actions on immigration. that's happening this hour in las vegas as we dig into exactly what is in his reform plan. i'm krystal ball. as we come on the air, the president is on board air force one, where he's likely to sign a pair of presidential memos putting his promises into action. later this hour, we will carry the president's speech live from del sol high school, the location here is symbolic. this is the same high school where the president first laid out his immigration goals. that was nearly two years ago. nevada also has the country's highest share of students with parents who are undocumented immigrants. nationwide nearly 6% of all k through 12 students have at least one parent who doesn't have papers. and they're the ones who will benefit most from what the president announced last night. >> if you've been in america for more than five years, if you have children who are american citizens or legal residents, if you registered, pass a criminal background check and you're

willing to pay your fair share of taxes, you'll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. that's what this deal is. >> 4 million undocumented immigrant parents will no longer need to fear being separated from their american-born children through deportation. for more on who will benefit from this reform and who won't, let's bring in nbc's kristin welker, awaiting the president in vegas. what is the feel in the room there right now? >> reporter: krystal, there is a lot of excitement, a lot of emotion, quite frankly. don't know if you can hear behind me, but the crowds are chanting and they've broken out at various moments this afternoon saying, yes, we can. as you pointed out, there is a lot of support for what president obama announced last night here in nevada because there is such a large population of undocumented immigrants.

in fact, as we were driving in, protesters on both sides of this argument lining the street. some people supportive of what president obama announced, some people opposed to it, holding signs up that read "amnesty "am" back in washington, those speaking out, including john boehner who held a news conference. he called the president's actions damaging to the presidency itself. republicans vowing action. some saying they want to shut down the government over the president's announcement last night. but i can tell you that i've been talking to leadership aides both in the house and the senate and they say they are not going to shut down the government over this immigration issue. instead, they are looking at potentially reversing what president obama announced through legislative action or possibly suing president obama. so, that's what the discussion -- that's the discussion in washington. in terms of who's going to be impacted and who is not, as you pointed out, as many as 5

million undocumented immigrants could be spared from deportat n deportation, including parents of legal citizens and young people who were brought here illegally dating back to 2010. i spoke with one woman, astrid silva, the woman president obama referenced last night in his remarks. her father is going to likely be spared deportation because of what president obama announced last night. so, this is a very emotional time for her. but i can tell you, krystal, she also says the president's actions aren't permanent, and that's what we're hearing from a lot of immigration activists. they say, this is a good first step, ultimately they want to see legislative action. so, that is the one thing that everyone seems to agree on. they to want see some type of legislative action in regards to immigration reform so that it can ultimately be permanent because, of course, the question is, once president obama leaves office, could this action be erased? so, the president expected to arrive here within the next few hours and he'll be met with a very supportive crowd here at

del sol high school. krystal? >> indeed. can you definitely feel and hear the energy in-n that room. nbc's kristin welker, we'll check back with you before the president speaks. let's bring in fawn johnson, national journalist correspondent who's been covering immigration since the clinton years. it's a pleasure to have you with us here tonight. >> it's good to be here. >> help us understand from a nuts and bolts perspective here, when can people who would be eligible to not be deported under the president's new memos here, when can they actually apply? how does that process work? how is this all going to work out? >> well, we do know that it's going to go in effect january 1st of the coming year. so, in the next 30, 40 -- i don't know, 60 days, whatever it is, until the end of the year. that is when they have a chance to put forth an application. and it will probably look a lot like the current deferred action for child add arrivals action the president put in place a couple of years. that was a program intended for

young people who were brought to the united states as children by their parents. they did not have papers. and the idea was they were brought here without fault, so there's no reason why they shouldn't be given some legal status. the way that process worked is those people presented themselves to the uscis, the immigration services part of the department of homeland security, and basically gave some form of attestation, and i think the varying levels of proof are different depending on where they come from, basically showing school records, what have you, that they've been in the country for the amount of period of time and, importantly, in that program, they needed to also be under the age of 31 by the date the president announced the program. that part has been lifteded. that was one of the big deals from the president's speech last night. so, we would expect the same process to go for these parents. have they proved they've been in the country for a long time? there's probably multiple ways they can do that including things like a utility bill. >> right. fawn, we know about 4 million

people are eligible for this program, between 4 and 5 million, how many do you think will choose to apply for permanents and what timetable? the next year, 4 million. and what's the timetable and the actual numbers on those benefiting from the program? >> that's a good question. my first answer easily would be just about half. we can expect half right off the bat. and say that only because that's about the number that applied for the deferred action for childhood arrival program. that would have covered about 100 -- or 1.5 million, about 700,000 young people have applied for that since then. so, one thing to remember is that -- and i think we've heard this at the top of the hour, that immigrants who are coming forth to apply are essentially putting themselves forward to be deported and then technically being told, okay, we're not going to deport you. we're actually going to let you stay and give you a work permit. in some states you might get a driver's license. it's a tricky thing to explain to somebody, particularly if

they don't understand the law very well and they have been -- they might have been here for a long time. most of their news comes from word of mouth. it doesn't come from, you know, the government itself. so, to convince them that it's actually safe to come forward, particularly if they think they might have some sort of -- something in their past, you know, even if they got pulled over for a speeding ticket, that's going to take some doing. >> that's going to be a really important part of how this all works. fawn, there's a lot of hope today, a lot of optimism after the president's announcement last night. you wrote a piece yesterday saying, hold o not so fast. let's be cautious here and realize that there are many problems that still exist. you put it this way, you said president obama is essentially offering an aspirin for a headache whose source will remain long after the pill effects wear off. are we now faced with more questions than we are answers? >> i don't think we're faced with more questions. there's more complications because now we have a bigger set of quasi legal people in the

country and as that population grows it becomes stranger and stranger to enforce the law. the fundamental dysfunctions of the immigration system have been in place for a long time. we all know what they are. we all know it's far too easy to come into the country and get work. they can get fake ids. if they check them, their employers can't get any farther. the work is available. it's a lot of work americans won't do. we all know this is the case. these are the kinds of things the president can't do on his own, which one of the reasons he's back in las vegas. i think he wants to remind people that almost two years ago he was standing before the same group of people and saying, look, congress is about to pass legislation and i'm behind it. and then this just didn't happen. >> you say quasi legal. anyone following this issue has heard a lot of different talk about the law, whether these people themselves are illegal or just undocumented, whether this action is legal. and then the service for that for people following this substantively and not publicly, the white house did everyone a

favor in declassifying this memorandum laying it out. you read this thing and it's got a lot of precedent, which matters if you care about this, separate from politics. it points out violence against women act, katrina victims, human trafficking, and childhood aarrivals, all areas where quite simply this is this has gone down before and been legal before. give us your view on those precedents here as we see the political debate invoke the law so frequently. >> that was a great thing for the justice department to do. it's really clear that the white house is trying very hard to be preemptive in its rebuttal to the republicans who say he is acting illegally. it looks to me like he has some pretty firm ground to stand on. this has been -- has happened, i mean, for 40 years. every president since the 1965 immigration nationality act has done some sort of discretion in

terms of letting people stay. i mean, it happened with the vietnamese boat refugees. it happened with the tiananmen square chinese dissidents, it happened with cubans who were crossing in a boat, and some of those guys had just been released from cuban jails. this is -- history is wrought with this kind of immigration, i guess you call it, discretion. and i think the president has been really wise in being very careful about making sure he's double and triple-checked and made sure there are multiple ways to defend his action. as we all know, there is a sizeable content of people who are really upset with him about this. he's really put his ducks in a row on this one. >> fawn johnson, thank you very much. appreciate it. up next, king, emperor, a threat to the presidency itself, all the political fallout of the president's immigration action. the president makes his case in las vegas at 3:55. will he respond to the gop's slams? we'll have the president's remarks for you right here live.

plus, attorney general holder calls for calm amid signals that a ferguson grand jury decision could come very soon. and not snow, but more trouble on the way for the folks socked in upstate new york. it's a busy friday afternoon and we have you covered as "the cycle" rolls on for friday, november 21st. [ male announcer ] some come here to build something smarter. ♪ some come here to build something stronger. others come to build something faster... something safer... something greener. something the whole world can share. people come to boeing to do many different things. but it's always about the very thing we do best. ♪ okay patrick, let's go the vbase, shark, blitz.t. the nfl trusts duracell quantum

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the political fallout continues at this hour over the president's decision to go it alone on immigration reform. republicans are furious over his executive action. >> the president has taken

actions that he himself had said are those of a king or an emperor, not an american president. he's damaging the presidency himself. >> we can defund areas of president obama's lawlessness. so, we should do so. so, we should use the power of the purse. >> we don't believe the president is acting lawfully. we believe he's executing policies that are unsound, that are rejected by the american people. >> we'll see how the president responds to those charges when he speaks in just over half an hour, but he gave us a preview last night. >> to those members of congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where congress has failed, i have one answer. pass a bill. >> they will have that chance when congress convenes on january 6th with republicans now in control of both the house and the senate. so, what are the republicans' options to really fight back? we are nbc's kelly o'donnell in washington with the latest reaction.

kelly, republicans are saying a lot, but can they really do anything? >> well, they've got to sort of blow through all of this reaction now, which is in part as you well know, perry, it politically drives their base. it is a great fund-raising tool. it's been something they've talked about on the campaign trail. there are issues where there's a real disagreement about how far the president's authority should go and that's part of what will be dissected here over the weeks to come. and then the burden will really be on them, with control of both chambers in the congress, the new congress. they had said to the president, give us some time lp met new members coming to town weigh in on this. he did not, in part, because he said he had given time to speaker boehner over and over and he had not been able to come forward with something. as you remember, the senate passed a bipartisan bill that dealt with a lot of these issues. that has been dormant. what will the house do? part of what we're hearing from republican lawmakers is that their most likely path would take it a piece by piece approach.

instead of big sweeping plans that were part of earlier conversations and the senate bill, to look at things like, would they deal with border security first? that's very popular among conservatives, trying to beef that up. dealing with issues related to updating the visa rules for people coming into the country, especially those with high skills and high education. trying to deal with workers who are already a part of the economy here, whether it's -- in terms of temporary workers, agriculture work ertz, looking at some of the things that can be done. broadly, you don't see republicans saying there's a likelihood of deporting all of those millions of americans who are already here, but the sticky part is always about a path to citizenship. legal status is going to be short of that. and they might work on that. the real issue now will be, will republicans actually follow through and deliver? the president, i think, has given them a catalyst by doing this. and they took it very differently and said he should not poison the well or interfere in advance of them being able to

work their own process. while that shoe has dropped, now the burden will be on them. basically what we're hearing from lawmakers is they want to take some time in january to see sort of where the heads of these new members are, what can the committees do and see that process move forward. the senate has already acted. will the house act? it's a really uncertain path, but for the moment, it's politically very, very volatile on both sides. democrats saying republicans have been saying too much and being too critical. republicans saying, there's a process and the president isn't following it closely. perry? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you so much. for more on the politics, we bring in john allen, the washington bureau chief for bloomberg news. john, good see you as always. >> good to see you. i want to start with the republicans finally today filed their long-awaited lawsuit on health care. a day after the president acted on immigration. coincidence or just -- or just happened on the same day? convince dense or no

coincidence? >> i can't say exactly but they want something to rally their base a little. they saw the president of the united states, suffering with approval among democrats, not like he's getting this big reception and approval rating because republicans are fleeing. they already fled. he's been hurting with democrats. i think republicans want to make sure they answer his call to his own party with a call to their own party and i think the lawsuit has to do with that. >> you know what they say, sue me once -- no, i don't know how that goes. let me play sound from the president last night that i thought was striking. >> had the house of representatives allowed that kind of bill, a simple yes or no vote, they would have passed with support from both parties. and today it would be the law. but for a year and a half now, republican leaders in the house have refused to allow that simple vote. >> that was so powerful because it's true. and it goes to the republican piece of this. obviously right now, this it devises ive, no one will deny that. many of us who cover these

issues have given republicans credit because there is a part of their party that would form a majority governing coalition to get this done. it's only balls of the strange rules of the house that they didn't want to bring that to the floor. most americans go, well, wait a minute, the president's doing something that even in this divided world had the votes in both houses of congress, that seems like a good thing and he got to remind the country of that last night. >> well, there were a lot of things that could pass both houses of congress, but i think what you see from house republicans is an inability to get something that gets the majority of their members on board. you say that odd rules of the house. it's not actually a rule. it's sort of an internal republican party rule. >> we had speaker hassert spoke to that on "the cycle." the president made the point, look, the support is there. >> but that relies on the idea that the house of representatives will take up the senate bill, pass the senate bill exactly as it is and send it to the president. we have two chambers for a

reason. the house of representatives has yet to write its own bill. presumably if it was going to write a bill, it would write a bill somewhat different from the senate bill. they would go to a conference with each other. they would try to hammer that out. it's not at all clear they could actually come to any agreement to send something to the president. in terms of the traditional legislative process, what the president is saying, while it might be true if you put the senate bill on the house floor, i think if you looked for where the majority of the house is, it might be -- you might get a stronger majority for something different or a republican majority for something different. it's unusual to have the senate bill pass a bill and then have the house take it up and pass it, particularly this will deal with some tax measures in the constitution, all those bills have to originate in the house. >> abby, i feel like our esteemed guest here knows so much about washington, you may be getting a little lost in the weeds because, you know what, abby, what i was thinking watching it, hey, the president is reminding the country that doesn't often think about these issues that there is support for these but they don't do anything

about it. >> there is support and i think that's why so many are frustrated about this whole process. jonath jonathan, the republicans, i will say, this they do not want to be known as the party that breaks apart families. this is a party known for family values, right? it seems like, as perry was mentioning, they're already potentially responding to this by suing the president. it seems the one defense republicans have that are for immigration reform. you know, president w. bush was for this, presidents in the past have been for this. that's not where the party is right now. so, how does the party get back on track here? and remind the country that they actually care about the millions of immigrants in this country, because it seems, jonathan, they are thinking so short term here. they're thinking about responding to the president versus longer term and how this impacts their chances of winning on a national level in 2016. >> abby, you just made the 2016 hillary clinton argument, which is, if you elect a republican president, this order will be repealed and families will be broken up and will be deported out of the country. i think this is something the

republican party is struggling with right now. it is clearly not impossible for republicans to nominate a candidate who is for what we call comprehensive immigration reform. george w. bush was strongly for it. i suspect, and i've heard actually, jeb bush is for it. he said that publicly before. so, there are candidate on the republican side who might be able to do that, but i do think you're right, republicans are digging themselves a hole with not just latino voters, but a broader set of vote whoever are concerned with this issue as well. >> luke russert tweeted last night, and i think he's right, this is one heck of a litmus test issued for republican primary candidates. you know, will you repeal the executive -- the lawless executive action on day one of your presidency? >> that request question will be asked f you've seen those gop debates. >> absolutely. to that point, one of the things i was thinking about, watching some of the coverage and commentary last night, is the way that conservative media feeds into this, right? because you have leadership, gop leadership, that really wants to keep folks in line, keep them

focused, keep moving forward, not alienating large and growing segment of the american elect c electorate. then you have folks who to want build their national profile who go on tv or radio and make an inflammatory and incendiary point. it builds their national profile and helps them make a name for themselves. how much does that dynamic play into the challenging stew that john boehner and mitch mcconnell have to deal with? >> it plays into it a lot. what you've seen over the course of the last several years, since the tail end of the bush administration, that the rank and file republicans, the conservative activists, are really in control of the party and the leadership in washington does a lot more following than leading. and i think they try to coax folks into making the best -- the politically best decisions and making those arguments, but they're not often able to do that. >> john allen, thank you for joining us. the president just touched down in las vegas and is heading

to del sol high school to reaffirm his executive action on immigration. we'll take you there live at 3:55 here in "the cycle." and sometimes i struggle to sleep at night,nd. and stay awake during the day. this is called non-24, a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up to 70 percent of people who are totally blind. talk to your doctor about your symptoms and learn more by calling 844-824-2424.

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while the snow has stopped, little relief for those in new york who continue to dig out from the historic snowstorm, now the question, what do you do with more than 7 feet of snow? nearly 40 employees and customers have been stranded at a local walmart since tuesday when their cars were buried by this unrelenting storm. one of the biggest concerns now is the possibility of roofs collapsing under the massive weight of that snow. nbc news's sarah doloff with the latest. >> reporter: well, good afternoon, krystal. as you mentioned, the snow has finally stopped. they're making a lot of progress, plowing these roads. take a look around. there is still so much snow

everywhere. i want to give you some perspective. i'm about 5'7" and the snow easily up to my waist right here. it has to go somewhere. it's been creating really big problems here. newark's governor toured the western part of the state yesterday. got to take a look at some of those problems. they include dozens of collapsed buildings, mostly farm buildings and buildings with flat roofs. officials also say at least 13 people have died as a direct result of this storm. the forecast, they're shifting from snow to potential flooding as temperatures warm up this week. they could be actually as high as 60 by monday. and that is going to melt this snow. potentially as -- the equivalent of 6 inches of rain over two days in snow melt. officials are cautioning homeowners to prepare, to get things out of their basement and to be ready should that water start coming in. they don't want people going down in their basements to deal with it.

they want them to call authorities. a lot of nervous eyes on that forecast coming up this weekend. we know it's cold now. it's going to get warmer. and raffi joins us with a look at what's happening elsewhere in the country. >> that's right, sarah. scary stuff there. thankfully as we can see, the snow coming to an end across the great lakes. look how much we've gotten already. these are historic numbers here. still getting the latest data, 88 inches, approaching 7 1/2 feet of snow, from the entire week. hamburg, new york, around 7 feet of snow. wales center, 85 inches. 15 miles to the north, 14 inches. that shows you how intense these bands are and how narrow as well. there is a little snow moving through right now, but nothing like what we've seen over the past few days. maybe we could pick up an additional inch or two of snow falling south of buffalo, same spots that have seen it. here is a look at the five-day forecast. this is the melting sarah was talking about. 40s tomorrow. 50s and 60s on sunday and monday with more rain. that's going to put even more

pressure on the snow that's on top of those roofs out there. watching very closely. now, as far as the rest of the country for saturday, we're all warming up. that's good news. it's chilly here in the northeast today. back to the 40s on saturday. watching a severe weather threat across texas and louisiana. sunday, it gets even milder, 50s. all the way from boston down towards d.c. and buffalo also in those 50s. 49, chicago. and even minneapolis enjoying 41 degrees. taking a sneak peek at the next week, because, of course, lots of travel and anticipation in the thanksgiving holiday. the arctic air stays away for the thanksgiving weekend but makes a comeback early. right now wednesday and thursday for thanks giving and the day before. it looks like the core of the arctic air will stay in the upper midwest. chilly here in the northeast. maybe for the parade. looks like nothing too brutal. maybe temperatures in the 40s. back to you guys. >> you know what, in my day we didn't close school for 88 inches of snow. i can tell you that. people have gotten weak. thank you for our "cycle"

weather report. we'll turn to ferguson, missouri, where grand jury decision is reported as imminent. the decision could be handed down, some say, as early as this weekend. the city has been on edge. three more protesters arrested last night in demonstrations outside the police department. and today eric holder, attorney general, released a video talking about the need for calm in all of these kind of situations. >> but history has also shown us that the most successful and enduring movements for change are those that adhere to nonaggression and nonviolence. so, i ask all those who seek to lend their voice to important causes and discussions and who seek to elevate these vital conversations to do so in a way that respects the gravity of their subject matter. >> for the latest on the ground we head to ferguson, missouri, where nbc's trymaine lee is reporting. good day to you. what can you tell us about what's happening and the mood there on the streets?

>> reporter: i'll tell you, what i don't think you can underestimate how agonizing this wait is for people on the ground. a few minutes ago i spoke with a protester who just wants to get on it. he wants a decision to come down one way or the other so they can organize, formalize their plans and hit the streets. schools are feeling the pressure to schedule around what may or may not happen. one school district, the jennings school district, canceled school on monday and tuesday ahead of the thanksgiving weekend holiday. people here are still anxious, they're nervous. again, these calls for peace are mounting. on thursday night, michael brown sr., the father of michael brown, had this to say. let's throw that video. >> by hurting others or destroying property is not the answer. no matter what the grand jury decides, i do not want my son's death to be in vain. i want it to lead to incredible change, positive change, change that makes the st. louis region better for everyone.

>> reporter: like michael brown sr., everyone is hoping for the best. they're hoping that whatever that decision is, the community will be able to move forward with some positive change. but until we get that decision and hear that announcement, you know, everyone's still in this holding pattern. >> trymaine lee in ferguson, thank you for your reporting. joining us to dig into what might be happening with the grand jury themselves is caleb mason, an attorney and former federal prosecutor. good day to you. >> how are you? >> i'm fine. i want to start with a point that's been raised here. we showed that new video from the attorney general and also "the washington post" has a report today. let me read this to you. they say a top aide to holder called the office of missouri governor jay nixon to discuss his displeasure and frustration that the governor has already declared state of emergency, activated the national guard. instead of de-escalating the situation, he escalated it, says this justice department official. in your experience here, obviously this is a special

situation, but what do you make of having a governor calling out the guard and the criticism coming from the attorney general on that decision? >> well, i think one way you could interpret it is that the governor is anticipating a no bill finding. in other words, anticipating the grand jury would find not to charge the officer, in which case one would anticipate rather more protests than otherwise. could be taken as a suggestion that there is inside information that's been leaked. i think more importantly, though, the message from the department of justice is the one that we just heard the attorney general give, which is that there is no need for violent protests regardless of what the grand jury does. what i -- you know, what i think listeners probably would be most interested to know is, what are the options if the grand jury votes not to charge the officer criminally? there is still the possibility that the prosecutor in the case

could charge by complaint and hold a preliminary hearing. there's the possibility that the federal government could bring criminal civil rights charges and, of course, still the pending civil case that the family will bring. so, the court proceedings in this case are not going to be over one way or another regardless of what the grand jury does. >> caleb, assuming the grand jury is finishing up, what would happen the last few days, from your experience, if the grand jury's going to be finished sunday or so, what's going on in the room right now in general in a grand jury like this? >> i'll till, from what we read, this grand jury was impanelled back in may. it's been meeting frequently, probably more frequently now. like anyone who worked with grand juries, i've done a number of investigatetive grand juries where you see the same group of people day in, week in, for an investigation that might take months. apparently the presentation of

evidence is over in this case. and has been for probably a couple sessions. what they would be doing, if they haven't done it already, is deliberating. and that deliberation process is very informal. it's usually very collegial, it's secret, no outside pressure. it would be a discussion among the grand jurors themselves or with the prosecuting attorney about the nature of the charges, the evidence that's been presented. a lot of this has to do with explaining difficult legal concepts. in this case explaining the different mens rea, different legal status. i'm sure the sgrand yir would have lots of questions about what constitutes criminal negligence or recklessness under missouri law. >> one thing that's been unusual, at times this felt like an actual trial, of course it's not, and one major difference between a trial is the fact that

the grand jury here is not sequestered. so, they have access to media, all of those things. what sort of impact could that have on these deliberations? >> i think undoubtedly it would have a lot. however, in this case, i doubt that it would make too much of a difference. because most of the media that they're going to be exposed to is people like me, speculating about what they may or may not have seen. we don't know exactly what they saw. they do. i mean, the grand jurors here are in a much better informational position than anybody outside. so, they can turn on the news and they can see people speculating, you know, about how many shots were fired, what the forensic evidence shows, what witnesses said, but they're the only ones who know all that. so in this case i think the grand jurors -- i bet they're watching tv but i doubt they're being influenced by what people say on the outside. >> that's an important point. as we seek to endeavor what's happening there, we will in this

case get more information about what they heard, which may shed light on the decision they reach. caleb mason, thank you very much. we should note msnbc is monitoring the situation in ferguson all weekend we will bring you any word of a grand jury decision, breaking news as soon as we get it. for us here on "the cycle," political divisions, we talk about fights between republicans and republicans and democrats versus democrats. it's not about now. it's about 1964, the debates that changed our politics. a big look back. [ narrator ] mama sherman and the legion of super fans.

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around the battle cry of obama's imperial presidency. 50 years ago president johnson faced similar opposition in his support of civil rights. the difference, though, was that lbj was in the midst of a heated presidential campaign with arizona senator, barry goldwater, and the fallout from that election has had lasting effects on our politics. we're still feeling it today. a new documentary from the university of virginia center for politics takes a look back at that pivotal 1964 election. >> you look back at all the election maps and you see what really caused a realignment. what caused people to think differently about their partisan identification. boy, it was 1964. >> joining us now is the director of the center for politics, larry sabatow, author of "the kennedy half century qult ", thanks for being with us. >> thanks. >> we talk so much about how divided this country is, but take us back to this moment in history. how divided were we back then?

>> we became very divided during that campaign. although the divisions, obviously, were heavily in the democrats favor. president johnson ended up winning for that time was the largest percentage, popular vote percentage ever. he beat his hero fdr by a small fraction of the vote, getting over 61%. so, it was heavily in the democrats' favor, but what's significant about 1964 is, first of all, it really was the first overwhelmingly negative, vicious, television advertising year. the tv ads before then had been bland, you know, jingle spots, head and shoulders, politicians talking at you and going blah, blah for a minute. this stuff was professionally created, at least on the johnson side, on madison avenue. it was slick. and it was effective. and you mentioned johnson having the -- having the controversy about the civil rights act. yes, and it cost him five

southern states. but remember what he did. he shifted the controversy to goldwater, who had made a number of, let's say, careless statements about the use of nuclear weapons. and he drove that home during the entire general election period. >> did he ever. larry, at some point i got to talk to you about jim webb. we'll have to have you back for that, potentially running for president. but i wanted to ask you, do you see echoes of the split on the republican side between the goldwater and the rockefeller republicans, do you see echoes of that split in the current reaction to the president's immigration action here? >> yes, to a certain degree. let's remember nelson rockefeller republicans were liberals. i mean, they proudly called themselves liberals. no one, not even senator susan collins from maine in today's republican party, calls himself or herself a liberal. >> that's right. have you to be severe will he conservative, right? >> it's almost been extinguished. sorry? >> i said, you have to be

severely conservative, right? >>, yeah have you to be -- it runs from conservative to very, very conservative. you know, you have the wings of the party in there. so, i think that was a big part of it. yeah the goldwater -- the goldwater split, the movement of the republican party to the right, has pretty much continued unabated since 1964. even nixon, when he ran again in 1968, ran as a much more conservative candidate than he had in 1960 against john kennedy. >> and now we're here. >> larry, you saw from the 1960s that the black vote became permanently democratic after johnson's action and the great society. talk about yesterday. i know it's very early, but do you see -- is there any potential that obama acting in this way can make the latino vote democratic in that same kind of way for generations? >> oh, i think that's -- i think it's already happened. yes, you had exit polls on

november 4th saying that a smaller percentage of hispanics voted democratic, but let's remember, the people who showed up november 4th were much more republican inclined, and that included the hispanics that showed up, the young people that showed up, the asian-americans that showed up. so, i think it's already happened, but what the president did, undoubtedly, will reinforce the ties between the democratic party and hispanics for a long time ago. you're not going to have them voting 95% democratic, the way often african-americans do in specific elections. but 70% -- 65% to 75%, yes. >> larry, i have to interrupt you right now. the president is coming in right now. let's go right there. >> hello. my name is astrid. [ cheers and applause ] >> i came to this country when i

was 4 years old on a raft. my only memory of mexico was a doll i left behind. when i found out i was undocumented, it shattered my life. you see, my brother was born in the united states, so i didn't realize that i could be any different from him. like many young people, i dreamt of graduating college and hugging my parents after i got my diploma. i dreamt of my dad walking me down the aisle, simple dreams that any american girl visualizes. which is why i started fighting for immigration reform in 2009. [ cheers and applause ] my advocacy in organizing made me realize that i, like other dreamers, deserved an opportunity to contribute fully to the only country we call home. i had the opportunity to meet senator reid during an event near my home. i gave him a letter.

i gave him a letter, and to my surprise, he answered it. i went on to tell him my family's story through more letters. and it helped him give a human face to immigration reform. last year, i was invited by reid to the senate gallery to witness the historic bipartisan vote on immigration. but 512 days have passed and since that vote, house republicans have refused to help me keep my dreams alive. president obama understands that families, like mine and many others, across this country cannot afford to wait anymore. this announcement will change so many lives, including my own. my father is my rock and my inspiration. but his future is uncertain because of his immigration status. i cannot imagine my life without him. there are so many families in

the same situation. and thanks to president obama's action, they will go to bed without the fear of being awokeened by a knock at the door. i am so happy for the happy for that will benefit and even though it doesn't include everyone, i know that our community and the president will keep fighting for comprehensive immigration reform. [ cheers ] -- which is why i am proud to introduce our champion and our president, president barack obama. [ hail to the chief ]

[ cheers ] >> so proud of you. going to be great. hello, las vegas! [ cheers ] good see you again. you were here two years ago. it's good to be back at del sol high school. go dragons. let me say when i fly to vegas on air force one, the plane is a little more crowded. for some reason folks want to come to vegas. but today was also crowded with a whole bunch of people who have been passionate about make sure

that america always remains a nation of immigrants, including your senator, harry reid. the leader of the democrats in the house of representatives, nancy pelosi. some extraordinary members of congress who have been leading on immigration reform, they are doing unbelievable work and i want to just name a couple of them and if i forget someone make sure i don't get into trouble. from left to right we've got javier lucera, ben luhan, steve horsford and bob menendez.

we have the arturo rodriguez. and i just want to -- oh -- and since we're on farm workers, a legend, someone who has just been a great friend to working people around the country, laura suerto is here. love you. you know, i'm so inspired by the introduction by astrid. you heard me talk about astrid last night. you heard her talk about herself. she was brought here as a little girl and grew up believing in america and in her identity as an american just like malia or sasha. and as she grew up she found out she was undocumented which meant

she could not do what her friends could do. she first period she and her brother could be separated from her dad. and she started advocating for her fellow dreamers. and to fight to make a difference in this country that she loves. and part of what makes america exceptional is that we welcome exceptional people like astrid. it makes us stronger. it makes us vibrant and dynamic. it makes us hopeful. we are a nation of immigrants and that means that we're constantly being replenished with strivers who believe in the american dream and it gives us a tremendous advantage over other nations. it makes us entrepreneurial. it continues the promise that here in america, you make it if you try.

regardless of where you come from. regardless of the circumstances of your birth. our immigration system has been broke for a very long time and everybody knows it. as americans we believe in fairness, the idea that if we work hard and play by the rules, we can get ahead but it's too often the immigration system feels fundamentally unfair. you've got families who try to come here the right way, but sometimes get separated or stuck in line for years. you've got business owners who are doing the right thing by their workers, offering good wages and benefits. and then you've got companies that are ignoring minimum wage laws or overtime laws, take advantage of undocumented immigrants and as a consequence undercutting the employers who are doing the right thing. all of us take offense to the fact that anyone could reap the reward of living in america without following the rules.

and families embrace the responsibilities of living here. they are forced to live in the shadows or risk having their families torn apart. we've known about this for year. and we've known we can do better. and for years we haven't done much about it. today we're doing something about it. when i took office, i committed to fixing this broken system. and i began by doing what i could to secure our borders because i do believe in secure borders. and over the past six years, illegal border crossings have been cut in half. don't let the rhetoric fool you. there was a spike in summer of unaccompanied children apprehended at the border. but it was temporary. and overall the number of people trying to close our border

illegally is at the lowest level since the 1970s, when i was in high school. and i've got gray hair now. so it's been a long time. and nearly two years ago i came here, del sol high school, right in this gymnasium -- [ cheers ] -- and i said that the time had come for congress to fix our broken immigration system. and i laid out some basic principles for reform that a lot of different parties could agree on. and what was remarkable was the consensus that started to develop. we had business leaders and labor leaders and evangelical leaders and law enforcement leaders. we had republicans and democrats and independents. andthy said we should secure our borders and bring our legal

system into the 21st century and give the 11 million people living in the shadows a chance to make amends and earn their citizenships the right way. those were our principles. we laid them out. we were very clear. and after i laid out those principles we then went to work with congress and we started in the senate. and you ended up with a big majority of democrats and republicans and independents all coming together in the senate to pass a bipartisan bill based on these principles. the senate bill wasn't perfect. it was a compromise. that's how things work in congress. that's how things work in a democracy. not everybody was satisfied with every provision, but it was a good, solid, common sense bill that would have made our immigration system a lot better. doubled the number of border

patrol agents. for those who wanted border security, that was in the bill. it would have made the legal immigration system smarter and fairer. it would have given the opportunity for young people who are talented and who have gotten a degree, maybe in computer science or a technical field to stay here and work and contribute and create a business and create more jobs. >>. [ inaudible ] >> you're welcome. it would have given and it would have given millions of people that chance to get right with the law. but it wasn't just a gift. they would have had to pay a fine. they would have had to learn english. they would have had to get to the back of the line. they would have had to pay back taxes. it was a sensible bill. and all these members of congress, they worked on it and

were supportive of it. and independent experts, not me, people, you know, who analyze the economy for a living, they said that over two decades, the new law would grow our economy, shrink our deficits -- in other words it would help to solve some big problems in a bipartisan way. and when it passed the senate we said, all right, let's send it over to the house. we've got the votes in the house. we've got democrats and republicans who are prepared to vote for it in the house. [ cheers ] it has now been 512 days. >> too long! >> a year and a half in which the only thing standing in the way of that bipartisan bill and my desk so that i can sign that