>> this is the "the chris matthews show." >> ask not what your country can do for you. >> tear down this wall. >> i can hear you. >> the time for change has come! >> today, a final special edition of chris and his regulars and the big issues in america's future. chris: i'm chris matthews and welcome to this special final show of our great 11 years on the air. we have 17 of our wonderful panelists gathered here. but today let's turn ahead. here's one of the issues, probably the most persistent and intractable for our country ut some day soon, will americans' race or ethnic

background be irrelevant? >> i don't know that it actually should be irrelevant. we always talk about race as if it is this awful, toxic thing. race and racism are very different. so racial background can be a part of who they are without being necessarily an impedestrianiment. i think we are seeing in this moment a redefinition of the race. for a long time when we thought about race it was a binary issue, black america and white america. now it is all kinds of things, multihued, multiethnic and racial identities ever always shifting. so when a kid grows up ats more likely that race will be an important part of their portfolio, background but not necessarily the thing that will hold them back. that's much more to do with class. chris: you know, growing up in philadelphia and being an

african-american kid and going to independence hall and having your teacher take you, coming out of that, it is a plaque president. that is what led us to a truly post racial or at least part of the way there. i think it really changed the way we look at the future and past. >> no question. i think president obama has opened up a new era. complex. troublesome in some ways but in many ways very exciting and enriching. the thing that makes this country great is its diversity, the fact that it's an ongoing argument and clash of people and civilizations and people were -- from all over the porled -- world. and the president being president, it's ok for everybody else to say it's ok for us to try this. old the sense of break stereotypes and creating new ones, where we don't see the president as a black job but in fact it's starting to be one in

hollywood movies! [laughter] and lets remember our generation, our kids vute world differently than we do. they've got their own hierarchies and status symbols. race doesn't mean the same to them. there can be cultural aspects to race that we overlook. when i was in high school, poverty was a -- was white appalachian the but the time i finished college it was a black urban dweller. today, what is poverty? poor wlites still outnumber other races in lower income br but a lot of poor whites don't view themselves as poor because it's not culturally chic. the government programs, that's for those other people. >> mike duffy, i looked at the "new york times" today. 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 1986, the attempt at immigration reform they talked about illegal immigrants add

them, illegal aliens. now it's undocumented workers. much softer, more inclusive. is that a fear of offending people or a true recognition that the people who have been living here a while really are pretty much us? >> there's no question there's a p.c. quality to not saying illegal aliens any more because they themselves have not broken laws by being here, their status is illegal. when it's said and done, everybody is staying. and that's a great quality of american history that more will come of all different stripes and colors. >> it's reality. it's who we are. >> andrew, are we, meaning americans, you included, are we still going to use that word superpower? i don't even like it very much. the lone superpower, with -- are we going to be that 20 years from now? >> with any luck we won't be.

we will understand what the founders understood. when you leave america and go back and look at it from like over here and you see that giant culture with two vast oceans in between it and it feels it's paranoid and terrified of 9 rest of the world and wants this enormous military and industrial complex to control it you just scratch your head after a while and realize that eisenhower was on to something. so was jefferson and washington. i think the transition to post imperial america is coming and i welcome it. i want to say something about the racial stuff. the president did preside over a revelusion but not racially. it's been a real revolution of course rights of gay people. getting married was a dream. during the show, i became married. this is a huge, huge social change. this president, especially in

the african-american community, did a huge amount to help it. that, we'll remember the >> bob woodward, we are the superpower militarily. is that the key to our grease -- greatness? we do seem to rely on military strength to enforce our dominance. >> sometimes. i think the real question is going to be not are wet only superpower but can we hold our own? it is a dangerous world out there where things can blow up. you can name 12 countries where there is such uncertainty and instability. on the other hand i think the really big question that can be solved here in the united states is the economy. the free market is working, it is an entrepreneurial class that have done some amazing things in technology. but the government, i.e. the white house and the congressional -- congress, have not figured out a way to soft

spending and fiscal problems. and if you get into the dell -- detail which i've done and it makes your head hurt, they are really close at many, many times and they cannot resolve it. and it's really a shame. if that were resolved, we would be in a much better position to hold our own. chris: david brooks, how do we nurture the american magic? >> people come here and see two things. first, that god's plans for humanity can be completed here. and second, they will -- they can get really rich in the process. [laughter] we are a materialistic company, and that's what makes us more dynamic. we're really good at creating networks. you can move into a city, get on cragse list and you have a network of friends in a few eeks the that's the clash of cultures that makes creation happen.

chris: remember ronald reagan saying i can make big boost. er rockets but didn't -- can't do this thing that looks like they may be able to do it in this place called silicon valley? we still that have. the magical thing, the manhattan project that says build um the government overnight the >> you go out to silicon valley it's still, whether that part of the world now and covered, whether it's in boom or bubble or bust, the energy there is still protean all the time and the revolutions that are going to tum -- come out of the same that, in all the different areas of science and technology we're going to see over the next 20 years are going to be exorbitantly greater than we've seen in the last 20 years. chris: is that still there,

katty? like the guy who is going to start a motel chain, richard gere, do we still have that advantage over the brits that we can still have the working class dream. the british working class kid's dream is to have his father's job? >> despite the problems, the markets are booming, there is an evolution throughout the country making business cheaper. you have french companies investing in plants in ohio right now. a lot of good things. the question for me is will washington stand in the way of the progress in chris: joe, just got back from berlin a few months ago. they've got the most buehrle civil engineering in the world. just beautiful structures. then you go up -- the train structure there, fantastic rides. you have the bullet trains in asia, the chunnel. why don't we do that stuff?

>> europe is very -- has a lot of people in a very, very small place. part of the magic of this country has always been the open spaces of it. and the other big difference, the thing that makes me ultimately optimistic about this country, is that in a world that is retribalizing we're doing the exact opposite. the people were are starting the motel chains aren't white protestant americans. theye from gudge erat -- gujarat in india. and the creation and the hmong relization, and i say that in the best sense of the word -- that's what makes us great. chris: liz marlantes, we do find ourselves at war and helping other people at war. how good is that getting? you hear such good things about the military. >> it did its job in iraq and

afghanistan. the country does not hold the military responsible for the wars. it did what it was asked to and performed extremely well. but the military-industrial complex andrew was talking about, right now the military s shrinking. the troops are curming home from afghanistan and i think it's really the intelligence industrial complex we're going into with the fiber warfare. the pentagon is pouring millions, billions into psycher warfare and that is right now where the u.s. is ahead of the wrest -- rest of the world. although it's also the u.s.'s greatest vulnerability. >> intelligence is a frontier in terms of keeping america safe but when you look around the world you see authoritarian societies trying to use intelligence to keep their populations down and it be isn't working. one of the really striking facts about the future is

authoritarian governments are failing. they're failing in russia, in china, recently in turkey, they're failing to the arab world. and that's something we have to remember. there is this global political awakening going on and america has a huge advantage because we're an open society. we worry about nsa surveillance but compared to the police states of the world that are failing we're nowhere near that. chris: we're going to have a bit of a celebration when we come back, including champagne out there owning it. the ones getting involved and staying engaged. they're not afraid to question the path they're on. because the one question they never want to ask is "how did i end up here?" i started schwab for those people. people who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives.

chris: we're back and we're going -- going have a little celebration. i said including champagne. this is very unusual for this show but here they come! aur -- our people are going to

be rewarded here. >> i've waited 10 years for this! >> can i ask you a question? chris: sure, bob the >> in your book, "hardball," it came out in 1988, 25 years ago and chapter 12 has the following heading, "the press is the enemy." [laughter] chris: yeah, that's true! >> do you think that's still true? chris: well, it's not morally true but i always warn people when they're on the record that they're always on the record. that was one of the rules because some politicians still continue to make the mistake that if they're friendly with somebody, they're not dealing with a reporter. like you, bob! >> well, as you know, everything is off the record unless it's really good. [laughter] chris: i do -- >> people all over the world if not the town --

chris: the funny thing is how we learn from reach other. i was wotch -- watching you, bob. you're probably the most well known and respected print guy in the business. continually someone says something to the other one that the other didn't know. you read all the papers in the morning and we're news nuts and it's amazing how much you hear from a different angle. that's why i love this show. >> can i ask you a question? >> with the clips from movies and television and historical political clips shows us how politics is in our lives and history and the issues come back. so we got to laugh on your show, which is one of the things i loved much. >> did a lot of reporting on this show. a lot of reporting in the green room. chris: can you say "dateline"? >> when you do the "tell me something i don't know," that put pressure on us. >> was there ever anything you

actually didn't know? >> some of the stuff i told you on tell me something i don't know, i made up [laughter] >> andrew, you have a glass of something there -- >> i'm in england so it's my third glass of champagne. chris: you made history on the show when you talked about your marriage the of all the programming we did here, we never planned any of it really but you really established your love for your husband on this program and how nobody complained and it's just great. thank you for doing that. >> chris, that's a compliment to you and your big heart and acute mind. i'm so grateful for your pport and everyone's support for me and my husband on this adventure we're on and are still on. it was wonderful to do that on your show. hris: well, i think god made

us all. as you know, that's my religion. >> all of us have been in the position where we are the lone woman on the panel. on your show right from the beginning you made a point of having two women and two men. it made a big difference to us the chris: i think that was a nancy nathan decision. you know why? because there's something about having men and women together that creates more conviviality, you know what i mean? you get more than two guys there and it becomes a bull fight and we don't need that! >> and chris, your love of politics is so infectious to everybody sitting here that, you know, you're the host but you come up with these fabulous ideas and the theory about this and this. just kind of off the fly. it makes us as panelists think a little bit more about the politics that we cover. >> i always want to are have an exam you can't study for. that's my favorite exam. i don't have to exom peete with

the grinds! i always beat them at that. the guy that says give me 10 hours of homework, i'm going to lose that fight. but if you say come on, no warning, that's what i want. >> in politics you were associated with the progressive left. you actually have an open mind. >> and you're a great source. let me also say that. >> i don't know how great he was! >> i'm just glad we have this that was captured but we still have you in our lives on "hardball." >> chris: i always liked growing up those great pictures like m.g.m., niversary of cathrip hepburn sitting there just chatting away. this scene today and the last several weeks is exactly what i love because all these people with their own -- it's all a teaching thing we do here. we're always deach -- teaching.

>> chris, i'd like to congratulate you and thank you for 11 years of letting us finish. [laughter] >> sometimes! chris: and you were right about bill clinton. you were carrying the torch for him all those years. he did turn out pretty good. anyway, thank you all for watching. i'm going to have some thoughts now. later on the >> cheers. >> [ female announcer ] when you asked us to remove

high fructose corn syrup from yoplait original and light, we were like, "sure. no problem!" and you were like, "thanks, but what about thick & creamy and whips!" and we were like, "done and done! now it's out of everything yoplait makes." and you were all, "yum!" and we're like, "is it just us, or has this been a really good conversation?"

and you were like, "i would talk, but my mouth is full of yogurt." yoplait. it is so good! chris: we all know the phrase, all good things come to an end

sadly, throwing out a phrase like that doesn't at all lessen the hurt. this show, which i'm so proud to say carries my name, it -- is a work of the heart as well as the mind. it's a privilege to have the best journalists in the country sit with me each week and decipher the news. it's important and perhaps even a sign post to where we are headed on the planet. you know that part of the show where i ask, tell me something i don't know? well, the fact is i'm constantly -- constantly, i look at the whole show that way. these are not just journalists. they're people like you trying to get some grip on life. i'll still be on the air five nights a week at 5:00 eastern and again at 7:00. "hardball" is going to be around for a good long while. i really hope you will join my what were you will be missing

here. we never had a mission statement. my executive producer wrote it aught that we wanted to do omething different in tone and charm from other programs. a lot zippier than most public affairs and always friendly and often what we never planned -- surprisingly, downright fun. i want to thank the people who put this program on the air. neal shap i.r.a., -- shapiro, who launched the show. to all the people who get it you in the polished form in write -- which you see it. center -- this studio is a testament to history in the making. president eisenhower laid the cornerstone. now it it will be known forever as the place the -- "the chris matthews show" came to you. thinking allowed about

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good evening. i'm diane dwyer. the california highway patrol says a good samaritan was killed on highway 280 in woodside this morning after he stopped to help victims of a car accident. nbc bay area's kimberly terry's at chp in redwood city with the latest. >> the california highway patrol is investigating that accident which happened at about 2:40 this morning. the chp spokesperson, the public information officer, says that the accident happened in the southbound lanes of highway 280 just north of woodside road. a black honda clipped the rear end of a toyota suv causing that toyota to hit the c