captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> lehrer: good evening. i'm jim lehrer. special teams of u.s. marines were air-dropped behind taliban lines in southern afghanistan as a major offensive entered its seventh day. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we get an update on risks for u.s. troops taking part in the fight around the insurgent stronghold of marjah. >> lehrer: then, a dramatic tale of life on the front lines in the battle against the taliban.

>> an offensive operation in a counterinsurgency is about taking that away from the insurgents that they can't afford to lose, which is, simply put, "control of the population". >> woodruff: mark shields and david brooks offer their weekly analysis. >> lehrer: christine brennan on the public apology of tiger woods, and its impact on the worlds of sports and business. >> woodruff: plus her review of week one of the winter olympic games, and her preview of week two. >> canada as you know has puchbed billions of dollars into a campaign called own the podium. and right now their neighbors to the south own the podium. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what is that energy came from an

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foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> lehrer: american and afghan forces made a new effort today to root out resistance in a key taliban town. ray suarez begins our coverage. >> suarez: a week ago, hundreds of u.s. marines helicoptered into northern marjah in helmand province to begin the fighting. today, some two dozen members of elite reconnaissance teams dropped behind enemy lines to go after taliban snipers. other marine squads and afghan troops moved into southern parts of the city, under sniper and rocket fire. meanwhile, medevac helicopters were busy taking wounded troops out of the city. and nato, overseeing the offensive, reported another

death today. on thursday, six foreign troops were killed. in all, 12 nato troops and one afghan soldier have been killed since the offensive began. as the fighting continues, hundreds of afghan families have fled marjah for the relative safety of lashkar gah, helmand's central city. >> ( translated ): no one has helped us so far. we have come from marjah because of the bombing and the fighting. the taliban had taken shelter in our houses, and we just managed to get ourselves out of there and couldn't bring anything else. >> suarez: but the refugees say they have found little in the way of assistance so far. >> ( translated ): i have been here for the last six days. all those people who i know and who are from my area haven't received any help yet. the government says that they will help us, but they are not doing it. they just help those people who they know. >> suarez: back in marjah, the main bazaar and other sections have already been turned over to afghan police, with help from government soldiers.

>> ( translated ): i would like to give this message to marjah residents-- we are going there for their sake, for their safety. and we are doing this operation to clean up the area from enemies. >> suarez: in the past, the local police were seen as tainted with corruption. afghan army commanders say that has to change with this new deployment. >> ( translated ): these police officers are well trained from the interior ministry. hopefully, we will be able to explain to the villagers that these are not like the government officials who were there before. these officers are different, so i hope they will accept them. >> suarez: nato commanders say they hope to prevent the taliban from returning to marjah with their "clear, hold, build" strategy. they aim to secure the area, bring in a civilian afghan administration, and try to restore public services. meanwhile, afghan taliban leaders are under new pressure in pakistan. at least three top leaders have been captured there in recent days with help from the c.i.a. the pakistani interior minister

said today their prisoners may be returned to afghanistan, but will not be handed over to the u.s. >> woodruff: for more on the battle in marjah, we turn to todd bowers, a staff sergeant in the u.s. marine corps reserves. he served in afghanistan from april until december of last year. he's now deputy policy director at iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. and james kitfield, who covers military affairs at "national journal." wz gentlemen, thank you both for being here, james kitfield to you first, seven days in, do we know how far along is this offensive. >> they are saying it will take probably 25 to 35 days to clear marjah. so we are just at the front end of this. what is interesting to me is that you can tell, it reminded me of iraq, the bush surge in the winter and spring of 2007 where they finally had the surge troops in hand and they started to do the clear hold and build strategy. it's why everyone is looking at this to see if this same template works in afghanistan, there are more

challenges there, greater illiteracy rate. the security forces aren't nearly as large as the iraqis are. so a lot is riding on this but it is going by the sort of counterinsurgency play book if you will right from the start. >> so based on what you know, this is going pretty much as the pentagon expected it to go? >> i think there have been some surprises. i think that they have been saying for a year the taliban is getting better. they are watch whating what we do, they are adapting, they better trained. they have been training in the training camps in pakistan. one of the bunkers they found today apparently saw graduation diplomas from one of the training camps. so the taliban have been getting better. all the commanders on the ground have spoken to this. they have been getting bet soar they are finding some pockets of strong resistance. i don't think over the long term there will be a chance the taliban will hold out here. they don't have 9 conventional firepower to really make a stand wz staff sergeant todd bowers you just came back from afghanistan, the obstacles they are running into, typical for this kind of a operation.

>> the civil yap-- civilian populous, that is the advantage the taliban fighters have is they can integate with the locals there. the marines an afghan forces, our main purpose is to protect the locals it is difficult because they have living camouflage they are able to blend in with, making it difficult for the troops on the ground wz how do the troops counter that. >> theest part is to identify the local leaders and weed out and say these are the individuals that don't belong heerment ultimately those will be the insurgent fighters wz in an operation like this do they have time to do that? how do they do that? >> it takes time. obviously if you see pockets of people where-- you know those are bad guise. then you have to decide are they around civilians, can i call in air power and they are being very stingy with air power because the civilian casualtys in the last two years have really started to alienate the afghan pop you louse but that puts a greater burden on the marines because they have to take greater risks up close and personal and fire fight to figure out who the bad guys are wz we heard in ray's report, about the snipers, about marines being

dropped behind taliban lines to look for snipers. how big a threat are they? >> i think they are seeing an increased sniper threat will pose very difficult for the people move on the ground. as we start to engage the local pop you lus we know that counterinsurgency efrts are always hindered by snipers. the goal is to harass. they are not necessarily there to target significant individual bus to instill fear in the locals for interacting with the marines that are on the ground. and it also highlights we are bringing in higher and more well trained insurgent force into the area which really raises a lot of red flags wz so searching for snipers, give us a sense of how tough that is, what is involved. >> it is extremely difficult. ultimate three-- ultimately there are ways to do it using technological advances butity mate-- ultimately the snipers there with the marine corps, army and afghan forces are the best individuals in the world they are the ones that need to be on the ground looking for folks to identify them to make sure it isn't a passive measure to combat these folks. >> i think you were telling our reporter that sometimes

when this fire fight or when fire breaks out somebody is being shot at you can't always tell where it is coming from. >> it is extremely difficult and you need those well trained individuals to be able to identify where that bullet is coming from. afghanistan is a very difficult area. we've been trained in urban combat. we've been trained in open warfare. afghanistan is a lot of densely populated areas with mud huts. it is extremely easy to blend in with the environment and ultimately provide a tremendous amount of cover for the bad guys. >> how well prepared are the u.s. troops, u.s. soldiers and marines to deal with what sergeant bowers is describing. >> i think they are well prepared. we have been at war sort of counterinsurgency environment for eight years now. so most of the traps have seen combat, at least a lot of them have. almost all the leaders have seen combat. it is a very difficult kind of combat this is not easy. it's not going to be something that happens quickly. they know how to do this. they know how to clear these places. they will eventually clear them, the sniper thing, really the best plan in

counterinsurgency is to find some afghan who knows where those guys are and have them pointed out to you that is why it is so important to win over the local populous to sort of do the advance work. they got the elders involved who can point out to them local leaders and then point out the bad guys for you. that is really the most effective way. >> the biggest threat that the troops face. >> well, i think ieds and snipers, to me the ieds have been really indiscriminate blast fires that can kill multiple people. they have had a long time, general mcchrystal put a telegraph, they were coming in, hoping that a lot of them would leave. they also gave them some time to lay a lot of ieds. >> would you agree with that. >> i would agree with that. the ieds in the seven months i was there were the main problem in the value. they are simple, they don't cost a lot of money and something the afghan

insurgents can utilize to push and say listen, you need to make sure they are left here or we will come in and do terrible things to your family it gives them leverage to pull themselves out of the fight and integrate the local populous into the site. >> this is something the u.s. troops face everywhere. >> it is very difficult. >> all right, staff sergeant todd bowers, james kitfield, gentlemen, thank you both. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> lehrer: we'll have a "boots on the ground" look at the nato offensive right after the other news of the day. and for that, here's hari sreenivasan in our newsroom. >> sreenivasan: the justice department has found no misconduct by bush administration lawyers who authorized harsh interrogations. that word came today in documents provided to congress. it followed a two-year review of attorneys jay bybee, john yoo and steven bradbury. they wrote memos authorizing water-boarding and other methods used on terror suspects. the justice finding said they were guilty of poor judgment, but not professional wrongdoing. the nation's foreclosure crisis

may be easing, at last. the mortgage bankers association reported today fewer people fell behind on home loans at the end of 2009. and president obama announced $1.5 billion in housing aid for five hard-hit states. he spoke in las vegas, a city with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. government alone can't solve this problem. and it shouldn't. but government can make a difference. it can't stop every foreclosure. and tax dollars shouldn't be used to reward the very irresponsible lenders an borrowers who help bring about the housing crisis. but what we can do is help families who have done everything right stay in their homes whenever possible. >> sreenivasan: the money for the housing aid will come from funds left in tarp, the financial rescue program. wall street had a relatively quiet day. the dow jones industrial average gained nine points to close at 10,402. the nasdaq rose two points to close near 2,244. for the week, both the dow and the nasdaq gained about 3%.

while the president is away, conservatives are turning up the heat in washington. they've been blistering the obama record at c-pac, the annual conservative political action conference. a leading house republican, mike pence, charged today the president is managing over america's decline. he said, "get government out of the way and america will come roaring back." others, including former presidential candidate mitt romney, have firmly predicted democrats will lose the house and senate this fall. france, germany and russia have issued fresh warnings to iran over its nuclear program. this, a day after the u.n. nuclear agency said iran may be trying to build a nuclear missile. but iranian supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei rejected the criticism. state television showed him touring a new guided missile destroyer in a show of iran's military might. investigators in austin, texas, picked through wreckage today from a suicide flight. on thursday, joseph stack flew his small plane into a building that housed offices of the

internal revenue service. he was killed, along with one person in the building. in a suicide message, stack railed against the government and said, "violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer." today, a family spokesman read a statement from stack's wife, sheryl. >> words cannot adequately express my sorrow or the sympathy i feel for everyone affected by this unimaginable tragedy. i want to thank my friends, family, colleagues and neighbors as well as members of my church and others for their expressions of kindness and generosity in our time of grief. >> sreenivasan: the building hit by the small plane was heavily damaged. investigators said they're looking into whether the plane carried anything designed to feed the fire. the chairman and c.e.o. of toyota will testify before congress after all, next week. in tokyo today, akio toyoda reversed his earlier decision to send his top u.s. executive instead. he said he wants to offer a "sincere explanation" for how

the company has handled a rash of safety problems and recalls. two american missionaries went before a judge in haiti today. they were questioned about allegations of child kidnapping. eight other missionaries were released earlier this week, and three of them arrived home last night in boise, idaho. we have a report from marcia franklin of idaho public television. ♪ as they waited for their loved ones members of the central valley baptist church in meridian idaho broke out into song. then finally the revun-- reunion they'd been waiting for . >> wow, you're taller. >> church members quickly surrounded and embraced the women. >> while there was great rejoicing all around it was tempered with sadness because of the knowledge

that two of their fellow con grow gants were still being held in haiti for questioning. authorities want to know more about plans laura stillsby and her assistant had to bring haitian children to an orphanage they say they were opening in the dominican republic. our god say mighty god and he stood with us every second we were there. and he brought us home. and i want you to continue to pray for car issa and laura because he's going to bring them home too. >> pastor quint henry of the church says his con grow gants need at least a few days along with their families before they will speak in more depth to the media. >> sreenivasan: the missionaries were held for three weeks in a haitian jail. another of their group, a texas man, said today they were treated well. a long-running stalemate between black farmers and the federal government is coming to an end. the agriculture department announced a payment of $1.25 billion on thursday. if congress approves, final damages will be paid under a settlement reached in 1999. black farmers have charged they

were denied federal aid for years, due to their race. those are some of the day's main stories. i'll be back at the end of the program with a preview of what you'll find tonight on the newshour's web site. but for now, back to jim. >> lehrer: and still to come on the newshour: shields and brooks; the tiger woods story; and an olympics update. >> woodruff: but first, a special look at allied soldiers in afghanistan trying to carry out the new strategy against the taliban. video journalist vaughn smith was embedded with a platoon from the british grenadier guards in the preliminary phases of operation moshtarak, now underway in helmand province. the british unit was in the nadi ali district. their job-- to clear and hold territory near their base, take control of the town of kushal kalay, and then turn it over to afghan leadership. here is special correspondent vaughan smith's report. >> it's 6:00 in the morning and british troops are

trying to take the war to the taliban . >> you should take it in return. >> the recon advance platoon of the gren a deer guard and a unit from the afghan national army are taking over a local family's compound, paying 200 pounds a building for more any damage caused. they two miles behind enemy lines and aring to ambush insurgent fights. >> captain jim young is commanding the operation. one of many designed to weak eb or as the armies say to shape the taliban in preparation for operation moshtarak. >> all they have to do is put an ied down and they can focus in one. >> they've got runts digging away, getting them in.

good cover using their own compound. so yeah, they use them against us and we find it is a good way for us to use them against them too . 24/7 at the moment. so usually we have to get off, a wash and shave but they don't wash and shave. and have a breakfast and then game on. we'll just wait and see. >> and it doesn't take long . >> what direction is that coming in, is that actually at us or somewhere else. >> captain young decides not to respond immediately waiting to draw the taliban fighters in closer. >> i reckon that is more probing . >> they are just waiting for a reaction

. >> that was definitely-- underneath . >> the section revealed their position to further entice the insurgents into the trap. captain young also has soldiers hidden in three nearby compounds providing support . >> that is accurate, that sharpshooter bordering on sniper, he is actually probably about four or five inches below. you have a couple here and you encounter a sniper, that is why one is setting up. to draw them out . >> make sure if are you fire it is limited, just in the compound to move it. >> a sergeant fires his

machine gun, although only, he wants to create the impression of returning fire but actually is just another tactic to encourage the taliban to expose their position. >> when they do high-powered , it reduces the casualties . >> 15 hours later, the platoon leaves using darkness as a cover. >> we got two kills including the sharpshooter, shows the local nationals we have freedom to move and shows insurgents they can't ever take anything for granted.

>> the main base for the gren add ear guards is-- , is the -- and the men in charge here are lieutenant colonel roland walker and his sergeant major ian farrell. they are the forefront of the british counterinsurgency effort to shape, clear, hold and build within the nadi ali district. >> as you can about this operation just remember it's not all about the taliban. if you look at the whole of moshtarak, the whole point of moshtarak is to restore governance to nadi ali district. an offensive operation in a counterinsurgency is about taking that away from the insurgents that they can't afford to lose, which is simply control of the population. >> colonel walker has been commanding the

grenadiers in afghanistan for five months it is a war as dangerous for commanders as for their soldiers. >> is it fun -- >> it is exhilarating, truly exhilarating. it is a high price, if you get it wrong. and if you are caught out and turn into being hunted, then it can be pretty frightening. >> but if you can personalize it and you can lay the traps and you can draw them in, then yes t is very exhilarate ing. >> today troops are clearing kushal kalay, a villeage two miles south of the base with the help of the afghan national arm eyewitnesses reports of the contact ied monitor these, did you pick that up. >> what happened to -- >> it's just reports coming in of a contact ied. so let's wait and see what

happens . 8:00 in the morning. >> half a mile outside the village lieutenant corner walker and his man are told there is an improvised explosive device that has been detonated. they wait for word of casualties . >> there is an ied placed beyond the wall which went off. 17 minutes later american mercy helicopters arrive to evacuate to the nearest field hospital . >> three afghan soldiers were killed by the roadside bomb and one british and two

afghan soldiers were likely wounded . >> we're just trying to get the engineer, the research team down, we know we have had an ied before. we blot low compound walls. >> the soldiers believe that the booby trap that caused the afghan national army or ana casualties was armed by the taliban only the night before . >> apparently this is where the contact explosion was on the ana. on the command post. waiting for the device to go off. is that a wire? >> no. >> do you see a wire into the wall ? >> can't see it but having a look around. >> so what's your job.

>> my job would be -- it's quite fun in a way but it is pretty dangerous. but you don't think about the dangerous part of it. >> what you got ? >> we have found a wire hidden in the ground. it could lead to another device or it could be a nasty device there so we're going to push back the same way we came and report it. >> not good now . >> radio controlled and so-called command wire lines are common now. but the taliban are constantly adapting their bomb-making techniques to avoid detection. these days insurgents are using less and less metal in their ieds which means they have to use more specific technology to find and destroy them .

>> we can search and fine e-- ieds, neutralize them, make it safe for our guys to come through it is a risky business but we are-- sop toss reduce that risk as much as we can do. sops are basically written in blood over years in northern ireland, people who have been killed, things you have learned from previous devices about terrorist tactics. >> on the junction where the afghan soldiers were killed, the bomb disposal unit found three other devices. each costing just a few pounds to make, the operation to remove them took each man three painstaking hours using millions of pounds worth of equipment . >> with the village cleared, the grenadiers plan to hold it and build up a security presence. within 36 hours, compounds are being constructed and

locals are invited to a meeting . >> boosted by the district governor-- governor. >> i know there are talibans sitting among you, but you won't say what you think. we will show new six months what we can do for you. these people, the taliban spend 18 months for you but i can't see a single brick they have laid for you. >> this is the beginning of governance . >> that's what this is about . i. >> it's about the governor getting -- >> showing up to, the villagers are given blankets, radios and food. within a week most of the soldiers will have left to be replaced by the afghan police. the success of operation moshtarak in kushal kalay will be measured in years, in the days. >> lehrer: and to the analysis

of shields and brooks-- syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. >> mark, it is incredible to see it in such detail. >> remarkable piece. those of us who grew up on war in the back lot of paramount with john wayne in it, the thing that impressed me the most is not simply living as they do with death on virtually every step, but then 15 hours later, and they are still there. i mean they are still doing the same-- it was a remarkable piece of reporting. and i thought an accurate portrayal of what these men subjected to, subject themselves to every day. >> and the way the leadership talked about what the mission was. >> the coin mentality, the counterinsurgency mentality has permeated everything they do so they talk about population protection. and then you get to be sure

they are organized. and so it is clear they have made a mental turn from gung-ho let's kill a lot of bad guys and leave and kill some more bad guys to actually clear hold the an build which is what the pet tray us an mcchrystal model is about. it really about the governor coming in and offering blankets. >> all right, back to other matters. evan bayh's decision to leave the united states senate, do you buy his view of the senate, in other words, what he said the reason was, why he was leaving? >> i have no reason not to buy it, jim. i admire anybody who runs for office. it's a very personal decision and a decision not to run is equally personal. i think in evan bayh's case, i don't think it's a question of bipartisanship as much as it is every year "fortune" magazine lists a hundred best places to work. container store and smuckers

jams, places like that are always listed. nobody has listed the united states senate. i mean it is not a positive work environment. and there is a lack of civility, there really is. one of the great suggestions that was made i think by norm war ebstein the political scientist who has appeared on this show, that the congress be in three weeks in a row, monday through friday, first thing in the morning until late at night friday and that they are here. then they take a week off. and that would force them to bring their families here. if you are-- i if i see you with your child at a soccer game it is tougher for me to demonize you on monday. i just think somehow before we ever get to, you know, collegiality again there has to be civility. and i think civility come with its just getting to know each other. >> you talked to bayh just yesterday. >> i have known him and i speak to him a fair bill. and i guess a couple things he talked about, first of all, he emphasized that he was a governor. among the senators there

were a group of people who were governors. >> governor of indiana before he went to the senate. >> they tend to have a different perspective because they have experience with making decisions and seeing the consequences of that decision. and he said, you know, he would took about the governor of tennessee , voinovich who was governor of ohio and then you go to the senate and never see the consequence of any decision. i think he felt frustrated that nothing was actually getting done. and then to echo mark's point, one of the things he talked about is that he said he has been there 1 years, he said exactly twice in that period of time all the senators have gotten together to talk about policy. there was the clinton impeachment, and then there were a couple weeks after 9/11 they met at the senate dining room. and that was twice. >> and so he thought those sessions were actually fantastic sessions. they actually talked about things. and they had exchanges. and we talked about the tuesday policy lunches, on tuesday the two parties meet separately. and these lunchs are really designed to pulverize because they give you the

message and the leadership, here is where you can stay all week. he has proposed once a month they actually get together as a body and have a lunch. >> the whole senate. >> the republican would pay something and have a presentation from a democrat and then they could all talk and ask questions about it. and those were a couple things he was thinking about. i really do think as mark said it was genuinely the mark environment. i don't think he was afraid of not being re-elected or anything. >> one thing, jim t is the way he did it. he established the democratic party in indiana. brought it back, became virtually unbeatable. but he pulled out two days before filing, the filing date that meant the democrats were deprived of the candidate. that means the voters of indiana were deprived of choosing a democratic nominee of the united states senate. so if there is a democratic nominee for the united states senate he will have been picked or she, will have been picked in a back room deal.

and it may well be challenged in the courts legitimately by republicans. so you put your own party and your own vote t is an enormous disadvantage. i thought it was a reckless act. >> just on that one of the things, he said first it was a surprise in washington. he had told harry reid weeks ago that he wasn't sure he was going to run again. he wasn't sure he was happy. i asked the question of when he announces t and this we did not talk about. he didn't tell me this but other people have told me and i have seen it reported elsewhere that the indiana democratic party wanted this. they did to the want to have a primary because it would be divisive and expensive and all the rest. they wanted to go in with a clear candidate who apparently they are going to get. congressman ellsworth. and according to what i have heard from others, this is the way the party wanted it. because they didn't want that primary fight. >> that is-- one interpretation. that is not the interpretation held by democrats i have talked to both in indiana and here. what really he has been saying for years he wasn't

sure he was going to run but he had accumulated $13 million and did have a 20 point lead in the polls. and the idea of doing it then really did deprive even anybody else of even thinking about a primary. >> what is your reading of the importance of this, the conservative political action committee having its meeting the last couple of days, more people have come than ever before, 10,000 the biggest group and i have heard from anybody, what is going on? >> well, it's in some ways-- it is some ways emblem-- emblematic of what is happening. i have gone in years, i didn't go this area. but they were the fringe, to be honest. they were the fringe of the conservative movement. when reagan was in office i remember when they asked reagan if he would go. and there were internal debates in the reagan administration. he didn't really want to go. >> but he went. >> he would go but there was-- it was not the core of the republican party. and it was not the core of the conservative movement. this was more, much more

conservative, more, a lot of chappaquidick bumper stickers and things like that. but now it has in some ways judging by today's events surpassed the old institutions which were the core of the conservative movement. and it has forced everybody to mimic a lot of the rhetoric that has long been a staple. and so on the one hand it shows the tremendous vitality as mohr people come in. on the other hand it does show the movement moving away from some of the old institutions to a more, i don't know, flamm buoyant or pungent. >> interesting word. >> the group got roses for its loudest surprise when former vice president cheney predicted that barack obama was going to be a one-term president. i don't think the white house was losing a lot of sleep over dick cheney's credentials as a clairvoyant. this is a man in 2002 that told us the american troops

would be welcomed as liberaters in iraq. in 2005 they were in the last throes of the insurgency. so his track record is somewhat flawed. i think, i agree with david. it used to be a trade show for every conspiracy theory in the world. i mean including the flat oath society and the john birch. and this turnout, jim, i think shows the energy. i think it also shows that the republican party has become a more homogenous conservative party. the fact it's almost like the first primary before iowa an new hampshire. presidential candidates used to debate whether they would even show there, i have a representatives now clamouring to be seen there. and i think that's-- tom davis, the former republican chairman campaign committee, house campaign committee said he's fearful that republicans could win in 2010 and learn nothing. that they don't, there is no self-examination, no self-introspection involved about what happened with the

party and why they lost in 2006, and 2008. in 2010 because they will be in terrible shape for 2012. >> but that said, isn't it right to say, david at this point, whatever, whatever is going on there, the conservatives feel they've got wind behind them. >> absolutely. >> and it's not only this, there the tea party, the popularity of sara palin, all these things. >> and there is the polls which is much broader than the tea party or but there is the races in virginia, and massachusetts and new jersey. and then there's just, there's-- i mean i think of the election were held right now the republican was probably pick up eight senate seats. i don't think they would get the ten they need but that is right now. that is the thing i warn about what dick cheney said there a long way to go before november and maybe things won't change but the odds were something big will happen between now and then and i would say the republicans are getting a little ahead of themselves. >> in a mid tier election, jim t is all about turnout.

turnout, turnout, turnout. and all the energy, all the enthusiasm, all the intensity now is on the republican side. and the democrats, there is a sense of disspiritedness i would say right now among democrats, anxiety, certainly. and you know, that's -- the presidential election level turnout who shows up. and people based on their interest and their passion and their intensity turn out to vote . >> meanwhile the president created a quote by spar spart-- bipartisan commission on the deficit, appointed allen simpson, former republican senator and erskine boulles former white house chief of staff in the clinton administration, democrat. to run it. what is going to happen, is it something that is going to make-- is it going to make something happen. >> i wouldn't bet the house that they will actually reach an agreement that both parties will then bow down to. i think it is a good idea and a good stop. what has to happen is the republicans have to agree to

cut taxes-- i mean to raise taxes. and the democrats have to agree to cut middle class-- neither side wants to move off that. i don't think either side is going to move off that over the next eight months. i used to think the commission was a clever idea to get around democracy and pass that with a bunch of eight people in a room. i no longer believe that to be possible. but it do begin a debate. a consciousness raising debate in the country. it won't get us all with the way there. but if you can see movement within a commission it could get the country thinking. so it with be a step along which will be a long way. >> too men heading it, neither of whom angling for political position. they are both, if anything, committed to the legacy, their grandchildren they are both grandfathers. erskine boulles and allen simpson. and they are both serious people who have shown an ability and capacity in their careers to reach across the aisle to each other, which they are doing here. and they are, they are

really angering the base of both their parties by doing this. one of the things about it, and jim, you can be a republican now and be for gay rights in certain districts. you can be pro-choice and be a republican. you can be critical of the military. you cannot be for tax increases. i mean that is -- >> do agree with that, david. >> the short answer is yes. >> yeah. and i just, i mean, that's really it. and david's right about the entitlements because democrats have trotted that number out, they wanted to dismantle social security. they want grandma to freeze out in the snow bank. that is what the republicans do. so it is really going to take great leadership. and i wish them well, it is an important mission. >> i would say that one thing coming of allen simpson, erskine bowls is going to do is bring humor, if you saw that interview. >> judy did with simpson and

boughtes. >> okay, thank you all very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: and finally tonight, two big stories from the world of sports-- golfer tiger woods and the olympics. jeffrey brown has our look, starting with woods. >> reporter: tiger woods broke nearly three months of silence today with public apologies to his wife, fans, friends and sponsors. >> i want to say to each of you, simply and directly, i am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior i engaged in. i was unfaithful. i had affairs. i cheated. what i did is not acceptable. >> reporter: revelations of woods' private life had erupted after he wrecked his car last thanksgiving outside his home in

florida. this morning, the world's most famous golfer appeared at p.g.a. headquarters in ponte vedra beach, florida. in a tightly controlled setting, with no questions allowed, he spoke for roughly 14 minutes to a small group including his mother. woods said all questions about his marriage are between his wife, elin nordegren, and himself, except one... >> some people have speculated that elin somehow hurt or attacked me on thanksgiving night. it angers me that people would fabricate a story like that. elin never hit me that night or any other night. there has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever. >> reporter: woods said he's returning to therapy, reportedly at this facility in hattiesburg, mississippi. he said he's had 45 days of treatment, and learned this much already. >> parents used to point to me as a role model for their kids.

i owe all of those families a special apology. i want to say to them that i am truly sorry. >> reporter: several companies, including accenture and at&t, have cut their endorsement ties with woods. one that hasn't, ea sports, said today it welcomed his statement. as for his playing career, woods said today, "i do plan to return to golf one day. i don't rule out it will be this year." >> and joining me again is christine brennan, columnist for "usa today" and commentator for abc news and espn. she is in vancouver for the winter olympics and we'll discuss that more in a moment. but she also coved golf and tiger woods for many years and that is where we start. so yis teen, this was a man speaking to a number of audiences today, right, family, golf world, corporate sponsors and a huge public. >> oh, absolutely, yev. this is the first opportunity to see this man we've been discussing

nonstop for three months, first time to eyeball him, so to speak. and it was kind of i remarkable 15 minutes or so. tiger woods, someone who we never see sweat, always put together, so concerned about his image. here, if this was really true and if it's all from the heart, at rock bottom. it was almost breathtaking. and it is-- seems to be the first step in his plan, his journey to start recovering. the fact that everyone has been talking, speculating about when he will play golf again. and i think the word golf finally came up in about the 12 minute or so. and just quickly and then brought to the side. i think there is a real possibility we won't see him play golf for the entire year, if, in fact, what we heard today is real and true, and that this is as bad as tiger made it seem to be. >> you know, for those who don't follow this, just remind us, what is the impact here? the impact a man has on the

sport, on the sports world and what impact has his absence had. >> it's huge. tiger woods is probably-- certainly the most famous athlete on the planet, at least from a u.s. perspective and right up there as a cultural icon, i think with the oa and oprah. that big of a star. and so that is a significant fall from grace. the biggest fall from grace we have ever seen in sports. tiger woods when he plays in a tournament, the tv rating go up about 50%. that means jobs, that means bigger purses, that means grandmothers in dubuque and topolo planning their sundays around his tee time so they can sit and watch. he is that big of a crossover star. so when tig certificate not around, interest in the game suffers, tv ratings drop, again like half. and it is almost as if the game has done dormant until tiger is playing again. so this is a very significant loss for the economy of golf in a tough economy to begin w of course

w the recession. and then as a superstar in sports, just disappearing, it's something that we really have not seen anything quite like this a long time. >> and this is a man who carefully crafted his image over many years, we mention in our set up that corporations, some sponsors have stayed with him, not not. now it's a question of how getting that image back, i guess, right? >> i guess it is. and i think this a beginning for him. he is a control freak and we saw that today. the kind of dog and pony show from the standpoint of journalists, quote, unquote, journalists invited to come and accepting the rules that there would be no questions. 6 course i certainly am thrilled i wasn't invited because i wouldn't attend such a thing, i'm sure you wouldn't either. so that was tiger kind of wanting to control things. and also scheduling this, i know he is supposed to go back into rehab, scheduling it on friday to steal the spotlight from a golf tournament sponsored by

accenture, one of the sponsors that dropped tiger woods. i couldn't help but think, jeff, that this was a stick it to accenture moment for tiger woods. so even as he is coming clean and apologizing profusely and really laying it out there as bad as it could get for him, there is still, i think, were glimpse of tiger woods which may be good or bad depending on how you look at it and how he is recovering. has he changed? i certainly hope for his sake he has. but there were those little moments where i wondered about that. >> all right, let's turn to vancouver where you are. and the olympics. very impressive two days for american athletes, that must be one of the story lines out there. >> oh, it certainly is. probably the story line of the week since the games began. of course a week ago. canada as you know has pumped millions of dollars into a campaign called own the podium. and right now their neighbor to the south owns the podium. the united states had its greatest day ever in winter olympic history the other

day lead by lindsay vonn in the downhill, shawn white, a few others winning medals left and right. u.s. just can't help but win medals right now. evan lysacek in men's figure skating, a surprising well deserved medal last evening. the u.s., salt lake city was the last u.s. olympics that our country hosted, obviously, 2002. there was a great push to win medals going into the 2002 games. and in some sports like in orderic combined that the u.s. has never done well in traditionally, i think that push to 2002 has carried over. and the results are still being seen now eight years later so that is part of the reason i think the u.s. is doing so well. >> you mentioned the figure skating. i know that your favorite competition, every winter olympics. that was quite a shoot-out last night. and i gather that some of the sniping, fighting, what have you has spilled over and continued. >> it has.

you know, the eastern bloc and the western bloc, the cold war is still alive and well at the figure skating venue. i know i have said that before. it is true. it was 9 russian plushenko, the defending olympic gold medalist coming back specifically to try to win a second gold medal and in his way evan lysacek, 24-year-old american, from chicago, training in l.a. with a venerable coach who has never had a skater win an olympic gold medal. you have this clash and it was set up with a twit score in the short program and lysacek beat him and won the gold medal. a huge surprise. the russians are 23409 happy. they thought the gold medal was theirs, the judges were 6-3 eastern bloc against the west and they thought he had it. plushenko made a few mistakes, he is a strong competitor. he landed jumps that he said anyone else would have fallen but but evan lysacek had the complete total program. while the russians are complaining and plushenko

snuck up to the top of the podium then went down in a real lack of sporsmanship i thought on his part towards lysacek the gold medalist and said some negative things about him saying it is ice dancing out there if you don't do a quad, lysacek didn't, plushenko does do the gaud ruble jump, the reality is lysacek had more athletic content, spins footwork and jumps than plushenko. so athlete, artist, yeah but the total package is evan lysacek and that is why he is the deserving winner. >> one more week, what are you looking forward to. >> i think the story line will be account u.s. kep it up. and i think they can. clearly in canada it is hockey. men's and womens. the u.s. women in hockey i think could give the canadian wum a go and the canadians have been challenged on the men side already. so those things and lindsay vonn can she win another gold medal on the mountain, a few of those things coming up, certainly. but already i think vancouver has rated if self a little bit from the trouble, terrible tragedy and trouble of last weekend.

it seems to be a good place as the sun is now shining on another beautiful day in vancouver. >> and we should say for our canadian friend these did own the pod yum a few times this week, didn't they? >> they did, actually, canada won its first-- actually second medal, gold medal on home oil soil. first time ever, they three olympic games and never had won an olympic gold medal in montreal in 76y or calgary in '88 but they finally got a couple and they are thrilled. and i don't blame them. as the host country that is what you want for them. and they are doing a terrific job. and really competing quite well. i think they are certainly going to win some more medals as well. >> christine brennan in vancouver. thanks again. have a good weekend. >> jeff, thank you very much. >> lehrer: again, the other major developments of the day: special teams of u.s. marines were air-dropped behind taliban lines in the afghan town of marjah. it was the seventh day of a nato-afghan offensive. and new housing numbers showed

the wave of foreclosures across the u.s. may finally be easing. the newshour is always online. hari sreenivasan, in our newsroom, previews what's there. hari. >> sreenivasan: find out how the conservative political action conference is using social media to organize and spread its message. we asked the question, "does the u.s. need an independent consumer protection agency?" to a range of experts, and they answered in a special online roundtable. health correspondent betty ann bowser explores the effects of the expanding ranks of medicaid. and on "art beat," jeffrey brown talks to alberto mangel, author of "the library at night," a series of essays on the idea of the library. it's part of our next chapter of reading series. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online, and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thank you and good night.

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