. >> lily prellezo, what about the clinton administration? did they not assist? >> brothers to the rescue never asked the u.s. government for help monetary or otherwise. of course the u.s. coast guard was instrumental because they lifted people out of the raft and saved their lives, but the clinton administration, what happened after the exodus of 1994 was that the policy changed, and the dry foot came about, and then it was no longer viable to be rescuing or flying mission to rescue people just returned to guantanamo or returned to cuba. >> wet foot, dry foot policy? >> if a cube ban were leaving cuba and touched dry land, he could be processed for immigration. if they were intercepted at sea, they were returned to guantanamo. >> i want to say in the clinton administration was instrumental in terminating and three of our airplanes and i was flying one flew in a search and rescue mission and make cuba came after us and shot down two planes and i survived the third plane. the clinton administration was aware that the attack from cuba was going to take place. all t

. >> what about the clinton administration? did they not assist brothers to the rescue? >> well, brothers to the rescue never asked the u.s. government for help monetary or otherwise. of course, the u.s. coast guard was instrumental because they lifted the people out of the rafts and saved their lives, but what happened at the exodus of 1994 was the policy changed and the wet foot dry foot came about and it was no longer viable to be rescuing, to be flying missions to rescue people who were going to be returned. >> explain briefly the wet foot, dry foot policy. >> well, it means if a cuban leaving cuba were to make it on a raft and touch dry land, he could be processed through immigration, but if he was intercepted at sea, they were returned, and then to cuba. >> i want to say the clinton administration was instrumental in terminating brothers to the rescue. in 1996, three of our airplanes, and i wasfullying one flew in a search and rescue mission, and mission cuba came after us and shot two plane, and i survived in the third. that was known to the clinton administration

that is what we were doing.cl >> lily prellezo what about thet clinton administration?>> did they not assist brothers to the rescue? >> brothers to the rescue never asked theke u.s. government fore help, monetary or otherwise. gud of course u.s. coast guard was rstrumental because they were the ones who would actually lift the people out of the rafts and save their lives but the clintot administration what happened after the exodus of 1994 was the publicity change and than that was no longer viable to ben rescuing, to be flying missions to rescue people that were just going to be returned to guantÁnamo or returned to cuba of. >> briefly the wet foot, dry foot policy. foot >> it means a cuban leaving cuba or to make it on a raft andaving touch dry land, he would be allowed to be processed through immigration that but if he was intercepted at sea, and first ty aid would return to guantÁnamo and now if they are found they will be returned to cuba. >> i want to say in the clinton administration what is instrumental, in 19962 of our w airplanases and i was flying onr flu and

and speaking of the clinton administration, you know they like to say they're not going to model the next two years after what bill clinton did after his shellacking in 1994. but on the beach here couple of days ago, i saw one of the president's top political advisors reading "the choice" by bob woodward, which is how bill clinton recovered then cruised to victory in 1996. maybe they won't follow that pattern, but certainly making themselves aware of it. >> schieffer: nancy, the question i ask before the break who has the hardest job, bob boehner, mitch mcconnell, president obama? >> first of all, john boehner has the new majority in the house but going to figure out how to corral his own party. he's got all these new tea party freshmen coming in. the tea partiers ran on changing the rules. and most of all mitch mcconnell and harry reed and john boehner have to figure out how to work together. this is first time that the senate and the house will be run by different parties since 2004. people are out of practice. >> schieffer: cheryl, you know, again, we see money entering in to the s

he joined the clinton administration and the obama administration at levels that someone of his stature have said, you know, that's beneath me. instead, he got into this extraordinary work. my colleague at the new yorker, george packer, did a profile of holbrooke where he traveled to afghanistan with him and the difficulty of just getting around afghanistan, you know, david, what you said about what that did to him physically, you know, he was a big man. he probably could have lost a few pounds. he -- the physical cost of going in these small planes, very dangerous conditions, it's a lot. >> i think that speaks to what jamie referred to before. he actually believed there was something overwhelmingly powerful, important, and good that came out of all of this which is the presence of u.s. diplomacy. we're joined now by retired general wesley clark who worked with ambassador holbrooke for many, many years. general, thank you for joining us. can you hear us? >> yes, i can. and i have to say, listening to the panel, it is a tremendous shock and a great loss to the united states and to people

leaving the spotlight after the clinton administration for a second krooer on wall street.turned to washington in 2009 in perhaps his toughest role. president obama's special enjoy for afghanistan and pakistan. >> we concluded quite simply that america's basic national security interests were at stake in these two countries. >> he was a regular voice in president obama's situation room meetings on the new afghanistan strategy. but bob woodward's book "obama's wars" said holbrooke harbored doubts about the plans, saying it can't work. he described the unique diplomatic challenges. there there's no ho chi minh, no slobodan milosevic, no palestinian authority. there's a glup of people we roughly call the enemy. >> reporter: biden called holbrooke, the most egotistical bastard i ever met, but the right guy for the job. for holbrooke who knew diplomacy wasn't always being diplomatic, the end result is what mattered a peace deal requires agreements and you don't make agreements with your friends. you make agreements with your enemies. richard holbrooke was 69. jill dougherty, cnn

i think the repealing of the glass-steagall act that was under the clinton administration certainly and congress at that time. i think also a failure by alan greenspan and i'll also name names, larry summers and bob ruben to heed brooksly borns about derivatives and their failure to agree with her and the danger she saw in derivatives getting out of control and that also contributed to the problem. the complete deregulation or virtual deregulation of wall street is, i think, part of the very damaging legacy we lived with thereafter. >> deregulation and lower taxes from 1980 onwards is widely credited with unleashing much greater entrepreneurial energy into the u.s. economy. is that not right? >> some of it is right, undoubtedly. i mean, one of the great strengths of the u.s. economy is not only entrepreneurialism but also a venture capital community that supported those obtain newers but by the time you get to the late '90s most of the entrepreneurial was occurring on wall street. it was not entrepreneurialism in terms of new gadgets but it's in terms of new financial devices and that w

phil gramm with his shenanigans during the clinton administration, he's not in the legislation at the end of the clinton administration which he was unable to for the months and years prior that enabled the banks, the legislation that enabled the banks to deregulate. with a man like you at the helm, we are in a lot of trouble. host: a quick comment? guest: i think he is talking about the pact signed by president clinton and endorsed by president kate -- clinton, endorsed by the secretary of the treasury, robert rubin. i think there is a lot of misinformation there. there is information about this that everyone should read host: this question came from twitter. can you ask why goldman sachs is still open and no banker is in prison? guest: i can't explain that except that goldman sachs has been investigated by the sec and they are currently probably being investigated by the justice department. it has never been determined that they did anything that was of a criminal nature. that is also true, it seems to me, of the bankers. i know many people are angry about what happened but that doe

thousand of the clinton administration, certainly. and congress at that time. i think also a failure by alan greenspan, larry summers, and bob rubin, to heed brooksley born's concerns at the commodity futures trading commission about derivatives of their failure to basically agree, see the dangers that she saw in derivatives getting out of control. that also contribute to the problem. virtual regulation of wall street is i think a part of the very damaging legacy that we lived with better after. >> deregulation and a lot of times is from 1980 onwards, is widely credited with unleashing much great entrepreneur energy into the u.s. economy. is that not right speak with some of it is right, undoubtedly. one of the great strengths of the u.s. economy is not only entrepreneurialism, but also a venture capital community that supported those entrepreneurs. but by the time you get to the late '90s, most of the entrepreneurialism was occurring on wall street. it was not in terms of new gadget. it was entrepreneurs in terms of new financial gadgets. and that was a zero-s

he previously served as ambassador during the clinton administration. he was 69 years old. >> looking ahead to the day ahead, the senate is expecting to get final approval for the bush era tax cuts but it could soon face a major test in the house. president obama praised yesterday's vote to move the bill forward. a federal judge in virginia has ruled that part of the health care law is unconstitutional. kenneth cuccinelli argued that it overstepped the constitution and the judge agreed after two other judges upheld the law. turns out r.n.p. chairman mibling steele is running for re-election. he announced his decision last night. he has been criticized for his spending practices. prior to his job, he was maryland's governor. it is now 4:36 and very, very cold 22 degrees. >> still ahead on "good morning washington," a special welcome for the commander in chief. >> plus big problems from that winter blast out west and a dramatic crash is caught on tape. >> first another check on traffic and weather closer to home. we're going to be right back. stay with us

when i thought the survors of the clinton administration and the new gingrich congress, but we got together, despite the fact that it seemed so ugly back in the 1990's, we talk about how we did not like each other, when the chips are down, we had to do the right thing. balance forbes -- balance the budget for first time for the first time in a generation. we grow the economy. we did a lot of very positive things together. that is before the hyper partisanship really got fuelled by the new media components. i am not saying that it ishe responsibility of bloggers to be more tactful. the responsibility falls, the responsibility lies and politicians being grown ups and knowing what to filter out. washington has not done a good job at distinguishing between ground noise and the signal. i think that it is beginning to change. i really do. there is no doubt that there is immediate compounded to this that we did not have during the clinton administration. >> be a found that -- we have found that our show has been a breakthrough in the national conversation. we did not attack each other. there is ul

under the clinton administration, holbrooke obviously very close with the clintons. any word from secretary clinton or the former president tonight? >> reporter: no word from them tonight yet, but earlier today secretary clinton spoke out and applauded holbrooke's service saying that he had given nearly 50 years of his life serving the u.s. government. remember, it was rumored holbrooke would have been picked as secretary of state if hillary clinton would have become president. >> certainly a diplomatic legend. matt ackland in the satellite center tonight. >>> the head of the rnc wants another term in the top job. former maryland lieutenant governor michael steele made the announcement in a conference call with rnc members late this evening. fox news has learned steele deliberately kept his plans quiet to see if someone else wanted the job. steele faced criticism for not doing enough to move the party forward but as you know presided over the historic midterm elections last month. the rnc will select their next chair in january. >>> now to another story still unfoldi

that was under the clinton administration certainly and congress at that time. i think that also a failure by alan greenspan -- larry summers and bob rubin to heed berkeley born conference at the commodity future trading commission about derivatives, their failure to basically agree with her, see her, the dangers that she thought into it is getting out of control. but also contributed to the problem. >> the complete redelegation is i think part of the very damaging legacy would live with thereafter. >> deregulation and lower taxes from 1980 onward is widely credited with unleashing much greater entrepreneurs of energies into the u.s. economy. >> certainly a threat, undoubtedly. i mean, one of the great strengths of the u.s. economy is not only entrepreneurial son, but also a venture capital community that supported this entrepreneurs. but by the time you get to the late 90s, most of the ashburn orioles and was occurring on wall street. it was not entrepreneurialism in terms of new gadgets. this entrepreneurialism in terms of new financial devices. and that was a

. >> jamie reuben was the state department spokesman during the clinton administration. jamie, good morning. seven times richard holbrooke nominated for the nobel peace prize and more than a few people thought he should have won it and talked about for secretary of state. someone who has been influential, really, since vietnam. what does this loss mean for the country and, in particular, as we know, that this meeting is going on right now between the president, the vice president, the national security team. what does it mean for afghanistan? >> well, let's start with richard and his role in american foreign policy. what richard did perhaps as well as anyone is to a diplomat that can get the job done with foreign leaders and with rebel leaders and with others in a complex negotiation, but, also, the principles behind american foreign policy and particularly during the bosnia crisis in this country. richard not only helped negotiate an end to the war, but richard was important with others in dramatizing the importance of the united states caring about the people of bosnia

you knew richard holbrooke and worked with him during the clinton administration. what's his legacy? >> what a towering figure. as you said, he began his career in vietnam where he worked then to try to bring peace to that war and to his life working to bring peace to pakistan. he seemed to be in the middle of every hot spot. a towering figure. hard to imagine if you didn't know him. he was drawn into a business diplomacy that usually attracts bright but sort of shy and retiring people and dick was a larger than life figure in every sense of the world. i still haven't fully digested the shock of thinking about an american foreign policy without him. >> david, i know he was a friend of yours. professional obviously but personal loss for you. he faced down slobodan milosevic and brought peace in the dayton peace accords. what made him a good negotiator? >> he was very tough. president obama said today at the state department he was one tough son of a gun. that's exactly right. he's a man if you have were president and you had to face somebody who was a criminal or on

. >> don't ask, don't tell was a compromise policy adopted in the clinton administration.ve only if they did not open a knowledge their homosexuality. since then as many as 14,000 service members have been forced out. if today the president urged them to consider reenlisting any of these words for those still in uniform. >> you are the first generation to serve openly in our armed forces. you will stand for all those who came before you, any will serve as role models to all who come after. and i know that you will fulfil this responsibility with integrity., an honor just as you have every other missions in which you have been charged. >> the president had a warning to repeal does not take effect right away. that would happen until 60 days after the pentagon certifies that the military has met several conditions. they include education and training programs for the troops. for now the ban on gays technically is still in place. today the senate passed a package of health care and economic aid for the people got sick from the dust at the world trade center. that bill will mea

. >> william galston, a great social scientist from the clinton administration, has proposed, and he is right, that obama ought to in the state of the yen and raise tax reform -- union embrace tax reform. paul ryan in the house is the guy who thinks large on this. if you could have him and the president, the way you had bill bradley and ronald reagan, get together on tax reform in 1986, you could have a breakthrough. these are people who, in principle, are smart enough and principled enough to do it, if the -- >> charles is not only pollyanna, he is revisionist tax reform began with bill bradley in 1978, with calls for 1/3 tax cuts across the board. he was a scholar about it. he wrote a book in 1982. he introduced bradley- gephardt added that support all the way through 1984, when ronald reagan did not have an issue to run on, and in 1985, rostenkowski and packwood wrote it -- no, we are going to write a tax reform bill -- [unintelligible] in one year, with a president running for reelection, you are unrealistic. he says he wants to have a conversation about it. >> here's the thing,

we reached out to two previous administrations, economists who advised presidents bush and clinton. and we asked this -- if you really want to bring down the deficit, can any of these big ticket items really be avoided? first, that recommendation to slowly increase the retirement age for social security, and to reduce benefits. as unpopular as that might seem, we asked, is there any way to avoid changes to social security and still cut the deficit? >> no, social security is part of the problem. it has to be addressed. >> reporter: gregory mancue advised president bush and said simply today that this proposal makes sense. and so did jeff frankel, who held the same job in the clinton administration. >> it's just, we can't afford it. >> reporter: economists say, look at the pie chart at our spending. social security and then medicare, a bite as big and growing. today, that bold call to limit the annual increases in medicare, and we wondered, is there any way to avoid it? can medicare be left untouched? and still rein in this deficit? >> oh, no. medicare is part of the problem and indee

when the clinton administration was in power the right wing in the united states the conservative movement was extremely vocal about objecting to all sorts of powers that the president was exerting not just with regard to domestic policy but in terms of terrorism as well they were petrified over eavesdropping powers that the bill clinton wanted to increase in the wake of the oklahoma city bombing they were concerned about the pfizer court granting warrants to eavesdrop on. people's conversations in secret and even people like john ashcroft led the way in terms of demanding that americans privacy and civil liberties be protected of course once the republicans got into office that all change in the conservatives were no longer interested in limited and presidential power they were interested in expanding it in the very people who were leading the way in the ninety's became the most aggressive in terms of expanding government power like john ashcroft very much the same thing has happened to the democrats during the bush years democrats and progressives were outraged over the kinds of assertio

and i've got to tidy the people in the clinton administration were dead treaties because of such a what he was saying was don't get diverted into all these things which are not maybe first run concerns of us from the point of her own prosperity and security, a well moderated six ways to sunday. i'm afraid that's what happened. >> it did happen. and the public has never been very happy about it. but the public has been relatively permissive because these nations seem to be things that we could afford. when they come to be things that people believe we cannot afford, then the public will call it off spirit the other sort of area we see some real retrenchment is the furtherance of democracy around the world, but you've been a great deal about this in your career. but i don't suspect you may just give it up altogether. it is not only a basic value but it is always the view as being part of making the world more stable and secure for us. what you see going forward? what are some limitations you put in that? after what we plan to do about democracy in the world be on our own shores? >> the un

include people who have not looked for work in over a year which were removed during the clinton administration so his. unemployment rate in clude those longer term marginally attached workers so that including those those ninety nine er's whom we know so much about these days why do you think it is though that when we hear the specifics every month when they give us the report for what the employment unemployment rate is in the country that they give us this this u three is b.l.s. rather than you know the bigger picture of what's really going on. i think it's easier for most people to digest a number that's close to ten or under ten minutes you know one in ten people are affected by joblessness as opposed to looking at the overall problem is being not only joblessness but also under employment which is people that want to work full time but can't find full time work so they're forced to work part time and those jobs usually have less benefits they pay less they have less security less perks less retirement plan so it's a much larger problem when you include the underemployed and discouraged wo

jack pritchard is the president of the krorea economic institut in washington, and former clinton administrationth korea who was just there. and also joining us is a former cnn correspondent mike choy who is a senior fellow at the china institute at the university of southern california and dr. jim walsh who san expert on foreign policy especially asia at m.i.t. jim, let me start with you. what is your biggest concern right now? >> well, my biggest concern is that someone is going to make a mistake and we almost saw it two weeks ago with the shellings. it was not widely reported in the united states, but south korea in the middle of the crisis accidentally shot an artillery shell near the dmz and had to call north kree eya it w -- korea that it is a mistake, and i think that governor richardson is right, that it is time that someone, even if it is not a government official begin to talk to north korea so we end up in a place that nobody wants to be out of miscalculation or misperception or error, and that is my concern, and i believe there is a danger of that right now. >> jack pritchard, you we

actually the clinton administration had a similar ban and one of the things i would point out to you out the obama administration which is to carry disclosure and regulation farther than anybody in the past is this is not new territory. so, during the clinton administration when i was in the government i did a lot of work preparing nominees who were going to have a hard time and in their hearings working for them as a volunteer in the government and, as a result of that, the clinton administration rule is, if i will give you an example. i help the original head of epa, carol browner, prepare for her hearing. and i was then barred from touching epa for a year, so on behalf of a client or anything else, so it is not that it is necessarily new. other people have had some of the same kinds of restrictions. they just haven't been quite as public about it and to be sure these regulations have gone even further. essentially what the obama administration did i believe is that they decided to use the phrase federal eretz asked her to lobbyists as a metaphor for what is wrong with washington. t

in eight years of the clinton administration there was one veto that was successfully overridden.that is in part testimony to how affective plight house legislators were in the administration and also another thing about we were reflective in what we tried to veto on. i think what you remind me of what you want to advance your agenda so you have a signing ceremony with your priorities you also want to make sure other things you object to, may be the leader of stage is the last stage. maybe you don't even have a hearing on some bills. if it picked up steam, that you would have to object to. >> one last question, john? [inaudible] >> we did. on some relatively big issues. not on a day-to-day basis. just wasn't the time to meet with outside folks. but on major initiatives, especially on trade type issues, those clearly an alignment, some trade expansions, we would meet with the business community. it is illegal to be in the federal government and urge somebody to go to the hill and lobby. but short of that, someone to lobby on behalf of the administration proposal you could tell them

i think of the sect clinton administration with trade agreements. i think we agree there's no particular reason we can't agree and do things for the american people over the next two years. >> the president made an important point that was mentioned. he hadn't spent as much time reaching out and talking to us, and he commended to do so. i think spending more time with the president will help us find commonground. there's a difference. there's a reason why we have democrats and republicans. we believe in different things about the appropriate role of the federal government of the having said that, the more time we spend together, we can find the commonground because the american people expect us to work on their behalf. >> do you see this to be more positive in the future? >> we had a nice meeting today. the question is can we find the commonground the american people expect us toind. >> i would say this too. it was pretty revealing tt the leadership in the democratic side of the aisle in the house right now is ready to go and get the job done. i thi

phil gramm with his shenanigans during the clinton administration, he's not in the legislation at the end of the clinton administration which he was unable to for the months and years prior that enabled the banks, the legislation that enabled the banks to deregulate. with a man like you at the helm, we are in a lot of trouble. host: a quick comment? guest: i think he is talking about the pact signed by president clinton and endorsed by president kate -- clinton, endorsed by the secretary of the treasury, robert rubin. i think there is a lot of misinformation there. there is information about this that everyone should read host: this question came from twitter. can you ask why goldman sachs is still open and no banker is in prison? guest: i can't explain that except that goldman sachs has been investigated by the sec and they are currently probably being investigated by the justice department. it has never been determined that they did anything that was of a criminal nature. that is also true, it seems to me, of the bankers. i know many people are angry about what happened but that doe

. >> let's bring in robert reich, labor secretary in the clinton administration. now at uc berkeley. author of "aftershock." thanks for your time. >> good evening, keith. >> what are the implications of moody's thinking about downgrading? >> it's a warning shot in terms of the debt that we are accumulating. it would be one thing, keith, as moody's said, if that debt was turned around into genuinely boosting the economy and growth. so much of that is going to people who are already very rich in the united states. that means that they, the rich, don't spend very much. they already -- what it means to be rich is means you already have pretty much what you already need and want. and that, in turn, is not going to be much of a stimulus. so moody's is worried in effect that this is a lot of debt without very much of a push. very much -- we don't get very much out of it in terms of helping the economy. >> the presidential convention at the white house on friday on this topic after mr. clinton endorsed president obama's deal, you wrote that both of them are wrong. one of

two former clinton administration heavy weights robe -- plus, that loud noise you heard outside your window was the republican snowball fight that came when yes, michael steele is running again. but how can the party of lincoln stop this guy? it was after all these wins in fact and with a secretary of state alive now lining up with the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty, why are so many right wingers standing in the way? and meet the new boss. not the same as the old boss. he says you'll love this, he's in business to serve the banks. didn't he get the memo? you're not supposed to admit that. we start with the tax cut deal. howard fineman, and richard wolffe, can't be any colder than this place. you know, i have to say, romney. this guy is mobile. this guy moves around. he was for the health care plan in massachusetts. pro-choice in massachusetts. the minute he cleared the state board or commonwealth border, he's now hiding from the health care bill he passed up there and he's changed on abortion rights, but here he is saying he's against this tax deal. help me, howard. i've never needed you more

vote in 1993 -- that's a long time ago -- for the economic policy changes proposed in the clinton administration, and those were tough votes and controversial votes, and, yes, they increased some taxes and cuts in spending. but you know what? in the coming years and during that -- the eight years of that administration, as a result, in my judgment, of a change in economic policy, we had 23.1 million new jobs created. 23.1 million new jobs. real median household income grew 14%. g.d.p. growth averaged 3.5%. so it doesn't wash to say that we have to follow the same economic policy that was followed in the last decade, giving tax cuts to the wealthiest and then just praying that somehow it will all trickle down to help everybody. this country's in some significant trouble. and this country and the people in this country deserve and expect thoughtful, serious, tough decisions by this congress. david stockman, former director of o.m.b. in the reagan administration, was on television awhile back. and he said, "if there were such a thing as chapter 11 for politicians, the republican push to extend the

also the estate tax would return to the level it was at during the clinton administration. we've got a huge deficit problem. they only benefit rich people. we can't afford these giveaways to the rich right now. house democrats did it. house democrats got that done. >> the motion is adopted. >> the motion is adopted. except that it wasn't. that version of the tax cuts bill -- yes, it passed the how the. it died in the united states it fell victim to a republican filibuster in the senate. this phenom of passing bills in the house only to see it die in the senate, it has lots of company. you remember cap and trade energy legislation? >> on this vote, yeas are 219. nays are 212. the bill is passed. >> the bill is passed. cap and trade energy legislation. remember when democrats campaigned on passing comprehensive health reform that included a public option? >> the bill is passed. >> comprehensive health reform, including a public option. remember when democrats campaigned on finally repealing the don't ask, don't tell policy. house democrats not only did that. they did it twice

following the clinton administration who repealed glass-steagall and unleashed the banking bubble, bushlong with president obama to bring the debt to a whopping 94% of our gdp. a lot of that driven by the collapse in our economy and also the deficit exploded. you get economic dysfunction, banking trade, the economy goes down and here you are. joining us now, david stockton, director of budget in reagan's first term. now, he calls the bush tax cuts sb entirely unaffordable. >> going to where you started, we went into the oval office in 1981, our first job was to raise the national debt to 1 trillion. we had trepidation. today, 30 years later, it's 14 trillion. the economy is bigger, the national debt 14 times bigger. over the last three decade, we've done a leveraged buyout of the american economy. now, i think we're getting close to the day of reckoning and what do we get out of the congress? a drum roll last week on we have the face the deficit, a christmas tree lighting, which will give away another trillion dollars of spending and mostly tax give aways that we can't afford that will

. >> caller: yes, it just seems to me that there's a world of difference between the clinton administration years and the contemporary years. since 2002, we've gotten into two wars, and the interesting thing, i think, is that the people on the right more perhaps than on the left, have really become prisoners of what we might call political stereotypes, and it's, you know, it's a concern to me because i think midterm elections, especially midterm elections, do not give us a feel few how the -- for how the nation as a whole really in other words feels about a particular issue at that point in

distressing thing about this to me is that the mek was unquestionably put on the list in the clinton administration in hopes of mollifying the regime in tehran and getting negotiations started. every indication is that there were kept on the list at the end of the bush administration for exactly the same reason. so you have a bracket of 10 years of reasons remaining the same and the objective reasons it sought to achieve were failing. what we need is a decision based on facts, not based on political considerations. let the facts fall where they may. >> thank you very much. it has been a pleasure listening today to this distinguished panel. their observations are profound an extremely important. as we all know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different outcome. this policy that we have been operating under for many years now is insane. it needs to be changed. i have never heard perhaps before and more forceful reason and set of reasons for doing so than those presented by the panel today. earlier, it was mr. mukasey who said that we keep listen

actually the clinton administration had a similar ban ban them and, as a result of that, the clinton dministration rule is, if i will give you an example. i help the original head of epa, carol browner, prepare for her hearing. and i was then barred from touching epa for a year, so on behalf of a client or anything else, so it is not that it is necessarily new. other people have had some of the same kinds of restrictions. they just haven't been quite as public about it and to be sure these regulations have gone even further. essentially what the obama administration did i believe is that they decided to use the phrase federal eretz asked her to lobbyists as a metaphor for what is wrong with washington. they decided that the people in the country could understand that there was something not quite right and therefore that is what they did. you could not contribute to their campaigns, although if you are a spouse of a lobbyist you could contribute. and certainly they didn't hesitate to raise money for the people that hired me as their registered lobbyist. the point i want to come back t

the repeal of don't ask, don't tell policy that was put in place 17 years ago during the clinton administration. just a few days ago it appeared unlikely that it would succeed this year because of republican objections but supporters pushed and pushed for a stand-alone vote on repeal. and our cnn vote count, which has at least four republicans now voting yes, shows that barring some last minute hiccup, the legislation will be on the president's desk by early next week. i spoke with senator lieberman before sun down so he could observe the jewish sabbath. >> it's a set back for a minute. this policy has been in place for 17 years and it would mean that americans and are capable of doing so can do so without fear of being pushed out simply because of their sexual orientation, not because they were ineffective soldiers or because they violated the code of military conduct. in fact, 14,000 members of the american military, the last 17 years, have been discharged only because either they admitted it or somebody said that they were gay and lesbian and that's just wrong. but in a larger sense, i think

is ken starr who is, as you say, not the one that's a professor here in town, and with the clinton administrationt another had been turned in by mr. snipes some years ago. he blew the whistle on him. and the firm that wound up as co-defendants with mr. snipes -- mr. snipes divested himself of any connection with them. now this is what bothers me. they indicted this whole core that ran this tax firm. they had 4,200-some clients. >> larry: so why go after him? >> because it's gamesmanship. quite frankly in the legal profession, particularly in the criminal aspect, people brag about what's on the wall in their trophy rooms. >> larry: and wes was a trophy? >> wes was a trophy. >> larry: we'll be right back with more after this. ll i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insu

the health care debate in the 1990s the word "mandate" re.500, but it didn't come from the clinton administrationary clinton who led the ill- fated reform push actually wanted a single-payer system. republicans countered that the plan with the 1994 consumer choice health security act, which included, yes, the individual requirement to purchase insurance. that requirement was even supported by the heritage foundation, a conservative think tank. >>> and just before it was suggested by president obama, it was signed into law by a republican governor. that would be mitt romney, who is now considering another run for the republican presidential nomination. the individual mandate was part of the health care from -- reform bill that he approved as massachusetts governor in 2006. at the time, romney called the individual mandate, quote "a personal responsibility principle." >>> well, president obama says that a test vote passed by the senate today supporting the compromised tax plan that he negotiated with republicans proves both parties can work together. joel brown reports the bill looks likely to be a

when i thought the survivors of the clinton administration and the new gingrich congress, but we got together, despite the fact that it seemed so ugly back in the 1990's, we talk about how we did not like each other, when the chips are down, we had to do the right thing. balance forbes -- balance the budget for first time -- for the first time in a generation. we grow the economy. we did a lot of very positive things together. that is before the hyper partisanship really got fuelled by the new media components. i am not saying that it is the responsibility of bloggers to be more tactful. the responsibility falls, the responsibility lies and politicians being grown ups and knowing what to filter out. washington has not done a good job at distinguishing between ground noise and the signal. i think that it is beginning to change. i really do. there is no doubt that there is immediate compounded to this that we did not have during the clinton administration. >> be a found that -- we have found that our show has been a breakthrough in the national conversation. we did not attack each othe

is ken starr who is, as you say, not the one that's a professor here in town, and with the clinton administrationher had been turned in by mr. snipes some years ago. he blew the whistle on him. and the firm that wound up as co-defendants with mr. snipes -- mr. snipes divested himself of any connection with them. now this is what bothers me. they indicted this whole core that ran this tax firm. they had 4,200-some clients. >> larry: so why go after him? >> because it's gamesmanship. quite frankly in the legal profession, particularly in the criminal aspect, people brag about what's on the wall in their trophy rooms. >> larry: and wes was a trophy? >> wes was a trophy. >> larry: we'll be right back with more after this. no coffee, no espresso. mm-hmm. ♪ [ female announcer ] crest 3d white toothpaste. the remarkable toothpaste that removes up to 80% of surface stains in just two weeks... hi. i'm paul. [ female announcer ] for a noticeably whiter smile in just two weeks crest 3d white toothpaste. also try crest 3d white rinse. ♪ this site has a should i try priceline instead? >> no it's a sale. nothi

two former clinton administration heavy weights -- robert reich and terry mcauliffe join us in a moment. >>> plus, let the fun begin. the loud noise you heard last night outside the window was the republican snowball that came when word came that michael steele is running again as rnc chair. how can the party of lincoln stop the guy with all the wins? lining up in favorite of the new s.t.a.r.t. nuclear treaty, why are so many right wingers standing in the way? we're going to debate what could be lost in the treaty goes down. >>> meet the old boss. not the new boss. you'll love this. he's in business to serve the banks. didn't he get the memo? you're not supposed to admit that. >>> we start with the tax cut deal. the "huffington post" howard fineman. so is richard wolffe. can't be any colder than this place. you know, i have to say, romney. this guy is mobile. this guy moves around. he was for the health care plan in massachusetts. pro-choice in massachusetts. the minute he cleared the state border or commonwealth border, he's now hiding from the health care bill he passed up there and h

is ken starr who is, as you say, not the one that's a professor here in town, and with the clinton administrationen turned in by mr. snipes some years ago. he blew the whistle on him. and the firm that wound up as co-defendants with mr. snipes -- mr. snipes divested himself of any connection with them. now this is what bothers me. they indicted this whole core that ran this tax firm. they had 4,200-some clients. >> larry: so why go after him? >> because it's gamesmanship. quite frankly in the legal profession, particularly in the criminal aspect, people brag about what's on the wall in their trophy rooms. >> larry: and wes was a trophy? >> wes was a trophy. >> larry: we'll be right back with more after this. this is the iphone 4. it's lithium polymer battery lets you... work longer, play longer, laugh longer, listen longer. shoot, edit, share, update, download, read, write, and even facetime...longer. all on the world's thinnest smartphone. the iphone 4. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] print from any mobile device so your ideas can be there even when you're not. introducing the new web-connected printer

there is a media company that we did not have during the clinton administration. >> an hour show, if i may, has been kind of a breakthrough in the -- and our show, if i may, has been kind of a breakthrough. it's not personal, and that is the bottom line. we haven't got coming senator and an -- we haven't outgoing senator and an incoming senator. >> still idealistic, but looking for a different role. >> well, tell us why. i would like to hear from both senators why you are here today, because this obviously resonates with you and is something that you think we need as we move forward. >> i have the perspective of someone who kind of grew up in public life by virtue of my father's service. i think we search in vain for a golden era of comity in american politics. it has always been rough and tumble, but there is no question it is worse today than it was before. my father tells the story in 1968, running for his first reelection, the republican leader comes up to my father on the floor of the senate, puts his arm around his shoulder, and asks what he can do to help with his re-election.

it's funny talking to people in congress, democrats and republicans, they talk about the clinton administration and the george h.w. bush administration as pretty good at congressional relations, really making the calls, making the contacts. the last two administrations, not so much. >> rose: so you have a dialogue with the president. does he acknowledge this, does he understand this, that these were the mistakes that were made? >> i think i am a journalist so he treats me as a journalist. >> rose: fair enough but you could have a conversation with journalists, the last time i checked. >> yeah, no, that's fair. you know, so i'm not sure i know everything that goes on. i know what he wants me to think and what he wants me to argue. >> rose: well then, do you know whether he has looked at his self and said i was too insular, i didn't reach out, i made these mistakes, i was captive to a certain element of the party, and it wasn't smart. >> he never said that to me. and the people i know in the white house, i don't think i have ever heard them say he said it to them. what they would say is that, you