anytime. >> my privilege. mark: ladies and gentlemen, it is important that we understand why our country exists and why we are a free people. that is the point of educating ourselves about the declaration in the constitution. thank you for joining us on "life, liberty and levin". i will see you next time. and a reporter with one story. >> there will eventually be a point of pent-up demand on capitol hill to work together and get things done. >> we the people are supposed to decide who governs us. >> i think it's really hard to argue that the tax cuts did not actually move the needle on the economy. ♪ [ laughter ] >> i'll take a long pause there. hold the pause. >> and i paused for a minute whether i should open that door, but... >> sure, we'll all run through it.

♪ >> hi, i'm bill bennett, and welcome to "wise guys." we have a good show for you today, some thoughtful discussion without interruption, but certainly there will be some disagreement. i am delighted to host this distinguished group. we are here at the prime rib restaurant in washington, dc. i wish i could tell you it was my first time here or my brother's first time here. not true. we've been here before. to my right over here is oliver north. he is a distinguished american, a war hero, somewhat of an iconic figure in american life. we have with "wise guys" a wise girl, if i may, maria bartiromo. she is the host of "mornings with maria" and "sunday morning futures," which i watch...i shouldn't say religiously every sunday. i got to do something else, but i do watch regularly. bob bennett, or as we call him in our house, uncle bob, bob nnett, one of washington's most distinguished lawyers, represented bill clinton, represented cap weinberger, represented

all sorts of other people. ari fleischer, who was president george w. bush's communications director or press spokesman? >> press secretary. >> ...press secretary and is now head of fleischer communications. all right. let's get started. i was rereading. i really was rereading because i did read "the federalist" when i was assigned it the first time, and i was reading about powers and separation of powers, executive, legislative, judicial, didn't see anything in there about special counsels or independent counsels. did the founders make a mistake and not put a provision in there for special or independent counsels? you've been one, i think, or something like it, and i know you've had an opinion on this, bob. do we need them? what do we need them for? >> well, i think, first of all, there's a real difference between independent counsels and special counsels. i do think we need a special counsel when the investigation

involves the highest levels of government. it's something that i think is essential, but it's unfortunate that we ever need them because you give so much power to one individual. but there's no question that it was justice rehnquist who wrote the morrison opinion that said independent counsels, since they can be removed by the president, is constitutional, and then congress did away with that, annow we have the special counsel statute. >> but while we'reperating now with a special counsel, there are also congressional committees looking at the same things. why isn't the congress a good enough organization or institution to do this? we now have double, triple, and there are calls even

for another special counsel to look into what the special counsel is doing. >> well, i hate to offend my friends in congress, but they are simply incapable of doing a meaningful investigation. i have had many, many clients appear before them. you know, they're too partisan. they leak. it's a game. i just don't have any confidence in congressional investigations, and i've been involved in many of them, and i have been special counsel to the senate ethics committee and the senate foreign relations committee, and i still say that. >> but you have confidence in these special counsels? you think they've done a good job historically? >> it depends who you pick. >> okay. >> it all depends on who you pick. >> yeah, it's funny because i think, you know, there's something about a special counsel

that is very transparent because it basically tells the world, "well, we can't do this in house." >> right. >> and forget about the 93 us attorneys that could've done it or the 10,000 lawyers that you have at the justice department. they can't do it, either. you've got to get somebody from the outside to actually investigate. >> yeah. >> as a guy who has a little bit of experience both with congressional committees and with so-called independent counsel... >> not as an independent counsel and not as a congressional investigator but being on the receiving end. >> exactly. >> yes, sir. >> yeah, and absolutely right. there's nothing in the "federalist papers" or this wonderful document to which i took an oath to support and defend with my body if i... >> that's the constitution. >> constitution of the united states. number one, if the congress can't do its job, then they ought to step aside because the power to investigate the executive branch of the united states very clearly in this document, right, it is the role of the congress

to ensure that the executive branch is carrying out the laws. therefore, you don't need somebody from outside to come in with unfettered power. >> yes, but there's an important starting point we aren't addressing, and the reason that you have what's now a special counsel is because of ethical considerations, and that's important. special counsel is triggered when the top people at justice make the determination, in this case the attorney general, that he is involved in the allegations in one way or another, and therefore he must recuse, which is a proper and wise, ethical actually for an attorney general to follow. that then triggers a whole separate series of events as what happened here. now... >> [indistinct] >> [indistinct] >> here involving the trump investigation, the collusion charges, bob mueller. >> but the appointment... >> let me separate something. >> go ahead. >> independent counsel is no longer the law of the land as opposed to special counsel. >> right. >> and the difference is simple. independent counsels were accountable to no one. they were truly independent. that was a law that expired. democrats and republicans were both sick of it. the law expired, so you have

special counsel. a special counsel is reporting to the department of justice. it is a difference. independent was fully independent. special counsel, as we saw when bob mueller made his indictments of the russians the other month, that has to be approved by the department of justice, main justice, and so special reports to justice. independent never did. >> also, he's picked by the attorney general or his delegate, whereas the independent counsel was picked by a three-judge court, which sort of really gets you in the separation of powers, but there's one problem. here's the last thing i'll say about this. while i think it's essential, such as in the current case, beware of a lawyer with one case and a reporter with one story, and the idea that the whole law-enforcement machinery is being handled by a person

directed towards a person is pretty scary. when i was a federal prosecutor, i had 150 cases, and i'm not just saying this because i'm an admirer of colonel north. i never would've prosecuted him in 100 years, but you put somebody in that position with that one case, i'll tell you, it's a scary thing. >> but isn't the an issue? look, i'm surrounded by very bright people here. it strikes me that, up to this point, what's happened with mueller is that he's got a bunch of cases that had nothing to do with the original issue of "was the trump administration colluding with the russians before the election to affect the outcome?" and thus far, i think the american people look at it and say, "there's nothing there." >> well, this is the risk of a special counsel law, that every nail needs a hammer, and they start to look everything, everywhere, and they stray from their original mission.

>> yeah. >> on the other hand, if you are an investigator, and you do find evidence of wrongdoing, do you just look the other way because your original charge had nothing to do with what you just found? that's a hard call for a counsel to make. >> but again, would a us attorney have started a case on... let's, you know, use any one of the people who've pled guilty thus far... would he have started a case on that given the focus he was supposed to have on what the russians were doing in this country? >> fair question. >> i mean, when you look at what the russians have been doing, that's the real issue, and the russians are still doing it. >> but he's investigating people, and when you're investigating specific people, you're going to find out things in those specific people's lives, and it has nothing to do with any collusion. >> absolutely right. >> well, the framed that right into the assignment, that if he finds anything of... look at my client, president clinton. >> yeah. >> they found other things. [ laughter ] >> okay, long pause there, long pause. >> and i pause for a minute in this group whether i should open that door, but... >> sure, open it up.

we'll all run through it. >> but kenneth starr's mandate was not initially... >> it was whitewater. >> ...monica lewinsky and all the other things. >> whitewater. >> right. >> sure. >> so that's just the way it is. >> but is it... (vo) dogs have evolved, but their nutritional needs remain instinctual. that's why there's purina one true instinct. real meat #1. a different breed of natural nutrition. purina one true instinct. now, try new purina one true instinct treats. i neverunderwear that's this, but actually pretty.leak always discreet boutique. hidden inside is a super absorbent core that quickly turns liquid to gel. so i feel protected... ...and pretty. always discreet boutique. i had a very minor fender bender tonight! in an unreasonably narrow fast food drive thru lane.

but what a powerful life lesson. and don't worry i have everything handled. i already spoke to our allstate agent, and i know that we have accident forgiveness. which is so smart on your guy's part. like fact that they'll just... forgive you... four weeks without the car. okay, yup. good night. with accident forgiveness your rates won't go up just because of an accident. switching to allstate is worth it.

this one's below market price and has bluetooth. same here, but this one has leather seats! use the cars.com app to compare price, features and value.

you know what's not awesome? gig-speed internet. when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids, and these guys, him, ah. oh hello. that lady, these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh, sure. still yes! xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. now you can get it, too. welcome to the party.

♪ >> let me ask another question. picking up on the first thing you said, isn't this partially an admission that things have gotten so partisan that we just really can't handle it through the normal institutional means? this is kind of...i mean, i know the specific reasons in this case because it was the attorney general, but don't we avail ourselves of this too often because we say, "well, partisanship has taken over, so we'll appoint someone who is a special counsel," but we still think independent, but is there really such a thing as an independent, totally independent, you know, neutral, totally neutral... >> pick up owhatou said... >> i want to get maria first. >> well, look, i think the risk here is that there' so much information out there that the american people don't know who to believe and what to believe. i think it's true. i think here you have a situation where the special counsel is investigating people, and undoubtedly he's going to find out what these specific people

have done if any wrongdoing and whether or not it has anything to do with collusion, he wants to check a box that he's go indictments. and that's where we are, but i think at this point, people are saying, "well, who am i believing now?" it's just too much information for the average guy and gal out there to really understand where the actual wrongdoing is and if there was collusion. we know that there isn't. we're following this every day. the average guy and gal out there is just knowing that there's a special counsel looking at collusion, even if he's actually not. he's looking at specific people. >> but... >> ari, yes, go ahead, please. >> i was just going to make the point about partisanship, that if the attorney general did retain those powers and didn't give it to a special counsel, you'd still have charges of partisanship against that attorney general. >> of course you would. >> now the charges are against the counsel. partisanship is a part of the land today. that's why my starting point is ethics. if somebody has some type of ethical reason to recuse, they must recuse. >> but it was part of the landscape then, too, wasn't it? i mean, i in some ways see this

as almost a confession that we designed the system wrong, that, you know, separation of powers, division of powers wasn't right. maybe they should've, at the very beginning, said, "when you get really tough cases where people get really partisan, we'll have these special people anointed." >> there's not a grand inquisitor in this document. >> okay, good. >> that's what we've got. we have a grand... whether we call him an independent counsel or a special counsel, we're looking for a grand inquisitor who's going to get to the bottom-line truth. we the people are supposed to decide who governs us, and the congress of the united states cannot continue to abdicate its responsibility and allow this kind of thing to continue because it's so disruptive. it is partisan. there's a schism occurring in this country that is unhealthy to the future, and my goal is to look after those 17 grandkids of mine and make sure that they do have one. >> okay. >> one of the great outbursts or results from the "federalist papers" was a notion called self-interest properly understood. >> there you go. >> and self-interest properly understood, now we as individual americans

will of course advocate for ourselves, but the "properly understood" part of it meant, "and the nation, too." there was something inside all of us a couple hundred years ago where we put such much pride in building this nation that we also had an interest, a national interest in each of us, that's been frayed, and returning to that "properly understood" where we also want what's good for america even if it's not good for me individually, is something that'd be healthy for this republic. >> are we there? this takes us to the whole question of the balkanization. again, it seems to me -- let's put special counsel, independent counsel in the rearview mirror for a second -- but just say that the point where we're at now is, we believe it is so balkanized, there's so much division, so much partisan antipathy, that the system is broken down, doesn't work, and this counsel thing is kind of a fix-it. has it broken down? is it worse than it's ever been? >> i don't think it's worse than it's ever been. i mean, we had a civil war in this country. >> yeah, okay, okay. >> we had... you talk about partisan, having duels on the south lawn

of the white house or the west wall of the congress or the capitol building, i mean, every time everybody says, "it couldn't get any worse than this," yeah, it can. i mean, things could get a lot worse, particularly when bad things happen overseas. we tend to divide ourselves when we're comfortable. we tend to pull together, i mean, 9/11 being the perfect lost opportunity. i mean, quite frankly, if i think george w. bush had gone out and said, "i want the american people to rally behind us and buy victory bonds," instead of "go to the mall," not to pick on you, but that's what happened, okay? there was a wonderful opportunity to pull the country together, and you saw that in the enlistment rates in the armed forces of the united states. we're pulling apart today because we're comfortable. >> do we not appeal enough to what ari has phrased "self-interest rightly understood"? do we appeal too much to the mall or the self-interest? >> i just want to say, i think we have to be honest about modern times. this is as bad as it's ever been in modern times.

i mean, they don't even talk to each other, the two sides. you know, they don't agree on anything, and they are fighting all the time to the extent that they're just trying to take down the other side. so if you just look at... i mean, i recognize, obviously, civil war, i'm not going to compare that, but when you look at modern times, the right and the left are as far as they've ever been in my opinion. >> i disagree with that. >> oh, really? >> well, i... >> i think, yeah, it depends on your definition of modern times, but 1968 was pretty bloody and bad... >> okay. >> it's pretty bad now, though. >> ...on our domestic shores. well, hold on. you had kent state. you had the national guard shooting people. you had a riot with the police initiating the riot at the democratic convention in chicago. you had violence in america's streets, not to mention the assassination of martin luther king... >> of course. >> ...and the destruction of cities. we've gone through far, fare worse. today, we have twitter, and people are letting it all rip with their thumbs. thank goodness it's just their thumbs. so yeah, i think we are a noisy democracy. we are a tough democracy, but i've seen a lot worse in my lifetime, and i'm just waiting for the day where we have a president

where all americans finally say, "i admire this guy," and i've got to tell you, that was george w. bush right after september 11th. this country did pull together. i've seen it as well. >> on top of a fire truck in new york city. >> yeah. >> powerful moment. >> i may disagree a little bit. i mean, annus horribilis, 1968, no question about it, and deserves to be called that, but a lot of those catastrophes were things we shared in and agreed that they were catastrophes, and they were awful, and they were national calamities. in terms of the divisiveness, i mean, they were horrible things. in terms of divisiveness, it seems to me you could make a pretty good case for now. >> well, i agree with maria on the partisanship point. i mean, we used to at least take comfort in some of our committees, like the intelligence committees, you know, but now... >> good example. good example. >> ...now, you know, you put on the news, and they have the ranking member, and then we have the... i mean, what does the man in the street believe? i mean, they...

>> well, how do you solve it? how do you address it? the independent counsel, obviously, is just for one context, one place, but supposing you have this terrible sense of partisanship and balkanization, whether it's the worst or not in modern history, how do you address it? what do you do about it? >> my view is, there will eventually be a point of pent-up demand on capitol hill to work together and get things done, that they'll eventually hit this breaking point where they say, "i didn't come here only to argue and do nothing." now, tax reform, when tax reform passed, got signed into law, you started to see the poll numbers rise for republicans or the president. there's a clue there for republicans -- get things done. break the partisanship. and this is where i see success, and the trick to a lot of this, frankly, is to abolish the filibuster. it's not in the constitution. it's added to the strife because you need 60 votes for everything, and you can't get 60 votes on anything. so if you want to return to the days of democracy and majority rule prevailing, abolish the filibuster, and whoever is in charge, it's on your shoulders now. deliver or don't. >> oh, meanwhile, nancy pelosi

is calling the tax bill crumbs... >> right. >> ...and calling it armageddon. "people will die." i mean, these are things that have come out of nancy pelosi's mouth. >> right. >> so i just think that, yeah, you can do that, and you can make sure the people understand, get things done, but i also think you need to change the players. i think some... there's something to term limits, and think peop want to see things get done, but they also don't want to see the sa people in the same jobs getting nothing done, and i think it's really hard to argue that the tax cuts did not actually move the needle on the economy, so the democrats are going to have to answer that come november why not one of them voted for the tax plan. ♪ whatever you do to stay healthy. you might be missing something. your eyes. that's why there's ocuvite. ocuvite helps replenish nutrients your eyes can lose as you age.

it has lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3. ocuvite. be good to your eyes. are finding themselves morin a chevroletple for the first time. trying something new can be exciting. empowering. downright exhilarating. see for yourself why chevrolet is the most awarded and fastest growing brand, the last four years overall. switch into a new chevy now. current qualified competitive owners and lessees can get this 2018 chevy equinox for around $199 a month. chevrolet. find new roads.

>> this is a fox news alert. i'm kelly wright. the new york authorities in texas are investigating unconfirmed reports at this hour, to explosions and far south as austin. we know at this time that two male victims have been hospitalized with what were now are being described as non- life-threatening injuries. no word yet if this is related to three previous explosions earlier this month that killed two people and injured another

two. earlier today the austin placed hermit, the fbi in the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms and exposes announced an increased in the reward for information leading to the rest of the person or people behind those explosions. the reward now stands at $100,000 and that's in addition to the 15000 been offered by texas governor, greg abbott's office. we areta following the story wil bring you more as it develops. now back to wiseguys. >> yeah, it was pretty bad against george bush, but nowhere near this bad. >> no, not that bad. >> nowhere near this bad. >> i watched -- i mean, i've been here, watched both bushes, watched reagan, dan quayle, who i thought got an awful time, but i've never seen anything like this. you know who agrees with me? jimmy carter agrees with me. >> i mean, we also haven't had a president bush or reagan who attacked the fbi, who attacked the basic institutions of government the way president trump has.

i mean... >> fbi h dona pretty good job of its own undermining, hasn't it? >> well, no question about it, but... >> let me rise to the defense of the president. >> oh, i'm not attacking the president. >> no, but what i hear you saying, bob, >> we are following the elements going on in austin, texas right now where news coverage is underway. let's listen in. >> we want everyone within a half-mile radiance of this intersection of back here in travis country to stay inside your homes until we have had a chance to deem this neighborhood safe and that will not be at a minimum until daylight given the darkness in the size of the area that we want to go in and check

to make sure that again, this neighborhood is safe. we want to put out the message that we have been putting out and that is not only to not touch any packages or anything that looks like a package and do not go near it at this time. given the darkness we've not had an opportunity to look to determine what has happened but it is obvious there has been an explosion and it's caused significant injuries to two people in and support for anyone in the neighborhood behind us to remain inside and give us time to work through this. we do have the second item in the area of that fact that we are cleaning right now to ensure that it is safe so it is a very active scene behind us right now. we will work through the night into the morning hours. again, he will not take questions tonight because we don't know a lot at this point. it is unfolding but we wanted to get before you to the safety message out to all the residents of this neiborhooetting them know what has happened to

ay inside and give us time. if you saw anything suspicious earlier this evening please give us a call. call 911 to report it or user tip line right now we would prefer that you call the 911 so we can get on that immediately. again, the most important thing, stay in your residence and don't touch anything that look suspicious and do not go near it as well. we will come back and review in the early morning hours and the earliest we can do before sun comes up and we can find out what happens out here. thank you. >> [inaudible] >> you had the question right they are being asked of the austin and travis county or country area in terms of asking the sheriff there is this related to other bombings that took place there in austin travis county texas and he walked off basically stating that he would not answer any questions but ordering people and asking people to stay inside

for the night. also explaining do not touch any packages and do not go out for any reason at all because of the packages that are out there and they are looking at a second package right now that they are investigating to be sure that it is not a device that can blow up on someone. this is confirming reports that moments ago there were two explosions in austin, texas and two people have been taken to the hospital with unknown injuries at this hour. is not known if these explosions are at all related to the string of explosions that have taken place that has plagued the city over the last few weeks. at least two people were killed and several others injured in three separate explosions that occurred earlier. again they were asking the sheriff there if this particular night was related to that. we are following all the dayelopers of this in earlier should point out that austin police announced a reward

ing oered for information about those bomngs and those previous bombings have now increased to $100,000 along with the governor's texas governor greg abbott offering another $15000 as well to get any information at all that might lead to the arrest and capture of the suspect or suspects. as we continue to follow the developments of this sheriff for the austin county, travis county texas police telling everyone in this neighborhood and travis called it travis country basically saying do not touch any packages and do not go outside for any thing to touch a package and he was basically saying make sure you tell your neighbors to stay indoors. as you can imagine it is a fearful and frightful night for people living in the neighborhood that has been plagued by bombings for the past month and we will continue to follow the developments and

again, to update you on this we started getting reports earlier in the night that there were then unconfirmed reports about the possibility of two more explosions taking place in austin, texas and the two people have been taken to the hospital with unknown injuries. we are told that their injuries are bad but expected to survive. it is not known if these two explosions are at all related to the string of explosions that has plagued the city over the last few weeks. quite a night for the people living there in the southwest part of austin and we know at this time the two male victims have been hospitalized with what for an hour beescred as nonlife earning interest rate on kelly wright will continue t follow the development of the night and bring you an update as soon as available.

breathe freely fast with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! i can breathe again! vicks sinex... breathe on. ♪ come to my window ♪ ohh ♪ crawl inside ♪ wait by the light of the moon ♪ ♪ come to my window

♪ i'll be home soon ♪ ♪ i'll be home, i'll be home ♪ ♪ i'm coming home ♪ ♪ come to my window ♪ ohh applebee's to go. order online and get $10 off $30. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

yes or no? do you want the same tools and seamless experience across web and tablet? do you want $4.95 commissions for stocks, $0.50 options contracts? $1.50 futures contracts? what about a dedicated service team of trading specialists? did you say yes? good, then it's time for power e*trade. the platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. looks like we have a couple seconds left. let's do some card twirling twirling cards e*trade. the original place to invest online.

♪ >> if the influence or if the credibility of the press is going down -- they are different questions, but if people don't believe what they're watching, is it as powerful as it thinks it is, or is it as big a worry as many of us think it is? a lot of people worry about the mainstream media. a lot of conservatives do, but if people aren't buying it, not believing it, is it having that impact, that potency? >> that's a great question, and another poll showed that in the october 2016 trust in the press to tell the news fully, fairly, and accurately was at a historic all-time low. i'll put it this way. there was a time 20, 30 years ago and beyond when the press was all-powerful. if there was a headline in the new york times, the american people accepted it. today, if there's a headline inthe new york times, the american people question it. the press has lost credibility to a tremendous degree compared to what they used to have. and that's their problem, and i would love to have somewhere i could go when i saw a headline, i accepted it.

i knew it had to be so. we've lost that. >> yeah. >> it's occasionally so. it's not always so. >> agree? i agreeand i think that, you know, this didn't just start under donald trump. i mean, when you go back 10 years, and you look at the obama administration and sort of the divisiveness, "you didn't build that. pay your fair share." and then you had the financial crisis where people lost, watched the value of their homes decline and the value of their stock portfolios decline. people lost trust in institutions in general, the banks, government, congress. look at all of these other approval ratings. they're way down. people do not trust institutions in a lot of situations. >> i'll tell you. there's one exception i've noticed, and this is because of my work. and this is true, i don't care what the network is. when i high-profile person comes under investigation by the department of justice, it seems that people sign on to it.

they don't question the press. they don't question the department of justice, you know... >> which is all the more reason that he had to recuse himself... you mean they think... >> they accept what they are hearing, you know? >> ...jeff sessions, you got to keep the ethical... >> you mean that the guy is guilty. >> that the guy is guilty. >> oh, you're talking about the press's perspective, not the american people. >> because the story line is too good. the narrative is too good... >> okay. >> ...the powerful being brought down. >> i want to pick up on what you said, and that is, well, you put it your way about... i was thinking of aldous huxley, who talks about... this great phrase, the tragedy of a fact killing a theory. right. it happens sometimes. >> yeah. >> nice to work in the realm of facts, and tell us. >> well, the broader point was that the media can't be trusted. maria works in a part of the media where people tune in beuse it's belvable. >> yeah. >> a it's... >> well, the fact is, is what i'm doing, business news and looking at markets and looking at business, this is all measurable, okay?

>> right. >> there's a reason that we know how the economy is doing. we got the gdp report out, and we're looking at growth of about 3 percent. we're talking about 4 percent growth possible for 2018. earnings for the s&p 500 are expected to be up 20 percent in 2018. wages, which we've been waiting to move for years, are up about 2.5 percent year over year. we're seeing things that are moving in the right direction, and these things are measurable. you cannot, you know, put on rose-colored glasses about something that's actual, measurable, and we can actually, you know, look at it, add it up and know what kind of growth and economic backdrop we're talking about. >> so you're in a safer place when you do your show... >> i think so. >> ...than a lot of people. okay. >> maria is also in a more in-touch place because the press's tendency is to so overplay and go to scandal-laden news that they've exhausted the public, but the public cares so much more about their daily lives, their pocketbook... >> okay, okay.

>> ...how they're taking care of their kids and their grandkids. >> right. >> so there's such a passive acceptance of what maria talks about on the air, and passive in the good sense, that people absorb it because they want to learn more, and it drives their life. >> and it's accessible. >> and... >> it actually matters to people. >> that's it. >> these are pocketbook, kitchen-table issues. >> that's what i mean. people just accept it passively. >> and i don't think people... >> that's what they're interested in... >> right. >> ...have preconceived... >> ...as opposed to the scandals. >> ...notions of what you say. i think, when i watch you, i want to learn about what you're talking about. i don't approach it with an attitude that i already have. >> yeah. >> right, your attitude about the markets in the far east, yeah. >> but how much coverage does the gdp report get compared to the latest scandal news? >> you're right. >> not much. >> that's the problem. they don't get it. ♪ number spring clearance event'

on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort, your sleep number setting. does your bed do that? it's the last chance for clearance savings up to $600. plus free home delivery on most beds. ends monday. visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you. does it look like i'm done?yet? shouldn't you be at work? [ mockingly ] "shouldn't you be at work?" todd. hold on. [ engine revs ] arcade game: fist pump! your real bike's all fixed. man, you guys are good! well, we are the number-one motorcycle insurer in the country. -wait. you have a real motorcycle? and real insurance, with 24-hour customer support. arcade game: wipeout! oh! well... i retire as champion. game hog! champion.

>> how much does a good economy...i'm not talking here about james carville, "it's the economy, stupid," in terms of predicting electoral success. how much does it soothe? how much does it ease the joints when that economy picks up? [ laughter ] yeah. sure, it'll have political ramifications, but is that more where people live than the other things we've been talking about? >> massively, and maria used the magic words, wage growth.

that's what it's all about today. this is now about "are the middle-class, blue-collar workers getting the first pay raise they've gotten in 15 to 10 years?" because they haven't. we just have been flat for that long, and when you start making more money, you just start to feel good about life. >> right. >> and that's what drives voter behavior, and it's the big untold story of the trump years. how much will wages increase and when? and let me give you a couple, just numbers on growth. from 1948 until 2008, our erican economy grew at from00to 2016,peent annually. the economy grew at 1.5 percent annually. we've been starving for strong growth. it's the answer to everything. >> yeah. i agree. >> and it insulates us from other kinds of worries and anxieties. is that right? >> i think so. >> yes. >> does it? does it? >> i think so. >> people are feeling better. >> right. >> they're going to behave differently. >> go ahead. you're a little troubled by this. too much about money? too much... >> no, no, no, but chronic optimist... >> talk about how much you were paid by the marine corps. come on. >> the chronic... >> there are higher callings, right? >> the chronic optimist in me wants to believe that that's going to continue,

and i hope it does because i think my mission in life is those 17 grandkids that i got now, see? the downer in all of this is we tend, i think, in good times -- and these are good times -- we tend to be distracted from the things that could change it all, and i'm not talking about the politics so much as we've got a very serious threat facing this nation, and that is the nuclear ambitions of the iranians and the north koreans, and so all the news coming out of the closing of the olympics a few weeks ago or the start of the olympics even further back, is "this is an opportunity for us to have a negotiation with the north koreans." well, that's all the north koreans want, is another negotiation. they've had 10 of them now, and every time, they've taken advantage of it to advance their nuclear weapons program and their icbms, which are being funded by the iranians, and the end result is, if you have a single nuclear weapon go off anywhere in the world, this economic boom that we have going on right now

will stop like that. >> you're right. you're right, but, colonel, correct me if i'm wrong. how much of the middle east right now, when you look at the population, how many of the people are below 30 years old? economic activity changes a person's life. >> all true. >> if you get to that person who is under 30 years old, and you create an opportunity, and you let that person see that, "wow. there are economic opportunities. i don't have to ve like this," maybe they will go toward good rather than evil. >> i would hope so. i would hope so, particularly when it comes to iran because that is the loose cannon in the gun deck. >> i think it's 70 percent of the people there are below 30 years old... >> exactly. >> ...certainly in saudi arabia. >> wow. >> so what we ought to be doing, for example, is having him go up on voa or any one of the farsi broadcasts and get the europeans behind it to start moving things in the right direction inside tehran, and we're not doing that in part because we're feeling pretty good about where we are right now. >> is it true that... i was just thinking about it when you were talking, maria. is it true? i think it's true that, in india,

it's one of the largest muslim populations in the world, but indian youth tends not to turn toward islamic extremism as it does in other parts of the world, tends to turn toward economic well-being. >> you've got a democracy. >> and india is a democracy. >> and there's growth. >> am i accurate on that? okay. >> don't forget the mumbai attack, which was islamic crazy jihadis. >> homegrown. >> well, and helped by external forces, meaning iran. >> but it's not so endemic in a huge population as it is in other parts of the world, and is it because of what maria was saying? >> yes. i think so. >> okay. so this... pick up a thread here. this importance of the economy and money and wage earning to the american people, which is paramount... you used the word... you didn't use it, but you used a word like it... is it underreported, the importance of it? is it underreported, you think? >> it's underreported by the press. it is always first and foremost in the minds of the people, and it's part of the reason the people have stopped trusting

the press because the press's agenda is so different from... >> not reporting what's important. >> ...the public considers important to them in their daily lives... >> right. >> ...which is why maria's fact-based statistics news touches people in a way that politics news has tired people. >> there's also a lack of connecting the dots in terms of the general media. for example, that we have seen.egulations under president obama, the federal registry, the number of pages in the federal registry went up to 96,000. that is equivalent to 15 king james bibles, okay? under president... >> and not as good. >> right, exactly. under president trump, he has cut the number of regulations down by 30 percent. why is this important? because in the last 10 years, business managers were sitting on cash because they weren't sure what new rule and regulation was around the corner, what they were going to have to do to hire more compliance officers to comply with the new rules, hire more lawyers because they were getting sued and they were being attacked, and so that's where all of the money went rather

than hiring new people, putting it into investment. that's what creates general growth, and that's why we've seen animal spirits triggered as a result of this rollback in regulations. >> and it's that economic strength that makes america powerful and good. it's the answer to military issues. the more strength we have in the economy, the stronger our military can be, and it's also the technological answer. if you want to worry about global warming and you want to stop driving this car or that car, wait. invest -- capitalism. the technological breakthrough that will happen one day that takes us off of fossil and on to something else is what's going to solve these problems, not government mandates or regulations. it's capitalism. it's freedom. it's economics. >> right. >> it is the free flow of smart people going to where the return is the highest that solves our problems. ♪ ignores me while i drive. it's fine. because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident free. and i don't share it with mom! right, mom? righttt.

safe driving bonus checks. only from allstate. switching to allstate is worth it. (a voby daft punk is heard bettethroughout.) (sound of typing) (sound of exhaling) (sound of drilling) jimmy (shouting): james! brand vo: the world's largest workforce works for themselves.

we work for them. quickbooks. backing you.

.. ♪ >> you guys were having a sidebar, and i want to just put it out there. you asked a question of ollie. would you repeat it,

about drones? >> i was asking the colonel what happens if there is massive drone attack, just like the south korean in the opening ceremony of the olympics had these beautiful swarm of drones. >> oh, it scared me when i saw that. >> what happens if it's not a beautiful swarm, it's a attack swarm? >> we talked about a lot of issues in this thing, but there's a way of actually programming drones, or incorrectly called drones, but they program them and then launch them. using artificial intelligence, as long as you got a grid coordinate for them to go to or a car to follow or a license plate, you could be swarmed by drones that have as little as 2 grams of explosive in it that can kill you. it can penetrate a helmet. it can penetrate a flak jacket, and the scary thing that you've got people staying up late at night at the pentagon worrying about is, how do you defend yourself against something you cannot stop because there's so many of them, right? >> right. >> and there's no way to jam the signals or anything like that. what do you use, shotguns? >> yeah. >> i want to stay with you a second because we've talked about

the country and its problems and its politics and the importance of the economy, importance of facts. what about your world? are we worried about not having enough good people sign up for the defense of this country, or is this not a problem? >> well... >> is there still that big appeal out there in the hearts of young americans? >> i think i've probably interviewed several thousand, certainly, individuals and asked them, "why did you join?" and invariably, it comes back to 9/11, even though they were 2 or 3 years old when it happened and as recently as just a few weeks ago. i was just out at the hospital at walter reed and asking, "why did you join this branch of service?" and it's because of a role model. we need 60,000 people to sign up over the next half year to meet the numbers, and they'll get them as long as we're treating the veterans of this war properly. if the constant noise is, "the va has failed us again," if the constant noise is that they're being treated like victims by the media -- in many case they are... what does a guy want? he's badly wounded. he's missing both legs.

he wants to be productive for his family. invariably, about 60 percent of them are married today, unlike when i was a young guy, and it was, like, 10 percent. >> yeah. yeah. >> and they're looking for that economy to give them the opportunity. >> yeah. >> and so if you give them, if you will, a fair and balanced perspective and the opportunity, they know. they've been to places where you flick a switch, and the lights don't go on. you can't drink what comes out of a faucet, and they know in america you can do both, and they know in america you can use your god-given gifts and talents as long as there's an opportunity out there. so my encouragement to every employer i talk to is "hire a vet." you don't...you can't put up a sign that says, "veterans only need apply," but you can say, "veteran wanted." >> right now, will we get that 60,000? >> well, as long as we've got a good enough economy to put the guys who are getting out into good jobs, they will encourage others to join. >> okay. well, good. we raised a lot of questions. did we settle any? maybe, more or less. i think we agreed on some things, but that means we can have another show this week and settle them next time.

thank you very much, wise guys, wise lady. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> breaking tonight, president trumps lawyer confirming within the hour that the president is not considering firing special counsel robert mueller despite the frenzy of speculation from the left that mr. trump is about to trigger a constitutional crisis. good evening. welcome to the next revolution. i am steve hilton and this is the home of positive populism. judge name is with me and coulter will be joining us a