>> governor christie is in, but is he four years late to the party? "inside story" starts right now. good morning, everyone. i'm matt o'donnell. it is sunday, july 5, 2015. let's meet our insiders here on "inside story." george burrell, non-profit executive. good morning, george. >> good morning, matt. >> dom giordano, talk-show host. >> morning, matt. >> morning, dom. jim eisenhower, attorney. >> good morning, matt. >> hello, jim. and jeff jubelirer communications executive. >> morning, matt. >> hello to all of you. let's talk about governor christie -- becomes the 14th republican to announce his official candidacy for president. he made the announcement at livingston high school, where he served as class president for three years. let's hear what he had to say. >> when i stand up on a stage like this in front of all of you, there is one thing you will know for sure. i mean what i say, and i say what i mean, and that's what

america needs right now. >> now, remember back in 2012, g.o.p. leaders were begging for governor christie to run. he declined, and since then, he's been saddled with bridgegate, low poll numbers in his home state, and the task of trying to stand out in a field that's so huge it resembles the crowd at a septa subway stop during rush hour. or the line to get saltwater taffy at the jersey shore. dom, did his time pass four years ago? >> yeah, i think it has, but christie -- i know, because i've been in the ring with him, literally, you know, when i disagreed over what he did with president obama -- does have tremendous force, will be a force in the debate if he gets into it, the first couple of debates. but the time has passed, and jeb bush is in there, and that's kind of a form of christie. he was counting on bush not running. >> do you see any pathway to the nomination, george? >> i don't see a pathway for governor christie to the nomination, and i think it's evidence -- i mean, he likes the limelight. i mean, he likes the celebrity. he likes the private jets. and, you know, being governor has lost any fascination for him. he's been out of the state 40%

of the time up to now. and he's now gonna be out 80% of the time. >> i wouldn't rule him out. you know, as a democrat, i think there is a certain appeal there. first of all, he represents a democratic state. he's the sitting governor of a democratic state, a republican. he will stand out in this field, compared to rand paul and marco rubio. he's a guy who's had to put budgets through. he's had to take on tough issues. he's articulate. and people -- some people -- like that straightforward, blunt-speaking style, and i think that will appeal to certain voters. >> a lot of people mentioned the debates, jeff, is where he could really shine. now, you could also have donald trump in his same debate. >> and the ratings will go through the roof. >> well, yeah, but that's one thing that chris christie could be really good at. >> he's got to hang around. it all gets down to new hampshire. >> right. >> he basically has a second home in new hampshire now. it's where the moderates are. it's where he has some appeal. and if he can just hang around and get some -- and he needs to fundraise like crazy and just hang around so he can, as dom said, get into those debates. who knows? and then -- i hate to bring this

up -- but goodness, if a crisis should occur, a la another hurricane, where he can show his leadership and have a renaissance, in essence, then people may forget some of his troubles of recent years. >> i think the thing that helps him, too, and helps all these guys and why they're right to run and i would run if i were them -- the bigger the field is, the bigger the field is, the more will get in. because it's a diminishing percentage you need to stay alive. >> but most of the people in have some narrow message. he's running on personality. he's not running on message. >> i think that's what people vote on. >> but he's lost popularity. he's lost popularity in his own state. his numbers are as low as they've ever been. >> and no republicans in his own state. >> and i don't see a way for him to break through. and even if he wins in new hampshire, that's not enough to propel him through to the nomination. >> that would be a leap at this point. >> keeps him in. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> now, governor scott walker from wisconsin says he will enter the ring as the 15th -- or maybe by then will be the 19th -- candidate for the g.o.p. field. he's gonna make his announcement on july 13th. this is a guy that -- i mean

look at all them. this is a guy that governor christie was kind of best buds with for a while, and maybe not so much anymore because perhaps they're trying to go for that same slice of the pie in the g.o.p. field. what do you think? >> i think all of this helps hillary. none of these candidates, with the exception of possibly governor bush, have anywhere near -- and i think even dom would agree with me on this one -- the stature of secretary clinton with the experience that she's had on the world stage. they're midgets compared to her. and there's so many of them. >> i've seen the e-mails, and you talk about midgetry -- those e-mails -- "wear your warm socks" to people and stuff like that. i think she's got a lot of trouble, and that's why bernie sanders is drawing 10,000 people to a stadium. it surprises me. and joe biden's working. >> they're gonna give 20% of the left vote to anybody who ran. >> the other problem for governor christie is he can't get far enough to the right. his personality won't let him get far enough to the right to win. and you can't win the republican

nomination without getting far enough to the right. >> to your walker point, i interviewed him just about a week ago, and he does not fill up the room. there's not a charisma type of thing. but he's very skilled with the media -- very articulate and very able -- and he's got a great message of accomplishment for conservatives. three times taking on unions, et cetera, in wisconsin, which is a very blue state. so with conservatives, he's got that. he doesn't have pizzazz, though. he doesn't have charisma. >> let's say he becomes the nominee. how does a governor that eliminated collective bargaining win a single northeastern state or a midwestern state, with maybe the exception of his own? >> that's gonna be his problem. >> because he'll be running against hillary clinton, perhaps, who people don't trust or like, either. >> let me form a parallel, and i want to talk about joe biden. let me form a parallel here. back in 2007, and senator barack obama said, "i'm gonna run for president," remember how people were telling him, "you know what? this isn't your time. it's too early. you haven't been in the senate long enough. why don't you wait four years?" and that's kind of what governor christie did, didn't he? >> i think you have a good

point. >> i don't think -- again, i think to me governor christie was just kind of a fleeting star. barack obama was a substantive guy that everybody saw as a potential president of the united states. it wasn't a question of whether he was going to be president. it was really a question of when. and he was smart enough to say "look, the longer i stay, the more record i get. the more record i get" -- >> i differ with you on that though. i agree with you that christie was a star. and again, i've been in the ring with all these guys. this guy is incredible on his feet -- probably the best out there. he truly is. he's a communicator second to none. he's a brawler, but he's got a softer side -- that stuff with his mother and all that -- that resonates with people. >> we were taking a look at pictures of vice president joe biden and some moments he had with his son beau biden, the late attorney general from delaware. now, biden and christie are both university of delaware grads. >> who else is? >> me. >> oh, okay. >> many are still wondering if joe biden will get into the race, and perhaps some may think it's premature, given the death

of beau, and the family is still mourning. but the "wall street journal" reported that beau, before he died, told his dad to run. hunter, his younger brother, told his dad to run. do you see this happening with joe biden, and do you see this family crisis building into the story of who joe biden is and something that may resonate with voters? >> you know, i do. i knew beau -- worked with him at the u.s. attorney's office and when he ran for attorney general. he was a wonderful man. and i know the vice president a bit. and i think that kind of emotional appeal might actually make him think about this. on the other hand, he's a rational politician. and you can't make decisions to run for president, let alone to run for anything, based upon just pure emotion. >> my theory is this -- back to the christie thing, bobby jindal now -- why not run? you get tired of being governor. you're tired of all this. this is your one shot. what's the downside to running for president if you're joe biden? i don't see a tremendous downside. >> the downside is that his

legacy today is intact to the extent that he damages hillary's ability to be the next president of the united states. i think he gets tarnished. >> i think he would argue he's giving her a challenge to get her ready. >> i think that's the problem. for a candidate of joe biden's caliber to get into the race he's got to get in with both feet, which means it's gonna be a knockdown, drag-them-out battle between he and hillary, which i don't think -- he's too late to the party to beat her. but he can beat her up. >> but don't you want to be there just in case the coronation doesn't take place, so to speak? >> it's not taking place. >> what if hillary clinton stumbles? i mean, she was the front-runner back in 2008. >> inevitable. >> right. >> but when you look at hillary clinton, whatever you think of hillary clinton, she's gonna have -- in the democratic party, she's gonna have a claim on the women's vote. she's gonna have a much bigger claim on the minority -- the black and african-american vote -- than joe biden will have, even though he was vice president to barack obama. hillary has a history there. the family has history. so where does he undermine her

in the electoral primaries of the democratic party? >> i love how he thinks strategically all the time, by the way, george. >> he always does. will rogers said he wasn't a member of any organized party. he was a democrat. but i think people underestimate that joe biden is a loyal democrat, maybe the last of a dying breed, that i think would really take into consideration "if i take on hillary, can i really win? do i damage her and hurt our chances of holding the presidency?" i really think that he'll think that way. >> okay, well, once again, something we'll see shaken out over the course of many months. the state of pennsylvania's operating without a budget. governor tom wolf vetoed the legislature's entire republican-backed plan. and we're talking about the whole thing. he vetoed it. this apparently has not happened in more than 40 years in the state of pennsylvania. now, the g.o.p. plan held the line on taxes, did not significantly increase education funding. but wolf's budget plan, which the republicans voted down completely, raised many taxes, cut some others, and significantly increased education funding.

this could lead to a slowdown. this could lead to a state shutdown outright if pennsylvania runs out of money. george, what do you think's going on in harrisburg? what's gonna happen? >> well, you know, the governor vetoed the budget, but what we know is that the governor and the legislative leaders met on tuesday or wednesday of this week, right after the governor vetoed the budget. they've agreed to have their senior staffs begin to meet early next week to begin to look at the issues that they're both concerned about, which includes property tax, which includes tax on marcellus shale. so i think that both sides understand. the governor continues to be very popular statewide, so i think both parties understand, both sides understand they've got to make a move. and the governor has offered compromises on the issues that are important to republicans. so i think we'll begin to see progress. >> well, i think if republicans don't hold the line on this -- because i believe what wolf -- his posture was voted 193 to nothing. a lot of democrats voted against the wolf budget. >> in the house? >> in the house. because it was so excessive.

so if he compromises and allows pension reform -- 401(k) for teachers, public-employee unions, and something with the liquor -- then i think there's a path there. >> here's what's gonna happen -- it's a game every year. "we meet again," right? there are gonna be compromises. governor wolf must get the shale tax in some percentage -- the severance tax on shale. he wants 5%. he'll get 2.5%. he'll get 3%. he campaigned on that issue. what he's not gonna get is an expansion of the sales tax going to all the different products. there is lobbyists up there galore that'll make sure that's killed, and republicans will not vote for it. perhaps a slight increase in the sales tax, which has not been increased, except in philadelphia and pittsburgh, since the 1960s. >> jeff makes a good point, and we shouldn't forget that tom wolf won a historic victory -- first time to ever beat an incumbent governor by a huge percentage -- and he ran very, very clearly on the shale tax and funding for schools. >> i'd hate to carry that bowl of water -- low turnout. >> i would put a big asterisk on

tom corbett. >> and the legislature was still heavily republican, and they did well. but you'll see something. you'll see something. but they need revenue. you can't -- philadelphia can't do with $18 million. republicans understand that, as well. the other schools need it. there'll be liquor modernization. you'll see it come together i think sooner rather than later. >> pope francis. talk about pope francis. we know that he'll be here the weekend of september 27th and 28th. he's gonna hold a sunday afternoon mass on the ben franklin parkway -- maybe the biggest thing that philadelphia's ever seen. now, the issue of gay marriage is still fresh with the supreme court ruling late last month, and archbishop charles chaput asked gay activists to not protest the catholic church's stance on homosexuality during the world meeting of families. mark segal, the founder of the "philadelphia gay news," said this to philadelphia magazine -- "they wouldn't come to protest the pope, but if chaput decides to keep insulting the gay community, i would not be surprised if they decide to protest him." so the question is this, guys -- could this cause tension distraction, or even embarrassment during the world meeting of families in

philadelphia? >> well, i think it would be a big mistake for the gay activists, because pope francis is somebody that both sides have signed off on. so if they're protesting and saying it's about the archbishop, not him, i don't think that works. you're protesting while he's here. >> i think, you know, if it were to happen, and i don't know if it will, the effect would be the opposite. we live in a free country. people are allowed to express their opinions and protest. these are legitimate issues. now, if it gets personal and it turns into a personal attack obviously that's a bad thing. but i don't think it's necessarily bad. >> pope francis, what you're saying, is savvy enough to be able to see this issue and try and incorporate it. >> he already has. he's a great communicator, unlike -- in this case, at least -- chaput, who, in essence, enflamed by his comment, saying, you know, "don't protest the catholic church." if he hadn't said that, we might not be talking about it right now. >> it's interesting, 'cause i think the pope is going to address this issue while he's in the united states, whether he addresses it here in philadelphia or whether he

addresses it in washington. but i think the thing that he's gonna have a bigger impact upon here and is gonna be a problem for republican politicians is cuba. >> let me ask you this, dom, real quick, 'cause we're getting to the break here. pennlive, which provides political news coverage, took a stance on gay marriage, saying it's not going to accept or publish letters that are in opposition to gay marriage anymore. and then kind of backtracked. but what do you think about what they did? >> it was ridiculous. i had the guy on -- the editor john micek. nice enough guy, but this just showed the bias that's there. how could a newspaper say -- >> i like john a lot, and he's a good journalist, but i thought that was ridiculous. >> it is. and i just feel the equation that they made -- that this is the same as racism now, and it's settled just because of the supreme court on this issue. >> you can throw abortion in as a comparison to what if someone said something about that. >> the law is the law, but it doesn't mean you're a racist if you disagree with a certain decision. it doesn't mean you're anti-semitic if you disagree with israel on certain issues. that was the equation. it was a terrible equation, and therefore they had to back off. >> all right. let's go to a break. "inside story" will be right back.

i'm the parent of a victim of sex trafficking. people need to know that even good kids from good neighborhoods are still vulnerable to this tricked environment where they're being taken off the street and put into bondage. >> philadelphia police commissioner charles ramsey will begin releasing the names of the officers in police-involved shootings. it will happen within 72 hours barring any threat against the officer or the officer's family.

this is one of the many recommendations from the justice department's report on policing in philadelphia. jeff, do you support his decision? >> no. and i'm not a lawyer. and this is going -- you know, this is a few-days-old news -- is it doesn't seem fair to me that there's not -- in essence what i would like to say is due process for those. i think there needs to be an investigation. does the police officer in question -- did he or she -- was it useful -- what's the word? was it okay that they shot their gun? and if it was okay -- >> "justified." >> "justified," thank you. excuse me. then i don't think it's fair because their family could be threatened. they could be on social media. and i don't that's fair to the privacy of that officer in question. >> we have a lawyer here. jim, what do you think, legally? >> i agree with it. and having prosecuted police brutality cases as a prosecutor, i think it inflames the community when names aren't released who are under investigation, because let's face it. frequently, if it's anybody else, their names are released if they're under investigation by and large. people are indicted and

convicted on the news every night, and they're never even tried. so let's talk about due process. but it think it does inflame the community, and it makes it look like the police are protecting themselves. and it calls into question, when the names are kept out of the public, that it looks like you're gonna cover this up. and that's the impression in the community. >> good move, george? >> i think. and in 72 hours from an internal investigation, you have a pretty good sense of where this -- of where this is headed. and the commissioner said and the report says, "we're going to consider whether there are ramifications, whether there are potential threats, whether there's a concern." i think they've given themselves -- i think the challenge is that they're much more likely to not announce names than they're likely to announce them. i think it'll be very clear when they announce the names publicly. my problem is, it's important to the families, but it's another one of these symbolic issues. and i think we got to be concerned with outcomes. how do we change the quality of people's lives? >> and clearly we do have to make sure that the officers aren't threatened.

>> well, that's the key, and that's why i'm against it. >> and that's got to be the key component. >> that's the veto. >> i'm fine with this with ramsey as commissioner. but when i look at the prosecutor in baltimore, i wouldn't be fine with someone like that. ramsey, i think, will have a sensitivity to deal with, are there threats, legitimate, not 72 hours, and all the rest. otherwise, i get it that we don't want to feel there's a cover-up here. but you guys right here investigate to see if there are previous claims and there starts to be that churning. and if there are, if that's what the rationale is, then that'll come out. >> i'm a little angry... [ laughter ] ...about our next issue here 'cause philadelphia has been snubbed. wallethub released a survey that featured the top cities to celebrate the fourth of july. >> right. >> it named minneapolis, minnesota, as the top place to cheer the fourth. >> god almighty. >> where is philadelphia on this list? the list goes to like 60. it's 43, behind detroit, michigan, plano, texas, and boise, idaho. and just in case you forgot, you don't know your history -- and i know you do -- philadelphia is

where the fourth of july happened. [ laughter ] the declaration of independence -- oh, and wait! there's a huge, free concert with fireworks here in town. >> right. >> wawa welcome america celebration. >> right! >> so, you know what? go ahead and discuss. [ laughter ] >> i told my wife about this one, and her reaction was, "well, if you're not interested in history, culture, food, entertainment, music -- well then, you wouldn't want to come to philly." >> what the heck's in minnesota, right? >> that's what i was thinking of doing, figuring out what they're doing right. >> i think it had oakland ahead of us, too. >> who is wallethub? >> right, right, right. >> you just gave them all the free publicity in the world! what kind of study is this? and what -- look at their criteria. the cost to attend a show or the price of gas. >> it's free! >> exactly! they're probably 20-year-old entrepreneurs, and now all of a sudden, look at all this publicity we're giving them. they're wrong, obviously. >> you can't figure out the methodology. there may be a couple of places in america that have better fourth of july celebrations than

philadelphia, but there aren't many. >> i doubt it. >> and this goes along the lines of this thing that keeps coming up again and again. and it's mostly related to sports teams in philadelphia. everyone assumes that we're all a bunch of people that boo people. "oh, you don't want to go their fourth of july. they might boo you." >> well, when you put "parking wars" on nationally and you see people towing cars -- see, that's what i think. it's something that hangs out there, but you're right. we get that thing from a few bad fans. we're animals here. >> is there a perception problem? >> yes. >> i don't think there's any question there's a perception problem. but i think at least that perception within at least the footprint that surrounds philadelphia itself is changing. >> if i have to read about in an outside-philadelphia newspaper one more time about snowballs being thrown at santa claus -- >> the guy passed away recently. >> and every time, i say, "it was 1968 when this happened." >> and everyone knows the real story here. he was a bad santa. [ laughter ] >> exactly. >> he deserved it. >> and it was a bad team. >> now, wait a minute. this will be out there. >> right, right, right.

>> we have a little bit more time. anyone want to throw in your favorite founding father here with the fourth of july? >> john adams. he's very underrated. i always put him up there on my big list of the week, right behind washington. number two -- john adams. >> anyone else? >> ben franklin. i love the quote that's on his grave down on arch street. it says, "he took from the sky the lightning and the scepter from tyrants." >> and might i add sam adams? >> how about that? >> this guy is ready for the fourth. [ laughter ] george, who's your favorite? >> ben franklin. university of pennsylvania. >> i'm stealing dom's. sam adams, 'cause the beer is good. >> yeah, exactly right. >> i'll go with ben franklin. but also george washington because he could have been the king. i mean, he turned down the whole idea of making the presidency almost a monarchy here in this country. but ben franklin's my favorite. >> let's give hamilton some props. he's coming off the $10 bill. >> that may not happen. inside stories of the week coming up.

>> "inside story" is presented by temple university. temple fuels students with academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged into the city, powered

by the world. temple.edu/takecharge. >> inside stories of the week. we start with george. >> fall election usually is a coronation for the incumbent for the nominated candidates in both parties. i think this year could be interesting to see if the independent expenditure groups stay active. andrew stober is out there as an independent candidate. the unions are supporting one of the republicans who's not an incumbent. so, it's gonna be very interesting to see what the outcome of the council elections will be this year, and whether we get an additional two or three -- two to the four who have already been elected. >> thanks, george. dom. >> my inside story is very weighty -- america's favorite fast-food restaurant. first of all, mcdonald's is in 18th place. mine -- i like panera. it tells me it's healthful, even though fast food -- is in 4th. number one -- chick-fil-a. and given all the politics and all the stuff that's gone on with chick-fil-a, it's remarkable. it tells me something people recognize, though -- polite, great service. that's what you get in addition to the food. >> they're closed on sundays

too. >> exactly right. >> thanks, dom. jim. >> matt, with all this controversy over the confederate battle flag, it makes one reflect on our own history here in philadelphia and in our region. rather than that kind of a symbol, you can go to city hall and see statues of union soldiers. you can see memorials in fairmount park and up on the parkway. and on kelly drive, a statue of lincoln signing the emancipation proclamation. so, on the fourth of july weekend, i think we should reflect on what this region did to help save our country. >> thanks, jim. jeff. >> you know, philadelphia's in a great place. we're gonna host the pope. we're gonna host the democratic national convention. again we have welcome america, a wonderful fourth of july. but why aren't we bidding to host the super bowl? pittsburgh just announced that they're gonna put in a bid for 2023. you have to bid that far out. we almost bid on the olympics. >> right. >> we tried, actually. >> right. >> why can't philadelphia? the linc would be wonderful. philadelphia can do it. let's host the super bowl, and maybe the eagles will actually get in it. >> good idea. >> nice job. >> i hate to bring this up.

>> [ laughs ] >> remember, it was in north jersey, and it was almost gonna snow. and so, like, "well, that's the last time" -- >> it would never happen to philadelphia. >> it's not the university of delaware. >> the game is supposed to be played in cold weather. >> exactly. >> i agree with that. yes! a bunch of men out there. that's "inside story" for this week. hope you had a great fourth of july weekend. we'll see you next week. i'll see you monday morning on action news, beginning at... 4:30 a.m. [ laughter ] >> nicely done. >> i'm nydia han along with eva pilgrim. >> coming up next, developing a teenage girl is dead after being stabbed in the neck in hunting park. we're live. >> 6 people including a firefighter are taken to the hospital at a rental home in ocean city. >> the perfect end to the holiday weekend, but more storms are moving in this week. chris has the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast. >> those stories and more next

on "action news." life's morning multitasking.

it's multiple ideas for growing families and drawers with many layers to show exactly what you need. life's the food that brings us together. and kitchens where every meal is the most important of the day. >> good afternoon, it is sunday july 5, i'm nydia han along with eva pilgrim. >> here's some of the stories we're working on for you for "action news." >> family members are speaking out after a teenager is stabbed in hunting park.