maryland senator ben cardin will discuss federal spending and the medicare program. the g-20 agriculture ministers will meet in paris next week. later in the program, the npr economics correspondent will give a preview of the meetings and talk about the global food supply. ♪ host: confirming done nomination of leon panetta to be the next defense secretary. he is not expected to face significant opposition on the floor. also, defense officials testifying before a subcommittee about the military spending priorities for the next year. live coverage at 11:00 a.m. on c-span.org. president obama hosting a congressional picnic at the white house. good morning on this wednesday morning, june 15, 2011. we will begin with democrats only to see what president obama needs to do to win reelection. yesterday we talked to republicans only about their debate. the telephone numbers are on the screen. let's begin with the latest daily gallup poll showing president obama's approval rating. 47% of prove right now, 46% disapprove. those are the latest numbers. what do you think president

maryland's ben cardin is one of those senators, and he joins me next. letting glenn beck go, fox news chief roger ailes is looking to hire -- you won't believe who he's interested in. stay with us. [ female announcer ] ever wish vegetables didn't taste so vegetably? well, v8 v-fusion juice gives you a full serving of vegetables, plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. and try our deliciously refreshing v8 v-fusion + tea. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. [ engine idling ] [ male announcer ] talking a big game about your engine is one thing. having the proven history that can back it up is a whole nother story. unsurpassed torque... best in class towing... legendary cummins engines. which engine do you want powering your truck? guts. glory. ram. to london starts with arthritis pain... and a

if he wins the nomination, he'll challenge democrat ben cardin who's been.s for a quarter century. when we question if he has enough experience, he talks economic recovery in tea party terms which he says he agrees with. >> what are you going to be able to do coming from the secret service policy wise that will make you legitimate? >> i've done an enormous amount of research on macro economic policy. we've got to get government out of the way. they're in the way standing in front of the american entrepreneur. we know how to get out of this. >> the aside from saying they don't green with bongino's politics, cardin's office wouldn't comment on his candidacy. i pressed bongino on the toll he's seen politics take on families as an insider. >> why drag your family through this? >> it was a tough decision. you know, a really tough decision. my wife and i thought about this for a very long time. i had never thought about jumping into politics, but i'd always followed the issues and when i left the job, we said we're going to take a week and calmly think about this.

i am sorry, senator ben cardin? senator ben cardin, state of maryland, class of 2007. >> ambassador crocker, thank you for your service. you have served our nation with great distinction, and thank you for that. thank you for your willingness to come back into public service. i can think of no one who is more qualified for the position then you, and a tough situation. as everyone is suggesting, afghanistan needs to change. the role needs to change. we talk about military aspects and the fact we're looking at redeployment of combat troops starting in the next month or so, and we expect that we might be able to accelerate that considering the current status of terrorist organizations operating in the region. having said that, i want to concentrate on the other part of our role. we have had the military presence. we have also had the opportunity to provide economic development assistance to the people of afghanistan. you just recently got the report commissioned by this committee, but let me just share with you some ob

if he wins the nomination he'll challenge ben cardin, in congress a quarter century.xperience, bongino talks health care and economic recovery in tea party terms which he says he agrees with. what will you be able to do coming from the strit service policy wise that will make you legitimate? >> i've done an enormous amount of research on macroeconomic policy. we got to get government out of the way. they're in the way, standing in front of the american a entreprene entrepreneur. we've done it before. we know how to get out of this. >> reporter: cardin's office wouldn't comment on his candidacy. then the matter of the secret service, known for being fiercely non-political. contacted by cnn, the agency couldn't comment on his candidacy and as lonning inglon doesn't reveal secret information heard on the job, there shouldn't be an issue. i pressed him on the toll he's seen politics take on families as an insider. why drag your family through this? >> it was a tough decision. you know, a really tough decision. my wife and i thought about this for a very long time. i had n

if he wins the nomination, he will be up against ben cardin. when we ask if he has enough experience, he talks health care and economic recovery in tea party terms. >> what are you going to be able to do coming from the secret service that will make you legitimate? >> i've done an enormous on macro economic policy. we've got to get government out of the way. they are standing in front of the american entrepreneur. we've got to get out of this. >> aside from saying that they don't agree with bongino's office, he would not comment on his candidacy. as we walk a few feet from the white house, i pressed bongino about the toll that he's seen politics take on families. >> why drag your family through this. >> it was a really tough decision. my wife and i thought about this for a very long time. i had never thought about jumping into politics but i had always followed the issues and when i left the job, i said, we're going to take a week and calmly think about this and she was willing to get in with me. we had that rocky and adrian moment. >> bongino

i joined with senator ben cardin in introducing a proposal that that -- senate joint resolution which we have circulate chd would give the president the authority, if passed, to continue the hostilities in libya under the war powers resolution, expressing stating that it would not involve land forces, ground troops, and that it would have a time certain to end, in our case by the end of this calendar year, subject to another decision by congress as to whether or not it should go forward. now, i believe that that is still the right course of action, and i am hopeful that before the end of the day, there will be action taken by some of my colleagues here in congress to come forward with a bipartisan resolution which parallels what i have just described. i might add that there is some controversy and it is worthy of at least debate as to our current situation in libya and whether it fits squarely within the war powers resolution. bob bauer, who is general counsel to the president of the united states, argues it does not. yesterday, in a conference call, mr. bauer was asked specifically w

senator square mccaskill, john tester, ben cardin and bill nelson, all democrats with significant elderlyions who are up for reelection in 2012. secretary gates said that despite the death of osama bin laden is still too soon to wind down the war on terror. secretary gates is in the country, saying final falwells to u.s. troops before he retires at the -- final farewells to u.s. troops before he retires at the end of this month. in libya, there have been more air strikes in and around tripoli. they have hit a storage centers, command-and-control facilities, and radar systems. nato general rasmussen talked about the air strikes earlier. you can hear his remarks at 10:00 a.m. eastern. and a proposal to buy 10 american seed-17 aircraft for more than $10 billion. an indian official requires that boeing invest 34% of the profit in its defense spending in india. >> the house has completed work on the first two bills to fund the federal government. you can follow them at congressional chronicle with easy to follow schedules, plus video of every house and senate session. congressional chronicle a

. >> senator ben cardin, state of maryland, class of 2006. [laughter] >> investor crocker, first, thank you very much for your service. you have served our nation with great distinction, and thank you for that. and thank you for your willingness to come back into public service, and i can think of no one who is more qualified for the position than you and a very tough situation. as everyone is suggesting, afghanistan needs to change its u.s. role in afghanistan needs to change. i know that we can talk about the military aspects and the fact that we are looking to words every deployment of our combat troops starting in the next month or two, and that we expect we might be able to accelerate that, considering the current status of terrorist organizations operating in the region. now, having said that, i want to concentrate on the other part of our role. we've had a military presence, but we also have had an effort to provide economic development assistance to the people of afghanistan. now i know you just recently got the report that was commis

and then senator ben cardin of maryland. he is a budget committee member as well. we will pull off talking about deficit talk and foreign affairs with both of them. caller: i think he should bring back the majority of soldiers in afghanistan, and for the ones that stay there, we should have a war tax. he should let the taxes go back to where clinton -- when clinton was presidt. he should get jobs by working on infrastructure. i think that anyone who would vote for rublicans who would cut food four little babies should never be elected. the republicans are cutting so many things that help poor people, and anyone who is poor or anyone that would vote for a republican now is crazy. host: jack in philadelphia, what does president obama need to do to win in 2012? caller: he has done a reasonably good job. he did not create the financial diress that we are under right now. host: he did not create it to you -- has he done enough to turn it around? caller: he has done as much as hean. it is a difficult is -- situation. look at who is responsible for it, republicans and thi