tonight a conversation with david brooks, the new york times columnist. the white house and president bush, and president obama is a pretty stark contrast. with bush it was just vision. you may not have liked it. we can all have that discussion. but with the current president, it's most like very intelligent dissection of a policy. i metimes think they need to do the big vision. so a governing organized policies. dissection of policies are very impressive. you could -- and i've been at other sessions where people ask everything from banking policy to iran to weapons

programs. and this predent can go into detail on all those things. it's extremely impressive. but if you're responding to a historical moment, it's important to know the moment you're in, and step back. >> david brook for the hour next. >> funding for kharlgy rose was provided by the following. >> a polar bear cub is born with no sense of sight. we're helping ensure they're born with a -- details on limited coke cans and caps on how to join coca-cola in helping to create a safe refuge for the polar bear. >> it feels like help is never far away. it feels like you're protected

against life's little mishaps. it feels like you'll make it home. that's what it feels like to be a member. >> additional funding provided by these funders. >> sfrl our studios in new york city. this is charlie rose. >> david brooks is here and writes about politics and ideas and he has  columnis colo

have him back at this table as we continue our conversations looking bac back on the year 20. >> good to be here. >> you met with the presidentre. it did happen yesterday.it wash hip. at the end of the year and his biewife and family are a way on vacation o. and hes little big think. and he is thinking where we are and where am i going. it's a useful exercise for a president to do that. i were meei would one meet withr official the he said it's no what you said it's what i hear myself saying that is not equo goweegotistical a th at all.

i hope the sessions with journalists are useful. he gave the speech about ca kans be a thand the progress progres. are we in another progressive era and i think that is what they are thinking aboutment. >> charliei kno.i know you can'. but is he confident about the u.s. moment and he can bring us out of it of the. >> i think he is feelingreasona. they are not over cocky about the election. i think hand they may be a sligr dog.

but they're not over confident. the interesting thing is historically where they think they are. they go back to the progrsive era. i think that is somewhat true. there are some things about the era that is true today. th immense concentration of wealth. the government is fit for an older time and are not working today thi in that sense they are right. today is different for a number of reasons. in the first please, in those days we were a giants jaw producing economy. the cities were sucking people out of the farms because we were going like gang busters. >> like what is happening inchie an adolescent country trying to get ourselves under control. today we are a middle age country and we are not pr produg jobsmentjobs. we we didn't have a

infrastructure welfare and social security. and that is a different challenge. in many ways the problems today are more serious by-laws o becae progressiver yeah. it's not getting the dynamo in control it's reviving it and that takes big, big plans. and so far i don't hear them from the white house or the republicans. >> the white house has to dealwl with them in an effective way. >> a couple of years ago afrient formed a think-tank and i called them up and he said, n who is going to be on your neck ties if you go to the conservative neck ties they have their fil philosopher. >> alexander hamilton. >> yes in my case. >> the conservative was amoveme.

liberalism was form in power. so liberal think tanks tend to think more about programs and policies. and so as i talk to people in the white house i wer i would sy focus on the programatic details. and i think they are insufficient because they have not going that way in the big picture. >> and conservatives think ofei. >> with bush it was vision.you . we can have that discussion. but with the current president it's very intelligent dissection of a poly. and i sometimes think they need to do the big vision so they as a govning philosophy is a way to organization policies the

dissection of policy is very impressive. i have been to other sessions that people have asked everything from banking regulation to housing policy to iran and to weapons programs. and this president can go into detamdetail about ail of those e things. >> i think the administration made a mistake early on by thinking it was a new deal and where the they were going to do another new deal. i think they made a similar mistake think it it's a regressive era. it's a different era. >> y talked about in your ownco. you talked about the relation relationship between effort and reward. that's deep in the creed as well. team peepeople today think thiso fairness and they areaking advantage of thesystem. whether they were lobbyist or

people that are thinking they are getting a free ride. all ever thaall of that ha gonee bones of the country. that says something about the moment we are in. >> we spent so much time witht s dominate. whatotivates the chinese and are we motivated in that way? i think probably not as much as we used to be. arthur brooks says earn success and effort earn reward. if i work hard i will get rewarded. >> that is a popular sentiment. that the system is rigged and

the establish has an advantage. >> you are in school and youwork -- college around you major in accounting. you buy a house u can afford. you play by the rules you a along. and then you look at the financial crisis anand the peoe that don't play by the rules either they bought a house that is too bic the big they're gettg rewarded and you get the bill. it's being unde mind if by the access. we are destroying the economic value and social trust just absolutely essential. >> you said the u.s. issufferins slowing growth and sending politics into strange directns. >> we are bad at measuringtruft.

it's invisible and it's between people. it's a quality of relationship. it's essential to economic growth. edward banford did a study in southern italy where people trusted their family but had trouble establishing trust outside of their families and so the companies would grow to family size and stop because they didn't trust glmplet. >> -- . you look at institution after institution that is failing. who do you fear middl most? do you fear big business, big go, or big labor. only 9% fear big labour. 65% fuel big government. >> they ink government iscorrup. >> they feel it's filled within.

it'the big movement in the apologiepolls isamong the demra. when they look at the bailout and theax code they say that is the way we thought it worked. >> they can take the road of po. >> you can glow against the go t we need to have is bring america to a playing w a a place place . >> i think that populous road i. it's easy and happening in many media outlets to over emphasize the movement. theri mentioned the study who du

fear more the big government or big business. that is off sit of what the occupy movement stands for. >> there was a question do youty the have aroun and the have not. the number of people that think we should redistribute is going down not up. as y look at the automobile --y movement the public opinion is moving the opposite way. it's easy to ove estimate the occupy movement's cultural power. my jokel hear leralism.

>> why don't they care aboutine? >> it's a seconds or third orde. they want to know, how am i doing? >> how are my children.huhow ar. is my country going to be growing for me and my family? i have done a story over the years, central pennsylvania a little west of gettysburg. all the mill factories were gofn. peopl-- gone. and i would ask them do you feel envy of the people in san francisco who have making $250,000 a year? and nar their answer was no, i l sorry for them they don't have

the community we haveere. >> most people have aconsciousn. each click thinks they are better than other clicks. they don't have those resentments that people outside of the classes imagine themselves. so they see the world very differently and to impose a class consciousness on americasa has been a false thing to do. >> what about there idea.i don't other people getting rich and i want to get rich myself. i don't want a systems tha systs rigged. >> we think of horwoo horatio wo achieve middle class respectability for most americans that would be enough. going to high school, going to college, getting a secure middle

class job and getting respect respectability and the sense of that is falling apart is the sense. that is the crucial thing. i'm for taxing the rich, don't get me wrong. that has to get people through college the job growth is through college these days. that has to do with the socks social order of the working class. this country cannot be country as long as 40% the kids are born out of wedlock. being born out of wedlock doesn't sentence you to anything. but the odds are worse. >> this goes back to patmonahan. >> right it's gettin getting wo. if you are growi up in a less organized home your country is going to have greater inequality. the odds for those people are

that mon worse. it's interesting to talk to politicians of all parties, why don't you do family calls. you can get right wing ideas for social conservative values. one reason why people don't get married they have their life script wrong. you should say i'm getting married and get a job and i will get established. >> a lot of people say i have ty established and when i am stablely get married. you get married first and do the other stuff. you have a lot of social conservative vues. and on the other hand. have you to get people marriedable. to give men resources s people want to mary them. marry them. you get libera policies and conservative policies and you can make a huge difference and politicians flee when you talk

about family structure. we understand why it's sensitive. to me if you are not doing that you are leaving a huge social gap in the country for all of the economic apolog policies wit able to overcome. >> does the president understang about. >> i think like any politician. >> why go there if i don't getr. >> look who better to talk abou. he faced the challenges as a young boy himself. he understands it. >> if you have m mit romney como credility. if i talk about wage subsidies and talk about pro marriage values and a lot of lerals will attack you and you e jerry falwell. where is the benefit for me.

this is symptomatic about the general problem. we don't have politics where we can take something from menu a and menu b. b and put them tother. >> what has to la happen to cha? >> i'm in arim mood these daysa. right now when we speake are having an incredible stupid fight in washington over the payroll tax. this is kindergarten. if we can do that how do we do retirement form and growth strat brinstrategy. my view is i is if the republics take a snd on princple i don't know what they are fighting about. they are internally disorganized what is the princple here? do we think it will work, by the

way? it's weird maneuvering. >> it's politics. >> it's hard to wrap wrap your . the democrats are saying let's exnd a tax cut. and the republicans are baching at a tax cuts. i want to say to the kids, guess what we are going to disney world. the kids say i will go to disney world and you have to buy me an xbox foo. -- too. and they want some more concessions forgetting what they already want. this worldco wall street young s that the rum republicans are committing suicide doing this

>> say mit romney is elected.i d baynor. and nonetheless the tea party is still. the members of the tea party say we don't like the way this is done. we will protest. we have firm princple grounds on which to protest. and they picked a weird ba batte and it's a reminder that it's go to be angry. we have to have counter establishment and counter authority and we have to make wise decisions and it's not enough to be angry. >> you have also said we are ata risk eve of becoming gece. >> if you look at what ishappend the debt growing we have a

country without a growth strategy. do we think a political system that can't do this can do the big things. >> do you think it would bediffs teddy roosevelt do you think it would be different if it was bill clinton. do you think it's a question of leadership ileadersh? >> i say the current politicalcr challengechallenge. bill chi clinton was president a country is that was happy. rnt h >> he won or the economy.when ht happy. >> they were unhappy at thewholt government. trusting government is 9% and it's hardo run anything. that is a challenge nonetheless, i do tnk that the president could have made

different decisions along the way. the country would be governable. i must say i'm pessimiic no matter who wins. >> you don't think they are thg. you don't thin there was a governg party decade after decade. >> there is no party that hascr. >> there are a group of peoplet. and they are up for graksz. grabs. >> you can't launch a popularc a return to values. >> i think what you have to do a and column b. it's republican ideas and bringing down rate and forms and investing in basic research and

that is not enough also investing in big things. >> you said you think newtbegige philosophy. >> i thought it was the meanovee about him. >> to say a he shared your govg. >> he has said that my timesin e comes back to these in a loonie ways. you make a point he changes in every five minutes. >> but, non nonetheless.you see. people have their genuine pash passions which drives him if they mean it or not.

>> one thing he loves animals.ho it would save elect trys e -- . he does have a historical sense. some people are not historical. >> is it an accurate historical? >> it's not bad.and i would say. he goes back to ly lincoln and madison and civil war and insanity. if y have a lis historical sense you are a little different than today's republican party which is a reasonable moderate thing. you are tied to roosevelt on the weak party. >> he was a history professorn e ran for congress. the president is like a

professor he has no experience running anything. >>hat is true for newtgingrich. >> what is it the people thatwon him. what is their judgement on about waterloo is wronwhat is wrong w? >> scarborough says he is mean.. cobourg says i could never. >> let's take them.they spent wa proposal. >> they being. >> the republicans aroundgingri. >> they have it laid out and he. he is walking foe th to the pres conference and he does an 180 and delivers the opposite policy. that is not part of leadership.

>> it's oament o element of cfi. >> or lack of attention. >> you mean lack of attention a. let's talk aut governing philosophy at this point. you believe the president who is criticized as being anti-business and pro regulation and european social democrat and diributionist. >> he is a liberal and morelibe. >> he doesn't acknowledge itbece lexicon sequences? >> i think we alt liv all live . most of the people in his world have more on the left.

>> the republicans think he iso. >> it's mostly his fault becau f you look at the evidence on regulationses, he has a lot of people in his government who i think there are unsympathetic to business and they are willing to pile on. is aware of this. >> the big over the idea is heht being re-elected. >> he creates a strong offe ints the gulations and a lot of people beat up on dunstein.

he is not pro business but he is doing cost benefit analysis. a lot of liberals and a lot of causes he supports and balancing it with a lot of hard social sciences. there is this thing that is part of occupy wall street, it's that autthata group of people in cern professions, financial engineering create a da a catase that put the country on the brink and no one has been held accountable. >> if you talk to tim ge niftne. we keepoming backoconomic values. >> meaning what?

>> we are born with a sense off. you don't have to tell a 2-year-old what fairness is. >> ouit's based on a economical. >>e are not based on a systemofe inedibly morale creatures. the economists don't like to ta about it because they don't want to talk about it. offering we dearning we do is br sentiments. you see what happened in russia. you have a system in violation that if i work harr i should get more. people became cynical about the system. and they started to steal you know i the phrase if you are not stealing from work you are not g

from your family. >> tatiana says if you want to e stolen the salt and pepper. you would have stolen the tray and the cart and the plane and the air form. -- airport. that is what happens when you have a society that violates a sense of values. we are tiptoeing there. america is a ki country of trus. you walk into airport and you show a drivers license and credit card and you can drive a way with a car. we take that for granted. we have a stem with social trust. you erase that around you erase a lot. we have institutions you can primarily trust. a few weeks ago we i did these

-- columns and i got a lot of people from overseas wriementing to me. -- writing to me. what was interesting in their story was i wanted to be a nurse. but the nurses were allromthe same tribe. i went to nursing school and i couldn't get a job because i was in the wrong tribe. >> anthat happens here. >> butt's a lot less commonthan. >> i wants to talk about thelif. is this the basis of a new report, or not. >> i asked people over 70 dowrir lives. >> you sent an open column top . let me talk about the oarm results. this is from taking what you said. we'll come back to pol politicsd

the big picture. these are the results. divide your life io comap -- chapters. they never took a movemen momeno look back at what they are doing. one of them said i have led a bothering life and toolate to change now. they led every day as a day. it's coming at me around and il deal with it. one woman wrote my life had six different decisions. >> when i came to the fork intht that take. mostly she knew it was a fork. dividing your life into chapters by doing it. and organizing your life with

the pivot point. >> pretend the last chapter iso. is it over and is it time f a new chapter. >> this is classic and i may have mentioned it before. i forgot who said this look at your life at the end and what do you want to happen between now and then? it gives you a space and time to create the things that you want to be d do. that gives you a sense of perspectiv >> time is a flow anmanipulatint yourself. >> is a book that has a thingc . wriepwriept awrite a story. >> you have