>> production assistance for "inside washington" was provided by allbritton communications and "politico," reporting on the legislative, executive, and political arena. >> we will all need to make sacrifices, but we do not have to sacrifice the america we 5pbelieve in. >> exploiting emotions of fear, envy, and anxiety is not fall, it is not change, is partisanship. >> this week on "inside washington," the great american budget debate continues. where is it taking as a? >> the house of representatives

-paul ryan-tea party budget privatizes medicare. >> there is no privatize medicare. we're transforming medicare so it will be there in the future. >> the president kicks off his reelection campaign and chicago. mitt romney steps up. >> it is time we go on a course of greatness. >> 150 years after the civil war began, we are still divided nation. >> did you say the civil war is about states' rights, you are using the word that saying it is states' rights to own a slave. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> in his acceptance speech at

the 1984 democratic national convention in san francisco, walter mondaleaid that "by the end of my first term, i will reduce the reagan budget deficit by 2/3. mr. reagan will raise taxes, and so will i did he won't tell you, i just did." that did not work out too well for mr. mondale, as i recall. barack obama is talking about reducing the deficit and raising taxes, this time in response to paul ryan's deficit reduction plan. >> they want to give people like me a a tax cut that is paid for by asking 33 seniors each to pay $6,000 more in health costs. that is not right, and it is not going to happen as long as i'm president. >> it is almost as if he wanted to pay his political adversaries, supposedly us, in a cartoonish kind of like, in a caricature, as if we want to hurt people's grand barons, we are against families who have

children with autism or disabilities, and we don't want kids to go to college. how'd you have a serious debate about this? >> that is a very good question. how do you have a serious debate about this, mark? >> this is a debate has started. we have the scene character string of acquisitions, but the president did something he had not done for a long time. he had been missing in action in this debate, and he showed up any to the political high ground. he endorsed the tax cuts that were most popular, those on the highest income, and he defended medicare, which nobody wants to see cut. >> charles? >> the republicans offered the country plan. everybody agrees that we are going over the cliff of financially unless we do something, and as soon. that is what you heard from the president's own deficit commission, the era of denial is

over. republicans offered a series plan, obama gave a speech. that is what he does, that is all he knows how to do. >> series plan versus the speech, colby? >> i am not surprised to hear that characterization, even though i don't agree with that. paul mwai and's proposal what the impact that the president is talking about -- paul ryan a's proposal will have the back of the president is talking about. it is not about painting republicans as ogres. you will see a tremendous cut and energy, 70%, 25% cut in education, cuts in programs. those things are going to happen under his proposal. that is not a matter of makeup or mischaracterizing. it is what is going to happen. >> how do you have a serious debate about this, nina?

>> well, i am not sure how did the debate gets serious. in some sense you reap what you sow. republicans were trashing obama's plan because of and not controlling costs, and now it has come back to hit them very hard. the truth is that ryan in some ways has a serious plan on medicare. he is right about some things. you do need it skin in the game -- consumers do. obama is also right, in my view, anyway, the division is kind of a skewed. but obama does not have a real long-term -- >> is the president correct when he says that the ball rhinoplasty would create a completely different america? -- that the paul ryan plan would

create a completely different america? >> there is no question he is right. americans at a declining point in their earning power, you are going to begin a voucher and you are going to deal with the insurance companies. that is a prospect that is not only daunting, it is terrifying to most americans, to deal with insurance companies. the one way you can do it is to come together as a large group of people. that is the only way anybody has been able to negotiate with insurance companies. that in self is a different view of america -- >> except that what you have just described, which is supposed to be so horrible, is exactly what seniors are doing today with the prescription drug benefit. the exact same idea. they are given support, a voucher, and they purchase their own insurance with a drug plan, medicare part d, which is not always popular, but has come in

30% under its cost estimates. the only medical plan in the history of the united states which has actually save money. what is being prez's not privatization of medicare but a voucher. the rich get less and the poor get a bigger subsidy, which is exactly how you want it in a fair society. > have paul ryan and barack obama ever sat together in a room alone with the door closed to talk about this? >> no, and they don't have to pay is not the two of them that are going to decide if this bid is the parties that are going to decide this. if health care costs continue to rise, it is tough noogies for those -- >> it is not. had he read that ryan plan?

it is indexed. >> index at a cost of living, not health care. >> let me just go back to my point about the competing visions. paul ryan also has a vision for america, which he announced today he delivered his budget no. he sees america's workers and takers -- his words, not mine. that is his vision. obama's vision is a different kind of america, where we recognize achievemenen but also have a collective responsibility. that is different from the republican philosophy. >> why don't they just adopted the bulls-simpson plans can be done with that? -- bowles-simpson plan and just be done with that? >> they gave the report in december and what did he do? completely ignored it. at the time, state of the union

address, in the budget. asked him. >> he is talking about it now. >> oh, yeah, now, after paul ryan delivered his plan -- >> come in, said the spider to the fly. paul ryan comes out with this draconian plan, and -- >> there are two ways to look at this, that he waited when he should of that, or ", into my parlor, said the spider to the fly." >> $1 trillion in new tax breaks. it is going to be paid for by cuts in medicaid and medicare. the reality is, simpson-bowles involves $2 of spending cuts for every dollar of tax increase.

that is where it ought to be. >> let me put my head out of the week for a minute. what did you think of the president's speech per se? >> i like it, because barack obama, instead of fighting, drew tough lines. he pointed out that over the last decade, 90% of americans had the average income actually go down, and at the same time, the top 1% had seen their income grow by an average of a quarter of a million dollars. a trillion-dollar tax bite on top of that is unacceptable. this is the barack obama of 2008 -- >> before 2008 -- >> but the point is, is exactly obama of 2008. the one the debate he wants to have is over the bush tax cut and that is what he means by the chilean-dollar tax hike. it is a complete distortion of what the ryan plan is about.

the couny is heading off a cliff on debt. we of debating for a dozen years with the top rate should be. the debate should be about tax reform. it is not the bush tax cuts. what is in ryan is reducing all the rates, as added the president's own commission. everybody's rates, mid--20's, eliminating a trillion dollars worth of exemptions and deductions and loopholes, which is what we did in 1986, the most successful piece of legislation in the last 30 years. >> what yo cannot get around is that the tax cuts were not paid for and he wants to -- >> he kept -- >> he wants to perpetuate -- $500 billion a year into the next decade. >> that is false. >> that is the consequence of ryan. >> it is not, it is not about the bush tax cuts. >> the ryan plan keeps the tax

cuts. >> it does not, because you get all whole new scheme of taxes - >> something like this is just not that simple. >> we are involved militarily and east four countries, iraq, afghanistan, libya, pakistan. will the war ii, they sold war bonds -- world war ii, they sold wer -- war bonds. average room and raise taxes to pay for the korean war. how are we -- harry truman raise taxes to pay for the korean war. how are we paying for these wars? >> in world war ii, a up half of gdp. this is under 3% of gdp. >> so we don't have to pay for it? >> this is a man who was going

toxic over the prospect of the deficit. you are absolutely right, these are the most unpatriotic wars ever waged. fought without a draft, without tax increases. we got tax cuts. the war has been put on the national debt by the afghanistan and iraq wars, put on the national debt from the founding of this country in the 1776 to 1900 a.d., two world wars, the louisiana purchase, the civil war, the great depression. >> even if i conceded the wars are unpatriotic they are not the drivers of the dead. it is not me speaking, it is the president's own commission. it is demagoguery to say they are the drivers of the debt. >> do we agree on that?

>> yes. >> at least three of us do. plan,rles' plan, ryan's is a grand idea, but it is not goinin anywhere now and it has o details whatsoever. >> we were wondering if members of congress would allow the government to shut down pratt let's explore what actually happened. >> enough is enough. we are tired of being lied to by people who don't have a clue about the district of columbia and have an ideological view they want to impose upon us. >> they made a deal, they sold us out. >> that is the d.c. mayor vince gray and delegate eleanor holmes norton, democrats, the officials who are arrested at the capital while protesting the budget deal that obama amade with republicans. >> a couple of little minor things have been worked out in

the budget resolution. the minor things are what they are mad about now. a rider was put in the bill by agreement of the john boehner, president obama, and harry reid to provide the district from spending its money the way it sees fit -- to prevent the district from spending its money the way it sees fit. autonomy, the ability to spend money to wait you -- the way you feel you should. and money for the voucher program -- that was not solicited by officials of the city government. >> they could not get planned parenthood. it wanted to get planned parenthood. they went after d.c. -- is tha t what happened? >> it is part of the pro-life package. if you don't know before, you must know now that only 3% of

planned parenthood of's budget goes to abortion, because the jon kyl said was 90% and it turned out to be not true and a lot of people made fun of them. >> slightly off. >> some liberals, like vince gray and eleanor holmes norton, feel like they've been sold out, but the tea party, too, feels like they have been sold out. >> the congressional budget office projected the sittings of $30.5 billion, amounting to suited $370 million. it that is this year's -- going this year to $370 million. that is a sense of betrayal. john boehner had a tough time. with the democratic votes -- without democratic votes -- he lost republicans, and without the democratic votes it goes down. >> it was a triumph on his part

considering how the deal was demagogued and distorted in the last three days. yes, only 1% would have been appropriated in this fiscal year, which only has 5.5 months to go. but the savings are real. denial of authorization, so it cannot be spent in the future. it is real money. it is not going to happen between now and october. distortion is what led a lot of republicans on at the right to think that they were betrayed. given those facts, what they ended up with, losing only 1/3 of the freshman, was rather good. >> john boehner could not have gotten it done without the democrats. that is the harbinger of things to come. john boehner does not have full control of this conference -- >> democrats don't, either. >> well, it is not clear -- >> he is the leader -- >> this is larger, but it was

controlled, as it were. i actually think we will have a government shutdown, probably not over the debt limit, but maybe in the fall. there is a certain amount of bricks and it going on here -- brinksmanship going on here. john boehner completely understands that this would not be good for his party, but the president tends to win these battles. he may not be able to control his folks. you know, i really thought last week we came perilously close to wrapping a shutdown. -- to having a shutdown. >> the civil war among republicans and tea partyers wjla.co -- they keep reporting t again and again and it doesn't happen, but it will not stop them from reporting it in the future. >> mitt romney is in, and have

you seen a donald's numbers? >> i was born in hawaii. [applause] >> thus begins at barack obama's 2012 election campaign, at least officially. this is so odd, the president feeling compelled to announce at the start of his reelection campaign that he is constitutionally eligible for the job because yes, he was born in the usa mitt romney has formed an exploratory committee, and donald trump ties with mike huckabee in the latest cnn poll. he sees those who hunger and thirst for a murder conspiracy -- feeds those who hunger and thirst for a birther conspiracy. >> republicans were the party of lincoln, o the right side up the civil war and civil rights. then you have a donald trump.

[laughter] i cannot imagine the republican party doing it to itself. >> is it just because he has been on television and what? >> i refuse to accept on behalf of the party. [laughter] i turn it down. even for free, i will not take it. look, it is name recognition. it is not serious. if he runs, he will run and it will be a sideshow. it is away for the media to amuse itself between now and when we get serious, and why not? the race has not begun. but is not serious. it is a joke. >> i want to quote my good friend charles krauthammer rid this country has a nativist streak in it -- is small, but it is there. >> if the right candidate comes along -- i don't know who this would be, and 1992 bill clinton type -- vulnerable is president

obama? >> he is a vulnerable as long as 20% of americans think the country is headed in the right direction, unemployment is at 818%. any in common is vulnerable, -- on a planet is on 8.8%. any incumbent is a vulnerable. on this issue of donald trump, what happens is that it shaped the debate every republican has to take e stand on this. the country is concerned about jobs, economic well-being, national security, the deficit, health care. nobody even talks about this except some yahoo element in the republican party, primary voters, who want to emphasize this and go on talk shows and talk about it. donald trump is appealing to them, and he is putting this into the bloodstream and people are unfortunately not going to take republicans seriously -- >> trump is not shipping the

republican debate. the republican debate is all about the budget, all about ryan, all about medicare. we are at a serious point in our history and trump is a sideshow. we have fights i shows through our history and ts is another one -- we have had a side shows throughout our history and this is another one. >> what is going on in washington -- >> where is the -- >> no support in washington, but in this primary states, iowa, they're talking about the same things that trump is driving, and helen. -- palin. >> the face of the republican party will not be polite or john boehner, it will be the republican nominee for a 2012. >> it will not be donald trump to it that is why it is a farce -- it will not be donald trump. that is what it is a farce.

>> what about mike huckabee? is he a serious candidate? >> he is not running. he is too happy to run. >> enormously serious candidate if he runs. i aee with charles and nina, i would bet that he would not run. >> he is a big star on fox, popular, and building a dream house in florida. he would be gnuts to run. >> he would be taking a pay cut. >> exactly. >> any party has problems went fringe, many people become part of the action even for a little while. >> who is this serious front runner? >> mitt romney. >> absolutely. "wall street journal"/nbc poll

has it and a 40%, if you take into consideration that newt gingrich and tim pawlenty, the people who are really going to run and are committed to running -- >> romney pretty much guarantees that michele bachmann will be added that race -- >> trump is our al sharpton, no more, no less. >> michele bachmann could be the sabotage of tim pawlenty in iowa. there is a room for only one minnesota candidate in iowa and tim pawlenty is potentially the strongest. >> the anniversary of the civill war. >> states' rights. >> i am embarrassed not to know. >> the question was, why was the civil war fought? 150 years ago this week, the shots werefired at fort sumter. william faulkner said that the past is not dead, it is not even

passed. are we still fighting it, charles? >> i don't think so. there is consensus on the slave rate. -- slavery. you could argue that we are arguing about the basic values of the country, but every country does that. 150 years later -- we had civil rights, which succeeded, attributed the fundamental decency of america. it heals itself. >> it is not quite as simple as all that. [laughter] >> well, american history and 20 seconds. >> you did go through a lot of things. >> i did. >> there is no commemorating both sides. one side was very bad, did some wrong things, they fought for the wrong reasons, fought for the wrong cause, and i'm glad they've lost and that is why i'm sitting here today. >> nina? >> it is the essence of our

history, and i would say to anybody who was not seen "the civil war" series on public television, at least make your kids watch it to understand who we are and how we became a single nation. >> the 2010 census showed that the first time, african- americans are moving back in significant numbers to the south. is it over? it is at least for people who made that decision. the other thing is, after the civil war, we talked about ourselves as americans, not texans or ohioans. >> you have the last word. we will see you next week. for a transcript of this broadcast, log on to insidewashington.tv.