. >>> let's bring in syndicated columnist bob franken. to you, bob. >> good morning, dara. >> okay. let's start with the gop debate last night. once again, donald trump center stage. do you think that he's at a turning point where maybe trump the celebrity has actually become trump the candidate? >> well, you know, it's an interesting question. many of us, including i have to say me, have written him off several times before. but, one got the impression that maybe his act of sort of the ignorant putdown is beginning to wear a little bit thin. obviously carly fiorina was the big winner. particularly when trump decided he backed down and said that she, in fact, had a beautiful face and was a beautiful person. showing that, perhaps, trump maybe should be the president of the male chauvinist pigdom. >> let's talk about carly fiorina for a minute here. is it a surprise that she came out with such high regard after last night? >> well, certainly it was -- it was, if not a surprise, it was certainly her chance to shine, and apparently she did. fi

." >>> in washington i'm joined now by syndicated columnist bob franken. good morning to you.hat was very funny bit there. >> she's not canonized. >> not yet anyway. >> i think she's been self-canonized. >> well, i do want to talk to you about what the pope is doing. because pope francis will be the first pope ever to address a joint meeting of congress today. what are we to expect? >> well, i think we're going to expect a new version of the speech that he made yesterday at the white house, where he forcefully spoke out about the need to correct climate change, danger that faces us, spoke out in support of immigrants, and also spoke out in terms of religious freedoms, and that type of thing. it was a speech that had something for everybody, and made everybody uncomfortable a little bit and i think we're going to get the same kind of thing when he speaks to congress. >> how do you think congress is going to react? do you think there will be applause? hooting and hollering or standing? or do you think they'll be very respectful and just politely clap? >> well, one would hope tha

i'm joined now by columnist bob franken. let's start with joe biden. how much do you lend to notion he's buying into polls? hillary had huge polling numbers before she entered the race. >> what happens is now there's a bit of anticipation, questions about whether he will get in or not. it's the calm before the storm. once he gets in the race, he's subject to this process going on and questions raised about him. right now he's enjoying a honeymoon before the wedding. >> understood. late word a former clinton staff area will plead the fifth in the e-mail scandal. will this have effect on her campaign or just another incident in this saga? >> the staffer is going to plead the fifth which is to say she doesn't have to answer incriminating questions when she appears before the congressional panel. the question is what crime? it's puzzling to people. you can't plead the fifth and say i don't want to answer because that's inconvenient. you have to basically say you'd be incriminating yourself. it's a puzzler. >> good point on the fifth. it needs to be tied to

. >> joining me now from washington, syndicated columnist bob franken. great to see you. >> same to you. >> thanks. let's talk about carly fiorina. she talks about not knowing who everybody is. her example though when hugh hewitt asked her the same question as donald trump, she knew the difference between the kurtdz a kurds and the quds force. donald trump wasn't able to get himself out of it unscathed but he is able to survive. how he is able to do that when he's being challenged on things lying foreign policy chops? >> i suspect that if you were to talk to the average voter, he or she would not know the difference between the kurds and quds. i hate myself for knowing it myself. the truth of the matter is that donald trump managed to tap into the feeling that right now there is a whole group of people out there who should be opposed and donald trump is the person to do that. he sort of has come across as a don rickles. >> yes. this charisma keeps carrying him. we look at the polls and see trump doing well and ben carson, carly fiorina is the most improv