying to strike a more positive tone in limited campaign appearances. he is somebody who by engaging in attacks like he did on

republicans over the weekend weakens his own brand. it remains to be seen if republicans can take vintage of that. donald trump is not somebody who can address a positive tone. he's had a consistently negative tone in his seven years in politics. host: one of our social media followers wants you to get deeper into something you talked about earlier. this person writes "i think henry olson is wrong on upcoming elections being decided by independents. it might be true in normal political cycles but this is anything but normal. this election will be decided by women on equal rights issues starting with overturning roe v. wade. you did mention roe v. wade earlier, but they think it is roe v. wade -- they think it is women that will determine the selection. guest: most women motivated by abortion are already democrats. we are talking about an increased democratic turnout

which will help democrats. usually in a midterm, the out party has a better turnout because they are angry but i think democrats will have an equal turnout with republicans because of roe v. wade. the fact is that most independents are not motivated by abortion. most independents are motivated by the same issues they've been voting on and those are not the issues that animate democrats. it is the same thing with republicans. independents are not animated by what is happening on the border the way republicans are. there is a reason they are independents. they will be the ones who end up deciding the general election. host: let's talk to trent from louisiana on the independent line. good morning. caller: hi mr. olson. on c-span i talked to a guy from

ethics and public policy. i was wondering if you guys -- here in the south, i sometimes think cs lewis is the 13th apostle to a lot of us down here and he is having tremendous influence around the world. i'm beginning to think that one of his lesser known works, his novel, that hideous string which was an application of his more straight work he called the abolition of man is going to be seen in the next few years as more important than brave new world or 1984. in terms of the big picture, could you tell me what you think the endgame is going to be because i'm beginning to look and think this novel is very prophetic about what is happening in our time, especially as i believe the endgame is going to be kind of a

democratic liberal trans human movement versus a christian total theocratic polarization. guest: i have not read mr. lewis's novel so i cannot comment on it per se. i think what we are seeing is increasing polarization in the country between signs that feel the other side has no good interest towards the loser in this debate. both sides feel pushed into a corner and are going to fight viciously. what you are seeing in america is a growing number of people who want a positive approach. what we are seeing in voter registration this time is that massive numbers of new registrants are registering as independent. they would prefer neither of these two options. the party that figures out first

how to soften their tone and make common cause with these people is the way we will get out of this. we've had 50-50 politics in this country for essentially 30 years. that is not normal in america. other countries usually have one party that has a consistent majority and the other that is trying to clawed back. you have a dominant party and weaker party. 50-50 politics is just breeding this intense partisanship. somebody has to break the trench warfare sometime in the first part of that does that is the one that will become the dominant party for the rest of my life. host: earlier you mentioned that democrats and president biden have had some victories lately. do you think the student loan forgiveness that we talked about in our first hour will have an effect on the midterms one way or the other? guest: it is something that talks to their base and excites the base. that is something we need to do. they need young democrats that

tend to be more progressive to turnout and not to say it doesn't matter. to that extent it is a good thing for them. republicans will try and make way with this and went out to many of their constituents who don't have student debt, who are older, who are not people who necessarily went to college, they will try and make this into a fairness issue, which is that they are benefiting them and not benefiting you. we don't know if that republican attack will help offset the small gain that the democratic move will have on energizing their base but it is possible. host: what some of us would say was an unusual move, the white house itself seems to attack republicans earlier this week, talking about the ppp loans and members of congress who had gotten -- republican members of congress who had gotten ppp loans forgiven. do you think that will have any effect on either party in either

way? guest: no, this is a political talking point that is pretty bogus. the whole ppp program was set up as a loan that is expected to be forgiven. that is not what student loans were. there was not an expectation that student loans would be something that you would be forgiven if you fulfilled your obligations of your debt. it is just a stupid talking point that they are bringing out. a lot of these things usually don't sink down to the voter level. it is the sort of thing we talk about here but voters don't move their opinions on. i think some people who have their student loans forgiven will see that biden is doing something for them and they will be likelier to vote. that is a good thing for them but it will not be a big issue either way unless the republican counterattacks are able to gain sway with independents who are also people who did not go to college. host: one thing that i have always personally wondered is

about this mythical undecided voter, especially in a country that is so split partisan one way or the other. is there even such a thing as an undecided voter left? guest: very many of them. most people in washington are people who are passionate about politics. they are not undecided, they are hyper decided. that is not the way -- there are plenty of people who feel cross pressure. people who are independents. not a large number of people here but a lot of people who don't see good or bad in both parties. do i care more about this or that? and they will decide late in a particular lien this election when you have people who voted for biden last time but don't like the way he has run the country so far. that is the swing constituency.

will they give democrats another chance or are they going to register their disapproval? that is the swing constituency and they are genuinely undecided. host: that was going to be my next question. went to those voters make up their minds? as they are going into the polls? do they make it up a month before voting starts in september or october? when do they decide? guest: they tend to decide in october. you'll start to see a movement one way or the other in september as the campaign ads heat up and you will see things in the first three weeks of october. there will be people who literally make up their minds going into the polls but they will be leaning one direction or another pretty early before that and you will be able to see movement in the polls, wanting to see where things stand by october 25. host: let's go back to our phone lines and talk to crystal from pennsylvania.

good morning. caller: good morning. if you give me a chance to touch on some things that your guest had mentioned. i am a pennsylvania voter and i will never vote for dr. oz. i don't know where he came from. i don't connect with him at all. that is number one. i don't even know why they nominated this man. another thing is the student loans. my student loans were paid off. however, helping other people does not bother me. what bothers me is places like -- things like trump university that ripped people off. that bothers me. another thing that bothers me is republicans -- could you imagine being in a room with people who all they do is complain? that is all they do and that is all republicans do is complain. they've done nothing for the american people. joe biden has done a wonderful job, every day for the average

american people. trump and the republican party is full of criminals as far as i'm concerned, with that january 6 thing, with him stealing the documents. enough of these republicans, all they do is go against democracy and i cannot vote for them ever. that is just the way i feel. thank you so much. host: go ahead and respond. guest: that is a common viewpoint on the democratic side. joe biden has 42% job approval and 50% disapproval. a lot of people disagree and a lot of people agree with the caller. host: president biden spoke at a democratic national committee meeting on thursday and outlined his accomplishments. let's hear a little but of what president biden says he has done. [video clip] >> even our critics have been forced to acknowledge real progress. record accomplishments.

matched by few and ministrations in history. 10 million new jobs, more than ever before. 3.5% unemployment rate, near record lows. 15% drop in child poverty compared to two years ago. more than 102 america -- 102 million americans vaccinated. record small business creation. a big reason for all of this is the american rescue plan that i signed into law shortly after taking office. with the help of your members of congress, that plan took america in crisis to economic recovery and not a single republican voted for it. not one. not a single republican. we also passed a once in a generation investment in roads, highways, bridges, railroads, airports, clean water systems.

high-speed rail, internet. the biggest investment in america since president eisenhower's interstate highway act. we got a little help from some republicans passing that bill and i am thankful for that. the truth is there are a lot more republicans taking credit for a bill they voted against. you see it all over america. right here in maryland, you have a republican congressman named andy harris. and he is out there touting funding for a key dredging project in his district that he voted against. this is happening all over. maybe that boy will get some religion. we passed the chips and science act, a groundbreaking law. we will once again manufacture semiconductors we invented that

power everything in our lives right here in america. this law will create tens of thousands of construction jobs, bring billions of dollars of investment to america and revitalize american manufacturing. host: even president biden said his critics have to acknowledge the work he has done. guest: he has passed a lot of things, no doubt about that. the question is for many voters, whether they see those as positively as he sees them. all presidents try and put up a positive spin on their account with schmitz and i give credit to president biden doing an effective job of putting a spin on his accomplishments. we will see whether or not independent voters in november agree. host: we talked earlier about the nbc news poll that had threats to democracy as the number one issue for voters

right now. do you think that issues like january 6 will even play at all for the midterm election? guest: so far but the bulk of the polls show is that it is a highly motivating issue for democrats and not a big issue for independents. another one of those things that will help generate democratic enthusiasm and high democratic turnout, absolutely. is it something that is going to make the person -- the independent voter decide to stick with biden? so far the polls are suggesting not. that is i think where it is going to end up being. we've had two years of this and there has never been a strong concern by people outside the democrat party base over what they are characterizing as threats to democracy. host: does it help or hurt the republican party if homer president trump announces a

president shall run before the midterm? guest: it will hurt on the margin. the more that trump is the issue, the more you unite the coalition that defeated him. president trump lost by about 4.5 points in all of the swing states that are up for the senatorial elections. there was a plurality or majority against him and river the swing voter in this election is a person who voted for biden two years ago but does not like the way biden is running the country. you put trump first and foremost and your mind that person why they voted for biden and one of the reason why -- one of the reasons why democrats are doing what they are doing and talking about president trump is to keep trump in front of that voter's mind. if he announces before hand, then it definitely becomes the forefront. host: back to the phone lines and we will talk to richard calling from tennessee on the independent line. caller: good morning.

there is so much to go over but i will stick to one thing. i'm 67 years old and i work in a grocery store and i've worked there for a number of years. if i could do my own polling, i work in an area where people who make anywhere from trillion dollars to a year -- trillion dollars a year all the way down to welfare. i talk to all walks of life. church members i go to church with. school people that my children go to school with. all walks of life. and i got to tell you, when you look at the prices on the shelves in the grocery stores and i'm the one that does all the pricing in my grocery store, we do almost $2 million a week in sales and i work for one of the largest chains in the world and i'm telling you people are upset over gas prices at the pump, they are upset with the food prices in the store and even my good friends calling

themselves democrats and my good friends who call themselves republicans are voting trump. they are trump all the way. only a few are voting for biden and most of those voting for biden are not working or on welfare waiting for that next check from the government. that is just nashville. we elected jim cooper's brother who was a democrat. he raised our property taxes 34% two years ago. we have trash that is still waiting to be picked up and we have a city dump that is waiting -- that is overfilled. the average price of a medium-sized home here is $1500 a month. the average price of a one bedroom apartment is about $1000 a month. people are priced out of the market and the just passed a law in tennessee under our conservative governor that any person that is homeless living on public property will be

charged with a felony and arrested. if it is not public property, then it's private property. either way, what you are doing is forcing them onto private property and if you have them arrested, there is no good answer to this whether it is domestic or whatever. what it boils down to and i'm trying to say is we've got to get back to you work, you eat. my bible says that a work -- a man that doesn't work as a man that doesn't eat. i've made less than $30,000 90% of my life. i've got close to $1 million in the bank and my children's college education is paid for. i paid for my baby girl three years ago, i wanted her debt free so she could a fresh start in this world. these people that cry about this or cry about that, they're the same ones i'm seeing it in their

hair done every week, getting their nails done every week, driving expensive cars. host: we will have you respond because he was going on for a bit. guest: people are concerned about inflation and rising prices. it has been booming and they have even stronger prices for housing and a lot of areas. what the caller is talking about is what a lot of people are seeing and they will have to decide whether or not they blame the current administration for that or they see it as the result of forces that the current administration neither influenced nor controls. that will have a large part in determining how the elections go. host: let's go to frank from west virginia on the independent line. caller: good morning. how are you this morning? host: just fine. caller: there is no republican party. it has been split. i am a registered independent.

in the primary, i get a choice of ballots and i voted for the republicans but it is split, there is no republican party. you have maga, the threat on democracy, attack on the capital. it was all done with the influence and the whole thing of one person. what happened in kansas causes me to stand on my head. the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. think about that for a little bit. i don't know what i'm going to do, but i have to think before i vote for a split party. there are no republicans anymore. it has been split. host: do you agree with him? guest: every party has factions

and divisions. certainly we've been seeing a lot of divisions within the republican primaries between people who support donald trump 100% and people who maybe want to take the party in a slightly different direction. when push comes to shove, most people vote in the republican primary will vote for the nominee and that is what the polls show and the same thing is true of democrats. there are splits among democrats between progressives and moderates but they come together at election time to defeat the common enemy and that is what is going to happen on both sides and that is why independents are so important because they don't have a party to come back to. they go back and forth. host: one of our social media followers texted in this question. would he agree with the idea that we no longer vote for someone, we vote against the other guy? is that how we vote these days? guest: it increasingly seems to be the way we vote these days. republicans vote against

democrats and democrats vote against republicans and independents vote against whichever party they are unhappy with in a particular time. i think americans would like to vote for someone. i think we would like to be able to, of course partisans on both sides vote for their candidates but i think there was a large degree of the lesser of two evils and going against rather than for. 60% of biden's voters in 20 were voting against trump rather than for biden and that is one of the reasons why he is in trouble and the democrats are in trouble is they had a negative coalition rather than a positive coalition and there are a lot of people who would like to say yeah i would vote for rather than against. host: let's talk to tyrone calling in on the republican line. caller: mr. olsen, the biggest thing i see here is politics

from the top up has been broken for years. we need to not cost $2 billion to become a president. we need to put a price tag on how much it should cost to run to be president. we need to start looking at term limits. we don't really do much about it. i think term limits, i look at our president right now. i've always respected whoever the president is. we don't respect our presidents anymore. i think as a nation it is time we make some changes and really respect that position. i think that amount of money to become a president is stupid. the other thing is, i don't think politicians -- we are seeing a lot where they are being able to get insider trading on the stock market. i don't think they should be

making laws for how much they should make. i think they should be voting for the american people, to get back to what is most important. host: go ahead and respond. guest: there is a lot of concern about money in politics both at the individual level and people making money on inside information or the amount of money spent for the presidency. i guess what i would say is what is the alternative? on the money for the presidency question, if you limit the men of money spent by the candidates, the supreme court has said that you can spend money independently because money is a form of local speech and that puts the money somewhere else. it costs a lot of money to get around a huge country like this. i think it is a necessary evil but i do think that we can do things to reduce the amount of potential self-dealing that members of congress can have with respect to making money on information.

host: let's talk to rhonda calling from north carolina on the democrats line. caller: can you hear me? host: we can, go ahead. caller: i just want to say first of all, all these people complaining about gas prices, but then again you go to starbucks and dunkin' donuts and you have 15 cars in line and they will pay five dollars for a cup of coffee and on friday night all the restaurants have nowhere to park. it is like that every night. those of the people complaining about the economy. second of all, donald trump is a criminal and his little fox news channel, they lie and cover him up, the republicans cover him up. he is the worst criminal president we've ever had. he caused the january 6 insurrection and i agree with the lady in pennsylvania but joe

biden has done nothing but try to help the american people. he has morals and character and he cares about people, all people. the biggest job growth in american history, he passed the inflation reduction act, he passed infrastructure, he improved health care for veterans, he got covid under control and past the chips act and he is making sure we have semiconductors manufactured in the american -- in the united states. i could go on and on. guest: a lot of people who agree with that caller. i keep coming back to the polls. 90% of democrats approve of the president and would cite many of those compliments. but biden and the democrats need to do is make more people agree with the caller like that and less people who care about the other issues and so far the polls are showing that that caller is in the minority. host: since i have you here, i have to ask about 2024.

let's look at the gop presidential field. is it a matter of waiting for trump to make an announcement on whether he is going to run? guest: yes, i think it is. i think everyone else is going to wait for trump. i would advise some buddy who wanted to run against trump to preempt him if he doesn't get in right after the midterms because trump can freeze the field otherwise and you will need time to organize against him. trump is the big dog, he leads and all the polls. he has the fan base. anybody who wants to run against him has to see where he is going. host: if president trump decides not to run, is for the governor ron desantis the defective second choice? guest: he is right now. republic opinion wants a fighter, summit he talking about the issues, talking about making america great but they are willing to look at somebody other than donald trump.

desantis because of what he has been doing as governor has a shot to the top among those voters. if he is the only person in the race who represents that, and so far the other people like haley or pence don't have a lot of support among that group of people, he will lead the polls and the question is whether or not he can hold that lead under attack from his opposition. host: where does former vice president mike pence stand? guest: i do not believe pence can beat trump because people who are generally leaning towards trump do not view him favorably. you see polls that say that desantis might start out with a 20 point deficit against trump whereas pence is at a 50 point deficit because that center of opinion, the maga-light crowd sees desantis as acceptable but not pence. host: does desantis need trump

out of the race? guest: desantis is the only candidate we see on the field right now who could beat trump if he ran against him. not wood, but could. host: is there anybody we are not talking about in the gop field that we should be talking about? guest: there is always a dark hair -- a dark horse that jumps out and gets attention but they rarely win the nomination. mike huckabee and rick santorum win second because they don't have this strong base of support across wide sections of the party. i'm sure somebody will surprise us but i doubt they will be the nominee. host: let's talk to steve calling from maryland on the independent line. caller: good morning. host: could you speak up a little bit? caller: let me get my bluetooth off. can you hear me now? host: we've got you, go ahead. caller: i'm an independent christian voter.

i've been lucky enough to travel around the world to many different countries and have friends and relatives and colleagues at work in different countries. one of the things i've noticed is countries that have more political parties don't seem to have the kind of polarization we are having here in the west. i've been to countries where they have different party rule. all we do here is focus on this party doing this and that party doing that. [indiscernible] host: unfortunately i think we are breaking up. guest: multiparty systems tend to be less polarized because when you have multiple parties, if you attack a, it doesn't mean the voters will go to be. they could go to c or d. you tend to find less negativity

in those primaries. the person making the negative attack is not sure that they will be the benefit. the only way to have a multiparty system is to have proportional representation. as long as we have the system that we have here, we are very unlikely to have multiple parties. but we end up having as multiple parties within the party. we have factions that are kind of like what they would be, parties and other countries but they have to grouped together under the label of one party to have a shot. host: we would like to thank henry olsen, senior fellow at the ethics and public policy center and washington post columnist. thank you for walking us through campaign 2022 and 2024. guest: thank you for having me.

host: coming up next, we will get another perspective on the path forward for democrats heading to the midterms with bill press, host of the -- host of "the bill press pod" an author of "from the left: a life in the crossfire." we will be right back. ♪ >> middle and high school students, it is your time to shine. participate in this year's c-span studentcam documentary competition. picture yourself as a newly elected member of congress. we ask this >> make a 5-6 minute video that shows the issue from opposing ad supporting perspectives. don't be afraid to take risks.

be bold. amongst the $100,000 in cash prizes is a $5,000 grand prize. videos must be submitted by january 20, 2023. visit our website, studentcam.org for rules and a step-by-step guide. >> live sunday on in-depth, uc berkeley governmental studies scholar stephen hayward will be our guest to talk about leadership, ronald reagan's political career in the american conservative movement. he is the author of several books including new volumes in the age of reagan series, greatness and patriotism is not enough, about the scholars who changed the course of conservative politics in america. join the conversation with your comments and tweets. in-depth with stephen hayward,

live on book tv on c-span2. >> at least six presidents recorded conversations while in office. hear many of those conversations during season two of c-span's podcast, president shall recordings. >> the nixon tapes, part private conversations, part deliberations and 100% unfiltered. >> let me say that the main thing is my heart goes out to those people who with the best of intentions were overzealous but i'm sure you know of. if i could have spent a little more time being a politician last year and less time being president, i would have kicked thereabouts. >> find this on the c-span now mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >>