plus has a fast acting antihistamine to relieve your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] to learn more about the cold truth and save $1 visit alka-seltzer on facebook. they thought they had it. let's play "hardball." hi i'm chris in washington, let me start with this. when a political party gets beat the knifes come out, first you blame the candidate. next you blame the campaign just as easy. if you lose everything was wrong, like shooting fish in a barrel, blame everything. the hard part is figuring out the did you go too wide and thin or too narrow and tough? did you broad widely that you stood for nothing or did you circle the wagon so tightly that you left out country? the republican

di immigration policy or too moderate? one thing you can never be wrong on. if you lose you can't brag. if you lose everybody gets it and nobody will admit she's wrong or he's wrong. both analysts joy, you first then john jump in. it seemse trial balloons for nextime 2016, the twotions in thes people like rubio, down in florida talking about t seven days of creatagain. then you've other endworld, you've got chris christie talking about how many days will it take us to c the mess secular real world and one off in the id world that the right likes to get into. joy, you're shaking your haven't decided to go sky into become a more modern party yet. >> i think you picked the right person to focus on marco rubio does seem to be at the crossroads, there's three wings ee vanvangelical right and business end and joe the plumber wing, we call they.

they all sort of rushed into the void created by the economic recession with the business wing deciding they wanted one of their own to be president and late on morals and and dog doing it aggressively. collapsed in this election in 2012. now they've to decide which of them is strong enough my personal theory is the business wing was always stronger wing will be will be the surviving wing. you can hear this in the talk about loosening up on immigration. the business wing wants looser rules, they are going to assert themselves but that's across purposes with the tea party wing dead set against immigration. >> don't trust the goodwill of the business community. the labor union will be jumping out there, everybody comes in legal or not. and the business community doesn't want real immigration. >> they wages. >> they don't want work permits. they want it as fast and cheap as they can. >> let's go to john about history. you and i remember in 1988 the democrats had wonrace.

this is a race the key thing here not that you lose or lose by a lot. they didn't lose by a huge amou=n you think you're going to win. that's when younk your party. just like dukakis, up by 17 and loses by 8 andpy could have lost by more. this time they thought that win, kept thinking brain yaks in the party thought they lose by about six. here's the question will they do what the democrats did, widen the party and go the dlc route and go for middle and business not further right? >> to do a little history here quickly. in the actual rethinking within the democratic party started after the to ronald reagan by the emergence of gary hart and the new to broaden our appeal and get a from some of these

s. it took eighey came back into power ind rethinking period was enormously important. the republicans have not yet process. they need to come to terms with that they just aren't appealing to enough people and they also have what one national review writeronservative writer recently calle culture of contempt in their party. they just disrespect voters. disrespect other people. they need a uplifting, more inclusive message. >> the old comment back in 2000 was w. bush spoke english like it was his foreign language and al gore spoke as ifv. it was your foreign falling into the two camps about party's direction, hard right or change with the times. let's watch.

>> i think you did honorably well and came close. he's a northeastern liberal and that's not where we're going. i'm optimistic because there was a very strong republican bench that did not enter the fray. with all of the soul searching what ideology we're going to pursue, is going to comenk it w conservative one. >> what's happened with the republicans is they are the republican partyin a modern family america and it doesn't fit anymore. >> by the way, charles crownhammer used to be a speechwriter for walter mondale. >> he is so out to lunch for a guy asrt as he is. the idea that the problem was they nominated a northeastern liberal. come on. to fry. what's charles pushing right there?well he's a neocon his priority will be to make sure they have this kind of very chauf nis tick foreign policy.

>> gene kirk patrick being the star of the world. >> that's not going to them back to power either. they need to appeal to hispanics and need to figure out how to integ rate all of the different wings of the party in a way that expands beyond aging white men. their party has become ate old party. it doesn't cut in anymore in america. that's what this election showed. >> let's talk about what let's talk about that. can you, joy, see around the country and look at what they pretty much a white party but a lot of that in all fairness has to do with the fact we have an african-american president and there's going to be loyalty on that side to him, the first person always benefits tremendously from group loyalties. if we had a white liberal running as a democrat instead of an african-american liberal or progressive, whatever the

term seems to be would there an opportunity for republicans to african-und that way, maybe a conservative? are they flexible enough to reach out to the classic american minority who are african-americans and been around here longer than the white people have been in this country most of them? >> i think the problem is for the republican party, and it gets to some of what jonathan is saying, the ideas and philosophy for getting their tone, which is very offputting to latinos people their core philosophy is not popular with the minority groups. when you look at into their core belief they have a belief the government has a role. so do latinos. in the time that the republican party has been messaging negativively to minorities during that time those very ]3 groups have been developing a democratic philosophy about government. now what you have, latinos and african-americans and asians as well, they poll very favorable to democrats on core issues. should the government step in and help people who are poor? should there be programs for poverty, for theelderly? social safety

net? the answer is yet when minority groups are asked yes. how can the republicans sell them a philosophy of don't help the poor cut back medicare and cut back social security. those groups don't believe in that -- >> i'm not sure -- i think you're generalized african-americans have a history of the federal government on civil rights and winning the civil war, going back that far with lincoln believing in the federal government. latinos, people from latin countries have a great suspicion of government. >> the polli showses that latinos are actually polling closer to african-americans on that issue. ms in the campaign it wasn't just immigration on economic issues latinos are polling like african-americans. >> they did in this campaign, joy, but the republicans have a lot of opportunities to get back into this and democrats should not be cocky about this with

some refashioning they can appeal to people's self-reliance. >> because they have to, john you're making you do it because you have to. politicians who have any survivalrn to in new york great support from minorities and people like that who just were by their nature attractive whereas ronald reagan because of the way he acted, almost like the guy in the country club that wouldn't let you in there's some signal he kept sending to african-americans that completely put them off. >> he started his campaign in philadelphia and mississippi in 1980 which is where the civil rights workers were killed. he was trying to send coded messages. >> think of somebody like newt gingrich considered a friendly face towards the cycle he was the guy screaming food stamp president. a lot of the messaging and tone find a african-american or latino candidate who will mouth the same words. you have to change the tone of the party. >> he did concede eventually.

thank you, great to have you. happy holidays. >> coming up the best of campaign 2012 think of this as a football highlight show after the big game. corporations are people 47%. the first debatd we'll go all of the hits and misses with our this is a year in review type of thing. what do the following have in the watergate cover-up monica lewinsky andkatrina, they all happened during second terms. term disaster crippled so many candidates. the theories that the right wing spon this ele here's one from rush limbaugh. democrats manipulated the weatheforecast in first day of the convention. let me finish with a letter from the war front, he wrote years before he became president and this is "hardball", a place for politics.

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welcome back it's time for the 2012 postgame show. we're going to start with the highlights of the primary super bowl and-- season. mitt romney summed up the primary season in an infamous call to we had that was absolutely nuts.

and the tone was set early. august 2011 debate whenhe candidates assembled on showed their issue on raising taxes. watch norquist's people go here. >> i'll ask a question to everyone on the stage. say you had a deal a real spending cuts deal, 10-1 as byron says -- speaker you're already shaking your head. who on this stage would walk away from that deal? raise your hand if you'll feel so strongly you'd walk away on the deal. >> time toat list of greatness, other highlights and low heights of the gop primary season. michael steele who never had a year like this always a success seriously and the both msnbc contributors. from the roots of the republican party, a good day or bad day for republicans? >> i think it was a bad day and

very interesting on that you know i probably should have raised my hand and said i would haaken the 10-1 deal. he recognized after the fact that that was a dinitive mo could have on that stage. and proba the kind of campaign free of that baggage. >> he would have looked very election. >> be÷pr on that moment sort of solidified the next -- the rest of the story for this primary. >> whenever a bill passes you want to be the ones who voted against it because you never get blamed for it or vote for it when it fails. >> i agree the beginning and end for john huntsman but also in the long term the for >> how so? >> he began to lock himself into a position of norquisting election and that played into who he was as a businessman. >> it's today's politics, like they used to say, the most segregationist guyand someone would always go to your right on that issue. >> whatever an early primary

season crowd claps for furiously has happened -- >> is going to kill you in october 15th in ohio. >> i get thrilled sometimes thinking how great politics to the iowa caucus, another unique state. mitt romney ace campaign in the super pac supporting him were in a mission to anile ate competition. newt gingrich was the biggest threat. here's a romney ad destroying newt. >> you know what makes barack obama happy, newt baggage. freddie macel h caused the economic collapse but he cashed in $30,000 an hour $1.6 million, the he not only teamed pelosi on global ed a deal that gave money to a u.n. program supporting china'sone-child policy. >> there's been aot of e where ads

in generalections. people have made up their mind, no ad will change their mind. but those ads -- >> in primaries they are deadly particularly in republican primaries and that ad in particular for newtgrinastating because it hit -- it was the kitchen sink. >> what did it say about him? >> it said thattize an insider, washington pal, and look he even pals around with nancy pelosi didn't we just fire her. >> didn't you see the loving looks they managed with the camera shot there. >> real quick on that. the interesting thing, if i were newt i wou the caption of him and nancy together that's what the people are looking for, partnership -- >> they were talking about global warming. >> it's not really. >> that was symbolic of the entire mitt romney campaign strategy in the primaries which was a sort of take no prisoners and attack the other guy strategy. it wasn't about philosophy.

he did nothing to show mitt romney was committed conservative. it just showed he had tons of money and clever consultants who could carve up anybody in his path. that left him with a lot of making up to do once he secured the nomination. the way he got the nomination as typified by that ad showed weakness this the campaign. >> let's go back to the strategy, which it was, somebody is going to be the republican nominee and that person is going to beat obama. therefore all you have to do is be that nominee. >> that was his theory. >> but as howard just noted and neil sadaka breaking up is hard to do. once he secured the nomination in the early spring having everyone fall in support him, it wasn't there. >> how many verses can you do of that? >> a couple. >> mitt romney pushed himself so fa especially on immigration, that a course direction in general was nearly impossible and i don't think he tried one. here's the immigration exchange that became a defining line on

hard right for let's listen. >> governor romney there's one thing i'm confused about, you say you don't want to round up peopleu and deport them but you also say they would have to go back to home countries and apply for citizenships. if you don't deport them how do you send them home. >> self-deportation, people decide they can do better by going home because they can't work here because they don't have legal documentation. we're not going to round people up. >> what was wrong with that howard? >> there was a little in the background -- the phrase self-deportation -- >> was inevitably a headline. >> and managed to sum everything people didn't like. >> the firing you part of it and the cold technocratic part of it, these are numbers on a spreadsheet. these people will the combination of two, the cold heartedny and cold bloodedness played into the view. >> like the is going to

overflow. >> the snickering you heard, even among republicans in the hall grandma is going to wake up mitt said we could self-deport, here we go. >> this was funny and i hope it didn't ruin the guy's life. rick perry led the gop field for ]x serious contender, many thought he would win this thing until lackluster debate performances gave primary then came this moment november 9th big debate here he is trying to remember the three government agencies he wants to get rid of. let's watch. >> i'll tell you it's three agencies of government when i get there that are gone commerce education and the -- what's the third one there. let's see. >> five. >> commerce education and the. >> epa? >> epa, there you go. >> let's talk- >> seriously.

is epa one you were talking about? >> no sir, we were talking about the agencies of government -- epa needs to be rebuilt. >> but you can't name the third one? agency of government i would do away with education, the commerce -- and let's see the third one i can't, sorry. oops. >> he wasn't getting help from his pals there. that's why they come out and first thing when you do the you can't bring notes start scribbling the notes. i never heard oops in a debate. >> props to john harwood for milking him for all he was worth. what this shows to me about the em necessary sent the leaders were michele bachmann and herman cain

and rick perry five of them the clown posse, but when they all left the stage, mitt romney was the guy left standing more by the process of elimination. >> they didn't know when germ hem an cain speaking he was speaking german. >> romney won more by process of elimination. >> he won because they didn't like the other guys. thanks. we'll be back to talk about the big moments in a general election. the right wing's most outrageous conspiracy theories are coming up about president obama. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

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could've had a v8. jr back to "hardball," the final weeks of are upon us. it's hard toonspiracy theories about the president the let's look back at some of the worst, his 2010 trip to india, u.s. bachmann and others on the right rumors about what the >> i think we know that just within a day or so the president taking a trip over is expected to taxpayers a day. trip at that level before of this level of excess. and i think it's not to the american peopl american people are quite frankly struggling right now with high jobanyway for xpar son, $200 mi surpassed the daily costr in afghanistan that h= was started by an unnamed source on an indian news website. we can't talk about conspiracy

theories without bringing up rush limbaugh. remember when first day of the canceled due to hat president obama was somehow involved with the weather reports showing it might get hit. >> the national hurricane centeernment agency hurricane gets near tampa. the natenter isservice, a commerce obang fema in in advance of t tampa. so t convention is not but a bunch of tents in tampa, a bunch ofs and make it lk like a disaster area before the hurricane hits there. >> was hesz laughing at his own bs there? >> did you limbaugh would us oskewed weather report? next an extreme case of preelectioublican idea of a tax increase in his state? to beef up the military personnel in case because president obamaotre-elected. one. thinking worst case scenario, civil unrest diso maybe, we're not talking a few riots and demonstrations.

we'relevelington con cord, take up arms and get rid of the guy. he's going to send in troops. i don't want him in county. i'm going to stand in front o're not the sheriff, i've already asked him, are you going to back me? idea case twist.g with how president mother managed to convince us all that her son in kenya. >> i looked into that before he was sworn in for the presidency we went down into the library of congress and the of two newspapers in hawaii each published the birth of barac to fraudulently file the b notice of barack obama being born in hawaii. that doesn't mean there aren't some other explanati they may have announced that by telegram from kenya. the >> by neglected to consider the mother naming her son barack hussein obama might be a setback for the future running of the presidency in the united states. up next from mitt romney's 40%

video to president obama's debate disaster down in denver. we'll run to the turning points in the general election. you're watching "hardball." to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. list's all done. raisehe roof!! no one says that anymore, mom. [ shopper ] raise the roof! ahh! raise the roof!! [ male announcer ] black friday continues all weekend with savings on electronics, home christmas decor and more. the first and only place to go this black friday weekend. walmart. it was like a red rash... very sore looking kinda like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. ghter for 24 years. but, i have never encountered such

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protesters are in egypt following president morsi's on. wounded 19 others in the firstce the truce147 million shoppers are expected to flock the stores on this black friday. retailers predict black friday rly year. that's the news for now, now back to "hardball".." welcome back to "hardball," now that we marked the highlights of the gop primary, let's look at the turning points in the general election. the video that turned out to be the low point for the romney campaign taped comments to donors that nearly half of the americans are lazy to be on the government doll. simply known as the 47% video.

let's listen again. >> there are of the president what. there are 47% who believe that the government has the responsibility to care for them who believe that they are entitled to health care, to foord, food, housing, you name it. my job is not to worry about the few. they should take responsibility and care for their >> never trust the caterers. again, michael steele ande paid somebody who paid 10,000 bucks to get in and hurt the guy. if you're right about election in terms ofllhe on disability program, pai that number? >> this election was all about unemployed, 1 in 6 welfare. but it was that 47% number that trumped them all at the end of the day. people galvanized around it

because it was them. it was me. you're talking about me myn grandma, my every day folks. and it really to the point that howard made earlier, drew out that disconnect between the romney campaign and romney personally and everyone else. >> do you think it's its bdsrand -- >> no. >> that there's a few people out there pulling a load for everybody else? i think -- >> calculated business look, how he looks at it. >> i it's his philosophy and i think it showed in that >> how do you know it's his philosophy? >> he never told us what his philosophy was. >> he said nice things at one poinut. >> former president clinton brought the house down one of the great speeches ever i think and made the case for reelecting president obama in a way the candidate himself n to do even to the end. let's listen to big bill. >> are than when he took office? everybody has fo has forgotten.

when president barack obama took office, the econo wasfall and it had just shrunk nine full percent of losing 750,000 jobs a month. are weter than that today? the answer is yes. >> you know,hinking about to the fareryiry tale remark but the showmanship with the hands and cuff flashing the way he presents his case. >> chris -- >> very southern. >> earlier thisneeds for ganyway? they are for moments like that. i was on the floor for that moment and it was one of the most memorable things i've seen hall or anywhere. that was bill career. that was everything he had learned by showmanship and telling the story. >> love politics. >> and about how to make the case for the president. he made it so simply so clearly, so logically, that you wondered why the supposed great speech fier barack obama

couldn't do it the way bill clinton could. that's probably because the kind of case he had to make somebody other than the president had to make. if the president himself says we were in a terrible situation when i came in it doesn't sound as compelling as when somebody else says it. >> i had a moment in new hampshire back when clinton was in new hampsre and gotten to the draft letter and problems with the girlfriend that was all behind him but the draft letter was killing him. then he went out to the fieldhouses and high school gyms and spoke in the round and go on the last question in the room he would answer. rick said to me nobody in our generation can do that. only he can do that. >> what also impressed me about that, i was covering the same series, his will his will to succeed and -- >> that's what separates the losers -- you think the worse and come rowing back. this is purely negative although a pretty good day for mitt

president's listless performance which he said caused me to have a stroke afterwards to call it./7 >> you know four years ago, i said that i'm not a perfect man and i wouldn't be a perfect president, that's probably a promise that gfer romney think kept. but i also promised that i would fight every singlalf of the american people and middle class and striving to g class, i've kept that promise and if you'll vote for me then i promise i'll fight just as hard in the second term. >> i don't know. i don't know what to say even now because he's got -- he has so much juice and excitement about him. >> he did not there. >> his brain is working on two're with him. i this channel. this stage. >> i think it he feels personally with mitt romney. the idea he was on the stage with him was bee neej him. he was someplace else it was his that. politically he's thinking why many ar two.

it showed and came across. romney came with his a game the romney that was there that night the guy i worked with when i was lieutenant governor. >> why didn't the romney we saw in the first debate not just that the president w was commandingworked. he took control of the room. wh come back like that? >> i have no idea. the only thing i can put it on the consultants and people around him thinking you set it up now we c run the game w cautious. >> be cautious exactly. >> the first one, it was all on mitt romney, if he didn't show up the first time then it was over. >> let's look at the impact of hurricane sandy and the pictures television right near the election right before it we saw a president of the united states, a democrat facing a really tough re-election f new jersey. here he is the president at the press conference with new jersey governor chris christie october 31st a week before the election. let's listen. >> what i can promise you is that tly as possible with the state and local officials and

quit until this is and the directive that i've given and said this yesterday but will repeat and craig and others who are working with me know i mean tolerate red tape and not going to tolerate bureaucracy and i've instituted a 15-minute rule essentially on my team you return everybody's phone calls in 15 minutes, whether it's the mayors or or county officials. if they need something, we figure out a way to say yes. >> that is still important today because there's so much devastation in new york and new jersey worse than the beginning, people without it was two people of different parties and biggest applause i've heard, can't we work together. >> that what people wanted all along, seeing the republicans and democrats liberals coming together. >> why did that bipartisan spirit seems that was there. to chris cred galvanized the moment by action he said nice things about the president but you saw

cooperation and saw federal government coming together to solve people's problems. >> politicians call work clothes. >> had the fleece on sleeves rolled up. >> you guys are the best and i have to tell you, i love politics, i'm breaking the story here. >> we agree withs when people rise to the occasion and do the right th clinton coming to save his old rival and he did. thank you. up next katrina, monica watergate second terms can be rough on presidents. how does this president avoid a second term disaster like sl met so many presidents when they ge get re-elected to more trouble? ♪ ♪ [ fing can dampen a baby's mood when he wakes up dry in pampers. unlike other diapers, pampers has 3 absorbent layers, for up to 12 hours of protection overnight, and more beautiful mornings.

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we're back winning a second term is a goal all presidents hope for and many are remembered more for their failures in their second term. for george w. bush. bill clinton's impeachment, iran-contra for ron ald reagan and of course watergate for richard nixon. as barack obama embarks on another four years, with me are two experts, the presidentialkw historian andouglas brinkley a professor at rice university. you are both great at this. i'll start with michael, what can a president do to avoid what seems to be the second term curse? >> don't overreach a situation. that's what barack obama sa:id after the re-election, he read the literature on that. they always feel anointed

because they get great victories and most of them larger margin than the first time but they forget about the fact since truman there's not been a single second term president who his entire second term. here you are feeling entitled and working with a congress that is very hostile and sometimes out for revenge. >> douglas brinkley what do you think is the key to the second term causes them i'm not convinced there is such a curse. people talk about franklin roosevelt in 1936 winning a landslide election and then failing to pack the supreme court, but he went on to win two more terms, went on in that second term to push minimum wage and get us ready for world war ii-eisenhower's second term, he had little rock where he sent in federal troops. he demilitarized antarctica gave the famous farewell address. i could take all the second-term presidents. the problem is nixon was so rotten and george w. bush.

there teds to bends to be this thing of a curse. >> let me suggest because i do look back at the second roosevelt term as a problem because he went very conservative again, cut sp braus usought us into econd part of the great depression. i think eisenhower had the big problem with sherman adams who betrayed him for money basically. this is a theory and it may be changed by history. first president, first term you pick the best people you can for your cabinet. the best people around you because you've been spending your whole life looking f you promote everybody from within. >> you are a jolly good fellow and you don't quite have that team of rivals that tough thing around you where people can say, mr. president, you're wrong on this one. cabinet members that challenge you. you bring cronies up and that seems like n i'm not naming names here, but the people around bill clinton the second term did not end the monica problem when they saw it.

they didn't step in and say this is a problem. nobody did nothing about it. these problems -- i have seen politicians not helped by their aides because their aides kiss up to them. anyway, michael, your thoughts. >> i can't disagree with a w0rd you've said, chris. in the classic case of course ronald reagan. >> don regan. >> it was passive because jim baker went to the president and said we've agreed to trade our jobs. is that okay with you? reagan said fine. >> you have somebody your age to play with you. what do you think of that, doug? >> well, i just don't think it's as big of worrying about cabinet shuffles in white house shuffles compared to whatn did with diplomacy with mikhail goshrbachev gorbachev. >> that's because howard baker -- isn't that true because howard baker came in and saved his bacon. >> they did -- >> but it was saved -- >> doug? >> and also is just that in the pipeline are a loterm

obama has a lot ofpipeline. you can do in a second term things you can't do in a first with executive power. you could sign off today on 15 national monuments for the interiore to touch because of politics. so there's a strength to a second term. everything -- i agree generally with what you're all saying and paarly with congress. it will be very hard for barack obama to do much more than defend the affordable care act, get something quickly done on immigration, 16 is going to creep up on him and 15. years to do things. that he makes his great mark. he needs to be the world leader we know barack obama can be. >> i agree. reach for the stars. would you setay that is a don't get complacent, don't try to hold on go for greatness. that creates a but if you're going to do it with congress, do it in the first six months. lbj after this huge landslide in '64 had es of congress, i have only got six months because all these things i'm going to be asking

people to do are going to be a sacrifice. >> i lost the south. >> absolutely. >> your thoughts. what do you do to create that artificially the same excitement you have when you come in the first term? doug? >> i think that's the problem, and, you know, the great novelist ralph elson once told norman mailer that none of us are indispensable and president obama has to realize he's not indispensionable. everybody is going to be looking for a candidate in '16. he will be a lame duck by '15. do something quickly in six months. >> when you're with him, scare him a little. beware the ides of march. great to have two historians of on. i noticed you're -- the wilderness warrior. your own work there. we'll be right back. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. t my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe

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> let me finish tonight with this. it's kennedy wrote his daneish during world war ii. he wrote it after his pt boat had bey a japanese destroyer and he led his crew to the war is a dirty business. it's very easy to talk about the war andese if it takes years and a milliat should consider well his words. we get so used to talking about billions of dollars and millions of soldiers that thehousands of casualties sound like drops in the bucket. but if those thousands live as much as the ten i saw, the people deciding the wise and where fors had better make mighty sure all this effort is headed for some definite goal and when we reach that goal we may say it was worth it, for if it isn't, the whole thing will

turn to ashes and we will face great trouble in the years to come. i think inga, i will be glad to see you again. i have had a great time but i will be glad to get away from as long as you have that feeling, you seem to get through. i've lost that feeling but i don't fe bad about it. if i live to be 100 i could have only improved the quantity o