>> what do you think of when you see a tree? a treatment for cancer? alternative fuel for our cars? do you think of hope for the environment, or food, clothing, shelter? we do. wire hauser. >> this is going to be a titanic struggle. >> this week on "inside washington," will fierce economic and political headwinds

make barack obama a one-term president? >> i really employees do as a citizen of this country to please reconsider. >> as republicans begged chris christie to take the plunge is mitt romney beginning to look like rodney dangerfield? why do so few african-americans vote republican? >> it is just brainwashing and people not being open-minded. >> as alabama enacts the toughest immigration law in the country the political debate heats up. >> the reason states have to deal with this is because of the failure of the federal government. >> finally, the boston red sox make baseball history with another epic september fold. >> maybe the worst situation i have been involved in in my whole career. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> barack obama's top political adviser was in new hampshire this week to of course drum up support for the president's reelection effort. david axelrod told an audience of new hampshire politicians and business leaders in a college at manchester that the path to a second term would be a titanic struggle, and mitt romney, who longs to be the president's opponent in 2012, agrees. >> the captains -- captain of the ship has been inattentive, otherwise occupied during the voyage. finally, most importantly, it is going to sing. >> i know it is early but with history as your guide, what are the indicators regarding a second term for barack obama? >> they are not good. we have 90% of americans saying the economy is bad right now, which is the highest number in his entire presidency of the highest really since 2008. david axelrod in did speak the

obvious truth, and that is, democrats are far less enthusiastic about voting in 2012 -- not simply that they were in 2008 but far less enthusiastic than republicans are. enthusiasm does indicate a eventually turn out. that is a problem. >> the same polls, though, that shows 90% of the public says things are dismal, that same poll shows 52% of the public still blames the bush administration and republicans for of the bad state of the economy. and few were blamed democrats. but axelrod's assessment is probably right on target. it is hard to see where things look good for barack obama, except if you go back four years ago, same time, and look at the polls, you see hillary clinton twice the lead of barack obama and guiliani and fred thompson were leaders. >> evan?

>> barack obama won in 2008 by turnout, getting people to vote an exciting people. i don't see how what helps now. he is basically just plain old base politics. class warfare, same old stuff, calling republicans socialists. how is that going to excite people to come out and vote? >> i think the titanic struggle was the effort to be the underdog and the fighting for you, fighting that helped them in the last election. it actually just handed mitt romney a metaphor. the ship is sinking. he went to the congressional black caucus and told them to stop crying, stop grumbling, stop complaining. it struck me, if you are doing that with your base you really are in trouble and you are scolding them instead of looking at yourself. >> quick foreign policy question. we learned another major terrorist, the american-born anwar al-awlaki has been killed. osama bin laden and this gentleman. does this translate into

political capital for the president? >> it translates into a good talking point. if taken at the point that he has made more progress against al qaeda than did george bush, but in the context of what we are talking about now, of the economy, that is first and everything else is so far behind it just hardly matters. >> if it takes away national security as an issue. democrats are traditionally lower on national security and now they are killing terrorists so it takes off the table unless there is another terrorist attack, which is always possible. >> why didn't he get more credit for this? >> he does. the commander in chief credentials are his best. people give him the highest ratings. they are both right, ratings higher than traditionally democrats get. but does it means jobs -- does it mean jobs? who is building the drones -- apparently drones were used or reportedly they were used in that assassination.

is that producing jobs? are there to run factories in ohio, michigan? >> lockheed martin -- building those drums and a lot of people unemployed. >> there is too much pain to feel the pleasure of getting these really, really bad guys. and obama is not the type to spike the football in the end zone. so there has not been much of gloating over it. he has not sought to really capitalize on that. >> we have a picture of wizards owner ted leonsis and ask about an barack obama -- on a sports blog. steinberg links the leader to ted leonsis's blog where he challenges the president's rhetoric. he also says "i voted for the president. i maxed out on personal donations but it blows my mind when i am asked for money as a

donation at the same time i am being blasted to the bad guy." is a device to the president is rethink how to talk to business and sell the business leaders on your plan to make the country great. many of us want to be part of the solution. we are not the problem. >> he is not all wrong in the sense that rich people do pay an awful lot of taxes. but warren buffett has -- you can't debate the fact that rich people, really rich people, their average tax rate is like 15%. american look at that and go, how can it be? it is because of capital gains. we need to bring up capital gains. both are right -- it is true rich people pay a disproportionate amount of money but it is true that they pay a very low tax rate. >> is his message to business leaders the wrong one? >> he is very thin skin. they are the ones who came out of this debacle very way ahead. what is the real complain when you look at what you have

gotten? the real class warfare is taking away benefits that go to the poorest and the working class. that is class warfare. and republican dan coats said -- these people who don't have any skin in the game, let's tax them. he is referring to people will get the earned income tax credit and only pay payroll taxes. >> and sales taxes and all sorts of other taxes. absolutely true. the war on poverty is over and the poor lost and what you got right now is abundantly clear that the -- evan, rightly so says -- you have to raise the capital gains tax of these people are paying at a high rate but every a public and has pledged to abolish the capital gains tax, including johns huntsman. >> and the estate tax is gone. >> obama is getting its biggest push back from wall street and he is getting it because of the reforms initiated after he came

into office. >> comedian rodney dangerfield is to say i don't get no respect. ken mitt romney be feeling some of that? >> there's got to be something new under family really believes is not only the right thing to do, but i think, what you must do at that time in your life, both for you and your country. for me, the answer to that was -- >> chris christie again saying he is not going to run in california. they were begging him to rome -- run. let's be obvious, even mitt romney, to the rank and fall -- file, there pulses do not quicken. >> that is true but he grew on some people. christie would be a very appealing candidate accept that he weighs too much. it is an issue that everybody is uncomfortable with what it is really an issue. >> technically isn't it getting a little late now? isn't made it -- is there a big mountain to climb? them a point of personal

privilege. [laughter] you have to have a 20-inch waist? how about being a leader? chris christie has touched something in the american people. webster you like his politics are not. anybody who says out there and the face of a hurricane and says to the fool get the hell off the beach -- >> i think his weight will be an issue. >> it may show a lack of discipline. it to that extent he has a point. >> getting personal. >> the comparison to romney -- i don't think he is not getting respect. he is not getting the love. republicans have been speed beating -- trump, palin, bachmann, perry, and then a fallout of love and they are still looking, trying to find somebody else. they don't want an arranged marriage. >> let's talk about the voters. they listen to chris do not and

their response. >> they like blunt side of it. but he is a guy i would like to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with at the same setting. [laughter] >> it would be all you can eat. >> did you see what he did this week? he struck a blow for national good taste. he eliminated out of the new jersey budget that tax credit for the worst show on television, "jersey shore," which shows people who are drunk, fighting, hooking up indiscriminately, stupid, and all italian-americans. the college other guido, and so forth. he just endeared himself to every italian family. to his credit. but the biggest thing is a problem. i can say that when you sit in the bathtub and the water level and the toilet does rise, it is a good indication -- i think

that is a problem for the governor. >> let's talk a little bit about african-american voters. last week and president obama raised eyebrows in washington when he told the congressional black caucus audience time to stop complaining, stop grumbling, get to work. now is republican herman cain in an interview. >> why is the republican party basically poison for so many african-americans? >> because many african- americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view. i have received some of that same vitriol simply because i am running for the republican nomination as a conservative. >> nevertheless, margaret, cain says if he were the nominee one third of african-americans would vote for him. brainwashed? >> he is doing well because he is because christie stan been. he talks clearly and bluntly. i want to find out and got a

father pizza got any government help when it was starting out that was the result of the democratic officials. >> interesting question. >> this is one way that he is not going to turn around of the two-thirds of african-americans who don't vote for the republican party by saying they are brainwashed. he is going to lose it just that way. but he also conveniently misses a little history. because there was a time when the republican party did enjoy great support from african american community, particularly because of lincoln. it it stayed that way significantly, all the way up to eisenhower. but you get something called the southern strategy in which the republican party makes it clear to the sow that you can come with us. we know you don't like the civil rights bill, we know you don't like the poverty programs -- come with us. and they played that card since the nixon administration, and even some african-american republicans acknowledge that

that has happened. and cain at least should step up to that and faced that fact. >> interesting strategy and self-promotion. >> blame of the customer. which is probably not a good idea in retail or politics. if barack obama's presidency has suffered from his limited experience in public office -- having been united states senator for two years before -- four years before he was elected and having been in the state senate -- i mean, herman cain is not what people are looking for in terms of public experience. how that really is a problem. >> he is a gadfly -- free to say what everyone is because he can't win. >> and the party where he is running, not having government experience is a plus. at least he argues it that way and so does romney in a way. >> apolitical lot -- political reporters should plan to spend christmas in des moines because

florida decided they want to move their primary to january 31. now you have all these other states who wanted a first -- iowa, new hampshire, nevada, south carolina. >> there is an arms race. one person moves and everybody races to get back so it will be thanksgiving we will be spending in des moines. in this democrats and more disciplined because they take away all your delegates if you move your primary whereas republicans are not as strict. >> they take half? >> republicans take half, democrats take all. mark, you were saying republicans then even give back. they don't enforce it. >> a wink and a not. >> at the convention day cetes the delegates. but it is even more serious than florida chauvinism. there is a genius to the process of being extended over time and voters having a chance to look at these candidates under different circumstances rather than having the whole thing compressed where it simply

becomes a media event. the genius of iowa and new hampshire is candidates have to see real people and answer real questions from voters. once you eliminate that, then it might as will all take place in a tv studio. >> in a practical way, it is a real problem for someone like a chris christie. he's got to ramp up so many states if he decides to get in. and with this moving up of the dates, he hardly has time to get ready for something like florida. >> now he would need to file in the next couple of weeks because of the move. and while they are whispering in his ear, you got the money, that would be all he has in terms of running a campaign. >> what is the motivation for florida to do this? >> publicity. >> attention. >> and you make money. >> it is influence. iowa and new hampshire do have disproportionate -- but picking up and margaret's point, john

mccain won new hampshire in 2000 and upset george bush who outspent him and had all the establishment with 114 town meetings. that what was. it takes time to connect. you eliminate that, and i don't care whether it is chris christie who does town meetings almost as well as mccain and as interestingly, you basically foreclose on his chance. dam it curtails the democratic process. -- >> it curtails the democratic process. the voters do not have a chance to get to know you. and they do that and iowa, you see them getting out and talking. >> you have to do that. it is not like a primary. >> you have to campaign and all the counties in order to compete and it takes a lot of work, a lot of retail. >> is there any way to stop it? >> only the party. >> you got to preserve iowa and

new hampshire at that time. when to the candidates leave new hampshire, it is no longer retail, all wholesale. the land of the tarmac, interviewed by the local anchor -- tell me, what brings you to charlotte todayv, charlotteacuous questions and they do silly shows -- vacuous questions. >> don't knock vacuous questions. in an abbreviated schedule, who benefits the most? >> romney benefits because it best organized. >> the republican establishment likes to run anymore. maybe they are letting it happen because it favors him. >> interesting conspiracy theory. >> all right. >> being on the receiving end of some harsh stuff because of this. >> the immigration debate. >> to me it says that our

government promotes racism. their reaction to alabama ras lanuf anti-immigration law that went into effect -- police have broad powers and they can't stop and detain anyone they suspect is here illegally, attract people in school. the justice department is suing a roseanna -- arizona and alabama on this issue which is becoming a defining issue. in this one repair rate sounds like a humanitarian. >> -- in this one, rick perry sounds like a humanitarian. >> he says if you oppose something like institution for children of undocumented aliens and then you do not have a heart. he caught a lot of flak any step back a little bit. actually, he was right in expressing it that way. the fact is, the republican party, if you look at the nominees or the candidates for the provincial nomination, they all disagree with rick perry. they all sort of support the

flavor of that immigration law in alabama. i think this does tell us a whole lot about this republican field that we are looking at. >> perry said on cnbc this week it was in the best interest of the state of texas to have the young people educative rather than kicked to the curb. then how can you argue with that? >> people do. >> they do argue with it. because they are children of undocumented -- >> but his argument is, you have to solve its state-by-state because there is no federal policy. the president is saying the same thing here in >> he is right about that. the fed has dropped the ball. there were closed a deal a few years ago. but most of what is going on here is playing on fears. fear is a terrific way of getting votes, sorry to say. the immigration problem actually is not as bad as it used to be because our economy is not that

great. we don't have huge hoards of illegal immigrants coming over the border. the problem is less than it used to be. but it is a way of caring people about the other and that is the old campaign trip. >> i think perry might have been able to be soft on immigration if he had not consulted his potential voters by saying they do not have a heart if they don't agree with him and that is why that exploded. this alabama law is the harshest in the country. there is a sentiment for it and if mccain had not run for president and republicans had not dropped out we might have a federal immigration policy. >> you see how much has changed in the past eight years. george w. bush was committed to a national immigration policy and a path to citizenship. and john mccain was earlier and he and ted kennedy worked closely on it. that changed. it started changing in the 2008 campaign and accelerated to the point where mike huckabee told me in an interview one of the reasons he did not run this time was because the atmosphere was

so toxic. he pointed out that tom kent -- tom tancredo, a former republican congressman from colorado, has really defined in the republican debate and position -- >> he attacked rick perry this week as harshly as he attacked anybody because of his stance. >> speaking of a toxic debate, will we have another government shut down? we narrowly averted when. >> i know a way to avoid it. have the congress to agree that if they close down the government they will also close down the paymaster on capitol hill and they don't get a dime. that will take care of the problem. >> yes, but who is going to vote for that? [laughter] >> part of the problem is -- and you can see it -- democrats feel they have been rolled. that they collapsed. now they are trying to earn their manhood by standing up. and understandably so. they are doing it on the right

issue -- actually the funds for disaster relief, whether it is fired in texas or floods in vermont. but we talked about business being concerned about certainty and predictability. i mean, you would think at some point they might get upset with the republicans who continue to threaten to close the government because if there is any greater threat to predictability than that i don't know what is. >> it seems like everything goes to the limit. that republicans have become a drama queen and king so what ever they don't disagree with they threaten to shut down the government. >> what they are worried about is this incredible debts that we have and justifiably so. >> debt overhang hangs over all. in europe, the united states, we live beyond our means for a long time and this is the core and the center of all of our problems. and the problem of the political

process is it will not deal with it. that monster stays right there threatening us with uncommon -- real lower living standards and fiscal crises. >> has the curse of the bambino returned to boston? >> the baltimore orioles -- >> absolutely shocked. >> i was watching it and i could not believe in. >> my friends, how many times have we been here before? there is again. the bill buckner moment of game 6 of the 1986 world series. suffering the bucky dent'sism. is the curse that? >> it never really left. it was briefly interrupted, sort of like the prosperity of ireland. it was enjoyable will knew it was not going to last. we were irish and fatalistic. all red sox fans are fatalistic. either. 10 protestants who believed devoutly in original sin or

fatalistic irish who believe we will suffer in this world and things of a better in the next. a terrible mixed marriage. the only agree on the red sox and they know they will lose. the second-highest payroll in all of baseball. they are not really underdog's any longer. we lose to the team with the second lowest payroll and all the baseball, tampa bay. >> good news. the washington nationals finished the season one game short of 500. now, that is something to be pleased with. >> and strasbourg's arm is pretty good. >> 10 strikeouts blaspheme. >> great athletes are overpaid -- just like i did in high school, i would choke. >> i should yield my time to the gentleman from massachusetts. however, i do have a son in law from boston who watches on his computer screen every boston red sox game. it is a national team, of sorts. and we still think of them as an

underdog and root for them so it affects all of us. >> but mark talks about the reality of this, which is very deep and profound. >> red sox fans are a little bit different than the national stands or tampa bay fans. 712 consecutive sellouts. since may 11, 2003, every single game at fenway park has been oversold and oversubscribed. no other team in history of baseball -- a >> and it is a real ball park, not a skybox ballpark. >> it will continue because we are all masochists. >> on that sad note, last word, see you next week. ahi ts crip f transcript of this broadcast, log onto www.insidewashington.tv.