has been worse than under the bush white house whether that's the radical interpretation of the two thousand and one authorization to use military force act as giving the president the right to assassinate american citizens whether it is the pfizer amendment accurate record or actively makes legal but under our constitution has traditionally been illegal warrantless wiretapping monitoring and eavesdropping of tens of millions of americans whether it is the use of the espionage act six times we just saw a cia official get indicted thirty months in prison being espionage for whistleblowers and that's not how the espionage act written one hundred seventeen was designed it's a kind of foreign secrets act or whether that's the section ten twenty one of the national defense authorization act and i sued the president over the section and one in the southern district court of new york it's now on appeal it was appealed by the obama administration and it's before the appellate court the second circuit appellate court new york where oral ar

between the former deputy attorney general and other senior justice department officials in the bush white house, involving an nsa program from the previous administration. i would note that the fbi is in a very interesting position in our government. it is undoubtedly an executive agency in article two of the constitution. on the other hand, it is designed to be somewhat insulated from day-to-day interference from people engaged in the political affairs of the nation. how would you describe the relationship or what you would say is the ideal relationship between the president and an agency like the fbi? >> it is an interesting question. i would say that one of the great things about my job is i have to be aggressively apolitical, which is wonderful. as an agency, we need to trust the american people in the work that we do an understanding that whatever we do in terms of investigations, whatever we do as the bureau is done without regard to party or politics or what have you, that we are independent. it was somewhat easier prior to september 11 where you had a criminal cases on the one hand and

first came up in president obama's first term, he was roundly panned for helping advise the bush white housenhanceed interrogation. he rejects that. he said he was not in favor of that, nonetheless he had to withdraw his nomination due to an outcry about that. the fact that there is not a lot of people talking about drone warfare indicates we've settled into a new normal where people have come to expect this. even the lawmakers are not putting much heat on it, and it gives us an opportunity to see how far down that road we've gone. is it like taking your shoes off at the airport having someone listening to your phone calls is it something that we accept in the name of security, the problem it's created to solve is creating more of a problem and more concerns that we should be worried about. theit will be interesting to hear where the senate has come down on it, the left, which is very muted, and the public view about a program that people pretty much accepted with a shrug because it comes from obama and not bush. >> john: does the fact that he has killed lots of terrorists cancel out that he

white house. that is a better figure than the bush white house and about even with bill clinton's numbers when he s the white house did release that cabinet photo as you pointed it out, how much of a second term priority can this be given all of the things that the president is trying to address at this moment? not least all of the economic challenges and the fights that are to come plus the issue of guns and gun violence. >> well, the white house has long said the president, jay carney and others made it clear they believe this white house and this administration should reflect the people of america. should look a lot like the people of the united states. here at the white house the ratio is near even between men and women. and they're hoping that's a number they can spread out throughout the course of all departments in thinker administration. >> peter alexander. thanks so much. and we'll be right back. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ mal

better so when a liberal democrat in the white house conservative books tend to do better and when there's a conservative in the white house like under president bush, folks critical under the present tend to do better. in fact i remember bush at one point when he was being questioned about jobs he said look what i'm doing for the book industry. there were so many books that were out critical of him. it was the middle of his second term. >> guest: the irony of the president -- former bush, i believe if it wasn't the best-selling book it was awfully close. >> guest: people voted the bookstore in much smaller numbers. that you show your alliance by going out and buying a book that agrees with your political position. generally most of these political books are being bought by people who are authors. >> host: real-time policy books also came out in 2012 including james mann, the obama and of the struggle inside the white house are redefined power, jeffrey toobin, the obama white house versus the supreme court and michael gruenwald's the new new deal, the hidden story of change in the obama era along with bob woodward's the price of politics. i want to

bush's white house victories in 2000 and 2004. >> vice president biden heads to virginia to deliver a speech on the efforts to reduce gun violence. he will sell the white house gun policy agenda in richard with other officials following up on president obama's policy agenda announced last week. recommendations were provided by the gun violence task force that he spearheaded in the wake of the sandy hook elementary school shootings. >> mitt romney will be in washington, dc, today, video from the concession speech back in november. the former g.o.p. presidential nominee has kept a low profile since losing the election. the former massachusetts governor and his wife are set to attend a luncheon in their honor at the marriott hotel in the capitol. mitt romney is a member of the board of directors of the he they will chain. >> traffic and weather together are next on the abc7 morning news. we have a live look at the golden gate bridge if you can see it. mike nicco will have the full accweather forecast and a look at fog and drizzle this morning and check in with sue hall and the abc7 traff

we need to reach common ground on some of the major problem we face. >> you were inside the bush white housee president put on the table two big domestic agenda items, immigration reform, primarily because his own party said no, and social security reform. >>what advice would you give president obama, based on the lessons that you saw firsthand with president bush? >> the advice i would give to him is you cannot go wrong by doing what you promised you would do, by pressing the agenda and you promised the voters you promised you would press, and you have to be willing to face the consequences. when president bush was reelected, he said, i have political capital, and i intend to spend would you give it, to that effect, and he did. it works out sometimes, and it does not work out in other cases, but you have to press your agenda with energy and vigor. i think all of our greatest presidents have had varying elements of that. >> some say that there is the cadence of jfk in this speech, bill clinton in 1997. >> fellow citizens, we must not waste the precious gift of this time. for all levels are o

the obama campaign and the bush white house, joining us in the war room plus the man who made the dealh joe biden. could the compromise with the vice president put mitch mcconnell in an awkward position within his own party? you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. [ woman ] too weak. wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy... instead i got heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. kills heartburn fast. yeehaw! >>> the fda is pushing its most sweeping food safety requirements in decades and they'll start by placing more responsibility to farmers and food companies. they'll require farmers to take extra precautions in the field. food manufacturers are also required to submit food safety plans to the federal government. >> here's a look at some of the other stories making news right now. a tragedy ending into a ho

in 2005, he worked the late senator ted kennedy on an immigration bill that was backed by the bush white house and included what critics called amnesty, only then, mccain and others weren't calling it that. >> i think we're off to a good start on immigration reform. >> i'm not running to do the easy things, so i defend with no reservation our proposal to offer the people who harvest our crops, tend our gardens, work in our restaurants, care for our children, and clean our homes a chance to be lool citizens of this country. on the issue of illegal immigration a position which -- which -- a position which obviously still provokes the outspoken opposition of many conservatives, i stood my ground aware that my position would imperil my campaign. at a moment of great difficulty in my campaign when my critics said it would be political suicide for me to do so, i helped author with senator kennedy comprehensive immigration reform. >> well, that bill ultimately collapsed in the snachlt fast forward to january 2013, and senator mccain right back where he started and he said himself, look no further tha

margaret, you were in the bush white house between the first term and second term.ere they then to legacy, to how to avoid the problems that ultimately did pop up in the second it term? >> there weren't problems in bush's second term like in reag reagan's or clinton's or nixon's by comparison. the problem was maybe a question of misspent political capital, the handling of katrina was terrible and that did impede his ability to get legislative success through. but i think very conscious, especially of the second inaugural address and contents of it. when you go back and read second inaugural addresses that one does stand out as one that captured a moment and captured a vision that the president had for the country at that time. remember, this is the first address since 9/11 to the country as inaugural address since 9/11 and captured what we all refer to as the freedom agenda. that was the bush doctrindoctri. it captured that moment the way most second innall grag addresses don't. >> paul, is political capital all political capital for second terms created equal? >> n

a tweet by the former worker in the bush white house, he tweeted, i don't think i can make it anymores no alternative rational reason for raising the debt ceiling. and on the republican side, susan colins recognized it needed to be raised. that has already occurred. another item coming out of alaska on lisa murkowski, republican senator. at a news board meeting on january 9th, says she doesn't think the debt limit should be used for political leverage. she said not all of her colleagues in the senate will say it out loud. but she believes most agree that failing to raise the debt limit would harm perception of the country. jared bernstein, the momentum seems to be building for increasing insanity on the republican side on this question in congress. >> which is a good thing, one of the lessons here -- and it is interesting, you know, basically if rush limbaugh is upset about this, that means something probably good is happening in politics. >> yes, yes. >> and kind of -- you are really seeing a division within the republicans, obviously, between those who are just very stuck in kind of

we bring back our friend, cnbc contributor a former bush white house deputy press secretary.r. nino. i want to cut spending like nobody's business. you mess around with the debt ceiling i'm going tell you, buddy, the whole world, fiscally, economically and politically is going to come crashing down on your head. >> nobody wants to mess with the debt ceiling. what we want to do is to have a reasonable plan to raise the debt ceiling while getting on a path to balance. the only way to get spending cuts is to fight for spending cuts. the only way to have a debate is to debate. for the republican party to build in a bunch of assumptions about what the president will or won't do six weeks from now when we haven't even had a debate is putting the cart before the horse. let's say we'll raise the debt limit so when you go to college our fiscal house is in order. >> i want that debate. tony, you look at the "wall street journal" today a couple of important news articles. these are news articles. gop split on debt ceiling approach. that's one. some in gop, don't pay all the bills now. a

bill burton works in the obama white house, also as a senior strategist for usa action. margaret hoover in the bush house. ron brownstein of the national journal. it is said in wash that some things said in washington are true and others not so true, that second terms are tougher. yes, no, why? >> you heard congressman king say something right now that's pretty important and a lot of republicans are thinking. president obama won an election, but they all won an election too. you don't see a lot of chastene this election. it's going to be hard to get things done. but the president got a lot of big things done in his first term, so i'll expect it again. >> when he got a lot of big things done, it was immediately, as soon as he got into office. i think he's in a sweet spot. before outside events begin to shape the context and text you're of a second term. the time is really now, but it's shorter, and i think you have less ability in the second term. >> substantively, i think you have to say this is a president whose first term handed him a tougher set of problems. whether to nationalize the banks, whe

>> former bush white house spokesman ari fleisher will join us with advice for president obama.as some advice. ♪ hi dad. many years from now, when the subaru is theirs... hey. you missed a spot. ...i'll look back on this day and laugh. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. align. align naturally helps maintain digestive balance. ♪ ooh, baby, can i do for you today? ♪ try align today. >>> welcome back, everybody, you are watching cnn's coverage of the 2013 inauguration. as barack obama starts his second term what does he need to do to mend fences with republicans in washington, d.c.? >> we will put that question to ari fleisher, the press secretary to george w. bush in the first term. ari, what does he need do? >> it is a question of genuineness. does he genuinely want to work with republicans, split with democrats on fiscal issues, mostly entitlement related. if he indicates a real willingness to do it i think republicans have to cooperate f he puts up walls and fights, we are in for the same thing we have been through the

we depended on that under the bush white house. it was rejected pretty much by everybody. solutions didn't really please a lot of people. we tried the wall a little bit. not working so well in some spots. some others it's going pretty good and learned from afghanistan. ground sensors, drones. all those technologies are coming home and we need to a place to put the technology and this may be a use for the troops that could go down there as they have been guarding the border for a couple of years. >> lieutenant colonel, i want to ask you your personal repons to the things you heard today and the movement of a pathway to citizenship for a lot of immigrants because you talk about in your e-mail to us, your family emigrated here at the turn of the last century, the fernandez family coming here. this is personal for you, as well. you remember in terms of your cultural history of your family coming here. >> i do. and my family took a job in central, southern kansas, cherriville and a copper smelter and i understand based on my experience there's a great desire to come here but we

bush in republican white houses? running for the republican nomination for president one day. who have views like chuck hagel. in the last 10 year, there's been as if na fascinating divid. chuck hagel would fit closer to then than the neo conservative view that dick cheney, donald rumsfeld, and in the senate in recent years. >> colin powell waste nod time in coming out with a strong statement welcoming, endorsing hagel's nomination. i believe that more than ever we need that kind of independent and bold leader who thinks in and out of the box. let's look ahead to the confirmation process. i think the democrats, by and large, will fall in line behind the president. that's their instinct to support a democratic president. what about the republicans? is there going to be a real split? or in the end will they come around and go along with hagel? >> making phone calls and e-mails today, you get the sense that in the end hagel will get many, if not most, of the republicans. will some plant the flag because they oppose him?

of -- on the left when those that were against policies that he had after 9/11 and under the bush white house, including enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. >> why is he the right fit for cia? >> i think is he the right fit that he knows the building missed and out. it is not an easy organization to manage. the second most important thing is the president and he have a really strong relationship. the president trusts him. in the director of the cia, someone who will be walking into the oval office, recommending covert action, giving very fine grain analysis about important national security issues, i think john is really an outstanding choice, and the president has seen him up close and personal for four years and that relationship makes john really a great person for the job, i think. >> in the reorganization director of national intelligence, the cia director seems to report to him technically given the very close relationship that we all know between john brennan and the president. does this really supplant and change that whole reorganized new structure, the bureau

it is not george bush in the white house and it is not republicans controlling the senate. we have an extended something that was already put in place. if you look at the cases in the past of successful al qaeda attacks in the united states, the need to be able to do this is clear. >> it is not a question of politics. it is a question of legality. is in iran to question the content of law and to ask whether it -- is it wrong to question the content of the law and whether or not it is expandable? >> it is -- it was controversial in 2008 and that is why we went up to the last minute. there was substantial bipartisan concern that this would violate the fourth amendment and people 's privacy. there was an attempt to do some oversight and accountability mechanisms. there are certainly members who will pursue this before 2017 when it comes up again. >> there may be members who will pursue it. this was overwhelmingly supported. there were not a lot of questions. the senators who did try to make some kind of amendments were rejected. >> one area where sebastian and i can agree is t

white house? >> in the white house. >> bill: george bush would not have been happy with that. a stricter level of decor um around the oval office. is it worth it? yeah, probably. i would have voted for it. it doesn't give us everything we wanted. crazy -- insane to define middle class americans as anybody making under $400,000 a year. the bad news is this is only going to give us temporary relief. we'll be back into in another month, in another two months, maybe two different battles coming up, and that means this gang of republican hoods in the house of representatives will still be able to muck up the mess. i don't know if it is possible for congress to get a zero approval rating but they are well on their way. it was 9 to 10% before this. >> yeah, who thinks they did a good job with this? >> bill: yeah that republicans in congress did themselves any favors. mark out in chico, california. good morning. >> caller: hey, bill happy new year. >> bill: happy new year to you my friend. is up? >> caller: i'm a disabled veteran, and i can't believe it these people actually wanted a

bush administration. the white house disputes that. >> mr. brennan wrote a letter in which he made clear that he opposed so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. >> reporter: brennan is also the credited with the drone program but it's unpopular overseas especially in pakistan where drones target terrorists living in the country. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. >>> time now is 5:10. an unusual response after a stranger is found sleeping in a house. >> i guess. a woman offers to give the intruder some coffee, then returns with something no one would expect. >> a hot air balloon crashing into a california home the moments leading up to this mishap. >> and what is cool about your school? you can submit your nomination on our website, cbssf.com/coolschool. and we just might come out and feature your school on the big show. we'll be right back. for over 60,000 california foster children nights can feel long and lonely. i miss my sister. i miss my old school. i miss my room. i don't want special treatment. i just wanna feel normal. to hel

bush gave a directive the beginning of his term? >> andy card was the first chief of staff and as they were setting up the white house and there's lotswho were in charge, including dina powell, who is now at goldman sachs, but ran president bush personnel decision, one. things that bush said to card, don't run off all of my young mothers and that's recounted in karen hughes' book and it's called, that's called ten minutes from normal. she talks about how, yes, she wanted to be at the white house, but then when blackberries came around, you go into the kitchen and hide under the counter, your blackberry, like responding at 11 p.m. and it's-- that's a lot of women are experiencing that all across the board. families all over, i don't want to say that men don't make sacrifices as well. you get on a plane today, the planes are full. and it's people who are having to travel for business. monday through friday and they make the weekend, you know, as good as they can get it and that's one. things that from the partisan discussion in the country what kind of country are we going to have and how much are we willing to pay for it. how much mon

bush administration. the white house disputes that. >> mr. brennan wrote a letter in which he made clear he opposed so-called enhance and interrogation techniques. >> reporter: brennan is also the architect of the drone program credited with killing al qaeda operatives but it's unpopular overseas especially in pakistan where drones have targeted terrorists living in the country. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. >>> switching gears at 4:38. >> shall we? >> why not. >> a wee bit of fog out there eh? >> thick in spots especially -- [ laughter ] >> especially in the east bay. >> i don't know where that came from. >> they're going to be tough to deal with today. >>> we have a dense fog advisory in the east bay valleys, visibility less than a quarter mile in spots. be careful driving. otherwise it's hazy over the bay at this hour. and looks like throughout the day not a bad day. still a little cool in spots. 36 degrees in livermore, 39 in santa rosa. and 44 in san jose. high pressure remains in place. but not forever. that is going to change a

first family has lived their life in the white house, one thing that you noted is that the obamas like to go out to restaurants and eat out as opposed to the bushese white house. how does that change the washington scene, do you think? >> i think there's almost been less of that, too. as time went on, there was a newness when they moved into their new city and their new community and they wanted to get out and about and be seen as members of our community family here in washington. but the reality is, it does get very hard to make the movements outside of the white house to disrupt the flow of traffic. although, it is an exciting moment, you know, from time to time when they are able to do that. so, i think, you know, the way you live your life before you came here is the way you try to live your life when you are here. >> you worked very closely with laura bush. >> i did. >> i'm just curious, this is the president's day and the vice president's day, as well. for first lady, michelle obama, this is a big transition, as well. do you see changes for her in the second term? maybe even coming into more of her own? >> we now know that she almost consi

obama's traveling press secretary, economist diane swonk and margaret hoover who served in the bush white housejohn avlon with the daily beast, and irving pinsky. >> good morning, i'm brooke baldwin, a special fiscal cliff addiction, we're over it, "starting point," roll it, starts right now. here we go, full table, our panel today we have mr. richard saccharides, former adviser to president clinton, chrystia freeland, thompson reuters and welcome will cain with a tie, we've all been talking about it at the commercial. >> new year. >> court date. >> christine romans joining us here at the table as well. welcome, everyone. >> welcome. our "starting point," back from the fiscal abyss, in detox from our fiscal cliff addiction as the case may be. tens of millions of taxpayers and small business owners exhaling. the house passed the senate bill that temporarily brings us back from the depth of that cliff. the final vote 257 for, 167 against and you might be interested to know this, house speaker john boehner voted yes, so did paul ryan. here's what the deal means for you and your family, couples ear

you might remember the obama administration blasted the bush white house for so-called secret detentionsthat practice involves holding and interrogating suspects overseas instead of guantanamo bay all reportedly without due process. turns out that is exactly what is still going on in the obama administration. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge live in washington with that story. catherine. >> reporter: thank you, jon, good morning. three alleged members of a somali terrorist group al shabaab were arrested overseas in the country of. >> beauty. they were held incommunicado, roughed up during tear divisions and eventually transferred to criminal court in brooklyn in november. telling folks the justice department handling the men fits the classic rendition definition of rendition. >> the appropriate venue not take somebody involved in a civil war in east africa and bring him not eastern district of new york to be prosecuted in the criminal court. under that definition we can probably round up tens of thousands of fighters and clog our courts system for the next couple of de

choice monday saying he's linked to techniques including water boarding during the bush administration. the white house disputes that. >> mr. brennan wrote a letter in which he made clear he opposed so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. >> reporter: he's also linked to the drone program. credited with killing al qaeda operatives. it's unpopular overseas especially in pakistan, drones have targeted terrorists living in the country. now the president is also reportedly close to tapping jack lu, the white house chief of staff, to be the next treasury secretary replacing tim geithner. that would require a new chief of staff. this could be part of a larger shuffling of the president's team. >> susan mcginnis in washington this morning. thank you very much. >>> one of the critical issues of the president's foreign policy agenda is the winding down of the war in afghanistan. this friday, mr. obama meets with afghan president hamid karzai. they'll meet in washington to discuss u.s. troop levels in the afghan army. a key issue -- how many u.s. troops will remain in afghanistan after 2014. >>> a grim sear

bush, last day as president walking out of the white house. ight is president-elect obama and what struck me about that moment was that bush never looked back, it's like, he threw the keys to the place over to obama and that was it. >> fascinating. >> it's, to me, a very powerful moment and also, again, goes to the transition of the power of the united states. we have one party going to the next. it's peaceful, you and i have both been in places where the transitions are more difficult. >> that's for sure. it's fascinating. thank you for taking the time to talk about these images. thank you so much. in the last four years, first lady michelle obama's had her picture taken countless times, it goes with the territory. and it comes with the pressure every modern first lady has faced, fair or not, style much waers are always looking. we heard headlines around the world when she had bangs on her 49th birthday. the fashion police are never far away, you can be sure. they're sizing up what she's going to wear tomorrow. and there are a lot of fashion d

you see, he served in the bush white house that expanded the use of tough interrogation techniques includinggh he said he did not support that. and when domes comes to the dr program, which the obama administration is using with deadly effect, brennan is making a moral argument in favor of using the drones calling them part of war. now the drone war is expanding to yemen. >> the thing about john brennan is that he has made -- argued persuasively for drones. i don't see him sort of putting on the brakes at all at the cia. >> what about the opposite of putting on the brakes? do you see speeding up? >> sort of wherever he has gone he has sped up the program. he is the spokesperson for the drone program. >> that was tom junod. want to bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr in los angeles for us today. and let's talk about john brennan, his chances. do you think he will for most part sail through those hearings? >> well, i think many people believe he will be confirmed by the senate, but there will be a lot of talk, a lot of questions. it is very likely to be quite a fiery confirmation hea