. >> i'm byron pitts. >> i'm scott pelley. those stories and andy rooney tonight on "60 minutes.", those gecko ringtones you put on our website are wonderful. people love 'em! gecko: yeah, thank you sir. turned out nice. boss: got another one for you. anncr: at geico.com, it's easy to get a free rate quote, manage your policy, make payments or even file a claim! boss: now that's a ringtone. gecko: uh yeah...it's interesting.... certainly not the worst ringtone i've ever heard... ♪ ringtone lyrics: a-ringedy- ding-ding-dingy-dong,@ ringedy-dong-ding-ding... ♪ gecko (to himself): yeah, that might be the worst. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. walgreens invites you to stay well this new year. ♪ with the centers for disease control and prevention saying... that vaccination is still your best protection, walgreens and take care clinics... now offer h1n1 flu vaccinations... every day at our more than 7000 locations nationwide... for just $18.00. so stop in today. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. so stop in today. while i was building my friends

. >> what byron said about the mandate.it's not a particularly popular idea and again, i don't like this device that's been instructed precise of not to blow up the system. everything was constructed around not blowing up the system so. you have widen bennett in the system. there's ways that people think it could have been superior. just have medicare for all which would be most simple. the bill you could probably write on one page. gn afraid of blowing up the system. so the catch-22 is in order not to blow up the system you create a con structure that - well, 85 percent of them have healthcare now which they're reasonably satisfied with. >> that's the problem. same way if you came to me and said are you happy with the fire insurance on your house? >> i don't have a fire. i don't know. >> right. so your satisfied. >> the elderly are most apposed to this and they're actually the ones that have used it a most. >> but that's - who covers the elderly byron? >> medicare. >> yes! >> they all have supplemental. >> but the reason,

dodd's announcement came one day after byron dorgan, another democrat, announced that he would not run for senate re- election from north dakota. he would not seek a fourth term. in the house of representatives, ten democrats say they are bowing out this year. democrats davis, meets, abercrombie, moore, booth, gordon, tanner, baird. why are democrats opting out of the obama mid-term election? to avoid a bloodbath? well, hiss store achelely a president's first m.i.t. term election has led to major losses for his party in those elections. in 1982, republican president ronald reagan's first mid-term election, republicans lost 26 seats. more notably, in 1994, president clinton's mid-term

north dakota senator byron dorgan, elected in 1992 after serving 12 years in the house, is stepping down, and so senator chris dodd, who was elected in 1980. byron dorgan's announcement took a lot of people by surprise, but chris dodd was the first to acknowledge that he was facing an uphill battle for reelection. >> i am very aware of my present political standing here at home in connecticut. but it is equally clear that any search and predictioabout an election victory or defeat -- to a prediction about an election victory or defeat nearly a year from now would be absurd. >>dodd, dorgan, colorado gov. bill ritter all standing aside following republican victories in gubernatorial races in virginia and new jersey. is the handwriting on the wall for democrats, mark? >> it is somewhere. i'm not sure it is on the wall. maybe the ceiling on the floor is not good news. chris dodd, who is one of my favorite people in all of washington, but may very well have stayed too long. chris dodd, who in private is one of the most disarming, natural, unaffected,n itpretentious people you'll ever meet --

byron york of the washington examiner.hris hayes we welcome our audience watching overseas and the radio audience of xm channel 130 and our c-span audience as well. good morning. caller: good morning. as a republican, i certainly didn't support barack obama during the election but i understand and was hopeful about the message he talked about - the potent for reform and especially within the healthcare environment. represented some opportunity to improve things greatly, and fact of the matter is that in the last year we've had to move from hope to reality. i'm kind of shocked that mr. hayes has said this is a center right plan. the public perception of a 2000 page bill is we do here about the louis vuit louisiana bills excessive focus on public and government run option components to this plan. and this is an environment that's spending trillions of dollars on numerous other politically motivated and - i think that congressional leadership has been able to spend the money of the people on these other important but extremel

i was going talk about chris dodd and byron dorgan, two senators. >> lehrer: what did i ask? >> let's talk about those two guys. >> okay. i know them both and i like them both. and mi going to miss them both. and they are both been good public servants. chris dodd's leaving with refreshing candor. he talked about his political problems. he didn't pretend i want to go home and spend more time with the family and do that. he did, in fact, level that he had problems, that he had a better chance of keeping the state democratic by his leaving and dick blumenthal, the attorney general running in his place. byron dorgan and kent conrad, sort of the touchdown twins, the two democratic senators, they've been winning elections in that state since 1980 in a state that ronald reagan won 2- -- solidly republican, north dakota, and somehow they have managed to survive, a populist, fiscally responsible national democrats. and byron dorgan i think decided that he had spent enough time, energy and effort doing that. and maybe that the prospects weren't that great. >> lehrer: you don't see gla

and i saw byron. susan and then byron. >> hi, susan. >> hi there. such an honor to be here today, what a wonderful speech. you mentioned in your speech the idea, i thought it was really important what you said about people in this country not understanding how their tax dollars are being used, why they're being used outside the country. you talked about transparency. i wonder if you could ewill be rate a bit on what you mean. that's been an issue that we've all felt, any of us who have been in the government at some time have known it's very hard to go to my home constituent of north dakota and talk about, you know, what we're doing in countries far away when farmers are having their issues. how are you going to be transsnarnte >> first we have to eliminate some of the myths. you've seen the same surveys i have, when people complain about how much money we spend on foreign aid, and when you ask, how much money do you think we spend? and they say 10% or 20% of our budget and we say, no, we spend less than 1%, we have to sort of set the table so peopl

and byron dorgan ihink decided that he had spent enough time, energy d effort doing that. and maybe that the proects weren't that great >> lehrer: you d't see aciers moving the way david does. i do think that what you have right n is -- it is a difference from 19. 1933, in 1932 there were 217 republicans and 6 democrats in the housef representative and two years lar there were 200 mordemocrats than there were republicans under roosevelt. in other wds, it kept incrsing. thdemocratic numbers are not going to increase. what the democrats are coerned about are more retirement in the hoe, especial because open seats are the most vulnerable pce for a party to defend. incumbent is still toher to defeat in a house election. >> lehrer: no matter wheth they are replican or democrat. >> republican or democrat. in 1994 when the democra ffered their few nam -- tsunami loss wh bill inton, lost 54 house seats, 40 of the 52 seats thelost were open seats. that is mbers retiring, or ruing for another office. they have been able to kee the retirements now unr single digits. if they can do th

>> the byron dorgan decision in north dakota was a stomach punch because they're not going to be able hold that seat likely especially if the popular republican governor runs. chris dodd's decision was actually a blessing for the democrats. because they were going to have to write off that seat. he was running so far behind in his race. and now they could be competitive if the fairly popular veteran attorney general turns out to be as good on the stump as he has been as attorney general. but itaps into what you were talking about, there is a feeling of there was so much promise and hope only a year ago, and now because of continuing economic woes, all of the bailouts, the problems on the terror front, government is not working the way people expect itted to. >> i talked to a white house adviser who said the problem for this president with independent voters is that fling hey, i may believe in this guy but he can't solve these huge problems. the debt, government working overall, wall street, he can't prevent the little guy from getting hurt by these forces. >> and there's a snowball ef

people know this and, byron pitts, cbs news, transfixed. or 25 million people will watch me on television. the book is about though more than that. it's about the journey from there to here and the importance of the journey. and the realization that i would not eat on transfixed at 7:00 on sunday night if not for those struggles. i tell my wife sometimes and i mention this in the book that when you see me on sunday nights at 7:00 sitting in the chair in my best sunday suit, that in my late father in moscow for links that i always wear. i know when i'm sitting in that chair my mom is there, my brothers there,, my grandma mr. pete is there, all these people who stepped on nothing to help me. and so in the book i say i want to encourage people, parents, teachers, seniors, people who spent much of their day encouraging other people, 18 seeds of kindness and other people to let you know that what you do matters. your kindness matters. you don't know what it will mean to a child in our church, a child of montclair and newark who had a person look

to his colleagues, byron dorgan was a surprise there. chris dodd's retirement taken as good news. richard blumenthal will step in. he's ahead right now. how serious is this threat that the democrats are facing? is it 1994 all over again? >> i want to give chris dodd credit for not saying i want to leave because i want to spend more time with my family. which is what most politicians do. as journalists, we ought to track the next couple of years. >> in this case, it might be true. >> look, i think it's going to -- you couldn't pick a tougher environment than you have today. election is ten months away. right now, today, the democrats stand to lose a couple dozen house seats and three or four senate seats. i don't think the -- >> they'll hold on to control? >> almost an absolute to hold control in the senate. they could lose control in the house. it would have to be a tsunami. it would have to be 1994 all over again. this week's event doesn't chan much. the north dakota state goes into the republican side. retirements?ing to be other the senate there have been six republican retirem

nator chris dodd of connecticut announced hi desion today, hours after byron dorgan, oforth dakota, didsame. gwen ifillas the story. >> ifill: after 35 yea in washingtonsenator dodd went home tod to connecticut, to announce his decision not run again. >> there are momts for each elected public official,o step aside, andet someone else ep up this is my momt to step aside. >> ifill: 66, dodd is chaian of the senate banking committee. but 2009 w a long year for m, and his reelection prospects had recently gwn shaky. >> i lost a beloved ster in july and in gust, ted kennedy. i battled cancer over the summerand in the midstf all this, i found myself in the toughest politicalhape of my career. ne of these events or circumstances, either individually or colltively is the cae of my decision not to seek relection. yet together, these chalnges have given mpause to take stk and to ask questions that too few of us in ected public lifever do. why am i running? >> ifill: news of dd's decision camon the heels of nator dorgan's statement tha he plans to reti, too. like dodd, he was facing potentially t

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>host: our guest is senator byron dorgan. david drucker is one of our two questioners. and the financial correspondent for politico. we are taking this on friday afternoon after an extraordinary meeting between the president and house gop members. it was televised live, and scrap this session for the president. much of it was about partisanship or our partisanship. in this town at this time, is partisanship possible to? -- our partisanship possible? -- bipartisanship possible? guest: are sure wrote this is able to be changed, because it is intensely partisan. when george w. bush was elected, i invited him to, meet with the democrats. he came, and we have a good exchange. it was polite and respectful. i am pleased president obama decided to go and was invited at the republican caucus. i did not give the chance to see all of it, but it is the right thing to do. need to build bridges here. in this intense partisanship is not good for the political system, the way of governing. the american people see it and say, you know what? we pay your salary is three and we send you th

senator chris dodd of connecticut announced his decision today, hours after byron dorgan, of north dakota the same. gwen ifill has the story. >> ifill: after 35 years in washington, senator dodd went home today to connecticut, to announce his decision not to run again. >> there are moments for each elected public official, to step aside, and let someone else step up. this is my moment to step aside. >> ifill: at 66, dodd is chairman of the senate banking committee. but 2009 was a long year for him, and his reelection prospects had recently grown shaky. >> i lost a beloved sister in july and in august, ted kennedy. i battled cancer over the summer, and in the midst of all of this, i found myself in the toughest political shape of my career. none of these events or circumstances, either individually or collectively is the cause of my decision not to seek relection. yet together, these challenges have given me pause to take stock and to ask questions that too few of us in elected public life ever do. why am i running? >> ifill: news of dodd's decision came on the heels of senator dorgan's st

we are backed after talking with senator byron dorgan, who is leaving congress this year.bill, financial reform, and the political climate. they're all intertwined. what do you think about the political climate and weather it is possible to get legislation on this issue? >> i asked whether or not they could accomplish anything, having failed to get the major pieces of the president's agenda through last year, and i come back to the point that if they could not do it with a huge majority in the senate or a hugely popular president, they are going to have real difficulty accomplishing almost anything with a much less popular president. >> what is the relationship like between the house and senate democrats? >> as of now, not very good. you have the fact that it kind of died in the senate with scott brown's election. you have senate democrats now furious about being called out because they feel as though house democrats to not appreciate the position. she said she does not think the president or house democrats understand why the democratic party has a majority in the senate

dodd's announcement came one day after byron dorgan, another democrat, announced that he would not run for senate re- election from north dakota. he would not seek a fourth term. in the house of representatives, ten democrats say they are bowing out this year. democrats davis, meets, abercrombie, moore, booth, gordon, tanner, baird. why are democrats opting out of the obama mid-term election? to avoid a bloodbath? well, hiss store achelely a president's first m.i.t. term election has led to major losses for his party in those elections. in 1982, republican president ronald reagan's first mid-term election, republicans lost 26 seats. more notably, in 1994, president clinton's mid-term first election, democrats lost 54 seats. with republicans led by newt gingrich seizing both the house and senate in landslides. republicans are the preferred choice in 2010 polls. more importantly, polls also say that the gop is the more popular choice of independent voters. a big deal. democrats are a wash in three. >> it's a tough time for democrats, frankly. our voters are less enthusiastic than republi

byron dorgan gave every indication he wanted to run again for a fourth term. we had a profile of him just a few weeks ago in which he expressed some frustration with the way things were going in washington, not only the nature of partisanship and the combative nature of how things have become more combative since he first got here, but he was somewhat of a critic of the obama administration so that their focus on health care and climate change was misplaced and they should be focused on jobs. he is a classic prairie populist. he is young enough that if he retires from the senate now, he can have another career. he has written some books and he likes to lecture. he would be well courted for lobbying. he has lots of different options in front of him. >> is north dakota a possible republican pickup. >> it absolutely is. in a sense, the two we're talking about, one has gone from leans republican to likely democrat and this other one from heavily favored democrats in north dakota to probably republican. the very, very popular governor of north dakota is a little bi

. >> today, byron dorgan talks about whether or not the president made a mistake in putting health care in such a high agenda place in the last year. >> do you think that he made a mistake? >> i do. not because health care is not important, but i think that the timing was not good. Ñispending in a deep hole, it is hard to reach as high as you need to reach to get a proposal that will go through congress. personally, i would have said to work exclusively on economics again, putting people back to work. i am sure that the president will say that he was working on that as well. look, the president won the election, i did not. his position is that you cannot fix the economy without fixing health care. we found it difficult to get a menu for health care changes. both >> you can see the entire interview today on "newsmakers" on c-span. >> this weekend, on "book tv," the political cartoons of dr. seuss -- published in the 1940's. also, the growth of the muslim middle class in the middle east. as well as neocons and federal foreign-policy going back to the nixon administration. get the latest u

. >> larry: and byron dorgan. >> i think that an example of the president having pushed the agenda a little too far to the left. we have to see if the president makes a correction or not. he is putting a lot of sites, it seems to me n jeopardy. particularly in the house where you have a lot of democrats sitting in districts that were republican districts. >> larry: now your own party. is sarah palin viable in the fats of your party now? >> sure. who knows three years before the presidential election who the face of the party is. sarah palin is extremely popular, articulate. ran for vice president and has a right to make a case. she generates an enormous amounts of enthusiasm. i took her a baseball game last year, judith and i at yankee stadium in the bronx. democratic territory. and he had a great response. everybody wanted to take a -- even the democrats wanted to take pictures with her. >> larry: it's a good sign. there is a "new york times" report today that hard ford was moved to new york. maybe will run the pry nair against the senator that replaced hillary clinton. we know you

. >> chris dodd facing a tough re-election in connecticut and byron dorgan announced they are retiring. >> dorgan said he didn't have a republican opponent yet. he said he wants to do other things. his retirement will mean an uphill battle for the democrats to hold on to that seat. >> the democrats will defend four open senate seats this year. it is increasing the pressure on them and the president to get their agenda and health care approved this year. >> usually presidents in their first term lose seats in their midterm elections, okay. that is clearly going to happen to barack obama. >> it's enough to make rush limbaugh's day. >> they are running for the hills, these democrats drank the obama kool-aid and they're committing political suicide. >> some perspective here. four democratic senators are retiring but so are six republicans. on the weather front, an arctic blast cased havoc across the country. 2/3 of the nation experiencing record low temperatures. >> snow has been piling up from kansas city to the carolinas and here in memphis at least three fatalities have been attributed

chris dodd of connecticut and byron dorgan. >> i'm ware of my present political standing here at home in connecticut. it's equally clear that a prediction a year from now would be absurd. >> i wanted to do some other things in life outside of public service. i made that decision, i feel good abit. it's no reflection on my party, on our government. >> al? he was a surprise there. kriz dodd's retirement taken as good news. richard blumenthal will step in. how important is this? is it 1994 all over again? >> i want to give chris dodd credit for not saying i want to leave because i want to spend more time with my family. >> in this case, it might be true. >> look, i think it's going to -- you couldn't pick a tougher environment than you have today. election is ten months away. right now, today, the democrats stand to lose a couple dozen house seats and three or four senate seats. >> they'll hold control? >> almost an absolute to hold control in the senate. they could lose control in the house. this week aches event doesn't change much. the north dakota state goes into the republican side.

announced they're retiring, chris dodd who was facing a tough re-election bat nell connecticut and byron dorgan of north dakota. >> he said he didn't have a republican opponent yet, he said he wants to do other things, his retirement will mean an uphill battle for democrats to hold on to that seat. >> that means the democrats will be defending four open senate seat this is year, it's increasing the pressure on them and the president to get their agenda including health care approved this year. usually presidents in their first term lose seats in their midterm elections, it's clearly going to happen to obama. >> these democrats drank the obama kool-aid, and they're committing political suicide. >> have some perspective here, four democratic senators are retiring this year, but so are six republicans. on the weather front an arctic blast caused havoc across the country this week, two thirds of the nation experiencing record low temperatures. >>> snow has been piling up from kansas city to the carolinas, here in memphis, at least three fatalities have been attributed to the bitter cold. igu

byron york will be our first guest to talk about the massachusetts election. suzy defrancis

popular senator byron dorgan announced retirement pap good shot at grabbing this seat by republicans. supermajority in the senate, even with a filibuster-proof margin, health care reform is one example of tough to pass. if they lose the supermajority, harder for president obama to advance their agenda. >>> suspended for shooting off his mouth. the nba crowes foul benching one of its high-paid stars. not for having guns in his locker. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. citracal. dominates heartburn. 24/7... including the eight hours you spend with your eyes closed. prilosec otc. heartburn gone. power on. >>> a look at top stories now. the deep south deal wig an unwelcomed visitor. a hard freeze. meaning big trouble for motorists, of course. this i-report from knoxville, tennessee. where are his pants? shows the problems that drivers had navigating this hill. forecasters say the icy conditions gripping much of the country could last a few more days. >>> and a dozen people are dead after a coal mine fire in southea

. >> larry: byron dorgan also will not run. >> yeah, there's another one.hink that may be an example of the president having pushed the agenda a little too far to the left, which is what i was saying before. we'll have to see if the president makes a correction or not. because he's putting a lot of these seats -- it seems to me he's putting them in jeopardy, particularly in the house where you have a lot of democrats sitting in districts that were republican districts up until, you know, the last election or the one before that. >> larry: all right. now your own party. is sarah palin viable? >> sure. >> larry: is she the face of your party now? >> well, gosh, who knows three years before the presidential election who the face of our party is. sarah palin is extremely popular, she's extremely articulate, she's somebody who has run for vice president and she has the right to make her case to the republican party, which will all happen after 2010. but she certainly generates an enormous amount of enthusiasm. larry, i took her to a baseball game last year. judi

here is byron pitts talking about how he grew up unable to read and about the father who abandoned theoften think there but for the grace of got go i. we've reconciled to some degree in recent years as we speak now as men. >> but now you're a successful network star and now when he met you for the first time in a long time, he wanted something from you, right? >> sure. >> what did he want? >> he wanted money. >> what did you say to him? >> i said no. i used some choice words that i won't use on television. it was my way to pay him back for i thought ignoring me all these years. one of the things i learned and the point i make in the book is there's real power in forgiveness. as long as i was angry with my father, it did me more disservice because he went on with his life. when i told him i for gave him, that not only, some may say, let him off the hook, but freed me. >> it was a touching moment when robin roberts talked about why she was especially happy to go to l.a. for the os sdars. >> this is part of the reason why i also accepted this because this time last year, completely bald,

a lot of heat in washington about him because, you know, he was on with sean han aty and we've got byron sean asked him any chance you guys can take over the house this year. he said not yet, we're not ready yet. whether he believes it or not, isn't what the chair of the republican party ought to be saying in addition he's hocking his book and others saying he ought to be worried about the republican party. plenty to talk about because the democrats are the stiff head win, pushback at michael steele. it is a target-rich environment on "fox news" sunday. >> see you then. eeeeeee >> i'm janice dean and it is cold outside. taking a look at your current temperatures, 7 minneapolis, 6 kansas city, 17 memphis. reporting light snow. and with the wind it feels even colder. feels like minus 5 in minneapolis. potential for snow? florida. this frontal system could bring the potential for light flurries over central florida. here's our future cast into tomorrow morning. 3 a.m. 6 a.m.. look, shep, a little pink on the radar. we could see a mixture of sleet, freezing rain, and or snow flurries

byron dorgan was giving every indication that he wanted to run again for a fourth term.ith a profile of him in our magazine just a few weeks ago in which he expressed however some frustration with the way things were going in washington and not only the nature of partisanship but the set of whole combative nature of how things have become the core that if he is somewhat a critic of the obama administration so they're focused on health and climate change was misplaced weird they should be focused entirely on jobs. he is a classic sort of populist. he is a young enough man but if he retires now he can have another career. he's written some books. he likes to lecture. he would be obviously well courted for lobbying soviet lots of different options of one of them. >> so it's north dakota a possible republican pickup? >> it absolutely is. in a sense the two that were talking about today one has gone from leaning for public into likely democrat and this other one from harper lee favored democrat in north dakota to probably republican. the very very popular governor of north da

high-profile retirements announced this week, those being senator chris dodd of connecticut and senator byronn of north dakota, both of whom say they will not run for re-election this year. will these retirements help democrats hold their majority or will they turn the midterm elections into a referendum on the policies of the president? i'm joined now live from washington by my boys. we have msnbc political analyst pat buchanan and democratic strategist peter fenn. hello, again, guys. >> hey, alex. >> good morning, alex. >> how do these retirements change the political landscape? i'll begin with you, pat. >> i think the dodd retirement from the race, if you will, enhances the democrats' chances of carrying connecticut. he was in very tough shape. he had come back a bit, but then he started slipping again. and i think they could have lost that seat up in connecticut. i think democrats are favored now. the dorgan thing is a real problem. i mean, dorgan is sort of a moderate democrat who is throwing in the towel, and that looks like a republican pickup there. and the second thing it does is it

. >> what about byron dorgan, the democratic senator from north dakota?e announces he's retiring, which presumably set the stage for a popular republican governor stepping in. >> i was shocked by that. i was much more shocked by that, by senator dorgan's decision than i was by senator dodd's decision. i was kind of surprised by senator dodd's decision. i was shocked by senator dorgan's. and, again, i know him not well, but i know senator dorgan casually. i think most people were shocked by that. >> your recent book, the headline was 40 more years, how the democrats will rule the next generation, were you being a little bit too optimistic? >> i didn't say an actual election now, did i? i don't think so. in the book i say, look, we're not going to win every election. we're certainly not going to win three congressional elections in a row. big win in '06, big win in '08. it is obvious to anyone there was going to be some pullback. but it depends on how many seats we lose. i actually think that if we run this right, we can cut our losses to fairly reasonably.

at 10:00 eastern byron dorgan talks about jobs legislation.r that president obama's state of the union address followed by the republican response with new virginia governor bob mcdonald. >> american jazz can be an instrument for spreading good will overseas. >> i think so. over there jazz is stronger than the masons, just like a religion. >> they go in for it big, huh? >> they love it. >> he was the single most important figure in jazz in the 20th century. >> q&a tonight. terry teachout on louisÑi armstrong on c-span. up next "washington journal." today the guests include linda feldman of the christian signs monitor and david hawkings. they talk about politics and the latest news. then jacqueline o'neill of the institute for inclusive security talks about the role women play in muslim countries. then a former c.i.a. intelligence officer looks at al qaeda's determination to acquire weapons of mass destruction. "washington journal" is next. . >> good morning and welcome to "washington journal" on sunday the last day of january for 2010. dozen p

i had susan levine, and i saw byron. susan and then byron. >> hi, susan. >> hi there. such an honor to be here today, what a wonderful speech. you mentioned in your speech the idea, i thought it was really important what you said about people in this country not understanding how their tax dollars are being used, why they're being used outside the country. you talked about transparency. i wonder if you could ewill be rate a bit on what you mean. that's been an issue that we've all felt, any of us who have been in the government at some time have known it's very hard to go to my home constituent of north dakota and talk about, you know, what we're doing in countries far away when farmers are having their issues. how are you going to be transsnarnte >> first we have to eliminate some of the myths. you've seen the same surveys i have, when people complain about how much money we spend on foreign aid, and when you ask, how much money do you think we spend? and they say 10% or 20% of our budget and we say, no, we spend less than 1%, we have to sort of set the table so peopl

[applause] >> byron pitts is an emmy award winning journalist and contributing correspondent to the news magazine 60 minutes. for more information, visit us.macmillan.com/stepoutonnothin g. >>> coming up next, book tv presents "after words," an hourlong discussion between >> guest: stand the author of a new book to read this week, wall street journal economics editor david wessler talks about his book quote cohen said we trust." in the book mr. wessler looks the world played by federal reserve bin bernanke following the 2008 economic collapse. he discusses his book with alice rivlin, first director of the congressional budget office and current senior fellow with the brookings institution. >> host: llo. ibm alice rivlin, and it is my pleasure to be talking to david wessle and his book and said we trust ben bernanke is war on the great panic which has the subtitle, not every book has to subtitles, david. how the federal reserve became the fourth bank branch of government. it's a fascinating book. >> guest: thank you. >> host: how i loved it and i think i should make that clear at the outs

host: went byron dorgan sits down with c-span this weekend -- when byron dorgan saddam with c- span thiseekend, i will ask him. pensacola, florida. democratic line. good morning, go ahead. caller: thank you. on the jobs thing, the previous segment was on changing the culture. i think that with this, jobs are a part of the culture. as the president said, we need to take this money back from the big banks and give it to the local banks so that making it the jobs going. that is a part of a culture, big banks keeping the money. again, the culture of america needs to change. simply because the republicans do not have enough votes, there are republicans on every committee that contributed to everything that has been done. simply because they do not have enough votes does not mean that it is not bipartisan. they have the opportunity to participate, they just have not been able to convince anyone else. as far as someone mentioned about the back door deals, if the republicans had been allowed to vote their role instead of voting in blocks, those three that we had to pay back door deals to would n

caller: i find it mega-byronic ted kennedy plus seat could be the one vote that shuts down the prideand joy which was health care. i think it goes to show something much more bigger which is -- look at nelson and the lieberman and why did byron dorgan walk away from the senate, or is about to. maybe it is because the u.s. senate has become kind of dysfunctional. with the 60 rule for passage, maybe they should revisit this. it seems like u.s. senators do not engage any more. they are more isolated with big step. they don't go to the dining facility. how many deals were cut in the old days at cocktail parties or at lunch or something? that is not happening anymore. we need to maybe revisit the rules of the senate because we will get nothing done. i pray that clinton and obama and all those guys can say that senate seat. host: to give you a sense of the ads that have been taking place. >> i am martha coakely and i approve this message. he will block tougher oversight of wall street, give more tax breaks to the wealthiest, oppose new prescription coverage for millions of seniors,. brown

i miss a lot of my former colleagues on the court from byron wright to bill. that is the process. >> i think there have been rivals. -- have been new arrivals. is there an exclamation process? >> not really. it is the same job as being a judge on a lower court. you read the briefs. you hear the argument. you write the opinion. we have the added job of deciding what to decide. you take what ever they bring you. you have to. except for that additional parts, it is the same. there may be one other exception. on the lower courts, if there is a whole line of authority that he fundamentally disagree with, it does not make it easy. you follow it. you do not have to worry about whether it should be changed. on the highest court, if it is a stupid line of cases, it is your stupid line of cases. you have to decide if you leave it alone or if you refuse to extend any further or to try to get rid of the whole thing. you do not have to worry about that on the court of appeals. >> we are out of time set. for people for whom the supreme court is just an item in the newspaper

david hawkings joins us to talk about the announcements by chris dodd and byron dor gum. why did he say he'll be retiring from the senate? >> what he said is less important than what is true about his political future, which is that it was fading fast. he's had one of the most remarkable declines in popularity of any senior democrat in modern american history. he'd gone from a virtual institution in connecticut to probably the most, absolute i this -- absolutely the most endangered democrat on the ballot among those seeking re-election this year. he'd had a remarkable decline that paradoxcally began when he decided to run for president in 2008 and actually thought he was politically safe in moving his family from connecticut to iowa that started the voters of connecticut getting a little bit annoyed with him. his sticking up for the insurance industry as chairman of the banking committee is being perceived, fairly or unfairly, as sticking up for big corporate bonuses for some of the companies that received federal bailout money. all these things combined to really put his

i miss a lot of my former colleagues on the court, from byron white to bill brennan. but that is the process. they go, and new people come on. >> during your tenure there have been seven new arrivals. when you welcome you justices into the system, when they come from the appeals court, is there an acclamation process? >> not really, is the same job. it is the same job as being an appellate judge on a lower court. you read the briefs, hear the argument, write the opinion. we have the added job of deciding what to decide, which a court of appeals court judge does not have the burden or that luxury. you take whatever they bring you, and you have to. except for that additional part of the job, it is the same, with maybe one other exception. on the lower courts, if there is a whole line of supreme court authority that you fundamentally disagree with, it does not mean it is easy. you just follow it. you do not have to worry about whether it ought to be changed. on the highest court, if it is a stupid line of cases, if you are stupid line of cases and you have to decide if y

. >> tomorrow on news makers, byron dorgan, chair of the senate policy committee talks about whether the president made a mistake in putting health care on such a high place on his agenda this last year. >> the president made health care his signature legislative push in 200 , do you think he made a mistake? >> do i and not because health care is not important. i just think that the timing wasn't good. standing in a deep hole, it is hard to reach as high as you need to reach in order to put together a health care proposal that -- that can get through the congress. i personally would have said, let's work exclusively on starting -- restarting the economic engine once again and putting people back to work. the president will say he was working on that as well. if i had staged this, i would have said that first and health care later. the president won the election, i didn't. so he -- his position is you can't fix the economy without fixing health care. there's truth to that. so, we found it very difficult however to find -- to create a menu of health care changes that can be enacted and

you have the announcement by chris dodd and byron dorgan that they will not seek reelection in 2010.he president and for the democrats. but on the other hand, michael steele has his own problem. you have a rebellion going on among republicans who feel he isn't leading the party. he has a book out, he's promoting that and giving paid speeches. in addition to the split with the establishment and the so-called tea party movement. both sides have plenty to answer for. i expect it will be a heated discussion on "fox news sunday." martha: check your local listings for this weekend's show. the man accused of trying to blow up a detroit-bound flight on christmas day is arraigned in court. the judge entering a not guilty plea on his behalf to all six of those charges. that was procedural. that was how it was done. we have more on this story. the president is about to speak just moments from now about those weaker than expected employment numbers that came out today. it's fronts and center at the white house that's straight ahead. then. >>> thanks for watching. >> studio b can shepherd smith s

discussion on the status of health care legislation in light of the massachusetts senate election with byronyork and christopher hayes. there will also be a look at the 80 relief efforts. then we will talk about the future of guantanamo bay detainees. that is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. british prime minister gordon brown talks about the government relief efforts in haiti and the creation of the united nations reconstruction agency to respond to future disasters. that is at 9:00 p.m. here on c- span. on wednesday, president obama gives his first state of the human -- union address to congress. the state of the union address will be on wednesday night. our coverage starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. you can also listen to the president's address live on your iphone with the c-span radio app. >> coming up, comments from and how to become a great leader. these are from the national leadership congress -- conference hosted by the national urban fellows. >> welcome to the second day of this incredible conference. i want to thank everyone for being here to help us celebrate 40 ye

byron allen is on the ground for cbs. ron allen is on the ground for nbc. there are not people who opposed national shows in prime time. you need to have people at the place where they are the most visible to be able to do it as well. >> go ahead. >> in haiti, the correspondence have not been haitian people. you're asking african-americans to represent haitian people. my grandfather was in politics in haiti. i would challenge you to move a step beyond and think how do we prepare americans to accept people from other countries who are not trained to talk to them the same way we are because that is why we have a lot of white correspondents. that is who we are accustomed to seeing on television. i don't think it's as much a matter of training people to be on tv as training people to accept something different. >> thank you. >> for the sake of c-span, if you could go to the microphone so we can ensure it is recorded, i would appreciate it. >> from a perspective, you know that q ratings are highest for asian females. lowest is for a black male with a mustache. t

but byron dorgan was a long-term senator and congressman, he had been in congress since 1980. this was a shock that he dropped out. and look, he didn't drop out in isolation, he had an extremely tough opponent coming in the governor, john hoven of north dakota, a republican governor of north dakota in public and private polls, hoven was destroying dorgan, 20 points or more. so i think that played into his decision regardless of what he says publicly and i don't care who the democrats run now in north dakota, my crystal ball has put that seat solidly in the republican column. the governor will win that seat so long as he runs. >> brian: well, swammee sabato take a look at the crystal ball and tell me your long range predictions how it's going to play out. >> i think republicans right now are on track to pick up about 27 house seats, on track to pick up three or four senate seats and they're going to pick up some net governorships in part, brian, and this is really quite amazing, 21 governorships are being vacated. you're going to have another three, four, five governors defeate

byron georgiou, bob graham, keith hennessey. these are the folks leading a bipartisan committee.then, what would you be asking these people? -- dan, what would you be asking these people? caller: thank you for having me on this morning. the number one most important question will not be asked or answered. you guys have been gracious enough to let me on a bunch of times and i have brought up the fact that on september 11, 2008, there was a run on the united states treasury. it happened in the morning. an overwhelming amount of money was being drawn out of the treasury. the treasury could not keep up with the money that needed to go out. the country was going in the financial collapse that afternoon if the computer did out -- did not automatically kick in. if you have a 401k and u.s. your broker to cash in, that happens at the end of business. -- if you have your 401k and you ask your broker to cash in, that happens at the end of business. why was this happening in the morning? these financial institutions, how much money with i in 2 for the oil futures market when oil went up to o

it is a light wind and byron dorgan introduced the importation plan of drugs from canada.s they do not care about the american people. host: when you say "they," who are you talking about? caller: congress. it seems the only people that are benefiting are the insurance companies. guest: yes, they oppose the public option. that was in the house bill. they opposed the measure to eliminate the exemption from antitrust laws. so health insurance companies have been fighting this. they have been putting a lot of money into ads, trying to defeat health care reform. we do not want to hand them a victory here. they have been resisting important parts of this bill from the beginning but we need to push forward. the status quo benefits nobody except for the internet industry. -- insurance industry. that is part of the reason it is important we move forward on health care reform. remembering health care is an important part of getting our economy back on track and making sure we are competitive in the international marketplace. host: after the scott brown victory in massachusetts, wha